monkeycountry

If I was Mr. Abhisit, I would go home, take a shower and go out and have a beer.

Who cares abut a silly military rank and some pocket change he may or may not have to pay back.

If PTP has a case and want something from Mr. Abhisit, then surely they will sue him. If not, then it will probably end with the loss of a rank that noone should care about. Indeed, considering the corrupt state of the Thai military, one should be proud NOT to have a rank there :-)

Perhaps the driver could let us know how fast he was going? The vast majority of big busses seem to go around 120 kmph and always in the outer lane if there are more than one lane (120 kmph for a bus is both illegal and insane)

I wonder, will he do anything for the many non-farmers in Thailand, or is he working only for Thaksin and the farmers?

I think all this borrowing is a great idea no matter who steals the money. Once Thailand reaches the debt level of Greece and the country can no longer borrow money, half the country will be laid off. My guess is that a large proportion of the laid off female workers will then go find a job in Nana, Cowboy or Pattaya - and I will be there to welcome them :-)

G'day CHUCKLES !

Did the surveyors say why the airport runway could not be extended ?

G'Day Oldsailor

I did some research a few years ago, which is where I picked up a link to the length of the runway at that time. Perhaps it has been extended since?

At one end of the runway are 2 temples, a drainage area and a built up area. At the other end is a beach road and a boat pier. I used to live in an area adjacent to the runway and it was clear to me that not all the take off and landing slots are fully utilised. In the low season it is quite common for residents to arrive in Bangkok mid morning and be told there is no flight until late afternoon, as the airline waits to fill enough empty seats to justify take off.

As far as riff raff goes, it is the drunks who live on the steps of 7/11 and renew tourist visas every 7/14 days that really annoy me. The soi dogs contribute more than these low life scum.

The runway cannot be extended much at the Chaweng end, but at the bangrak end there is only 3 obstacles. The beachroad, the pier and an old run down resort which I believe is owned by Bangkok Airways.

The resort does not have much value as it is, so could easily be removed. The pier is relatively small, and it would be fairly simple to move it elsewhere. The beachroad could be made to simply go under the runway - flood control for the lowered beachroad is not a major problem. As it is covered by the runway anyway, all it needs is to rise a bit at both ends, making sure no floodwater runs downthere.

Then the runway can be extended into the sea until it hits Big Buddha which is about 1300 meters from the end of the existing runway. As the fishermen there have completely ruined the beach and the surrounding area as far as tourism and nature goes, environmental issues should not be a problem either.

Sounds like the Ombudsman will be "promoted" soon :-D

"He (Science Minister Plodprasob) said he would send an official note to city administrators demanding that they explain the sandbag flood-prevention technique in detail and disclose all locations where sandbags are being placed."

Perhaps he can in turn explain the "water pushing machines" in detail amd disclose all locations where they have been placed?

As always not a single qualified engineer is involved, just politicians without any relevant education whatsoever :-D

Unlike most other officials in the PTP government, Mr. Paradorn actually sounds like a very sensible guy. Like most others here, I do not like his ties with Mr. Thaksin, but I will give him the benefit of doubt for now, and wish him good luck!

Just to add a little further info to the story. The local police was not interested in the rape complaint, which prompted the consul to contact the governor of Surat province, who then sent a group of police from Surat to investigate the case.

There is 2 reasons why the local police are hesitant in registering or investigating complaints.

1. They are usually busy running their own private tea money businesses, paid for escorts etc. etc. In fact they do not even pickup the phone if you try to call them (try yourself at 077414567). Further, they know nobody is going to complain about them or their lack of commitment to their job, as most people wouldn't know how to complain, and those who do, also know it would be fruitless.

2. They (or more likely someone higher up) don't want this kind of news to get out, as it is indeed bad for tourism.

The latter is the biggest problem, as those who commit crimes are well aware of this, and therefore know there will most likely not be an investigation, hence no punishment. The only reason this case is now being investigated, is because the consul himself has the right connections. Had the girl been alone when trying to file a report, it would have ended right there, together with most other cases on Samui Island.

Besides the governor of Surat must himself wonder what the Samui police is actually doing, since he has to send Surat police everytime he hears of a problem on Samui.