unicorn

That reminds me of the time HRH Elizabeth II visited Jamestown, Virginia to commemorate the 400th anniversary of its founding in 2007. Apparently some official told her something along the lines of "You will recall this was the first permanent British settlement in North America..." which resulted in a dirty look from the octogenarian Queen. He then specified "from the history books, I mean."

That quantity of drugs would have almost certainly led to multiple deaths, and a substantial number of shortened lives. Not that I approve of the death penalty for drug trafficking, but in those quantities, the difference is only in the directness of the killing.

How old do you think I am??? 😬

Reasons #2 and #3 seem the most likely explanations. Regardless, this episode comes off as someone with no moral compass. Sometimes maternal methamphetamine use during pregnancy can damage the fetus's brain beyond salvation. This video describes a pair of 19 year-old sociopaths, both of whose mothers probably used meth during pregnancy. One was adopted at birth by a loving family, who tried everything they could to help out, including counseling, residential rehab, and reform school. As this one even admitted, he'd been given every chance possible, yet still ended up a callous multiple murderer. The other grew up in an abusive home, but ended up a tiny bit less sociopathic. The adopted one was executed, and the one who grew up in the abusive family received 40 years to life. It seems extremely doubtful that the adopted one, Michael Perry, could ever be trusted to go back into society. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Perry_and_Jason_Burkett "After Perry dropped out and started stealing from his adoptive parents, they admitted him to various reform schools and therapy programs, all of which were unsuccessful. In an interview years later, Perry said, "I had opportunity after opportunity and I wasted them and rebelled. That's one of the reasons why I got the death penalty."..." Of course, this case could simply represent the problem of rich children who are spoiled rotten, like the Menendez brothers, sometimes labeled "affluenza." I read Paris Hilton's autobiography, and she could have gone that way, but seemed to be able to eventually channel her character into a positive direction. It took a lot of hard lessons, though, to teach her that bad actions have bad consequences.

Hurst Lodge School Location Wikimedia | © OpenStreetMap Yateley Hall, Firgrove Road Yateley , Hampshire , GU46 6HJ [1] England Information Type Independent Established 1945 Founder Dorice Stainer[2] Specialist performing arts Headmistress Victoria Smit[1] Staff 30 full-time, 20 part-time[3] Gender Co-educational Age 3 to 18[1] Enrolment 250[1] Houses Stainer, Scott, Randall, Eden Website https://www.hurstlodgeschool.co.uk/

It looks as though the school he was in, Hurst Lodge, is the 3rd most expensive in the entire United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurst_Lodge_School "...In 2001 The Daily Telegraph reported that Hurst Lodge was the third most expensive prep school in Great Britain, coming just after Colet Court, the junior school of St Paul's, and the Dragon School, Oxford, but before Horris Hill, Papplewick, St John's Beaumont, Cheam and Ludgrove, all eight of which then charged more than £13,000 a year...". His case brings to mind that of the infamous "affluenza teen," Ethan Couch, who killed four people and injured a dozen others while driving drunk and high on drugs. That man received a very lenient sentence, which reinforced his sense of rich entitlement. He continued to behave like the sociopath he is after serving only 2 years in prison, and continued to be spoiled and abetted by his parents. In one instance, his mother foolishly even took him to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, despite his being on probation for his felonies. I think both are still carrying on with their sociopathic ways. Trump is another example of a sociopath who believes he's above the law, and that he can behave any way he pleases with no fear of consequences (and, with his current position, he is de facto above the law). Unfortunately for George Wilson, he's not as clever, and maybe the law will actually come down on him.

Is this a recent phenomenon that Thailand has effectively gotten rid of the death penalty? According to Wikipedia, the death penalty is still enforced in Thailand. Or are death penalties only commuted for drug offenses, rather than for other crimes? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capital_punishment#Contemporary_use Abolitionist countries: 110 Abolitionist-in-law countries for all crimes except those committed under exceptional circumstances (such as crimes committed in wartime): 9 Abolitionist-in-practice countries (have not executed anyone during the past 10 years or more and are believed to have a policy or established practice of not carrying out executions): 23 Retentionist countries: 53

Trump apparently wanted to steal one of the Eisenhower library's swords to give to King Charles III. The librarian who refused to hand it over (it belongs to them and the people of the US, not to Trump, obviously) was unceremoniously canned. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/sword-trump-king-charles-eisenhower-library/ "The head of a presidential library resigned this week after a tug-of-war with the Trump administration over gift selection and a sword for King Charles III, sources familiar with the matter told CBS News... Arrington's departure came after he resisted taking an original Eisenhower sword out of the library's collection to give to King Charles last month during President Trump's unprecedented second state visit to the United Kingdom...". Every day brings a new low for the Cheeto Benito.

AI Overview The exact origin of the French word bistro is uncertain, but the most popular and widely circulated theory suggests it comes from the Russian word быстро (bystro) meaning "quickly," allegedly shouted by Russian soldiers during the occupation of Paris in 1814 to demand faster service at cafes. However, this story is considered unlikely by many linguists. An alternative, more probable explanation is that the word developed from the French dialect word bistraud, which referred to a wine seller's assistant or a little shepherd, and later evolved into the meaning of a small, inexpensive eatery.

According to my ex-Russian ex-boyfriend, the story was that the Russian soldiers who chased Napoleon's dwindling army went to French cafes and would pound their fists on the table to demand quick service, shouting "быстро!", meaning "quickly!". I'm not sure how true that is, especially since to "o" in that Russian word is pronounced like the letter "a."

