SatEng

His latest suggestion is that the shooter got in through an unlocked door, so all schools should be barricaded, have bullet-proof glass and armed guards - basically turning every school into a super-max prison - but of course you would have to check everyone coming in for firearms, have metal detectors etc. - measures that he and his republican colleagues objected to on capitol hill because it "infringed their rights" (Bullet-proof glass would also limit the police ability to use a sniper to take out the perpetrator, the only option left would be to storm the building and we all know what happened in Waco) So where does America go from there - all schools now like prisons, but these are not the only places where mass shootings have occurred - how about universities and colleges aswell - they have to be "super-maxxed". And also shootings have occurred in cinemas, shopping malls - make these "super-max" too And any outdoor area like parks and recreation, cannot take the chance of a "Norway" style shooting But you still have to travel between these places so all school buses have to be armored, possibly also private cars Is this the sort of country you want to bring your children up in? Welcome to the dystopia that is Ted Cruz's America, all to deflect from the culpability of the gun lobby which pays him over $300,000

Even the smaller amounts gets the gun lobby "into the room" so they can lean on the senator and impress upon them how many voter they could turn out against them if they vote for any gun control. More importantly though, how, after Sandy Hook, Parkland and now Texas could any senator in good conscience accept money from the gun lobby - surely it would be best for them to refuse these donation and then if they want to vote against gun control they can do it without any accusation of being paid

The difference here is that in the UK and Australia after the gun bans the guns are now mainly being used on gang wars and inter criminal activities - not mass shootings in schools by any crazed idiot - not for 25 years. Yes, criminals still get hold of guns but it is hard for them to do so, they cannot just walk into a walmart and buy an AK57 assault rifle an hundreds of rounds of ammunition. Your post proves exactly this point

My view on abortion is that if it has to happen it should be as early and as safe as possible - Starting with education and the availability and provision of contraception - the main opponents to this are the catholic church and whacko congressmen who think that IUDs are a form of abortion., they are both wrong. - pregnancy testing kits should be made cheaper, easier and more accurate - we can do it for covid so we should be able to do it for pregnancy - even providing free test kits so that girls can check as early as possible - The availability of "morning-after" pills which can be used after sex - these have to be made available to vulnerable girls in a confidential environment without intervention such as informing parents - medical home termination such as mifepristone/misoprostol up to about 10-12 weeks - medical termination under qualified and licensed medical supervision up to 16-20 weeks This safeguards the womans "right to choose" but there is also a responsibility to check early and take action. After around 20 weeks the situation get more tricky as the viability of the foetus is now in question - termination in such cases should be limited to cases of rape/incest/deformation or mothers health in danger or where the woman has not been allowed to access medical services and should be signed off by two independent doctors Help and support should be given to the mother in such cases to ensure a healthy outcome for both mother and child In all cases it should be a medical and not a "political" decision

The problem with your callous "after all its only 3.5 people per 100,000" is that it includes the preventable murder of small children By condoning the status quo and not wanting to take any action on gun control you are saying you are OK with recurring mass school shootings and the murder of children - it is just for you a price worth paying for you to enjoy your :"freedom": to own guns Let me just repeat that for clarity - KanchanburiGuy is OK with children being murdered and wants it to inevitably continue

True to some extent - after the gun bans in the UK the only people with handguns are the criminals, and only some of the police are armed - but there have been no mass school shootings in 25 years because in the main the guns are used against each other in gang wars or inter-criminal activities So to take your own words if only criminals and remaining cops had guns, would that not be preferable to every nutter having one

And this is where the arguments of people like Morrobay fall down. You cannot use "stop and search" laws against people if they are legally allowed to buy and carry the weapons and have no criminal records. Background checks also fail if the person does not fail any so-called "red-flags" and the most recent perpetrator was able to walk into a gun store and buy AR17 assault rifles on his 18th birthday. So these people fall through the cracks unless they post something online and it gets reported - even then the far-right will object because it is "first amendment" and I have some sympathy with that. Going from there to buying a gun and plotting to kill people is hard to spot - but what is always, really always, the step between being an introvert of concern and committing a horrible mass shooting is getting access to the guns, whether bought or borrowed from someone else in the family. It always comes to the same point, the only control is on the access to guns in the first place

What a moronic post In all other countries - UK, Australia, Canada etc. there is no need for armed guards as there are not so many nutters with guns - there have been no school shootings in the UK or Australia for 25 years because of gun bans Armed guards are not the solution, in fact, they will become part of the problem - only a matter of time before one armed security guard becomes mentally unstable and shoots up the place - then where is your argument - two armed guards, 3, 5 10 .....

