Reference: Melting ice to spur new climate deal, Bangkok Post, April 30, 2009

An article on global warming (Melting ice to spur new climate deal, Bangkok Post, April 30, 2009) says that carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuels have caused the following alarming changes to our planet: (1) ice covering the Arctic Ocean shrank in 2007 to its smallest since satellite records began, (2) In Antarctica, a section of the Wilkins Ice Shelf has broken up in recent days, (3) glaciers in the Himalayan mountains are shrinking and threatening to disrupt water supplies to hundreds of millions of people, (4) melting permafrost in Siberia will release large quantities of methane into the atmosphere and hasten global warming, and (5) if all of the land based ice in Antarctica melted it would raise the sea level by 80 meters. The artcle fails to take note of the following data freely available in the public domain: (1) Arctic sea ice suffers a summer melt in every northern summer and that melt was greater than normal in 2007 and it encouraged global warming scientists to speculate that the sea ice would not fully recover in the following winter and thereby the Arctic would begin a non-linear process of forming less and less ice each winter until it became fully ice free. This speculation has been proven wrong as the Arctic ice has now fully recovered. (2) the observed melting in the Wilkins ice shelf is a natural and insignificant event in the vast ice continent of Antarctica where the total mass of ice is increasing and not decreasing. (3) the Himalayan glacial melt is a reference to the data that the Gangotri glacier there had retreated by several hundred meters from 1780 to 2005 and global warming scientists predicted that the rate of retreat would accelerate and cause water supply devastation downstream. The predicted acceleration did not occur. Instead the rate of retreat actually slowed in 2007 and in 2008 it stopped altogether, (4) they have been telling us for more than five years now that the Siberian permafrost is about to melt and release methane devastation but there has been no sigh of this activity and Russian scientists have disputed these claims, and (5) if all the ice in Antarctica melted it would likely raise the sea level by 80 meters as claimed but this computation is purely a hypotherical and trivial conjecture for the subsumed melt has not started and if and when it does start, it will take many thousands of years to complete and the next ice age will surely intervene for the geological history of the earth shows that it is mostly an icy planet with brief interglacial balmy periods like the one in which we now find ourselves.

Cha-am Jamal

Thailand

Reference: Waking up to climate change, Bangkok Post, April 29, 2009

With reference to the recently released ADB report on the economics of climate change in Southeast Asia - patterned after its mother report, "The economics of climate change" by Nicholas Stern of the Grantham Institute of Climate Change in Britain - and funded by the British, a fawning Bangkok Post editorial states that the report is credible because it uses the phrase 'climate change" saying that "Climate change" has of course replaced the less credible "global warming". If the thesis is that the globe is warming why is the phrase "global warming" not credible and why are vague and non-specific phrases like "climate change" more credible? Are they unsure about the direction of the change? If so, then what is the basis for their predictions?

Cha-am Jamal

Thailand

Reference: Confusion spreading faster than swine flu, Bangkok Post, April 28, 2009

When a swap dealer in London holds credit default swaps from banks in the USA, the "spreading" of financial "contagion" is already in place even before the disease has struck and when the default does occur its effect is immediately felt in all places where the financial deals already exist. There is no "spreading" that occurs post hoc. Relating the global financial meltdown to a viral contagion is itself the kind of false analogy that spreads confusion and so I suppose the article itself (Confusion spreading faster than swine flu, Bangkok Post, April 28, 2009) demonstrates its own thesis.

Cha-am Jamal

Thailand

Reference: Ambivalence about capital from China, Bangkok Post, April 28, 2009

A much needed infusion of billions in capital into the Rio Tinto mining establishment offered by the Chinese has been put on hold by the Australians citing concerns about "national interest". These concerns might have carried far less weight had the suitors been British or American or even European. International mergers and acquisitions are tinged with racism.

