fma

I wonder if this will make any difference. The 'protesters' have done whatever they wanted so far. Will the police grow a pair now? I don't think so.

Sent from my iPhone using Thaivisa Connect Thailand

The Lord of the South is mobilizing his soldiers.

Sent from my iPhone using Thaivisa Connect Thailand

Said:

Pheu Thai spokesman Prompong Nopparit

a convicted criminal, convicted in two instances, now free on bail

December 12, 2013

The Appeals Court on Thursday sentenced Pheu Thai party spokesman Prompong Nopparit and another Pheu Thai member to one-year imprisonment without suspension after finding them guilty of defaming the former president of the Constitution Court.

http://englishnews.t...mpong-nopparit/

No criminals and/or corrupt people on electoral lists!

No criminals and/or corrupt people in government, parliament or as a civil servant!

Exclude from now on, all persons from the Parliament and from electoral lists which

a have criminal records.

b running free on bail.

c were already banned from parliament in the past.

d against are corruption or crime cases opened.

All very good, but it requires a legal system that is just.

I would assume that 'adjusting' the legal system (laws and courts) is part of the REFORMS, together with throwing out the parliament.

If not it, it will not work. If it is, I will get nervous by the power vested in Suthep's 'good men'.

"Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely". Thaksin is probably a good example, but there is no need to repeat.

Of course sandbags are no good - but sharpened sticks and burning tyres ok!

pretty sure they did not get them from the BKK governor.

5555555555555555555555555555555555555555555555555555555

good one, I think?

I can't actually believe that anyone on here is against it. I think it is essential to wear civvies.

They are able to blend in around the rally sites and it gives a great deterrent to any of the red rabble who are inclined to take potshots at protester men, women and children what they don't know who are citizens and who are armed soldiers waiting to take them down during their attempted escape.

several soldiers in civvies and with concealed firearms, put in place around all roads leading to and from all protest sites in an 'invisible cordon' will be great protection.

Great, I think I will join them... together with my new Glock. I always wanted to be an agent.

"some of them opted to work at home join Suthep; perhaps?"

Nothing wrong with that.

They also have their rights as citizens and own political believes.

Yes, me too. I love getting paid while doing private stuff. And even though I have served an oath to protect the country, I have the right to select which of the citizens in the country I want to protect... right?? Can I do that? The military allows people to think for themselves ... right? Make their own decisions? Take a separate stand?

...Nah, pretty sure that they got their orders.

jeez , everyone take a chill pill. I don't like it , so I don't ride it unless I have to. I am not asking anyone of you to not ride it. I am not asking any of you to not like it. You all get yourselves worked up over everything like this? Its not healthy.

I don't like it and there are plenty of others who don't either. There was another thread a few weeks ago which people also had the same and more complaints as I do. I have my opinion, you can have yours.

Absolutely,

too many people on this train, and the seats are too hard. That is why I prefer my Benz, unfortunately my driver gets Sundays off.

"The jump in ticket sales would contribute towards the BTS Rail Mass Transit Growth Infrastructure Fund as well as the company's profit"

At least some good news after the gloomy reports of political clashes and demonstrations.

Agreed, this is probably one of the few positive results from the effort of cancelling out the last traces of a democratic system.

waza

So that means Thaksin is manipulating his sister with unsubstantiated threats of imprisonment if she doesn't do what he says and remains in the caretaker PM position, even though it is against her will. What a great and thoughtful brother he is.

The reality is Thaksin doesn't want Yingluck to resign because he will loose control of the government and that leaves them open to a uncontrolled investigation of their corrupt practices. This would obviously lead to charges for most of the PTP members and maybe prison sentences. No wonder the blanket amnesty bill is so important for this administration, Yingluck must stay in her role, win the election and push through the blanket amnesty bill then she is free to resign.

Yes.

Very shrewd and accurate analysis! I think you're spot on. Needs her in power on the day the amnesty bill comes back to parliament so she can push it through and any form of independent forensic audit would be a disaster for PTP.

If he ever gets back here, physically in control, watch her being dumped, along with a few others who will also be past their 'sell by date". Hope he's not being learning new tricks from the NK dictator on removing unwanted family members!

Too far out to be sarkasm?

