mikebike

Is the water pipelines from the mainland not finished yet?

2 hours ago, Happy Grumpy said:

If the 300 uses the 286cc thumper, does the 500 use the 471cc twin?

Yes.

More details and specs in the link below. Mrs. mikebike had a Savage 650 back home and hasn't been too chuffed about any of the newer cruiser bikes available here... now she is pumped over the new Rebel... she actually started riding on an original Rebel 250 which was totally disassembled and rebuilt in our living room!! 55555!!

http://www.motorcycle.com/manufacturer/honda/honda-rebel.html

Unfortunately Bob9, the people often aren't the best judges of right and wrong. Left to a plebiscite it is hard to imagine Australian women and Aboriginals getting voting rights when they did.

18 minutes ago, Brer Fox said:

Well Googled mikebike! Very selective I am sure.

You should be telling the Vietnamese they have got it all wrong. Could we now have something from you that could be classed as constructive for the Thai rice industry.

5555... didn't have to Google - had a bookmark! LobbyWatch.org is a great site.

Absolutely. Don't follow the global trend or listen to corporate-funded research think-tanks. Keep the farming industry in the hands of farmers. Develop in-nation PhD level research independent from agribusiness and sensitive to local, regional and national needs and goals. Agricultural boards (research/sales/distribution) should have at least 50% representation by local farmers. I could go on... basically do the opposite of what has killed sustainable family farming in the so-called developed nations.

4 hours ago, Bullie said:

Well, most Europeans have a perfect understanding of how real democracy works. It starts with 1 man, one vote. In our eyes it's just a little bit better than " the best there is".

Unfortunately there are issues with one-man-one-vote democracies. They can skew electoral power in several ways. Most obvious examples seen in countries/regional areas with disproportionate urban or rural populations - the needs of the majority often drown out the needs of the minority.

There is some real merit in an electoral college system if it is fairly enacted.

29 minutes ago, Brer Fox said:

The writer makes some valid points but the one comment I query is:

 

"But the ugly truth is that Thai farmers will continue to deliver millions of tonnes to a market already oversupplied with rice."

 

Who says the market is oversupplied and exactly what is described as the so called "market"? Are there not new markets out there if anyone tried looking.

 

I am sure there are a number of other reasons why the Thai rice industry is in trouble like greedy middle men and other bloodsuckers.

 

Sure the growers are continuing to produce millions of tonnes of rice some of which is sold and some of which is stored because at the price they want it is unsaleable. Or more to the point the price is not as good they used to get in the "good old days".

 

The question that needs to be asked is why is it Vietnam which produces twice the quantity of rice per hectare seems to have little trouble in selling their's at a price which is acceptable to them. They don't have stores bulging at the seams with millions of tonnes waiting for the price to go up. Efficiency of production production and lower costs and better and coordinated marketing seem to be the answer. In the meantime Thai farmers grow rice like they are living in medieval times.

 

Vietnam is looking forward to a viable rice industry and using the help of experts to expand markets and improve rice quality and lower costs by reducing pesticides, water, labour and seed.

 

http://vietnamnews.vn/society/345730/vn-should-sell-rice-to-africa-experts.html#A3ljix9zPi3YucPv.97

 

They seem to have the right formula and attitude; whats's the matter with Thailand?

Why can't they call for help from people like the International Rice Research Institute? I think we all know the answer to that.

 

And there ya go. Sounds reasonable no?

Until you research and find out that the IRRI was founded by the Ford and Rockefeller Foundations and that the IRRI has come under criticism for supporting a corporate agenda. IRRI is supposed to contribute to sustainable improvements in the productivity of agriculture and in particular to help low income people. But IRRI programmes have been judged by many to be both environmentally and socially destructive. 

This is because IRRI programmes have increased productivity though breeding seeds that rely on the heavy use of chemical inputs. For these inputs to be taken up by the plant requires conditions of heavy and frequent water use via irrigation.

There is also the issue of monocultures. IRRI has produced more than 300 High Yielding Varieties (HYVs) of rice, but prior to the diffusion of these varieties over 100,000 different rice varieties thrived in farmers' fields. 

The IRRI's rice variety IR8 launched the Green Revolution but it was variety IR36 - released in 1976 - which became the world's most widely planted variety of rice with 11 million hectares planted in Asia during the 1980s. The trend of displacement has continued. By the mid-1980s, just two HYVs occupied 98 per cent of the entire rice growing area of the Philippines.

In other words, adoption of IRRI's HYVs has created excellent opportunities for costly intensive agriculture inputs. Perhaps unsurprisingly, IRRI’s annual reports show grants from a whole array of US and European chemical corporations including Monsanto, Shell Chemical, Union Carbide Asia, Bayer Philippines, Eli Lily, OccidentalChemical, Ciba Geigy (later part of Novartis Seeds which is now part of Syngenta), Chevron Chemical, Upjohn, Hoechst, and Cyanamid Far East.

