Sa-teef

Published 7 hours ago on November 28, 2019 PHOTO: Assoc. Prof. Jiraporn Limpananont Pongspaj Samranvejporn – Thai PBS World "The Thai Industry Minister Suriya Juangroongruangkit is being challenged over his claims of a “unanimous vote of support” to overturn the decision to ban the controversial agri-chemicals. A member of the National Hazardous Substances Committee, that oversaw the original ban on the agri-chemicals paraquat, chlorpyrifos and glyphosate, has resigned in protest at the committee’s reversal of the decision. Associate Professor Jiraporn Limpananont is challenging a claim, made by Industry Minister Suriya Juangroongruangkit, that the committee had “unanimously resolved to delay the bans on paraquat and chlorpyrifos for six months until June 1, and to allow indefinite controlled use of glyphosate”. In her Facebook post, the lecturer at the Faculty of Pharmacy of Chulalongkorn University, claimed that Mr. Suriya, who chaired the meeting, was “inaccurate”. She says there was, in fact, no unanimous decision by the committee and that her belief in a ban on the three chemicals remains unchanged. She claims that individual members of the committee where not asked whether they agreed to postponing or modifying enforcement of the ban, but were “forced” to accept the resolution. She also challenges Mr. Suriya’s statement to the media that glyphosate, a product from US manufacturing giant Monsanto, is safe. At a media gathering last night, Mr. Suriya explained that no committee members objected to the resolution overturning the resolution of the previous NHSC, which was to ban the three chemicals from December 1. He also claimed that glyphosate is currently used in 161 countries and its ban would seriously affect the import of agricultural products from those countries....." https://thethaiger.com/hot-news/environment/member-of-committee-to-ban-farm-chemicals-quits-in-protest-over-u-turn

You may have read about this elsewhere but worth repeating for travelers to SE Asia. --------------------------------------------------------------------- Thai Airways chairman resigns as company struggles November 2, 2019 "BANGKOK (AP) — Thai Airways has disclosed that its chairman has resigned as the carrier struggles with financial challenges. The airline said Friday that Ekniti Nitithanprapas resigned as of Nov. 1. The carrier’s vice chairman, Air Chief Marshal Chaiyapruk Didyasarin, will be acting chairman. Thai Airways gave no reason for Ekniti’s departure after three of the airline’s executive directors recently quit. The company’s president recent drew criticism for saying the company was in crisis and might have to close if its employees do not cooperate with a rehabilitation plan. The company reported a nearly 6.7 billion baht ($220 million) net loss in the April-June quarter. It said a slowdown in tourism in Thailand and in the global aviation market were factors behind a 10% decline in revenue from a year earlier. Passenger traffic fell more than 5%. The airline has been selling decommissioned aircraft to help alleviate its cash crunch." https://apnews.com/fa97ac2fd24d480fb8d0ced523398305

