Lacessit

Invitation refused. I am not a Thai citizen. 2000 baht fine for not submitting a tax return? Bring it on. The mountain will have to come to Mohammed.

Personally, I would never rent or own a Cybertruck. IMO only people who rhyme with anchors would. I suppose the perpetrator though the combination of stored battery energy, and increased payload of explosive ( 2500 lb vs 1860 lb for a Ford Ranger ) would make a more dramatic statement for posterity.

I am wondering why the OP has chosen outside Phitsanulok, to me it's a nothing town. Perhaps the Thai wife is steering him in that direction. As other posters have said, first rent for a year, before committing. If the OP has some kind of health crisis, he is a long way from medical help Phitsanulok has two government hospitals. One is focused on traditional Thai medicine. It has three private hospitals. None appear to be part of a hospital chain, such as Bangkok Hospital.

IMO South Korea should not go nuclear. The world is dangerous enough as it is. The more variables there are in any equation, the more complex and unpredictable the result becomes.

Let's say Russia rolls up Ukrainian forces as far as Kyiv, and declares victory. It then faces a partisan movement operating from the Carpathians, armed with Javelins and Stingers to bring down any Russian aircraft attacking them. Much like Afghanistan before, Ukraine will become a bleeding sore for which Russia has no remedy.

True, it's a war of attrition. You are missing the point the attrition is happening to Russia as well, and not just on the battlefield. Russia's supply of troops is not inexhaustible. The presence of North Korean troops proves that. Putin knows if he starts conscripting in Moscow and St. Petersburg, the sham of Russian propaganda will be exposed. Figures don't lie, except perhaps when they come from official Russian sources. Bank interest rates of 21% mean the cost to borrowers is 5-6 basis points higher. Food inflation of 10%, IMO it is higher than that. The fact forex trading in the ruble has been suspended to prevent shorting illustrates continuing attrition in purchasing power. After some kind of peace deal is brokered, you think the Russians will have won? No foreign investor except China will touch Russia with a barge pole, and China has its own problems. There are no winners in this war, both sides lose, however territory is distributed.

I'd say Gen Z will be expecting to be getting the same pension as Baby Boomers are currently receiving, and may well be disappointed.

You have lost the supplements. It's a bigger proportion than someone on a full pension, because it is a fixed amount, not a ratio as in the part pension. When you are overseas, you lose exactly the same as anyone else. Give me time to get my hankie out, so I can cry a little for you.

John McCain once described Russia as a gasoline station masquerading as a country. In case you have not heard, the world is moving away from fossil fuels, in response to climate change. Germany has technologically-advanced, world class companies such as BASF, Krupp-Thyssen, Siemens, Henkel, SAP, Bayer, and Bosch. In automotive alone, it has Mercedes, BMW, VW and Audi. What does Russia have - Lada? A country that has to cannibalize imported refrigerators and washing machines for microchips is a primitive economy. The prediction it will overtake Germany is laughable.

IMO you are confusing offensive and defensive operations. Russia, conducting a defensive operation against Hitler, had several factors in its favor - the morale of their soldiers defending the motherland, much shorter supply chains, and the Russian winter. They had support from the West, not sanctions. It's the other way around in Ukraine. The Ukrainians are just as accustomed to winter as the Russians, they are the ones with Western support. The Russians are the ones with morale problems, and long supply chains. They have already demonstrated their abject incompetence in logistics. There's no doubt Russians are good defenders. In offensive operations, the butcher's bill they have with human wave tactics is not an indicator of excellence. Military doctrine indicates defence is always less costly than offense, which makes the Ukrainian achievement of invading the Kursk area even more impressive in terms of planning and leadership.

Nowadays, excitement for me consists of a good day on the golf course, or good food at a new restaurant. Barbara Bush made herself famous with this observation: "Clinton lied. A man might forget where he parks or where he lives, but he never forgets oral sex, no matter how bad it is."

My GF sometimes buys me a pad siew gai for lunch. She is picky about who she buys it from, occasionally comes back empty-handed.

The other problems Russia faces are its pariah status, and the removal of sanctions, which are crippling its financial system and ability to trade freely. There's no guarantee sanctions will be lifted in any peace deal. Worse still, foreign investment will be very reluctant to come back to a kleptocracy which seized many foreign companies with zero compensation. Any major projects Russia wants to develop will have to be funded by the Chinese, who are not noted for their benevolence in financial transactions. Their help will come at a steep price. Putin is ex-KGB. He's good at thieving, but has no economic credentials to speak of.

It's a wartime economy, the Kremlin is shelling out subsidies to companies manufacturing goods and services for the war. Non-war companies are having to hike wages to compete, people who are stupid enough to volunteer for the meat grinder are getting salaries way above the norm in industry. That's assuming the official inflation and revenue figures are valid, the Russian government does have a lot of form in bending the truth. I'd as soon put money in a Russian bank as I would buy a airplane ticket from Moscow to Vladivostok. It may look healthy, IMO it's a society heading for collapse.

A badge of honour, thank you. I was not even aware you had me on ignore, which IMO is a demonstration of your significance.

Definitely not. I thought I was toast when I was diagnosed with bladder cancer 19 years ago, the same cancer that killed David Ogden Stiers. An actor who absolutely nailed his role in M#A#S#H, and a man of culture. Then again 3 years ago with leukemia and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. Yet here I am, and here I remain.

I could be wrong, but I think the OP was being sarcastic.

It's a miracle you are still alive after so many confrontations. No doubt being ex-SAS has helped.

I want to live as long as I have quality of life, no more.

I've already dealt with it, thanks. I've written off America for the next 4 years.

Lee Child's latest Jack Reacher novel, In Too Deep. Unfortunately, it is evident Mr. Child has run out of plot ideas, and is now churning out potboilers. It happens to the best of authors.

This argument would not have happened in Indonesia. There, every bus has a belt of hot-rolled steel all the way around it, about 2 mm thick, at fender level. Every other vehicle gets out of the way.

You may be right, Russia won't give in. It will come at a terrible cost to Russians. The Russian demographic is collapsing. There are only 87 men to 100 women, which is not a recipe for a growing population.

The ones out here are dodging being drafted for the meat grinder. People in the video probably could not afford a one-way plane ticket.

It's clear older people in Russia are brainwashed by Kremlin propaganda, but now are really seeing the consequences for them in a ruined economy. 14,0000 rubles a month is USD 140. That's living in penury.