way2muchcoffee

Some contributors here beggar belief.

At least we agree on something.

Do the regression analysis and get back to us before you start hurling insults.

You do not take an individual year when examining trends. You go by trendlines. Nevertheless, you are right I missed nearly a decade.

So from 1910 to 1940 it is still 0.013 degrees per year. From 1975 to 2005 it becomes 0.02 degrees per year. Still 1.5 times the rate in the mid to early 20th century.

You can try to massage the data by picking individual years if you like. That would be wrong on many levels, but feel free. I'm not going to get into a pissing contest over this. It is visibly clear that the slope of the best fit line over the last two decades is significantly higher than from 1910 to 1940. One needs only hold a ruler up to the monitor to see the difference. If you really want, do it properly. Take all the data points in each 30 year span and do a linear regression analysis on the two sets of data. It shouldn't take more than about 20 minutes. I have no inclination to do so.

This then presumes that you may want to spend 25% of your national forex stash to combat mother nature, when you could simply move up the road.

I am curious if anyone could hazard a guess how much it would cost simply to put the drains that are already in existence up to standard and prevent flooding now? 10bn? 20bn? Bear in mind, building the Olympic stadiums in London is costing about 12 bn USD lets say and 99% of that work is above ground.

I would hazard that to be able to prevent floods in Bangkok would probably represent the most expensive civil engineering feat in the world. This would not also mean that it would be successful.

How much would it cost to rebuild an entire metropolis? All businesses, government buildings, schools, museums, national treasures, homes, apartments, condos, roads, all necessary infrastructure, etc?

Actually the rates are not the same. From 1910 to 1940 there was a 0.4 degree Celsius increase. That's 0.013 degrees per year. From 1980 to 2000 there was a 0.6 degree Celsius increase. That's 0.03 degrees per year. The rate over the last two decades is 2.25 times the rate in the early to mid 20th century.

That's the party line for some who hate the idea of the Thai people being given their say and frankly increasingly threadbare in the light of events.In any event no point in rehashing this discussion since it's been flogged to death.It doesn't alter the fact that Abhisit has no personal mandate and needs to secure one very soon.

It could be a party line as you say. Alternately it could be the truth, because that is exactly what happened. Elections, elections, elections. They had elections 2 years ago and will again in another 2, possibly earlier. Until free and fair elections can be garnered, and freedom to campaign, no threats of revolution, and no terrorist activity, I seriously think Thailand needs to hold off on the election front. And for the record, Abhisit already has a mandate. He has the mandate given him by the parliament the voters elected to represent them.

You're hearing but not apparently listening.Nobody who understands how parliamentary democracy works denies Abhisit holds his office legitimately.But there is a problem which grows greater as time goes by in that he has no personal mandate at all.Sooner rather than later he needs to try tp obtain this.From your posts it would appear there is no problem here.You are simply wrong about this particularly given the murky path, including the sheer criminality of a military coup, that led Abhisit to power.And as to being boring mote and beam, old boy, mote and beam.

The military coup led directly to the PPP returning to power. The PPP engaged in electoral fraud, got caught and were disbanded. This led to the Democrats taking over. If the PPP had run an honest campaign they would still be in power today. It was the criminality and stupidity of the current opposition that led to the Democrats taking power.

A fanciful few on TVF lately seem intent on painting CM as some kind of red "fortress Chiang Mai" - an ongoing political maelstrom of a place overrun with red-clad goons......e.g. "who would want to visit RED Central HQ in the current political climate?", "Until 'great leader for life' Takki is taken care of, I will continue to warn people about venturing to that area", "Chiang Mai is now separated from Bangkok and Thailand, in the hands of goons, thugs and other assorted insurrectionists. Why are tourists now going to visit a city controlled by violent minded anti government factions?", "I would not feel safe there in the present climate. Not for any extended visit, pop in pop out maybe. And not if I had any schedule to keep" etc etc. It's a challenge for those actually living here to reconcile such stuff with the rather humdrum facts of our real rather than their imagined CM daily life - even for those in CM who are conspicuously anything but "pro red". Regardless of stance, I've seen CM-based members (in parallel with most others living elsewhere) roundly condemning intimidation of and actual violence towards visiting politicians, a gay parade etc - both in the CM sub-forum as well as in News Clippings etc. My conclusion overall - member location is not a factor; ignorance of the actual local situation combined with a fertile imagination and usually an agenda to drive probably is a factor.

