Artabus

I'm pretty sure it's not gonna be available from their site.

Also, it'd be real helpful if you would post the site URL. You need help with reading the site, but then don't even bother including the site URL??

Also, since you did say that you won't have any problems getting what you're after translated. What about asking the people who are gonna translate it for you to help you with this???

Good point - it is http://www.supremecourt.or.th/webportal/supremecourt/index.php

Re the translating - I live near a University, and one of the students from the Thai society helped me last year by translating into Thai a document i wrote on water purification for people in flood areas. However people on TV help out with all sorts of issues, and for some reason I just felt happier asking here to get the document tracked down. I guess I also felt that someone in Thailand might be better placed than someone in the UK to get hold of it.

Thanks.

Are you sure it's even available for download on the supreme court's website?

Unfortunately I'm not sure of that, no. But if someone can read the site - or if they just know in general terms - then maybe I can find out where / how to get hold of it... Thanks.

How long did it take please ? I guess it was Civil or you would not be posting from abroad.

Hi drx13

The case was filed at the Civil Court in April 2008. From there it went to the Appeals Court (also in Bangkok) and then in June 2011 it was sent to the Supreme Court, who ruled on it last month. So in total - 5 years 7 months.

There was also a good criminal case for me to pursue - but I left Thailand in July 2008 and was not inclined to return to a Hornet's nest of lies disseminated by the "other side" in the case. You grasp my meaning, I'm sure.

Cheers

Art

I don't quite understand what you want here....

If this is a case you're involved in, then contact your lawer perhaps??

Hi mole

Not quite that simple I'm afraid. I'll spare you the details, but let's just say that I've run out of support from them.

It might help to understand if I point out that Thai law was very straightforward in this case - a probate one - but no Thai court has ever had the chance to judge the facts as they should have been judged. And yes, I have changed lawyers in an attempt to improve things, but without success. And in that short description lies a very long time and a very long battle.

I cannot get the transcript myself, and cannot work out from the Supreme Court site how to get hold of it. Getting it ttranslated once I have it is not the problem, it's getting it that is the problem. And whilst it's pretty obvious what the outcome will be (!) I am still interested enough to know what reasoning may have been applied.

Would I have started down this road just because it was obvious what the outcome should have been, without realising that as a farang up against a very devious Hi-So I had little chance? Yes, because it was the right thing to do.

But saying "contact your lawyer" - I'm not so dumb that I wouldn't do that if I could.

Cheers

Art

Hi there

I hope someone can help me - I have been involved in a case that has gone from Civil Court to Appeals Court to the Supreme Court, and now finally the result is in. Only problem is - I can't read Thai (or at least, it's only good enough for restaurant menus) and so there is no way for me to get hold of the ruling... At least as far as I know!

Is there someone who can get it for me?

Just having the ruling in Thai will be enough, as I can then get it translated. Being in the UK, I have been unable to find the result off the Net.

I'll pm the details to anyone who can help.

Thanks

Art

Mods - please put this in a different forum if I've posted in the wrong one.

Hi there and thank you for your comments.

On the divorce side I see there as being a number of aspects you need to consider :

1. Were any formal proceedings instigated or completed at court? Your answer to that determines where to go from there.

2. What are the grounds for divorce? You will find much information on Thaivisa (TV) explaining what they can be.

3. If your (ex-)wife left you then that provides the route of abandonment.

4. If she has a new relationship as you mention might happen, that is another.

5. I would say from reading many articles on TV that the body of opinion tends to be that an agreed settlement is better than a contested one. We could even say that is obvious.

6. Will your wife act differently if you offer to pay her?

Please note that in all the above, my opinion is just that - you should really check everything I say, preferably with one of the many people who knows far more than me on the legal aspects.

Addressing your specific queries :

1. Travelling for 2 weeks out of the month.

I KNEW you would mention this. Yes, it is hard. Work, or be with your child... But look, it's quite simple really. If your job is as well paid as you indicate, then that means you are highly skilled. That means you can get another job. So break the process down - what work and timings do you need now? What work and timings do you need once you have your daughter? Surely if you have money, then finding someone to care for your child just until you can be there full time (I.e. only at work 9 - 5 Mon - Fri) is possible? It can be the mother until you are ready to take over, if it has to be. For now, surely you having a good job will be pleasing to the court? And then you tell them you will be changing it so as to be there for your daughter at the start and end of every day..

