Thailand Plans Atmospheric Studies, Without Nasa: Plodprasop

[ttelise]

These people would have to watch cartoons 24/7 and never read anything but comic books to not know that.

Umm... Exactly which part of your statement is an exaggeration?

I would hope both were exagerations, but thinking there are multiple suns is analogous to believing the world is flat. Actually, maybe worse.

That assumes that you've had an education which explains the solar system. If you work in the fields and leave school at 12 that education probably isn't available to you. You were taught about the solar system at school? The concept of one sun and time zones didn't spring full formed into your brain without explanation?

I suggest you get hold of 'In My Grandmother's House' by Sorasing Kaowai. It's the story of a boy growing up in a remote village in Thailand. When you've read it perhaps you might understand a little more about Thailand.

Well Thailand needs to revamp their system. Not sure how one would know about other countries and different time zones yet think there are more than one suns. I am not bashing the people. I am bashing a culture that permits this to occur.

Even the Myans could figure out some of this stuff so based on what your saying, their are portions of the Thai culture 100s of years behind the ancient cultures. You should be pissed at Thailand education system not me about this.

[Scott]

Note to the government:

"Not to decide, is to decide."

[americaninbangkok]

Well Thailand needs to revamp their system. Not sure how one would know about other countries and different time zones yet think there are more than one suns. I am not bashing the people. I am bashing a culture that permits this to occur.

Even the Myans could figure out some of this stuff so based on what your saying, their are portions of the Thai culture 100s of years behind the ancient cultures. You should be pissed at Thailand education system not me about this.

+1

[animatic]

Anything, you can do, we can do better,

We can do anything, better than you!!!!

Name one thing

This a paraphrased line from an old song.

And obviously intended ironicly.

[Mosha]

I swear to this...I asked many Thai people in Pattaya what caused high tide and they said RAIN and never heard of lunar effect.

Imagine how this atmospheric study will do.

They cant land a helicopter without crashing.

To be honest, there is a large section of the Thai population that are very uneducated, not stupid by any means, but haven't been enabled.

My ex swore blind that the sun in the UK was not the same as the sun in Thailand, reason being, it wasn't in the same place at the same time when she called home, and it wasn't as hot, you cannot argue with that reasoning based on the poor education she received as a kid.

I get high tide, well not really, as I understood concept when 7 or 8, but the sun. Common. Not sure I would spread that one around. These people would have to watch cartoons 24/7 and never read anything but comic books to not know that.

I'm with Thaddeus on this one. Coversation with mine went something like:-

Her "Do you think we go round the sun, or the sun goes around us"

Me "I know we go around the sun"

Her "I think so too"

She's not stupid, just that the education is lacking. Too much time spent practicing for the next fund raising day no doubt. She realised why the super high tide happened, but did not understand why the tides change every day.

[chotthee]

Pathetically reactionary response, which will result in an expensive half-arsed cock up. Why didn't they just say 'yes' when NASA asked?

Didn't someone high up once say Farang can not teach Thai anything?

This is Thailand, and not Farangland.

Farang are guest; don't try to pretend to be master.

[Gonzo the Face]

Tell me this proposed study in really a joke some politician is playing..... right???

How is anyone , with even the basic common sense each of us should have going to think this is for real?

The 200 million baht would be better spent on a study on the mindset of the politicians and powers that be that run this country, to determine the who, what, why, do they have to come up with these stupid...... yes I said stupid, ideas that they think is face saving.

Spend the 200 million on trying to determine what the average intelligence of the Thai is in relation to the rest of the world, country by country.

Now I am not demeaning the fact that many are poor and do not have the access to an education, but why does the segment of the population that is able to go onto further their education, work so hard to create an image they are educated, just because they went to a building called a school or university for so many years. The answer is "I am too lazy to study/learn" and why should I because I get the same diploma for not studying as those who do study. The diploma, which they in all probability cannot read, is theirs, along with the paid for upgraded to 1's & 2's on their transcript.

What a joke these certificated morons, create to demean all the goodhearted, hardworking Thais , who by tradition have to believe what the morons tell them.....

Joke of the day...... Thailand is to do the atmospheric study themselves .

Just as a point .... is this the same Plodprasop that was purported to say sellthe zebra steak from the CM Zoo/Safari, a few years ago????

Edited July 4, 2012 by Gonzo the Face

[Mosha]

Pathetically reactionary response, which will result in an expensive half-arsed cock up. Why didn't they just say 'yes' when NASA asked?

