Xangsamhua

Xangsamhua, on 2012-05-07 11:11:51, said:

That is a sign of respect for the soldier/the man and not the army or the country he fights for.  Those that have never given thier time to thier country and served in the military may find this a little harder to understand but a serviceman/woman will understand.

Credo, on 2012-05-07 07:30:43, said:

A soldier is a soldier no matter what side he is on.  He is a son/daughter, brother or father and he feels the pain and fears just like his enemy.  He may not like you on the battlefield but he respects who you are and what you fight for.  He is just like you and wants to go home.  No soldier wants to die but they will freely give up thier lives for thier mates and country without questioning the rights or wrongs.  A soldier does not start wars they fight and die in them.  When the war is over they all go back to thier lives as butchers, accountants and your nieghbour and those that paid the ultimate deserve to go home or be with thier mates no matter how long it takes.   No soldier is ever forgotten and always respected those that lay with thier mates in the many war graves around the world are taken in by those who were once the enemy and provided with all due respect.  When the conflicts are over have a beer with your once enemy and remember he is no different to you and he didn't do anything more or less than you. Show him/her respect for what they were, a soldier.

Xangsamhua, on 2012-05-04 19:20:39, said:

I'll look out for it, there is a movie being made in Edinburgh at the moment starring the Oscar winners Colin Firth, ( The Kings Speech ) and Nicole Kidman, ( The Hours ) based upon The Railway Man by Eric Lomax.

It has just started production so I don't expect we will see it until late next year.  On paper the war ended in 1945, for people like Trumpeter Smith and Eric Lomax it never ended.

The story of Eric Lomax is well known and will soon be world famous, if you can indulge me my Uncle Trumpeter Smith was imprisoned in Kinkaseke Copper Mine in Taiwan, where he was known as the Rabbie Burns of his camp. He spent all his time singing and reciting poetry to try and keep morale up. Here are a couple of links which acknowledge his work.

http://www.cofepow.o...sia_taiwan2.htm

http://claude.torres...ownTheMine.html

http://www.fepow-day...aughing_boy.htm

There are many more, the last link is from a site called Despair Poems. That gives us an idea of what these men endured.

Trumpeter Smith was the kind of man that self educated, after the war and once he had recovered as well as he could he became an expert on the works of the real Rabbie Burns. He was much sought after for his recitals as not only did he have the knowledge he also had the correct timber to his voice.

I was the little boy that sat engrossed as he told me all about his life and war experiences, I'll never forget the first time he told me all, I went out to the car and on the way home I said to my Mum, " That was amazing hearing all those stories ", my Mum replied, " It was amazing for you son, but what about your Aunt Nancy? she hears those stories every day".

That always stuck with me. Captain Charles Barnes never got a chance to bounce his nephew on his knee and tell him a story, this is the bare and abrupt fact of the matter. We can't spend every day grieving the dead, however we can show sufficient humility when the occasion arises to understand what these men, and I include Captain Barnes, endured was extraordinary.

It was my delight to work alongside the US military as a civilian for 5 years, their hospitality was superb, and working alongside the US military was a life enriching education for me.

So inasmuch as I love a good UK v US bun fight here on TV, I recognize in the words of Rabbie Burns, we're all men together.

That Man to Man, the world o'er,
Shall brothers be for a' that.

Robert Burns,  

Back on topic.

God bless Captain Charles R. Barnes, and God rest him.

God bless the people who spend years researching and looking for the lost sons and daughters, God bless the people who tend to the graves and take the time to remember, God bless the families who live without knowing, and God bless the families that do know too.

Every country I travel too I seek out the War Memorials, I go spend time among the people that gave everything, I bow my head and I remember one thing. These men were ordinary men and women put into an extraordinary situation.

God bless my Uncle, Trumpeter Smith, who was a POW in Taiwan. He had a nervous breakdown after the war, recalling the amount of times he had to play the Last Post over the graves of his starved, beaten and tortured friends.

God bless him and the other men that formed the Burma Star organization and spent every day in life remembering those that passed and fighting for compensation for those that lived. Those men that were dropped off a ship in Southampton weighing not much more than a skeleton and told to make their own way home. Shameful.

