MrY

It was built by France and is a joke. It isn't true that Thailand doesn't have aircraft. It has F-16's. The carrier lacks catapults and can't launch aircraft. It can't catch them either due to a lack of arresting cables. The carrier is also way too small, isn't nuclear powered and can't go far.

It was built in Spain and was quite capable [for it's time]. Assuming of course you fit it with aircraft, trained crews, an air defense systems, and accompany it with other vessels needed for it's supply and defense. Thailand ran out of funds for all those as soon as it was commissioned.

Thailand has aircraft, the carrier doesn't. The carrier's aircraft were decommissioned ten years ago. F-16s are not carrier aircraft. The carrier lacks catapults as it wasn't designed to have them. Same for arresting cables (Your F-16 would get wet even if it had them, as none of them have hooks...). It is a Harrier (or "Matador", the Spanish version) "jump jet" carrier, thus the small size too. 10,000 nautical mile range is hardly a limitation for Thailand. (I just had to look the range up, as aircraft carriers usually have quite a long range.)

Advice from a German old-timer years ago; "If you ask a Thai to nail your Picasso on the wall, you've only got yourself to blame..."

The restriction causes binge drinking as I am experiencing now.

OMG binge drinking you do know the definition of binge drinking is "The consumption of 4 standard drinks or more in any one session" standard drink is defined as 10ml of pure alcohol so if you have more then 2 375ml cans of beer or more then 1 glass of wine (they typically fill it up in Thailand so it is 250ml ) you are binge drinking

Not even close. Try Google.

yeah because a post with specific quantities (10ml) and quote marks around like the main definition would not be researched or anything and people just walk around with a definition of a standard drink just dropping out of their mouths all the time , but they would not have researched it or anything or have the government literature right in front of them when they typed it.

but you response was very good , for a 7 year old, nice variation on classics like "lier lier pants on fire" or "nah ahh"

Nah-ahh! I did Google "The consumption of 4 standard drinks or more in any one session" including the quotes (which shows results for the exact phrase) and got one (1) result. Your post. In this thread. So there. Liar, Liar, Pants on Fire.

In the UK binge drinking is generally defined as 8 or more standard drinks (6 for women). In the States it's 5/4 standard drinks. But since they define standard drinks differently, it all comes to mean about the same amount (80-90ml pure alcohol for men) consumed rather rapidly (2 hours). Unless you mix and match to come up with your own definition. You can't have your apples and eat your oranges too.

Honestly, Google binge drinking definition and there is many a good read on the subject. Enjoy.

The restriction causes binge drinking as I am experiencing now.

OMG binge drinking you do know the definition of binge drinking is "The consumption of 4 standard drinks or more in any one session" standard drink is defined as 10ml of pure alcohol so if you have more then 2 375ml cans of beer or more then 1 glass of wine (they typically fill it up in Thailand so it is 250ml ) you are binge drinking

Not even close. Try Google.

Seems the court ruled against AD

Blimey!

Andrew, are you now a fugitive from Thai criminal law?

As well as several others on this thread it seems...

With QE its only going to get weaker. A lot weaker. The Thai baht is no going down any time soon, They just maintained 2% interest rate that created more strength in the Thai baht.

Not looking good for EURO.

The Euro seems to be heading north again: http://www.ecb.europa.eu/stats/exchange/eurofxref/html/eurofxref-graph-thb.en.html

I think it largely depends on what kind of deal is struck with Syriza. I can't see the troika backing down on the debt repayment issue, but they could give the Greeks more time to pay.

In any event, if Tsipras wants the country to remain in the Eurozone, his only choice will be to stay on the beaten path. Either that or get the printing press's rolling to churn out large quantities of drachmas fast.

North? I see a tiny bounce but recovering two days worth of losses does not a recovery make. Direction still looks like SSE.

If the Scandinavians want to find out how many of their citizens are here a good place to start is Khon Khaen,. There are loads of old Swedes and Danes etc living in small villages with Isaan wives.

The villages bring in millions of baht every month in pension cheques from Sweden .

Its no wonder Europe's going broke. Sweden is nothing more than a welfare state.

Sweden is the 1/3 highest contributor per person to the EU. Their economy is one of the strongest in Europe and despite being a "welfare state" they manage to also have the 4th highest employment rate in the EU and that is behind the 3 countries with the most generous benefits.

