MEL1

The favourite rides, between September and January each year, will be......

Splash Mountain and, of course, The Canal Boat ride!

-mel

Scary isn't it? "The sinkhole on Rama IV Road, possibly the result of sand seepage through an old tunnel, will have no effect on the subway service in the area and its real cause should be known within two weeks"

So they don't know the cause yet, but confirm it was have no effect on the subway below it.

"The sinkhole, which was five metres in diameter, or two lanes across, and about 2 metres deep" will have no effect because "the subway station at Lumpini Park because the station was about 20m underground."

The ground above had only been compressed, and station is 20m underground.

But what's really scary is "By 5am yesterday, the BMA had filled the hole and paved the road with asphalt before reopening it to traffic"....

They don't know the cause, but decided to fill it in anyway. Ah! Well. If you can't see it it ain't no problem I guess...

I don't think I'll be driving down there for quite some time.

-mel

PM Yingluck finds firmer footing since flood crisis

According to who?

What another ridiculous editorial title. Of course she's found firmer footing, as she couldn't have been any more unfirmly footed than she was, bar slipping away. Waste of a web page IMO, but then obviously a set up for calgaryII to get his painful tosses in.

-mel.

Two instances where she excelled IMHO, and which weren't mentioned in the article were:

1. Her empathetic and hard working leadership during the flood crisis. No other national leader I have seen, matched her genuine and sincere compassionate approach, all the while managing some powerfull influences pulling her in disparate directions.
   
2. Her muscular Cabinet reshuffle. It shocked the PT Party. Apparently she had been dogged by some Cabinet members seeking second opinions, when receiving her directives. The changes she wrought has insured current cabinet members don't make the same mistake. She has also made it crystal clear, she will not be above doing it all over again when the 111 return. Current Cabinet guys are working very hard as a result.
   

Regarding #1 above, and to pre-empt any unsubstantiated, agenized claims about flood mismanagement, most don't believe a word of that oppositional mantra, unless one can prove other nation-states did better, in similar circumstances of a similar magnitude.

Oppositional mantra..... you're a fine one to be talking about a mantra!!! We get your double spaced mantra everyday. Hang on......the last post wasn't double spaced!!! Miracle Thailand !!!

Most people who write double spaced do so because they can't see very well !

-mel.

Bangkok: - - Chalerm declares ownership of 14 import warehouses which specialise in medical goods and pharmaceutical chemicals' storage.

-mel

"the main smuggling route for methamphetamine made from pseudoephedrine has moved from areas along the northern border with Burma - which is the source of mass production - to Laos, then to the Northeast of Thailand, mostly through Thai provinces which border the Mekong, making detection and suppression by Thai police more difficult.

"including director Dr Suphat Thatiphet, who faces a serious disciplinary investigation upon his return from an overseas trip."

Ahum! I don't think he'll be back too soon, after hearing abuout this....

-mel.

Where I do criticize her is that she continues to lead people to believe she earned a Master's Degree from an American university and that just isn't possible given her lack of English language ability. So that's got to be a lie, which any other world leader would have had to resign over.

So what was her degree at KSU if it wasn't a Master's Degree? Are you suggesting it was a different degree or that perhaps she didn't graduate at all? If you say she is being dishonest about this matter, you had better have some pretty good evidence.

Maybe with an MA at KSU everything is multiple choice?

If it was multiple-choice she would have failed, as she currently fails her weekly (brother's) multiple-choice of governmental positions!

-mel.

Yingluck in Davos

Talks a lot, but what the hell she is talking about?

Having seen her talk, how the hell did she manage to get a master degree

"Education will go along with female???" Female as myself can say that" Male and female must be complement together" "That is will be in Thailand".

My Thai is not that good, but I am not PM. But I have got an MA and i know that getting an MA requires far better English that the English she spoke.

