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US veteran searches for owner of lost Vietnam War diary
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Bangkok New Year’s Eve - 2 Hefty Western Chicks and a Ladyboy
New Year’s Eve in Bangkok is often an interesting, if not an unordinary spectacle I'd say, but last night I again saw something that I hadn’t ever come across before. It was about 8:30 p.m. and I was sitting alone at a beer bar in Suk Soi 7, nursing my drink, just waiting for my friend to arrive, while enjoying the visuals of the usual comings and goings when two hefty British women plopped down on the stools right next to me. Where did they suddenly appear from? They were heffers of the highest order, looked to be aged in their early thirties and must have been UK Northerners. If I had to be honest, their appearance leaned more towards the butch side; they looked like they were most likely batting for the other team. I'll bet if they took their t-shirts off, they would have had more underarm hair than me. A bit like the types you would see at one of those awful full moon parties down on the islands. But what really caught my attention was the person they were with. Standing between them was a very mincing-looking Thai ladyboy. The ladyboy had long, styled light-brown hair, thick but flawless makeup, and large silicone implants that left no ambiguity about their being “enhancements.” The face was a bit hard though, thin and bony with some cystic acne scars showing through the face paint and a few strong masculine features. One of the women was practically draped over the ladyboy, hugging and kissing them in a way that left little to the imagination. I’ve seen a lot of unusual combinations in Bangkok over the years, but this was the first time I’d witnessed two chunky Western women, who presumably prefer carpet grazing to begin with, but yet with a Thai ladyboy worker in tow??? I couldn’t help but wonder what the dynamic was here. Was this some kind of experimental adventure for the minge munching duo? A drunken dare gone too far? Or maybe they were just so desperate for some outside attention that they thought this was a good way to go? Either way, it was a sight to make you wonder what's really going on over there in Blighty these days. Some people might argue that the ladyboy was even enjoying their work because they put on a smile and acted like they’re having a great time. But if you’d seen these two pommy slappers; loud, obnoxious, and frankly not ones you would ever want to be caught hanging out of yourself, then you’d know that this particular ladyboy had their work cut out for them last night. The whole trio was a hot mess. The women were guzzling beer, laughing and dancing raucously, while the ladyboy did their best to keep up the facade of enjoyment. I couldn’t help but think about how surreal it must be to have to be in a situation like that for work. For the ladyboy, perhaps it’s just another night on the job, but who knows. Maybe the ladyboy was even planning to plunder their belongings later once they were all passed out back in the hotel room, you never know right? For the women, maybe it was some kind of warped New Year’s resolution to “try something new and out of the box”, literally. Whatever the case may be, it left me shaking my head yet again. You see all sorts of unusual-looking pairings in Bangers at times, but this one was truly pitiful and reaching new lows. Eventually, one of the two girls started dancing closer to me and even rubbing up against me a bit. I was not keen on this added development at all, to say the least. I reckon she was thinking it would just be fun to try to annoy me a bit. Then my friend showed up, and we decided to push on to a more interesting venue over in Soi 11 with smaller-sized women and of the Asian sort that you don't mind rubbing up on you at all. I haven't slept yet, and I can now feel the oncoming hangover from the heavy night of drinking starting to kick in. The headache has already switched on. After starting the night out drinking only beer, and not planning on having a big one, my friend eventually started buying us tequila shots, one after the other and that's what did me in. It's almost 4:30 AM now and I can't even think anymore. Gotta get me into bed now and properly sleep this one off. Night mates. Happy New Mia! -
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Looming Crisis: Private Schools Face Closures Amid VAT Hike
