rametindallas

Road sliding into canal in Baltimore MD USA last year

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MrNluXrrHKY

Earlier he blamed the water shortage on the previous rice scheme using too much water. Now the previous govt. did not manage the dams.

Oh and 14 students were agitated by a 'politician outside the country'. And the bombs in the south are due to the two political parties.

There's only one thing leaky here.

"Now the previous govt. did not manage the dams." And he is exactly RIGHT. Yingluk ordered the operating curves of the major storage dams changed to a lower level because she did not want to be blamed for mismanagement of another flood. Between Jan and July 2012, 7.5 billion Cubic Metres of additional water (ie over and above normal level reduction) were dumped from Bhumipol and Sirikit Dams, the 2 largest, despite obvious evidence an el Nino event was imminent.

From October 2012 the levels in these dams dropped below the new lower storage levels and have never recovered back to that operating level.

http://www.thaiwater.net/DATA/REPORT/php/rid_dam_1.php?lang=en

Clicking on each dam will produce an inter-active graph (which I can't link to) giving daily levels in each of the dams.

His statement regarding catchment areas sounds off to me, but the allegation that Yingluk AGAIN mismanaged dams is indisputable.

Banharn and his party were looking after the control philosophy for the dams, not Yingluck. I gave a talk to the American Chamber of Commerce and some Government advisors at the time. I have all the data on rainfall and capacity of reservoirs and dams required. The problem at the time of the floods was that the heavy rains fell mainly in the Yom River basin catchment area which was where the Yom River Dam/reservoir was supposed to have been built, but was cancelled in 2006 following another coup. During the last floods and recent rainfall patterns, there have been only light rains in the catchment areas feeding the existing dams/reservoirs. The dams serve to store excess rains during the monsoon to regulate the down stream flow in the rivers but also they need to store enough water to cover the irrigation/drinking water requirements during periods of drought. Without the Yom River Dam/reservoir there has always been a higher risk of floods or water shortage because they cannot control the water flow properly without the Yom River Dam and reservoirs which was stopped due to environmentalists demonstrating against it.

Banharn and his party were looking after the control philosophy for the dams, not Yingluck.

And as we all know, Khun Banharn always had the whole of the Thai people at heart and not just his home province/power base /sarc

BTW, just who was it that appointed Khun Banharn to his position? Was it PM Yingluck or her 'caddy', Dr. T?

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The culprit is the Army only. Thaksin had a plan to solve once for all those problems of drought and floods, but after the 2006 coup the project was scrapped by the army and the money used to buy weapons instead.

Yeah, and he was going to make all Thais rich in six months too. Obviously you believed him.

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The Thai press reports that the cops had to cut a safety chair to get in, and that the room number was 2102, which is probably a high floor. No items were missing and there were no signs of a struggle. He checked in alone. Police will check CCTV to see if anybody entered or left the room.

The hotel was not named, but was described as a luxury hotel, i.e. 3-star +

(1) I think that is a typo, yes .. and you mean safety chain? (no worries, we all do it ...)

(2) How can we all read the same report?

I want to know, because before Thai Visa lights up and spend 20 pages ranting .. a room 21 stories up, with the safety chain in place, is a very interesting plot twist.

Unless Spider Man has turned to a life of homicide !!

Easy Peasy. Drop down on a rope from the balcony above and return the same way.

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OMG .. Thank You!

Easy Peasy ! Perhaps for you Spider Man!

So, your theory is, the person who killed him was so professional and driven, they had the ability to get the room above his, drop down, somehow enter the room undetected, get close enough .. elected to use a knife, left it there, and managed to escape ...UP a rope?

That is your thesis?

Really?

Easy Peasy !!!

Motive: one of the hotel staff, with access to the room above, had information ( from a maid/desk staff) that the victim was carrying a large sum of money. Since not quite everyone in Thailand has a gun, a knife is a common weapon for murder because they are easy to acquire, carry, are unregistered, and difficult to trace. It also wouldn't be hard to put the dead victim's prints on it. There in no residue like with a gunshot.

It wouldn't be the first murder of a tourist in Thailand by staff of the hotel he was staying in. Missing cash would not be noticed as missing by investigators and, if the staff entered from the room above, the investigators will probably not look at security video from the floor above.

