slimdog

Which members of the previous government, Chuan's, were ever prosecuted for corruption?

Former Health Minister Rakkiat Sukthana, who the Supreme Court found guilty of corruption in a drugs scam and was sentenced to 15 years imprisonment.

I think the difference in this particular case involves charges that Thaksin is unique in his attempts to copy/mimic the trappings (in the form of using previously exclusive flags and cloaks) of someone he shouldn't. AFAIOMMK* no one has ever done that before and was not addressed in the fairly recent speech which focused on the use of words.

*As Far As I Or My Missus Know

The cloak you are possibly refering to, and you have posted pictures of in the past is the official cloak of the Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Thailand.

The same cloak can be found at:

http://www.thaigov.go.th/news_images/R4900...49_surayud3.jpg

http://www.chartthai.or.th/index.php?optio...type=1&id=1

And just for reference, Chart Thai's campaign posters carry a similar image

The ticket that I have just had issued gives it a code of BKM

BKM is the official code for Bakalalan in Malaysia

BKK is for Suvarnabhumi

DMG is for Don Mueang

Thailand has had a very lucky escape if you look at all the evidence and perhaps people should stop blaming the present admin. for everything that should be acredited to the last one.

Remember what the CNS promised when they staged the coup:

To heal conflicts within the mass population which was stirred into factional divisions to the extent of disintegrating national unity and constituting a severe social crisis. Many sectors have attempted to resolve this crisis, but to no avail. Instead, there were signs of further aggravation to the point of physical violence leading to possible bloodshed and loss of life. This situation poses a serious threat to the national administration, economy and public order. It is therefore necessary to establish and apply an interim administrative mechanism that is suitable to the prevailing situation, taking into consideration the rule of law in accordance with Thailand's administrative conventions underthe democratic form of government with the King as Head of State, the revival of a conscientious affection for national unity, the economic system and public order, the development of a ,strong corruption monitoring system and a virtuous ethical structure, the promotion and protection of rights and liberties of the people, compliance with the United Nations Charter, obligations under treaties or international agreements, the promotion of friendly relations with other countries, and subsistence under the principle of sufficient economy. At the same time, expeditious proceedings shall be undertaken to prepare a new draft Constitution with extensive public participation at all stages.

That is what is written in the Interim Constitution, how many of these things would you seriously state have been achieved ?

Same story as posted by Jai Dee but with a better option:

Democracy advocates oppose coup amnesty

A network of democracy advocates yesterday filed a petition opposing the idea of granting amnesty to the September 19 coup leaders on the grounds that the new constitution should not condone military intervention.

The petition, signed by leading advocates such Weng Tojirakarn, Sant Hattheerat and Sunthorn Boonyod, was lodged with Decho Saowananont, deputy chairman of the Constitution Drafting Assembly.

The idea for condoning the seizure of power was incompatible with democratic rule, Weng said in reference to comments by National Legislative Assembly Speaker Meechai Ruchuphan and Constitution Drafting Committee chairman Prasong Soonsiri.

"The new constitution should not be reduced to serve one group of people or another, because it is the country's highest law," he said.

Meechai and Prasong both said it might be essential to include the amnesty clause in the draft charter, otherwise the country would be mired by legal battles relating to the coup.

At present, coup leaders are given immunity under the 2006 Interim Constitution, which will expire after the promulgation of the new charter.

In explaining his stand, Prasong said he circulated the idea of an amnesty in good faith in order to prevent trumped-up litigation designed to exact political revenge and inflame volatility.

