False Prophecy Leads To US$13m Loss In Tourism Revenues At Tak's Bhumibol Dam

[nurofiend]

http://visitbulgaria...phallus-amulets

September 2008

Thailand's newly appointed Culture Minister Worawat Ua-apinyakul has announced plans to promote the sale of black magic amulets, including phallus and buffalo-shaped ones, as souvenirs for tourists, media reports said Wednesday.

"We can turn local amulets with phallus symbols and buffalo statuettes into key chains and sell them to tourists," said Worawat, unveiling his bold plans for the culture ministry under his leadership. Worawat was named Minister of Culture last week.

Although the dominant religion in Thailand is Buddhism, there is a strong undercurrent of Brahmanism and black magic in local customs, such as the use of amulets that are believed to protect the wearer from harm or endow them with special powers.

Two of the most popular such amulets are the phallus-shaped Palad Khik - a prophylactic against danger, and the buffalo-shaped Kwai Tanoo - a strength enhancer.

"They are cultural products," insisted Worawat, as reported by the Daily XPress newspaper.

One is led to wonder what the situation may be regarding the Bible and the Koran and their prophicies ?

March 2006.

PM says enemies using 'black magic'

Caretaker Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, a firm believer in astrology and the supernatural, conceded yesterday that the stars have not been in his favour lately, but said his political enemies were taking it a step too far. ''They are using all kinds of means to try to destroy me, including black magic and the supernatural,'' he told a meeting of civil servants at Government House. Without naming names, Mr Thaksin said his critics were using photographs and voodoo-like dolls to cast spells.

''But don't worry, I have talismans and various Buddha amulets with me to ward off their magic,'' he said.

Mr Thaksin has denied any wrongdoing and said all his good deeds for the country would help him through, giving him ''good karma to protect [him] from evil''.

In January, respected astrologer and Senator Boonlert Pairintra predicted Mr Thaksin's downfall, saying that the planet Mercury used to favour the prime minister but has been eclipsed by the God of Darkness. Sen Boonlert said Mr Thaksin's words would now bring him more enemies than friends.A

Seems as if those in power in the past and now currently manipulating the strings like a bit of the Black Magic too.

We too have one of these magic boxes. Every morning around 6:30 am 2 pieces of toast come flying out of the top like clock work.

out of a chocolate box?

[lounger]

sorry, but sounds pretty spot on. There was massive flooding in BKK recently as a concequence of the dam not being able to hold water as we all know.

Was not exactly 31st December........ but not far off if ti was predicted 37 yrs back

Agreed. Also when the flooding was at its height the media used various devices to explain the size of the problem. The most famous one maybe was that the equivalent of a million blue whales were travelling south down the rivers. Another said an equivalent amount of water as held back by the Bhumipol Dam.

If the Dam had broken the tidal wave would have hit Bangkok never mind Trak Province...er it did!

it seems fortune tellers are only held back by the language they use.

[najman]

First of all predictions are possible but the timing may be off.

Not really a prediction then, is it?

I predict you will die.

I predict that dam will eventually break.

I predict your computer hard drive will quit.

I predict the end of the world.

All these will happen in time, won't they?

Your predictions are correct. Except for my hard drive. It's got a 400 trillion year warranty, able to withstand "world endings".

[kirk0233]

I think the persecution of the man is wrong, but the belief in ghost, prophecies, spirit houses and the power of string around a wrist is, in my view, part of the charm of the country. At times it is pleasant to be removed from the rationalism of the western world where spiritualism has long been dead and a cross around the neck is only for dress.

[maiphedmaiaroi]

Most people actually believe in religon so you can pretty much trick people into believing anything without proof.

[Payboy]

I dont read the trash papers because this is about the sort of tripe they print.

Yeah, why read all those trash papers when we can get it all here on the internet.

[Moruya]

I am of the opinion that the TAT should be sued over this. There was clearly some money to be made by tourists paying to watch a dam destruct from the comfort of a helicopter

[Fookhaht]

I think the persecution of the man is wrong, but the belief in ghost, prophecies, spirit houses and the power of string around a wrist is, in my view, part of the charm of the country. At times it is pleasant to be removed from the rationalism of the western world where spiritualism has long been dead and a cross around the neck is only for dress.

