AlexRich

The problem with the Pattaya Songkran is that it goes on too long and it attracts the worse kind of foreigners who try to knock people off of their scooters, and other bad behaviour disguised as "fun".

The time it took to respond beggared belief. The IDF would have known about the attack before any of them left Gaza.

Move on, nothing to see here? I don't think so. The 7 October attacks are what led to the current situation in the Middle East, and need to be investigated thoroughly. Like 9/11, there was a lot going on that day that simply didn't make sense. You can get an Apache helicopter up in the air in 5 minutes, the slow response to the attack by the IDF requires investigation.

When leaders lose their grip on power they sometimes engineer a war to stay in power. To this day the 7th October attack disturbs me, as Israel has one of the best intelligence/surveillance operations in the world. I still can’t get my head around how this happened? When this war ends Netanyahu will lose power, and his legal woes could land him in jail. An attack on a Quds force General in Syria was always going to elicit a response from Iran, albeit a telegraphed and slow moving attack that Israel dealt with fairly easily. Clearly Iran don’t want direct confrontation, as they are not quite there when it comes to obtaining a nuclear weapon. But they are close. I would not be surprised to see an Israeli attack on Iran in response. Netanyahu can’t afford peace.

I wouldn't go to Thailand without a decent income/pension and a back up plan if anything happens that would lead me back home. You can live relatively cheaply if you want, but it's wise to have a cushion for unforeseen events.

For the most part, real. Bear in mind we are generalising, so there are plenty of villains in Thailand, like any other country.

Natural friendliness.

The point is that the pollution in Chiang Mai is likely to reduce a persons life expectancy, and increase the risk of cancer. I love Chiang Mai, it is a great place, but you can't stay there year after year and expect to remain healthy.

Dude looks like a lady?

The Artful Dodger escapes London, only to reemerge in Thailand. Thieving little bar steward.

Yeah? Anything with a “trans” prefix.

He is merely projecting his own desires onto others.

Russian drink driver. He’s described as a Russian driver? Yes, a shot of vodka.

I can’t help thinking that relaxing the weed laws will have dire consequences down the road.

Scots men don't wear skirts, they occasionally wear a ceremonial "Kilt", particularly at weddings or at Scotland football matches. No one wears one every day unless their job is a bagpipe player or they are involved in tourism. In any case, it is a battle uniform, not an expression of femininity. The only Scots men wearing dresses or skirts are transexuals. And you'll find them in every country.