rickudon

I would like to know why a group of Thai workers were in a military closed zone. Bet there were few if any Israelis working there. i guess Thai lives are of little importance to Israel (as are Palestinian lives).

2 biggest reasons - affordability and companionship. having got divorced at 59, little chance of much choice when it comes to companionship in the UK; already had interested females to choose from in Thailand. Leaving the house to ex-wife (thus preserving my pension) allowed me to live in Thailand, when i would have been basically homeless in the UK. Weather - not a big deal, cool season is OK for 4 months, rest of year too hot during the day. Other reasons - can have garden to potter about in, and my own fishing ponds. Thai language - i have poor hearing, so cannot get the Thai tones and was never good at languages (although i have tried to learn about 10). Can say a few essential phrases but gave up trying to LEARN the language about 7 years ago. The Thai alphabet doesn't help. Culture - do not like Plaa raa or chilli, so although i do eat some Thai food it is limited. Being back in UK for a couple of months, have to say Home cooking in UK is a lot tastier (not counting fast food); and Thais just cannot do bakery well. I am not a Buddhist, Temples are Ok for an hour or 2, but that is the limit. If i was a lot richer i doubt i would be here. i did contemplate alternatives but my pension was the limiting factor. Back in the UK now i find it incredibly expensive, prices have doubled, pension not so much. I have been contemplating the last year if i should go back to UK for long periods (pre-Covid did every year for a couple of months) but realise now that unless i win the lottery it isn't going to happen. maybe a few more trips to UK to see my children and then, for health reasons, do not expect to be able to do so in about 3 or 4 years. Then i will stay in Thailand (or just possible UK) until i die.

As usual, 25% of the replies assumed it was an EV fire. If they actually read the original post, they would have kept there mouths shut.

No, Iran has only retaliated to Israeli Assassinations.

Actually 50 military helicopters where mobilised to do search and rescue and deliver aid. Read somewhere on a news site.

Electronic devices to tamper with electricity meters - i wonder how that works?

If Trump hadn't cancelled the Iran nuclear deal, the more moderate factions might have prevailed. instead, it gave carte blanche to the extremists to obtain control and restart their nuclear program, to which sanctions have little impact. The populace may suffer from the sanctions, but the country gets enough of its oil bought by Asian countries to keep up its military programs. It is not impossible they already have a working nuclear bomb. Expertise could be bought from Russia, China, North Korea or Pakistan if they paid enough. Iran was (maybe surprisingly) among the first to develop drones and use them on the battlefield, doing so in the Iran/Iraq war. But volume production was stifled by a lack of parts. During the last decade, trade with China has allowed Iran to develop a substantial drone industry. It may not be cutting edge, but the volume is there and they are cheap - cheaper than SAM's to shoot them down. Also, their missile tech is getting better too. Israel and the western press are telling you that nearly all those missiles were shot down in the last attack, but that is debatable. Up to 9 hits on one airfield were filmed by people close by. Also, mainly military targets were aimed at. Those that landed elsewhere where probably intercepted short of their targets. Iran doesn't want open war, Netanyahu does. Peace is achieved by negotiation, not by being the last man standing - because there are always survivors who are radicalised by the suffering they and their families have endured. To get peace, in return you have to give something up.

I once caused an incident at Heathrow airport. My hand luggage was scanned (going to departure) and they kept looking and looking. I moved so i could see their xray screen, and sure enough, looked like a handgun. Out of the corner of my eyes i saw doors open behind and men coming out.... i was asked to open the bag. 2 very large men were about 2 metres behind me. In the bag, was my collapsible umbrella and a metal spectacle case at a 45 degree angle to it. They were rather disappointed.

Conspiracy theories sometimes contain a grain of truth - the rest is just fantasy. Weather modification? Not said how much rain you can cause with a laser, but the actual volume of air affected by a laser beam would be very small, probably you just get a 5 minute localised shower. Reality? MAGA depends on lies sold by cynical shysters to the slow witted. Typically those who do not have the IQ to see through the lies. Make America Gullible Again!

Whenever a ceasefire gets close, Israel assassinates a Hamas/Hezbollah/Iranian Revolutionary guard leader. Coincidence? Netanyahu needs the war to continue.

Cameroni, if you think Russia is justified in invading Ukraine, murdering civilians and killing Ukrainian POWs, threatening nuclear war, suggest you go back and fight for Russia. Wonderful human rights for those mobiks sent to the meat grinder.

You cannot just compare the temperatures in past Geological eras with the current day. First, there are the Milankovitch cycles. Second, the biggest impact on global temperatures are position of the continents, in past eras they could be far North or South of their current positions, or not even exist. Third, oceanic currents; if they distribute heat to the poles you can get a far more equitable climate globally, or if not the reverse. A hell of a lot of guesswork involved in guessing those temperatures, sometimes on just a few bits of data. All we do know is that in the last 5,000 years temperatures have been fairly stable, but are now rising rapidly. The only thing which has changed are CO2 levels due to the industrial revolution and use of wood and fossil fuels. Nothing else has substantially changed. The effects of climate change are not always realised or predicted. Who would have guessed that forest fires would become much bigger and more common even at current levels of warming, and anyone want to holiday in Florida just now? (Milton, category 5).

