rametindallas

I just got off the phone with my friend who's waiting to get a contract with the RTA and he says the budget has NOT come out yet. The original article says 'planned' so I'm not so sure this is really going to happen; especially considering the source. Sometimes people make positive statements to build momentum as though something were inevitable. 1.1 billion Dollars for an antiquated military design that won't/can't be used in 90% of Thai waters is extravagant even by Thai military standards. Since the RTA controls the purse strings and they have no special love for the RTN, I doubt the submarine deal will pass final approval. A lot of yes-when-I-mean-no-but-won't-say-no-to-spare-your-feelings/reputation face saving going on at the moment. Sure some admirals in the Navy will be disappointed but what can they do about it, really. You know the RTA is going to spend money on its own projects before it gives the RTN 1.1 billion Dollars.

.

How was his car parked? Sitting half way out into the lane of a fast moving highway with no flashing lights on at night like we see all the time here?

From the photos in post #32, it looks like a possibility the policeman was nose in (to the curb)/tail out (to the street) as the damage was to his right rear and the damage on her car was left front. If he was parked like that with no parking lights or emergency flashers on, it is possible that anyone could have hit him. If he was parked close to the curb when hit, it seems that his car would have been pushed onto the sidewalk from being hit at that angle. It does look like she was going fast, though. Does anyone know the typical speeds on that street at that time of night? I'll let the police investigators decide whether to charge her for reckless driving, negligent homicide, or DUI as there is not enough information in either the OP or the videos for me to know. Since this is Thailand, under the laws of Karma this incident was bound to happen.

.

Looks like she has now made it to the police station.

pic from Sanook.com

People who are drunk don't usually have such good posture. People can be inattentive for reasons other than intoxication. She looks distraught, not drunk. She was steady on her feet in the video, also. This is a tragedy for all concerned.

.

Japanese prosecutors to take another 10 days to decide whether to prosecute Kamronwit

I think the Japanese are going to prosecute Mr. Kamronwit to the maximum and the extra ten days delay, for what seems like an open and shut case, is a courtesy to give Kamronwit's supporters time to settle down and let the reality sink in that his goose is cooked.

He couldn't have broken their gun laws any more even if he tried (short of shooting someone while there). 1) He illegally smuggled a handgun, with ammunition, into the country 2) He kept possession of said illegal handgun, with ammunition, during his entire stay in Japan 3) He attempted to board a passenger plane in Japan with not only a gun but a loaded gun and not just in his checked luggage but in his carry on bag where he would have access to a loaded handgun during his entire flight.

Really, could it be any more against their laws than this? If they don't punish him severely (remember he is no longer connected to a Thai government in power so there is no diplomatic courtesy involved), they will be setting a very bad precedent. And on top of all that, Kamronwit is not Japanese but a foreigner and the citizens of Japan will not be happy if the Japanese government treats this case lightly. My prediction is he will serve at least five years of his 15 year sentence in Japan and serve the remaining 10 years in a Thai prison. Sometimes Karma doesn't wait for your next life.

.

The rice scheme money that may / may not have been siphoned off into her accounts is still under investigation, and she hasn't exactly made a good attempt at an explanation yet. Everytime she is pressed about it see sends in a lackey with another excuse to delay / confuse matters even further.

In a country with the rule of law one doesn't have to explain anything. The prosecutor has to make charges with great granularity and specificity. "This happened on that date, right here and I'm here to prove it."

I haven't seen where she's been charged with anything with specificity, not even as charged with negligence. When, where and what date?

This would either get laughed out of a first world court, or the prosecutor would get busy with detailed and specific charges. This process is a travesty, even if a proper process would find her guilty of some crime.

Since when is Thailand a country with the rule of law? If the powers that be want her in prison, she will go to prison; if they want her to flee the country, she will flee the country. Reality in other countries doesn't apply. Are you new to Thailand?

.

"Kamronwit's arrest raised concerns among Thai officials that Suvarnabhumi Airport staff may have failed to spot the firearm in Kamronwit's belongings, or provided him with VIP treatment.

Sirote Duangrat, the airports director, dismissed the speculation in a press conference today."

Is this Airport Director a retard, inbred or just plain stupid ... ? Why dont he just admit that his staff overlooked the loaded gun instead of getting in to all these lies and nonsens stories like "they had 6 months training" - more likely 6 minutes ...

