stevotoo

I would like to know how much water was behind the dams before the heavy rains started. You would hope they would have been drained but is it a possibility that they were already full, maybe to maximize electricity production?

Will they display fake reds, fake yellows, fake army, and chocolate policemen etc?

The Customs service would scramble as soon as they got wind of it

Another worry- perhaps a bigger one, is how and where will the nuclear waste be transported?

By road through Bangkok to Laem Chabaeng? (Another health risk for MapTaphut and everywhere between Nakhon Sawan and the port)

By rail... I hope not, given the recent accidents

It often gets stronger after an election- but such an indecisive election result may have the opposite effect. The effect of the election is a lesser factor than the Greek problem which will undermine all european currencies. This, combined with light at the end of the tunnel in Thailand, will probably mean even cheaper pounds.

Are the armoured vehicles they are waiting for a vital part of the 'roadmap to reconciliation'?

It shouldn't be parliament that changes the constitution.

It should people from all sides and all groups that have an input into the make up, and then for the people to vote on it.

So, who chooses the people who amend the constitution? How do they decide how many of each group should attend? Doesn't that affect the outcome? Suryud's constitution was passed by a referendum- but how many people understood the distinctions between the old and the new, and the ramifications of that constitution?

You are right but the point is: Will Democrats, Prem and army accept the result of any election?

Based on past experience, I doubt it.

Anyone who think only the Redshirts can do wrong is living in cloud cuckoo-land.

And those who think the redshirts can do no wrong aren't any better

and those that think both sides are dangerous, dictatorial and incompetent are probably in a majority

There has been an undeclared civil war since the coup in 2006. This article is 4 years too late.

Very sad situation here in Thailand.

You are very wise but at this time, in 2006, there was some things we could not tell (and still cannot tell in this forum). Nowadays, the whole world knows and writes that "The Thai political system has broken down"... so only one solution: amend it.

There lies the problem. Who has the legitimacy to change it? How can they do it when there is not a functional parliament?

Ronald McDonald for PM!

Would it be any different? A puppet in the hands of big business?

I am not sure the progaganda offensive will work in the long term- Personally, it makes me want to disbelieve everything I hear now-. It reminds me of the Iraqi propaganda during the invasion of Iraq... hospitals... schools...innocent victims...human shields... women and children...concealed weapons...blah blah blah

Mc Donald's have reassured customers that the shop will remain open and it will not affect the quality of service- you will still have to wait 10 minutes for a burger and 5 minutes after you have finished your burger to get your fries as normal.

Just on BBC - a Thai soldier killed by protesters today. Those peaceful Red shirts at work.

they said he was shot by a policeman- a friendly fire accident

You see a policeman galloping towards you, you tend to run.

Or shoot the horse.

Good point- horses are not so good against M79s

The problem is, he's not doing anything. I just cannot understand why Thai police don't have horses. During the Poll Tax riots in London in 1990, the police were far outnumbered by protesters. The police charged them on their horses and won the day. You see a policeman galloping towards you, you tend to run.

And the Poll Tax riots brought down the government

If the government 'has been trying to get them to lose popular support' (as you say), then why would the gov't withhold key info that implicates the Reds in murder?

This is the point I was making- I am surprised that they don't take this opportunity if they have the evidence

You're missing the point entirely. The reason the report isn't being published at this time, is the people who wrote the report don't want to be targeted and harmed. Plus, the gov't has strategies that we T.Visaites don't know about. They're probably gathering evidence to bust and jail the perpetrators. If the weapons firers knew all that the gov't knows, then they would flee and hide faster than they're going to (later on).

I agree that the reason may be that they do not want to issue details that might predjudice a subsequent court case

Zeinab Badawi the Hard Talk interviewer is pretty pathetic , she couldnt even get her facts right on the elections since the coup in 2006. Abhisist destroyed her poor questions, Needed better researchers on that BBC programme

She didn't explore the military reshuffle issue either

You do understand that the topics for discussion are pre-agreed before taping?

Maybe it should be called 'Quite Hard Talk' then

Zeinab Badawi the Hard Talk interviewer is pretty pathetic , she couldnt even get her facts right on the elections since the coup in 2006. Abhisist destroyed her poor questions, Needed better researchers on that BBC programme

She didn't explore the military reshuffle issue either

Does anyone have any ideas why the report about the trajectory of the grenades at Sala Daeng is top secret? Suthep said soon after the event that they were fired from behind the Rama 4 statue near the gates of Lumpini Park. If the report substantiated this claim, why would there be a need to keep it 'top secret'? Unless it showed that they were not fired from there... I think we should be told

Reason: Ms Porntip and other authorities are familiar with how Thai rowdies think. They know that by publishing info that might implicate a violence-prone side in punishable offenses - could yield harmful repercussions. In other words, Reds (and no-colors) who see proof that the grenades were launched from within their ranks may well go out to harm the messengers.

