sonnyJ

I have been reading this topic with great interest as Education is I believe the answer for most of the topics discussed here..

To start with the India's 75% poorest. I still doubt that all of them know what English means. If they do it's a great achievement for the educational system over there. Considering the size of their Nation. The India's government did a recent survey in 1950's, asking the people were they happy that the British had left and India was an independent country. Many asked who are the British... As I understand English being one of the official languages for more than 60 years, not sure for how long..

What I gathered here is that education is not always about equipment, infrastructure, or about learning some foreign language like English or Mandarin. Though these things might help, skills in language won't make any Thai student to read Tolstoy or Orwell. One of my best experiences in high school was my history teacher figuring out that what are we doing in this class room? The sun is shining, let's go to the park to discuss what was going on in the world 2000 years ago. So we did.

I have to repeat that English language has nothing to do with basic education. It's simply not necessary.

Education, education, education. Encouraged by the government is simply necessary. And these Thai speaking teachers are not going to just appear miraculously from under a rock.

Did Lord Buddha Say Ghosts Don't Exist, Or (their existence) Just Wasn't Important?

Could start a whole new thread about that!

All Buddists I've met(including HH The Dalai Lama) have said that ghosts exist.

Now, I'm not sure who to believe - Bendix or HH

I believe what the Sakkhyan Buddha said was don't go worship these Hindi deities or any deities but look for your self. Sleep at the cemeteries and so on... Take your robes from the corpses etc..

I haven't ever seen one but I've felt them often. Being in Khao Lak after the tsunami you would have had to have been a robot to not feel them there, seriously. My husband had a phi am (incubus) experience of it sitting on his chest a few years ago.

edit, spelling

I felt one in khao lak as well. I'm not really sure what it was, but after sharing my experience with all the thais, they said it was a ghost for sure.

I was at Khao Lak as well after one week following the tsunami and never saw or felt any ghosts. All there were was hundreds of corpses and I was just taking them out of the bags or putting them back in the bags, putting them on selves to get frozen, then taking them out again and so on. Actually very Buddhist experience for me. Their ghosts didn't even thank me. I did have some unpleasant dreams for the next few months though.

Please don't call me a robot.

What's wrong with lady? OP didn't reveal how is the clerk supposed to know she's his wife....

I would be offended though if a nationality or race were included. Such as your Thai lady.

Or.

Yes, your half Thai, half Mexican or maybe just one eight Caucasian or is it Cherokee or both, anyway, lady is very welcomed to open an account here. Please come back again. Thank you.

I think torture is justifiable in this case. Why should you care about one life and one person when you could potentially extract information that could save lives? That's more important, a dangerous person's psychological health or the lives of many? What's more evil, to let information be concealed or to force it out of an individual and prevent the death of many?

The people interrogated weren't civilians, they were combatants. They weren't your nephew who struggles to get good grades so he can get into a good school, they're people who would kill you if they were given the chance. I acknowledge that what they're doing is torture, there is no doubt of that; it's just that I think in cases like this it's pretty justifiable. I think it's appalling that you think that torture of these individuals isn't right.

On the other hand, it's pretty weird that the CIA has prisons here of all places.

How can you know this all?

Examples please, when did torture give any useful information. As a CIA chief I would be throwing the achievements in every direction.

It's funny you mention that because that's exactly what happened in the end: a peace deal with Hirohito that allowed him to remain emperor

I don't think he had much of a choice, considering two nukes were dropped on his country first, with the threat of more! Try working out a deal with that guy before that happened...

Actually there was no need to drop the bombs.

Hirohito had already lost.

Japanese army was on full retreat.

It was a political trade-off between many innocent Japanese civilians and Korean workers lives against a lot less of allied soldiers lives. The American president chose the best option for himself.

Please review the history to see the present.

Having just arrived back from the UK, Thai soap operas c/w screaming, over-acting divas sure make a nice change from the "Celebrity Big Brother Master-Chef Come Dancing" drivel that passes for peak viewing over there...

Everyone goes by their liking. No?

Edit: Grammatical errors

Romagnino. As you said most things in the world are biased to someway. This is Thailand not The United States of North America.

I have a question though.

What percentage of Thai women do you estimate to be housewives and for how many years of their lives they can be classified as such?

Don't you need to register a marriage at her Amphuer anyway?

The Yanks coming down to Patters for R&R, tell them

This site has a brief look at each main event in the history of Siam/Muang Thai:

This link of Thailand's history gives a very rough frame. It is full of errors, inaccuracies in details and could be debated endlessly, not to speak of spelling errors. Worst history writing I have ever read.

