Crash999

Mr. Abhisit is now suggesting that he could call an election at the end of this year. That stall is dangerous and unlikely to work. The army commander suggested Monday that it might be necessary to meet the protesters' demand that the parliament be dissolved and a new election called immediately. Meanwhile, Mr. Abhisit's party is under threat of being forced from office by a court order -- just like the past two pro-Thaksin prime ministers.

If the red shirts are so confident in their ability to win an election then the government agreeing to call elections later this year can be considered a victory as, after all, it will ensure that they will shortly be coming into power.

The red shirts can negotiate a fixed date for the election and leave Bangkok after holding press conferences declaring how this is a victory for democracy and the voice of the people has been heard- it would appear to observers to be the moral high ground.

Yet the red shirts press on with their current campaign, refusing to accept anything beyond immediate dissolution of the government. Why risk loss of life and potentially bring the situation to a crisis point for the sake of just a few months of time?

But previously Abhisit thought house dissolution should be immediate, wouldn't that also solve the problem.

Abhist also claims (as he did on CNN in his interview with Dan R. ) that the Democrats would win.

And back then the PPP also didn't waiver. Anyhow, that is history and I find it hard to believe that the red shirts would be motivated by a grudge against Abhisit. What they should be concerned about is what is the best possible outcome for them at the moment, and risking victory in an upcoming election seems unwise unless they don't have a high level of confidence that they will win or there are other motivating factors at play here.

Mr. Abhisit is now suggesting that he could call an election at the end of this year. That stall is dangerous and unlikely to work. The army commander suggested Monday that it might be necessary to meet the protesters' demand that the parliament be dissolved and a new election called immediately. Meanwhile, Mr. Abhisit's party is under threat of being forced from office by a court order -- just like the past two pro-Thaksin prime ministers.

If the red shirts are so confident in their ability to win an election then the government agreeing to call elections later this year can be considered a victory as, after all, it will ensure that they will shortly be coming into power.

The red shirts can negotiate a fixed date for the election and leave Bangkok after holding press conferences declaring how this is a victory for democracy and the voice of the people has been heard- it would appear to observers to be the moral high ground.

Yet the red shirts press on with their current campaign, refusing to accept anything beyond immediate dissolution of the government. It doesn't make sense to risk loss of life and bringing the situation to a crisis point (where they in fact may not get what they want) unless they're not so confident that a "free and fair" election would result in victory for the red shirts.

yes, but the question is: who first started to fire?

I don't think we'll ever know. None of the videos I've seen from the incident are close enough to 'ground zero' to know exactly what happened- you can only hear from a distance the first shots. My theory is an escalation of words, stones, and warning shots at one side of the protest which caused the rapid spiral into panic and chaos that you can see in the videos. No doubt shots were fired on both sides into the opposing group, and at least one grenade was launched into the soldiers- the footage from the Japanese cameraman who was killed shows it going off very close to him and wounding some soldiers.

Given the overwhelming firepower of the troops, to me it's clear that they weren't there that night to clear the protesters out of Bangkok as when the trouble began they immediately started to retreat.

^^ No Powder, the Eagle Talon pre-dated the Stealth and was the Dodge equivalent to the Eclipse I owned.

That's correct- the Dodge Stealth was the twin of the Mitsu 3000.

I used to have a Plymouth Laser which was the third of the Talon/Eclipse trio, though only available in front-wheel drive unlike the other the Eagle and Mitsu. Great memories- back then 190hp was a lot!

I was thinking the same thing. I also heard rumour of RPGs being used, and depending on the ammunition, that would also extend their range, but would be more visible, hence the rockets.

If you take a look at the video of the damage it seems that whatever it was that exploded fell down from above.

Not sure what the range of those grenade launchers are but they seem to have been quite accurate considering the distance between the alleged launch site and skytrain station is around 400-500 meters.

Taken with a greater cultural overview - this is paradigm shift happening NOW - countries go through it in different ways. The point is that, at the very basic, grass roots there is a call for CHANGE... a change from the 'old' ways of being ruled by an elitist group who make all the money and have all the power. It is true that most of the 'foot soldiers' will not realize they are a part of this shift - but they are.

