Dexi

The argument against gun control makes the point that if everyone carried a gun at all times,mass shootings would be more difficult.This has a certain logic.But would you want to live in a society like that ?

I hear that some states in the US are refusing to take any refugees/migrants from the middle east because " its too easy for them to buy guns "

Could be difficult for city dwellers.Those that live in the country and have water from their own bore holes should be ok.

" Agrippa "....wasn`t he some guy from the Roman Empire

Earlier this year had a chance meeting with a TG I used to be close to .It was c.8 yrs since we split up.Quite a weird experience.We thought about taking up where we left off,but time moves on and its just not the same.Going back 10 yrs the nightlife girls seemed a lot friendlier and easy going.Now its more about the $,or maybe its just me thats no longer the hansum man

" Exploitation at its worst " I agree....beer prices are outrageous

...we can do without those sort of people,so good riddance.

My candidate for worst hotel would be a place in Mair Sai ( hate the place,only went to get a visa stamp ),name withheld to protect the guilty .Room tiny,tv not working,hot water,not working.Only stayed there because I couldn`t be bothered to walk round looking for something better.On a separate issue,the place I used to check into for the first couple of nites in Pttya after arrival ,changed hands and demanded a 500 bt deposit as well as the room fee for just one nite.WTF .When renting for a few months it seems reasonable to ask for 1 month rent deposit + 1 month rent up front,but not for 1 nite.Hope this isn`t the start of a new trend.

Watched a piece on the news last nite about the river delta in Bangladesh. "Rising sea levels" were mentioned no less than 7 times in 10 mins giving the impression that islands in the delta were disappearing due to this factor.Erosion by river water was given only a brief mention .No actual figures were given to prove whether sea levels are rising at all and if so by how much.

I would avoid the Nana just because of that weird and unpleasant smell in the rooms,like a mixture of damp carpets and stale cig. smoke.Reception staff seemed ok,but then this war 10 + yrs ago.On a plus point every taxi driver knows where the Nana is.Perhaps we could have a thread on the worst hotels in Thailand.I have a couple that readily spring to mind,much worse than the Nana.

Written by the same duo who made " Dads Army " and " Are you being served ".Some of the same actors crop up from the earlier series.Not really in the same class as DA ,IMHO.

Quote " A Yorkshire man is like a Scot without all the warmth and generosity "

I`m surprised anyone takes what Putin says seriously,after his adventures in the Ukraine and the Crimea.When he started bombing in Syria he said he was targeting IS but 90% of attacks were against other opponents of Assad who threatened the regime.I think 600 is a nice round number he picked out of the air.Only the gullible Ruskie population would believe such guff.

Wonder how they got it on board ?Checks on passengers at the airport in Egypt were well known to be lax.Or,more worryingly,ground crew/maintenance people or cleaners might have done it

" Lamphun is famous for its beautiful women ".... who have all left to work in Pattaya and Bangkok.

Maybe these events are similar,in some ways to the mass killings done by lone gunmen ,often carried out in schools.The perpetrators being young men alienated from society and harbouring a grudge,only now they have a warped ideology to motivate them.Hard to see how France can hit back against these people.As they say,its an act of war,but where there is no formal state,what can they do apart from carry on bombing from the air.The US has been doing that for months with,it seems,only limited effect.Maybe all the western powers should prepare to send in troops on the ground,but they might have to stay there indefinitely,to be effective.

After watching the film " Bridge on the river Kwai " with Alec Guiness I was keen to see the bridge itself when I visited Kan.The real bridge is very different to the one in the film,being made from pre-constructed metal frames imported from Japan,whereas the film version was made of wood.The film was also shot in Sri Lanka not Thailand.Further along the valley I think there are some of the original wooden bridges in use to support the rail tracks - they look pretty flimsy by todays standards .Lots of the original work done by the POWs was all by hand,such as drilling and breaking rocks.It was extemely hot when I was there ,can`t imagine what it must have been like doing that sort of work on starvation rations .

If he was so good at predicting the lotto numbers,why didn`t he just buy the tickets himself ?

Ever seen Barry Humphries as " Sir Les Patterson " the Aus. cultural ambassador ? Very funny

I make no apologies for maintaining high standards whilst in LOS,with my Rolex,Polo shirts and Boss jeans.Only a close observer would know that they are all....fake

Like the fake beggar one - could be even better with a fake Farang beggar,but probably too controversial.

Always amazes me that there are some scientists who are also religious....science being fact based,whereas religion is the complete opposite

When I first visited Pai,up in the far north,we had a bike ride out of town to the hot springs.There was very little there in the way of infrastructure for visitors,just an old dilapidated wooden shed without walls that looked about 50 years old.Although the hottest part of the springs were at a temperature at which eggs could be cooked in a few minutes,lower downstream one could relax among rocks in pleasantly warm/hot water.I went back last year and nothing had changed apart from an official standing at the gate and a sign board on which was written - Entry 250 Bt.Needless to say,I did not go in.Market forces will come into play as in all areas of life and charges will increase to the level which the gullible farang will pay

This small rhyme might sum it up...." I`m Thai and you`re not,your job is to pay and mine is to smile...a lot " .Anon.

Its hard to think of a place less suited to a romantic liason than an airline toilet. Also the flights that I`ve been on over the last few years there seems to be a permanent 3-4 person queue waiting to get in.....maybe she had a special reserved toilet for that purpose