AndreasHG

I am not surprised: Abortion, in Slovenia, was legalized for the first time in January 1952, and in its current form in July 1977 (Slovenia was then part of communist ruled Yugoslavia). Abortion is available on-demand without further conditions for women whose pregnancies have not exceeded 10 weeks. After the 10th week, it must be approved by a medical committee.

This is what we know: Report: Trump Happily Employing Undocumented Workers While ICE Rounds Them Up | Vanity Fair

The HS custom code for marmite is 2106.90.99. As you may see in this document (https://www.customs.go.th/data_files/ad5e0129680ac963317538ca8ea02209.PDF) the import duty for this specific product category is 60%. The duty is calculated on the CIF cost of the product (cost + insurance + freight). To the resulting landed cost a 7% VAT applies. Assuming that the price ex-factory paid by the importer is A$2.80, and assuming 15% as the cost for freight and shipment to the BKK port from the factory warehouse, the CIF cost is A$3.22. Adding Thai import duties (60%) and VAT (7%) the cost becomes A$5.51. Adding 5% for BKK port handling and domestic freight from the vessel to the importer's warehouse, plus 25% gross margin for the importer and 30% gross margin for the retailer, the selling price is A$11.90. This is not true only for the Australian Marmite (which I personally find disgusting). Sadly, it is true also for my favored European, delicious, imported food 😃.

Just like with Trump, with you too, a careful look at the fine print is not just recommended, it's mandatory. This is exactly wat he says in the video (timecode from 00:10 to 00:14): "this is not just any watches, it's one of the best watches made". Which is BS. The Trump Victory Tourbillon is not one of the best watches made. Not even close. It's an assembly of off-the-shelf components, starting from the cheapest Swiss tourbillon movement available in the marketplace, and ending with diamonds that are so cheap that it's not even worth mentioning how many carats they total.

When I write "Russia can only compete in a race to who is more violent, who is ready to sacrifice more human flesh on the altar of power" I mean it, literally. The only products Russia exports successfully, besides commodities, raw materials, and oil and gas, are weapons of mass destruction and mercenaries. Someone herewith mentioned "girls", but I have too much respect for my Russian friends to follow suit. Anything else is just talk...

Yes, he did. How may a Trump branded watch be anything else than "among the best in the world", albeit it is based on the cheapest tourbillon, Swiss assembled movement available in the marketplace? Provided, of course, the ones delivered to the customers are not equipped with a Chinese movement (check the fine print: "The images shown are for illustration purposes only and may not be an exact representation of the product"). Caveat emptor.

You must be sick.

I guess you're being sarcastic. Russia is the only would be "world power" which has never been able, nor under the tzars, not during the Soviet regime, nor under Putin, to give birth to a single company comparable to Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, GM, Ford, IBM, Meta, Alphabet, Tesla, or Toyota, Sony, Panasonic, Hitachi, or Volkswagen, Bosch, Siemens, or BYD, Huawei, Tencent, Lenovo, Xiaomi, Tiktok, Alibaba, ByteDance, etc. Russia is an economic nobody with wannabe great power ambitions. It's a dwarf who wants to punch way beyond its weight (hence the frustration and inferiority complexes). Russia can only compete in a race to who is more violent, who is ready to sacrifice more human flesh on the altar of power. Russia has nothing to offer herself or others except misery, slavery and death. Maybe also some raw materials, commodities and undifferentiated products. And weapons of mass destruction. That's where Russia excels.

THE TRUTH ABOUT RUSSIANS: I find the indifference with which the Russians treat the Ukrainian tragedy appalling. Meeting Russian tourists in Thailand and seeing that they pretend to be completely unaware of the wounds inflicted by their government, by their army, in their name and on their behalf, to the Ukrainian population, is unbearable. During the Vietnam War, or the campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan, it was not uncommon to encounter Westerners who openly disagreed with, even vigorously protested, their government's policies. We can see it today with Israel. We can see it within Israel, where there is a strong public opinion challenging the course of action followed by the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government. The Russians, on the other end, don't. Never. With very few exceptions, Russians are used to passively accept whatever their ruler decides for them. They are ready to carry out any order given to them without asking ethical or moral questions. Russians constitute a threat to the freedom of the people living in their neighboring countries and worldwide, first and foremost because they place no value on their own personal freedom. A people of slaves, they don't think twice about enslaving anyone who comes within reach. If you don't believe me, ask the Belarussians, the North Koreans, the Cubans, the Vietnamese, the Chinese, the Venezuelans, the Nicaraguans...

Nothing new: it happens anytime a new technology is introduced. Early adopters always pay a premium price for a product due to become pretty soon obsolete and surpassed by the latest novelties.

B.S.: Thai companies compete ferociously for business (unless they operate in "protected" businesses, like the liquor and alcoholic beverages industry). And competition keeps the prices low, so low that these companies often cannot afford to renew their obsolete equipment. Thai authorities are the ones who shall ensure that all vehicles circulating on Thai roads are safe, starting from the biggest and most dangerous ones: busses and trucks. Allowing 50 yo busses and trucks on the road, keep prices of transport low, at the expenses of safety. Greed and profit have nothing to do with this accident. Dereliction of duty and corruption have a much bigger role.

