Patong2021

He applied the recommended building construction fire mitigation options. It wasn't because he was a Texan. Rather, the building had a concrete non combustible roof and non combustible side walls without windows exposed to the fire. There were no ornamental flammable hedges like cedar or Juniper. The fire and police protection is quite good in Orange County, as are Ventura and San Diego Counties. They also have. low crime rates that are the envy of much of the USA. You shouldn't single out Californi for public safety issues because multiple Republican states are in much, much worse shape. TN, LA, AR, AK. California is rated as the 2nd best state for fire safety in the USA. Look up the rating. You are just looking to bash a state that drives the US economy, contributes 14% of the GDP and leads the nation in environmental responsibility.

It was not possible for the water supply piping to support the water demands that were required. You have ignored the impact of the non public use of the water supply for residential and commercial sprinkler systems. The water reservoirs were filled. Which reservoirs were empty? One was out of service for urgent repairs. Where are you getting your civil engineering expertise, because it just is not feasible to have the pipe diameters and pressurization need to support a system that has every hydrant opened and is being drained by additional private hydrant and diversion. In respect to your magical desalination plant solution. Again it is not cost effective nor environmentally sustainable. The San Diego Carlsbad plant cost US $1billion to build in 2015, and costs in excess of $100 milion to operate. The land requirements are enormous and there is a negative impact from the plants operation. The taxpayers of California do not want to build a desalination plant because it costs many times more to operate than to purchase it from other sources. And now you want California to build more nuclear power plants. In what magical world do you live in where you build nuclear power plants in a region expecting a catastrophic earthquake . California is an earthquake waiting to happen. Ever hear of the Fukashima catastrophe? And just where would you store the nuclear waste? No one in the USA wants to accept it in their region. Nuclear waste disposal is a big problem in the USA.

The question was not answered. Instead you offer a scenario that the Arabs previously rejected. You are reminded of the Clinton peace initiative that did just as you demand. The Arab response was to reject that agreement. They have also rejected modifications that provided them almost all that they wanted when Obama was President. Why are you placing the burden of israel doing whatever the Arabs want? No matter what Israel does, it wil never be enough. This is the ASrab mentality to keep pushing and demanding. One need only look at how the strategy is playing out with the millions of Arab migrants in Europe now. You use the term stealing land from Palestinians. What you refuse to acknowledge is that those Palestinians took the land form the Israelis, forcing them off the land. This was done during the Ottoman occupoation and then during the European occupation. President Clinton stated that in reference to the failed Camp David talks of 2000, that having turned down a “once in a lifetime” peace opportunity, you can’t complain 25 years later when the doors weren’t all still open, and all the possibilities weren’t still there.

Identify who is innocent. Serious request. The reality is that Hamas uses children in its war. They are used as couriers, logistics helpers, observers, and fighters. Typically, the boy is allowed to become a fighter once he can grow hair in his armpit. Militant fighters are intentionally housed in danger zones to serve as human shields. Missile and rocket launch sites are fired from "schools" and medical facilities as well as residential buildings. Munitions depots are maintained in these areas and hospitals are used for command and control sites. The aforementioned has been documented. How then would you fight a war against such an entity that intentionally puts people in harm's way and who hides behind such people with the goal of creating martyrs to manipulate western sentiment. The other muslim nations know what is being done because they have done it themselves in Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, Yemen, Libya and Chad. Even after Israel cleared several hospitals, Hamas moved its rocket launch sites back into them. How then do you propose that Israel defend itself from the rocket launches from Gaza from the dozen or more factions? Hamas is the principal enemy, but Islamic Jihad and the Marxist Alliance and others are all engaged in the war. They are sworn to the destruction of israel and refuse to enter into a peace arrangement.

