Lacessit

It's not hard to understand if one looks at readily available data. The Russian population is 144 million. It has 120 billionaires. America has a population of 330 million. It has 801 billionaires. The combined wealth of Zuckerberg, Gates, Buffett, Musk and Bezos is approximately $1.1 trillion. Russian oligarchs are pikers in comparison. As Lord Acton said, power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. The same could be said of money. russia

IIRC the shops in Pantip that sold phones were on the ground floor, whereas the phone repair shops were on the second floor.

As long as the financials are in order, doing the extension yourself is reasonably easy. Remember to check at the Immigration office for the days they process extensions. This is my yearly checklist of documents, for a retirement extension: TM7 + 1 Passport photo. Obtain form from Immigration, blue biro. Bank Letter. Bank statement, 12 months duration. Bank Book updated same day. Photocopy update as well. Copies of all pages of bank book. Copies of last extension + front page of passport, plus all stamped pages. Ensure hidden stamps are copied, and copy foldovers. Reason for Extension: Retirement, Thai family. 1900 baht Keep 1900 baht receipt, needed when collecting passport if left there. ( Blue colour ) Sign every page. Apply two weeks before due date, to address any glitches an IO finds.

If Pantip is closed, the phone shops would go elsewhere. My best guess would be the Airport mall.

I remember an American in Chiang Mai who wanted to walk into Laos through the jungle, after swimming the Mekong. Some people think passports and borders don't apply to them. He's lucky to be alive.

An interesting read from an Australian publication: https://www.thenewdaily.com.au/life/auto/2024/12/15/ev-batteries-new-research?

What gender do you assign to a ladyboy?

Why would I be interested in traveling to those countries? As a sensible person, I read my country's travel advice. Here it is for Russia: "We continue to advise do not travel to Russia. Foreigners, including Australians, are at risk of arbitrary detention or arrest. Russian authorities make strong, negative comments regarding Western countries, including Australia. Local authorities may adopt a more negative attitude towards foreigners in Russia and arbitrarily enforce local laws. Avoid any protests or demonstrations and avoid commenting publicly on political developments. There's a high threat of terrorism. Terrorist groups, including al-Qaeda and Daesh-aligned groups, continue to call for attacks in Russia. Attacks can be indiscriminate and may occur on or around seasonal, festive, or religious events in public places, including popular tourist sites. Attacks could occur with little or no warning. Always be alert to possible threats. Military activity is underway in the regions of Kursk and Belgorod. Russian authorities introduced a federal state of emergency in these regions. The security situation could deteriorate with little warning". Also bear in mind to get into Russia, you may have to use a Russian airline, which is struggling with maintenance due to sanctions. Do you feel lucky?

I doubt very much the charms of Russian women could offset the climate, food, and risk of being arrested as a Western spy. I have not noticed companionship for farangs getting harder here. If my current GF was out of the picture, I'd have half a dozen women lining up to replace her.

India was part of the British empire, so what? Empires rise and fall. Ukrainians hate Russians, with good reason. How would you like it if a neighboring country deliberately starved a quarter of your population to death, then immigrated its own population into your country, and decreed their language was only to be taught in your schools?

Both. Russia is importing artillery shells and small arms ammunition from North Korea. It is also importing North Korean soldiers, which shows a certain desperation in the Kremlin to avoid drafting recruits from Moscow and St. Petersburg.

The figures I have posted are from Russian sources. Apart from the male female ratio There's no doubt Ukraine is taking a battering. The battle losses are censored by Ukraine's military command. The question is whether the Ukrainians are killing Russian invaders in a favorable ratio.

Just delete them as you get them, don't open them. They will give up after a while. I only open emails from people and companies I know.

The only time I have ever experienced boredom was when I spent six months being a component of a McKinsey cost cutting exercise, which IMO was totally fraudulent. As long as I have my books, music, videos, golf and wheels, I don't think I will ever be bored here. When my mortality happens, it happens. I'm not going to dwell on it.

The same people who voted a septagenarian into the Presidency, and who will be an octogenarian at the halfway point.

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Well, I am solvent, and will remain so unless I make it to 103. I like that kind of simple. I also don't need bodyguards. I'll bet Musk has a platoon of them.

Trump is smart at conning people. As a businessman, his string of bankruptcies don't inspire confidence. In terms of economics and science, he's illiterate.

Interesting choice of words, take power with Trump. You could say X was free, if you subscribe to some cockeyed ideas of basic double entry book-keeping. It's called a profit and loss account. Or are you claiming Musk is so prescient he knew Tesla shares would go up if Trump won?

Musk can afford to lose money on X, with what he has made on Tesla. It's his toy to preach to the converted. As another poster has said, X lost 33% of its users. How does it make him more powerful? It's the money he funneled to Trump that achieved more power. You probably don't realize it, but America is heading down the same path as Russia. Rule by oligarchs. How's that going for the average Russian?

The best part of Thailand is a good pad thai goong.

As they are in Thai, no. Still would not bother if they were in English. I read manuals of cars, and any appliances I buy, because I want to know their features, and what to do if things go pear-shaped. If you read a Thai bank's terms and conditions, what could you do about it?

As I am not on Facebook and don't read X, I don't care. Wasn't Musk threatening to sue advertisers for pulling their ads from X? IIRC correctly it's only valued at half what he paid for it. Trump is not an idiot when it comes to conning people, that's as far as it goes.

Thank you. I have read the owner's manual of every car I have owned. Call it OCD if you want.

Just wondering - does your EV owner's manual have any instructions to do with driving in flooded water? Not a baiting post, curious about what it has to say.