Donga

Climate denying - what about doomsday denying. The constant harping over natural disasters and minor temperature events that are attributed to carbon emissions. So alarmist and often very selective. Great Barrier Reef has been in death throes for 50 years. It is in good shape. Kiddies are schooled that the world is ending. Climate deniers - what about nuke energy deniers, from those most worried about anthropogenic warming. So many "greens" are naive, gullible, uninformed, living in the past and refuse to believe the data and science around modern nuclear energy.

The lack of historical understanding over the centuries and decades as well as ignoring Hamas barbarism, strategies is both breathtaking and dangerous. I’m not Jewish.

UNRWA provided the school systems, and the teachers that presided over decades of Israeli hate teachings. They knew of the tunnels, turned a blind eye to Hamas thuggery. They would have known of the command centres under and around the schools. It's a disgrace, and high time the western world reigned in the left wing excesses of this failed organisation.

Firstly, would posters cease stating MFP "won the elections" or attracted "majority of votes" as both are false. Btw, my large Thai family and I were supporters and still hope the reforms will come. MFP gained around one third of the vote, and had the opportunity to lead an alliance. However they were the only party which made a big deal about lese majeste. Consequently they were unable to form government as were unwilling to modify their stance. That gave Pheu Thai the chance to snatch the reigns of power. Even my family, who were mostly pro MFP, were not so anti monarchy, as many have very fond memories of the last king. So please let's not hear any more about MFP majority vote and won elections etc, unless you can show data to support. That they've been banned is bloody annoying, but such things happen here and around the world. Expect MFP will reform under a new banner to continue where they left off in the next election. Secondly, how does the UN justify their righteous views about Thai democracy after decades of enabling Hamas to lead the Gazans into such destructive, vindictive, anti-democratic, anti-human rights misery. Shame on the UN and the UNRWA for their pathetic stewardship and outright hypocrisy.

Oh please do some research on Haniyeh and Hamas, Israel, Palestine over 2000 years, Ottoman empire, Jewish origins and expulsions - Wiki will do, but here's one from Arab Weekly to begin with.. https://www.reuters.com/article/economy/hamas-gunmen-hunt-down-fatah-rivals-in-gaza-strip-idUSL14749263/ Since 2006 Haniyeh was responsible for the killings of many Fatah members in Gaza - were willing to negotiate a two state solution, Hamas and their sponsors believe in the eradication of Israel. Haniyeh set up the tunnels and command centres in schools, hospitals and mosques. He made $millions personally overseeing the 20% tax and chose to live in luxury in Qatar. This was all before he orchestrated Oct 7 and said at the time "The blood [spilled] in the Gaza Strip…will defeat this occupier, will defeat this enemy… As I said, and I repeat every time, the blood of the children, women, and elderly – I do not say that it shouts out to you, but rather we need this blood so that it will ignite within us the spirit of revolution, so that it will arouse within us persistence, so that it will arouse within us defiance and [a forward] advance." The jihadists never accepted Israel from the start and have fought every step of the way. More enlightened Muslim nations have gradually got over it, as they wish to improve their peoples' lives. Now it is pretty much the Iran mullahs and their jihadist militia groups last stand - and they will fall. Iran will then flourish.

Harris should never have been a VP unless you believe in unbridled DEI and certainly shouldn't be President. JD is a far smarter decision for the electorate and for Trump's prospects, than having Harris in the frame for POTUS, if that had ever been required. Outmaneuvered? Are you serious? Biden had to be beat up by his own team to force the silly old codger to step down. Dems are getting some early lift as a sign of relief, but we'll see how this transpires in the next couple of months. Harris would be the furthest left of any US president, and I don't expect the wide community outside of wacky, failed California will be too comfortable with that. Plus she has to answer for the border mess. Being a prosecutor in a protected antiquated courtroom setting is very different from real debate where her record and views will be exposed. I wish Trump wasn't the GOP candidate, would have preferred Nikki Haley, just as I would like Whitmer or Buttigieg as the Democrat's choice. But here we are - Harris, righteous leftie, poor record especially with team building vs Trump who didn't destroy democracy, nor the economy, and averted war, got Middle East on a sensible path forward but says the most outrageous bull<deleted> and is such a loathsome character. This election is for Trump to lose, which his mouth could well accommodate. But I wouldn't be putting any money on Harris.

