kapasao

Could we pull this back onto topic, pls? I think there are some questions posted by people in need that aren't being answered

Other remaining questions: has anyone had contact with the American Consulate or any media outlets in the past few days?

It seems that some industrious individuals have contacted a dozen influential English language newspapers

in the region and around the world regarding this matter. As to what said publications may choose to do...

who knows?

The construction and operation of nuclear power plants requires a safety culture with no room for negotiation.

Quality in absolutely everything is elementary and essential.

Only then can it be adequately, but never absolutely, safe.

A "questioning attitude" is the basis.

At all levels people are necessary saying ….

"No, I will not do that. It is not safe."

And the boss has to accept.

In a culture where questioning is discouraged, subservience is deeply ingrained, and responsibility is, let's say, a vague concept, developing nuclear power is irresponsible.

Agree 100% ! (sorry, hit the wrong button, - instead of +)

You stupid farang worry too much! Safety no problem! We have special amulets and pujas for protection!

The failure rates are possibly comparable to those in the west. I think the difference may be that it is so easy to start a business here that it just seems to be that so many fail. I agree that there must be little market research or often even any thought given to the viability of a business here. How many coffee shops does one country need!

Judging from appearances in Thailand, apparently the answer is 'one coffee shop per capita!'

19 days to the Somali coast???? Used to 9 days from Singapore to the Suez Canal and that was on a 50,000+ ton container ship! What speed will they be doing, 10 knots??

Either way, hoping they have a good trip and a safe return.

be fair they can only row so fast and the pirates wont hear them coming even thuogh the navy told them they were on way to scare them

someone probably heard the pirates had a stash of mercedes cars

Q: What's that scraping sound?

A: Oh, that--just the bottom of the barrel.

But seriously folks, the pirates are in grave danger, standing between Thais and potential loot.

If the Thais do capture a pirated ship, the Thai admiral will immediately be on the sat-phone to his 'fence!'

I have lived in the Chiang Mai area for five years. About a year ago in Lamphun I was standing at the curb, waiting for my wife to park the car. A over sixty y.o., clean, sober, silent farang, dressed no differently from the vast majority of people here. I heard someone shout "Farang! <deleted> you!" I raised my eyes to the second story of the

overlooking building to discover that the shouter was a sixteen y.o., orange-robed member of Thailand's "venerable sangha." The building was a school run by one of the largest, most important ancient temples here.

This experience, to my mind, sums up everything one might need to know about Thai child-rearing, Thai education,

Thai "Buddhism," and the general attitude of Thais toward farangs. There are no adults in charge anywhere at any time.

I have been a Buddhist practitioner for twenty years, have lived and traveled in several majority Buddhist countries, and am certain that this could only have happened in Thailand.

"Thai people very polite! Land of Smile!"--Yeah, RiGHT!

OMG..a policeman!! I dont even dare tell my Thai g/f what i really think, she's a yellow shirt ! and i don't think Thais can really bare to hear anybody oppose their opinions. They seem to take it offensibly.

Methinks ye'd hafta be DAFT ta risk lettin' polyticks interfere wi' yer chances a "gettin' lucky!"

"Officer, experience has proven to me that you do not just represent the law, you personally ARE THE LAW, and are fully empowered to do whatever the hel_l your testosterone directs you to do at any given moment. I most humbly beseech your

imminence to be so kind as to not drop-kick or bludgeon me any more than circumstances objectively dictate.

God bless all those who, by divine appointment, are our betters! Long may we be blessed with the sublime honor of interposing our bodies between their illustrious feet and the earth which is their birthright, the same earth which our own lowly kind can but besmirch with our repugnant presence.

It is simple justice that our kind should live in squalid, miserable penury, while our masters repose in splendor, eating the best

of foods, and drinking the best when dry. Had this not been ordained by Heaven, it would not be so! To think otherwise is

perilous, heretical lunacy!

The rich deserve the pleasure, and the poor deserve the pain, forever and ever, AMEN!" (Best said while engaged in

a FULL PROSTRATION).

I would courageously draw myself up to my full height an announce assertively: "My opinion is unreservedly in agreement with whatever the goverment prefers or demands that I think! Just as is the case with sergeant Schultz, I see NOTHING! I know NOTHING!"

I read somewhere in the past that it is possible to obtain a divorce in thailand which, through some involvement

of the u.s. consulate, is recognized in the u.s. My thai wife and I were married in the u.s. while traveling there (I am

a u.s. citizen).

Anyone have knowledge of this?

Dhal is the main protean for the Indian vegetarians and the poor very cheap to make and tastes awful

This statement of vours verges tantamount to blood libel!