By the way, are you going to spend the rest of your life in Thailand, or at least until your daughter is 18 or she finishes education (older than 18!) or until she no longer needs you around? If not, then your daughter must be overseas with you, or you leave her here with her mother.

I am NOT telling you what to do, of course not. I am trying to point out the fact that although all these points are very long term ones, if you want them to be available to you and to your daughter then you must consider them now and factor them into your calculations.

2. If you get a "bad" judge.

Slow down, and address the points on my list above before you get to this stage. Yes of course you worry about this, in Thailand as elsewhere judges can make decisions you are not happy with. Certainly my experience of the Thai legal system has not been a good one (especially with the lawyers), however there have been good comments on TV about judges in child custody issues. And I think you will find that the divorce is handled before the child custody aspects (but please check!).

3. What do you say about her and the MIL

Again, deal with the points above first. What are the grounds for divorce? In an abandonment case, I suspect the behaviour might not be relevant.

Some questions for you please :

1. How old is your daughter?

2. Where does she live when not with you?

3. By what agreement?

4. What does your wife want with regards to custody and / or access?

5. What education and opportunities do you want your daughter to have in life?

6. Do you want sole custody?

Shared custody might sound good to you at present, but years of arguments between you and the ex (more than likely to be the case) added to differences of opinion on the parenting, differences of opionion on what you want for your daughter's future, and differences of culture, and the influence of the MIL - will all combine to make a living nighmare. So whilst you do need to take one step at a time, anything other than full custody and control as an end goal will only serve to give you years of misery and most importantly, will screw your daughter big time. And THAT must be avoided at all costs.

Above all - you want the best for your child, so ALWAYS do what is needed for that. If that is to have you provide for her, then do what is needed for that, no matter the difficulty in getting there! And if you think her mother will do better, then walk away. The theory is quite simple is it not? The practice is of course far from simple, and you have my empathy on that.

Take things one step at a time. Knowledge is power, so acquire the knowledge you need, analyse it, action it.

By the way, I fought for years and years to parent my son the way he needed to be parented. Not through the courts, but just against the mother's way of doing things. A long hard battle, but the results for him have been worth it. I do understand your pain, is the point I am making...

I hope this helps.

Ok, let's call it like this :

THE most important person you need to consider in all of this is not you, your "wife", or the mother in law. It is your DAUGHTER.

Get awake, get smart, get with the programme. You are a father, grow some testicles, put her first.

Accept reality - at least what we could define as the reality in this situation. You tell us your wife was damaged by her mother. It is not uncommon that mistakes repeat down the generations, and indeed you can already see some signs that your daughter is being harmed by her mother.

So take charge, take parental responsibility for your child.

Forget this immature nonsense that you don't want to be the one who files! You have to take the long view, and do whatever is needed to provide the best for your daughter. There is an expression "in the best interests of the child" - that is NOT the same as doing what is easiest, or even what the child might choose if asked.

So file, get your life back, get custody and control of your daughter, provide a decent stable loving supportive home for her. This will be a hard road for you to follow, but as your daughter's happiness depends on it and you gave birth to her...

If this sounds harsh, well it is. But really, your postings have been all about you and how hard it is for you. Pathetic!

PM if you would like to be supported through the process. I cannot advise you on the legals in Thailand - there are many on TV who can and will - but I can sure as heck keep you focused on your daughter.

thanks for the link......

I just wonder how the street water machines are servised ,

and then if the city water gets worse will the street water machines still help,

I see many people depending on them , and really have my doubts

I will see how it goes in BKK and see if I need to bring a couple RO systems over to help out friends

BK

I would definitely also have my doubts. Which is why I suggested a simple distillation process; for extra certainty the two processes could be combined.