"After the war Thailand paid a huge price for siding with the Japanese, with hefty war crimes penalties." - I don't believe anything was ever paid, for example.

Guess meadish picks up more Thai than I do but I still disagree.

It's still all about the 3 Bs. Booze, Broads and Booty as Jock used to say.

Yes the violence in the soaps bothers me as well. And sometimes art becomes life.

It isn't just the sterotypical women, though. Of course, I miss out on what the dialogue means, so I watch the action. Killing, stabbing, shouting, slapping, guns, knifes: is this typical of Buddhist teaching? Where did the Lord Buddha say this was typical Thainess?

Let's not even start this comparison. Two completely different things. That is Buddhist suttas and today's Thainess.....

I think the best way of travel would be to sedate the passengers completely on long bus/air trips. That would reduse the pain also save some space.

I also ALWAYS fly long flights on benzo/Alcohol mix. Wouldn't be able to handle 10 hurls with out a smoke otherwise. Works for me. Also keep my seat belt on. Always happy to reseirve the next meal/tea.

Aren't you people overreacting a bit here?

I understand official occasions and office. But have you got any idea of the number of tourists in Bangkok who probably don't even know of Her passing away. Life goes on as normal. I heard about this first time on 4th when I returned back home in Bangkok from a holiday at Ko Chang.

As someone said unnecessary violence. What is necessary violence?

i think if someone was trying to physically kill/harm you then im sure you could use necessary violence to stop them....or die!!!!!

Or just stop them.

As someone said unnecessary violence. What is necessary violence?

Can I remind everyone a young man is DEAD and was killed by the bullets that came out of the gun fired by the Thai policeman. That is the whole story and until something else comes up don't tell keep telling us about how he should have had your superior knowledge of Thai customs so he deserved to die

As we know, we know nothing really. I was never saying that somebody deserved to die, but we all do at some point. What I said was many tourists don't understand anything about Thai way of life.

Apologies if this has been posted already, it includes details from the injured victim :

http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2008/01/07/thai-cdn.html

Reisig, who denied being pregnant, said she arrived in Thailand several days ago to visit Del Pinto, who she said was her ex-boyfriend and good friend.

For Chloe82

Just back from a visa run?

Lets keep this remotely on topic without resorting to trolling, flaming or abuse please

I agree. We have a serious issue to discuss here. SBK I hope you don't refer trolling as revealing the truth or provoking people to discuss when there appears a disagreement. Thanks.

Well i would like that i wrong now but i am so sceptical and i think with a reason...As i already posted here very strange situations about activities of NEWBIES here and their style-one more time i will say that this is not for the first time we have a kind of sabotage by NEWBIE,trying to spread kind of panic anong the all of us...

This NEWBIE says 2 versions and one suppose to be OFFICIAL(he/she says so)...so official is that,so that NEWBIE couldn't say where he/she took it as official?????According to other postings here, about that murder(is it really?)-i see not any of us(farangs)saw the news in any media...Any...So,how come that no any media published that news?As far as we know,many murders happened and we have got that news...all of them...So what now?

I hope moderators here will chec all medias,soon as possible and let us know all about this"murder case"...

Once again-i would like i am wrong about my point of view about NEWBIES here...

Stepenwolf please move on to the 21st century. There are many conflicting news released of this by various media.

"Old western-countries saying "Don't pull a knife or gun unless you're willing to use it"

.... expats know that Thai's will do just that, but do tourists? And is it emphasised in guidebooks?"

It sounds to me like the Thai's are willing to use their guns if they pull them. They just don't know when to pull them...

Also, I am no CSI guy, but how do you shoot somebody when you are laying on the ground, and the shot goes through their face, then into their shoulder??? You are shooting up at somebody when you are on the ground, but then the bullet changes direction and comes down through their shoulder after going through the face...Or wait, the falang was probably doing a backflip attack at the time so he was completely upside down when he was shot! There we go, now it makes sense...

Ya and the cop will get away with it. I also like how the newspapers always report it simply as being a "police officer", not "an off-duty police officer".

Ever heard of the magic bullet theory?

Actually it is possible for the bullet to change direction inside the body, .38 shot very close, it's possible.

What we can be sure of is that the scene is already destroyed.

We can travel all these countries if we know how to behave.

That’s the funniest statement ever on this board.

I'm still waiting for the donations.

I would also like to know where is the gun used in this killing.

Rinrada what is your point here?

What about driving in Pakistan, Somalian free economy and the motorbikes of Viet Nam?

This is just jibberish, and please quote the source if you didn't go through all the trouble making it up.

We can travel all these countries if we know how to behave.