JestSetter

1 hour ago, Jingthing said:

The vast majority of New Yorkers voted against him, similar speech patterns or not. The ones that know him the best know a CON MAN when they see one. 

I went to school with New Yorkers. Yeah, they tend to have an edge, but I never met a New Yorker or anyone really quite as VULGAR, VINDICTIVE, and PETTY as our president. 

To be fair, I have never seen someone roasted like he was in that famous dinner he was roasted and laughed at. But, I have a feeling this guy cannot have too many supporters as he fires everyone who disagrees with him. Like you say, he must be a vulgar entitled brat and, like all egomaniacs, he cannot stand criticism. To be fair, they --he-- can use a negative and turn into a positive (become a president). They are very resilient.

1 hour ago, atyclb said:

 

exhausted in the water at beach all day so not that analytical this week.

 

it seems trump uses an easier vocabulary thus would be understood by a wider range of people. i grew up in nyc and his style is not uncommon there. you can even hear it amongst very smart doctors and lawyers although they add scientific legal jargon to the mix.  if you judge them based on the Flesch-Kincaid scale without the scientific-legal terms they'd likely be in the trump range also.

 

james comey in an interview did say trump is above average intelligence and comey is not a friend or ally of his.

 

trumps stating he is a genius is taken with a grain of salt. it would seem he did take his dads millions and parlaid them into billion(s) but i cant say this is genius.

 

 

So, you are admitting that he uses Grade 4 level of communication. Note that you pressed me to find an unbiased source. In other words, you were sceptical. Now that you have an unbiased source, you are trying desperately to excuse the fact.That would be the only explanation --if it were true. Sadly, that is a weak supposition or an excuse to save your god. A lot of people would find his communication style hard to understand at times. Grammatical and spelling errors are also to make himself part of the crowd? Perseverance bias at work again. Are you not a little bit of an egocentric or an egomaniac yourself? Thanks for not answering those inconvenient questions. 

On 6/25/2018 at 9:00 AM, ezzra said:

Easy for everyone to hide behind the PC cloak roll their eyes to the sky and be merciful and pious like, the question that should be asked is how many more illegal migrants can the US take in before the social system collapses and true american will be left without jobs or social security care because the government and the system are overloaded taking care of millions of undocumented aliens mostly with young children? and when will it all stops? anyone with a coherent answer here or everyone is busy vilifying and demonising Trump?...

Well! Okay! Let's not talk about the illegal immigrants who are exploited --or nearly so (1)-- at the helm of those who are outraged at their transgressions. It is not as if the US does not know about exploiting people (African or not). Why would such a smart man like you forget to account for this little problem? Perseverance bias. Let's ignore all the inconvenient evidence. I cannot wait to see Americans cleaning streets and working in farms. A lot more will and for very little money, but probably more than the illegal Mexican.

Btw, if you want fewer illegals, tone down your propaganda (Hollywood) and show real houses with real people living in them (not mansions).

Btw, Trump is an egomaniacal entitled kid who got 1 million dollars when he was in his 20's from his dad. And he has the nerve to bemoan European countries for being "socialists", giving handouts. What did he get? How many times has he declare bankruptcy? Last time I checked he does not live under a bridge. What a hypocrite!

By all accounts, many countries have or are using these as a way to get richer or pay less for services.

(1) Doctors who are taxi drivers to programmers from India who don't get paid the same as the white boys.

27 minutes ago, atyclb said:

 

why doesnt barack obama, a harvard law school graduate not have result that gets above 12th grade, final high school year ???

That's a fair and a good question, but I asked some questions that you did not answer. In fairness --if it matters at all-- you should honour my wish. I did find an unbiased analysis. Right? So, you were wrong. 

So when you will honour and acknowledge me and my questions, I will answer yours and you. We call that fair play or healthy communication.