Or tablets such as these could be used

http://www.aquatabs.ca/

In extreme situations, a degree of flexibility is of course required.

http://www.industrialwaterequipment.co.uk/reverse-osmosis-article5.html

to illustrate the point.

its more an overall question , I would probably bring new units from the USA but wonder if they will make "swamp water" into drinkable safe water , I know they will make good water a little cleaner , but I cannot find out how bad the water can be before the RO will not work good enough

BK

The flood water will have chemical run off from the fields, dead animals, more diseases than I can think of, heavy metals, all mixed in with the contents of sewers and canals. Does reverse osmosis clear that lot?

The good news is yes in theory. The bad news is in practice it possibly does not.

It depends entirely on the membrane and how new it is / whether it has been serviced.

Properly selected reverse osmosis membranes will give you water and only water - that's drinking water - from all predominately water based solutions. They may even in some cases be the best method of drinking water extraction.

It really does come down to the membrane. There are a lot of different types, so do your research is my advice.

A good membrane can last for years, especially if it is flushed regularly, and simple tests can be attached to the regular use of a membrane to monitor the performance. You should select equipment where the method of changing these components is quick and easy to do in the field.

Alternatively you can buy just the RO membrane and then use a pump to drive the water through it.

The pump can be one driven by hand (useful if the electricity is out), and you just have to make sure that it reaches the pressure required by the RO membrane. If you use eg two pumps together, just add their respective "heads" (a measure of pressure) to work out the total pressure obtained.

Hi

not sure if you know but how well will the reverse osmosis systems work to filter the nasty flood waters in Bangkok now ?

is a 3 stage one enough , Pre cleaner, charcol filter that takes out the clorine that would damage the RO membrane , and the Reverse Osmosis stage itself ,

Thanks for posting the first part

BK

Hi

Let me come back to you later this afternoon (Bangkok time) please, In the meantime, who is the RO system manufacturer and what is the model number? How long have you been using that specific membrane?

Thanks

A

Hi guys

In all the posts, and newsclips, I have not anywhere seen any comments about how to turn all the dirty flood water into something drinkable. Warnings about bottled water running out, or storing tap water, are all very well, but some basic advice to people suffering might be a bit more useful.

In that vein, here are my suggestions as to how people can help themselves. Grateful to anyone who can help get the message out, and please feel free to add your own suggestions!

Rainwater collection

Rainwater can be drunk, although it is wise to boil it first. This is because it will have picked up pollutants as it passes through the air. Use as large a catchment area as possible.

Condensation

Distillation

Pass a tube into the top of a water filled container, placed over a fire, and the other end into a sealed collecting tin. This second tin should preferably be set inside another container providing a jacket of cold water to cool the vapour as it passes out of the tube. To avoid wasting water vapour, seal around the joins with mud. This method can also be also be used to distil urine (which should never be drunk), although it may be too concentrated to yield much.

It should be clear that if you heat the floodwater in a roof based collector/reflector using a setup similar to the above, the water will evaporate and the condensate is then drinkable. This method will yield better water than boiling and a simple filter.

Some ingenuity in terms of the kit used may be required, for example if the family in question is stuck on a roof. For this reason, working together in community would yield better results than a go-it alone approach.

Solar still

Set up a container approx 90 cm across and 45 cm deep. Place a collecting can in the centre, then cover with a sheet of plastic formed into a cone. Roughen the underside of the sheet with a stone to ensure droplets run down it. Insects and small snakes may also be attracted and become trapped, so support the collecting can so that it cannot be knocked over. The sun's heat raises the temperature of the air, and vapour is produced. As the air becomes saturated, water condenses onto the underside of the plastic, running down into the container. This method can be used to distil pure water from poisonous or contaminated liquids. If possible, use a siphon to a lower level to draw off water without disturbing the sill.

Plants (for those areas that have any)

As plants grow they release water into the air, placing a plastic sheet over a number of plants or trees fashioned into a tunnel leading down wind, the gathered end then be cooled by connecting it to a large pipe taken into and out of a brackish or contaminated pool. This acts as a condenser for the water laden air driven through it by the wind or breeze. The U-shaped pipe can then be carefully emptied into a receptacle from time to time supplying drinking water for many people.