I find it very difficult to believe that the rest of the world would accept Yingluck being held accountable if "something happens". What kind of rubbish is this? Thailand would become (even more of) an international laughing stock in the event that an elected PM is held responsible for the actions of anti-democratic street thugs. That would lead to sanctions, trade embargoes, investors fleeing the country, ASEAN intervention. It's complete rubbish. Classics case of blaming the victim.

Do not underestimate the legal system in Thailand. They often come up with paradoxes.

Adding to that, the protesters and even Gen. Prayuth have stated that all negative outcomes (violence, coup, international criticism, rain, heat, moody girlfriends etc.) is caused by Thaksin and thus, his 'puppet'.

By 'something happens' I believe we need to think of the reaction from the people who voted her into office. They will not be happy campers when Saviour Suthep is anointed.

OK OK I am slow.

I finally figured it out they want no more Milatary coup's so they can have a red shirt one.

Red shirt coup??

Is that an election?

Obviously some have problems seeing the difference.

There is an irony in all of this for the Thai people that voted in this Government. If you vote people in to Government who have no experience, who are crooked, corrupt and self serving, then when the sh*t hits the fan, you have leaders with no experience, who are self serving and who will take advantage of the people and the situation. This country has the quality of Government it deserves, that is the one they voted for. I guess right now the few thousand baht made by red protestors last year and the money given to villages (on loan) by Thaksin doesn't really make up for the misery of the people in the North now.

The only saving grace is that this is not occurring under the Dems. My reason for sauying that is simple as there would likely follow a civil war when the likes of Juttaporn would be whipping the reds up in to a frenzy of violence with stories of how the elite are dry while the poor are left to suffer (I doubt Juttaporn has his wet suit on now!)

Maybe voting in a Government next time will, people will consider more than clearly impossible promises and bullsh*t. This Government is giving the Thai people all it has got .....nothing. I think the only man that can hold his head up higher because of his honest communications and warnings to the people is the Governor of Bangkok.

That was a lot unsubstantiated opinions:

• The Governor of Bangkok is controlling the water management in BKK. Thus, he has been instrumental in blocking the water from the City and increasing the effects outside.
  It is quite clear that his priority has been to protect his voters, and he has not been a teamplayer on the national level.
• You slash down the government for being incompetent and corrupt, then in the next paragraph you admit the same flood situation would have occurred with the Dems in charge.
  If I were to apply some logic here, I would say that the incompetency of the government is not the reason for this crisis.
• Then you follow up with a speculation on what the red shirts would have done.
  We can turn this around and say that with the election behind us, we have a representative government and the majority understands this. Thus the risk of major unrest is reduced.

One observation: Most of the bitching about incompetency seem to come from the the people sitting high and dry in Bangkok.

This crisis is a result of long term (decades) poor planning.

National level water management is an administrative function by presumably competent personnel.

The ministers are not micro managing the opening and closing of the water reservoirs, but I guess the EGAT does.

More water in the dams means more potential for generating electricity and cash. Very tempting to fill up when the opportunity is there, and hope for fair weather when capacity is reached.

The initial strategy of protecting the capital was right, the means to implement turned out to be insufficient.

In hindsight the water should have been allowed to flow more freely from the start, the amount of water was just too huge to be kept back.

'From the start' means months ago, before the election.

The only criticism I will agree with, that targets this government in particular (as opposed to all governments in the last 50 years) is the poor information management.

Too many chiefs babbling at the same time. The information should have been more facts, less hope, more advice.

Obviously a lot of the commentators think that illegal gambling is OK, and paying the police to do so is fine. Personally I applaud anyone that expose corruption!

Way to go Chuwit!

I propose that Thai Visa prohibits all and any discussion of the LM laws, whether or not the discussion focuses on the Royal Family. That way nobody gets into trouble, and Thailand is firmly established as a country without the rights to free speech. TV together with the Nation might want to give the impression that Thailand is aspiring to be a modern country, but all indications point towards extended censorship.

PS: While abroad I read the first few chapters of the book in question - it is full of details and seems to be well researched. I have no idea why it is prohibited though, but then I am not an oversensitive Thai.

phiphidon

Are you still on that crusade of yours

trying to blame someone for the massive destruction and fire in bkk and up country

instigated en mass by our favorite leaders Jatuporn and all?