Climbing up or down a rope is not difficult if you tie large knots in it.

Since the victim's room was on the 21st floor, the balcony door was most likely unlocked; in any case, staff would have a key.

The OP says the victim was wearing a bath robe and that the knife (he supposedly killed himself with) was found in the bathroom.

That leads me to believe the body was not far from the knife (if they think it was a possible suicide) so the victim was most likely in the bathroom and possibly did not notice someone enter from the balcony.

Why is the tourist owning a 3.9" blade? Who kills themselves by cutting their own throat?

Cutting your throat is difficult due to the fact that the carotid arteries are protected by your windpipe (feel where your arteries are with your fingertips, & slice from the side). I've seen photos of people who have used this method - the depth of the cut required is amazing http://www.depressed.net/suicide/suicidefaq/other.html

I guess you haven't read many murder mysteries or seen many murder mysteries on television and the movies. I have no idea what really transpired, I was merely pointing out that it was not so difficult to imagine a plausible scenario. I grew up reading A. Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes and Agatha Cristie's Poirot mysteries.

Why are you getting so upset? I'm sorry if you took my post as a personal attack. That was not my intention.

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The Thai press reports that the cops had to cut a safety chair to get in, and that the room number was 2102, which is probably a high floor. No items were missing and there were no signs of a struggle. He checked in alone. Police will check CCTV to see if anybody entered or left the room.

The hotel was not named, but was described as a luxury hotel, i.e. 3-star +

(1) I think that is a typo, yes .. and you mean safety chain? (no worries, we all do it ...)

(2) How can we all read the same report?

I want to know, because before Thai Visa lights up and spend 20 pages ranting .. a room 21 stories up, with the safety chain in place, is a very interesting plot twist.

Unless Spider Man has turned to a life of homicide !!

Easy Peasy. Drop down on a rope from the balcony above and return the same way.

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Since Mr. Obama was elected, the US' relationship with every country on the face of the earth has deteriorated.

Why should Thailand be any different?

What metrics are you using? Party invitations?

Party invitations? Really? Wow! Where do I begin?

B. Hussein Obama II, had/has no idea about foreign policy before or after he became POTUS.

His former and current Secretaries of State, Clinton and Kerry, are dilettantes (look up the definition).

He, using his authority as Commander in Chief and without participation of Congress, actively assisted the overthrow of the governments of Egypt and Libya; the former now has a military dictatorship and the later has five different factions warring for control. In neither country are the citizens better off.

In a failed attempt to overthrow the government of Bashar al-Assad, he armed the Syrian rebels who then morphed into ISIS.

The US, under the President's direct control, conducts illegal drone strikes on anyone they feel like with total impunity.

He's certainly alienated Putin of Russia with his meddling in Ukraine and the Baltic States.

He's spied on the governments of Brazil, France, Germany, and all the US's other 'allies'; even going so far as tapping the private phones of the leaders of those countries and monitoring those countries' business interests.

He's working like mad to get on the wrong side of China when just a little respect would go far. He has alienated every country in the Middle East with his facilitating the Iranian government's efforts to acquire a nuclear weapon and a missile system to deliver it.

I could go on but even you can see what a disaster US foreign policy has been.

The US's foreign policy is being directed by the former leader of the 'Choom Gang' http://www.breitbart.com/sports/2014/08/02/choom-gang-reunion/, whose total government experience before becoming POTUS consisted of one partial term as a State Senator and one partial term as a US Senator (who voted 'present' 90% of the time). He has proved to be an unmitigated disaster.

Thailand may not be of great strategic importance but is was willing to be the US's friend if allowed.

Now, tell me which country has better relations with the US since Obama took office. (Please don't say he's better than Geo. Bush because that's like saying he's better than a cow flop)

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The Thai attitude of "I am entitled to make a living regardless of the law" rears it's ugly head again. A lot of street, pseudo black taxi drivers and beach vendors (jet skies, beach chairs, food outlets) think the same. Walk down soi 11 and see the abuse of law, albeit with suitable payment to the 'relevant' paymasters. Money is God here, forget about Buddha's teachings it has no meaning in Thailand.

