AndreasHG

Thanks for following me.

Trump clearly lacks a plan or even the slightest of how to act, following his claims about Greenland and the Panama Canal. However, it must be acknowledged that the journalist question to Trump was specifically formulated to elicit the exact given by Trump and provoke indignation. It is well-known by now that asking Trump if he takes something off the table elicits an automatic negative response. All Trump wants is to be talked about on TV news and written about in newspapers. The more outrageous the action he is being asked to give up, the more likely he is to say he is seriously considering it. The only question that still remains unanswered is why such an idiot was elected president of the United States. I can help with that. The voters and the democratic opposition know the answer: they both deserve him.

I am pretty sure the place was not in South Korea.

Si vis pacem, para bellum. It was true 2000 years ago, and it is true also today.

Adult females and males wearing designer pijamas while going after their errands in Sukhumvit Asoke and Nana areas, mostly from China, but also Middle East and some from Thailand. It seems to be perfectly acceptable and even fashionable nowadays.

Same in Leroy Merlin and Praxis back in Europe.

Any place is full of cyber scammers. Cyber criminality knows no boundaries.

La Manche

Indeed. You may have finally understood at least one thing: In NATO we are peace loving people. That's why the pretense that Russia invaded Ukraine to defend itself from NATO is laughable. But there is something you Russian trolls will never understand: most of us, in NATO, have fulfilling lives. We are free to pursue our interests. We are free to travel, we are free to trade, we are not treated as outcasts outside of our country, and as slaves and cannon fodder in our own one. Unlike the majority of the Russian population, condemned to live miserable lives in quasi-medieval conditions, we don't see death on the battlefield as an appealing alternative to life. But make no mistake: my generation has been so strong it broke the backbone of the Soviet Union and sent it straight to the dustbin of history. And the current NATO generations will break the backbone of Putin's Russia and send it to where his criminal regime belongs: yes, you guess it right, the dustbin of history.

In fact, being anti-American is almost always true also when it comes to right-wing politicians in Europe. And not only right-wing politicians: In Europe, the communist parties and the former communist parties, now renamed in different ways, all share the same attitude towards Russia and the United States. In reality, both right-wing and left-wing politicians in Europe share the same contempt for the United States of America. Fico (Slovak Republic), Orban (Hungary), Georgescu (Romania), Weidel (Germany), Kickl (Austria), Salvini (Italy), etc., etc., support Russia not only because they are ready to throw Ukraine under bus, for the sake of an immediate peace agreement with Russia. What they really want is an end to sanctions and the restoration of imports of Russian oil and gas into the European Union, a cheap substitute for the higher priced oil and gas currently imported from other countries, the United States among others. They see the war in Ukraine as an American plot to force Europe to buy expensive American gas instead of cheap Russian gas. They are not interested in the fact that the EU exported goods worth 502 billion euros to the United States and imported goods worth 344 billion euros, creating a surplus of 158 billion euros. In 2021, the year before Russia's second invasion of Ukraine, the EU exported to Russia only one fifth of the goods exported to the USA (99 billion euros), importing 158.5 billion euros mainly oil and gas. The United States weights much more as a trade partner of the EU than Russia, and even than Russia, China and India combined. And the same goes for American exports to the European Union. The EU imported more than double from the United States than China in 2023, and much more than Russia, China and India combined in any given year. The narrative spread by far-right media in Europe, often financially supported by Russia and China, is that the future lies in the East. However, at least at the moment and for the foreseeable future, only a healthy trade relationship between the United States and Europe can ensure prosperity on both sides of the North Atlantic Ocean.

It's sad to see people leaving their country to escape dictatorship, repression and war. I wonder if Thailand is the right place to seek shelter from the authoritarian rulers of the PRC, of Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, etc. Recent news about the Cambodian MP shot dead in Bangkok, or extrajudicial extraditions from Thailand to neighboring countries, or evidence that Thai authorities have assisted neighboring governments to take unlawful actions against refugees, are not reassuring. I hope Thailand comes to its senses and shows compassion, or karuna, a core Buddhist value, a feeling of concern for others that should motivate people to help those suffering, including those suffering from injustice in their homeland. Bangkok Post - Thailand ‘forcibly’ deports six Cambodian activists (https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/2911210/thailand-forcibly-deports-six-cambodian-activists) Bangkok Post - Court approves extradition of Vietnamese activist (https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/2877713/court-approves-extradition-of-vietnamese-activist)