Although the story of a lower class awakening and realizing their political power is a compelling and sympathetic one, sadly that is not what we have here. What we have is an exiled politician who is using every means necessary to regain his lost power and money and the red shirts are simply a tool at his disposal, just as the rural population were used to place him into power to begin with.

Any of us who remember how things were under Thaksin will remember that the government was no less elitist than now. In fact Thaksin was accelerating in his consolidation of power and manipulation of the system and any rivals, whether they be in business or politics or in the media, were steamrolled. He was a force of personality and anything he wanted happened, regardless or whether or not it followed legal or other protocols and regardless of the impact on other people.

My family had a Mitsubishi 3000 VR4 back in 1992. Was great fun and fast (for the time, anyway).

The one on the website looks to have been heavily modified, which itself isn't unusual for Supras, RX-7s, and the like. I'd be very careful regarding the condition, though, and try to find a specialist who can give you a good assessment about the work that needs to be done before you buy- then you can use this to negotiate your purchase cost.

I bought a Supra and took it to the TRD garage on Srinakarin who did a thorough look-through. Wound up replacing the clutch, rotors, a wheel, shocks, and doing some electrical work- which I negotiated with the seller to deduct their estimate off the selling price. I still wound up having more work done later, but the good news is the depreciation is pretty much done on those types of cars and I wound up selling the Supra for a bit more than I paid for it.

If the staff are at Central my guess is they're hourly workers. In such case if they were valuable (ie. finding a replacement would be difficult) then I'd set up a meeting and let them know that I'd be paying a fixed amount to be 'on the bench' until the mall reopens. Otherwise if the worker is average or easily replaced then no work no pay.

If it's an office and there are salaried staff then I'd check to see first what the legal obligation is. Even if the obligation is nothing (which I doubt) I would still call a meeting together to discuss the situation and let them know that the company will give them a certain amount of money to help them, and to ask for their understanding that it is a difficult time and impacts income so this arrangement is temporary. Not doing anything for them would affect morale and the team spirit.

I guess if it were the Army's aim to darken the city and instigate violent attacks, they would have headed down to the power company and flipped a few switches. I think it's safe to say the Army doesn't need to destroy infrastructure in a manner that seeks to create generalized terror in order to accomplish their aims.

Does anyone have any articles (in English or Thai) talking about those electrical pylons? For all we know a truck could have driven into that pylon in the photo a week before the incident.

It's important to consider what would have happened had the violence escalated and if hundreds or thousands of red shirts had been killed. Somehow I don't think they would have all packed up and gone home and the international press would have said, "great job, Abhisit!"

The fact that the troops started retreating immediately after the first shots rang out betrays their orders. They didn't hold their ground or advance, or bring in tanks- they retreated and shot into the air.

Abhisit has to walk a fine line. He can't sit back and do nothing as he'll be perceived as having a lack of control and leadership, but he also can't use violence as he will lose credibility and legitimacy. Likewise the red shirts can't be openly violent as it will be counter to their claim to be a force for democracy. Their storming of the government house and 'kidnapping' came dangerously close to crossing the line.

Oh I know the soldiers shot but were they not shot by their renegate colleagues from nearby roof top ? Only one soldier was killed by a bamboo spear in what is certainly a case of self defence .

Why is it 'certainly' a case of self defense- because the weapon was primitive? And the soldiers who were shot were shot by other solidiers? Come on now. Both sides are not without fault in this case, and anyone who watches video footage from that evening will see that.

Thaksin was educated in Chiang Mai and attended Montfort College , a private Catholic school. After attending the Armed Forces Academies Preparatory School at the age of 24, he went to the U.S.A. and studied criminal justice (how appropriate) at Eastern Kentucky University. This was followed by his Ph.D. in criminal justice at Sam Houston State U.

Abhisit was born and educated in England and attended Eton College and then Oxford University. Not bad on anyone's C.V.

His English is perfect and compared to Thaksin, he appears to be an erudite, worldly politician.

By comparison, with his poor English skills, Thaksin comes across as a buffoon.

