Don't mention the war?

[Saanim]

2 hours ago, Mavideol said:

they could do to him what the French did to Louis XVI during French revolution, after all the guy is mortal, bleeds like anybody else.... I do think his days/months are counted

In the civilised regimes with democratically elected leaders there are ways how to exchange their leaders, other than to assassinate...

[OneMoreFarang]

1 hour ago, Saanim said:

Is the Frederick Kagan a B-I-L of Victoria Nuland, the one who has been so helpful to the current Ukraine regime?  

Then, the report will be really unbiased, won't be?

 

It's no report. Those are interviews with questions and answers and lots of opinions. Nobody claims to know everything. You could just look at it...

[Lacessit]

1 hour ago, Saanim said:

In the civilised regimes with democratically elected leaders there are ways how to exchange their leaders, other than to assassinate...

Quite true. Having said that, Putin has transitioned from a democratically elected leader to a dictator who poisons opponents, rigs elections and crushes dissent. There's a penalty of 15 years in jail for referring to the attack on the Ukraine as an invasion. Facebook and Twitter are now shut down in Russia, what does that tell you about the state of democracy there?

[StreetCowboy]

4 hours ago, LaosLover said:

I have a friend in Singapore who's always complaining that his dates don't know who Hitler is.

 

But why should they? And how can I get in on this Hitler-dating thing?

was.

[TheScience]

I always have a bit of a chuckle when I read these comments in the mainstream press.

 

It's pure propaganda.

 

Does anyone seriously think for a second that Russia couldn't roll its military into its next door neighbor and crush it in days?

 

A large part of the goal is hearts and minds.

 

Infrastructure destroyed must be rebuilt.

 

Ukrainians and Russians share a common history and culture.

 

It's not Afghanistan.

 

Russia ultimately hopes to fold Ukraine back into a greater Russian federation.

 

I'm super curious why many of you think Putin made this play? Purely to free Russified provinces? De nazification lol?

Edited March 26, 2022 by TheScience

[LaosLover]

Hitler became his go-to as a girl friend-qualifier if they had a college education. But if someone asked me about some old Duke of Earl in ye olde Singapore, I'd likewise come up empty.

 

It's Western insularity at the root of expecting them to know about and relate to stuff the way we do. After 9/11, I saw a tee shirt on Sukhamvit Road of Osama Bin Laden's face and the words, "Anthrax War Now!!!". The Gov eventually banned them. I was like, "note to self: don't wear that on the flight home".

 

But to the average Thai, Osama was just another bad boy like Gene Simmons of KISS, who's shirt was being sold next to it. What's in it for them to know about Western stuff? 

 

To be fair, the average American couldn't find Ukraine -or Thailand- on a map either.

[CrunchWrapSupreme]

3 hours ago, BangkokReady said:

How's that going?  Are you teaching in China now, or has that evaporated?

Yeah. The Chinese govt has locked them out. I've had a few moms trying to sneak in their 5-7 yr olds, though my service only does adults. IMHO, that age group is barely grasping how to deal with real people in front of them, let alone on a screen. I block em.

 

I heard the services who used to deal with them like VIPKid, Magic Ears are all gone. Those people did nursery rhymes and flash cards or whatever with em. That's all beyond me. Heh. My adults are from Japan, Taiwan, Turkey, Brazil. We've been talking about Omicron, Ukraine, and Elon Musk.

[Walker88]

The same concerns that drove Poland, Romania, both former parts of Czechoslovakia, Montenegro, Bulgaria, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia to ask to join NATO (subjugation and abuse under commies and the USSR) will soon allow Ukraine to gain NATO membership.

 

When there's a little guy pining for the days of the USSR running the country, nations are well-advised to seek safety in NATO membership.

[Walker88]

4 hours ago, Saanim said:

In the civilised regimes with democratically elected leaders there are ways how to exchange their leaders, other than to assassinate...

Well, let's hope, then, that one day russia becomes civilized.

 

So far, every episode from Litvinenko to Skirpal to Anna Politkovskaya to Navalny to Nemtsov to the slaughter of Chechnya to the invasion of Georgia to this latest invasion of Ukraine says russia has a long way to go to meet the criteria of 'civilized'.

