thaibeachlovers

I take it you are not old and past sell by date for casual sex with attractive women without baggage or that don't look like granny. Wait till you are and get back to us on how many free ones you are getting.

That's part of it for sure, but also when politicians suck up to rich people.

That would IMO be the start of WW3 and I can't believe that any sane person wants that. I hope the minister wasn't repeating official government policy. I very much doubt Britain could invade on it's own given the destruction reduction of it's once great military by British politicians. Back in the glory days of BAOR perhaps, but not now.

Genetics. We are programmed to fear the "other" as a survival mechanism. Humans stood little chance against a large predator like a sabre toothed tiger. The sabre toothed tigers are long gone, but the genetic imperative remains. Hence we are a tribal species that fear other tribes. You are correct to be pessimistic. IMO we will never have a peaceful planet because of genetics and greed. What sane species would destroy the great forests so they could grow palm oil trees or raise cattle to make hamburgers? None of the above threatened the survival of the human race till WE invented the means of our own destruction- the atomic bomb. The ability of a small group of people to annihilate us and most species on the planet in nuclear winter means IMO that eventually we really are doomed. Of course Gaia may decide that we are just a bad species and eliminate us, perhaps with a highly transmissible virus or a massive solar flare that destroys all our computers or something like that. Climate change is for a different thread.

I gave up watching the BBC long ago given it's IMO pathetic reporting. They seem to spend more time telling us how great they are than reporting news from around the world, unless we consider Africa to be the most important part of the planet, and they spent far too much time on football. Al Jazeera is IMO the best tv news source out there, but it is IMO blatantly biased on certain subjects.

Please stop making things up that I didn't say. I said I was trying to bring balance to the debate, not about Putin being good or bad. Crimes happen in every war- it goes with putting thousands of angry guys into a situation where they fear for their lives all the time. Vietnam war had plenty of war crimes by both sides, and the Iraq war also ( but perhaps not as many on Allied side due to presence of media ), so not just something happens in Ukraine. Far as I'm concerned Putin is just another dictator in a long line of dictators in many countries. So far he hasn't equaled the death toll of some like Stalin or Mao. Given I haven't "justified" Putin's actions in Ukraine, I don't have to give any reasons, but it behooves us to look at both sides of any conflict if we want to understand what is going on.

If you think Chiang Mai and Hua Hin are as good as Pattaya I have to wonder about your other choices. I couldn't even find a body massage place in C M. I know there used to be some, but long closed when I lived there. Far as I can make out, the city is ruled by people that don't like pleasures of the flesh. The main bar beer street near where I lived could only be described as a pathetic joke, compared to Pattaya. As for Hua Hin, it's so pathetic it doesn't even get included in my list of good places for night life. Even Chaweng was better, and that was pretty dire for night life unless into discos.

To be fair, some of them actually put some work into their "moves" or whatever the term for it is, but sometimes it's cringeworthy. The scary thing is it exemplifies a world where everyone thinks they are a super star, a big shot, a wonder to behold, when they are actually a kid with no talent prancing around in their bedroom. Apparently there are some that are regarded as important people just for dancing nicely, and weirdly, some of them are called "influencers" because the sheeple think they are special because they look good or something. I have to admit I no longer recognise the world as it has become, and I don't like it either. Happily I won't have to endure it for too many more years.

Hence the rise of stations that play only music from past decades. I listen to one that is restricted to the 50s, 60s and 70s. On tv there was a channel dedicated to easy listening vdos, but I haven't watched it for a while. I don't care what anyone plays for themselves, but unfortunately, the younger demographic that likes electronic garbage seems to be deaf, so they play it so loudly that it annoys people 100s of meters away. All part of the antisocial hooligan element of society as we descend into a new dark age.

You stated support for Ukraine implies a desire for NATO to get involved in militarily in Ukraine. I understand that statements such as "Russia has to be stopped" are involving a military solution. I doubt Russia could be stopped any other way, short of Gorbachev rising from the dead and taking over again. What do you think is happening now with NATO and Ukraine? I haven't read any reports of NATO troops massing on the border, so I'd say not much other than intelligence reports etc. I posted that you don't give others credit for nuanced, informed posts. It seems you still don't. Perhaps if you read their posts more carefully... Are you pulling my leg?

