SamMunich

Quite frankly I think the best the police can do is to dissolve the traffic police unit. Or at least let them only handle the traffic at the exits of small sois.

But the fundamental problem is, that there are too few roads for too many vehicles. True, you can get a better ratio, when using a motorbike instead of a big car, especially, as most cars transport only one person.

Next problem is, that people need to travel long distances to work and back home. That keeps them on the road for longer time. I knwo people travelling 2 hours each to and from work! Find a job around where you live would reduce the use of traffic.

Increase public transport infrastructure, MRT and Skytrain are too little to make a difference.

And also throw out those old laws, that are only useful for the police to receive bribes. Let motorcycles go across bridges like at the Thai-Belgium bridge. Allow all vehicles to use all lanes. That specific law is from 1932, when motorcycles probably didn't even exist in Thailand...

And finally either reduce the amount of taxis OR find other ways to take them off the road, like with taxi queues for (taxi) cars. And revoke a licence, if the driver has been found to drive like an idiot for 3 or more times.

There migth be more solutions still...

That is the typical statement of somebody who feels he needs to show, that he is important. Of course the parties all do exist as before, else in all other sucessful coups before all parties would have been disbanded with the tearing up of the constitution. The Democrat party is around 60 years old, Banharn's outfit is also pretty old and I wonder, who are the remnants of old Chart Thai Party, not to mention Chart Pattana Party.

If that were due to being organic laws to the constitution, well, the the Election Commission doesn't exist either since May 22nd....

Strip or Chip,- the cards with a chip are the way to go, as they are used more and more overseas. Also look at the newer credit cards, and somew of them can be used at local ATMs. Reason is said to be simply more security and the ability to put more information onto the chip.

But I guess it's like with many other issues: You make something foolproof and within short time the hackers/thieves et al have managed to break the technolopy or circumvent it.

Better to be careful when using it:
* Use ATMs you know and where you can see, if any changes (or holes) have been made to the outside or surface of the machine.

* Watch out, that nobody can see your PIN and NEVER give away your PIN, not even to friends to draw money for you with your card (A favourite among Thais!).

* Use a non-standard PIN (e.g. not 1-2-3-4 or such). And you can change your PIN every once in a while too.

* If possible don't use an ATM at night but during the bank working hours. If anything goes wrong, you can enter the bank and claim/report immediately. However the ATMs are set up and run not by the banks but an external company names ATM Pool (or similar).

There are taxis on the road, even after 22:00, but I can't tell if they are free or with passenger. And they are certainly not as many as normally. I have seen taxis as late as 03:00 on the road.

If you stay at a hotel, let the reception get you a taxi. They might have a taxi driver's phone number to call. And a 100 Baht extra is still better than missing your flight.

I think there are a few facts, that will decide on the future of the coup. Let me point out first though, that I am a democracy loving person,- but not a stupid democracy loving one.

Will the military be able to nip upcountry resistance in the bud? I hope so, as else we will really have a full scale civil war. If the military can isolate the red shirt leadership, the rest will not be able to organize. A positive sign in that direction is the promise to pay for the pledged rice. If they can pull that off, they take a lot of wind out of the sails of the red shirts.

Secondly they must soon show, that they mean business in regard to reforms and also in regard to (at least) reducing corruption. You can't stop it in just one go, but at least reduce it substantially.

Third they will have most business on their side if they really implement major infrastructure projects. Not much left then for the common man, but they only know the old style of politics.

But the one top priority issue is to break the backbone of the Taksin network.

And yes, take away all Thai passports from the fugitive criminal, he has enough other passports.

It would be nmice to find a listing of who is in, who is out of "military care" and who madfe it in time to leave the country.

Quite frankly I wonder where is Nuttawut, but I'm glad Chalerm didn't make it across the border this time as he did in 1991.

So Yingluck is in 3 to 7 days daycare.

Where is Suthep, in or out?

I read two PTP big shots were kept in daycare, while the rest were released but have to stay in reach. What about the Democrat delegation to the talks on Thurday?

Questions and even more questions, but one answer for sure:
It is easier to ride the tiger than to get off without being eaten...

The bad aspect is, that it needed the military (again) to intervene in order to get things sorted out,- at least temporarily. The positive aspect I guess is the population and business are glad the poitical stalemate is over and everybody hopes to get back to a regular life or business.

As for democracy, this is a step back for some time. Let's hope not too long, but long enough to make it impossible to create such an awkward situation again. If the military can achieve (can you call than a military achievement?) this, the military will be the sweetheart of most Thais for a long time to come.

As for the elections, both sides, red and yellow (to put it simple) are eager for elections, but the reds think they are the substance of democracy, as they can gain from elections, while the yellows want free, fair, common and secret elections, like as the international standard calls for. Without outrageous election promises or promises that are gains only for some but a (tax) burden for others.

