-
-
related tags:
- Bangkok
- Thaksin Shinawatra
- Thai
- People's Alliance for Democracy
- inn
- Bangkok Hotels
- accommodation
- Thai Restaurant
- Lodging
- Guest House
- travel package
- hotel reservations
- vacation Bangkok Hotels
- room rates
- Samak Sundaravej
- tour tips
- booking online
- Somchai Wongsawat
- discount rooms rates
- Discount Hotels
- bed and breakfast
- Phuket
- Asia
- Bluelist
- Reservations
- Body Piercing
- Lonely Planet Bluelist On Current
- Smack
- Buddhist monks
- Blue List
- Cambodia
- Breakdown
- Lonely Planet
- Myanmar
- Escapism
- Muay Thai
- Gary Glitter
- addicted
- Asean
- G-spot
- Gender Reassignment
- Mini-Me
- Animal Trafficking
- camilla parker bowles
- insurrection
- South East Asia
- Dmitri Medvedev
- Monks
- Laos
- Elephants
tagged w/ Thailand
-
Self-Sufficiency: a universal solution to the globalist problem.
(For an extreme in-depth look at Thailand's "Sufficiency Economy" and "New Theory" economics, please see, "Wisdom from the Orient: Self-Sufficiency." )
Introduction
When thinking about "solutions" many are quick to cite organizing a protest and taking to the streets. Let's for a moment consider the mechanics of a protest, what it might accomplish, and what it may leave to be desired.
Take Glenn Beck's feckless and disingenuous 2010 "Restoring Honor" event in Washington D.C. It drew thousands of honest, well-intentioned people from all over the United States. Indeed, thousands of people filled up their Fortune 500 made cars with gas from Fortune 500 oil companies, drove countless miles, stopping along the way at Fortune 500 fast food restaurants, stayed at Fortune 500 run hotels, and stocked up on supplies purchased at Fortune 500 Walmart. They slaked their thirst under the hot August sun with cans of Fortune 500 Pepsi and Coke, and at the end of the day, they drove home, paid their Fortune 500 cable subscriptions to watch their Fortune 500 media reports, most likely on News Corporation's Fox News, a Council on Foreign Relations corporate member.
At best, all a protest will lead to, while we are so hopelessly dependent on this system, is a round of musical chairs inside the political arena, with perhaps superficial concessions made to the people. The vector sum however, will still be decidedly in favor of the global corporate-financier oligarchy.
If we understand that the fundamental problem facing not only America, but the entire world, is a global corporate-financier oligarchy that has criminally consolidated their wealth by "liberalizing" their own activities while strangling ours through regulations, taxes, and laws, we should then understand why events like Beck's "Restoring Honor" are not only fruitless, but in fact, counterproductive. We should also realize that any activity we commit ourselves to must be directed at this corporate-financier oligarchy rather than the governments they have co-opted and positioned as buffers between themselves and the masses.
While people understand something is wrong and recognize the necessity to do "something," figuring out what that "something" should be becomes incredibly difficult when so few understand how power really works and how to strip it away from the oligarchs that have criminally consolidated it.
Understanding Globalization
As of late, the expansion of this global oligarchical empire has taken a more extreme, perhaps desperate form involving staged revolutions as seen in Egypt and Tunisia, and in Libya's case, armed rebellion and the specter of foreign military intervention. However, worldwide globalist coup d'etats have occurred before - for example, in the late 1990's under the guise of a "financial collapse" and IMF "restructuring."
Many nations fell beholden to the IMF and its regiment of "reforms" which amounted to neo-colonialism packaged under the euphemism of "economic liberalization." To illustrate how this works, it may help to understand what real colonialism looked like.
Thailand in the 1800's, then the Kingdom of Siam, was surrounded on all sides by colonized nations and in turn was made to concede to the British 1855 Bowring Treaty. See how many of these "gunboat policy" imposed concessions sound like today's "economic liberalization:"
1. Siam granted extraterritoriality to British subjects.
2. British could trade freely in all seaports and reside permanently in Bangkok.
3. British could buy and rent property in Bangkok.
4. British subjects could travel freely in the interior with passes provided by the consul.
5. Import and export duties were capped at 3%, except the duty-free opium and bullion.
6. British merchants were to be allowed to buy and sell directly with individual Siamese.
A more contemporary example for comparison would be the outright military conquest of Iraq and Paul Bremer's (CFR) economic reformation. The Economist gleefully enumerates the neo-colonial "economic liberalization" of Iraq in a piece titled "Let's all go to the yard sale: If it all works out, Iraq will be a capitalist's dream:"
1. 100% ownership of Iraqi assets.
2. Full repatriation of profits.
3. Equal legal standing with local firms.
4. Foreign banks allowed to operate or buy into local banks.
5. Income and corporate taxes capped at 15%.
6. Universal tariffs slashed to 5%.
And few could argue that the IMF's rehabilitation regiments being forced upon nations all over the world after the late 90's financial crash are any different than economic colonialism both past and present. In fact, the IMF itself publishes reports at great length concerning the "necessity" of economic liberalization.
