PeterRS

With all respect to all posters, may I suggest that we all accept that many news outlets are now paid sites and behind firewalls. Therefore, as in the case of the one posted by @RockHardNYC, it is not possible for many to read what is posted. Notwithstanding, if I interpret the headline correctly, I am completely in agreement. Interesting point. I find it interesting that if we really go back in time to the age of the Persian Empire, the greatest the world had ever seen, it was the Persian King Cyrus the Great who liberated the Jews from captivity in Babylon and enabled them to return to what is now known as israel. Cyrus is venerated in the Bible for his actions. I wonder what it was that set the Persians/Iranians against the Jews of Israel.

I am adding this here although it's partly a response to posts made yesterday in this forum - An error at the start of his short programme ensured that Yuzuru Hanyu did not come top of the short programme qualifiers. It seemed to me from the moment he stepped on to the ice, there was something wrong. His usual bubbly smile was gone and he appeared much more serious. Perhaps this is partly the result of his having to miss most of last year through a series of injuries including a major one to his ankle. Yet at the Pyeongchang Olympics he again returned just after an ankle injury had kept him out of competition for several months. There he went on to beat the world record for the short programme. It was also very odd to see him sitting on his own as his result was announced. Every other skater had at least his coach alongside him. The gay former skater Brian Orser has been Hanyu's coach virtually since Sochi. He was nowhere to be seen, although he did sit with another of his pupils. Sitting on his own, it was almost as though Hanyu knew the time had come to pass the baton to another to become best in the world. He came in 8th overall. Top of the qualifiers was not surprisingly Nathan Chen of the USA. Hanyu's fellow Japanese, the diminutive Shoma Uno, led the field for a while until he was overtaken by an unbelievable skate from an 18-year old compatriot, Yuma Kagiyama. But he was immediately followed by Nathan Chen whose programme beat Hanyu's World Record set two years ago. So Chen came top followed by Kagiyama in 2nd and Uno in 3rd. It will be hard for any to beat these three when it comes to the free programme, unless all make major errors. It's a little sad for those of us who have marvelled at Yuzuru Hanyu's astounding skating over the last 8 years. He remains a living legend in Japan and elsewhere. But the men's figure skating crown now belongs to others. I will still be looking out for the Korean sensation Cha Junwhan who came 4th. If he's on form I can see him getting a medal.

Until last Saturday, anyone wanting to visit Hong Kong including Hong Kong residents had to go into a 3 week quarantine programme to which was added a 1 week period of "observation". Unsurprisingly, visitor numbers and even those with family members in Hong Kong have stayed away in droves. Last Saturday the 3-week quarantine was reduced to 2, but I know several people who have been desperate to return to their businesses for many months but refuse to do so until the quarantine period is relaxed. The irony is that despite such strict quarantine, numbers of new cases reached their highest levels yesterday since the pandemic began. Some mild, asymptomatic or vaccinated people are being sent to the quarantine recovery centre at Penny's Bay. In effect, this is little more than an up-market concentration camp. Because of this, many people, especially young people, are resisting getting tested. As one young resident stated, the government "single-mindedly obsesses with getting back to zero Covid" in order to please Beijing. Prof. Ben Cowling, an epidemiologist at the University of Hong Kong, believes the number of reported cases is considerably lower than the actual number. What a mess! https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/feb/07/hong-kong-reports-highest-number-of-covid-cases-since-pandemic-began

I'd love to know who they polled. For almost the entire year, there were very few visitors to Bangkok! I note that the Costco magazine (a link would have been helpful!) quotes Travelmedium.com. I was at least able to check that site and can find nowhere a mention of Bangkok being the most popular tourist destination. It has 210 articles but a large number seem based on Scotland! For example, - Are there Bears in Scotland? - Why are the no Trees in Scotland? (WHAT???) - What is England Famous for? Others include - - The 12 most beautiful Bridges in Paris - What is a Domestic Flight? Seems like one of these travel sites put together by one person in an attic hoping to get noticed! I also noted that in terms of visitor numbers, the site quotes figures pre-covid.

I'm sorry @floridarob but what the Hitler's Nazis believed was at the absolute core of their being and should never be forgotten. Not to understand that is, in my view, not to understand the holocaust and the deliberate murder of 6 million Jews.

A good enough reason for banning Russian tourists until they get an effective vaccine programme with an effective vaccine!