According to (Texas senator) Ted Cruz today gun control "doesn't work" There are two answers to this 1) You have never tried it 2) Where they have tried it, it has worked - after the Dunblane school massacre 25 years ago the UK introduced very tough gun control laws and gun amnesties - not perfect but still quite effective - in 25 years there have only been 2 mass shootings (more than 4 people killed not including the perpetrator) - in Australia since the Port Arthur shootings in 1996 there have been zero mass killings (worth repeating - zero) - and after the mass shooting at a mosque in New Zealand similar new gun laws have been introduced In the US by contrast there have been two mass shootings this week So where is the proof that gun control "doesn't work"?

As with all things in Thailand money trumps everything - the latest from the APEC trade ministers meeting is that the (less than useless) Deputy PM Jurin has been having side meetings with the Russians to try to increase trade. Far from being "neutral:" it seems that Thailand is taking sides with Russia - because they have more tourists to Thailand than Ukraine and also they are promising more investment - diplomacy be damned. Thailand is even looking to implement the MIR payment card to get around the financial sanctions imposed by the West. There is also the matter of large Thai companies who have joint ventures with Russian companies, including a major satellite telecoms company and a large food packager (which I shall not mention as it is very litigious). While western companies have been pulling out of Russia there is no sign of this on the Thai side, quite the opposite.

Yes, it does remain to be seen if these and other projects are supported - but the Space hotel is existing and opening in August - the others are backed by large enterprises such as CP. But of course you are right - you would neve see that sort of progression would you - hold on though - how about the small railroad town in Nevada which suddenly boomed with bars and brothels to cater to the constriction workers making the Hoover Dam, and then 10 years later had its first "themed" hotel and casino - I wonder where that was?

Not 100 years ago but up to the early 1970s Pattaya was just a small fishing village - google it

Whether you like it or not the new Space hotel, the intended shopping village next to the Pullman, the "Aquatique" development next to Hard Rock Hotel and the marina development at Band Saray - not to mention the huge condo developments in Jomtien, are all signs of the transition that Pattaya is making from sleepy fishing village to mass tourist market. Maybe not for you in the future The beauty of Thailand, though, is that there are still hundreds of beach villages with a strip of 4-5 bars and restaurants that are relatively unspoilt, even just along the Rayong and Chantaburi coastlines, but if you are looking for a resort that is fairly lively, with a large proportion of bars and cheap bar girls to tourists then this is only for a fleeting time in any resort area development. I do not know where these currently are, but if they are around then anyone compiling a travel guide/blog with a focus on this may be popular. If/when I retire I may think of doing this.

Have watched this being built and it is quite impressive. Puts the existing hotels to shame Also there are plans for another large double hotel from Marriott next to the Hard Rock Hotel as part of a development by CP If they do pass the legislation to allow casinos in Thailand I expect more of these themed hotels to be built - Pattaya beach could well become the "Vegas strip" of Asia and quickly outshine Sihanoukville and Macau as a destination Looking at the devastation that Covid has wrought in the Pattaya economy it could do with this lift - I presume anyone with enough money to gamble in a casino is automatically thought of as a "quality" tourist. Not only that - this is big enough to house large conventions, that is the future for Pattaya - Conventions, Casinos, Golf and Nightlife - can all exist alongside the more traditional bars and restaurants.

