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I am mulling over the idea of importing garden & farming chipper/shredders, both electric & petrol driven.

By way of market research, if anyone here is interested in a chipper/shredder, let me know what you're looking for.  Example pictures & spec sheets would really help.

If the demand is sufficient, I will organize an initial delivery based on orders.

Contact me at <by personal messenger for contact info>

I always hear my Thai friends say that Thailand was never invaded

Thailand never , Siam was

more than once and not only by the Birmese

I believe you will find Thailand was invaded and occupied by the Japanese between 1941 and 1945.

No it wasn't. Thailand signed a "Freindship accord" with the Japs & even fought alongside them against the British on the Burmese border

I've become accustomed to news such as this... If it isn't a Bus accident its someone drunk in car or motorcycle or as in this case, its yet another speed boat accident... With sympathy for the victims my first thoughts lately when I read news such as this is... "How on earth can this possibly happen?"...

Really - How is it possible for a speed boat to go straight into another boat which wasn't moving ?? !!

Of course - we can all guess the answer, the pilot wasn't watching where he was going or there was some mechanical steering failure...

I'm guessing it was brake failure...

RIP the driver. I always thought that these sort of doors would have some sort of pressure sensor to prevent this sort of terrible accident.

I was thinking the same thing, similar to elevator doors, they detect if someone/something is in the door frame and automatically reopen.

In any case, I would not have thought the hydraulic ram on a bus door like this would be able to exert enough pressure to kill someone.

My guess is you've never worked on hydraulics. There would be more than enough power to kill you. The door should have a pressure relief valve, in case of obstruction. These are often adjustable. If set too high this could happen, or if sticking. It seems to me the crucial bit of info in the article was that his airway was trapped resulting in blackout & suffocation. I would think it was really just bad luck & possibly poor maintenance

Shocking Yes.. surprising NO !

It's about time they shut Pattaya down..

Perhaps the real story is that the girl had a nice new camera that was coveted by the immigration officer??

The immigration officers are all police officers & we all know how honest they are

The newspaper misses the point badly here. It is a despicable piece of inept journalism and its associated editing.

The airline "employee" publishing the manifest list of passengers, blacked out or not all but one, is an irrevocable breach of security and passenger safety, the first and foremost concern of airlines, airports, and their employees as well as vendors. An airline "employee" allowing her personal attitudes and emotional lapse to interfere in her professional or unprofessional action is appalling. To have a supervisor consulted without taking immediate action and to remark only "it may violate Hong Kong's laws," is an utter disgrace.

The Nation's circling around this issue with a "posting to social media is dangerous" gist instead of calling out the failed professional behavior of the attendant and her supervisor who was consulted, is just mind boggling. The newspaper does no service to Thais by ignoring this breach. In fact it signals further that there is a "cultural" problem among Thais who can't control their emotions or work reliably in professional occupations.

This blatant newspaper omission in discussing the violation of legal, ethical , professional standards , security and safety on an airline or airport business is cause for all to be forewarned about taking this amateur newspaper seriously on any topic.

In fact, it is a very serious illustration and cause for not taking any Thais seriously absent any massive outrage by Thais at this incident. Who in their right mind would employ a Thai in a critical , secure, safe position on becoming aware of this type of behavior, this incident, the weak, deplorable follow up, and the lack of outrage among Thais and the inept Thai press.

Agree with you. Basically the flight attendant broke the law and the airline would be in big trouble in the passenger decided to sue.

Furthermore, it badly reflects on the Thai flight attendants. A number of them are the main breadwinner in their family. It was a really stupid thing to do, the flight attendant is going to pay the high price for that.

So maybe it's time to give the whole thing a rest.

Was this flight attendant Thai? I don't remember seeing any statement to that effect?

......they are mostly "prettty face" Abhisit supporters .....

Very odd comment??

As opposed to what - ugly face Taksin supporters - I hope for your sake your wife supports Abhisit that's all i can say, unless of course you like 'ugly'

Odd comment equating looks to personal politics?? Book and cover spring to mind.

Not odd at all. Simply noting that those employed as air hostesses are considered 'Thai beautiful', I.e. white- skinned and of Chinese descent. This demographic are overwhelmingly rich, Bangkokians and therefore Abhisit supporters as opposed to brown- skinned Isaan girls who are overwhelmingly Thaksin supporters and generally considered ugly by Thai society.