That's a bit simplistic, laws are not enforced for years and then suddenly are applied, leaving people without a livelihood. Thais don't do prevention.

Illegal fishermen are low-life scum of the Earth who only exploit and never invest in building the fish stocks. The know the damage they do but don't care. They do not 'husband', they 'rape'. Selfish bastards.

Let's do some comparison between farmers and fishermen:

Their equipment and labor costs are nearly the same but farmers have to lease or buy the land they farm on and generally can't use slave labor. Fishermen pay nothing to use the ocean and often use slave labor because no one can see them and the seas are the most lawless place on the planet.

Farmers have to nurture the soil and plant seeds. Fishermen just go out and take what they want with zero investment in nurturing the seas or replenishing stocks.

Farmers are dependent on good weather and are restricted to seasons. Fishermen can fish is nearly all weather that Thai waters have. Fishermen go out and rape the seas all year round.

If farmers attempt to use their soil too much, they will get low yields. Fishermen just find another spot in the ocean that hasn't been raped yet; even it it's in another country's waters.

I have zero pity for any fishermen who use illegal nets, use slave labor, practice inshore trawling, refuse to keep records, and refuse to be monitored or tracked. Six months is enough time to change if they hadn't procrastinated so long, hoping for a government reprieve. Unfortunately for them, it's not the Thai government's call this time and the EU will help its own fishermen by banning Thai fish imports.

"The EU has given Thai, the world’s third-largest seafood exporter, six months to crack down on illegal fishing or face a trade ban on its fish imports. South Korea and the Philippines though have escaped the commission’s net after bringing in legal reforms and improved control and inspection systems. “There are no controls whatsoever and no efforts being made whatsoever and illegal fishing is almost totally allowed (in Thailand).” Thailand’s global fish exports were valued at €7bn in 2013. Last year, €642m of that catch was destined for European dishes. In Thailand, up to 39% of wild-caught seafood entering the US market last year is estimated to have been unlawfully caught." http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/apr/21/eu-threatens-thailand-with-trade-ban-over-illegal-fishing

Speaking for myself, I'm done caring about these outlaws. I hope the US red -cards them, also.

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But THAI authorities say that this problem could be resolved.

Notice they didn't say the problem WILL be resolved.

I'm hoping that's a translation error but I won't get my hopes up.

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"Admittedly exports have greatly reduced according to the facts I present in the link and facts cannot be denied so that cannot be debated. I agree. Export are down. Facts show that. No argument there.

That can be related to global economic conditions though. Look at Australian unemployment, exports, growth rate and inflation...Had Prayuit been the PM in Australia you would be all over that like white on rice...

And after the failed rice policy of the last govt there is plenty of white on that rice in the warehouses rotting away.

Have a great evening my friend and remember facts over ride beliefs."

Odd how its always someone elses fauly isn't it. I read where some fool blamed it on Greece. He was a Thai of course.

Global economic conditions my ass. check the exzchange rates...

Dear oh dear. None so blind as those who will not see. None so daft as those who have learned not to think for themselves. None so ridiculous as those who do see their own prejudices and wuishful thinking. God bless them for they are the delusionsal and its not really their fault.

Dear, oh, dear!

None so blind as those who will not see my Thaksinista point of view

None so daft as those who have learned not to think for themselves but should be rather like me and get all my talking points from the Little Red Shirt Schoolbook

None so ridiculous as those who do see their own prejudices and wuishful thinking just like me

God bless them Down the rabbit hole for they are he is the delusionsal propagandist and its not really their fault it really is his choice to be one.

Hypocritical, much, Down the rabbit hole?

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SSD's are already here. Old HD's belong in the museum and with them, the production plants. No manual work needed when bonding memory chips to PCB's.

So long and thanks for all the fish, Thailand.

I wish I were as wealthy as you so that I could replace all my museum pieces (HDDs) with very expensive SSDs.

BTW, let me know when I can buy a 5TB SSD for $125.

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Not enough evidence then? What do they need, the knife sticking out of his chest? That's crazy! It's clearly a case of premeditated attempted murder. There are quite a few stories like this circulating on the net, were the perp gets off scott free, or albeit with a slap on the wrist.

