womble

The Criminal Court Monday rejected another criminal lawsuit filed by an American businessman against caretaker Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

The court ruled that the 10-year statute of limitations of the perjury case, in which William Monson accused of Thaksin of perjury regarding civil cases Thaksin had filed against the businessman, had already expired.

Nation

I don't think anyone seriously thought a foriegner would be the one to bring down Thaksin.

I think it's highly likely Thaksin will announce he is not to be Prime Minister after the next election, will take a break and apoint a pupet PM. He will still be no 1 on party list and will return eigher straight after the election or not long after. He will do this to stop the PAD rallies. He will still campaign for TRT and after a landslide win he will mobilise people from N.E to rally and call for him to return as PM. He will use the landslide victory and the people asking for his return as legitimacy for his return.

Investigating another 16 companies is textbook Thaksin. It like a school bully that because he can't have the toy, he'll break everyone elses so they can't play with there's eigher.

Basically Thaksin wants to make sure that if he is punished, so to are his enemies.

The other advantage is that by investigating so many other companies, he reduces the amount of staff working on the shin case and slows down the process of investigation. He also gets to dilute the news which takes some of thye heat off Shin, and most cleverly of all he makes it seem as if everyone is doing it, including many other prominent businessman and businesses, which makes him look as he isn't really doing anything that unusual or wrong.

The thing is although it may help create this image to the information deprived north easterners, to anyone who knows just how devious he has been with the sale it only solidifies their views that he is constantly trying to cover up the truth behind the sale.

womble,

did you got the "I told you not to lend him the fukcing money, you stupid... " - treatment?

Yes! = Marry her!

No = Keep an open eye...

No she hasn't said that, but then if she did that would be blaming me for something her brother has done which is unlikely. Since the time she said she had told her Mum (who said she would pay me back, I refused) it hasn't been mentioned in the house.

she never told me not to lend it, but she told him on the phone that she didn't have it and that she wouldn't ask me. When she put down the phone I said I would lend it, she said are you sure, and I said yes providing he promises to pay it back.

It's my fault for lending it, but if I could turn back the clock, I'd lend it again, now I don't have to be charitable anymore, i've already proved I have a good heart, and that's been taken advantage of.

So providing I don't make a scene, and pass it off as nothing major, I come out of this with the family thinking I smell of roses.

Think about this . . .

Koh kood is being developed as an island for the rich. A 6 star resort with private airstrip will open soon and it's common knowledge that members of the government have large land holdings there.

Gambling is illegal in Thailand.

Gambling isnt illegal in Cambodia.

What better place for a casino?

Wow, that makes perfect sense, he'll never get away with that though, surely. A company is one thing, but handing over land.

Nah can't be true can it?

ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Yeah I gotta say I was impressed with the road they were putting in, looked much better than other roads i've seen put in.

The developement I really don't like the look of is Coco, the houses are horrid, the red roofs look extremely tacky and they are so closed together. Not pretty.

The plan for the Peak looked a lot classier, and I reckon it looks like they know what they're doing. They have some good people on their team.

Did anyone see tonights channel 11 news?

Again not what i'm used to seeing on Thai TV. He made it very clear that the commerce minister was being a coward and not standing up to Thaksin. He gave examples of what he should do and basically said he wasn't doing his job.

This is the strongest I have heard any presenter on Thai TV talk in a very long time.

He said if he wants to be the next prime minister he has to stand up to Thaksin.

I wonder if members of TRT may turn on Thaksin to save their own skins, of whether they're all in so deep it's not possible as too much dirt will be racked up for them.

He also mentioned Duncan Mccargo's reports, told viewers to read this:

http://www.feer.com/articles1/2006/0609/free/p023.html

Which he said he couldn't talk about on the programme.

yeah very nicely put.

Her opinion should be respected, especially as this is a forum that she may infact read herself.

Personally I agree with her, if they are guilty letting them suffer in prison for years would be better than ending it quickly for them, they should suffer before they die.

I guess i've learnt a lot though. It's proved that my gf isn't the type to agree to any demands by family members as she flatly turned him down. I wanted to help her try and gain face in the family by lending it to him, which would have been good if he's paid it back, but he's messed up so now he loses face. The thing was my gf made it extremely clear that should he fail to pay this back it would be very serious and make her and the family look very bad. Really when you think of it, he's let the whole family down, as it's certainly not the way other family members seem to behave. I guess the thing is we still come out of this looking good as we have shown that we are good hearted and were happy to help. We also havn't made a big thing out of him not paying it back, which I guess would be looked on favourably by the family.