To be sure, the governments that come to power in the wake of the current Middle East destabilizations will be more servile and will undoubtedly be committed to similar economic liberalization. Brookings Institute's Kenneth Pollack already made it quite clear that "The struggle in the new Middle East must be defined as one between nations that are moving in the right direction and nations that are not; between those that are embracing economic liberalization, educational reform, democracy, the rule of law and civil liberties, and those that are not."
Siam eventually rolled back the terms of the 1855 Bowring Treaty as the British Empire waned, but as of 1997, Thailand was once again faced with similar terms, dictated this time by the banksters of the IMF.
Thailand's Answer to the Globalization
Thailand's answer to the IMF, and globalization in general was profound in both implications as well as in its understanding of globalization's end game. Fiercely independent and nationalistic, and being the only nation in Southeast Asia to avoid colonization, Thailand's sovereignty has been protected for over 800 years by its revered monarchy. The current dynasty, the House of Chakri, has reigned nearly as long as America has existed as a nation and the current king is regarded as the equivalent of a living "Founding Father." And just as it has for 800 years, the Thai Monarchy today provides the most provocative and meaningful answer to the threats facing the Kingdom.
The answer of course is self-sufficiency. Self-sufficiency as a nation, as a province, as a community and as a household. This concept is enshrined in the Thai King's "New Theory" or "self-sufficiency economy" and mirrors similar efforts found throughout the world to break the back of the oppression and exploitation that results from dependence on the globalist system.
The foundation of the self-sufficiency economy is simply growing your own garden and providing yourself with your own food. This is portrayed on the back right-hand side of every 1,000 baht Thai banknote as a picture of a woman tending her garden. The next step is producing surplus that can be traded for income, which in turn can be used to purchase technology to further enhance your ability to sustain yourself and improve your life-style....
Continued at:
http://landdestroyer.blogspot.com/2011/03/globalists-worst-nightmare.html(For an extreme in-depth look at Thailand's "Sufficiency Economy" and... more-
- Dagum
- added this
- 3 months ago
- |
- 0 comments
-
-
Bangkok Suicide Bomb Terrorism Near Sukhumvit School Feb 14
Terrorist attack in thailand, blows off his legs today, valentines day
http://www.whatishowto.net/2012/02/14/bangkok-suicide-bomb-terrorism-near-sukhumvit-school-feb-14/Terrorist attack in thailand, blows off his legs today, valentines day... more-
- adamvanwildest
- added this
- 4 months ago
- |
- 0 comments
-
-
exotic meat butchers arrested in Thailand
Officers catch men chopping up wild animals in Thai slaughterhouse after following shopper with blood on his hands
It isn't every day that a man with bloody hands emerges from a convenience store and returns home to continue chopping up tigers, zebras and wild buffalo in an underground slaughterhouse.
So Thai police officers on a routine street patrol in north-east Bangkok had a lucky break when, by chance, they crossed paths with a member of a wild animal meat gang who had nipped out to buy some butchering supplies.
On following the man, Thai police discovered four other men chopping up a large male tiger. Zebra, crocodile, wild buffalo and elephant carcasses, along with 400kg of tiger meat, were also found in the building, ready to be sold as exotic meat and trophies.
"We found one tiger in an ice box, where it was being preserved with formaldehyde, and a lot of bones. On the floor, there were fresh cuts of white tiger, elephant and lion skins," the Thai nature crime police commander, Colonel Norasak Hemnithi, said. "The suspects later told us that they had gone out looking for ice to store the fresh meats."
Police have since arrested eight people, including the alleged mastermind, in what they and local wildlife organisations believe is a smuggling operation fronted by Bangkok zoos.
The case has shed light on Thailand's place at the heart of an estimated $10bn global trade in endangered species that is driving many plants and animals to extinction, according to wildlife groups. It highlights a worrying trend in which the meat of endangered animals is sold in resort restaurants in southern Thailand.
Demand for trophy items and exotic meats across Asia, but particularly in China, has driven up the trade in elephants, big cats, reptiles and birds.
The anti-wildlife trafficking group Freeland, which is working with police on the investigation, suspects the animals came from, or were sold through, private zoos in Thailand. "It's hard for police to go after zoos because there's a legal loophole [here] that can easily be used to front a breeding operation. Zoos have a permit to own tigers, so they can breed the tigers and sell the offspring," said a Freeland spokesman, Roy Schlieben, adding that an adult tiger could fetch more than $10,000.
Raids in Thailand, which heads the 10-country Asean Wildlife Enforcement Network in south-east Asia, have risen nearly tenfold in five years, Freeland said.
