Xircal

Too bad Jimmy Carter cancelled development of the neutron bomb. This sounds like the perfect place for its use.

Yes what has happened to the neutron bomb : I found it always remarkable that this type of bomb which kills all human and animal life but not buildings and infrastructure was "immoral" while the traditional atomic bomb which destroys everything was more "humane"

There's no guarantee that that's what would happen. Anyone out in the open would die, but anyone in a concrete building, or below ground might well survive. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neutron_bomb#Effects_of_a_neutron_bomb_in_the_open_.26_in_a_city

The young Ukrainian woman Nemtsov was with when he was shot has received death threats according to media reports: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/03/06/witness-in-russian-boris-nemtsov-killing_n_6814662.html

That seems a bit odd though because if the assassins perceived her to be a threat, they could have killed her at the same time. I'm even surprised they didn't.

CNN is reporting that the girl was Nemtsov's girlfriend for 2½ years and 30 years his junior. http://edition.cnn.com/2015/03/03/europe/russia-nemtsov-girlfriend-duritskaya/

Sounds like there's more to this story than meets the eye.

Check out their troubleshooting FAQ: http://hola.org/faq

And I doubt anyone will be motivated to change their router password given the poor introduction written above.

That's why I include the link to the article the story originated from. Users can easily go there and read everything in plain English without the need for me to plagiarize.

Receives a little over 10,000 baht per tonne.

Represents a loss of about 12-13,000 baht per tonne.

It would have been cheaper by 20-30% to pay farmers not to grow any rice at all.

Spectacular display of greed and incompetence, even by Thai standards.

To clarify the PT rice scam paid 15,000 per tonne for paddy which equates to 22-23,000 per tonne of milled rice, precious little of which went into the hands of poor thai farmers.

There is no way the farmers were paid 15,000 per tonne, if their rice was of high quality, with a low moister content and clean they would of got max 14k per tonne but most would only have received about 10k or 11k as they would have taken it straight to sell after it was cut. So deductions would have been made for high moister content and bits of grass, weds etc that would have been cut by the rice harvester as well. A sample of everybody's rice was checked before a price was given to farmer. If you were not happy with the price you got you could take it way.

This rice auctioned have would have been for unmilled paddy rice i'm sure which equates to a loss of max 2k/3k per tonne!!!

The numbers the junta is saying the scheme lost are either a fantasy to make the Yingluck government like it stole about 500 billion baht or its the greatest theft in the history of the world by about 100 fold!!!!

Quick calculation from memory:

500 billion baht paid to farmers over 3 years

40 million tonnes bought off farmers

Still have in stock 17 million tonnes

So by the above ROUGH calculation and having sold rice for an average of 10,000 baht a tonne and sell the remaining rice at the same price it comes out that the scheme made a loss of only 100 billion baht or 20% per tonne. There will of course be storage and transport costs etc but definitely not a loss of 700 BILLION!!

Interesting to see the actual numbers when they come out in the Yingluck trial!!

You haven't missed the processing yield. One kilo of paddy in, yields 600 grammes out.

So 12,000 to the farmer becomes approx 20k at the factory gate before any margin for the processor. So there is a loss, but whether it is destined to be 700bn is as yet unknown.

Except that many farmers weren't being paid at all and several of them even committed suicide: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/webmobile/national/Stress-drives-another-farmer-to-suicide-30226933.html

The Thailand Village Fund was a project that Thaksin introduced about 10 years ago wasn't it?

But Mr. Happy wants to rid Thailand of the Thaksin clan and its policies I thought. Just not the popular ones eh?

Maybe when all symbols of ancient Middle Eastern civilizations, including the islamic caliphates,are destroyed, Islam will become less radicalized. It will have no tangible basis for existence.

I wouldn't be surprised if ISIL doesn't attack Turkish Caliphate symbols inside Turkey as blasphemy against its own capiphate creation. Maybe THAT would finally motivate Turkey to put ground troops in Syria to fight ISIL and Asaad.

Turkey seems to be holding back because its old enemy, the Kurds are fighting ISIL on its own doorstep. They may well feel it's to their advantage not to intervene while the continued fighting serves to weaken the Kurds.

But Turkey also has an extremely long border with both Syria and Iraq which, even with their manpower, would be impossible to police properly.

You could ask why Iran hasn't dived in either since its own population comprises of mainly Shia Muslims which ISIL regards as heretics. It's their history too which is being decimated.

According to a security site called Krebs On Security, TP-Link routers which are available in Thailand are vulnerable to cross-site forgery attacks whereby the default settings can be altered to redirect users to malware sites.

Anti-virus or other security software running on the computer will be ineffective at preventing the attack since it takes place a router level.

More on the story here: http://krebsonsecurity.com/2015/02/spam-uses-default-passwords-to-hack-routers/

Is that a ferry???

That's the one they had hoped to buy, but wouldn't be available in time.

Now they're proposing to use this one instead: http://is.gd/CdFnlL

This might help: http://www.onlychaam.com/cha-am-get-there.php

The parent company, Lufthansa has been beset by strike action by its pilots over pay and conditions and the idea of introducing a budget airline whereby pilots will be probably be paid even less doesn't bode well for this new venture: http://uk.reuters.com/article/2015/02/11/uk-lufthansa-strike-germanwings-idUKKBN0LE2TB20150211

Ugh. I wish the people who posted these tech news topics were educated. This just comes across as click-bait and scar-mongering.

