Misterwhisper

That entire Yingluck hysteria reminds me of the time when her brother first raised his "Thai Rak Thai" banner and the whole country broke out in Thaksin frenzy as he promised Thailand golden times. Many souls soon calmed down rather quickly and became disillusioned when they realized that all those mega projects were riddled with corruption and "irregularities", that Thaksin was systematically filling important state posts with his cronies and family members, gagged the press, embarked on a disastrous "War on Drugs" and was well on his way to establish a quasi-dictatorship with himself as the one and only authority.

I can't help but experience a feeling of deja vu when observing the current Yingluck-mania: "Same same, but (not so) different", so to speak.

Well, perhaps we should give Yingluck a chance to prove that she's not her brother's clone. And if things should turn out badly, we can still stage a coup. Then we go through a few more or less legitimate governments until the next self-styled Messiah emerges who can be worshipped by those who never learn from the past, at which point the cycle closes and starts all over again.

"They are led to believe that their poverty is going to be a thing of the past."

Led to believe... that is the key phrase.

But how could you prossibly NOT vote for a certain party if its absent de-facto leader so generously promises a credit card to every farmer. And a table computer for every schoolchild, and a debt moratorium, and making every Thai wealthy within a mind-boggling 6 months, and, and, and...

Why would Thaksin be required to "request" entering Cambodia by contacting a ministry anyway? And even if he were there at the moment, why would Cambodia feel it necessary to confirm his presence? After all, he and Hun Sen are old buddies and go waaaay back...

A book that will no doubt earn an eternal place in the annals of literary history and become required reading for generations of high school students to come, just like the first volume, which was "well-received by the public"; the same public that is generally so mesmerised by cartoon books, I reckon.

Fresh face or not, well-liked or not, potential first female PM or not, breaking out in tears or not, she is a Shinawatra. Don't get fooled by your own sentiments and affections towards her pretty face. She WILL answer to her big brother. HE will pull all strings. There is no escape for her from the all-powerful ties of a Thai-Chinese family and the dominant figure within it. My opinion anyway. Honestly, I find the current euphoria about her rather unsettling, if not worrisome.

Other forum members might have a different opinion, but I find it fundamentally wrong to use a 9-year-old boy for a political election campaign.

Has Yingluck been informed about this? I mean, she is still busy campaigning touting herself as the next PM and throwing around all those promises what she is going to do once she's attained the country's top post.

Considering the Shinawatras made their fortune by running telecom companies, communications seems to be sadly lacking between the two siblings.

She seems rather emotional for a supposedly seasoned businesswoman. Wonder how frequently she'll break out in tears or throw tantrums once she's PM and realizes that she can't fulfill many of her election campaign promises and her returned big brother is systematically usurping her power.

What her "vision" is becomes very clear when she says that a blanket amnesty that solely benefits political baddies will restore peace while under the same breath saying that the system must be adjusted to not only benefit particular groups of people. Advocating a blanket amnesty is NOT "adjusting the system" but rather "maintaining the system".

Yingluck's job is actually very simple: Win the election, form a government with Yingluck as PM, pass a decree to give her clone brother amnesty so he can return. Then she can step down and let her clone take over. Mission accomplished.

Bingo! Correct in all points. What a sad scenario, isn't it?

Deliver the registration documents to the man's cell together with a ballpoint pen and let him sign them there. What's the problem?

The problem is that with that solution, he will not be allowed to participate with the rally in the afternoon.

No brainer.

Gee. What possible ulterior motive might he have for wanting out THAT day????

Or sit out the rally at a nearby McDonald's gorging himself like he did last year...

But you're right, this solution is a no-brainer. Man has enjoyed parliamentary immunity for so long that it must be hard for him to adjust to his new situation.

Today's front page article of the "Bangkok Post" reported that Thaksin claimed his baby sister was NOT his "nominee" nor his "proxy". Instead, he said she were his "CLONE".

If that is true, then all I can say is: Good luck, Thailand!

Deliver the registration documents to the man's cell together with a ballpoint pen and let him sign them there. What's the problem?

Why is a caucus needed? I thought the party's motto was "Thaksin thinks, Pheua Thai does". So if Big Brother wants to nominate his baby sister as a potential puppet PM, then do it, dammit, and stop wasting time with a caucus. What a circus!

I just heard on Aljazeera that the man was well connected and was released on bail. Big surprise! Nothing will happen to him...

Unbelievable! Or perhaps not surprising at all... same, same, but different. Sigh.