The director general of the Thai wildlife agency said last month that poachers had slaughtered two wild elephants for their meat in a national park. Damrong Phidet told the Associated Press that trunks and sexual organs had been ordered by restaurants in Phuket. Some of the meat was to be consumed without cooking, like "elephant sashimi", he said.
But critics claim police are only touching the tip of the iceberg. "A lot of catches are lucky catches," Edwin Wiek, of Wildlife Friends Foundation Thailand, said. "In Saturday's case, the criminal was only caught because he went to 7-Eleven and had blood on his hands. These criminals are making a lot of money and have nothing to fear – the penalties are very low and hardly any jail sentences are given to these people."
The men arrested this month could face four years in prison and fines of 40,000 baht (£820) for illegally processing wild and protected animals, but Wiek and Schlieben said prison terms were unlikely and called for harsher penalties.
Tiger skins are often sold as trophy items to wealthy buyers in China, Thailand and Vietnam, with animal parts such as tiger bones being used in traditional Chinese medicine, Schlieben said, adding: "Then you've got mounted tigers, considered status symbols, and wild meat being consumed because it's 'more healthy' than domesticated animals."
Despite the increased number of wildlife criminal arrests in the past few years, Thai police have admitted they are still far from cracking the organised smuggling of animals through Thailand and abroad.
"We see about 100 [wildlife] cases per year," Norasak said. "We're [usually] able to catch the criminal but not the [mastermind] behind him. But we work consistently to investigate further and process cases."
The raid was the latest in a string of high-profile cases. A United Arab Emirates citizen was arrested at Suvarnabhumi airport, Bangkok, last May. He had live infant leopards, panthers, monkeys and an Asiatic black bear stuffed in his luggage.Officers catch men chopping up wild animals in Thai slaughterhouse after following... more -
Superstar Quamallah & DeQawn "Bad Muthafuk@h" (Music Video)
Superstar Quamallah & DeQawn "Bad Muthafuk@h" from the album Talkin' All That Jazz produced by izznyce available on Brick/Cotter records.
Available on line at:
UGHH - http://www.undergroundhiphop.com/superstar-quamallah-deqawn-talkin-all-that-j...
iTunes - http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/talkin-all-that-jazz/id455450229?uo=4Superstar Quamallah & DeQawn "Bad Muthafuk@h" from the album... more-
- izznyce
- added this
- 4 months ago
- |
- 0 comments
-
-
How to Steal a Tuk Tuk in Thailand
The first episode of Jet Set Zero: Thailand has all the answers!-
- Mulcahey
- added this
- 4 months ago
- |
- 0 comments
-
-
Thailand recognizes Palestinian State
Note: earlier this week Israeli Intelligence officials warned Thailand officials that they had evidence of an "Al Qaeda style" terror plot to hit Bangkok.
Just a coincidence I'm sure...
***
Thailand has formally announced its recognition of Palestine as an independent state, making the Southeast Asian country the first country to recognize Palestine in 2012.
The Palestinian Authority said on Thursday that the Palestinian delegation at the UN received a formal letter from the Thai government, saying it has "officially recognized the state of Palestine and officially informed all permanent and observer missions to the United Nations in New York of this development."
The letter said that Thailand recognized the Palestinian state along the lines that existed before the 1967 Six-Day War.
The acting Palestinian Authority Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki hailed the move, saying, "Thailand's recognition of a Palestinian state is the first of the New Year 2012 and is a new achievement for Palestinian diplomacy."
Maliki added that Thailand's recognition brings to 131 the number of countries that have recognized a Palestinian state.
Palestinian Authority Chief Mahmoud Abbas also thanked Thailand for the move.Note: earlier this week Israeli Intelligence officials warned Thailand officials that... more-
- maasanova
- added this
- 4 months ago
- |
- 9 comments
-
-
Thailand floods death toll rises to 800
The death toll from months of flooding in Thailand has risen above 800, although the waters have receded in many parts of the country, the government said Saturday.
Late reporting of deaths from the inundations in central and northern provinces, along with heavy November monsoon rains in the south of the kingdom have seen fatality numbers continue to rise, the interior ministry said.
A total of 823 flood-related deaths have now been recorded, including 10 in the south, since the crisis began in July. Three people are still missing.
At their height Thailand's worst floods in half a century affected 65 of 77 provinces in the low-lying nation, deluged hundreds of thousands of homes and forced the closure of large industrial parks, disrupting global supply chains.
The waters have since receded significantly, but more than two million people in five provinces continue to be affected and many areas still face a major clean-up operation.The death toll from months of flooding in Thailand has risen above 800, although the... more-
- JanforGore
- added this
- 5 months ago
- |
- 0 comments
-
-
The Globalists' Worst Nightmare Self-Sufficiency: a universal solution to the globalist problem
For an extreme in-depth look at Thailand's "Sufficiency Economy" and "New Theory" economics, please see, "Wisdom from the Orient: Self-Sufficiency."