I've not bothered to read all the replies on this thread, but pleased that the topic is being discussed. Its a long post, so skip if you don't want to read it. My nephew has attended an independant school since the age of 4. He's now on the cusp of starting his GCSEs, and is thriving, all the more so since joining the school cadet force, which has greatly enhanced his confidence. His mother is a school teacher in the state sector, falling within the bottom 90% of the population (earning £59,000 or less). She does not live with the boy's father, who is also a state school teacher. They both contribute to his upbringing. They have first hand knowledge of the state of public education in the English East Midlands; its abysmal. My sister has experienced 2 of her pupils being stabbed to death. She has been assaulted by pupils objecting to being taught by a female. On parents night, she has met parents who have turned up drunk or under the influence. In her previous school, the majority of kids in her class were from Eastern Europe. She has been impressed how diligent they were. It is routine that teachers buy stationary supplies from their own pockets. In her present school, many parents seem to have second homes in Dubai and drive fancy cars. Both parents agree that they will try their utmost for their son not to be disadvantaged by the state school. They feel he will not be given a fair shot in life. My mother and late father financially supported this. They were motivated not just out of love for their grandson, but out of concern for my sister. When she was much younger, she suffered a mental breakdown, which included being sectioned. Mercifully, that seems behind her, and she has gone on to be a school leader. But, as anyone who has suffered a mental breakdown, you never forget, and that memory can be frightening, and stress can see it return. So my parents, being elderly, were interested in the pastoral care the private school could offer (its a traditional RC school. We are not RC and not at all religious, and the boy's father is from the Subcontinent), in case something happened to them and my sister. For 11 years, its been just about affordable. My sister lives frugally, with the occasional holiday in Cornwall, never eats out. She receives no bursary. This move by the government has obviously caused distress. The VAT bill is about £5000 a year. In 3 weeks time, she has to hand over a check for £10,000 to the school. The fees go up again in April, once the business rates concession are withdrawn. Increase employer NI is also kicking in. While she already knew the general availability of places in the area, her enquiries reveal there are zero places in the county for his year. The LA say they would be obliged to send him to a neighbouring county, by taxi, at a cost of £8,000 per year to the rate payer. Net loss to the public purse; £3000. This is likely to be repeated across the country. This is ludicrous. Oxfordshire has already said it will decline all mid year 10/11 transfers in January. Surrey, by FOI request, forecasts zero years 9-11 places in September 2025. She has resigned herself to struggling to pay the fees. She has no choice. The alternative would be to resign her position, and home school her child. Its been a tough christmas. Her house is in a floodzone, and she has had to pay a £1500 house insurance, plus brake repairs on her car. She has had to borrow money for food this month. Naturally, the lad's christmas gifts were a bit threadbare, but he's ok with that. I feel a bit sad for him. His grandad died a couple of years ago, his gran is in a nursing home due to a NHS mistake, and now this. Both came from working class, ex-military. He's resiliant. I'm not sure if it has been mentioned so far, but schools do not receive additional funding for mid-year transfers. Budgets are set based on the October rolls. The government has not put in place any additional funding. The net result might include hiring freezes, deferrment of maintenance, cuts in consumable ordering (pencils, paper etc). Also, there are over 5,300 partnerships between independent and state schools, through the Schools Together programme. Some of this came about when schools had to demonstrate their charitable status, but in many cases, the programme merely formalises informal arrangements that go back decades. Its interesting looking at the Schools Together website at the nature of these partnerships. Examples include letting state school kids use the swimming pool free of charge, hosting inter-school sports events and concerts at no or nominal cost, providing speciality teachers (I estimate about 300,000 hours per year, representing I suppose about £15,000,000 @ £50 per hour). The government has defined independant schools as businesses, which should pay VAT (though its actually the parents paying the VAT), and while they have not removed charitable status, they have removed most of the incentives to have charitable status (business rate relief). Many schools are likely to see accelerated declining rolls (nationally, there is a decline in overall school rolls, but not for all years), but still have the same salaries and upkeep bills. I suspect some of these partnerships in the future will come with an invoice, to help cover swimming pool upkeep, groundsman salary, contract teacher supply. The result will be less kids get to learn to swim, more end up obese, and more ignorant of the rare