spidermike007

I'm not a huge fan of Pattaya, but i was in Phuket last year and the island is now one big garbage heap, people seem to keep on traveling to Phuket but it was such a pale shadow of what it was when I was last there 10 years ago. It was absolutely infested with low end Malaysians, Arabs, Indians and especially the spectacularly unpleasant Russians, no thanks I never need to go back. The traffic was an abomination, everything was overpriced, Bangla Road was utterly horrific with barely an attractive woman in sight, and the entire place just reeked. At least Pattaya is a large city with a lot of attractions outside of the sex zone, you have good go-kart tracks, you have excellent golf courses and many very good beaches nearby.

Uninformed diatribe. Absolutely zero connection with the reservoirs upstate. Just a biased, tired, untruthful political meme. The real story? Officials now say the storage tanks that hold water for high-elevation areas like the Highlands, and the pumping systems that feed them, could not keep pace with the demand as the fire raced from one neighborhood to another. That was in part because those who designed the system did not account for the stunning speeds at which multiple fires would race through the Los Angeles area this week. “We are looking at a situation that is just completely not part of any domestic water system design,” said Marty Adams, a former general manager and chief engineer at the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, which is responsible for delivering water to nearly four million residents of Los Angeles. Municipal water systems are designed for firefighters to tap into multiple hydrants at once, allowing them to maintain a steady flow of water for crews who may be trying to protect a large structure or a handful of homes. But these systems can buckle when wildfires, such as those fueled by the dry brush that surrounds Los Angeles’s hillside communities, rage through entire neighborhoods.

Congratulations. Again, the dumbest, most ignorant, and least informed post of the day. Keep up the hate. It is you being you.

China and Burma are specialists at disappearing people they don't like. Both are super heinous governments.

Trump spends his days talking nonsense. This is nothing new. Buffoons need to be ignored when they say stuff that is beyond ridiculous. It is his M.O. That is what he does. Trump is at least semi insane, and grossly misinformed on nearly everything, does not help.

Maybe an overnight miracle happened and Trump grew a nanogram of dignity and humanity? If a day goes by that Trump is now spewing hatred, it is a good day.

Such a lowlife creep. I consider the practice of face to be the polar opposite of the practice of Buddhism, which teaches the need for introspection, contemplation, owning up to a problem, and taking responsibility for issues, problems and tragedies that you create in life. As a Westerner I can accept blame, apologize for an offense caused and take responsibility for my actions. No big deal. I care not one iota if I "lose face". Means less than zero to me what others think of me. Some will say it is a cultural difference. True. But, what about the deeper aspects of self esteem and having enough of it to be able to act like a real man or woman? A real man or woman accepts responsibility for problems they have caused. When that is being constantly deflected due to a pathological fear of looking bad in the eyes of others, that creates enormous problems for society.

Dust free rooms. Anything to avoid a confrontation with the wealthy sugar refiners. If they created a policy where sugar could not be bought, if it was burned, half of the problem would be solved. There is a very simple solution to this problem. If the authorities were interested in solutions. The burning has to stop. There are alternatives, to this 19th century technique of burning after the sugar cane harvest. Either the government starts to encourage farmers to switch to more environmentally friendly crops, or they start to penalize farmers for burning. This heinous burning, is leading to a tremendous degree of environmental degradation, and alot of lung disease. The government should offer incentives, for the farmers to switch crops. This is 2025. Rice and sugar worked in previous centuries. Now, they do not make any sense. Too labor intensive, too much degradation of the land, water, air, and resources. Let's get with the times. Let us move forward. Progressive reform on burning - green harvesting

Utility poles and trees are some of the most unyielding objects on the roadside, and they must be avoided at all costs. You tangle with one and you're going to get beaten every time.

I agree. And when you add in the fact that rainy season started October 15th and they barely had to drop in 3 months that's a perfect recipe for a disaster, clearing the brush would have made very little difference.

Anybody who knows anything about firefighting will realize that the hydrants are designed to put out a fire of a single house or perhaps two houses on a street. They were never designed to put out major forest fires, nor raging fires consuming an entire neighborhood.

He is the president-elect, he is two weeks from taking office and it would have been appropriate for him to offer some condolences and sympathy to the thousands upon thousands of people who have been affected by these tragic fires, but he just did not have it in him. No heart, no soul Don.

