Plus

Some shops compensate for LPG by installing a dual system where regular petrol is used solely for starting and acceleration.

What are you talking about? What dual system?

Every LPG install here can switch between petrol/gas, and most installs won't start cold on LPG.

Mine needs to start and run about 1.5km before LPG system is ready to take over. Cold LPG start for me is simply not possible. Installs with cold start usually include extra oil injector to add to LPG, there are pretty much standard issue.

Engine overhauls here are generally not recommended because it's cheaper to put a new second hand engine instead. I have no idea how taxis can afford overhauls every 1.5-2 years. Maybe it's replacing a few selected parts. The shop where I did my conversion services all of its installs and I've never heard them saying anything about overhaul, never seen them doing it, and there are plenty of taxis and vans there, too.

I have never seen diesel+LPG conversion here personally and I inquired at several shops - it's not done, except for fitting Colorado NGV system on Colorado/Isuzu trucks. Diesel owners usually go for engine swap and then LPG conversion.

Things might have changed in the past year but I haven't heard anything personally.

>>>

On the topic of diesels slow trottle response - one thing you CANNOT say about latest pickups is that they have slow acceleration. Something like Fortuner can easily pull away from any petrol car from 140km/h. I guess the trick is in swtiching gears earlier, and so acceleration slows down only in the last gear, which would be over 160km/h, from practical observation. Ford Focus has six gears to go through, I guess it would never run out of breath up to 180, and that's when 2l Civic should have an advantage.

Regular cars with 1.5-1.6l displacement are very sluggish over 140km/h comparing to current diesel trucks.

he had some business to attend to overseas

That's one way of putting it.

Judges considering his FCCT speech should not base their decisions on progress in Songkran riot case, though they could have been tempted to convict him in absentia considering his reported activities.

I bet there are also rules on how to proceede if defendant is not present. Thaksin has a dozen cases suspended due to his absense, for example, they can't move an inch, legally.

Speaking of taxis - they all run on converted LPG or NGV, and they cover a lot more distance than your average car - there's no reason to doubt their reliability. Many of their LPG installs are really basic, for under 20k. 30-40k buys you proper head injectors. Converting diesel to LPG use cost somewhere over 150k, last year it was available only for Isuzu/Colorado engines.

Newer taxis run on NGV, now Toyota has factory fitted NGV model. GM either didn't see its Optra to taxi fleets, or it wasn't accepted by drivers, have no idea why.

Now is the time for those who hold genuine beliefs to recognise their errors and rid themselves of the self serving that they made the poisoned deal with.

Don't hold your breath. Those people didn't have enough brains to see through Thaksin's manipulations, couldn't see the dangers of jumping on his wagon, what are the chances they'd come around now?

I suspect they simply don't exist. I suspect there are only two kind of reds - opportunists and idiots, it never appealed to the sane part of the population. Idiots are coming back to their senses, opportunists were never interested in "democracy", they have their own goals.

Oh, and there are Thaksin fans, of course, they are just groupies.

I just wanted to illustrate Nation's alleged bias by quoting that article.

Pravit, the author, is simply trying to justify his own allegiance to the red cause in the face of widespread condemnation. He needs an explanation why he and the reds are viewed as pariahs by mainstream society, and he found it - it's the class issue.

Maybe it's enough for him, but if he is trying to convince everyone else that reds have real, democratic agenda of their own, he fails. People don't pay attention to red demands not because they are poor low classes, but because they don't make any sense in the face of their despicable actions.

Pravit can't accept this explanation, he put his ideology first and foremost. Red's can't be wrong, they are always right, so he needs to demonstrate how everyone else is deeply mistaken about them.

Pheu Thai threatens to boycott tripartite reconciliation panel

http://nationmultimedia.com/breakingnews/3...artite-reconcil

Pheu Thai threatens to boycott tripartite reconciliation panel

The Pheu Thai Party Wednesday threatened to boycott the tripartite committee to bring about political reconciliation and study charter amendments.

Witthaya Buranasiri, chief opposition whip, said the Pheu Thai would not send it representatives to join the panel if the Parliament does not set up a panel to review the political violence during the Songkran holidays.

The tripartite panel is supposed to have representatives from the government, opposition and Senate.

