Mekong

He is a Southern tosser cut him some slack hehe

The Open never has or never will be played at Gleneagles, Open 2013 will be held at Muirfield, Gullane, East Lothian Scotland, a course overlooking the Firth of Forth.

The 2014 Ryder Cup will be held at Gleneagles.

Munchie,

I am not sure about the Scandinavian countries but Ireland is hurting now.

When the "Celtic Tiger" was at it's peak Ireland they attracted a lot of foreign investment by having low corporation tax for manufacturing industries (Intel is still building new Silicon Chip Fabrication Plants in Leixlip) and Service industries supporting "Hi-Tech" and zero tax on the movie industry.

I remember when "Support Lines" were all hosted in Ireland before being off-shored to India but still the likes of Apple and Google operate there due to lower tax rates. Even the movie Braveheart was filmed mostly in Ireland.

Scotland, like the rest of the UK has lost the majority of its manufacturing industry, along the Clyde alone all of the Shipyards have now disappeared along with the likes of Hastie's & Kincaid's, Howdens, Rankin & Blackmore, Rowens, and Weir's all major employers until the past 20 years but alas no more and that is just along the Clyde, sad state of affairs when the UK, the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution has now become reliant on Service Industries.

Another issue is that Scotland may loose its Triple A Credit rating if it was to leave the UK and as such would not be able to compete with the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man in the "Offshore Finance" Sector, best not to mention RBS.

Depending who one listens too / reads some reckon that Scotland's account Surplus would increase (including Oil & Gas Revenues at todays income) where many think it may decrease by 5% or more.

The topic does not concern me one way or the other but the cynic in me cannot help but question why the UK are allowing this vote now just as income from the North Sea is on the decline, could it be that the rest of the UK would be better off if Scotland voted YES?

It's a rather interesting topic and if it was to effect me I would do a lot more research into the subject and vote with my head rather than my heart.

Schwartz, Cohen and Ginsburg were all close friends since childhood. They decided they wanted to go into business together.

Schwartz says, "OK! I'll invest $100,000."

Cohen says, "I will go for $200,000."

Ginsburg says, "All right, I'll put in $1,000."

Cohen says, "Since I'm putting in $200,000, I'll be the President and CEO of the corporation. Schwartz, for your $100,000, you can be Vice President and CFO. And Ginsburg, for your $1,000, you will be our Sexual Adviser."

Puzzled, Ginsburg asks Cohen, "What is a Sexual Adviser?"

Cohen replies, "When we want your fucking advice, we'll ask for it."

I think that the reason that the UK Goverment is now allowing the refurrrendum is due to the fall in North Sea Oil revenues, by 2020 production will only be at a third of what it was during its peak. Around 2007 the UK had to import Oil & Gas again for the first time in over 40 years.

In the short term this will work OK for Scotland since they will be able to auction all rights to the sectors in their teratorial waters and take all revenue from O&G production but in the medium term of about 15 years from now I personally cannot see how it could generate enough revenue as an independent country.

Just my opinion from the line of work I am involved in.

Nigeria's Information Minister Dora Akunyili told the BBC's Network Africa programme that the sci-fi movie is not welcomed in the country and that she had ordered the Nigerian film and video censors' board to ask all cinemas to stop showing it.

On the reason why, Akunyili explained, "We feel very bad about this because the film clearly denigrated Nigeria's image by portraying us as if we are cannibals, we are criminals." She was referring to the scene where Eugene Khumbanyiwa's main gangster character, Obesandjo, tries to cut off and eat the arm of the film's protagonist in an attempt to gain his supernatural powers, among others.

The minister also mentioned that the name of the major baddie is very similar to that of former Nigerian President, Olusegun Obasanjo. "The name our former president was clearly spelt out as the head of the criminal gang and our ladies shown like prostitutes sleeping with extra-terrestrial beings," she added.

Cavanami struggles to get up from the couch then starts putting on his coat.

His wife, seeing the unexpected behaviour, asks, 'Where are you going?'

He replies, 'I'm going to the doctor.'

She says, 'Why, are you sick?'

He says, 'Nope, I'm going to get me some of that Viagra stuff.'

Immediately the wife gets out of her rocker, gets her coat out of the closet and puts it on.

He says, 'Where the heck are you going'?

She answers, 'I'm going to the doctor, too.'