Trump to be a dictator, really? Even if he said it, chill. Biden said to "put a bullseye on Trump", but don't believe he meant it literally. As regards going after political opponents, Trump only be doing what this shower has spent so much $s and effort on. So silly as Dems don't even get that most people can see the abuse and Trump increases his lead. 42 counts of felony for paying someone (42 installments) to keep quiet - really. I liked Clinton, but his misdemeanor was far worse. I love immigration - and the benefits, especially in Australia, are apparent. My grandfather was a Russian refugee, from a refugee camp. However immigration dictated by illegal people smugglers is abhorrent and should not be encouraged. Multi billion $ industry run by criminal networks, which crudely plonk anyone who can pay into a new country. You'd have to be very biased, like a bloody NGO haha, not to see the problems this is presenting in various countries of Europe. Evolving culture - does that include female circumcision? Religious rule of law? Girls prohibited to play sport? No gay marriage? Do Americans want 8 million new immigrants, not properly screened, into their country. Why is Biden trying to reduce immigration now? The problem with democratic socialism is it invariably ends in tears. Not saying the existing OECD model is perfect and some of the injustices can be addressed bit by bit, but don't kid yourself with democratic socialism. Please give me a good example in today's world. Norway comes close, but who knows what the country would be like without North Sea oil. Taxes invariably get wasted by bloated bureaucracies and bodies like UN (headed up by a previously global socialist leader) and WHO make outrageous decisions which upset many sensible, law abiding people. Responsible capitalism is the way to go and I appreciate the devil in the detail as to how you maximise the responsible bit. Reality is most people like capitalism and it is delightful to see how it works in Asia. To think our schools and universities will pave the way to Utopia is romantic, but won't happen. Not enough proper debate anymore, group think, tribal symbolism, lazy in proper research, (like colonialism only started with shipping in the industrial age), surprisingly "poorly" educated in terms of independent thinking and basic logic & methodology. What we urgently need is objective journalism, that actually challenges the narratives, instead of trying to compete with mongrel, social media click baits or constant doom and gloom stories.

I'm intrigued as to what constitutes "extreme right wing, Neo-fascist diatribe" 😛 Very easy these days to be labelled "extreme right wing". Melosi in Italy, Orban in Hungary, Le Pen in France - they all want to secure their borders and stop illegal immigration. They'd like to preserve their culture. Why is that extreme right wing? Guess Japan must be very right wing. Same with Trump, just wish he'd stop being so facetious as so many people freak out. Now Biden's scrambling to show he wants to control the borders too. But he's Left, (it way too late) and suffers from the Left disorder of promoting symbolism vs actually getting anything done. And they'll spend a heap of money on the symbolism, committees, lawyers, public servants to assist the committees. Meanwhile the workers (remember them) quietly get pissed off with the symbolism and rising costs of living. The Left, of which I used to be a proud member, has lost its way - and will take a generation to unwind their warped influence in schools, universities and ballooning government programs.

Pity there isn't a brief bullet point summary. These guys talk too much 😅

Apologies, in my post I mixed up NPF for the right wing RN National Rally. RN 37% attracted nearly 50% more votes than the hastily formed left group of four parties, NFP 26%, even if RN didn't win as many seats as NFP did. RN won a lot more seats 142, than their 89 seats in 2022 and National Rally NR attracted ted four times the votes that loud mouth far left Melenchon's France Unbowed, more like Unhinged 😅 https://www.politico.eu/article/france-election-results-2024-map-constituencies-emmanuel-macron-marine-le-pen-live-new-popular-front-national-rally/ Good to see Macron today has ruled out working with Melenchon and hope France can move forward peacefully.

Didn't say it was meaningless. Btw do you drive a car? Does it keep you moving? Most of the 8 billion people on the planet with drive a car, travel as a passenger or use a motor bike. If you walk or cycle everywhere, that’s great but unfortunately most serious commercial transport uses oil for fuel. Without it the world economy goes back to pre industrial times.

Love the way Mainstream media has portrayed the 2nd round as a "lurch to the left" and ignores that New National Front won far more seats than last time and scored the highest number of overall votes of any party this time. Also, how MSM refer to "far right" - what policies deem they are far right? Like applying the law for illegal immigration is now far right? NPF are nothing like the KKK, nor screwed up on Palestine, and have more sensible economic policies than the Far Left. Meloni was also cast as far right, so too Orban, and now they are becoming senior leaders of Europe. Macron would be better ignoring Mélenchon, his party and policies being far less popular than NPF, and try to grab a coalition with Le Pen. She is likely to win the Presidential race after all, especially if France gets a taste of what the Far Left has in mind.

