rametindallas

Wow, a Finance Minister not afraid to tell the unpleasant truth about the economy. What a refreshing change from Yingluck's Finance Minister, Kittirat na Ranong, whose 'little white lie' about the the growth of the Yingluck economy was supposed to build confidence in the Thai economy. His dishonesty shredded his reputation and credibility.

Mr Kittirat told a conference late last week that he had known the earlier target was unachievable. But, he said, “the finance minister needs to lie sometimes to create good feelings. The world knows this as a ‘white lie’. The goal is to create confidence, which in turn benefits the country as a whole.” http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/4f908900-f045-11e1-93fa-00144feabdc0.html#axzz3g52GHtSv

.

"some members of the selection committee did not meet the legal requirements"

This again shows contempt for the majority having people that are appointed for a job that they do not meet the requirements of. We have Surapong who is a qualified doctor yet was appointed Finance minister having no background in finance (medical training does not count as experience in finance) appointing people that did not meet the requirements. It would not surprise me if this poor excuse of a government had appointed a finance analysts as the Health Minister!! Jobs for your mates!!!

This is what happens when you have a man out of his depth. They make il informed, uneducated decisions. By his own words he said "I will try to make the right decisions". Turns out he did try and he was way off the mark.

Go back to doing what you were trained in.

He eventually got an MBA from Chula....

Anyway things are quite different with the current government, as many of them got the necessary military education....

(OK, not the Finance minister)

Getting your MBA after you are no longer Finance Minister is kind of useless to the country, isn't it? Isn't it?

.

Trawling along the bottom to drag up a 10 year old case ( and pretty trivial at that). It's all about a political ban rather than concern about the matter itself. Not in the spirit of reconciliation regardless of the substance of the matter.

Trawling along the bottom to drag up a 10 year old case ( and pretty trivial at that).

Yeah, nothing at all like Yingluck's government going even farther back to challenge Abhisit's exemption from the military to teach, right? Right?

.

"some members of the selection committee did not meet the legal requirements"

This again shows contempt for the majority having people that are appointed for a job that they do not meet the requirements of. We have Surapong who is a qualified doctor yet was appointed Finance minister having no background in finance (medical training does not count as experience in finance) appointing people that did not meet the requirements. It would not surprise me if this poor excuse of a government had appointed a finance analysts as the Health Minister!! Jobs for your mates!!!

This is what happens when you have a man out of his depth. They make il informed, uneducated decisions. By his own words he said "I will try to make the right decisions". Turns out he did try and he was way off the mark.

Go back to doing what you were trained in.

It reminds me of another Surapong who freely admitted he was not qualified to be former PM Yingluck's Minister of Foreign Affairs. His number one credential was that he was a loyal cousin of Lord Valdemort na Dubai. I remember PTP stating they would appoint only the most qualified persons to fill her Cabinet posts. I didn't understand at the time that they meant that loyalty to Thaksin was the number one qualification for appointment.

.

Let's get real here. How on earth can the Nation Newspaper be allowed to carry on, and Peace TV be banned ??

Yes, Thailand has accepted CONSISTENCY in the law. Tha Nation Newspaper is, off-course, the English languae mouthpiece of the Chinese-Thai yellowshirts. Look at the staff of the Nation Newspaper, their names might be Thai, but they all look the same as people who work in your local Chinese Take-Away or restaurant. That's because they ARE a bunch of Chinese, or people who have Chinese ancestry.

Yes, Thailand must either ban the Nation Newspaper because the Nation does actually print stories about the junta that are not favourable. Or if it is going to allow freedom of expression for the Yellowshirts, well, they're going to have to give the Thai-Thais freedom of expression as well. The Thai-Thais, that's the dark-skinned and 'eyes are not so slitty' people, that's the people who make up the redshirts.

Yes, telling the redshirts to shut-up criticising the junta, and allowing the yellow-shirts to voice their criticism, that just makes the system look ridiculous. They could tell both to shut-up, but it would never happen. Nothing can stop the real power in Thailand, and the real power are the minority Chinese-Thais who are also called the Bangkok middle-class by some of the newspapers.

I guess no one bothered to tell you that the Shinawatra family is Chinese-Thai with no Thai blood mixed in. Lord Valdemort na Dubai is nearly as 'square-faced' as Jack Ma, the Chinese founder of Alibaba.com.

I guess no one bothered to tell you that 'The Nation' has been publishing long before there was such a thing as PAD (Yellow Shirts)

I guess no one bothered to tell you that PAD or Yellow Shirts no longer exist because, unlike the UDD, no one is funding them.

I guess no one bothered to tell you that the Red Shirt TV was shut down for inciting discontent and not for "criticising the junta".

Your post, and therefore your attitude, is racist and bigoted against the 40% of Thais who have Chinese ancestry. Your 'facts' aren't logical nor are they correct in any way. I don't mind your obvious bias, but please stop posting your hateful views.

