Is My Wife Joking ?

[h90]

mate you get used to it!

I am Austrian: if Israel try to kill a Palaestine leader, but blow up the wrong house and 20 inocent people are dead and you tell: that is maybe not 100 % OK, you get called Nazi.

and when you look history, iran did never attacke anyone. Israel has a hugh list. USA is the only country which used nuclear weapons.......

But if you don't find anything thailand related the treat get closed, anything critic about USA is a hugh problem, for the mods...

slightly of track but as you mentioned bush , with reference to bushes recent speech about iran ... it went something like this ...

"well we know they are bad guys (iran) .. and they got the nukes ... and they threatened isreal, and isreal they are our buddies, so this is obviously a real threat to national security"

ok then george can you please tell me when Israel constituted part of the nation is the united states ?? alternatively maybe some of tv member can explain this rational to me

[wolf5370]

did the Thais fight against Hitler/japan?

Nope, they actually declared war on England and the USA (but the USA declaration never got through as it was held by the Thai Ambassador in the US - this saved them from the post war reparations that the UK wanted). They sided with the Japanese and the Japanese were to modernise Thailand in thanks. What actually happened was a lot of propaganda with false fronts put on mud huts and photographed to show the modernising and a lot of forced labour. To be fair, I don't think Thailand was very active in the war - it was mostly used by the Japanese as a staging area for the Burma campaign, for transportation and staging port for supplies and troops for the Pacific Islands and for POWs, from what I can gather.

The word "swastika" comes from the Sanskrit svastika - "su" meaning "good," "asti" meaning "to be," and "ka" as a suffix.

While this is true and has been talked to death five hundred lifetimes already, it is also just an avoidance of the issue. The Hindu sign was the other way around, did not usually sit on its corner and wasn't sitting in a white circle on a red background. The T-Shirts, helmets, stickers and armbands for sale in LoS as Nazi memorabilia pure and simple. If you ask any of the young adults sporting these, they will tell you "it's fashion" or "it's pretty". There is no concept of glorifying the Nazis, so its OK in my book - its the thought that counts.

I'm not surprised that most Thais don't know about Iraq. My wife does, she begs me to come home and stay almost everyday. I've been here for more than 3 years now. Most people don't know about Iraq, they have media biased opinions, not real knowledge. Ignorance for the masses is sometimes bliss. I've heard all of the arguments, I've seen most of the news and most of it is B.S. Thailand is paradise, why should they be programmed into someone else's version of what is right or wrong about Iraq.

My wife is a loving lady, extremely business savvy and very intelligent. I don't base her intelligence quotient on geographical or philosophical knowledge, I base it on her ability to communicate her thoughts and ideas.

I've met many Master Engineers that couldn't change a door knob. Intelligence only rates where it's applied. A PHD in philosophy won't help a man survive in the jungle. Education that can be applied to life, that's where true genius resides.

Excellent post Soic.

The 'Great' in Great Britain comes from the 'a lot of' use of the term. It is relating to the fact that it is a landmass including more than one country. Britannia did not include most of Scotland (Romans walled them in - er - out?) or Ireland, so Great Britain is Britannia (Anglicised to Britain) plus Scotland (not Ireland - North or South).

I agree that many Thais are not educated on international or current affairs. Its not because they are thick and, therefore, Thais should not take offence. It is merely that few are taught to be politically aware. There was a saying in Communist Russia that translated to something like "In the West, the people can do anything but know nothing, in the East [read Russia] the people know everything, but can do nothing". Put this alongside the Asian way of 'why worry about something that you can not change' and we may have our answer as to why they do not often care to educate themselves in this area.

Thai history writing is burdened by this long practiced process of rewriting the past ...

That should be "ALL history writing is burdened by this long practiced process of rewriting the past ..." just look at Japanese school books of the war. Movies like U571 bastardising real event (U110 capture by the British with Cipher Machine seizure) do not help to install real history; a lot of people believe/remember realistic fiction as fact.

remember this new Scottish student at school who was almost in tears when he told us that Thais classify Scotland as prathet Ungrit

and how many times have I heard westerners confuse Thailand with Taiwan!