I know the answer, btw,

15 minutes ago, ELVIS123456 said:

I read your commenst and immediately thought of this cartoon below:

 

Here is some history for you.  Clinton changed the banking system and housing loan rules that started the whole thing.  There was a lot done wrong beforhand, and not a lot of good done afterwards, but it was Clinton that sowed the seeds of the Great Recession of 2007. Because he (not George W. Bush) signed two financial deregulation bills, and Clinton legalized interstate banking in 1994 and commercial/investment banking combinations in 1999.  Clinton is however culpable because on top of all that his Secretary of housing and urban development, Andrew Cuomo, (Liberal Governor of New York) accelerated easy-housing policies and inflated the housing bubble, setting the stage for its collapse. The meltdown was the consequence of a combination of the easy money and low interest rates engineered by the Federal Reserve, and the easy housing engineered by a variety of government agencies and policies. This all led to a home-buying frenzy and an explosion of subprime and other non-prime mortgages, which banks and GSEs bundled into dubious securities and peddled to investors worldwide. Hovering in the background was the knowledge that the federal government would bail out troubled “too-big-to-fail” financial corporations, including Fannie and Freddie.

 

History is a bit**** aint it.  Try learning some by reading - not from CNN ?

Sir,

You might be a nice guy who is frustrated by the system or who did well thanks to the system. If the former, I am on your side (sort of).

I did find your approach a bit counter-productive. Your objective could not have been to change my mind because you treated me like an idiot. If you have not noticed, I can read and write. And I can read and write better than your president! Admit that. Come on! I have proven it. 

But you won't. You do what is expected when confronted with someone who will challenge your thesis and criticize your "god": you start by giving (yourself) the impression that the person you are talking to is an idiot. The elite and the military do the same when confronted with an enemy (fake or not).  And you ignore any data/evidence that does not support you (and your thesis). The elite and the military do that to, especially when there is a war to fight (fake or not). We call that propaganda. Orwell wrote about that. The problem is that you are so sure of yourself that being proven wrong would be devastating. I am sure there are a few people who disagree with you and you are trying to convince yourself (and them, even) that you are right. I believe you fit the perseverance bias theory perfectly. I feel sorry for you. You are not alone. It is not your fault. Many are afflicted by this. I was once.

What is incontrovertibly true is that Trump has not done anything about Wall street and the deregulation that you are --rightfully-- bemoaning. I am not sure why you are pointing out that Clinton started it when I alluded that he was also responsible. And before Clinton? We could also talk about Nixon. No?  Ah! No! He is a good guy! And him being pardon by Ford? How convenient! And after Clinton? No one can do anything wrong? It is all black and white. Well! I am so sorry! Grey ... matters. But they do not want you to see the grey and they are very clever. They can hire with a lot of their money the best of the best minds to manipulate you to believe that you were right. It is called brainwashing. Perseverance bias does the rest.

You are supporting my thesis --in some ways-- that, namely, the whole system is rigged, has been rigged for decades and no one (especially Trump) will be able to fix it. The US military and the US elite control the mouth-pieces that they elect. (That is not a typo.) You are hopeful that Trump can change things. I wish it could be true. He is trying to bring the US multinationals back to the US, but he is trying to do so by reducing the taxes they did not pay for decades under multiple presidents. What? What about those banks that got salvaged. They do not have to pay back anything? Have they fixed the too-big-to-fail issue? Nope. The unemployment rate is below 5%, but he is trying to increase employment. Of course, much of this is fake. Many are under-employed, working two jobs to try to keep up with the Jones (of Hollywood). 5% is usually what we call in economics, structural unemployment. Not everyone can or is employed for various reasons. That is normal. Companies would rather have robots built stuff. The share holders do not care how they get rich because they are so selfishly absorbed by the lure of money, fame, and success. At the same time, they get angry at their boss cutting their wages! But the true villains and crooks are the big banks and the Feds. I am sure they all helped each other with that easy money. 

So, please, do not come back with a history lesson on why the reps are better. Both parties are crooked and are corrupt by the oligarchs, the multinationals, the banks, the military complex, and big media.

But, tell me ALSO (and please do answer my other questions), did you do well (financially) thanks to Bush? Or you did not and most of the grief you experienced was during Clinton's time?

Don't forget to answer those inconvenient questions I asked. That's the fair thing to do. If you cannot agree with one statement I made, please do not bother writing and answering back. 

And FYI, reducing me to a person that just reads CNN is one more assumption. You know what they say about people who ass u me. That's right! They make an ass of you and me!

2 hours ago, Chomper Higgot said:

You need to ‘zoom out’ a bit to get a broader view:

 

Consumer confidence has been on a steady rise since 2010 when Obama came into office.