He says, 'Why, what do you need?'

She says, 'If you're going to start using that rusty old thing, I'm getting a Tetanus shot.'

And then the fight started....

Mekong...congrats...again a thrilling read...thanks!

Cheers buddha,

It was an interesting experience and one I would not wish on anybody, I am just glad it is all behind me now.

Congratulations, Mekong. Hopefully, you meant to say you were able to salvage and resurrect your life, and not just your career.

Cheers dean,

But of course salvaging and resurrecting my life is a net result of getting my career back on track they tend to go hand in hand. It is rather ironic that I am now back in the same Engineering house in Thailand that "Let me go" four years ago, inside I knew the reason why my contract was not renewed but it was never mentioned but this time I am back as the Client representative so now my old boss is reporting to me, gotta love it when life turns full circle.

Passingthru69,

You are so correct in what you say about rebuilding trust and reputation, I know I definitely burned a lot of my bridges, 30 years of such can be destroyed in six months and even though one is clean who is going to give you a chance again? I got Lucky and someone gave me my chance. My main boss now is based in Houston TX and he was concerned about things being said out of the Madrid office about me, I was working in Madrid when the ex-wife told me it was over and it did effect me hard I went on 2-3 day benders then turned up at the office next morning still pissed, I did not give a good representation of myself. I told him straight what had happened and how I had returned to Thailand and put myself into Detox and his reply was

"I Don't care about your past, you are not the first and no doubt not the last, I have been down a similar road myself years ago and was given another chance, You blitzed the interview and your resume is head and shoulders above the other candidates, there are only two other people in the company know and as long as you are OK now it won't be a problem and will never be mentioned"

So I have been given another chance and there is no way I am going to blow it this time. The crazy thing is was the fact that I was a functioning alcoholic, I could pass judgement and make decisions as good as or better than the next man and I got the majority of my calls spot on, in fact all of my previous employers have no problem with issuing a Technical Reference for me, but they won't issue a personal reference

PT,

From what I have read of your posts over the past few years you have turned your life around, you short term loss has become your long term gain, come on mate how many truckers in the States are hauling rigs across country with their Thai wife by there side who actually takes an interest in your work and enjoys being with you, not many I bet.

So in return, hats off to you for turning your life around and long may it continue, nobody realises what a dark deep abyss alcoholism is until it is too late and it takes a strong mind and willpower to get out of that hole, not many of us can do it but sure as hell I want to be one of the minority just like yourself.

Kong

When he said ... "I do."

Before that, more than likely the first date!

Joking asides, it was my heavy drinking which led to Alcoholism, something I am not proud of but also something I would never deny happend. She could not tolerate my excessive drinking at the time but rather than try to help me all she did was nag all the time until she decided she had had enough when I was working overseas in Europe and threw me out lock stock and barrel.

It was when I returned to Thailand that I decided to do something about it and turn my life around and ironically the ex-wife during the proceedings saw me sober and decided she wanted to have me back "give it another go" there is no way I would have contemplated going back to her after what she put me through I am better off without her. I turned my life around without her and will continue to live it as such.

Don't get me wrong, I am no teetotaler who looks down his nose and sneers at people who drink, hey I still enjoy a night out and a few beers but the difference now is the fact that I can control the alcohol where as before for many years I allowed the alcohol to control me. I am not the first guy it has happened to and without doubt not the last, at least I was able to salvage and resurrect my career.

She tried for life insurance and was well pissed off when she realised that it's in my mothers name, the only woman I can trust.

Hence the reason I went after her for more than I actually Wanted / Expected, Court fees are 2% of what one is after and if settled outside of court one gets 80% back which is what happened in my scenario.

It's a win win situation, she is happy at negotiating me down to 75% of my initial claim where as I would have been happy with 50% of what I was after, the old trick "How much would you settle for? Double it"

Even though I have withdrawn all charges against her and her family Crown Prosecution are still pursuing a couple of them. First one is "Document Offences", I can tell the world now it's all over, she got her cousin who is a Doctor to issue a Death Certificate in my name and then sold my apartments as a widow, sorry I am still alive, Second offence is Transfer Tax, she reported to Land Registry a sale value of the Apartments at lot less than she sold them for.

