richabb1

38 minutes ago, TKDfella said:

Yes, I mentioned this on the April 3rd thread post #12. I wrote 'AHS is native in Zebra which carry the virus but don't appear to suffer. According to what I read a couple of years ago non-native horses in Africa had a very high mortality rate and was not controlled until a vaccine was produced last century. So my question would be...were any Thai horses in close proximity to a Zebra, perhaps one recently introduced to a Thai Zoo?' My guess would be that Zebra had been imported but unchecked.

You got it. Some poor import protocols or a little oversight ....

Why didn’t they just nail him for no work permit?

20 hours ago, Denim said:

This bloke is a vile toady.  

 

Should be sent to Wuhan with a one way ticket on a fact finding market investigative mission .

Come on Paiboon is just a old boy loyalist 

Boys you are way off the mark.

Gyphosphate is off patent. So most nowadays is formulated in china by sinochem.

Monsanto Bayer interest is in having that varieties that are tolerant of the product when sprayed over the top a few weeks after germination to eliminate all weeds. As a farmer this is a great technique as it is cheap and no crop damage. There are many other herbicides on the market but requires more skill to avoid crop damage or repeat applications.

in thailand glyphosate is used to kill off weeds on crop land before planting for a clean start. Often this can reduce soil erosion during the wet season in particular on the uplands. Other residual herbicide which could be alternatives are sold in thailand because there are greater stewardship required.

Glyphosphate is a great peasant farmers tool. 
now lorsban is also a very all purpose insecticide for control of soil insects that eat your seeds after planting. as there isn’t any alternative products for that problem I think since there are only very weak arguments for that product which are being voiced in Kalifornia . 

paraquat is a product that shouldn’t get on your skin but as for being in good at harvest is very very low. It is a  herbicide that clears out the green of leaves of weeds and when they are small will kill the plant by browning the out. So something one wouldn’t be using on near harvest product. Most paraquat in thailand is used under corn crop as it doesn’t enter the stem.

now I’m only guessing now but me thinks the USDA interest is that it wouldn’t want to see a ban on gylyphosphate as it may be later linked to a block on soybean imports to thailand from the US.

further I would think of farm output downturn due to weeds without glyphosate 

they re a little quick to blame the elnino on dry weather

seems less rain this year in northern parts is due to lesser influence of western rains from the andaman moonsoon.

predicitons for north west pacific state a higher than normal storm activity.

yes drier - but probably not from elnino

how about a driving school

Talk of duel line freight systems is a start and much more logical than hi speed passenger systems. just a little more on loading and unloading berths also goes hand in hand.

Lucky with have a really neutral Senators like Mr Paiboon, I am sure we can trust him to make judgement on merit rather than political allegiance.

if you do really know Mr Paiboon, then you will know he is least selfserving a lover of thailand - especially the NE

you may all find that they are new tractors - since farmers have bought them on finance since being promised for 2 years of these over the top price for the grain and a guaranteed buy - thats the problem and the credit crunch...

i dont post often but this story riles me.

one - the girls are dead - confirmed - so its either murder or suicide - i would think

so wouldnt it be the job of the police to work that out and suicide was ruled out? - then its murder and as such there must then be a murderer walking around - thats a threat too society and that person persons is either in the country or abroad- so wouldnt it be the cops job to find that person/s where ever they be. - since when does murder not count as capital crime

as for the talk that the family or embassy didnt wish certain details to be revealed or the invstigation concluded - since when can another country influence the activites of the thai police - an or since when can the family curtail a police investigation - so thats bs and needs to rectified

the stance or investiagtive response here by royal hai police is poor and needs to be taken to a higher level - perhaps canadians out there shuold resquest this of their ambasador as it seems there is no justice for these girls and worst still a murderer is loose in society

lets, think about scare mongering. presuming the product came by seafreight, then that about a 6 day voyage and if the report is true then it arrived in thailand on friday, coz these guys dont work on the weekend to clear goods. so it was sent on the maybe on the 19th of march. the sweet potato would have been packed a week before shipping because they look old anyway - no doubt with all the confusion in that week that they were being prepared any way - so most probably were packed before the earthquake - sunami and radiation emitions in honshu..... and also it is so cold most probably from last novembers harvest! really doubt about the contamination!

is the pizza company really a subsidiary of Yum brands?

another interesting fellow has written the Yoemans Keyline web page - he makes chisel ploughs in australia but has some interesting concepts on soil health

Potentially interested in memberships to a number of the local courses. If anyone is leaving the area and wants to sell theirs, please let me know.

I have three available, Lanna, Maejo and Chiang Mai Lamphun.