If we turn down a future request from him and let the family know that we had to turn it down, then hopefully we will gain a bit of respect as even though we are happy to help someone we are not mugs and don't lend money to those that have made no effort no pay back previous depts.

I'm wondering if he'll ask for $ again thinking he can get handouts as I have only got her to ask for the money once. Maybe he thinks i'm a pushover and will come knocking again?

Time will tell.

The thing is I know it seems many Thai's view lent money from farang as a gift, but the way my gf explained how bad it was if he didn't pay back I think made it clear it wasn't.

Or is it possible he could still see it that he doesn't need to pay it back as I have enough money and can afford to give it to him?

"People that make a first post defending a project ARE involved"

Yeah I gotta say when newbies come on defending it really does have an adverse effect, this forum has 1000's of lurkers and all you are doing is keeping it in the news. It's always eigher people involved or involved very closely to or in the same line of business that get worked up on these forums.

We had a similar situation with Sabai recently, and I gotta say I think posting on here has definatley had a negative impact on here.

Personally I don't see much wrong with The Peak as a development as long as it is only built on legal land. Any illegal land must be returned, that is the forfeit for being greedy and trying to do things illegally.

Unfortunatley what these people end up doing is damaging the market and bringing unwanted heat on those that carry on in an almost legal fasion, which I mean by selling through the company ownership route, which is a grey area.

I think many people do not see The Peak as a bad thing, but are not happy that they are exploiting protected land. It's a huge development in a great location, but it was not wise to get this other land upgraded illegally as it's now going to have a serious impact on profit. The thing is it's easy to say that as an outsider, but it may be that the investors never new it was being upgraded illegally, maybe they were told it's ok as long as you pay.

It's hard to judge unless you know for sure whether the investors knew the land was supposed to be protected. It might be that they thought the land was being upgraded from normal sor kor ha or other low titles.

It could be that they are in fact the ones who have been swindled. In which case it clearly illustrates the pitfalls of investing in countries that are less transparent than what we are used to.

You need to get out more my friend.

Your not wrong, but due to a temporary disablility I am unable to get out of the house at the moment. TV kills the boredom.

I think it's an absurdly stupid thing to say, dos anyone actually think TRT to carry out a survey of the populous that wasn't skewed in their favour. If they even did bother to carry out such a survey you could imagine the demographics they would target and questions used.

They were the numbers that came up on the official government ouija board they use to consult on what new policies to institute.

The funny thing is some of the methods they use to come to very important decisions do actually use methods that are just as reliable.

Yeah that's an absolute classic, 3% on an investment that size.

This deal is gonna go lemon as soon as Thaksin is out.

In a related development, the PM's close aide Prommin Lertsuridej yesterday said a public survey conducted by the ruling Thai Rak Thai Party found that most people believed the bomb plot was real, which was contrary to a general stance by critics.

Actually I think this is one of the first sensible comments i've ever heard from a TRT Politician.

With the worlds second largest population and the worlds largest middle class, India is becoming a big player on the world economic market.

This'll be replayed for days, remember when that bike blew up the police officer when he was told by his superior to reenact how he found the bomb to the cameras, that was played endlessly.

When ever I look at these videos of people getting hurt I always regret it after, a part of me want to see out of interest, but after looking it makes me feel ill.

Same with those beheading videos, the media hype makes you curious. But it's not pleasant to see.

The family live in Ubon, in the city itself, the shops are in the city. But as Swagman says I don't think that makes any difference, there are people who pay debts and people who don't, those that pay back are in my good books, those that don't my bad books, regardless of class.

The family are an honest bunch and I guess the brother is on the whole, other than this issue in 3 years I have never had any problem, nor any other requests for money. They came here to visit once, drove all the way down to samui. The father, Mother, Aunty, Brothers Wife, and baby, for the return journey I offered to pay for the mother to fly back with the baby, so it's a little annoying that the only time I have met him I pay for his wife and baby to have a flight back as they were so tired and squashed in the car on the way down, and then this happens.

You definatley can't blame the Parents for this, it's not their fault, they saved and paid for their two childeren to go to decent universities, and considering they are not particulary well off I think thats quite an achievment.

The fact they don't have any loans, but have a business, have put kids through university actually gives me a lot of respect for them. By him not paying the loan he has gone the opposite way to his parents. They have set the example, in this instance he has failed to follow.