That's fine, so then the extremist Green groups, and left wing NGOs can start suing individuals for driving oil fueled vehicles? Exxon doesn't drill for the fun of it. It keeps the world moving as EVs evolve. Very few people rely on Exxon for the their views about climate change. Meanwhile Greens, NGOs and mainstream media have consistently lied about the folly of relying too much on renewable energy. Even when anyone with half a brain can see what carnage it has brought Germany, and increased energy prices in so many countries. They twist data to show how much renewable energy is being used vs idle capacity, e.g. China. They persist in terming the burning of US imported wood chips, "renewable biomass energy", exaggerate the risks of nuclear energy (2 died from radiation in Fukushima), even deceive about polar bears haha. They overstate the capabilities of battery technology while largely ignoring why OECD, IEA, WEF state, and even UNIPCC let's it slip occasionally, that emission targets have no chance of being met without a substantial increase in nuclear energy plants. With all the ongoing deceit and falsehoods ad nauseam, some from supposed scientists - the more extreme in views, the better for mainstream news - you really think Exxon is the big bad wolf?

Santos in Australia recently won a landmark decision in the High Court over Indigenous claims of sacred sea beds for their mega LNG offshore project. The judge castigated the federal government funded Environmental Defenders Office (EDO) for their lack of transparency and general strategy. Santos is now going to sue some of the antagonists for the substantial costs in delay that their case caused. https://www.afr.com/companies/energy/santos-wins-court-battle-on-edo-funding-quest-20240704-p5jr5b These groups need to be very careful of their activism at a time when the world needs gas for the transition to low carbon energy. As usual The Greens and their useful idiots are either very naive and/or hypocritical.

Reflects in part the disposable income of many Thai travellers - they are not paupers 😅

Have a number problems with the plethora of Climate Change studies: 1. They usually fail to provide context or historical comparisons 2. They invariably conclude even more studies are required 3. It is a huge industry of usually government (inc university) sponsored studies which does discourages funding for scientists who might contradict the doomsday scenarios. Mainstream media is very selective in what they publish and do tend to overstate the extreme weather events being caused by climate change, and data that contradicts their narrative e.g. ignoring most recent Great Barrier Reef condition which you might research, i.e. GBR is in good condition, which Prof Peter Ridd summarises in 90 seconds, see below. This summary has been somewhat confirmed begrudgingly by the various Reef monitoring bodies. On Aussie fires, there is heaps of historical information over the past couple of hundred years, which is not recognised in these "scientific studies" and there are three factors which undoubtedly have exacerbated damage in more recent events: 1. Much more human habitation in fire prone areas 2. Less backburning 3. A lot more arson. I could go on, but that's enough to help explain my frustration with extreme weather events coverage and I reiterate what the new Chairman of the IPCC said: “If you constantly communicate the message that we are all doomed to extinction, then that paralyses people and prevents them from taking the necessary steps to get a grip on climate change.”

You can be sure there are plenty of suckers who believe Climate Change causes more extreme weather, and even some who think these extreme events can be localised! There is almost no weather event nowadays that does not come with a blizzard of declarations that it is proof of climate change. But let's look at Tropical Cyclone Jasper, which hit far north Queensland in December. It dumped a massive amount of rain and none of what follows denies the fact it caused great damage and suffering. In its wake the Red Cross released an Instagram video declaring “Disasters like Ex-Tropical Cyclone Jasper in Far North Queensland are happening more often due to climate change”. Greenpeace called it a “frightening portent of what’s to come under climate change”. The Climate Council warned “climate change is making (tropical cyclones) more destructive”. None of this is true. If The Science of global warming has a bible then surely it must be the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report Climate Change 2021: The Physical Science Basis. It is the latest accumulation of all the best research and it runs to a mind-numbing 2391 pages. On page 1586 it says: “Tropical cyclone landfall frequency over Australia shows a decreasing trend in Eastern Australia since the 1800s, as well as in other parts of Australia since 1982. A paleoclimate proxy reconstruction shows recent levels of (tropical cyclone) interactions along parts of the Australian coastline are the lowest in the past 550-1500 years.” What of bushfires? “Extreme conditions, like the 2019 Australian bushfires and African flooding, have been associated with strong positive (Indian Ocean Dipole) conditions” (p1104). And, “There is no evidence of a trend in the Indian Ocean Dipole mode and associated anthropogenic forcing” and “The amplitude of the El Nino–Southern Oscillation variability has increased since 1950 but there is no clear evidence of human influence” (p1104). Further, we are not facing a climate Armageddon, according to British professor Jim Skea, who was appointed chairman of the IPCC last year. “The world won’t end if it warms by more than 1.5 degrees,” Skea told German weekly Der Spiegel last year. “It will however be a more dangerous world. Countries will struggle with many problems, there will be social tensions. “And yet this is not an existential threat to humanity. Even with 1.5 degrees of warming, we will not die out.” Prof Skea worries the zealots are doing their cause a grave disservice. “If you constantly communicate the message that we are all doomed to extinction, then that paralyses people and prevents them from taking the necessary steps to get a grip on climate change,” he said. Time to condemn media reporting on extreme events being caused by Climate Change. To coin a New York expression... it's baloney, or enlightened Aussies simply say... it's B S.

