MrMuddle

I think that is a trick question though, because it's complicated. Jews are not a race, they are a people, and not all Jews are at all religious and many who are religious profess other religions than Judaism such as Buddhism, so there is more to it than just religion. If you need to know more, read some books. Too big a topic for a thread like this.

Who cares, move on.

Seconded. Borrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrring.

for the record: since eight years Mahathir Mohamad is not Prime Minister of Malaysia anymore.

Mahathir Mohamad has openly voiced sadness that Hitler's final genocide solution didn't fully succeed.

Because not all readers remember or know about Mahathir Mohamad's shameful positions as a promoter of racist hate.

His lack of international credibility is a given based on knowing about his open anti-semitism. From Malaysia, a country barring entry to all Israeli nationals.

"readers" might be interested to read the full text of Mahathir's speech october 2003 and arrive at their own individual conclusions.

Speech by Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad of Malaysia

to the Tenth Islamic Summit Conference

Putrajaya, Malaysia, October 16, 2003

http://www.adl.org/a...m/malaysian.asp

Having read the full speech, as opposed to the New York Times somewhat sensationalized version, I agree with Mr Mohamad. He advocates a non-violent approach to Islams problems in the world. Obviously it suits the pro-Israeli lobby to continually appear as the victims, even when the news story is not about them. To attack Mr Mohamads' credibility is also far-fetched, as he gave a speech to leaders of 57 nations, who, if the NYT is to be believed applauded warmly afterwards. How is that not credible? The newspaper also mentioned that no complaint was made by the EU, even though it was asked to condemn the speech, it did not. Mr Mohamad seems a perfectly credible person to me, the Tenth Islamic Summit Conference and the European Union. Now can we get back to the topic?

May I suggest to the Malaysian court an immediate prosecution of Captain Kangaroo.

BTW, while I am no fan of Bush/Blair, virulent anti-semite Mahathir Mohamad has even less credibility on the global stage.

What has anti-semitism got to do with the story ? By introducing this subject, it kills the 'debate', as anyone who is in favour of this tribunal is judged, by your statement, to be anti-semetic. Nowhere in the OP is there a mention of Israel, it's people, or religion. As for Mr Mahathir Mohamads' lack of credibility, have you proof of this ? Or is it just anti-muslim bias on your part?

The sad truth is, that instead of a mock trial of Bush & Blair being held in Malaysia, it should have been held for real by the International Criminal Court, and the pair of them, and many of their political associates, should have been charged for real with Crimes Against Humanity. I sincerely hope that this "mock" trial in Malaysia will lead to a real prosecution, in the future.They both deserve to be tried, on behalf of the thousands who have died, been injured or who have suffered because of their evil deeds.

I was doing so well, been dieting a week, lost 4Kgs, also been stopped smoking for 3 days, without problems.........then I read this !!

Looks like it's homemade Fish & chips for dinner - my wife's are superb ( and her fish and chips ain't bad either !).

Curse you Jingthing !!

Aww shucks...I really wanted to see how many people would have turned out for that demo.

2 men in a boat ??

You can decide where and how you want your funaral arrranged.

If you die in Thailand you can be cremated at the local temple without any problems. Only if you are not married will your embassy contact your family to see how they want to proceed with your funeral (and if they are willing to pay for the repatriation of the body).

Make a will and also state your wishes regarding your funeral in it. makes it clear for everyone.

I've been to several funerals in the small village where I live. The days before the cremation have monks chanting at the family home, and through the night various undesirables appear (it's the same bunch at every funeral), who do all kinds of gambling, (and trick the locals out of their money), and eating and drinking at the bereaved family's expense. The police seem to turn a blind eye to this gambling at funerals, though I suspect, there's "tea money" to be had. Personally I hate gambling, I think it's just an excuse for fools to lose their money.

If I put in my will that i don't want gambling at my funeral, what would the consequences be for my wife (assuming I die first). I did mention this to her, but she got really upset, and made comments about did I want her to be alone all night, with my body. Any idea why she doesn't want me to specify this ?

Sorry , I can't offer any advice on "skimming " of your cards. It does seem though, that criminals always seem to be a step ahead, with plastic card technology.

I would suggest that if you have Debit cards, that you don't keep a large amount in the Bank account that it draws from, better to have a deposit type account which can't be accessed by card. As for Credit cards, keep the amount that you can borrow on it as low as you can. Using both these methods will ensure that if you are a victim, then the amount lost will be relatively small.

I do hope your fears are unfounded, though it's worth remembering, that if you do get in trouble in Pattaya, there's always plenty of ex-SAS and ex-US special forces chaps you can call on for help !!

Who died & made Israel or the US the Nuclear marshal's of the world?

What is most disgusting is Israel who to this day has never allowed one nuclear inspection.

Nor will they even take part as every other country (except North Korea) in divulging how many Nukes they possess.

