DumFarang

You're welcome.

But the point at issue was about who has the power? Thaksin or Yingluck?

Anyone who thinks the latter is seriously ill-informed.

Well Suthep has already given her a nudge nudge wink wink that she needs to step out from under his shadow if she wants any credibility, also hinting at the future of her new job.

Of course this may be nearly impossible, but it'll be interesting to see what happens. I imagine that the PM job has the power to lead people to believe they have the right make some decisions of their own.

....and then

Where is this story about MP's flocking to Dubai? I've only heard it reported here by members.

Reported by the Nation, see the storyboard titeld "northeast-mps-to-fly-to-dubai-demanding-cabinet-seats"

And, in this day and age why do they have to go personally when it's so obvious what they are doing and why they are going?

Because that's how Thai etiquette works (and indeed, a lot of business and negotiating etiquette the world over). You want something, you go in person. You show the appropriate kind of respect, you offer the appropriate kind of sweeteners, and if your rival can only be bothered to make a phone call, nine times out of ten you'll get the nod over him. C'est la vie.

Depends on who makes the phone call. A bunch of dogs fighting for scraps below the table might need to make a personal appearance, but going the other way Thaksin only needs to pick up the phone. If it's true that these guys are going to ask for seats it doesn't mean that they'll get them, or not all of them anyway. If Thaksin really is pulling the strings like this he may have some people in mind for certain positions already.

Well their departure has not gone unnoticed so it remains to be seen if they get the jobs. Thanks for the link.

Thida, whose husband Weng is a Pheu Thai party-list MP-elect, warned that those doubting the suitability of elected red-shirt leaders harboured ill intentions towards the ruling Pheu Thai Party, as the red-shirt movement is one of the two legs of the party.

I'm glad I'm not the only one who's seeing analogies with Brown shirts and the Nazi party. The rhetoric here is truly scary. So sad that human beings don't learn from history.

Thais write their own history. Besides, when did they ever need to learn anything from anyone?

Never. They know everything there is to know in the world, and nobody else needs to have any input.

what planet are you from

The *reason* the people gave PTP an absolute majority is that many of the *do* want Thaksin to return, and most likely to have his convictions go away and for him to re-take the helm.

What the yellows, the army and any other elements opposed to Thaksin want or don't want at this point is only relevant if they're willing to risk all-out civil war.

IMO if he's smart he'll pull the puppet strings from Dubai for a reasonable period of time, include genuine reconciliation gestures in PTS's policies, and work in a reasonable manner at a reasonable speed toward his rehabilitation, maybe in 2-3 years' time. But I'm afraid he'll likely push to hard and trigger a push-back, and we all can imagine where that's like to go, not toward stability and peace in the Kingdom.

But we'll just have to wait and see. . .

I also recall a little tale of one Osama Bin Laden who everyone assumed, if not dead, was still calling all the shots in Al Qaeda. As it turns out he was basically in exile and had correspondence with a messenger once a month or so, not exactly enough to run an international organization.

Of course it's different with Thaksin, but you never know. He may be less in control than everyone is assuming.

Right!!!!! Precisely what I'm trying to get over. He has lost control of the situation to a large extent and now he is at a loss at what to do about it as his sister is clearly revelling in the limelight with all that atttention and adulation she is getting and she will find this impossible to give up - even

with her brother crying pitifully in her ear that it was HIS idea. After all what right has he (as a convicted criminal) to command and demand what the prime minister of Thailand does when she will be the one getting all the criticism if she is forced to do something that the population doesn't like (such as bringing him back to Thailand)!!!! After all she is in the highest office in Thailand now and is responsible to the people in her decisions and actions, not the goblin parasite that is her brother.

you deluded naive people make me laugh pull the other one hell be back by year end and little sis will be gone within 1 year

That's ridiculous except in the realm of conspiracy theorists and martian hunters.