.

I am delighted that Red Shirt TV is back on the air. I hope they can stay within the framework set down by the Powers-that-be. Thailand needs dissenting voices heard publicly. Even if they are toned down, it is a start.

Jatuporn's mouth is his (and the UDD's) worst enemy and his talent is rabble-rousing (something particularly not need in the present situation); certainly there are spokespersons for the UDD cause who are more subtle that this hammer and who are able to drive home some points without getting banned again. I think Isaan and Northern people don't need to be beaten over the head with radical rhetoric to get the message. Can't they find an 'Isaan Abhisit'?

The UDD needs slow down and think about the 'long game'. Every government, even a transitional reform government, needs an opposition to keep them honest.

.

But they need to publish the room number, otherwise some poor Thai might find himself being haunted.

Sadly, many would want the number for the lottery.

.

CAT Telecom returned its unused five MHz on the 1800-MHz spectrum to the NBTC unconditionally for the fourth generation (4G) auction.

CAT's union thought they would hold that 5 MHz for ransom. I guess the PM read them the riot act.

Why has the NBTC been dragging this process out so long; the auction was originally scheduled for this past April? Why do the have to be dragged, kicking and screaming, into the 21st Century? Dirty dealing in the back room I suspect.

4G is much faster and cheaper to operate than 3G so everyone benefits. Bring it on. I think most phones sold on the market are already 4G compliant.

.

Never happen YL and Prayut would not stand a chance.

Here they are,guess who is who!!!!!!!!!!!!!Thai political debate.jpg

From left to right: Tu, Pu, and Mark. Do I get a prize if I'm correct?

.

here is your prize,bar fine paid,enjoy

That is very generous but I must decline... unless you find a brunette as attractive as this one.

.

My very good friend, who is Thai and from royalty (his dad was a prince), moved back to Thailand a few years ago after living in Dallas for longer than 20 years. He still drives on the Thai Driver's License he got when he was 16 and the second day he was back in Thailand, he was stopped for going the wrong way on a one-way street. The police officer took one look at his family name, saluted him, and requested he not drive the wrong way again; no ticket. My friend is also an ex-policeman and though he has been stopped several times he is never ticketed. Only once did he use the power of influence; he told the police officer that he knew the police officer's boss (he didn't) and the police officer, scared to incur the wrath of his boss, let my friend go out of an abundance of caution. Policemen be warned: Respect your betters or suffer the consequences.

IMO, the foremost and top thing on Prayut's Reform List should have been the RTP. They root out crime, but instead of shutting the crime down, they extort money from the criminals and let the crime continue with them getting a share. Ask Chuvit Komolvisit; he paid Bt. 15 million per month to the RTP to operate his 'Massage Parlors'.

Unless this police general if removed from his high position, the questions is: Are the RTP too powerful for Prayut, even with article 44, to tackle? More and more, it looks to be so.

.

Never happen YL and Prayut would not stand a chance.

Here they are,guess who is who!!!!!!!!!!!!!Thai political debate.jpg

From left to right: Tu, Pu, and Mark. Do I get a prize if I'm correct?

.

It would be painful to watch. Abhisit is in a different weight class intellectually and diplomatically.

Yingluck would just look silly. No comment about the other in case I have the BIB at my door 5 am tomorrow.

If he hasn't taken too much 'ear medicine', Pol. Capt. Chalerm could give Khun Abhisit a good debate.

The only way Yingluck would have any chance at giving as good as she got would be if they rigged her up to a mobile phone connected to Lord Valdemort na Dubai, himself, so he could hear the questions and then feed her the rebuttal through her blue tooth ear-bud (Buddha help her if she lost connection).

Since she never debated in the run up to the 2011 election, and never once joined in any of the debates in Parliament, it is ludicrous to think she would participate in any televised debate now.

I would like to see Abhisit ask Prayut some inconvenient questions, though; just to watch him squirm trying to wriggle out of giving a direct answer. I'll bet the PM has almost zero debating skills since the boss never has to debate his juniors.

.

I wouldn't be at all surprised if this DOES go further as there's no love lost between the Military and the Police ... and the "PM" is making lots of changes ... an easy way to get rid of a paid lackey of the wrong side and then move someone else into his place.

He has no place he is retired, he is a former police chief.

I thought he had simply been moved to a position in Chiang Mai last year, or am I out of date?

It was stated when the story first broke that he had retired about two months after being transferred.

.

The hardest thing to swallow about this (and other similar occurances) is that it is so sickening that the entire top echelon of Thailand continues to patronize the entre populous by stating such BS. Knowing full well that most of society is naive and gullable enough to accept anything they say and print.

The difference being that expat residents understand this................and Thai nationals never will.