"The thing that IS really artificial is all the WHITENING paranoia."

Well said. I wonder how snow white the girl's complexion was - even before she was a corpse. After all, she not only wanted to fit into her uniform, but probably also wanted to "fit in" in a figurative sense.

Even a baby leopard, panther or bear are comparatively large and one wonders how huge the crook's luggage must have been.

How good he didn't contemplate to smuggle a baby elephant.

A 40,000 Baht maximum fine? That probably is much, much less than what he would have received for a single one of the animals. Hope he receives the maximum jail term of 4 years, if convicted.

It's about time for an update of the cash penalties in Thailand's criminal code. They are hopelessly outdated. The often ridiculous maximum amounts stated are no deterrent and are easily paid by well-heeled culprits who rarely get slapped with jail terms.

In my home country Germany there is an age-old saying: "Pack schlaegt sich, Pack vertraegt sich."

It translates approximately as: "Pikeys brawl, and pikeys get along well with one another".

Now all that Big Brother needs to announce during his next video speech is: "And if you vote for PTP, I guarantee to you that every Thai will attain within 3 months a complexion as snow-white as my baby sister." And bam! Landslide victory for PTP and one-party government!

Wonder what Jatuporn Prompan's theory is going to be on this. Something along the lines of: "These weapons were deposited by police/army after our peaceful protesters had left the area in the hope that they would eventually be discovered so the illegitimate government can heap more blame on us, the unarmed and innocent victims in this charade."

Stirring martial music playing on all TV and radio stations to begin in three...two...one...

How convenient she is the "FounderPresidentDirector" of her institute. That way she doesn't have to justify to any superior the nonsense she is disseminating.

What's her solution for the globalisation problem she so assertively identified? Turning Thailand into an isolationist state like North Korea? Well, a "Dear Leader" we already have. He's sitting in Montenegro (or was that Dubai? or both?) and is only waiting for his chance to heed the call.

When is this self-absorbed, egotistical excuse for a human being finally going to shut up? Probably never. While the world is rolling on the floor in laughter over his ridiculous promises and deplorable overestimation of his own capabilities, he has managed to mesmerize a large part of the naive population with his fairy tales of soon-to-be-achieved riches and eternal bliss under his shining star. His party (stress on HIS!) may well win, because the electorate is unable or unwilling to see through his charade. But when he claims that all of Thailand's problems will be solved in an instance once he returns as the self-styled messiah that he seems to believe he is, he is fundamentally wrong. Everybody with an iota of common sense must recognize that his return will only escalate the hatred and discontent in society, perhaps even lead to more bloodshed. Good luck, Thailand. Common sense was never your strength.

"Patients hit by vehicles on walkways had to spend an average of Bt25,148 on treatment, while those involved in car accidents had to spend Bt24,386."

I think that says it all. We are not talking pushcarts here, but motorcycles using walkways as their private race course.

And when it comes to motorist training, here is how this is handled by a certain central European country:

1) Every aspiring driver is required by law to spend a full course of traffic education (20 hours of theoretical education and 20 hours of practical driving) at a licensed driving school.

2) They will then have to pass an exam rating their theoretical knowledge. if they fail, they'll have to attend another 20 hours of theoretical training at a licensed driving school.

2) If the aspiring driver finally passes the theoretical exam, they are then subjected to a rigorous practical exam negotiating real streets (i.e. not a mock-up training course) under the stringent supervision of a state-appointed examinor. Ignoring just 2 traffic signs, or driving above the speed limit even once, or not giving way to a pedestrian trying to cross the street at a zebra crossing, will result in failing the examination.

3) The applicant can then have another 2 tries at passing the exam. If they still don't pass after the third try, they will be barred from holding a driving license for life.

Once you have negotiated these hurdles, you are issued with a driving license renewable after 10 years and without any further testing. Then you can finally drive as you please and wreak havoc on the roads - not. Because the police are everywhere and fines are extremely severe ranging from several 100 Euros to revocation of one's driving license for good. Fleeing the scene of an accident is a criminal offence and can land you in jail.

I yesterday bought some groceries at my local convenience store. The total bill came to 157 Baht. Since I only had a 1,000 Baht note and a little small change on me, I thought I'd make it easy for the clerk and handed over the 1,000 Baht note plus 57 Baht in small bills and coins.

Why was I not surprised when she had to deploy her pocket calculator to figure out that she owed me 900 Baht in change?

I just stood there, my mouth agape in utter disbelief.