Right!!!!! Precisely what I'm trying to get over. He has lost control of the situation

Have you not seen all the stories about Peau Thai MPs flying to Dubai to get Thaksin's endorsement? How come they're not knocking on Yingluck's door? You also seem to be underestimating family pecking-order. The nong's always answer to the pii's in this country, don't you know that?

Where is this story about MP's flocking to Dubai? I've only heard it reported here by members. And, in this day and age why do they have to go personally when it's so obvious what they are doing and why they are going?

Thaksin is old news now and will fade into history (sordid history) so I don't concur with you that it is at all to do with Thaksin now at all!!!

He won't be back in my opinion as the Thai people (and army) don't want him back and will never accept the face of Thaksin again in Thailand as he has done damage enough to the country both directly and through besmirching it's reputation as a civilised country with his incitement of terrorist activities in trying to settle his personal vendetta with seemingly EVERYONE Thai!!

Do us all a favour and keep out of Thai politics and be happy with your criminally obtained billions.

what planet are you from

The *reason* the people gave PTP an absolute majority is that many of the *do* want Thaksin to return, and most likely to have his convictions go away and for him to re-take the helm.

What the yellows, the army and any other elements opposed to Thaksin want or don't want at this point is only relevant if they're willing to risk all-out civil war.

IMO if he's smart he'll pull the puppet strings from Dubai for a reasonable period of time, include genuine reconciliation gestures in PTS's policies, and work in a reasonable manner at a reasonable speed toward his rehabilitation, maybe in 2-3 years' time. But I'm afraid he'll likely push to hard and trigger a push-back, and we all can imagine where that's like to go, not toward stability and peace in the Kingdom.

But we'll just have to wait and see. . .

I also recall a little tale of one Osama Bin Laden who everyone assumed, if not dead, was still calling all the shots in Al Qaeda. As it turns out he was basically in exile and had correspondence with a messenger once a month or so, not exactly enough to run an international organization.

Of course it's different with Thaksin, but you never know. He may be less in control than everyone is assuming.

Curtains.

It's always difficult to make the blind see.

Or the deaf hear!!!!

Or the crippled walk!

Oh wait.

Pray tell how a "rift" "erupts"

It sounds a bit like the hole sticking up in the road.

It bubbles up and then splits apart.

Each movement is but a layer of the onion supporting Thaksin.

All are expendable and infighting is not a problem for Thaksin who will of course arbitrate at end.

For the moment the red shirts are the used paper hankie, but no doubt will be kept in reserve as Thaksin's thug wing for when needed.

When the anti-Thaksin demonstrators eventually take to the streets, they will face the physical intimidation of the Red Shirt mobs. the violence will increase from then onwards. I feel a sneeze coming on .... Ahh-coup!

Do you really believe this will happen - jump on the "tedium" bandwaggon you may, but I think you will be disappointed when it doesn't happen as the situation is so different to before and not conducive to promoting a coup!!! Unless.......Yingluck attempts to bring her brother back when he's better of in a majority of people's minds being anywhere ELSE in the world rather than in Thailand as he raped it and ran for cover and people either knew this or are starting to appreciate it now.

I don't think this will happen either as Yingluck is surely more savvy than this and must know that it will back fire big time should she attempt to make this happen!!!

Then why re-open his case for review amongst "others?"

The red-shirts have a good chance of going the way of the yellow-shirts. Both organizations were formed for a singular purpose. Once the purpose is achieved (or the problem allieviated), they really have no reason to exist. They can try and find a cause, but this doesn't usually work well.

This has to do with group dynamics. Groups such as these have a short shelf-life. That can be reconstituted if need be, however.

This is not only logical but historically accurate as well. Political groups, military wings, social organizations, even entire armies have all been organized just to accomplish a goal and then a bunch of stunned people stand around slowly realizing they no longer have a purpose while the rug gets pulled out from beneath them by the puppet masters.

All that matters (and what I wonder) is whose side is Thaksin supporting?

The side he's on! Whatever it may be.