His story was one of the untold, amongst the millions that are untold, that is the way of the world. Right now there is a movie being made about one of his compatriots Eric Lomax, telling his version of the story and aftermath.

How about we just take pride in the people that went looking for Captain Charles R. Barnes, recognize his sacrifice, and take solace in the fact that his family can now lay him to rest?

Respect for your fellow man is the foundation of civilization.

The concept of equality does not apply in the same sense as it does, say, with regard to US freedoms and rights.  In fact, in Buddhism, individuals are distinctly unequal due to their karma: gods, demigods, humans, animals, hungry ghosts, hell beings.  Each individual is responsible for their own circumstances.

The only equality in Buddhism is that each being, regardless of realm, has the Buddha-nature and is capable of achieving enlightenment.

Sometimes humans have managed to progress a little (or a lot) further than most on the path toward enlightenment and sometimes that progress is recognized by giving them higher seats, better food, etc.

For some reason I think he means becoming a PaKhao, or whatever-number-of-precepts layperson.

Whatever makes you happy, Kevin.

They sound like the "Brahmin" functionaries who set up spirit houses and perform other non-Buddhist rituals. You only need a 3-month training course to become one.

Note that the Muslim Southern Provinces had no fatal accidents. Shows what consumption of alcohol does to the statistics.

blablablabla, on 2012-04-14 11:42:31, said:

Found a good article on the relationship of funding levels to test outcomes

My conclusions (not just from this):

One common factor in successful systems is that great emphasis is on recruiting, training and retaining top teachers. Shanghai seems to be very much "teach to the test", very intensive to the point of being detrimental to students' health, while Finland is the complete opposite, no standardized testing, no rating of schools, minimum time spent in school, very late starting ages, focus on learning itself for its own sake not "outcomes".

blablablabla, on 2012-04-13 11:19:54, said:

Yes, educators in native-English countries are well aware that their school systems are failing to meet the needs of their societies. I am a bit more hopeful they can solve the problem if they put their minds to it though. . .

surayu, on 2012-04-09 13:53:53, said:

That's what she said

oggie911, on 2012-04-05 06:44:43, said:

With Thailand having over 250,000 Monks unfortunately some do fall to temptation. Please do not let isolated incidents cloud your opinion of all of us......

Para

Once again,

Here is the danger of losing your temper in Thailand.

Now this family is being intimidated. All because this man created a confrontation. It's stupidity on his part. Who, with any knowledge of Thailand, would seriously consider causing a confrontation over a bunch of balloons?

Yes the assault was over the top, but let it be a lesson to everybody.

Don't fight in Thailand, don't be aggressive in Thailand, don't look for confrontation.

You will pay a price like you cannot believe, just as this guy has done.

Was he drunk when he made that statement?  In the photo, he's bent over and supporting himself on the table edge.

If he's such a great expample of disciplinarian, why are all three of his sons such rowdy punks?

If he wants death penalties for drug dealers, then does that apply to dealers of Thailand's most harmful drug?

Will we see liquor store owners, Seagram, Chivas, and JW executives rounded up and executed?  Not likely

And while Chalerm's shenanigan hypocritical grandstanding is going on, hemp is classified as a class-5 drug in Thailand, though no one has ever been stoned on hemp (can't happen, doesn't have enough THC to stone a grasshopper).  Thai authorities need to learn the basics about drugs (opiates, pharma, alcohol, etc)  before they can realistically criminalize them.

overherebc, on 2012-03-16 13:37:29, said:

bobfish, on 2012-03-16 07:06:49, said:

Google "fasttrack Thailand" and you will find several sites that will sell you the fast track voucher for <$50.  For those wanting to use the fast track lane and can't afford the $5k biz class ticket you can still get some of the preferential ground treatment for <$50.


Ok.. I'm gonna let the secret out of the bag.... you can get a golf cart pickup from the gate and fast track immigration and then golf cart to help with bags for 1300thb.  Without the golf cart it's 700thb.  Access to the premium lounge is 800thb.  If you just need porter service to help with bags.. 200thb.

http://www.bangkokfl...hp?our_menu=pr1

Xangsamhua, on 2012-03-11 11:19:54, said:

There you go












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