It is no wonder that Europe is going broke but it has nothing to do with Sweden or Swedes living off their pensions abroad or indeed welfare in general, it is purely down to poor banking practices and nothing else.

The stress caused by the 'strong' Swedish economy could be a contributing factor:

http://www.xe.com/currencycharts/?from=SEK&to=THB&view=1Y

Powerhouse of European economy? :

http://www.xe.com/currencycharts/?from=SEK&to=EUR&view=1Y

A clash of two cultures in the extreme. One avoids any open friction and resulting loss of face, in the other one confrontation is the culture. For results, see news above.

This from one briefing on Arab culture:

"Accept that verbal brevity will be highly disconcerting to them. If you are quiet, they will simply think something is wrong. Not only do you have to speak more when you are with Arabs, but you have to step up the volume as well. Loudness of voice, rising pitch and tone, even shouting, all denote sincerity in Arab discourse. In Arab society it is quite normal to use speech in a rhetorical, almost aggressive manner to make a point clearly."

A bit over-the-top but some truth in it.

Sounds like they were using the wrong ammo.

What ammo should they have been using?

.

Arguable. Talking about this is like discussing religion: everyone has an opinion, and when selecting your ammo, like your savior, you will not find a consensus even within a single department, anymore than you will within a single denomination. So call me an armchair quarterback, and I won't argue, but I do know what most SWAT-type agencies use. Though I don't pretend to know what they use in Sydney, it's likely the .223. Somebody who truly knows, correct me if I'm wrong.

The .223 is the load of choice for many urban departments because of its low penetration; i.e., it will stop the bad guy, but not the innocent behind him. (For years, otherwise was thought, but recent tests show this to be true.)

Problem is, the .223 has a high propensity to fragment on impact. But cop shops like this, because if the target is hit, the fragments stay inside and do significant damage.

In the States, we call these "varmint" bullets, and use them for hunting. These are great for a group of bad guys holding up in a residential area. Not so good for hostage situations.

Because in the melee, the target is not always hit. In hostage a situation where numerous bodies are packed tightly and close to the target, a single round that misses and fragments off a wall, can kill more than one hostage. Most ricochets continue their travel within 16" of the surface they ricocheted off, which is where most hostages are.

The entry I saw on video, looked totally out of control. I've never seen so many rounds fired so fast.

(Now I'll be attacked by the guys from down under.)

Me, I would load the Nosler Partition bullet.

Gaser safety slugs, they are a mix of Teflon designed not to ricochet, specifically for hostage situations in enclosed environments.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glaser_Safety_Slug

Amen.

Did my setup similar to the diagram. The fancier [Japanese] pumps were 5-7000 baht so I bought a cheap Chinese one (1500b) and made a pressure accumulator from 6m of 6 inch pipe (!) for it as they tend to 'cycle' a lot with their tiny accumulator. Reliability? 5 years and counting...

There is no such time as 12:00 p.m., in which p.m. means post meridiem. In fact, 12:00 noon is the meridiem, while 12:00 midnight is neither ante nor post meridiem, being equidistant from the meridiem either retrospectively or prospectively. If you mean noon, say noon. If you mean midnight, say midnight.

Great post. I nearly posted the exact same words when someone queried 12pm.

Nothing can be after or before if it is at the same time.

Just to put this one to bed Again, 12pm and 12 am are meaningless but if people insist on using them, which they do, then

12 am would have to be noon and 12pm midnight.

http://wwp.greenwichmeantime.com/info/noon.htm

A.M. and P.M. What is Noon and Midnight?

A.M. and P.M. start immediately after Midnight and Noon (Midday) respectively.

This means that 00:00 A.M. or 00:00 P.M. (or 12:00 A.M. and 12:00 P.M.) have no meaning.

Every day starts precisely at midnight and A.M. starts immediately after that point in time e.g. 00:00:01 A.M. (see also leap seconds)

To avoid confusion timetables, when scheduling around midnight, prefer to use either 23:59 or 00:01 to avoid confusion as to which day is being referred to.

It is after Noon that P.M. starts e.g. 00:00:01 PM (12:00:01)

Logically yes, but by convention the 12-hour clocks start at 12:00, so it's 12:00am, 12:01am,... ...12:59am, 1:00am...

