Thailand's Heart Attack

[webfact]

Thailand's heart attack

By Michael D. Lemonick

Climate change doesn't 'cause' massive storms or severe droughts, but it raises the odds.

An obese, middle-aged man is running to catch a bus. Suddenly, he clutches his chest, falls to the ground and dies of a massive heart attack. It turns out that he's a smoker and a diabetic, has high blood pressure, eats a diet high in saturated fat and low in leafy green vegetables, pours salt on everything, drinks too much beer, avoids exercise at all costs and has a father, grandfather and two uncles who also died young of heart attacks.

So what killed him? Most people are savvy enough about health risks to know this is a trick question. You can't pick out a single cause. His choices and his genes all contributed to the heart attack — but you can say with confidence that the more risk factors that pile up, the more likely it is to end badly.

Somehow, though, people think that it makes sense to ask whether a given extreme weather event — a devastating heat wave or a punishing drought or a deadly torrential rainstorm — is caused by climate change.

That's a trick question too. Scientists know that the increasing load of greenhouse gases we're pumping into the atmosphere doesn't "cause" extreme weather. But it does raise [more...]

Full story: http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-oe-lemonick-monsoon-20111102,0,2934317.story

-- Los Angeles Times 2011-11-02

[Bakseedaa]

What a load of nonsense... just shows how the media can be bought and paid for.. This disaster we are going through in Thailand, was and is a man-made disaster , completely brought about by incompetent ministers in charge of all the involved agencies.. and a very naive Prime Minister.. These same people are now trying to turn the public anger away from themselves and blame everyone else.. Amazing Thailand. If Yinluck had any balls, she would resign and hang up her Burberry Boots forthwith..!

[kutjebu]

What a load of nonsense... just shows how the media can be bought and paid for.. This disaster we are going through in Thailand, was and is a man-made disaster , completely brought about by incompetent ministers in charge of all the involved agencies.. and a very naive Prime Minister.. These same people are now trying to turn the public anger away from themselves and blame everyone else.. Amazing Thailand. If Yinluck had any balls, she would resign and hang up her Burberry Boots forthwith..!

When I hear you,you're not happy with the Thai government.What are you doing then overhere.Pack your stuf and leave.

Stay in your perfect country.Greece,maybe?

[hellodolly]

Bakseedaa

You should maybe read the article first before you comment. There is more than man's greed and lack of planning in this involved in this.:jap:

[rogerdee123]

Now it only takes the first two posts to a new topic to expose the divisions and "at war with itself" Thailand.

[mijan24]

What a load of nonsense... just shows how the media can be bought and paid for.. This disaster we are going through in Thailand, was and is a man-made disaster , completely brought about by incompetent ministers in charge of all the involved agencies.. and a very naive Prime Minister.. These same people are now trying to turn the public anger away from themselves and blame everyone else.. Amazing Thailand. If Yinluck had any balls, she would resign and hang up her Burberry Boots forthwith..!

If the person in question had the items you mention then we would be in real trouble - there would be all sorts of lawsuits flying about most of them half arsed as usual.

Back to the flooding, hoaw anyone or any organisation can lay the blame on a person who has only had the rains (sic) for a couple of months - ok things could be handled more efficiently but don't lose sight of the quality of the people she has working for her. :jap:

It will take years to root out the incompetence ingrained in the multiple layers of officialdon in Thailand it will never happen in my lifetime. She (Yingluck) seems to be handling things ok especially with the incompetent tools she has inherited.

[whatsupdoc]

What a load of nonsense... just shows how the media can be bought and paid for.. This disaster we are going through in Thailand, was and is a man-made disaster , completely brought about by incompetent ministers in charge of all the involved agencies.. and a very naive Prime Minister.. These same people are now trying to turn the public anger away from themselves and blame everyone else.. Amazing Thailand. If Yinluck had any balls, she would resign and hang up her Burberry Boots forthwith..!

When I hear you,you're not happy with the Thai government.What are you doing then overhere.Pack your stuf and leave.

Stay in your perfect country.Greece,maybe?

When you cannot stand different opinions, could you please stay out of the Thai Visa Forum? If you don't like it then leave is such a lame comment......

[BKKdreaming]

I wonder if Global warming will be the cause for our next earthquake in California

its always easy to look back and say what should have been done , but who wants to spend money on an earthquake sometime in the future or a 50 year flood ,

For Bangkok I just wish they would talk ( and listen ) to world experts on flooding now and for future floods,

Hopefully they will learn from this flood and be ready for the next.....

And no I am not 100$ ready for our next earthquake.....