The same could be said about BKK during the PAD Demonstrations, closure of the Swampy, and letter by the redshirt Songkhran riots. In most areas of the city life was like any other day. Only in certain areas would one have noticed something was amiss.

On the other hand Steve2UK, imagine that I, or just your average Thai person, chose to don a yellow t-shirt with pro PAD and harsh anti-Thaksin slogans on the front and back. We then proceeded to do a walking tour of CM for a few days. Then we went over to Udon Thani and did a walking tour there, sporting our hate Thaksin shirts. What are the chances we would encounter violence?

Was the current government elected by the people for the people? Just Yes or No pls

For about the 600th time - politics 101: Thailand has a parliamentary system of government. Other countries do to - Japan, England, Israel to name 3, but it is a rather popular form - more popular than a presidential system. The people elect locals to the national parliament. Those folks belong to any of several approved political parties. those people - the ELECTED MEMBERS OF PARLIAMENT vote for PM, not the people. If one party has a majority, like TRT did way back when, its a simple procedure. But if one party does not win a majority of seats, they must form coalitions with other parties. And guess what - if the party with the most votes, but not a majority, cannot put together a majority, then the minority parties can do so, and thats what happened. Thaksins (PPP) coalition fell apart and his buddies jumped ship, for whatever reason ($), and a new PM was elected. So, YES it is a government elected by the people.

All true but what you have omitted is the reality that a Prime Minister with no personal mandate from the people needs to obtain that sooner rather than later.That is the case for Abhisit as it is for Gordon Brown in the UK and regardless of the parliamentary system authority begins to ebb away without a fresh election.In Abhisit's case given the events that led him to power - coup, rigged constitution, directed court verdicts etc - the matter needs real attention.As in Brown's case the ebb of credibility is palpable and elections are the only real answer.

I agree. Election are necessary. As soon as the Thaksin situation is settled, and there is freedom to campaign everywhere in the nation, then, and only then, will elections be free and fair and produce a result that can be accepted by the disparate interest groups throughout the country.

The only point of tangible substance is that democracy was assassinated by the gun.

Only an election can normalise that sad state of affairs.

I still await enlightenment as to precisely where the gun sits in a democracy.

There was an election. Forgotten already? Alzheimer's perhaps?

Well perhaps their role should now be demonstrating against corruption against the now sitting junta contrived,geremandered, Dem government.

Big role there for them.

I almost agree. They should continue demonstrating corruption in whatever form it appears. If they are military, dems, PTP, BJT, the police, the civil service and everywhere else. The king of corruption is still on the loose and desperately trying to get his ill-gotten loot back, so I guess they'll have their hands busy for a while yet.

Well you work that out for yourself, and that will give you some idea of the megascale of the crimes of the junta, the PAD, and the yellowshirts.

Perhaps you would care to expound on your assertions?

The junta gun, and the institutions, set the tone

Except there were no guns on Junta Day. Only tanks covered with garlands by the smiling and grateful people of Thailand.

I think you mean the people with the guns who geremandered the government, and deny the country democracy.

As for vote buying, how many bought votes is the equivalent of one loaded gun.

I still havn't worked out where guns sit in a democracy.

I guess machetes are preferable then given the attacks in Udon by the redshirts on the PAD.

Or maybe guns were fine, see the murder of thousands under the direct order of K. Thaksin.

Or maybe we don't guns at all, just round up dissidents and stack them in a railway car until the suffocate, as in K. Thaksin's handling of the peaceful Muslim groups down South.

Or perhaps terrorism is more acceptable, as in the positioning of a gas tanker by redshirts threatening to blow up an apartment complex filled with women, children, and grandmothers.

You're on to something dustybin. It's fun to distort and manipulate facts to make a point. I get it now.

Go on then ,

Give us a list of just punishments to fit the crimes of the junta, the PAD, and the yellowshirts.

Go on then,

Give us a list of just punishments to fit the crimes of a man who ordered the murder of thousands, pillaged the nation's coffers, defrauded the taxpayers, began an insurrection, colluded with another nation, attempted to bribe a court, stifled the press, engaged in vote-buying on a massive scale, and systematically eroded a nation's democratic processes in his insatiable quest for power.

Do or die plots are just another PAD and yellow smokescreen.

