Coss

Diablo (2015) - A reasonable movie starring Clint's son, little Scotty Eastwood. A little light in the loafers, as they say and Scott is too pretty to pull off his father's steely eyed glint, but worth a watch. Inhuman Resources (2012) (Redd Inc) - I've seen this before. Unconventional slasher, quite good. Worth a watch.

Chinese tourist in Phuket, snake, what could go wrong? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EmYF6T4Q0Ps

This board is better than google sometimes, where is the scene in this photo, knowledgeable ones?

“Our company did not have any intention to convey discriminatory or racist messages," so why did they do it? Marketing dribbles, bastards all of them.

This really is Thainess, right or wrong, I know of no Thai female, or Lao female for that matter, who does not have whitening cream and worry about getting dark in the sun.

‘Skin Whitener’ Ad Sparks Criticism in Thailand By KATIE ROGERSJAN. 8, 2016 An online advertisement by Thai cosmetics company Seoul Secret showing Thai actress Cris Horwang, right, is displayed on a computer screen in Bangkok, Thailand. Credit Charles Dharapak/Associated Press Advertisement A Thai beauty company that sells skin-whitening products pulled a recent video advertisement after viewers were offended that the ad showed an actress in blackface and compared her unfavorably to a light-skinned woman. The ad was for Snowz, a skin-whitening pill manufactured by the company Seoul Secret. Viewers were incensed that Cris Horwang, a Thai actress, appeared in blackface. Viewers also took offense at other parts of the video, especially the slogan “You just need to be white to win,†Reuters reported. On Friday, Seoul Secret published an apology on Facebook and said that the company was pulling the video and all related advertisements. “Our company did not have any intention to convey discriminatory or racist messages,†the statement read. “What we intended to convey was that self-improvement in terms of personality, appearance, skills, and professionality is crucial.†The Asia-Pacific region is the largest market in the world for skin lighteners, and the global market for such products is projected to become a business worth $23 billion by 2020, according to a 2015 report by Global Industry Analysts, Inc., a market research firm. For years, companies have aggressively marketed whiteness as the de facto beauty standard in Asian cultures. Words like “radiance†and “perfect†have been used by Olay and L’Oréal to sell to Asian markets. Ads for products including supplements, drinks and creams can come with blunt and even invasive messaging: A 2012 ad promised that a product would make women’s intimate areas “bright and translucent.†But Thai companies in particular have been criticized for ridiculing woman and young girls who have dark skin. In Thai culture, dark skin is associated with farmers, a lower-status group of people who have been darkened by the sun. White skin signifies a higher class and beauty standard. The craze for a lighter complexion has caused women to resort to unregulated and illegal products that promise a brighter tone but damage their skin. In recent years, Thai advertisements have been criticized for being overtly racist. In 2013, the Thai company Vernena was accused of mocking people of African descent for an ad that featured a woman who used a berry drink to change her appearance from dark- to light-skinned. The ad showed an evolution from her old self compared with the African appearance and accent of a man who appears to be her father. That same year, Citra Thailand, a subsidiary of Unilever, apologized after it offered “scholarship†cash prizes to college students who used a product to lighten their skin, according to The Chiang Rai Times, a Thai newspaper. In the past, the company had published ads that showed a young girl finding acceptance after using a whitening lotion. On Friday, people on social media continued to debate Seoul Secrets’ apology for its contribution to marketing misstep history. “Don’t buy,†wrote one critic. “Such a lame excuse.†Others were not convinced the company had done anything wrong. “I do not see a problem with your video,†another person wrote. “If people do not like skin whitening, just don’t do it.†http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/09/world/asia/skin-whiteners-and-their-ads-spark-criticism-in-asia.html?_r=0