Thailand is controlled by the majority

The majority are uneducated working class brainwashed Thai soap fanatics living in huts (no insult intended - just honest observation)

why did PTP win - because when they in power they thow a few baht notes into Isarn and these simple folk are so easy to manipulate they think the PTP are the kindest, noble, caring party on the planet.

The poor people of Thailand are just as self interested as the PTP, they dont care about economy or education or anything the elites would, because it doesnt affect them at all...

The poor working class only care about now and what they get NOW - we have all met them around NANA - we know the stories,,,

... Hence a couple of baht is all they need to think they are being looked after by the ever compassionate Sinawatras...or that Jai Dee farang!

So.....

The Democrats messed up completely and utterly by not giving the poor anything - if they had thrown a few million baht around Isarn - today could be a completely different story.They are so easy to manipulate - it doesnt take much - we all know that..

But the fact is the Dems just didnt do enough while they were in power,

and now we have no one but them to blame for this repetition of Toxic Thailand.

I wish the Dems were back in power because at least they had the brains and the insight of what Thailand needs, and not just the farmers...

But lets face it... the poor people have a good and valid point - The Dems didnt give them anything - so why should they vote for them...

In a land where everyone only cares about numero uno... lets face it...

It will remain a 3rd world country and the poor will always be poor and the rich will always get richer - by brainwashing the poor...

And they forget so quickly who showed up to help when so much of Thailand was flooded. The Bangkok riots were still fresh in people's minds then, and who's there helping when people are in real trouble, when they've lost their homes?

She hasn't had anything other than family positions, even her political career counts under that umbrella essentially. But, under her watch nothing was run into the ground. The same can't be said for someone like say...George Bush Jr. who was born with a lot of the same kinds of privileges, actually, and failed time and again, especially in business. If the basis of your belief is that she was born into a wealthy family that had work ready for her, and she didn't have to put her nose to the grindstone; so she must not be very smart then you must live in a convenient little world with lots of clear answers for everything.

Does she have the political chops for the game she has entered? Doubtful.

Is she smart enough to figure out ways over, under, or around her obstacles? Who knows.

Is it very likely that she's not smart and is doomed based on her IQ alone? No, that seems doubtful at this juncture.

Maybe because she didn't actually do anything? After all, when Temasek took over the running of AIS they didn't even bother replacing her. When she left SC Asset, she, with all her 'experience" was replaced by a fresh college graduate. (who happens to have that one vital qualification for advancement in a publically listed company, she's a Shinawatra). The evidence would suggest that she wasn't very important for the running of either company.

...and therefore she's stupid? That's what this thread started out as, a claim that she's not smart. I've seen no evidence to prove she's mentally inferior.

Pure and simple!!

Let time be the judge of this as all will be revealed when the going gets tough and after the honeymoon period has ended and nuptials begun.

I think that a big part of whether she is judged as being clever or stupid will be down to her approach with "the Thaksin dilemma" get this wrong and all hell will break loose!!! Conversely, everything in the garden will be ros(e)y if she tackles this thorny problem and twigs what to do for the best. This budding politician will bloom and she will have treemendous success if she can weed out the "dead wood" from her government and keep the pests (red shirts) away to allow her garden to flourish!!

That's pretty much exactly the short and sweet of it isn't it Mr. Sichon? Time will tell.

This actually reminds me a lot of when everyone claimed Bush Jr. was stupid. I just had to laugh. What a great way to underestimate somebody so that all they have to do is prove his or herself not to be stupid in order to gain respect. He's not exactly the most brilliant U.S. president in history, and believe me I'm no fan of him or his family but come on--a stupid president, honestly? Just like Yingluck he had to go through the long grind on the campaign trail, constantly eyed, reporters always around, and many speeches to give. If a person is actually dumb, I mean really dumb, they'll never make it through all that without becoming a laughing stock, not to mention the debates where some people actually felt he won a couple vs. Al Gore whose intelligence hasn't ever been questioned to my knowledge.