ฝันร้ายของนายทุนข้ามชาติ: เศรษฐกิจพอเพียงคือคำตอบปัญหาการเมืองทั่วโลก (ภาษาไทย)
Introduction
When thinking about "solutions" many are quick to cite organizing a protest and taking to the streets. Let's for a moment consider the mechanics of a protest, what it might accomplish, and what it may leave to be desired.
Take Glenn Beck's feckless and disingenuous 2010 "Restoring Honor" event in Washington D.C. It drew thousands of honest, well-intentioned people from all over the United States. Indeed, thousands of people filled up their Fortune 500 made cars with gas from Fortune 500 oil companies, drove countless miles, stopping along the way at Fortune 500 fast food restaurants, stayed at Fortune 500 run hotels, and stocked up on supplies purchased at Fortune 500 Walmart. They slaked their thirst under the hot August sun with cans of Fortune 500 Pepsi and Coke, and at the end of the day, they drove home, paid their Fortune 500 cable subscriptions to watch their Fortune 500 media reports, most likely on News Corporation's Fox News, a Council on Foreign Relations corporate member.
At best, all a protest will lead to, while we are so hopelessly dependent on this system, is a round of musical chairs inside the political arena, with perhaps superficial concessions made to the people. The vector sum however, will still be decidedly in favor of the global corporate-financier oligarchy.
If we understand that the fundamental problem facing not only America, but the entire world, is a global corporate-financier oligarchy that has criminally consolidated their wealth by "liberalizing" their own activities while strangling ours through regulations, taxes, and laws, we should then understand why events like Beck's "Restoring Honor" are not only fruitless, but in fact, counterproductive. We should also realize that any activity we commit ourselves to must be directed at this corporate-financier oligarchy rather than the governments they have co-opted and positioned as buffers between themselves and the masses.
While people understand something is wrong and recognize the necessity to do "something," figuring out what that "something" should be becomes incredibly difficult when so few understand how power really works and how to strip it away from the oligarchs that have criminally consolidated it.
Understanding Globalization
As of late, the expansion of this global oligarchical empire has taken a more extreme, perhaps desperate form involving staged revolutions as seen in Egypt and Tunisia, and in Libya's case, armed rebellion and the specter of foreign military intervention. However, worldwide globalist coup d'etats have occurred before - for example, in the late 1990's under the guise of a "financial collapse" and IMF "restructuring."
Many nations fell beholden to the IMF and its regiment of "reforms" which amounted to neo-colonialism packaged under the euphemism of "economic liberalization." To illustrate how this works, it may help to understand what real colonialism looked like...
...A more contemporary example for comparison would be the outright military conquest of Iraq and Paul Bremer's (CFR) economic reformation. The Economist gleefully enumerates the neo-colonial "economic liberalization" of Iraq in a piece titled "Let's all go to the yard sale: If it all works out, Iraq will be a capitalist's dream:"
1. 100% ownership of Iraqi assets.
2. Full repatriation of profits.
3. Equal legal standing with local firms.
4. Foreign banks allowed to operate or buy into local banks.
5. Income and corporate taxes capped at 15%.
6. Universal tariffs slashed to 5%.
Read more: Egypt Today, Thailand Tomorrow
And few could argue that the IMF's rehabilitation regiments being forced upon nations all over the world after the late 90's financial crash are any different than economic colonialism both past and present. In fact, the IMF itself publishes reports at great length concerning the "necessity" of economic liberalization.
To be sure, the governments that come to power in the wake of the current Middle East destabilizations will be more servile and will undoubtedly be committed to similar economic liberalization. Brookings Institute's Kenneth Pollack already made it quite clear that "The struggle in the new Middle East must be defined as one between nations that are moving in the right direction and nations that are not; between those that are embracing economic liberalization, educational reform, democracy, the rule of law and civil liberties, and those that are not."
Siam eventually rolled back the terms of the 1855 Bowring Treaty as the British Empire waned, but as of 1997, Thailand was once again faced with similar terms, dictated this time by the banksters of the IMF.
Thailand's Answer to the Globalization
Thailand's answer to the IMF, and globalization in general was profound in both implications as well as in its understanding of globalization's end game. Fiercely independent and nationalistic, and being the only nation in Southeast Asia to avoid colonization, Thailand's sovereignty has been protected for over 800 years by its revered monarchy. The current dynasty, the House of Chakri, has reigned nearly as long as America has existed as a nation and the current king is regarded as the equivalent of a living "Founding Father." And just as it has for 800 years, the Thai Monarchy today provides the most provocative and meaningful answer to the threats facing the Kingdom.
The answer of course is self-sufficiency. Self-sufficiency as a nation, as a province, as a community and as a household. This concept is enshrined in the Thai King's "New Theory" or "self-sufficiency economy" and mirrors similar efforts found throughout the world to break the back of the oppression and exploitation that results from dependence on the globalist system.
