alanalt

I wholeheartedly agree with you, simon. I've just turned off a bunch of my 'new topic' notifications because I'm tired of getting so many daily messages (9 today) that EXPAT's started a new topic that I don't have the slightest interest in... I appreciate that Oz is trying to make this forum more active and I wish I had the time to participate in it than the occasional sporadic post, But I don't think this has been the way to do it, and by turning off my notifications I already know that I'll be visiting the forum less and participating even more infrequently than I have been to date... Alan

Sorry, but it's hard for me to get too worked up about a country with 190+ million people having an economy that's slightly larger than a country with 62 million people. Now when Brazil's per-capita GDP approaches/exceeds that of the UK, then I'll get excited. On second thought, I probably won't, since I expect to be long dead by the time that happens... Alan

Back in the 1990s, I had a friend/acquaintance who owned a pet care store and she told me she refused to carry any food/treats made in China because of poor quality control issues. She advised me to always check the labelling (or with the store owner for bulk dry food/biscuits) and stay away from Chinese products. I confess, I hadn't really thought about it in recent years, but I guess old habits die hard, because when I went and checked this am, I found everything I give my dog still comes from North America. Indeed there's a small irony in that almost everything was made in the USA and I live in Canada... Alan

I'm not a US citizen/resident - so my observations regarding the Tea Party is that while I think some (even many) of them are definitely certifiable, the Tea Party represents only one small part of the varying kinds of 'craziness' to be found in pretty much all parts of the US body-politic these days. The only other thing I'd say is that I'd be extremely suspicious and wary of placing any kind of confidence in the conclusions of a poll that sampled fewer than 350 people, especially when that poll purports to present the opinions of voters in certain districts as well as those on a national basis. I've worked in political 'backrooms' for 20 years and if I was given a poll with such limited a sample size, it would almost certainly be headed for the garbage can and not the circulation list... Alan

I don't think corked wine is bad for you and, yes, I would use it for cooking. I often use left-over wine that's been opened for a while in marinades or as a vinegar substitute in sauces, so I don't see why you couldn't use it in instances like that! Alan

Obviously much depends on the skill of the photographer and the attractiveness of the model, but all other things being equal, I tend to prefer pics of models by themselves and videos of models in 'action'! Alan

Considering that yesterday's choice as the 'birthday' of the seven billionth was an entirely arbitrary choice made by a UN agency (the seven billionth person may have actually been born months ago - or may not be born for another year), perhaps my ironic message to that person would be that I cannot possibly overstate my dislike and distrust of most UN agencies... Alan

The problem with talking in code is that while you know exactly what you're talking about, other people have no clue... I'm sorry, hitoallusa, but I'm definitely in the latter category in this case, so it's impossible for me to give you any advice, as requested in your OP. And my other point was that to request Daddy to pre-approve anything that remotely sniffs of controversy is pre-doomed to failure... Alan

Two things, hitoallusa, 1) I'm extremely confused. Are you talking about a continuation of this thread? Because I thought you had come to the conclusion (and the correct conclusion, IMO) to let it go. And If you're talking about something else, then please explain what... 2) Of Course Daddy said no. How could you expect otherwise??? He's a control freak who can't stand the thought that someone else's freedom of expression might cause his board the slightest bit of upset. That's one of the reasons I don't post there any more... Alan

Love to suggest something, but frankly I'm too tired from celebrating my passing the 50 post mark... Alan

Finally, I could vote - because the answer was 'yes' for Tintin and 'no' for Tin Tin... I read a few Tintin comics in HS, but was a much bigger fan of Asterix and Obelisk... Alan

Falling asleep after hiring an escort for the first time in the wee hours of the morning on what was likely an 'impulse hire' is still a hefty load of STUPID to me, especially if one has just spent time boasting about your government connections and/or holding public office. The guy would have been lucky not to end up robbed or dead. Yeah, I do understand that there are plenty of people who are thinking with the 'wrong head' in these situations, but the situation, as recounted, still leaves me shaking my head and thinking there's a LOT more going on here than was reported, and again that's if anything happened at all. Again, none of the client's actions takes the escort off the hook here; his behaviour was/is reprehensible. But if a client or would-be client can't be bothered to take even the most basic of precautions to protect his own safety with a first-time hire, then he should put himself up as a candidate for the Darwin Awards... Alan

First of all, it must be said that the escort has acted very poorly here. I have a tough time feeling much sympathy for any escort who chooses to 'out' a client, but the reasons given here are pretty shabby sounding, which no doubt explains why said escort's trying to preserve his anonymity while crapping all over his former client's... However, if even a quarter of this stuff is true, I have to wonder how this alleged client ever managed to fly across the US carrying so much stupid! I just can't imagine letting an escort who I only met that night take pictures of me and my ID and keep them! Let alone promise him tens of thousands of dollars in gifts and a car!!! If there's anything to this story, I've got to believe there's a LOT more than has come out so far. Alan

"Only Japanese and British spend more in USA than Brazilian" Just would like to point out that estimate from the US Dep't of Commerce is apparently calculated on a per-capita basis and also includes airfare if the trip was made on a US-owned airline... I mention this in case anyone else was wondering, as I was, how some 833,000 Brazilians (the number who travelled to the USA from January to July of this year) could possibly outspend the 12.1 million Canadians (or for that matter the 7.6 million Mexicans) who visited the US over the same period of time. Alan

Normally, I'd be the first to say that there are too many 'Hitler gets angry at..." vids on you-tube, but I really enjoyed 'Hiter gets angry about iPhone 4S': here Alan