What is this rumor I hear that there will be tougher requirements to get a license and even those who already have one will have to test?

What is this? Are they crazy?

Is Saudi monarch working his way through the promised 72?

...plus ca change...

...from the BBC: Abdullah bin Abdulaziz was the fifth of his brothers to take the thrown and because king in 2005, reports Caroline Hawley......

...the Pope asks his flock to stop making so many babies...but "artificial" birth control is out of the question:

(BBC)Good Roman Catholics do not need to breed like "rabbits", the Pope has said, but should practice "responsible" parenting instead.

Pope Francis spoke as he returned from the Philippines, where he met former street children abandoned by parents unable to afford to care for them.

Standing firm against artificial birth control, he said new life was "part of the sacrament of marriage".

But he said population experts advised three children per family...

'Excuse my expression'

Speaking to journalists while heading back to Rome from the Philippines on Monday, Pope Francis was asked what he would say to families who had more children than they could afford because the Church forbids artificial contraception...The Pope said he knew many ways allowed by the Catholic Church that could ensure families only had as many children as they wished.

...His Holiness did not list the birth control methods approved by his church. Here are a few suggestions:

1. Have more gay children: they may grow up to adopt unwanted children from breeding couples...
2. Use fingers instead of dicks...
3. Anal sex...
4. Oral sex...
5. Sharpen vaginal teeth...

Flying a radio-controlled drone outfitted with a camera by members of the public will be illegal once new regulations come into effect next month.
For the sake of national security and to protect privacy, the Civil Aviation Department has prepared draft regulations for approval by the ruling junta’s cabinet as soon as next month, according to Transport Minister Prajin Junthong, which will ban their unauthorized use entirely. Those wishing to use drones for sporting events, education or research will be able to apply for permits but must have specific flight plans approved, Prajin said. Otherwise drones pose too great a risk to air traffic safety and national security, he said.

Under the new rules, weight, size and fuel consumption will be fixed for drones and they will not be allowed in the air for more than an hour.
Permission to fly drones must be sought from the Ministry of Transport. Approved drone flights will be limited to a ceiling of 150 meters to avoid disrupting commercial air traffic, which mostly operates above 300 meters.The penalties for unauthorised drone-flying will be a one year in prison and a THB40,000 fine, Thai PBS reported. Meanwhile, check out our totally legal drone footage of empty streets during the Bangkok shutdown captured by the legally compliant drones of Coconuts TV.



http://bangkok.coconuts.co/2015/01/2...onal-drone-use

I am in the US, am going to come to BKK in March (mid to late) for the first time - one my own. Yesterday I had coffee with another gal who had been teaching in Surat Thani for several years; and, she mentioned to me that one way to connect with other people who speak English in BKK is through Facebook. Does anyone know of some fb pages that are especially geared toward older ladies who are in Bangkok? I enjoy cooking and sewing and reading and horticulture.

However, how might I go about making a connection with someone who I could have meet me at the airport and take me under their wing for a bit? I plan on finding my own residence once I get a job, and to book a guesthouse room or something similar for the interim.

Is there a reputable service, or school even, that does this? I am very resourceful and though this is so, it would be better to have someone to be there to provide a bit of assistance and kind company. Thank you!

---Update---

Whoops ... typo -- on my own, not "one".

Greetings from the Rocky Mountains! I am fortunate to have stumbled upon this extremely resourceful site. I just returned home from a 2 month volunteer project in Chiang Mai. An amazing experience teaching English to novice monks as well as young Thai children at an elementary school.

This past trip was my second time over to Thailand in the past year. The short time I spent teaching in Chiang Mai was truly amazing. Experiencing students eager to learn English as well as understanding WHY they want to learn it opened my eyes to something special. Before leaving Thailand I knew I would be coming back...just a matter of when.

My overall plan is to head back over to Chiang Mai in about 10-12 months and volunteer on my own at the same schools. I am hoping that once there and volunteering, I will be able to find my way into a paying position. I think networking will do well...

This is my short intro story, thanks for reading!

Shane

HI! My name is george gardner. I teach science in the USA. I have a master's degree in teaching conceptual physics. My first question is how likely am I to be hired in Thailand to teach science? My first choice is an international school. I also coach any sport. I coach all three seasons in USA. I travel to Thailand every three months. My fiance works in Salaya Nakhon Pathom. I would like to be near her. Any help greatly appreciated. Thank you.

