womble

Great, does this mean bars and clubs have to stop serving alcohol at 12. Fantastic! So after i've finished my dinner I won't be able to have a few drinks by the bar.

Another step forward for the tourist industy!

Oh dear, these are troubled times, that means anything that is critical of the government on a website could have the site closed.

Which means like it or not we will have to self censor ourselves or risk george having his site closed down.

So even though we talk no more critically on here than we would about Bush or Blair, we'd better desist or else we'll get lumped with a defamation suit.

We could also have our visa's revoked!

Stalin also, encouraged children to spy on their parents. Sign of a paronoid regime!

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Sign of a desperate regime!

you know things can't be going well when they try to ban opinion polls and then get people to spy on each other

A sinking ship I do believe

And unless things are sorted down south I doubt it'll be three years..........

Yes Yes, far superior to trains, really looking forward to a nice long bus journey into the city.

I still can't believe they have a '99% complete airport' and yet they havn't sorted out any form of mass transit, not even the bus route.

TIT

They've only got to look south to KL for a perfect example of a fantastic high speed link to an airport 70k from the city.

And they want to build a new city

On november 31

2 notebooks Asus were lost at this adress: Samui,Lamai ,Seaview Paradise Retreat

(14 inch monitor size model Asus M2ne and 15 inch montor size Asus A3g , black color, Russian version )

If somebody find them please bring them to reception at Seaview Paradise Retreat

**THE REWARD** is  1800$ dollars  (72000 Baht TH.)

Or contact the reception Tel. Mr. Joe  06-267-9219

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Lost or stolen?

OZONE>> When you truly live here, not in your $-bubble, you can complain that people under-pay their staff.

Besides, some people here pay their staff more then the thais that live around us do...

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First, I've stated 3 times on previous posts, I have a Condo in Surrathani, By the way I work in Krungthep (Bangkok, just incase you didn't know) and have an apartment there as well, so go back and read the posts.

Second, I didn't complaint about under-paying the workers. I merely pointed the fact that if you worked an employee over the time agreed upon, you need to pay overtime.. So get it right

Go back, reread the posts, understand it than give feed back.

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Sounds to me like you've got a condo in New Jersey, if you really have two condo's in Thailand you should be ashamed of your lack of knowledge of the country.

You probobally only found your way onto this thread hoping it might be a discussion about live in maids that offer 'extra services', under the wifes nose!

Everyone of your posts has been crap, you can't even read other peoples posts correctly, then you come on ranting,

are you drunk?

Oh and BTW, in my experiance maids seem to be paid 4000-6000 baht, 6am-9pm, 3 days off per month. They also get a room and food. This is not a bad deal for a girl from a poor family as she doesn't need to spend any of the money, she can send it back to her family, which makes her and her family very happy. Most farangs I know give more time off than the Thai's. Usually one day a week sometimes more, and they also don't make them work such long hours each day.

There's far worse jobs out there than being a live in maid earning 5g a month with food and board. Providing the work is with a family that treat you well.

And its not like the behaviour of many of the "acceptable" hetero people makes the place so disneyesqe anyway. 

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Certainly true.

I just find it strange that anyone wants to celebrate their sexual preferances. Why not a festival for the left handed? Or the balding? Or albinos? Or the mentally handicapped? Or single parents? Or orphans? Or TV members?

I just fail to see the need to make a big deal out of one's sexuality. Why not make it a people's festival so everyone can join in?

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I guess most of us lot being straight see no need to shout about ones sexuality in public, although i've seen many a drunk man in bangkok, samui, phuket doing just that, with the young ladies of the night.

The point is that whilst we may not undertand the need for a gay festival, 1000's of gays obviously do, or this party wouldn't be the biggest in Asia.

Maybe it has something to do with safety in numbers, most minority groups are discriminated against, gays certainly are, so maybe these parties are a way of them partying in large numbers and meeting new friends.

I'll think you'll find that whilst they are advertised as 'gay' events, I think they are much more than that. I've been to a few and found them enjoyable, obviously not to everyones taste, and whilst the parties can be good fun, there's still something I don't like about men being over effectionate towards each other, now ladies on the other hand

Anyway I think the point is although you may not see a need for it, there obviously is many who do, one reason may be that in many Asian countries it's illegal to be a homo, so an event like this is somewhere they can gather and make friends without being arrested.