Dhal is what you make it, and during my six months in India

the daily dhal I ate in all kinds of restaurants was good to excellent.

I believe that everyone in the subcontinent--vege, carnivore, hindoo,

mohametan, sikh and parsi--from Assam to Afghanistan and back again loves good dhal,

and I love it as well. For me, a day without dhal is a day without sunshine.

I eat a bit of everything, but there is nothing I enjoy more than my dhal.

If circumstances demand I can be content with rice and dhal only.

Outside of the subcontinent, most "Indian" and related restaurant food is

crap.

As a famous South Asian patriot (might) have said:

"Give me good dhal or give me death!"

Ah... unabashed Western cultural superiority. I wonder how many arahants the West has given us?

My reference was very broad and general, and not specific to the West. In fact, to be precise,

I was thinking about CHINA and INDIA as great contributors to human (self-)knowledge! Sorry

for my failure to be more clear earlier.

Okay...I suppose that got the attention of a few. Just a couple of things in the past few days bothered me a bit.

Instead of a Thai Buddhist going to pray to the Hindu gods at Central World Plaza, why not just walk down the street and meditate at the lovely wat?

Being from my hometown of Palmyra, New York, I was not particularly surprised to spot two Mormon boys boarding the Skytrain this morning. And, like vampires they latched on to two young Thai men to begin the conversion attempt. How successful are they here in Thailand?

How successful are they? As far as "serious" lifetime converts are concerned, not very. Here everyone is looking for

any opportunity which will give them something. Preferably for nothing. They are hoping for a free ride. Trying to scam

the scammers, if you will. Remember that "serious" is a dirty word in Thailand. Thais have a very short attention span,

and a very limited ability to pretend to be serious about anything for very long. Mormons and the like have to take a

page from the Moonies and other who can offer lots of "sanuk," otherwise Thai interest will quickly pall in "len sassana"

(playing religion).

Theravada Buddhism is known for being "as dry as dust." This means that if you are looking "excitement" in the form

of music, pageantry, etc., you would do better to look elsewhere. The Thai version of Theravada Buddhism emphasizes

1. generously supporting"monks" who are manifestly "unworthy of the yellow robe," and

2. competion in the construction of extravagant gingerbread palaces for the same.

For all intents and purposes the preaching of Buddhadhamma by monks or the

study of dhamma by laypeople is virtually unknown.

Any person of even modest intelligence and sensitivity would, in observing

things as they are here, be susceptible to a missionary touting "morality" and "family values."

Add to this a lively social scene, and they are sold on the product.

They cannot understand that the missionary is not their friend, but a salesman

who once he gets their signature on the dotted line, plans to control every aspect

of their lives and (in the case of Mormons in particular) every moment of their

time, with absolutely endless church obligations.

There are cultures, their problems not withstanding, that give birth to

noble philosophies, religious sentiments, and numerous individuals of

world-renowned genius, and there are other cultures where people sit in the mud

[crass comment deleted], thinking "We are sooooo special!"

Okay...I suppose that got the attention of a few. Just a couple of things in the past few days bothered me a bit.

Instead of a Thai Buddhist going to pray to the Hindu gods at Central World Plaza, why not just walk down the street and meditate at the lovely wat?

Being from my hometown of Palmyra, New York, I was not particularly surprised to spot two Mormon boys boarding the Skytrain this morning. And, like vampires they latched on to two young Thai men to begin the conversion attempt. How successful are they here in Thailand?

There is a big mormon-brand franchise operating in Udon Thani. How successful are they? Moderately. They speak thai,

and keep coming back, won't leave you alone. The locals are too polite, and thus unable to pronounce the necessary

warning, to wit, "If you come here again I will throw a bucket of sh_t in your face!" And, naturally, lack the wisdom to decline

the invitation to attend a "party."

My thai gal (then girlfriend, now wife) was involved with them. After eight months of constant e-mailing, we

planned to travel around Thailand together for a month, and become better acquainted. The puying yai of local mormons

said that a chaperone was called for. My gal (forty years old, twice married before, once widowed) replied "Thanks for your

kind concern, but I DON'T THINK SO!" Subsequently much bad juju. Threats, withdrawal of chuch "privileges," "visitations."

The puying yai further said to my gals impressionable teenage daughter "He is farang and not a Mormon. Mabey

he will kill your mother!"

The trip was made as originally planned, and surprise, surprise--the woman in question returned alive and unbruised. She

was however, the most willing victim of oft-repeated molestation.

Think about it. You take a thai who has never been in a position to boss other people around, but has alway craved to do so--and offer her POWER over others, back by religious authority. Naturally she goes completely nuts. The mormons

are very much into UNQUESTIONING OBEDIENCE.