You want to talk about a case where a high level of attention catches a moron in the act of trying to appear smart look no further than Sarah Palin. She is not smart, and she proves time and again almost every time she tweets or gets caught on camera. Stupidity can run, but it can't hide.

She hasn't had anything other than family positions, even her political career counts under that umbrella essentially. But, under her watch nothing was run into the ground. The same can't be said for someone like say...George Bush Jr. who was born with a lot of the same kinds of privileges, actually, and failed time and again, especially in business. If the basis of your belief is that she was born into a wealthy family that had work ready for her, and she didn't have to put her nose to the grindstone; so she must not be very smart then you must live in a convenient little world with lots of clear answers for everything.

Does she have the political chops for the game she has entered? Doubtful.

Is she smart enough to figure out ways over, under, or around her obstacles? Who knows.

Is it very likely that she's not smart and is doomed based on her IQ alone? No, that seems doubtful at this juncture.

Maybe because she didn't actually do anything? After all, when Temasek took over the running of AIS they didn't even bother replacing her. When she left SC Asset, she, with all her 'experience" was replaced by a fresh college graduate. (who happens to have that one vital qualification for advancement in a publically listed company, she's a Shinawatra). The evidence would suggest that she wasn't very important for the running of either company.

...and therefore she's stupid? That's what this thread started out as, a claim that she's not smart. I've seen no evidence to prove she's mentally inferior.

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<br><br>She does have a track record of actually making money. Most stupid people can't lay claim to that.<br><br><img src="http://static.thaivisa.com/forum/public/style_emoticons/default/whistling.gif"><br>

<br><br>How about some details? I hope you do not bring up her family created positions. What money has she made that was not gift wrapped for her?<br>

<br><br>She hasn't had anything other than family positions, even her political career counts under that umbrella essentially. But, under her watch nothing was run into the ground. The same can't be said for someone like say...George Bush Jr. who was born with a lot of the same kinds of privileges, actually, and failed time and again, especially in business. If the basis of your belief is that she was born into a wealthy family that had work ready for her, and she didn't have to put her nose to the grindstone; so she must not be very smart then you must live in a convenient little world with lots of clear answers for everything.

Does she have the political chops for the game she has entered? Doubtful.

Is she smart enough to figure out ways over, under, or around her obstacles? Who knows.

Is it very likely that she's not smart and is doomed based on her IQ alone? No, that seems doubtful at this juncture.

Well that didn't take long. As far as conflict of interest debate, that is just the tip of the iceberg. There are a lot more charges levied against Thaskin and anyway all this planning for amnesty is just a cover up for what the real plan is and that is for Thaskin to be Pm again and fill his coffers once more. When you have billions to pay for your hidden adgenda then naturally people will line up to support any hidden adgendas. You will all see that nothing has changed when comes to Thaskin. He could only 100% trust his sister who was voted in with no political experience and so when she speaks she is passing on Thaskins ideology. You will see! Yes I was wrong about the Dems I admit that openely,but i am not wrong about this farce that's being called a democratic elected goverment.

I think the REAL PLAN is instaling the Shin Dynasty to control the

South West China access to the Sea Ports through Thailand.

Proper train lines from the Chinese manufacturing centers

and to Chonburi, Bangkok and the proposed Indian ocean port at Satun.

These are by fare the easiest most logical routes to BOTH seas.

Not only is this more cash than the oil deals, it also is a never ending source of cash.

It also would cause China to open even more manufacturing in the deep south west,

and open a smaller but lucrative reverse trade to China for Thai products,

and sub-component assembly and food transports.

Thaksin ego aside, this is the 1,300 lb gorilla lurking behind all these clan moves.

Do you have anymore info. on this? I've never heard about it.