Agreed, and in addition it was horrible that she contradicted herself in the first few lines, despite having a pre-prepared Thai speech. She was glad to welcome herself from a land of equal rights and opportunitites for women, Thailand, and then went on to say about the hardships facing women in Thailand and the lack of equal women's rights. How can you present yourself, contradict yourself in your first utterances, and then go on to expect credit in the rest of what you say? Poor show, not only for her but for her script writers too!

God help her on a one to one again, if it happens. (I need to speak Thai to you, cos I have no idea what they wrote for me to say!)

-mel.

So when there is catasrophic flooding again, it's easy. Blame the model, and the Chinese!

-mel

I thought Thailand was a 3rd world country? That would suggest the infrastructure investment doesn't quite match that of 1st world countries, such as the UK.

That would then suggest, to me anyway, that wages are relative, as are costs, according to relative disposable GNP and GDP per capita etc.

Yet this government wants to introduce a minimum wage of 300Baht / hour? Lor?

Let's look at the minimum wage in the UK currently:

• £6.08 - the main rate for workers aged 21 and over
  
• £4.98 - the 18-20 rate
  
• £3.68 - the 16-17 rate for workers above school leaving age but under 18
  
• £2.60 - the apprentice rate, for apprentices under 19 or 19 or over and in the first year of their apprenticeship
  

So Thailand is going on par with that, and higher on average?

As they say in school, when they have no idea.... "Hum?"

-mel.

Edit: for non-Brits 300 Baht currently equals 6 pounds and 3 pence.

You are comparing apples to oranges. your British minimum rates are by the hour they work out to over 1,000 baht a day for the cheapest worker as compared to the Thai minimum wage of 300 baht a day.

The only similarity in the two countries is they both have a monarch.

Does this mean I am being creamed by hookers then?

-mel

I thought Thailand was a 3rd world country? That would suggest the infrastructure investment doesn't quite match that of 1st world countries, such as the UK.

That would then suggest, to me anyway, that wages are relative, as are costs, according to relative disposable GNP and GDP per capita etc.

Yet this government wants to introduce a minimum wage of 300Baht / hour? Lor?

Let's look at the minimum wage in the UK currently:

• £6.08 - the main rate for workers aged 21 and over
  
• £4.98 - the 18-20 rate
  
• £3.68 - the 16-17 rate for workers above school leaving age but under 18
  
• £2.60 - the apprentice rate, for apprentices under 19 or 19 or over and in the first year of their apprenticeship
  

So Thailand is going on par with that, and higher on average?

As they say in school, when they have no idea.... "Hum?"

-mel.

Edit: for non-Brits 300 Baht currently equals 6 pounds and 3 pence.

You are comparing apples to oranges. your British minimum rates are by the hour they work out to over 1,000 baht a day for the cheapest worker as compared to the Thai minimum wage of 300 baht a day.

The only similarity in the two countries is they both have a monarch.

Ooops....... my error. I need to lern to read. :$

-mel.

I thought Thailand was a 3rd world country? That would suggest the infrastructure investment doesn't quite match that of 1st world countries, such as the UK.

That would then suggest, to me anyway, that wages are relative, as are costs, according to relative disposable GNP and GDP per capita etc.

Yet this government wants to introduce a minimum wage of 300Baht / hour? Lor?

Let's look at the minimum wage in the UK currently:

• £6.08 - the main rate for workers aged 21 and over
  
• £4.98 - the 18-20 rate
  
• £3.68 - the 16-17 rate for workers above school leaving age but under 18
  
• £2.60 - the apprentice rate, for apprentices under 19 or 19 or over and in the first year of their apprenticeship
  

So Thailand is going on par with that, and higher on average?

As they say in school, when they have no idea.... "Hum?"

-mel.

Edit: for non-Brits 300 Baht currently equals 6 pounds and 3 pence.

I went to Wikipedia to look up Margaret Roberts (as she was then) at University and found this..

