cocopops

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There is a long and strong tradition, documented by many many recorded stories, of monks, shaman, gurus and so on deciding to die and doing that by force of will.

These stories are older and more plentiful than modern medicine. width=20 alt=wai.gif>

This happened to quite a few Tibetan masters who were jailed when the Chinese invaded and foresaw only jail and torture with no chance to teach again in that lifetime..

He told them he would lie in his coffin..he didn't tell them to close or seal it.

Meditators can sometimes become aware of their death date and method...but those who do not meditate would never believe the power of the mind.

I have many, many hours meditating and attempting various other mindfulness practices. Go down this road and you will eventually come to have life changing spiritual experiences.

However the idea that it will confer supernatural powers, such as visions illustrating the method and date(!!) of ones demise is a ridiculous superstition. The suggestion only takes away from the true beauty of what is really available.

My teacher L.P.Jaran who is an Arahant has always stated the practice of Vipassana CAN enable one to see one's time of death, see the cause of one's karma, as well as giving the wisdom to help with many of life's problems.

If you practice concentration meditation and reach the fourth jhana then some supernormal powers can be attained...one of which is the ability to see past lives.

"the wisdom (perspective?) to help with many of life's problems" is an entirely plausible outcome of mindfulness. Prescience and knowledge of past lives are not.

I'm sure he makes such statements in good faith. But extraordinary claims require extraordinary proof. The only reasonable conclusion a thinker should draw is that he is mistaken on these points.

He told them he would lie in his coffin..he didn't tell them to close or seal it.

Meditators can sometimes become aware of their death date and method...but those who do not meditate would never believe the power of the mind.

I have many, many hours meditating and attempting various other mindfulness practices. Go down this road and you will eventually come to have life changing spiritual experiences.

However the idea that it will confer supernatural powers, such as visions illustrating the method and date(!!) of ones demise is a ridiculous superstition. The suggestion only takes away from the true beauty of what is really available.

The one thing I have found very bizarre is that buying the same item/brand is often more expensive in a larger quantity than in a smaller quantity. For instance, a small jar of coffee(100g) may be 50 baht, while a 200g jar will be 125 baht. So, it is more sensible to buy two small jars than one large jars. I have also seen packages of juice in two-packs that were 'supposed' to be on special price that were more expensive that buying two single cartons. Just be careful when you shop.

That's one of the reasons Thailand has a very poor average IQ compared to Western country.

Your theory is that the price tag on 200g jars of coffee has lowered the average IQ in Thailand?

Yeah. Makes perfect sense....

Couple easy guidelines for you:

1) If there is no victim, it's unlikely to be an ethical problem. Ethics relate to human and animal well-being.

2) If something is "wrong according to religion", then it all but guarantees the speaker could think of no other reason the act might be unethical. In these cases the issue is not ethics at all, but religion attempting (as it has done throughout history) to trick you into thinking that piety is a reasonable substitute for ethical behavior. A dangerous idea indeed.

3) In the modern world, almost all ethical problems relate to lying. If nobody is lying or deceiving others, you're probably Ok as well. This is why banging someone else behind your partners back is wrong (you're lying - the victim is your partner) but an agreed upon open marriage is not (no lying and no victim).

There ya go. Morality according to St. Cocopops. Anybody wanna join my cult?

I will give the OAG the benefit of the doubt and just assume that the Boss made a substantial donation to his financial future. I will not however, assume that the OAG or any other career state official is above corruption. TIT says it all. Now I'm going to slap myself for ever thinking justice would knock on a Shin door.

It's next to impossible to believe the OAG's office is doing this because they have been payed off though. If for no other reason than because they couldn't possibly expect to get away with it at this point.

I thought advertising alcohol was now illegal.

There's a lot of public education needed with road safety. Maybe the TV channels should give up a few slots each day and remind folk of a few basics.

I read recently that a survey of students showed that very few of them knew that they must stop if people are using a zebra crossing.

Are you supposed to?

I actually don't stop on the grounds that most zebra crossings are on roads with two or more lanes in the same direction. I worry that right after the pedestrians scuttle across in front of me bowing their heads they will get taken out by a red-truck zooming past me in the next lane....

