EricBerg

The Kingdom has thousands of deaths in traffic each and every year. Only South Sudan or Libya score worse. About 30,000 people per year!

There simply is not the political will and determination to do something about it. In most other countries it would be the number one priority.

Ignorance and incompetence rule as before...

Boys need toys. No constitution can change that. The average depth of the gulf is 48 meters. NOT the waters to operate subs in. But the boats are essential to protect the Kingdom against evil empires. As once was that carrier that never had planes. And then there will be the ever present brown envelopes. 

The usual rhetoric doesn't add much to the old story. The Dubai bad guy seems to be enjoying his billions more than to enjoy stirring up things. Perhaps silence before the storm? Or just giving in to his age and accepting things?

What a sad world we live in. My condoleances to his children.

Many will be drooling at the thought of a national oil company: heaps of "brown envelopes" to collect...

Isn't this a typical "Where there's smoke, there's fire"-case? The reputations of monks and abbots are free-falling same as the country in all ways.

I'd say both tax justice and a witch-hunt. "Witch" being a far too friendly word for the guy...

We sold our Thai business (main source of money is the Dutch branch), sold the Phuket home, and we keep the BKK condo. Corruption and deteriorating values in the Kingdom caused us to leave it as a home base. Now we visit country and family in the school holidays as our kid gets education in Holland. Perhaps at some later point we'll make a southern European country or the US our base. Climate will be the main drive, as people in warm climates usually are more laid back than in the hectic west.

It's a good thing the corrupt are being stripped of their assets. First time the people in the Kingdom can see that bad leaders cannot get away with their plunder. Now hope this fight will get followup to lower levels as well. It's a start, nothing more than that.

If the bad guy in Dubai manages to make a comeback, lil sis no doubt will be compensated with plenty of money from the national treasury. But, if in the now unclear future the military can prevent return to power by the shinaclan, then real progress will have been made. It would be an important step on the long, long road of cleaning up the Kingdom. 

In the one month before the Crownprince will be King, Prem can do much "cleaning" in the ranks of the military. This surely will help in preventing the return of the beast.

What else can they say? The police force is incompetent. As are the various intelligence services. All they can do is run around, show muscles and hope possible terrorists will be scared off. Anyone can organise a group of freaks or paid criminals to plant and ignite bombs. If people want to destabalise the Kingdom I fear now is a good time for them. And at least one party will be very interested in doing so.

Thailand is not the US or Germany that have a great intelligence apparatus to counter terrorism.

... meanwhile elsewhere Somkid is trying to persuade European companies to invest in the Kingdom. The broader picture here should be that Thailand will not attract many investors when the lawmakers excell in stupidity. People here seem to think there are simple and fast solutions to all complicated problems.

Why is a certain drunk driving copkiller still racing around in ferraris without being arrested on an international arrest warrant? Punish passengers of a drunk driver but not punish a billionair copkiller????????? How immeasurably arrogant and ignorant can people be thinking that they can allow that to happen and the same time attract foreign investors?

Why aren't the public prosecuters being prosecuted for incompetence and probably corruption?

And a teenager girl killing people while driving without a license gets limited community service? Is she allowed to picking mushrooms too, unlike some elderly not hiso people?

The normal Thai people suffer most. It's a hard job keeping the youth on a straight path when they see what happens in the big people world. No need for the shina-clan anymore to advocate anti-social behavior. It's being done on a much broader scale nowadays. Explain to the kids why they should not do like the bad people?

Somkid and the Thai government know very well European investers turn(ed) away from the Kingdom. Over the past ten years it's been increasingly difficult to find decent staff in several disciplins. The work ethics are poor as well. And then there's the everlasting insecurity. Rules can be changed overnight, bribes can be demanded anytime by any official. Farangs are seen as milkcows only.

It takes a whole change of culture to get investers back. A country that quite openly covers up for the slavemasters in the fishing industry is incapable of making that switch.

I doubt the pm will quit no matter what outcome of the vote. He's here to stay.

That "Director of the National Biological Control Research Center" found out that giving Thai kids CDs "will aid child mental development in both moral reasoning and motivation.".

Not sure if my opinion here will be deleted, but I'll give it a try: The guy is a RETARD!

Let me get this straight: First the government officials force companies to pay bribes, then they make the companies pay again as punishment for having paid the first time. Yep, TiT...

Especially for the youth it is important that they get rewarded when they do well and punished if they misbehave. School administrations have shown they cannot solve the problem. If authorities now threaten schools with punishment if their students misbehave can be compared to punishing any company if an employee commits a crime. Does Tesco Lotus get a fine when an employee is caught drunk-driving in his free time?

"The premier added that the best way to tackle the corruption issue is for the people to respect the laws and adopt the awareness of their own responsibilities."

... and the best way to tackle the thousands and thousands of deaths in traffic each year is to obey the traffic rules, especially no drink-driving and no speeding.

cute

Reconciliation has it's limits I suppose. I agree with him on this one.

Very true that the public must participate in the fight against corruption. It will be a long, hard fight though, as nowadays for many members of the public that very same curruption seems to be the national sport. It's an ever present monster.

So it will be business as usual again. The 34 accused officials will get a slap on the wrist and then they'll walk. New slaves will be brought in and sold. Everybody happy. Except the slaves of course, but that's why they're slaves. Mai pen rai... TiT

Do you think that it is like the USA in 1860 ? There are no slaves in the Seafood Factories in Thailand.

True that they bring in Burmese and pay them less then Thai people( jobs that Thai people will not do anyway . But the amount that they get paid is double , what they would earn in Burma. No different then the 8 million illegal Mexican in the USA.

When the Hollywood actors made a big deal about Nike paying Thai people $ 6.00/ day ( which was legal wage) 2005; to make Jordon shoes and sell for $ 150/ pair. Nike moved the factory out of Thailand. 2000 people lost their jobs. Hollywood celebrated , but the Thai workers were out of work.

Did you forget the slaves aboard the trawlers? No pay there, not even one satang. Thrown overboard when sick or wounded; dumped on some uninhabited island when the captain is warned about inspection or when going to harbor. Then later caught on the island to slave more after the "holiday".

True that one cannot judge Thai/Asian conditions to western standards, but there is slavery. The type of forced labor without pay or acceptable working conditions where the victims are prisoners. Please don't mix things up.

So it will be business as usual again. The 34 accused officials will get a slap on the wrist and then they'll walk. New slaves will be brought in and sold. Everybody happy. Except the slaves of course, but that's why they're slaves. Mai pen rai... TiT

So will this result in a wave of mums wanting ps4's, xboxes and other stuff plus a ride home for free?

97 cases of zika in 10 provinces means it has spread. How utterly stupid can those Thai officials be?

_{New day and a new big laugh. Thailand is becoming more funny than Monty Pyhton and Fawlty Towers. Thailand is amazing and the happy General and his gang continues to make Thailand the worldwide fool. As written amphetamines to be taken off the narcotics list and get in the monkey house for smoking on E- cigarettes. The way to go.}

Spot on. Heaps and heaps of Basil Fawlty like idiots all over the place. Though we now only come as regular visitors the Kingdom is hilarious.

Will they round up the Thai employers too?