Maddeningly counter-intuitive but if one insists on am/pm for noon and midnight, then 12am is midnight and 12pm is noon. Cheers.

After reading some comments I watched it without audio first. Fast paced with good editing. Put a smile on my face and evoked many a good memory from years gone by.

Then watched the same with audio. Made me want to retch. 'Propaganda' is all I would call it. Try filming a promo for Germany in German repeating 'Deutschland' x50 and throw in a national anthem and some keywords [Ausländer for example] in German, then 'promote' Germany with it... (You can substitute America, Russia, England, Israel, Saudi, etc., to your liking)

In most areas these kids gather in the same places on the same weekday every time. For years on end. How f@#%ing hard is it to locate, surround them in force, and arrest most of them? "Intelligence gathering" my a$$...

Who would have thunk. International Airports will now become entertainment venues. Suvarnabhumi can immediately start building Terminal 2 and fill it with bars. Transit hotels for short time rooms. No need to even build gates or install jetways...

They wouldn't exactly be breaking new ground, would they... (Pun intended)

I think the technological challenges of laying cable in wet conditions were pretty much solved "a while" ago (transatlantic cable, for example). Having lived along two streets that got dug up [in Thailand], and observing the proceedings, I'd say one of the major challenges is that nobody knows what is already laid underground and where.

One pantopragmatic smatterer less, good riddance.

deer Pleae explain in Simple English, this is thai visa not a physicist forum.

pantopragmatic (adj.) = of someone sticking their nose in other people's business

smatterer (n.) = someone lacking in-depth knowledge [on the subject]

riddance = ....

One pantopragmatic smatterer less, good riddance.

I'm not leaving, Andrew is...

Only met him once when he was starting in Thailand but have followed his career on and off since that encounter. He sure looks different now... IIRC he was doing an exposé piece for BKK Post at the time. I regret to see him go and wish him best of luck. Hopefully he was already out of Thailand before posting "...matters I am dealing with cannot be written about safely in Thailand, and if I am to continue to function as a journalist it must happen outside Thailand’s borders." on his site. On the other hand, he's going back to where some of his adversaries came from, so safety is a relative term here. There is an old saying that goes something like "Do not make me take your threats seriously", so hopefully he has landed in safety already. Good Luck.

Note: I just reported one more attack site that hasn't been mentioned here. These thugs are nothing if not productive...

Edit: Italics

to mramazing

Thanks for the information about Thailandsforum in Swedish, as I didn't know anything about it.

Jag uppskattar verkligen. appreciate.

It looks like we have to live with this until 2018, than maybe SEK goes up to 4,50.

No one knows when does that change. If you knew it you get a Nobel Prize and 36 million THB. But you probably earn more money from the business you make by selling your knowledge.

Well, it was predicted, and the guy who predicted it did get a Nobel Prize...

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/21/opinion/krugman-sweden-turns-japanese.html

...and unlike what amazing believes, it was because of a rate hike that the recovery fell apart. Here's a follow-up...

http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/07/05/swedish-sadomonetarist-setback/

..and a chart to confirm the timing of event. (It's for USD, but the Krona is in freefall against all currencies.

http://www.xe.com/currencycharts/?from=SEK&to=USD&view=1Y

First came to Thailand due to work in 1993. Came back and stayed because of;

-Low living cost (very low after 1997)

-The warm climate (with a hint of seasons in CM)

-Friendly female population (no, not just sex)

-Non-hostile male population (did PI before THA)

-Safety (see abpve)

-Mañana? No such urgency here.

-Thai culture? Love it. (see all above)

-Language? No thank you. I speak several already. Got the basics down well enough to manage [by sheer exposure]. Never met a Thai person that could not speak English that made me regret I didn't learn fluent Thai. YMMV.

I feel no animosity towards Thais but if it feels like I don't want to "become Thai", then neither do they [want me to]. It's all in the sig.

Edit: line break

Bit of an odd post? When in Rome.....

You sound like a bit of an - er - oddball (spelt like a d#ck-He#d.

I find the Thais like it when I speak to them in Thai - I can't compare and contrast the Bard and Milton for example in Thai, but I then I can't do that in English either. Maybe go back to where you just speak your own lingo.

...check out the Colosseum?