Well that didn't take long. As far as conflict of interest debate, that is just the tip of the iceberg. There are a lot more charges levied against Thaskin and anyway all this planning for amnesty is just a cover up for what the real plan is and that is for Thaskin to be Pm again and fill his coffers once more. When you have billions to pay for your hidden adgenda then naturally people will line up to support any hidden adgendas. You will all see that nothing has changed when comes to Thaskin. He could only 100% trust his sister who was voted in with no political experience and so when she speaks she is passing on Thaskins ideology. You will see! Yes I was wrong about the Dems I admit that openely,but i am not wrong about this farce that's being called a democratic elected goverment.

If and when Thaksin comes back he'll be facing a mountain of legal headaches and one could finally land him in jail unless he runs again. Yingluck has the power to have a case reviewed etc., but she can't just make all these accusations disappear with a wave of her hand. Thaksin's proven that he can roll up his sleeves and drop into the trench too, but it sure won't be easy.

This really is too funny. Politicians the world over are the same. Say what ever you want before the election, and then once in office do exactly what you want to do. Which in this case is bring Thaksin back here and absolve him of any charges. Only two days to get this ball rolling? Wow..... What's next ? Take the same lunatic red shirt leaders that wanted to burn down Bangkok, and put them into important political positions ?? As Yingluck does not appear to be the sharpest pencil in the box, I suspect all major decisions are going to be made through the puppet master himself. Sort of sad really, as I really like living here in Thailand, but I fear that the dark ages are about to come upon us. And to the Thai apologists, I will really try to not let the door hit my ass on the way out.... :-)

Why is it when a bright, successful, conservative woman, like Yingluck enters the political arena she is attacked as "not the sharpest..." What do you point to to substantiate your claim? Yingluck was educated formally in Thailand and the United States. She is a very successful business woman and had been involved in politics for years. If it's a liberal democrat woman then she's brilliant but a conservative must be and idiot your thinking seems to be.

She does have a track record of actually making money. Most stupid people can't lay claim to that.

I suppose it's not uncommon for you to be the first to resort to mudslinging and personal insults when your arguments don't hold water. But, like you said my handle is DumFarang, and I better avoid trying to string too many words or thoughts together for fear of tripping over myself.

If you have any more valid points or thoughts that fuel the debate on why the letter of the law is more important than its spirit I'll be happy to reply. Otherwise I have no need of being made fun of or making fun of you since I graduated from grade school a long time ago.

As far as I know, though I have never studied law in Thailand, the letter of the law is strictly adhered to. The only circumstance where the spirit of the law is considered is if there is ambiguity in the wording of that law.

Of course that doesn't mean that everyone is actually charged with an offence if they break the law, that is at the discretion of the 'arresting officer' or the prosecuting office. But if they are in fact charged then the letter of the law is foremost.

Actually I don't think it's an across the board thing as you say. In cases that go before a judge he or she sometimes deems it wise to go with the laws spirit over only its letter. It just depends really on a case by case basis.

However, you touch on an interesting point. It is my belief that the most critical interpretation of law resides with law enforcement officials. This is where the rubber meets the road as they say. I've known and heard of officers who do it both ways. My feeling has always been, outside of some very specific circumstances, that their higher calling, keeping the peace, seems best honored by a thorough understanding of why laws exist (the spirit) as opposed to robotically following through as if the law is a set of stereo instructions. And let's face it, some laws are just stupid. There's a law in Oklahoma in the U.S. that states a person can't have a donkey in the bathtub after 6 p.m. I'm not joking. This is obviously an extreme example, but some laws clearly weren't meant to be taken totally seriously and some laws were. Still other laws can get very complex and might be oddly worded so that none of it makes sense and can turned into so many knots it just gets lost. Thanks to overly strict interpretation of laws defence lawyers get the chance to get a lot of criminals off the hook b/c somebody put a piece of evidence into the wrong type of bag or picked it up and examined it without special permission or some such crap.

Strict interpretations of the absolute letter of the law represent almost every failure of laws to do what they are supposed to do for as long as "fair" trials have taken place.

"There's a law in Oklahoma in the U.S. that states a person can't have a donkey in the bathtub after 6 p.m".