The Nation

Mass media accused of middle-class anti-reds bias

"Chiang Mai University law lecturer Somhai Preechasil-pakul wrote a commentary in Matichon newspaper on Monday denouncing much of Thailand's mainstream media. He thought they had double standards and that media professionals had an upper-class bias as many view poor lower-class protesters, who make up the bulk of the red-shirt movement, as people lacking "political maturity", whose votes can be bought by money or populist policies."

and

"..the fact the mainstream mass media overwhelming reflect the middle-class (and in some cases an elitist) political worldview. This is simply because editors, journalists and photographers are mostly middle class and Thai mass media is hardly a forum for the poor, less formally educated lower class, who happen to make up some 70 per cent of the Thai population.

Thus they're more middle class' media than "mass" media, which might supposedly include more voices from the poor majority. What they write or report on tells readers more about themselves than that of the poor.

The middle class' daily dealings with the lower class is marked by hierarchical and patronage relationships such as one of manager-to-worker, passenger-to-taxi-driver, master-to-maid, diner-to-waiter, sex-buyer-to-sex-worker and more.

The middle class and elite are not used to truly listening to the lower class and rather wish they remain docile as cab drivers, waiters or prostitutes instead of being active as fellow Thai citizens, capable of independent and equal political thoughts and aspirations.

If lower-class people are in the news, many of the middle class rather wish they were on the news as a "good cabbie" who returns a forgotten wad of bank notes left behind by a forgetful middle class or rich passenger. Or, as an award-winning bartender, or perhaps a maid who was a rape victim of a cruel house master. To them, the poor reds can't possibly have an independent mind and are more likely to have been duped or bribed by Thaksin and his cohorts. So it doesn't matter much which newspapers or TV channel you subscribe to."

Brought to us by the Nation.

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/search/rea...newsid=30101578

What the reds fight for are:

One person one vote - as long as it's a vote for Thaksin, and MPs are not allowed to vote for PM candidates from parties not approved by Thaksin.

No army to make coups - only bloody red revolutions are legitimate means of overthrowing the government

No out-of-Parliament power to interfere in politics - unless it's Thaksin appointing Cabinet Ministers or PTP party executives

Constitution Law made by majority of Thais - 56% in the only referendum ever does not count, also elite appointed writers of 1997 constitution from now on are declared "majority of Thais"

Media to deliver true facts - as approved by official Truth Today

we would be better of if there would be a nice little cleansing of all politicians and bureaucrats in this country and I got to fill their positions with good people under a developing-period until all the old bad blood is gone.

That sounds like we need a military coup to ensure smooth transition to new politics.

Unfortunately, no one is in a position to pull off successful coup now, and nothing will get better until reds and yellows unite in a fight of people vs politicians.

Nevermind, I don't need apologies,

How about those reasons? I've been asking around for a couple of days now.

They can be upset that generals meddled in forming the current coalition. Could be a legitimate reason if not double standards - Thaksin was personally appointing cabinet members and they didn't feel anything about it. What's good for the goose...

The talk about Prem and Privy Council has been dropped from the updated red agenda, btw.

By 'they', I was referring to the bog-standard peasant (not a red militant). The average Joe in the fields does not want a revolution. He just wants to do a bit better in life - preferably this one, not the next one.

Usually he's offered no improvements by any political party, (So THB 500 is the next best thing). I don't blame these people for feeling cynical about the townies, and then selling out their vote.

I also meant bog-standard peasant - they've been enlisted in someone else's war.

Every party offers populist schemes to them now, they are not fighting for that. I hope you don't think they took to the streets because PPP somehow offered them better policies last year than Democrats. They have no idea why they took to the streets, they can't give you (us) a single reason. They just parrot irrelevant stuff they've been made to feel strongly about.

The average Joe may not want a revolution but it's this kind of insufferable patronising rubbish that ends up getting throats slit.I accept (or rather hope) that the language used is partly for dramatic effect though for someone who seems to know the country well it is strikingly unThai in tone (though consistent with some of the racist rhetoric used at PAD rallies.) What is remarkable is its ignorance (there's no such thing as a bog standard peasant) and barely concealed hatred.Incidentally revolutions always happen when things are getting better not worse. and things have been getting better oin Thailand.

Anyway thank goodness people like this aren't in charge, and never will be.

Hold on here - who are you talking to? First few paragraphs in your quote are not mine.

What is this "patronising" you were talking about?

As far as I can see, the only part of MY message that you could be referring to is this:

"They have no idea why they took to the streets, they can't give you (us) a single reason. They just parrot irrelevant stuff they've been made to feel strongly about."

