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Although I gave up saunas years ago, I hear relatively good reports on Sauna Mania. Short walk from Silom.

But they are quickly replaced by thousands who cross over Mexico border daily. Despite horrible gun deaths, migrants from Central and South America find US much safer than remaining home. Despite what GOP claims, they empower the economy as they are absorbed into workforce.

Worse, monkey never received a tip (well, other than in the biblical sense of course).

Although details are incomplete, 22 persons have died in a mass shooting in the US state of Maine. Although both political parties can be expected to condemn the killings, no gun control legislation will emerge. From the Lewiston Sun Journal LEWISTON — At least 22 people were killed in multiple shootings Wednesday night in Lewiston, Androscoggin County Sheriff Eric Samson confirmed. That number could rise, he said. Maine State Police are searching for Robert Card, 40, in connection with the two shootings at Sparetime Recreation and Schemengees Bar & Grille. Card, who lives in Bowdoin, is a trained firearms instructor who police believe is in the U.S. Army Reserve out of Saco. He recently reported mental health issues, including hearing voices, and made threats to shoot the National Guard base in Saco, according to state police, who said he spent two weeks at a mental health facility this summer. https://www.sunjournal.com/2023/10/25/multiple-victims-reported-following-shootings-in-lewiston/

From The Thaiger A shocking incident involving a man who was sexually assaulted by a monkey in his hotel room in Cambodia has come to light. The victim, a tourist from the UK, had reportedly forgotten to close his hotel room window, leading to the unexpected sexual assault by a long-tailed macaque. The disturbing sexual assault was reported on Twitter. The victim had travelled from England to Cambodia for a holiday with his friends. On the night of the incident, exhausted, he fell into a deep sleep, neglecting to secure his hotel room window. His friends were greeted by a horrifying sight: a monkey had snuck into the room while he was asleep and was sexually assaulting him in the most unsettling way imaginable by pulling down his trousers and performing oral sex. The friends were stunned by the unimaginable event but tried their best to help their distressed comrade. They ventured outside the room and began calling the monkey from the window, careful not to frighten it as they feared it might bite their friend. https://thethaiger.com/news/world/uk-tourist-sexually-assaulted-by-monkey-in-cambodian-hotel-room-viral-incident-stuns-millions

In that case, treat yourself to a sandwich. 🙂

Right here. You cite three—and only three—parties involved in the conflict. if there are other parties, why don’t you identify them. ”Until something can be done about the US/srael/Iran conflict, is there even the remotest chance of peace?” You place the responsibility solely on those three.

At least you’re not a conspiracy theorist. 😊

No one can understand what you don’t say.

This is a direct quote from you: ”Until something can be done about the US/srael/Iran conflict, is there even the remotest chance of peace?” How in hell did I misrepresent what you said. You only mentioned three nations. I didn’t make that up, Peter. You can’t have it both ways. I put no words in your mouth that you didn’t utter. Maybe you were thinking something else but I can’t read your mind.

Your mistake is believing that it’s just a problem existing among Iran, US and Israel. Iran is a world-wide exporter of terrorism. It’s everybody’s problem.

Duplicate post (see below)

Yes, and despite all that when your homeland is again threatened (as it was twice in the 20th century), you know who’ll be first on the speed dial.

Unfortunately, there is no peaceful means, either. Hamas doesn’t desire peace. It’s avowed reason for existence is to remove the Israeli state from the map by means of attacks like we witness a few weeks ago. World leaders have, for decades, attempted to mediate a peace in the region without success. You can’t force peace on terrorists.

The die is cast now and Israel has no realistic alternative to destroying Hamas which is dedicated to Israel’s eradication. If the UK or any other nation with the means to resist was threatened in similar manner, it would respond in kind. The matter is now one of how tactics will be employed.

