soalbundy

Oooooooooh, the racist cards are being waved, still makes a change from the Hamas, Israeli, Russian and refugee cards. So Mr. Hester doesn't think Ms Abbot is a good ambassador for black women, he's probably right but who cares, there are surely better PC issues around to get your knickers in a twist about.

She didn't say neigh so he took that as a yes, hay! no need to stall, there was no bar fine.

My MIL had cataract surgery done at the local hospital, (one eye, later the other) no stay required.

Time to pack his trunk.

A lot people stressed out these days and react accordingly, never ends well.

His facial expression and actions of non compliance show he is letting the thunder roll over him, he has lost hope. This action of madness on his part does hint at mental illness or a momentary loss of control due to some traumatic event or news just before the incident. It is unusual that he rejects his embassy or his ex- wife and seems to want to make matters worse for himself, he obviously isn't acting normally, either then or now, he needs a psychiatrist but he will probably reject that as well.

Not a holiday, he is polishing his political crown, he can show his power openly now, in exile it was done secretly.

Well, I don't know much about that but I am wary of forming an opinion on any nation's capabilities. When a small local, unregistered, building firm built my house here I was surprised (and delighted in a way) to see them using methods that were common in ancient Rome and worked just as well. Before the British Raj came to India, their medicine, food, and administration methods as well as mathematics (they had invented the concept of zero) outstripped those of Europe and were eradicated for profit. In the European dark ages the Arabs had a working knowledge of the human body, used advanced mathematics and astronomy, had lit streets in large cities and a modern legal system, like the Japanese they found the first Europeans (Vikings) to be primitive and dirty. The scourge of religion and greed has always made mankind take a step backwards. At the present time I find Thailand to be an island of stability, they have the brains where it matters, their central bank for instance. Of course they have corruption (it is almost charming in its openness) and stupid politicians but for real embarrassing stupidity you have to look at the GOP in the USA or the Tory and Labour party in the UK (some reckon that the British people are so disenchanted with politics that 50% won't even vote in the general election). You mention China, now a basket case, Japan which has had deflation for 20 years and a failing currency, Singapore an unlivable boring place and South Korea which along with Japan has one of the lowest birth rates and the highest suicide numbers, technology isn't the ultimate answer to humanities problems, there is no human warmth in a perfectly humming factory with machines run by computers and robots doing the welding (something I saw in an engine plant, the only people I met were in the office), never saw a robot buy a car. Skill and pride in work well with ones own hands is lost forever, no sense of personal achievement, just button pressers and paper shufflers or "would you like fries with that".

Courage, determination and empathy for others is sorely missing these days (guilty as charged). This young women showed all these qualities instead of falling into depression and feeling sorry for herself, well done little fighter, hope you get to walk again.

If we just consider the quality of life as human beings then technological progress isn't so important. Tribes in the Amazon jungle have never heard of unsustainable debt, unemployment, hunger, fear of homelessness etc. These days in the so call technological civilized world there is rising poverty, homelessness, unemployment, living from pay cheque to pay cheque and fear. The exponential rise in technological progress is leaving the majority behind, AI, quantum computing etc. are the domain of a few scientists when most don't even know how their cell phone works, the vast majority (including myself) are like apes in a zoo playing with the toys our zoo keepers have given us. Human capabilities such as art, craftsmanship in wood, stone, metal and cloth manufacture, skilled farm work, innovation in design are dead or dying (the pyramids had to be built by aliens, the Mayan stone buildings had to be made by a pre-ice age advanced civilization because we can't envisage human ingenuity anymore). In Denmark there is a museum showing examples of stone age artifacts of such beauty and perfection it is difficult to imagine how they were made. When Oetzi (the frozen mummy found in the alps) was found the sewing on his leather garments was so precise that at first it was thought this was a modern man who had frozen to death many years before. Considering the modern age we live in I think of the book 'Brave new world', it's becoming a complicated dystopian nightmare where the book 'Animal farm' may soon become a reality. Incidentally regarding Thai capabilities. I worked for a German auto company who sent car kits to Thailand for them to assemble. One day my company changed the design of the air-con unit, they sent the new designed unit with the old kits, the Thai company reported back that the engines wouldn't start because the engine computer didn't recognize the air-con unit and they asked the German technicians in Germany if there was a way to re program the computer. The German technicians reported back after a weeks consideration that it couldn't be done and they would fly the old air-con units (at great expense) to Thailand. Red faces all round when the Thais reported back "not necessary, we have reprogrammed the computer ourselves, all working fine now"

There was a clinical study done in London in a carefully controlled environment for people suffering from depression, it helped some long term and many short term. In Israel it was used for terminally ill patients who had extreme death anxiety it was found to help all of those in the test. I have never used it myself due to lack of opportunity. Interestingly it seems that LSD, magic mushrooms, etc don't enhance brain activity, they reduce it to the extent that all filters are removed so that one sees 'reality' for what it is, just a manifestation of consciousness. The cognitive scientist Donald Hoffman has, after using mathematics in the evolutionary game theory and computer modelling, hypothesized that perceived reality isn't the truth, it is consciousness and agents of consciousness manifesting a 'reality' that ensures our survival, a survival of conscious agents, which only perceive that which is necessary, everything else is filtered out.

I don't think the Western style of economics can be held up as a shining example either though, unsustainable national debt and kicking the can down the road until the currency is debased is leading us to frightening pastures. Thailand won't be spared recession, it's in the same roller coaster going downhill and is reliant on countries who are already in recession, it will come here just a little later.

Arrogant, entitled, bad tempered with a short fuse, so yes a short stay in the monkey house before being deported would be an appropriate punishment, assault, especially committed against a woman, is a serious crime.

Cum convicts stick together.

Do Swiss men have a problem with anger management? One would have thought the news concerning his compatriot recently would act as an alarm bell, only kick Thai women in the dark, void of witnesses and tell them you're British.

Probably long gone.

The fish got its revenge.

That's the work of the devil.

I bet he has an Irish grandmother.

God gave us air-con.

Oh what a tangled web we weave.........

From an acorn grows a mighty oak tree. He is a very unpopular man.

Every house, boat, car and jacket seems to have one, they get nervous if they can't see the star spangled banner.

Just a cock and ball story

I agree, they've certainly got a lot of balls.