Cut vegetation placed in a large plastic bag will produce condensation as it warms up. Keep the foliage off the bottom, and away from the sides of the bag. Place the bag on a slight slope to encourage the condensation to run down. Keep the bag taut with a stick.

Even polluted plants will only give off water.

Heating

Where no materials, gas or electricity are available to provide heat, use solar concentration. Use reflective materials or tinfoil to focus the sun's rays onto the water to be distilled. Be aware that this produces very high temperatures.

Reducing water usage

Remember to ration your sweat, not your water. If you have gone a long time without water, take it in sips not gulps. Large gulps can cause vomiting. Eat little, as eating consumes water. Don't smoke, don't talk, don't drink alcohol, minimise movement.

Let's keep the politics out of this thread please... The situation is as it is, so it's solutions time.

Michael Fish MBE (born 27 April 1944 in Eastbourne, East Sussex) is a semi-retired British weather forecaster, best known for his

BBC Weather television presentations, although he was actually employed by the Met Office.

He became infamous in the wake of the Great Storm of 1987; a few hours before the storm broke, on 15 October 1987, he said during a forecast: "Earlier on today, apparently, a woman rang the BBC and said she heard there was a hurricane on the way... well, if you're watching, don't worry, there isn't!". That evening, the worst storm to hit South East England since 1703 caused record damage and killed 18 people.

You ought to put his remarks in context. He was referring to a Hurricane which was at that time the other side of the Atlantic. It never came to the UK, so Michael Fish was correct in what he said. What happened was that the wind speeds which had been forecast for the English channel occurred further north ie over the southern counties. They reached (low) hurricane speeds, but they were not a hurricane.

Hello my friend

Some of your posts worry me a little. For example, why did you consider that only the mother would be registered as parent? And why even consider Burmese nationality? It's fortunate indeed for your child that the regulations are such that s/he will be considered German, and also that you were advised to bring along your passport and record yourself as the natural father. So at the moment there is no harm caused to him/her, by your apparent lack of thought as to what sort of life you want for them.

However, you need to wake up and realise that as a parent, your obligation now is to provide for them. I am not talking about just whether or not your job pays enough (that's not my concern or business), I am talking about something far more important. Have you at any stage stopped for one moment, and said to yourself - what is the path to a better life for my child? To be in the sole parental control of a Burmese, and to be Burmese - or for me as the father to take my child to Germany, give them a German education, and give them all the opportunities available to them because of life in the West..?

As for the fact that you want a nice life in the sun (I paraphrase slightly what you say), well sure, we can all understand that. And of course, we many of us also think that Thailand and Burma have many things to teach the West; for myself, I think there is a lot about the West I don't like. But this is a luxury for us, to be able to consider these things. And the ability to consider these things is also helped by having a good start in life.

So please, now is the time to put your child first. That means before yourself. Think about what that little bundle sitting in your arms, so helpless, needs. Not just now, but all the way through to adulthood.

If any of this upsets you, or is so very obvious to you, then my apologies. Feel free to PM me.

P.S. I'm also not sure I would advertise on ThaiVisa that there is a consulate in Germany that issues work visas for 150 Euros, no questions asked...

Surely the courts would have used cctv footage for the time and place of all those crimes, or the police would have traced the defendents' whereabouts, so there can be no doubt that they are guilty; just the newspaper not reporting things accurately

Moving swiftly onwards, can someone tell me how the Bt2.1 million and 7.5% interest bit works?

Say they have all the money under their mattresses still, so they pay all the money back immediately - no interest payments right? Problem solved.

If, on the other hand they didn't steal the money in the first place, or they did steal it but have used it to supplement their (how much? Bt10,000?) monthly salary, and it is all gone... They will be in prison for twenty years, at which stage the interest (being compound?) will amount to some sum of money it's beyond my maths to calculate. So does that mean that at that stage they will be put back inside for non-payment of the fine? Could effectively be a life sentence... Or is that a civil offence, so they'll just get another fine..?

Thanks everyone. Looks tarantula-ish doesn't it? Maybe it's a Thailand Black.

You can't really tell from the photo as it's a bit hunched up. I'm guessing it was about 4 inches or so across.