The foundation of the self-sufficiency economy is simply growing your own garden and providing yourself with your own food. This is portrayed on the back right-hand side of every 1,000 baht Thai banknote as a picture of a woman tending her garden. The next step is producing surplus that can be traded for income, which in turn can be used to purchase technology to further enhance your ability to sustain yourself and improve your life-style....
...Today and Into the Future
Of course in Thailand, agricultural self-sufficiency is coupled with technology to enhance efficiency and improve the quality of life. Even in the city, small independent businesses are adopting the latest technology to improve their production, increase their profits, and even out-compete larger corporations. Computer controlled machining equipment can be found in small workshops crammed into old shop-houses, automatic embroidering machines allow a single woman to fulfill orders for name tags on new school uniforms - rather than both businesses sending off orders to factories owned by a handful of wealthy investors. A multitude of examples can be seen walking around any city block in Thailand's capital of Bangkok....
Full version at:
http://landdestroyer.blogspot.com/2011/03/globalists-worst-nightmare.htmlFor an extreme in-depth look at Thailand's "Sufficiency Economy" and... more-
- Dagum
- added this
- 5 months ago
- |
- 0 comments
-
-
Thai Floods May Prompt Water Futures Trading
Thailand may start trading of water derivatives, giving investors a means of hedging against disasters after the nation’s worst floods in almost 70 years, the Securities & Exchange Commission said.
The regulator is studying the possibility of introducing contracts whose value would be linked to rainfall, or the level of water in the nation’s major dams, said Vorapol Socatiyanurak, who started as secretary-general of the SEC in October. He declined to say when trading might begin.
The total face value of global weather-related derivatives grew by 20 percent between 2010 and 2011 to $11.8 billion, according to a May 20 report by the Washington DC-based Weather Risk Management Association. Demand growth was seen in contracts related to rainfall, snow, hurricanes and wind from industries such as agriculture, construction and transport, it said.
The majority of weather contracts are traded on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. (CME) CME snow contracts, for example, are based on the exchange’s Snowfall Index, a measure of average monthly snowfall in certain U.S. cities. Traders “determine what amount of snowfall would be detrimental to their businesses and take futures or options positions based on that,” the exchange said on its website.
The risk for Thai water derivatives “would be a lack of trading liquidity,” said Joe Vongkitbuncha, head of equity and structured derivatives at Asia Plus Securities Pcl, the nation’s third-biggest stock brokerage by market value. Still, the contracts may be useful to big conglomerates, whose supply chains and manufacturing “rely heavily” on business continuity, and to agricultural businesses, he said.
more at link...
This is all part of Al Gore's Global Climate Scam. These eco-fascists are trading CO2, they're trading H20...they're even trading snow and it has nothing to do with saving the environment or helping people. Its about controlling, taxing and trading every resource on Earth, consolidating power and installing their New World Order/One World Government.Thailand may start trading of water derivatives, giving investors a means of hedging... more-
- rodstradamus
- added this
- 6 months ago
- |
- 0 comments
-
-
American sentenced to prison for Thai royal insult
BANGKOK (AP) — A court in Thailand sentenced a U.S. citizen to two and a half years in prison Thursday for defaming the country's royal family by translating excerpts of a locally banned biography of the king and posting them online.
The verdict is the latest so-called lese majeste punishment handed down in the Southeast Asian kingdom, which has come under increasing pressure at home and abroad to reform harsh legislation that critics say is an affront to freedom of expression.
The 55-year-old Thai-born American, Joe Gordon, stood calmly with his ankles shackled in an orange prison uniform as the sentence was read out at a Bangkok criminal court.
Judge Tawan Rodcharoen said the punishment, initially set at five years, was reduced because Gordon pleaded guilty in October. Defense lawyer Arnon Nampa said Gordon would not appeal, but would apply for a royal pardon.
The sentence was relatively light compared to other recent cases. In November, 61-year-old Amphon Tangnoppakul was sentenced to 20 years in jail for sending four text messages deemed offensive to the crown.
Gordon posted links the to banned biography of King Bhumibol Adulyadej several years ago while living in the U.S. state of Colorado, and his case has raised questions about the applicability of Thai law to acts committed by foreigners outside Thailand.
Speaking after the verdict, Gordon said, "I am an American citizen, and what happened was in America."
He also said he had no expectation of being let off easy. "This is just the system in Thailand," he said. Speaking later in Thai, he added: "In Thailand, they put people in prison even if they don't have proof."
Gordon had lived in the U.S. for about 30 years. He was detained in late May during a visit to his native country to seek treatment for arthritis and high blood pressure. After being repeatedly denied bail, he pleaded guilty in October in hopes of obtaining a lenient sentence.