Designed to mask the real issue of why the people are being denied democracy and an election, at gunpoint

Where are the guns? Oh yes. I remember now. That was Thaksin's redshirt commandos threatening to blow up a BKK neighborhood with a gas tanker, and then murdering unarmed civilians at a market.

The government is certainly not illegitimate nor illegal but it does need a fresh mandate.December 2011 is in my judgement a little too distant but it's Abhisit's call.I can certainly see the argument that the country should have settled down before elections.Looking ahead the question is whether fair elections can be held - and on that there's a lot of doubt given the elite and the military's appaling record in seeking to stamp their agenda over the will of the Thai people.

Agreed on almost all points, including military interference. However, you have left out blatant vote buying by the PTP. Bear in mind that the two previous versions of PTP were dissolved for electoral fraud. With the looming Democrat donation case, they may face the same. Moreover the freedom to campaign without fear of violence, riots, or being blasted with bags of fermented fish must be guaranteed for all candidates from all parties. This would require a radical turnabout from the red camp. Until these issues can be worked out elections should be delayed, even if it means no elections until the end of 2011.

It's definitely discrimination based on color. One need only go so far as the local cinema in BKK to see a sign advertising a job opening for which they will accept only attractive, light-skinned women.

I have to say that the tag "troll" is thrown around a bit too much by people on this forum. In many cases inaccurately. A person who has a differing viewpoint is not a " troll". There is nothing in Dustybin's post that suggests "troll" Maybe his brevity of posting style and language isn't to the liking of of some but that doesn't mean he lives under a bridge.

Why not buy a English/Whaloon/Chinese dictionary and learn a few more good words.

If we use the wikipedia definition of a troll as " someone who posts inflammatory, extraneous, or off-topic messages in an online community," then shouldn't the above be considered trolling?

According to that definition the example you mention is trollish as is nearly every one of dustybin's posts. And probably so is the post I'm typing right now....

It is not up to the pharmacy to know if the person has a legal right to have the substance. The person could even be buying it for a relative with permission that is waiting at home, at which point the purchase and transportation of the pills would be deemed 'ok' during a trial or police-check.

That's not true. Pharmacies in Thailand are not allowed to sell diazepam without a script in hand. Your libertarian ideals are not the law. But maybe they should be?

Pharmacies are allowed to sell Valium without requiring a prescription, the info in this thread says.

The pharmacies have 'tacit' approval from local police in Phuket. I repeat, it is against the law in Thailand to sell valium without a script. Whether the police choose to enforce that law is another issue entirely.

It is not up to the pharmacy to know if the person has a legal right to have the substance. The person could even be buying it for a relative with permission that is waiting at home, at which point the purchase and transportation of the pills would be deemed 'ok' during a trial or police-check.

That's not true. Pharmacies in Thailand are not allowed to sell diazepam without a script in hand. Your libertarian ideals are not the law. But maybe they should be?

The kid probably just said something stupid or rude. Could have said something as simple as 'left my prescription at home, could you go ahead and just discard it for me?" and that would have been that.

That may be how it works for you every time Heng, but you are a connected local. For your typical tourist or expat, yes, being polite might get you off, but then again it might not.

I don't know about you lot but Abisits government reminds me of John Majors government.....absolutely useless, with a lot less corruption around Major's.

And Abisit reminds me of John Major.

I can just visualise abisit sitting at home eating his peas, looking across at his missus, pushing his peas around his plate with his fork, and thinking what he could be up to with the "egg woman".

Both silly mid-offs.

What do John Major and his mushy peas have to do with Thailand? What is your agenda?

Red shirts?

They look like the "blue shirts" who caused all the trouble in Pattaya last year.

Again with the misinformation and disinformation. Gotta hand it to you though, you are quickly becoming a Jedi at clouding issues with lots of hyberbole and little fact.

My wife is an omnivore. Vegies, grains, beef, pork, all manner of fowl. all fish, rat, cat, snake, buffalo, insects, frogs, lamb, and probably more that I can't think of at the moment. But her favorite meat, bar none, is dog. Never will forget one trip to the village a few years back when she and her family killed, skinned, and fried the family pet. I was horrified. But there is something. I'm curious. Maybe one day....

It's simply a lie, and a particularly stupid one, which was exposed some time ago.

Where? When? How? By whom? I don't doubt that you believe this. So there must be some reason or evidence and I missed it along the way.