We didn't kill it, just released it back into the wild; my friend took it up into the hills. I'm glad he found it and not me. The fright alone would have killed me.

Excellent that you released it.

For ID, you could always try these guys http://www.mtsociety.com/ Malaysian Tarantula Society

Sorry but I am not impressed.

Don't be sorry, he's not looking to impress. Check his blog or meet him at one of the activities he organises.

He is a nice person.

Right. The volunteers at Soi Dog are nice people too. The frumpy foreign ladies that volunteer at any one of a number of orphanages are nice people too. The foreign grad students and post doc researchers that agreed to work on non lucrative public health projects in rural Thailand are nice people too. Do you know what the differentiating feature between these people and the holy roller blogging monk is? These mere mortal unenlightened foreigners are trying to make the world a better place by contributing of themselves to the progress and betterment of the nation. I do not know exactly what a blogging foreign monk does to make the world a better place except to be supported by others? Oh wait, he's enlightened and I'm not. He provides doundbites like "Happiness comes from letting go." oooo that's deep. A walking fortune cookie. Hey, I know what, the foreigners and Thais that aren't meditating and are instead keeping the hungry fed, the poor clothed and providing care to the dying should just let go. Yea, that's right, they should drop all these causes like a foreigner drops his wife once she gets older. Right, that's dthe difference.

When I look at the photo and see the foreign monk with his tatoo, the first thing I think of is, oh great, he's on to another fad. Just as it was cool at one time to get a bad tatoo, now it's trendy for foreigners to become "monks". Oh yes, this is how they wil slay their personal demons.Right. I reckon, the bogeyman are still hiding in the foreign monks' closets and will scare them again at some point. The progress of a nation does not come from people like this. He is a consumer of resources and gives nothing back except toss away statements that both pander to and exploit the fears of other humans.

Ouch, that's nasty. You seem to be lacking a certain degree of happiness. Of all the people / occupations you could have chosen to criticise, the monkhood seems a strange one. Why not direct your complaints at, oh I don't know - the military?

Just as example, Bill Gates if he really wanted , he could crash Thai stock market and economy over night and still have some money left over.

What are you talking about?

Bill Gates is busy spending his money on charity; his ambition is to spend 95% of his fortune on it. He is the world's major philanthropist, and busy working to bring others on board, to share his vision.

Why would he want to crash the Thai economy? You could hardly have picked a worse example to illustrate your point!

Are that bored that you had to post this dribble?

No, not bored at all. Just pointing out you had picked the wrong example. I think you mean drivel btw, but let's not get into a dispute about that as well

Just as example, Bill Gates if he really wanted , he could crash Thai stock market and economy over night and still have some money left over.

What are you talking about?

Bill Gates is busy spending his money on charity; his ambition is to spend 95% of his fortune on it. He is the world's major philanthropist, and busy working to bring others on board, to share his vision.

Why would he want to crash the Thai economy? You could hardly have picked a worse example to illustrate your point!

Hi

have taken a out time. Due to another medical problem I was evacuated to Bumrungrad on Tuesday and had my 3rd surgery within three weeks yesterday.

So next week I will think about cancer again.

Cheers

henry

Hello Henry

First off - sorry to hear about your troubles. It must be a hard time for you.

As some of the other posters are indicating - there are options other than surgery. Are you aware that surgical and non-surgical treatments give similar outcome rates for prostate cancer sufferers? You risk impotence with surgery, and prostate cancer can be managed in other ways. Are you quite certain that, when taking into account the specifics of your case, surgery will give you the best long term prognosis?

I have had two friends with prostate cancer - neither went the surgery route; both are still here. One has lived with his condition for ten years, the other found it went.

I also have personal experience of Bumrungrad; if you would like further info with regard to that, please feel free to PM me.

Not preaching to you, please understand that, just asking you to research - if you have not - clinical outcomes in other countries from different methods. I wish you all the best whatever choice you make.

What is it about people that they feel they have to continue denying the realities of climate change?

The fact is, the models have consistently underplayed the changes to date - not overestimated them.

The fact is, there is already evidence of long term change. In a multitude of areas.