Like the scummy speedboat driver, that killed two Koreans in Phuket. That boy got two years.

It's a wonder that with the incident happening around Ekamai, that they didn't search Mr Sibbit, to see if he was carrying any drugs on his person. That would have been were the real money is. If he'd been carrying a few pills, they'd have given him twenty years and a massive fine.

I agree there should be enough evidence for some sort of conviction, but I completely disagree that it is "clearly a case of premeditated attempted murder". There is no evidence of pre-meditation, and we do not know if he just wanted to stab the victim without causing his death.

I completely disagree that it is "clearly a case of premeditated attempted murder"

How far in advance does someone have to decide to try and kill another person for it to be 'premeditated'? A week? A day? An hour? A minute? This guy was caught with multiple knives so he must have 'premeditated' something before he left his home.

Premeditated: think out or plan (an action, especially a crime) beforehand. This definition does not include a minimum length of time to 'think out or plan'; it just says "beforehand". For me, if someone decides to kill another person seconds before they make the attempt, they have 'premeditated'. Otherwise, was it just an 'accidental' attempt at murder? What would you call it if not 'premeditated, attempted murder'?

we do not know if he just wanted to stab the victim without causing his death.

You sure are generous; I'll give you that. He might 'accidentally' kill me when his true intention was only to injure me. I certainly wouldn't want to give him the benefit of a doubt that 'maybe' he only wanted to injure me while he is attacking me with a large kitchen knife.

The attacker belongs in a mental ward for the criminally insane.

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I too am happy that Blake put pictures of this guy up, I go there 3-4 times a week at lunch. Now if I see that guy approaching, best to get in the first hit whilst he does suspect anything.

If I see anyone with no shirt walking on a public street, I am going to be on my guard. Of course, since I don't have eyes in the back of my head I don't like to sit street-side. When I was a young man, I worked at a mental hospital. Ever since then, I tend to sit with my back towards a wall or at least facing the door to see who comes in. Crazy people can have the strength of ten men.

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Police looks at an incident of attempted murder and said not sufficient evidence .Police chief feels insulted when volunteers request he submit for alcohol test and seeks have the men reprimanded. Innocent Burmese charged in a death sentence and even a dummy knows he is innocent.

I say wrong place for faring . i have enough, i have decided to walk out from my Thai relationship and abandon this country. To do differently is to help bolster corruption and evil.

Best wishes in your new home but you should know that your Karma will play out the same no matter where you live. Just sayin'.

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Samsung (and everyone else) are leaving (to start new plants in Vietnam) due to fears of civil unrest following the military overthrow of democracy.

Nothing to do with global economic downturn.

The Junta is doing such a terrible job with the economy /sarc

BANGKOK, July 17 Despite the pall hanging over the Thai economy, office occupancy rates in Bangkok have surged to a record, and they are likely to see more upside due to a stubborn lack of new supply and keen interest from foreign firms to set up shop in one of the cheapest cities in Southeast Asia. http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/07/17/bangkok-offices-idUSL4N0ZW36B20150717

Samsung (and everyone else) are leaving (to start new plants in Vietnam) due to fears of civil unrest following the military overthrow of democracy.

Nothing to do with global economic downturn.

due to fears of civil unrest

Care to offer a link/proof to back up your, very obvious, propaganda?

Yingluck Thaksin and Co. raising minimum wages 40% virtually overnight, even in cheap-to-live Korat, just might have been a factor but since you are such a big Thaksin supporter, you would never admit that. Many on this forum predicted this very thing; that Thailand would price itself out of the market. Better low wages than no wages.

Will you be moving to Vietnam to demand they raise wages to be the same as Thailand's?

(and everyone else) are leaving

Is there no limit to your hyperbole?

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He is right, of course: the economic management has been a disaster ( and mostly unrelated to the issues in China). This will come as no surprise to those who have followed the Thai economy over the years.

I have followed the Thai economy and the US and EU would dearly love to have a GDP growth rate anywhere near Thailand 3+%. Who are you trying to kid besides yourself?