Your response shows your understanding of Thai culture

Absolutely hilarious - So Cathy Pacific - A HONG KONG airline!!! Only employs people considered Thai Beautiful and ignores issan girls - read the post - It;'s Cathey Pacific HONG KONG carrier n case you missed that. So what the hell has employment by a Hong Kong company got to do Bangkok voters?? and Abhisit supporters?? Of course they probably look of Chinese decent - Its a XXXXXXXX Chinese company!!!

Cathey Pacific - Hong Kong - Thai culture - show me the link - In your frenzied over zealous response you failed to read the detail of the question.

Its a Chinese registered company, based in HK, but its a part of the UK based Swire group, so in essence a UK company

NESDB: Most factories have recovered from flood

BANGKOK, 28 February 2012 (NNT) – Having recovered from the flood, most factories have resumed operations, except for the electronics and automotive groups which are awaiting new machinery installments.

National Economic and Social Development Board Secretary-General Arkom Termpitayapaisit disclosed that the Strategic Committee for Reconstruction and Future Development (SCRF) meeting, which focused on the progress of the industrial sector's recovery, found that 44% of the factories situated within industrial estates have begun manufacturing, whereas 78% of those outside industrial estates have also undergone full recovery. Most factories which still remain inactive belong to the electronics and automotive parts group as new machinery has yet to be installed.

Regarding the 4 billion-baht construction of floodwalls around industrial estates, the Ministry of Finance is set to propose that the cabinet provide funding for two-thirds of the total budget.

Additionally, Energy for Environment Director Seri Supharathit has forecast that the flood situation in 2012 will not be as severe as last year since there will be a small amount of rain until the end of the year. However, this will instead cause drought in the country. Consequently, he is prepared to discuss with the Strategic Committee for Water Resources Management (SCWRM) on plans to release water from the nation's main dams to assist farmers and prepare for possible drought.

-- NNT 2012-02-28

I suspect from the abbreviated grammar of your post that English may not be your first language - if not you must be awesome in your first language because you summed it up to a Tee. "If a river cannot run deep it runs wide" poetic to say the least & oh so true. Maintain the water ways and they will operate at 100% efficiency. If that isn't enough enlarge them - its not rocket science. Maintenance is not fixing it after if breaks - its fixing it before it breaks, then the breakdown never happens..... think about it.

quote name='JoeLeTaxi' timestamp='1321335894' post='4848173']

We are living along the river. We get flooded year after year.

There is no time for much talking. If the waters remain high, we are in for a new drama next year.

The yearly use of sandbags as an anti-flooding policy in the north and in central Thailand; and the permanent disposal of garbage into the river, have been silting the waterways, next to the natural silt run-off from the north.

If rivers cannot run deep, they run wide.

The First Aid is to dredge the clogged rivers and canals. Get dredging companies, make contracts and start immediately. Next year could be worse.

All other plans will come too late.

My son in law did two tours in Iraq - he isn't a deranged potential killer & he did see action. Hiding behind all the psycho-babble bullsh1t doesn't wash I'm afraid. The embassy staff should be ashamed of themselves. He's a confessed killer, he should pay for his crime

The U.S. Embassy pleads his case given his duty in Afghanistan might have altered his behaviour as he killed so many people.

Is the U.S. Government now saying that every staff member that has killed in the name of war is now a potential murderer? If so, they should be warning the general public.

This is one instance when the Embassy should butt out. Ludicrous defense and offensive that they try to plead the case for a man who confessed to an awful crime.

I hope he gets the 20 years and finds a nice boyfriend in jail.

You clearly have no clue what serving in the military during wartime is like, nor the effects of PTSD, especially from combat.

Of course I'm sure the rest of your OPINION is based on closely following the case and trial in it's entirety.

There are WAY too many opinionated old women on this forum already...