This is the man who literally does not have a compassionate bone in his body, he is so terribly unfit to be a leader, instead of expressing sympathy, and condolences he spews venom and hatred at the most inopportune and awkward moment. This man is such a incredibly sad version of a human being. Such a dark and hate filled soul. Los Angeles did cut 16 million from their fire department budget earlier this year which was dumber than dumb but it's going to be a while until we can really sort out real blame. The governor did not make that choice. The reality is that no amount of water and no amount of resources could have battled this blaze, with 1400 firemen and multiple helicopters dropping fire retardant the fire was 0% contained last time I looked. You can't battle nature when you're talking 60 or 70 mile an hour winds. The real culprit was Mother Nature, the rainy season usually starts mid-october and they barely had a drop in the last 3 months.

How about creating some Innovation on Rama 2, the infamous highway which is over a decade behind schedule, and probably has 20 years to go. The progress seems unbelievably slow, considering the fact that they're only at kilometer 36. I would replace the construction company with a Chinese company, who would probably complete the highway in 2 years.

There are many factors to blame for this, climate change is certainly one of them, the fact that Southern California has barely gotten a drop of rain since the beginning of rainy season two and a half months ago, and the city of Los Angeles bears the brunt of some of the blame. They cut 16 million dollars from the fire department budget recently, and they lowered the pressure in the fire hydrants city wide for some incredibly dumb reason. So, if Trump had done just 10 minutes of research which he seems to be allergic to, he would have blamed the city rather than the governor. But as we know Trump does not read, so that kind of thing is a near impossibility.

You criticize mainstream media most of the time and now you're glorifying it because your boy is on the cover.

So typical of a Trump supporter, always deflection and never an answer to the question at large.

The wildfires are raging in Southern California, more than 2,000 homes have been destroyed, 10 people have died and the fires continue to rage on, and what do we get from the man who will be leading our nation in two weeks? Criticism of the governor and an absolute desire to make this political. Is this his version of diplomacy, is this his version of decency, humanity and sympathy? Is this really the best he can do and the best that he has to offer in the way of leadership? As thousands flee their homes in California due to wildfires, US President-Elect Donald Trump has launched a scathing attack on Governor Gavin Newsom, saying "this is all his fault" and he must quit. Earlier, Trump alleged that the Governor's policies were to blame for the situation in some of the US's most prominent cities. The Governor has hit back, saying people are fleeing and the President-Elect's response is to politicise it. Among the worst-hit areas is Los Angeles, home to top Hollywood celebrities. At least five people have been killed and 2,000 buildings damaged as firefighters struggle to control the blaze. Los Angeles County Fire Chief Anthony Marrone said they don't have enough firefighters to tackle the situation. "We're doing the very best we can. But no, we don't have enough fire personnel in LA County between all the departments to handle this," he said, according to an AFP report.

And an African American, no less!

Well let's see if your boy is as good as you think he is, last time around Xi beat him in the first round of every negotiation they entered into, but then again so did MBS, Putin and virtually everyone else. Never forget, Trump is a terrible negotiator.

Anything to reduce Iran's influence in the region is a good thing, that government is absolutely heinous and has nothing but bad intentions for the region and much of the world. I would say the other truly horrific government in the region that are the Saudis, both are enemies of the planet.

Some Thai men are very easily offended, some have the emotional development of a 13-year-old boy and just can't cope with any sort of perceived slight. Then there is the face aspect. Make rude gestures at your own peril. It comes down to perhaps the single most significant weakness most Thai people have. The pathological fear of losing face. Who cares what people think of you? For those of us with high self esteem, it just does not matter. Sure, close friends and family. But strangers on the street? Who gives a rat's butt about this? It means nothing what they think, nor what they say about you. Nothing, less than zero. They count for nothing. They are just people, and people you do not know, nor will ever see again. Face is rife with self doubt, and by subscribing to this weakness, and man or woman is made a far lesser person. I consider the practice of face to be the polar opposite of the practice of Buddhism, which teaches the need for introspection, contemplation, owning up to a problem, and taking responsibility for issues, problems and tragedies that you create in life. As many of us know, a percentage of the Thai population lives within fairly small boxes, of social convention, traditions and expectations, especially on the part of the family. That is not a life that some of us choose. Those that are bold and courageous, will find a way to break past conventions, and live a fulfilling life, based on their own choices, independence, and esteem.

Yes the quality of life in Thailand is infinitely higher and the price of real estate in Thailand is significantly lower. Why live under an oppressive regime with bad intentions, if you don't have to?

It's a very simple moral to this story, if you're in a car or a truck, never, ever swerve to avoid a cat. Cats are very expendable and rarely do damage to a vehicle. People are not expendable.

And it's very possible the same thing would happen here that happened in Cambodia. Massive casinos would be built and the administration would change and the law would change and billions upon billions of dollars would be lost. if there's anything that can be expected from subsequent administrations here, it is inconsistency with regard to policy.