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You'd have to think this person is either very stupid and naive or supremely over confident because of who he is, what he is and the kind of connections he has which makes him " untouchable ".

How can fawning devotees actually believe in him and consider him to be all that's good about Buddhism ?

If what they do is seen as making merit they are completely corrupting Buddhism andIi mean it in all uses of the word.

I agree - but the same can be said for the leaders of various other relgious groups who all preach about charity and some who take vows of poverty. Look at the wealthy and comfortable life styles many lead (and how often many get exposed for their very immoral behaviour). All these have one thing in common - they are all prepared to prey on the poor and uneducated and exploit their hopes and fears for monetry gain.

And, they wonder why people turn away from relgion.

Yes it's as much of a con as anything seen on " Hustle " etc. but I can't make up my mind about those who think they are doing themselves good buy giving money to their religion and it's priests, ministers, monks or whatever title is appropriate as not all are ignorant by any means.

I used to have a friend who was quite unforgiving in his attitude and had no sympathy whatsoever for those who were allowing themselves to be used.

Like so many others on tv I come from a long line of cynics so i wonder if all that's happened today will be portrayed as Thaksin stepping in to " save " the farmers ?

Mind you it won't help any of the main problems with this nightmare but at least they have some breathing space if the farmers are back on side, sort of and until a cut in the pledge absolutely has to happen.

The government is only delaying the inevitable confrontation.

My news text service is reporting the farmers have called off their rally after handing in a letter requesting the pledge price remain at B15,000 until at least the end of September and Boonsong has said the price will be considered at the National Rice Policy Committee on Friday.

Funnily enough September was a date supposedly being quoted by Mr.T earlier this morning as when the price might be revised upwards again from 12,000.

Looks like the farmers are getting to them, what's the bet the price suddenly stays at 15,000 meantime ?

I have these texts too and it seems the government have neatly painted themselves into a corner as they can't afford to keep paying out but their core support is turning on them.

Couldn't happen to a nicer bunch.

It's hardly surprising that the country's de facto leader Thaksin is keeping a very low profile just now considering his current performance:

His party has managed to lose two eminently winnable elections.

He has single handedly ruined Thailand's pride and joy, it's previously unsurpassed rice industry.

His government's record of corruption and incompetence means no one will lend the money required for his grand mega projects.

His government's lack of transparency will soon result in a credit ratings downgrade.

He's even managed to anger his own supporters by reducing the rice pledging handouts.

Never mind a reshuffle it's a few aces he needs to produce from somewhere and they are in very short supply in Thai politics.

A very nice summary.

As ye sow so shall ye reap

But not sell !

IN Channel have quoted the manager of a warehouse where dead rodents and insects were found as saying this and pesticides etc DO NOT affect the quality of the rice and render it unfit for consumption. I bet he takes the very best quality stuff home to his family every day.

Maybe International buyers may have a very different opinion to the manager. Different countries have different standards of what is and is not fit for human consumption. These are the people you have to convince beyond all reasonable doubt and not the Thai public.

This is a good point and I'm sure many starving people around the world would be thankful but it's likely the rice will be bought for them by the UN, aid donor nations or international charities who may have ideas about standards unless, of course, more scams are involved. Funny how it always comes back to fiddles !

IN Channel have quoted the manager of a warehouse where dead rodents and insects were found as saying this and pesticides etc DO NOT affect the quality of the rice and render it unfit for consumption. I bet he takes the very best quality stuff home to his family every day.

Well, if the reporters did their job a little better, this wouldn't be a rumour, it could be confirmed. How hard is it to check and track down the locations of the the top Pheu Thai politicians? If they all happen to be in Hong Kong at the same time, I'd say that would confirm things.

In most countries a suggestion of a secret cabinet meeting outside the country would have the media running riot but here it's let go as a simple rumour. i suppose we can guess why.

She made a speech, wonder if it came with a translation and did she try to run away when someone approached to thank her?

What's the need to highlight the colour of her dress, red signifies luck in Chinese culture.

Thai journalism can start to feel good about itself when it does some proper reporting, including investigative journalism, without fear or favour and making sure it doesn't upset the government of the day, politicians, important people or institutions with the exception of the monarchy.

All aspects of Thai attitudes likely here, he probably would have opened fire if someone had flirted with his girlfriend and if she was at at fault he could have taken a page from a certain gentleman's book and re-arranged her face before considering defamation proceedings if she reported it.

I suppose he didn't have a large group of friends around to help take care of the foreigner so he went home to get his trusty " peacemaker ' and shot up a restaurant containing non-Thais.

Great material for TAT.

Crimes of passion are the most notorious in the world. Nothing at all is uniquely Thai about this incident. Your post is not only an example of aggressive ignorance but it also is malignant and revolting.

I said " Thai attitudes " nowhere is the word unique used except by you.

Yingluck has hinted the rice pledging price may increase but to many a farmer this will equate to a promise because that's what they want to hear.

There will be no overnight miracle that will see rice sales go through the roof so this hint / promise is going to fall flat and will add to the farmers's discontent and see more self-inflicted problems for the government.

No cheating reported, metal detectors and tight security so all's well then !

What about candidates who get advance knowledge of the questions ?

While they run around in BKK investigating a problem they reportedly knew absolutely nothing about (until the truck caught fire and 'alerted' them), officials in the south knew it was happening all along - right down to specific methods and details?

A rather serious reporting/communication breakdown.

Next communique from BKK to southern checkpoints: keep a closer eye on those tourists and go over their cars with a finetooth comb.

Par for the course isn't it ? As soon as something becomes a major story officialdom have known all about it but very little or nothing is ever said when things are actually happening.

The DSI claimed to have known about the luxury car scam for two years and of course Thailand's own Sheerluck Holmes, Chalerm knows everything about everything even before it's reported but don't expect him to do anything more than allude to issues or make claims he never follows up on.

customs deputy head Siwakrit Jenwipich, adding that some of the cars intercepted carried the insignia of the Malaysian royal family."

Wow.

The Nation can say this?

No lese mejeste in Malaysia.

Could cause a diplomatic incident though. Just imagine a Malaysian newspapers saying this about cars from Thailand !

The Malaysian royal family is unusual in that it's not hereditary and the King is appointed on a 5 year rotational basis around the country's major sultans.

How about June 10th..... Chalerm's birthday!

and he can be Sponsor and Abstainer in Chief for the day, no finer candidate.

I wonder how long it will be before these idealistic students are swept into the web of corruption if they aren't already, after all they are students ? How many are driving on licences that were bought not applied and tested for ?

After graduation how many will have to pay " tea money " to get the teaching job they have applied for and on it goes ?

The final question is how will they be when they are in a position to " help " someone for a consideration of course, will their ideals still be in place ?

More nonsense from an official who opens his mouth without bothering to think first.

If names are not required will proof of identity will be dropped too ? Have PTP forgotten it was them in the guise of TRT that insisted on I/D after the bomb that never was on a flight Thaksin was due to take. He was screaming " assassination plot " until Boeing proved it was the fault of an engineer who had failed to follow the relevant maintenance handbook.

"She stressed that the Redshirts should not resort to their emotion when they respond to the White Masks. "

Don't resort to emotion but nothing said about resorting to violence. That's as good as a carte blanche to go beating up anyone who doesn't agree with your brand of 'democracy'. Typical red crap.

Here we go, here we go, here we go !