We still didnt hear anyone take any kind of responsibility for this idiotic misery ... not the useless RTP nor Swampy admits anything

I really hope ICAO have their eyes on this case as the safety in Swampy is like stealing candy from a baby - We wait for the punishment, better sooner than later

Once Again RTP has disgraced Thailand ...

Ahhh, the ICAO. You bring up a good point. I'll bet they'll be very interested in how Khun Sirote accepts responsibility and puts serious changes into effect.... or not. Khun Sirote did not do himself any favors by destroying his credibility and the ICAO will not be so quick to take him at his word for anything. "Proof, sir, we need proof". LoL

Once Again RTP has disgraced Thailand

Does this mean they can strip retired Pol. Gen. Kamronwit of his rank?

.

Well he won't be wearing all his uniform and badges plus Thaksins medal where he is at the moment.

More like police station cell garb. No shoes,belts etc and all alone with four walls and a stainless steel toilet pan.

The message that he is facing problems must have sunk in by now. Not even the son from Bangkok allowed to see him.

"Hoist on his own petard" W. Shakespeare Act III, Scene IV of Hamlet

Once he discovered that he had 'accidentally' brought the gun into Japan, he seems to have thought he could just take it back home (in his carry-on bag no less) and the Japanese authorities would be happy to see the gun leave Japan. Putting it back in his checked luggage would, at least, give him some chance of avoiding detection but bringing a loaded gun, of any caliber, into the cabin of a passenger plane (unless you are an Air Marshall) is an ultimate no-no. A wise man, realizing his mistake upon arrival in Japan, would throw the gun away where it would never be found. How much is that gun worth, even sentimentally, that he would risk arrest for it? He should spend some time in jail for being terminally stupid. I think his name is going on a world-wide watch list and every time he travels outside of Thailand he will face extra security checks. A conviction may get him banned from some countries.

.

"Kamronwit's arrest raised concerns among Thai officials that Suvarnabhumi Airport staff may have failed to spot the firearm in Kamronwit's belongings, or provided him with VIP treatment.

Sirote Duangrat, the airport’s director, dismissed the speculation in a press conference today."

Is this Airport Director a retard, inbred or just plain stupid ... ? Why dont he just admit that his staff overlooked the loaded gun instead of getting in to all these lies and nonsens stories like "they had 6 months training" - more likely 6 minutes ...

We still didnt hear anyone take any kind of responsibility for this idiotic misery ... not the useless RTP nor Swampy admits anything

I really hope ICAO have their eyes on this case as the safety in Swampy is like stealing candy from a baby - We wait for the punishment, better sooner than later

Once Again RTP has disgraced Thailand ...

Ahhh, the ICAO. You bring up a good point. I'll bet they'll be very interested in how Khun Sirote accepts responsibility and puts serious changes into effect.... or not. Khun Sirote did not do himself any favors by destroying his credibility and the ICAO will not be so quick to take him at his word for anything. "Proof, sir, we need proof". LoL

Once Again RTP has disgraced Thailand

Does this mean they can strip retired Pol. Gen. Kamronwit of his rank?

.

I believe that what we are presently seeing and reading about this incident is the clean-up procedure after

the .The Thai officials are dealing with the Japanese police and legal system, which, unfortunately for Kamronwit, is far superior in all aspects to what passes as a police farce in this country. There will not be any fat brown envelopes and a session of Thai wais and bowing and scraping in this case.

It would seem PM Prayut has already blown his top, especially given the international condemnation of Thailand's lax security at airports and aircraft maintenance etc. No doubt Kamronwit will somehow get leniency, but it certainly could not have happened to a nicer man.

No doubt Kamronwit will somehow get leniency

Even if he is released with a reprimand, his friends will never let him forget this dumb move and it will be a major part of his legacy and will follow him the rest of his life. You are so right, "it certainly could not have happened to a nicer man."

.

I wonder if this prominent politician "Sir" had to meet in HK because he isn't allowed in Thailand? Maybe he is stuck in the desert somewhere? Didn't make enough from the rice scheme? Have to try another way to get every last baht from the Thai people? Needs to set up a new political party? Makes you say hmmmmm?