I am familiar with one of the areas where wild fires have occurred having worked in the Lake Forest- Laguna Hills- Laguna Beach area and been in and out for several years. The local county started using goats to control the scrub foilage. Orange County is Republican gated community country and relatively wealthy. It has many new property developments. The developments which were mostly brick and that limited combustible decorative vegetation did well. Wood is a favourite construction material because it is lower cost. Some buildings are built with concrete, and brick or other types of masonry and they are built to the minimal state seismic resilience standards, which makes it a more expensive build than lumber. The longstanding myth is that lumber homes are better suited for seismic prone regions. Unfortunately, what is ignored is that most damage that occurs in residential areas after a strong earthquake is resulting fire. The nathional Building trade association has blocked stricter fire resistance standards because it will reduce their profits and increase the cost of builds. Many consumers don't want to know about managing their personal risk and just want the pretty house shown in the sales brochure. The state finally passed some basic fire code improvements in 2022 that regulated the use of outdoor fires including BBQs, fire pits etc. and mandated some basic changes like spark arresters in fireplaces. The protests that erupted were ridiculous. Cries of government interference and of unamerican deep state meddling ensued. I draw your attention to this year's prohibition on the use of incendiary fireworks. How many hundreds of thousands of people ignored the restrictions and set off their fireworks? Americans want low cost everything and as a society are reluctant to pay for quality or durability.

The continued persecution of Yingluck is ridiculous and serves no purpose other than to distract from the need for reform. The reason so many still cling to the Thaksin clan is the mistaken belief that it has the power to take on the military cabal. The real evil are the powers who back sock puppets like the PRN. This keeps the counry mired in unproductive feuds that block any real social progress. Nothing I can do about it. it's like trying to hold back the incoming tide at the beach.

Presenting a budget to the state legislature is quite different than managing a specific infrastructure and local resources. The state legislators approve or amend the budget. The counties and municipalities oversee the local budgets and the management of local facilities. As previously stated, the CalFire budget was increased $150 million for 2023-2024. The small budget change for 2024-2025 was in effect the spreading of disbursements over 5 years instead of 4, as the money would still be spent. Even if there had been $500 million extra to spend, it would not have helped with this fire. Governor Newsom is being blamed for events that were beyond anyone's control. I was watching an ABC news report 15 minutes ago where they were interviewing one of the local fire chiefs, and he pointed out the following when asked what they could have done to control the fires better. He stated some things that are not being mentioned by the finger pointers; - The wind storm was hurricane force and never encountered to this extent before; - The leakage from the water supply system impacted the availability of water. The "leakage" was from the private fire suppression systems that are hooked up to the public water pipes. Many houses have their own sprinkler systems. They all went into operation and bled off critical water supplies. And most interesting of all was the mention of why a 170 million gallon reservoir was empty: Despite the claims of the conspiracy promoters, the reservoir was undergoing needed repairs to ensure its operation including the sealing of leaks and the repairs of the pumping and supply infrastructure. No one is mentioning the reason why the reservoir is dry, but they are blaming "politicians" for not having it filled. Well, you can't use a reservoir if it is leaking and can't pump or manage its water reserve. This is why it was being repaired, and was publicly declared.

That's the key advantage: The proximity to the nation's primary international airport. If the powers that be were serious about giving Pattaya status, there would have been a rail link built between BKK and Bangkok city with the Pattaya city center long ago. It would have removed hundreds of vehicles from the road in any given hour and made visiting Pattaya much easier. Sure, there is a promised rail link for 2029 and I suppose better late than never, but many people here won't be alive to see the train operation because it will most likely be late opening. The station will be at Soi Chaiyaporn in Nong Prue of Bang Lamung district, rather far away from the tourist zone. This will set visitors up to taxi rip offs of 300baht+ and a relocation of the obnoxious minibus operators. Visitors will be left scrambling. No mention of a major hotel bus option as is seen at Tokyo or South Korea airports. It's like Pattaya is a cash cow and they want to exploit it as long as possible without really investing in the place.

Please do your research into who and what is private industry in Thailand. Then look up the definition of monopoly. Start with the who the largest landowners are and which families are heavily involved in the hospitality sector. Hint, naming one of them is not allowed. The data from Mastercard is based on its own spending data. The Russians , Indians and Chinese are not using Mastercard. They have their own financial payment options. Mastercard is not paqrticularly big in Thailand. Placing in the top 20 of destinations of one credit card company does not mean that the destination is premium. There is no denying that Pattaya is a popular destination for a number of reasons,however, this should not be confused with its being a premium destination.

Not likely. Shkreli aka federal inmate number 87850-053 is avoided like the plague. He was reduced to playing in the cryptocurrency market.

