kropotkin

thought that the idea got canned.

eggs in a can?

The lady near me sells them fresh every morning 30 Baht per 10.....don't start confusing her.

Prices would probably go up if by weight as they have to compensate for the cost of buying scales.

You now buy eggs without scales?

Yes age will be the big factor. Is the wife's name on the actual papers of the apartment complex and has it been on the tabien baan of the land for a while? Prior to marriage, did she have a decent amount of assets and a good job? What's her education level?

On a side note but probably related to this and all cases, I have a friend that was a maintenance contractror for the British embassies and would have to go to the various embassies in different countries. The stories he tells of back office employees discussing each case brought before them makes it sound like many decisions are based on how they felt at the time, whether they were hungover, whether they thought it was a sham etc. Basically many of the decisions were based on which way the wind was blowing and how the officers were feeling that particular day made for a yes or no answer on issuing a visa according to my friend.

I don't believe this claim that you make at all. What do mean by "The stories he tells of back office employees discussing each case brought before them" - these are not the decision makers are they!!! These underlings probably do this to 'boost their feelings of self-importance' and are in all likelihood simply data recorders transferring the information from the application forms to a computer data base. Do you think that THOSE charged with actually making the decisions are going to put things such as "too ugly" or "didn't like the way he looked at me" etc: on the forms to feed the mirth of those immature "schoolboyish fantasiser's" you care to mention???? I think that this is purely people's false perception as to what happens through ignorance of such matters. Sure, if those making the decisions got up in a bad mood or had just had a blazing row with the wife it could just jeopardise the outcome of an in-the-balance application as it's 'human nature' unfortunately, to try to dissipate some of your anger and self-upset to some other innocent party where the opportunity to do so is there . However, if you have a genuine and convincing case then no matter their mood, you will get your visa. They are professionals after all - and shouldn't be demonised in such fashion unless you have the facts to go with your reasoning!! Also, their performance must (should be) monitored by their superiors as it is a serious business that will have a direct affect on people's future aspirations and dreams of assuming a new life in a new country that they are passing judgement on. Not some "Mickey Mouse" affair as you seem to imply it is!!

They are the same professionals who - once upon a time, when i transitted the Land Of The Free, gave me a list of questions to answer.

One question was: Do you plan to overthrow the American government by violence or anarchy?

It took me all of my selfcontrol to NOT ask if that was a multiple choice question......

I still wonder how many communists were caught by asking that question.

If i ever follow a prophet, it will be this Mr Python.

Follow the shoe!

I dispise heretics like you.

I follow the pumpkin.

Indeed

'When Creationists talk about God creating every individual species as a separate act, they always instance hummingbirds, or orchids, sunflowers and beautiful things.

'But I tend to think instead of a parasitic worm that is boring through the eye of a boy sitting on the bank of a river in West Africa, [a worm] that's going to make him blind.

'And , "Are you telling me that the God you believe in, who you also say is an all- merciful God, who cares for each one of us individually, are you saying that God created this worm that can live in no other way than in an innocent child's eyeball? Because that doesn't seem to me to coincide with a God who's full of mercy."'

- Sir David Attenborough

All things dull and ugly,

All creatures short and squat,

All things rude and nasty,

The Lord God made the lot.

Each little snake that poisons,

Each little wasp that stings,

He made their brutish venom.

He made their horrid wings.

All things sick and cancerous,

All evil great and small,

All things foul and dangerous,

The Lord God made them all.

Each nasty little hornet,

Each beastly little squid--

Who made the spikey urchin?

Who made the sharks? He did!

All things scabbed and ulcerous,

All pox both great and small,

Putrid, foul and gangrenous,

The Lord God made them all.

Amen.

M. Python

If i ever follow a prophet, it will be this Mr Python.

What is a deputy city clerk?

Amazing.

When an american marries a foreigner, he can not bring her into the Land Of Freedom, unless they go through months of paperwork, and even then, they can not be sure about the outcome?

I took my wife to europe shortly after we married - she now has permanent residence status in most of europe, hardly any paperwork was involved.

And automatically a work permit.

And automatically national health insurance.

(But she can not travel to that american island off our coast....oh well, blimey, nothing interesting there anyway).

I'm racking my brain (not hard to do with so little) . What island is that?

the UK

European visa / residency is not valid there.......

Amazing.

When an american marries a foreigner, he can not bring her into the Land Of Freedom, unless they go through months of paperwork, and even then, they can not be sure about the outcome?

I took my wife to europe shortly after we married - she now has permanent residence status in most of europe, hardly any paperwork was involved.

And automatically a work permit.

And automatically national health insurance.

(But she can not travel to that american island off our coast....oh well, blimey, nothing interesting there anyway).

great post Newsite. Religion is what this world is all about. now what gets me is the monks. excuse my ignorance on this matter. but what excatly do they do? I have seen with my own eyes what the poor people give these guys. and i stood in amazement. things that they could have given to them selves. I know they believe that it is Budha that they are giving it to but come on . I do know that ther is dedicated men who have given there life to Budha and this I respect.. but look around your towns /citys.and most of all the Villages. what do you see young men who could otherwise be in some kind of employment.. this brings me to the question . are monks the same as other ministerial members of there churches .ie. priests/ministers of the protestant faith/rabbis/etc.