And let's all hope, this will reign in the corruption, which is like a blood-sucker on the national development of all Thais.

mrtoad

Can he ask Chalerm to stand up and say:

"You're a colossal p***k"

Chalerm is probably too loaded at this point to stand up and speak.

Chalerm has propably already arrived in Singapore, just to avoid being caught by the military. He is burned from 1991. So now every time a general puts down his foot, Chalerm is on his way to Singapore...

Ademin, please delete this double entry. A quirk in the software produced an error, which in itself was an error...

Don't expect the military to come out in the open with tanks etc.
But I'm pretty sure, there is some "discussion" and "convincing" going on in the back. There are lines still open from the military leaders to both sides and my guess would be, that the military is using these.
A military coup would not help anybody, and the generals know that.

The problem right now is to avoid any "solution", that would bring us all back to square one. Now or even in two or three years. We had that and it didn't work out.

As much as I understand, that everybody wants this situation to end, we have to go through it to the end, else all the hassle in the past was good for nothing and in vain.

Don't expect the military to come out in the open with tanks etc.
But I'm pretty sure, there is some "discussion" and "convincing" going on in the back. There are lines still open from the military leaders to both sides and my guess would be, that the military is using these.
A military coup would not help anybody, and the generals know that.

The problem right now is to avoid any "solution", that would bring us all back to square one. Now or even in two or three years. We had that and it didn't work out.

As much as I understand, that everybody wants this situation to end, we have to go through it to the end, else all the hassle in the past was good for nothing and in vain.

SaintLouieNYC believes this:

WOW!!!

It always amazes me the amount of Farang that support the PDRC aka yellow shirts in Thailand since most if not all Farang countries are democracries. Do you ever take into consideration the simple and honest fact that Yingluck was ELECTED PM by the majority of Thai people and was run out of office by a minority of people???

Are you all in favor of over throwing democratically elected officials if you don't agree with their policies?? If you do I suggest you go home and do that with your native government instead of siding with a bunch of people who say that poor persons are too stupid to vote and anyone without a bachelors degree should have no say in who is prime minister....Or maybe that's why you've come to Thailand in the first place, you know to keep those young thai whores in the hole.

Don't worry though because the PDRC and Wealthy Thais have no need for Farangs like the poor working class does. Enjoy it while it last. Continue to watch Blue Sky television instead of any free media that shows the MAJORITY of Thais not even including red shirts that want a DEMOCRATIC country.

Did anybody ever tell you, that elections are not democracy per se but a way and means to get to a democracy? I earlier mentioned the difference between elections and democracy as being like a bottle (= elections) and the beer inside (=democracy). What Taksin and btw most governments in the world try to do is to sell you an empty bottle of beer claiming there is beer inside, while it isn't.

It is unbelievable, how many people fall for that ruse! But agreed, it is easier to let others think and decide for you!

And the "bottle" of Thai elections is damaged as well, with vote-buying, election gifts, promises and brute force. So stop ab-using local elections as a reason to support a thoroughly corrupt regime by a single family and their cronies. If you like it that way, why not going across the boder to Hun Sen???

Moonao believes this:

she was a great PM and really suprised me, i didnt expect she could step up but she did.

her standout and defining moment, apart from her excellent election campaign, was how she handled the protesters. patiently she waited them out, eventually they lost supporters every week and finally there was hardly any left.
compare that to Abhisit and Suthep who gave the order for live ammunition .... and killed almost a hundred.

also the way she dealt with some pretty ugly, fanatical, hate filled opposition groups in the public.... when she responded it was with grace, dignity, unlike the ugliness from her opponents. and im sure some of that will be on display again in the responses to this post.
anyhow, well done Yingluck....

She was a nice puppet, and that sums it about up. Politics is not a beauty contest, as some might think. Else Taksin would have never made it the first time <wg>.

And about that "almost a hundred" being killed by Abhisit & Suthep, stop raping the truth. There were over 20 people killed, that were opposed to the Red Shirts, mostly from grenades and sharpshooters aka Men in Black or "former BPP". The military didn't get the order to kill but to mob up the contested area. If being shot at by young hotheads, they shot back, no wonder. And the military are the more professional ones, not the suburban bullies, who wanted to proof themselves as local heroes...

Better to stick with the facts...

The thing I wonder about is, whether the 10 members of the caretaker cabinet will also get a 5 year ban on poltics? As I understand, that would be pretty much an automatic response, but by court, by EC, by whom?

And the other thing: being a caretaker government, which can not appoint new members to fill in for the 10 people ousted, how many members are there still in this skeleton group? Normally I think the max is around 35 members, incl. dpty ministers.