Let's see, there are impeachment proceeding against the bulk of the PTP MPs and the Party itself will almost surely be banned; so, yes, I imaging he is putting out feelers for the possibility of a new party to be his proxy government. Will the new party succeed? Not with it being exposed 'in-utero' as being formed/financed by one person. It will certainly not be a 'grass roots' party though it may try to masquerade as one. This is getting interesting as people who are being left out are telling everyone what was offered.

On a side note, I dearly wish the people of Isaan had some real representation in Parliament but they are captive to their sell-out 'pu yai baans' (village leaders) and 'kamnans' (district leaders).

.

the governement is not trusting it own people ?

illegal gambling has been going once since ... ?

but a legal system is bad ?

mhhhh, who profits from this ill situation ?

Right now the casinos benefit many mafia and many police who get a cut to look the other way. This group wants all the money from gambling to flow into their pockets; they want a state-approved monopoly.

.

Hmm wonder where the 10 billion came from?

Who do people go to Hong Kong to meet to get special favors and also has Bt. 10 billion to spare? Answer that and you answered your own question. I'll give you a hint: his official residence is in a sandy place.

.

Ahhh the apologist's are conspicuously absent, were are ya guy's? hellooooooo!!!!

The OP is quite a well written peace regarding a subject touched upon on a daily/weekly occasion here and the responses are basically the same, criticized for a lack of vision, transparency, justification and a repression of freedom of speech, yet these guy's don't seem to get the message, all the while the PM publicly saying he has to teach the reporters what they can do and what they can't do while claiming he has never censored the media.

The tactic has been the same for a VERY VERY long time,,, control information, control the people, just these guy's are either not very good at it, or they haven't yet decided just how to impose it without looking like a repressive power to the rest of the world? and how to impose it without a domestic backlash?

What's to apologize for? He is a typical Pu Yai moron who thinks his feces smell like perfume and don't dare burst his bubble. This is a non-news story unless/until he is given permission to do what he suggests. All of this stems from General Suchart thinking the reporters are mai hai kiat (not showing respect) by not being krieng jai (krieng jai = not putting someone in an awkward or uncomfortable position) enough to his hero, the PM. He is also a kiss-ass, sucking up to PM Prayut as he wants to 'protect' Prayut from potentially embarrassing questions. This is what is wrong with this country; everyone afraid of authority and the authorities want to keep it that way. This general is trying to intimidate without any authority hoping to make 'brownie' points with the PM. I think the PM is thicker skinned than that (though not much) and this will never happen. Can you imagine how the world press would report these 're-education' sessions? PM Prayut may be a lot of things but he is not that stupid. To even report what this general, who has no power to do what he suggests, says is inflammatory in itself. Why isn't General Suchart's position in the government or power to act mentioned; the OP only refers to him as a senior Army general? I imagine if a newspaper in the US interviewed a number of senior officers in the US, they would come across similar fascist types.

.

I was caught with a knife in my bag ,told them it passed through Thai scan , nice man grinned ,confiscated it ,and I flew back here , Fishing Trip nearly went wrong. experts are they at Swampy?..

I was headed to Bangkok from Dallas when Narita Airport security found a knife in a carry-on bag of a passenger that came from either Dallas or San Jose (or worse, from some airport that fed passengers to those two international airports). Obviously US security is no better than Thailand's. When I was boarding, the Japanese were conducting random bag checks and pat-downs. The poor girl was so shy she only patted down my upper body and not very thoroughly at that. Airport security is a joke as You Tube is full of videos on how to beat the system. Airport administrators are lying when they say security is good.

.

I'll eat my hat if those scandalous, way overpriced CTX scanners have been re-calibrated or even serviced since they were installed. It's called Security Theater in the US; they pretend to protect us at our expense/inconvenience and we, at least some of us, feel safer. If Kamronwit's son really is in Japan showing paperwork that the gun was legally bought in Thailand, then the headline makes the airport's director, Sirote Duangrat, look like a lying fool trying to cover-up the laxness of security at the airport he is responsible for. "Face". You have to laugh at the ridiculous lengths these guys will go to save it.

"Thai Airport Says Ex-Cop Arrested in Japan Didn't Bring Gun from Thailand". Then in the OP he goes on to quote him explaining how the gun really could have come through security but that it was not really a danger to the plane. You can't have it both ways, Khun Sirote. Either you claimed the gun didn't come from Thailand or you can sue the newspaper for misquoting you. Since Thailand has such a long history of reporters being scared to challenge patently BS statements by authorities, this has led to the authorities making the most inane comments as no one will point out to them how stupid it sounds (krieng jai - the act of never putting someone in and awkward or uncomfortable position), so they go blithely through life thinking they fooled everyone. Krieng jai is holding this country back as much as anything as there is no criticism; no criticism means there is no motivation for critical thinking. No critical thinking leads to poor planning... you see where I'm going with this?