 

You might reasonably claim Trump hasn’t trashed it (yet).

You do realize that it is Bush, not Obama, that caused the 2008 crash. Who was in power after 2008? Not saying that he was materially much better than the other mouth pieces for the multinationals and the elite that puts him there (too), but to not see that Obama brought the economy back as best as he could after years of poor policies that were put in place by the Rep./Bush. Btw,  deregulation started a long time before and many president on both sides had this policy. it really shows that the USA is not a democracy any more, but an oligarchy (oiligarchy too). So, Trump is just riding on what Obama and the the Dem. have done.

What is Trump's literacy level?

4 hours ago, atyclb said:

 

please link to recognized non biased expert that administered the test to trump

While it might be true that --occasionally-- there are biases in analyses, sadly, you will not and cannot make this claim here because the test that is used is a standard test. It is used, has been used, and will be used by millions of teachers on millions of kids in North America, at least and it is used by the military. We cannot find more objective.

Quote

The Flesch-Kincaid scale was developed in 1975 for the U.S. Navy to assess the relative difficulty of training manuals. A database of Trump’s words, compiled by the incomparable factba.se, ran the comparative analysis yesterday, in response to the president’s claim that he is “a genius.”

Quote

The analysis assessed the first 30,000 words each president spoke in office, and ranked them on the Flesch-Kincaid grade level scale and more than two dozen other common tests analyzing English-language difficulty levels. Trump clocked in around mid-fourth grade, the worst since Harry Truman, who spoke at nearly a sixth-grade level.

http://www.newsweek.com/trump-fire-and-fury-smart-genius-obama-774169

So are you going to admit that this is non-biased assessment?

Trump said he is a genius. He probably continues to state this. but, let me guess. He is going to find an excuse.Let me guess. He is just using this level to communicate at the literacy level of his voters? He is just dumbing down his communication to be better understood. How do you feel about that?

Note that Trump was and is not a little out. He was and is outrageously wrong. Egomaniacs often over-estimate their abilities. Trump says a lot of things. Many people feel he is wrong in deporting and separating kids from their parents. He says that he can win a trade war too. Could it be that he is wrong there too? He has also stated that he can pardon himself if he wants too. He was wrong there too. Google it. He cannot do no wrong and cannot say anything wrong, but he seems to do and say the wrong things. He is not a genius. He is far from being one. Is that a problem? 

The evidence seems incontrovertible that we have an egomaniacal Grade 4 kid running the USA. Are you okay with that?

Isn't that VERY dangerous?

https://www.google.co.th/search?q=trump+grade+4+reading+level&oq=trump+grade+4+reading+level&aqs=chrome..69i57.6282j0j7&sourceid=chrome&es_sm=93&ie=UTF-8

This is what a former US ambassador to Canada think what is going on.

Bloomberg BNN video

In essence, Trump believes that the G6 are contractors. Trump can push them around, squeeze them, not pay (heed to) them, and choose others.  (1) The problem is that G6 leaders (and many others including China) are not contractors and one cannot choose new ones. Trump and his ilk construe the G6 as having a "socialist" agenda. Government for the people, by the people, ... Coming from the mouth of Trump who got a 1 million dollar loan in his 20's from his dad, it is the epitome of all ironies that he should tell others that they cannot. They are not asking for 1 million dollar either. Was his dad a socialist? Why did he accept the handout? Is he a socialist? We know he is a liar. Surely, people should see this irony, unless of course, as stated, they have a perseverance bias. I know it is hard for many of us to admit that we bet on the wrong pony, but this guy is an entitled bully bordering on being a despot. For instance, I read that he strongly suggested that people not RE-elect Mark Samford, a Rep. from North-Carolina, after Samford criticized Trump for being too boastful and intolerant. How many people have been fired under Trump so far? When Harley Davidson declared that they would move to Thailand, this is what he has to say:

Quote

If they move, watch. It will be the beginning of the end. [...] They will be taxed like never before.

Maybe Trump should heed his own advise and pay back the money he did not pay his creditors.This guy cannot take criticism. He cannot see the trees or the forest. He fits the perfect description of a guy who is an egomaniac. He is never wrong and wants his way and the whole highway for himself. Have you seen The Dictator (Charlie Chaplin). Have you read about Hitler? Let's deport these people and put these kids into these camps. Let's build a wall. WOW! Communist despots did that. Fascist leaders did and do that. Do you honestly believe that the rest of the world is going to let him (and his administration) have the whole highway for himself (and the American people)? Should they? Why do some believe they can push, but no one can push back? If he can shut the borders people can shut their restaurants. Other countries can shut their borders too.

