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beautifulthailand99

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  1. That Newsweek is simply wrong - this poll aggregator has them all. Look for yourself and if Biden is piling up votes in Dem states which he will get anyway but not the swing one's he's a gonna anyway. https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/polls/president-general/
  2. Do you actually know any women to ask that question ! It's all women btw not just Asian ones.
  3. As for Putin all available research says you are plain wrong. Many Ukrainians commentators lament how popular he is with the "Orcs" and use that fact for a blanket Russian condemnation. https://edition.cnn.com/2024/03/12/europe/russian-support-putin-election-intl-cmd/index.html The latest polling, from the respected Levada Center in Moscow, puts public trust in Putin at an astonishing 86%. Of course, in a country where critics are routinely jailed, exiled or killed, public opinion polls are flawed. Another factor is the constant pro-Kremlin propaganda pumped out on state-controlled media, where most Russians get their news. But as this election approaches, you can’t discount what so many ordinary Russians tell you, face to face.
  4. The concept of a cruise/ferry/travel choice maybe be one that works, so it is a bit of everything. Starts in Bangkok goes to Sattahip then Samui and terminated at Songkhla. But this is Thailand with endless vested interests to keep happy. Good luck - we wanted to use it this year but sadly you have paused the service.
  5. Exactly non are trafficked they pull that ruse when they are busted to then try and stay here.
  6. It is probably the best review I've seen to date. Ozimoron posted the full link before he flounced off. There are no winners in this war - both sides have lost heavily and for decades to come.
  7. If they do lose Zelenskiy will be the fall guy - both internally, particularly amongst the fight to eternity ultranationalists and the west saying that his sacking of Zalunhyi was a strategic misstep, that and corruption that mislaid vast amounts of support provided. Why an actor/comedian should know more than a seasoned battle hardened General universally loved by his troops is mystery to me.
  8. Momentum Shifts Toward Russia in Ukraine War, US Spies Warn - BLOOMBERG I think Ukraine is making a grave mistake relying on the "West" for long-term support. By the very definition of democracy, the country does what the majority of its people want. And after 2 years of fighting to an eroding stalemate, the majority of people in some countries might start to think it would be maybe better to build a new hospital, instead of providing another Patriot system to Ukraine. Government changes, and whatever promises were made before are forgotten. On the other hand, if you make a deal with N. Korea, Iran or China, you can be damn sure they will deliver unless there is some kind of major revolution. This is the sad reality Ukraine has to fight with on top of everything else. And then there's the Trump threat - not a penny more lurking in the wings. The Pope wasn't wrong that the best option Ukraine has is to negotiate as soon as possible. Over time, they only get weaker, their future is further crippled, their leverage worsens. The longer this drags on , the worse it will be for them. It is a choice between lose softer now and lose much harder later. An authoritarian parallel economic universe is being born, one that is immune to sanctions and benefits the players at the expense of the US dollar hegemon. For better or worse, the American century is coming to an end and it's naive to think that the old orthodoxies still hold true. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-03-11/momentum-shifting-toward-russia-in-ukraine-war-us-spies-warn?leadSource=reddit_wall Moscow has made continual, incremental battlefield gains since late 2023 and benefits from uncertainties about the future of military assistance from the US and allies, the top intelligence officials told members of the Senate Intelligence Committee in their annual presentation on the biggest “worldwide threats” facing the US. “This deadlock plays to Russia’s strategic military advantages and is increasingly shifting the momentum in Moscow’s favor,” they said. Central Intelligence Agency Director William Burns testified that “the Ukrainians are not running out of courage and tenacity. They’re running out of ammunition, and we’re running out of time to help them.” FULL REPORT https://www.intelligence.senate.gov/sites/default/files/hearings/unclassified_2024_ata_report_0.pdf
  9. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-03-11/momentum-shifting-toward-russia-in-ukraine-war-us-spies-warn?leadSource=reddit_wall Hamas’s Persistence Their joint report warned of the risk of regional escalation in the Israel-Hamas war. It said armed resistance to Israel by Hamas is likely to continue for years and “it is likely that the Gaza conflict will have a generational impact on terrorism,” they said. It was an implicit rejection of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s pledge that Israel’s current offensive will wipe out the group that’s considered a terrorist organization by the US and European Union. The report said US spy agencies assess that “Iranian leaders did not orchestrate nor had foreknowledge of the Hamas attack against Israel” on Oct. 7 that sparked months of fighting.