Thailand's lese majeste laws are the harshest in the world. They mandate that people found guilty of defaming the monarchy — including the king, the queen and the heir to the throne — face three to 15 years behind bars. The nation's 2007 Computer Crimes Act also contains provisions that have enabled prosecutors to increase le
more: http://news.yahoo.com/american-sentenced-prison-thai-royal-insult-025403549.htmlBANGKOK (AP) — A court in Thailand sentenced a U.S. citizen to two and a half... more-
- cabinettags
- added this
- 6 months ago
- |
- 0 comments
-
-
Up to 5 Feet of Rain in 10 Days Spurred by Warming Waters is “One of the Most Dramatic Disasters in its History,”
Thailand’s Great Flood Likely to Peak this Weekend and Damage One Quarter of Rice Crop of World’s Top Exporter
No, the main headline wasn’t about Thailand — it was about El Salvador (as is the picture). We’ve been seeing twin uber-deluges this month on opposite sides of the Earth, both spurred by warming waters, as meteorologist and former hurricane hunter Dr. Jeff Masters explains on his blog.
The Thai floods have gotten more attention, because of their epic nature — and global economic impact on rice prices (see below). So let’s start with El Salvador and Central America:
“I want to tell the world that El Salvador is going through one of the most dramatic disasters in its history,” President Mauricio Funes said on national radio and television Wednesday night, as he appealed for international aid. A week of torrential rains across Central America have triggered extreme floods and landslides that have killed 105 people, according to media reports. El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua have declared states of emergency due to the disaster. El Salvador and Guatemala have seen the worst flooding, with 34 and 38 people killed, respectively. Another 18 have died in Honduras, 13 in Nicaragua, and 5 in Costa Rica. The rains were due to a large area of low pressure that was moistened by the landfall of Tropical Depression 12-E near the Mexico/Guatemala border last week.
Contributing to the record-intensity rains were ocean temperatures off the coast of El Salvador that were 0.5 – 1°C above average during the first half of October, allowing more water vapor than usual to evaporate into the air. Over the past ten days, rainfall amounts of over a meter (39.4″) have fallen over a large area of southwest El Salvador (Figure 2.) At Huizucar, an astonishing 1.513 meters (4.96 feet) of rain fell in the past ten days.
Climatologist Kevin Trenberth explained the deluge-warming connection in an interview with Climate Progress last year:
I find it systematically tends to get underplayed and it often gets underplayed by my fellow scientists. Because one of the opening statements, which I’m sure you’ve probably heard is “Well you can’t attribute a single event to climate change.” But there is a systematic influence on all of these weather events now-a-days because of the fact that there is this extra water vapor lurking around in the atmosphere than there used to be say 30 years ago. It’s about a 4% extra amount, it invigorates the storms, it provides plenty of moisture for these storms and it’s unfortunate that the public is not associating these with the fact that this is one manifestation of climate change. And the prospects are that these kinds of things will only get bigger and worse in the future.
The AFP reports that many in Central America do understand the connection between warming and deluging:
Officials have blamed the effects of global warming for the spate of deadly rains and flooding.
“Climate change is not something that is coming in the future, we are already suffering its effects,” said Raul Artiga with the Central American Commission on Environment and Development (CCAD).
Here’s a graphic of the “astonishing” amount of rain El Salvador has been hit by:
More at the linkThailand’s Great Flood Likely to Peak this Weekend and Damage One Quarter of... more-
- JanforGore
- added this
- 7 months ago
- |
- 11 comments
-
-
Residents flee as floods worsen in Thailand capitol
Floodwater swamped a new area of Thailand's capital on Wednesday as some shops started rationing food and the prime minister warned that parts of Bangkok could be flooded for up to a month.
Residents of Bang Phlad, a riverside district some way from Bangkok's three swamped northern districts, were told to urgently evacuate as floods hit the capital on a second front, deepening anxiety in the city of at least 12 million people, many of whom were expected to flee ahead of a special five-day holiday.
"After assessing the situation, we expect floodwater to remain in Bangkok for around two weeks to one month before going into the sea," Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra told reporters.
"However ... we shouldn't face water as high as two or three meters staying for two or three months as we've seen in other provinces."
Thailand's worst flooding in half a century has killed at least 366 people since mid-July and disrupted the lives of nearly 2.5 million, with more than 113,000 in shelters and 720,000 people seeking medical attention.
Bangkok residents scrambled to stock up on food, but bottled water was nowhere to be seen and some shops restricted customers to small quantities of food to prevent hoarding.
With high tide approaching in the Gulf of Thailand, Seri Supharatid, director of Rangsit University's Center on Climate Change and Disaster, said the city's fate rested with river dykes holding.
"In the worst-case scenario, if all the dykes break, all parts of Bangkok would be more or less flooded," Seri said.
The economic damage is difficult to quantify, but the central bank has revised its growth forecast for Southeast Asia's second-biggest economy to 3.1 percent this year from 4.1 percent. The finance minister's projection was a gloomier 2 percent.