BK

[jonesy2648]

What a load of nonsense... just shows how the media can be bought and paid for.. This disaster we are going through in Thailand, was and is a man-made disaster , completely brought about by incompetent ministers in charge of all the involved agencies.. and a very naive Prime Minister.. These same people are now trying to turn the public anger away from themselves and blame everyone else.. Amazing Thailand. If Yinluck had any balls, she would resign and hang up her Burberry Boots forthwith..!

When I hear you,you're not happy with the Thai government.What are you doing then overhere.Pack your stuf and leave.

Stay in your perfect country.Greece,maybe?

My sentiments exactly!!! Less wingeing!! Less Sarcasm and negative remarks!!! Surely do you think for one moment that comments like yours are going to help the situation with the floods??? Try posting something positive or go get your self a one way air ticket, leave the country and go back where you came from and preach your thoughtless negativity there!!!

Edited November 2, 2011 by jonesy2648

[Lifer]

What a load of nonsense... just shows how the media can be bought and paid for.. This disaster we are going through in Thailand, was and is a man-made disaster , completely brought about by incompetent ministers in charge of all the involved agencies.. and a very naive Prime Minister.. These same people are now trying to turn the public anger away from themselves and blame everyone else.. Amazing Thailand. If Yinluck had any balls, she would resign and hang up her Burberry Boots forthwith..!

When I hear you,you're not happy with the Thai government.What are you doing then overhere.Pack your stuf and leave.

Stay in your perfect country.Greece,maybe?

When you cannot stand different opinions, could you please stay out of the Thai Visa Forum? If you don't like it then leave is such a lame comment......

Agree totally. Seems like many others (including the following) can't accept anyone having an opinion except for them. Agree with them or leave the country. B.S. The fact Thais do not accept their responsibility for anything. It's always somebody or something else at fault.

[pattayaorganic]

First of all, Climate Central, the organization that authored the above quoted piece is a Rockefeller funded AGW PR group, that wrote scientific gems like "White Roofs Increase Global Warming" among others. Since the latest, purportedly best data yet (called the BEST data) on surface temperature records spanning over 100 years say that the surface land temperature over North America actually was flat or slightly lower when you looked at rural sites existing over the last 100 years, there seems to be no global warming. Now they call it "Climate Change" so that anything goes. Floods in Thailand have nothing to do with climate change.On the other hand, I called a friend of mine who owns a 7 story building on the Chao Phraya river the other day to check how his building was faring. He says, that since the last 1.5 months, he has built retaining walls, installed sump pumps, has 8000 liters of fresh water tanks, power generators and plenty of fuel for the generators. How is it that this sole proprietor had enough foresight to make these extensive preparations when the Thai government, with all of its resources could not foresee or make any preparations whatsoever? I submit his actions as absolute proof of the negligence of the current government. Finally, not all criticism of government is "politcal". One should be allowed to call a spade a spade and the government should have thick enough skin to accept the criticism constructively and to use it for positive change. The comment above that Yingluck's cabinet is comprised of incompetent tools is right on the mark. However, if you check the constitution it is she who has the power to chose her own cabinet and the notion that she "inherited" the cabinet is a shoddy attempt and twisting facts.

[rogerdee123]

First of all, Climate Central, the organization that authored the above quoted piece is a Rockefeller funded AGW PR group, that wrote scientific gems like "White Roofs Increase Global Warming" among others. Since the latest, purportedly best data yet (called the BEST data) on surface temperature records spanning over 100 years say that the surface land temperature over North America actually was flat or slightly lower when you looked at rural sites existing over the last 100 years, there seems to be no global warming. Now they call it "Climate Change" so that anything goes. Floods in Thailand have nothing to do with climate change.On the other hand, I called a friend of mine who owns a 7 story building on the Chao Phraya river the other day to check how his building was faring. He says, that since the last 1.5 months, he has built retaining walls, installed sump pumps, has 8000 liters of fresh water tanks, power generators and plenty of fuel for the generators. How is it that this sole proprietor had enough foresight to make these extensive preparations when the Thai government, with all of its resources could not foresee or make any preparations whatsoever? I submit his actions as absolute proof of the negligence of the current government. Finally, not all criticism of government is "politcal". One should be allowed to call a spade a spade and the government should have thick enough skin to accept the criticism constructively and to use it for positive change. The comment above that Yingluck's cabinet is comprised of incompetent tools is right on the mark. However, if you check the constitution it is she who has the power to chose her own cabinet and the notion that she "inherited" the cabinet is a shoddy attempt and twisting facts.

He may have meant that she "inherited" the cabinet from her Brother.