Thai Rak Thai Party executive Adisorn Piengket said lawmakers could enact a law granting amnesty to the September 19 coup-makers. "The amnesty can be granted under an act of Parliament. It is not appropriate to include such a clause in the new constitution," he said.

source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2007/03/23...al_30030044.php

There was a little about HIV/AIDS medication in Mumbu's rant .... but not much. It never addressed the fact that Abbott didn't create the drug in question, OR that Thailand was within it's rights to decide to produce it on its own

<as for the liar that keeps sending me the inappropriate PM's ... LOL>

I said that it is irrelevant whether Abbot developed the drug or not, because Thai government decision did not take this fact into consideration. The only reason that was given is cost savings. Thailand within its rights to decide to produce it on its own. The action of Abbot is also perfectly legal. The point is who is responsible for AIDS crisis in Thailand. Certainly not Abbots Labs. Hence, they should not bear the cost of the problem. Thai government should and could.

The reason that Thailand invoked the compulsory licence is not to manufacture the drug..

Under the TRIPS agreement, (I believe Article 6), countries which invoke the compulsory licence are allowed to import generic equivellents regardless of whether the Drug is under patent in the host country. Without the compulsory licence then Thailand would not be able to import any generic medications where the drug is patented in Thailand. The same applies to Stocrin (efavirenz).

Contracts with King Power to be nullified : AOT

Airports of Thailand's board of directors stand by the Council of State's ruling on Thursday that two contracts with King Power International Group should be nullified, said AOT chairman Gen Saprang Kalayanamitr.

King Power was awarded two contracts, for the operations of the duty free area and the management of the commercial area at Suvarnabhumii Airport.

The Council of State ruled on March 19 that the contracts' values were brought below Bt1 billion to avoid complying to the Joint Venture Act. As such, they should be nullified.

source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2007/03/22...es_30029989.php

Constitution chairman wants to amnesty for coup leaders included in draft

The Constitution Drafting Committee's chairman Prasong Soonsiri Tuesday asked the panel to ensure that the military junta will be given amnesty under the new constitution currently being drafted.

If so, it will be a first-ever amnesty in any of the so-called "permanent" constitutions.

"If staging a coup is wrong under the new charter, will the Council for National Security (CNS) be tried in a Military Court or what? It won't be fair to them if after the charter is adopted, they all ended up going to jail," Prasong told fellow drafters during the meeting.

source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/breakingne...newsid=30029790

[Earlier, American cable television businessman William L Monson protested the request, saying that the central bank's approval could jeopardise his civil lawsuit against Thaksin. However, the central bank said the protest carried no weight.

The Nation

I suppose he thought that the statute of limitations, which expired in January wouldn't jeopardise his lawsuit ...

CNS yet to be convinced rebels behind Bangkok bomb blasts

The Council for National Security (CNS) has yet to be convinced by police reports linking southern separatists to the New Year bombings in Bangkok and Nonthaburi. CNS chairman Gen Sonthi Boonyaratkalin yesterday urged the public to only listen to information released by the CNS to avoid confusion. ''If you listen to what others say, we don't know exactly how much evidence they've got. They must report to the CNS first, so we can see how credible their report is,'' said Gen Sonthi, responding to police reports leaked to the media.

Gen Saprang Kalayanamitr, CNS deputy secretary-general, asked police not to unveil details of their probe into the New Year bombings or comment before the investigation team provides concrete findings, an informed source said. ''Otherwise, it could terrify city residents,'' the source quoted Gen Saprang as saying while meeting yesterday with top officers from the armed forces and police at the Navy headquarters.

Full story: http://www.bangkokpost.com/News/20Mar2007_news09.php

WSJ Uncovers Abbott's Norvir-Busting Marketing Strategies

January 5, 2007

By Tim Horn, Senior Writer & Editor

(AIDSmeds.com) - A scathing front-page article published in the January 3 Wall Street Journal (WSJ), outlining strategies by Abbott Laboratories to limit access to Norvir® (ritonavir) for the sake of keeping Kaletra® (lopinavir/ritonavir) sales afloat, has once again raised the ire of treatment activists. According to internal documents provided to the paper, reporter and writer John Carreyrou indicates that Abbott considered three aggressive marketing tactics – including the 400% Norvir price increase that went into effect in December 2003 – to deter the use of competitor protease inhibitors (PIs) that required low-dose Norvir for boosting purposes.