Israel most certainly existed as a nation long before WWII. It was called the Kingdom of Israel. This is documented and an historical fact. Would you deny the existence of the Duchys and Principalities of Europe? They went on to become countries known today as Italy, France, Germany etc. In case you missed it, there was something called the Ottoman Empire. It had control over much of the region called the Middle East for centuries. Israel existed as a part of the Ottoman Empire and was administered as a department of Damascus. There was no Lebanon, no Jordan, no Saudia Arabia and the borders of Assyria, Iraq/Babylonia, Persia/Iran were not defined. Nor was there any semblance of a place called Palestine as it is known today. The North African Arab nations of today were nothing more than feuding tribal and clan differentiations. You deny the existence of modern Israel, and yet, you ignore the fact, that Israel's modern origins also gave rise to Jordan, Lebanon, the establishment of the Syrian and Iraqi borders, and the creation of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. You wish to deny the existence and legitimacy of Israel. Fine. Then at least be consistent and deny the right to exist of much of the current Arab nations. The Arabs could have lived in peace with Israel, but they attacked Israel in 1948 with the stated desire to wipe it out. The arab leadership has been promising to do this since 1948 as it provides an easy distraction from the screwed up mismanaged corrupt dictatorships that they are.

In respect to the house. that was relatively undamaged, it had a fire resistant roof (falling embers could not ignite the structure), and its outer structure was built to resist a fire. Easily combustible vegetation was minimized. National Homebuilder's Association has fought to prevent such requirements in high fire risk zones. The takeaway is that the fire damage and spread could have been minimized if the buildings were not so easily ignited. Instead of realizing that the quality of construction is a factor, the vested interests will seek to blame "politicians". No one in the building trades will accept their responsibility, nor will the people who demanded the cheap quality of builds accept that they made a mistake. In the world today, it is easier to blame a third party rather than take responsibility.

Understood. Apologies for personal density

How about the big picture. Israel is doing the dirty work of the western governments and several Arab countries, none of whom wants to be the target of the Islamic jihadis. The Ottoman Turks left the region in an absolute mess. The Europeans made it worse with their colonial disruption in North Africa. Also, Israel is fighting against overwhelming odds against hundreds of millions of people with more money and more power.

Pandering to the financier of the panderers? No. It is just the convenient excuse of blaming someone for the failures of their own government and the greed of their own people. Italy has a migrant problem now because of Italians, not Soros. It was Italy that left a mess in North Africa and it was Libya that created the mess that Libya is today. It was Italian lust for Libyan oil that financed the Ghaddaffi regime and which now finances the tribal war that consumes Libya and facilitates the migrant flow. Those are Italians prowling the Mediterranean "rescuing" migrants and bringing suit when Italy seeks to prevent their entry. Those are Italians who are engaged in the smuggling of people into Europe from North Africa, and it is the network of corrupt officials and port workers and others who facilitatete the free flow of drugs into the USA. Let her clean up her nation first and hold her ciitizenry responsible for their own actions. Italy has one of the lower NATO expenditures at 1.49%, so let's see if Trump can show some consistency and hold her nation accountable. Meloni's foreign policy certainly has not supported US foreign policy, so let's see how that shakes out going forward. Blaming Soros is a nice attempt to distract from what is ultimately Italian doing.

Really. Please identify these groups.

The truckers did not take over Ottawa. 80 bullies parked their trucks in residential neighborhoods poisoning the locals with fumes and harrassing people by sounding their horns every 30 minutes. They blocked some major intersections. The federal government has no control over the local policing. The locals wanted the vehicles towed and action taken, but the municipal and provincial governments were slow to act. It cost the Ottawa police chief his job as citizens became furious. The truck and affiliated protestors were a small and vocal group of obnoxious vandals. It was evident early on, with the desecration of both the Terry Fox monument and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, that the passive approach to the protests was an ill-thought out strategy. Locals started to form vigelante groups to fight back and intervention was finally forced as locals wanted to set the protestor vehicles on fire. As it was, some of the vehicles had tires slashed and paint keyed. Had the police not finally intervened, some of the idiot protestors would have been killed or seriously injured as peoples' patience had run out. The federal government acted because the people wanted an intervention. If anything, the response was far too accommodating to a group of ignorant bullies. Let's see how the organisers of the Freedom Convoy (sic) manage the C$300m (US $222m; £175m) civil lawsuit brought against them by Ottawa residents over the disruptions they caused in the city. Personally, I hope they are bankrupted.