Of course they are.

But 1 big difference: in thailand religious bussiness is booming - (not unlike in europe in the 19th century!)

I will start respecting monks when they will give me a loan, to be paid back in our next reincarnation....., now that would prove they believe what they preach.

This must be the most off topic thread ever.

Not that i mind.

Sometimes one needs an antidote against religious poisoning.

But if i understand the OP correctly, he was talking about slowly getting sucked into buddhism - OK OK - about slowly getting into buddhism.

I am ashamed to admit that this happens to me.

f ex: back home, when my sister married, when my brother married, when they had children baptized, i stayed outside the church - i did not go for that outdated nonsense.

But here in thailand, i went to a buddhist ceremony to remember my wife's father.

Why?

I don't feel bad going in a temple to pay my respects. Does not mean i believe in it i would go in there to pay my respects and support my wife. (her dad died i went there of course).

It would be different if i were involved in the rituals and started to pray or offer the monks things while i am a total non believer.

I DO feel bad going into a temple, because i give the impression of taking the temple thing seriously.

And you did not offer things to the monks?

That would be difficult!

Did your wife not offer food / money in the name of both of you?

I am not arguing with you, only trying to explain my thinking - and trying to see more clearly myself.

This must be the most off topic thread ever.

Not that i mind.

Sometimes one needs an antidote against religious poisoning.

But if i understand the OP correctly, he was talking about slowly getting sucked into buddhism - OK OK - about slowly getting into buddhism.

I am ashamed to admit that this happens to me.

f ex: back home, when my sister married, when my brother married, when they had children baptized, i stayed outside the church - i did not go for that outdated nonsense.

But here in thailand, i went to a buddhist ceremony to remember my wife's father.

Why?

I believe in Right and wrong , I believe in good and bad , is that not religion.

Well, depends on who defines "right" and "wrong" and who decides what is "good" or "bad". You for yourself or the pope, or the rabbi or the ayatollah or the monk in saffron or Jupiter or Wodan?

Who decides how the Earth was made and who created life?

If you can and do decide for yourself, than you have freed yourself from the despotism of religion and you can say like - I don't remember who - : Thank god, I am an atheist.

And while we are quoting, who said: Religion is opium for the people. ? (I believe it was Marx)

But aren't we all atheists to a certain extent? Or do we still believe in gods like Zeus, Apollo, Manitou etc.? No, we have rejected them. So what does that makes us?

I agree.

But small side note:

Yes, it was Marx who said religion is opium for the people.

But way back in 1968, I wrote on a wall: marxism is opium for the intellectuals (no, i did not invent that statement....)

And now my nickname is still kropotkin.

AND IN RELATED RELIGIOUS NEWS:

Muslim suicide bombers in Britain are set to begin a three-day strike on Monday in a dispute over the number of virgins they are entitled to in the afterlife.

Emergency talks with Al Qaeda management have so far failed to produce an agreement.

The unrest began last Tuesday when Al Qaeda announced that the number of virgins a suicide bomber would receive after his death will be cut by 25% next January from 72 to only 60.

The rationale for the cut was the increase in recent years of the number of suicide bombings and a subsequent shortage of virgins in the afterlife.

The suicide bombers' union, the British Organization of Occupational Martyrs (or B.O.O.M.) responded with a statement that this was unacceptable to its members and immediately balloted for strike action.

General Secretary Abdullah Amir told the press, "Our members are literally working themselves to death in the cause of Jihad. We don't ask for much in return but to be treated like this by management is a kick in the teeth."

Mr. Amir accepted the limited availability of virgins but pointed out that the cutbacks were expected to be borne entirely by the workforce and not by management. "Last Christmas Abu Hamza alone was awarded an annual bonus of 250,000 virgins," complains Amir. "And you can be sure they'll all be pretty ones too. How can Al Qaeda afford that for members of the management but not 72 for the people who do the real work?"

Speaking from the shed in the West Midlands in which he currently resides, Al Qaeda chief executive Osama bin Laden explained, "We sympathize with our workers' concerns but Al Qaeda is simply not in a position to meet their demands.

They are simply not accepting the realities of modern-day jihad, in a competitive marketplace. Thanks to Western depravity, there is now a chronic shortage of virgins in the afterlife. It's a straight choice between reducing expenditure and laying people off. I don't like cutting wages but I'd hate to have to tell 3,000 of my staff that they won't be able to blow themselves up." He defended management bonuses by claiming these were necessary to attract good, fanatical clerics. "How am I supposed to attract the best people if I can't compete with the private sector?" asked Mr. Bin-Laden.

Talks broke down this morning after management's last-ditch proposal of a virgin-sharing scheme was rejected outright after a failure to agree on orifice allocation quotas.