Norvir, approved by the FDA in 1996, was Abbott's first PI. At its approved dose of 600 mg twice daily, however, the significant side effects of the drug – including upset stomachs, weakness, liver enzyme increases, sharp glucose and lipid (fat and cholesterol) elevations, and numbness/tingling around the mouth – proved too prohibitive for many HIV-positive people.

Soon after it was approved, researchers discovered a beneficial and potentially less toxic use for Norvir. The drug was found to have a profound inhibitory effect on cytochrome P450 enzymes, proteins in the gut and liver responsible for metabolizing numerous medications in the body. Using low doses of Norvir to block these enzymes, researchers were able to combine it with other PIs, effectively making them more powerful and/or easier to take.

Kaletra, Abbott's second PI approved by the FDA in 2000, is based on this Norvir-boosting concept. Each pill contains lopinavir, the active PI, and a small amount Norvir, which gives lopinavir an effective boost. Following approval, Mr. Carreyrou writes, "Kaletra's effectiveness and convenience quickly made it the most popular AIDS drug, with 35% of the protease-inhibitor market by 2003 and annual U.S. sales nearing $400 million."

Meanwhile, Bristol-Myers Squibb's PI Reyataz® (atazanavir) was generating a lot of buzz in clinical trials and was approved by the FDA in June 2003. Not only were Reyataz's once-daily dosing and minimal effect on lipid levels attractive selling points – Kaletra required twice-daily dosing in 2003 and is known to cause cholesterol and triglyceride increases – preliminary results from a study comparing Norvir-boosted Reyataz to Kaletra demonstrated equivalency between the medications.

Four months later, in October 2003, GlaxoSmithKline's PI Lexiva® (fosamprenavir) was approved by the FDA as well. Like Reyataz, Lexiva was showing significant promise as a once-daily Norvir-boosted option.

In response to the threat of Norvir-boosted Reyataz and Lexiva on Kaletra's sales forecasts, internal documents generated at Abbott outlined potential strategies to take the wind out of the sails of its competition. If the company did not take steps, the documents indicated, Kaletra's market share would fall by approximately 10% in 2004.

The WSJ article says that on September 6, 2003, Abbott's HIV marketing director Jeffrey Devlin e-mailed a slide presentation to colleagues discussing two possible strategies to counter the attractiveness of Norvir-boosted Reyataz: quintupling Norvir's price or, more drastically, withdrawing Norvir pills from the U.S. market and leaving only the unpalatable liquid formulation of the drug. (John Leonard, Abbott's vice president of global pharmaceutical research and development, has referred to liquid Norvir as "this fluid that has been – I'll just say it – characterized as tasting like someone else's vomit.")

Mr. Devlin ended up supporting the price hike, but Jesus Leal, then vice president of Abbott's virology franchise, preferred the switch to the liquid formulation.

Mr. Leal, Mr. Carreyrou points out, wrote in an e-mail that a sharp price increase would be difficult to justify, especially if the company was "forced to open books." The liquid switch, he said, would "minimize any federal investigations regarding price increases." Plus, according to the slide presentation distributed by Mr. Devlin, U.S. sales of Kaletra would grow by 20% to 30% between 2004 and 2006, while U.S. prescriptions of Reyataz would fall by 28% to 54% over the same period under the scenario. To justify the switch, Abbott would tell the American public that the Norvir capsules "needed to be sent to the developing world (i.e., Africa), as part of a humanitarian effort."

Another slide set, presented at Abbott on September 24, 2003 – the company says that the slides were prepared by an external public relations firm – added a third option: simply halting global distribution of Norvir altogether. This radical step, the presentation suggested, would remove "pricing from public debate" and render moot any discussion of the liquid's taste. However, it noted that Abbott's "corporate reputation" would suffer. What's more, this decision might have prompted governments to permit the production and distribution of generic Norvir versions, potentially hurting Kaletra sales even more.