Yes that is a dumb-ass law - I mean lets face it there should be some leeway here (spirit-of-the-law effectively) and it should be allowed up until 10 PM as those animals take a heck of a lot of cleaning and that's only if they co-operate at bathtime with all that kicking that they like to do!! At least you can clean up the mess after (as long as the donkey is removed at the appropriate time so as not to upset the establishment and have them come knocking at the door).

Alternatively, if this becomes a severe problem that cannot be remedied then just move out of the state of Oklahoma - easy done!!

Agreed. Far better to move out of a silly place like Oklahoma and into a sensible one like Tennessee where a law states, "you can't shoot any game other than whales from a moving automobile."

Are you really so Naive that you believe a National Health Service can be run on 30 Baht per person?

Some of us patiently try to explain (a) that the 30 baht co-payment never was the main funding mechanism for the universal coverage scheme, and (b ) that the co-payment was ended in 2006.

I suppose the repeated misunderstandings about Thai health care just illustrate how out of touch the bubble dwellers are.

Leave my friend alone!!!

Are you aware that a sizeable number of government hospitals today, yes today, are still struggling to balance their books and deal with the monetary problems that were created by Thaksin's dud health policy (amongst his others). This man is a walking disaster when it comes to developing sensible policies as no matter how well intentioned they were in the first place they invariably didn't work and furthermore ripped the fabric out of Thai society.

It's a real shame that those self same (poor Thai's) that put so much faith in him are oblivious to all these things and maybe they would have voted differently had they not been deceived into trusting in him so blindly.

Oh!! I'm forgetting myself - it is his darling younger sister Yingluck who is the incumbent prime minister - Isn't it???? Have I got this right????

Wait wait wait! The healthcare and OTOP comments came from another member! That post reached the quotation quota and I had to cut parts out. I must have taken out one or two lines too much. I don't remember who made those comments, but it wasn't me.

Are you really so Naive that you believe a National Health Service can be run on 30 Baht per person?

OTOP stands for One Product One Tambon,thats why on the roadside there are rows on vendors selling Bananas,Barbecued Chicken, Coconuts etc, all competing against each other,so no one makes much money.

As for the Village Loans,which will never be paid off,all that happens is: they pay the Interest,and at the end of the year,take out a new loan to pay back last years loan,and continue paying interest,some favour!

Any help from Taxsin was using the peoples own money to keep them tied to him,so now the Tablet Computers are on the way? paid for by the people,and the promise of riches to come.

Wait until the People find out the reality,that most of his ideas have been expensive failures,that shackle them to poverty even further,and the Riches won't be arriving,anytime soon!

"Taxsin?" Good one!

Is that the reason that Thais open row upon row of exactly the same business almost everywhere you go? I always figured it was a combination of a lack of originality and some sort of fierce competitive thing rooted in the culture.

I've experienced the silliness of it firsthand. I own a restaurant here and when I opened there were just a couple other places to eat on my street, and we were fairly well spaced apart. Of course in Thailand you can't have that, so all of a sudden places start popping up all around me after they saw that my place and the others were all getting our fair share of customers. Fortunately now several of the ones who opened on the fly, so to speak, didn't make it and are out of business. So things are getting back to normal a bit for my place and another one of the originals on this road.

Why were we at hammer and tongs with each other as we are brothers in arms my friend!!! I thought you was a Thaksinyte (sounds like an obscure element in the lanthanide series) when you are patently not!!

You have all the right words there although its actually ONE TAMBON ONE PRODUCT but whats that between new found friends.

Choc dee with the restaurant by the way and I hope things pick up for you.

Thank you.

I'm definitely no Thaksinyte.

And chok dee in your business endeavors as well.

I suppose it's not uncommon for you to be the first to resort to mudslinging and personal insults when your arguments don't hold water. But, like you said my handle is DumFarang, and I better avoid trying to string too many words or thoughts together for fear of tripping over myself.

