blazes

Pathetic piece of prose, chum. Sounds like you read too much of the Daily Mail and have absorbed their style. A kind of unconscious plagiarism. No, wait a minute: you sound just like Piers Moron. As an Arsenal supporter, I am ashamed of him - and you.

Oh dear. I don't bother replying to opinions that are clearly the result of a total inability to see that the original remarks were IRONIC. (My fault for sure, since obviously the irony was not clear enough to save this poor soul from going to all the trouble to inform us [what all of us already know] that Eva Air is from Taiwan.) Maybe re-read the original squib and see if you can see where the (admittedly lame) humour was going? Sorry if it's confusing....

So Eva Air will be bringing the Russians in via Taipei? Did Xi Xi suggest to Vlad that this would be an excellent way to irritate the Taiwanese?

https://asiatimes.com/2022/09/spasm-escalation-russias-last-weapon-has-been-spent/?mc_cid=4bbfd90020&mc_eid=dcfbcb0104 This is a cool (in the sense of non-heated, as in this thread) analysis of military policy, which concludes with the view that Russia has only one card to play (assuming that nuclear weapons remain in their silos, for ever). It comes from the Yorktown Institute, whose president is the author of the article. It's the most interesting analysis of East-West military relations I have read for some time.

The "sads" always came from the usual suspects and my own sads were, equally, aimed at the usual suspects. Though, more and more often lately, I have tended to refrain from aiming a "sad" because it was either otiose or merely a little cruel.

Indeed. And the above sentence demonstrates cruelly the quality of mind producing this sad statement.

Er, wasn't this what Italy did in WW2 when they saw which way the military wind was blowing? Few today hold this sensible change of tack against the Italians....

I must say I am missing the "SAD" icon (as well as the others). I wonder if their removal is a temporary attempt to enforce upon us a greater sense of civility (possibly as a mark of respect for Her Maj, which would be a much better motive than if the removal were a contemptible woke attempt to spare some of us from hurt feelings.) One of the supreme delights in participating in these opinion bun-fights is being able to simply click on "sad" rather than have to write: "Utter nonsense, you are seriously deluded."

What the MSM fail to mention (though the info is hiding in plain view) is not just the existence of incriminating laptops but the amount of profiteering that American defense companies are making out of this war. We know that $39 Billion has been shovelled over to the corrupt Ukraine regime (as bad for the people as anything that Putin can lob over to them), but we don't know exactly how much Northrop Grumman and Lockheed Martin (to name only two merchants of death) have been able to scoop up in this war. (Reuters mention "more than $10 Billion".) This might give some clue: Share price of Northrop Grumman Feb 3: $369.75 Sept 9: $491.35 Lockheed Martin Feb 3: $389.33 Sept 9: $421.53 (on Aug 16 it was $440.16) So, in conclusion, the American tax-payer is being told he or she is funding this expensive boondoggle that brings not the slightest sliver of extra security to the American citizen.

The USA would be a much better place today if this age amendment were voted into the constitution. (And not just for Presidents, either. All too many members of Congress are clearly unfit for purpose.)

Short trip to Bridge over the River Kwai??

These links are interesting for the way they indicate that US foreign and economic policy does not change at all from one administration to another. If you read the links you will see that US warnings about dependency on Russian oil are part and parcel of the ongoing trade negotiations between the US and the EU. Basically, the US is saying the EU needs to pivot towards US gas imports, away from Russian imports. In other words, buy gas from us rather than those goddam Russkies if you want progress on the trade talks. Nothing to do with American goodwill towards a possibly freezing Europe!! (And that sentiment applies to Obama, Biden and Trump, which only goes to show, what we always already knew, that Eisenhower was correct: it is the military/industrial complex that profits from (and runs) all US government "policy".)

It's worth actually spelling it out: here (see link below) is Trump at the United Nations in 2018 warning Germany that they might come to regret their dependence on Russian energy. (Cameras panned to the German delegation giggling at this rube from America telling them how to run their country!!) In case this link is verboten, just google Trump, Germany, Russian energy: https://townhall.com/tipsheet/katiepavlich/2022/03/08/flashback-trump-warned-germany-against-becoming-energy-dependent-on-russia-n2604265

Not sure whether Putin meant to do this, but he has certainly managed to expose the foolishness of German (no, Western) climate catastrophe alarmism. Good luck, Europe, in getting through your winter without fossil fuels.

If this happens on the third floor, imagine what could have happened higher up. I have often stopped at a construction site and gazed, slack-jawed, at the wooden scaffolding and wondered how often people were killed on these death-traps....

Perhaps he forgot to address one of the trans males as "Mr Birthing Person".....

This little sentence stands all by itself in the middle of the story. Why? What poppycock. When are the climate alarmists going to accept that climate has been "changing" for 4 billion years. It was once possible (10,000 years ago) to walk from the east coast of England to what is now Denmark....It was called Doggerland.

Absurd article. On the other hand, the main theme of the article is germane to discussions of Thailand. Who comes after? or what difference will it make if X or Y becomes the nation's leader. But when one looks around and observes some of the dumbos in office all over the shop, you can see that governments worldwide are all cut from the same cloth. [They differ only in the extent of brute force used to enforce law and order.] The point of a government's existence is to exercise power, the longer the better, no matter how. Just look at how the pandemic was "managed". Worldwide. The one consistent theme has been: "do as you're told, not do as we do"; obey the regulations, they are "mandates". You can all fill in the blanks here....

So, looks like Indians and backpackers are the main "tourists" at the moment....

I read frequent references to the Visa Exempt process being raised to 45 days from 30. And many seem to assume that it is already in place. Has this in fact been declared officially?

Not sure about this. Looking into their eyes takes one into Hannibal Lecter territory, while looking at their mouth movements might be ideal for someone used to lip-reading, such as a deafy like me.

We've been married 10 years by now. Without ever saying this openly to each other, we both seem to subscribe to the notion that marriage = "I take care you, you take care me." Westerners are much too wedded to the idea of "love".

No, this mumpty is definitely alone (to all intents and purposes). However, if you're into designer nipples, maybe you're right.....

mine takes paracetamol when ever it rains...

Flowers were a nuisance?? Petal harassment? Something like that??