Now, it is true that many Democrats are not that much better, but surely Americans can elect better people than this. Americans are going to hurt and it will be because Trump (and his administration) pushed the rest of the world first. 

(1) Note that even though other Western nations are also unreliable in that regard, the USA has a much longer and damning record.

3 hours ago, atyclb said:

https://www.channel4.com/news/factcheck/factcheck-why-experts-are-split-over-trumps-mental-health

 

“I wrote the criteria that define this disorder, and Mr. Trump doesn’t meet them. He may be a world-class narcissist, but this doesn’t make him mentally ill.”

 

 

seems that the experts against trump also share the political agenda against him and are more than willing to label him as mentally ill. the soviets did this also to political enemies often sending them to places called metal institutions.  this is a slippery slope and dangerous for ALL sides if it works for any side.

You are quite correct to say that there could be political bias that could come into play with this. Opponents will quibble with the definition and present ONE opinion (that one is not biased, of course and that should negate all the research) that he is not mentally-ill. Definitions vary and change with time. They even do change with countries. Much of it is arbitrary and imprecise. Was Hitler a world-class narcissist or was he mentally ill? We can quibble. Many did quibble as he took the leadership. We can quibble to death, but even if one does not construe a world-class narcissist as being mentally ill, it doesn't not change the situation. Do we really want this kind of a person running a country? I believe narcissists are mentally ill because the research shows (using MRI) that the volume of grey matter in the insular region and the thickness of their cerebral cortex are reduced as empathy levels go lower. Add grade 4 reading abilities and who knows what other age-related deficits and you have a disaster waiting to happen. Add his  propensity to surround himself with people who think like him (or else they get fired) and I think we are living in dangerous times. As to the people who support this type, I cannot say what I think.

As to the link that you are making with the Russians (how trendy), let's be fair and analyse American behaviour during the McCarthy era or recent Guantanamo episodes. Let's not forget that when a president is not acting as he should, it is possible to do much worse than labelling him a being mentally ill. We can shoot him or create an extra-marital affair and do the same. We can also invent a story about weapons of mass destructions or some poisoning. And, yes, we could send him to a mental institute for doing nothing. Is separating kids from their parents nothing to worry about? Is paying off people to shut them off nothing? At the same time, I recall the night when Trump was laughed at by some comedian at some public dinner he attended and I thought that this was very cruel to act this way. We could even construe this type of treatment as being quite sadistic (public humiliation).  I even believe that was one of the elements that pushed him to run. So, yes, I do agree that extremists (narcissists, mentally ill or not) exist on both sides.

There are sociopaths in many countries and in many institutions. These people are sick. 

My wife just revealed to me that one of her relatives attempted to touch her. Her sister was also targeted. Just recently a person was checking the house of a 13 year old daughter of her sister. Seeing how the guys talk and how they act, considering the losing face culture and the patriarchy here, I have no doubt that it is an endemic problem. She also confirm there are many stories with monks and boys as well as katoys. Btw, none of the people assaulted complained or told their parents.

There are many people who have a vested interest in keeping the status quo.

As usual, everyone protects his opinion and ideology. However, to equate heckling Sanders and putting in place a policy that separates kids and their parents (thousands of people --and probably more), after the illegal immigrants were exploited by many as under-employed is ludicrous. Apples and oranges. Trump supporters gloss over this, yet this is yet another blunder. Add lies, ad hominem attacks, and who knows what else to get elected. Admitting that Trump supporters have placed their bets on the wrong horse is impossible no matter what Trump does. Only idiots never change their mind. The world is saying this president is an idiot. Experts in psychiatry and linguistics all agree, he is sick and incompetent. He has a Grade 4 vocabulary level and shows all of the signs of an egomaniac who cannot handle criticism. Check perseverance bias. This is why they are hanging on. To change their mind would be mature, but it might shatter their ego. On the other hand, it is true that the other side isn't that much better. Okay! I would not have voted for Hilary either. Senator Sanders was the best bet.