The cemetery is not necessarily and Christian cemetery but a foreign cemetery. We require a copy of the death certificate and passport. As well we appreciate an obituary on the persons life for any updated publications of Demortius - the history of the foreign cemetery.

Interesting.

As the consul holds the deeds presumably it is British Soil.

I wonder how the Anti DIscrimination Acts apply

The exact conditions are that (1)the Consul is the custodian of the land which was a gift into perpetuity, (2) that the land may never be sold and that (3) the land may only be used for burial of the bodies of foreigners.

I think that the cemetary was for people who wanted to be buried rather than cremated. I am sure that if the wife was cremated her remains could be buried there too.

I'm surprised that no-one from the Foreign Cemetery has set you straight by now. So I'll do it for them. To be buried (or have your ashes buried) in the Foreign Cemetery, all that is required (apart from being dead) is to have someone else pay a few thousand baht and to be 'foreign', ie not Thai.

W.A.R.Wood's wife was born Thai but changed her nationality to British, which is why she qualified to be laid in the mausoleum there, next to her husband.

Any foreigner of any religion, or none at all, qualifies to occupy their few square meters there, the only Thai soil they will ever truly own!

I'll take this chance to plug the very interesting (and often amusing) book 'De Mortius' (of death) which is sold around town to help with cemetery funds. It has at least a few lines on the occupants of almost all the plots, and is effectively a social commentary on NW Thailand expat life, and of course death, since the occupant of grave A1 rode into town on his horse, terminally ill.

If you can't find the book anywhere else, it will certainly be sold at the Gymkhana Club, just round the corner.

I think the other cemetery with lots of white crosses, furthur south on the same side of the same road (CM-Lamphun Rd) is for Roman Catholics of any nationality.

Good Morning,

My name is Richard Abbott, assistant secetary of the CMFC. Other members of the comittee include , Allen Tucker, Ron Rae and Peter Dawson. Our telephone contact numbers are available at the notice board at the cemetery.

To help you guys along in queries and noticing some of the comments of other posts there is some misunderstanding of the status of the cemetery.

Only Thais with foreign passports (presuably those with dual nationalities) can be buried in the cemetery. This is explicit in the rules set out 110 years ago and stipulated in the gift of deed to the British Consol who still remains the custodian by Rama 5. The local commitee acts on behalf of the consul.

The cemetery has plots available for both cremetations and full plots interments.

The cemetery is not necessarily and Christian cemetery but a foreign cemetery. We require a copy of the death certificate and passport. As well we appreciate an obituary on the persons life for any updated publications of Demortius - the history of the foreign cemetery.

There are old copies of DeMortius edition 5 still available at the Cemetery with the caretaker who is residence there all the time. However we expect to publish edition 6 with an update covering the last 10 next month. We will make an annoucment on Thai Visa when the new publication is available.

Best regards

Richard

"Maximum melamine levels in food

In summary, FSANZ has concluded that:

• A maximum level of 1 mg/kg for melamine in infant formula is considered appropriate.
  
• A maximum level of 2.5 mg/kg for melamine in dairy-based foods and foods containing dairy-based ingredients is appropriate and acceptable.
  
• A level of melamine above 2.5 mg/kg of food is indicative of food adulteration.
  
• For infant formula, even at relatively low levels of adulteration an infant will quickly exceed the Tolerable Daily Intake for melamine, if consuming formula only.
  
• Foods with low levels of dairy based ingredients, such as candies and biscuits, are likely to be infrequently consumed and in small amounts so they are not considered to be a high-risk food for potential dietary exposure to melamine even if the dairy ingredient has been adulterated.
  

Infant formula Infant formula products in Australia are produced under strict standards to ensure their safety and nutritional value and can be used normally. Australia does not import infant formula products from China due to quarantine restrictions. This has been confirmed by AQIS. Food regulators have conducted targeted inspections at wholesale and retail level and have found none of the Chinese infant formula product on shelves."

Would you happen to know how this compares with the Thai FDA's standards?

Without digging thru a lot of files, one would presume the Thai levels would be about the same as most of the regulations are based on international guide lines from either US, EU or FAO as is the case with other agricultural chemicals etc. Enforcement of the law is another issue altogether.

3.5mt is nothing in the big picture and doubt that this would even get to any infant formulations companies. Obviously this case is a fall guy.

The problem at the moment with smuggled milk powder in Thailand (I am presuming here) but with some understanding of the industry is not milk baby dry products (though some milk companies are dubvious) but more serious is the potential abuse in the second tier of food manufacturing, cookies, candy, local breads etc that would be looking and would/ will take advantage of a cheaper product with out the conscious of quality.