The UK was lucky enough to have a Margaret Thatcher and, and before her in the XX century, Winston Churchill. The going must get a bit tougher for the toughs to start going, in the UK. We are just not there yet.

ICE powered vehicles are typically equipped with lead-acid batteries. Albeit lead-acid batteries produce hydrogen gas during charging, explosions are an extremely rare event. Additionally, short circuits or overheating due to overcharging can lead to thermal runaway, causing the battery to catch fire, just like any lithium-ion battery would. EVs are generally equipped with lithium-ion batteries. These batteries become extremely dangerous when the lithium gets in contact with water. This may happen whenever the battery is not adequately sealed. You may watch a couple of videos showing lithium batteries reacting to water:

What a clown! Gorbachev had to withdraw 450,000 Soviet troops from East Germany because the Soviet Union was bankrupt and had no means to sustain them. Not only Soviet troops were withdrawn from East Germany: they were withdrawn from all the provinces of the empire, and financial support for all puppets governments (starting with Cuba and North Korea) was erased. NATO enlargement has been strongly demanded by the public opinions of former Warsaw pact countries, out of despise of Soviet Union after 50 years of subjugation, but also to attract Western investments, needed to resurrect their ailing economies, left in ruins by the disastrous Russian imposed communist management. Enlarging NATO has been the greatest humanitarian act implemented in Europe, after the Marshall Plan (officially the European Recovery Program, ERP) enacted in 1948. It contributed to the economic revival of the entire Eastern Europe. Hungary, one of the worst performing countries in the former eastern bloc, recorded a per capita GDP in constant LCU (source worldbank.org) growth from 2,467,680 in 1989 to 4,549,421 in 2023, an increase of "only" 84% in real terms. Poland recorded a 186% increase in the same period. Romania 178%, Slovakia 130%, Bulgaria 104%, Estonia 120%, Lithuania 118%, Latvia 109%, etc. Russia, during its millenary history, has exported nothing, to its neighboring countries, but hunger, misery and death. The issue with Russia is that the country culture does not value economic and personal freedom or human life. Russia has always had an economy based agricultural and mining activities. An economy that values "land possession" over entrepreneurship, cheap brute labor over skilled workforce. Nothing besides commodities and raw materials ever came out from Russia (exception shall be made for weapons of mass destruction, only real Russian contribution to human progress). Russian autocrats, from the Mongols who ruled the country for more than two centuries, to the tzars, from the Soviet leaders to nowadays Putin, have been constantly obsessed by two things only, which make the Russian economy rolling: Land possession and cheap slave labour.

I opened my bank account in Bangkok Bank without help of any agent and without any embassy letter. All I had to submit was: 1. the leasing contract for my apartment in Bangkok 2. A 90-day non-immigrant "O" VISA 3. A photocopy of my passport (picture page) stamped and signed by the consular office of my embassy (are you sure that this is not the Embassy letter Bangkok Bank is asking for? It may seem a silly request. But all Bangkok Bank tries to do, is to make sure your embassy knows you are in Thailand, and your home country authorities may trace you, in the event you are involved in any illegal activity such as money laundering. That's all). 4. My passport 5. A few thousands THB in cash. I went to the Exchange Tower branch of Bangkok Bank, locater near the Asok BTS station. The staff is used to deal with foreigners and eager to help. By the way, I also used Siam Legal to help me with my retirement VISA application. But I did not need the help to open the bank account. Don't use them for the insurance. You'll just end up paying much more for less.

UK laws regulating pensions paid overseas have nothing to do with any banana republic, unless by banana republic you mean the UK itself.

To be fair, this has been ongoing since long before the UK even knew there was an illegal immigrant issue. But, hey, blame it on the boogeyman... ...it always works and absolves the UK voters from any responsibility. There's nothing more quintessentially British, than feeling good about being righteous and polite, even while being screwed...

And with the risk of having to ask for the extension from the heirs of the owner, who originally granted the leasehold, 30 years before.

An article published by the Bangkok Post on this topic: Bangkok Post - Couple arrested in Bangkok for selling impure gold amulets

Interesting (ironic) article published by the FT on this topic: What does Trump’s $100k watch tell us about the future of luxury goods? (ft.com)

Great achievement indeed.

If you feel confident in judging the worldwide political community, then go ahead. But why limit yourself to the worldwide dimension? Isn't a universal or, even better, a multi-universal dimension more suited to your inflated personality?

It does, as the chart on the left below clearly shows (courtesy of Gold Price Charts & Historical Data - GoldPrice.org). The chart on the right is the price of gold in USD per oz. for the same, six months long, timeframe. It's not a new phenomenon: AMRO-Market-Insights_The-Thai-Baht-and-Gold-v2_Oct-02-2020.pdf (amro-asia.org).

It does, as the chart on the left below clearly shows (courtesy of Gold Price Charts & Historical Data - GoldPrice.org). The chart on the right is the price of gold in USD per oz. for the same, six months long, timeframe.

Instead of writing "as least she has a backbone, a rare quality amongst Liberals", writing "as least she has a backbone, nowadays a rare quality amongst UK politicians" would have been a more accurate description of the reality. Sadly, it's been a long time since Margaret Thatcher ruled Britain.