Obviously from the uninformed comments, most posters have never been to the FMP. It is a large scale indulgent celebration of youth and life & what's wrong with that?. Thank god there are still places where like minded people can get together and enjoy themselves, even to excess of they wish. really what harm is there in that. They're not fighting on football terraces or inner city backstreets, they're not mugging old ladies and shopkeeprs and if you'v ever been to a party or club like the FMP you would no there are no bouncers keeping the peace, no security needed. Its all very happy freindly and for the most part easy going.. I took my 19 year old son because he really wanted to go - the only hassle I had was a plain clothes copper (obviously so, from the haircut, loafers, tucked in and prressed polo shirt) tried to sell me drugs. I was 52 at the time and in the company of a freind older than me and our 3 teenage kids. So if any slagging of the party is needed, I think it should be originated from people who have at least been there. We had a great time, saw loads of over-indulgence, but no trouble. You lknockers should try it some time - its a great night/s out.

The article says this:

Police said here today that Andrew John Lister, 28, son of Edward Lister, (right) the former Tory chief of Wandsworth Council, collapsed while drinking with friends in a guest house on Haad Rin Beach last Monday….the morning after the island's monthly Full Moon Party.

As Lister collapsed at 6 am it appeared he had been drinking all night.

Seems it was the morning after the party???? That article describes a pretty crazy scene...which I'm sure is about how it is.

Am I right in thinking that a consular or honorary consular for any particular country is by definition a representative of the goverment of said country and as such is is duty (& morally) bound to act on the behalf of citizens of that country when confronted with a problem such as this TUK TUK driver problem, if it presents a real threat to the safety and welfare of those citizens? Isn't that an important part of their jobs? Isn't that one of the main reasons we have them? To all you consulars who undoubtedly read this forum - DO YOUR JOB! get those travel advisories posted, go even further and inform tourists if you use a tuk tuk, you do so at your own risk. Don't call the consulate - you have been warned. Put these tosser tuk tuk drivers out of business.

"If the renegade drivers could not be controlled, European embassies might be forced to issue a travel advisory warning tourists not to use tuk-tuks in Phuket, Ambassador Johannes Peterlik said."

PLEASE DO IT !!!! Now we are talking. Local authorities will do nothing about the problem, that is 100% sure.

Behind the tall ones

You're just not noticing all the short ones

Where are they at? Never seen the short ones.

Tell that to the dead 5 year old - oh you can't.... You could tell that to the orphaned 13 year old though - i'm sure she would understand.....

In cases where there is absolutely no doubt and this is obviously one of them, then removing a murderer form the face of the earth, is the right thing to do. Dead murderers don't re-offend.

How does it feel to be able to play God as a judge? I really wonder. Thailand should move up in the ranks of civilized countries and abolish the death penalty.

For the bullet to have entered the front winshield, passed through two head rests and then hit her in the back of the head, she would have to have been sat in the boot facing the rear of the car???? Very strange.....

Makes this story I read earlier today seem odd

Melbourne Teacher's car allegedly shot at...

It does appear that people are jumping the gun, but ask yourself why? Fatal bus and minibus crashes are literally a weekly event here. Just a few months ago a total of 33 people died in 3 seperate crashes in a period of 2 weeks.

Anyone who drives here know how bad the driving standards are. I know my first thought was here we go again. Dangerous drivers and unfortunate passengers. That is my normal first reaction when these reports hit the media and so far I can't remember an occasion in the past 11 years when it was wrong........

I don't use buses anymore, nor will I let my family use them. I hired a bus and driver some years ago for when my UK family visited. I had to threaten the driver with cancellation of the 2 week hire because he was driving dangerously and would not listen to our protests. Hit em where it hurts - in the wallet. Just like they do everywhere else. Police the driving & fine the living daylightsd out of them!

I have two sons of a similar age, both of which have been to Thailand many times and loved it. My heart goes out to the parents

I have been reading here a lot and, unfortunately, all too often, the worst is assumed by most people. It is worse than back-seat driving or divan refereeing during a game. First, the only things known are what the reporters report. Then, these reportes are described here as less than "informative" and so on. Then, criticism about whatever can be conjured up about Thailand, drivers, laws, social norms and so on. It seems that, here, people writing really do not like Thailand. There seems to be blinders on such that, if it is not like back home (which it really is, if thought about icarefully, as people from all over the world die in accidents in England, Austrailia and the US as well as other nations in the entire world, which are not mentioned here at all). Unfortunately, the bias is all to clear and comments such as "go anywhere else you can [but not to Thailand]" are more demeaning to Thailand that I am grieviously disturbed. I would like to read more thoughtful comments rather than visceral reactions. There is too little analysis. I am going to do a little research on a few things, if I can, and put this in real perspective for people here so that they will be able to "get a grip" on reality about home as well as about Thailand.

