AndreasHG

I gave some data points: 10 years depreciation: 42% 5 years depreciation: 38% 2.83 years depreciation (since the start of the war): 23% 2 years depreciation: 30% The ruble depreciation is clearly accelerating and it's a consequence of the war economy and of the sanctions, which are working.

You got it wrong (again): this is what happens when Russia fires North Korean supplied missiles into Ukraine.

According to HESA (Higher Education Staff Statistics: UK 2022/23 | HESA) on December 1, 2021, the number of non-EU nationality academic staff (in British universities) rose by 11% on the previous year to 40,195, accounting for 17% of the total. For the first time, this figure exceeded the number of EU nationality academic staff which stood at 37,585. The number of academic staff who declared their ethnicity as White fell by 1% in 2022 while the number of Black academic staff rose by 18%. In the 2022/23 academic year, 26% of students at UK universities were international. This was the tenth record high in a row. There were 758,855 overseas students studying at UK universities, 95,505 of whom were from the EU and 663,355 from outside the EU. The top sending countries for overseas students were India, China, and Nigeria (International students in UK higher education - House of Commons Library). The history taught in British schools and universities is increasingly written by academics born and raised in former British colonies, for an audience of students who also come, in growing numbers, from the former colonies. I guess the same applies to American schools and universities.

Against the USD, the Ruble lost 7.62% of its value compared to one year ago, 30.0% compared to two years ago, 38% compared to five years ago, and 42% compared to 10 years ago. Since the beginning of the war (February 24, 2022) the Ruble lost 23.0% of its value against the USD, 16% against the THB, 13% against the Euro, 7.1% against the Indian Rupee and 6.5% against the Yuan.

The City in action... ...laundering 4 bn quids is not something that can be done anywhere. https://assets.aseannow.com/forum/uploads/monthly_2024_12/CityinAction.png.17d6efe72da4b6a1881fe11bbf951e9f.png

Since you are in the mood of studying some data, you can read this interesting article about the quality of the Russian official data (the same used by the World Bank): Poverty and its lines: How the state is manipulating the numbers Or this study published by the Swedish Government: Poverty and its lines: How the state is manipulating the numbers And if you prefer to read a brief explanation of the Swedish researchers' findings, you may read this: Russian economy growing fast during war? Swedish economists beg to differ Based on data from the Russian independent economic research center ROMIR, the real cumulative inflation recorded in Russia from the start of the war is 87%, vs the official Rosstat data of "only 27.1%". By applying the 87% deflator (instead of the official one) to the Russian nominal GDP growth, the result is that the average 3.6 percent real GDP growth since the beginning of the war, turns into a decline of 8.7 percent. Interestingly, Rosstat has never disputed the accuracy of the inflation data published by ROMIR. From November 2024 ROMIR is simply prohibited from publishing any inflation index, under penalty of prison and hefty fines. Economic data has always been manipulated as part of war propaganda, because naive people tend to believe it, despite the evidence pointing in a different direction. And our evidence is the key interest rate applied by the Russian Central Bank which, at 21%, is incompatible with an 8.5-9% inflation. Inflation must be higher to justify this rate.

Only a fraction of the total muslim immigration is made up of illegal immigrants. According to the last census there are 3.9 million muslim living in the UK. It is ridículos to claim that illegal immigrants represent a significant number of them, given that the highest number illegal immigrants on record was 45,081 in 2023, and a 2020 report for the Pew Research Center estimated that at the end of 2017, 800,000 to 1.2 million people were [...] living in the UK without a valid residence permit. (Illegal Immigration - Hansard - UK Parliament) According to a Home Office study, the UK's undocumented population is made up of people from many regions, including: Asia (52%), Sub-Saharan Africa (20%), The Americas and non-EU Europe (16%), and The Middle East / North Africa (11%). The truth is that the UK recorded a spike in legal immigration after Brexit (and under Tory's watch) and EU immigrants have been displaced by extra-EU ones, many of them Muslims (Net migration forecast and its impact on the economy - Office for Budget Responsibility). Finally, as far as I know, the UK is the only European country where Sharia courts can legally operate. https://assets.aseannow.com/forum/uploads/monthly_2024_12/ImmUK.jpg.fd39c36a8a9aae377df4ac178fe60a89.jpg

This is the most childish argument I heard (not for the first time). The spike has been caused by two distinct factors: After four years of constant White House-induced drama, so many people were fed up that they turned out to vote en masse against the then-incumbent president. n 2020, Joe Biden, a white, male and experienced candidate, was the perfect opponent to mobilize the Democratic and moderate vote after four years of chaos. It is easy to predict that, as happened during the first Trump presidency, the next midterm elections will result in a disaster for the republican party. And that a Democratic president will be elected in 2028 (unless Kamala Harris wins the Democratic primaries, of course).