You got that right. It's nothing to do with me. You can keep the "it's the ultimate fight for the soul of humanity" for those that believe in that sort of thing.

5555555555555555555 I am already due to inflation. Be happy. BTW, are you volunteering to go fight for the Ukrainians?

I'll take caving in over the total annihilation of most species on the planet in a nuclear winter. Some may prefer the death of everyone they love. Nuclear deterrence is not named MAD for nothing.

He's got a way to go then. I believe Mao was responsible for the deaths of millions of Chinese. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mao_Zedong In 1958, he launched the Great Leap Forward that aimed to rapidly transform China's economy from agrarian to industrial, which led to the deadliest famine in history and the deaths of 15–55 million people between 1958 and 1962.

I wonder how many posters on here would be willing to put their lives or their son's lives on the line for Ukraine?

IMO that comes down to how much western nations are willing to donate in a time of covid related financial distress, and how many bodies Ukrainians are willing to accept. My view point is that given an acceptable out western nations with an eye to elections will be pressuring Ukraine to accept. It'll be a hard sell to convince suffering populations that spending more on Ukraine after an end is offered is a good idea. Who cares what the future of Ukraine holds when one is losing one's house because interest rates went up due to inflation? BTW, if the interest in Ukraine where I live is any guide, it's a non issue- zero in fact. People are concerned about being able to afford petrol to go to work and buying food, not some European conflict.

While that is probably correct, could they use any intelligence or material assets that belong to NATO? IMO whether NATO dispenses with the treaty members only response, or it's individual nations forming a new alliance it will likely be at minimum the destruction of Europe, and potentially WW3. Is that really what the sabre rattlers want? Haven't we had enough body bags from Afghanistan ( and for nothing it would seem ) and Iraq to learn that fighting only benefits the arms manufacturers?

Insisting that extreme positions that have not been stated are implied is simplistic. and your point is? If this approach is maintained or, better yet, strengthened Russia will be stopped without the involvement of NATO forces in Ukraine. Are you saying that NATO can get involved with a conflict that is not against a country in NATO. That is highly unlikely. Apparently you have not considered the possibility that some of the posters on this forum have well-informed, nuanced opinions on this matter that do not agree with your views. To assume I do not have nuanced opinions is extremely arrogant, and given the cut and paste of some posters I doubt they are any better informed than myself. Some of them seem to spend more time personally attacking posters that disagree with them than on the topic. Next.

The cold war didn't start till March of 1947, according to google.

We are told that Putin doesn't care about his people, so why would sanctions that hurt the people concern him? So long as Europe needs his energy he's OK for money IMO, and no realistic way Europe can get enough from elsewhere in the near future, as I see it. After the war is over perhaps. I'm certain military minds are working on ways to counter western weapons in Ukraine. They may involve more destruction and death of Ukrainians though, and as Putin is now painted as the worst man in history, what does he have to lose by wreaking even more death on Ukraine? Only takes one country to use nukes to bring disaster to all of us.

Such as? I doubt any place is as good as Pattaya for available women on p4p.

Attacking posters that one disagrees with isn't exactly a sign of maturity, but whatever. Perhaps they haven't openly said they want NATO to go fight in so many words, but it's implied, IMO. How else could Russia be "stopped" other than by the use of military force, and I doubt the US, the UK or any European country are going to declare war on Russia individually?

Short of using the nuclear threat, just how is the west going to stop Russia- say please nicely? it would also inspire far more countries to acquire nuclear weapons. IMO they already are, and were before Ukraine. If it were easy to make them IMO the world would be full of nuclear armed states.

Ain't that the truth!

People like to vent and it's better to complain on a forum than to go in the pub and drone on to some unfortunate that was unlucky enough to sit next to one. At least on here, none of us need to read any of the posts.