Not that I am out to get any more fur flying, but I wonder how many Brits were scratching their heads pondering why Argentina had invaded some islands north of Scotland when the Falklands War broke out?

Conflict is the term historians tend to use. Too true though, I had never heard of it. I'm sure Mrs Thatcher needed to have it pointed out when she took office. By the way, there is talk that it may be starting up again - lots of requests from Buenos Aires and an Argie sub seen off the coast just last month.

Naplam bombing of Dresden

...but Napalm wasn't outlawed until 1980!!! In 1942 it was little more than Petrol and/or White Phosphorus (as an igniter - i.e. to set fire to the pertoleum gell). America also used it against Japan - before the Manhattan Project gave them a bigger match. In Vietnam it was a whole new kettle of fish - naphthenic and palmitic acids (hence its name) was the chemi-combo of choice.

anything critic about USA is a hugh problem, for the mods...

This is most likely because it always ends up as a slanging match ("mine's bigger than yours") and screws up the thread. Causes nothing but bad feeling and beside we've all heard it before a zillion times. There are two sides and never-the-twain-shall-meet.

Edited March 15, 2006 by wolf5370

[h90]

wolf good post:

Japan: I got told that Thailand changed the side at the end....

Nazis: yes the love the nazis, but they would be the first which would be in the concentration camps, but any discussion has no value......

Russia: really noone know the difference between Russia and Sovjet, but got told that someone of the royal family once married to russia but I don't know any details.

Thailand-Taiwan: Yes heard that a couple of times.

Napalm: sure yes you are right, also used in now in Iraq, but not gives the picture of the lovely respecting human life country.

USA bashing: I guess the main problem is that this is a thai related board and no matter whoever is right if the americans and the europes kill themself it is not a thailand related board anymore. So somehow I agree with the mods.....

[English Noodles]

The 'Great' in Great Britain comes from the 'a lot of' use of the term. It is relating to the fact that it is a landmass including more than one country. Britannia did not include most of Scotland (Romans walled them in - er - out?) or Ireland, so Great Britain is Britannia (Anglicised to Britain) plus Scotland (not Ireland - North or South).

Originally the island was called Britain, but the name dropped out of common use after the masses coalesced into the separate kingdoms of England and Scotland and the principality of Wales.

It was revived as part of efforts to unify the island in the 16th century. The "Great" had to be appended to distinguish the proposed kingdom from Brittany, AKA Britannia minor, lesser Britain, the French peninsula that had been settled in the fifth and sixth centuries by Celtic immigrants from the British Isles.

James I, who was also James VI of Scotland, unified the thrones of England and Scotland and had himself proclaimed king of Great Britain in 1604. The term became official with the Act of Union in 1707.

[BambinA]

The wife, 28 year old university computer graduate, living in BKK and working for a multi-national, is telling me she does not know about the war in Iraq, or the war on terror for that matter.

Is this really possible ? Often during discussion with Thais it seems many are not aware of events, current or historical, which are common knowledge amongst foreigners.

Have others experienced the same ? Is this unique amongst Thais ? What explains this lack of information ? Is it simply disinterest ? I'm at a loss to find a reason ?

well ... honestly i dont wanna bash something nor some1

its just personal , depends on people... somebody may be interested in other stuff and the other

some are ignorance..( just joker wife maybe knowa in some stuff that u never knew)

i dont wanna say some of TV wives are silly .. but its just ridiculous for me..as reckon , sometime UNiv cant help people much ..its true ..

but lemme tell you guys something

1 somebody says "Chicken Of The Sea" made from chicken

2 Taiwan is close to Turky

3do people in TH ride elephant insead car?

and etc

for the person who think that the tuna can "Chicken Of The Sea" is Jessica simpson , the 2nd is Ashlee the 3th ARE some farang

maybe its joking for you yes

its funny for me too

next time try to find smarter wife

or talk to me ..

ps.. im not a smart person , but im not idiot as somebody either

who is a more a fool ? the fool ? or the one who marries the fool ?

