Lacessit

Being friendly is not the same as giving active aid and support, my guess is Russia now has to rely solely on its own resources. None of the "friendly" nations want to be caught up in the sanctions currently being applied. Who wants to be friendly with a country whose currency is worth one quarter of a Thai baht?

https://www.xe.com/currencycharts/?from=USD&to=CHF&view=10Y

Watched "The Book of Eli" recently?

Investments earn income. Gold is not an investment, it is a currency hedge. Any Russian who bought gold prior to the invasion of Ukraine is now sitting on huge profits. A Swiss once observed to me Swiss francs are a good safe haven whenever there is a major crisis, as they always go up relative to other currencies. I guess investing in companies who stand to profit from the sanctions imposed on Russia would be safe havens.

A young woman at a roadside stall near my GF's village sold me ripe strawberries for 50 baht. She discounted them for me from 80 baht, as I am a good customer. Avocados in the main Chiang Rai market are 50 baht a kilo. The stall holder selects them for me on the basis of eat now, tomorrow or the next day. Yet to see a supermarket where the avocados were not as hard as a pawnbroker's heart.

Possibly so; however, I am not the person injecting their religious beliefs into the topic.

While you are on the subject of hypocrisy, perhaps you could explain why Bible-bashers have such a difficult time explaining the pedophilia in various religious organizations, when science says it is a statistically inevitable outcome arising from organization policy.

That depends on whether they support the war Putin has started. If they do, they can stew in their own juice for all I care.

Yes they do, but to nowhere near the same extent. Gold is currently USD 1990 an ounce. Now point me to any gold trader in the world who would be accepting rubles as payment now. We can expect price increases in fuel and grains, but there are plenty of other sources lining up to fill the gap. Flights will have to be diverted around Russia,at increased cost. Who wants to transfer funds into Russia? Possibly only the oligarchs seeking forex, everyone else is scrambling for the exits. Putin has made Russia into a pariah nation. Nobody wants to do business with Russia anymore. Ironically, Putin's actions have unified Europe, NATO and the US in an unprecedented way.

Takes all kinds, wearing an ignore as a badge of honor. What would it take for you to ignore someone?

I've been tempted to say I am here to pay 2 million baht in sin sod, but I have never had the courage to test an IO's sense of humor.

Ukrainians are not Nazis. That is a lie promoted by Putin to justify his actions. Truth is, during the Second World War, Ukrainians greeted the Germans as liberators. They very quickly learned the Germans were no better than the Russians. Zelensky is Jewish, the proposition he would lead a Nazi government is the ultimate absurdity.

I don't worry about such trifling issues, if I get asked to move I do it. Happens about once in a hundred times of parking anyway. This forum is a great place to observe people getting their knickers in a twist about trivialities.

Probably best to use the chemical term, calcium oxide. ( CaO) All I can get out of Google Translate is manaow, which is the fruit. Slaked lime is manaow farn, which could be meaningless. Places such as Thai Watsadu should stock it.

Maybe he has led a sheltered life.

Putin is now squealing the sanctions are "an act of war". IMO he thought the insulation he had built up in foreign reserves and fuel supply were enough to protect Russia from economic collapse. Now he is finding his Central Bank can't access those foreign reserves. The Europeans are cancelling energy projects and looking for supply elsewhere. Foreign companies are stampeding for the exits. He's facing a prolonged insurgency in the Ukraine, and economic disaster at home. His only lifeline is China, good luck with that. Back to the Cold War, everyone knows how that ended.

They have not sent me a single email since they issued the voucher, thanks for the information.

It's a euphemism for a four-letter word which is automatically deleted on this forum. Took me back to an episode of "The Sweeney" where John Thaw questions a Scottish detective: Thaw: "Who or what is hob ma gandy?" Scot: "Fornication."

I loved the field of work I was in, would probably still be working ( part - time ) if I had half a chance. Although I probably would have retired to Thailand much earlier if I had known what was in store for me here. I still cast about for projects to do. Protestant work ethic, probably. Currently making a series of kitchen videos. I have a friend in Australia like you, did very well financially out of expat work in Malaysia and Indonesia, quit stone cold when he had enough to retire on. Different strokes for different folks.

The voucher expired August 2021, I have had no further correspondence from them. As Jetstar has yet to schedule flights from Bangkok to Melbourne, I won't be holding my breath. I'll enquire when they do, but I expect a brushoff.

You're probably right. A stopgap measure would be to ramp up delivery on the existing rail facilities.

Russian oil and gas can flow to China instead of Europe, and I'm betting the Chinese would be turning the screws on prices.

It's possible they will simply be tucked away in an IDC, and left to rot until Putin remembers them.

Quietly post a $100 million reward for Putin's head on a platter. Putin may be very well protected, but modern day sniping has registered kills from more than 2 km away. Difficult to protect against that.

Ukrainians are no different to Chechens, Stalin orchestrated the Holodomor in 1932-1933, and they have not forgotten Russians killed between 3 and 10 million Ukrainians by mass starvation. The Luhansk and Donetsk "republics" arose from the vacuum left in those areas of Ukraine being filled by transferred Russians. IMO Putin does not realize what he is getting into. He may win the cities, after they have been pounded into rubble. If I was a Russian soldier, I'd be very nervous about trying to stay alive in a country where every civilian hates me, and every armed civilian wants to kill me. Obviously, Putin learned nothing from Afghanistan.