. NATO hasn't collapsed because Greece and Turkey are tribal historical antagonists.
And neither has it been tested, Though it was generally accepted that the weak area within the alliance was and is this historical tribal antagonism, no other dynamics within the alliance cause anything like the amount or worry for the general staff!
In respect to the English major thing, you've built it into a giant case. Bewildered reads exactly what was written. I never said I majored in English nor did I in fact major in English. I discussed what a Thai person officially said to me concerning anyone who has English Literature as a major or minor relative to a TL from the Thai MoE. You, M-R, over-read and added much of your own baggage to your reading of the particular posts on the matter (and of my posts in general).
OK, the inference I took from your post may have bee wrong, its interesting to see that it could have been cleared up at the time, but that opportunity was wasted by yourself!
M-R, in respect to this "soundproof shelter" matter, please don't use a term and then advise us to go off to read someone's writing on the matter. To do so is broadly recognized as bad form. That is, one is expected to write self-contained pieces that per se are clear and self explanatory. If you introduce a generally unknown term, please briefly define it rather than "tell" us to go find the author and the work and read about it. We can do the latter if you excite our interest in the term by your dynamic and effective use of it. Please use better form than you do.
Yes, you are correct, but then which is worse? Someone quoting a reference that can be verified by a simple piece of research, or someone giving his explanation of a topic and claiming academic backing but REFUSING to give references to said academic backing?
However, I will admit that I may have made a major error in judgment when I assumed that people such as yourself had the cognitive ability to decipher a meaning from such a simplistic phrase! SOUND a vibration in the air such that it affect the auditory mechanisms of the listener, PROOF used here as a suffix meaning that the root word cannot be affected or have a major effect, therefore soundproof would be proofed against sound, or that due to the soundproofing the user would be unaffected by sound, following so far? SHELTER a small building that gives its occupants protection against something, thus a soundproof shelter would give its occupants protection against sound, again I have to ask, ARE YOU FOLLOWING SO FAR? In future I will try and use smaller words so as not to confuse you!
Anyway a simple google on hawkwind and soundproof shelter turns up immediate hits to the band; Hawkwind, and the song; Sonic attack. Further research would then have led to the work of Michael Moorcock and the fact that he coined the phrase “soundproof shelter” within one of his shorter novellas where the premise was of the use of low frequency sound waves as a weapon.
2007 is off to a dismal start, to understate the matter. Farang teachers are in prison, more wild rules and regs affecting farang teachers are coming down from the ministries, the authorities are being inconsistent and arbitrary, the government and society are more unstable than at anytime in the past 15 years, the future is more uncertain than it has been. Thai democracy, for example, went from the outpatient clinic to a bed in a hospital ward under the previous government. Then democracy went into the ICU in critical and unstable condition.
I suppose if you look at like a half empty glass then you may see it thus! If however you look at is a half full glass then things start to gain perspective! Are there any ‘really’ new rules and regs being handed down by different players within the administration or is it perhaps that all the existing half forgotten rules and regulations have been dusted off and finally applied? Neigh not just applied, but actually brought together that may well go forward to become a definitive policy document! This should not be taken that I believe that this is a good thing and will work! I actually do believe that a definitive policy document is a great idea but I expect that, with the usual Thai aplomb for getting things wrong that this will indeed fail, mores the pity. Yes the interim period will be one of pain for all parties, but, and this is a big BUT, if it were too work then I would foresee great improvements in the pipeline for properly qualified farang teachers and indeed for the most important demographic here; the Thai student.
I reiterate, whether it is some exceptional example or not, two farang teachers are in prison for doing what their Thai school told them to do.
“Yes, I knew I was breaking the law, but I was only following orders” Now I am by no means an expert in the various legal systems worldwide, but I would hazard a guess and indeed would put money on it, that there is not a single judicial system anywhere in the world that allows the plea above as a legitimate form of defense, mitigation maybe but defense no!
The Thai and farang managers at the school are sitting comfortably at home evenings (or out whoring) while the farang rot in a Thai prison. Not much good has been occurring for farang teachers in Thailand for several months now. The worst of it is that Thai schools continue to get away with murder.
And this is a new phenomena? Surely you do not believe that in days gone by that the hi-so was treated in a similar way to the lo-so under law, surely you don’t believe that the law in this country was traditionally applied in an equal way regardless of class!
The fact is that for a very long time the law here has not been equally applied, but it can also be said that in recent times a change has been happening, not a groundswell change as of yet but a slowly moving change. Yes employees have been winning recently in the labour courts (indeed even farang employees have recently been winning) again the half/half empty thing comes into play here, and I guess it depends on the indicators you use to form your opinions, yes in the short term things are not looking good but in the long term?
Then there's the Baht vs the USD!
As an merkin I would expect the statement about the $/baht to be blamed entirely on the Baht, but a more global look at things will show that the mighty dollar is doing pretty shit against a bucketful of international currencies and its pretty obvious that the case is not as simple as that and that indeed the dollar is weaker than its been in a very long time, but yes lets blame the Thais for this and be done with it!
Topic: Should teachers avoid Thailand? (Read 4114 times)