Abhisit Ready To Assist On Flood Control If Invited By Thai Govt

[Orac]

It might not be a politician who is new to the job that is being refered to. The Minister for Agriculture is still the same as Theera Wongsamut stayed in place and this ministry has responsibility for the Royal Irrigation Department.

bits before and after removed.

For those interested, Minister Theera Wongsamut:

http://eng.moac.go.th/main.php?filename=teera

Indeed - one would think with that resume that he is the ideal person to have around at the moment. Unfortunately he is also the guy who said that the worst was over a couple of weeks ago.

Edited October 29, 2011 by Orac

[animatic]

Maybe his boss told him to say that...

Can't cause those investors to lose confidence can we?

That said why isn't this guy running FROC, he is qualified

and the Justice minister running for dog catcher since he isn't?

This guy knows what is happening without asking himself for advice he will ignore.

Edited October 29, 2011 by animatic

[Orac]

Maybe his boss told him to say that...

Can't cause those investors to lose confidence can we?

That said why isn't this guy running FROC, he is qualified

and the Justice minister running for dog catcher since he isn't?

This guy knows what is happening without asking himself for advice he will ignore.

Maybe the problem is who is his boss - I doubt it is PT he is beholden to for his position. Also to pass the running of FROC over to a politician who is not from PT would be politically difficult.

[whybother]

Yes, good points.

A simple view point could be - very bad timing for a government change. A conspiracy point of view could be that the Dems knew their fate, and did not act on anything. A face-saving point of view could be that ALL the organizations in charge of said dams were following their last instructions to the tee for fear of any repercussions from any / all sides (an exercise in CYA !!!).

For all that are kind of fluent in Thai... Interesting link (in Thai)

Given that the people in charge of the dams didn't change with the change of governments, there can be no excuses.

Yingluck may not have known, but after the first dump of rain she should have found out. If she wasn't given the information then heads should roll.

[nurofiend]

Abhisit stands ready to tackle the situation and help the people,"

What would they use him for ?....a sandbag

If Abhisit had still been in power things would never have got so bad. <snip.

yeah, most definitely.

and just to be clear...this was sarcasm

... you'd never know who wouldn't notice

[rubl]

Abhisit stands ready to tackle the situation and help the people,"

What would they use him for ?....a sandbag

If Abhisit had still been in power things would never have got so bad. <snip>

yeah, most definitely.

and just to be clear...this was sarcasm

... you'd never know who wouldn't notice

K. Abhisit still waiting anxiously beside the phone:

"The phone rang all day. Alderman Spotteswoode, the Gas Board, Frank, all sorts of useless people ringing up to congratulate me. "On what?" I said to Annie: "Don't they realise I'm waiting for the call?"

THE COMPLETE YES MINISTER © Jonathan Lynn and Antony Jay

Edited October 29, 2011 by rubl

[nurofiend]

K. Abhist still waiting anxiously beside the phone:

"The phone rang all day. Alderman Spotteswoode, the Gas Board, Frank, all sorts of useless people ringing up to congratulate me. "On what?" I said to Annie: "Don't they realise I'm waiting for the call?"

THE COMPLETE YES MINISTER © Jonathan Lynn and Antony Jay

he's here all week people

[scotbeve]

<<< other bits left out>>>>

Point 1 certainly

Point 2 the Dems went through this last year and saw the suffering first hand. I just can't seem them thinking AND acting on this as a revenge strategy. It's just too much and too evil, This reeks of garden variety stupidity, not insane revenge.

Point 3 well we will see this, no doubts. The Nuremberg excuse 'I Just Followed Orders, To The Letter. (Which were? Who gave them and when?)

No doubt they can't say I HAD to say something before people died! That would admit 'they knew people would die from their inactions'. AKA Manslaughter in most countries. A dams operators can be seen as ships captains with as much responsibility if not more in critical times.

