Coss

Also Laos has this fun.

I used to drink for the Olympics, unfortunately I never placed, for a medal. These days, I don't think I'd qualify for selection.

ditto Whilst I err on the side of tolerance for the .. ahh .. non-binary, I think they like to be called, the amount of oxygen that the rainbow community consume, is excessive in my opinion. Which brings a new perspective to the old programming joke: "There are two kinds of people, those who understand binary, and those who don't", the new perspective being, that the non-binary folk don't understand the Hetero folk, this is their (non-binary) failing, not ours. I currently live in Auckland and we, like most cities have a tolerance for and many parades, with these rainbow folk. But to be fair, I take more interest in the many Polynesian festivals and events around the place, more interesting, more friendly and some of the girls... mmm...

What? a Republican? with an AR-15? and no Licence? Shooting people? What is the world coming to? Related: I saw the director of the secret service get "questioned" / abused by a bipartisan group of members of congress, the lack of civility from the Republicans is astounding. It wouldn't surprise me if the outcome of this fracas, is a declination by the secret service, to provide security for ex-presidents, who want their own Nuremberg rallies. Here's your rule book Mr/Mrs Ex President: 1/. no atomic bombs/top secret stuff/cutlery or furniture smuggled into your private residence 2/. no secret service security at events you organise, of more than 40 people. These agents are not taxpayer funded goons. 3/. you are not a President any more, you may call yourself Mr/Mrs Ex President. 4/. if you have committed and are convicted of, crimes, you will be required to comply with any sentence, given for them. etc...

The reason that Jan 6 failed was that Donald couldn't organise a piss up in a brewery, everything is done on the fly and the answer to any problem, is this 1st thing into his head or the last thing he heard someone say. The dark forces have realised this - ergo - project 2025. Reliable info has it that there are about 400 of Trump's previous Whitehouse employees, associates and arse lickers, putting it together. This time there will be no secret service dudes refusing to take him to the riot head. And everyone who has a part to play will have scripted actions.

Just for the photo - priceless: https://www.reuters.com/world/us/ar-15-style-rifles-rose-iconic-status-us-via-marketing-militarization-2024-07-19/ Cellphones, AR-15, plastic crowns and women pretending to be "pure" OK 'merica

Yes, bigger than a big thing. >>Services from airlines to healthcare, shipping and finance were coming back online on Friday after a global digital outage disrupted computer systems for hours, another incident that shows the vulnerability of the world's interconnected technologies.<< https://www.reuters.com/technology/global-cyber-outage-grounds-flights-hits-media-financial-telecoms-2024-07-19/ I reckon that this will be relatively easily fixed, but that won't stop the hordes, thinking about moving to the streets, behind some messianic politician. Though Trump seems to have changed his tune to sparkly child's music, since his close encounter with an indifferent projectile. Here in NZ the powers that be, are thinking about disestablishing cash in favour of a digital only currency. Q: If there're no systems, or an electricity outage, will you give me a chicken for my iPad that won't connect to anything and half a charge left on it? I'm hungry. Exactly the same issue as "monoculture" in the food chain. We all use identical crops and food organisms, one bacteria/virus/genetic flaw, can wipe out the majority of our food supply. if we all grow our own versions of the crops etc, we only lose small portions in an adverse event. Guess which scenario big business favours? I've been a Mac guy for years and ever. Not just because of style and simplicity, because in the early days, I hated having to deal with Windows and the blue screens, "because they're cheaper". Though today I do run Win10 inside BootCamp on my Mac as a way to fly DCS world - very immersive.

https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/australian-cyber-outage-likely-related-issue-crowdstrike-govt-spokesperson-2024-07-19/ Purportedly, Crowd Strike and Microsoft at fault. As an ex IT guy my opining was derived from my dislike of, off the shelf solutions and the use of the cloud. I wanted in-house databases and servers. I usually lost the argument. Further, you don't have to hack systems, you just turn off the electricity, which can be done the old fashioned way.

I was just re reading this thread, as I'm planning to go to Laos in January. Whilst I haven't been there since 2014, MLG has several times. The reports she's given me and the photos I've seen have not worried me overly, I'm old enough and ugly enough, that what happens to me is moot. Things I think about, are the advent of sky-scrapers, more and thicker smog, prices have doubled and armoured personnel carriers have been seen.

Yes. After the revolution in the '70s, they started again from 0 Now the place is full 'o Chinese. I'm planning a trip in January, health permitting.

It's staring to become explained and believably so. I still wonder at the P.M. just chucking the business of the country, out of the window, to make a poste haste photo op, at the Hi So hotel...

