22 hours ago, HappyExpat57 said:

So far, Murikkkans have been promised:

$5000 - DOGE cuts

$2000 - ACA savings

$1000 - Personal Account

$5000 - Current Bribe

I will buy a lifetime supply of beer for anyone who can prove they received any of these "promised" boons. And that offer is every bit as sincere as the promises posted above.

That caption is gold!

19 hours ago, HappyExpat57 said:

There are actually some Democrats running in the midterms who are quite vocally calling themselves Socialists, and they have some absolutely WHACKO ideas, like abolish ALL police in the US, open ALL borders, crazy stuff like that.

MAGA triggered the extremists via leading by example... The more far-right you see, then more far-left you will see (and vice-versa).

6 hours ago, HolmesEquivelant said:

War? I’d say conflict.

A lot of coulda, woulda in your statement.

How has all this personally affected you. Other than paying a little more at the gas pump, temporarily.

A small price to pay (temporarily) for a nuclear weapon free Iran.

We both know they wouldn’t hesitate to use it.

Conflict? Other than using nukes, the US brought out most of its arsenal and accomplished none of its stated goals. At this point, both the US and Israel are worse off than before the war. Much of the Middle East's oil complex is in shambles and oil flow from the region has been restricted. The world economy has yet to see the full effect. So, call it a "conflict" if that makes you happy. It's the outcome that matters, not the label.

A nuclear free Iran? Thats the propaganda, to be sure, but Iran's enriched uranium is still in Iran and there's not much stopping them from moving forward with a nuclear program if that's what they want to do. As for whether they'd use it? Of course they would if faced with an existential threat. The solution: leave them alone. That seems to work with North Korea.

As for how this "conflict" has affected me personally? Here in Thailand, I can't say it has affected me too much. In fact, I've probably made some extra money from certain stocks. What bothers me is not the damage that's been done so far. It's the damage that's yet to come to the world economy. More inflation, food shortages in much of the world as the result of high diesel prices and a shortage of fertilizer, etc. And to pay for the war, the US is borrowing more money. Money that it can never pay back other than by buying its own debt. The value of my US dollars and everyone's US Dollars is at risk.

5 hours ago, jas007 said:

Conflict? Other than using nukes, the US brought out most of its arsenal and accomplished none of its stated goals. At this point, both the US and Israel are worse off than before the war. Much of the Middle East's oil complex is in shambles and oil flow from the region has been restricted. The world economy has yet to see the full effect. So, call it a "conflict" if that makes you happy. It's the outcome that matters, not the label.

A nuclear free Iran? Thats the propaganda, to be sure, but Iran's enriched uranium is still in Iran and there's not much stopping them from moving forward with a nuclear program if that's what they want to do. As for whether they'd use it? Of course they would if faced with an existential threat. The solution: leave them alone. That seems to work with North Korea.

As for how this "conflict" has affected me personally? Here in Thailand, I can't say it has affected me too much. In fact, I've probably made some extra money from certain stocks. What bothers me is not the damage that's been done so far. It's the damage that's yet to come to the world economy. More inflation, food shortages in much of the world as the result of high diesel prices and a shortage of fertilizer, etc. And to pay for the war, the US is borrowing more money. Money that it can never pay back other than by buying its own debt. The value of my US dollars and everyone's US Dollars is at risk.

Ah yes, more doom and gloom on the horizon.

I’ve never heard that before. Yawn.

Your predictions aren’t quite as severe as @Wingate ’s coming by January, 2027. Two years after Trump took office.

12 hours ago, HolmesEquivelant said:

Sure about that claim?

Yea, I'm sure. It was 34 to 35 baht to the dollar before he won.

3 minutes ago, John Drake said:

Yea, I'm sure. It was 34 to 35 baht to the dollar before he won.

For 2 days maybe. lol. If 2 baht affects you that much go back home and get a real job

38 minutes ago, HolmesEquivelant said:

For 2 days maybe. lol. If 2 baht affects you that much go back home and get a real job

What a stupid remark. Trump actually pushed the exchange rate down to 30 before it rebounded when he started the war. A five baht difference in the exchange rate is not insignificant. But I guess you're Diamond Jim, arent' you. Just throwing money around loosely to prove what a big shot you are. Not to mention that the exchange rate actually spent a lot of time around 37 to 38 before settling to 35. Pig ignorant analysis.

1 hour ago, HolmesEquivelant said:

Your predictions aren’t quite as severe as @Wingate ’s coming by January, 2027. Two years after Trump took office.

I wouldn't call my views "predictions." Just observations based on a reading of the world news. My hope is that the war will end and life will return to "normal." No lasting disruption in the oil markets, no food crisis anywhere in the world, and no crazy gyrations in the currency markets. I'm not betting on any of that happening, though, but there's nothing I can do about it except to try to stay out of the way.