Roberts attended Huntingtower Road Primary School and won a scholarship to Kesteven and Grantham Girls' School.^[7] Her school reports showed hard work and continual improvement; her extracurricular activities included the piano, field hockey, poetry recitals, swimming and walking.^[8][9] She was head girl in 1942–43.^[10] In her upper sixth year she applied for a scholarship to study chemistry at Somerville College, Oxford but was initially rejected, and was offered a place only after another candidate withdrew.^[11][12] She arrived at Oxford in 1943 and graduated in 1947 with Second Class Honours in the four-year Chemistry Bachelor of Science degree; in her final year she specialised in X-ray crystallography under the supervision of Dorothy Hodgkin.^[13][14]

So I guess that unless Wikipedia is wrong then I assume that she actually did get a BSc in Chemistry and not as suggested a Bachelor of Arts degree.

Margaret Thatcher graduated as a Bachelor of Arts.The Bachelor of Science degree (which no longer exists) is the equivalent ofthe modern M.Sc, a post graduate degree.

Still at least you know now not to rely on Wikipedia, something for Yoshiwara's benefit we never did at the varsity.We were too busy invading and trashing the rooms of skulking state educated students.Happy days!

So not only are you a toff, but a racist toff!

I'd like to see you walk the streets of Liverpool at 11pm holding your own, whilst touting state educated scum!...

-mel.

All the linguistic issues aside, the real issue here is how did the Japanese business community respond to Thailand's pitch about its future flood control measures?

Unfortunately, the news post in this thread gives absolutely no clue on that issue, which will help determine whether lots of Japanese manufacturing companies keep their operations here in Thailand with all their employment of Thai workers.

If I were a Japanese corporate exec, I wouldn't bet two cents on the Thai government's actual ability to protect my facility from anything, floods including. But it would be nice to know what the Japanese themselves think about YL's pitch.

Well you see.... ahum...... there's a slight problem here.

Normally when one gives a speech, at the end of it one invites questions and opinions.

I need not go further into how LingYuck could not have coped with that one.

-mel.

"Many parties have invited me. The Democrat Party sent me a membership application before I ran for senator selection. The party might have seen my contribution. But I will represent Pheu Thai, as it is the party chosen by the majority of the people. They have chosen the party for three eras, from when it was Thai Rak Thai, People Power Party or Pheu Thai. People still chose it. If I join the party, there must be some tuning."

If Liverpool win the cup, I support Liverpool. If Man U win the cup, I support Man U. I'll be on the biggest side of supporters, to suit me!

-----

"I don't want to be a senator. I want to be an MP" ..... "sent me a membership application before I ran for senator selection"

Double entendre if it ever hit me in the face!

-mel.

Here's a good one...

I received a deposit refund of 70K baht as a check, made out in my name. I went to my bank (Bangkok Bank) to deposit the check into the joint account I had with my wife.

Sorry, no can do!

Why?

The name on the check (mine) is not the same as the name on the account (mine and my wife).

Huh?

I am depositing, not asking for cash.

Sorry, no can do.

Much back and forth later, and by then there were at least a half dozen bank staff involved in telling me 'no can do'.

I stood there looking forlornly at the check wondering what to do, when I said, somewhat flippantly... 'Can I use it to open a new account?'

Oh yes, no problem. Just go upstairs.

Which is what I did and how I came to have two accounts with the same bank.

True story. Really.

I would have closed the account and used the check to open one at another bank.

Aye! Tell them you are closing your account and withdrawing all cash, and then opening a new account with said cheque. I'm sure they would have obliged in accepting the cheque into current account immediately.....

-mel.

Amazing that when Israel retaliated by targeting members of hamas after rockets were fired at civilians that people on this forum called them state sponsors of terror.

However, when things like this happen in Thailand, clearly innocent civilians were targetted and murdered in cold blood nobody says $hi# about Thailand being terrorists.

Truly Amazing

Where is Genghis Khan when you need him. End to the problem.

Lol..... where is his counter-part indded?