  10. That ship like the Russian navy has long since been sunk. There won't be amity between Ukraine and Russia probably in my lifetime, but there could be a messy peace and secure redefined borders and a frozen conflict. The battlefield is deciding that not diplomacy and sadly for Ukraine they are losing that. Russia's never coming back to the West now it's thrown in its lot with China in a "partnership without limits" and this and other nefarious partners and the global south/BRICS will determine the arc of that trajectory, not what we would like or wish for. Winston Churchill in 1939: “I cannot forecast to you the action of Russia. It is a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma; but perhaps there is a key. That key is Russian national interest.” (Source: Churchill Society) "Russia is never as strong as she looks; Russia is never as weak as she looks." (Attributed to multiple individuals, including Winston Churchill.)
  11. If Putin goes there won't be an effortless road to democratic liberalism, far from it -what the last 2 years has shown us is the Putin is in total control and the siloviki will no doubt uphold legitimacy of that of his successor should there ever be one, who the current Kremlin watching consensus seems to favour Nikolai Patrushev, who is believed to be even more authoritarian than Putin. They all know that should they collectively falter and lose their grip rather like Prizoghin they lose their lives in short order. The Russian people are not a factor in this calculation - they will keep their heads down and their views in check. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikolai_Patrushev https://theweek.com/feature/briefing/1024619/putins-potential-successors The 71-year-old has known Putin since they worked together in the KGB, and was a major strategist in both the 2014 and 2022 invasions of Ukraine. Last year Tatiana Stanovaya told The Washington Post that "His ideas form the foundations of decisions taken by Putin. He is one of the few figures Putin listens to." In a March 2023 interview with Rossiskaya Gazetta, Petrushev said that "Washington and London are again conniving with Nazism and fascism. They have no qualms about using Ukraine to set Europe or the entire world ablaze in a belief that they can get away with anything." Over the past year, Petrushev has traveled widely seeking to shore up Russia's diplomatic position, and has played a critical role in managing the alliance with China. Petrushev's 45-year-old son Dmitry, currently the agriculture minister, has also been a rumored Putin successor. https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/odr/russia-security-services-siloviki-putin-regime/ Who supports this system, who protects it? The so-called security forces, known in Russia as siloviki, are the core and backbone of Vladimir Putin’s regime. Today, there are as many as five million people in the siloviki, including employees of the country’s state security, the police, the investigative committee (which is supposedly akin to the FBI in the US) and numerous other agencies, such as the National Guard, which employs more than 300,000 people and is only really tasked with dispersing protests. Russia’s siloviki have long lived by their own rules. Very often, these rules are inaccessible and incomprehensible for both people outside the country and residents of Russia.
  12. There are lots of fatal accidents between people who know each other with guns in Thailand, sadly. RIP
  13. And you've left the country but still want to opine from afar about how we have gone to the dogs - hence the bitterness !
  14. They have forced her out to be papped. Assuming this photo is true of course. https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13183233/Kate-leaving-Windsor-Castle-Prince-William-Westminster-Abbey.html
  15. Rumours are William is off with his significant other and wants out and there is an epic battle going on behind the scenes, but the heir is being protected so she is being thrown to the wolves. The best take I have read on it is this from the Buzz Feed royal reporter of 11 years standing now freelance who makes sense of the drama. NiemanLab is an elite finishing school for talented journalists at Harvard. Nieman Fellows have collectively won 101 Pulitzer Prizes. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nieman_Foundation_for_Journalism “This is just weird”: BuzzFeed News’ former royals reporter on Kate Middleton, Palace PR, and distrust in the media “I cannot emphasize enough how out of character it is that a royal press team went on the record in response to what is essentially gossip.” https://www.niemanlab.org/2024/03/this-is-just-weird-buzzfeed-news-former-royals-reporter-on-kate-middleton-palace-press-and-distrust-in-the-media/
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