Whatever the reasons are, there's obviously a demand, and Phuket should be happy for the business. Gays have big buying power, much more than the average straight couple. No kids, usually two way above average incomes. This means other than just a few days partying, these are people who could potentially buy properties, or become repeat visitors, thus helping Phuket finacially beyond the few days of the party.

I hope it becomes an Annual event, I think it does no harm to Phuket, and those that do shouldn't be so prudish.

Wouldn't surprise me if half the people complaining are secret homo's, or enjoy a bit of illicit lady boy action. we all know a large percentage of homophobes actually have gay tendencies

Or just general insecurities

Jeez, Thailand is one of the gayest places i've been to, it's full of them, so what. Patong has a gay area for christ's sake. The whole country is full of Katoeys and you fools are moaning over a few shirtlifters

i've been to many a gay festival, and the music is often some of the best, always a great atmosphere too. Providing they conduct themselves decently in public then I think this is great for phuket, Singapores loss is Phukets gain. Baht is needed desperately, whether it be the pink varierty or the normal one.

I bet most of them behave better than your average straight tourist on a night out in Bangla!

I'm surprised this topic hasn't had more posts, does no one here follow Thai politics?

I think you'll find that many of us do follow Thai politics with interest, but unlike in the west, we have no means of influencing them.

As guests in Thailand, we can but only observe and comment.

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Seems like most people are simply observing this one then.

Looks like people follow the storys, but many arn't interested in the Politics that make them.

Funny how a topic about sending a Thai into space gets four pages mostly of meaningless insults, where as a pretty serious story which could infact have strong implications recieves next to nothing.

....I am told his first preferred astronaut is Khun Chewit .

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Mine too!

Actually, I find this quite sad. I don't know what Thailand will gain from this - maybe "prestige" (face), maybe technological know-how - but why not decide to NOT participate in the space-race, and instead finish the BTS, or fill in the pot holes in the pavements, build more reservoirs, put the electricity cables underground, etc, etc, etc?

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Hmm priorities.......

and a deadline so far away it means nothing just like most deadlines set by the government.

Anyway it's quite likley a Thai will go into space in next Ten years as a part of an international space crew joining China, russia, US, Europe. I doubt they'll be funding their own program tho.

Provinces, districts, etc. that get their people in have always gotten preferential treatment.  Ever notice how some provinces are more developed than others?  The PM is just unnecessarily stating what's going to happen anyways.

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Yeah ofcourse we all know that, look at parts of London, or what happened in New Orleans, that's a prime example.

Difference is you wouldn't hear Bush or Blair state it publicly, expecially on a campaign trail.

Political suicide in the west for sure.

Whilst not suicide in this part of the world, there must be wiser things to say.

I'm surprised this topic hasn't had more posts, does no one here follow Thai politics?

It's actually quite a significant event, as it means it's possible to impeach ministers if they are proved to be corrupt.

It also shows lessening support in the north for TRT, which I think came as a surprise to most.

and this was quite an amazing statement:

"The provinces which place their trust in us will be given special care"

It certainly seems to have created quite a stir, even Thai Rath reported it, the constitution states that no preferential treatment can be given regardless of political views, religion, race etc etc.

This is a serious post to Samui residents, there has been many break ins in the last few weeks, also people being attacked on motorbikes late at night.

In the last two weeks I know several friends who have been burgled, several large resorts in Chaweng have had multiple room break ins too.

Also many reports of gangs trying to kick people off bikes to rob them late at night.

A friend of mine has spoken to the police and they put it down to several large gangs which have arrived following the Tsunami, the police are apparently pulling their hair out, but one gang was caught last night in Lipa Noi, it was on the local news.

A few farangs have also been marched at knife point to ATM's, two bar owners had this done to them and police believe the theifs knew who they were targeting.

This is very serious, and people should protect their properties, some robberies have occured whilst the people are in their homes! Also be careful of gangs on bikes late at night. Particualry around the lake road in Chaweng and the Ghost Road.

"If you learn to read Thai--I have--you are not stuck with the Nation and Bangkok Post as your only news source (or is that one of the inalienable rights you feel are missing? The right to perfect English-language news no matter what the native tongue is?)"

So have you mastered Thai to a level where you can read a news paper cover to cover and understand every intricate part of the language?

I know many who can read and write Thai, but very few to this level, infact only one and he's been here 25 years!

