pimay11

What's in it for Cambodia and Laos? I'll make a stab at answering that:

>>>> the main motivation for SE Asians is money. T has a lot of it, and is willing to spend it on his non-stop self-aggrandizement campaign.

>>>> Fueling T's self-burnishment, also rips Thailand's social fabric. For Cambodia's leaders, a weaker Thailand is advantageous, particularly in lieu of the hassles over the Hindu Temple on their borders.

>>>> It will likely will compel T to spend money in those countries - though much of the investment promises which T makes to small countries, don't manifest. At various times, he's promised investment in Nicaragua, Dubai, several African countries (blood diamonds, anyone?), at least one Pacific island, plus Montenegro, HK, and mansions in Australia and UK. Few of those promised investments actually manifest.

Lots of soft-loans from Thailand?

It worked for Burma.

"There are signs of reconciliation. Everybody wants it... There are signs that I will be able to return home to stay with you," he said

or in other words, as Dept. PM and Interior Minister Yongyuth Wichaidit said

"There is no need for the government to hold dialogue with people who still disagree with key elements of the national reconciliation plan as it has been endorsed by Parliament"

Perhaps I'm not clear about reconcilliation, I thought it meant conversing and exchanging views with people whom you disagree with.

In the real world you are 100% correct. But in PTP's world it is "my way or no way". Case in point is Yongyuth's statement. We don't need no stinkin dialogue with people comes to mind.

Link to Photo of Reds Shirts in Cambodia:

http://www.google.co...b9b.8a1&index=0

A Thaksin Shinawatra supporter.

AFP

It is quite interesting that the red shirts use the foot clappers to show support for Thaksin at their rallies. As we all know, in Thai culture the head is the most sacred part of the body and the feet are the lowest and filthiest. One should never show the soles of the feet to anyone or use the feet to point to anything.

In the attached thumbnail Thaksin's photo is on the sole of the foot. I wonder why that is?

AND 30 current Members of Parliament and Ministers are there to 'pay homage',

I wonder if the messiah allowed them to kiss his ring? The PTP promised transparency and they are certainly delivering on this pilgrimage.

Remember "it's not about Thaksin".

I notice a couple of members state and agree, that a PM job is 24/7/365.

It's a bit hard to be the PM and be in 2 places at once. The Thai Gov and Opposition Gov knew a long time in advance that the PM would be attending these important meetings overseas, as dates would have been set for all PM of the other countries to attend as well. What would you have done in her place?

I agree the dates and times of the meetings were known well in adcance. To my knowledge there is no law on the books that stating a deadline for this charter rewrite decision. Therefore as PM she should have made the decision to pospone the debate until she returns from the overseas meetings. Surely she has that authority.

They seem to be having the debate over the charter every 2 weeks. A bit hard at the last minute to postpone the debate. Further to that, the people who want to hold the debate would have known she was going overseas. Maby they have an alternative motive for having the debate at this time. Have to see what pans out.

Yep time will tell.

Maybe it is within the culture. I was playing a youtube vid of the reds going to meet Thaksin in Laos and my wife walked by and said 'I don't want to watch it'! She will change channel, leave the room etc if anything about Thaksin comes on. She and the rest of the people here despise him, but their response is put your head in a bucket and do nothing. Maybe if people were a little more outraged they may do something, as it is they just ignore a problem that they know exists.

Mine is close to trash the TV when she sees Thaksin.....

Yeah, thats about right, mine walks away rather than have broken appliances all over the house

In our neighbourhood, when Abhisit appears on television, all the children have convulsive fits, the men folk immediately loot the 7-11 for whisky, drink it all and then set fire to bangkok bank ATM's, the women put on 6" heels and shout 'Allo 'Ansum Man at anybody who passes, rice growers plant opium and the tuk tuk drivers self-immolate.

But that's just round our way..............

I'm impressed. They have remembered their training well.

"At this stage, I will continue with the approaches and take appropriate actions. I think that Cambodia must consider that if we want smooth relations between both countries, we should adhere to the directions that we have discussed. Failing to do so, there will be damages," Abhisit said.

The Thai prime minister added, "Now all our units are ready to insist on the stance that I have stated and I will wait for a response from Cambodia before deciding whether soldiers along the border should be reinforced Thursday."

That's fighting talk where I come from....................

Mmmmmmmm

We will burn down the banks, burn down the hospitals, burn down the Government buildings, if one million of us all bring 1 liter of gasoline we will burn Bangkok with a million liters.................................... Kill the soldiers, run them over with your trucks and kill them, then it will only be a road traffic offence!

Now that is fighting talk where I am from !!!

Same here. We must have been neighbors.

I notice a couple of members state and agree, that a PM job is 24/7/365.

It's a bit hard to be the PM and be in 2 places at once. The Thai Gov and Opposition Gov knew a long time in advance that the PM would be attending these important meetings overseas, as dates would have been set for all PM of the other countries to attend as well. What would you have done in her place?

I agree the dates and times of the meetings were known well in adcance. To my knowledge there is no law on the books that stating a deadline for this charter rewrite decision. Therefore as PM she should have made the decision to pospone the debate until she returns from the overseas meetings. Surely she has that authority.