If you have any more valid points or thoughts that fuel the debate on why the letter of the law is more important than its spirit I'll be happy to reply. Otherwise I have no need of being made fun of or making fun of you since I graduated from grade school a long time ago.

As far as I know, though I have never studied law in Thailand, the letter of the law is strictly adhered to. The only circumstance where the spirit of the law is considered is if there is ambiguity in the wording of that law.

Of course that doesn't mean that everyone is actually charged with an offence if they break the law, that is at the discretion of the 'arresting officer' or the prosecuting office. But if they are in fact charged then the letter of the law is foremost.

Actually I don't think it's an across the board thing as you say. In cases that go before a judge he or she sometimes deems it wise to go with the laws spirit over only its letter. It just depends really on a case by case basis.

However, you touch on an interesting point. It is my belief that the most critical interpretation of law resides with law enforcement officials. This is where the rubber meets the road as they say. I've known and heard of officers who do it both ways. My feeling has always been, outside of some very specific circumstances, that their higher calling, keeping the peace, seems best honored by a thorough understanding of why laws exist (the spirit) as opposed to robotically following through as if the law is a set of stereo instructions. And let's face it, some laws are just stupid. There's a law in Oklahoma in the U.S. that states a person can't have a donkey in the bathtub after 6 p.m. I'm not joking. This is obviously an extreme example, but some laws clearly weren't meant to be taken totally seriously and some laws were. Still other laws can get very complex and might be oddly worded so that none of it makes sense and can turned into so many knots it just gets lost. Thanks to overly strict interpretation of laws defence lawyers get the chance to get a lot of criminals off the hook b/c somebody put a piece of evidence into the wrong type of bag or picked it up and examined it without special permission or some such crap.

Strict interpretations of the absolute letter of the law represent almost every failure of laws to do what they are supposed to do for as long as "fair" trials have taken place.

Yeah, you're absolutely right. I just didn't see it all this time. We should follow laws down to the letter b/c, hey, you never know maybe he would've become the Thai Jamie Oliver or even a Gordon Ramsay, totally ignoring his PM duties. Good thing they nipped that in the bud before it got dangerously out of hand.

While we're at it we should add that it's illegal to drive 51km/h in a 50km/h zone, and radar guns will be used and tickets issued for this grievous offence. If somebody walks across an empty street before the crosswalk sign turns green that's a ticket too. Laws are there for a reason you know. Rolling stop at a stop sign, can't you read? It says STOP. Ticket. My god think of all the money that could be made, not to mention the content utopia it would create if everybody would just do EXACTLY as the law says all the time for fear of punishment.

"Someone had better tell diva Yingluck about your brainwave as she's going to need all this money and more to fund all them expensive populist policies of hers.

OK then, lets look at your reply with an example.

I'm sorry that I killed that old lady but I couldn't stop in time. I accept that I was doing 60 Km/hour in a 50 Km/hour zone but my car only just reached her on impact and let's face it, it was only fast walking speed more than the speed limit so I think in the spirit of the law with all things taken into account I didn't do much wrong. Just traveling only a tad too fast that's all. Old lady's family - oh OK then dear old mum probably only had a few years left in her so all is forgiven. How different a scenario it would have been if he had kept within the speed limit, it may have gone something like this:

Christ what's that old lady doing trying to get killed?? Silly old duffer Did you see that? she just stepped straight out into the road without looking with that stupid white dog of hers and I don't know what she needs a stick for because this is a peaceful area of town with just a few speeding idiots on the road here. Still, lucky I was only doing 45 Km/hour as that lady would have been a goner for sure if I was one of these "boy racers". I'd better take her home otherwise she won't get there with insane acts like the one she just carried out. Old lady's family - thank you for being so considerate and bringing my mum home as she is that old and infirm that she shouldn't really be out on her own, in fact she just wanders out without us knowing and this is a constant worry for us as she has dementia as well as being blind. Cheerio!!!

Get my point?????