I agree: Truly amazing, considering how inept and corrupt the military and civilians who control the levers of power in Russia are. And this despite Russia, a country covering a total area being about 28 times larger than Ukraine's, with a population which is 3.25 times bigger than Ukraine's, and a GDP per capita 1.81 times higher than Ukraine's, being a real Goliath when compared to the Ukrainian David. And besides being 'amazing', Putin's "victory" looks everyday more like a Pyrrhus' victory. Pyrrhus, king of the Epirus, defeated the Romans at Asculum in Apulia in 279 B.C.E., suffering so high losses that he is said to have told those who congratulated him, “One more such victory and Pyrrhus is undone”. What Putin has won so far are an area of Ukraine his army has destroyed to such an extent, that it will take a fortune to rebuild it and take it back to pre-war life conditions (a fortune that Russia doesn't have), and the need to resort to the help of a disaster-stricken nations like North Korea and Iran to keep the Russian army afloat. And if this is what the word 'victory' means in the language spoken in Russia, I wonder what the words 'defeat' and 'humiliation' mean. Because Putin's supposed "victory" in my native language is called defeat and humiliation.

From Wikipedia: "Robinson served four prison terms between 2005 and 2019. In 2013, he illegally entered the United States using a friend's passport. In 2018, he violated a court order by publishing a Facebook Live video of defendants entering court. Prior to sentencing, he appeared on the American far-right website InfoWars to appeal for political asylum in the US. In 2021, he was subjected to a five-year stalking prevention order for harassing journalist Lizzie Dearden and her partner. In 2021, he was found to have libelled a 15-year-old refugee at a school in Huddersfield and was ordered to pay £100,000 plus legal costs. After breaching an injunction about repeating the libel, Robinson was sentenced to 18 months in prison. In June 2022 Robinson admitted gambling away £100,000 before declaring bankruptcy. He also said he owed an estimated £160,000 to HM Revenue and Customs. The Times said that he owes in the region of £2,000,000 to his creditors, and is the subject of a HMRC investigation over unpaid taxes."

Your choice of conversational-partners says a lot about who and what you are.

On November 19th, Argentina elected a new president, the libertarian populist Javier Milei of La Libertad Avanza (Freedom Advances). He inherited a difficult legacy from the previous Peronist government with hyperinflation of 211% in 2023, a recession of 1.6% and a high poverty rate of 45%. After one year in power, it's time to draw a first assessment of the results obtained by this atypical politician, made famous for the electoral campaign fought with chainsaw blows. These are Milei's most relevant achievements: Decline in inflation: on a monthly basis (as at October), inflation now stands at around 2.7%, or 37.7% per year. Budget surpluses: As soon as he took office, Milei began to reduce state spending by abolishing or merging ministries and subordinate authorities. Since January, the new government has been able to achieve a budget surplus every month (for the first time since 2008), although a slight deficit was recorded again in July, which the government explained with seasonally higher expenditure. Foreign investments friendly legislation: Argentina is not only rich in agricultural products, but also has attractive conditions for investments in the energy and raw materials sector. The country has considerable gas and hydrogen reserves and favorable climatic conditions for renewable energies as well as valuable raw materials, particularly lithium. Milei launched the investment promotion package RIGI, which includes 30-year tax concessions and foreign trade facilitation for larger investments (over USD 200 million) in selected sectors. Since the law came into force in July, the first foreign companies have already announced investments. Relaxation of tenancy law: Milei introduced a comprehensive liberalization of tenancy law. Under the previous Peronist government, rental agreements were subject to numerous restrictions. In view of these restrictions, many landlords refrained from putting their apartments on the market, and the demand for apartments far exceeded the available supply. Milei's government scrapped previous regulation and liberalized the tenancy law: terms and currency can now be freely negotiated between the tenants, often now on a quarterly basis and in US dollar. The relevant real estate portals immediately recorded more than double the number of apartments on offer. But Milei's reforms do not stop here. In an article published today by the Financial Times, the author (Ciara Nugent, link below) describes how "Javier Milei has begun wrenching open Argentina’s protectionist economy, slashing tariffs in a bid to beat down high prices on everything from air fryers to electronics." "A Black & Decker air fryer that sells for $100 in the US retails for $289 in Argentina, according to listings on online retailers. A Zara slip dress that costs $25 in the US sells for $67 in the country, while an Apple iPhone 15 on sale for $799 in the US costs $2,800." Milei's government not only "has slashed tariffs on dozens of products", but has got rid of most of the red tape that was an obstacle to the import of goods, such as "a rule that required representatives of local manufacturers to give approval for some imports from their foreign rivals." Milei is now switching his focus on Mercosur, which he called a "prison" because it imposes common tariffs for all imported goods into the area of up to 20%. Given the surprisingly positive results obtained by the Milei government in the first year of its mandate, which aroused the admiration of Donald Trump and Elon Musk among the others, we can only look with optimism at the new battle for cuts or for the abolition of import duties, to which Milei has committed starting from 2025. https://www.ft.com/content/e3a9b2ee-c5f4-480a-9ae4-70d94492d57b