The problem here is that the mat has been lifted again to sweep away the dust, in that these rangers were 'anxious' and there is no indication as to whether or not they will be reprimanded. Anxious or not, they are supposed to be trained to deal with such events, not worry about what happened in the next soi, village or province.

So sad that innocent children were shot, and yet the excuse seems to be 'our rangers were anxious'.

It also highlights the severity of daily life in the far south, and muslim enticed areas, when what's probably more than a simple group of friends and family going to a Wat feel the need to be armed. That's a large loud cry of how dangerous it is down there. I may well be wrong, and admittedly have never been, nor will I venture, there. It just seems incredible that this kind of chain of events can happen, where young innocents are eradicated.

Then again, we only have to look to the Middle-East, Americas, African countries et al, to see a repetition of fear amongst the gun toters, who are completely ill-trained and useless, and more incompetent at their jobs and positions than could be envisaged.

-mel.

Incredible, isn't it? These missing tablets stories have only recently come to light and yet, in all reality, this has probably been going on for donkeys years!

One hospital, in Udon, has '37million' tablets missing in 3 years. Now why would one hospital have a need to prescribe, and issue, that many tablets, for flu (sudafed - to be accurate), over 3 years anyway? That's a mighty potential issue for 'one' hospital amongst many.

Sudafed (which pseudoephedrine is obtained from), is a maximum dosage of 4 tabs per day, and a max of 7 days of taking. So that's 28 tabs per patient - with flu. 37M / 28 = 1,321,428 patients over 3 years = 433,000+ patients per year. If one hospital has nearly half a million patients I would be very highly surprised.

So, in essence, the people who are in control of persons' health; pharmacists and their management; have been creaming millions of baht to supply the Class A drug industry. How sad, and how shocking.

And to add, my figures above are just one hospital's example, where we see that a not so well normally paid pharmacist has 7M baht in the bank, ignoring his mentors' gains.

TIT so I need to get over it! But why should I? The people in control of other's health are responsible in large part for the drug addictions and drug supplies of crystal meth, hindering many in the Esan lands and probably most other parts of Th where meth addiction, and what goes with it, is rife. All for the love of money.

-mel.

All well and good, but as a long time sufferer of chronic sinusitis, actifed is the only thing that can give me a good night's sleep. There should be a way to legitimately use this medicine, not a blanket ban.

I agree with you absolutely, and wasn't calling for a 'blanket' ban, as these tabs are genuinely needed for medicinal uses, such as your own needs.

It's the systems of audit that are at fault, as the above post contains. It appears that hospitals can order bulks of multi-millions without being monitored, or until recently anyway.

Let's hope these investigations trigger self-audits, and fear-mongering, amongst the abusers at the hospitals which indulge.

-mel.

-DLock-

Your name synonymous for LOCK and throw the key away, for everybody?

No differences in the severity of the crime?

We had here a lively discussion with -mel-, the excesses of the discussion had been deleted.

So, the thread is now a little distorted.

Any way, I am only against it, to condemn somebody, to life sentence -throw the key away-, for a obviously, relatively, small crime.

And I am no chump! And I do not do drugs, even drink nearly nothing. But, I have a sense of justice!

I have no issue with your sense of justice, but it has to be relative. You and me, coincidentally, of course we have a sense of justice. However, our sense of justice is from the western world. We don't live here in the western world, hence what we perceive as justice is from a totally different cultural regime.

I iterate that the Thais have laws, be they harsh or unwarranted - I OUR BOOK. If one wants to play, risk with, or try to out gun these laws, then one is simply an idiot and 'must' accept the consequences of those laws. For that reason, whether this fool was 'any' of the prior, then his resultant punishment, which will be a large custodial sentence. That is simply what I meant by 'throw away the key'...... not forever. Apologies if I didn't make this clear, as I was recovering from an op yesterday.

-mel.

