McMagus
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Posts posted by McMagus
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Ok, first off out of the blocks with this one. A number of issues here, not the least of which is the Thai propensity to sue and counter sue like spoilt kids in the sandpit. One may well ask why the concession was just extended for 13 years in one instance and 30 yrs in another scheme without there ever having been any cogent analysis of the benefits from the present concessionaire? At the end of the contract why was it not thrown open for tender again? If anybody knows different please correct me but I am led to believe they eventually ordered one new carriage for each train on the Sukhumvit line (bringing them up from 3 to 4) only to find when they got here that they could not use them because the couplings did not match...<deleted> ? If this is so.. and I stress if, who was the dummy in charge? As for the blaring noise ... don't get me started.
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Very happy with the battery life of mine. As for ring tones..I just choose some suitable music from my music file and use that ...
Sarah Vaughn ... 'Broken Hearted Melody'
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I even used my Oz drivers license once KK > BKK. Now I have a colour photocopy of my passport and stamp page. Not prepared to carry my passport everywhere.
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I had nothing but trouble with SCB, they were tools ! Like 'How many times do I need to give you my frickin work permit, passport, etc etc etc. In my experience they were totally incompetent but do so with a smile and a wai. I have had nothing but good stuff happening from Bangkok Bank.. even though now I do not have a work permit. Passport and some money. As an aside and slightly off topic... for god's sake don't lose your passbook....you know, those things the rest of the world got rid of yonks ago... if you do its easier to just open a new account.
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Yep, got really pissed off when I read this because it makes no difference if you live here, with a WP and paying taxes. The increased costs are based on your nationality and more pointedly non Asian. The really appalling thing is that the powers that be are so insensitive / nationalistic / brainwashed / to not see that they are implementing racist policies. My personal opinion is that they don't really care what we or the rest of the world thinks of them. I really like Thailand and have lots of Thai acquaintances but over the top nationalism and an unwarranted sense of their own importance seems to be part of Thai character which drives policy such as this. I refuse to go to these places and be part of their scam.
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What a lot of people are missing here is a very subtle but interesting point. I like to keep up with current events....but, I wouldn't know off the top of my head who the head / senior / general of the Australian army was, he just goes about his job, low profile, like most western public servants. Here however, I already know of this army chief. This speaks volumes about this society we have chosen to live in / escape to / be a guest of etc. etc. One of Thaksin's greatest crimes in my eyes was to use Thailand's defamation laws to silence critics, particularly the press until self censorship became the norm. It doesn't surprise me given that 'face' is so important here that this army chief is resorting to the same Thai tradition. No wonder the Thai judicial system is dysfunctional with so many cases such as this to deal with. Like a bunch of school kids playing in the sandpit. Only, it is a worry when the sandpit is a country and the school kids can get guns.
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Jeez, what an interesting question ...'Can coming to Thailand make you bisexual'... I put this in the same basket as .... 'Can coming to Africa make you a negro'.
No thats a stupid analogy,how can you turn black by going to Africa ? read the question ,i never knew him to be attracted to anyone but women in 20 odd years and i doubt if he had even seen a transexuall ,but after seeing them has he become bisexual? i never saw him take any interest in the gay men here.
Think carefully about what you originally posted ... the key word being MAKE. In otherwords you are saying that as long as he is kept away from ladyboys etc., he will be heterosexual. If you know anything about sexuality you will understand that it is a continuum along which we are located. Some are strongly located at the heterosexual end of the spectrum and others at the homosexual end whilst others are in the middle or, as I suspect in your friend's case, he moves around the continuum. Unfortunately in lots of western countries, the social stigma attached to being gay / bi / whatever, is strong enough for heaps of men to live double lives, it is the mask he wears. However, when in Thailand, where the social norms and mores are more accepting of a persons sexuality, he no longer feels the need to suppress his natural tendencies. I'm thinking he has been thinking this way for yonks. Doesn't make him less of a man or indeed a close friend.