Chularat Saengpassa The Nation January 11, 2016 1:00 am http://www.nationmultimedia.com/national/Thailand-takes-new-tack-on-education-30276568.html Professors favour collaborative approach focused on student learning DESPITE all the discussion during the past two decades about how to implement reforms, there has hardly been any tangible success for Thailand's education sector. However, since Japanese professor Manabu Sato recently presented his ideas about 21st-century school reform, many educators here in Thailand believe there is finally some light at the end of the tunnel if the concepts can actually be turned into education trends. "His ideas are clearly practical," said Nipaporn Kunlasomboon, an education specialist at Pico (Thailand), a listed company. She said her company had been distributing Sato's concepts to Thai teachers for quite a while already, and many who read them had come together to implement the ideas at various schools in Rayong province. A professor emeritus at the University of Tokyo and director of the Humanities and Social Sciences Division of the Japan Council of Sciences, Sato has published more than 20 books and nearly 200 academic papers. Many of his works have been translated into English, French, German, Spanish, Chinese, Taiwanese, Korean and Indonesian. Moreover, he was an Excellence Award winner in the "Asian Publishing Awards" in 2012. Sato, who now works at Japan's Gakushuin University, recently made a working trip to Thailand, during which he joined an education forum at Chulalongkorn University and presented his ideas directly to many interested people. "You have to create a joyful classroom landscape and understand that children will learn better when they do it with peers, as opposed to learning alone," he said. The Japanese expert said school reform should comprise three main parts: revamped curriculum, revamped teaching style and improved teachers. The first of these requires a programme-oriented curriculum that specifies a list of steps for students to follow and prescribes project-orientated learning, so that students can learn and find answers on their own. The second part calls for a new teaching style, which focuses on learner-centred teaching and collaboration among students. To Sato, students should not study in an isolated learning mode. The last part centres on teachers, who must be encouraged to adopt a new attitude: that their profession is not about teaching, but rather about learning. Sato recommends four-member group work in class, describing it as "the secret to learning success". He explained to the forum that such work allowed children to learn better with their friends, as it facilitated collaborative learning. During the past two decades, Sato has also promoted the concept of "School as Learning Community" (SLC). The SLC concept entails the integration of three components: vision, philosophy and activity systems. Built on the basis of "listening relationship" and "listening to the other's voice", SLC prides itself as the first step of learning, as listening leads to real conversation and communication between students, he said. Kraiyos Patrawart, an education finance and policy specialist at the Quality Learning Foundation, said Thailand used to hope that the National Education Act of 1999 would improve the quality of the country's education significantly. "But after 15 years, it's clear that even with this law, Thailand has yet to fulfil its education goals," he said. He pointed out that Thai students' performance in the Programme for International Student Assessment had been poorer than that of their peers in Vietnam. Moreover, in English proficiency, Thais were found to be almost the worst within Asean, he said. Lack of continuity Kraiyos blamed discontinuity in the country's education policies for such problems, pointing to the fact that since Act came into effect, Thailand had seen 20 education ministers. Each of them, as a result, has had just nine months at the helm of the Education Ministry, on average. "It will take three months for a new education minister to learn about the duties and work of his or her job. That means each education minister will have just six months to implement new policies useful to the country's educational sector. "This is because as soon as a new education minister is appointed, they will be interested in their own initiatives - not the ones introduced by their predecessors," Kraiyos said. With 2016 just starting, Kraiyos |said he hoped new trends would take over from the old culture, so that the country's education sector could enjoy and benefit from new, improved changes. He recommended four things: continuity in education policies; decentralisation; the engagement of non-education players in the provision of education services; and independence for education planners/assessors. Education Minister General Dapong Ratanasuwan said that for the coming year, he planned to ensure that his ministry analysed educational problems in detail and came up with a holistic approach to tackling them. Asst Prof Athapol Anuntha-vorasakul, from Chulalongkorn University's Faculty of Education, said the education trend must involve participation in education management from all walks of life, including local administrative bodies, community wise men and women, local residents, schools, school administrators and teachers - for the creation of a learning society. 'Learning classroom' Good education management must emphasise the quality of students, hence schools, administrators and teachers must create a "learning classroom" and design teaching and learning activities suitable for fulfilling children's potential, and for building a sense |community and local identity, Athapol suggested. Schools must be given more importance and authority, while curricula should be developed to promote democratic citizens' potential and a sense of localisation, he said. "Changes in education shouldn't be implemented hastily, as they require clear planning and continuous |execution. Having many policies is good, as long as they can be implemented successfully and continuously, despite changes of government," he stressed. The direction of Thai education development must consider both school and teacher assessment based on students' quality - not based on teachers' academic papers - while education policies should come from society, and not from politicians, he added. ---

I think the comparison to Thainess is partly appropriate, but maybe the dickhead in this incident was an unimportant DJ and unable to make the car owner disappear. But if the dickhead was a Government official or related to the right people, this incident would go away and the victim would be pressured to keep quiet. That would definitely be Thainess. If the son of a Prime Minister or Army General in Australia or NZ did such a thing, he and his family would be exposed to the fullness of the law and public ridicule. This would never happen in Thailand.