To be fair, the whole system is messed up on so many levels, it is hard to know where to start. Books could be written about this. Allow me this weak analysis.

Trump was elected partly because he is pro-religious (even though his morals are anything but) and because he does not seem to filter his thoughts, which are outrageous (which might appeal to people looking for change).  He speaks like a normal person, almost like a friend. Maybe he could be.Trump is in fact a pathological liar and an egomaniac. Egomaniacs are charming, but they have no heart. Separating kids from parents anyone? You are fired! There are many examples. The trade war is a way for the Republicans to find a common enemy, to get votes, where in fact the enemy is largely within. Even though Sanders was the smartest, the most honest and the best guy in the room, he was too smart and sounded like the other crooks as he spoke in a refined manner. So, he must be a crook. Have you checked the evidence against Trump lately? Website after website, talk show after talk show, people  are proving without a shadow of a doubt that he lies. But, then so did Bill Clinton.

So, why won't people change their mind with regards to personal decisions like choosing a party or believing in a god or the overwelming evidence against Trump? It is called perseverance bias. If one states to the world that the world is so, that he is for this or that, declaring the opposite would be seen as a weakness and affect one's credibility, in the eyes of many. That would not be a problem if one would be strong, but the cost will be high. Why do you think rumours are so powerful? It does not take much to bring someone down and many tend to believe this. Why would we be asking any advice if one has demonstrated to be wrong once? Compare to others who never state much or dodge the issue, one who is shown to change one's mind is downgraded and will be dealt that way. Every single belief that does not quite fit the group's belief will be questioned. They will start to question his or her\ ability to make decisions. It becomes an ad hominem attack on one's identity, one's ability to think (one's whole belief system). How many people on any forum admit they are wrong? Ever? Yet, we all know that only idiots never change their mind. We all know that to be true too. It is a catch-22, in other words. It is all ego based and if people do not reassess their biases and change them from time to time, there is going to be a lot of people hurt at the end, including them. Climate change anyone?

Humans need to evolve, choose leaders who are not egomaniacs! Bernie Sanders was the best candidate, bar none. How can anyone choose a person like Trump over a university professor who had a consistent and proven record? Trump's record? Only idiots never change their mind.

"Officer, I did not kill this person. This is factually incorrect. The knife killed that person and I could say the behaviour of that person towards me made the knife move and lodge itself into her heart. She looked at me the wrong way. Yes, I was holding the knife. But, she caused it to be in my hand and we all know that my hand cannot go through her body. I would ask her to be put to death for causing me harm, but she is already dead."

Egomaniacs are, according to clinical criteria, vain, exhibitionist, exploitative, authoritarian, brag about their  abilities (which they often over-estimate), are independent (don't seek advice), and feel are entitled to all kinds of privileges. They almost never ask questions and they lie. They speak a lot and demand attention in many ways, and are almost never truly interested in someone else, unless they can get something. They are charming. They love the limelight. Ask yourself. Are you one? Are some of your friends?

When they are our leaders, we live in sick times.

I got fined 1600 B.

My wife spoke about the address form with the lady at the desk in Thai on the 2nd floor at Promenada and then, unbeknownst to me, I was asked to give the money. I thought this was some kind of processing fee. I would have raised a stink, but I did not know it was fine or this new procedure. Since I had to go there for a 5 yr driver's licence renewal, I also felt that I prefer to get the dr. lic. and then try to get the money back later. 1 step backward and 5 forward. However, since I got a receipt, I think I might be wasting my time. I should add that my wife is so afraid of these people as she has been trained to submit for decades (it start in school with the teachers I believe). 

Of course, the border O. did not mention anything and has not done so for years I have done the visa runs.  I am sure it is written on one of those many boards they have there and in terrible English of course (so that people dismiss or misunderstand the instruction).

These guys are worse than the mafia. I go out of Thailand for 10 min. and I am treated like a criminal. Surely, surely, there is a better way. 

On 10/29/2017 at 11:43 PM, sikishrory said:

At the moment I have the 1 year Non O based on marriage visa.

I am thinking I should start getting my head around the extension process, so it goes smoothly.