.

Navy Chief, "But, but, but I haven't got my submarines, yet".

If this project is economically feasible, offer to give a free, long-term lease for terminals/docks space and let the construction costs and ferry boat costs be 100% private. When private businesses doesn't think of this first, it is most likely a government boondoggle. A Billion Baht leaves lots of room for 'skim'; then there are cost overruns, and people paying for the privilege to join the boondoggle. This project could be very profitable... for the transport minister.

.

Will casinos ever be part of Thailand's landscape?

Casinos are already in most neighborhoods where there are enough gamblers. So the real question is: will government sanctioned casinos be ever be a legal part of Thailand's landscape. One key word is 'ever'; that means before the end of time. So, the answer is, yes. Some time in the future, Thailand will have legal casinos everywhere. The other key word is 'landscape' which means casinos everywhere. Combine that with the word 'ever' and the answer is, yes. Sometime in the future Thailand will have legal casinos everywhere.

I worked in a casino for three years; the last six months as a Black Jack dealer. They do help the tax base but Mississippi is not Thailand and Thailand is the 88th most corrupt country out of 192 listed. I can't see the whole process not being abused by the connected to launder their money and also to skim off cash before it is reported to the government. Any government watch-dog will either be threatened or bribed to not watch too closely.

Never forget, This is Thailand.

This does not take into account that it will be easier to feed gambling addictions. Gambling is not called a 'vice' for nothing. Should the government be promoting vice? Should the Nat. Pol. Chief be promoting the legalization of vice?

.

According to reports, it's a .22 Magnum. Interesting side note: Back in the '80's I had a very close "acquaintance" who worked as a real life hitman for the Mafia in Chicago. His weapon of choice for up close jobs - .22 Magnum. Of course, it didn't help him much when 3 of his "competitors" took him out with .45 autos. 555

BKK Post had a photo of it or a similar weapon, a 22 magnum 5 shot revolver. A lot bigger than the photo already posted on this site.

In his defence it was suggest the gun was the size of a Mercedes key.

They must think that means it is a harmless toy not something designed to maim or kill.

The .22 Magnum round enters one part of the body and then tumbles and tumbles, causing massive destruction of tissue, before stopping or exiting up to a meter away from the entry point. It is in no way harmless and it was designed to maim or kill. As Just1Voice pointed out, it is a preferred choice for assassinations. All bullets are designed to maim or kill or what's the point of having them?

BTW, there is no defense for bringing a firearm, of any size/caliber, onto a commercial airliner. His actions were plain stupid.

.

"An elderly man who could easily be forgetful' He's only 60 years of age, if that's 'elderly' in this day and age I must be positively ancient. Forgot my arse!

I am so sorry you forgot yoir arse, it is located between the top of your legs and the small of your back ;-). Hope this helps?

What he forgot was a 'comma'.

.

Im sorry I might be missing something here... why would a retired policeman on a business trip to Japan to view a waste burning power plant even contemplate packing a gun and taking it on commercial flight whether in luggage or carry on.... what possible motive/ driver/ intention/ need would an invited business guest need for a handgun in Japan..

I could somewhat understand this scenario if it was in bottom of his bag .. a relic from his yesteryear activities but he has admitted to packing it prior and then repacking it in Japan into his medicine bag that if I read correctly went into his hand held luggage

I could understand even have a modicum of sympathy if this was a situation where it was unknown by himself that it was in his bag.....i.e I forgot completely it was in there/ old bag I used to use years ago when i was on the force sort of thing ...... but he has obvious cognisance of its existence by virtue of the repack process in Japan and his reported statement that he consciously packed it prior to departure and thus has knowingly tried to board a commercial flight packing a firearm.......

This just doesn't make sense to me in any way . Im not normally a subscriber to conspiracy theories but its almost like he wanted to get caught on return leg hence transferring gun to his carry on luggage where he would have known the screening capability was far greater than what checked luggage receives....... why ??? Who benefits who loses from this if indeed he did want to get apprehended on the return leg.....