[rogerdee123]

When I read the Heading for this topic, I mistakenly thought it was going to be about the failure of the "Chai Dii" Thai heart ....

[JohnBliss]

What a load of nonsense... just shows how the media can be bought and paid for.. This disaster we are going through in Thailand, was and is a man-made disaster , completely brought about by incompetent ministers in charge of all the involved agencies.. and a very naive Prime Minister.. These same people are now trying to turn the public anger away from themselves and blame everyone else.. Amazing Thailand. If Yinluck had any balls, she would resign and hang up her Burberry Boots forthwith..!

What are you doing then overhere.Pack your stuf and leave.

We've heard this 'pack and leave if you don't like it' way too often. Only fools would react this way to minor criticism. Just remember that this sort of reaction says A LOT MORE about you than about whoever you're addressing. Pathetic really.

[polapatl]

He may have meant that she "inherited" the cabinet from her Brother.

If she "inherited" the cabinet from her brother and kept them for that reason, she is also to blame for their incompetencies. After all she is the PM of Thailand, correct?

If she were a true leader she wouldn't have chosen incompetent people and would create her own cabinet. In not doing so she seems to be acting as what the "other side" is saying, as a puppet.

[rogerdee123]

He may have meant that she "inherited" the cabinet from her Brother.

If she "inherited" the cabinet from her brother and kept them for that reason, she is also to blame for their incompetencies. After all she is the PM of Thailand, correct?

If she were a true leader she wouldn't have chosen incompetent people and would create her own cabinet. In not doing so she seems to be acting as what the "other side" is saying, as a puppet.

Of course. I agree with you.

[hgma]

why get so exited?

why getting personal?

what's going on?

there is flooding in Thailand.......massive in a area which covers 49%of the GDP.

contradicting stories and annoyance.

This is Thaivisa forum....not really the place to get at each others throat is it?

Lets keep it civilized...we are (educated) foreigners ain't we?

What a load of nonsense... just shows how the media can be bought and paid for.. This disaster we are going through in Thailand, was and is a man-made disaster , completely brought about by incompetent ministers in charge of all the involved agencies.. and a very naive Prime Minister.. These same people are now trying to turn the public anger away from themselves and blame everyone else.. Amazing Thailand. If Yinluck had any balls, she would resign and hang up her Burberry Boots forthwith..!

What are you doing then overhere.Pack your stuf and leave.

We've heard this 'pack and leave if you don't like it' way too often. Only fools would react this way to minor criticism. Just remember that this sort of reaction says A LOT MORE about you than about whoever you're addressing. Pathetic really.

[rreddin]

What a load of nonsense... just shows how the media can be bought and paid for.. This disaster we are going through in Thailand, was and is a man-made disaster , completely brought about by incompetent ministers in charge of all the involved agencies.. and a very naive Prime Minister.. These same people are now trying to turn the public anger away from themselves and blame everyone else.. Amazing Thailand. If Yinluck had any balls, she would resign and hang up her Burberry Boots forthwith..!

When I hear you,you're not happy with the Thai government.What are you doing then overhere.Pack your stuf and leave.

Stay in your perfect country.Greece,maybe?

When you cannot stand different opinions, could you please stay out of the Thai Visa Forum? If you don't like it then leave is such a lame comment......

Agree totally. Seems like many others (including the following) can't accept anyone having an opinion except for them. Agree with them or leave the country. B.S. The fact Thais do not accept their responsibility for anything. It's always somebody or something else at fault.

That sounds like the pot calling the kettle black.

[scorecard]

What a load of nonsense... just shows how the media can be bought and paid for.. This disaster we are going through in Thailand, was and is a man-made disaster , completely brought about by incompetent ministers in charge of all the involved agencies.. and a very naive Prime Minister.. These same people are now trying to turn the public anger away from themselves and blame everyone else.. Amazing Thailand. If Yinluck had any balls, she would resign and hang up her Burberry Boots forthwith..!

If the person in question had the items you mention then we would be in real trouble - there would be all sorts of lawsuits flying about most of them half arsed as usual.

Back to the flooding, hoaw anyone or any organisation can lay the blame on a person who has only had the rains (sic) for a couple of months - ok things could be handled more efficiently but don't lose sight of the quality of the people she has working for her. :jap:

It will take years to root out the incompetence ingrained in the multiple layers of officialdon in Thailand it will never happen in my lifetime. She (Yingluck) seems to be handling things ok especially with the incompetent tools she has inherited.

And who appointed all these incapable insincere leeches cronies and thugs?