Alternative point 4

There have been reports in the Thai press that a 'cabinet minister' has admitted he told the the dam operators not to open the dams. AND that he would 'take responsibility'. The last statement brings the whole into doubt of course. I'll take full responsibility is rarely said here... Of course no-one will name the name, or even the cryptic Initial at this critical time.

Ok, maybe true, maybe not, but I have seen this twice. If so, this cat is sitting facing the the sharp point of the spear for sure, and the WHY. If true, it is going to likely make heads role, even if he falls on his sword. Which may explain so many experienced pols being utterly silent....

I can find it plausible that a Thai politician with no clue , new to the job, wants something, and doesn't hardly understand the implications of his instructions....

I mean 'really who could imagine THAT Scenario here?'

Will there be a witch hunt, and light speed passing the blame turd hand to hand, going on for a year, no doubt.

Animatic,

On your comment about Point 2, I was just listening to the national news on the radio no less than 1 hr. ago. There was one report that was very disconcerting which stated that in Bang Khen district, there was flood barriers removed around the municipal water treatment/pump building during the very early hours of the morning. The tap water is now contaminated. This is true evil, evil does exist in Thailand EG: the @rseholes price gouging food and drinking water to the poor.

rubl,

<<<<< snip/copy/paste

Orac, on Yesterday, 21:25 , said:

It might not be a politician who is new to the job that is being refered to. The Minister for Agriculture is still the same as Theera Wongsamut stayed in place and this ministry has responsibility for the Royal Irrigation Department.

bits before and after removed.

For those interested, Minister Theera Wongsamut:

http://eng.moac.go.t...?filename=teera

snip/copy/paste>>>>>

Thanks for posting Theera's CV. Yes, he should have been in charge of FROC..... But why does he want to be a (very rare in TH) martyr???? Will he escape any firing squad(metaphor)????

[scotbeve]

Yes, good points.

A simple view point could be - very bad timing for a government change. A conspiracy point of view could be that the Dems knew their fate, and did not act on anything. A face-saving point of view could be that ALL the organizations in charge of said dams were following their last instructions to the tee for fear of any repercussions from any / all sides (an exercise in CYA !!!).

For all that are kind of fluent in Thai... Interesting link (in Thai)

Given that the people in charge of the dams didn't change with the change of governments, there can be no excuses.

Yingluck may not have known, but after the first dump of rain she should have found out. If she wasn't given the information then heads should roll.

Agreed.....

[Payboy]

K. Abhist still waiting anxiously beside the phone:

"The phone rang all day. Alderman Spotteswoode, the Gas Board, Frank, all sorts of useless people ringing up to congratulate me. "On what?" I said to Annie: "Don't they realise I'm waiting for the call?"

THE COMPLETE YES MINISTER © Jonathan Lynn and Antony Jay

he's here all week people

Great, that would give him so much more time to fine-tune all those flood-control techniques he has invented but kept a lid on thus far.

I'm thinking he might even reveal them at his Nobel acceptance speech.

[scotbeve]

K. Abhist still waiting anxiously beside the phone:

"The phone rang all day. Alderman Spotteswoode, the Gas Board, Frank, all sorts of useless people ringing up to congratulate me. "On what?" I said to Annie: "Don't they realise I'm waiting for the call?"

THE COMPLETE YES MINISTER © Jonathan Lynn and Antony Jay

he's here all week people

Great, that would give him so much more time to fine-tune all those flood-control techniques he has invented but kept a lid on thus far.

I'm thinking he might even reveal them at his Nobel acceptance speech.

Sorry serious folks..... I can't help or control myself on this one!!!! :cheesy: Dear Mark, While we're at it... Please show us the (record-breaking) 1.4 trillion baht budget and it's whereabouts!!! Secret-squirrel stuff again methinks!

[scotbeve]

Who says this will be over Nov. 6th?

Afraid it doesn't look like it will be.....

It's not rocket science, at least not to many.

My thoughts on carving new routes for the water, and making some of them permanent still remain. If it can help now, when we see the actual flood in our face, then that is something that will help in the future and made permanent.

