tgw

the lab leak is a realistic possibility. but this doesn't mean that the leaked virus has been manufactured. coronaviruses have a history of leaking easily from labs. in leakage scenario it is actually much more probable that a naturally mutated virus could have leaked from a lab where it was being analyzed, because I would expect manufactured viruses to be handled in higher security labs. viruses captured in the wild were routinely analyzed in level 2 biolabs. easy leak. and Wuhan concentrates about 50% of China's available level 2 and 3 biolabs belonging to various universities and FDA / ministry of agriculture and other similar organizations. also, it could have stemmed from another animal, not a bat. just before covid broke out, there had been massive outbreaks among minks. Wuhan would have been where veterinary samples would have been sent.

yes, carts are compulsory on St Andrews because the course topography requires it.

nothing wrong with the verdict. either there is a dress code or not. I can understand the need to regulate the dress code for the graduation ceremony.

for anyone too lazy to research it: https://www.scmp.com/video/scmp-originals/3219519/wok-hei-why-do-stir-fry-dishes-taste-better-breath-wok

sure. but the seafood fried rice you like so much now would be like an addiction to crack if it was prepared using the wok hei technique. yes, it's the ultra high temperature causing the food to taste slightly smoked and charred, but only very slightly. it's a taste I miss and I haven't found a restaurant here using that technique yet.

if only there was some kind of way to research any word or group of words ...

Which Restaurants / Places in Pattaya can be recommended for serving food with that delicious "wok hei" flavour ?

and they keep a straight face saying it ! reading it, I can't ????

AFAIK, there was some kind of a crackdown against vote buying in the few days before the election. As it was just some days before the election (maybe a week?), old parties used to buying votes did so earlier than a week before. I also heard rumours that many voters took the 1000 baht and then voted orange instead of red/yellow. There is nothing better for stopping vote buying than that IMO ! well done !

I heard members can play St Andrews 2000 instead. Excellent course.

now they just have to hold a referendum ...

there are exceptions https://thailand.themispartner.com/company-registration/foreign-business-ownership/#what-is-a-foreign-business-license-FBL

This I can tell you - the basic "apparatchik" a term that didn't completely die and makes a comeback under Putin - that apparatchik, meaning "a small piece of the big machine", that person has never seen a system that was not cruel and corrupt, never seen a system where people can speak freely. When they read about elections, or watch Western movies with elections, they think it's a show. They think all elections are fake/rigged and results dictated by the USA. And Trump didn't really help to sell the idea of free and fair elections. Most Russian apparatchiks when taken to the West are surprised - wait, a private person can win a court case against the state ? wait, police doesn't extort people ? wait, people can elect the people they want to run the country, just like that ? journalists can write what they want and not get killed ? It's a different planet for them, and they can only believe it after living for some years in the West.

definitely the wrong place to ask. while only about 1% of posters here are able to make a useful comment, 30% will post nonsense and the rest will denigrate. AFAIK, you are right and business visas are routinely issued to people that do not work in Thailand but are conducting business here. A visa is not to be confused with an extension of stay though, which is granted on the basis of employment. If conducting business in Thailand (such as ordering/buying products), you could be issued a multi business visa. Visas are delivered by Thai consular services abroad, in your country of residence. The best is to ask there.

Of course there will be arrest warrants, investigations, etc. But it's unlikely much more will be done than transforming Ruzzia into another North Korea until the regime changes or collapses. The Iron Curtain will be back. I expect many more Ruzzian assets to be seized and used/sold for reconstruction of Ukraine and compensation of victims.

moral of the story: put a colored sticker on your car so it can be easily recognized.

and another aspect of the tactical nuke question is - tactical nukes aren't THAT powerful that one or even two could stop Ukraine in its tracks. nuking Kyiv and Kharkiv won't stop Ukraine. It will make it enraged. for Putin, there are only negatives in using a nuke. they are only useful as long as they remain a threat, preferably an empty one.

I have added a paragraph to my reply above: Putin's not alone. He gives the order and it is refused, he is finished. He gives the order and nukes someone, then Putin's system is finished. They are all finished. They don't want that. Is it good enough for me ? In theory no. In practice, I don't feel we have much of a choice than to give guarantees the conflict remains limited to Ukraine, so they don't have to fear for their power. If they decide to launch a nuke anyway, they would behave like an immature little bully child, and it's not possible to negotiate with immature little bully kids. And little immature bully kids don't stop once they get what they want because in the next minute they want something else --> Baltics, Georgia, Poland, Moldova .... And their friends too --> Taiwan. So that's my reasoning.

Putin has children. 6 AFAIK. Where would he send his bomb to ? on the people he pretended to "liberate" ? His "best unlimited friendship" allies already told him no. Using a tactical nuke within Ukraine, well away from NATO borders would be his only (slim) hope to avoid NATO involvement, but realistically he wouldn't. There is also a good chance the troops themselves would not carry out the order. And that would be the end of Putin. The same reason he can't go into full mobilization. It's not just Putin. Putin will die from illness at some point, but after Putin, there will still be Putin's system. Medvedev and all his cronies are already scared to lose their grip on power today that they take great care to not cause the Russian people to rise up against them.

yes not quite right, internal supply of food, meat, consumer goods, etc. is still good, it's just that TVs and phones now come from China instead. Yes. Personally I think "operation Bakhmut" has been on since November or December. Phase one is complete and killed scores of Ruzzians. Phase two is underway, which is to attack the flanks and attract lots of Ruzzian reserves there, while cutting off supply routes and destroying infrastructure in Ruzzian's rear using Himars and Starm Shadow / GLSDB. Phase three will be a turning movement or a double turning movement depending on opportunity and tactical situation, to cut the Bakhmut area off from supply. Phase four will be closing the pocket and suppress Ruzzian troops inside. Simultaneously with phase three, we will probably see the demolition of Kherch bridge and a Ukrainian combined arms thrust towards Melitopol. What disturbs me is that this is what I, as an armchair general, would expect to happen. So, the Ruzzians will expect this as well. And I hope the Ukrainians have a plan that is ten times better.

The Ruzzians don't even know what a Ruzzian victory could look like at this point. With the annexions, they maneuvered themselves into a strategic corner. Ukrainian victory is clearly to push Ruzzians out and join the EU, plus either security guarantee by NATO or full NATO membership. I don't see the Ruzzians using nukes. But if they did and if the West gave in, it would mean they are going to invade the Baltic states next. and then Moldova. Georgia. Poland ... ? Because the West and NATO bow to nuclear boomsing. not. Even the Ruzzians know they can't realistically hope to get away with using nukes.

how about a one-year exchange program with another temple for a handful of monks ? ?

still no reason to overpay

how likely is that ? not remembering where one fell ? maybe someone put him in the sewer and closed the lid. or he went in deliberately to flee a situation he doesn't want to disclose now.

no, villas for 80k+ baht /month were never rare