Unless your lieing to your embassy its a non issue ??

All thats happening here is they want to see that what you claim is reality.. If no ones telling porkies then I see no issue.

Apparently, once again, people from Immigrations have been reading ThaiVisa message boards to find out which loopholes are being exploited. Many times when someone has posed a question on this board about proof of income or meeting the minimums, someone has responded that if you're an American (or someone else whose embassy uses sworn statements) that you can just say anything you want.

Same was true back when people were shifting bank balances around and Immigrations then decided to require money to be in your account for several months. The geniuses posting on TV would brag about how clever they were and that loophole was closed.

Anyway, as someone else said, the financial requirements remain the same, but because of a few dishonest people we will all have to provide more documentation that we meet those requirements.

I don't see the relevance of the comparison of a supposed average Thai salary of Baht 8000 to the Baht 65,000 requirement for retired farang. It may hurt your feelings to face the fact that Thailand is not providing a refugee camp for impoverished farang. We're welcomed here if we are going to spend money to boost the economy. Very sensible. Not sure what other countries are laying out a big welcome for foreign welfare cases.

Er - That would be Britain....

An army general intimidating the DSI and forcing a change to their original findings will impress nobody except other army generals. My opinions of the events on that day are starting to change. The only ones to benefit from this will be the red shirts.

I remember that shortly afterwards there was some video footage on TV of one of the AK47 toting snipers at close range (less than 5m), taken by an international journalist, CNN sticks in my mind, with a hidden camera in a bag. His face was clearly visible. The sniper wore militray style T shirt and pants, but there is no way he was a soldier, he was too fat! The Thai army doesn't produce overweight non commissioned soldiers, they're not fed well enough and their lifestyle definitely doesn't lend itself to obesity. Which leaves the questions:- Who was he? What faction or group did he belong too? Who else has access to AK47s? More importantly why hasn't he been traced and arrested?

Giving motor vehicles to Thais - is like giving razor blades to a baby - It will end in tears!

Road safety remains a major concern in Thailand

Okay, the article starts with a load of 'hot air' & bullshite. I refer to the above quote. Its a load of nonesense.

In those countries where Road Safety is a major concern, the countries officials set about creating laws to tackle the problem, the powers to be in charge of Traffic Bureaus & Police departs set strategic plans to tackle these issues. Police hit the streets in force & target things such as Drink Driving, speeding and seatbelt compliance. The Police are dead set serious, they don't mess around with the issues.

Road Safety involves a set of complex problems which arnt always that easy to try and solve, especially when someone considers a motor vehicle accident may occur due to some idiot speeding and drunk or it may just occur due to someone inadvertently redireting their attention to something other than the driving task they are involved in.

You've got to crawl before you walk then run, but theres absolutely no point blowing hot air up peoples backsides when its so evident that its different.

I think it did state that the 3 Malaysians were all crew from the bus, including the driver and tour guide.

same shit, different SE Asian country.

Having lived in malaysia I am aware of the number of accidents there, hari raya is similar carnage to the thai fesitivals when people return home. poor driving skills and lack of common sense on the roads leads to these accidents.

it does not say however if the driver was malaysian or thai in this accident.

I firmly believe that Thai TV has a lot to answer for in these instances. All of the Thai soaps involve beautiful (fair skinned) people, as all Thais would love to be, engaged in constant treacherous & violent bahaviour against each other. Cheating , stealing, betrayal, bitch slapping, thumping, stabbing, shooting every form of abuse imaginable is displayed (as cool) nightly on TV.

Unfortunately the lure of the beautiful people and their Bangkok lifestyle is the goal that so many young & not so young, impressionable Thais seek. They have to realize that these soaps are not training videos, they are not real life - they are just cheap, sensationalist & rubbish TV. My wife is an educated Thai, a teacher, but she is still hooked on these c*ap TV shows, because they are designed to tug at the emotional & phsycological strings of all local viewers, purely to boost the ratings & dam_n the consequences.

