BangkokPundit

Bangkok University surveyed 1,087 people between November 22-24 throughout the country* 1. Is the house that you reside at met with flooding? (??????????????????????????????????????? ??????????????? ???????) A. Yes, 33% B. No.
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After the 20 year sentence for “Uncle SMS” put lese majeste laws, the Bangkok Post has an editorial : His arrest and prosecution, however, point a bright light on the two laws that continue to be used so frequently. Article 112 of the Criminal Code is the original lese majeste law, forbidding offensive...
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AP : Thailand’s criminal court sentenced a 61-year-old man to 20 years in prison Wednesday for sending text messages deemed offensive to the country’s queen. The court found Amphon Tangnoppaku guilty on four counts under the country’s  lese majeste and computer crime laws, sentencing him to five years imprisonment for each charge. Lese...
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The relationship between Army Commander-in-Chief Gen. Prayuth Chan-ocha and Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra has been interesting to observe over the last few months: 1. First, the possible amendment of the  Defence Ministry Administration Act . Section 25 of the Act gives the power to transfer and appoint senior military leaders to a 7...
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This year is HM the King’s 84th Birthday, which is the end of the 7th cycle (a cycle lasting 12 years), and it is traditional for there to be a collective royal pardon on such an auspicious occasion. From a report ( PDF ) by United Nations Asia and Far East Institute for the...
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US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton arrives in Thailand today “for Flood Assistance” (from US Embassy e-mail). Clinton will meet with Yingluck tonight at Government House – there will also be a press conference – and tomorrow morning will visit Thai flood victims at the evacuation center at Ratchamangala Stadium in Bangkok before departing to...
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The Nation has the headline of “Politicians set to continue breeding” in regards to two different engagements, one for Thaksin’s daughter and another for the son of Sanan Kachornprasart. BP : Breeding? h/t to @seacorro
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Every month Suan Dusit conducts a political index survey. The survey is usually quite large for the sample size. The October survey (PDF) asked questions of 5,253 people nationwide between October 25-November 4. From looking at previous surveys, you can see they ask the same questions each month and this makes it easier to...
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Every month Suan Dusit conducts a political index survey. The survey is usually quite large for the sample size. The October survey (PDF) asked questions of 5,253 people nationwide between October 25-November 4. From looking at previous surveys, you can see they ask the same questions each month and this makes it easier to...
Read more »

Every month Suan Dusit conducts a political index survey. The survey is usually quite large for the sample size. The October survey (PDF) asked questions of 5,253 people nationwide between October 25-November 4. From looking at previous surveys, you can see they ask the same questions each month and this makes it easier to...
Read more »

