jamesbrock

14 minutes ago, webfact said:

The prime minister also mentioned that solving Bangkok’s traffic is not easy due to poor city planning while the inefficient drainage system makes it more difficult to relieve flood water. 

 

Just mentioned in passing... If only there were some constitutional mechanism that empowered him to issue any order "for the sake of the reforms in any field," that were deemed "lawful, constitutional and final" that could be invoked for the purpose of reimagining Bangkok's town planning... I mean, if there were such a thing, it would be a once in a lifetime opportunity to fix many of Bangkok's issues once and for all.

16 minutes ago, poostick said:

And they let the muppet who knocks him over just drive off? I'll let myself answer that...no...i should learn to read

 

At about 2:10 the taxi driver appeared to tell her to move her car out of the way, which she does after the cop points to where she should park. She walks back to check on the cop she hit at 2:40.

5 minutes ago, smedly said:

you think you are smart

 

how about instead of insults to other posters you actually offer some  "smart" solutions, you can't because you and your ilk don't have a clue - go ahead - you and your mates get together and come up with a roadmap to solve and eradicate the prolific power abuse thievery and corruption that has gone on in Thailand for decades............................I will give you a head start, most democracies have been born from severe conflict and civil wars - Thailand has managed to avoid it up to now but has come close several times

 

There were no insults, only pity. One would think someone who has been here for so long would understand the lay of the land.

 

As you failed to comprehend, any discussion of any possible roadmap out of Thailand's woes, any solution to the thievery that has plagued Thailand for decades, is strictly prohibited by law. What part of that don't you understand?

 

P.S. I'm no smarter than average, if that.

 

5 minutes ago, fruitman said:

Why did that car stop at the junction anyway? 

 

Despite the article saying there was a collision, neither driver, nor either cop, appeared to inspect any damage on either car.

 

What appears to happen, is the self-important government official was upset at some perceived slight by the lowly taxi driver, so decided to pul in front of him so she could put him in his place. Lucky for her, the cops were there waiting for a function to perform.

3 minutes ago, smedly said:

no they are not, but what I see is (unless I am totally wrong) is an attempt by one man to try and bring about some changes and call people to account

 

If any of you smart a^^es can come up with some other solution to the very obvious deep rooted Thailand problems of power abuse and corruption  then voice it instead just constantly vomiting your verbal nonsense on every thread on this forum

 

I said in a post here some years ago that Thailand needed a hero - someone that could wield enough power and have enough influence that nobody could or would stand against them and that they had an honest will to move Thailand out of the constant cycle of disfunction corruption power abuse and greed (which we all know exits and is at a level that puts it at one of the highest in history)...............it needs to stop

 

The only person that can make it stop is someone who has decided that enough is enough even if they have been guilty in the past it matters not, they must have enough power to overcome everything and everyone that is bad in Thailand.................the only place I can ever see that coming from is the military - if any one of you can offer some other solution to stop the corruption rot in this country then why not offer it up instead of just posting the constant verbal criticism nonsense that fills these threads...................offer up your own solutions or shut  up      tf

 

Prayuth has his faults and is less than perfect and I have said this many times but boy is he right now doing what most would regard as impossible in this very dysfunctional and corrupt country.........a very brave man indeed and he walks a thin line but one that seems to be going in the right direction, never forget that there are many evil powerful people who are being slowly removed and extracted from the cosey and powerful positions they have held for years.....they don't like it but are not in a position to do anything about it..........Prayuth must maintain a support base otherwise he will be removed - he is playing a very dangerous balancing act but I believe his intentions are good

 

we shall see 

 

 

PS didn't proof read so sorry for the typo's

 

A hero? A brave man? Walking a thin line? You poor delusional soul.

 

Sadly, the forum rules and several archaic laws of the land preclude most of us smart a^^es from voicing any possible solutions, nor from accurately responding to this drivel. What we are allowed to do is discuss—within the rules and laws—the politics of this country on this public discussion forum, which is somewhat akin to discussing the story of the Titanic without mentioning the iceberg. Some of us use satire and sarcasm to deal with the daily, hourly, inanity - if that's too mirthful for you, or it hurts your delicate sensitivities, then you know what you can do.

 

If you really think he is doing this of his own accord, out of some altruistic love of country, then you're too far gone to even entertain.

1 hour ago, halloween said:

The BP refers to his "two regular Thai passports". Why two?

 

Perhaps the use of the word 'regular' was in error. As far as I knew, he did have two, but they were Personal and Diplomatic.

 

His Diplomatic passport was revoked on 12 December 2008; his personal one was revoked in April 2009.

45 minutes ago, Chris Lawrence said:

A great job on cut and past James, but what do you think? As your last paragraph lectures the virtues of righteousness by a zealot, is this far from what is the now. I would also find it impertinent to speak for Thais as a whole.