Could not agree more. To the Nazis the Jews were a race, a race to be exterminated. Dictionary definitions in the 21st century are meaningless.

Babylon is dead and the land has been sold. The owner has moved to Chiang Mai

I think this is a key issue that few seem to discuss. Literacy rates in the USA are presently estimated at 79%. Compare that with the literacy rate in the country the USA and its allies did its best to bomb into virtual oblivion. Vietnam's literacy rate for over 15s in 2018 was 95%. In that same year the rate in China was 96.8% with youth literacy rate (15-24 yo) at 99.7%. https://knoema.com/atlas/China/topics/Education/Literacy/Adult-literacy-rate

Hong Kong's quarantine period is currently 3 weeks plus a one week period of self isolation. For visitors that effectively means another week in a hotel. From Saturday 5th, the 3 weeks is reduced to 2 but that self isolation week remains. So for most visitors is will be a full 3 weeks.

The Chinese covid regulations also cover Hong Kong. I have a lawyer friend who took a 4 week vacation with his wife to Europe in July. New quarantine regulations were adopted when they were away. They were not prepared to spend 3 weeks in quarantine followed by a week of observation. So they stayed in Europe and finally flew to Phuket 10 days ago. I also know people who are Permanent Residents of Hong Kong but live overseas and who have not been able to return to fulfil their residency paperwork. They have been informed they will be stripped of their residency, although the Director of Immigration has it in his powers to make exceptions "in exceptional cases"! Now it's not just hotel quarantine but a stay in what looks like a concentration camp.

This is not the first oil spill in the area. A few years ago, oil leaked again from a pipeline and covered several beaches on Koh Samet close to Rayong. That took a long time to clear up.

Of course. But then this is Thailand!

As with @vinapu for late arrivals, when I arrive after midnight the immigration stamp is always the day before.

SInce you want to be picky, yes, I should have said a Red Bull driver won the world championship in a Red Bull car. You and I may disagree with more than a little justification with the race director but the decision was appealed and it was not changed.

I don't mind the Middle East stop. I have taken Qatar about half a dozen times now and have another flight to/from the UK next month. It departs Bangkok at around 2:30 am. I used to try and stay awake for the first 6'30" flight but then I found it difficult sleeping on the second. So now I take a pill and sleep for around 5 hours on the first sector and then relax, have the meals, watch movies and sometimes snooze for the second sector. On arrival I'm usually good till about 10:00 pm. Returning to Thailand it's the opposite - a flight departing around 3:00 pm when i stay awake and then sleep on the second sector. A longer sleep would be nice but I am rarely able to stay asleep on a plane for much more than 5 - 6 hours, so it works for me. But if I have been in the UK for 3 or 4 weeks, I am always zonked on arrival in Thailand, even after non-stop flights. Flying east just does not work well for me.

I often wonder what vaccinations these idiotic anti-vaxxers were given as babies. If they hadn't been given them, the chances are they would have been dead for decades. Don't they learn? Stupid question!

It's not bizarre! It's pure corruption. When Interpol had Carlos the Jackal at the head of its 10 most wanted list, does anyone seriously believe they could do nothing until they had an address? It's total nonsense. As I reported I think more than a year ago, at that time the Thai authorities claimed that they'd had Interpol put this murderer on its wanted list. Well, I went through the full list of around 7,000 names. Guess what? The Red Bull murderer was not on it! When you look at all the Red Bull sponsored events around the world - including the hugely popular Formula 1 Grand Prix races - I would bet a lot on this murderer being in attendance at at least more than one. After all, the Red Bull team won the World Championship last year. I wonder for how much longer all this "we can't locate him" rubbish will go on and how much will have been paid in bribes by the time it is over.

I suspect EVA's cancellation of flights in the longer term is a result of the recent increases in covid cases on the island, especially a surge near Taoyuan where the international airport is located. After being nearly covid free, it was airline pilots and crew of China Airlines which brought the virus into the country who then broke the strict quarantine rules. Now a large cluster has been found amongst migrant workers and omicron is spreading as it has elsewhere. With Chinese New Year next week, there is the fear of a further spread. Taiwan has been like Singapore and Thailand by paying far too little attention to migrant workers who tend to live in very crowded conditions. Had they been tested earlier, perhaps Taiwan would be closer to opening up. But the borders still remain resolutely closed. Given that, I'm sure the bosses at EVA cannot see the point of long haul flights.