Until I have some evidence that the majority understand "don't drive past anyone stopped at a zebra crossing", I won't be stopping!

The only explanation that accounts for the NACC and OAG's office bickering in public is the obvious one - that for political reasons the NACC voted 7-0 for an unwarranted indictment and the OAG is embarrassed of it.

Occam's razor people!

"None of the witnesses presented by the prosecutor actually saw the defendants at the scene when the arson took place,"

Same same in rape case. No 4 witnesses means it did not happen.

Did Thaksin/Yingluck rob Thailand? No too.

A better analogy: The rapist is identified by the victim as a man with a knob. The authorities proceed to arrest the first person they find who meets the description. Three years later, after the moral panic has died down, a court decides a higher level of certainty is required for conviction.

Has the Bangkok Post (or any other media) posted a list of the instances of rice scheme corruption found so far? For a while they were publishing updates on the warehouse inspections every day. Is the publicly available count still just that one warehouse, a dodgy truck driver and a couple of weevil infestations?

Unfair to hold the GT200 thing against him, really. Nobody else involved has been blamed. The most prominent "scientific" backer of the plastic rods is now firmly back in favor, and one vocal military supporter has also recently assumed a rather prestigious position.

"In what dark dystopia did accepting a good dare become a crime?"

It never has. However accepting a moronically stupid one that could have hurt others has always been such.

Well, sure, but it's a question of degree. No sense in throwing the book at a teenager for being a teenager. Having numbnuts spend a weekend on floor-mopping duty at the 7-11 seems roughly right to me. The staff can video him and he can be on youtube again!

"Police seized 298,000 methamphitamine tablets in a pick-up truck and arrested two Malay Muslims in Nakhon Si Thammarat today."

Why is is it necessary to refer to the religion of the smugglers?

Why not? I wouldn't object to be being referred to as a British Christian. Why are you always so touchy about any perceived criticism of Muslims?

It's a difficult one really. You would be referred to as British but I doubt your religion would be mentioned unless it was relevant to the report. I've never heard of other farang's religion stated either. If a Thai is arrested, he's a Thai not a Thai Buddhist.

They are identifying the community from which the suspects likely come. Note also that "Malay" is an ethnic group, not a nationality, so "Malay Muslims" may also be Thai citizens. They may also be Malaysians of course.

 

 

It's not that hard to understand. Something happens in your life, you end up overstaying for a couple of weeks while you're trying to sort out a difficult situation and then you just keep putting it off - either because you are nervous about what will happen when you do leave the country or perhaps some people find it hard to come up with the funds. Weeks turn into months, months turn into years..... It's not really anything to do with intellect, although organisation skills probably have a lot to do with it.

 

Many people do very stupid things at some point in their lives and in my opinion, overstaying is hardly the worst of them. It surprises me that so many off topic posts are allowed in this particular forum. If posters don't have any helpful advice, it's better they don't post at all.

I've known dozens of people on overstay (they are not my friends, I just know them)  I would agree with the above and add that what happens, too, is that when someone goes on overstay, I think they discover that not much of anything changes.  No one swoops in and arrests them, people don't point at them when they walk down the street, kids and dogs don't run away from them -- life just goes on as normal.  Usually they're in some sort of turmoil in their lives -- medical, relationship, business problems and somehow straightening out the overstay situation just seems to take a back seat because the other problems are demanding more attention.

 

Then once the other problems are resolved, somehow the sense of urgency about the overstay can be gone.  It's hard to come up with 20,000 baht plus travel expenses.  Maybe it's difficult to find the time to make a trip.  Perhaps there's embarrassment to admit the overstay to family or friends.

 

I'm not justifying someone going on overstay.  Yes, it's a crime, a serious crime.  But this forum serves a valuable purpose in helping people in this situation to understand exactly how to correct the problem.  Part of why people don't address the issue is ignorance.  They've "gotten away" with being on overstay for so long, without any consequences, that there is fear of coming forward to fix the problem.  So it's not especially helpful to be judgmental when someone wants to right a wrong. 