You surely were still locked behind the Iron Curtain, when the UK hold its first referendum on continued membership in the then European Community in 1975, and therefore you are not aware of it. Unlike in 2016, in 1975 remain won. You also miss the fact that, in democracy, the result of election and referendum have consequences, also when those in power don't like it. Donald Trump became president (not once but twice), and, while David Cameron resigned, Brexit was successfully carried out. Being used to live in a totalitarian state, were people either agree with the Leader or disappear, jump from high floors windows, get food poisoning, or die in jail, it may sound weird to you: in the West, anyone has the right to dissent, also with what the majority voted, and also to call for a second referendum, like happened with regards to the UK membership to the EC now EU. Or, like it's going to happen in Switzerland, with regards to a more comprehensive agreement with the EU. As I mentioned before, democracy cannot be taught. You have to deserve it. And it's clear to me Russians just don't deserve it.

Dear Ivan, kindly explain, what does in your deranged "Eastern" mind lead to the conclusion that Westerns don't accept the results of legitimate, democratically contested elections or referenda? Not only they are accepted, but their outcome implemented. I am not in the position to give lessons of democracy to anyone. Democracy cannot be taught. Democracy is a people's collective achievement. An achievement that has always been denied to Russia and to your "Eastern" minds. It's not an opinion. History proves it. Born in Russia, your choices are tragically limited between been an apartnick, a serf or disposable cannon fodder. That's what you Ivans don't get right yet.

What you Frank and the other Russian trolls active here fail to understand, is that dictators are inherently hostile to democracies, which they consider their sworn enemies. When a country governed by a dictatorship opens up to democracy, the best thing that can happen to the dictator is to end up exiled like Pinochet or Assad, the worst is to suffer the same fatal fate of Gaddafi or Ceausescu. This is what keeps Puin awake at night. Russia has never been capable of giving itself democratic institutions. And it never will. The Russian people are condemned to live under the perpetual yoke of despotism due to their very ethnic composition. Giving Tatars, Chechens, Bashkirs, Chuvash, Avars, Armenians, Ukrainians, Dargins the right to vote freely for their representatives, would lead to the dissolution of the Russian Empire, or of the Russian Federation as it is known today. It took the carpet bombing of Grozny, and the very heavy hand of a criminal like Ramzan Kadyrov, (the butcher of Grozny) to convince the Chechens to temporarily put aside their aspiration for independence. The price paid by the Russians to keep their empire united is very high. The lack of freedom leads to a lack of innovation. Russia is the most backward country in Europe, except for the production of armaments and weapons of mass destruction (in which it excels in quantity produced, certainly not in quality). The lack of solid democratic checks and balances is reflected in endemic and widespread corruption, which permeates every aspect of the Russian life and limits its economic development. The distribution of wealth favors oligarchs while foreign investments are scarce due to the weakness of the rule of law. The only beneficiaries of the Russian Empire are the dictator at its helm and the apparatchiks who are close to him. They live like rentiers, whose riches come from the natural resources of which the Empire is rich. They do not need fellow citizens. All they need are obedient serfs, they use to extract the riches from the soil, and expendable cannon fodder to protect these riches from the occasional threat. The Russian Empire is condemned by its very nature to a permanent and irreversible state of backwardness. The peoples annexed and subjugated in the Russian Empire know this too well. And this is the reason they want to escape it.

Many years ago, I had a very strong allergic reaction to a Gillette shaving cream. I don't know exactly which component triggered the reaction, but I solved my problem by using a hypoallergenic shaving foam.

With due respect, your comments simply show how little you know about the world. Russia, through Yevgeny Prigozhin's Wagner mercenary group first and through the Africa Corps now, has a wide presence in Africa, and it's not by chance that this presence is found along the main migratory routes. Plenty of evidence has been collected of Russia proactive role in routing immigrants toward Europe. Meloni just stated the obvious. What Russia is doing is part of Russia staged hybrid warfare against Europe, and it's ongoing since long before the invasion of Ukraine, with the goal of weakening Europe and its democratic institutions, while strengthening Putin's regime hand. Information is widely available. Simply pause the urge to post comments for a minute and use this time to improve your knowledge and understanding of the world. Vladimir Putin's Russia weaponising immigration to destabilise Europe Africa File Special Edition: Russia’s Africa Corps Arrives In Niger. What’s Next? | Critical Threats The military involvement of the Russian Federation in Africa. Contracts and agreements signed | Institute of New Europe From controlling mineral reserves to migrant routes: Russia's strategy in Africa Niger after the Coup: new migration patterns in the Sahel?.

Kudos to Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, the first female prime minister of the southern European country, for her candor and clarity in denouncing Putin, for using immigration as a weapon against Europe. Unable to compete with the West in creating wealth and raising the standard of living of its citizens, Russia focuses on what it does best: hindering the development of its neighbors, terrified by the prospect of being left behind and ending up in the waste bin of history.