[h90]

BambinA: Just a short post.....

my wife thai (sorry did not knew you before) told me in austria that all her life she never saw thai people low like in austria.....

and I must tell I never saw austrians in austria like what I say in thailand....

strange it seems we both export our biggest idiots (1 year ago one of my thai wifes friends (the most smart) did not know who thaksin is, but looks all the day thai tv, because no work.....

[steve w]

The wife, 28 year old university computer graduate, living in BKK and working for a multi-national, is telling me she does not know about the war in Iraq, or the war on terror for that matter.

Is this really possible ? Often during discussion with Thais it seems many are not aware of events, current or historical, which are common knowledge amongst foreigners.

Have others experienced the same ? Is this unique amongst Thais ? What explains this lack of information ? Is it simply disinterest ? I'm at a loss to find a reason ?

well ... honestly i dont wanna bash something nor some1

its just personal , depends on people... somebody may be interested in other stuff and the other

some are ignorance..( just joker wife maybe knowa in some stuff that u never knew)

i dont wanna say some of TV wives are silly .. but its just ridiculous for me..as reckon , sometime UNiv cant help people much ..its true ..

but lemme tell you guys something

1 somebody says "Chicken Of The Sea" made from chicken

2 Taiwan is close to Turky

3do people in TH ride elephant insead car?

and etc

for the person who think that the tuna can "Chicken Of The Sea" is Jessica simpson , the 2nd is Ashlee the 3th ARE some farang

maybe its joking for you yes

its funny for me too

next time try to find smarter wife

or talk to me ..

ps.. im not a smart person , but im not idiot as somebody either

who is a more a fool ? the fool ? or the one who marries the fool ?

how many legs a chicken of the sea got?

[BambinA]

how many legs a chicken of the sea got?

ask the mermaid

opps seem she cant even talk right?

[steve w]

well i've never heard one speak ,maybe her mouth was full.

[soic]

Hi h90,

You're right about Iran never attacking anybody, although the Iraqi's swore that Iran had made artillery attacks on Iraq on 4-Sep-1980. Iraq officially attacked Iran on 22-Sep-1980.

As for the use of Napalm in Iraq, I'm afraid that you're mistaken.

I hate it when there is country bashing. There is enough fault to be found in virtually every country in the world. I know that America and Britain are easy targets, but show me any other countries that are as generous as they are, or that have been willing to risks their sons and daughters for the security of others. It's easy for most nations to slap the hand that feeds it. It's also easy to be jealous of the good fortune of others. The last time I checked, the two countries that most immigrants want to rush two are the two "evil" empires. They can't be that bad, otherwise everyone would be running from them instead of lying, cheating, stealing, swimming, jumping, hiding and sneaking to get into them.

[seonai]

How can the Mods let this go so far without stopping it? I am disgusted at the lack of control on this post. Most Thai junior students are taught nothing about geography, history (outside Thailand) art or music. Take it from somone with experience. Mods, I really have lost my faith here - getting into Nazism, Hitler etc......... PLEASE

[the gent]

The 'Great' in Great Britain comes from the 'a lot of' use of the term. It is relating to the fact that it is a landmass including more than one country. Britannia did not include most of Scotland (Romans walled them in - er - out?) or Ireland, so Great Britain is Britannia (Anglicised to Britain) plus Scotland (not Ireland - North or South).

Originally the island was called Britain, but the name dropped out of common use after the masses coalesced into the separate kingdoms of England and Scotland and the principality of Wales.

It was revived as part of efforts to unify the island in the 16th century. The "Great" had to be appended to distinguish the proposed kingdom from Brittany, AKA Britannia minor, lesser Britain, the French peninsula that had been settled in the fifth and sixth centuries by Celtic immigrants from the British Isles.

James I, who was also James VI of Scotland, unified the thrones of England and Scotland and had himself proclaimed king of Great Britain in 1604. The term became official with the Act of Union in 1707.

Google suggests otherwise.......... shall we start with the Celtic PRITANI, the greek PRETANIKE, then the latin Megale BRITTANIA. BRETEN is old english and doesn't make an appearance until 850ish AD.

By the way, nice post SOIC.