"Satire and parody are important forms of political commentary that rely on blurring the line between truth and outrageousness to attack, scorn and ridicule public figures." - See more at: http://www.rcfp.org/browse-media-law-resources/digital-journalists-legal-guide/protection-satire-and-parody#sthash.sB6ByLBw.dpuf

Dear PTBM, see if this make sense. You post that your boss was tasked with defeating the possibility that radio controlled devices like model airplanes and others could be used to attack people. "Back in the 80's my old boss was tasked to develop a system against radio control planes being used against head of state." Flash posts a video of a Gyrocopter, which as we all know and you note, is not radio controlled and theretofore able to attack people despite any radio controlled jamming or other measures. You query the fact that it's not radio controlled. "Thats the man in a gyro isnt it? Not a remote control device?" I say that that's the point, that Flash was demonstrating that a gyro would get around such radio controlled jamming or other measures. "I think that's the point, he'd get through a field of radio jamming, designed to incapacitate radio controlled devices." Sorry if I've contributed to your confusion. As to the knob woman, you insult me sir, pistols at dawn!

Apologies to http://www.khaosoden...wsid=1452340518 The following is Satirical: Briton Dies in Hotel Pool on Koh Tao; Police Rule Out Murder Tourists board a ferry bound for Koh Tao from a pier in Surat Thani mainland on Dec. 30, 2015. KOH TAO — A 26-year-old British man was found dead Friday morning in a hotel swimming pool on Tao island, police say. According to Police Lt Col Napha Senathip, an investigative officer at Koh Tao Police Station, the Briton died after taking a plunge into the swimming pool at Sunset Resort. Police believe murder was not involved, Napha said, also no Thai was involved. “He must have climbed to the roof of a (nearby) DJ booth, jumped off, and his head hit the floor of the 12 foot deep swimming pool, killing him,†Napha said. He identified the deceased as a 26-year-old tourist from the United Kingdom. Police Lt Col Chokechai Sutthimek, chief of Koh Tao Police Station, said the deceased was found in the swimming pool by a cleaning staff from Myanmar on Friday morning. No Thais had arrived at the resort until midday. Police also found small wounds on his face and a puncture wound to his lungs that they believe were caused by barbed wire around the DJ booth as he climbed to the roof, said Napha, the investigative officer. CCTV footage seen by police suggests that he may have been "heavily drunk" in moments prior to his death, according to Napha, when asked for a copy of the CCTV footage, he said it may have been overwritten as the hotel only had one video cassette. However, station chief Chokechai said he's not sure whether the tourist was indeed intoxicated. "That is why we sent him for an autopsy in Surat Thani (province), to find out what really happened," Chokechai said. "This death could have been suicide" he added. Koh Tao, a popular tourist destination in southern Thailand, is also where two British backpackers were murdered in September 2014, a case that attracted widespread media attention. Two Burmese migrant workers were found guilty of the murders last month and sentenced to death. However, Napha stressed there is no sign of murder or Thai involvement in the latest tourist fatality on the island. “We found no sign of murder of struggles on his body and no one from the Island was around at the time,†Napha said, referring to the 26-year-old Briton who died in the swimming pool. Nevertheless, investigation is ongoing, and more CCTV footage is being inspected, Napha told Khaosod English. The tourist’s body is now awaiting autopsy at Surat Thani Hospital, and the British Embassy in Bangkok has been informed, the officer said. Chokechai, the chief of Koh Tao Police Station, also repeated that police suspect no foul play. According to Chokechai, the small island saw large number of tourists' drowning per year, the numbers were perplexing, but nothing can be done if foreigners die accidentally. "If it's really murder, it would have been a huge issue for us. All the police commanders would be coming to the island already. We are sure that it is not murder," chief Chokechai said. "Since the previous murders of the two backpackers in 2014, we have an understanding that there will be no more murders on Koh Tao. The British Embassy released the following statement: “We are providing assistance to the family of a British national who has died in Koh Tao, Thailand. We will remain in contact with local authorities who are investigating.†When contacted by Khaosod English today the Embassy declined to give further details and simply re-confirmed the contents of the statement above. The Isle of Wight County Press, a regional British newspaper based on the Isle of Wight, an island in Southern England, believes that the deceased may be from that county in Britain.