Well, thanks for all the replies, i'm gonna let it go, and think if it as a blessing. My gf told her mum and dad as soon as he hadn't paid it, I don't think they were too impressed, anyway i'm gonna act as if nothing happened, I'm not going to show ill feeling towards the Brother, if he ever mentions it or says he's going to pay me soon which he may next time I see him out of embaressment, i'll just say please make sure you pay soon as it's been a long time.

I don't think there's much point in being hostile towards him, that will just make others feel uncomfortable and I don't want that.

Any future requests for money will be flatly turned down from anyone and the valid reason of his non payment as reasons for me not being able to help others out.

When he one day needs to borrow money for a deposit on a house or something of similar importance he will no doubt feel extremely stupid when I remind him of his faliure to pay the last loan.

Cabinet approves Bt498.56 bn '07 state enterprises budget

Cabinet Tuesday approved a public enterprises budget of B498.56 billion for the 2007 fiscal year starting October 1, said the state think-tank National Economic & Social Development Board.

Of the total, Bt369.30 billion, or 4.4 per cent of the Thailand's gross domestic product (GDP), has been allocated for investment, with .the remainder to be used for operations, according to NESDB Secretary General Ampon Kittiampon.

Investment projects by public enterprises next fiscal year include aircraft procurement by Thai Airways Plc, mass transit, water supply improvement projects, and housing for low-income earners, Ampon added.

Some Bt46.4 billion of the public enterprises' investment for fiscal 2007 will be financed by the government's budget while the rest will be funded by loans and earnings from their operations, Ampon said.

The government has not yet finalise its overall expenditure plan for the coming fiscal year. The initial draft budget for fiscal 2007 of Bt1.476 trillion would lead to a budget deficit of Bt76 billion, or around 1 per cent of GDP.

http://nationmultimedia.com/breakingnews/r...newsid=30013421

Lots of chances for graft there! I thought a caretaker government couldn't approve budgets this large, it's a huge sum of money.

Interesting that the deficit is almost the same as Thaksin Bt73 billion tax dodge. Which amounts to 1% of GDP!!!

So u reckon completely forget about it and not bring it up, ever. If I see him should I just not mention it, what would a Thai do? I don't think they would let it go.

I think i'll go see the family then, but ask that he isn't there until I recieve payment. Is it ridiculous to boycott family gatherings if he's present. Afterall i'm not really that bothered, but I don't want to be seen as a soft touch.

It's 15k baht by the way.

And yeah, it's F.A to get rid of any future requests with ease + she has no other siblings.

So I guess it could be good luck.

You know maybe some members should try to force small loans on the family, when they don't pay back, refuse all future requests!

Actually he may well ask again, as he may think that as I havn't asked for it back maybe i'm an easy touch, i'll take great pride in turning down any future applications, although I won't show it......

This is only going to effect low income people and illegal workers. First time visitors it doesn't harm as they will be able to get the visa a couple of time, by which time they would have learnt the correct channels to go through.

I think we're gonna see some divers and english teachers heading home soon.

Ok, to cut a long story short, i've been with my GF 3 years, she has a decent office job, her family are shop owners, not well off, but comfortable. Many of their friends have bigger houses and cars on loans, but they chose to sell a second property and pay off all loans. Personally I think they are in a better position financially than their flashy friends. Even though their friends joke about their old car!

Anyway the mother and father are really nice and have never asked for a penny, they have pride, and anyway they don't really need it, they put my gf through Rangsit even though it's very expensive so they must be good savers.

She has only one sibling, a brother, he is married and has a young baby, I've only met him once, but we got on well, I like him. He has a lawyers degree and works for the government, he doesn't get paid much, but he has a decent job.

Two months ago we got a phone call from him, he was asking my gf if she could lend him 15k, she said no she doesn't have it, then he got angry and asked her to ask me. She said no she wouldn't ask me and put the phone down. Anyway I said I was prepared to trust him and give him the 15k, but he had to give me a date, any date and promise to pay it all back by then. The date he gave was 7 days, he asked to speak to me, thanked me and said I would have it back next week. My gf spoke to him again and said he had to be sure he could pay it back next week, otherwise it would make her and the family look really bad, she made it very clear how important it was to her that it would be paid back. I also made it very clear that should it be paid back on time, there would be no problem in me helping him out again, but should there be any problems, I wouldn't be able to help him again.