I fly frequently between Changi and Swarmy. Even the ladies toilet in Swarmy is disgusting! The quality of the toilet is what I would find in a hawker centre in Singapore!

"Chengi" and "Swarmy".....are you a bespectacled little lad in short trousers from some English boarding school....?

Errm, Nikki is a girl's name. However, as I am not under the thumb of my wife, I did have a prob when she told me to stand in the wrong queue!

-mel.

Oh dear, oh dear oh dear. Oh dear oh dear oh dear.

Someones grassed him up, he's <snip>.

Who cares? Lock him up and throw away the key. He might just spend the latter years of his life drug free!

boring, old boring news. If you can't do it, don't do it!

mel.

Ridiculous post! Not interested - don't click on link. Others ARE interested.

Only those who use, to check their own credentials.

-mel.

If they ban alcohol for 3 days in mourning for someone very few people have ever heard of (including Thais by the way) how long will the period last when someone even more important passes away?

Patrick

Already got a street party's worth in the loft, said CalgaryII.

"Tourist Friendly Image???"

That should be dispelled the moment a newbie tourist meets their first Thai immigration official: unsmiling on a good day; grumpy and non-so-subtlety aggressive on a bad (overworked) day. LMFAO

if your paperwork is in order, what's your prob? If your paperwork was in order, what was your prob?

If you don't like it, go back to your own immigration department, and get a life!

-mel.

To the Gentleman - "Jim"

Nice of you to make 'ungrounded' assumptions, as usual. :Z

Pissed up indeed? Driving indeed? Whoa! You are opinionated to the Nth degree.

'This little infringement' you know no details of, so again you are making assumptions.

You have made assumptions about him, and about me, in your super ordinance survey that counts for fk'all. How dare you?

I DON'T care if you drink or smoke, as that's your agenda. This guy tried to take advantage, and you defend him; even though he is a drug abuser or abuser of others. Does that really contend that you are right in what you say, or alledge vs me? Bizarre!!

Heroin, crack and others such like induce much more violent behaviour than alcohol, and I am not condoning the use of alcohol, so get your own opinions valued and in context first! Crass is beyond you, I would hope! As for soap boxes, I use a bath thanks, I'm clean!

-mel.

Funny that they are worried the airport threatens to tarnish their tourist friendly image...how about the daily assault, intimidation and robbing of tourists in scam after scam such as on the beaches of Pattaya, Phuket and Koh Samui with the jet ski gangs?

You are forgetting that almost all tourists come through swampy and only a small percentage of them are scammed on the beaches some never even go to a beach they go to a bar or take tours. Their is far more to Thailand than just bars and beaches. The few times I have been on beaches in Phuket, Hui Hen, Pattaya and Koran I was not scammed. It is just a small percentage of the ones who do go to the beaches that get scammed. Next time you go to a beach look at the number of tourists on the beach and then look at the number on jet skies a very small percentage of them and they are not all being scammed.

Funny how people can look at a few cases of wrong and say the whole country is doing it.

Totally agree. It is the mentally retarded visitors who are gullible and open to scamming, same as any website or stupid e-mail received online. If you're that stupid just don't come, or go to Anon country and get scammed. If you can't be bothered to read up on where you are going then more fool you.

I've been here 8 years, speak the lingo, cos I was bothered to, and I have never been duped nor attempted to be. Personal attitude counts a lot, and if you are a weakling/weaklink, then you are so in your own country. It's about time people stopped knocking Thailand for its dupers, as they exist in EVERY country of the world, and they prey upon the weak and stupid. If you're stupid, don't come. Simple as that!

If you're here and stupid, then go home and be duped there, and stop complaining about your own losses wherever you are!

-mel.

Edit: Oh and by the way, I just got offered 30M US$ from a Nigerian banker who is ready to use my details to transfer 60% of it to me, as it was left by my poor Aunt. Any stupid farang visitors to Thailand interested in this, as opposed to paying 4,000 baht for a jet-ski scratch?