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Yep agree, when I read this in Bangkok Post, I was sad.. but sadness is really suppressed anger... and that is where a lot of posters to this thread find themselves now. Anger that the low life scum have shattered a family and..most likely will get away with it.
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Jeez, what an interesting question ...'Can coming to Thailand make you bisexual'... I put this in the same basket as .... 'Can coming to Africa make you a negro'.
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I'm not a natural supporter of monarchies or elites. I consider myself a socialist. But I have just watched - 30 minutes ago - a one hour Al Jazeera programme by Veronica Pedrosa on the proliferation of clan and gangster dominated politics in the Philippines (her country) from the time of Ferdinand and Imelda Marcos to the recent Ampatuan massacre in Mindanao, where a Muslim insurgency not entirely unlike that in southern Thailand continues to smoulder.
Now I see that the terrorist and thug Natthawut, servant of Thaksin and of his own self-seeking ends, is throwing his unelected weight around in Thai politics yet again.
During the Al Jazeera programme a courageous Filipino journalist says of Imelda Marcos: "let's face it - she's a thief who was married to a murderer, thug and tyrant". Who does that make you think of in Dubai? And Natthawut is a shoe-in for the vicious thugs of the Ampatuan clan in Maguindanao. If you doubt this, just look at the videos of him on you tube where he calls for the burning of Bangkok.
It's a sobering thought - for me, at least - and not a conclusion that I would have drawn before - but it seems to me that all that stands between Thailand and the Philippines is the present system, headed by the Royal Institution, and the Thai middle class that by and large supports it.
Imperfect though it may be, it acts as a check between Thailand's present parlous political state and a complete descent into the gang political violence of the Philippines.
It is clear to anybody who has eyes to see and half a brain, that Thai politics is all about feudalism. Old / elite v new money. It is easy to vilify Mr. T because he comes from outside the accepted norms of Thai society. Do I think he is a saviour? no way. Do I think he is power hungry? almost certainly. Is he guilty of some crimes? I would think so. But that is the way here. For God's sake don't go prattling on about how the elitist rightwing factions of Thai society as saviours of democracy. Everyone has their noses in their own respective swill. There is no democracy in Thailand, irrespective of what colour; there is only loyalty to the tribal boss, be they amart or the new wealthy. After the last riots, I listened to an international journo talking at a public forum about his experiences reporting the riots. He was still in a plaster cast from the bullet wounds. I believe totally his story. As he was photographing he was targeted by army shooters and was pinned down having been shot in the leg. Some 'men in black' came over to him and spoke to each other in sign language and extricated him from the situation. He was put on the back of a motorcycle and was still being targeted as he drove away. But the interesting thing was, the overpowering impression he had that these men were very highly trained individuals..possibly army special forces. So now the question. Were they there because they had sympathies with the red shirts or were they planted there by the army. Who knows. As soon as I think I have a handle on things here in the LOS I realised I know <deleted> ... wheels within wheels within wheels. Everything in this country is designed to restrict power (and I include access to education) to the elites. This includes laws that work against small foreign business, to land ownership, to agro monopolies, even to the structure of Thai script, the lot. Whilst Thaksin was doing what he did to maintain his own power base, he awoke in the rural poor an extremely dangerous thing ... a thought... a concept... that they should be masters of their own destiny. I listened to an academic talking about Thai democracy and, in all seriousness he said ... 'we give them the vote but they keep voting in the wrong person'. Unless Thailand comes to grips with it's internal factions the troubles will continue and as a guest here and an observer I hold out little hope and in the meantime LOS is just Land of Lost Opportunities.
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omniscient, interventionist God, who loves us, yet presides over the agonising death of say a child and... 'sorry, you only get one shot at this existence and you've had yours'
Yes and the whole idea is inconsistent and makes no sence. why have it so we get 70 or so years here (1 second for still borns), and the rest of eternity in heaven or hell? and why have 2000 religions each with different stories? Gods are mythological, like ghosts and vampires and Tinker Bell.