"This is the most exciting moment of my life. When I see him, I want to tell him to fight, fight and to hurry back home," said red shirt Somboon Chaiyasuth, wearing a T-shirt and necklace bearing pictures of a smiling Thaksin.

I wonder if the red shirts languishing away in prison, convicted for crimes they were instructed to commit by Thakin's minions (Jutaporn, Arisman, et al) have the same opinion of the messiah? They have been totally abandoned now that they served their "useful idiot" purpose.

Based on the video on the last page it was barely 1,000 at most.

Even allowing for off screen people it really dwindled at the edges with out a doubt.

Another PR cou[p for the Liege Lord.

NOT!

I have asked for official confirmation of the figures in attendance,in Laos ,from CalgaryII who always seems to have insider knowledge,of such figures and information.

But if it turns out to be only a miserable,paltry 1,000,(about the same amount of bodies, as a decent size Disco) I can't see any Big Welcome Home for the absconded,absent criminal,any time in the near future,and unlikely even a sniffing chance for this year.

I'm expecting your official confirmation reply to be 300,000. Or more.

At lot of red-shirt supporters also turned up outside the hotel waiting to pour water on Thaksin's hands to show their respect for him as part of the Songkran festival.

Former People Party deputy leader Yongyuth Tiyapairat had to organize a group of 20 supporters to enter the hotel at a time to meet Thaksin and take photos with him.

Probably had to make two or three trips then.

Plus of course the red-shirt plepssupporters probably had to wait till dear leader Thaksin had had his breakfast with the 30-odd MPs.

Bottom of the food chain.

Some 30 Pheu Thai MPs pay homage to Thaksin in Vientiane

homage: a feudal ceremony by which a man acknowledges himself the vassal of a lord.

And remember according to the PTP "it's not about Thaksin".

The responsibility for the safe passage of this important piece of policy lies directly at the feet of Yingluck. She must be in Parliament. If she is unable to be there, then passage should be delayed by a few days to allow her to go to this summit and return to preside over the debate. Or she should send Chalerm or a deputy to the summit to represent Thailand and she stays.

Yingluck 'the absent PM' . Her absence acknowledges her inherent weakness in her skills to successfully tackle to Democrats head on. This reminds me of those truck / van drivers that have an accident and then run away so they don't have to face the music.

Why does she have to be in the House for the debate? What would she say that cannot be said by other ministers?

Do you not think that she would be open to an accusation of a conflict of interest should the debate turn to references to Mr. Thaksin?

It is customary for board members, judges and others to recuse themselves from discussions when allegations of conflict of interest could arise.

As expected.

There were really 100,000 people there. It's just that this coupist newspaper is hiding the true facts.

Exactly and I'm sure the resident TVF troll will have photos proving this. Maybe even 300,000.

Better keep an eye on them, in case they start to talk about democracy and removing bloody coup makers from power.

I expect those two topics will not be in the Messiah's speech. It would make his eternal friend uncomfortable.

He confirmed that Phnom Penh would take care of those expenses as well, though he expected "some of it" might be paid back by Thailand's ruling Puea Thai Party.

Thaksin thinks Peua Thai does. I'm sure this expected payback will be discussed in Parliament?

Should be an interesting day for Jatuporn May 18th. I'm sure it is just a coincidence but it could have some relevance:

18th May, 2007 : A four hundred pound gorilla named Bokito escaped from its holding area at the Rotterdam Zoo in the Netherlands.

Give it a rest CalgaryII

You guys still don't get it? He is the troll of this forum and should be ignored.

Absolutely correct. Just ignore him and maybe he will go away. Though I doubt it.

Felt nothing in Udon

I think claiming that she doesn't have any aides available to answer the phone, has to be the biggest cop out. Ironically, they are talking about keeping mobile networks under thai control for national security. Hope no one nicks her phone. Wonder what her password is for her mail?

I guess President Obama has the same problem with his Blackberry as does the PM of Canada.

Um no, as far as I heard they had to give Obama a special high security device to prevent snooping. I wonder if AIS has anywhere near the same capability? It would probably be an achievement to have the entire PM's office using official versions of MS Office, let alone having secure mobile phones. I would suggest that having the PM walking around with a personal unencrypted phone is quite a security risk.

She could leave it here or there, like in a hotel room or something. Not likely that she would ever leave it in the Parliament building though.

http://www.washingto...his-blackberry/

She would have to go to the Parliamant building first. No worries about that.

Probable Yingluck response: "Did I do something wrong I was simply answering a text message. What's wrong with that"?

Ok calling the prime minister of Malaysia the president, fair enough anyone could make that mistake. You'd hope that the leader of a country wouldn't but there you go. However texting at a funeral……

This was not just "a funeral".

I'm sick the media referring to Taskin Shinawatra as the "fugitive former premier". Surely a more accurate description would be "deposed prime minister Taskin Shinawatra".

Where I come from it is know as "calling a spade a spade".

Fugitive: Running away or fleeing, as from the law.