Yet they have the gall to threaten others with unprovoked attacks? This pre-emptive crap is just a term for unprovoked attacks.

Yes we know the whine that they are terrorist & we are not but puleeze....

Judging trees by their fruits would suggest others may see Israel & the US as the terrorist.

If Israel goes ahead with any unprovoked attacks on Iran they deserve anything that comes back at them.

Same for the US.

+1000

This reminds me of the weapons of mass destruction that Saddam was supposed to have. They still haven't found any. Scaremongering at it's worst, so that the US and it's allies can give themselves a moral justification to attack Iran.

Back to the topic. Good for Mr Abbas, I hope the non-violent resistance movement grows, until it is unstoppable, and a peaceful solution is found.

What an appalling waste of money, in a year when many thousands of Americans have lost their homes.

For anyone interested, there is a lot more information here.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-15786944

Latest, according to the BBC is that Robert Wagner is not a suspect, according to the police. The article here does not mention, (as the BBC does), that an actor, Christopher Walken, was on board the vessel at the time of Miss Woods death.

I subscribe to a couple of UK magazines, and have only had one magazine go missing in several years. i regularly get small packages sent from the UK to Phetchabun, again only one gone missing in several years. Everything I've ever sent, to the UK and Canada has arrived at it's destination safely. Maybe this "lost" post is just a big city problem.

Change banks but first contact manager to be sure he is aware of service you are not getting. We had this problem years ago and it was quickly resolved with hint our money was going elsewhere. You, at least at most banks, are paying for this letter so it is not a favor they are providing.

Thanks for the advice. We'll do this next time we are in town. The only worry I have is that other Banks in Phetchabun are even more incompetent !

I hope you have more luck with your Bank letter than me. I use the Bangkok Bank in Phetchabun, and every year it's a major drama to get this letter. Last time they kept me waiting for 2 hours, despite us going in earlier in the week to request it. The attitude of the woman dealing with this was unbelievable, she went for her lunch, at 11a.m. just to annoy us, as we'd politely pointed out to her how she was wrong. She said we needed to send our bank book to head office, and that they couldn't write us a letter for immigration locally, despite us having had letters for several years previously, again with problems from the local branch.

How hard can it be to keep a letter on file and update it once a year ? They're drinking in the "last chance saloon" this year.

Good luck with your application.

some of the small branches of Bangkok Bank in BKK are not even aware of this letter, i was told it will take 2 weeks since they have to request the letter from the HQ in Silom. The branch manager said it will still take 2 weeks if i go to request it myself at the Silom HQ. I went to Silom and got the letter within 15 minutes at counter 51-52 which deals with letters and documents. I went to Immigration at Cheng Wattana the next day and was requested to update my bank book in the local branch downstairs. No need for a token deposit, just put the book in the Deposit update machine outside the branch and it gets updated.

Thanks for the reply, Islandboy. This letter request is similar to the story that we have been given in Bangkok Banks' Phetchabun office, it's basically a load of twaddle because the branch is inefficiently run. If branches of Bangkok bank are unaware of letters for immigration, then they need to sort their business out, it's a relatively simple matter which is easily resolved by anyone competent in computers.

The 2 hour wait for the letter was eventually resolved by me sliding down in the chair I was sitting on, and looking extremely sad. ( I learned a long time ago never to lose my temper, shout, or do anything that westerners normally do, to resolve a problem - there is always another way to get the result you want). Everyone in the Bank noticed this, and before too long the assistant manager came over to ask what was wrong. He then went into a back office and came out with the letter, checked with us that it was correct, and took it into the managers office for stamping and signing. He apologised profusely for our wait.

Glad you got your visa sorted out.

MrMuddle's experience is a good example of why it helps for OPs to mention which Immigration office they work with. No consistency within Thailand, either for the Immigration offices or local banks. Life is beautiful in Chiang Mai, MrMuddle.

Thanks for the reply. I'm glad that you're enjoying life in Chiang Mai. Phetchabun is a pretty good place to have a home too, at least in my experience. The problem I have is only with the Bangkok Bank, the local immigration office I deal with is at Phitsanulok, who have always been extremely helpful. Last time I renewed my retirement stamp, I had forgotten to update my Bank book, to the same date as the letter, (probably due to the fiasco in actually getting the letter), and the officer gave our driver instructions on how to find the Phitsanulok branch of the Bank, so we could update the book. He also invited my elderly mother-in law into the air conditioned office, while we waited for the paperwork to be done, and got one of the staff to give her a drink. If the local Bangkok Bank were as efficient as the Phitsanulok Immigration office, and showed the same helpful attitude, I'd have no complaints whatsoever.

Where to you keep your loose change?

I'd be scared someone would swipe their amex down my crack.

In your ear - have you never travelled in a songtiow with Thai schoolkids ? They all do it .