For the same reason I know your question should have been written "How did you know that their wine was cheap?" to be grammatically correct.

Obviously, there are many Russians who profit from the war and become rich from it. Those who can still afford a holiday in Thailand. The lucky ones who can afford to feast on lobsters and wine, despite the fact that the ruble has lost 10% of its value against the dollar in a year, and those who still have access to foreign currency. These people are not sent to die on the battlefields in Ukraine, and they certainly do not need food stamps to survive. By the way, true Russian oligarchs, unlike the humble, uneducated and yet enriched Russian commoners and plebeians you enjoy observing, only pair white Burgundy with their Maine lobsters. They would never spoil their Maine lobsters with a cheap, light-bodied red wine. Food stamps are intended for those Russians tightening their belts due to Putin's criminal war. Pensioners, government employees such as teachers, doctors, law enforcement, etc. are among the hardest hit by inflation because their wages and benefits are tied to the official inflation rate. And with the central bank benchmark interest rate at 21%, it is childish to believe that the real inflation stands only at 9%, as the official data suggest. Independent assessments put the inflation closer to 15-16% (with the interesting result that the Russian GDP may not be growing at all, contrary to what the regime would like us to believe). Instead of wasting your time spying on Russians feasting on lobsters and cheap red wine, you'd better spend more time reading, studying and staying informed. Just saying.

The real downsides of Bangkok are the traffic and, above all, the air pollution. The black dust that keeps on accumulating on my balcony and on my windows (and I live on a high floor) constantly reminds me of how bad is the PM 2.5 in the city. With regards to Pattaya the only good thing I can say is that it’s hell. And as Mark Twain famously said: “Go to Heaven for the climate, (go to) Hell for the company”.

I can only wish to Syria a future of peace, prosperity and democracy. Especially democracy would be a first in an Arab world dominated by unelected tyrants, more or less blood thirsty, but always unelected. Israel would have nothing to fear from a democratic and free Syria. Time to lift the sanctions, maybe subject to some conditions aimed at protecting Israel and the security of the Western countries, but without limiting the Syrian rights to self government. It’s up to them to decide if and how alcohol might be consumed. And it’s up to them to determine what role Syrian women might have in the country. One thing I know for sure is that Afghans, the majority of them who live in the countryside, are thousands years behind Syrians. They are not even comparable. Let’s help Syria rebuild itself and make of it an example that can inspire future generations of Arabs, and prove that personal freedom, civil rights, rule of law and a moderate, enlightened Islam can coexist. Let us not fall into the trap of extremists who would like the West to be perpetually at war with the Muslim world.

I use Talk360. It’s a Dutch VoIP service and it’s only possible to use its app for calls (in any country), but not to receive calls or SMS. The receiver will see your US phone number as the caller. Calls are charged $0.05 per minute (but charges may differ depending on the number you call, mobile or fix-line). I recharge my account when needed and Thai credit/debit cards are accepted.

Since I first visited Pattaya, 25 or so years ago, I don’t remember seeing any idyllic beach, or any cultural attraction worth visiting. Pattaya has always been predominantly about elderly farangs, standing on their last leg, seeking the company of Thai teenagers, cheap booze, bad Thai food and bug infested accommodations. There are some oases of peace and lush luxury in Pattaya. But their presence is hidden in a vast sample of the worst Thailand has to offer.

LOL. Instead the root cause of both the demise of the Tzarist Russia and the Soviet Union was the economy and the dare situation in which both the army and the civilian population were kept. Do a little bit of research. It’s never too late to get out from the black hole of ignorance into which the Soviet education has thrown you. You may start from this article published by the BBC: https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/guides/ztyk87h/revision/4

In Don's case, it's not so much that the bark is worse than the bite. It's that he wants to be petted. And both Putin and Xi Jinping know this too well.

The plan to reintroduce food stamps has been announced in Russian news outlets and is supported by the pro-Putin head of the State Duma Committee on Financial Markets, Anatoly Aksakov. Do you really believe that Russian outlets are full of BS and pro-Putin Duma members have no clue of what they talk about? Well, I strongly agree with you.

He was not. As a matter of fact, a jury convicted him. And he is such a law-abiding citizen that he has also been convicted of tax fraud (Chauvin represents himself in effort to withdraw tax fraud guilty plea | FOX 9 Minneapolis-St. Paul). Take a look at the following video and judge for yourself which country can tolerate such a behavior from a law enforcement officer (and I was a law enforcement officer myself). There is no place for officers like Derek Chauvin in any country where the rule of law matters. I don't know and don't care if Derek Chauvin is a racist. It took more than nine minutes to kill George Floyd. Nine minutes during which Floyd begged for his life multiple times. Derek Chauvin is a sociopath, and his place is in jail, securely locked behind bars.

LOL. Thank you for confirming. I always knew you have no idea.