virtualtraveller

What's he complaining about, if she goes, he becomes the next proxy prime minister, bully for him.

How about, if the courts don't remove the PDRC will violently protest. Same difference isn't.

The salient point, not made here, is that the election of senators is not very democratic. It's not proportional representation. 8 million people in Bangkok (the educated 8 million) get to choose 1 senator, the collective 8 million of the Northern provinces get to choose 20 senators. Most of them are allied to Thaksin. Not very democratic is it?

I find it far fetched that 60% of the scheme disappeared into corruption since this would mean the farmers would have ended up with no real gain, and they would've complained about that. What this article suggests is that the estimated figure of subsidy, 450 billion, has all disappeared. Lets assume that there was a pre-existing amount of corruption which is part and parcel of any transaction here, but on the flip side, if the govt's control of the money was thorough and the skimming done systematically, then where did all this money end up and even if half of it is now in a PT election slush fund, then 200 billion is a formidable amount. No wonder the Democrats are now refusing to contest elections. This has been grand larceny on the grandest scale!

Incredible, this is a caretaker govt, no guarantee they will win the next election or when it will be and they might be forced to quit within weeks anyway, they are fighting for their lives and yet they still carry on as if nothing's amiss, they're determined to get their hands on that money. The arrogance.

lets not forget, Saudi Arabia is hardly a paragon of justice, I'm sure they understand that, and similar trials in their country implicating officials might also collapse. But shame on Thailand and let them suffer strained relations with the Saudis for decades to come, this whole affair has been a disgrace to Thailand.

Anywhere there is good money being made off flush tourists the police are going to want some of it. If there's any rules involved they were use them to extort. For bars it's late night opening, booze licences and girls, for divers its work permits and TAT licences. If the guys are willing to pay 20,000 to avoid the hassle they can probably afford it, thus starts the slippery slope.

Typical American/Western attitude. Take an Asian POV and you realise there is a protocol here, releasing it publicly undermines the Malaysian govt and further embarrasses them, not something you want to do to your neighbour. Release it privately, let them deal with it.

We all know Fox, outside of the US no one takes it seriously. It's a parody.

Contempt of court. CC gave a poor reason for nullifying, that's the reason PT come out with this. The real reason is that you can't have a one-party parliament, it's silly, the govt would have no legitimacy and all those who didn't vote for a party, some 65% of the electorate just wouldn't co-operate in anything. It won't be a democracy. The results speak for themselves, sorry but Democrats boycott won out this time.

This is a very pertinent viewpoint of Yingluck, and by extension PT and Thaksin. She's not the brightest star in the sky but it posit that 'we're well meaning so never mind the details and cut us some slack will you'. This has always been Thaksin's approach, he mis-assigned it to the concept of social contract. It ignores the fact that being in govt comes with responsibility and certain rules to guard against corruption, abuse, theft and so on. Leaving the decisions solely to the electorate is too simplistic and open to chance, there needs to be a framework of rules. The 2trillion could easily have been borrowed properly through channels of transparency, she chose to ignore that for whatever reason, and it failed her.

I suppose they could also register copyright on Thai food and control that. And Ireland could sue Thailand for any St Patrick's day parties organised locally.

Careful what you wish for, how many democrats have taken to the PDRC stage speaking loosely over 'overthrowing' the govt.

By the way, he's right, Thais can never build anything straight, it's just the way they do it, but they do it with a smile and cheaply!

Clarkson and his mates are usually funny in poor taste, they are orientalists using schoolboy humour to take the piss out of all the inferior countries they film in. It's pure entertainment, not very PC, aimed at an audience, and they make fun of everyone and everything, including the car companies who graciously supply them with test vehicles. As to the slope insinuation, I think this is just wild imagination of the viewer, in this decade it's a very uncommon slang term. Sometimes I find Clarkson funny, sometimes I find him to stupid and not so funny. But he's popular and an entertainer. Get over it.

Usual shakedown. Makes a good story for the Thai press, think of the bribes you can solicit when a foreigner with a successful business faces deportation and shutting down, of course he's going to pay. It will go quiet again in due course.

The lottery draw used to be done live on TV but was suspended after the coup and never reinstated. The problem with the lottery is the disbursement of the profits to charities. One of the earliest accusations levelled at Thaksin was that it had become a slush fund for financing someone's mistress habit, though that can't be corroborated due to slander laws.

Well, on the one hand Jatuporn is a bit sharper that Thida at least, but far more in your face and a bigger liar. The Red shirts could really affect change if their leadership was up to scratch, presently they are just rabble rousers.

Maybe if you hadn't screwed up the rice scheme the CC might have seen the merit in what you're trying to do. Pity that, 30% of 2 trillion would have ironed out all your woes and bought everyone off, you might've been in power for decades.

Perhaps, certainly if you had an expose available you would time it's release perfectly, doing so shortly after the CC rule against the borrowing bill is that time, and there's nothing wrong with a little teaser campaign. Todays' news is big enough, wait and see the reaction before unleasing the next brickbat. Honestly, I don't know how Yingluck still clings on, it's turned into an utter nightmare of her own making. The longer she stays the more of this is going to come out.

Darn there go my shares in all the land my uncle bought in railway land. Hi-speed dismantling of a kleptocracy.

Phuket shooting itself in the foot again. Between the taxi blockade, the jet ski scam and seeing your dive instructor being arrested, one wonders why tourists ever come back. Wondering what part of 'idiotic suicide mission' the authorities don't understand when these issues are repeatedly brought to their attention.