Quite possibly a major concern / root of the problem is the antiquated tarrif systems still in place to protect the local milk industry. Lets say AU /NZ milk powders even though a FTA was agreed upon still are only diminishing tarrifs so still quite high in comparison with either black market or the 0% tarrifs from China in the China Asean FTA. So smugglers or legit imports can get a product from China cheaper. Also and someone could verify this, expect that the antiquated quota system in Thailand is still in place that caps quantity of one tarrif rate for a year and then has a huge out of quota tarrif. This would be capping legit quantities of milk powder into the country each year. With the growth of milk products and derivitives that use milk powder in the last 10 years or so, little wonder smuggled product is entering the market. The system has failed and then been abused.

Great balls of fire

NONG KHAI: -- Nong Khai is ready to welcome more than 200,000 tourists to see the Naga fireballs, the provincial governor says.

This year, the phenomenon of fireballs from the Mekong River is forecast to appear at the end of Buddhist Lent tomorrow and Wednesday while most hotels are almost fully booked as hundreds of thousands of tourists flood into the city to experience the phenomenon.

Nong Khai governor Supoj Laowansiri said 600 houses had offered home-stays for tourists. The province has also provided 100 tents behind the provincial office and is coordinating with temples and schools to provide space for tourists, Supoj said, adding that the province expects around Bt100 million will be spent by visitors.

On Wednesday, the festival will begin with an offering of food to 300 monks on the Thai-Lao Friendship Bridge and rites to sacrifice the Naga in Ponepisai and Sangkom districts.

Activities organised for tourists include food streets, boat competitions, floating fireboat to make sacrifices to the Naga and a light and sound show featuring the legend of the Naga fireballs on the Mekong River.

--The Nation 2005-10-16

BIG SPENDERS

a dated and sourced POW photo...

Wern Champasak (center), Thailand's chief of border communication, sits with a Cambodian soldier after surrendering at Sekha Kirisvarak pagoda near the disputed 900-year-old Preah Vihear temple in Preah Vihear province, 543 km (337 miles) north of Phnom Penh October 15, 2008. Cambodia's army captured 10 Thai soldiers on Wednesday after a battle along a disputed stretch of border near the 900-year-old Preah Vihear temple, Foreign Minister Hor Namhong said.

REUTERS

could be a local of Ubon with a surname like that.

Some bloke said...

"THere are many reasons for the strength of the US economy, and consumption is only one aspect. US workers are the most productive in the world, for example, and their agriculture is among the world's most productive."

Maybe this productivity has something to do with the massive subsidies that the farmers receive from the US gov? It's these kinds of handouts that have been controlling the agri' markets giving an unfair advantage for years!

I would have to disagree with that groper. Research the US farm act. You will find it is not a broadbased agro subsidy handout like you think. In fact you will find most of the funds are distributed into the southern cotton states and not mainstream agriculture. You will actually find the masive food surplus in the US is a result of innovation and creativity and not being satisfied with the present yield. Much the same as the Aust or NZ and somewhat UK farmer mentality.

In these difficult times, I believe that one of the bright sides that the US nation could consider is that its ability to feed it population. This is real security and as importatant as defence spending. So on the subject of agri subsidies, there are still some in Europe who remember famine (post ww2) and that is why lets say French governments do continue to pay farmers to be there - to maintain agriculture technique.

Eek, lovely peppers in the pics, what is the growing medium/soil mixture you're using?

eek,

Suggest you knock off the remaining aphids with a contact insecticide like Lannate ( harvest your bell pepper after the residual effect period of this chemical ). Then pick off the deformed fruits and to help improve photosynthesis wash off the dark deposit on the leaves ( aphid droppings ) by spraying using 5 ml. of sprader in 20 litres of water. You may have to do it a few times.

Bell pepper is normally susceptible to powdery mildew during the humid months, more so in an enclosed screenhouse. Hope you have this disease under control.

Is your farm open to outside visitors ?

cmfarmer

I think CM farmer is correct, insect mix of aphids or some scale bugs are the problem. try those light oil sprays now that there is fruit. or drop the fruit and use systemic chemicals.

last year most hotels were on about 25usd. 50 probably unreasonable

you can try but if customs find it they will confiscate it. experience

I'm returning from overseas to my home in Thailand - will be coming in to SUV airport.

I've heard that chainsaws are frowned upon (illegal?) in Thailand - though have seen them used.

I have rural land in Thailand, and am considering bringing a small saw in - no gas in the tank. Do you think that would get me in trouble at customs?

You can try but do not bring a chain saw to Thailand as customs if they do find it will confiscate it. I have in a sea container and it was taken away.