Autocan

Tulsi's a brilliant addition to Trump's team. Her refusal to subordinate herself to Hag Hillary and Dem neocon orthodoxy cost her her future in that party. But you can't keep a good person down. DNI needs a truth teller and that's what Tulsi is. Already you can see the effect of the right numbers getting through to the WH vs. the "happy" intelligence of Avril Haines in Trump/Vance calling out the Kiev Conman and telling him to his face what the score on the ground is.

Russians won't agree to a ceasefire. Hard truth is they are winning on the ground and have little incentive to stop till they have taken all land east of Dniepr and cut Ukraine off from the Black Sea. Think of it from their POV. A ceasefire now would help only Ukraine who would start rebuilding furiously a la Minsk 1 and 2. Trump? They work well with him but any guarantees he gives last till 2028, after which it's quite possible a neocon Admin comes back. No, Russia prefers to keep the war going till they have reduced Ukraine to a landlocked rump state, never again to be a threat. But I am cautiously pessimistic.

Time for the Kiev Conman to rev up his Bugatti. Well, the scene's likely going to be more like Ashraf Ghani's departure from Kabul in 2021 just ahead of the Taliban - a squadron of US planes carrying his stuff, gold and cash, from Kabul to Dubai, where he now lives a nice quiet life. I seriously doubt though that KC is going to have a quiet retirement. Too many loved ones of the million Ukrainians he sent to their death still around for that to happen.

European strategy till Jan. 20: Ukrainians in front to do the dying, Americans with our back to save us from dying. Then it all fell apart. This dude seems old enough to have fought with the French Army that valiantly resisted Hitler in WW2, ... wait a minute.

Will a YT video do:

As of Friday last week the Kiev Conman has become irrelevant. He'll go back to gigs playing the piano with his dingdong or retire with the millions he's stolen. Question is who Ukraine's "Kamala Harris" is to step up to the plate. Hopefully, not a harebrain like the original. Incidentally, here's an Austrian military guy explaining what Russia will take and what will be left: https://youtu.be/QTRI4MlCLrA?t=1835 Specifically, all territory east of the Dniepr, Odesa plus a land corridor to Transnistria, leaving Ukraine a tiny landlocked place. Trump understands this and will blow hot and cold till it's over. Ukraine was a neocon project, not his, so he gives a rat's about the shi*hole country as he called it his first term Meanwhile, there's money to made doing business with Russia, 11 time zones of mineral, gas, oil, farmlands and 150 million mid-income consumers.

Here's an Austrian military man explaining what Russia will take what will be left: https://youtu.be/QTRI4MlCLrA?t=1835

I've been following these and all I see is a lot of crossfire and different TRDs saying and doing things in ways that muddy the waters even further. I don't think anyone claims the expat taxing system in Thailand has been sorted out. I would wait.

To my mind safest is to sit on one's hands till the dust settles. I'll be happy to pay a few k b. in late penalty to wait to make sure that I understand all the regulations (as laid out in English) and file the right forms the right way. A bad filing (e.g., oversharing or undersharing) could ripple down the years. Incidentally, a big clue it's all up in the air is that there are no little-people services like Thaivisa advertising as yet to do expat taxes. You can bet that once rules are clear, like they are now with Imm services, there will be tax-filing services cropping up like weed.

Helpful, thanks. But I am curious. How does one determine the "earned from Jan. 1, 2024"? E.g., I sell shares in MFs, get a pension and SS benefits which accumulate in a US bank. Periodically, I transfer X amount from the US bank to Thailand via Wise. Exactly when was each dollar earned? I dunno.

I am thinking of changing from April. Any thoughts/experiences of Cigna or Pacific Cross?

Thanks. Exactly what I was looking for. Advice from a bald kook on YT.

In fact, the children of Ukrainian elite were sent safely outside the country as soon as hostilities broke out. There are whole channels on Telegram showing their lifestyle in Mediterranean resorts. A particularly hilarious clip is when Mayor Klitschko of Kiev was asked about pics of his kids partying in Berlin. "My zons are German zitizens, zey cannot fight for Ukraine."