Abbott eventually opted for the Norvir price increase, which went into effect in December 2003. Norvir's U.S. wholesale price rose to $257.10 from $51.30 for 30 100mg capsules. The Abbott slide presentation indicated that this would allow the company to "position Kaletra as a more economical option" and that patients would not be directly harmed, "as nearly all are covered by private insurance, Medicaid, and ADAP."

According to a December 19, 2003, WSJ article by Vanessa Fuhrmans, AIDS activists and other critics sensed that Abbott's intention was "to push patients away from using Norvir in drug cocktails and switch to its newer AIDS treatment, Kaletra, instead." Abbott, however, publicly argued that Norvir's price increase had nothing to do with Kaletra. The company said that Norvir's new price was intended to better reflect the drug's importance in treating HIV and the costs for improving Norvir's formulation, including a tablet version. (The tablet version, originally scheduled to be available in 2005, has yet to be developed.)

Taken from:

http://www.aidsmeds.com/articles/1667_11084.shtml

May 1983

April 17th 2003

April 18th 2003

These dates are quite important to me. April 17th was probably the worst day of my life, yet the following day was one of the happiest days of my life. On the 17th I was diagnosed as having advanced stage hiv, otherwise known as AIDS, the following day I along with my wife and children learned that they were all hiv-. The earlier date was the date I got infected. It wasn't intentional, it wasn't through promiscuous sex or using drugs, neither of which I have ever engaged in, it was a simple blood transfusion. Unfortunetely for me, testing of blood for hiv didn't start to happen until later on that year.

For some reason I managed to go 20 years, before I was diagnosed. I wouldn't say that the 20 years were entirely free of health problems, but all the probems I did have were minor, mostly a boil, which would appear, burst within a few days, and not re-appear for a year or two. Towards the beginning of 2000 the boils would appear a little more frequently, maybe every 4 - 6 months, but I was always able to link it with work, being both tiring and stressfull. The last thing I worried about was AIDS.

Prior to 2003, my wife had 2 AIDS tests, each time she got pregnant, the hospital would check for hiv along with confirming the pregnancy,all were clear. Yet for so many women, what is supposed to be one of the happiest days of their lives turns into a nightmare. Thankfully today, especially in places like Thailand, where most women get confirmation of pregnancy in hospitals (and therefore are hiv tested) the women are able to take ARV medication to minimize the chance of mother to child transmission. One of the wonderful things about newer ARV medication is that with each new drug that is introduced, the toxicity of the drug is reduced whilst still combating the disease.

ARV medication won't cure the disease, but doctors are now believing that close to normal lifespans can be achieved. It doesn't come without risk, but doctors are learning exactly what to look out for, what tests to perform etc in order to mimimize those risks.

Right from the beginning of the AIDS pandemic, healthcare officials have acknowledged that the only real way to combat the disease is through prevention. The problem is that the most effective form of prevention is by using Fear. Ironically, for a disease that attacks the immune system, being bombarded with "Prevention through Fear", actually increases peoples immunity, and they switch off. But the effect is that some of that Fear is transmitted, not in prevention, but in the way that the General Public deals with AIDS infected people. The fact is, that some of the most educated people, Westerners, are actually the worst offenders.

One of the first things I asked my doctor back in 2003 was how I could prevent both my wife, and in particular, my children from contacting the disease from me. His answer was quite simple, "The chance of you infecting your children is about zero, but be very careful around your children whenever they get ill, remember, your immune system is also about zero". At the time, my CD4 count (One of the measurements for the immune system) was less than 1% of what it should have been...

Anyway Maestro, thanks for letting me live

Pepe, All I will say is that I pray that you show a little more compassion to the patients you say you are taking care of than you have shown in earlier posts. But just to be on the safe side,I will take your advise and insist on a condom, the next time I have a blood transfusion...

Once again back on Topic

PM's Office to settle fine with iTV through arbitration panel

The Prime Minister's Office is apparently forced to settle the hefty fines on iTV through an arbitration panel.