Agree also, and believe Buddhism plays a role. Thais do live in the present, accept readily what life throws at them - these traits also have their downside. But from my wanderings and overseas domiciles, Thais are right up there in terms of being content. Buddhist influence also means they are less judgemental which helps. The Nordics I've come across don't strike me as an overly "happy" lot - especially the Swedes here, who seem happy enough, cos they aren't in Sweden any more.

What a joke. Nothing substantive and the language is hardly abusive... "caused significant distress and disrupted the plaintiffs' emotional well-being at work." Oh dear. Unless you're one of those very sensitive, usually far left wing luvvies, that the rest of us have to tailor our language and jokes to, lest you get offended. Meanwhile "from the river to the sea" is ok, yeah?

Any objective analysis of this trial - from the origins, the selected players, court domicile, the charges themselves - 34 amounts of money, falsified as business costs, for the same hush, becoming 34 "felony charges" - reveals a very sad and sorry state of the US justice system and plays into the hands of the far right. The Democrats have screwed up on this one, for the country and for themselves as the swinging voter will not be impressed by this crass and wasteful exercise.

Principals of morality and humanity without considering those despairing in refugee camps, patiently waiting their turn, or the conflicts creating refugees around the world that are in far worse positions of helping themselves get to the West. The term migrant is used too loosely, and makes light of the many more genuine refugees and unfortunates worldwide. Pope could better demonstrate his principals of morality and humanity by: Condemning illegal people smugglers with their vile ways, in a multi billion $ industry and recognise the West is entitled to control who they allow into their countries... Only if the West play their part in reducing the misery by replacing the "migrants" with more aggressive refugee intakes. More morality and more humane. But much easier to just take a simplistic, righteous stand that resonates with the emotive ones.

The continuing schism between Emotive vs Analytical approach to many of today's challenges. So many people are hard wired to use their emotive side without a detailed understanding - they usually don't like to ferret things out themselves, easier to take a righteous stand - then accuse the other side of being inhumane. Frustrating when you try to discuss and face this blank wall or cancellation, even with friends.

Plenty of ex leaders do this sort of thing, comes with the ego. Aussie, Keating embarrassingly with the Chinese foreign minister recently. Trump, Clinton, Blair, Boris J, all guilty. And never saw Thaksin as acting in Thailand's name, just as Keating's meeting wasn't on behalf of Australia.

Not sure you understand the construction of these rockets. My 97 yr old father-in-law won five of these festivals in his prime, and they were long metal ones then. They are now more elaborate, and I look forward to attending the Yasothon festival some day... https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-e&sca_esv=9fc72e91ef5044ae&sca_upv=1&tbm=vid&q=yasothon+rocket+festival&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjFq-jRh5SGAxUYBDQIHeiYB2gQ8ccDegQIEBAF&biw=1409&bih=694&dpr=2#fpstate=ive&vld=cid:aad365ab,vid:WSe3a5E6PuM,st:0

Just because you don't like Netanyahu and his right wing bed fellows (who does these days) doesn't mean "Israel is no longer a democracy". Suggest you read more widely, you might better understand how this government resulted from the last election and how things are shaping up for the next one. Meanwhile Israelis are demonstrating en masse regularly about Netanyahu's handling of things. He's as popular as Big Joke. As for reporting, you clearly don't have a clue about Israeli media which covers the spectrum of left to right views. You will find the casualty numbers (provided by Hamas), coverage of ongoing protests, details of diplomatic efforts, rich details of the various incursions (where they find Hamas facilities, armaments, how they try to limit casualties of human shields); views of both the government, and opposition on all sorts of issues. You can choose your Israeli media source from left to right wing and all in between. I find this one fairly good, today a little nationalistic as is Holocaust Day, but you can read this article and explore elsewhere.. https://www.timesofisrael.com/protesters-block-roads-clash-with-cops-as-pm-accused-of-scorning-hostage-deal/ Get my centre/left coverage from New York Times, BBC, ABC, Al-Jazeera. Their standards seem to be falling by the month. The most objective daily briefing on wide ranging Middle East topics comes from Al-Monitor founded by a US based Syrian... https://www.al-monitor.com/ I am not Jewish nor a fan of Netanyahu, but I do care about the future of western civilisation and democracy. Right now, we're losing even if Israel eliminates Hamas.