I saw an interview with Abhisit on CNN the other day where he was struggling with the questions and format- he appears much more comfortable as a diplomat rather than a politician. Thaksin, for all of his flaws, has a force of personality that commanded respect while he was in power and continues to appeal to the masses.

He may have come across as a buffoon to some, but to others (and importantly, the majority of Thais) he was a man of the people. This isn't unique to Thailand- just look at recent elections in other countries and leaders like Bush who were voted back for a second term despite obvious flaws.

PATTAYA, CHONBURI: -- Police Wednesday arrested a French man for allegedly proving boys under 18 for sex services.

Mewonders how he proved that... Did he ask them if they remember a time when MTV actually played music videos?

All of the cars you mentioned exist in Thailand- there are just not very many around as demand fell off steeply after the tax rates on cars were hiked in the 90s. I used to own a UK-spec imported Supra in Thailand and the TRD garage where i'd get it serviced estimated that there were somewhere between 75 and 100 examples in the country. That's going back about 8 years now so I expect that number is less now.

If you check out the weekly car mags you'll see listings for these models, and the various used car websites typically have a lot. Beware of Evos- many are modified Lancers so you should check what's on the title. Regardless of the story you're told about changing chassis numbers etc unless the title says its an Evo, it's not an Evo and should be priced accordingly.

I've lived in quite a few places and overall I'd rank the level of politeness and overall adherence to rules on the BTS to be quite high. And certainly the crime factor is non-existant.

In China by comparison during peak times it's an absolute free-for-all with shoving, elbowing, and cutting in front of people being par for the course. Yes, the person who just elbowed you in the gonads and burped into your navel is that elderly grandmother holding the shopping bags- and she's about to shove you out of the way as she makes a break for the train. After having lived in China for a while and visiting Thailand again I was absolutely amazed when a Thai person held an elevator door open and waited for me. In China the MO is to hit the door close button as fast as humanly possible and then make a dour face at you if you manage to insert an appendage between the closing doors to force them open again.

Then there's Japan. At peak times on the Tokyo Saikyo-sen people are literally shoved in to the trains by assistants wearing white gloves. What amazed me is that people volunteer themselves for this- you'll see a full train and someone will run up, inserting a single hand and foot into the train. Then an assistant will come and push and push as the doors try to close until the person winds up inside wedged tightly against the glass looking something like a bug splat on a car windshield. Inside the train it's so tight that if you arms are down they stay down, if they're up they stay up. When the train moves the weight shifts so everyone hops to the back two steps, then forward one step, and sways back again while pretending not to look at the person whose ear is 1cm way from your nose. And then there are the elderly businessmen gropers, or chikan, which necessitated female-only train carriages.

So all in all I'd say the BTS ain't too bad.

If you were blind you could see this one coming, the seller rushing to make a deal offering a big discount, and then bam cannot see bldg.

Put your running shoes on not a deal.

Not always something to get in a panic about. Some developers like Noble won't allow resale folks to go trapsing through buildings that are still under construction.

But a wise man once said 'never invest in something you don't understand', so to the OP it's probably best if he waits and takes his time.

Pro Car – not really – mostly modified – Mitsubishi EVO, Toyota Vios, Yaris, Nissan Tida, Honda Jazz, some Protons; with many a variety of tires; Goodyear, Bridgestone, Yokohama, Achilles, Toyo.

Pro Truck – modified pickups – Ford, Chevy, Isuzu, Mitsubishi.

GPI Motorsport http://www.gpimotorsport.com/ has lots of info on Thai Pro Racing Series stuff.

Interesting info, thanks. Those one-make series on the GPI website look like they'd be fun to participate in. Judging by the driving standards, though, I think bodywork will be a major expense during a season!

328% for the car i want, that's really too much. Any chance to avoid the taxs ?

Marry the daughter of a senior customs official.

Nycboy, to answer your question, you'll need a lawyer to take you through all of the paperwork. Fees vary- can be 20k-80k baht. I haven't used anyone in Bangkok before- you could try the Sunbelt Asia folks.

Try to get a sense of the market for your building. Check out prakard.com to see the asking prices from sellers/agents- the site is in Thai but it's quite easy to navigate around.