Canada has been an epicentre of international crime and narco terrorism for decades dating back to the money laundering activities of the major banks in the West Indies. Some Canadian banks activities in the 1970's and 1980's were well reflected by movies like Casino and Scarface. Canada was selling citizenship for decades with its investor program that allowed people to "invest" $250,000, then $500,000 to gain a fast track to citizenship. It also had a temporary foreign worker program that was out of control such that there are 5 million temporary canadians now with little attachment or loyalty to the country. The country took in hundreds of thousands of migrants and refugees without much background verification and it rarely successfully deports people. Canada was a safe haven for war criminals from Serbia, Croatia, Congo, Rwanda and Burundi. Canada is also the epicenter of Sikh terrorism. The Arab spring brought an influx of hundreds of thousands of North Africans , many of whom are followers of political views that can be considered sympathetic to terrorism.

The claim is fabricated and unsubstantiated. Because a right wing group makes a claim does not make it true. Mr. Soros has not been involved in any political activity for years. Please explain how this incapacitated man has been able to control the election of district attorneys. Aren't these people elected by the voters? What does Mr. Soros do? Does he roll through the districts handing out beef jerkey and malt liquor in support of the DAs?

Poor deluded woman. Someone should remind her that 94 1/2 year old Mr. Soros is infirm and is close to death. He is incapacitated such that he could not attend the Medal of Freedom ceremony. He hasn't been seen at any public event in some time and has had no participation for years in the activities his detractors claim he is involved in. How does she believe a man in a wheelchair who sleeps much of the day is engineering this plot of world domination? Is he tooting a secret code as he sleeps and farts? It is fascinating that some people are so easily manipulated that they will suspend reality and common sense and embrace the claims of self serving political panderers.

That kind of loyalty would get her a job in a certain US President's office 😃 Yes, she is wrong, but I do admire her loyalty to her man. I really do.

How would you characterize the UK market? Volatile? Depressed? Flat? I sense a bit of a despair and the beginning of a panic, but not the type we see when banks have a run. What do you think will happen in the markets in the next 3 months? Was it ever this bad back in the pre Thatcher period? All I know was that when I was a kid, English made shoes were considered top quality and then it just stopped and they were no more shoes made in England.

Come on. Your sympathetic stance requires that we abandon common sense and our own personal experience at Subway. The woman was engaged in gluttony, the kind we see at the cheap buffets. except, here there was a posted price to pay. She was literally ordering multiple sandwiches with her additional toppings. And to be honest, I have never seen anyone order like that ever. I don't even take cheese on my sandwich. The footlongs are packed with the ingredients so, ordering 2-3-4X the ingredients is truly excessive and it should be expected that there will be a cost reflective of that.

In gloom and despair, visionaries (or opportunists depending on your view) will move in to fill the void. That's how the US Vulture Funds grew in popularity and power in the USA. The financial pain and misery of some is the great opportunity for those prepared to take on risk, with other people's money, of course. 🙂 I am fairly certain that there are some well capitalized investment funds hoping for more financial ruin in the UK. This will allow them to pick up some distressed assets at a bargain. The Gulf Arab funds, and the holding companies for the Russian Oligarch diaspora is looking for investment opportunities and the London financiers have been servicing them for decades, so it will be an easy bit of profit taking. It seems that Labour and its supporters won't be happy until everyone is impoverished equally and those who work hard and are entrpreneurial are crushed. Sucks to be one of the 20% of the UK population who carry the tax burden for 80% of the country. So, as an aside, how long will Rachel Reeves survive in her position? Will she burn out in 2025, be shuffled out or just give up as she destroys the national economy? People want to blame Starmer, but he is only the titular leader. He is helped and enabled by a long list of very dangerous and nasty ministers who all seem to have personal grudges and chips on their shoulders.

And yet the junketeers and suckers still go, in ever increasing numbers. At some point the. bubble will burst.