 

I agree with everything you said apart from categorising it as a 'serious crime'. Whilst I'm not advising people to take it lightly and if you are unlucky you could end up spending a few days in the immigration detention centre, it is hard to see it as a serious crime when the immigration officials themselves laugh and joke with you while you are paying the overstay fine and ask when you are coming back to Thailand. And morally speaking, I think there are far worse crimes to worry about than staying in a foreign country without a valid visa.

 

Fair statement.

I guess it is serious in the sense that it is a crime that can in theory have serious consequences. But ethically speaking, of course not. If you doubt this, try to assemble a list of crimes with unambiguously less serious ethical implications than an overstay. A short list of trivialities I should imagine.

I have removed some off topic and abusive posts.

Under the new rules that go into effect on the 29th the longest you can get extensions on the same visa entry is one year.

They could be invoking the new rules early.

They were cool about extending my ED visa, first issued in 2012, at CM immigration today. I do the usual 4 hours a week studying Thai. One-on-one, not as part of a class, but I've never heard that that makes any difference.

My experience was quite different from that of the OP. The officer processing the extension was efficient and friendly, and not at all irritated when a couple of my photocopies were incorrect. The "test", if that's what it was, was just a couple of chatty questions directed at me as I was sitting down. "So, Khun XXX, you're learning Thai?", "Can you write yet?" - that sort of thing.

I don't know why I was lucky and the OP was not. Perhaps his problem was an issue with changing schools unrelated to the changes scheduled for the end of the month.

this is interesting in a good way.

A couple of questions please.

What school are you going to?

How long of an extension did they grant?

When was the last time you had to leave Thailand to get a ED visa? ie Laos etc?

Schools website is http://effectivethai.com. One year. Last time I visited an embassy was September 2012.

I don't know for sure of course, but I don't think the one year extensions will be possible after 29th August.

I have removed some off topic and abusive posts.

Under the new rules that go into effect on the 29th the longest you can get extensions on the same visa entry is one year.

They could be invoking the new rules early.

They were cool about extending my ED visa, first issued in 2012, at CM immigration today. I do the usual 4 hours a week studying Thai. One-on-one, not as part of a class, but I've never heard that that makes any difference.

My experience was quite different from that of the OP. The officer processing the extension was efficient and friendly, and not at all irritated when a couple of my photocopies were incorrect. The "test", if that's what it was, was just a couple of chatty questions directed at me as I was sitting down. "So, Khun XXX, you're learning Thai?", "Can you write yet?" - that sort of thing.

I don't know why I was lucky and the OP was not. Perhaps his problem was an issue with changing schools unrelated to the changes scheduled for the end of the month.

So (a) can you write Thai and ( did they test you on this?

I can. Although I admit my spelling leaves something to be desired. They didn't test it this time.

Last year the same officer asked me to write my own surname.

Sounds correct.

But a pretty tight schedule. What time on the 7th does your flight arrive? :)

I have removed some off topic and abusive posts.

Under the new rules that go into effect on the 29th the longest you can get extensions on the same visa entry is one year.

They could be invoking the new rules early.

They were cool about extending my ED visa, first issued in 2012, at CM immigration today. I do the usual 4 hours a week studying Thai. One-on-one, not as part of a class, but I've never heard that that makes any difference.

My experience was quite different from that of the OP. The officer processing the extension was efficient and friendly, and not at all irritated when a couple of my photocopies were incorrect. The "test", if that's what it was, was just a couple of chatty questions directed at me as I was sitting down. "So, Khun XXX, you're learning Thai?", "Can you write yet?" - that sort of thing.

I don't know why I was lucky and the OP was not. Perhaps his problem was an issue with changing schools unrelated to the changes scheduled for the end of the month.

How much would I need in the bank to draw 1000 euro a month and keep up with inflation and not let my original amount decrease.

 

I don't think any amount of money will do that these days. Nobody knows what future inflation rates will be, but I don't think they'll be lower than current deposit rates in most currencies. Almost definitely not if you have to pay any tax at all on the interest.

William Bernstein is an excellent author to read if you wish to understand the basics of investing without spending too much time on it. Search on Amazon.

