herfiehandbag

Hark, the roar of the species "Politicasauras Thai" from the depths of the swamp!

They probably would very much like to get hold of the German technology, which allows non nuclear submarines to operate very silently in restricted waters. By comparison, their own nuclear powered boats are not particularly quiet. I have heard them described as being as stealthy as a milk float on a cobbled street!

The whole world have spent the last ten years ignoring his convictions and those of his sister; because they realised that the charges, trial and sentences were the work of a military junta which had ousted him ( both of them) when it became obvious that they were going to win the pending election. They were allowed to live in exile with virtually no restrictions. The shame, farce and debacle lie firmly at the feet of the Junta and the vested interests ( opposed to Thaksin) that they serve. Their actions over the last decade or so have revealed that they ( the Junta and the nominally civilian gerrymandered government which they installed to followed them) have no values, and a particularly self centred twisted concept of pride. If the rest of the world is taking any notice ( which I rather doubt) it is to acknowledge that the Junta are leaving the centre stage of Thai politics and as a result Thaksin has voluntarily returned from exile and is going through a face saving ( for the establishment) process which will shortly result in his release.

No doubt "Big Joke" is even as we speak, penning a cocidil to his four page vision of the future of policing in Thailand if he gets the big job!

Four years ago my daughter and her friend watched as a car drew up at the boundary of our village, and this fellow, then just a bundle of fluff, was thrown onto the road and the car zoomed off. Obviously not cute enough any more! Now, neutered and well cared for he resides contentedly chez moi, along with his three smaller sisters, also rescued and brought home by Lucy. Just back from walking him! The Soi dog problem in Thailand is entirely the fault of the people, turfing out the dogs because they can't be bothered to look after them. Neutering these strays goes some way, but really some sort of education on how and why to look after these animals is needed - if you get a dog, even at the cute puppy stage, know you are in for a ten year plus commitment!

To be fair, he is between a rock and a hard place. He is absolutely not responsible for the fiasco of ordering submarines without engines. If he cancels them he knows full well that the Chinese will not refund any money. The Admirals are holding out for the German engines ( imagine how much the Chinese will pay for access and performance data!) The Germans will not supply their state of the art technology to a Chinese shipyard - even with a deal whereby they supervised the installation and work up trials, they know full well that the boat will be back in the shipyard within 6 months for " minor fault rectifications ( which will probably entail removing the engine and replacing it with a Chinese copy)! If he manages to get a few thousand tons of fertilizer at least Thailand will end up with something useful!

These submarine stories will run and run and run; or they would if it had an engine!

Many years ago on exercises in Germany the British Army used to practise laying anti tank minefields using dummy barmines filled with fertilizer; you didn't have to dig them up afterwards and it kept the German farmers happy ( if there is such a thing as a happy German farmer); so I suppose there is a vague sort of precedent!????

Jungle survival training for a submarine eh?

Utterly irrelevant comment, but you managed to get in your obsession with marriage to a Thai! Bitter about something are we; or just trolling...

He reckons he will stay for another 3 years? Nancy Pelosi is planning to stand again. Joe Biden wants another 4 years. Talk about hanging on for grim death! And then, on the other side of the chasm, we have the orange insanity which is Trump!

The free world is Donald Ducked!

Cod or other white cold water fish is virtually unobtainable in rural Chiang Rai province. Even in the city, 30 odd Km away, it is rare to find it on sale. Cooked carefully, and with attention paid to a good beer batter, it is passable.

Elon Musk is playing God!

If the chips look soggy then another 60 seconds whilst the fish is draining - or I keep them warm in a small electric oven.

Sounds jolly impressive! What does it mean?

I peel and "chip" the potatoes, then fry them. Whilst they are cooking mix the batter (about 1/3 the can of beer) dunk the fish in the batter, then once the chips are done bung the fish in.

How could they afford their space program without foreign aid?

It really is remarkably easy to make your own. Dory fillets (3 pieces for B100) A couple of potatoes (B25) Packet of batter mix (B15) Small can of beer to make the batter (B40) Deep fried in the wok. Fish and chip supper, with a glass of beer for B110.

My UK licence allows me to ride a bike up to 50cc. When I went to get my Thai car licence they gave me a motorcycle license as well. That was 7 years ago mind you. Apparently it was triggered by the little pictures on the back of the UK licence which covered your various entitlements.

Isn't this Abbas chappie the fellow who is currently in the 19th year of his 4 year elected term as President?

He can (and will) sit there fat and happy, smugly relishing the power and status his massive budget gives him. But essentially the mediocre (at best) and old fashioned education system is becoming increasingly irrelevant. The brighter of the young generation have educated themselves in political and social terms using their social media channels, which ignore (apart from poking fun at) their "elders and betters". That is what is behind the expansion of the progressive movement (Future Forward/Move Forward). It is a "self education" which is at times naive, but it is one which is here to stay. The dinosaurs, however smug, fat and happy, and well funded cannot control it, and have left it far too late (through a combination of complacency and ignorance) to gain control of it. Smug, fat and happy, and an expensive irrelevance.

No free fizzy drinks for you mate!

He was accused of these crimes by his political opponents. At times the evidence presented was less than convincing. Then he was overthrown by a military coup, at a time when all the indicators were that he would win the pending election, (funnily enough the same thing happened with his sister). Then he was tried and sentenced by the coup installed junta (again as was his sister). No other country even bothered to consider extradition or limiting their freedom to travel the world. If there was ever a political conviction, in a pathetic and transparent attempt to justify a coup that was it. I am quite prepared to accept arguments that Thaksin was corrupt, and his manipulation of the tax laws for example was wrong, I am less than enamoured of his and his sidekicks manipulation of the current political situation to ensure his return; but frankly his corruption pales when compared to that of the succession of coup installed and gerrymandered regimes which have been "fixed" over the last two decades. And over all the protests of his mendacity by the self righteous towers the elephant in the room, which is still evacuating it's bowels enthusiastically and expansively over Thai democracy. He (and his sister) were at the time of their ousting the emphatic choice of the Thai people to form a government, as were the MFP/PT combination this year. If you ignore that ("but, but, but Thaksin") then you ignore democracy, whether you are a Thai politician or an expatriate observer.

I rather suspect that now/once her father is sorted she will lose interest in politics. Can't say that I blame her!