Windows is vulnerable.

Windows is vulnerable.

All systems that use a common security method that still included outdated protocols as fallback are vulnerable.

Make sure any system you want to keep secure has an upgrade procedure. Or swap out that device for a more 'secure' device (for whatever time that means).

I'm working on a scheme that will transport all the Thai Tech guys to the moon. I'm hoping they'll give a live report on what they find.

Not so I regret to say. Microsoft has already confirmed the vulnerability: https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/security/3046015?f=255&MSPPError=-2147217396

The good news is that Firefox is not affected either on a Windows PC, or on an Android phone. So it would be advisable to switch to that while the rest of the browser developers get their act together.

EDIT: Microsoft suggests a workaround in the above mentioned link to disable the RSA key exchange ciphers. However, this will only work provided the version of Windows in use includes the Group Policy Editor.

You can determine if that's the case by doing the following:

1. Hit Windows key + R to open the Run command.
2. Type: gpedit.msc and click OK
3. If it's not included with the version of Windows you have installed, you'll see the dialog box shown in the screenshot.

Another fatal accident took place on the same stretch of road last night as the one involving an overturned passenger van described here: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/806000-several-farang-tourists-injured-in-van-crash/#entry9150371

In this particular case, it looks like a head-on collision between two SUVs. Link with lurid photos: http://www.cm108.com/bbb/index.php?act=ST&f=2&t=4796

Google translates the OP's description as one foreigner dying as a result of his injuries.

Ive got a video on youtube of 7 vans being driven by complete morons on the way up to pai. They were all staying inches away from each others bumpers and cutting every corner or overtaking on blind bends. I was stuck behind them for quite a few bends until i got the chance to pass, and i had to do all 7 as there wasnt a gap big enough to fit my bike into.

I would not want to ride in 1 of those.

Can you post the link to it please?

When (and if) there's an election in the foreseeable future, he'll probably appoint himself as 'special advisor with wide sweeping powers' to the incoming incumbent before stepping down.

That way, he can continue to run the country in the background in the same way that Thaksin did when Yingluck was holding the reins.

I thought Kratom leaves were going to be removed from the banned narcotics list: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/672087-kratom-to-be-removed-from-thai-narcotics-list/#entry6884991

N.B. Right click the link and choose to open in a new tab or window otherwise it'll close this page and redirect you to the other post.

The subject just cropped up again, only this time, it comes from the PM's lips: http://prachatai.org/english/node/4829

if they did bring in unemployment benefits....The rate of unemployed would instantly rise to 100% unemployed.

Considering the pension here is just 500 baht per month, just how much do you think any government's generosity to the unemployed would rate? And would it persuade anyone capable of earning their own living, to get down to the local Unemployment Exchange. I'm guessing it wouldn't be worth the price of the gasoline used to take them there.

I am aware (and have pointed out to various workmen who have complained about the measly pension here) that many in Thailand, particularly the overwhelmingly self employed, pay no tax. However. Given how it is routinely salted away by whomsoever's snout is in the trough, (given which soever administration), I'd be loath to pay it too if I were one of the small shopkeepers', for instance, who do indeed pay tax and resent where it very often ends up.

There is a pension scheme for which the monthly payout is higher than the figure you mentioned, but it's only for civil servants: https://www.gpf.or.th/eng2012/about_thaipension.asp

Also, the National Savings Fund (NSF) quoted in that article - which incidentally, didn't come into force until this year - only applies to employees registered with the social security fund: http://englishnews.thaipbs.or.th/national-savings-fund-wins-primary-endorsement

Everyone else seems to have been left out in the cold.

I noticed today on the airlinequality.com site that MAS's five star rating is listed as being 'Under review" now which isn't a good sign: http://www.airlinequality.com/Forum/mas.htm

Incidentally, I read a report concerning the transport of lithium-ion betteries being banned by a couple of US carriers due to fire hazard. In that respect, MH370 was also reported to have been carrying 440lb of those which adds yet another twist to the mystery of the flight's disappearance: http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-31709198

Will they never get their priorities straight?

Phuket needs a cheap and efficient public transport network before anything else is considered. No point in developing a project like this one if there's no means of getting there.

Spoilt little brat probably.

Glad to hear the whole family got ejected from the flight. The cost of having to buy new tickets to get home should teach them a lesson.

I fail to understand the logic of lending a country money to be used to pay the interest charges on the original loan. It's a self-perpetuating debt with the likelyhood that it'll never be repaid.

I find no humour in the misery and pain inflicted on others.

I suppose one can find something funny about anything, anywhere and at any time. The challenge is to overcome self and do one thing each day to bring peace, happiness and tranquility to someone I come across.

May the Ambassador recover quickly.

Indeed - hope he recovers quickly. Seems a decent guy.

The BBC shows pics - looks like the attacker got close enough to slash out with a knife and cut his face and wrist/forearm area.

<deleted> were the security detail doing? The attacker is a known nutter too.

Apparently, the restaurant where the incident took place is located opposite the front entrance to the US Embassy and being so close to 'home' as it were, was perceived to be safe.

Coward's way out. What of the child he had with his first wife? Did he not take that aspect into consideration before deciding to top himself?

Show me a real democracy in the world today, and i will hold up a mirror and show you a liar...

The Netherlands most definitely fits that bill. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Netherlands

Apart from the weather, it's a great place to live.