[qdinthailand]

What a load of nonsense... just shows how the media can be bought and paid for.. This disaster we are going through in Thailand, was and is a man-made disaster , completely brought about by incompetent ministers in charge of all the involved agencies.. and a very naive Prime Minister.. These same people are now trying to turn the public anger away from themselves and blame everyone else.. Amazing Thailand. If Yinluck had any balls, she would resign and hang up her Burberry Boots forthwith..!

excuse me? How does the article make the case - even address the case - that this is a consequence of incompetent ministers?

The current flooding is likely a consequence of changes in weather, due to the 'global warming situation'. It's also a likely consequence of population pressure on the land - the draining of wetlands for agriculture (the water continues to fall, but gets drained off into ditches, down into streams, into the rivers...), the 'urbanization' of once rural areas (paving over the land that once absorbed rain water). And perhaps unusual monsoon rains. Perhaps also incompetence by those that control the reservoirs - but this wasn't the current prime minister, but the one in the past few years that installed ministers, who hired helpers, who created studies and policies. The new prime minister wasn't in power long enough to affect policies already in place (nor was she focused on 'flood issues' - same way my president - in office for 8 months- didn't focus on terrorist threats until after 9/11/2001).

for you to state the flooding is due to ministerial incompetence - you need to rethink, restudy, re-examine the issues. More complex than simple incompetence!

and the media everywhere - not just Thailand - everywhere! is bought and paid for. You can't get the truth anymore from any one source, especially the large corporate media sources.

Before you rush to conclusions, you need to do a more thorough examination of the facts.

[qdinthailand]

I wonder if Global warming will be the cause for our next earthquake in California

its always easy to look back and say what should have been done , but who wants to spend money on an earthquake sometime in the future or a 50 year flood ,

For Bangkok I just wish they would talk ( and listen ) to world experts on flooding now and for future floods,

Hopefully they will learn from this flood and be ready for the next.....

And no I am not 100$ ready for our next earthquake.....

BK

No. Earthquakes in California, hurricanes in the gulf states, etc., is due to God being pissed at all the Christians who claim that it's retribution for all the sinning. It's the Christians doing the sinning! Claiming to know the true meaning of God's word - and Jesus' preachings. And "send us your donations, we need a new mercedes, and a bigger auditorium, some new McMansions, etc. to continue doing God's work!"

[avalonmick]

What a load of nonsense... just shows how the media can be bought and paid for.. This disaster we are going through in Thailand, was and is a man-made disaster , completely brought about by incompetent ministers in charge of all the involved agencies.. and a very naive Prime Minister.. These same people are now trying to turn the public anger away from themselves and blame everyone else.. Amazing Thailand. If Yinluck had any balls, she would resign and hang up her Burberry Boots forthwith..!

If the person in question had the items you mention then we would be in real trouble - there would be all sorts of lawsuits flying about most of them half arsed as usual.

Back to the flooding, hoaw anyone or any organisation can lay the blame on a person who has only had the rains (sic) for a couple of months - ok things could be handled more efficiently but don't lose sight of the quality of the people she has working for her. :jap:

It will take years to root out the incompetence ingrained in the multiple layers of officialdon in Thailand it will never happen in my lifetime. She (Yingluck) seems to be handling things ok especially with the incompetent tools she has inherited.

And who appointed all these incapable insincere leeches cronies and thugs?

Love it. everyone hot and bothered over a bit of water.

C'mon folks: the problem is decades if not centuries old. Nice place to have a town with a few tens of thousand inhabitants on an estuarine delta about 30 ks from the ocean, even if it is just a few metres above sea level.

But as the place swells to 20 million then you're building on swamps, waterways and all sorts of other areas you should not be right up to the river mouth itself. Squatters magnify the problem. Infrastructure - drains, roads, canals - can't keep up with that rate of growth.

This government may have made some obvious mistakes in the handling of this flood, but it can't be blamed for what has happened. It was inevitable and will, inevitably, get worse, much worse, as the risks are increased by the weather effects of climate change - as the article says.

Lighten up, we're all going to get wet feet sooner or later.

[robsamui]

What a load of nonsense... just shows how the media can be bought and paid for.. This disaster we are going through in Thailand, was and is a man-made disaster , completely brought about by incompetent ministers in charge of all the involved agencies.. and a very naive Prime Minister.. These same people are now trying to turn the public anger away from themselves and blame everyone else.. Amazing Thailand. If Yinluck had any balls, she would resign and hang up her Burberry Boots forthwith..!

When I hear you,you're not happy with the Thai government.What are you doing then overhere.Pack your stuf and leave.

Stay in your perfect country.Greece,maybe?

