rudi49jr

Almost never happened in Holland (my home country) about 20 years ago, now it happens on an almost daily basis. Apparently it’s a sign of the times.

I agree she did the hit and run, which was very wrong, and she should be punished for that. Sending her to jail for decades, like one poster here advocated, seems a bit over the top for me, though. Depending on the circumstances of the accident, of course. Like I said already, maybe the young man suddenly crossed the street and she couldn’t avoid hitting him. Or maybe she was texting or playing on her phone and not paying attention, in which case her punishment should be much more severe. Hopefully things will become clearer once she has returned to the States.

But on whose part?

“Russia’s army is estimated to have lost nearly 40% of its prewar fleet of tanks after nine months of fighting in Ukraine, according to a count by the specialist thinktank the International Institute of Strategic Studies (IISS).” ???????????? https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/feb/15/russian-army-has-lost-up-to-half-of-key-battle-tanks-analysts-estimate-ukraine

I’m not sure the actual circumstances of the accident are clear yet. Maybe the young man was drunk out of his skull or high as a kite (6 a.m. on New Year’s Day) and ran across the street just as she was passing through, who knows? Of course it’s very wrong to leave the scene of the accident and then fly to Bangkok three days later, but that doesn’t automatically mean that she is guilty of manslaughter. Guilty of leaving the scene of the accident, that’s for sure. Other than that, we don’t know yet.

Spent a glorious winter in Chiang Mai in 1988\1989, nothing but sunshine and clear skies, nice temperatures, even up until the end of March. I decided right then and there that I wanted to live there when I retired. Been back to Chiang Mai a few times since then, last time in 2011/2012, and I’m quite sure now that this is not where I want to live anymore when I retire. Every year it’s the same, authorities keep vowing they’re going to do something about the horrendous air quality in the winter, but every year nothing happens and the air quality gets worse and worse. Such a shame. This is a picture of Chiang Mai’s air quality of today. Looks pretty dismal to me.

Why you put the word crime in quotation marks is not clear to me. What this school director did was obviously a crime, and a pretty revolting one at that. I think the poster you quoted just wanted to express that sentiment. And we all know that the Thai law is often sketchy at best, because it mostly depends on how much the accused is willing or able to pay to make their problem go away.

We’ve seen quite a few Russian commanders being fragged by their own troops, so hopefully a disgruntled Wagner mercenary will soon end Prigozhin’s miserable life. Anybody else is welcome to do that as well, for that matter. Most of the Kremlin clique could do with a bullet between the eyes as soon as possible.

Guardian: Iran smuggles long-range combat drones to Russia for war against Ukraine. I see the evil regime in Teheran still has no qualms whatsoever to provide the equally evil regime in Moscow with weaponry to continue its illegal war against Ukraine. https://kyivindependent.com/news-feed/guardian-iran-smuggles-long-range-combat-drones-to-russia-for-war-against-ukraine

More than 5,000 pregnant Russian women flew to Argentina already so their babies obtain Argentinian citizenship once they are born. There were 33 pregnant Russian women on one flight alone. I think someone is making a pretty penny off of this….. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-64610954

Here’s a novel idea: there are thousands and thousands of men employed by the State, wearing a brown uniform, and most of the time they sit around with their thumbs up their ***. Either that, or they’re shaking down someone. Would it be too much to ask of them to start doing their actual job? I’m sure a couple thousands cops, if they put their mind to it, can stop a hell of a lot of burning. Same goes for the north, by the way, where the air quality in many places is already (and has been for a while) at dangerous levels.

I am quite sure he’s got dirt on many high ranking officials, securely stashed away at different undisclosed locations. I’m also quite sure that these high ranking officials know very well that all that dirt would become public knowledge if anything untoward were to happen to Chuwit.

Roger Waters (Pink Floyd) addressed the UN security council, he was invited to speak by Russia. In a 4 February interview, Waters held the west and Ukraine largely responsible for the Russian invasion. In his address to the UN security council, he had changed his viewpoint somewhat. This is what he said, among other things: “The invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Federation was illegal. I condemn it in the strongest possible terms,” he said. “Also, the Russian invasion of Ukraine was not unprovoked, so I also condemn the provocateurs in the strongest possible terms.” https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/feb/08/roger-waters-pink-floyd-un-security-council-ukraine-russia

These people really live in an alternative universe. The Russian army/air force have been bombing cities in Syria to rubble for years, killing tens of thousands of innocent civilians. So why would any Syrian be fighting on Russia’s side? Thousands of people in and around Aleppo took to the streets and celebrated when they heard that a certain Russian air force general (or colonel?) who had bombed half the city to smithereens, had been killed in Ukraine. No love lost between Syrians and Russia, I’m quite sure.