Edited March 15, 2006 by the gent

[seonai]

Is anyone going to listen to me

this topic (sorry mods) is seriously OFF topic

I read these forums because they are somewhat intelligent, please get this back on track despite the fact that there are some extremely interesting discussions going on. If I was the OP I would be very disappointed.

[the gent]

Is anyone going to listen to me

this topic (sorry mods) is seriously OFF topic

I read these forums because they are somewhat intelligent, please get this back on track despite the fact that there are some extremely interesting discussions going on. If I was the OP I would be very disappointed.

Well if you are that bothered why not say something a point on topic instead of wittering about how dismayed you are because the thread doesn't meet with your approval.

If you are very good George might make you a milk monitor.

[seonai]

Gent, I did say something on topic. I am a mother here in Thailand and am well aware of the eduction system. I cannot afford International schools. In fact even if I could I don't think I'd rate them. The OP had a point. Many Thais hav no idea about where they are in the world etc etc etc. I believe this is down to a social control type education system.

Seonai

[steve w]

5555555555

[seonai]

By the way I am Scotttish as well !!!!!!

sorry about the spelling I am watching ASTV in Sanam Luang, BKK and it's quite exciting....

[opothai]

The wife, 28 year old university computer graduate, living in BKK and working for a multi-national, is telling me she does not know about the war in Iraq, or the war on terror for that matter.

Is this really possible ?

One more thing, I think this is a fine example of why the "can't fail" system in Thai university should be changed.

we brought our now 10 year old daughter to england 7 months ago, and she is top of her class at mathematics already, the reason for this is she has enthusiasm and serious determination to learn and does everything in her power to learn more and more, when in thailand she did not have access to learn more and more only at the very slow pace of her school.

already she talks about going back to thailand to teach as the children deserve better and it is not fair that the children in thailand do not have that opportunity. [ great to be young ]

she has shown me given the opportunity how intelligent the thais can be, she now also tries to teach the wife what she learns at school and sometimes i can see the wife feeling not to good about not knowing how to solve mathematical problems, and i try to explain to wiffy that it is not her fault the schooling system in rural thailand is a disgrace.

to summise i would say from what i have seen happen it has changed my opinion of thais being a wee bit negligent on the educational front, thais are far from ignorent when given a chance to learn, any body else have children now learning in a foregn country and doing well and enjoying the experience.

[seonai]

thanks for that Opothai

[the gent]

I do not wish to get into a debate about education.

Frankly, the topic is odious since comparisons between differing countries' curricula have no value and inevitably, as exemplified by this thread, develop a distasteful undercurrent of prejudice.

There is no compelling reason why the average Thai child should waste their precious time in the school system on redundant subjects such as world geography or history and the like. What is critical is that the Thai child should be educated in a manner that meets the needs of the society in which they can earn a crust and contribute. Resources are scant and needs are pressing. Literacy and numeracy are paramount as are the sciences. The arts are a luxury ill afforded by those who patently will have no need of them at this stage of this country's development.

Knowing your Madras from your Elba is not going to be a priority. Unless of course the child migrates to the US of A, joins the military and may have need to bomb either. It seems the insularity of the americans is only overcome in times of war when their understanding of geography leaps exponentially. Gosh, you've got me at it now!!

[GuestHouse]

To my mind the issue is not one of learning and memorizing facts. It is the lack of critical thought.

As I have said above, I believe that to be a deliberate policy of the Thai education system.

A student given the tools of Critical Analysis need not be taught facts since he/she has to tools to self learn.

As Opthai rightly says, and as many here have commented - it has nothing to do with inteligence and everything to do with education methods.

As for history - Odd this should come up, because, history is perhaps the one single subject that teaches us to examin sources, examin context and interpret what has been handed down to us.

[britmaveric]

Geography has its spot in learning I'm afraid - its part of general knowledge. I think someone should have an idea on where they are in relation to other countries after all. BTW this isnt lacking just in Thailand - just look at Jade from Big Brother she clearly missed geography lessons.

[OZONE]

But ask Thais about their own history, first of all the years are often wrong and second it is a history in which Thailand never made anything wrong, they win all wars and every king was a big warhero who basically alone kicked out the Burmanese Army who was always 10 times bigger than the Thais, bla bla bla.....