Rorri, do you  now understand that the article in The Nation is an attempt to influence public opinion against sustainable farming in favor of agribusiness?

34 minutes ago, Rorri said:

Subtext definition: an underlying and often distinct theme in a piece of writing or conversation.

Perhaps you have the problem, as your comment still has no context in relation to the article. Did you read, and understand what the article is about?

Yes. The authors framed their eagerness to replace sustainable farming with agribusiness as an attack on traditional values. My guess is, not only did you not understand the article, but that you do not understand the issues facing global agriculture or the food chain.

Ok with me if you are oblivious to subtext.

17 minutes ago, Rorri said:

Wow, you must be fun to chat with, no wonder you hide in Thai, the rest of the world must be very scary... conspiracy after conspiracy after conspiracy.

Having said that, I have no idea what your comment has to do with this article, perhaps you can explain, so we can analyze it and understand it.

 

Hide? I have biz interests globally. What my comment has to do with the article is consolidation in the farming industry/food chain.

Ah - the refreshing stench of the Global Corporatocracy venting its vitriol through The Nation. Did Monsanto co-author the article?

48 minutes ago, Somtamnication said:

Well, most non Americans have no idea about this "democracy", for example, it is not one man one vote. But it is the best there is and so please let it continue. 

Citizens United decision put 'Murica firmly in the Corporatocracy category, not the Democracy category. This  bastardized version is hardly the best example of Democracy in the world today.

1 minute ago, james1995 said:

Yeah and wasting electricity.  That stuff is expensive here.  Room = 5,000 a month and wasting 3000+ a month on electric is a dumb idea.

Its dumb because rent is ridiculously cheap? Back home a 'room' would be 15,000 baht a month and electric would be 4000+. Don't get your point.

5 minutes ago, louse1953 said:

You didn't read what i said.Some energy use is necessary,some is not.

And apparently you get to be the judge and jury on that? You are cherry-picking what YOU consider important. A good nites sleep is very necessary to me.

Liking these threads, always good to know what is working!

Thanks, good to know!

There is no stopping Trump.  Even if he loses the election, he has millions of followers.

I believe some of you may have misinterpreted the, admittedly poorly written, description of his incarceration. He spent 15 yrs in a Canadian jail fighting extradition, then 5 yrs in the Thai jail.

If you want the pup to socialize in the same way as home why not stop complaining about the reality of the situation here and be proactive? Start or join a dog walking group. A tea time with people and pups who share the same goals? Lots of options just gonna take more effort on your part...

There is a big difference dude. You can choose to smoke dope. You can still live a full life without it.You don't choose to be gay and you can't live a full life without expressing your natural sexuality.

That was some hard core oppression.

For some peeps marijuana may be a choice, many probably, like sexual experimentation. For others the relief it brings IS NOT a choice, it is a daily requirement since puberty and until death. Some, cannot live a full life without it.

A soft voice and sympathetic smile will count more than any choice of words.

I already know how to be empithetic. I was looking for proper phrasing to go along with the empithetic look!

 
...and you probably will, meltdown up ahead as well as in the rear-view mirror.

14 minutes ago, Pinot said:

 

HRC will be tainted from what? What are you talking about? As will Obama and Bill's reputation??? Anybody?

Crony capitalism, extreme hawkishness (Kissinger... REALLY?!!), zero transparency, pro Citizens United, low approval rating vs high untrustworthy rating, Clinton Foundation misdeeds, latecomer to LGBT rights, latecomer to realizing superpredators was a lie, poor public speaker - she cannot energize a bunny with an Energizer battery in hand, as establishment as it gets, unmitigated supporter of trade deals, pro fossil fuel forever, DNC/Wassermann-Schultz scandal... I could go on for a very long time...

18 minutes ago, thaibeachlovers said:

I don't know US law, but I reckon the W H getting involved in a civil case would be illegal.

Of course the WH won't be involved officially, but it sure can exert influence on DAs and judges and other actors in the case(s). If you think The Donald's legal team can lean hard on regular citizens imagine the weight of the WH, the DNC, and her donors leaning on him...

3 minutes ago, thaibeachlovers said:

This time it's personal. To save his family's reputation Trump has to destroy them in public. IMO he won't settle, unless it includes an admission of lying.

Kind of my point too... The Donald, for all his self-claimed billions, won't be able to even come close to getting a lawsuit filed, much less 'destroy her' re this once the HRC machine hold the whitehouse coupled with the legal and financial backing of the DNC and her deep pocketed donors. He cannot win this battle.