 

I apologise that I didn't make it clear enough that the passage was courtesy of another party, and for not making the quotation marks (which encapsulated the list and last paragraph) or link to the source more noticeable. As for "speak for Thais as a whole" best take that up with the thai authors of the petition.

 

Of course it's not much better at all now, if not worse, but the subject of the topic is Thaksin. When the subject is the current mob, I'll comment on them then.

1 hour ago, seajae said:

the man is a snake.

 

Certainly is.

 

This brief reminder is courtesy of a petition to World Policy Institute by Network of Thais Overseas on Change.org:

 

"1.      Human Rights Abusiveness and Extrajudicial Killing of 2,800 people

More than 2,800 citizens, including innocent children, were murdered because of the heavy handed policies of the war on drugs and anti-Muslim policies of Thaksin regime. The details of all these cases are on file with Thailand’s National Human Rights Commission, as have been reported by Shawn Crispin of Asia Times on October 13, 2006. Some of the examples are the killing of a 9-year-old, Nong Fluke, by the Thai police on February 23, 2003, during the war on drugs campaign; the Tak Bai incident on October 25, 2004 where 78 Thai Muslim civilians died from suffocation after being handcuffed and stacked on top of one another for over three hours.

Thaksin also created a Police State in Thailand where the police only caught people who acted against the Shinawatra government.

 

 2.      The Two-Year Prison Conviction

Under Thailand’s Prevention and Suppression of Corruption Act, state officials are prohibited to enter into any type of contracts with any state agency or be a party with any interest in any state agency.  Thaksin, then the Prime Minister of Thailand, signed a consent allowing his wife Pojaman to purchase a land offered for sale by a government agency.   The government agency initially bought this land for USD 90 million (2,749 million Baht) and later reduced the assessment price in order to place it in an auction.  Pojaman won the auction at USD 25 million (772 million Baht).  Eight years later, the land was sold at the price USD 60 million (1,815 million Baht).   The Supreme Court Criminal Section for Political Posts Holders ordered a two-year sentence for Thaksin since he, as a Prime Minister, had committed a transaction against the Prevention and Suppression of Corruption Act.  Thaksin then fled the country, and the court issued arrest warrant to capture him.

 

 3.      The USD 2.5 Billion Lawsuit and Seizure of 1.5 Billion 

This is one of the biggest court cases in Thailand’s history.  While in his power as the Prime Minister, Thaksin and his wife concealed the fact that they had owned 48% of Shin Corporation, a public company that was awarded telecom concession from the state by having other persons including his son, daughters, brother-in-law, secretary and his sister (Yingluck Shinawatra – later the PM of Thailand) as nominees for them.  Thai law and the Prevention and Suppression of Corruption Act prohibit the Cabinet members to hold shares in companies and to be a party to do business with state to avoid conflict of interest. Thaksin owned the shares through his nominees and abused his power to favor Shin Corporation in many ways.  He later sold these shares to a Singaporean company.  The net proceed and the dividends he then received total USD 2.5 Billion (76,000 million Baht).  The prosecutor asked the court to seize all the proceeds and dividends.  The court ordered to seize his money totaled USD 1.5 Billion (46,000 million Baht).     

 

 4.      Tax Evasion

In regards to the selling of Thaksin’s shares in Shin Corp to a Singaporean company as mentioned in the above case, Pojaman, Thaksin’s wife, her brother and her secretary were sentenced by the criminal court for a 3-year jail time each, for not paying tax in the amount of USD 25 million (739 million Baht).  

Later, the appeal court changed the sentence to dismiss Pojaman and her secretary, and reduced the sentence of her brother to one year with parole.

Then, Thaksin’s political party won an election, became a ruling party, and the District Attorney decided not to bring the case to the Supreme Court.

 

5.      Corruption by Changing Telecom Concession

During his power as Prime Minister, Thaksin issued a law to change the concession contract between the state and telecom companies, one of which owned by him and his family, resulted in the state losing income in the amount of USD 2.1 Billion (66,000 million Baht) and more profit to his telecom companies.   The court ordered to pause to case due to the defendant, Thaksin, fleeing from the country.

 

6.      Corruption The Lottery Project

Thaksin, all his cabinet members and affiliates totaling 47 people, including Thailand Lottery Committee Executives, were indicted.  The Criminal Court sentenced the then Deputy Minister of Finance, the Permanent Secretary of Finance Ministry, and Head of Thailand Lottery Office for a two-year jail time with parole.  Since Thaksin had fled the country, the court issued arrest warrant to capture him. 

 

7.      Corruption by Issuing Loan to Myanmar Government to Buy His Telecom Equipment

Thaksin issued a loan in an approximate amount of USD 130 million (4,000 million Baht) through a government bank to Myanmar government, allowing Myanmar government to purchase telecom equipment and satellite from Shin Corporation, a company owned by Thaksin and his family.  The court issued an arrest warrant to capture him. 

