mfd101

At '76 this year' (as the Thais would put it) I'm looking forward to another 20 years of healthy living. But when the time comes, whenever that might be, I hope to be lying in our bed here at home in Prasat, my b/f holding my hand as I set out to cross the river, our family all round and all attached to me with strings, people coming & going with food, the monks (maybe) outside the room chanting and also attached by strings. And I will have to make a decision (if I have time) whether to summon a Catholic priest for the last rites. Not sure whether one will be available here at the edge of the jungle at the end of the world ...

Phew, I was a bit worried about my internal combustion engine there for a minute or 2. I am planning on moving to non-PHEV next year.

If it's not Chinese tourists misbehaving and treading on locals' toes, it's Russians or Israelis or Brits ... The fundamental problem is the permanent Third World status that any country obsessed with growing its tourist industry imposes on itself. Self-destructive over time. Thailand is a classic example of putting too much money in the wrong baskets, and hasn't a clue what really builds a modern & prosperous society.

Take the train.

Yes, that's my observation (but not in real life, only on AN news items).

The nuances of "Thailand's nuanced cannabis regulations" allow for plenty of police 'discretion'.

And what about non-P HEVs? which is what I'm interested in.

Wonderful entertainment, from a distance. The Great Liar & Successful Multi-Bankrupted Businessman who hasn't a clue how markets work. Or anything else as far as I can tell. Unfortunately, a necessary evil, at least in the defence/foreign affairs stakes. Just watch those sleepy Europeans waking up and leaping in to action. Not to mention the Sleepy Canadians. Gosh, even the Aussies are beginning to feel nervous. A wonder to behold.

You probably speak a different version of the English language from me ... When I said "Your hopeless Chinese Navy" I did not imply possession on your part, merely misconception ie 'your conception of a hopeless Chinese Navy' ... as the rest of my sentence surely showed.

Your hopeless Chinese Navy has just done a demonstration run right around Australia, doing firing drills all the way, causing commercial flights to be cancelled. And the RAN looked pathetic as they attempted (and mostly failed) to watch from a distance.

A quote from the other Donald - Donald Tusk, Polish PM - in today's Politico: "It's striking but it's true. Right now, 500 million Europeans are begging 300 million Americans for protection from 140 million Russians who have been unable to overcome 50 million Ukrainians for 3 years."

Usofans playing with themselves as Ukraine burns.

Turkey was the obvious place (ethnically) for them to seek refuge in. And, as I understand it, Turkey had made the offer. Which suggests that the Thai motive was indeed a cynical one, not a humanitarian. Quelle surprise!

There's a long history over hundreds of years, as the border moved back and forth. WW2 was a big one, as Japan-friendly Thailand took over much of Japan-run Cambodia (down at least to Siam Reap ['Defeat of Siam']) ... Many Thai movies are war movies about Thais on elephants defeating Cambodians (or Burmese) on elephants (yawn) ...

Forward planning: In my observation, not a strength in Thai culture. Living for the day is about the limit.

Yes but because it's a collectivity the operational military outcomes are much much less. It will take years of work to achieve usable outcomes, of which Putin is no doubt well aware.

No. Just brave fighters for their freedom against the collective forces of Russian imperialism and (now, potentially) Usofan thuggery.

If you think what the Ukrainians manage to do by way of special ops (eg killing Russian generals either on the battle field or practically at the front door of the Kremlin), I think if I were one of Trump's flunkpersons I'ld be looking over my shoulder for the rest of my days ...

Not really. That's a bit pessimistic. The problem is that, without the US giant in the room, there are too many mini-prima donnas in the room, each one playing to his (or her) audience back home. And it's all very well to point out - as some do - just how many troops and tanks & planes etc etc the Europeans have between them. But for them to be effective, they have to be able to work together & integrated on the battlefield. Which happens only after years of practising.

Unclear to me whether or not the changes will now be 'genetic' in the sense of 'passed on to the next generation'. I suspect not, in which case it's just another example of human animals manipulating other helpless creatures for their own benefit or amusement.

It's mixed. If you live in south Surin as I have permanently since late 2015, you see it all ... 'Undeveloped' villages like my family's. Low-tech agriculture the only 'economic' activity. Beautiful bright-as-a-button children turning slowly in to anxious then sullen teenagers who eventually depart to become slave labour in the industrial suburbs of the Big Smoke. No education that you'ld notice. Trying asking them to point out Australia on a world map ... More and more vehicles on the ever-widening roads. When we built here during 2016 & moved in in March 2017, we had a 1.5-lane road and only a trickle of traffic. Now it's 2 lanes and triffic traffic 18 hours a day. As to the main east-west highway just up the road, it was 2 lanes now 4 and 6 and traffic thundering along 20 hours. And many vehicles are up-to-the-minute & expensive - mostly ICE SUVs, but increasingly upmarket and some EVs. (I'll be in the market in a year's time for a Toyota RAV4 non-plugin HEV. Gotta keep up with the neighbours!) So, overall you would say 'developing country'. And, as all such, the development is extremely uneven, with little or no safety nets. Only a revolutionary & democratic political upheaval will make the necessary changes away from feudalism & hierarchy. Come back in 50 years ...

I guess being an Israeli involves high levels of optimism.

Neither one of those is a notable strength in Thailand.

I assume Thailand's proper representative will be attending the ASEAN meeting, namely the PM.

Thailand has some 80 years of experience in speaking out of both sides of its collective mouth simultaneously.