spidermike007

There is an awful lot we can be doing. It starts at home. Stop using plastic shopping bags, take out containers, stop buying plastic water bottles, etc. Where does that crap end up? It is so easy for us to  bring reusable metal or bpa free water bottles to a restaurant. I do it daily. It not only saves money, but it saves hundreds of plastic bottles a year. Same with plastic bags. It is so easy for us to bring our own bags when shopping. I do it daily. Often the merchants or restaurants are surprised. Who cares? Do your part. Or don't complain. Global warming is happening. And we are the cause. Burying our heads in the sand will change nothing. We can do our part. 

16 hours ago, Ossy said:

Oh yeh? . . . pull my other one. That the Prison Department's Mr Naras believes he has the power to stop hundreds of thousands of addicted smokers from smoking, almost at the drop of his magic hat, is laughable since there'd be riots from one side of Bangkok to the other.

 

Why can't the Thai top brass learn to think before opening their traps? One week, it's expensive pets, the next, it's 'let's stop the world from smoking' and the next . . . well, we'll have to wait and see what nonsense is going to be announced, with trumpets and drums, only to be retracted the following week.

A different declaration a week from this hapless administration. It appears to be a form of entertainment for them. Should be for us too. How can one take these jokers seriously?

4 hours ago, observer90210 said:

But what about the safety of the vessels, if the Kra Canal does exist one day ? The canal will split the country in 2 and one side will be near the troubled south of Thailand. Nobody wants it to become another Somalia-like water front, with pirates.

But the all powerful and extremely competent army and navy will take care of that. Who would mess with the Thai army? Such prowess. Such amazing ability. They are envied worldwide for their stunning achievements, genius, vision and kind hearted attitude toward their people. Nothing but benevolence. 

2 hours ago, Ahab said:

I cannot image any vessel being too large to transit the Straits of Malacca, U.S. Navy nuclear powered aircraft carriers routinely transit these waters. I think whoever wrote the article needs to do a bit more research on the width and depths present in the Straits.

Geography, which makes the strait especially crucial for global commerce, is also what makes the Strait of Malacca dangerous. It remains one of the world’s narrowest straits: 1.5 nautical miles, or about 1.7 miles on land, at its narrowest point, the Phillips Channel, near Singapore, making it a particularly perilous place for ships. Last year, officials from Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore, the countries surrounding the strait, agreed to take joint steps to reduce potential accidents. There were 60 such accidents in 2015—a number that is expected to grow as traffic through the strait increases each year.

9 hours ago, gunderhill said:

You'd  be  quicker walking almost anywhere in the UK now, many 20mph  limits, road signs everywhere more signs and paint than road, people driving not more than 45mph on a road where 60 is  allowed, to be honest its painful now. Gone way to far.

Speed cameras which do nothing except  collect revenue. 25mph in a  20 zone =3  points+ £200 fine, 12  points and banned.

Result, a  country stultified with over regulation. 

There's never a "happy medium" on the one hand the UK's over use of regs and Thailand's  "total lack of  regulation and enforcement"

Rules cater for the morons in society and drag everyone down to that level.

The UK, the US, Australia, NZ, and perhaps Canada are the worst nations on earth, when it comes to rules and regs. They also happen to be the five most emasculated societies on earth. Not sure if there is any connection to be made there. Except, get out if you can!

There has to be a balance. In Thailand the only speeding tickets are issued by cameras. The toy cops need to be involved in the process. They need to be monitoring the highways and pulling people over for reckless driving. Saving lives. Does anyone care?

10 hours ago, Crossy said:

I know not these "feet" of which you speak ????

 

Very cute. They are American or British feet. And they tend to be quite ticklish. 

A fascinating idea. One wonders if it could be implemented. The sheer magnitude of the endeavor boggles the mind. But the technology exists, and it is really just a matter of incentive, money and creative juice. It does seem to be completely over the head of the rather small minded current administration, who possess no vision. But a future administration with some talent or creative minds, could potentially make is happen.

It is quite different than the Panama Canal, on so many levels though. 

Although the Isthmus of Kra is just 45km wide at its narrowest point, the proposed canal route would have to be three times that distance to avoid inland mountain ranges. That would make the Kra Canal 58km longer than its counterpart in Panama.

The relatively short 1,200km distance saved by bypassing the Malacca Strait also pales in comparison with the 11,000km saved by the construction of its Panama counterpart. That said, however, the Kra Canal would also attract vessels too big to pass through the Malacca Strait, which are presently forced to take much longer routes to and from East Asia via the Sunda or Lombok straits. Using the Kra Canal instead of the Lombok Strait would save 3,500km and six days' sailing time – a much bigger cost advantage.

http://www.asianconversations.com/KraCanal.php

The world seems to be increasingly thin skinned these days. There is at least one particularly famous and powerful example of that out there, and his influence does not seem to be positive for society at large!

I say get a life. Grow some thicker skin. Acting is just that. Kudos to the very talented Kate Blanchett for speaking out on this topic. She is right!

On 4/29/2005 at 4:02 AM, Crossy said:

Measurements is easy:-

1 sq. wah = 4 sq. m. 1 acre = 2.471 rai or 43,560 sq. ft.

1 ngan = 100 wah (or 400 sq. m.) 1 hectare = 6.25 rai or 10,000 sq. m.

1 Rai = 4 Ngan (or 1600 sq. m.)

Hopefully others will be able to assist with pricing.