"According to the President of Star Alliance member airline Thai Airways, the Bangkok-based carrier is on the verge of shutting down if they don’t succeed quickly in a turnaround. The government has given the airline one month to come up with a new cost-cutting plan. The carrier lost $211 million in the first half of 2019, bringing total losses to $9.2 billion. The country’s national airline has traditional been run as a cronyist enterprise, benefiting its stakeholders, but its business has been eroded by low cost competition. Over the summer the airline’s President introduced a six point plan to crowd source cost cutting ideas; reduce food waste; make a ton of money flying to Sendai, Japan; collaborate with a local gas station cafe chain; and platitudes but it was (shockingly) insufficient. Thai’s new plan is to “reduc[e] the salaries of managerial staff ” and follow “a zero inventory policy at its catering department” according to the carrier’s President. What’s more, “[t]here will be no other rewards for the staff, because the top prize is the survival of the company.” https://viewfromthewing.com/thai-airways-on-verge-of-shutting-down/ Gary Leff on November 26, 2019 "In October the President of Thai Airways told employees that the airline was on the verge of shutting down with only a month’s runway to execute a turnaround. The airline promptly worked to walk that back, suggesting it was hyperbolic, but it nonetheless underscored that Thai Airways is underperforming and in financial difficulty, propped up by the Thai government...." "...However their fleet has long been a hodgepodge and many of the decisions such as where to fly have seemingly been made for reasons having nothing to do with advancing the business interests of an airline. The head of the airline even says big losses are ‘normal’. " " >Corruption: Procurement, whether of planes or light bulbs, has often been done for reasons other than serving the airline’s interests or at prices that aren’t the best the airline could get. And this leads to suboptimal decisions, like a fleet of 80 widebodies that lacks more than 14 of a single type, leading to scheduling challenges and higher maintenance and training costs and an inability to reach cost efficiency through scale. Incompetence: Company executives in many cases have owed their position to patronage rather than ski Bureaucracy: While they want very badly to lean on technology for ancillary revenue they’ve underinvested in tech (perhaps, given their other challenges, this has been a saving grace in terms of waste avoidance). Thai law and custom often places form over sound decision-making as well. Competition: Thai could manage in spite of being so poorly managed when the Thai economy boomed, tourists came in droves, and there wasn’t nearly as much competition from low cost carriers. They no longer have anything close to a monopoly on domestic operations, and they face competition on most routes with strong traffic and yields. https://viewfromthewing.com/four-basic-reasons-thai-airways-is-floundering-on-the-verge-of-collapse/

"ROI ET – About 100 people opposing the plans for a sugar mill and a power plant in Roi Et’s Pathum Rat district on Tuesday clashed with security forces as a local protest group of rice farmers tried to block a public hearing. The incident on Tuesday that left one protester injured caused the authorities to move the event that drew more than 1,600 locals to an alternative venue. Yesterday, the second day of the public hearing, police charged the protesters with a violation of public assembly laws. The protest reflects growing disquiet in the Northeast over the government’s push for a massive expansion of sugarcane and the construction of 29 new sugar mills in the region by 2024....." https://isaanrecord.com/2019/11/01/roi-et-public-hearing-protest/ ----------------------------------------------------------- I think the gendarmarie have them outnumbered?

A truly sad story. "BANGKOK — Police on Tuesday said a 20-year-old student killed his own mother before carving up her body parts and hiding them in a fridge. The perpetrator later committed suicide, police said. Citing an eyewitness account, the authorities said Sira Somdej shot himself with a handgun just as the remains of Yuree Taowan, 42, were discovered stuffed inside the fridge at their home, though the news was met with widespread skepticism on social media. Maj. Gen. Chokechai Ngamwong, commander of the 9th Bangkok region police, said Sira had been living with Yuree for three years after his parents divorced. Chokechai also said Sira appeared to have mental condition prior to the incident. A neighbor, Woranuch Wongchai, identified herself to the police and media as the first to find the body. Woranuch said she noticed Yuree was missing for nearly a day and so went over to her home to investigate. According to Woranuch, Sira was behaving suspiciously when he opened the door to let her in....." http://www.khaosodenglish.com/news/crimecourtscalamity/2019/11/26/police-say-son-20-dismembers-mother-before-killing-himself/

".... factors such as climate change brought more than 40mm of rain per hour, beyond the ability of drains to cope. .." 555... Bureaucrats the world over are learning to blame their screw-ups, or anything which might disappoint, on climate change! 555...

The dark background doesn't work for my old eyes, so I changed to IPS standard. The Red looks better to me.

