thaibeachlovers

Still happens. In Chiang Mai I used to take the Central Airport free vehicle service to go see a movie. As it was a moving vehicle on bad roads no one was using their machine and I had many an interesting conversation with tourists from all over the world. Seems most people spoke English, wherever they came from. Also had interesting conversations with young western bagpackers in the back of a shared red bus from the railway station. However, never had a conversation on the skytrain, or the underground in Bkk. All looking at their machines.

True. I used to write letters that took time and thought to compose. Now it's just a short e mail if necessary. Not only have I stopped writing letters, but I have also lost the desire to do so. Is that because of the phone/ computer or just because I'm older? The first people in Thailand to embrace mobile phones IMO were bargirls. Good for business. They certainly exploited internet and that Skype ( does that still exist ) thing to keep the money coming in from their many "friends" overseas. The first time I was boggled by the new devices was when I was on the airport train from Swampy and I was looking at some young bagpacker engrossed in the machine instead of looking out the window at the country he flew for hours to get to. IMO the machines are making morons of us. Certainly I'm guilty as charged, as there are more than a few far better things I could be doing, but the dark side of the force is strong.

They already have all the technology needed to go hydrogen, but have gone down the wrong ( IMO ) path of battery electric. Much like when VDO went VHS instead of the better Beta. Is any country capable of going all electric cars if they have to be recharged from the current grid? LOL. Nuclear is only current technology to power universal battery cars without creating massive CO2 output. Go hydrogen and no need for nuclear.

It was different world back then. People actually worked to benefit society, not to get rich off it. Also back then, no IT guys ( no computers like now ) finance was a dirty word, and "consultants" was not a word in common use. My father was a top accountant and was a big wheel in government accounting departments in a few different countries, but we were middle class income family, and definitely not rich.

There is indeed a Saudi industry, and I have visited many of the facilities on social club trips. Totally uneconomic as would be cheaper to simply import the finished products, but it provided places for Saudis to "manage" while imported labour did all the work. They had massive dairy "farms" and factories that provided all the dairy products needed. Perhaps the most interesting was the solar research facility. Don't forget the vast oil industry on Saudi soil, aircraft and military maintenance/ repair facilities and such as the airline/ airports etc. Even the desalination facilities and the pipelines transporting water to Riyadh could be described as an "industry". They even have a tourist industry.

I agree that is the current situation, but when Britain was in the EU I believe they didn't have passport checks between EU countries, so how would they know if the person on the bus was an EU national or not? I could be wrong on that, as I never tried to go to France when living in the UK when it was part of the EU. I know there were no passport checks between Eire and the UK, but that may be a different situation. However, Australia proves that it is not necessary to let those in rubber boats crossing the channel to land on the UK mainland. They could simply load them onto navy ships and transport them to an island somewhere else. While they might not have been able to do that while in the EU ( EU rules ) that isn't applicable anymore. I'm sure if they really wanted to stop channel crossings they could do so. That they don't is telling IMO. While some do not approve of the Australian solution, it appears to have stopped people dying on unsuitable boats trying to get to Australia by sea, and isn't that the important thing?

True, but are American taxpayers happy to be making companies rich in a war on the far side of the world, that will IMO likely never affect the US directly?

I'm more in favour of Douglas Adams solution to bureaucrats, which could include woke radicals.

He has a point though. Disposal of used batteries and the destruction caused by mining for the necessary raw materials are already causing problems, and it's barely begun to replace fossil fuel.

It may indeed be "the future" though IMO it will more likely be some other more reliable and less polluting to make technology eg nuclear fusion or using hydrogen instead of oil based fuel. IC motors can be adapted to use hydrogen, or electric cars can use hydrogen fuel cells. IMO wind and solar are simply not reliable enough without massive battery storage capacity and that alone will cause disposal problems. Hydrogen can be distributed using the same proven system as fossil gas was/ is. The big blades of windmills are already proving to be a problem to dispose of when needing replacement.

LOL, it's not a question of someone else being "worse", is it? It's a question if Biden is fit to be president ( which is more on topic than Trump )?

I'm sure the GOP won't be letting anyone forget Biden's gaffes if he does decide to run again in '24.

While I disagree that they are seeking an easy way of life ( they have to repay the criminals that support them along the way and presumably want to send money home ) IMO they are complicit in criminal activity simply by paying criminals to get them illegally into the UK. However, since the UK is no longer in the EU, I doubt they can simply be returned to France, though IMO that is what should have happened when Britain was in the UK- put them on a bus and send them back by ferry. IMO had the British government actually wanted to solve the problem back then they could have done so, ergo they didn't, for whatever reason they had.

Vera Lyn. To any British soldier in harm's way she must have sounded like an angel. Wonderful voice.

Yes. Any harassment of any sort is wrong.

If Biden stands again in '24 I reckon everyone will be getting Biden's gaffes remembered over and over and over. However, IMO he won't be standing again- just too old.

Bring on the Matrix.

I don't know any positive people. Everyone I know dislikes/ hates what has happened to the country. Can't hate and be positive, unless positively hating. I find being on the forum a good way to not think too much about my life, which is probably why I spend so much time on it.

How about God created the universe which in turn created man through evolution?

Link to proof. I disagree 100% as everything we do/ think is caused by chemicals in the body causing an electrical activity in our neurons which in turn makes us move, digest, grow, think etc. How do you think our biological transport mechanism works if not by chemicals reacting with neurons?

I have visions all the time. They are called dreams. Unfortunately my visions have never had me getting lucky. I used to see visions on the street, but since I left Thailand not anymore.

LOL. The world is only "best" for rich people, and always has been. The rest of us just get along as best we can. IMO if there was ever a best age for us common folk, it was in the 1950s and early 60s before Vietnam war stuffed it all up, and that was only for western people in affluent countries like Australia and NZ, and parts of the USA. NB I don't include the UK in that.

Nah. The world is crazy. While I consider myself sane in an insane world, others might disagree.

Fair enough, but I was talking about paying to have sex.

IMO feminists consider men looking at a female without written permission are abusers. I've never had the pleasure of meeting a feminist to give her back what she gives men. Perhaps I'll get lucky before I die.