Deciding what to try is an engineering problem, but this is the only time the political will to try might be found. The problem is multiple-screaming voices and 'interests'. It seems ready to go so far as to render many 'special interets' moot, and then makes it a logical time to do things that can never be done in normal times.

Yes the Board of Inquiry will be a real nasty one.

As what COULD HAVE been brought up in the past, would have been a vision of an actual Far East Venice using wide/deep "ring" canals instead of roads or train tracks between the countries. Flood weirs or gates within tributaries of these large canals would suffice for dry, El Nino seasons. Transport for industry would be effective and possibly cheaper using canals.

Yes, these projects would also be very tempting to quite a few higher-ups....

[toybits]

If he was ready to help what's keeping him from helping? Human Chain gang work late into the night. Good photo op for him too. But no, it has to be made official. No use sweating it if there is no political gain. Come on Mark! What's keeping you from helping?

[scotbeve]

Today's latest dam volumes....

http://water.rid.go.th/flood/flood/res_table.htm

AND water is still being released.... Strange all other dams have much more volume....

[rogerdee123]

If he was ready to help what's keeping him from helping? Human Chain gang work late into the night. Good photo op for him too. But no, it has to be made official. No use sweating it if there is no political gain. Come on Mark! What's keeping you from helping?

I think he may be offering the limelight to Deputy PMs Cherlerm and Sannan for them to showcase their flood relief work.

[billd766]

If he was ready to help what's keeping him from helping? Human Chain gang work late into the night. Good photo op for him too. But no, it has to be made official. No use sweating it if there is no political gain. Come on Mark! What's keeping you from helping?

Equally what (or who) is stopping Yingluck from inviting him?

Can you imagine what the PTP and Red Shirts would say and do?

Edited October 31, 2011 by billd766

[scotbeve]

Today's latest dam volumes....

http://water.rid.go....d/res_table.htm

AND water is still being released.... Strange all other dams have much more volume....

Just out of curiosity.... does anyone have VERY recent pictures of the 3 major dams which had to continue releasing the water? (Bhumibol, Sirikit, and Pa Sak Chonlasit)

[scotbeve]

A couple of sat pics for a comparison between 2008 and 1 Nov. 11' .... Seems like a heck of a lot more water than what was reported released in the 3 dams!! Open these and see if I'm wrong.... Does anyone have (very recent) pics of the 3 dams in question? I'm interested in there present levels VISUALLY instead of what the RID writes in it's reports. On the Thai national news, there were video clips of only Sirinthorn dam which was at approx. 75% full. No vids of either: Bhumibol, Sirikit, or Chonasit dams. I suspect they are very low now..... Hence, nice to have RECENT pics or video clips.

[whybother]

A couple of sat pics for a comparison between 2008 and 1 Nov. 11' .... Seems like a heck of a lot more water than what was reported released in the 3 dams!! Open these and see if I'm wrong.... Does anyone have (very recent) pics of the 3 dams in question? I'm interested in there present levels VISUALLY instead of what the RID writes in it's reports. On the Thai national news, there were video clips of only Sirinthorn dam which was at approx. 75% full. No vids of either: Bhumibol, Sirikit, or Chonasit dams. I suspect they are very low now..... Hence, nice to have RECENT pics or video clips.

What do you mean by "very low"? Last I read, was that Bhumibol was at 99% with in flow reducing, and therefore they were reducing out flow. (yes ... it probably came from RID).

[sparebox2]

In the mean time AV can return to Maldive and play cricket with the President, his old English school mate.

[scotbeve]

A couple of sat pics for a comparison between 2008 and 1 Nov. 11' .... Seems like a heck of a lot more water than what was reported released in the 3 dams!! Open these and see if I'm wrong.... Does anyone have (very recent) pics of the 3 dams in question? I'm interested in there present levels VISUALLY instead of what the RID writes in it's reports. On the Thai national news, there were video clips of only Sirinthorn dam which was at approx. 75% full. No vids of either: Bhumibol, Sirikit, or Chonasit dams. I suspect they are very low now..... Hence, nice to have RECENT pics or video clips.