From Instagram and nicked off the Smokeroom.com

Some pics this week nicked off my favorite target: Sputnik. https://sputniknews.com/photo/201810191069021367-week-pictures-october/ Models demonstrate the Speranza Couture from the Nadezda Yusupova collection at the Manezh Central Exhibition Hall as part of Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Russia. Damaged cars are pictured the day after floods hit the town of Trebes, southern France. French officials say the flash floods that swept through the southwest Aude region largely claimed elderly victims, who were seemingly caught off-guard by the sudden torrents. Patriarch Kirill of Moscow takes part in the consecration of a Minsk temple monument. Hot air balloons displayed on a square during the 2018 Outdoor Sports Conference in Xingyi in China's southwestern Guizhou province. Cheerleaders at a European Cup match between BC UNICS (Russia, Kazan) and BC "Torino" (Italy, Turin). Security personnel are seen at the site of a train derailment in Sidi Bouknadel, near the Moroccan capital Rabat, Morocco. A young tigress named Alex and an Amur tiger cub named Taigan, brought from the Crimean park Taigan, in an open-air cage in the zoo Sadgorod in Vladivostok. Maria Voronina dives for the ball alongside Maria Bocharova during play in the Beach Volleyball Women's Gold Medal match at the Beach Volleyball Arena, Green Park, Buenos Aires, Argentina. An Afghan woman walks with a child in the old city of Herat province, Afghanistan. A road in the Teberda Nature Reserve, a Russian 'zapovednik' located in the western region of the Caucasus Mountains. Boats sail past Victory Lighthouse during the 50th Barcolana regatta in the Gulf of Trieste. With some 2,700 vessels, the Barcolana has the most participants of any sailing regatta in the world. A Dallas Cowboys cheerleader performs in the first half of an NFL football game against the Jacksonville Jaguars in Arlington, Texas.

Pravit Rojanaphruk, Senior Staff Writer -October 18, 2018 11:53 am Army chief Gen. Apirat Kongsompong speaks to reporters Wednesday in Bangkok. BANGKOK — The refusal by Thailand’s new army chief to disavow another military coup drew a heated response Thursday. Former Pheu Thai Party MP Watana Muangsook said the army chief, who spoke to reporters for the first time Wednesday since assuming command earlier this month, is already placing himself above the law and damaging the investment climate. “It shows that the army leader is autocratic and acts above the law because such remarks during the interview were a threat to use force to overthrow [the government] or change the constitution, which is a crime of treason under Article 113 of the Penal Code,” Wattana said in comments published online. Gen. Apirat Kongsompong on Wednesday refused to commit to not staging another military coup when asked by a reporter if how he would handle another political crisis such as that which precipitated the 2014 coup that brought the current ruling junta to power. “I am confident that if politics does not cause a riot, there won’t be any. Thailand has had more than 10 coups, but it’s no longer like in the past, because the recent ones occurred due to politics,” Apiwat said. The new army chief, himself the son of the general who led the 1991 coup, assumed the all-powerful position on Oct. 1. He also defended current junta leader-cum-prime minister, saying he believes that Gen. Prayuth Chan-ocha did not intend to stage a coup over four years ago. “I truly believe Gen. Prayuth never wanted to as well, but he had to sacrifice himself. What would have happened if Gen. Prayuth did not decide to stage the coup?” said the army chief, adding that he hopes there will be no future political violence. Others on Facebook expressed anger at Apirat’s non-committal stance. “An ungrateful guy! I’m a taxpayer!” Facebook user Kanonkkorn Onlamri wrote. “I can’t believe that he would dare speak this way. They don’t respect the people who pay their salaries through taxes,” Facebook user Poom Pattara wrote.

