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This is my first experience of Songkran and the pollution in Chiang Mai, around that time. I expect that, in future years, we will move away for a couple of months, as a now deceased Kiwi friend of mine did.

Prime Minister Mark Carney playing hockey with President Stubb of Finland. Normal people talking normally with each other.

My parents never said anything about Santa either way. My mother later told me "I would never lie to my children" (which she also told other parents who suggested she was depriving us of the "fun" of Santa), which for me helped me trust my parents all the more.

I guess I was spoiled. I never doubted my parents' love. So if they made up Santa, I would have known they did it for me. Sort of more a story than a deceit. I do remember actively lying to help sustain my younger brother's belief. Explaining away all the Santas around town as really Elves.

Ok, thanks!

Many a true word spoken in jest!

The accusations "I woke up in bed, not knowing how" suggest the worst. That they waited until now to make the claim is difficult to forgive, if Swalwell was forcing himself on multiple women under the influence of drugs or alcohol. I hear the arguments, that this is a common scenario, yet I still challenge the original victim, that other women may have ultimately been raped because of her silence.

The air quality in Chiang Mai has always suffered in the run up to Songkran due to farmers setting fire to the stubble left by their crops to clear the land. It's nothing new and it has always had some affect on the tourism business. Now it seems to be getting worse. When tourists look at the countryside from Doi Suthep, in most parts of the year they have a glorious view of the surrounding countryside. Recently all they have seen is haze and tourist numbers are falling. Photo: Rebecca Ratcliffe/The Guardian The business of burning fields has been illegal for quite a number of years, but no-one does anything to stop it. It is, say experts, an issue of funding - or the lack of it. Lighting a match is quick and easy and does the job fast. It would need expensive equipment to achieve the same result without causing haze. The situation has got worse with high temperatures also leading to the outbreak of wildfires like this recent one. Photo: The Guardian The dust created by the haze affects everyone. An article in today's Guardian also points out that the popssibility of cancer from the haze has recently shaken the Province. Krittai Tanasombatkul, a 29-year-old doctor and clean-air campaigner, died in 2023. He had never smoked and lived a healthy lifestyle, exercising, sleeping and eating well, media reported at the time. His death was attributed to the particles in the haze. Young children have been suffering from frequent nose bleeds, a common symptom for those living with air pollution. Some families send their children away to avoid the haze. Atikun Limsukon, a doctor specialising in chest and lung care, who runs a private clinic, says his patient caseload has more than doubled over recent weeks . . . Limsukon says there is more and more evidence linking pollution not only to cancer, but also strokes, metabolic problems like diabetes and even neurocognitive problems and dementia. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/apr/15/thailand-chiang-mai-tourism-air-pollution-war-price-spikes

Also my view. Domestic US politics will end Trump's idiotic war, not his war machine.

In what sense?

I agree. Just the fact that he resigned, and admitted to "using poor judgment" and having to patch things up with his wife definitely suggest that at the very least he had an extra-marital affair. I'm not sure rape was involved, but it seems as though something happened at this point.

It's why Bangkok is capital and Pattaya just provincial backwater

Best cure for that is to start plotting new trip there, It lifts your spirits and will keep you occupied.

thank you very much but that's too much. I'm just nobody

that's outright blasphemy

like 900$ off ?

His grab-'em-by-the-pussy little hand was making the move. What a pervert!

He's not healing that man -- he's taking away his healthcare insurance.

Difficult to answer your question. You could assume the majority to be top, yet that can easily change once you know them better. They are - of course - as diverse as Europeans.

i have no clue. ask Antony.

I am considering avtrip to The Nile. Are the guys versatile, or mainly top?

Fair point. Further evidence coming out, plus Swalwell's guarded comments, dont look good.

And Aristotle Onassis!

Will the Incompetent-in-Chief's chosen war's effect on gas prices accelerate the increase in bankruptcies under this regime? One metaphor that works to describe this regime is an oil tanker crash, and we're going to be cleaning up after him and MAGA for decades.

Here's one problem with the Incompetent-in-Chief and a negotiated deal with Iran. The Incompetent has limited tools in his personal tool box. He's limited in his thinking to winning and losing, not negotiating an international deal that naturally will involve mutual compromises. The Incompetent see's peace through winning, not through negotiations. His fragile ego needs to "win". Personally I think negotiations are doomed for the foreseeable future, until his MAGA sheeple decide to convince The Incompetent that this is personally damaging him domestically.