Though it has insisted that there is no need to appoint another arbitration, the Arbitration Institute today forced iTV and the PM's Office to appoint their arbitrators.

In the statement to the Stock Exchange of Thailand, iTV said that the institute ordered it to appoint the arbitrator within 15 days and notify its arbitrator's name to the PM's Office.

"If the PMO fails to appoint its arbitrator within 30 days from the notified date, the company shall request the court in jurisdiction to appoint the arbitrator on behalf of the PM's Office," the company said in its statement.

After revoking the broadcasting concession awarded to iTV 10 years ago, the Office said that it would pursue for the payment of the unpaid concession fees of Bt2.2 billion as well as the fines of over Bt100 billion from the company.

Failing to pay the amounts, iTV could face bankruptcy.

source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/breakingne...newsid=30029475

The last time itv carried out the recommendations of the arbitration panel it ended up with a 100 Billion baht fine...

Well this is certainly wonderful news for Thaksin. So what would result from this if he is found guilty?

Yesterday was the hearing of the defendants' witnesses in the electoral fraud case against the Democrat and Progressive Democratic parties.

Among the witnesses were former deputy Senate speaker Nipon Wisityuthasart and Nation Multimedia Group senior editor Sopon Onkgara. They testified on how the Thaksin government interfered in independent agencies and the media, as alleged by the Democrats.

Former senator Chirmsak Pinthong was also scheduled to testify yesterday but could not attend. He has already submitted written testimony.

Taken from: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2007/03/16...cs_30029419.php

does Giles have an email?

[email protected]

Nice accurate reporting from our wonderful newspapers...

Share Transfer definitely took place in 1997 or maybe 2000

Maximum jail time is definitely 7 years or maybe 14 years

Maximum fine is definitely 200,000 baht or maybe 400,000

Unfortunately, it is likely that human greed drives AIDS pharmaceutical development- it is probably more profitable to "treat" the disease over the lifetime of the rich, first-world victim than it is to vaccinate a potential victim living in a poor country with no money- and that is why so little vaccine research has been done by those companies compared to treatment research.

"S"

Whilst everyone would love to have a vaccine for hiv, there are a few important issues. One of which is testing people for the hiv virus, as any vaccine would by definition have to encourage hiv antibodies, which means that everyone would be hiv+. Testing for the hiv rna itself is a quite expensive process, and certainly would be unavailable for some of the poorest countries, which are normally the worst affected, whereas checking for the antibodies is relatively cheap, and simple.

As for the part of the constitution limiting a PM to two terms or 8 years as reducing corruption I fail to see how.

Thaksin was the only PM to see out a full term and be re-elected and there was plenty of corruption before him.

Look at Chavalit and earlier "Generals". Just how much did they make out of the Baht devaluation and drugs?

The only biggie ever convicted was Sanan if I remember correctly.

The biggest problem with having a limit of 2 terms or 8 years would be for example:

Banharn Silapa-archa: If he was in a future general election made the Prime Minister of a coalition government, then he would be well aware that this would be his final term,( as he has already served one term already) and if probems did arise he might do just about anything to keep the coalition intact, regardless of the social, economic or political consequences..

Pro-Thaksin site is okay: CNS

The Council for National Security (CNS) has no concerns about a pro-Thaksin Shina-watra website campaigning against the current administration and figures investigating corruption allegations against the former prime minister.

CNS chairman General Sonthi Boonyaratglin said yesterday the hi-thaksin.net site caused him no concern He had not visited it.

The council's deputy chairman, ACM Chalit Phukpasuk, said there was no need for the CNS to create a new website to counter the pro-Thaksin one.

CNS spokesman Colonel Sensern Kaewkamnerd said Sonthi told yesterday's meeting that he expected the government to take necessary action against any move to fuel social division.

source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2007/03/14...cs_30029254.php

ICT Ministry blocks pro-Thaksin website

The page you are looking for is currently unavailable - if you are in Thailand and that page is www.hi-thaksin.net .