subjects. The government, in its legislation, define the following as businesses: Private schools, including non-maintained special schools Universities Commercial providers teaching English as a foreign language Universities and TEFL schools remain exempt from charging VAT on services provided. The average gross margin for universities is about 4-5%, which is pretty good compared to a supermarket at 1-2%. No logic is provided why private schools in particular are exempt. I suspect Universities would put up more of a fight, as their existance is through Acts of Parliament, but Private Schools can only exist because the government lets them. TEFL schools I guess represent a potential voter base. Of course, acquiring a decent command of English is one of the prerequisates to gaining citizenship. I expect some correspondants have interjected on the thread as supportive of the policy, along the lines of "squeezing the pips", on the assumption that the parents must be very rich. I can see how that perception arise. If I drop off the nephew at his school, there is a high density of Bentleys, Range Rovers, Porsches. I'm into my cars, but they are both old; a elderly retired race car, complete with dents and rust (nothing exotic, its Japanese) and a 20 year old Jag (because I want to tick off a V8 off the bucket list). Yeah, so I'm turning up in a banger, but they get the most looks from the kids, because kids are kids. https://medium.com/@diarmid.mackenzie/diversity-across-uk-independent-schools-a015a006f41b I was surprised what the real world data. About 50% of kids come from households with an income of more than £59,000. I wouldn't say in 2024, £59,000 defines one as rich. It doesn't even qualify you for the LTR visa. 25% come from the bottom 70%, which means households with less than £40,000 in income. So how on earth do 50% of families at independent schools afford the average £18k day fees? The answer is they can't. 1% are on full fee bursaries. 7% are on means tested bursaries. 33% have a scholarship or discount (https://www.pepf.co.uk/fact-finder/facts-and-figures/). The increases due to government policy will accelerate the decline in rolls. There will be less bursaries and scholarships. The share of that pie chart by the top 10% will grow. Schools will become more exclusive, and probably less integrated with the local community as the percentage of international boarders grows The others scrimp and save, often with extended family support, such as grandparents. Most of the fees already benefit the economy. The schools are often major sources of employment for rural areas. 80% of the fees typically goes in salries, which are spent in the UK. The government's unsaid objective is to drive the schools out of business. They can't afford to absorb the schools, because that means finding salaries for 80,000 teachers. Some of the oldest schools are on very expensive properties, with complex covenants. They will likely be sold off for exclusive high end residential development. Teachers in speciality subjects such as Latin will have zero chance of re-employment in the state sector. Most will probably leave educaton or go overseas. The death of the schools will be long and drawn out, as they lose critical mass, with empty classrooms The government is vague about the expected windfall. It will certainly be negative in the first year, as VAT on capital expenditure over the last 10 years is paid out. Initially it was £1.5 billion in 2025, now it might be £1.8bn in 2029. The Treasury will say it will be spent on "improving public services", which might mean anything, the Department of Education is convinced they will get all the money, which I doubt. And even if they do, if they don't know how much money will be realised, how can they set budgets; government spending through raising loans, paid off by tomorrow's taxes. But really they don't care, because its Class Warfare. And Class Warfare involves dimwitted econimics, imaging the £18,000 will be spent on other taxable things, but it won't. It will be spent on holidays in the Maldives, German cars and yachts. I had under estimated how factionalised Western Democracy had become, with governments around the world beholden to special interest groups, whether thats Brexiteers, Corbynites, MAGA. I'm a lifelong Tory, but consider myself to be part of the rapidly disappearing centre right/Disraeli/One-Nation part (I actively campaigned for Rory Stewart). I voted Tory in 2024; I had nothing against the sitting Tory, even though he was from the traditional Dry wing, because we have many common values. But Labour won the seat, the new MP has turned out to be a complete idiot, with whom I have vigourously and forecefully engaged with by Email. My mistake was assume that Starmer would be a "normal" politician, and "normal" discourse would resume. I'd like to think that he's not really all that committed to this policy, and believes the country has far bigger