So, I have allegedly abandoned her in August 2553, yet she came to see me in Spain October 2553, I have been declared Persona Non Gratia in Thailand and I have been declared dead, nasty piece of work she was, this is the shit I have been through the past 16 months but I am still smiling now even though I must admit the thought of paying a hitman 20K to put a bullet in her head did cross my mind on more than one occasion but I resisted temptation.

The future is bright, away from her money in the bank and now working for the biggest Oil Company in the world as resident engineer in an EPC office in Sri Racha and living in Pattaya during the week, Sweet!

Top Tip, you have 12 Months to petition for divorce or the Thai partner can claim abandonment and take 100%, that's what my ex tried, I petitioned in September 2554 and she claimed I left in August 2553, I had to get a court order for her to produce her passport and Credit Card statements to prove she was in Spain with me October 2553, there were no hotel bills on her CC because she was staying with me,

Five days after the event and I am still pinching myself, I fucking beat her, Thai Chinese egotistical bitch who thought her shit did not stink took on me a thick skinned Northern Englander who works in O&G and never admits defeat, shit I get more grief at the coffee machine in the morning than she tried to give me.

First she tried to get me Personna Non Gratia from Thailand, I won that, Next she stated "I get nothing I pay spouse support if I return" OK Next?

She got no spouse support but paid me to keep her ass out of jail, we read many stories of "Named Thais" using their connections to beat the Jurastiction it didn't work for her but I still don't know how I won I must have an innocent face before all the Judges I had to see.

I am looking forward to the next phase of my life.

Kong

PS

KS you can now return this thread to general discussions again now the battle is over!

Congratulations Mekong. I guess you are one of the few Farangs who used the Thai law system against an upper class family and to win.

 

(of course I don't have any numbers to support this)

Cheers kamui,

On numerous occasions I was tempted to just give in but I refused to give her the pleasure. The number of times I have had to listen to her Lawyer tell out and out lies in court then proceed with a character assassination of me, I am lucky I was only found in contempt of court twice over the past year or so, the Judges gave me an easy ride I think.

It has been a full time job, one should never rely on a Thai Lawyer to build your case for you, it is up to the Plaintiff to get all the evidence together and build the case file which entails going to each court in turn presenting a court order and explaining to the Judge why you want it signed, they never rejected any of mine, then delivering to the parties where order is applicable I must have run up 40,000 THB in Taxi fares alone.

The reason I settled for 90% is because I have just started a new job in Thailand so for one I don't have the time to invest in continuing to fight and for a second if she found out I was working here she could have been able to claim 50% of my income so she capitulated at just the right time. To be honest I don't think that the courts would have awarded me more than 75% of what I was after but she had the risk of having a criminal record and a bad credit rating for 10 years so she agreed to pay 90% as long as I dropped all charges.

Most of my charges against her and her family were "Compoundable" meaning that if I withdraw the prosecution then it goes no further, things such as Misappropriation, concealing assets etc but one charge is "Non Compoundable" which is a Document Offence, She lied to Land Registry Office stating on a form that she was Single when she was Married to sell one of my properties, now if Crown Prosecution wish to procede with this charge there is nothing I can do about it.

She could have paid up 16 months ago and saved me all of this hassle but she thought she was being clever so if CP decide to prosecute she has bought it onto herself, Som Nam Na!

For me, I can now just get on with my life, although it has been a rather interesting experience there is no way I want to go through that again.

P.S. Available for Consultations if any other BM finds themselves in the shit I was in!

Final update

I WON!

She backed down and agreed to pay me 90% of what I was after so we settled out of court.

Got the divorce certificate at Bang Rak City Hall a couple of hours ago and now the money is safely in my banks.

It's been a long hard battle but I stuck it out to the end.

allistar,

There is a difference between euthanasia and suicide

That's a real shocker!

 

Excellent director. Enemy of the State is still one of my all time favourite films.

 

He had inoperable Brain Cancer hence the reason he decided to end it.

Now if I was to find myself in such a predicament I would want to end it, I am all for euthanasia but I would not jump from a bridge.

Come on Munchie even us Sassanack's also observe the Sabbath, it is still unlawful to kill a Scotsman armed with a bow and arrow in york on a sunday, monday-saturday is hunting season mind you.

You posted the data I merely stated the fact!

 

 

It also showed the percentage of babies born to unmarried couples rose steadily from the 1970s until 2008.