Cha-am Jamal

Thailand

Reference: There are lies, damn lies, and even lies to cover lies, Bangkok Post, April 27, 2009

An article in the BP lays out a successful strategy for lying by quoting Hitler as follows: "Make it big, make it simple, keep saying it, and eventually they will believe it" (There are lies, damn lies, and even lies to cover lies, Bangkok Post, April 27, 2009). Thoughtfully, on the same page, the Post provides readers with topical examples of this lying strategy in an article on the alleged effects of global warming in Southeast Asia (Economic green stimuli offer unique opportunity, Bangkok Post, April 27, 2009). These lies may be summarized as follows: "Over the coming decades, climate change will lead to decreasing rainfall and millions will suffer from water shortages"; "Rice production will decline threatening food security"; "Forests will turn into scrub land"; "Floods, droughts, cyclones, and other extreme weather events will become common"; "Deaths from cardiovascular and respiratory disease, malaria, and dengue fever will increase"; "Sea levels will rise by 70 cm or more inundating entire islands and low lying areas"; and the biggest lie of all, "All of these dangers may be mitigated by reducing CO2 emissions from fossil fuels". We have been hearing these lies for about two decades now but apparently the "coming decades" have yet to come for we have seen none of the predicted events. Hitler's wisdom is being fully implemented.

Cha-am Jamal

Thailand

Reference: India demands a cease fire, Bangkok Post, April 25, 2009

The Tamil Tigers appear to be sincere in their concern about civilian casualties in the lost cause of a civil war that they are still waging (India demands a cease fire, Bangkok Post, April 25, 2009) and yet surely they know that it is really in their hands for they can end this insane nightmare at any moment by simply accepting the obvious and ceasing all hostilities. Their insurgency is finished and whether they go out with or without civilian casualties is their decision to make.

Cha-am Jamal

Thailand

Reference: World must act against pirates, Bangkok Post, April 21, 2009

The world cannot act against the Somali pirates (World must act against pirates, Bangkok Post, April 21, 2009) until some legal framework is put in place so that the pirates can be charged with a crime. Until then we must continue the surreal practice of capturing and disarming them and then setting them free because existing laws make it impossible for any country other than lawless Somalia to bring criminal charges against them. It's a case of Catch 22.

Cha-am Jamal

Thailand

 

Reference: Green rice next on researchers' agenda, Bangkok Post, April 21, 2009

The reference to methane as a 'greenhouse gas' (Green rice next on researchers' agenda, Bangkok Post, April 21, 2009) is erroneous. A greenhouse is an enclosed structure made of transparent material in which vegetables or flowers are grown during winter at lattitudes at which this would not be possible under ambient conditions. Carbon dioxide is called a greenhouse gas because greenhouse operators pump this gas into their greenhouse as photosynthesis nutrient for their plants as well as to maintain optimal CO2 levels in the greenhouse of around 1500 ppm. No greenhouse operator on earth ever willingly injects methane into their greenhhouse and this gas serves no greenhouse function. Therefore, methane is not a greenhouse gas. 

Cha-am Jamal

Thailand

Reference: Odds turning positive at global breakout or bust line, Bangkok Post, April 20, 2009

I have been following your chartist's financial forecasts on Mondays for almost a decade now and I am sorry to report that these predictions have been wrong more often than right and lately they have been so consistently wrong that one could have profited by betting against them. Financial theory contains very cogent and convincing arguments that historical trading data do not contain information about the future. These charts are an embarrassment in an otherwise fine international newspaper.

Cha-am Jamal

Thailand

Reference: Expensive and labor intensive measures are being prescribed for reefs, Bangkok Post, April 20, 2009

There is no evidence whatsoever that any change in any coral reef anywhere in the world has been caused by carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuels contrary to the ornately fabricated propaganda regularly fed to us through an unwitting media that our carbon dioxide emissions are wreaking havoc on the world's coral reefs (Expensive and labor intensive measures are being prescribed for reefs, Bangkok Post, April 20, 2009). Sadly, the obsession with carbon dioxide has done more harm to the environment and to coral reefs than good by belittling and hiding real pollution problems. The simple truth is that carbon dioxide is not a pollutant. Rather it is an indispensible link in the cycle of life that got started on this planet millions of years ago when atmospheric carbon dioxide levels were three times what they are today.