Bangkok University surveyed 1,168 people throughout the country between November 3-7.* 1. Score showing satisfaction over performance of Prime Minister Yingluck who received 4.98 out of 10. When compared with former Prime Minister Abhisit (survey of December 2010), he came out ahead by .19 points. Abhisit Yingluck Difference Working hard to solve the country’s...
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Bloomberg : In the 26 provinces still affected by flooding, Yingluck’s party won about 70 percent of constituency seats in the July vote. BP : Puea Thai won’t 54.4% of the constituency seats (or 204 out of 375 constituency seats) so you can see that the areas which have flooded are more likely...
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The headline across in The Nation “ Govt dismisses health fears ” on November 3: Despite filthy stagnant floodwater spreading in many provinces, the government yesterday tried to play down fears of a public health crisis, citing the “success” in avoiding outbreak of fatal communicable diseases like leptospirosis and cholera. Disease Control Department...
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A previous post on Friday looked at the Bhumiphol Dam, but this one post will look at the next major dam, the Sirikit Dam. The three relevant charts are namely 1. Amount of water stored in the Sirikit Dam., 2. Accumulated amount of water entering Sirikit Dam for each year for 2005-2011, and  3. Accumulated...
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WSJ : “here was a sequence of tropical storms from the end of July to early September that caused heavy rainfall in the upper basins and especially the Nan River Basin, where excess runoff far exceeded the capacity of the Sirikit Dam. . . . A substantial volume of water was released into...
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Ok, have finally tracked the figures in a friendly format and the ability to check across multiple years. The three charts, namely 1. Amount of water stored in the Bhumipol Dam., 2. Accumulated amount of water entering Bhumiphol Dam for each year for 2005-2011, and  3.
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BP has already blogged about the poor water management of dams ( part 1 and  part 2 ) where a large quantity of water was released between August 1-Oct 16 2011 compared with in the months before and with the previous year, and also how  Bangkok has had more rain this year. On...
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Thai Rath ‘s  political analysis for October 31 is entitled  All of them ‘Laying low’ (‘??????’ ?????????): Water does not have double standards. Thaksin’s house, Banharn’s house, Yongyuth’s house, and Plodprasob’s house and those of many in the media and celebrities have also been flooded. The worst floods in 60 floods. The floods...
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Thitinan Pongsudhirak, director of the Institute of Security and International Studies at Chulalongkorn University as quoted in  VOA : Thitinan Pongsudhirak, a political scientist at Chulalongkorn University, also blamed structural problems within the government, such as overlapping authority and agencies that are not organized to collaborate. “ In a place like Thailand –...
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On Friday October 21, Prime Minister Yingluck used powers available to her under the Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Act 2007* as reported by the  Bangkok Post : Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra on Friday invoked powers under the natural disaster law, giving her full authority to execute a natural disaster relief plan nationwide. The...
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Thanong in The Nation : In spite of heavy storms this year, water levels in general have not been significantly worse than the great floods in 1995. More investigation is needed on water releases from the dams this year and in 1995. Water resources experts from Plamod Maiklad to Dr Smith Thammasaroj have...
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Thanong in The Nation : In spite of heavy storms this year, water levels in general have not been significantly worse than the great floods in 1995. More investigation is needed on water releases from the dams this year and in 1995. Water resources experts from Plamod Maiklad to Dr Smith Thammasaroj have...
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David Lyman in The Nation : Some of the low-lying parts of Bangkok, with the city already built on a flood plain, especially in the eastern suburbs, in the 1960s and 1970s and on into the 1980s, were quickly inundated and remained underwater for many weeks. The water table there was being depleted...
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David Lyman in The Nation : Some of the low-lying parts of Bangkok, with the city already built on a flood plain, especially in the eastern suburbs, in the 1960s and 1970s and on into the 1980s, were quickly inundated and remained underwater for many weeks. The water table there was being depleted...
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BP has already blogged about about how long the floods will last and that Bangkok is surrounded by water , but this post will briefly look at what parts of Bangkok will likely flood. The Nation : “Flood will hit every area of Bangkok but each area will see the different level of...
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Below is part 1 of a very informative, easy-to-understand video about the Thai floods. It is in Thai, but it has English subtitles. BP : You may want to check out the YouTube channel for future videos. btw, just because we may have one month or more of flooding, it doesn’t mean we...
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From the Geo-Informatics and Space Technology Development Agency comes the below photo: BP : The original – which is a very large file – can be downloaded from here . Bangkok is simply surrounded by water….. You can find more images here . h/t to Robinlea
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The Nation has a story in the soosip (gossip) column: Gossip will get your mind off the crisis – almost . The rumour that Yingluck Shinawatra dried her feet at Yanni’s concert was flatly denied, so we found a better one: Abhisit Vejjajiva had a nice vacation in the Maldives. Yes, he was...
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BP has already blogged about the poor water management of dams ( part 1 and part 2 ) where a large quantity of water was released between August 1-Oct 16 2011 compared with in the months before and with the previous, and also how Bangkok has had more rain this year. On this...
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Last night, the Bangkok Governor issued a statement as AP reported: The governor of Bangkok issued a dramatic late-night warning Sunday to residents of the Thai capital to prepare for floodwaters to roll deeper into the city from suburban areas already choking under the deluge. In live televised remarks, Governor Sukhumbhand Paribatra said...
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