Thaksin himself did that sort of thing: Whenever a report (from Amnesty Int'l or others) came out which cast Thailand in a bad light, T would immediately cast aspersions at the source of the report. He would never ever admit any mistakes, for him or people close to him. The Reds, who are a direct offshoot of T, think the same way. That's why the writer of the open Letter to Weng (this morning) was so careful in what he wrote, and admitted he was unsure whether to write the letter at all - because, as he said, he was concerned the Reds might harm him, his family and his property - if he said anything that might offend them.

The same Reds who, for months, have not allowed Abhisit or his close aides to travel and speak in some parts of Thailand. So much for the 'democracy' and 'peaceful rallies' they talk about.

No wonder the Reds are dropping their red shirts, they're realizing their cause is sinking. Actually the real reason is they want to blend back and avoid responsibilities for their harmful actions. Wait a moment 'avoid responsibilities' (?) ....do Thais do such a thing? Pardon me for insinuating.

If they announced that the evidence proved that they were fired from the red shirt encampment, the protesters would be shown to be involved in acts of violence and they would lose a lot of popular support- this is exactly what the government has been trying to do all along.

Does anyone have any ideas why the report about the trajectory of the grenades at Sala Daeng is top secret? Suthep said soon after the event that they were fired from behind the Rama 4 statue near the gates of Lumpini Park. If the report substantiated this claim, why would there be a need to keep it 'top secret'? Unless it showed that they were not fired from there... I think we should be told

You also have to remember the popularity he gained in Thailand during the crackdown.

It was only when criticisms came from outside Thailand that people realised that it may not be as it seemed.

What he did was to allow the police to kill anyone they didn't like, anyone who knew too much and anyone who was suspected of being involved in drug distribution. This was very popular amongst the police who are now showing a degree of loyalty to him.

Does anyone else (apart from the current governement) think that Aung San Suu Kyi is on Thaksins payroll?

I don't think so.

The problem with the region in general is that there is a transition from feudal politics towards more representative forms of government. The downside is that in countries where the traditional rulers have been removed, the replacement (ie Lao, Cambodia, Vietnam, Malaysia, Myanmar) has been a new breed of oppressive and dictatorial elite. People have never been allowed to think, to have opinions and tend to follow whoever buys them or controls them. The result is either self-appointed and self-perpetuating dictatorship or elected dictatorship. In each country there is an establishment propaganda machine, opposition is 're-educated', repressed or eliminated and a firm grip is maintained using military power.

It is a money politics culture- both TRT/PPP/PT and the Democrats see power as a means to greater wealth The establishment have made token efforts from the very beginning of 'democracy' and Thaksin won their hearts with populist policies; neither truly represents the people - both have been dictatorial, both have been corrupt, both have committed human rights abuses and both have bought votes and 'demanded' loyalty.

- the question is which side is more likely to bring a better deal to the vast majority of oppressed and exploited people.

For the political culture to develop, greater and better education is the key- why has it not happened?

The answer lies in the fact that the system is designed to favour the few over the many-

public universities were set up to provide education for the gifted and disadvantaged but have been hijacked by the elite-top 4 university places go to those who can afford and are accepted by socially-selective tutorial schools which teach compensating strategies for entrance exams, and jobs in those universities go to people of the same kind.

How many people get top jobs because of what they know rather than who they know?

The age and patronage culture ensures that change is slow, methods are backward and that power and wealth is consolidated in the hands of the few.

This is feudal and for Thailand to move forward in the modern world it needs to change.

Take a look at the front pages of both English language newspapers- one says that the reds aim to overthrow the monarchy and the other claims that the pictures of Thaksin are doctored which 'proves' that he must be seriously ill- were they written to provide us with valuable news or to add fuel to divisive rumours ?

It sounds like desparation to me

What right do Red protesters have to stop ordinary citizens and search them? Who appointed them the moral authority in Thailand? It is not their place to harass and intimidate people. Why doesn't the government bring back some semblance of order to the country? If the Reds stop a police convoy complete with prisoner transport trucks the police ought to start filling those trucks, arrest these people. They are not agents of the government, they have no business blocking police or civilians. Is it acceptable for these vigilantes to start detaining people? Can they beat them and search them with no cause? It is only a matter of time before a driver runs down someone manning these illegal roadblocks. Do the police have to wait until more people die before they take back their job?

Lazarus,

They just want to ensure that yellow/other shirts don't come into their camp carrying weapons. Most of the supposed red shirt violence is actually caused by trouble making yellows who smuggle weapons into the red camp to discredit the reds...

University lecturer complain red shirts try to search students' test papers

I have been searching through student exam papers for years and I can assure them that they will not find anything seditious or dangerous there- just fashion accessories, my holiday to Hua Hin, Korean boy bands and other such drivel