Would love to get a real history book....

You've never read their history books and you're commenting on how wrong they are about their history? Why do you bother posting such stupid comments?

[Ajarn_Jonesy]

My gf and her friends all know about Iraq and they told me what they think of bush to hehehehe

This sounds like more of a Thai bashing thread, Yeah there education standards arent the best in the world, there media doesnt shove things down there throats like what we get. So what, does that mean there all stupid? (like some of you are trying to say)

I highlighted the mistakes in red. Corrections are as follows:

1st mistake: "Too" not "to"

2nd mistake: "their" not "there"

3rd mistake: "their" not "there"

4th mistake: "their" not "there"

5th mistake: "they're" not "there"

I am just having a laugh man, no harm intended. Just joking!

Their, there, they're is all the same to me, i only use there.

Are you a english teacher???

i bet you are

What the!! HAY HAY Take it easy on us teachers now....

[wolf5370]

A lot has been said on the Thai education system (perhaps not enough Seonai), I was wondering how the western (dare I say Farang) subject teachers here feel with the Thai curriculum (by subject teachers I mean, that teach a subject, not English as a foreign language and have Western teaching experience). Is it frustrating? Do you try to teach outside of the 'by rote' norm? If so, does it work? Is the 'by rote' norm a reality still today? Or is it only a reality in the sticks?

[mittheimp]

The wife, 28 year old university computer graduate, living in BKK and working for a multi-national, is telling me she does not know about the war in Iraq, or the war on terror for that matter.

Is this really possible ?

One more thing, I think this is a fine example of why the "can't fail" system in Thai university should be changed.

we brought our now 10 year old daughter to england 7 months ago, and she is top of her class at mathematics already, the reason for this is she has enthusiasm and serious determination to learn and does everything in her power to learn more and more, when in thailand she did not have access to learn more and more only at the very slow pace of her school.

already she talks about going back to thailand to teach as the children deserve better and it is not fair that the children in thailand do not have that opportunity. [ great to be young ]

she has shown me given the opportunity how intelligent the thais can be, she now also tries to teach the wife what she learns at school and sometimes i can see the wife feeling not to good about not knowing how to solve mathematical problems, and i try to explain to wiffy that it is not her fault the schooling system in rural thailand is a disgrace.

to summise i would say from what i have seen happen it has changed my opinion of thais being a wee bit negligent on the educational front, thais are far from ignorent when given a chance to learn, any body else have children now learning in a foregn country and doing well and enjoying the experience.

Two points of contention-

The Thailand education system is not a disgrace! Considering the resources at the countries disposal and the time when industrial development began to occur - Thailand can be fairly proud of its educational achievements! The literacy rate stands at 95% which compares pretty favourably with many developed nations.

Until your daughters academic success did you honestly not realise Thais could be intelligent too? Perhaps this speaks volumes about your own imperfect ethnocentric educational upbringing!

I do not wish to get into a debate about education.

Frankly, the topic is odious since comparisons between differing countries' curricula have no value and inevitably, as exemplified by this thread, develop a distasteful undercurrent of prejudice.

There is no compelling reason why the average Thai child should waste their precious time in the school system on redundant subjects such as world geography or history and the like. What is critical is that the Thai child should be educated in a manner that meets the needs of the society in which they can earn a crust and contribute. Resources are scant and needs are pressing. Literacy and numeracy are paramount as are the sciences. The arts are a luxury ill afforded by those who patently will have no need of them at this stage of this country's development.

Knowing your Madras from your Elba is not going to be a priority. Unless of course the child migrates to the US of A, joins the military and may have need to bomb either. It seems the insularity of the americans is only overcome in times of war when their understanding of geography leaps exponentially. Gosh, you've got me at it now!!

So you are denying the knowledge of art and humanities to all but the very privileged? Why stop there? Lets ban TV and music, why waste time on this nonsense when there is greater productivity to strive for? What happy world that would be!