Rules and laws are there FOR A REASON and not sticking to them could be the difference between someone seeing their mum again or going to her funeral .

Ok. You will probably take the pee out of this with another one of your emoticons - but I don't care as your realisation of what I've just wriiten will probably be underwhelming to you and you wouldn't understand the message I'm trying to get over to you if it leapt up and smacked you full in the face taking into account your childish attitude!!

Actually, I think it is you who has completely missed the point about the spirit of the law with that tedious and utterly unlikely example. Nice play by play though, very easy to follow.

Now why did I know somehow that you wouldn't understand or appreciate that - too many words strung together for your comprehension?????

Maybe I should have dumbed it down for you Ha Ha Ha Ha - you left yourself open with that choice of moniker - just the same as Samak did with his paid for cookery programmes. He would have been better off cooking the books like all politicians do rather than cooking his dishes on tee wee to demonstrate his prowess in the kitchen department.

I suppose it's not uncommon for you to be the first to resort to mudslinging and personal insults when your arguments don't hold water. But, like you said my handle is DumFarang, and I better avoid trying to string too many words or thoughts together for fear of tripping over myself.

If you have any more valid points or thoughts that fuel the debate on why the letter of the law is more important than its spirit I'll be happy to reply. Otherwise I have no need of being made fun of or making fun of you since I graduated from grade school a long time ago.

Yeah, you're absolutely right. I just didn't see it all this time. We should follow laws down to the letter b/c, hey, you never know maybe he would've become the Thai Jamie Oliver or even a Gordon Ramsay, totally ignoring his PM duties. Good thing they nipped that in the bud before it got dangerously out of hand.

While we're at it we should add that it's illegal to drive 51km/h in a 50km/h zone, and radar guns will be used and tickets issued for this grievous offence. If somebody walks across an empty street before the crosswalk sign turns green that's a ticket too. Laws are there for a reason you know. Rolling stop at a stop sign, can't you read? It says STOP. Ticket. My god think of all the money that could be made, not to mention the content utopia it would create if everybody would just do EXACTLY as the law says all the time for fear of punishment.

"Someone had better tell diva Yingluck about your brainwave as she's going to need all this money and more to fund all them expensive populist policies of hers.

OK then, lets look at your reply with an example.

I'm sorry that I killed that old lady but I couldn't stop in time. I accept that I was doing 60 Km/hour in a 50 Km/hour zone but my car only just reached her on impact and let's face it, it was only fast walking speed more than the speed limit so I think in the spirit of the law with all things taken into account I didn't do much wrong. Just traveling only a tad too fast that's all. Old lady's family - oh OK then dear old mum probably only had a few years left in her so all is forgiven. How different a scenario it would have been if he had kept within the speed limit, it may have gone something like this:

Christ what's that old lady doing trying to get killed?? Silly old duffer Did you see that? she just stepped straight out into the road without looking with that stupid white dog of hers and I don't know what she needs a stick for because this is a peaceful area of town with just a few speeding idiots on the road here. Still, lucky I was only doing 45 Km/hour as that lady would have been a goner for sure if I was one of these "boy racers". I'd better take her home otherwise she won't get there with insane acts like the one she just carried out. Old lady's family - thank you for being so considerate and bringing my mum home as she is that old and infirm that she shouldn't really be out on her own, in fact she just wanders out without us knowing and this is a constant worry for us as she has dementia as well as being blind. Cheerio!!!

Get my point?????

Rules and laws are there FOR A REASON and not sticking to them could be the difference between someone seeing their mum again or going to her funeral .

Ok. You will probably take the pee out of this with another one of your emoticons - but I don't care as your realisation of what I've just wriiten will probably be underwhelming to you and you wouldn't understand the message I'm trying to get over to you if it leapt up and smacked you full in the face taking into account your childish attitude!!

Actually, I think it is you who has completely missed the point about the spirit of the law with that tedious and utterly unlikely example. Nice play by play though, very easy to follow.