 

In 2010 it was slightly more than 50% for Scotland as a whole, the same level as in the previous two years.

Confirms my understanding then that the majority of Jocks are Bastards!

I missed out on this when it was released but

Four Lions

A comedy about 4 incompetent British Jihadists and their bungled attempts at terror attacks, total tongue in cheek, no need to think and quite amusing

Jon Lord, the former keyboard player with heavy rock band Deep Purple, has died aged 71.

Lord co-founded Deep Purple in 1968 and co-wrote many of the group's songs including Smoke On The Water. He also played with bands including Whitesnake.

He had been receiving treatment for pancreatic cancer since last August.

He died at the London Clinic on Monday, surrounded by family, a statement said. "Jon passes from Darkness to Light," it added.

Lord was influenced by classical, blues and jazz but played his Hammond organ with a rock attitude and helped Deep Purple become pioneers of progressive and heavy rock.

Tributes have been paid by musicians including one-time Deep Purple bandmate Joe Satriani, Iron Maiden and Anthrax.

Ex-Rage Against the Machine star Tom Morello wrote on Twitter: "RIP the great Jon Lord, Deep Purple's cornerstone/keyboardist. So many great great songs and that incredible SOUND of his! Thankyou."

Former Yes keyboard player Rick Wakeman was a friend and said he was "a great fan".

"We were going to write and record an album before he become ill," he said. "His contribution to music and to classic rock was immeasurable and I will miss him terribly."

Born in Leicester, Lord learned classical piano at an early age before being seduced by watching early rock 'n' roll star Jerry Lee Lewis and jazz organist Jimmy Smith.

He could have chosen a career as an actor after receiving a drama school scholarship, but started playing in pub bands including short-lived outfits with future Rolling Stones star Ronnie Wood and his brother Art.

He also worked as a session musician and is thought to have played piano on The Kinks' hit You Really Got Me.

After meeting guitarist Ritchie Blackmore through another project, the first incarnation of Deep Purple was born.

Lord's classical influence surfaced when Lord composed Concerto for Group and Orchestra, which the band performed with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra at the Royal Albert Hall in 1969.

But the group refined their heavy rock sound and found mass success at the start of the 1970s with albums including Deep Purple in Rock and Machine Head.

In their classic years, the band also included Blackmore, singer Ian Gillan, drummer Ian Paice and bassist Roger Glover.

Lord continued to compose classical works alongside the group's output and, when they split in 1976, he joined other groups Whitesnake and Paice, Ashton and Lord.

Deep Purple reformed in 1984 and resumed at the height of their commercial prowess, playing to tens of thousands of fans around the world.

They sold a total of 150 million albums and Lord remained an ever-present amid numerous line-up changes until he left in 2002.

Still composing, he had signed to a classical music label and performed a concert to mark the 30th anniversary of Concerto for Group and Orchestra.

"Thirty years later the piece came back and changed my life again... It gave me the courage to step outside and carve a career for myself outside the band," he told an interviewer.

He broke the news of his cancer diagnosis on his website last year, telling fans he would continue to write music as part of his therapy.

My link

A mother in law said to her son's wife when the baby was born

"I don't mean to be rude, but he doesn't look anything like my son."

The daughter in law lifted her skirt and said,

"I don't mean to be rude either, but this is a fanny, not a f*cking photo copier

More fun and games today, allegedly another "Mediation" session, she upped the money some more but still nowhere near my figure yet so three more criminal cases against her next week also implicating her brother and her best friend. She looked scared today, honestly "Shit Scared" I could smell the fear (no she didn't shit herself).

She came out with a classic statement "I do not want a divorce really", I burst out laughing

Like for a start

1. She decided to throw me out of house when I was working overseas
   
2. She shipped all my belongings back to my Mothers house in UK without my permission
   
3. She used her family connections to try to get me PNG in Thailand
   

Now she wants me back, 55555 FUCK YOU BITCH, No way am I going back to that, pay up or face jail!

I have wasted enough time on this now, my case is based on evidence and her's is based on hearsay and the occasional email, I am in the process of having my "Official Translator" installed as my Power of Attorney to close this crap out whilst I go back to work 16 months is enough for me.

Next case is 17/7 Civil Infrindgment Damages, lets see what lies she tells in that case.