08/13/2018 News The Isaan Record Despite the jail sentence, Nittaya Muangklang is determined to continue the fight for the land rights of her community. CHAIYAPHUM – A court in Chaiyaphum handed down the longest prison sentence to date against a member of a forest community threatened by eviction in Sai Thong National Park. Nittaya Muangklang, a prominent land rights activist, was sentenced to 12 months jail time and fines totalling 140,000 baht as part of a legal campaign that may seal the fate of dozens of families in the protected forest area. On August 8, Chaiyaphum Provincial Court found Ms. Nittaya guilty on two counts of trespassing. For the first count the court sentenced her to eight months in prison and to pay damages of 100,000 baht. For the second count she received four months in prison and a fine of 40,000 baht. The court ordered her to immediately vacate the land concerned in both cases. Ms. Nittaya is one of 14 villagers on trial for trespassing on national park territory after they disobeyed orders to abandon their farmland in 2016. The 35-year-old cassava farmer has been leading the community against the authorities’ push for eviction based on the military government’s forest reclamation policy. The policy compelled Forestry Department officers across the country to sue forest communities for trespassing under the Forestry Act 1941, the National Forest Act 1952 and the National Parks Act 1961. Ms. Nittaya was the first to be taken to court in the fight for her community’s land rights. She was joined in the dock by her mother, two sisters, and other neighbours. In addition to Ms. Nittaya, three other villagers have been sentenced so far this year. Sab Wai community members gathered at Chaiyaphum Provincial Court to provide moral support to the defendants. On May 17, Sinuan Phasang was sentenced to five months and 10 days in prison and fined 150,000 baht in damages. On May 25, Pattama Gomed was sentenced to eight months in prison and fined 250,000 baht in damages. On May 26, Somphit Thaennok was sentenced to ten months in prison and fined 100,000 baht in damages. The court ordered the three villagers to vacate the land on which their homes and crops sit. Lawyers representing the three defendants secured their release on bail with aid from the Chaiyaphum Justice Fund. Ms. Nittaya was released on bail that was also supplied by the Chaiyaphum Justice Fund. All of the defendants intend to appeal. Reporting by Sarayut Rittipin. Translated and edited by The Isaan Record.

Snapped on Saturday.

Good rain shower in Pattaya just past noon Monday, the 22nd of October. But bright sun before and after the rain.

Mostly snapped today, the 31st of August in Pattaya.

VOA 31 Aug 2018, 00:05 GMT+10 JAKARTA - As Indonesia's health ministry undertakes a huge campaign to immunize 70 million children against rubella and measles, critics say those efforts have been complicated by an edict issued by the country's top Muslim clerical body, Indonesian Ulema Council, declaring some of the vaccine's ingredients as forbidden by Islam. While the quasi-governmental body's edict, a fatwa, did not explicitly prohibit Indonesian Muslims from using the vaccine, experts are warning it is having consequences for immunization efforts in poorer, more religiously conservative parts of the nation and its more than 18,000 islands, threatening to derail the $100 million campaign supported by the World Health Organization (WHO). The measles-rubella (MR) vaccine that Jakarta is rolling out is produced by the Serum Institute in India, the only manufacturer capable of producing a quality vaccine in the quantity required by Indonesia, and contains materials derived from pigs, which are considered forbidden for consumption by Muslims. Measles is a highly contagious respiratory disease which causes a rash and fever and can be deadly for babies and young children, while rubella exhibits similar symptoms and can cause death or serious birth defects for the fetus if contracted by a pregnant mother. Congenital deafness is most commonly caused by rubella during pregnancy. FILE - An Indonesian child receives a shot of measles vaccine in Banyusoco village near Gunung Kidul, Indonesia. The Saudi-based Islamic Advisory Group for Polio Eradication, a grouping of religious scholars, Islamic institutions, and researchers whose aim is to stamp out the disease among Muslim communities worldwide, has recommended the use of vaccines containing generally banned ingredients if there is no other form available. "Parents (have) the sharia obligation of vaccinating their children," Abbas Shouman, undersecretary of Egypt's Al-Azhar, considered one of the world's preeminent authorities on the interpretation of Islamic law, said in 2015. His institution has spearheaded the advisory group's eradication efforts. UNICEF officials say the MR vaccination is currently administered in 143 countries, including nearly 30 that are majority Muslim. In Indonesia, however, the powerful Indonesian Ulema Council, known as MUI, seeks to halal-certify all products imported and made in Indonesia, including vaccines. Its latest fatwa said that while the vaccine contained elements that would be otherwise generally prohibited by Islam, the immunization was ultimately permissible for Indonesian Muslims..... https://www.vietnamtribune.com/news/257917602/islamic-edict-threatens-to-derail-indonesian-immunization-efforts