The Mormon Mafia has translated a lot of their fictionalized history into thai, but neglect to mention the deceit and bloodshed that are consistent from the beginning right up to the present day.

In the end, my gal was happy for the opportunity to relocate to a long-distant province, because it seemed like the only way

for her to escape.

People here need to be warned, and trained how to respond.

I read in the paper the other day that girls as young as 13 are selling sex for money so they can buy designer clothes. They call it "compensated dating." I'm not trying to make a distinction between two things. It does help explain why the girls are so vulnerable. The people who take advantage are demonic.

Sorry. This was in Hong Kong. Not here.

I know of this only from reading also. This started in Japan, and there is really very little sex for money involved.

It is mostly old duffers paying in entertainment and gifts for the (mostly) chaste companionship of young girls, who

string the old farts along, allowing them to fantasize, and milking them for all they can get. Mostly, the old guys hope

for a chance to act-out their jailbait fantasies, and the girls have no thought whatever of allowing that to happen (Oooooh!

GROSS!)

its been scientfiically proven that the more wealth a man has, the more chance his partner will orgasm.

so once the GDP rises we can expect the woeful 16% statistic to rise as well.

One of my numerous ex-wives used to say "Nothing else gets my juices flowing like the

rustle of LARGE DENOMINATION BILLS!"

She was very romantic--saying things like "The last time I did this stunt for a guy, I got

two hundred bucks for it."

I wish I was joking.

What are the charges...having fun without a license?

Let's get Amnesty International involved in this!

I can see the T-SHIRTS now:

"FREE THE ELIZABETH HOTEL 23!"

Peace, free love, and viagra

kapasao

With the IRS anything is possible.

If you file US Tax returns the IRS can at any point decide to audit you. The specifics of weather or not they will be accommodating to your particular location on the globe are up to the investigator and the seriousness of your case.

But how would the logistics of it work. Would they come to you, or would you have to go to them, and if you have to go to them who fits the bill for plane tickets, accommodations etc.. Surely they can't force you buy a plane ticket and put yourself up in a hotel can they? What if you cannot even afford the plane ticket etc...

I'd be interested if anyone has been audited by the US while living in Thailand?

Im not being facetious here with my comment, but if the IRS decides to Audit you, they have no compassion for your current global position. Basically and this is yet another abuse of citizens by a govt. entity, you for all practical purposes have to prove your innocence, as the burden of proof is on you.

Its in your best interest to coorporate with them if you want to remain in their good graces.

BUT if your income is controlled by you soley...like owning a foreign business etc.. and you dont care about tax leins or ever increasing fines limits...that by all means prove to yourself that the IRS IS a paper tiger.

And yet again.....it boils down to how big a fish you are.

Andon that note, heres a real big fish...enjoy

We cook brown rice only, and do it in a very basic rice cooker.

No need to pre-soak, but it does no harm either.

Remember that the determining factor for softness/chewyness in

rice cooking is the amount of water you add to the cooker.

I like it softer, so I add more water (about 2 1/2 c. water per cup

of brown rice). Experiment til it comes out the way you like it.

However much water you start with,

the cooker will boil until the water is gone.

Asians cook rice with no salt at all added, the curries having plenty

of saltiness.

Cooked brown rice in a blender with soy milk=a cheap and very

yummy cereal. Make a blender full, and it will keep in the fridge

for four days or longer.

Enjoy!

I feel very fortunate to have married an Udon Thani Prov. girl who is relatively

pick of the litter. College educated, government official (I "bar-fined" her out of

that), and raised by a relative who became a forest saint after he retired.

She has a very sweet disposition, and beyond "enough to get by", wants only

to love and be loved in return. She has no desire for showy, expensive things,

and is very frugal. I always have to make a point of giving her permission to buy

nice things for herself, then further insisting that if she wants it, it is really ok.

The only thing she ever asked for outright was a 300 bhat silver ankle bracelet.

And, as if the above weren't more than enough, she can troubleshoot most

computer problems which come up!

We moved together to the Lamphun area, and live in the countryside. A new

and neutral environment for both of us. This was by mutual agreement, since

her hometown, although not a bad place, simply did not have enough on offer.

The facts that I am buddhist, (mostly) vegetarian, do not drink or smoke, and have

a genuine interest in phra phim (amulets) seem to favorably impress people.

At sixty years of age, I feel that it is rediculous for me to fantasize that I will ever

acquire any real proficiency in thai language, since my brain has become a sieve.

But I'll keep at it.

Chok dee to all, wherever you are.