He would also definatley not agree that should we not like things we should go home, after paying tax I feel no shame in voicing opinions on matters that concern the country, I know we're not listened to, and have no rights, but that doesn't mean we have to put up and shut up.

There's nothing wrong with constuctive critisism as long as it's done in a respectful manner. This goes for any issue world wide, it's what our democracy has taught us. Not to just sit back and watch things happen.

This is true, my friend has a bar and recieved a letter with the application to pay the 3000 baht to grammy. He didn't pay it as he doesn't play any grammy music in his bar, no Thai music at all.

So this is eigher Grammy showing bar owners, karoke owners etc they have to pay 3000 baht or else face a fine.

On the other hand it could be a scam by someone who knows of the 3000 baht a year annual royalties fee.

Wouldn't it be funny if all bars and Karaoke's refused to play Grammy Music because of the 3000 baht fee.

You can't buy land in Thailand. If someone said you can that means they are BigFatLiar.

You can buy land with or without house by your Gf's name. But if you are in company's name you can rent in under condition for longterm  business using  the land.

You can see lots of Farangs in Thailand they buy house or land but not sign in their name just in the named of wife or girlfriend.

How can you trust your girlfriend, partner or etc...I confirm..You can't trust any, if you want to have land in Thailand should to rent it for longterm using.

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Get a good lawyer from one of the best Bangkok law firms (there arn't many good ones), there are ways to own, but make sure you have sound legal advise, and carry out all necessary due dilligence.

Never put property in the wifes name

religion ( P ) Pronunciation Key (r-ljn)

n.

Belief in and reverence for a supernatural power or powers regarded as creator and governor of the universe.

A personal or institutionalized system grounded in such belief and worship.

The life or condition of a person in a religious order.

A set of beliefs, values, and practices based on the teachings of a spiritual leader.

A cause, principle, or activity pursued with zeal or conscientious devotion.

"Religion is often good in the sense that it gives moral guides, and usually teaches people to act in certain ways that are positive for communities. Unless of course people twist the ideologies."

What I meant was guides such as the ten commandments are the basis of law and order, following the 10 commandments is beneficial to yourself and those around you.

I'm using generalisations, so whilst millions have dies from fighting in pointless wars, many lives have been spared and improved through religion.

It is one of those things that is both good and bad, it's bad in the sense that people twist religion to suit their own agendas, but good in the sense that it may teach you to become a good samaritan.

I wonder what the world would be like if it were religion free?

Would it be better or worse?

On the one hand we wouldn't have fought so many was over religion, but i'm sure we could have found other excuses, as often religion is an excuse not a cause.

Religion and trade were probobally the two things that started off globalisation. The crusades were in the name of religion, but that was an excuse, it's a fact that where they set up camps, brothels were established nearby.

Just before the sacking of constantinople one of the leaders had to have a crackdown on the shenanegans of the troops, this was so they felt clean before battle

"The plane was taxing on a taxi way after smoothly passing through a runway when its main wheel No.1 burst with a spiral of smoke but no fire, said Mr. Somchainuk."

Just wondering who we should believe the Thai air acting president, or the spokes person for Melbourne international airport?

"Hydraulic fluid had leaked onto hot metal, which started two small fires in the main landing gear, the spokesman said."

Also

"The plane was taxing on a taxi way after smoothly passing through a runway when its main wheel No.1 burst with a spiral of smoke but no fire, said Mr. Somchainuk."

However the spokesman reckons it hadn't passed through the runway, it was stuck on it!

"He said the plane had now been towed off one of the runways, which was now operational again."

Thai air say:

"The plane left Bangkok at 00:15 a.m. early Wednesday morning, while the incident took place at 11:59 a.m. Wednesday (local time), he noted"

Whilst another spokesperson for the airport reckons:

The aircraft landed at seven minutes past 12 (12.07pm AEST) in very heavy crosswinds and blew two tyres," spokeswoman Sue Marr said.

Hmm, seems to be a little confusion over what, where and when this incident occured.

Quick it's face saving time

I recall that this Morgan Stanley briefing was regurgitated political propaganda recycled by an analyst in awe of having got access to Thaksin.

Didn't he also take the opportunity to slag off the Democrat party, which also went into the piece.

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It definatley seems very one sided, and by the way he talks he sounds impressed with himself that he's a 'pal' of Thaksin.