Didn't someone high up once say Farang can not teach Thai anything?

This is Thailand, and not Farangland.

Farang are guest; don't try to pretend to be master.

???

[harryfrompattaya]

There's certainly a lot of hot air emitted by the likes of Plodprasop which could well be dangerous if allowed to linger long in the atmosphere.

Nasa, I'm sorry you couldn't come to Thailand, but perhaps it would be better if you looked in your own backyard first- millions of Americans are without power as we speak due to the storms in the east.

Temperatures are in the 30s so it must be a very unpleasant time for those affected.

You are wrong with 200 million baht the problem will solved I think he will get a Noble Prize for work in science.

Edited July 4, 2012 by harryfrompattaya

[Bagwan]

There's certainly a lot of hot air emitted by the likes of Plodprasop which could well be dangerous if allowed to linger long in the atmosphere.

Nasa, I'm sorry you couldn't come to Thailand, but perhaps it would be better if you looked in your own backyard first- millions of Americans are without power as we speak due to the storms in the east.

Temperatures are in the 30s so it must be a very unpleasant time for those affected.

What does NASA have to do with local utilities in the storm affected USA? Power utilities are the responsibility of the the local municpalities, counties, and states. NASA is a federal agency and as such has nothing to do with state managed facilities.

Yes, so temperatures are in the 30's. Big deal. What did Americans used to do in 1912? It's in the 30's on most parts of the world too. You don't see Africans, or SE Asians or Polynesians moaning and groaning about the heat do you?

Turn up the AC please - how very apt.

[IAMSOBAD]

Huge explosion and fire in Bangkok that can cause major lung problems and Thai television is showing cartoons.

They sure do not protect or teach their people anything but propaganda.

Sent from my GT-N7000 using Thaivisa Connect App

[DeepInTheForest]

Given the tenor of our times, it is a comfort to know that TV can often be counted on to supply a few laughs. I am of course referring to the dubious assertions contained in many of the posts. One never knows whether some of us are joking, or delirious, or under the influence of mind-altering substances. We have here the usual collection of Thai-bashing, much of which is happily untethered to reality. The best posts take apart the Thais for their lack of education, even while themselves containing numerous grammatical and factual errors.

As enjoyable as the general loopiness is, posters may wish to be reminded of a few salient points:

It is not “the administration” that refused NASA permission to do its flights, as has been asserted. Yingluck was in favor of the idea. She heads the government, remember?. It was the opposition who torpedoed things, on the grounds on grounds of sovereignty, or that the US could not be trusted to be engaged in only benign surveillance. They may have a point, given that the president of the US has been meting out extrajudicial justice via drones and compiling his personal kill lists.(http://www.wired.com...12/06/yemen-war)

Of course the fact that Yingluck actually backed the NASA project doesn’t fit with the preconceptions of most posters here, many of whom would be reluctant to give her credit if she discovered a cure for prostate cancer. I despise the criminality of her brother (and I think malfeasance must extend to family members as well), but in this case it is not the administration that caused the project to be cancelled. Most posters here actually agree with the administration and Yingluck in this case, hard as that is to accept.

Readers may wish to remember that Thailand is nominally a democracy. Democracies are often fractious-- one might say they could hardly be called democracies if they were not. The presence of large foreign powers may be expected to generate opposition and controversy. And that is not true only for Thailand. It may be worthwhile to look in our own backyards. Do the governments of our own countries of origin measure up to the sterling standards of posters here? From the posts, you would think that we are all spawn of an golden era of enlightenment and wisdom. Perhaps we have forgotten that Western democracies are often mired in political infighting and factionalism. The European Union is currently a financial house of cards, facing the collapse of the euro and economic problems far more dire than Thailand. European leaders have dithered, and the crisis is nowhere near resolved. Internal politics and gamesmanship have carried the day. Banks including Barclays are up their necks in scandals that make Thai politicians look like choirboys. Anybody up for a little casino capitalism, with a few dirty tricks thrown in?

Meanwhile in the US, over a million people are without electricity in brutally hot temperatures as the result of natural “disaster”. Does that sound familiar?

Residents complain that such incidents are recurring, and utilities have failed in their duty. There is no end in sight to that crisis, either, nor to the wildfires that plague the western regions of the country.

