Kinnock

This is exactly the type of feeble-minded lunacy (or should that be Llamacy) that drives people to the extreme right wing. All Tommy or Nigel need to do is to start saying they'll keep men out of women's toilets and Llamas out of politics and they'll be able to form the next UK government. Glad I'm in Thailand where men are men and women are ...... oh wait.

Except there is one .... https://www.who.int/news/item/02-10-2023-who-recommends-r21-matrix-m-vaccine-for-malaria-prevention-in-updated-advice-on-immunization#:~:text=The R21 vaccine is the,have high public health impact.

Yes .... malaria is one of the biggest killers of children, with number 1 being be a wide catch-all category of 'diarrhoea', so malaria is probably the real number 1 .... but it has such a complex lifecycle it's been challenging to develop an effective vaccine - although there's some promising ones on trial now.

A statistical quirk in a non peer reviewed paper that panders to the fears of the anti vaccination brigade. The two groups are not comparable .... in general the group of people who get vaccinated will have a higher proportion of people with reasons to do so .... poor health, overweight, high risk group etc .... the same people who have a higher mortality rate. Also, vaccination is targeted by health professionals on higher risk groups. There's so many papers published every day that it's possible to find one that reinforces a particular belief. Flat earth, check .... MMR causes autism, check, All Thai girls are hookers, check.

Pricey for an uncomfortable 250, and the sports bike position is not good for visibility in traffic. I'd rather have a 400cc Triumph for less money and with more comfort.

I'm struggling to imagine how much of a ripple would be created by downsizing a self-serving bureaucratic organisation. The international private schools will lose some business, a few drivers may lose their jobs, business class to Geneva may have a few empty seats, buffet lunches for the endless talking-shop meetings will reduce ..... but the planet will keep spinning

The British Embassy hasn't had a clue about anything going on in Thailand since about 1972.

So with all the dramatic cuts in US aid, the only serious impact so far was a chronically I'll, bedridden 71 year old?

His incoherent rants sound like a toddler's temper tantrum after being told he can't have more ice cream.

..... too many weak-willed addicts who can't quit. People only pretend to like smoking because they lack the strength to beat their addiction.

President Truman.

I've had experience of working in projects alongside USAID and the UN .... both organisations were equally useless and corrupt. And the people working for them were totally focussed on internal politics and their own careers with zero interest in the actual project. After I left one project in China after it became clear it was just a property scam, they employed an actor to pretend to be the consultant in my place. Both USAID and the UN should be disbanded and funding diverted to organisations where they care about results.

Woke extremism is likely to create a far right backlash ..... as in US now and Germany, France, UK in the near future. People with minority sexual orientations or religious beliefs no longer need special treatment, positive discrimination has run its course, give it a rest or we'll end up with Tommy as the UK PM.

Yes, but I think that was one of cause of forum fights ... posters taking the emojis as personal insults .... a bit like the OP.

As an occasional user of 'confused' and 'laughing' emojis I think either can be an appropriate response to some of the drivel posted here. Some posts are so odd they leave me confused, so get a well-deserved confused emoji .... if we were having a group chat in a bar I'd be wearing the 'WTF are you talking about' expression - but may not think such a daft comment is worthy of a spoken response. Other times a reply to a post can be so ridiculous, it's funny .... most the US political 'debates' fall into this category. I also can't resist a confused emoji when some gets upset about confused emojis ....

My (Thai manufactured) bike came with extra spot lights as standard - so I assume they're legal here. Good on unlit back lanes as they give a wider spread of light, but if used on the road they may dazzle drivers. However, I do use them in rain to improve the visibility of the bike to other road users. The little aftermarket LED's I've seen on scooters may cause less dazzle than my spotlights - and look like a good idea to me.

Wouldn't it be more environmentally friendly to use a diesel car running on cooking oil and leave the truck/generator at home?

I wanted an EV to replace my 6 year old petrol SUV, and test drove a couple of them and checked the specs and sat in all the 4x4 EV's at the motorshow .... but none currently cover my needs. Maybe next replacement cycle in another 6 years they will have the range and capability I need for work ... but not yet. More likely I'll get a small EV as a second car in the future. But for now a diesel 4x4 works best for me.

Nice street shots showing daily life.

Recent photo from last month ... it's an old phone booth in a roadside restaurant - mainly used for photos 🙂

I think Thailand is much safer for women than many countries. Any violence against women is generally Thai ex husbands/boyfriends - so hopefully that's not an issue for you. For men, getting into arguments with the locals can be risky, especially if alcohol is involved, but that's easy enough to avoid. Traffic is probably the biggest risk, plus air pollution.

I think it's available on BBC iplayer if you can access it. May need a VPN. The post mentioned video and DVD.

Good question .... and I think the 'experts' were hung up on the historical vaccination-based eradication schemes such as smallpox and polio. The theory is if enough people are vaccinated the virus will go away, and this will relieve pressure on the hospitals (the primary 'reason' for vaccination). But smallpox, polio (and HPV, measles, mumps, rubella and others) do not mutate, whereas COVID mutates rapidly. So if your approach is to treat COVID like a cold or flu, stay at home and suck it up, then it's up to you if you get vaccinated. But if you run to hospital every time you get a sniffle (like they do in China and India) then regular vaccination has some theoretical value.

Just bought a new car - but not a Toyota and not an EV (as we have a specific need for our business that makes EV's impractical) and it was a simple and pleasant experience. Started at the Motorshow - great to be able to hop in and out of all the options in one day. Visited the dealers for the shortlist and arranged test drives. Line conversations followed - negotiating the best deal, offered a good discount, then took an extended test drive in the favourite model. Was able to choose the actual car from three in their warehouse (they told us the manufacturing date of each one). 3 days later, on an 'auspicious date' they had our car prepared with all extras added and up on a lift so I could inspect underneath. Flowers, bow, freebies, briefing on all the buttons and screens, then we were off for our first trip. But it was not a Toyota. I know Toyota have the best resale values in Thailand, but we keep our cars years and they have to travel to and on farms, so resale value is irrelevant to us. There's so much uncertainty in the market now, plus over-supply - so there's some great deals out there .... just not on a Toyota.

I think there's a common misconception about the real reason for the mass vaccination program. It wasn't some conspiracy or even about health, it was a political necessity. Most governments around the world panicked and made many unwise and unjustified decisions that wrecked their economies and created massive national debt .... but how to step back from lock-downs, travel bans, working from home, subsidies etc when it's clear the virus is never going away? You can't admit you made serious errors of judgement, so you use mass vaccination as the 'reason' for lifting the unsustainable restrictions. I think it's a brilliant strategy, and hopefully a harmless ruse ..... unless the health impacts of the mRNA vaccines turn out to be real.