From Pattaya Mail PATTAYA, Thailand – In the early hours of October 23, a potentially tragic incident took a heartening turn when the Pattaya Sea Rescue and Community Safety Unit responded to a distress call from worried tourists. The call reported a person attempting suicide by walking into the sea at Pattaya Beach, near the Pattaya Police Station. Onlookers, mostly tourists, witnessed the distressing scene as a young woman, identified as 24-year-old Rattanaporn, entered the sea, emotionally distraught. Acting swiftly, a courageous local teenager, 17-year-old Parit Yunkrathok, jumped into the water and heroically brought her back to safety. Following the rescue, local sea rescue teams and volunteer medical teams arrived, finding Rattanaporn emotionally shaken but physically unharmed. Police officers and community volunteers joined forces to provide initial psychological support to the distressed woman, who revealed that her actions Further investigation unveiled that Parit, the young hero, had earlier noticed the distressed woman while hanging out with friends on the beach. Recognizing the gravity of the situation, he swiftly entered the water, successfully rescuing her. After bringing her back to shore, Parit promptly called for assistance from local authorities. Responding police officers helped calm Rattanaporn and suggested a heartfelt conversation with her boyfriend, who was invited to the scene to resolve their relationship issues. The incident concluded without harm or complications, thanks to Parit’s bravery and the quick response from local authorities in de-escalating the situation.

From the Nation The Cabinet on Tuesday resolved to keep the New Year holidays at four but shifted the compensatory day forward to December 29. PM’s secretary-general Prommin Lertsuridej told reporters after the weekly Cabinet meeting that the extra day granted in the upcoming break was being moved forward from Tuesday, January 2, 2024, to Friday, December 29, 2023. January 2 was initially planned as an extra day off to make up for December 31, which falls on a Sunday. Usually, the compensatory day off is granted after the actual holiday, Meanwhile, holidays at the end of 2024 will be extended to five days, starting from Saturday, December 28 to Wednesday, January 1, 2025. Prommin said the Cabinet has left it to the Bank of Thailand to decide whether December 30, 2024, should be announced as an extra bank holiday or not.

From the Nation Muay Thai legend Buakaw Banchamek may have just landed the biggest challenge of his storied career so far – from a 13-year-old American boy. Reed Harrington, a 7th grader who lives in the US, recently posted an Instagram message promising to follow the advice of the most-liked comment if he reached his milestone of followers. “Okay. When I hit 200,000 followers, I do whatever the top comment said on the video and post it," the teenager said in a September 29 video posted from his reed_harrington23 account. The top comment, which broke the Instagram record with over 2.57 million likes, came from user fiven9nekid: “Fly to small town in Thailand, get accepted by their people, learn the language, train Muay Thai for a year and half, fight in a tournament, win the tournament, return to the USA and join the UFC, stay in shape & go undefeated in your weight class, retire and do an interview saying this comment was the reason you fought so hard.” The comment caught the attention of former finance minister Korn Chatikavanij, who tagged Buakaw and also Muay Thai film star Tony Jaa, saying, “I'm sure these two gentlemen will be happy to help.” Buakaw was quick to get back to the American teen: “Hello, I am Buakaw! Both myself and the governor of the Tourism Authority of Thailand extend a warm welcome and are prepared to assist you during your stay in Thailand. I will send you a direct message to discuss this further." Reed’s post has also drawn support from fellow influencers like Kush Papi, a Chicago-based comedian with two million followers on Instagram. He commented, “I’ll pay for the Thailand ticket.” Just in case Kush Papi doesn’t come up with the money, Harrington has launched a GoFundMe page titled “Trip to Thailand for me and my dad”. The page had racked up total donations of US$7,679 as of press time on Tuesday.

from Thai PBS World Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin and his cabinet will watch the popular Thai movie “Supparer” (the Undertaker) tomorrow (Wednesday). The film has grossed at least Bt400 million at the box office to date. Joining him will be Paetongtarn Shinawatra, deputy chairwoman of the “national soft power panel”. Srettha and the cabinet have block-booked the 7.45pm showing of the film at the Cineplex in the Siam Paragon shopping complex. Directed by Thiti Srinuan, the film tells the story of a young man from Isan, who works as an undertaker and has a romantic relationship with a woman called Bai Kao, but their love story ends in tragedy.

Give me a brown toned Isan guy any day.

Older contractors always travel with young apprentice to handle the dirty chores. Maybe he’ll allow you to explore his tool box.

That bait didn’t stay in the water long 🙂 How can anyone forget when you keep repeating same garrulous meanderings?