Driving usually also means not being drunk or high on yaba. I suspect that at keast 5 to 10% of Thai drivers, especially after dark, are under the influence of something, judging by how they drive/ride. Either that, or they believe in divine intervention.

Agreed. Russians have been oppressed for centuries, first by the Czars, then by communist dictators and now by Putin and his cronies. So most of them don’t know any better. But many of them do know things are (much) better in the West, what with TV and internet and social media. And I suspect they also know that things could be a lot better in Russia, if only they could find a way to get rid of the oligarch kleptocracy and have some semblance of democracy. But how do you do that when there has never been a large and strong middle class that can bring to bear enough opposition? The only thing they know and have ever known is brutal oppression. How to break through that vicious circle? I have no idea, to be honest. It’s probably going to take some kind of revolution and involve a lot of bloodshed, because Putin and the oligarchs are not going to give up their position of absolute power without a hell of a fight.

Not to mention all the long-term consequences for many people who have had covid. So many people, also many young and perfectly healthy, got covid and are still suffering the consequences, many of them may never be able to have any sort of normal life again, much less work. Could be millions and millions of people.

Why you put pandemic in quotation marks is not quite clear to me. Almost 7 million deaths worldwide so far, and counting. People are still getting sick and dying from covid. More than 1,1 million deaths in the USA alone, almost 700,000 in Brazil. Apropos of nothing, both countries being led at the time by right-wing presidents who completely (and intentionally) dropped the ball on handling the pandemic, and didn’t take it seriously.

Maybe you should work on your reading skills. This is what was said: “If a more democratic, less corrupt and more prosperous Ukraine rises from the ashes of such a deal then the fight may have been worth it” They were talking about the future, hypothetically. But since you brought it up: Zelensky was elected president in a fair and democratic election. When’s the last time there were fair and democratic elections in Russia? There have also been quite a few stories (easy to find on the internet, just google it) of Russian soldiers in Ukraine who were astounded that houses had indoor plumbing, and gas and electricity, which they themselves didn’t have back home. Moreover, they were led to believe (here’s that pesky propaganda again) that Ukrainians were dirt poor and lived like cavemen. And that all Ukrainians were nazi’s.

Well, apparently the propaganda got to you as well. Like I said, just watch RT, or any other state controlled media, and it’s nothing but lies and BS. I don’t care if you believe that or not, but please stop pushing your distorted view of the world, and your belief that everything is hunky dory in Russia. If, like you said, you really believe that the vast majority of the people in Russia appreciate the way things are right now in their country, then there really is nothing I can do for you, other then to recommend to do some research and get your facts straight.

Germany has evidence of war crimes in Ukraine 'in three-digit range' - prosecutor. https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/germany-has-evidence-war-crimes-ukraine-in-three-digit-range-prosecutor-2023-02-04/ I’m guessing they will soon be ‘in the four-digit-range’, since there’s a mountain of evidence still to go through.

“where actually is the "propaganda"? “ Just switch on RT. Or whenever Putin or one of his cronies says something. There have been plenty of polls in Russia which show that somewhere between 50 to 80% of the people believe the lies and BS they are told on a daily basis by Russian state media and their pundits. I would call that successful propaganda, wouldn’t you? My own experience with something similar is that, a long time ago, I had a Czech girlfriend, who had fled then Czechoslovakia with her family at the end of the 1970’s, when she was 10 years old. Later her parents told her that, back when they were still in Czechoslovakia, they had been very careful not to discuss any ‘sensitive’ topics in front of their children, for fear that one of them would inadvertently say something about that in school or to a friend. Which would lead to a visit by the secret police and possibly detention or being locked up in a mental institution. I imagine things were not much better in the USSR. I also imagine this is the kind of state that Putin and his henchmen are very much longing to return to.

You MAGA guys really crack me up, praising Trump who continues to take credit for things he has/had absolutely nothing to do with. A negotiated peace will just be a temporary end to the war, because Putin and his cronies have been very clear that they won’t stop. You can not negotiate with psychopathic and megalomaniacal bullies.

Many Russians are apparently brainwashed into believing the regime’s outrageous propaganda. They have, after all, a long history of state propaganda and brutal oppression. I do think, however, that many Russians do care, but they’re just afraid. I’m not sure I’d be man enough to speak my mind if that could cause me to land in jail for up to 15 years. Or worse.

Lot of posters here lack the empathy gene….