Assuming he didn't know he inadvertently brought it into Japan, why, when he discovered the gun didn't he just throw it away in a river immediately and certainly before leaving to go back to Thailand? He's certainly wealthy enough to buy a replacement gun when he got back to Thailand. Why did he feel the need to keep it? Instead of Kamronwit, his new nickname is 'Nit wit'.

.

Oh my god I hope it doesn't effect the paint when they are washing their cars.

Water use restrictions should be placed on water use in BKK and other cities and towns immediately if not sooner to prevent the gross waste of valuable water that happens now,

In spite of the negativity posted desalination is the way to go it is working in California, Israel and many other places including Saudi Arabia which gets 70% of its fresh water from desalination. These plants also produce electric power.

Farmers had a traditional use of the river water long before the cities grew to the stage they were sucking the water out from under the farmers, they as the food producers must have priority.

Those who know nothing about farming keep parroting the same things, farmers should grow something else, they shouldn't plant crops. When you learn something about these non-options then post.

As long as the city has water the farmers can starve as far as they are concerned.

Those places you cited as successfully using desalination are chronically dry. Thailand is chronically wet. Desalination would rarely be needed making it cost ineffective. If the 'Desalination Scheme' works out like the Hopewell Project or Swampy (desalination for 8.5 million people is a huge undertaking and hugely expensive to build and run), it will be many years in the making, built with substandard materials, have huge cost overruns, and not be maintained properly. In other words, another Thai boondoggle.

I am opposed to anything that raises costs to farmers as those costs just get passed along to the consumer; so farmers should not have to pay for water. They wouldn't have water rationing now except someone got scared after the 2011 floods and didn't allow the already built dams to fill back up to capacity.

I grew up on a farm and we grew tung-nut trees before I was born (it was sheep before that) and a dairy when I was young and then my dad switched to nursery farming before he passed away. Changing crops is common practice in the developed world and is good for the soil. Mono-culture is an ugly word to modern farmers as it depletes the soil requiring more and more fertilizer which runs off into the waterways. By rotating crops, different nutrients are taken out by each different crop but add different nutrients when they are plowed under. Crop rotation can help maximize crop yield potential; there is often a “yield bump” for crops grown in rotation. http://www.sandsofiowa.com/images/E0240401/CropRotationBenefits91914.pdf

Predictable El Nino weather patterns give farmers lots of advance notice to prepare for growing a crop that is not rice. The alternative is to not plant anything during El Nino years and that is not good for the farmers. Right now, because the dams are at 30 year lows, even if Bangkok didn't need Chao Praya River water, there is still insufficient water to grow more than one crop of rice a year in many regions. Some areas of Thailand are not experiencing drought (40 provinces are; 25 are not) and those farmers can grow rice to their heart's desire. It's the farmers who are growing rice on marginally suitable land that requires extensive irrigation that will not, no matter what Bangkok does, have enough water for their usual two or sometimes three crops per year. Those are the farmers who need to be helped. Transitioned not subsidized.

The government can take some of the money they save not building a 'needed once a decade' desalination plant and help those farmers in marginal rice growing areas to get the knowledge and equipment to grow a less water intensive secondary crop that could even be more profitable than rice; hopefully something they can export to help with the balance of trade.

.

Thailand should conceder investing in desalination of sea water plants, yes, they're very expensive

to set up and they will pay for them selves in the long run, however, Thailand is known for a short

time solutions for most of it's problems while throwing piles of monies ate a farmers and industries

year after year with no long time results...

this drought have been happening many time over and will happened over and over again, and

only new thinking and new investments will save the day for generations to come...

San Diego CA is spending more than a billion US dollars on a desalination plant to supply fresh water to 1.3 million inhabitants (nearly 25,000 Baht per person). Bangkok has more than 8.5 million residents and the capacity would need to be 6 and a half times greater and the cost would be more than 10 times greater because of graft and corruption. During the wet, normal years, when the plants aren't needed, they, almost certainly, would not be maintained properly and then wouldn't work during the next drought.