One virgin, who refused to be named, was quoted as saying "I'll be buggered if I'm agreeing to anything like that........it's too much to swallow".

Unless some sort of agreement is reached over the weekend, suicide bombers will down explosives at midday on Monday.

Most branches are supporting the strike. Only the North London branch, which has a different union, is likely to continue working.

However, some members of that branch will only be using waist-down explosives in order to express solidarity with their striking brethren.

Spokespersons in the South of England, and the entire Australian continent stated that this would not affect their operations as "There are no virgins in their areas anyway".

What a typo!

Of course that should read ....if i can't compete with the official governments.....

This new theory sounds rediculous to me.

I stay with the Spaghetti Monster God.

RAMA!!!!

The OP talks about conversion to buddhism.

Which buddhism?

Speak with 100 buddhists,and you will hear about 100 different buddhisms.

And that does not bother buddhists, they call it "finding your own path".

I call it a supermarket religion: walk in, take whatever you like, leave the rest on the shelves.

PS. I have personally seen the footprints of buddha.

Near Chanthabury city.

As a matter of fact, this is now the time of the year to go there, bussiness is at its top.

Donate in a plexyglass box, so that everybody sees how much.

Get your lucky numbers with a mirror under the golden rock.

And of course the footprints.

Awesome.

PPS. A poster asked about religious wars in the name of buddha.

None that i know of, but were there not some small misunderstandings in Sri Lanka lately, with perhaps a few people injured?

And PPS. NOT the buddhist thought of the day: A man without a god, is like a fish without a bicycle.

Cheap?

It is more than a visa costs and you would pay them for their service and it is easy to do by yourself.

Please don't post in capslock, it is considered shouting and unpolite.

This is Thailand.

In Belgium at the Thai embassy, you pay administration costs for free tourist visas - turning "free" into 50% discount.

And they do the "thai bureaucrat thing" : nobody speaks english or french or dutch, but there is a very helpfull man around....

The guy has a 5 euro note in his claw, just to make things clear for newbies.

But i agree: visa stuff SHOULD be easy to do by yourself.

Can you not go to the Consulates ?There are 2 ,one Dutch talking (Antwerp )and one French talking (Liege ):jap:

Thanks for your reply.

And yes, i used the consulate last time.

Do the Thai's also claim to have invented the food poisoning that usually goes with sushi?

Ummm...sushi is one of the dishes I am sure to never have been food poisoned by. What is your source for this allegation?

I once had sushi in Bang Saen.

I will spare you the details of what happened the next 3 days.

If you go over the border and return by land transport you will get 15 days, if you leave the country and return by air you will get 30 days.

Seems 15 days will be enough.

Edit:

If the non-O is based on marriage, you have the option of getting a 60 day extension for 1,900 baht.

Does that 60 day extension have to be applied for in BKK? or would a local immigration office be OK too?

Are there other requirements than the 1.900 baht?

At what day can the application be made?

Thanks.

So now we know what the army thinks.

What does the government think?

What do the thai people think?

------------------------------------------------------------------------

and you do not worry about posting a quote that might not be liked by the next prime minister?

we are so alike, DUDE.

Alike? You take that back! That's a little bit insulting, were I the type to get 'insulted'.

Compare that with your statement. I'm...speechless.

Are you a red shirt?

Scooter won't like that

Sarcasm, old chap, sarcasm.

Obviously not your cup of tea.

May one ask why the OP is asking?

No probs,

I'm currently sending over 25000Bht per month. An amount which I have always thought a bit steep. But with no real experience of living in the bush to ascertain what is a reasonable amount I have found it hard to make an informed estimaite and make any changes.

That is why I am asking for as many replies as possible.

Hope that helps.

G.

How did she survive before you were sending that amount? seems way too much for a village girl. You'll be telling us next that it's not your son, her husband died in a motorcycle accident, and the guy next door is the uncle.

She had a job. And no it wasnt in a bar or anything in that line of business.

There has never been any doubt of my sons parentage. I am his father.

It might help if you do not base your replies on your own experiences.

If you have anything to say regarding the original question that should suffice thanks.

G.

You might have gotten different replies if you had said before that it is YOUR son, and that the gf worked in a decent job before.

with them? meaning against them?

Are you a red shirt?

Scooter won't like that

I would assume the "with them" in his statement means "Along side" as opposed to "Against" - that seems to make sense given the context.

so you assume that the context makes sense?

WOOOOOOW

Have you ever tried to show/instruct a Thai the correct way of doing something? I can just imagine it, "No, point the bazooka that way Somchai...No That Way...that way..that-that......THAT WAY!!! ......F$#K! DOWN!!!" Boom!

I fought with Thai troops. You sir?

No - I haven't - I was, of course, joking - When did you fight with them? Where? Recently? If not, is that at all relevent?

with them? meaning against them?

Are you a red shirt?

Scooter won't like that

this tread was soooooooooooo funny, untill you guys marched in

and you do not worry about posting a quote that might not be liked by the next prime minister?

we are so alike, DUDE.