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"the former minister said that stopping people to talk and to express their opinions through the barrel of the gun will not lead to sustainable peace"

I bet Suthep is smirking when reading this. It is what the red shirts did to his protestors in 2013/14.

Watana is right though as it does not lead to sustainable peace which is exactly why the military had to step in.

Well done for inadvertently justifying the coup.

Well done for proving once and for all what a brown shirt you are....

When you have nothing of any substance to say, Godwin the thread. LoL

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This is why we can't have nice things.

Well, at least I updated my Adobe Flash Player. The WWW is getting more and more unsafe.

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So far, soldiers in Angthong's Wiset Chai Chan district said they had checked farmers at various farms and found that their pumps were not on. "These farmers just sleep near the pumps to watch over them, worried that someone might steal them,"

No. They were waiting for the soldiers to leave so they could resume pumping.

It's the same situation in California: California water regulators flexed their muscles by ordering a group of farmers to stop pumping from a branch of the San Joaquin River amid an escalating battle over how much power the state has to protect waterways that are drying up in the drought. http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_CALIFORNIA_DROUGHT_WATER_CUTS?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2015-07-16-20-00-24

It's the same story as the 2011 floods. Farmers' crops are sacrificed for the greater good of saving the city and its 8.5 million inhabitants. It is a lot cheaper to make these relatively few farmers whole than to deal with the damage of a whole city with no drinking water. The government should immediately guarantee the farmers an adequate income to cover their lost income (excepting those who were warned not to plant but did so anyway).

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Is Thailand part of Eu? I don't think so. Then which right is it dare give orders to Thailand ? The damages that it causing to the European countries doesn't enough for them ?

No one is telling Thailand what to do. The EU is telling Thailand that it will stop buying Thai seafood if Thailand refused to stop slave labor and practices that are detrimental to the environment. Thailand is perfectly free to tell the EU to 'kiss off'. Thailand can decide for itself it selling their seafood to the EU is worth the trouble to clean up their fisheries industry. Balance of trade is important to most countries and Thailand will lose a lot of foreign money (that it uses to buy foreign products), if the EU stops buying Thai seafood, so it is in Thailand's interests to keep the EU's business (it helps stop slavery and helps the environment also). I hope this helps you understand what is going on.

For myself, I won't buy food products from China because I am worried about contaminants and quality. Am I telling China what to do? No. I am, however, telling China that if they don't clean up their food industry, they will not get my business. As a consumer, I get to choose not to buy from pirates and outlaws and my government makes sure I, mostly, have safe sources to choose from.

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I wonder why the EU play's ball just now, when they blind folded their demands for the past 30 years.......a ne way of meddling in internal Thai politics perhaps?

Possibly, since EU member nations are having some financial difficulties, this is a way to reduce foreign competition and boost the profits of EU member nation's fishing industries and has nothing to do with Thailand's internal politics (what an ugly can of worms that is).

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Sounds more likely a usable excuse to save bit of face on what was an ill thought out idea by uneducated military personnel. They keep whining on about the AIP system on the china subs but that standard tech & typically copied by chinese from western subs, also expecting a sub to be in service for 30 years kind of shows a lack of technical grasp :-/ they need learn think first & speak second.

The US may have pointed out that, if tensions escalate beyond a certain point, Thailand will have to publicly choose sides and if it chooses the US, China will no longer support the maintenance of the submarines.

This statement may also be a face-saving way to explain why the PM turned down the Navy's request.

For those who argue that Thailand should have submarines because Thailand's neighbors have submarines, how many of Thailand's neighbors have an aircraft carrier? Far fewer countries in the world have an aircraft carrier than have submarines. The Navy should be lobbying to get some reconnaissance planes to put on its aircraft carrier to monitor for pirates, people smugglers, and foreign fishing trawlers operating illegally in Thai waters.

I am delighted that Red Shirt TV is back on the air. I hope they can stay within the framework set down by the Powers-that-be. Thailand needs dissenting voices heard publicly. Even if they are toned down, it is a start.