+1

[SteeleJoe]

sorry, but sounds pretty spot on. There was massive flooding in BKK recently as a concequence of the dam not being able to hold water as we all know.

Was not exactly 31st December........ but not far off if ti was predicted 37 yrs back

Are you serious?

I have no idea why people would put much stalk in such nonsense.

Please don't tell anyone about the Mayan Calendar. Heaven only knows what will happen.

Ha ha ha. Now your talking of a prophecy by someone the Thai's have not a clue about. They wouldn't give it a thought. If it's not a Thai prophecy, it's not believable. Nostradamus, never heard of him, does he live in Chiang Mai? :-)

I know loads of Thais who know about that "prophecy" and Nostradamus.

It's simply not true that only "Thai prophec(ies)" carry any weight here -- far from it.

[SteeleJoe]

First of all predictions are possible but the timing may be off. Or it could have been averted already by actions taken over the last 37 years to re-enforce the dam. Time is in a constant flux and changes all the time...

Leaving aside your own footwear-related prophectic powers, you have a huge and obvious logical fallacy at the very start of your post.

Ifdecades ago a kid made a claim about what is going to happen on December 31, 2011 then he is predicting what happens AFTER the chnages brought by time...

Or do you think he said, "If absolutely nothing happens in the next 37 years, the dam will burst on 31/122011"?

[dude007]

As we all know, in most of our homelands, the guy would just be simply dismissed as a lunatic and would not get any attention from even his friends, let alone the media and general public.

It's the gullible "customers" and the indiscriminate media that should be arrested for giving the guy a gram of credibility (hearers) and a platform (the media).

T.I.T.

In my country lunatics like this and their predictions are big news and some people take them seriously

http://en.wikipedia....imes_prediction

It all depends on the level of education. And the US does not escape from this rule.

[overhaul38]

I think they should call in the people who believed the prophesy and revoke their right to vote.

[pattaya1234]

I was planning a trip to the beach last weekend but then it rained. Nothing on the news about it, so can I sue the weather forecasters now?

Love the fact that the police may charge the father, who now reckons his son may have meant Chinese new year, or maybe it was Thai new year. Nothing like adding fuel to the fire...

Edited January 23, 2012 by metisdead
Link to another removed per forum rule.

[easybullet3]

Fortune Tellers make predictions in the streets and small shopping malls on a daily basis (all over Thailand), you can't sue or jail them for each wrong prediction they make!

this guy who's said his son predicted the Dam collapsing is no different to anyone spreading the word about the world ending in 2012!

- Will Thailand press charges against the cast and crew of the 2012 movie ?

- What about the Nicholas Cage movie: Bangkok Dangerous? Will the cast and crew of this movie get charged by Thailand for Loss of tourism because it makes Thailand seem a place where dangerous things may happen?

[ResX]

Maybe the 73-old father got his 5 years old boy wrongly. What the boy meant was by 31st Dec 2011 someone has to break that dam since it design would have become outdated and nor longer adequate to deal with floods. I think the boy got it right. We can draw the same conclusion by the 31st Dec 2011. Don't we?

We have a few major dams with their sizes compatible of even bigger than Bhumibol dam. All were built after 70's. None of the dams have any sluice gates!

Sluice gates? Flood control? They both cannot exist together within the same domain. That is why our major flood control dams don;t have ones!

[CqK]

I have no idea why people would put much stalk in such nonsense.

Please don't tell anyone about the Mayan Calendar. Heaven only knows what will happen.

Ha ha ha. Now your talking of a prophecy by someone the Thai's have not a clue about. They wouldn't give it a thought. If it's not a Thai prophecy, it's not believable. Nostradamus, never heard of him, does he live in Chiang Mai? :-)

There are Thais who know and have read Nostradamus works (translated to Thai). That being said, in Thailand we're already in the year 2555 . . .

[jacko45k]

My TGF's sister and family all left Tak and went to Korat because of this.

The prophecy was apparently substantiated by the behaviour of turtles in the lake.

They packed their belongings and moved? The turtles???

They went there for the New Year, and went home when the turtles were proven wrong!