The Information and Communication Ministry managed to block a pro-Thaksin website yesterday evening after beating web operators trying to sidestep them. The operators tried to restore the site at night, but could only put back on the web a link to a video clip of deposed prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra greeting his supporters. The site is

http://www.hi-thaksin.net

The Council for National Security (CNS) yesterday ordered the ICT to crack down on the website if the clip and other pro-Thaksin content were deemed to spark divisions in society. The website was reportedly produced by zealous supporters of Mr Thaksin. "We always listen to all sides except for the old power, which intends to cause social division," said CNS spokesman Col Sansern Kaewkamnerd.

Full story: http://www.bangkokpost.net/topstories/tops...s.php?id=117409

The survey must have been conducted over the course of last year when Thailand still had Thaksin as the prime minister. So I'm not surprised by the result. His administration was generally considered the most corrupt ever in the entire Thai history.

Anyway, I believe there will be less corruption in the country once the new constitution goes into effect.

Thai corruption 'worse since coup'

Corruption in Thailand has grown worse in the past year in the opinion of foreign businessmen, who say only the Philippines now has more graft in the Southeast Asian region.

The survey ranked 13 nations, as perceived by foreign businessmen - i.e. people living or based outside the country being voted on. Thai businessmen were polled, but not on Thailand.

also:

The junta that ousted Thaksin Shinawatra as Thailand's prime minister last September promised to fight corruption "but there is no reason to be confident that its behaviour will be any cleaner," PERC said.

Full details: http://www.bangkokpost.net/breaking_news/b...s.php?id=117400

Just to add a little perspective to the itv saga.

iTV: SCB will sell iTV stake to Shin Corp

-----------------------------------------

Siam Commercial Bank plans to divest all of its holdings in television station iTV within five years to telecom giant Shin Corporations.

Under iTV's debt-restructuring plan, capital will be written down from one billion baht to 200 million baht. Siam Commercial Bank, a major shareholder and creditor of iTV, will convert its 3.7 billion baht in loans to equity,which will then be sold to Shin. The restructuring plan has been approved by the SCB board, said Aswin Kongsiri, a bank

director.

The total cash amount paid to iTV by Shin will be about 2.5 billion baht for a 40% stake. Another 40% in the station will be controlled by SCB and the Crown Property Bureau,with the remainder held by other shareholders. The station's total debt burden after the equity swap will fall to around 600 million baht. Within five years, the bank

plans to completely sell its holdings in iTV, potentially giving Shin as much as an 80% stake in the station.

"After the debt restructuring is completed, iTV shareholders will still have to approve it. The bank will propose the plan to the company directors, but we don't anticipate any problems, since it's the best solution available," Mr Aswin said. "iTV's problem rests with its cashflow and high debt. Operating performance is good, and the firm should show a profit once restructuring is completed."

Another bank executive said Nation Multimedia Group, another iTV shareholder, had proposed raising its own stake

to 12% after the restructuring was completed. Nation now holds a 10% stake in iTV, which will be reduced after the capital write-down and debt-for-equity swap. Suthichai Yoon, Nation Group editor-in-chief, has formally asked SCB for the right to purchase shares. Other iTV founding shareholders, such as JSL Co and the Matichon Group, have not yet signalled whether they want to maintain their 10% holdings by buying new shares.

Nation Multimedia, which supplies several news programmes for iTV, had been in a sharp dispute with the bank for the past few months over the restructuring plan and overall station programming policy. Under the station's licence, news content must represent 70% of airtime. To bolster ad revenues, the station had favoured rearranging some of its programming to place more popular entertainment programmes in prime-time spots, a move strongly attacked by the Nation group.

Nation Multimedia, meanwhile, has invested heavily in its own project to launch a cable news channel on UBC pay-

television starting next month. Executives of the company say they want to maintain their stake in iTV to keep its

options open, and further develop the group's strategy as a general content provider, selling to both cable and free

TV.