Gang violence in any form whether it be your baseball cap (IQ reducers) wearing idiots with ill fitting pants or testosterone addled young Thai males, is just DUMB & STUPID. How cool is it to spend your best years 17 -30 yrs old, in prison getting bum f**ked by older equally stupid thugs from the previous decade? How can we make these young retards see the sense? That's the big question. Maybe a leaf from Singapores book is the answer? The birch rarely meets a repeat offender. Singapore is one of the safest city states in the world. It is also one of the most brutal in terms of punishment. I don't see too much public outcry about Singapore's punishment policies - BECAUSE THEY WORK. The means are harsh, but the results speak for themselves. I know many people prefer Thailand to Singapore because of its lax attitude towards order, but ask the parents & siblings of that poor unfortunate you lad what they would prefer to see in Thailand - I'm pretty sure the birch would be high on the list for the future.

Get a grip or the whole place is going to the dogs in a hurry.

" I believe one of the root causes of this is the treatment thai boys receive from their parents - incredible tolerance of laziness and misbehaviour of the future heir, and old age pension scheme."

Spot on comment, I see the Thai children running wild around Malls and in McD's and the parents never control them.

My boys learn t at an early age that such behavior resulted in a swift smack round the legs. Never harmed them and they are all good citizens with good jobs.

Society is paying the price for lack of discipline- at home, at school and in general.

Bring in harsh corporal punishment

Punishment to mean locked up 23 hours per day on rice gruel, it must be like hell so no one wants to go back in again.

Enforce capital punishment for any killing

We have a soft society around us now.

As much as I sympathize with your son's misfortune. I think you either misunderstand the point of this thread or don't realize how deadly certain marine creatures are? It seems to me the point is that the existence of one of natures deadliest creatures is being kept from the tourist public for fear of harming tourism.

You can get stung by a jellyfish in any ocean in the world. In 99% of cases, it would be nothing more than slight pain and discomfort, not life threatening to a healthy individual. The box jellyfish (Spinorex Fleckori) is a different story all together - it is the jellyfish equivalent of the funnel web spider . It is simply the deadliest creature in the sea in times of size versus its ability to kill.

One of the reasons its so dangerous and difficult to treat once stung, is that its sting contains 110 different protein based venoms. Once stung even a strong healthy person is in serious trouble. It attacks the central nervous system, subsequently paralysing the cardio vascular system. As it is a protein based venom the best form of first aid (immediate) treatment is to remove the tentacles, drench the sting site/s with:- in descending order of efficacy - meat tenderizer; white vingar; any vinegar; pee on it as a last resort.

Regardless of where you swim, but particularly in the tropics carry a small bottle of one of the above with your swim gear. Another preventative aid, is a body stocking, it protects against stings & against the sun. Surfers in Australia actually wear womens tights, 2 pair, one for the legs & the other for the arms and torso. (with a suitably positioned hole in them). Not the most fashionable but effective.

Do not underestimate the seriousness of the box jelly. It is a killer. It can kill you as quickly as a snake, almost as quickly as a crocodile, but not as noisily. Would you swim with crocs? I wouldn't. I've lived in Thailand for 10 years and had no idea there were box jellies here. (there's food for thought) I'll be thinking twice before swimming unprotected again.

My son was stung by a jellyfish off Koh Samet last month, it was very painful for him and left welts on his arm and body that took days to go away, so these things are definitely here as are they in many warm water coastal areas, but I think to say they're a deadly threat is over the top, he was just unlucky as we didn't hear of any other people getting stung in the few days we were there.

dam_n! I've had it wrong all these years - I thought it was 'QUAINTASS'

QANTAS - not QUANTAS!

Queensland And Northern Territory Aerial Services

Simple as that!

I have a suggestion - I don't know how effective it would be with the general lack of accountability here though.  -  Make it law that a call number be prominently marked on commercial vehicles so people can report to the owners of the vehicles incidents of dangerous driving.  Apart from the obvious tragedy of multiple loss of life, I'm sure the van owners wouldn't like it if they knew how recklessly their (expensive) vans get driven by these idiot drivers.  Maybe they (owners) can police their own drivers?  It wouldn't account for all bad driving incidents involving commercial vehicles, but it would cover a lot of them.