Reading this from the Morgan Stanley website has made me much more sceptical of the company, particulary when it comes to Asia and South America.

The trouble with these companys is the people who call the shots no nothing about the countrys. The article states that nearly all figures are taken from statistics released by the government or from the PM's mouth.

Unfortunatley what many of these people don't know is that just because the figure has been released by the government it doesn't mean it's correct. I'm a real sceptic when it comes to any figures released in Thailand, regardless who releases them.

I'd like to read a non biased article written by an analyst with many years experiance in Thailand.

Morgan Stanley have lost a lot of my respect for releasing such a blatently bias article, I wonder if they are being paid

28g will probobally not be seen as personal usage, and the fact he states it was to be smoked with friends is tantamount to admiting to dealing. If you buy drugs for friends even if you don't get money for it, it is still supplying. This has obviously attracted a lot of attension, which is very bad for the guy involved, it may be too late to pay $.

I reckon he'll eigher get away with it with an under the counter payment if he's lucky.

But he could just as easily have the book thrown at him.

28g is one ounce, not many people buy an ounce for personal use, only a fool has that much in Thailand.

It does say he got 28.3g though, so he got a good deal

"i would save my negative comments for the dishonest member of staff or customer who found and probably took the money."

Agreed, whoever took it is the villain here, not the woman however stupid she was. In a perfect world we could all leave our doors unlocked, and let our childeren go to play in the park on their own.

Unfortunatley it's not a perfect world, which means we have to take due dilligence, she didn't.

Morgan stanley like him and his TRT party.

This is an article written in sept by Morgan Stanley to potential investors.

I'm looking forward to the next outlook.

We Warned Thailand Bears and Thaksin Sceptics on August 16

We warned Thailand bears and Thaksin sceptics on August 16 (A Brief Downgrade and A Good Long Chat) that they have become overly bearish on the prospects for the Thai economy and market. I had a long chat with Mr. Thaksin and the “Inner Cabinet” on August 5 and was able to reveal to the market how higher oil prices and high oil imports had been due to overstated net oil imports as the Kingdom failed to properly take into account the re-export of oil. This makes an upward revision of US$1-1.5 billion possible going forward.

Meanwhile, energy conservation and diversification measures and a government initiative to prolong the lifespan of imported products should lend further support to the external balance. Until three weeks ago, we expected the current account deficit for 2005 to improve to US$4.3 billion or 2.4% of GDP by year end, even though the Jan-Jun current account deficit stands at US$6.2 billion or 3.5% of GDP. However, since oil prices have stayed relatively high throughout this period, we have further adjusted our current account deficit forecast to US$4.8 billion, or 2.7% of GDP. We continue to believe Thailand is on track to achieve at least 4.1% growth in 2005. However, our 2005 4.1% forecast remains substantially above the consensus mean of around 3%.

Official July External Accounts Numbers Released on August 31 Validate Our August 16 Call

The July merchandise and current account numbers just released by the government validate our August 16 call, in my view. Both July trade and current accounts imbalances improved substantially. In fact, the current account went into surplus, decisively reversing its worsening trend. We reiterate our forecast that the current account will reverse into a surplus in 2H05, producing a moderate deficit of only US$4.8 billion, or 2.7% of GDP. Our current account deficit is quite similar to the official forecast.

A Small Lesson for Thailand Bears and Thaksin Sceptics

The above episode in our view serves as a small lesson for Thai bears and Thaksin sceptics who underestimate Mr. Thaksin’s ability to support the Thai economy and implement sound economic policies. I believe investors should note the following:

(1) Thai growth is stronger than the Street consensus. If the 2005 current account deficit is smaller than the Street expected, then 2005 growth must be better than the Street consensus. This is basic GDP accounting. We reiterate our 2005 growth forecast of 4.1% versus the Street consensus of 3% or lower. In fact, if the oil shock subsides in the coming months, export growth keeps up and oil consumption declines further, we believe the growth risks will be to the upside of the 3.5-4.5% range.

(2) Thailand possesses fiscal latitude and an ability to formulate good economic policies. The recent market jitters on Indonesia contrast vividly with the calm exhibited by Thai policymakers in tackling energy (dependency and inefficiency) and growth issues. Thailand is the most oil (import) dependent and the most inefficient energy user in export-oriented East Asia/Southeast Asia economies. And yet Thailand has demonstrated that its ‘hard won’ fiscal latitude (secured by Mr. Thaksin and his administration during the first term of their office) has gone a long way in providing Thailand the policy latitude in implementing domestic demand/income support measures.