Green washing Capitalism

Finding good childcare is not easy. The first kindergarten we used for our daughter, when we went to pick her up early we discovered that she was being held down with a blanket over her to 'make her sleep'. Daughter was sufficiently traumatised that she didn't speak for a day. Of course, staff denied any wrong doing. Brother-in-law has a 100% disabled child, needs 24 hour care. Government generously gives 600 baht a month to care for him - that doesn't even pay for his nappies. Father works killing chickens, mother in the local market. They did try a disabled children centre, but care was poor. They try to work on a shift basis, but afternoons no one available - so grandmother takes care. I fully understand that it is not always possible to look after children all the time. In the UK, i worked days, wife nights. Getting care at the right time was not easy - often we were not available all hours. Survived on a mixture of child minders, au pairs, commercial daycare (rarely available in those days) or pretending sick if one of us was delayed. grand parents were not around so not an option. Luckily we earned just enough to pay for it and buy a home. These days in the UK, it is near impossible to raise a family on one salary, which is why both work - or as is now common, you cut out having kids. In Thailand, unlike the UK, usual to have extended family in the village, which makes care easier - but sometimes no work..... so have to go where the work is. And as said, many live in just one room (or even share) and long working hours make caring for the children difficult - but easy in the village. Most send money home to pay for this. Obviously one parent families find it really difficult.

People seem to think that authorities can respond to a disaster like the thunderbirds. Reality - first you have to find the worst hit localities, when communications are often down and roads are blocked. Then the vehicles bringing aid need a route - it can take days to clear roads, repair bridges, so that they can get there. It would also be a good idea if houses were actually robust - most seem to be made of plywood , planks and plasterboard. that is why storm damage in USA is so high.

Although there is no black and white as to who was lied too and who is right and who is wrong in the Ukraine war, it was an invasion of one independent state by another (and the war actually started in 2014). There was very little negotiation, just give in to our demands and then a Russian invasion of Crimea and fomenting of an insurrection in the Donbass. The west allowed this to go unanswered other than a few sanctions and verbal criticism. Remember the Dutch airliner shot down by a Russian SAM system. Russia never admitted responsibility. I understand why Russia invaded Crimea, they had interests there (Russia's Black sea fleet) and it was never really Ukrainian. But the Donbass? Just pure greed. And when that was only partially successful, they went for out and out war. War crimes were committed on civilians and soldiers by Russia. Is it surprising that Ukraine wants to join Nato? As to what is actually happening in the war, subscribe to Tom coopers blog on Sarcastosaurus. Yes, Ukraine is currently slowly loosing, Russia has the demographic advantage and more weapons. However, the Russian losses are appalling. All the well trained troops are gone, wasted in frontal attacks. The mobiks are launched the same way, and the casualty rate is about 3 Russians to one Ukrainian. However Russia has a much larger population. Half of all armour and artillery has been lost. Economically, Russia is suffering. It is diverting a large percentage of its GDP to a war economy, but there military-industrial complex is in disarray, due to corruption, lack of maintenance and sanctions. They are unable to replace many of the weapons they loose; without the help of North Korea, Iran and China, they would be short of ammunition and drones. At current rates of expenditure of weapons, Russia will only have infantry left in 2 years. From a cynical western point of view, if the war continues, Russia will be a spent force by early 2026. However, they are learning how to fight drone wars - the west is still woefully behind on this. The question is, who blinks first, Russia or Ukraine. Loosing the war will see the end of Putin of Zelensky. As to Russia's standing in the world, it may be abysmal in the west, but the rest of the world doesn't care - like China, there help comes without lectures on Democracy, corruption and human rights. The west, and particularly USA and France, are loosing ground in Africa, because they find it insulting to be lectured too and treated like naughty children. They also see that israel can do no wrong in western eyes, even though they have caused chaos for over 50 years in the middle east. The second half of this century will be very different, just in what way it is hard to say, but not looking good.

Keep out of Bangkok. just checked Udon Thani AQI, currently 11. Outside of rainy season usually moderate, between 50-100. But always worse on the major roads. I did buy an air purifier years ago, last used about 3 years ago....

The effects of antibiotics on the gut microflora are often ignored. A healthy microflora means there is a balance, and you are less likely to get gut infections. After antibiotics, some species of bacteria are wiped out, and less useful bacteria, possibly antibiotic resistant, can become dominant. This happened to my mother in a nursing home and the subsequent gut infections took about 4 weeks to control. One treatment is to swallow faecal pellets from people with good microflora. Sounds disgusting, but it works.

Father died at age of 81 from multiple issues - had had a minor stroke, had pulmonary failure and maybe vascular dementia. But outlived his 2 brothers. Spent most of last 2 years sitting in his chair, sleeping. Mother died mainly of old age - spent over 12 years in a nursing home, had dementia and lots of minor issues, just slowly lost the battle, age 93. Still have one Aunt left, about 90, severe vascular dementia. No one in my generation died yet (13 of us, between 80 and 60).

Paradise is the temperature is always 25 Centigrade, 50% cloud cover, a nice bungalow set in a large garden with a river one side and a lake on the other, with many different fish to catch. a nearby social club with many interesting people in it, and attractive women who like company for the night. it only rains after midnight, so is dry by mid morning. Actually, you should have to work for a few hours every few days, at something you enjoy. Paradise still needs maintenance!

Your reading bull<deleted> then. Under 6% of the UK population are Muslims (21/22 Census). So how can they increase to 50% in 11 years? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religion_in_the_United_Kingdom It is disinformation like this that stirs tension. Just like that which caused the recent riots.

And 5 years earlier a white supremacist murdered a labour MP......

Come to NE Thailand. Businesses cannot pull that crap up here, locals wouldn't stand for it. See the price, pay the price, tip what you want.

As a Brit, exchange rate fall is not so bad (good GBP to dollar rate though!). I am on 400,000 baht in the bank extension, so can cut back on transfers until after my extension date, then draw it down if exchange still poor. have a year before panicking.....

Musk and Kadyrov. A marriage made in Heaven or Hell?