Good luck with it all. Remember to keep yourself motivated and happy even though you're now a 1%er. Too many folks 'round these parts fuck that bit up and it really is a pity...
 

 

you participated willingly in a "tea money" procedure and now you want to complain? 

Yes, if you have no useful reply please go away.

 

I have been working here for 26  years and this tea money is the usual way to get things done.

 

I imagine that is true. But you can't very well turn up at the cop-shop and say "This gentleman and I had a handshake agreement to defraud the shareholders of Bangkok Bank and now he won't hold up his end of the deal!"

It would be overly optimistic to expect that conversation to end well.

Talking to the bank might be another option. But since you have (presumably) broken the law yourself as well, I'd be speaking with a lawyer first to find out exactly what my exposure was. A 6000B backhander doesn't sound that bad, but what if it's trumped up to conspiracy to embezzle the entire value of the loan. You could be in pretty deep shit at that point.

I used to use a True Inter sim for the occasional calls I made to the UK (1 Baht per minute to a UK landline) but when I upgraded the sim to True H a couple of months ago I lost the cheap international rate option. However, when I needed to make a call urgently the other day I simply dialed +44****************. A fifteen minute phone call still only cost me 27 baht. So still less than 2 baht per minute.

plus our Skype call quality is never that good on the computer

Even though Skype video calls might sometimes be unreliable I've never had a problem with making voice only calls to the UK.

I use Skype to call the US all the time and the call quality is always much better than a landline or cellphone. But it's next to unusable if I try calling Queensland, Australia. So I think your mileage can vary based on where you're calling to. Definitely worth a go though.

Sure spreads vary from country to country due to various factors, but banks seem to be on very solid footing here, especially with a 10 point spread! I looked at SCB bank also and they have pretty much the same rate. It seems the few banks here don't really try to compete and appear to almost collude to stay non competitive with each other.

They all have the same sources of funding, so you would expect their products and rates to be pretty similar as well. I don't think that indicates collusion, just the fact that they are all similar operations.

 

Bangkok was ranked the world's most visited city with nearly 16 million people travelling to the Thai capital, ahead of London and Paris
 
 
sorry but London had 28 millions visitors and Paris 26 millions ..... I wonder where they got their information .

You are properly right, but the new information in this article, is about the Ghost schools

 

I feel you're relying on a rather broad definition of the word "information" here.

The news article is indeed massively biased. It implied that Israel was not provoked into military action. Indeed they were ... with thousands of rocket attacks and tunnels of terror going directly into Israel with intentions of mass murder of Israeli civilians. Any country would be completely justified in defending against that kind of aggression.

From the embassy of Israel.

Israel comes in peace to the Muslims of Thailand:

The Ambassador of Israel H.E. Mr. Simon Roded met representatives of Thai Muslim community at the Embassy of Israel. In the meeting, the Ambassador emphasized that Israel has no dispute with Muslims as such. Israel holds high regards and respects for the Thai Muslims.

Israel is defending its citizens from indiscriminate and intentional attacks carried out by terrorist organizations from Gaza, mainly Hamas. By targeting Israeli civilians and using Palestinian civilians as human shields, Hamas is committing a double war crime.

P1010953_4 Web.jpg

http://embassies.gov.il/bangkok-en/NewsAndEvents/Pages/The-Ambassador-of-Israel-Meets-Thai-Muslim-Group.aspx

You are certainly correct that it is massively biased. However the chief bias lies in the media's refusal to indite the fact that both sides cling to religious dogmas developed thousands of years ago by people literally too ignorant to keep their food and feces separated. Dogmas that all but insist that the creator of the universe wishes the creation of ethnically and religiously pure communities at any cost. Dogmas that celebrate (!) the successful and almost successful genocides undertaken by men like Moses and Muhammad.

Attempting to deal with this as if the players were rational people is overly optimistic.

I thought that Bill Clinton didn't inhale?

I have no problem whatsoever with anyone enjoying some recreational pot. But I find very little to respect about smoking without inhaling. Is the story that he was so naive as to believe that a lungful of marijuana smoke was something to be avoided and yet so weak-willed that he was pressured into it anyway? Weird...