1. Firstly I am wondering if the requirements from the original post is complete and applicable.

2. Unlike the visa, do you apply for this extension in Thailand?

3. How long does the extension last? I am assuming 1 year or multiple entries up to 3 months?

4 The trickiest part of this for me is the timing of it all due to work. From what I gathered online (correct me if i'm wrong) I should apply for it 1-2 months before expiry and it will take 3 or 4 weeks to be approved? Is this correct? I have read a few different things.

Looking forward to hearing some answers as it all seems straightforward except perhaps the timing bit.

Thanks

Read my post.

I have done visa trips before (deterred by a ad hoc company that can help process the visa extension and my wife believing every word that they said, of course). There is a new rule that make those less efficient. With the 90 mail in process, the visa runs are not worth it any more.

The new rule specifies that after you leave Thailand for that visa run, you must go to Promenada and report back (within 24 hours of your arrival, 2nd floor by Amazon cafe/Promenada (opens at 8:30 [take # and sit down ]/starts at 9) to show that you are still living in the same address than you reported before (not sure if your hotel/condo can do that for you). I hate that new rule, but I suspect they are reacting to transgressions made by some. I got fined about 1000 B. My wife spoke about that and since I am not going to do visa runs I did not bother determining what the whole process is. I think the verification (TM 30 I think) is free, btw. But it is the issue of showing up and wasting time. Of course, the border O. did not mention anything. I am sure it is written on one of those many boards they have there and in terrible English of course (so that people dismiss or misunderstand the instruction).

On 5/31/2018 at 10:02 AM, happysoul said:

Hello,

 

Bumping this thread, anybody got some updates on mariage extensions in CM ? Do you need to go at 2am as others extensions ? Still same paper requirements ?

 

Thanks for any input, cheers

I just did one, my first.

No, you do not need to. There is a quota of 15 people per day, but the queue was less than that the day I went. I do not have enough stats to know which day to pick.

There is a specific queue for that specific purpose. It is by the #3 or #4 office. I came at  around 7:15.

There are students (probably children of the immigration officers) that will triage and check your document.

There is a list now. I think this list should be pinned. The issue is that if you follow it, you will make mistakes. I am well educated and can read. When they say make 2 copies, they do not mean that. They mean make 1 stack with original forms and copies of documents and another stacks with all copies, including the forms. Please correct me if I am wrong. The guy who did it did not let me review what was in those. I remember being forced to fill/sign some forms, maybe twice. I think one must because I was forced to take a 2nd picture for the main application form. Please, report back. I suspect they want all forms to be filled by hand and signed by hand. These people are an absolute joke.So, the directions are not clear. I did mention it to the students, but I doubt they will change the form's directions.

After this (and those students are a pleasure to work with as their command of English is superior and they are patient/meticulous). I suspect they must be with the Napoleonic figures running the show. 

After about an hour or two, depending on your queue number, the "officer" (not the one with the shirt hair) will have sit you down in the office and go through the documents, stamping here and there. In my case, because I cam about 2 weeks before my visa expired, a time to come back at a specf. time was put into my passport. I suspect everyone must do that. She had to give me a free temporary extension of one month. Be careful! She made an error with the date of the next meeting. She crossed it with a rule (which looked like a stamp line) and then put the real date way above the paper, after having told us that the first date was when we had to show up. Not sure if this was uttered before she made the change or not. My wife had to ask a question that the students could not answer. The I. O. came back outside and started to berate her (I think as this was in Thai). I could see her facial and animated gestures. Not very "jaidee". My wife assumed her submissiveness and apologized. Apparently, the question was a stupid question. I assumed that because it was in the public, the I. O. felt she had failed in her duty and had lost face. These people need to go see shrinks. I would recommend people start recording these people in a covert way. 

My wife told me they would show up at our home. It has been 2 weeks and no one has, but I got a phone call asking me, my wife, and a witness to come to the airport office (at a given time).

The I. O. there sat us all down in a room that has many desk and people interviewed. I suspect this is due to the facilities being built and them being crammed into a make-shift office. He asked a few questions to the witness. She signed a form. They took a picture of all 4 (incl. the I. O.). We were done in about 30 min.

Btw, it has been 3 weeks now and no one has come by. I am told that my pension easily covers the 45 K B. requirement (which is proven to them by your consulate who will ascertain your claim using some bank papers you must show them) and this might explain that.  We live in a moobaan and rent. 

