<div style="margin: 12px 0px; font-family: arial; color: #333333; background: #ffffff; border: solid 4px #e5e5e5; width: 100%; clear: left;"><div class="CM_CTB_Content_Wrap" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;background-color: #ffffff;"><div style="border-bottom: solid 1px #dcdcdc; white-space: nowrap; margin-bottom: 8px; background-color: #eeeeee ;background-image: url(http://clipmarks.com/images/source-bg.gif); background-repeat: repeat-x; height: 24px; line-height: 24px; vertical-align: middle; padding-bottom: 4px; color: #666666; font-size: 10px;" ><a href="http://clipmarks.com/clip-to-blog/" title="see clips that are hot right now"><img src="http://content.clipmarks.com/blog_embed/215f0241-2d03-4087-aa25-e4d9754082fb/1702E444-5774-48D7-9820-053367E602B3/" alt="" width="19" height="19" border="0" style="vertical-align: middle; margin: 0px 4px; display: inline; border: none; float:none;" /></a>clipped from <a title="http://www.monstersandcritics.com/blogs/globaleye/2008/08/ms-president-paris.php" href="http://www.monstersandcritics.com/blogs/globaleye/2008/08/ms-president-paris.php" style="font-size: 11px;">www.monstersandcritics.com</a></div><blockquote style="text-align: left; padding: 0px 8px; margin: 4px 0px 8px 0px; background: transparent; border: none;" cite="http://www.monstersandcritics.com/blogs/globaleye/2008/08/ms-president-paris.php">Thailand, a predominantly Buddhist country, has revived ceremonial worship of the Rice Goddess to commemorate the queen's upcoming birthday and boost the morale of the country's 3.7 million rice-farming families, news reports said Sunday. </blockquote><div style="height: 2px; font-size: 2px; background: #dcdcdc; border-bottom: solid 1px #f5f5f5; margin: 2px 4px;"></div><blockquote style="text-align: left; padding: 0px 8px; margin: 4px 0px 8px 0px; background: transparent; border: none;" cite="http://www.monstersandcritics.com/blogs/globaleye/2008/08/ms-president-paris.php">The Ministry of Agriculture on Saturday held a ritual to worship Mae Phosop, or the Rice Goddess, at a demonstration farm in Ang Thong province, the Bangkok Post reported. </blockquote><div style="height: 2px; font-size: 2px; background: #dcdcdc; border-bottom: solid 1px #f5f5f5; margin: 2px 4px;"></div><blockquote style="text-align: left; padding: 0px 8px; margin: 4px 0px 8px 0px; background: transparent; border: none;" cite="http://www.monstersandcritics.com/blogs/globaleye/2008/08/ms-president-paris.php"><P> Although the dominant religion in Thailand is <A href="#" class="kLink" id="KonaLink2"><FONT color="#006400"><SPAN class="kLink">Buddhism</SPAN></FONT></A>, which shuns idolatry and rituals, there is a strong undercurrent of Hindu and animism that suffuses Thailand's traditional belief system and ceremonies. </P></blockquote><div style="height: 2px; font-size: 2px; background: #dcdcdc; border-bottom: solid 1px #f5f5f5; margin: 2px 4px;"></div><blockquote style="text-align: left; padding: 0px 8px; margin: 4px 0px 8px 0px; background: transparent; border: none;" cite="http://www.monstersandcritics.com/blogs/globaleye/2008/08/ms-president-paris.php"><P> Worship of Mae Phosop was once common among Thai rice farmers, but the practice has waned in recent years as Thailand's rural population has become more modern and educated. </P></blockquote><div style="height: 2px; font-size: 2px; background: #dcdcdc; border-bottom: solid 1px #f5f5f5; margin: 2px 4px;"></div><blockquote style="text-align: left; padding: 0px 8px; margin: 4px 0px 8px 0px; background: transparent; border: none;" cite="http://www.monstersandcritics.com/blogs/globaleye/2008/08/ms-president-paris.php"><P> He said the ceremony's revival will help boost the morale of rice farmers nationwide. </P></blockquote></div><div style="margin: 0px 6px 6px 4px;"><table style="font-size: 11px;border-spacing: 0px;padding: 0px;" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><tr><td style="background:transparent;border-width:0px;padding:0px;">&nbsp;</td><td align="right" style="background:transparent;border-width:0px;padding:0px;width:107px" width="107"><a href="http://clipmarks.com/share/1702E444-5774-48D7-9820-053367E602B3/blog/" title="blog or email this clip"><img src="http://content8.clipmarks.com/images/c2b-foot.png" border="0" alt="blog it" width="107" height="17" style="border-width:0px;padding:0px;margin:0px;" /></a></td></tr></table></div></div>

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