During my recent visit to Thailand, I met many English teachers but their English's so bad. I don't have TESOL/TEFL/TESL etc etc but I have teaching experience. I wish I could find a teaching job in Thailand without having the need to produce these certificates. I am sure I can deliver much better....... Would request someone to help me find English teaching job. I would prefer in the north eastern part of Thailand..... surin would be ideal for me

Hi all

I'm new to the forum, and new to teaching in Thailand. Currently I'm teaching at a very low budget government school in Bangkok, I teach twenty four different classes one hour pr. week, from M1-M6. Their vocabulary is very low, and the level of the students vary a lot.
I don't really see any progress with the students because they don't really talk English outside my classes, not even when they have English classes with their Thai teachers.
Getting punished with the cane is daily basis for some of the worst classes, so they don't really care if i try to get them to listen because I don't get physical.
I have mentioned this on several occasions to the leader of the English department, , she just told me that I should just play games with them. Mai pen rai.
I have tried setting up class rules, I tried moving students around, moving around the classroom.
I really want to get some progress with them.
I know there's plenty of advice of there, just don't know what will work.
Any advice?

I am used to having about 23% taken out of a paycheck for withholdings here in the US. What happens in Thailand?

I want to BBQ here tonight.
What marinades are any good?
I get of Lotus across the road and am too lazy to go to TOPS.

I'm arriving in Bangkok on Jan 30th, and will be living in Chonburi to the east for one month. I started working out recently where I currently live and want to start using protein powder - but I figure it's easier to just buy it there than deal with whatever issues may crop up when trying to bring a huge tub of it into Thailand. Are there any good stores or websites I can try out?

In this thread I want us to debate whether a priori knowledge is possible. Some philosophers argue that some knowledge is a priori (fully independent from experience). In contrast, radical empiricists argue that all knowledge is a posteriori (derived from experience). Immanuel Kant made the distinction between analytic a priori knowledge and synthetic a priori knowledge. (An analytic proposition is one whose predicate concept is contained in its subject concept, such as "All bachelors are unmarried." And a synthetic proposition is one whose predicate concept is NOT contained in its subject, such as "All bachelors are happy.")

What do you think? Do you think a priori knowledge is possible or not? Why?

I think the answer depends greatly on how we define knowledge and experience.

If knowledge refers to the act of knowing, which requires a conscious being to perform the act, then I believe all knowledge depends on experience in some ways simply because the conscious being itself cannot exist without experience-gained data. In regards to the claim that a conscious being cannot exist without experience-gained data, I believe a functioning conscious being, namely a human or similar animal, is created through experiences that hard-wire it with certain instincts, beliefs, etc. Even before birth, a human baby's brain is experiencing developments as a result of experiences that happened to its mother and evolutionarily-gained traits through experiences that happen to its ancestors over time. But of course all those statements rely on the definition of experience and what is and is not experience.

Anyway, what do you think?

So two of my degrees are from Penn State. If you are an alum as well, I would love to hear how you came to be in Thailand! Thanks!

What are your wishes ?

Hello all - I am new to Ajarn and am living in the United States thinking about moving to Thailand in May 2015. To do this I will sell tons of furnishings, etc. and use the proceeds to go and get settled. Though I might put my car in storage along with a couple of boxes of things I really don't want to get rid of, it will be a completely new and permanent decision.

I some questions to which feedback would be so helpful:

1. Being a woman and 58 years old, though I am healthy and look young, is that a major challenge to getting employment?

2. My education is a BA (in Anthropology), a Masters in Agricultural Extension Education (M.Ag.) and an MBA (business marketing strategy as a focus).

3. My profession for many years has revolved around the field of Horticultural Therapy - this is a rehabilitative approach for cognitive, physical, and psychosocial problems that essentially uses the resources of gardening as a clinic.

4. My teaching experience has been most recently with young children to early teens at a private school here in the States - the children had learning disabilities. It was a part time teaching post for a year and a quarter.

5. I have also taught adults and children - though it was always in the role of being a Horticultural Therapist. I trained other prospective horticultural therapists and folks like occupational therapists, recreational therapists.

6. Teaching business topics was as a guest lecturer or an adjunct faculty member at the New York Botanical Garden for their University of Connecticut accredited horticultural therapy certificate program.

7. I have worked with... [Read More]

So -- would you work in Vietnam or Thailand? And why?

Friends in Thailand say, "Vietnam - because I can earn a decent TEFL wage" but friends in Vietnam say, "Thailand - because it's everything that Vietnam isn't."

I'm struggling with making the choice! I'd really appreciate some thoughts!

Thanks so much,
S