I think one is missing, but yes 6 dead in one room

Unattributed information, is that the gunman was confronted by security, whilst carrying the gun and climbing onto the rooftop, but he flashed his republican membership card and said, "it's OK I'm a Republican..." so they let him proceed.

My initial thoughts on the news report of the Prime Minister holding a press conference about this at the hotel, a top end 5 star one this is - Maybe the 6 vietnamese (US citizenship on all or some), 3 women 3 men, possibly poisoned, recent room service order: 1, were very important? politically or criminally? 2, the hotel needed to be seen to have the backing of the Prime Minister and his posse, because its 5 star? 3, would the Prime Minister do same, for small hotel in the back streets of Sukhumvit with 6 dead mongers? 4, the Prime Minister and posse, just can't resist any opportunity, to go to and be seen at, top end Hi So venues? It's not the deaths that are startling, it's the stampede of the top end people, to get to the scene of the crime, that's noteworthy. Thai prime minister Srettha Thavisin, who visited the hotel late on Tuesday with senior police officials, ordered a swift investigation on the matter, the government said in a statement.

Will no one spare a thought for Melania Trump? This isn't the first time, she has been disappointed by a couple of inches.

I am a bit simple, Republican party = known for it's refusal to support banning of AR-15 and similar. Someone with AR-15 shoots leader of Republican party. Oh, the Irony.... What I've gleaned from the various media reports: The gunman and an audience member are dead, and two other attendees were critically injured. The FBI has identified the shooter as Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, from Bethel Park, Pennsylvania. Authorities say he fired multiple shots from a building rooftop just outside the rally venue before he was killed by Secret Service agents. Thomas was a registered Republican. Whilst it is unknown at this stage, if Thomas had firearm training, the distance, the damage to Trump, whether glass shards from teleprompter or bullet, it seems the AR-15 is accurate enough. And the optics: Nothing wrong with me, look I'm so strong.... but then he need the support of a woman person to walk... I don't think it's a conspiracy theory/inside job, but it is a gift to his campaign. Except for the shooter not being a Dem.

; top 3 – Panama, Mexico and Indonesia InterNations has released its annual report ranking Thailand as the world’s sixth-best country for expatriates, maintaining its position from the previous year. The survey, which collected responses from over 12,500 expats in February, assesses 53 countries across multiple indices, including quality of life, ease of settling in, working abroad, personal finance, and “expat essentials” such as housing, administration, language, and digital life. Panama leads the rankings as the top destination for expats, with 82% of respondents expressing high satisfaction with their lives there, primarily due to financial benefits, retirement prospects, and an enhanced quality of life. Mexico and Indonesia follow, ranking second and third, respectively. Indonesia made a leap from 13th place last year, praised for its low living expenses, hospitable locals, and balanced work-life environment. Spain, Colombia, and Thailand complete the top six. In contrast, the bottom ten countries include Kuwait, which ranks last, followed by Turkiye, Finland, Germany, Canada, Norway, Italy, Malta, Ireland, and the UK, all of which face various challenges that detract from the expat experience.The report provides a comprehensive look at the lives of expatriates globally, exploring the various elements that influence their happiness and overall experience living abroad. (NNT) and the photo

THAI CABINET TO CONSIDER REVISED CONTROVERSIAL SUBMARINE DEAL WITH CHINA... https://www.khaosodenglish.com/featured/2024/07/06/thai-cabinet-to-consider-revised-controversial-submarine-deal-with-china/ Admiral Cholathit Navanugraha... has medals, badges, clean office... BANGKOK — The long-troubled procurement of Chinese submarines, stemming from a G2G contract during Thailand’s military government, has reached a conclusion and is being presented to the current elected government’s cabinet meeting. It seems Thailand has limited options, as the key issue of desiring German-made engines, which became prohibited in 2020 due to EU sanctions on China, was actually a weakness in the contract from the beginning. Admiral Cholathit Navanugraha, Assistant Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Thai Navy and Chairman of the Submarine Procurement Committee, explained that since the Navy signed the contract in 2017, it specified the procurement of MTU 396 diesel engines to power the submarines’ generators. The contract with China only specified the engine code, not that it must be purchased from Germany. In 2021, China notified that they couldn’t procure engines with this code and would use CHD 620 instead. The Navy has been trying to resolve this issue since then, including sending a 23-person team to test the Chinese engines, which were confirmed to meet the original specifications....

All Blacks - England 16-15

a "niche for info sharing and camaraderie among farang visitors (and locals, and alumnae) to the Thai entertainment scene. " Best descriptor I've seen, thanks Jigger.