"If Nation leaves iTV, it doesn't seem like a smart move. And even with Shin coming in to takeover the station, Mr

Suthichai will continue to hold a lot of influence in news policy," said one executive.

Mr Suthichai could take a formal management position at iTV once the recapitalisation is completed, which would be followed with a general management shake-up at iTV, sources said. (17-May-2000)

source: http://bankrupt.com/TCRAP_Public/000518.MBX

SET: iTV must submit business plan by Apr 8

The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) said Monday that television broadcaster iTV Plc could be delisted if it fails to submit a business plan to the Stock Exchange by April 8.

"The Stock Exchange is ready to delist shares of iTV if the company does not submit its business plan to the bourse 30 days after its broadcasting license was cancelled on March 9," said Stock Exchange of Thailand President Patareeya Benjapolchai.

Following the submission of a new plan, iTV would have two years to restructure its business, Patareeya added.

source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/breakingne...newsid=30029099

Activists complain to AEC over the govt's roles over iTV saga

A group of activists lodged a complaint on Monday with the Assets Examination Committee (AEC) against Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont, PM's Office Minister Khunying Dhipavadee Meksawan and two top government officials for their role in TITV station.

They accused Surayud, Dhipavadee, PM's Office secretary general Jullayuth Hirunyawasit and Public Relations Department (PRD) director general Pramoj Rathvinij of abuse of authority by offering preferential treatments to iTV Plc and their staffs.

"The culprits should face criminal actions," Constitution Drafting Assembly's member and former senator Karun Sai ngarm said.

Karun, Civil Rights and Freedom Protection Group's chairman Veera Somkwamkid and another activist Suphaphon Methavee led some 30 people to lodge the complaint.

AEC chairman Nam Yimyaem said AEC would review information in this case before deciding whether there were grounds to taking up the case.

According to the complainants, PRD advanced Bt60million budget to hire former iTV staffs for the TITV operations in defiance of laws governing quotations to government agencies.

TITV is the new name for iTV.

"This means each iTV staffer gets Bt60,000 on average. This is the rate higher than what PRD staffs get. The fact that PRD exclusively hires former iTV staff for TITV operations also means other people are blocked out of job opportunities," Karun said.

Because the parent company would not pay more than Bt100 billion in concession fees and fines to the concessiongranter PM's Office, iTV's licence was cancelled.

Assigned by the PM's Office, PRD is now managing the station so the renamed TITV could stay on air.

The move is in lines with the Administrative Court's order the PM's Office must ensure uninterrupted broadcast of the station until its legal case gets a final court ruling or until the court rules otherwise.

The court issued the ruling after iTV staff asked it to help following a suggestion by the PM's Office that the station might be closed temporarily while relevant problems were being sorted out.

TITV now belongs to the PM's Office, not the private company.

However, Karun said PM's Office did not have the right to allocate broadcast frequencies.

source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2007/03/12...es_30029097.php

Regarding the 30% rule:

I wonder how much this might have in effecting currency outflows. Currencies generally ebb and flow depending on some basic economic principles; stock market, bond market, current exchange rates, interest rates etc. If the speculators feel that the stock market is undervalued, or that bonds are worth the investment, they may be feeling that it is better to keep the money in Thailand rather than repatriate it as they would have the 30% withholding tax should they wish to bring the money back in at some time in the future. Hence the need for the BOT to issue 1.4 trillion in bonds in 4 months (mostly at fixed rates). So few people are selling their bahts.

Obviously exportors are quickly selling their overseas earnings and buying baht, as they fear that their profits could be undermined if they wait, and the baht continues rising.

It just seems that maybe, the BOT have put in a flow valve when there was perhaps a little too much money in the market in the first place.

Just a thought...

So what about 006 ? maybe it doesn't exist

006 is still free.

005 was awarded to ais late last year, although not aware of any service or rates

some info can be found at:

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2006/09/11...ss_30013287.php