Flooding has forced the closure of seven industrial estates in Ayutthaya, Nonthaburi and Pathum Thani provinces bordering Bangkok, causing billions of dollars of damage and disrupting international supply chains for industry and putting about 650,000 people temporarily out of work.
The cabinet on Tuesday agreed on a 325 billion baht ($10.6 billion) budget to rebuild the country, while city authorities and the Commerce Ministry were meeting with industrial estate operators, hotels and food producers to try to minimize the damage and kick-start a recovery.
SWELLING RIVER
Authorities have called a holiday from Thursday until Monday to allow people to get out Bangkok, although financial markets will remain open.
The rising tide could complicate efforts to drive water from the swelling Chao Phraya river out to the sea, putting more pressure on a city that accounts for 41 percent of Thailand's gross domestic product.
Heavy rain could also deepen the crisis and thunderstorms were forecast for Wednesday.
The floods are expected to take a toll on Thailand's tourism industry, which employs more than 2 million people and makes up 6 percent of GDP. Tourism Minister Chumphol Silpa-archa said arrivals could be 500,000 to 1 million below the government's target of 19 million this year.
Three northern districts of Bangkok have been under water since Saturday, with army vehicles driving at a snail's pace through 1.5 meters of water, ferrying evacuees away.
Some people were being evacuated for a second time, with 4,000 sheltering in Don Muang moving to the province of Chon Buri. Evacuees at a university in Pathum Thani province also had to move on as floodwater engulfed the campus.
To tackle the flooding, the authorities have pumped an estimated 8 billion cubic meters of water daily through canals and a river around Bangkok's east and west toward the sea.
But the large volume of water flowing through the city remains a concern, with the vast Chao Phraya river at record levels and running past high-end hotels, embassies and the Sathorn and Silom areas of the city's business district.
Water has engulfed two areas, with levels climbing higher than half a meter in the densely populated Bang Phlad district near to the Chao Phraya and closer to the commercial heart.
More at the linkFloodwater swamped a new area of Thailand's capital on Wednesday as some shops... more-
- JanforGore
- added this
- 7 months ago
- |
- 1 comment
-
-
Thailand suffers most expensive flood in history
Meteorologist Dr. Jeff Masters reports on the staggering floods that have hit Thailand:
Heavy rains in Thailand during September and October have led to extreme flooding that has killed 283 people and caused that nation’s most expensive natural disaster in history. On Tuesday, Thailand’s finance minister put the damage from the floods at $3.9 billion. This makes the floods of 2011 the most expensive disaster in Thai history, surpassing the $1.3 billion price tag of the November 27, 1993 flood, according to the Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters (CRED).
And this is but the latest example of how extreme weather harms global food security (see “Global Food Prices Expected to Climb, Get More Volatile.” As BusinessWeek reported, “Floodwaters have swept across 60 of Thailand’s 77 provinces over the past two months … destroying more than 10 percent of the nation’s rice farms.” Masters notes “Thailand is the world’s largest exporter of rice, so the disaster may put further upward pressure on world food prices, which are already at the highest levels since the late 1970s.”
Eastern Thailand was deluged with 5 feet of rain in September. And there’s more to come:
Some of the highest tides of the month occur this weekend in the capital of Bangkok, and the additional pressure that incoming salt water puts on the flood walls protecting the city is a major concern. A moderate monsoon flow continues over Southeast Asia, and the latest GFS model precipitation forecast foresees an additional 2 – 5 inches of rain over most of Thailand during the next three days.
More at the linkMeteorologist Dr. Jeff Masters reports on the staggering floods that have hit... more-
- JanforGore
- added this
- 8 months ago
- |
- 2 comments
-
-
Thai PM takes Twitter break after her account is hacked
BANGKOK — Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra said on Monday she had decided to take a break from Twitter, after her account was taken over by a hacker who mocked and criticised her.
Authorities said they were searching for the anonymous hacker who posted eight tweets on Sunday morning after apparently using a mobile phone to access the premier's @PouYingluck account.
Yingluck said the attack was a "violation of people's personal rights" and the account was "temporarily suspended".
The sister of ousted former leader Thaksin Shinawatra was lambasted on a variety of subjects in the tweets, including her response to recent serious flooding in the kingdom and a number of key government policies.
One of the false tweets questioned a high profile promise to give tablet computers to schoolchildren, saying it was no substitute for education reform, while another accused Yingluck and her government of cronyism.
"How can she protect the country, if she cannot protect her own Twitter account? Think about it," said the final post.
Information, Communication and Technology (ICT) minister Anudith Nakornthap told AFP the hacker had first gained access to Yingluck's email before taking over the Twitter feed and changing the password.
"We have some clues which will lead to a hacker. Authorities will find further evidence that will lead to an arrest," he said.
For now he said the Thai leader will limit her social networking activities to her official Facebook page, which has almost 400,000 supporters.
