dayverne

I recollect that Dick Turpin was probably the most famous highwayman. Anyway, you've got to "hand" it to him. Surely the girls will get very upset with all this serial DIY!

Guess I've probably already been beaten to the post in suggesting customers will get a "raw deal" in this place? Chemin de Fur anybody?

I quote:

"However, Seri Suparathit, an expert in public disasters from Rangsit University, yesterday expressed opposition to the plan, saying it would not work as the water level in the eastern Bang Pakong River was higher than that in Bangkok.

He suggested that the best solution would be to remove the floodwalls along Canals 9 to 13 and focus on pumping water out at 50 million cubic metres per second."

That is some big mother of a pump --- 50,000,000 Tonnes of water every second? Without knowing the head I doubt if there is power enough in the whole world to drive it? Surely he said 50 mlps (ie: millilitres per second). But, that is far too modest to have much impact in my experience. Submersibles abound quite capable of 11 lps so an array of 5 or 6 would scorch along at 50 lps -- the only likely problem would be installing the power supply in short order

I gather from all this chatter that the levels expected at high tide are about 4m above mean sea level including the impact of run off from the North. Bearing in mind that 3.4 m is required to flood the Chao Praya so, we should get approximately 0.6 m flooding here in Soi 65, Sukhumvit.

However, personally, we have suffered worse than this at least weekly all this year as the rains inundated our drains - just partially upgraded. It got to the point even 12 years ago when I described this Soi as Klong 65! I later found it was very difficult for the myriad local inhabitants to discharge sewage through the local 2 x 12" pipes given the main drain was only dia. 8" and, as you would expect, the water ran the other way.

I am pleased to say that we are well beyond employing sandbags now and all serious defenses seem to be based on breeze blocks and heaps of concrete or silicone. Don't forget, sandbags are made of sand, just that, and are about as useful as a one-legged man at an arse-kicking contest .....

Having said that, the very practical advice from the Government to stock up for 6 weeks has led to panic buying and now we face turmoil whenever we try to purchase simple things like bread, soda water or maybe even a little sand for the screed. Sandbags now cost 49 Baht apiece - I wonder what they will be worth once people realise they are a very temporary remedy. Perhaps moldy bread will help solve the immediate problem and whisky sales are bound to improve in future.

Bangkok needs to look very seriously at its drainage infrastructure to check the actual directions and capacities of the system. It is no good looking to Google Earth or a stupid map when the situation is, of course, a local one. We face a Venetian situation here, American incompetence has already been displayed many times and so far only the Dutch seem to have any proper answers. I am quite sure they contributed to the Thames Barrier project, and typically, that has had to be activated at least 12 times in recent years to protect London itself.

Good Grief!

I heard the news just as I was going to the cop shop for a free binge. Maybe I'll turn to drugs, murder, massage and GAMBLING as it seems these are the only acceptable activities in BKK.... Paedophiles are now a little young for me and I can't be arsed about sodomy.

Seriously, as has been discovered in all democracies since Cromwell, having fewer crimes on the statute book increases the chance that the law will be observed. Otherwise, the law itself becomes a joke and even serious crimes unpenalised. Meanwhile, the "WATCH" increases its already infinite portfolio for graft.

Corruption remains the most common and pernicious crime in Thailand --- Do something about that if you want to sell "MIRACLE" Thailand and, incidentally, improve the rotten English skills of your ministries!!!!

3G has been available for over 10 years. Why does Thailand not wake up to the fact it lags even the most bent banana republic in Africa?

As for TOT and CAT send them the way of all dinosaurs and the government will save a fortune. There is nothing for them to do except rob the public.

If Mrs Jingluck wants to earn medals and save money at the same time this should be the first item on her agenda. The only problem is that her brother might object since he established this corrupt illegal relationship in the first place.....

I think you all are either corrupt or ignorant of the economics of Thailand. My uninformed opinion is that anyone earning less than 300 THB a day should be sacked since he/she is "theoretically" incompetent or lazy.

The reality is that these are generally among the most productive workers in Thailand. They grow the rice, sugar and vegetables and mine in the most inhospitable of environments whilst the agents and owners put the excessive proceeds in their pockets, whereby they become government ministers to extract even more roubles via various forms of corruption a-la Thaksin et al.

Now we face a problem: would such a policy encourage inflation? I think not: since Thai sugar is relatively expensive as compared to, for example, Brasilian, and certainly, German beet sugar has gained in popularity in world markets because of its relative price. Re. rice, whilst Thailand is the biggest exporter, Hom Mali might remain popular but other grains cannot compete with Pakistani Long Grain etc. either in price or quality.