 

8.      Concealed or Wrongly Disclosed Assets and Liabilities Accounts

Further from the Shin Corp shareholding nomination case, Thaksin was indicted for concealing assets or wrongly disclosed assets and liabilities total of six times.  The court issued an arrest warrant to capture him. 

 

9.      Corruption by Issuing Loan to NPL company

Thaksin approved a government bank’s loan approximately USD 300 million (9,000 million Baht) to a company that was a non-performing loan of the bank which most unlikely to repay the loan.  This case was accepted by the court and is in the process.

 

These are only some of the lawsuits against Thaksin Shinawatra that have already been to the courts.  There are some more criminal cases against him still under investigation.

 

 

Apart from the corruption and legal sentences, Thaksin has ruined the Thai culture and how people think about public interests and personal interests by planting and proving that the unethical behaviors and corruption, are acceptable if his people are in the power.  Nowadays, many Thais don’t care anymore about what’s right or wrong and what’s good or bad, as long as they too receive the benefits, get promoted, or get money. The politicians and government agencies who are in Thaksin’s camp have turned Thai society into a Shameless Society where Greed and Cheat are seen in everyday political news."

 

Source: https://www.change.org/p/world-policy-institute-do-not-be-a-stage-for-tyrants

1 hour ago, trainman34014 said:

Who is conducting all these 'investigations' and 'probings' ?  

 

This is Sirilaksana Khoman, senior academic consultant and chair of Economic Sector Corruption Prevention at Thailand's National Anti Corruption Commission (NACC). It's her job to investigate and prosecute major corruption cases involving the state sector. She has more than a thousand staff in her department. And they have done nothing worthwhile.

 

Meanwhile, Sirilaksana has just flown first class on Emirates from Bangkok to Napoli, where she has now boarded a very expensive cruise in the Mediterranean. Not suggesting anything untoward with this holiday, just answering who is supposed to be conducting these investigations...

 

 

Source: AMM

2 hours ago, clockman said:

But no military?

 

Duh! They're all clean, obviously... 

39 minutes ago, trogers said:

 

Because he was referring to the military in particular...

 

While events of 2010 occurred with a PM and Parliament.

 

1 hour ago, trogers said:

 

History knows...

 

Is history of the 70's ridiculous? If Alive had been specific about events of 2010, then this issue would not have arose.

 

But casualties of 2010 is minuscule compared to the 70's.

 

He was specifically replying to your post, of course he was referring to the same history - why on earth would he suddenly switch from the history referred to in your post "the previous power holder"  and suddenly talk about the 70's, without ever mentioning the 70's?

 

Your constant squirming is even more ridiculous than the dodgy analogy in the post you're trying to rewrite. 

 

This bickering is tiresome. Good night. Krub.

31 minutes ago, craigt3365 said:

Or decided it was good and knew it was going to pass.  Nobody knows why they didn't vote, or how they would have voted except those who didn't vote.

 

True, there is no way of knowing why only 34% of the voting population voted for it.

33 minutes ago, trogers said:

Degree met with degree. Nothing is ridiculous.

 

What was ridiculous was using thugs to fire on unarmed protesters who did not threatened violence nor burn the city while one is in the government. The keyword is 'thugs'.

 

Thugs in military fatigues with army issued weapons? Under the command of the current PM and Interior Minister? Bl#%dy ridiculous.

 

20 minutes ago, trogers said:

My earlier reply refers to events of the 70's. It would make sense for those with ages past 40...or the Youngs who follow history.

 

Funny, your reply to Alive, "The 'real' people where shot and bombed by the previous power holder..." doesn't refer to events of the 70's...

 

Alive's reply to that,  "you know who shot the most 'real' people" doesn't refer to events of the 70's...

 

 

But, for some reason, your reply to that does refer to events of the 70's? Ridiculous.

29 minutes ago, robblok said:

Still not as bad as in 2011.. but I did check my waders, I bought them after the flooding. I would have killed for those during the flooding. 

 

I doubt it will get that bad again, our village on the outskirts of BKK is higher than the others here and had never been flooded only in 2011. So I don't think it will happen again. 

 

But I pity those that are flooded its really bad, especially if it is prolonged. I hope these guys can prevent most of it.. there will always be some flooding as some parts are just too hard to protect. 

 

True. Here's hoping the rains don't last much longer up north, as Sirikit dam is getting full.

12 minutes ago, craigt3365 said:

Not unusual in a democracy.  60% of the population turned out to vote.  And 61% of those voted for the draft charter.

 

Not unusual, but it means that 64% of the population either rejected it or chose not to endorse it.

2 hours ago, Baerboxer said:

Just how did this "special" family get all their wealth?