[Walker88]

4 hours ago, Saanim said:

Is the Frederick Kagan a B-I-L of Victoria Nuland, the one who has been so helpful to the current Ukraine regime?  

Then, the report will be really unbiased, won't be?

 

Oh my! You're not one of those who are of the belief that Vicky Nuland has some sort of special power? How about Geoff Pyatt?

 

Contrary to Internet Myth and Moonbat Conspiracy Theory, Vicky Nuland is a long time Foggy Bottom bureaucrat who is about as close to covert action as Pee Wee Herman. Geoff is the quintessential 'metrosexual', and the only possible thing about him that could intimidate a little guy like putin is that Geoff is about 6'4". Otherwise, he's maybe another Pee Wee Herman (you can Google that character if unfamiliar with Pee Wee).

 

I have seen these silly statements about Nuland ever since putin taped and released a phone call between Vicky and Geoff. For those who know both of them, it's hilarious. I'd be more intimidated by Bugs Bunny than either of them.

[whereyougo]

13 hours ago, StayinThailand2much said:

For many Thais, it seems, Thailand is their planet. Only fitting, that we foreigners are officially classed as aliens...

Yes Thais are not totally stupid. I once asked a GF if she wanted to live in Australia and without pause she said no thanks if western country so good why all farang want to live here. Thais think thailand is special and we are aliens for good reason IMO

[Walker88]

50 minutes ago, whereyougo said:

Yes Thais are not totally stupid. I once asked a GF if she wanted to live in Australia and without pause she said no thanks if western country so good why all farang want to live here. Thais think thailand is special and we are aliens for good reason IMO

Well, not ALL foreigners want to live in Thailand, and there are plenty of Thais living in or immigrating to the US, Australia, etc. There are far more Thais in the US than US cits in Thailand.

 

Perhaps she was unaware of that and bases her statement on incomplete info and a self-selected demographic.

 

Some foreigners want to live in Thailand. Some Thais prefer to live in Western nations. No absolutes.

[thaibeachlovers]

15 hours ago, Lacessit said:

The war - and it is a war, not a BS "special military operation" is going badly for Russia. Poor logistics, low troop morale, a higher body count than anyone in Russia is prepared to admit. Russian aircraft still do not control the airspace above Ukraine, a sine qua non for support of ground forces. Senior military officers getting killed on the frontline, apparent purges and defections inside the walls of the Kremlin.

and you know all that to be true and not just propaganda because..................................?

[thaibeachlovers]

21 minutes ago, Walker88 said:

Well, not ALL foreigners want to live in Thailand, and there are plenty of Thais living in or immigrating to the US, Australia, etc. There are far more Thais in the US than US cits in Thailand.

 

Perhaps she was unaware of that and bases her statement on incomplete info and a self-selected demographic.

 

Some foreigners want to live in Thailand. Some Thais prefer to live in Western nations. No absolutes.

Completely normal behaviour. Loads of NZ citizens prefer to live in Australia, though it doesn't seem to be visa versa, which I can understand. Wages are far better in Oz for a start.

[thaibeachlovers]

3 hours ago, TheScience said:

Does anyone seriously think for a second that Russia couldn't roll its military into its next door neighbor and crush it in days?

From some of the comments on here and other threads, apparently some do.

I said it way back on this thread that choosing war over compromise could only lead to death, destruction and tears for Ukraine, but IMO it's only a matter of time ( and many more deaths ) before Ukraine leaders accept they can't "win". However, I'm sure the arms manufacturers are lovin' it.

 

Qualifier-

I have no "side" in this conflict, as it's nothing to do with me. I'm just making an observation, and giving my OPINION.

 

[thaibeachlovers]

15 hours ago, BritManToo said:

'not my country, not my business'.

I think the Thais are very sensible about world affairs.

Yes. Even Al Jazeera is OTT with the Ukraine war, but the western media is probably happy to have something other than covid to try and attract viewers.

Before covid it was all about illegal immigrants, but that seems to have ceased to be a problem, given by the lack of stories about it now.

 

[Lacessit]

4 hours ago, thaibeachlovers said:

and you know all that to be true and not just propaganda because..................................?