Thai pedestrian crossings can be doubled in size and still will not stop accidents like this. The idiocy has always been that there is no sign or flashing light at the roadside. A driver going at even a reasonable speed will virtually be on one before he realises it. In the UK there is at least a flashing beacon at each side of the road. I believe there are called Belisha beacons after the Minister of Transport who introduced them.

I erred with Cha's age - he is still just 20. What made his programme remarkable is that he left his training in Canada at the start of covid and has trained virtually on his own in Seoul for the last two years. If Brian Orser can put his polish on his programme, Cha should have a good chance of a medal in China. For those who had not heard of the Four Continents competition, it is an annual event held for all countries outside Europe. This year it is the last major competition prior to the Olympics. It's usually held in Asia, the USA or Canada. This year it was scheduled to be in China but the location had to be switched as a result of the pandemic. Being in Europe, this year many skaters decided not to take part. Previous winners have included Yuzuru Hanyu, Shoma Uno and Nathan Chan

Had someone been playing loud music outside my home at that hour, I would not have left those Brits alone. I would probably have gone out and asked them to turn it down. If they refused, I might have smashed it and left a couple of thousand baht for them to buy a replacement with a smaller loudspeaker! No one deserves to be murdered for such a minor issue, but I am certain that even a complaint to the cops would have resulted at best in a "so what?"

Blame the British! It was the Victorian anti-sodomy law passed by parliament in London in the 1860s that quite quickly found itself on the statute books of British colonies whether the local peoples wanted it or not. The British, after all, regarded themselves as a 'civilising' force for the good of those barbarians they ruled. It has always struck me as a total shame on the British anti-colonisers who post 2nd World War pushed to grant colonies independence without ensuring that British-imposed laws were first of all repealed before departure. That England then repealed that very law in the 1960s is a damning indictment. Hong Kong did not repeal that law until 1990 - and only did so because for the forthcoming Chinese rule the territory needed a bill of rights. Its civil servants had pushed a widely welcomed Law Reform Commission Report to repeal the sodomy law into limbo for more than 6 years. People forget that as Lee Kwan Yew was developing Singapore into an enviable economic power turning what was effectively a swamp into one of the the wonders of post War world where far more own their own homes etc. than in almost any other country, he did so using draconian measures. He brooked no opposition and threw people in jail without trial. He sued left, right and centre all those who directed criticism about Singapore's policies - and indeed himself. But he always said that Singapore was a very delicate balancing act between the three main ethic and religious groups of Chinese, Malay and Indians - with a very small smattering of what has become an especially vocal and influential evangelical Christian movement - to avoid racial strife. We may consider Singapore behind the times in issues of morality, but then who are we to say that Lee was wrong?

TrueVisions has been showing a number of skating competitions on Channel 690. Today was the final of the annual Four Continents Competition held this year in Estonia. The winning three were all from Asia. First Prize went to 21 yo Cha Jun-hwa from South Korea. His quad jumps were incredible. He is coached by Brian Orser in Toronto who also coaches Yuzuru Hanyu. Cha was a child model when younger. He still models occasionally in addition to his skating. Second Prize went to the 23 yo Japanese Kazuki Tomono. Third Prize went to one of the youngest competitors, the 16 yo Japanese Kao Miura who is still technically a junior! He was top until Tomono and Cha skated. All will be names to watch at the Olympics. Sorry to say Camden Pulkinen took part in the competition but finished up near last place.

About the only thing I remember from geography lessons at school was that this or that city owed its importance to its location. Politics aside, The Philippines clearly owes its misfortunes to its very location. As long as I have been aware of Asia typhoons have been hitting The Philippines with regularity each year. With global warming the severity of those typhoons is increasing and sadly will continue to increase. Poverty has resulted in most Filipinos living in what are little more than poorly constructed shacks in towns and cities with poorly constructed infrastructure. The misfortunes of those living in the country is just going to increase. Those same typhoons frequently continue on their course to batter Hong Kong and southern China. Others hit Taiwan and Japan. Yet because those cities/countries have over the years prepared for typhoons and have construction codes that limit the damage they cause, their habitants suffer little and are quickly back to work. I think only in East China are mass evacuations sometimes mandated.