We elaborated earlier that given the nature of the economic malaise, i.e., a supply shock induced by escalation in oil prices, the Thaksin administration has chosen to ‘tactically’ support the economy rather than bulldoze through a domestic investment/mega projects program that could risk further blowing out the current account. (A Dialogue with Thailand Bears and Thaksin Sceptics, August 1, 2005.) Such tactical support measures, such as raising civil servant salaries, hiking the minimum wage, increasing rural spending and strengthening the funding of small rural-based projects to encourage both private consumption and production where the import leakage is small, have been smoothly executed over the past weeks. Thanks to these developments, we believe the Thai economy should see firmer support over the second half of the year.

Such fiscal and policy latitude is not readily seen in Indonesia and in many other developing countries. In addition, Thai policy makers have quickly put in place a comprehensive strategy to rein in the Kingdom’s excessive and inefficient energy usage (for a detailed discussion see A Brief Downgrade and a Good Long Chat). However, Thailand’s fiscal policy latitude and its ability to formulate good economic policies were often ignored by the market.

(3) Thailand has seen the worst in term of its oil consumption and oil-induced trade deficit. While recent data paint a rather gloomy picture for Thailand in term of its oil consumption and its oil-induced trade deficit, Thailand has done a poor job in estimating its net oil imports. Its re-export to Indo-China was often not properly reflected, resulting in a ‘larger than actual’ oil-induced trade deficit. Most importantly, persistent high oil prices and the removal of the residual diesel subsidies on July 13 have finally set the Kingdom on the correct ‘energy conservation’ path and allow conservation and substitution effects to come to play more effectively.

More importantly, conscious policy efforts are in place to curb the consumption of oil and to prevent the worsening of imports. Thai policy makers are converting buses and taxis from petrol users into natural gas users; the ‘correct’ diesel price is causing Thai consumers to shift away from diesel guzzlers, such as pick-up trucks, back to smaller cars, and the ‘Fix It’ initiatives are introducing a nationwide effort to prolong the life of electronic goods and machinery.

While the more than 10% oil consumption ratio – the number has been exaggerated because of overstated net oil import numbers – points to Thailand’s vulnerability to higher oil prices, it actually demonstrates that the Kingdom has vast potential in ‘riding’ a protracted path of ‘reducing oil demand’ through energy conservation and improved energy efficiency. In other words, Thailand need not confront the ugly scenario of a energy blow up even if oil prices were to stay high for a longer period. In fact, one of the key objectives of the US$44 billion mega-projects was to build an integrated Bangkok mass transit system and a nationwide rail system to substantially trim Thailand’s energy dependency.

(4) Thailand should not head into a recession in 2006. Some Thailand bears and Thaksin sceptics believe even if Thailand were to sustain positive growth and contain the impact of the oil shock this year, a recession next year is unavoidable as Asia could be nose-diving into contracting external demand and dramatically weakening domestic demand amid a continuation of high oil prices. We clearly cannot deny the global linkages as exports still constitute 60% of the Thai economy and the economy will remain negatively impacted by higher prices. However, we see two important economic trends that should prevent Thailand from encountering the worst economic malaise:

First, Mr. Thaksin is very determined to kick-start the five-year US$44 billion domestic infrastructure investment /mega projects program, starting 4Q05. As long as the current account deficit remains in check (under 3-3.5% of GDP), the infrastructure program will not be delayed or cancelled. Most importantly, the infrastructure is a mix of final and intermediate infrastructure where the ‘high capital import content’ of final infrastructure could be delayed in favour of the ‘low import content’ intermediate infrastructure. Some US$8.3 billion worth of infrastructure investment (or around 20% of the total value of mega projects), equivalent to 4.7% of 2005 nominal GDP, is planned to be executed from 4Q05 to end 2006, thus providing some cushion to the Thai economy. (See Understanding Mr. Thaksin’s Fiscal and Investment Latitude, July 1, 2005 and A Credible Plan Brightens Investment Boom Prospects, June 22, 2005.)