A better solution would be to suspend water intensive farming and be ready to switch, temporarily, to other crops during these predictable El Nino years. Of course, this would take forward thinking by whatever government was in power and even forward thinking would be perverted by the Feudal Lords who control the Provinces outside of Bangkok. Dry spells don't often happen in the central plains that feed the Chao Praya River so, IMO, it would be a waste of money to build seldom used, expensive desalination plants that would only be needed every ten years and then, only if the dams hadn't been managed properly. Thailand usually has lots of rain and there are many dams; they just aren't managed with future forecasts in mind. To my thinking it is more an administration failure than a weather failure. El Ninos are predicted years in advance. Typhoons, like the ones responsible for the extra rain in 2011, are not predictable and flood protection should be a higher priority. Floods far outnumber droughts and cause much more economic losses.

.

Thailand will not get past/over Thaksin as long as he is alive and pulling the strings of dissension. He has agents spread throughout the Civil Service, RTP, RTA, and many elite cronies who want to go back to feeding at the trough of the public treasury. Until Thaksin and his minions are neutralized, any reforms will paper reforms only and will never be put into effect. There will never be a reformed Thailand as long as Thaksin can prevent it. Why does the writer suggest everyone look past Thaksin when Thaksin, himself, seeks to be in the news and on people's minds? He is not old, he is extremely wealthy, he knows how to buy loyalty, and, though his actions may be underground right now, you can believe he is very active trying to subvert the current government and their reforms; his supporters wouldn't want it any other way. If the Prayut government succeeds, Thaksin fails; so he is frantically working against this government. I don't want Thaksin to be the 'elephant in the room that no one talks about' because there IS an elephant in the room and it need to be removed to make room for new, uncorrupted politicians to become the new leaders Thailand needs. If Thaksin were out of the picture, Thailand would be much better off and much further along the path to having a government that is responsive to the people and not to some want-to-be 'President for Life' like his good friend, the thug, Hun Sen. President of Thailand: that is Thaksin's ultimate goal and he will stop at nothing to achieve it. I'm certainly not going to stop writing about him.

.

Many good points in the article, but sure lost me in the rewrite of history in the last paragraph.

" we have to let go of the ghost of one particular man, in the same vein that post-war Japan let go of the carnage wreaked by nuclear bombs and found a new and prosperous path. The Japanese rolled up their sleeves and got down to the business of rebuilding their nation and shaping their future, and never once looked back."

History describes Japan's success a little differently and includes a democratically elected government that was overthrown by a military junta, that led the nation down the road to ruin, culminating in the destruction of two cities by atomic weapons. The Japanese road to recovery begin after WW2 and a democracy was reinstated.

It took an American Military Dictatorship to bring true democracy to Japan and break the power of the fascists that gave their allegiance to the Emperor.

.

.........and whether 'Anti-Thaksin Activist' is considered a positive or negative classification.

There are many powerful factions within, and peripheral to, the US government. Dr. Thaksin has a long association (since before he was PM) with the Carlyle Group which are mostly Republican. Since the current President is a Democratic, but uninterested in foreign policy as it cuts into his golf time, it could be that the current US government is playing those CG Republicans off anti-Thaksin Thais as a bargaining chip or just to piss them off. There are definitely no moral or ethical reasons for the US government to act one way or another as they have neither morals or ethics; it is all politics. Imagine, having the Acting Ambassador prominently posing with an acknowledged anti-Thaksin supporter and then, imagine who that bothers. It's all a game to those <deleted>. Next week they could withdraw the invitation if it suited their agenda.

.

regarding "golf time" or what ever,

Q: Is it true that George W. Bush took more vacation days than Barack Obama?

A: Yes. Before his two-week trip to Martha’s Vineyard in August, Obama’s count was 125 full or partial days and Bush’s total at the same point in his presidency was 407.

You've got your head so far up his ass, tell me, does Obama have any polyps? I insulted Geo. Bush when he was president so stop getting so defensive for the Kenyan.

.

The incident is completely embarrassing. Yes, human error was involved, but that isn't really the issue. The address label demonstrates that the US Embassy maintains an address list on its database in Bangkok that designates Thai politicians by their allegiance to Thaksin. As a US citizen, I am mortified. The embassy's mission is diplomatic, not political. This is exactly the type of meddling which made me disapprove of the appointments of Kristie Kenney and Dannel Russel. I wish Mr. Murphy the best of luck in repairing the damage caused by neophytes who don't understand the concept of a diplomatic mission.

US embassy in Paris is 'home to secret spy nest' http://www.thelocal.fr/20150624/us-embassy-in-paris-home-to-secret-spy-nest

It's what embassies do.

.