Jingthing

I don't buy that. China has plenty of friends now. Russia doesn't. But Russia has made a deal with China and that's ominous for the west and democracies.

The elephant in the room is if China decides to play copycat with Taiwan. The U.S. won't/can't get directly involved in Ukraine but arguably has an obligation to defend Taiwan. This has the makings of a potential WW3. Obviously hopefully not.

Personalizing this again.

Yes, thanks for that. It's not only a US problem. As I've said here before a society that doesn't have widespread access to at least basic safe housing to everyone working full time and pensioners has failed as a society in a fundamental way. There is enough blame to go around for this from different sides of the political spectrum but the fact remains this is a truly rotten situation.

Not if they get help from China.

I find that hard to believe. I find it darkly amusing that Americans generally of the red state persuasion grossly overstate the coverage of social services for the down and out.

Another point. For those that do have a solid US network especially family they can live with, obviously that network would make things much easier. Indeed that might be a strong incentive to go home.

Three. One for Moderna reg. One for Pfizer reg. One for the shot. I would guess more Thais would prefer Moderna as its higher status which does not mean better.

Many may be forced to.

Funny that you say that. I heard on another source that part of this scary plan if enacted would be to shut down use of VPNs. My understanding is that has been done in China with some success on top of making use of VPNs. Many expats need to use VPNs to logon to their financial accounts especially Americans. . .

It's impossible to believe.

Obviously every single person has their own specific personal situation! What will be easy for one person might be nearly impossible for another. I refuse to entertain preaching comments. I find them mean spirited, presumptuous, and odious. The issues here will be in the here and now. Nobody can redo the past. To conclude while this again obviously doesn't apply to all (see above) I see an analogy between elderly people being released from prison after long terms and returning long term expats who lack a US network. The ex cons may have it better! There are official half way houses to help ex cons transition. There are no such things for returning expats.

Although not all returning expats or potential returning expats are retired many of course are. For this group the biggest economic advantage if over 65 is usually Medicare. So if they are at an economic place where the housing situation is going to mean great hardship that still can be balanced with that health care advantage. That said I think lower income and or wealth returning retired expats that have been away for many years even decades often face different challenges than those that never left. Namely, The US has changed a lot. Reverse culture shock on top of the economic shock. More likely to have a very limited or even no support network in the US. Less likely to own real estate than even lower income / wealth non expats. More likely to have no US state drivers license or even any license. So for a retired expat that is leaving Thailand, third countries may sometimes mean a better life, even without Medicare. Finding bang for the buck as far as housing and living expenses again. In the US decent places to live where you don't need a car are very rare. In typical third country retiring expat options they are very common. For those that lack a network in the US then they aren't losing much in that regard moving to a third country. Also its common to be able to hire lower cost fixers to assist with initial setup such as banking, utilities, etc.

Ignoring.that insipid Fox news style toxic rant it is obvious that both Russia and China sense expansionist opportunities due to a very deeply divided domestically hurting USA.

Both new fake states just as Crimea are part of the sovereign nation of Ukraine.

Its irrelevant what they speak.

That's not how sovereign nations work, dear. East LA is heavily Mexican. Mexico doesn't get to recognize it as a separate country, send tanks in, yes even though California used to belong to Mexico. Putin has declared war on Ukraine. There is no other honest way to view it.

I'm pleased to read that we agree on at least some important aspects of the current housing cost situation in the US.

Preaching much? Not interested in your baiting attempts to personalize this. This is a general topic about something rather extreme that is happening in the US.

It isn't. You can register to see some articles free.

This is just the beginning. Putin's forces have nothing to do with peace keeping.

Biden isn't invading Canada.

He recognized two areas in sovereign Ukraine as independent and going in. That's a declaration of war.

.My latest info says the crowds are smaller now. But no guarantees.

Now that Putin has started this war, here is an interesting and depressing theory on where this will lead globally. Yes globally including Thailand. https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/02/21/ukraine-invasion-putin-goals-what-expect/ Let’s assume for a moment that Vladimir Putin succeeds in gaining full control of Ukraine, as he shows every intention of doing. What are the strategic and geopolitical consequences?