superal

I sympathize with you . I have been through the same as follows . On returning to the UK from Thailand I developed the runs and up to 10 times a day which stank the house out . I went to the doctors but could only see the nurse . She asked for a poo sample which would be sent to the laboratory for testing . I gave the sample the same day . Nurse said the results may take 4 or 5 days , so in the mean time take ciprofloxin . It cleared up in about 2 days . The following week back to doctor for lab report . Doctor sat looking at his computer and was mystified , saying " I have never seen this before ". Turns out it was a water borne parasite common in Asia . Do you think that all restaurants and street food vendors in Thailand use bottled water ? Not a chance in hell . I certainly never eat street or market food because 15 years ago I ended up in a Thai hospital with food poisoning . There will be those who will say something like " I have eaten Thai street food for more than 10 years and never had a problem " . I guess its a lucky dip but I prefer to shorten the odds in my favour .

My thoughts are the same , good summary

I truly believe that the achievement by your step daughter could be made by other Thai children , if given the chance and they had caring parents as you have shown

Good read and well done

I was told by an English teacher from the UK that he had to stick to the schools curriculum using an outdated Power Point system and any deviation from the curriculum would end his job . Talented children from poor families have little chance of realizing a good education from a state school . Do you agree ?

Corruption and money number 1 is the accepted way of Thai life . As you point out , 1 mans greed without any concerns for the level of education . I have been told that families with money send their children to schools with good reputations of educational achievements and from there on to university . Children of working class families have little chance of a decent level of education especially when the school is run by crooked directors which will probably be common .

Up here in Issan , the eatery business is very competitive with low profit margins , however it is in our case the old cliche of " sell it cheap and pile them high " that has created her low profit business . Any increase in the price of meals would drive our customers to other restaurants . Her staff are happy with the 300 baht a day and 2 meals . What you have to consider is that up here in the north east , 300 baht a day , although tight , is enough to feed a small family , if living purely in the Thai way . Many have their homes on land that they own , so no rent . Use mostly motor cycles and do not tax or insure them , as is the way up here and they are mostly ignored by highway police . Having said that , our local do-it-all tradesman has put his daily rate up to 500 baht a day from 300 baht . He is always in demand . 300 baht a day , working in Bangkok , would be a struggle .

I urge you to read the BBC news , under Word news and the comments of President Biden . Confirms much of what I have stated . Israel are losing support because of their indiscriminate bombing .

The spokesman knows that the laying down of arms and surrender will not happen because of the degree of hatred between the 2 nations . Hamas will never be completely wiped out . What is worth mentioning is that the U.S.A. vetoed the U.N. Security council resolution for a humanitarian ceasefire . This veto will not only prolong the war but brings in the possibility of Palestinian allies joining in . The U.S.A. reasoning being that a ceasefire would enable Hamas to re-group . Not only are the U.S.A. just as guilty of war crimes carried out by the Israeli troops , because of being complicit and also as an associate , plus a supplier of 92% of all Israeli weapons . The indiscriminate bombing and murdering of innocent people in Palestine is barbaric and indefensible . Shame on Israel and America . It is beyond me how there is any support for the actions of Israel .

Totally agree . Generally the Thai school kids are taught the bare minimum and will end up in mundane , dead end jobs which is what the elite Thai Hi So want . In my experience , I have found that most young Thais can learn new skills quickly , if given a chance . However their futures are normally mapped out at an early age and give little hope of a prosperous life . My lady pays here restaurant staff 300 baht a day plus 2 free meals . She often has inquiries from job seekers who are willing to work for less . Any significant wage rises would mean a hike of the menu prices and customers will just find somewhere cheaper to eat which would result in business closure and loss of jobs.

You describe a typical working scene at many large Thai shops . I have also seen the same in D.I.Y. stores where the uniform wearing staff outnumber customers by at least 10 to 1 . They also hide in out of the way places and using their phones . Have little if any product knowledge and rarely can speak any English . How the company can survive or make a profit is questionable .

N95 masks can if worn correctly be a barrier to covid . However the emphasis is on " worn correctly " .When I was working in a chemical industry environment that required all persons working there to be tested for the correct fitting to their face . Many men , nearly 30 % could not achieve a seal , due to their facial features and certainly not for those with facial hair . N95 masks are not comfortable to wear for long periods . Medical masks were designed to stop the transfer of aerosol droplets from the wearer to a patient . They should be a single use only . They do not give protection against small particles for the wearer because there is not a tight seal around the wearers cheeks . The majority of those who caught covid in the UK did wear a medical mask ( me included ) , in order to comply with the laws .