Everyone has the right to learn about where they live, locally, nationally and globally - everyone also has the right to know about their history! Not everyone is fascinated by sciences and has the goal of being an engineer. Why should life be seen solely as a development race anyway - bet you the level of happiness and contentment (if it was possible to calculate) in Thailand is as high as any developed nation!

[GuestHouse]

everyone also has the right to know about their history!

Indeed.

Now go find out where past capitals of Thailand have been located and find out why one particular archiological study, while demonstratedly wrong remains a standard text at Thai universities and why questioning the text can land the critic in prison.

Nobody is disputing that Thailand has an excellent record on literacy. I hope nobody is claiming Thais are in anyway less inteligent than anyone else.

But to deny that the Thai educational system is manipulated is not tennable.

Take some time and look into the influence of the Thai military in the educational system.

Not just the educational system but also TV, Radio and importantly the news.

The Thai military have seats on all government bodies dealing with information and education, up to an including the board of film sensors.

[Kathe]

The wife, 28 year old university computer graduate, living in BKK and working for a multi-national, is telling me she does not know about the war in Iraq, or the war on terror for that matter.

Is this really possible ? Often during discussion with Thais it seems many are not aware of events, current or historical, which are common knowledge amongst foreigners.

Have others experienced the same ? Is this unique amongst Thais ? What explains this lack of information ? Is it simply disinterest ? I'm at a loss to find a reason ?

She must be joking if she said she didnt know about Irak War. Thai soldier ( American Citizen ) died in Irak and they put on the first page of every Thai News here. About Hitler...she might not know him, because he died so many years ago, you should asked her parents, they might (have) heard the name. But if the parents are from outskirt or from small village, that is another question.

We cant judge only one or two person you met and asked things and they didnt know ( they might know but have no interest and they cant discuss in your language ) Thai loves Sanook...sanook because life in thailand isnt sanook, more serious at home or at work place, life is hard to earn money. Better close the eyes , ears and mouth

Only if you could read thai, you would know where thai join the discuss and what a surprise, that WE are not at all out of World's interest. We discuss everything with braoded eyes and with real knowledge. Surprisingly, we have so many intellectuals too. Depending on which way...you go..to find them.

On the other side, if we ask you , have you ever heard the novels of Kuergrit Pramote ? You might asked who the he11 he is ?

But Farang loves thai because we dont know much and we dont talk much, we cant discuss much, we cant talk your language much, we have no interest of politics, we are interested only how much does gold cost , where shall be going out for eating. These might be our charm that you guys coming to visit and leave your life here...land of sanook sanarn...dont ask much...I am blond.opps..thai.

Now you have a chance to discuss with your wife or girl friend about our Politic and Taksin now.

[The Philosopher]

I ask my wife about Hitler, and she says who

Like Brit says i have found alot(not all) Thais dont care or worry what goes on outside Thailand. I wish i could be like this

Its the American disease insularism - Thai Rak Thai who cares about anything else - makes you wonder

[mittheimp]

everyone also has the right to know about their history!

Indeed.

Now go find out where past capitals of Thailand have been located and find out why one particular archiological study, while demonstratedly wrong remains a standard text at Thai universities and why questioning the text can land the critic in prison.

Nobody is disputing that Thailand has an excellent record on literacy. I hope nobody is claiming Thais are in anyway less inteligent than anyone else.

But to deny that the Thai educational system is manipulated is not tennable.

Take some time and look into the influence of the Thai military in the educational system.

Not just the educational system but also TV, Radio and importantly the news.

The Thai military have seats on all government bodies dealing with information and education, up to an including the board of film sensors.

Just read your post out to my wife who is a graduate in archaeology, she was half asleep but she had no idea what you were referring to but is very interested to find out - so please expand on that point.

I think the point you make about the Thai educational system being manipulated creates an even stronger argument for not ignoring non-science based subjects. I'm not sure the development model of China who have ignored cultural in favour of rapid industrial development is ideal. Some would argue that Thailand is already a politically apathetic and overly consumerist society - making corruption and manipulation by those in power very easy. Thus Thailand needs a socially and politically aware population - making the notion that geography/history and presumably social science subjects are pointless totally nonsensical!

Edited March 15, 2006 by mittheimp