Who on earth cares what they think of you? One of the most liberating aspects of being a foreigner is that we do not have to concern ourselves with the silliness of face, and the ensuing degree of cowardice that comes along with that concern of face. Just ask them to do the job right. Without regard to what they think of you. I told my Thai wife long ago, that it is a complete waste of time to concern ones self with what a strange thinks of you. It means nothing. I always insist it be done correctly, and will not sign anything, nor pay a balance until the job is completed properly. I ask her to do the same, though that is a bit of a challenge.

10 Points and an Attaboy sticker!

That's a Ferrari 360, and certainly not a Spider (which is a convertible/cabriolet). He may have paid 10 Mil for it couple of years ago, but you can get one for 5-6M these days and even a Spider is less than 10M.

Edit: I posted straight from page1, so I just saw Gerry (Je suis aussi 1011) beat me to it [with pictures]. If the stripes on it are original then it is a Stradale and maybe [was] worth close to 10 Million.

You can't get a 360 for 5-6 mil, its still closer to 8-10 mil.

Sure you can. I've been offered several at above prices at Ferma (Empire Motor Sports) and those are the prices they've recently changed hands at. (I may upgrade in the far distant future once the prices level out, but I'll take another Maserati over Ferrari any day). I check Thai second hand car sites from time to time and at the 'tent' asking prices the same [high-end] cars stay for sale months and years.

Is Ferma still the same owner as Cavallino? Since Cavallino is the official dealer now since around 2 years ago. 5-6 mill is quite a good price for a 360, surprise the price dropped so much these years. The 8-10 being sold online has indeed stayed there for months and years. For the price of 360, it is quite tempting, but I would probably opt for even older models which are around 3-4 mil and at the bottom of the depreciation.

Not sure if you are into porsches, the old model porsche prices have jump quite a bit these couple of years.

Ferma lost the Ferrari dealership to Cavallino, but their Maserati sales are doing OK.

Since you made me check again, there's even a 360 Spyder for sale at 5 Million (!). There may be (will be?) something wrong with it, but as long as it hasn't been crashed and has a clean title, who cares? Grab it and sort it out. You'll pay for supercar maintenance (A 360 you can even maintain your self, or you can order parts online and find a certified Ferrari mechanic that will sideline from his day job). There will be no further depreciating. I've [incidentally] followed the prices for last 8 years [as I use Ferma] and I don't think any older Ferrari will drop under 3M any time soon. For example 348s are 3-4M and F355s are much the same price range as the 360s [but a very different drive].

Yes, I'm into Porches too, just not 911s... A 928 for me thank you. You do BKK-CM in one go in 6 hrs like standing still and step out fresh (Ask me how do I know). If I got a contract in Thailand, I'd be looking for a 944 (951) for a track car.

Not sure where this comes into it ?? paper say's totaled his 10-million baht Ferrari ? maybe is a copy ? or a heap of junk that is why he could not stop in time ?

cheapest Ferrari here is 23 million up to 39 million !!

​Edit: looks like the F430 spider, costing 24 million, maybe 10 million is the value the Insurance will give ?

That's a Ferrari 360, and certainly not a Spider (which is a convertible/cabriolet). He may have paid 10 Mil for it couple of years ago, but you can get one for 5-6M these days and even a Spider is less than 10M.

Edit: I posted straight from page1, so I just saw Gerry (Je suis aussi 1011) beat me to it [with pictures]. If the stripes on it are original then it is a Stradale and maybe [was] worth close to 10 Million.

You can't get a 360 for 5-6 mil, its still closer to 8-10 mil.

Sure you can. I've been offered several at above prices at Ferma (Empire Motor Sports) and those are the prices they've recently changed hands at. (I may upgrade in the far distant future once the prices level out, but I'll take another Maserati over Ferrari any day). I check Thai second hand car sites from time to time and at the 'tent' asking prices the same [high-end] cars stay for sale months and years.

Love the aftermarket crappy go faster stripe, maybe he though he was Don Johnson or something.

I bet we was wearing a pair of rayban aviators to go with it.

Actually its not an aftermarket stripe, its a factory stripe. That seems like its a 360 Stradale, the sporty version of the normal Ferrari 360. Don't be fool into thinking stripes on high sports cars such as ferrari and porshe are aftermarket, most are actually factory stripes indicating that its a higher performance and sporty model of their basic models.

Ferrari 360 Challenge Stradale factory stripes (if they are original).