The fact is, the vast majority of the world's scientists agree on Human Induced Climate Change.

The fact is, the media (tabloid or otherwise) portray anti-climate change articles at a greater percentage than do scientific articles.

But of course, here on TV we have people with greater scientific knowledge than the scientists. Ignorance is not bliss. If you don't care for yourselves, think about the implications for your children and their children.

I shall now wait for the flaming, and "evidence" of corruption, mutterings about hockey shape graphs, units in East Anglia, misprints in IPCC publications etc etc.

I am fascinated by how the various mechanisms of the neo-liberal regimes have provided you (all of you reading this topic) with a relentance fascination in these sorts of sexual crimes.

Although there was always a narrative within the working classes against such acts (and the middle classes condoning of the corrupt working class culture has gone on since Hogarth), among the middle classes, the literature until only the 1980s was essentially accepting of men with boys (but not girls).

Running through the genealogy of the criming of sex with children, we find the concern with it a very recent phenomenon. Indeed, having sex with a woman with her on top carried a 3 year sentence but a boy a mere 2 years in the post-Roman Empire Christian west europe in some jurisdictions (I read this last week but I cannot recall the exact dates or place, but you get the picture).

So I am left to wonder how the various institutions abnormalised this conduct and how it was demarcated out as the one taboo to give you all a jouissance feeling of disgust.

I came to this forum because I could not work out why there was no new posting in the ever-popular 'farang pub' forum for over an hour. Of course, you are all here. So this topic, that offers such a quick Lacanian moment of enjoyment by denial has give you all the appropriate wet dream for the moment.

it is as inevitable as the rising of the moon, that this taboo will at some point no longer be a taboo and something quite legtimiate now will take its place. I cannot imagine what or how.

But we can see the bizarre obsession with any sexual desire of violence that the Western world has in the last 2 years grabbed. The UK has just made it illegal to possess cartoons with depictions of violence that are disgusting (note the low level of obscenity) that could be reasonably be regarded as sexually gratifying. This is comedy. But it is tragic-comedy, and you are the panto dames playing along with it.

Rather than focusing in on this locus of the institutions of disgust of the neoliberal states you should be fighting for the state to leave you alone. Get off your backs and at least sign up to the CAAN fightback.

Please, you need to change your medication..

I'm familiar with the historical fact of the Roman practices you refer to. But the rest of your post, really

Hakuchi, and others.

Your ignorance is amazing - or are you just trying to wind up people who actually give a dam_n?

How on earth can you compare meat eating with the destruction of an endangered species? And before you ask, I am a vegetarian, so I guess that gets rid of one of your already specious arguments doesn't it? No doubt you'll find others... Did you walk on the lawn today - how many insects did you crush etc. Well known as an ascetic practice of course, but who would compare the intent behind the two acts? Probably only you!

You fail to grasp the relevance of endangered species. Do you want to live in a world where all the mega-fauna have been wiped out? Where our children can never again marvel at some of the most outstanding creations of nature, can never wake up in the mornings knowing that the natural ecosystem is thriving, and with that the support it offers them as humans is also thriving? You who value animals and nature as less than humans, repeatedly fail to see our place in the scheme of nature. We overcome it at our peril. Presumably you'll now start muttering about tigers attacking villagers, and the advantages of their habitat being used for food growing for humans, or similar (you see, I am familiar with the viewpoints of people I disagree with) - but, in looking only at the details, you miss the bigger picture.

Morons, those of you with such wrong view. I should feel sorry for you, but really... In opposing nature, you oppose the support it affords us as humans. That makes you less compassionate towards humans. And in denying other species space on this planet, you diminish it for all of us.

Well done to the authorities for finding the cub. And how frustrating it must have been to see the woman released on bail by their "superiors" (if that did in fact happen).

Sad truth is, not enough people with power care about sharks. 400 million years of perfection, wiped out by stupid greedy selfish humans. It's very sad. As is the fate of other fish species, and the other problems the oceans face. Thanks for posting the link to the petition.

Just curious...

Has your daughter kept her British nationality? If not, why not?

Apologies if this has been covered, and I missed it.