My Grandfather fought in the first world war, He was in before it Started, he was a Career Soldier. He joined to get out of working in the mines of Duram in the noth East of England, he was a black smith. He became a Horse Sargent. because of his knowledge of horses, he rode a horse into battle.. also he was one of the first soldiers to drive the tank, , it came out of Rushden Bicirus factory in Lincoln in the UK, where they where made. he told me when i was young that when they drove them at full speed they where thrown around inside them, I have his Diary's and Books from the first world War, Some are harrowing reading, he listed all his men that had died and how they died, Some where gassed and some just disappeared in front of his eyes. blown up. When he died in 1971, he still had shrapnel in his body, and some in his legs. Pity all this knowledge is being lost . there are not many old soldiers around from that war now.

Thank you for sharing the story of your Grandfather with us. Thankfully he survived to pass on his experiences to you, but sadly so many did not survive. Ordinary men, from ordinary backgrounds, committed extraordinary acts of bravery, and went through all kinds of horrific experiences so that we may enjoy the freedom we have today. The bravest of the brave.

Bless them all. May they rest in eternal peace, never to be forgotten.

I hope you have more luck with your Bank letter than me. I use the Bangkok Bank in Phetchabun, and every year it's a major drama to get this letter. Last time they kept me waiting for 2 hours, despite us going in earlier in the week to request it. The attitude of the woman dealing with this was unbelievable, she went for her lunch, at 11a.m. just to annoy us, as we'd politely pointed out to her how she was wrong. She said we needed to send our bank book to head office, and that they couldn't write us a letter for immigration locally, despite us having had letters for several years previously, again with problems from the local branch.

How hard can it be to keep a letter on file and update it once a year ? They're drinking in the "last chance saloon" this year.

Good luck with your application.

Children having children, one of the truly sad things in our world. Like Moonrakers, I can't believe the age of consent is 12. How on earth is a child of that age supposed to make an informed decision on sexual intercourse? Absolutely ridiculous.

Let's hope the poor girl has supportive parents who can help her bring her baby up, it's hard enough when the parents are adults, and there are two of them.

Actually 90% of the time it is not the government distributing the food anyway, its volunteers. The volunteers get the food donated to them by normal people and/or businesses. They use their own vehicles, petrol and time to do this out of the goodness of their hearts. Many people do not understand this but next time you meet one of these people just ask them. They will tell you the same story (90%) of the time. It's true there is little coordination because everyone is doing their own thing, privately or with Foundations, NGO's etc. They never have or never will coordinate with each other, its just the way it is. Every now and then the government will "request" a larger organization to give aid to certain places but otherwise its entirely up to the groups themselves where and when they donate or help. The government actually has very little to do with all the rescue and relief efforts going on. The volunteers are awesome! Pity people do not understand this, road spiking is just pure ignorance, stupidity born of desperation. Its a sad mess Thailand is in right now with so many people suffering, I am volunteering everyday and talk to many people, there stories are really sad and just make me thankful how lucky I am. There's a lot of unseen misery around but if you take the time to sit down and listen you will hear so many sad stories that you could have never guessed looking at the victims smiling faces. Can't wait till it's all over.

Well done for volunteering. It makes a refreshing change to see someone making positive posts about this crisis.

We've had minor flooding in previous years in our small village, and everyone helps each other, with whatever needs doing.

I can't understand why so many people on here are so negative about Thailand, and yet continue to live here. Let's hope this crisis is over soon.

"The department surveyed groundwater in 18 spots and found that 6 per cent was poor, 11 per cent was fair and 6 per cent was of good quality".

I'm no math whiz but shouldn't these numbers add up to 100 per cent?

They dropped the calculator into the flood water.

UK people are lucky that their present day conservatives are actually liberals on social issues such as this. The USA conservatives are almost as bad as that Ghanian president, and certainly would never support action against oppression of gays abroad.

Sorry, I think you're wrong here. Present day British Conservatives, who have not been able to gain a working majority in Parliament since 1992, are merely trying to protect, and hopefully increase their share of the "pink" vote. It's also interesting to note all the praise for Cameron, who is the leader of a coalition government with the Liberal party. The Liberals are historically, much more likely than the Conservatives to push this kind of pro-gay action. Cameron is an opportunist, he knows he will gain more votes than he loses by taking this stance.

Personally I think for a nation to punish it's citizens for their sexual preferences is abhorrent. However it should be remembered that homosexuality was illegal in the UK until the mid-1960s.

I do, however, agree with those who say all UK aid should be stopped, to every country, especially in the current financial climate.

I hope this is a new start for the people of Myanmar, after so many false dawns, it would be nice to see a new era begin with Thailand's neighbour. Aung Saan Suu Kyi has been in the political wilderness for far too long, even if this amendment isn't everything she hoped for, maybe now is the time to take the olive branch that is being offered.