sibeymai

If you want to bet on a Thia economy meltdown like 1997 then a USD account is a good thing. But in the short term, with continued baht appreciation and USD devaluation predicted who's gonna take the long odds ?

Wife: where is the som tam for dinner ?

Me: sorry, I forgot.

Wife: did you send my mother some money ?

Me: sorry, I forgot.

Wife: why did you come home late from the pub ? We have to visit my sister.

Me: sorry, I forgot.

Wife: farang have very bad memory.

Wife: why do you keep looking at the other women when we go out ?

Me: I have a very bad memory. If I don't look I might forget what women look like.

spend money here.....but as yet I've forgotten to leave.

Is it legal to tell the truth in Thailand ?

Bragging about settlement checks is not likely to win you many potential suitors on this forum.

I am sorry if this came off as rather brash.

A most gracious and unexpected apology indeed.

I'm sure it's just the unbridled euphoria of your new found freedom here bubbling through.

There are in Thailand, however, a percentage of males, also divorced, who have also come here to escape as you appear to have done and there will be some again amongst this group who perceive themselves to have been less than fairly treated during their divorce settlements. Mysoginists indeed you will come across. But Thailand is big enough to avoid most of them and small enough to make good friends all over.

Welcome and prosper in heart and body, mind and spirit.

Good Thais ?....all those whom I haven't met yet and therefore haven't had the chance to try and lie, cheat and swindle me.

However, as an eternal optimist I conclude I've just been unlucky so far.

Apparently Pantonthae stonewalled during his poltical science examination at Ramkamheng University. Didn't manage to answer a single question clearly.

I heard his dog ate his term paper, too.

Bragging about settlement checks is not likely to win you many potential suitors on this forum.

I accept that most if not all dark skinned people today find the word derogatory in some cases and I don't use it myself. But I am aware the word of late is used frequently amongst dark skinned people themselves without any derogatory connotation. Does this mean that classification as derogatory is itself racist or at least selective or exclusive ?

By doing the above they have taken control of the word away from the racists.

...whereby once in common use within the negro culture it will drift across into the broader vernacular, but without the derogatory connotation, having completed a full cirlce back to it's original meaning....to describe a person of dark skin colour of African ancestery.

Such is the evolving and dynamic characteristic of language.

Seizing computers which contain porn ? How many computers in Thailand ? Too bad about all those computers the authorities were going to install in schools. No more internet cafes either. Pantip will be pretty empty soon too.....although officially there is no porn there...or at least none the Interior Minister was interested in on his last visit.

Thailand will become the hub of second hand computer auctions.

I accept that most if not all dark skinned people today find the word derogatory in some cases and I don't use it myself. But I am aware the word of late is used frequently amongst dark skinned people themselves without any derogatory connotation. Does this mean that classification as derogatory is itself racist or at least selective or exclusive ?

Note that I refer to this group of people as "dark skinned". In my home country it is considered derogatory to refer to them as "black people" or "blacks", however I don't know any caucasians who object to being called "whites".

A previous wife once said in conversation to a dark skinned American "we call a spade a spade". That took some explaining.

Sorry for drifting off topic.

Everyone outside BKK can do their bit to grow trees, especially teak. It requires almost no care (at least after the first few years) and will grow anywhere in Thailand.

So many times I see all the cleared areas up country where just a handful of trees would make a big difference. If everyone with a few square metres of space planted a tree it would be a huge accomplishment. Especially in Isaan where the continuing deforestation will further reduce rainfall in the area.

On this forum I'm probably preaching to the converted....but I'll bet that for all of us living upcountry in villages and farms there are vacant areas where we could easily plant a few more trees.

Well then, Excuse me !! Just because you say a word has been "widely established" as derogatory does not mean that it is fact so. A word in itself can not be derogatory, only it's use or context can be.

For example, do you think that the first time the word "nigger" was used it was intentinally used as a derogatory term ? It may have been, but how can anyone say so without proof ?

If "negro", "coloured person" and "nigger" all describe the same thing, why is one derogatory and not the other ? Just what is the definition of derogatory...I don't mean the dictionary definition, I mean when can it be applied to a word.

Furthermore, if I was to invent a new word to describe a dark skinned person, let's say "niggar" just for the sake of discussion, would this word immediately be classified as derogatory, or would a redneck racist have to use it first before it could be so classified ?

Is the publishing of the word "nigger" in the dictionary derogatory ? No, because of the context the word appears (a reference book) however if it appeared in a glossary prepared by the KKK it would be classified as derogatory.

It's a subtle but valid point I'm making here. Words aren't derogatory, only their use in some cases is, and generally there must be an intention to be derogatory, or to insult.

As far as Thais using "farang" I'm satisfied there is generally no intention to be derogatory or insult. Ever been travelling with a group of Thais and seen an elephant ? Everyone of them will be yelling "chang, chang, chang" and pointing.

I rest my case.

Do red ones really go faster ?

Damm straight...and damm fast. In Bangkok I drive a VTEC Jazz. How about that?

That's just what I drive around Bangkok...nice yellow one with the 7 speed paddle-shift. Would love to add a turbo some day.

No accounting for good taste.

Do red ones really go faster ?

Massive import duties to pay make it simply uneconomical. Something like 80% of the Thai value of the car, not the UK value. I think if you have owned the car overseas for at least 5 years the tax declines. Few foreigners bring cars to Thailand, if at all.

Negro is not a derogitory term, nor for that matter is nigger. Both have been used to describe dark skinned people. Both words can be used in a derogitory manner, however "nigger" is likely to be used more often in a derogatory context.

Likewise, farang is not a derogitory term in itself. It depends on the context used.

5,000Bt for a full container in 2004.

Should not be any duty on personal effects if they can be shown to belong to a Thai and have been held overseas for minimum 2 years.

Seven Nights in Japan

In the romantic drama Seven Nights in Japan, Michael York plays Prince George, the fictional heir to the British throne, a British navy officer. On shore leave in Japan, he meets Somi, a Japanese tour bus guide (Hidemi Aoki), and they have a brief romance. Attempts are made on the prince's life.

Gary A, they'll still become large trees eventually, but take maybe 50% longer to grow than trees which are cared for. You'd be surprised what 5-10kg of buffalo manure twice a year will do. Water isn't a problem with trees of that age. Teak needs a dry spell to produce good quality timber.

Moving Out Today - Carol Bayer Sager

De Do Do Do De Da Da Da - The Police

Lovin' You - Minnie Ripperton...you know the one which breaks wine glasses and mirrors.

Convoy by C.W. McCall (had to be C W)

10-4 rubber duckie

Gary A, judging from what I've seen teak grows quite tall first before the trunk thickens. But 6 inches diameter after 11 years sounds like the lower end of the scale.

How much rain, if any, during the dry season ? Any fertiliser being used ? Do you know the PH of the soil ?

Golden Brown by The Stranglers.

For Canadian bands I'de have to go with my Heart.