The seller has put down 500k and it sounds like she's willing to sell for the same cost she bought it for. Be sure and check out current prices, as for some buildings people are willing to sell at a price low enough that it means they won't get back even the money they put in as a deposit/payment.

i will never use a Apple product outside of the US.

customer service outside of it is total bull

I had both a top-of-the-line Nokia and an iPod touch fail on me last year within a short span of each other. Apple replaced the iPod touch without question while Nokia gave me such a rediculous run-around that I vowed never to buy any of their products again.

Some pictures of event after I realized cars, trucks and bikes were racing about?

What type of racing was going on? Looks like one of the old AIM Concept racing cars in one of your pics. And seems the Bhirombhakdi boys are still racing.

Nothin short of TOTAL BAN on manufacture/distribution of plastic bags will have any effect on the environment.

The bulk cost of plastic bags is 50bt/1000, that is 0.05bt each.

A ban on production would be highly unlikely as Thailand is one of the world's major exporters of plastic bags.

As for the cost, it's around 500 baht for a carton of 1000pcs not 50 baht. Nevertheless, charging for bags does benefit retailers greatly as it both discourages use and turns what was previously a cost into a revenue stream.

yeah. one baht is far too cheap. That's not going to stop people from getting bags at the store. Set a steep fee of 10 baht apiece and then people will bring their own bags.

In HK the bags cost the equivalent of 2 baht a piece. It has had a major impact here- not necessarily because of the cost but more because when the cashier asks it gives people an reminder each time that they should have brought bags instead of needlessly having to pay for one.

A plastic bag costs between 30 and 60 satang, depending on quality and size. Big chains like Lotus and 7/11 probably get them even cheaper, because of the amount they order.

Biodegradable and photodegradable bags are more expensive, but producers of plastic bags now start to offer them at the same price as normal plastig bags. So without buying new plates for printing, retailers could make a huge tribute to the environment, without any extra costs.

The ones used by Tesco Lotus and 7/11 cost a bit less than 50 satang each. For retailers this is a cost- and eliminating this cost can save huge amounts of money. For example in the US larger retailers spend US$20-50m/yr on bags. The volumes in Thailand are probably a 10th or 20th of that, but still no small sum of money. Retailers earn revenue from selling the plastic bags as well as reusable options like nonwoven or cotton bags.

So the incentive is there for vendors to move to a policy of charging customers.

As for degradable bags, there aren't any elegant solutions at the moment. The reason some producers offer 'degradable' bags at the same cost as regular bags is they use resin blended with starch, which in fact overall slightly lowers the material cost of the bag. The issue is only the starch in the bag degrades- the PE doesn't- so the bag will break down to a point and then stop.

There are other resin additives which break down the PE into powder. The issue there is that the plastic still exists in the environment, you just can't see it.

To be truly friendly to the environment bags should be fully compostable, and these bags are multiples higher in cost than normal PE bags and don't perform nearly as well so no major retailer to my knowledge is using them now.

Wonder how many of these companies are property owners. Probably a significant amount.

There have been a number of so-called crackdowns announced over the years, scaring owners and harming the property market. And each time nothing has come of it aside from a period of confusion and slow property sales. If they really want to crack down then they'll change the law and (hopefully) grandfather in all previous arrangements. But of course those involved in related businesses wouldn't be too pleased so I doubt much will change.

She added that Mr. Keienburt had also started a business exporting goods to Malaysia and had recently been travelling back and forth to the country quite often. In addition, investigators were informed that Mr. Keienburt had a relationship with a Malaysian woman who could be related to his death.

On Thursday 20th August, the day before his death, Mr. Keienburt told his wife as he was driving out of the house: “It might be difficult for me to live on this earth”.

Mrs Araya said he had had financial problems, especially to find money to purchase machines from the USA for his new export business to Malaysia. His letter of credit [LC] was rejected from his bank and he tried asking her to borrow her mother’s land deed to mortgage but her mother refused.

If this guy didn't have the capital to purchase machinery then it seems highly doubtful that he'd have been able to clear them through customs, yet alone purchase materials and pay conversion costs. Whole story is fishy and sounds like the wife's mom was better off not having put up the land deed as collateral.