In other words, there are about 2.5 rai, in one acre, making it approximately 17,200 square feet, or .40 of an acre.

Very very little rural land is worth 200,000 baht per rai, no matter where it is located. Even Chanote. Alot of Thai people have bizarre notions of what land is worth. Alot of dreamers out there. Do your research, and do not rely on one opinion, ever.

Race is a fascinating thing in Thailand. I have a dear friend who is a half black American man. Super nice guy. Smart, charming, and single. He does struggle with the women in Thailand, due to his darker skin. Mind you, he is a light skinned black man. But he still looks ethnic, and he is pigeonholed often. Alot of women are just not interested, due to his skin color. So, there is a fair amount of worship of white skin going on here. Many of the people of Issan are more open to him, due to their own skin color, but there still seems to be an inate preference for light skin. The whole Bangkok hi-so thing is beyond ridiculous. A very conventional mentality.

The bottom line, is that the culture is hypnotized by television. Nearly every single individual on TV, who has any money, status or power is light skinned. And what is up with the half this, half that stuff? Seems like nearly every star is half European. 

1 hour ago, tifino said:

on the path about delays and cancellations...

we're heading up on TA on 1Nov.  Yesterday the entire Flight DEP 1Nov 00:30 from MEL is Cancelled in advance, in toto! 

So we are, probably along with 500 others, all awaiting to see what will happen with reallocations, for a lot of bums on seats!

 

strange, that this cancellation is a week and a half prior to the day of flight! must be something really big happening?

it is a fair enough time way from today. to still replace a Plane/Crew etc planned maintenance?   

 

I can see some many new Business Seat disruptions coming up soon!

 

Do they have some sort of 'How many seats on a Flight not yet booked up to 2 weeks before we reach that point for decision as to whether we cancel everything sort of thing?

Symptomatic of a second class airline, run by bureaucrats, with little talent. Stop the support of government monopolies, and these will no longer be your problems. Thai Airways is a poor substitute for what it could be with private ownership and management. But, then the govt. employees would not enjoy so many free trips!

Yes, it was a grave mistake for MBS to order the hit, provide his jets for the operation and send in some of his own men. The hit went as planned, except for the fallout. Now they are doing everything in their power to cover for the pig prince. He is a gangster. A thug. A killer. 

The great thing to come out of this is that both MBS and the House of Saud was outed for being who they are. The world now knows. At least those who have not been following their crimes over the decades. Reform? Total and complete BS. More like extreme oppression. 

Even mainstream clergy was joining the fray. Rev. Gary Thomas of the Diocese of San Jose in California said on Friday that he would include Kavanaugh in his prayers at Saturday mass.

Part of the problem is the so called religious right (many know nothing about spirituality nor do their lives reflect any sort of higher belief) has sold their souls by hitching their political agenda to Trump. Falwell even went as far as calling him a man of good moral character. Either that is sheer delusion, an alternate universe or simply PR. Nobody in their right mind could ever refer to Trump as that with a straight face. 

The Krazy Kav hearings were rigged. A decision was made before the hearings even started. He is not of the temperament nor the character for the highest court, and the nation was again diminished by his selection.

Way to go Trump. Moving America backwards daily. Give it two more weeks Mr. Lame Duck. The people will speak.  

12 hours ago, scorecard said:

 

Regardless of who has priority I would have though TG, including all it's senior staff, including pilots should be well aware that they are in deep financial trouble and all concerned very focused on quickly regaining profitable business and one major key to that is the overall brand / image of the airline, and of course fares and SAFETY.

 

Given the details that have been shared re the current incident it seems they could have made all concerned much happier than the result we now observe.

 

Somehow they seem to keep shooting themselves in the foot.

 

 

This is the key problem with a government monopoly or company owned by the govt. They do not have to be responsible or profitable. This airline has been coddled by one administration after another. They have never really had to be accountable. The pilots who misbehaved should be fired immediately. Will that happen? Of course not. The airline is not accountable. 

Just stop using Thai. 

The department said certain activities taking place on and around the islands had caused serious harm to marine and coastal resources, to the point that, if they are allowed to continue, the damage to the ecosystem could be irreparable.

Is this a practical joke? They have been dumping waste into the sea for decades now. All the reefs around Samui are completely dead. What ecosystem? The water is dangerously foul. In all the years I lived there, I swam once or twice in the sea. It was scary! If you got a drop of water into your mouth or nostrils who knows what could happen. 

There are so many reasons why I never consider Thai Airways for international flights. Now I have one more. I would have been furious. 

I have always found then to be smug, vastly overrated and poor baggage handlers. A thoroughly unimpressive airline on so many levels. Hope this really goes viral. 

Not sure if corn is the answer, but rice is a crop that virtually assures a life of poverty. The elite want the farmers to continue growing rice. It is a devastating crop and one that is grown because the farmers do not know any better. Anything but rice. 

Many of these tickets are for speeding. While the concept is good, setting the limits at 80-90 kph for the main and elevated highways is just silly, surly, goofy, foolish and misguided. On the elevated toll way in BKK 80kph is a snails pace and is only intended to collect revenue, not to make the roads safer. I applaud the public for not paying those fines. Even on the highways 90kph is totally unrealistic. Create dumb laws. Expect them to be ignored.

This has never been about safety. When was the last time you saw a car pulled over for speeding on the highway? Or reckless driving? This does not happen. The highway patrol is only seen after an accident takes place. Otherwise the Casper syndrome is in full effect.