Cha-am Jamal

Thailand

Reference: Rapid sea level rise distincly possible, Bangkok Post, April 16, 2009

According to an article on global warming, we should mitigate rapid sea level rise by reducing greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuels because in prior interglacial periods the sea level had risen by as much as 3 meters in 100 years and so we should expect it do so again in the interglacial period in which we now live (Rapid sea level rise distinctly possible, Bangkok Post, April 16, 2009). The argument is self canceling. If the sea level rise is a natural interglacial phenomenon then it is not caused by human activity and it cannot be mitigated by cessation of such activity. There was no human activity in prior interglacial periods that involved burning fossil fuels.

Cha-am Jamal

Thailand

Reference: Taming the waters of Bangladesh, Bangkok Post, April 15, 2009

The oft repeated claim that Bangladesh is being inundated by rising sea levels caused by man-made climate change (Taming the waters of Bangladesh, Bangkok Post, April 15, 2009) ignores the relevant data that the total land mass of the country is not decreasing. In fact, the total land mass of Bangladesh is increasing just as it always has by virtue of silt deposition.

Cha-am Jamal

Thailand

Reference: BBC interview: Thaksin on protests, April 13, 2009

In the BBC's hard hitting interview (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7996781.stm) Thaksin says that he did not instigate riots but that he merely encouraged the poor people to fight for democracy because there has been either 10 or 17 coups in Thailand and that during his administration "the poor lealy feel that democracy is mean to them". Asked what made the current government undemocratic he says "they form the government in militaly balacks". Pressed again on the the legality of coalition governments he says "they try to distort the parties that come from ..... (pause)... the people". He cuts a pathetic figure clearly at a loss for words and unable form coherent answers to clearly stated questions. It's a must watch.

Cha-am Jamal

Thailand

Reference: Get tough stand could spur more mayhem, Bangkok Post, April 13, 2009

We hope the government is reading your insightful analysis of a get tough policy (Get tough stand could spur more mayhem, Bangkok Post, April 13, 2009). Whether we agree or disagree with them there is no doubt that the red shirts are a reality in Thailand's political landscape. The way out is to negotiate a compromise. The compromise might include for example the departure of Abhisit, the selection of a new prime minster from the ruling coalition, and a timetable for elections. We might also consider designing and implementing a formalized mechanism other than violent street protests through which civil society can get involved in some kind of participative democracy. What happened in Pattaya did not shame the country. It showed the world that Thailand is a place where people are free to protest against their government without the risk of being labeled as insane and thrown into mental institutions. There is a lesson in democracy here for delegates from places like Burma and China. 

Cha-am Jamal

Thailand

 

Reference: Somali pirates warn of disaster, Bangkok Post, April 12, 2009

The world's societal, political, and economic system is based on the assumption that people on earth are organized into nation states and that these nation states have effective governance and legitimate leaders who can represent their interests in the global forum. Many of the lingering and apparently unsolvable problems worldwide persist because this assumption is flawed. There are many areas around the world that are recognized as a nation state or a part of a nation state but where the people are unable to govern themselves. The world needs an agency at the UN level with sufficient funding and muscle effectively to govern its ungoverned areas. The war against terrorism and high seas piracy as well as international development programs would make more sense and be more effective under such an umbrella organization.

Cha-am Jamal

Thailand

Reference: By 2020 Laos to gain developed country status, Bangkok Post, April 12, 2009

Laos is currently described as an LDC - one of the world's least developed countries. It would take more than a miracle for Laos to transform itself from extreme poverty into one of the world's developed countries at par with places like Germany in eleven years (By 2020 Laos to gain developed country status, Bangkok Post, April 12, 2009). One would first have to target the country's progress from LDC to developing country or newly industrialized country at par with countries like Thailand and Malaysia. If and when that occurs it would then be rational to formulate strategies and time frames for the country to gain developed country status. Such lofty goals are unrealistic in its current state.