What is the definition of genocide in the United Nations? According to the Convention, genocide is a crime that can take place both in time of war as well as in time of peace. The definition contained in Article II of the Convention describes genocide as a crime committed with the intent to destroy a national, ethnic, racial or religious group, in whole or in part. https://www.un.org/en/genocideprevention/documents/Genocide Convention-FactSheet-ENG.pdf

I read your link which defended the wearing of medical masks . There is the assumption that most are single use masks but that is not followed by most wearers that I know . They simply pull out a mask from their pocket that has been used many times . As for daily washing of some masks , do you honestly believe that that is carried out ? I have used all types of masks in my working life within the petro/ chem industry and I know all to well that these medical type masks are at best a dust barrier . Inhalation via the gap on the facial cheek is like a vacuum cleaner sucking in minute particles .

The attack on Israel by the Hamas on October 7th was indeed barbaric but so is the indiscriminate bombing of the Gaza Strip where innocent children are being killed and maimed in their thousands . The Israelis see it as collateral damage . It has to stop asap . Pure genocide and some world leaders are just as guilty by association .

Thanks for the charts . Nothing more true than facts that you have shown . Anyway , why do non covid believers go to hospital if they catch covid ?

As you know covid comes in varying rates of potency . It has killed over 6 million world wide and many folks are suffering from long covid that can give life changing bodily damage. I had it once and luckily only a heavy cold ( had 3 injections ) . I prefer to take medical advice from educated medics and not conspiracy dramatists who are ill informed . However I do think that the wearing of masks as self protection is feeble and those who think they are getting protection using a basic medical mask are wrongly- informed . Avoiding crowded poorly ventilated rooms ( especially Thai government hospital waiting rooms ) , public transport , touching door handles / lift buttons etc plus good hygiene by washing your hands for 30 seconds with soap & water and /or using alcohol hand cleaner will all help to mitigate the virus . Finally , I have seen Thai folk pull down their mask to sneeze , cough up phlegm and then replace the mask . Says it all really .

Until they are processed illegal immigrants can access support in the form of housing and general living expenses , via the UK Home Office . They are unable to access the main stream benefits until their asylum application has been approved which is currently taking over 6 months . That is costing the benefit system outrageous sums of money . The success rate of asylum applications is running at 75% and that leads to a total access to benefits claims . Since 2021 on average there has been over 1 million immigrants entering the UK . It is out of control . It has been stated that there is a correlation with immigration levels , crime , housing crisis , the NHS and doctor/dentist accessibility . Finally there are over 500,000 people emigrating / leaving the UK every year ( and who can blame them ? ) . In order to emigrate from the UK to a developed country normally requires an applicant to have a required skill or professional background . So there is little doubt that the UK is suffering a brain drain and quite evident within the NHS as an example . 20% of the UK population were not born in the UK . UK governments have encourage multi cultural societies but it clearly does not work . Very little integration , with many immigrants of the same nationality / culture residing within their own communities . Apologies about digressing from the main topic .

The world is over populated with humans. The effects of climate change are evident every year. Deforestation is not helping and we are already at the point of no return .Global population control is needed in order to maintain a sustainable planet

Well spotted sir

Does anyone know where to buy Bellucci Olive Oil in Thailand ? with so many fakes around and even in the big shops . I had some reasonably priced olive oil recently and it was disgusting and even gave me a sore throat . Bellucci olive oil is from Italy and has a numerical code on the bottle that can be entered into the companies app and that gives total traceability from the grove to the supermarket shelf . Spain is one of the largest growers of olive trees but for the 2nd year in a row they have suffered a drought and consequently there is a shortage of genuine olive oil . Food products traceability methods are being used by some manufacturers and retailers with a system known as " blockchain " where the product holds a QR code that is tamper proof . Any other comments / recommendations from olive oil experts would be welcome .

Stalled and amended I hope . Abandoned ? no but modified to eliminate discrimination against indigenous retirees or on low incomes . About time the UK gov; started taking care of its own people first .

His type are a dying breed with working for " cash in the hand " almost disappearing . Also racism is not just a Caucasian malady .

Not really . I used the "indigenous " word to highlight those who were born in the UK which separates them from economic immigrants who could have come from Europe , Asia Africa etc . Skin colour is irrelevant .

Thanks for interesting info . Not wanting to digress from the main topic but the UK Universal Benefits system is not that easy to navigate ( I have been told ) . However in light of events over the last 24 hours there will be some political storms that I hope will shake up the management of the UK because it has been going down the pan for a number of years . If it means leaving the EHCR , so be it .