Instead of blasting me - give me ONE single legitimate reason for their protests that was supposed to address THEIR problems and not Thaksin's.

They need to tell the public they are doing something.

They don't need a treaty to extradite someone, it can be dealt with on a case by case basis.

It wasn't this govt that let him out of the country.

They don't want to revolutionise it, but they just want to do better out of it.

No they don't.

Show me a single point on their agenda that would lead to betterment of the system as opposed to making life easier for politicians.

They've just been elinsted in someone else's war and told to repeat someone else's arguments.

I'm actually waiting for them to start making sense. That day hasn't come yet, though it has been promised ages ago by red promoters on this forum.

By 'they', I was referring to the bog-standard peasant (not a red militant). The average Joe in the fields does not want a revolution. He just wants to do a bit better in life - preferably this one, not the next one.

Usually he's offered no improvements by any political party, (So THB 500 is the next best thing). I don't blame these people for feeling cynical about the townies, and then selling out their vote.

ps I agree about Prem, I don't think he is calling the shots because no person in their mid eighties is in a fit state to do so. Eg, Deng Xiao Ping, Castro, Chairman Mao. They were all worn out by that time in life.

I also meant bog-standard peasant - they've been enlisted in someone else's war.

Every party offers populist schemes to them now, they are not fighting for that. I hope you don't think they took to the streets because PPP somehow offered them better policies last year than Democrats. They have no idea why they took to the streets, they can't give you (us) a single reason. They just parrot irrelevant stuff they've been made to feel strongly about.

>>

Thaksin was appointed to the Cabinet after baht devaluation.

Chavalit had to take responsibility for handling attacks on baht and depleting country's reserves. True, it wasn't his fault that the country was in a weakened position but that's not an excuse to secretly bankrupting the government and then dumping it on unsuspecting public.

Practically, first step towards reconciliation means realising that yellows were right

And that really sums it up doesn't it?

Yes it does.

There will be no reconciliation until you accept "right" for what it is and not for its color.

That's the first stumbling block - you can't accept that anything connected with yellow is right. Well, like it or not, but nothing will happen unitl you grow out of that kindergarten sandbox mentality.

It is not a case of agreeing, it is a case of understanding that other people have a right to think for themselves nd make their own decisions in life.

NO, reconciliation means agreeing on something together, not simply understanding the other side. Wolves might understand sheep and sheep might understand wolves, but no matter how deep this understanding is - they are not going to live in peace.

Looking at current Thai politics - there will be no reconciliation, period. The red leaders have gone overboard with their latest revolution and they have absolutely no intention to live in peace with Democrats.

Red supporters, the grassroots, should really start thinking for themselves and formulate their own agenda, they should separate themselves from Thaksin and greedy, self-serving politicians. Then we can start talking about healing the rift in society at large.

Am I correct if I say Prem, Army and some top police have the real control of Thailand?

No, you'd be incorrect.

Prem wasn't in full control even when he was the PM.

Now he is too old to control anything. Many powerful people respect him but he doesn't control them.

The army and the police are far from being unified. Chamlong feared a Songkran coup AGAINST Prem, for example.

So much for control.

They don't want to revolutionise it, but they just want to do better out of it.

No they don't.

Show me a single point on their agenda that would lead to betterment of the system as opposed to making life easier for politicians.

They've just been elinsted in someone else's war and told to repeat someone else's arguments.

I'm actually waiting for them to start making sense. That day hasn't come yet, though it has been promised ages ago by red promoters on this forum.

If you dont agree with me, remember 1997 crises and recall who was in power and who destroyed Thai economy (democrats, just in case if someone cant recall).

Such a bold display of ignorance!

And from a poster who calls himself "ajarn".

Or was it coming from Calvin in his avatar?

By all means go after TS, but go after all the others under suspicion too. Eg: Juthamas of the TAT.

There's that, and there's also the reality - only under Democrat party Thai anti-corruption agencies have any chance of succeding, no one else would let them go anywhere near corrupt politicians, not Newin, not Thaksin, no one.

There's also low tolerance for public pressure at the moment, even if for legitimate reasons, it was all exhausted on reds and yellows.

Now is a good time to steal and plunder - no one is watching the shop, Abhisit is too busy reasoning with monkeys, as if they'd ever listen. Even if he gets a reprieve and turns to his real job - the urgency of economic crisis means less transparency and more leakage for the sake of speed, anti-corruption drive will have to wait.

But he gives them the money!

