Hawaiian

And yet they continue to get contributions from sympathetic donors.

Sounds like a cover up.

There is an ongoing case in Hawaii where Michael Miske was found guilty of 13 felonious counts and died in detention while awaiting sentencing. The court ruled that his seized assets much be returned. Why? Because he was not considered a CONVICTED FELON because he had not been sentenced.

You wrote in another post, COVID "was an unforeseen situation with no historical reference on how best to handle it." That is absolutely true and why mistakes were made. I give Trump credit for how he handled it, despite the mistakes. And note that I am not blaming Biden for things he inherited. As you say, learn from our mistakes and move on.

Except for Pfizer, which funded its own research, it is not much different when certain companies receive subsidies when their product is of vital importance to the country. Bypassing testing protocols, to me, was a risk, or in derision, a gamble, that paid off. N.B. My remarks are not based of the valuable experience of someone like you. I, for one, am not a trumpette. You have a knack for implying that anyone who disagrees with your posts is confused or not very bright.

Why was Operation Warp Speed a bad thing unless you believe making an effective COVID vaccine available ASAP was not a priority? I recall that most of the world was in panic. Or perhaps you believe time was NOT of the essence. Or maybe you believe vaccines do not work. IMO, overriding existing protocol was the right thing to do. This cut the normal development time from years to months. Or do you believe expediency was not important.

No, born and lived in Hawaii all my life, that is, except for my time in the Navy. My girlfriend (she is Thai) and I spend a month in Thailand every year visiting friends and relatives.

Article 2, Section 2, Clause 1 of the U.S. Constitution spells very clearly who the commander-in-chief is and his powers. Also retired USN and history buff.

I worked for a guy who almost always consulted with me when new projects came up. I did not always agree with his ideas. One day he asked how come I was in the office in the morning, but gone most of the day. I told him I was out in the field making sure no one was ripping him off. He thanked me and never brought up the subject again. When I left to start my own business the guy that replaced me was caught stealing thousands of dollars of material. He died in a traffic accident before he could be prosecuted. In other words, you can have someone who is loyal, but not necessarily a yes man.

The failure of not stopping the 9/11 terrorists even after they had been spotted is a good example of the lack of coordination and cooperation of these agencies you speak of. Things have improved, but now it is local law enforcement that have been ordered not to cooperate with federal agencies. I am referring to orders by mayors and governors subscribing to the resistance movement regarding immigration issues. In the past, the U.S. military also had a similar problem. That too, has mostly been fixed. It seems that the fastest and most efficient way to fix the problem is to cut funding.

Brilliant!

I think the problems Putin is having at home and the situation in Ukraine might have persuaded him to sacrifice Syria to save himself. Having North Korean troops augment his army is a sign of desperation. Economists say the Russian economy is in bad shape with shortages of many critical items. Subtract military spending and the GDP doesn't look so hot.

While Al Jolani has made some good moves he has a rough road ahead considering all the factions involved. https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c2ex7ek9pyeo

As you say, this is a complicated situation and I think the Russians are waiting to see what happens next. While the Iranian Embassy has been trashed the demonstrators have left the Russian Embassy intact. Taking no chances, the Russian fleet has anchored offshore and it has been reported that Russian aircraft are standing by at Khmeimim Air Base to airlift Russian troops out of the country. The Israelis are taking no chances either and have sunk the Syrian navy. Again, only time will tell what comes next.

Yes, Reagan was accused of wasteful spending, but I think it was money well spent, bankrupting the USSR.

No better time than now for Israel to deal a death blow to Hamas. The Israelis also need to keep a close watch on Hezbollah. Good on the U.S. for targeting ISIS bases in Syria. And keep pounding the Houthis in Yemen. As long as they continue to fire at international shipping and U.S. warships, Trump will have a difficult time saying, "We need to stay out of this." Look for Iran to concentrate their terrorist efforts in Iraq. The big question is whether the Iraqis will cooperate. Another biggie is how much of a presence will Russia maintain in Syria.

Not sure where you got this from. It is not what I posted.

The Russian fleet has left supposedly headed to Kaliningrad in the Baltic.

The women start at an early age judging by all the child brides.

Agree. Lot of gold in all those religious shrines and temples. Loads of food wherever you go.

Both Hawaiian and Japan Airlines (the two we fly on) always inform us that the bags have been tagged to our final destination or first U.S. port of entry. We also confirm that by checking the baggage claims receipts.

Urbanization has much to do with it. It is quite costly to raise children in the city. Whereas, those in the rural areas need a bunch of offspring to run the farm even with mechanization. Only accurate demographic statistics will show whether I am right or not.

Or Antarctica.

Could be anywhere. Caption says it is a file photo.

Good on you. You have given her the help the Thai government would never provide.