Finally, has it not occurred to us that the US might be better served by addressing its own failures vis a vis climate rather than doing studies in SE Asia? The US is the most glaring example of failure in terms of coming to grips with global warming dilemmas. Hey, they’ve got the science. Unfortunately, the political class and the population is seemingly incapable of understanding or accepting the word of their own scientists. That doesn't sound particularly educated or enlightened, does it? After all, in terms of atmospheric damage, the hugely industrialized US has done more to assault the atmosphere than even the enormous field burnings of Thai agriculturalists. Would it be asking too much for US experts to act upon their vaunted scientific acumen to deal with the problem? Oh wait, I forgot. The government there is controlled by corporate interests driven by greed, and an ideology of “free markets” that is actually a front for monopolists and plutocrats.

We could balance our comments with reflection on our own Western countries’ shortcomings. After all, our own houses are hardly in order. But that would require some critical thinking of the type that we often sneer is lacking in others, and it wouldn’t be as much fun as making tired snarky comments and adding a few animated .gifs…. But on balance, it may be worth a go, no?

Edited July 4, 2012 by DeepInTheForest

[endure]

Well Thailand needs to revamp their system. Not sure how one would know about other countries and different time zones yet think there are more than one suns. I am not bashing the people. I am bashing a culture that permits this to occur.

Even the Myans could figure out some of this stuff so based on what your saying, their are portions of the Thai culture 100s of years behind the ancient cultures. You should be pissed at Thailand education system not me about this.

I'm not pissed at you - just pointing out that the things that you think are 'obvious' weren't obvious before someone taught them to you. If you'd only had 6 years poor education and you looked up in the sky it would be 'obvious' that the sun comes up in the east in the morning and goes in the west in the evening. It would need someone to teach you that the earth and the sun are actually spherical and that the earth revolves around the sun.

I agree wholeheartedly with your opinion of the Thai education system.

[meand]

We could balance our comments with reflection on our own Western countries’ shortcomings. Yes, we could, but this is a thread about NASA, and it's shortcomings are relatively few. After all, our own houses are hardly in order. But that would require some critical thinking of the type that we often sneer is lacking in others, and it wouldn’t be as much fun as making tired snarky comments and adding a few animated .gifs you're right, certainly not as much fun…. But on balance, it may be worth a go, no? By golly, I think you may have a point.

[jerrysteve]

There is a big difference between talking and doing!

[ttelise]

Given the tenor of our times, it is a comfort to know that TV can often be counted on to supply a few laughs. I am of course referring to the dubious assertions contained in many of the posts. One never knows whether some of us are joking, or delirious, or under the influence of mind-altering substances. We have here the usual collection of Thai-bashing, much of which is happily untethered to reality. The best posts take apart the Thais for their lack of education, even while themselves containing numerous grammatical and factual errors.

As enjoyable as the general loopiness is, posters may wish to be reminded of a few salient points:

It is not “the administration” that refused NASA permission to do its flights, as has been asserted. Yingluck was in favor of the idea. She heads the government, remember?. It was the opposition who torpedoed things, on the grounds on grounds of sovereignty, or that the US could not be trusted to be engaged in only benign surveillance. They may have a point, given that the president of the US has been meting out extrajudicial justice via drones and compiling his personal kill lists.(http://www.wired.com...12/06/yemen-war)

Of course the fact that Yingluck actually backed the NASA project doesn’t fit with the preconceptions of most posters here, many of whom would be reluctant to give her credit if she discovered a cure for prostate cancer. I despise the criminality of her brother (and I think malfeasance must extend to family members as well), but in this case it is not the administration that caused the project to be cancelled. Most posters here actually agree with the administration and Yingluck in this case, hard as that is to accept.

Readers may wish to remember that Thailand is nominally a democracy. Democracies are often fractious-- one might say they could hardly be called democracies if they were not. The presence of large foreign powers may be expected to generate opposition and controversy. And that is not true only for Thailand. It may be worthwhile to look in our own backyards. Do the governments of our own countries of origin measure up to the sterling standards of posters here? From the posts, you would think that we are all spawn of an golden era of enlightenment and wisdom. Perhaps we have forgotten that Western democracies are often mired in political infighting and factionalism. The European Union is currently a financial house of cards, facing the collapse of the euro and economic problems far more dire than Thailand. European leaders have dithered, and the crisis is nowhere near resolved. Internal politics and gamesmanship have carried the day. Banks including Barclays are up their necks in scandals that make Thai politicians look like choirboys. Anybody up for a little casino capitalism, with a few dirty tricks thrown in?

Meanwhile in the US, over a million people are without electricity in brutally hot temperatures as the result of natural “disaster”. Does that sound familiar?