Let's hope the rain will inundate Aksa Road for a week...

Oh you super-hyper-clever writers here on TV, who are so delighted at poking fun at Suthep's call to arms...

OF COURSE he has to increase the priority, else nobody would think it is necessary to join. Final battle or what else, it doesn't matter, as long as it works out as intended.

After all, it is to our advantage, if a government is finally elected AFTER reforms, that is not or at least less corrupt than the various Taksin-sponsored ones. Even though MY personal oppinion is, that we don't need new laws and regulations, we need another and incorupted police force and (at least at the lower levels) justice staff and judges, who can not be bought. All laws are useless, if the entity to enforce them is useless... as the local police force.

Why not make Chuwit the new Minister of the Interior. He at least knows how to deal with corrupt police. And if a new law is really needed, how about a law, that allows to dismiss without any compensation policemen found to be corrupt. Eventually this will work, slowly first, but then faster and faster.

My two Salueng

Well for the most part good ideas. How ever it makes no difference how honest the police are if there is no real punishment. Also the police should be completely separate from the government. Neutral makes no difference who is in power.

Well I can dream any how. I know it is not going to happen in my or my children's generation perhaps the grandchildren.

My point here is, that there are already penalties in place, BUT they are never enforced.

A neutral police force isn't of much help either, as long as they are corrupt. If you can buy a police guy to investigate in your favour, you can always avoid doing time or whatever is applicable.

The courts are said to be the third power in a state, and the top level courts certainly aren't lapdogs of the present government. But again, if you look at what goes on in lower courts, you might start to vomit, sorry "worry"...

What most Thais fail to understand is that corruption holds back a whole country in it's economic development. This has been researched at nauseam already. No corruption equals faster growth of the overall economy. But the individual person, who collects bribes doesn't give a sh*t about this.

Why doesn't it make me wonder, that in the news as well as here on TV the whole issue is reduced to wages and salaries. That is similar to the reduction of "democracy" to "elections". Both fall far short of the real issue.

Labour issues are about the rights of workers, about the situation and dangers of the workplace, about enough time to recuperate after work WITHOUT the need to do overtime to make a living. Only in that last issue comes the wage up.

Why are there no trade unions or other kind of effective organization of the labour force? Why can workers be locked out and fired, just because they have a demand or request. Why are people dying on the job because safety features were dismantled in order to achieve a higher profit? These things happen all the time and all over the country (and other countries as well...).

So stop reducing things to money, money, money.

Yes, Mr. Surapong, do as Goebbels showed it:
Repeat a lie over and over and eventually people will believe it as the truth. Worked then, will work now,- at least Mr. Surapong hopes.

Too bad, there are also other sources of information, so only the Red Shirts might believe it. But then, they even believe they get their rice payments as well... Oops!

Oh you super-hyper-clever writers here on TV, who are so delighted at poking fun at Suthep's call to arms...

OF COURSE he has to increase the priority, else nobody would think it is necessary to join. Final battle or what else, it doesn't matter, as long as it works out as intended.

After all, it is to our advantage, if a government is finally elected AFTER reforms, that is not or at least less corrupt than the various Taksin-sponsored ones. Even though MY personal oppinion is, that we don't need new laws and regulations, we need another and incorupted police force and (at least at the lower levels) justice staff and judges, who can not be bought. All laws are useless, if the entity to enforce them is useless... as the local police force.

Why not make Chuwit the new Minister of the Interior. He at least knows how to deal with corrupt police. And if a new law is really needed, how about a law, that allows to dismiss without any compensation policemen found to be corrupt. Eventually this will work, slowly first, but then faster and faster.

My two Salueng

BillyBobThai

I'd be feeling stressed too, if I was elected as PM and got removed by a judicial coup.

Moonie, you and your fellow redcoats, just go to prove the saying; you tell a lie often enough and people will start to believe it is true.

And that is the basics of the Nazi propaganda: repeat at nauseam and people will believe it, even if it is the grossest BS. Taksin learned from them, Bobbie Amsterdam did and obviously some more here...

If the Shin clan and their cohorts privatize public organisations like railroad etc, expect to see a lot of money being drawn out of these by filetizing the assets and the profits vanishing in privat pockets.

Though the service is often mediocre, privatizing will not solve such problems. On the opposite, look at the U.K. rail system, which went from bad to worse, AFTER it was turned into private companies... Only speculators are eager to get public assets privatized! Vultures!

Else I can only tell all those, who complain about Suthep taking so much time, it is totally up to Taksin and his puppet sista to get out of politics. The next day Suthep will stop his part of the protest. Sounds easy? It is easy!

What a slap right into the face of the government figures...