All of my "wealth" and earnings are in property here and abroad (I say mine but the property in Thailand is in the name of the wife and kids). I give myself a "stipend" of about 50k baht per month which covers clothes and going out in town, no flashy car in Thailand as it would only get damaged and I object to paying 2-3 times what I would pay for the same elsewhere. Have a lot of old friends from bars and we go for lunch, dinner etc. but nothing excessive. If I have to stay over it is a medium business hotel like the Holiday inn or Novotel. Polo shirt and jeans mostly - no jewelry or watch. Of course when I have to go to meetings and abroad the suit goes back on and the original Strela watch and check into the higher-end hotels used by the conferences - like Marina Bay. You dress to fit in

I can reply if I wish - free country??? I have a life - a very good one and yes, also married to an Asian - who, when in Britain, had to deal with the ignorant bigots such as yourself. I guess you don't want to take your Asian wife back to Britain then - after all then she would be one of the "scroungers" you despise and subject to harassment and insults from people with exactly the same views as you. The problem is that it is a short distance from the "scrounger" bigotry to the views of people such as Alex Davies, co-founder of National Action who advocates the forced repatriation of immigrants - even second-generation, in order to re-establish a "white" Britain. With the current policy of deportation to Rwanda going through that step is not so far away it seems. But hold on a moment, a lot of times these actions become reciprocal, so how would you feel if Thailand suddenly, under a more nationalist government, took a similar view and all foreign nationals had their visas cancelled and were deported, including those with spouses, children etc. breaking up the families. Of course you could not imagine such a thing happening - it only happens to foreigners and not to "white" people like yourself

Glad you are admitting you are a racist - it is the first step...

As with all racists you like to be derogatory to all immigrants, whether they come as legal, illegal, asylum seekers etc. The truth is, and there are figures to back it up, that immigration to the UK has been a net benefit - your so-called scroungers, when taken on average, contribute positively to the economy and therefore lower the overall cost of services for everyone. But racist bigots do not like such "facts" they prefer unsubstantiated anecdotal stories passed around in a pub of immigrants costing the NHS millions. I have an anecdotal story for you - but this one is true - I had the great pleasure some years ago to employ a young man of Afghanistan origin, his father had fled persecution there being a doctor and they arrived via the "actually" war-torn Beirut - arriving at 12 with no English - this young man gained his PhD by the time he was 21 and has had a very laudable career since then contributing to major UK flagship technical programs. I would take this "scrounger" over a racist bigot any day

I am not so sure about the "capable of thinking for themselves" bit Going around Pattaya it is very clear that the majority of Thais are wearing the masks in public and taking them off either in private or in a closed setting It is the foreigners that are walking around without masks trying to "flaunt" the fact that they don't want to wear one - but of course still have to put one on when they go into a shopping mall otherwise they are not let in. So who are being the clever ones here?

Over the past century, average life expectancy in the UK has increased by 30 years and this trend will continue. By 2030, there will be three million over 85s in the UK and more than 15 million over 65s. This research, undertaken by SQW on behalf of WRVS, seeks to strengthen the evidence base in relation to an ageing society by examining the contribution of a growing population of older people as well as the costs. Based on that evidence, this research challenges the widely held view that older people represent a net cost to society. Findings showed that older people made a positive net contribution of £40 billion to the UK economy in 2010. Furthermore, as the overall number of people over 65 increases and people remain healthier for longer, opportunities to make a positive contribution through work or volunteering will grow. As a result, by 2030, the positive net contribution of over 65s will rise to an estimated £77 billion. Source: https://www.scie-socialcareonline.org.uk/gold-age-pensioners-valuing-the-socio-economic-contribution-of-older-people-in-the-uk/r/a11G00000017wMhIAI

Why is it that the right wing bigots and racists manage to bring their bile into every thread on a forum This is about the UK Government treating its UK citizens - nothing to do with immigration

If you don't like immigrants - don't be one

Unfortunately incorrect. If you were living in the UK and spending your money there it would be a net benefit compared to the cost to NHS and state services on average - treasury estimates This is why they don't give a fig about you if you are living abroad and spending your pension abroad

Typical racist response from a hypocrit immigrant If you want to change it - go home