No Thai bashing intended at all. It's just the way this society is manipulated and kept in their place in the societal hierarchy.

The hardest thing to swallow about this (and other similar occurances) is that it is so sickening that the entire top echelon of Thailand continues to patronize the entre populous by stating such BS

I expect that from Thailand.

What really disappoints me is Japan. They have refused to prosecute a sure fire case of smuggling a weapon and ammunition into Japan, knowingly possessing a weapon and ammunition while in Japan as proved by his moving it from his checked luggage to his carry-on luggage (he said it was in his medicine bag; I use my medicine every day and I would see a gun there), and then attempting to bring a loaded gun into the cabin of a commercial passenger plane through Japanese airport security. Each of these crimes bring guaranteed multi-year prison sentences for you or I if we did that.

Have we heard any justification from Japanese officials why they didn't prosecute Kamronwit?

Did they even confiscate his gun?

What is the reaction in the Japanese press to his release?

Have the Japanese people no opinion?

Why haven't ABAC or NIDA conducted polls on what the Thai people think of this?

There is some very serious monkey business going on here.

.

I wouldn't be at all surprised if this DOES go further as there's no love lost between the Military and the Police ... and the "PM" is making lots of changes ... an easy way to get rid of a paid lackey of the wrong side and then move someone else into his place.

Maybe Thaksin sent word to Prayut that he will keep a low profile for a couple of months if Prayut lets his flunky avoid prosecution. Worse deals than that have been made before.

.

The MP's and other VIP's who bought land near the

proposed canal site,many years ago have been hoping

the canal will one day be built,so they can make a lot of

money.which is why it keeps getting brought up.

regards Worgeordie

There. What you said. That is the ONLY reason I am against the idea. If it weren't for the endemic corruption and inevitable cost overruns, kickbacks, and contracts given to 'friendly' contractors it would be good for Thailand. I really bothers me that 'insiders' get to exploit every government project or policy regardless of who the government is.

.

I hope no one has a problem with Thailand sending the Uighurs to Turkey where there already exists a community of those who have fled previously.

.

here is a better idea. how about the schools pay the teachers proper wages for the extremely difficult jobs they do. then they wont be in debt this much

for the extremely difficult jobs they do

How difficult is it when every student get socially passed to the next grade level when many/most don't even pay attention in class. Just show up for work and collect your pay and even if you don't bother to teach your students anything, the Civil Service will protect your job. Doesn't sound difficult when they have no responsibility to teach or for the students to learn.

.

They should buy some very old cheap subs....good enough

Submarines, even old-style, are extremely complicated and expensive to operate and maintain. Helicopters, by comparison, are child's play and yet the RTA can't keep its helicopter fleet in good, or even safe, condition. The very limited marine borders that can even accommodate submarines make them entirely useless. There are far too many other pressing interests in Thailand for them to spend even one more satang on submarines of any type, including toy ones.

.

"Recently I passed through a drunk-driving checkpoint. I rolled down my window and told them I hadn’t drunk any alcohol"

Yeah, buddy, that's what every drunk says!

.

My mia noi likes red wine and, wine being heavily taxed in the Kingdom, I brought her two five-liter boxes of red wine from California. Because I didn't want to get into trouble, I stopped at the Customs counter to declare the wine. They looked at me as if I were crazy; they had no idea what to do with me. Finally, one of them put their finger to their lips as if to say, "Shhhhhh", and waved me on. I've never bothered to declare again. Thainess.

.

That looks like a very old photo of the dam when it had water. There is not reporting on how much more water came to the dams; usually they tell us to the nearest 100 cubic meters. Oh, well, any rain is better than no rain so it's good, if inadequate, news.

.

From Khaosod English: "Everyone of us accepts the fault for our inappropriate action," said Guitar. "We would like to apologize."

On behalf of all heterosexual males of the world, I accept her apology.

.

Main guests to be invited to the programme include two ex-premiers, Abhisit Vejjajiva and Yingluck Shinawatra.

Yingluck was a hand-puppet for a ventriloquist. No way will she show because she is the most incompetent joke of a Prime Minister in Thailand's history.

.

What needs to be reconciled by all political parties, the royalists and the military (if one doesn't believe the latter two to be political groups) is that the conflict of opinion is the norm for democracy. This maxim is not negotiable by force but only through shared benefit and is often transitory as self-interests invariably shift.

Free Citizens are not soldiers who cannot deviate from a chain of command nor conduct. Democracy is the governance by human nature with all its frailities, inconsistencies, bias and misconceptions. Without conflict of opinion, a society is dulled into robotic intellectualism paralyzed by a lack of free will.

These 14 students give some hope that Thailand will not remain a prison of the mind that is is now but become a botanical monument to freedom.

Well that all depends on whether the students have generated their own thoughts and comments or whether they are being led by clever talkers who have other intentions and aims.

You mean like Yingluck?

.