Does anything else matter? It's for their club.

Maybe they should seriously consider fan ownership, like Barcelona or Hamburg. I mean all English clubs, ManC was just unfortunate to run into a batch of spoiled owners but it's a perfect example how money corrupts the game, and without any results, I might add.

There aren't enough clean people in this country, bureaucrats are least dangerous, if you think of it for a second - they skim off their life long jobs, it's a kind of incentive to keep their industry developing rather than let it run into the ground.

And there's a natural cap on how much they can possibly steal - they are in service positions, they aren't too ambitious or greedy, comparing to top businessmen who want to control them. All they can steal is to cover a few personal items - cars, houses, jewellry - it's peanuts, really.

Most imporant, however is that they can be used as a counterwieght to politicians. Giving politicians full power at the expense of bureaucracy is not healthy for the country. You need to keep balance.

And by saying this you assume that having state enterprise employees from such paragons of clean dealing such as the trains, egat, or TTM that this would improve the situation. Why are their privileged voices any more important than the farmers? Now these are absolutely prime examples of state employees that have been bleeding the state dry and have disproportionately high benefits in comparison with the common man. Have you ever tried to sell something to Egat? It make the new airport look like an example of modern uncorrupt business. This so called 70:30 is simply a replica of the Chinese politburo as a concept and who gets s******d and underrepresented? The farmers, just like China.

If anything these so called state enterprises need to be privatised, the problem is or was that the biggest buyers would have been the TRT crew. So then the best outcome is to allow foreign ownership. This would be the best, but of course no one can ever sell that idea to the country, because one MP from abercymmoobhan screams "selling the country".

I don't think reds include state enterpirses in the list of their enemies in the first place. There's no popular push for their reform, even from urban middle classes let alone poor Isanese farmers. Yes, SRT is losing money - but we get cheap trains, specifically to provide affordable transportation for the poor.

I guess with a couple of months of brainwashing on Dtv they can be persuaded to privatise SRT, but it hasn't happened yet.

As for bureaucracy, farmers and reds in general have no dealings with it whatsoever, certainly not on the level where there's interference with politics. They've just been told it's their sworn enemy but I bet they can't give even a single name or pinpoint how exactly it affects their lives.

It's NOT their battle at all and they have no clue what changes they want, they are just used as cannon fodder by politicians.

>>>

It is easier to monitor corruption among bureaucrats as there are relatively few of them and they don't have institutional control over anything but their domains. Catching politicians, on the other hand, is nearly impossible as they control everything but NCCC, one small agency with limited power outside its walls. With policy corruption they can even steal legally, without any supervision.

Reds are barking at the wrong tree.

Oh, no firmware updates for Huawei, they just don't do it, and True has left a sticker with expiration date for that free modem offer, that's why it doesn't work anymore, I guess.

Nevermind, I haven't exhausted all linux capabilities yet - I want to know why it tells me I have not network cards, for example. Does it know something I don't?

Thanks for replies,

Win7 - will wait for May 5

True modem - I'm aware of their Navigator issues, I remember that thread

Login to that Billion doesn't work, True must have overwritten it (acc. to billion support it's admin/admin and it doesn't work, nor any other true/true combination). That's the only working box here, I don't want to screw it up.

Buying a new box - where's the challenge in that? I've salvaged all necessary hardware already, everything works, under WinXP. Spending money to get Linux working is against the whole philosophy.

Next step - I've got another, old Huawei true modem that they say won't work anymore (and it doesn't). I'll try to reset it to factory settings and flash firmware, that sounds like fun, almost like setting up virtualbox, in vain, for the fifth time.

Thanh, yes, it's a PPPOe over adsl, it needs to be dialled up from the OS, it's a free True modem they give you when you sign up for them.

In XP I pin dial up to the user start menu, so it automatically starts when the desktop is completely up and modem is ready by that time.

There aren't enough clean people in this country, bureaucrats are least dangerous, if you think of it for a second - they skim off their life long jobs, it's a kind of incentive to keep their industry developing rather than let it run into the ground.

And there's a natural cap on how much they can possibly steal - they are in service positions, they aren't too ambitious or greedy, comparing to top businessmen who want to control them. All they can steal is to cover a few personal items - cars, houses, jewellry - it's peanuts, really.

Most imporant, however is that they can be used as a counterwieght to politicians. Giving politicians full power at the expense of bureaucracy is not healthy for the country. You need to keep balance.