Jatuporn's mouth is his (and the UDD's) worst enemy and his talent is rabble-rousing (something particularly not need in the present situation); certainly there are spokespersons for the UDD cause who are more subtle that this hammer and who are able to drive home some points without getting banned again. I think Isaan and Northern people don't need to be beaten over the head with radical rhetoric to get the message. Can't they find an 'Isaan Abhisit'?

The UDD needs slow down and think about the 'long game'. Every government, even a transitional reform government, needs an opposition to keep them honest.

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You and I are usually in agreement on the UDD, but I live in a village in northern Thailand and 2 of my neighbors, who live in close proximity, play this stuff at high volume all day long. It is rabble rousing in the extreme, just the tone is enough to compel listeners to burn a shopping center.

Would you have a problem if they didn't try to propagandize the whole neighborhood by playing it so loudly?

From my original post, "I hope they can stay within the framework set down by the Powers-that-be"

I think that if they can't maintain a 'Peace'full dialogue, they should be shut down again.

As for the volume, I truly sympathize with you as many Thais have zero consideration for their neighbors and if you complain, you create an enemy for life.

Thailand, as a whole, desperately needs some noise ordinances to prevent the use of high-volume loudspeakers blaring everything from temple announcements to loud music to village propaganda to karaoke.

On a side note, if I had neighbors playing anything at high volume all day long, even if it's karaoke, I'm going to go 'secret commando' on them and cut their electricity while sympathizing with them in public. Noisy neighbors make life miserable.

Unincorporated areas can’t block out noise with ordinance http://www.yourhoustonnews.com/courier/news/unincorporated-areas-can-t-block-out-noise-with-ordinance/article_40743434-e59f-5ba9-a98c-019b269d7942.html

It is not unknown, where I grew up in the countryside, for the truly obnoxious to have their houses 'accidentally' burn down.

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I have had pedestrians step onto the road in front of my bike on at least 3 occasions. One I managed to stop in time, another I swerved but still clipped his funny bone with my mirror. In the 3rd an elderly woman stepped off the median into the inner lane of an 80km/h, 4-lane road. I had the rear wheel so far in the air that when I touched her, the front guard was over the tyre at point of impact, the back of her knees. The only injury she received was a bruise on her butt as her legs folded and she dropped to the road.

I was riding a Guzzi 500 Monza, the fastest stopping bike I have ever owned. At the time I also has a Suzuki 1100, and if I was on that she would almost certainly have been seriously hurt.

Incidents like that are no fun for either party, and I certainly won't automatically be attributing blame.

I had a country girl (from the way she was dressed) RUN in front of my bike (CBR150r) on Lat Prao. I reflexively slammed on the brakes and changed lanes to avoid hitting her and, lucky for me, I didn't get run over by the SUV in that next lane. I missed her by inches and only because she saw me at the last second and slowed down (not enough time for her, or me, to stop).

In a city with 8.5 million people, not everyone is careful all the time. Everyone I know, knows that zebra crossings only protect zebras and not pedestrians. Bangkok has many Saphan Loy for people to cross over the street safely. Yes, sometimes you have to walk a hundred meters to find one. Maybe the city will install one now. Too late for this concerned citizen, though. RIP.

Most likely, this is a tragic accident.

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"some members of the selection committee did not meet the legal requirements"

This again shows contempt for the majority having people that are appointed for a job that they do not meet the requirements of. We have Surapong who is a qualified doctor yet was appointed Finance minister having no background in finance (medical training does not count as experience in finance) appointing people that did not meet the requirements. It would not surprise me if this poor excuse of a government had appointed a finance analysts as the Health Minister!! Jobs for your mates!!!

This is what happens when you have a man out of his depth. They make il informed, uneducated decisions. By his own words he said "I will try to make the right decisions". Turns out he did try and he was way off the mark.

Go back to doing what you were trained in.

He eventually got an MBA from Chula....

Anyway things are quite different with the current government, as many of them got the necessary military education....

(OK, not the Finance minister)

Getting your MBA after you are no longer Finance Minister is kind of useless to the country, isn't it? Isn't it?

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What are you talking about? MBA in 1990, ministry of finance in 2008. Just type his name on google and you'll find this.

Your'e the one who used the word 'eventually' which means: in the end, especially after a long delay, dispute, or series of problems. Poor choice of words on your part.

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