Jingthing

You don't get it. It's irrelevant how long they can stay in Thailand. Unless they can buy an Elite Visa they are in transit here or they will go underground. Mostly they're seeking ways they can financially survive out of Russia and/or searching for other countries where they can more permanently settle. Some might bop around Asia for years hoping their country changes. Sure they'll go to the beach and eat Pad Thai but the above concerns are not those of normal tourists. You're right they are not official refugees like Ukrainians in Europe. If you can return to your country without fear of arrest, mobilization, or being murdered, you aren't a refugee.

The opposition is increasing, that's for sure. Funny that Iranian school girls are much more brave than Russian adults in protesting their regimes.

If they've been forced out of their country and don't intend to return they are still refugees.

Yeah but it's relevant to know what portion are refugees. Refugees aren't tourists.

Not that similar really. A bigger issue would be people from other countries that speak Russian but I don't think they send huge numbers here.

So what? That's their internal problem that has no relevance to Russia invading and committing countless war crimes.

Geez folks I was only suggesting that Yong He Dou Jiang is a very useful place for those seeking authentic Chinese noodle soups, dumplings, stuffed breads etc. Like more or less everyday food. Don't expect a mouthgasm or a Michelin star experience or anything like that.

Totally inane. Nobody is suggesting Ukraine is populated by saints, but they are indeed the innocent victims of genocidal fascist Russia.

Not quite. While I would accept that all Russians have some collective responsibility the military avoiders are more like refugees than tourists. Of course unless wealthy, they'll need to move on to other countries or even be forced to go home. Also of course they vary in support of the war from gung ho Z fascists to fleeing activists. My feeling is that the majority are apolitical but surprise surprise the politics came to bite them.

Yeah I really wish they would label themselves. You see a Russkie and you wonder, decent one or Putin Z fascist.

As a generalization, Russians are very rude baht bus riders. They constantly jump queues, pushing and shoving, and if you board a bus they will take up extra seats and not give way to the point where I have had no choice other than to literally SIT ON THEM. I am not exaggerating. Interestingly I have yet to be punched by a Russian that I have used as a seat. I suspect they kind of respect such behavior. SLAVA UKRAINE.

Yes this is a huge issue for many expats and has been for decades. The Know Your Customer rules influence many banks to dump expat customers once the expat admits it or they discover it. Many of us (including me) play complex masking games to pose as U.S. residents to avoid such problems. For example sometimes they will elevate an issue to an order to VISIT A LOCAL BRANCH with no other option. Good luck with that from Thailand. There are definitely regulatory issues with brokerage accounts especially with buying mutual funds. Any expat that hasn't been hit with problems yet, just wait, you will. Think your cool now? Policies change, banks get bought. Don't even get started with cell phone 2FA requirements. It's an ever shifting mine field. As far as wires, currently I am only using State Department Federal Credit Union which is definitely as expat friendly as it gets as it's possible to open an account with them after you move abroad. Once I got a call to confirm a wire and I asked why they are calling when they didn't before, and I kind of sort of got them to reveal it was because it was over 10,000 dollars. Seems kind of crazy to me, sent to the same name (me) and the same instructions several times.

Of course I haven't been suggesting ALL individual stocks Yes indexes, etfs, sector etfs and optionally mutual funds. Also Berkshire is similar to an etf itself. I must admit that a big part of my current interest in individual stocks is for hobby, sport, low key entertainment purposes. It's not like I'm putting half my money in one very speculative stock or anything like that. For what it's worth though (nothing?) I have a gut feeling that Mercado Libre is destined to be a grand slam but it may take 10 or 20 years.

Hate speech isn't about hating specific individuals for cause. Examples. I hate Donald Trump for all his socially destructive actions. Not hate speech White people are all devils. Hate speech. Ye: I hate my manager Schmeke Pickleberg because he ripped me off. Not hate speech. I'm gonna do death con 3 on the Jews. Hate speech. Got it now?

If anyone is surprised by this, they really shouldn't be. Op-Ed: Club Q shooting in Colorado Springs follows six brutal years of Republican anti-LGBTQ rhetoric (msn.com) Well if its any consolation, Colorado's gay governor will likely do a better job dealing with this than anti LGBT demagogue DeSantis did with the Pulse massacre. Florida Gov DeSantis vetoes mental health funding for Pulse shooting survivors – The Hill

I continue buying selected stocks. I know it's somewhat contrarian to many. It seems safer than Bitcoin anyway, yuck yuck. I bought Berkshire B, Palo Alto Networks, Mercado Libre (thinking of buying much more), Toronto Dominion Bank, and Disney. Looking at many more. But now an interesting issue has emerged. Tesla. I think it may be a great buy but I seriously hate and distrust Elon. Is that a reason to not buy it? For example, I think some tobacco stocks are good but I won't buy them, but I would buy cannabis stocks. Another issue. I've got the concept of you can't pick bottoms down well. But I know from my history that my problem is more like I don't know when to sell when stocks go up (in long term scenarios). They eventually go down but there is always the greed factor that they will go much higher, you wait, and then you lose what you had gained on paper.

He was elected. That's how he was allowed. Then the second time he lost and decided he knew better and incited a violent coup attempt. That's why he should not even be allowed to be a free man, to heck with Twitter. Troublemaker Trump doesn’t care about a second term – or America. What he craves is attention | Simon Tisdall | The Guardian

It's still hard to believe that such a moron WAS the most powerful man in the world and may even be that again.

I'm going to try that out myself. IRS audit? Thank you kindly but I am not partaking. That man is hilariously dumb. Pass the cake.

So you won't partake of the rules. Up to you. They are paying us money and it has conditions.

If you're living abroad social security requires that we inform them but deceiving them is a common way of avoiding the need to file the form.

Tel Aviv

Interesting. So let's say a user uses a VPN with obfuscation, sets their device in Thailand to a US zone, English only, would that generally work unless your target decided to specifically investigate you?

Fox News?

You can't file this form there so why is that relevant?