Absolutely. He will take all land east of the Dniepr plus Odesa, leaving the rest of Ukraine about as potent as a post-op ladyboy. This is Putin's goal, to annex the historically Russian territories at the same time making sure that Ukraine is never again a military threat. He has zero interest in ruling over ethnic Ukrainians, let alone any of Europe.

Sir or Madam as the case maybe, you risk a 7-day ban for speaking the truth.

This is intolerable. The war must go on. If the US admin won't then we the people must step up. Russians have fought successfully with spare parts, so can the Ukrainians. I have a broken washing machine, a vintage TV and two pedestal fans in the store room. I am going to pack and ship them to Kiev. Ukrainians are just as ingenious as the Russians. They'll be able to strip them down and make tanks and planes. I urge all AN readers to look for any old stuff they can spare. We can't let Ukraine down.

Laughable. Let's start with the noisiest, the Brits. The UK armed forces total around 50,000 active members, which will fit into Wembley stadium with room left over for WAGs. In Ukraine? They will be arrested by the local constables. And then is the problem that they can't get it up. Successive attempts to launch Trident missiles failed: https://www.chathamhouse.org/2024/02/second-failed-trident-test-time-expand-and-invest-britains-conventional-capabilities France, German and Italy all have equally boutique AFs. If Uncle Sam walks the Europeans will be scrambling to cover their tiny manhoods. They need to come to DC and grovel some more. This week wasn't enough.

Well, there's going to be no great make-up sex after that spat. The comedian from Kiev will soon be going back to his old gig of playing Chopin on the piano with his dingdong. Probably not. The crook's a multimillionaire now from stealing from the US taxpayer. Whatever he does though he'll sleep with one eye open from now on. And he's not going to die peacefully in his sleep surrounded by children and grandchildren. Too many loved ones of the million Ukrainians he has sent to their death for that to happen.

I will grant the Kiev Conman this. He tried in his particular oafish manner to stand up to Trump. Unlike Starmer who abjectly abased himself. It was hard to imagine this man is the PM of a country once an empire. More like the leader of Vanuatu or Nauru granted the honor of face time with the POTUS. How the mighty fall.

Well, there you go. What you saw there was the end of the Kiev Conman. All that was missing was Trump yelling, Don't let the door hit you on the way out. (Maybe he did.) Not that the little fella cares. He's a centimillionaire from our taxpayer dollars by all accounts. But I do fear for Ukraine (well, not really). Russia will take all land east of the Dniepr plus Odesa. And then Hungary, Poland and Romania will assert their historical claims to parts of what's left. By the end of the year Ukraine should cease to exist. But then it was always an artificial post-WW2 construct within the USSR.

What's the over-under of the man from Kiev who used to play a piano with his dingdong staying President till the end of the month? How about staying alive? Don't they teach not to bite the hand that feeds you at comedy school?

The easiest way to get the reentry permit, single or multiple, is on your way out of the country at the airport. I have done it both at DMK and BKK. All of 5mins. and off you go. Bonus at BKK is you bypass the emigration line (though with the new digital system its not a long line anymore). At DMK its just after the emigration counter.

The cat is well and truly among the European pigeons. Life as a vassal state sucks. You want to stand up to the ruler but your knees shake. As the Brits would say, Jolly rude, old chap, of Vance to dismiss Ukraine with a wave of his hand. We Brits want to fight the Russians but we can't get it up. Our Trident missiles keep failing on the launchpad. The Yanks bloody well know this. Not cricket at all, old chap, for them to make us grovel.

It's beyond shocking that Trump and Putin will meet in Saudi Arabia without Zelensky or the Europeans present. The puppet and vassals must have seats at the table. Maybe on shorter chairs but they should be there.

Cat is well and truly among the European pigeons. Life as a vassal state is hard. You keep wondering if your lord and master will have use for you tomorrow. Europeans need to pool their resources and make an army that people won't point and laugh at. In any case fears of Russia are overblown. They'll take everything east of the Dniepr plus Odesa and call it quits. They have zero interest in the rest of Ukraine or Europe. Trump's new non-neocon security team has explained this to him and that there's nothing the US can do about it. Short of a nuclear exchange. And truth is Trump gives a rat's about Ukraine. Who really does? Trump was right the first time around when he called it a corrupt shihole of a country.