Btw, I was told by an applicant who was Thai that the 90 days reporting can be done by mail. 

31 minutes ago, hotchilli said:

Judging by Thai vendors in my local talat this morning the message hasn't got through yet...

individually wrapped items put into larger plastic bags as normal.... don't expect any change soon at the grass roots level!

You expect the whole country to change their ways in a few days. Come on! Would it happen in the West? No. Is it happening in the West? No. 

1 hour ago, Poottrong said:

I refuse plastic bags all the time and have a pile I reuse at home but we all know it has precisely zero effect on the environment. Thai people smile and say that's nice that the eccentric farang does it or his Thai wife does it but they also know that rubbish is piling up on the streets and when it's finally collected it's often dumped in unsanitary piles creating an environmental disaster in the making. They know the beaches are strewn with rubbish. They know how their fellow citizens behave. So why bother? Do you think you're setting an example that is going to shame people into action, awaken some kind of shift in consciousness? Of course not. So why would a Thai do it?

 

And all that said I still reduce and recycle plastic bags even in spite of the futility ? but I totally get why it appears illogical to Thai people

Baby steps, baby steps. It might take a while, but some are getting it.

But there is worse. They also burn those and probably let their kids do it for them!

It is all about education. What do teachers teach? What is the curriculum about?

'School directors were transferred"? To another school? Like priests transferred to another church on another continent?

Quote

The directors of 12 schools are to be transferred after an initial investigation determined that their students were being served low-quality lunches or that the schools’ lunch-budget management lacked transparency

and

Quote

Boonrak Yodphet, secretary-general of the Office of Basic Education Commission (Obec), said on Wednesday that investigators had so far visited 12 schools in the jurisdictions of 10 educational service area offices across the country.

Am I reading this incorrectly? 100% failure?

Btw, the quality of the food might be the least of our concern considering what their brain are being fed. Add the addiction to video games (not just a Thai issue) or to violent movies (not just a Thai issue as well).

Lastly, considering half of the English lexicon is largely bad food for the brain as half of it is misspelled (phonemically) and proven to delay literacy by at least 3 years in all Commonwealth countries, to cause dyslexia in a high percentage of kids who probably be okay and who struggle to learn -and delaying learning of English as a second language, the world lingua franca, preventing social mobility, and preventing student-led pedagogy, one should ask why everyone is so upset about substandard food when there are big issues to fix at home. This substandard food for the brain has been fed to the masses for 250 years and virtually no one gives a damn except a small  number of people in the past like Shaw and Carnegie and some academic today. If this was a car with half of it being faulty, it would be recalled right away. It does highlight how dysfunctional people are (selfish) and how broken other systems (electoral, political,...) are inadequate, too, in the West. But, we can blame kids, parents, teachers. Here, at least, they are removing some directors, although it is odd that this is happening one the eve of an election. What will happen to those directors though? What kind of food is really going to be given to kids? What is considered "nutritional"? The food sponsored by XYZ? That also happens in the West.

I wonder how much of that number (and increase) is (are) caused by counting those who are just transiting, passing by. I think many airplanes/travellers go through BKK en route to other destinations. 

3 hours ago, spidermike007 said:

By using normal plastic bottles over and over, they start to leach chemicals. What they are referring to is BPA, and other toxic chemicals that leach from the plastic, if the bottle sits in the sun, or has been sitting for too long, or is re-used a few times. This can easily be avoided by purchasing these bottles shown here. They are on ebay, and shipping to Thailand is either free or less than $1. The bottles are one liter, and a half liter. Only $2-3 each. Worth it. I use them daily. 

Excellent comment!

While I agree that reducing our exposure to BPA is important, I wonder how many people know that every single can of beer is lined with BPA, according to this article. Btw, I read that pouring beer the wrong way can cause some concern as well. Not sure how much these two effect one's health, but I would also be concerned by the freshness of the food that one would eat at restaurants and even at the grocery stores/market (meat/fish especially). 

But, I wonder if those bags (especially the ones that Thais put the already-made food in [those small, transparent ones] contain BPA too and whether or not that BPA leaches out in the environment as well, playing havoc with our hormonal balance and as the article mentions causing cancer and such. Are the water PVC pipes bringing the water to our tap BPA-free?