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Understandable perhaps, but then were you not the one who disregarded "facts" when forming your "opinions" about the farmer who held on to his land at Narita?

I was first aware of Russian roulette when I watched Michael Cimino's movie "The Deer Hunter" in an open air cinema in Penang almost 25 years ago. At the time I merely thought what a senseless game. I still consider it senseless unless one has a burning desire to play games with death as the ultimate outcome. Although, as this British man discovered, death can be delayed with perhaps decades of impaired living ahead of him.

The dentist was a she. I do drink a fair amount of coffee (3-4 cups a day), so I do get tartar, but that's a separate issue. The American Dental Association recommends flossing once a day, and that's what I do: https://www.ada.org/resources/ada-library/oral-health-topics/floss "...The ADA recommends brushing twice a day and cleaning between teeth with floss (or another interdental cleaner) once a day...". Had she asked "How often do you floss?" and I answered "Once a day" and she responded with "Then in your case, I recommend flossing twice a day," then I would have considered that advice (although I might look up the evidence for that, since it's not on any official guideline).  Last week, I met with a Belgian cousin, who's also one of these "Once I've made my mind up, don't bother me with facts" people. I told her that my husband and I would be taking the Eurostar to Paris in a few days. She quickly and emphatically corrected me: "You can't take the Eurostar to Paris. Only to London. You must be on the Thalys." I just let it go by, and didn't bother informing her that the Eurostar and Thalys had merged, and Thalys no longer exists.  Fortunately, I have only one other hard-headed cousin. Both of them are anti-vaxxers. We didn't meet the other hard-headed cousin, who nearly died from COVID-19. They were ready to pull the plug on her respirator, and her daughter asked that they wait until she could return to Belgium from Switzerland. As it turned out, the anti-vaxxer cousin pulled through while waiting for her daughter to return. If you think the near-death experience would change her mind regarding vaccines, you'd be wrong. Hard facts are of little importance to these hard-headed people, even when the facts are staring them in the face. We met 5 other cousins during this trip, and the rest were fine. My husband could barely tolerate the hard-headed one. We also found out that I had one aunt, whom I didn't know too well, who was also anti-vaxxer. She died in 2021 of the illness. (The hard-headed one we met also did end up in the hospital with the illness, but not near-death) The long and the short of it, is that I try to avoid people who disregard facts when forming "opinions," and feel that any opinion is valid as long as someone else agrees. Extremely closed-minded people are toxic.

Yes, I'm sure that is indeed the law. However, having lived and worked in the middle of Bangkok for 25+ years I've never heard of anyone in trouble for only producing a photocopy of a license. In fact I've been stopped and searched whilst going home in a taxi several times (usually towards the end of the month when officer's rents are due) and no problem. I even vaguely recall a few years ago, a police chief (probably Thonglor) published a poster  warning against pickpockets and advising carrying a photocopy of passport. It could even have been at Songkran time. What a pity the police don't do something similar now when many maybe seeking the help of police.  I should also add, Peter, that I NEVER carry important original documents with me except when needed, like to Chiang Wattana etc.

Given the extensive posts on Myanmar in another thread (yes, I'm guilty!), I suggest we should start a new one since a lot is happening in that country. First, there is a massive amount of reconstruction required in various central parts of the country. The new capital of Naypyitaw was the second most badly hit after Mandalay with the Prediential Palace, the Parliament Building, the War Office and other buildings badly damaged. Since the capital is only around 20 years old, the junta leader has ordered those who constructed the buildings to rebuid them! Yet, he has also awarded a contract to Aung Pyae Sone who just happens to be the junta leader's son, to rebuild damaged military structures. "In Myanmar military parlance, GE officially refers to the work of military engineering units responsible for construction, fortifications, logistics infrastructure, and other engineering support for combat and non-combat operations." Aung Pyae Sone is the owner or a director of quite a number of different companies. Sky One Construction Ltd. is one of them. Is it merely coincidence, I wonder, that SKY, under its Chinese name Xin Ke Yuan, is the company being investigated for inferior steel suppplied for the building in Bangkok which collapsed during the Myanmar earthquake? Could the Myanmar and Thai companies somehow be interlinked? Frankly I do not know. I merely throw it into the pot of speculation. https://www.irrawaddy.com/news/burma/firm-owned-by-myanmar-junta-bosss-son-reportedly-tipped-for-quake-reconstruction.html Second, Al Jazeera has reported that with the junta's conscription drive now nearing the end of its first year, it is likely to be close to hitting its target of 60,000 for drafting into the army. But the junta has changed its rationale for enlisting new troops. Richard Horsey, a senior adviser on Myanmar for the International Crisis Group, said new conscripts are getting harder and harder to round up. While some answered the draft willingly in the first few months of it coming into force last year, that has changed. “Over time, the authorities have had to resort to ever more draconian measures to get conscripts, including abducting young men from bus stops and other public places,” Horsey said. “Local officials have been extorting money from potential conscripts in order to avoid the draft. Some officials have been killed when they entered communities attempting to compile draft lists or enforce conscription orders,” he said. And instead of being posted to guard duty around military bases or other posts behind the front lines as first intended, many of the draftees are said to be getting some of the riskiest battlefield assignments. “There are many reports of conscripts being given the most difficult and dangerous duties that more experienced soldiers are reluctant to do, such as being airdropped behind enemy lines. They are unsurprisingly failing at these tasks – either being killed, defecting or fleeing if they have the chance,” Horsey said. The conscripts are also being rushed into battle with far less training than the soldiers they are joining or replacing, in some cases as little as three months, and treated more like cannon fodder than fighters, said Kyaw Htet Aung, who heads the conflict, peace and security research program at Myanmar’s Institute for Strategy and Policy, an independent think tank. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/4/11/myanmars-military-drafts-thousands-in-first-year-of-conscription-drive