issues, and probably concluded its not a vote loser , so its a sop to the Left. But I failed to understand that he's weak. This will translate to an increasingly unhinged Labour Parliamentary Party, kind of the Ying to the Yang of the last Tory government. He won't see out his term. They came for the old, then the kids. Then the rest. If private schools are businesses to be taxed, then why not universities (the Deputy PM probably thinks a University Education is a luxury, she didn't need it), certainly all those would-be fat cat CEOs getting their MBAs. Dentists as well, no excuse that you can't find a NHS one, because the government will pull out some spreadsheet showing how they increased funding for refugee dentistry. Insurance; a car is a luxury, so 20% on your policy. House contents insurance; VAT on that. Travel insurance; holidays are an indulgance for the rich only, plus killing the planet, tax on that. Books; the government missed its 20% on Harry Potter sales, it won't repeat that mistake again. Certain historic political works by Engels etc will naturally be exempted. Food; the 5% vat on cavier will end. And meat, And Kellogs, because its American etc. Electricity and water; the country as a hole will have to shoulder the burden when the government discovers a hidden £40bn blackhole under the sofa. Sadly, Labour is reverting to type, but without the intelligence of Foot, Benn, Wilson, so vindictiveness coupled to stupidity. In 5 years time, the country will be in actual and figurative ruins. The chink of light is that the Tories will rediscover what they are about, and that's aspiration, and thats a pretty positive thing. Reform-UK is about negativity, things what they don't like. Reform is to the Tories what the SDP/Militant Tendency were to Labour (the two conspired to keep Labout out of power for 20 years). With the current case, maybe the High Court case will be won, and that's Starmer's get out clause to save Rachel from Accounts and Phillipson, as he was a Human Rights Lawyer (of some distinction). But I am doubtful. -
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Why some of us did not get COVID symptoms …even though we were exposed.
Poor analogy. Getting a cold/flu like virus and polio are light years apart. -
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Why some of us did not get COVID symptoms …even though we were exposed.
I think you're onto something there. Neurosis… and understandably so. My dad's girlfriend is a doctor. She pressured her own children into vaccinating their kids, her grandchildren. What choice does she have now, apart from denial all the way? She can't face the truth… Such is the depth of the disaster. -
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THAILAND LIVE Thailand Live Wednesday 01 January 2025
Tuk-tuk Crash in Bangkok Claims One Life, Leaves Three Injured A road crash occurred at 12:35 on December 31, at Bang Son Market Intersection, on the Bangkok-Nonthaburi Road, Bang Sue District, Bangkok. The incident involved a tuk-tuk colliding with a pedestrian before losing control and crashing into a central road barrier. Full story:https://aseannow.com/topic/1347605-tuk-tuk-crash-in-bangkok-claims-one-life-leaves-three-injured/ -
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Tuk-tuk Crash in Bangkok Claims One Life, Leaves Three Injured
Picture from responders, CCTV below A road crash occurred at 12:35 on December 31, at Bang Son Market Intersection, on the Bangkok-Nonthaburi Road, Bang Sue District, Bangkok. The incident involved a tuk-tuk colliding with a pedestrian before losing control and crashing into a central road barrier. The collision resulted in injuries to four individuals: 1. A male pedestrian, who was critically injured and stopped breathing at the scene. Emergency responders from the ALS (Advanced Life Support) unit at Prachaniwet Station performed CPR before transporting him to Bang Pho Hospital. 2. The male driver of the tuk-tuk sustained injuries. 3. A male passenger and a female passenger, who were also on the tuk-tuk, sustained minor injuries. The injured passengers and the driver were given first aid at the scene and transported to Tao Poon Police Station for further assistance and investigation. Later update reports confirmed that the critically injured pedestrian succumbed to his injuries and passed away at Bang Pho Hospital. Preliminary findings indicate that the tuk-tuk was approaching the junction at speed while attempting a left turn when it collided with a pedestrian crossing the road. The impact caused the pedestrian to be carried along by the vehicle before both were propelled into the concrete barrier, in the centre of the road. Authorities are continuing to investigate the circumstances of the crash and will prosecute the tuk-tuk as necessary. -- 2025-01-01 Caution video shows the collision. ScreenRecording_12-31-2024 16-32-59_1.mp4
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