Second, the Thai economy is more diversified and resilient than is priced into the market. Without the negative impact of oil, the drought, and the Tsunami, we believe Thai GDP growth for 2005 would have been around 6-6.5% (it was 6.1% in 2004) as opposed to the 4.1% now forecast by Morgan Stanley. The end of the drought in the Eastern part of the country and a revival of tourism starting 2H05 should bring important relief to the Thai economy, partially offsetting the ongoing negative impact of high oil prices.

Bottom Line: Thailand Bears and Thaksin Sceptics Have Underestimated Mr. Thaksin and the Thai Economy

We warned that Thai bears and Thaksin sceptics had become overly bearish on the prospects for the Thai economy and market. Indeed, given that oil re-exports have been underestimated and that energy conservation/diversification measures and government initiatives to prolong the lifespan of imports have been put into place, we believe the current account deficit could improve to US$4.8 billion or 2.7% of GDP by year end. In fact, the July current account just released registered a marked improvement from an average deficit US$1 billion per month in 1H05 to a surplus of US$0.2 billion. We believe this lends further credence to our relatively optimistic current account forecast.

In our view, investors have underestimated the true potential of the Thai economy and we wish to highlight several points that should taken note of. For a start, if the government and our assessment of the current account deficit is accurate and it turns out to be smaller than what the Street had expected, 2005 GDP growth should correspondingly be higher than the consensus mean of 3%. Indeed, our GDP growth estimate stands at a higher 4.1% and we believe that risks could be to the upside of 3.5-4.5% if export growth is maintained and oil consumption declines.

Another fact that is often overlooked is that Thailand has a fiscal latitude that is not present in other countries also facing similar growth problems e.g. Indonesia. Indeed, the Thai government is shrewdly drawing on its fiscal strength to tactically support the economy through measures such as raising civil sector wages, hiking minimum wages and increasing rural spending. This should lend support to the economy in 2H05.

In addition, the worst seems to be over for Thailand’s oil deficit and current account balance, in our view. The correction of the previous underestimation in oil re-exports is likely to come through ahead and subsidy removals mean substitution and conservation effects should kick in and reduce the oil deficit. Meanwhile, conscious policy efforts to shift usage away from petrol to natural gas as well as the ‘Fix-It’ initiative to prolong imported goods usage also puts Thailand firmly on the road to an external balance improvement, we believe.

Lastly, some believe that even if Thailand emerges from 2005 unscathed, it will head into a recession in 2006 because of ramifications from high oil price which would weaken external and domestic demand. However, two factors specific to Thailand counter that, in our view. With the start of the 5-year mega investment projects unlikely to meet delays so long as the current account deficit is kept in check, the economy should be well-cushioned by the investment (US$8.3 billion, or 4.7% of 2005 GDP) implemented during 4Q05 to 2006. Also, the Thai economy is actually more diversified and resilient than the market believes. In fact, one should remember that without the negative factors beyond Thai policy makers’ control – oil, the drought, the Tsunami and the Southern issues – Thai growth in 2005 would have been closer to 6-6.5%, making it one of the best performing economies in East and Southeast Asia.

I don`t know of any insurance company that would pay out.

She had not excercised `Reasonable Care`.

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Really depends on which insurance company you use, but for a fact not many cover than much in cash. Around 1000US cash claim is usually about the max, often it's 500US or less.

Travel insurance see's it that you should have travelers cheques and/or cards, and you should only need enough cash for days to day things. That is why large amounts of cash are never covered.

I think she stands to loose most of the $. Unless she has a very good insurance policy.

She deserves to loose it anyway for being so stupid, I feel sorry for the family though if it is their entire spending money.

What is the difference between a Cult and a Religion, the only difference I see is the size.

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Cults are newer and so not accepted, many religions were viewed similary to cults when they first started out, look how christians were treated by the romans.

Many religions have very sinister sides, personally I can't stand missionarys, I think the way they are giving people help in Phang Nga only if they go to church is very wrong. Helping people is cool, but it should come with no strings attached.

Similary the way they spread Christianity through the pacific islands is shameful, what they did to Hawaii in particular is shocking to say the least. They were ultimately responsible for the end of the monarchy there.

Some of the techniques used by missionarys isn't that different from many cults, a lot of these guys use simple brainwashing techniques.

The majority of people from all Major religions a good, and religion is definatley good for them as it gives guidelines, however in pretty much all of the major religions there are splinter groups which use the religion as excuses to achieve more sinaster aims.