Now when the 7 days had passed, I didn't phone, I wanted to see if he would phone his sister and ask for account details, he didn't phone. So I left it another two weeks and asked her to call him and see what was going on. He said he didn't have the money. Anyway they had a big argument about it and that was that. Anyway she was real angry and said she would get her mum to pay me back right away, which I wouldn't allow, the brother is over 30, his mother shouldn't be penalised because he can't take care of his finances.

I have only brought it up one time since, and I joked about him not paying back, it didn't go down well! So I havn't brought it up again. To be honest i'm not that bothered, 15k is not a lot to me, and I actually think it's a small price to pay to find out if you can trust someone. I would still like it paid back on principle, and ofcourse it's my money anyway.

I'm not sure whether to put more pressure on and ask for the money, or just leave it and teat it as a lesson on his Charactor. If he had paid back and in future asked to borrow more I would have given it to him as he had proved himself, but now that cannot be done. So should I keep asking, or forget about it and chalk it down to expericance.

The other thing is my gf wants me to go up and stay with the family, which I wanted to do, but after this i'm not so keen. I'm thinking of saying that i'm not prepared to go up until the money is paid back, but i'm not sure if this is a good idea or even fair. The parents afterall havn't done anything wrong, but I feel I have lost face so don't really want to go, especially if he is going to be there.

any advise?

This is not a problem, this should only really effect those that have nothing to offer the country, or are taking something from the country such as illegal workers on low wages.

Anyone who wants to stay longer can get the visa, simple. The only people who can't get this visa are those too busy to get to the Thai Embassey, but they would not have time to come for that long anyway.

Also I expect you could be issued with many 30 day visa's if you only stayed a few days at a time and not the full 30 days. If you want to stay 30 days or longer get the visa.

There's another way that's pretty simple if you want to stay longer, find a Thai with a business, get them to employ you, get work permit, and never turn up to work, you pay all cost of WP and non B visa, give them a monthly fee and live here happily ever after.

If you can't afford to do that maybe you should go to Cambodia, vietnam, latin america or somewhere cheaper with easier immigration rules and future growth prospects. Thailand is making it clear that they do not want you here, which means your future chances of success here are diminishing and they will diminish further as the government find more ways to make things difficult for you.

Instead of being slowly forced out by new Thai rules, find somewhere else and try and find a way to cash in on all the others who will later at some point have to leave Thailand, can't face going home and want to stay somewhere that is easier. The expat populations are growing all over the world and will continue to grow, maybe you can find somewhere else where you can make a go of it.

Personally I think the best Thai hospitals are among the best hospitals in the world. The doctors are well qualified, the nurses easy on the eye and friendly unlike the irish sisters back home.

I don't give a sh1t what the nursing staff look like, so long as they know what they are doing.

Having spent 3 months in one of the best Thai hostpitals, followed by being medivact to the UK and then spending a futher 2 months in a UK hospital my personal experience taught me that the Thai nurses are pretty - Pretty bl00dy useless.

Yes you can get good medical care in Thailand, but to claim it as good as the best internationally is streatching things somewhat.

The reference to the nurses was meant tongue in cheek, regardless it enhances ones stay. I prefer the friendliness of the Thai nurses over their european counterparts, their joking nature makes light of the seriousness of ones stay. Which I believe to be a benefit as opposed to a negative, to each their own.

I can only comment on my own stays in hospital in Thailand and I think the health care was excellant. Here's an article from others who share my opinion of this particular hospital.

Here's a little extract,

But for people needing medical care, it's known increasingly for Bumrungrad Hospital, a luxurious place that claims to have more foreign patients than any other hospital in the world. It's like a United Nations of patients here, and they're cared for by more than 500 doctors, most with international training.

The hospital has state-of-the-art technology, and here's the clincher: the price. Treatment here costs about one-eighth what it does in the United States. It's the No. 1 international hospital in the world.

"It's sort of Ground Zero. I haven't heard anybody yet who's told us that they take more than 350,000 international patients a year," says Curt Schroeder, CEO of Bumrungrad."

"

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/04/21/...ain689998.shtml

I might add that the figures certainly seem to suggest that many people do think the healthcare is extremely good, it wouldn't be the no 1 international hospital in the world if it wasn't doing something right. Obviously value for money is a factor, but in order to draw so many affluent customers, the facilities have to be world class which in my opinion they are.

Ofcourse certain diseases and health problems are better treated in other specialist hospitals of which there are many around the world that in a particular field will be better and offer new trial treatments etc. But for the average stay this hospital is as good as most in the west. Certainly better than most hospitals in UK.