Thus, i must conclude that your various reader's "Mickey Mouse" comments concerning inflation are completely erroneous and moreover the employment of Burmese, Campodian and other nationals does nothing but improve the economy as a whole.

So get off your bikes. Stop feeding the fat bureaucrats and put your heads into gear, and there is just a chance that this policy will work!

I would love to debate this issue if you would risk sending me an email. I am @yahoo.com. By the way, I was the first to condemn the election of Thaksin but, his sister seems of better stock..

No way there is any Thai person involved. Got to the Tourist Police --- they will certainly express the view that the shooters were part of a Laos / Burmese gang or just Campucheans (is that how it's spelt in English) out for a stroll.

It often surprises me what goes on in the background ... maybe they didn't like the colour of the car!

In any case, far too many Thais are permitted firearms especially given their propensity to use them at random. They have got nothing to lose .. enjoy drugs and, as for morals just look at the incomparable corruption favoured at every level of society, especially among the privileged classes.

Luckily the victim survived otherwise there would be an "amazing" response from our antipodean friends .... Amazin' F**** Thailand! What Shit Digger?

Looking at the Democrat's case I might presume this to be a frivolous scam were it not for recent precedence.

The few so-called "Democrats" who remain in parliament wjll now close the Airports, all roads north, south, east and west and sit in yellow shirted indignation wherever they can cause the greatest disruption in the small area of Thailand that remains!

"Banned from politics" in this interpretation appears to imply it is illegal to express an opinion or to appear to support some cause that is not diametrically opposed to such opinion --- echoes of Burma, Soviet Union, Syria, North Korea and several other failed or failing states --- and, the next move will be to include 60% of the electorate in that category!

I am no lover of Thaksin and, despite his bad press, I thought Abashit (sic) made a fair attempt to reconcile such incorruptible? factions as remained in government but surely the Thai people should have some say in this, not just one or two staid members of the judiciary, military, et cetera.... and now they have spoken, no doubt befuddled with ex gracia noodles donated by some well-wisher!

Why not listen?

And yet nun-disclosure is a crime! Where does that leave the Nation?

What the hell are they doing prosecuting him in UK? Please conclude investigation of the more recent issue of these documented Thai abuses as a result of which, hopefully, he will be separated from his balls in a more appropriate manner. I look forward to seeing the event on face-book, arse-book or whatever.

A couple of weeks back while everybody was waxing vitriolic about the intrusion on their little cabbage patch by bugs wearing red shirts, I did point out that those bugs and their sympathisers amount to a little over 65% of the Thai population and that excludes the Monks.

The unfortunate decision of the self appointed elite to pursue a military solution after dabbling briefly with the only sensible option (for them that is) of establishing some form of government of national unity, is tantamount to offering Thaksin and the protestors the moral high ground.

How long are the protestors going to remain unarmed and unprotected while the military play hide and seek with live rounds? How long will it be before the insurgency becomes ten times or a hundred times larger than at present? At the moment it is hardly under control.

It is really annoying that the "string pullers" behind the regime are so insensitive they have failed to read the runes. Don't they realise what they have done? The best thing for Abhisit right now is to do a runner and leave these people to their fate. I am sure he has been forced kicking and screaming into this untenable situation as his previous record has been remarkably unsullied.

The most amusing comment so far concerns rejection of UN arbitration out of hand. Why??? Sorry, say that again!

Following the airport sit-in and the forcible dissolution of the PPP what sort of democracy remains in Thailand? Since PPP won the majority of seats initially, one can sympathise with the red-shirts now disenfranchised and dissatisfied with the performance of Abhisit and the current coalition even though I feel that not many would support a return to the super-kleptocracy of a Thaksin regime given any reasonable alternative.

Not many complained when, following the bloodless coup of 2006, Gen Sonthi was appointed and served in an interim capacity pending fresh elections, however this only served to further polarise Thai society since, during this period, no apparent effort was made to correct the endemic ills of poverty and corruption.

That leaves us with only four alternatives:

1. A Government of National Unity involving all parties proportionately represented in free and fair elections
   
2. The appointment of yet another Junta
   
3. Re-establishment of a working monarchy with a regally appointed government and no parties
   
4. Revolution (probably Thaksin's ideal)!!!!
   

All require at least initial dissolution of parliament and all make a nonsense of PM Abhisit's quoted reasons for delay. I would suggest that 100 days might satisfy all colour shirts and provide sufficient pause for thought.

I do not believe that martial law in support of the current regime makes any sense since it would surely just increase the antagonism and, while the PM knows it is the only strategy available to him, it would simply turn him into another pariah. As he is evidently not that stupid, in fact I am impressed by his tolerance and tenacity, I deliberately omitted it from the options.