From Entertainment.com The lawmaker who authored Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” bill will serve four months in federal prison for fraud and money laundering. Former Republican state representative Joe Harding was sentenced in U.S. District Court in Gainesville last Thursday, according to The Gainesville Sun. He was initially indicted for wire fraud, money laundering, and making false statements in connection with COVID-19 relief fraud in December 2022. Specifically, Harding received more than $150,000 in pandemic relief funds that were intended to keep small businesses afloat, submitting numerous loan applications for “dormant” businesses. Although Harding initially claimed that he was not guilty, he pleaded guilty in March, with prosecutors dropping three of the charges in a plea deal. In a press release from the Department of Justice, U.S. Attorney Jason Coody, who announced Harding’s sentence, said that “the theft of any amount of taxpayer funds is inexcusable.” From Russia to Florida, far-right leaders are driving a new wave of legislation that aims to erase LGBTQ\+ people from public life. “However, the defendant’s deceptive acts of diverting emergency financial assistance from small businesses during the pandemic is simply beyond the pale,” Coody said. “Today’s sentence both punishes the defendant’s criminal conduct and should serve as a significant deterrent to others who would selfishly steal from their fellow citizens to unlawfully enrich themselves.”

Will always drink water after reading this. 🙂 From BBC Video shows Chinese beer worker urinating into tank Chinese authorities are investigating after a viral video appeared to show a worker from Tsingtao urinating into a tank, believed to contain ingredients for its popular beer. The clip has received tens of millions of views on social media. The company said it alerted police immediately after the video came to its attention, adding that the batch of ingredients had been sealed. Tsingtao is one of China's top beer producers and its biggest exporter. In the clip which appeared online on Thursday, a worker, dressed in uniform with a helmet on, can be seen climbing over a high wall and into the container before urinating inside it. The location tag of the clip reads "Tsingtao beer No.3 factory", local news outlet The Paper reported on Friday.

From Pattaya Mail The ifs and buts of Thailand’s new friendship with Russia By Barry Kenyon The western democracies are still trying to fathom why Pheu Thai party premier Srettha Thavisin had his photo publicly taken with president Putin at the recent belt and road summit in China whilst inviting the Russian leader for a state visit. Critical social media suggest it was a bad idea because Srettha’s international claim to represent democracy and human rights has hit the proverbial iceberg. Not to mention the negative effects on tourism from traditional markets in America, Europe and Australia. On the other hand, international tourist numbers to Thailand has seldom been affected by the domestic situation for more than a few weeks, even post-coup. Examined from a Thai perspective, the issues look different. Thailand has had diplomatic relations with Russia for 125 years and the celebrations last year did not attraction any adverse international comment. Indeed, the last czar Nicholas II is commonly credited with helping to save Thailand from imperialist aggression by foreign powers. In 1996, Russia became a fully-fledged “dialogue partner” with the 10-nation ASEAN group, in which Thailand has the second biggest economy, and in 2004 Russia acceded to the treaty of amity and cooperation in southeast Asia. Russia was silent when the Thai coup if 2014 occurred and, under the leadership of general Prayut Chan-o-cha warm relationships continued. In 2017, both nations drew up a statement of reciprocity which gave Russians and Thais 30 days of visa free travel when travelling to each other’s country (now to be extended to 90 days on a trial basis). As regards Ukraine, Thailand initially voted at the United Nations in March 2022 to condemn Russian aggression, but has abstained from later votes condemning the annexation of the occupied territories. Nor is Thailand a formal state signatory of the international criminal court’s attempt to have Putin arrested if he steps abroad. All these developments occurred well before Srettha became the Thai premier. Putin has also accepted a state visit invitation from Vietnam. In this context, it’s worth remembering that Joe Biden’s trip to Hanoi in 2023 saw an upgrading of ties to a comprehensive strategic partnership between the US and Vietnam. Vietnam’s policy has to be seen in context, namely to avoid being too committed to one side or the other. Similarly, Srettha will visit San Francisco in the United States in November 2023 to attend the summit of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation. As political analyst Thitinan Pondsudhirak has written, “Srettha has not turned to Putin at the expense of the west. He wants both.” Thai-Russian trade is still relatively small at US$10 billion a year. Thailand’s exports to Russia include vehicles, machinery, electronics, vegetables and fruit, whilst imports are mainly oil, fertilizer and steel. Much of the trade now moves through the port of Vladivostok with its offshore banking facilities designed to offset western economic sanctions and the exclusion of Swift from financial transactions involving Russia. Western commentators can hold up their hands in horror about Thailand’s collaboration with the man who has inflicted so much misery on Ukraine and the world. But Thailand is now led by a real estate tycoon who is an accomplished salesman keen to do business worldwide. His bold aim pure and simple is to generate enough national wealth to ensure Pheu Thai wins the next general election in 2027.