There surely are many other worthy causes you can contribute to, I am certain of that.

Good to see that the perspective and sympathy is on material losses for the owners of Central World.

So - who is PCI again? Who funds them?

Pantongtae and Pintongta Shinawatra, the son and daughter of former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, launched their Internet-based 'Voice TV' on Monday at the Voice TV Building on Vibhavadi Rangsit road. November 23, 2009

http://www.thaiphoto...1&c=1&tb=1&pb=1

========================================================================================================

Interestingly enough, many, if not most, of the information on the PCI website

http://www.peaceandj...work.org/?p=192

are links that lead directly to Voice TV.

*edit. Actually, it's PIC, not PCI.

It's People's Information Center and abbreviated PIC on their website.

.

It is good that we have so many reliable government sources for what actually happened those months last year. That way we do not have to rely on 'unreliable propaganda', the way The Nation does here.

Who is funding The Nation by the way - and Bangkok Post? Pillars of society - no doubt, stretching their funds to give us neutral and investigative journalism.

PS

I like your signature describing Thaksins wealth. Would you care to elaborate on the source of this information? 400 billion Baht -- WOW! (net/gross?)

According to Forbes (2009) , Thaksin is #16 on their list for Thailand with a mere 390 million USD (12 bill THB Net) to his name. That is 1/30 of your claim of 400 billion baht. Is 400 billion before or after Abhist froze his assets in Thailand?

The Bangkok Post owners, Chirathivat family is number 3 on the list with 2900 mill USD. But then they are solid pillars of society I suppose, eager to share their resources with those less fortunate.

Nothing in this 4th world country changes expect for more corruption, more vote buying, more coups, more violence in the south.

And more Farangs willing to live here and spend money here, Farangs who complain like crazy, yet stay in Thailand regardless.

Look at from the Thai point of view, why change a formula that works, and it obviously works, or all the complainers on ThaiVisa would be posting from outside Thailand.

Yet they're not.

Not posting from Phuket either...

Obviously works? This country is not in working order. But to be clear - it is not the farangs who suffer from the mismanagement - it is the locals.

After traveling to Thailand from the USA for 4 of the past 5 years, I am DONE with the scams.

No more Thailand for me! On my last trip a hotel manager told me I owed him an extra 2000 baht because I "broke" a drawer in the night stand. (it was jammed shut and I never used it)

I refused to pay, and insisted he call the police to settle the dispute. The police arrived, took in the story, then issued the verdict....yes I broke the drawer. I owe the manager 2000 baht, plus I owe the police another 2000 for settling the dispute! When I refused I was threatened with going to "monkey house" to calm down. I gave the police 1000 baht for his trouble and made up my mind to NEVER return. I will miss the scams, and especially the raw sewage smell in the streets. World-class tourist destination???

Give me a break

Please give the name of the hotel. Without facts, this is hearsay only. Publish facts and it will hit the scammers where it hurts.

DTAC is Norwegian. They do not have the right attitudes to do business in Thailand 'smoothly'. What we need is a Russian or Chinese telecom company for the 4G launch.

Another tragedy, and more to come. Shit happens, but in Thailand shit happens more often than necessary. There is no point in beating up on the people involved in this incident, it will not change the past, and will have no constructive effect on future road safety. Since the truck driver most likely do not have a rich daddy, he will eventually go to jail for manslaughter.

I can see no fundamental differences between this incident and the Porsche/girl accident though.

We do need to beat up on the authorities responsible for regulating traffic. The traffic police have not done their job for years. Nobody respects the speed limits, drinks and drives, tailgating, etc. The rules are not enforced, the police is, deservedly, not respected, and this will only get worse.

Everybody gets influenced, my own driving habits have become a lot worse since moving to Thailand. Trying to keep proper/safe distance to the car in front is impossible, it gets filled by another car immediately. Driving in line with speed limits leave you in the right lane, together with the trucks and the clunkers - not a safe place. Ignoring the speed limits is very easy when you know that at worst (not including accident) it will cost you 500 baht. 'Anything goes' on the roads in Thailand - and that is the challenge.