Well, one can actually walk from Narva, Estonia, to Ivangorod, Russia during certain hours, but almost no one does it. Russian citizens are mostly banned, and one cannot take any EU currency (including but not limited to Euros) across the border. Since non-Russian credit cards and ATM's won't work in Russia. I don't know who would ever do it. I suppose a Swiss citizen could go across, taking along a good deal of Swiss Francs, but that would be a strange way to enter the country. Apparently, it's typical for the crossing to take 6 hours, so one must carry enough food and water. For most practical purposes, the border is closed. The Narva-Ivangorod crossing is pedestrian-only. I've visited all of the capitals of the Baltic countries, and my favorite is Riga, which for me was more interesting in terms of architecture and culture. This is a fairly recent description of what would be involved if one wanted to travel between Estonia and Russia: https://russiable.com/estonia-russia-border-crossing/

As you know, but are bullshitting again, I said "the Baltic countries," not Estonia. And, as you also know, Russian shipping lanes through the Gulf of Finland would be precarious indeed in the event of war between Russia and NATO, due to Estonia being in NATO hands. I've never encountered such a shameless bullshitter in my life--by a long-shot.

As I'm sure you know (I assume you're not a complete idiot), it's for the very obvious strategic importance, since Petrograd's ports need to go through the Finnish Gulf, which lies between Finland and Estonia. Also, as you also know, the Baltic countries have cut off the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad, which now relies on precarious internally-generated energy, and sea ties with Petrograd. Only an utter imbecile would believe it's because of Estonia's agricultural riches. I can bank on the fact that you gave your preposterous response because you enjoy lying--not because you're insanely stupid.

While I don't generally make statements announcing my sexual orientation, there have been a few exceptions in my life: my parents and my siblings. Of course, I'm always with my husband, so it's similar to coming out more explicitly when I correct strangers: "That's not my son. That's my husband!" 😉. On the subject of fake heterosexuals (no one here), we spent the day at Disneyland and my husband noticed a man eyeballing him while the man was making out with his girlfriend! 😄

The Mickey T-shirt has a pocket. The other was not an exact duplicate of the rainbow shirt I wore. I agree with you--I never wear shirts without pockets. Not even tank tops!

Kaliningrad seems to be in a very precarious position of late:

Looks like Moldova may be the next country to join the EU. Despite Russian interference, the pro-EU party won over the pro-Russian party by about a 2:1 margin. https://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/28/world/europe/moldova-election-russia.html "...The likely victory for the pro-E.U. party of President Maia Sandu, the Party of Action and Solidarity, was a signal that domestic problems, including expensive gas and widespread poverty, have not derailed its ambitions. As of early Monday morning, 99 percent of the vote had been counted in Moldova, the government’s election tracker showed. About 50 percent of the vote had gone to the party of Ms. Sandu. That is a solid lead over the next highest party — the pro-Russian Patriotic Electoral Bloc, which came in next with just 24 percent of the vote... Then, after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, drawing closer to Europe seemed to many Moldovans to be the best avenue for avoiding future domination by Moscow. The country applied to join the E.U., and last October, a referendum enshrined support for joining the bloc into the Moldovan Constitution...". Putin seems to be painting himself into a corner.

Relax, @PeterRS, I'm not shaking my finger at your choices. I cannot say what I would do if I lived in a hostile country. I suspect I'd try to leave. They've only been around some 20 years, but these days there are organizations such as the Rainbow Railroad which help members of the LGBTQ community relocate to friendly countries (most commonly Canada 🥶). https://www.rainbowrailroad.org/wp-content/cache/wp-rocket/rainbowrailroad.org/index-https.html If you go to parties and on vacations with friends and bring your boyfriend along, then you're out to your friends (assuming you don't make up fake stories about who he is). Do you literally believe that one needs to wear a banner on one's back to be out of the closet?? The only rainbow shirt I have was one I bought because a friend threw a party, and he requested everyone to wear their "gayest attire." Well, OK, I did once buy a T-shirt with a rainbow mickey motif at Disneyland. Being out of the closet simply means living your life without avoiding all conversations about one's personal life (or making up fake stories). It rarely involves proclamations. It's all about just being yourself.

Literally hundreds of friends and acquaintances at work and in my neighborhoods (where I previously lived in the SF Bay Area and where I live now in LA) have known that I'm gay, and I've never had to make a specific statement like "I just want you to know that I'm gay." Unless you're a recluse, it's something which comes up in everyday conversation and social settings--who you're seeing/dating, where you've been, and so on. It's also obvious by who your guests are at parties. I always invite all of my neighbors to the parties which I throw at my property (I cannot, of course, invite them to parties I let others throw at their expense on my property). Two men on different properties on our street are gay, the rest aren't, and we all know who is what without anyone having to make a specific announcement. You have chosen to shield your romantic life from your friends, and they have learned by this that you prefer not to discuss this topic (and probably made certain assumptions as to why not). It's your right not to bring any contemporaneous romantic interests to any party you attend, office event, or other social setting. However, doing so is a choice. I personally would find it emotionally taxing. My choice is to live my life openly with no excuses or hiding.

I don't know what Estonia's air force can do, but Poland has made it clear it will shoot down any jets which violate its airspace...

😄

I suspect most of your friends strongly suspect you're gay, but also suspect you're not comfortable discussing it, since you haven't brought it up, which is why they don't ask specifically. It's certainly easy to have a huge network of gay friends in places such as where I live, Los Angeles. I realize that it isn't as easy in small towns in the countryside.

So are you married or otherwise committed to someone else? What keeps you in the closet? Are you worried you might be fired, or lose out on a sizeable inheritance? Is it the mores of your particular country? Obviously, there's a huge difference between homophobic countries such as Uganda, Iran, or Russia, and most Western countries.