Fortean1

My Thai in-laws were born and raised in a village near Ayutthaya. I've been there for tamboon for the mother and remembrance for the father, who emigrated from China before WW2. In the last 18 years a new temple has not been completed. The abbot is said to have at least two common law wives which he provides with housing, food, and more. I've asked his monks when the temple will be finished. One even rolled his eyes. Family living there say they donate less and less to this abbot. My Chinese sister-in-law has a stepson who takes drugs, does not work, and will join the monk hood for a few months as a breather. Then go back to drug use and goofing off. He set his stepmother's house on fire and is in jail now. The Chinese father had two wives, one he brought from China and one in Thailand. He had 15 children with them. My wife is the baby at age 79. She has one surviving brother and two surviving sisters. There are about 300,000 monks in Thailand and up to 85,000 novices and those numbers fluctuate. That 410 Billion baht owned by abbots, monks, and the support structure is one scandal. We'll say a conservative $12 Billion U.S. dollars. I've been married 53 years. We have five adult children, all married, and 12 grandchildren aged 13 to 30. Buddhism does some good in Thailand overall but the corruption is intense. Terry ( a few miles south of Hua Hin ) . . .

My Thai in-laws were born and raised in a village near Ayutthaya. I've been there for tamboon for the mother and remembrance for the father, who emigrated from China before WW2. In the last 18 years a new temple has not been completed. The abbot is said to have at least two common law wives which he provides with housing, food, and more. I've asked his monks when the temple will be finished. One even rolled his eyes. Family living there say they donate less and less to this abbot. My Chinese sister-in-law has a stepson who takes drugs, does not work, and will join the monk hood for a few months as a breather. Then go back to drug use and goofing off. He set his stepmother's house on fire and is in jail now. The Chinese father had two wives, one from China and one in Thailand. He had 15 children with them. My wife is the baby at age 79. She has one surviving brother and two surviving sisters. There are about 300,000 monks in Thailand and up to 85,000 novices and those numbers fluctuate. That 410 Billion baht owned by abbots, monks, and the support structure is one scandal. We'll say a conservative $12 Billion U.S. dollars. I've been married 53 years. We have five adult children, all married, and 12 grandchildren aged 13 to 30. Buddhism does some good in Thailand overall but the corruption is intense. Terry ( a few miles south of Hua Hin ) . . .

Yes, steady support of Ukraine to fight the Nazi-wannabe Putin. IMO, Taiwan is not a province of China. Communists do not honor agreements.

Also include Putin for analysis as a psychopath, Xi for analysis as a fellow with a poor childhood who thinks Taiwan is a rebellious province, 'Fat Boy' in North Korea as another psychopath, and the Ayatollah Khameini as a religious nutjob.

Melanism occurs in 13 of 37 species of big cats. In Thailand the Jungle Cat and the Golden Cat may exhibit melanism. Side Note: Garry Mantz and I were driving a 'bread truck' on the East Range at Fort Huachuca (Wah-Choo-Kah), Arizona when we encountered a large black cat. Nose to tail was about five feet. It did not have the muscular build of a jaguar. It had the look to us of a mountain lion. We were soon to set up our radio antennas. This was a classified jamming test so no cameras, not even a cell (mobile) phone. Southern Arizona does get visits by jaguars coming out of Mexico. The adjacent town of Sierra Vista in Cochise County is on the U.S.-Mexico border. This was in 2005.

Starkey hearing aids are sold, cleaned, and repaired at the Audimed center in Bangkok. Please see: https://www.audimed.co.th/ I bought Starkey hearing aids in the U.S. These are cleaned and repaired at Audimed.

The lack of a comprehensive maintenance plan by the Royal Thai Air Force precluded selling F-35s. There are probably around 12 countries globally that qualify in that regard. Besides Thailand is too close, literally and figuratively to 'Big Brother' China.

Great movie with Jimmy Stewart and a great supporting cast. Please see: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0042546/?ref_=nm_flmg_job_1_cdt_img_56 I forgot the title and looked at Jimmy Stewart's movie listing. The movie title is Harvey. I haven't seen that movie in many years.

Yes, indeed over my head. What is this seconded force? The UN in my opinion does not handle military tactics and strategy well at all. In this era of short of war we find ourselves in the thick of it without a declared declaration of war.

The UN does not have a military. They use other countries military, therefore, one or more UN members in Ukraine may well have triggered an all out attack on those forces which would trigger a response.

I recommend Tim Newton Today. Here is a sample of his trending news Monday through Friday. He also does a live show on Saturdays and Grumpy Old men (Tim Newton is from Australia, and Steve Rosse is from America) on Sundays, both just over one hour each.

Firebombing killed more than the two nukes at Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The second one helped persuade Japan's war cabinet to surrender. Invading Japan by conventional means would have caused well over one million dead and wounded on both sides. A necessary evil don't you think.?.?

I saw on Channel 33 a report that showed three American soldiers surveying the collapsed building. I saw on subdued American flag patch and a few unit patches. Grapevine says that sensors provided the location of one survivor but that is just speculation so far.

Agreed. I am tense through that whole stretch. I should use the left hand slow lane but sometimes I wing it through the fast lane. I think its been about 20 years. We stay at my wife's older sister's house. I'm 76 and my wife is 79. My reflexes are slower now.

Perhaps Restless Arm Syndrome. In our youth parents told us you have "growing pains". It turns out there is a specific virus that causes Restless Arm Syndrome. I have peripheral neuropathy. Unfortunately I have both Restless Arm Syndrome and Restless Leg Syndrome. This occurred shortly after taking my third Pfizer for the Wuhan virus. I am taking Gabapentin for the pain. It is prescribed to epileptics and also for pains in the arms and legs.