virtualtraveller

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.

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.

Ultimately you have to beat Thaksin in the hearts and minds of the rural poor. Anything heavy handed to remove his pawns without a good reason will only fire up the red shirts into desperate acts, just like the yellows. As long as Yingluck is left in place to bumble along she will erode PTPs confidence as the rice scheme dissastifaction amplifies. Let this drag on to the point where many farmers abandon PTP, once their position is weakened beyond repair and Thaksin loses the support of the poor majority, you can negotiate a peaceful compromise on terms that snaffle out his ambitions. He will go down fighting for sure. Trying to remove YIngluck by any means other than ballot, valid or not, plays into Thaksin's hands. But if she can be 'technically' disqualified and replaced by someone more palatable, then maybe Suthep can be persuaded to go home.

And Thailand complains it's undemocratic. Here you can barely be held accountable for a massacre of 2,300 people, in Malaysia they simply jail the opposition for being 'gay' - charges that probably are trumped up, but should be irrelevant. Most my intelligent Malaysian friends, the middle class, are truly fed up with this farce that pretends to be a democracy. It's a joke, Malaysian's haven't once tried out a different crowd in government in 50 years of independence. Send them back to colonialism, they deserve it.

Meaningless article, too thin on data. Another article indicated they had won just 11 million votes, against 15 million last time. Don't forget some PT voters might not have bothered turning out simply knowing their party would win and wouldn't miss their vote. Depending how much popularity the Dems have also lost, PT could well be trumped at the party list level, but will still win the MP race since they dominate in the vast North and NE. They buy off local family politicians. So we might end up with an interesting 'mandate' that is split.

These should go to trial so that the judge can dismiss them all, on the grounds that a head of govt is responsible for ordering maintenance of order and if reasonable action was taken to resolve the situation peacefully and protestors who are armed among their group continue to hold a city hostage, then the police or army has the obligation to clear them out according to acceptable procedure. If you do not follow this line of logic then conversely any group can seize a part of the city and hold it hostage in order force the resignation of a PM they don't like. The PM has two choices, quit or spill blood and go to jail as a murderer.

A few people speak up or put up banners and apparently this is what Chiang Mai thinks. BS, I live here, and it's not as red as you might think.

If I were the Dems I'd keep quiet, the longer Yingluck's govt stays as 'caretaker' the better, since it limits them from borrowing money but leaves them in place to explain away the rice fiasco and deal with increasingly irate farmers. Being 'removed' by judicial coup will only play into Thaksin's hands.