Three reasons:

 

Reports from independent media such as the Australian ABC. It doesn't have the axes to grind that Murdoch's News Corp or Fairfax does, so can be regarded as impartial.

 

I don't think images of destroyed Russian tanks can be photoshopped, and there does seem to be an awful lot of them.

 

If the war was going well for Russia, don't you think the Kremlin and Putin would be crowing about it?

[ozimoron]

11 hours ago, Saanim said:

In the civilised regimes with democratically elected leaders there are ways how to exchange their leaders, other than to assassinate...

That would be to put the opposition leaders in jail so there won't be an election driven change.

[TheScience]

17 minutes ago, Lacessit said:

If the war was going well for Russia, don't you think the Kremlin and Putin would be crowing about it?

No. Putin is not that sort of guy at all. Ex KGB he'll take his victory laps privately.

 

Putin is attempting to rebuild an empire. He's well away from accomplishing that.

[Will B Good]

1 minute ago, ozimoron said:

That would be to put the opposition leaders in jail so there won't be an election driven change.

Very popular move in 'democratic' eastern European countries for sure.

[Will B Good]

Just now, TheScience said:

No. Putin is not that sort of guy at all. Ex KGB he'll take his victory laps privately.

 

Putin is attempting to rebuild an empire. He's well away from accomplishing that.

True......at the moment he seems well on the way to destroying what he already has......

[Lacessit]

2 minutes ago, TheScience said:

No. Putin is not that sort of guy at all. Ex KGB he'll take his victory laps privately.

 

Putin is attempting to rebuild an empire. He's well away from accomplishing that.

This is the same Putin who held a rally recently in a Moscow stadium to shore up public support?

[Will B Good]

1 minute ago, Lacessit said:

This is the same Putin who held a rally recently in a Moscow stadium to shore up public support?

Wearing a $13,000 puffer jacket by all accounts......just to. rub salt into the wounds of ordinary Russians and Ukrainians.

[TheScience]

7 hours ago, Walker88 said:

will soon allow Ukraine to gain NATO membership

Never.

 

The West / NATO is not pushing it.

 

Ukraine isn't asking for it last time I'd read.

 

Russia will never accept it.

 

Ukraine will be destroyed by Western interests. War is very profitable.

[ozimoron]

5 minutes ago, TheScience said:

Never.

 

The West / NATO is not pushing it.

 

Ukraine isn't asking for it last time I'd read.

 

Russia will never accept it.

 

Ukraine will be destroyed by Western interests. War is very profitable.

If profitable for the west then it must also be profitable for Russia. Russia started it so that must be the profit motive in action.

[Lacessit]

10 minutes ago, Will B Good said:

Wearing a $13,000 puffer jacket by all accounts......just to. rub salt into the wounds of ordinary Russians and Ukrainians.

Might have had a fairly thick layer of Kevlar in it.

[Lacessit]

3 minutes ago, ozimoron said:

If profitable for the west then it must also be profitable for Russia. Russia started it so that must be the profit motive in action.

The profit for Russia is in gaining control of the Donbas region, which has massive deposits of shale gas. Russia currently supplies 40% of Europe's energy needs, and Putin did not want the Ukrainians setting up as an alternative supplier to Europe, thereby weakening the energy blackmail he has.

Taking over Ukraine's chernozem grain production would be icing on the cake.

[Lacessit]

9 hours ago, TheScience said:

 

I'm super curious why many of you think Putin made this play? Purely to free Russified provinces? De nazification lol?

Wars have always been about theft writ large, and Putin already has a track record on kleptomania.

Hitler wanting lebensraum to the east, Hussein invading Kuwait. The CCP wants Taiwan as it is a major player in electronics.

Ukraine has major shale gas and agricultural assets, Putin wants to steal them.

[Excel]

19 hours ago, BritManToo said:

I've always avoided eastern Europeans (including Germans) anyway.

Well with some of the blonde Ukrainian girls you have missed something

[In Full Agreement]

21 hours ago, Will B Good said:

I doubt many Thais could locate Russia on a globe let alone Ukraine.....for the moment it is a war in a far away place between people (other than tourists of course) for whom they have little concern.

 

I find the same to be true when I've asked Thais if they can identify Thailand on a world map.