 

Clue - nothing to do with truth, honesty or justice. The Shins don't want to share the trough, and that is the issue.

 

2 hours ago, Baerboxer said:

Problem is Yingluck, well her brother's, idea of justice is that the Shins are above and beyond the law and always get found innocent of anything and everything. Anything else just isn't justice in their eyes.

 

I really doubt at times that they even know the meaning of the word.

 

Your words can quite easily accurately reflect the current mob as well...

 

"Just how did these "special" army generals get all their wealth?

 

Clue - nothing to do with truth, honesty or justice. The elite don't want to share the trough, and that is the issue."

 

"Problem is the junta, well Prayuth's, idea of justice is that the army is above and beyond the law and always get found innocent of anything and everything. Anything else just isn't justice in their eyes.

 

I really doubt at times that they even know the meaning of the word."

 

As you wrote yesterday, "Difficult to fight corruption when the whole pile is thoroughly corrupt to the core." 

2 minutes ago, trogers said:

I don't know about ridiculousness, but had to reduce rents to my condo units for a couple of years after the red shirt violence.

 

Your response to Alive's question, "you know who shot the most 'real' people" about "Blaming the present body for deeds done by a previous generation is like blaming deeds in a war of the 70's to present servicemen." is ridiculous in the extreme, considering.

 

I note, again, you've deflected.

Let's ask the owners of the cars at Champs Elysees Condominium shall we?

Just now, trogers said:

People who are paid to gather and threatened to burn the capital city with armed thugs shooting while lying prone under the skirts of women deserved to be put down.

 

Or perhaps they should be allowed to run amok and burn the city?

 

I wasn't supporting the redshirts, nor condoning their actions - I was simply pointing out the ridiculousness of your statement, which, I note, you've moved on from. 

4 hours ago, trogers said:

Blaming the present body for deeds done by a previous generation is like blaming deeds in a war of the 70's to present servicemen.

 

Ahem. The current PM was Deputy Commander in Chief of the Royal Thai Army and the current Minister of Interior was Commander in Chief of the Royal Thai Army in 2010 - hardly a "previous generation!"

 

Most political watchers have lost count of the number of court inquests that have indicated that the Army is responsible for the deaths of scores red shirt protesters in 2010. According to one inquest handed down by the South Bangkok Criminal Court, there is much evidence that points to the army′s use of live ammunition against Redshirt protesters on 19 May 2010, such as bullet types, video clips of the clashes, testimony by members of the security forces, and ballistic investigation.

 

The judges for that inquest noted that Mr. Narin Srichomphu was apparently shot and killed by military-issued weaponry which was fired from a group of soldiers at Saladaeng Intersection in the Ratchadamri district during the final military assault against Redshirts protesters on 19 May 2010. Furthermore, the court pointed out that Mr. Narin was shot in the same vicinity where an Italian photojournalist, Mr. Fabio Polenghi, was shot and killed on 19 May 2010, whose death the court had previously ruled as caused by the military gunfire. 

 

Quote

"Therefore ... the court found that the deceased was killed by high-velocity bullet which penetrated his head and nerve system, a bullet fired from the direction of the military personnel who were operating under orders of the Centre for Resolution of Emergency Situation (CRES)".

 

Many previous inquests have pointed to the military′s role in 2010 crackdown deaths, such as the incident where six civilians were shot and killed inside Wat Pathumwanararm Temple on 19 May 2010, when the court explicitly identified soldiers stationed in the nearby area as perpetrators.

 

These are the men who are currently installing themselves for perpetual rule. 

Chun Kasamakorn is preaching to the (mostly) converted here.

 

Of course the culprits of corruption should be brought to justice. Of course it must be a norm that transactions and affairs follow the proper process and that nobody can abuse their power to favour their family members at the expense of taxpayers. But who is going to govern the government, who to police the police?

 

As Baerboxer wrote yesterday, "Difficult to fight corruption when the whole pile is thoroughly corrupt to the core."

Well, who didn't call this???

 

How can the people vote on a constitution for it to be torn up and the junta to do what it pleases? Do they really think the people will be happy about this? 

 

Are they trying to incite unrest?

20 minutes ago, webfact said:

...which include demolishing road islands in some of the 21 main roads, dismantling circles on Parnpipob, Rajdamnoen, Pracharath 1 and Na Ranong intersection to open up more road space.

 

The national police chief said authorities concerned would meet this Wednesday to discuss measures to improve traffic condition in other roads besides the 21 main roads.

 

Measure may include installing circles on Parnpipob, Rajdamnoen, Pracharath 1 and Na Ranong intersection to allow traffic on these roads to enter the main roads.

13 hours ago, webfact said:

The authorities have prepared relief measures by readying water pumps and confirmed that the excessive water will absolutely not affect Bangkok and areas in its vicinity.

 

Absolutely not, hey?