Summerinsiam

The theory behind increased defence expenditure is strange in that usually a country spends the money in the hope that it never has to use it. It is a deterrent, with nuclear arms being the classic example.

Looks like he has been watching too much Youtube. Ironic too, when you consider that many younger Thais would love to leave the country, due to what they see as the lack of a future.

They know that such campaigns are broadly popular with the public, and always cynically announce one when they are in crisis, and as a distraction from their general incompetence and failures. It does not matter to them that such 'crackdowns' have never worked before.

They have been operating in a grey area, by exploiting a loophole that they knew could be closed at any time. In doing this, especially in a country like Thailand, renowned for its flip-flopping on policy and tribal politics, they were extremely foolish.

Extremely embarrassing, cringeworthy and inappropriate considering the context. Almost on a par with his ridiculous comment that they will be speaking Russian in the UK soon. The man appears to have no shame and will say anything to get what he wants.

Wrong. The increase in defence spending has largely been driven by a fear that the Americans are no longer a reliable partner in the security of Europe. The exagerrated Russian threat, exemplified by Rutte's rificulous comment about them speaking Russian in the UK, is to scare the citizens of Europe into accepting this.

Even Vance is admitting that they do not know where the highly enriched uranium is. I am glad that they have reached a tentative ceasefire, but in light of this, the bombing has to be seen as a strategic failure that will likely spur nuclear proliferation in the region, and consequently the wider world.

The undisputable fact is that the vast majority of migrants to the UK are there legally, and it is widely recognised that they are needed to support its economy and public services.

I agree, but the housing shortage is due to primarily to a decades long failure in housing policy and the fact that not enough affordable homes have been built to keep pace with population growth and changes in household formation. It has nothing to do with asylum seekers or people coming across the channel on dinghies. Lol. Blaming such problems on them is just lazy, incorrect and the playbook of the far-right It is far from bs. You really should read more widely and check your facts.

Yet more right-wing clickbait..

Firstly, despite what Trump says, the damage caused has not been independently verified. Secondly, american bombs will not destroy the knowhow or the will to build the bomb if thats what Iran wants. Iran is not going anywhere and will remain an influential country of ninety million people. Despite the orange blabbermouths premature crowing, the stark reality is that his reckless gamble will likely make it more and not less likely that Iran will eventually build a bomb, not to mention turbo-charging nuclear proliferation in an already dangerous world.

Fifteen killed in Ukraine, the west is outraged and according to Zelenskey, who appears to be stuck in a loop, its ' pure terrorism'. Yesterday, over fifty starving civilians were massacred by the Israelis in Gaza while desperately trying to get food, and it barely made the news. The Israeli's also started bombing Iran on the basis of an unproven hypothetical threat, that was contradicted by American intelligence, thereby attacking a sovereign nation and clearly violating international law, very much like Putin did in Ukraine. Israel was not defending itself and has long had a secret nuclear arsenal that it refuses to acknowledge. Western hypocrisy anyone?

I am sure Putin is quaking in his boots at he prospect of an eighteenth round of sanctions. Sanctions rarely work and in this case have been a huge failure. They, despite the clueless European's, disengenuous rhetoric will not end the war. Russia has reponded by finding new markets for its oil and gas in the global south. All the sanctions have succeeded in is driving Russia to put its economy on a war footing and driving it into the arms of China and North Korea.

I doubt that the US will get involved, as Trump has tried to distance the Americans from it, unless US bases in the region are targeted by a desperate Iran. He probably used the conflict as a pretext for leaving early as he has done in the past. This way he gets out of discussing Ukraine and meeting Zelenskey, who has now had a wasted journey, and who in my estimation, should not have been there anyway. As he is discovering the world does not revolve round Kiev.

The International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant for him in November, 2024. Pathetically and as per usual he declared them antisemitic. In 2019 he was indicted within Israel for corruption and accepting bribes, with the case ongoing. It is recognized, even within Israel, by most objective observers that it is a fear of a loss of immunity and the likelihood of eventual conviction for corruption that drives his policy of a 'forever war', and not his stated aims. Hamas is an ideology and therefore can never be fully defeated and his foolhardy bombing of Iran is likely to cause the Iranians to speed up their development of the bomb.