I don't get the Bodhisattva thing though. Why does a Bodhisattva eventually decide to be a buddha? why not be a Bodhisattva for eternity?
My limited understanding is that we all have the Buddha seed within.. latent if you like and when attaining Buddhahood, the Bodhisattva, through great compassion for all sentient beings will choose to take another life in order to help others achieve Buddhahood., I am thinking that the key element is .. a great compassion for the suffering of others.
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I am pretty useless re internet / computer jargon etc. So I will talk basics. I have a Samsung Galaxy S3 and 5 gig through AIS. At times it will oscillate between H H+ and sometimes, lo and behold 3G (according to the little icons). However, when set up for GSM/WCDMA (god, sounds like I know what I'm talking about but I don't) it is so unreliable that I was constantly losing internet connection. AIS said I need to change down to EDGE .. which I did and it is more stable but much slower. As for speeds, they are all over the place. I can log on to ABC news Australia and it has loaded almost as I finish typing... other times I just go and make a cup of tea whilst I'm waiting. Over the last 2 weeks I have noticed quite a drop in speed. I'm assuming not enough bandwidth and every man and his dog on their phones etc. I complained bitterly to AIS because I NEED secure and reliable internet for banking etc. But they just smile.
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I'm getting to the stage of not bothering to reply to the ill-informed crap that masquerades as comments here. Especially #2, #3, #4
Well then, what would you do if a dog that you owned, fed and kept safe, attacked you?
Pray tell, I'm all ears.
Goddam its like feeding the pigeons on this site. I have owned heaps of dogs. Against the advice of brother, mother, father we got a beautiful Dobberman bitch. Everyone said it would eat our young children, was aggressive dangerous, a killer breed, unreliable, not trustworthy etc., etc. She was the most devoted, gentle, protective, intelligent family companion. My father and I wept when she had to be put down from cancer of the jaw. The vast majority of dog owners do not have a clue about dog behaviour. They see them as playthings, accessories, status symbols, little dick compensation etc. They fail to realise they are pack animals and as such need the love of discipline and knowing their place in the 'pack'. Time and time again it has been shown that dog attacks are often precipitated by their owners' poor handling. I know "The Dog Whisperer" is a money making programme but interesting that his two most reliable dogs which he uses to help other aggressive dogs rehabilitate are .. American Pitbulls. What would I do if one of my dogs attacked me ... ? Can't happen, or shouldn't happen. Would have to look at my actions.
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What attracts me to Buddhist thought is the denial of an interventionist God. It requires us to take responsibility for our thoughts and our actions and recognises that those thoughts and actions have power and can and do affect our existence. The concept of taking on a new life seems pretty sensible. I could never reconcile the Christian belief in an omniscient, interventionist God, who loves us, yet presides over the agonising death of say a child and... 'sorry, you only get one shot at this existence and you've had yours'. Yes, yes I know, I have had discussions with learned clergy who, when pressed will say 'It is the will of God and man cannot know the mind of God we need faith'. That kind of unquestioned blind faith does not work for me, but works for millions of others. In that sense, Buddhism seems more rational in that there is a cause / effect relationship. Unfortunately, most major religious constructs have been highjacked by man to meet his own needs, Buddhism included. However, I have yet to be stopped by a Buddhist zealot on the streets of Sydney haranguing me about his faith, so that draws me to its quiet public stance. I like the Tibetan or Mahayana schools (Big Boat) because of the belief in the enlightened being (Bodhisattva) who chooses to return in order to help others. This concept would recognise not only the Buddha, but also Jesus and Mohamed as enlightened Bodhisattvas. The Thai Theravada school or (Small Boat) looks more at looking after one's own enlightenment. Is it a religion? probably.
