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I'm sorry if I made you feel that way. At any rate, it seems my commentary is not considered particularly constructive. I'll take this elsewhere.

I don't understand. I might not be very familiar with the US system, but if you take out a loan, why should you not be obligated to pay it back?

Certainly, if the hotel owners run afoul of any laws in increasing prices during high season, then they should be penalised for it, according to applicable laws. But I think one should first demonstrate that what has happened in this instance constitutes 'price gouging' in terms of the law as is...

Sounds to me like normal. If the communities wish to subsidise occupancy for displaced people, then all well and good. If they do not, then I think the rule of supply and demand comes into effect. It is not the duty of the hotel owners to provide for emergency housing, is it?

Why so? You have served in the armed forces, meaning you did your part. They have not. Maybe I'm missing something, but why should you feel as the lesser man in this encounter?

Hello, fellow NATO members!

I think the common theory holds that the price of a good or service is determined by the law of supply and demand. I guess if you believe the suppliers should accept a price below the market rate, or if you think there exists a cartel or monopoly fixing the prices across the board, then the...

Charity is a worthwhile cause, to be sure. However, I'm not entirely convinced this run on the food banks is due to income inequality, and/or the depredations of the rich against the poor. As I see it, it might be more due to inflation ie the rise in food prices, which may be more of a...

Another aspect some might find troubling is the general impact on the collective security mechanisms currently in operation for peace and order in the world. Link. This is why stricter sanctions on their supply chains are important. So far it seems that Russian arms deliveries to their...

If one takes stock of the areas where it is easiest to establish relative strength in conventional warfare, then Russia is superior in manpower (as you mentioned), in the size of their defence budget, and in their possession of a formidable full-spectrum arms industry. In terms of equipment...

I've been based in South East Asia for some years now. I'm off to work, but I'll clarify my points in my previous post. It can be summarised in two assertions: 1. Russia is militarily superior to Ukraine. 2. The militarily superior side does not always win armed conflicts. That's it. If anyone...

Okay. Perhaps it may be constructive for me to expand a bit more on the issue. But first, please let me clear something. If you take a look at my posts here, I believe you will find that I have not made any claim as to the relative superiority of Russian vis a vis Ukrainian forces in theater...

It is f*cking stupid, as you put it, if one believes continued resistance will get them a better deal. Otherwise it is just dozens or hundreds or thousands of lives lost for nothing gained. Now, nobody knows about the future, and some may well feel the chance is worth the risk. And, let's face...

Time may tell if you are confusing 'dirt on someone' with 'military-strategic-political realities on the ground'. We will see.

It seems Ukraine is not very willing to take advice from billionaires. Perhaps they feel they are in a position to win a war of attrition against Russia, or maybe they feel things will sort themselves out before they have to. Or, you know, it is simply bluster in an effort to maintain such a...

It is great fun to blame everything on the opposition. As it has been since time immemorial.

Thank you. I believe I have a much better understanding now of where you all are coming from. I believe the onus is on you to demonstrate that human trafficking has actually occurred. I hope that, should one day the circumstances of the case be such that you and I were to meet face to face...

I think I see the difference, and attempted to convey as much in my post. I'm sorry if I wasn't being clear. I don't know at which stage of the process the people referred to were in, as I don't think the article mentioned that. They were in a shelter, so I imagine some steps had already been...

While I can spot a number of issues there that are problematic, I wonder if I might be missing something which pushes this into the 'truly despicable' or 'human trafficking' category. 1. Texas officials didn't agree with or even give advance notice to their counterparts in Massachusetts, they...

I realize many of you took the time and effort to reply to my post with well-researched and thoughtful counter-points. I am sorry that I cannot return the same consideration.