This program was a joke so much so that I wrote to points view lets hope they air my message .

Dear Points of view

I have just made it through one the most terribly misinformed and bias Tv showsi think i have ever seen, Thailandand tourism the truth BBC 3 was a sham of a program an unabashed forcing ofwestern views on another culture.

Your presenter was wearing such heavily rose tinted glasses I am sure she didnot notice a thing going on around her.

She had no conception of Thai culture and should have maybe focused on theforeigners them selves, the majority that visit the country show little respectfor them selves and even less for the native culture.

This is the attitude that local Thais learn from the so called civilizedwestern countries and is causing more harm to the society than development.

Thailand is a growing country and badly needs that growth; the down side to growthis that some one will inevitably lose out.

Her constant comparison to European destinations showed her lack of insight didthose places not have native populations that have been forced out oftheir homes due to development?

Did the new development not bring wealth with it to those people?

Thailand is still relatively new to all of this give the country a chance to catchup.

Please BBC if your are going to produce such programs on such a subject havesome one who has a little more knowledge of the country.

Yours looking forward to less pandering programming

Conception of culture?

Please tell me where and what kind of culture that can be found in Patong, not to mention Pattaya. This is where the tourists end up.

They come for sun, beach, the food and the drink, and hope for the smiles and Thai hospitality.

Food should be culture in Thailand, but it is hard to find the real stuff. Most of the restaurants (that look inviting to first-timers) serve western fast food or bastardized thai food.

The thugs running the streets in tourist destinations have no concept of culture and hospitality.

So unless you are working hard, as a tourist you go back with an overdose on sun and drink and not much else.

Thailand has 40 years of experience as an exotic tourist destination.

How has the development been in these 40 years for a tourist looking for an exotic vacation?

How has the development been for the workers in the tourist industry?

How has the development been for the beaches and environment?

Crime?

Traffic?

I have worked in Thailand for 5 years, and have visited frequently for 20 years, and know that there are many exceptions to the pessimistic impressions listed above, but I think the general trend is negative.

The last time (literally!) I was on Patong Beach I asked the jet ski operators to be more careful when approaching the beach, there were a lot of small children playing in the waves. I was told to move away, this was HIS beach and he did not care. I counted more than 120 jet skis on Patong that day, there were no areas off limits to these cowboys.

These days we go to 4-5 star resorts to avoid the thugs. That is not 'real' Thailand either, but at least it is safe and hospitable.

April 17, the hotest day - sun direct overhead, per geographic location

July 21, the longest daytime from sunrise to sunset, north of equator, further north longer than day

there are two different natural phenomenons.

. . . and the expected hottest day is independent from the sun overhead or not...

As is the longest day of the year, which coincides with the summer solstice for all locations north of the equator. Which is neither here nor there, except you can win bar bets on it.

I believe the longest day in the Northern Hemisphere is June 21, not July

How about getting some leftover nuclear subs from Russia? Could go well with the ambitions to build nuclear power stations. Synergy effects?

<snip>

I would like to compare the claims of terrorism on the part of the redshirts to the claims of 'weapons of mass destruction' that instigated the invasion of Iraq. Pure bullshit and propaganda.

Except that there is proof that the red shirts had guns and grenades, and were involved in attacks on the army and innocent by-standers.

Again: Bangkok Post, owned by the Central Group which is part of the upper echelons of establishment, would not have hesitated a second to publish everything that could blame the redshirts.

I have seen a collection of old shotguns, slingshots, bows and arrows and a pitiful selection of varied ammunition. This is what Thaksin the billionaire is providing for his troops?

Come on!

If anything, Thaksin probably did not think that Abhisit had the nerve and was cold enough to mobilize snipers.

I do not deny that protesters got violent and aggressive, but that is bound to happen when people around you get assassinated by snipers.

How about a fair investigation of both parts in this conflict? Everybody know that this has not happened and never will.

Just like there never will be an election observed by neutral observers. THAT would remove the weapon of disqualifying the opponents of the establishment.

According to Suthep: Innocent bystanders - people standing in the way of bullets ( that was ARMY bullets of course), and they rightly deserved it since they lacked the intelligence to kowtow and go back to the rice paddies.