What do you mean by "very low"? Last I read, was that Bhumibol was at 99% with in flow reducing, and therefore they were reducing out flow. (yes ... it probably came from RID).

That's my point whybother. Wouldn't a visual indication be much more reliable than a government report - especially from the crowd who will have to answer a whole lot of serious questions shortly???? If the news crews can go to Sirinthorn dam for a news video clip, why haven't they gone to the 3 dams in question to SHOW all the unfortunate flooded folks the "good news". These people really don't want to read reports when they can have a visual of the "good news". I did say "I suspect".... Does this make logical sense?

[scotbeve]

Silence is deafening out there....

[rubl]

Silence is deafening out there....

Assuming you're still on topic, you must be referring to k. Abhisit still waiting next to the phone, wondering if it wouldn't have been better if he'd stayed on holiday as no one seems to need or want him

[scotbeve]

Silence is deafening out there....

Assuming you're still on topic, you must be referring to k. Abhisit still waiting next to the phone, wondering if it wouldn't have been better if he'd stayed on holiday as no one seems to need or want him

A brilliant and apropos reply my dear rubl!!

[whybother]

Silence is deafening out there....

What are you trying to prove? Here is a little exercise for you to help me understand.

Scenario 1: Someone provides evidence that the dams are at the levels that RID says they are at. What is your response?

Scenario 2: Someone provides evidence that the dams are at a much lower level than the RID says they are at. What is your response?

[scotbeve]

Silence is deafening out there....

What are you trying to prove? Here is a little exercise for you to help me understand.

Scenario 1: Someone provides evidence that the dams are at the levels that RID says they are at. What is your response?

Scenario 2: Someone provides evidence that the dams are at a much lower level than the RID says they are at. What is your response?

Whybother,

I'm not trying to prove anything. Full stop. I'm trying to get some more/other information in a visual media format. Why would you think otherwise? I didn't and wasn't implying anything but this.

[whybother]

Silence is deafening out there....

What are you trying to prove? Here is a little exercise for you to help me understand.

Scenario 1: Someone provides evidence that the dams are at the levels that RID says they are at. What is your response?

Scenario 2: Someone provides evidence that the dams are at a much lower level than the RID says they are at. What is your response?

Whybother,

I'm not trying to prove anything. Full stop. I'm trying to get some more/other information in a visual media format. Why would you think otherwise? I didn't and wasn't implying anything but this.

I would think otherwise, because you have been mentioning "the authorities letting out too much water unnecessarily" for quite a while.

I'm not saying you're wrong, but the only evidence of the authorities stuffing up, is that they held the water too long and since then have had to let too much water out because the dams have been full.

[scotbeve]

Silence is deafening out there....

What are you trying to prove? Here is a little exercise for you to help me understand.

Scenario 1: Someone provides evidence that the dams are at the levels that RID says they are at. What is your response?

Scenario 2: Someone provides evidence that the dams are at a much lower level than the RID says they are at. What is your response?

Whybother,

I'm not trying to prove anything. Full stop. I'm trying to get some more/other information in a visual media format. Why would you think otherwise? I didn't and wasn't implying anything but this.

I would think otherwise, because you have been mentioning "the authorities letting out too much water unnecessarily" for quite a while.

I'm not saying you're wrong, but the only evidence of the authorities stuffing up, is that they held the water too long and since then have had to let too much water out because the dams have been full.

Whybother,

You're absolutely correct in saying the only evidence is the authorities stuffing up. So IMHO why not check further than that by first getting some visual evidence (as in day by day - pics of levels of water). Whose to say they didn't " stuff up ' again and carried on with some outdated contingency plan or were in fact completely wrong with their figures and calculations? I know... I know.... we are now speaking of accountability. A very rare characteristic here. Bottom line is... it doesn't hurt to check/verify these figures ourselves if possible.