" a Thai will let the lot walk out without paying unless a stick of sorts is used." A friend of mine a long time ago, told me that as a Seaman, in Japanese ports, he'd just take stuff out of shops and the Japanese were too polite to say anything. This was in the '60s though.

It won't, that's what we've been saying.

Winter's Tale (2014) - Colin Farrell, Jessica Brown Findlay, Russell Crowe and a surprising Will Smith as the Devil. A bit of a chick/teen flick fairy tale, what with a magic horse and all, but a female lead who was gagging for it and a good effort by the actors, I enjoyed most of it. Worth one watch on a rainy day.

Don't get me wrong, I agree with you about what you say, my only difference is that being from down here, I quite like all the tech and stuff. So not too long for me, I can watch rovers all day long. By way of comparison, there is one Tesla S car in NZ, one. You are right about the fist-pumping, leave-no-man-behind, flag-waving stuff. And the token minorities are present also. My allusion to "the message" in this is that it's propaganda via Hollywood. But as I say, lotsa good tech, only a few glaring science problems. like "because while Mars does have winds, its atmosphere is barely 1% of the density of Earth’s, meaning it could never whip up anything like the fury it does in the story." http://time.com/4055413/martian-movie-review-science-accuracy-matt-damon/ Nuff said

Not surprising. It seems that politics is a sport now, like Rollerball.

I have an interesting relationship with Kodi, I think it's before it's time. On the one hand the movies work for me really well (Phoenix, Genesis, 1Channel, Ice Films etc) On the other hand I'm having a lot of trouble getting anything like a satisfactory experience with the Music side. Movies: I use a mix of streaming and of ones I've torrented. The streaming comes in handy for new releases which don't appear in the torrent lists and the downloaded files I get for movies that are good enough that I'll watch them again on the future. The interface for finding the movies in the streaming add ons, seems to be adequate. The Kodi interface for the downloaded files is great with a scraper going off and getting cover art and synopses and grouping sequels together etc. Photos: there's a good database add-on that does what you need with the photos, but they should be foldered and organised before hand. But even if I organise the MP3s I can't find a decent way of displaying and playing Music. There's a new version of Kodi out soon, 16 I think and given their admitted troubles with Kodi on Android (I have an M8 box) I'm hoping they clean up the music side. I really like Kodi and the M8 box, it allows me to do buckets more than an Apple TV would, but I do miss the Apple ecosystem, where everything "Just works" - buggering around with Android and Kodi reminds me that some computer code is not as good as some other computer code and then it breaks. I still use a MacBook Pro, iPad mini and iPhone for the rest of my life, but as soon as I get a new laptop, this one's gonna get repurposed as a Kodi whore and run my media.

I think that's the point, he'd get through a field of radio jamming, designed to incapacitate radio controlled devices.

I bet he gets money for this, and I bet he's richer than me.

Thanks for the tip, yes quite a good movie - twisted little script writer I'll warrant. Worth a watch I reckon.

A very good source of info for Kodi https://seo-michael.co.uk

Behind Enemy Lines (2001) - Gene Hackman, Owen Wilson. Good modern military flick, jet planes, snow, air craft carriers. I've seen this before but it was good again. Worth a watch.

" The Martian could have presented it's premise and its total dramatic trajectory in a 20-minute short-film," Whilst I reckon it was not too long (I am still awed by space, coming from an Antipodean background as I do), I did note the requisite amount of fist pumping, American flags (no Chinese) and "Science the hell out of it!" that a Hollywood movie, must have these days. A good yarn and smart people win the day. There's a message in this movie, you mark my words...

I still think LT is 2K