The username @PouYingluck refers to the Thai leader's nickname, Pou, which means crab.
Source: AP http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5hu94jv8SyIUJ2VTs-UDktXA1yPMg?docId=CNG.972feda4ea178826713a59c39119f1cb.5d1BANGKOK — Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra said on Monday she had decided... more-
- sbacker
- added this
- 8 months ago
- |
- 0 comments
-
-
Investigate human rights abuses in Thailand
From April-May of last year, violent confrontations took place between the Thai military and "Red Shirt" anti-government protestors in Bangkok, Thailand. As a result of protracted street battles that occurred when the government attempted to disperse the protestors, around 90 people died and around 2,000 were injured. This is the worst violence the Thai capital has seen in nearly two decades.
Yingluck Shinawatra, the newly elected Prime Minister, has stated that investigations are ongoing. But, to date, only Red Shirts have been charged with crimes even though the majority of those killed were protestors.
Encourage the Prime Minister to set up a transparent, impartial, and independent investigation to hold those who committed human rights abuses accountable, including members of the security apparatus.
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/44/human-rights-in-thailand/From April-May of last year, violent confrontations took place between the Thai... more-
- dunlevyd
- added this
- 9 months ago
- |
- 0 comments
-
-
Cell Phone Images Foil Tiger Poachers
Two tiger poachers were arrested in Thailand after a cell phone they dropped while fleeing authorities provided incriminating evidence, according to the Wildlife Conservation Society.
Link: http://news.discovery.com/animals/cell-phone-images-foil-tiger-poachers.htmlTwo tiger poachers were arrested in Thailand after a cell phone they dropped while... more-
- sitsi
- added this
- 11 months ago
- |
- 0 comments
-
-
Will shrimp kill a cat?
The US gets most of its Shrimp from Thailand's shrimp farms. Small ponds that are killing habitat at an alarming rate. Habitat the fishing cat (which provides a service by keeping the rodent population down) needs. Check out the packing and from Wal Mart to Whole Foods you will see it all seems to come all the way from Thailand.The US gets most of its Shrimp from Thailand's shrimp farms. Small ponds that are... more-
- bcprints
- added this
- 11 months ago
- |
- 0 comments
-
-
June 13, 1979 - SALT And Somoza | Newstalgia
Another day in history the world ran just slightly amok - Ah, the 70's . . . .-
- Gordonskene
- added this
- 12 months ago
- |
- 0 comments
-
-
UAE Animal Smuggler Flees Thailand | Smuggled Suitcases of Endangered Baby Animals | Photos and Video
Alleged UAE animal smuggler flees Thailand
By Andy Sambidge
Tuesday, 31 May 2011 9:46 PM
Photo: The baby sun bear found in a suitcase at Bangkok Airport. (Freeland Foundation)
A man from the UAE who was arrested as he attempted to smuggle suitcases filled of endangered baby animals out of Thailand has escaped from the country, it was reported on Tuesday.
Noor Mahmood was detained on May 13 by undercover officers at Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi airport with the animals which included four leopard cubs, a Malayan sun bear, a baby marmoset and a baby red-cheeked gibbon, according to wildlife campaign group Freeland Foundation.
Mahmood was charged with smuggling endangered species out of the kingdom and released on a 200,000 baht ($6,600) bail, but he left Bangkok on a May 23 flight to the UAE, immigration police told news agency AFP.
Freeland called for Thai and UAE collaboration to continue with the case.
"Thai police did a great undercover operation to nab Mr Mahmood just as he was about to board his first class flight to Dubai," the group's director Steven Galster told AFP. "But since he was caught red handed and charged, we want to know why he is not being prosecuted?"
The case prompted animal welfare charities to urge the UAE to do more to clamp down on the illegal smuggling of endangered and exotic animals into the country.
“Not enough is being done to prevent this trade,” Galster told Arabian Business.
Ashley Fruno, a senior campaigner of PETA for Asia-Pacific, said tougher deterrents were needed to outweigh the easy money available to contraband traders.
Thailand is a hub for illegal wildlife trafficking, but authorities finding so many live mammals is unusual. Typical hauls are of rare tortoises, snakes and lizards.Alleged UAE animal smuggler flees Thailand By Andy Sambidge Tuesday,... more-
- EthicalVegan
- added this
- 12 months ago
- |
- 10 comments
-
-
May 25, 1992 - "Give Us Your Tired, Your . . . . . never mind". | Newstalgia
Not a really swell day if you were Haitian and on a boat heading for Florida - come to think of it, not a swell day if you were living in Bosnia either - or The Gaza Strip - or in Thailand getting together with your buddies to ask for some Democracy. Stay in bed.Not a really swell day if you were Haitian and on a boat heading for Florida - come to... more-
- Gordonskene
- added this
- 1 year ago
- |
- 0 comments
-