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I have observed that Thais have no experience in modulating their anger. No doubt because in Thai culture anger is suppressed. There have been a couple of times I wanted to just deck the little prick... but I've been here long enough to know that one night, or one week, or one year later, he and his mates will get back ... just can't lose face. Good that a police complaint is being made.
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I'm getting to the stage of not bothering to reply to the ill-informed crap that masquerades as comments here. Especially #2, #3, #4
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Wake in Fright, Metropolis, Rear Window, Cinema Paridisio, Sophie's Choice, The Green Line, Pulp Fiction, One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest, Alien (Original), To Kill a Mockingbird, Apocalypse Now, Samson & Delilah (2009) directed by Warwick Thornton.
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Sweet Jesus I must be bored to read this crap.
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In answer to brewsterbudgen
What harm do they do?
Well I guess you are right inasmuch as it is a symbiotic relationship... but it strikes as me as strange that it is in the poor areas of the world where women turn to this. Would be a good thing if they had some real life options.
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Dear Dazzletoad,
What you are confusing is the legality of a sexual relationship regarding the ages of those involved and the accepted norms in society. Now don't go quoting Muslim relationships as a benchmark because in their culture it may (or may not) be deemed appropriate. In some Indian states it is also culturally appropriate to douse your new wife with kerosene and burn her if the dowry isn't high enough. My point is that in our western culture it is generally frowned upon to have this degree of age difference and it would be the same if it was an old woman with a young boy. Of course this begs the question as to why so many old guys come here ...BECAUSE THEY CAN GET AWAY WITH STUFF THAT THEY COULDN'T DO AT HOME. The word exploitation comes to mind. I can't for the life of me think of why an old man would want a relationship with a young girl. I therefore have to assume (if the reports are correct) that it was not a deep and meaningful with his significant other; rather one based on sex. If this is the case, then it may (and I stress may) be the case that she was a working girl. Should this be true then I must ask the question why would he seek out a young girl who at 17 (just) is not really mature enough to make rational and informed decisions. The great flaw in your argument is that it absolves old sex tourists and the like of taking responsibility for their actions and everything else becomes fair game.
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' Goddam ! ! ! the goong is still alive, pass me the salt and the Uzi please...' <deleted>..
I am truly sorry for the death of an innocent but ....... firstly to own one, secondly to carry it in your car, thirdly to take it to the restaurant, fourthly it was loaded.
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To freedom4life...
'Sixteen-seventeen is hardly a kiddy fiddler...but then again, you may be too old to enjoy some young loveys'.
I'm assuming your comment is made in order to get a response. But just in case you are for real, lets hope you get caught for the paedophile you seem to be. In the accident I'm not even sure it says the Thai girl was his girlfriend ... probably was but maybe not. But your comment leaves no grey area. You think it is fine for a man of 52 to be having sex with a girl who has only just turned 17. Your kind make me want to puke.
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Please no nanny state
Sorry buddy but I get really pissed off by dopey comments like yours saying...'ooh, I want to be free to do as I please'. Unfortunately with freedom comes a commensurate degree of responsibility and therein lies the problem. If everybody was truly responsible then we could have a utopian state with no need for laws. If he had crashed into me or mine and killed them, or perhaps you and yours, I guess a bit of a nanny state would be OK. What's even more ludicrous is the idea that Thailand will ever become a nanny state.
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A hint an old photographer gave me...if you can't get silica bags, use tea bags. Keep your gear out of dark dank places. I use heaps of tea bags...never had a problem. I prefer an Oolong / black tea mix myself :-)
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Ais3G And Andriod Officially Suck
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I have a Samsung Galaxy S3 and with AIS and live in Aree about 500 m from Skytrain so it's not like I'm out in the boondocks. I have had nothing but crap internet service using AIS. In the end they advised me to configure the phone for EDGE. On 3G it wanders about 3G H+ H then loses connection. Edge is more stable but slow as. I'm not a techie so any advice greatly appreciated.