"Kutjebu" - what an odd name for a Thai person to have!

R

[sirchai]

What a load of nonsense... just shows how the media can be bought and paid for.. This disaster we are going through in Thailand, was and is a man-made disaster , completely brought about by incompetent ministers in charge of all the involved agencies.. and a very naive Prime Minister.. These same people are now trying to turn the public anger away from themselves and blame everyone else.. Amazing Thailand. If Yinluck had any balls, she would resign and hang up her Burberry Boots forthwith..!

When I hear you,you're not happy with the Thai government.What are you doing then overhere.Pack your stuf and leave.

Stay in your perfect country.Greece,maybe?

Guess you're Thai, or maybe from Bratislava. Looks pretty much that Op has said (wrote) the truth. The PM is only a little weird naïve and uneducated woman.

(PM stands for Polish Miracle)

Calm down, eat your Papaya-salad and go back to work….

P.S. Sukiyaki, cheese from sheep and Ouzo is something you'd love....

Edited November 2, 2011 by sirchai

[sirchai]

What a load of nonsense... just shows how the media can be bought and paid for.. This disaster we are going through in Thailand, was and is a man-made disaster , completely brought about by incompetent ministers in charge of all the involved agencies.. and a very naive Prime Minister.. These same people are now trying to turn the public anger away from themselves and blame everyone else.. Amazing Thailand. If Yinluck had any balls, she would resign and hang up her Burberry Boots forthwith..!

When I hear you,you're not happy with the Thai government.What are you doing then overhere.Pack your stuf and leave.

Stay in your perfect country.Greece,maybe?

"Kutjebu" - what an odd name for a Thai person to have!

R

Indeed a 'very special' name.........not using weird now.......

[Kalbo]

What a load of nonsense... just shows how the media can be bought and paid for.. This disaster we are going through in Thailand, was and is a man-made disaster , completely brought about by incompetent ministers in charge of all the involved agencies.. and a very naive Prime Minister.. These same people are now trying to turn the public anger away from themselves and blame everyone else.. Amazing Thailand. If Yinluck had any balls, she would resign and hang up her Burberry Boots forthwith..!

When I hear you,you're not happy with the Thai government.What are you doing then overhere.Pack your stuf and leave.

Stay in your perfect country.Greece,maybe?

Guess you're Thai, or maybe from Bratislava. Looks pretty much that Op has said (wrote) the truth. The PM is only a little weird naïve and uneducated woman.

(PM stands for Polish Miracle)

Calm down, eat your Papaya-salad and go back to work….

P.S. Sukiyaki, cheese from sheep and Ouzo is something you'd love....

LOL, Sukiyaki is Japanese. Don't you mean 'Suvlaki' ?

[jacnl2000]

Mother nature will never loose her ability to adapt herself. Of course, given the current situation, at a pace clearly much more slow than most people expect, accept and want to experience. We gave her a rather questionable pacemaker. Whatever politicians and their economists are doing on this particular blue planet, nothing seems to help these days.

Edited November 2, 2011 by jacnl2000

[bigbamboo]

In the final analysis this will be seen along the lines of an air crash....... a combination of factors contributing, natural elements, man made flaws in the existing structure and subsequent failings in managing the crisis. The important thing is not casting blame but in the lessons than must be learned. If those lessons are not learned and nothing is done then action must be taken.

[elcent]

there're are statistical facts about that subject that can't be negotiated.

Most wars in the world broke out during an El-Nino period. Look at the wars that started this year alone. Common sense seem to be under attack first, as we all can see live every day now.

[Tanaka]

What a load of nonsense... just shows how the media can be bought and paid for.. This disaster we are going through in Thailand, was and is a man-made disaster , completely brought about by incompetent ministers in charge of all the involved agencies.. and a very naive Prime Minister.. These same people are now trying to turn the public anger away from themselves and blame everyone else.. Amazing Thailand. If Yinluck had any balls, she would resign and hang up her Burberry Boots forthwith..!

If the person in question had the items you mention then we would be in real trouble - there would be all sorts of lawsuits flying about most of them half arsed as usual.

Back to the flooding, hoaw anyone or any organisation can lay the blame on a person who has only had the rains (sic) for a couple of months - ok things could be handled more efficiently but don't lose sight of the quality of the people she has working for her. :jap:

It will take years to root out the incompetence ingrained in the multiple layers of officialdon in Thailand it will never happen in my lifetime. She (Yingluck) seems to be handling things ok especially with the incompetent tools she has inherited.

Really? And can you please give one example of what she as pm has handled and/or achieved that had a positive result?