Cha-am Jamal

Thailand

Odd menu items in Thai restaurants

Fried shrimp w/ onion gings

Shrimp sasame and poke on toasted

Steamy nails

Grilled lamp with Thai spicy

Pan-fry blow trout

Deep-fried featherback fish cakes

Deep-fried horseface loach fish

Fresh crap with chilli fish sauce

Scald squit

 Daft beer

 Steam fishy seafood

Pock pock dick mango salad

 Service warm not charge

Reference: Alaska coasts melting, Bangkok Post, April 8, 2009

When permafrost melts, the soil above it subsides and along the coast this process causes erosion and the Beaufort coast of Alaska has been eroding in this manner for thousands of years. The rate of erosion depends of the concentration of ice in the permafrost. The more ice you have the faster it will erode and the ice concentration varies over a large range along the thousand miles or so of this coastline. The finding that a small 40-mile strip of this coast eroded very quickly in 2007 ( Alaska coasts melting, Bangkok Post, April 8, 2009) does not in itself lead to any conclusions of a general nature for the data are limited both in space and in time. Erosion in this part of Alaska is a natural process. To make generalizations from a miniscule portion of this coast over a brief time span will surely lead to erroneos conclusions. Back in 2005, the warmists had raised a similar alarm that man made global warming was melting the vast peat bogs of Siberia and that the melt would release enough methane and carbon dioxide to bring about climate change Armageddon by virtue of a non linear process gone berserk. It did not happen. We have not heard much about Siberia since then. The global warmists are a moving target busy ignoring data that don't serve their purpose, digging for those that do, and duping the media with sensational press releases. Clearly, they are not engaged in objective scientific inquiry.

Cha-am Jamal

Thailand

Reference: Warming blamed for collapse of ice bridge, Bangkok Post, April 6, 2009

The headline of the article notwithstanding, the actual text about the observed melting in the Wilkins Ice Shelf (Warming blamed for collapse of ice bridge, Bangkok Post, April 6, 2009) states that the concerned scientsts "believe the warming in the Antarctic Peninsula is related to global climate change although the links are not entirely clear". In other words what we are dealing with is faith not science. A possible reason for the lack of clarity in the links is that it is not possible to ascribe a highly localized phenomenon to things that are allegedly global in nature. The Antarctic Peninsula is a small bit of the Antarctic continent and it is anomalous in more ways than one. Temperature and ice data from the whole of the continent do not support the global warming hypothesis because the continent as a whole is not getting warmer and its total ice content is not decreasing.

Cha-am Jamal

Thailand

Reference: Loophole aids identity theft, Bangkok Post, April 3, 2009

With respect to the ID card musical chairs that are possible in Thailand and the legal loopholes that were demonstrated in a recent case involving a faked death for financial gain (Loophole aids identity theft, Bangkok Post, April 3, 2009), one should note that these loopholes are not unique to Thailand and are rather common all over Asia. As a famous example consider the case of Mr Nguyen Tat Tanh of Vietnam. While in Kunming, China, he purchased the identity card of a dead beggar named Ho Chi Minh allegedly to hide from certain embarrassing political accusations. Later in life, he maintained two identities - one as Ho Chi Minh, Communist Party supremo, and the other as Tran Dan Tien, journalist and writer. It was the very same Tran Dan Tien who was the author of the now famous interview with Ho Chi Minh. This imaginary interview became the source material for later biographies of Ho Chi Minh that served to enshrine him as a national hero. Of course this is not to say that Mr Nguyen Tat Tanh is not deserving of his hero status with or without the help of Mr Ho Chi Minh or Mr Tran Dan Tien.

Cha-am Jamal
Thailand