Residents complain that such incidents are recurring, and utilities have failed in their duty. There is no end in sight to that crisis, either, nor to the wildfires that plague the western regions of the country.

Finally, has it not occurred to us that the US might be better served by addressing its own failures vis a vis climate rather than doing studies in SE Asia? The US is the most glaring example of failure in terms of coming to grips with global warming dilemmas. Hey, they’ve got the science. Unfortunately, the political class and the population is seemingly incapable of understanding or accepting the word of their own scientists. That doesn't sound particularly educated or enlightened, does it? After all, in terms of atmospheric damage, the hugely industrialized US has done more to assault the atmosphere than even the enormous field burnings of Thai agriculturalists. Would it be asking too much for US experts to act upon their vaunted scientific acumen to deal with the problem? Oh wait, I forgot. The government there is controlled by corporate interests driven by greed, and an ideology of “free markets” that is actually a front for monopolists and plutocrats.

We could balance our comments with reflection on our own Western countries’ shortcomings. After all, our own houses are hardly in order. But that would require some critical thinking of the type that we often sneer is lacking in others, and it wouldn’t be as much fun as making tired snarky comments and adding a few animated .gifs…. But on balance, it may be worth a go, no?

Well that said a lot of something, just not sure what after first 2 chapters.

[rijb]

Tom Stafford has an article in BBC about seeking and assuming causes to make sense of the world. "When we observe other people we attribute their behavior to their character rather than to their situation (but, when we think about things that happen to us, we emphasize the situation)".

When Tom's wife can't find her keys, she's careless. When he can't find his keys, it's bad luck.

When Thais can't do the right thing, they're incompetent. When foreigners can't do the right thing, it's a complicated situation.

When foreign forum members try to make sense of this country, they're not thinking critically. They're just adding to the "general loopiness."

When a self-righteous member makes a long, sanctimonious post with his own assumptions, is that based on other people's behavior or his own situation?

[harrry]

Tom Stafford has an article in BBC about seeking and assuming causes to make sense of the world. "When we observe other people we attribute their behavior to their character rather than to their situation (but, when we think about things that happen to us, we emphasize the situation)".

When Tom's wife can't find her keys, she's careless. When he can't find his keys, it's bad luck.

When Thais can't do the right thing, they're incompetent. When foreigners can't do the right thing, it's a complicated situation.

When foreign forum members try to make sense of this country, they're not thinking critically. They're just adding to the "general loopiness."

When a self-righteous member makes a long, sanctimonious post with his own assumptions, is that based on other people's behavior or his own situation?

just what is your situation?

[Mosha]

Huge explosion and fire in Bangkok that can cause major lung problems and Thai television is showing cartoons.

They sure do not protect or teach their people anything but propaganda.

Sent from my GT-N7000 using Thaivisa Connect App

I remember Thai TV sensoring an informative programme, showing women how to check their breasts for lumps. All you saw was a pixilated screen.

[harrry]

Huge explosion and fire in Bangkok that can cause major lung problems and Thai television is showing cartoons.

They sure do not protect or teach their people anything but propaganda.

Sent from my GT-N7000 using Thaivisa Connect App

I remember Thai TV sensoring an informative programme, showing women how to check their breasts for lumps. All you saw was a pixilated screen.

Things have sure changed.....40 years ago at the cinemas they used to show a film about STDs fully explicit....no pixilation and pretty actressess. Almost enough to put one of sex for life. Much more explicit than the Army Educational films they gave you in Recruit training in Australia.

[rijb]

Tom Stafford has an article in BBC about seeking and assuming causes to make sense of the world. "When we observe other people we attribute their behavior to their character rather than to their situation (but, when we think about things that happen to us, we emphasize the situation)".

When Tom's wife can't find her keys, she's careless. When he can't find his keys, it's bad luck.

When Thais can't do the right thing, they're incompetent. When foreigners can't do the right thing, it's a complicated situation.

When foreign forum members try to make sense of this country, they're not thinking critically. They're just adding to the "general loopiness."

When a self-righteous member makes a long, sanctimonious post with his own assumptions, is that based on other people's behavior or his own situation?

just what is your situation?

Clowns to the left of me,

Jokers to the right, here I am,

Stuck in the middle with you.

What's yours?

Edited July 5, 2012 by rijb

[swillowbee]

... by God, NASA ought to be damned glad they dodged that bullet ... can you imagine partnering with any enterprise in which Thai public officials have any influence? ... awww, the horror!