Prbkk

Mandy Rice Davies applies: every athlete, every country : "i'm shocked"

The most important thing IMHO is to reform the police before the next election so they are not under such tight political control and answer to some kind of ombudsman, not a politician. During the protests, they were like Pheu-Thai's private army.

If the Junta don't do it, the next government definitely will not. They are a very useful tool to have against opponents

While the RTP does need to undergo reform in many areas, it is incorrect to suggest they were puppets of PTP during the protests. Given the abject and miserable failure of the military to bprovide any security, the RTP was the legitimate arm of the government....that's appropriate in a democracy, although some, like the sleazy monk, believe it is the right of vagabonds, ruffians, thugs and hooligans to challenge, threaten and even interrogate under torture representatives of that arm of the elected govt.

Thailand is far more vulnerable than Korea, hence the level of concern. Far more Thais go to and from the region, far more visitors from the region to Thailand..Everyone has been caught short by the apparent ease of human to human transmission in the hopstital in Seoul.

His English is much better than Yingluck's.

Better have showers at work. I for one love the idea but nobody is going to want to be around me if I cycle to work in long sleeve and tie.

As a rule cycling appeals to the soap-dodgers, at least western ones,adding to the problem

Yes, everybody, just click your heels three times and repeat, "There's no place like Thailand, there's no place like Thailand ….

Well, toto, he's not going to say ( at least not yet) : "..watch out because I'll get you and your little dog too"

The strategy should be 'pink money' from every country, not just the USA. But, as with the German seniors, they need specific plans, strategies, tragets, KPIs. No use saying some LGBT folks will come to buy dried flowers and lamps.

Dusit Medical shares up 25% over the past 12 months and a couple of well known hospital owners on the list. Interesting. in the context of the discussion about private medical fees and charges

Meanwhile, complete silence from the club's owner...evidently unconcerned about the sex/racism and generally tacky episode ( but no doubt very keen to protect his financial investment...even in a tier 5 level club).

A similar syndrome appeared in Thai workers in Singpore about 20 years ago. It was never fully explained but many deaths ( unrelated to drugs though).

Seems like a hairline crack appearing over this issue

Crazy nonsense...anything imported is going up like a rocket ( and most of what I buy is Euro or AUD sourced so exchange rate CANNOT be the explanation). Swiss, ok, maybe understandable but other imported goods are just ripoff levels.

Exporters around the world are trying to maintain market share and grow a little, so their pricing is not the issue. The explanation, at least for imported food, is a combination of ludicrous excise and profiteering.

Where is ALDI? ( too smart to enter a nightmare market).

They never pass on a chance to be petty.

Only the junta is petty. When Thaksin tried to take away Abhisits cub scouts achievement badges, and retroactively fired him from his scout brigade after 40 years, that was not petty at all.

Really true?

I believe T. is petty and evil - but this?

I exaggerated a little. Thaksin tried to strip Abhisit of his military lecturer status which he held in 1988 when he was a teenager- citing some potential paperwork irregularity. This would have meant Abhisit would lose his MP status and could not participate in the censure debate against Thaksin. It is the very definition of petty.

On the other hand, stripping a fugitive on the run of his policemans rank and salary is not petty. It is neccessary and should have been done years ago.

In relation to Abhisit, your " paperwork irregularity" is the allegation of draft-dodging through the submission of false documents leading to a teaching position he was unqualified for? Pesky paperwork.

Singaporeans, Japanese, koreans....all about 10cm taller in 65 years, largely as a consequence of increased dairy and protein. Thailand faces an epidemic of carbohydrate related disease without growth.

Tell that to his throngs of followers with their hands starched out for fistful of baht, those people

see him as a demi-god, a savior and as a PM who's in his hay days business was good, very good...

there will always be a hard core followers who still enjoys his money, however, once there will be

no more money, so will be most if not all, his flowers will disappear...

Plus there is no doubt indoctrination, with lies and untruths, is still rampant.

The udd red leaders doing this are well organized and know how and where to find groups of Thais who are unaware and will listen.

Anybody who thinks the paymaster is not behind all of this is very naïve.

More importantly this all poses a serious threat to reforms and taking Thailand forward with new thinking and new principles and even much more important move forward with new politicians who are not connected to the old parties and their thinking.

Seriously, you overstate his relevance and underestimate the capacity of the Thai people to come to their own views. Thaksin has had his time in the sun and many Thais derived a benefit from that, as did the nation as a whole. But he is yesterday's man and the more the junta keeps him in the limelight the less they are seen to focus on the future.

Of course there needs to be an accommodation with the remnants of PTP...they still command huge support.

The junta is running the risk of being seen to be churlish and vindictive: the should take whatever they can muster of the high moral ground ( restricted by the way they came to power and the vested interests they appear to serve) and become more inclusive, less patronising and a bit more savvy.

She'll be screaming all the louder when some of those butch girls get after her in prison

Yes, well in my day we used to call this "having 2 bob each way"

Means nothing - look at the fiasco with the UK polls before the election.

Indeed. Every poll suggested that Wilson would get back and Heath came from nowhere.

Superficially things appear to be better at least in respect of violence. Unfortunately those with responsibility are either in a state of denial about the economy or clueless regards strategies to get it moving.

"Returning happiness to the people" has a very short shelf life/window of opportunity.

Nice piece of PR, get "Thaksin offers compassion" on the title and put the not so veiled attack down in the middle of the release:

"However this time he said he would like to offer his compassion to the powers-that-be in Thailand so that they would be freed from greed, anger and use their wisdom in resolving problems and restoring reconciliation."

What he is doing is painting himself as a pious man while vilifying others as being greedy and angry, pure propaganda.

If it is a PR battle, then Thaksin is winning it by a country mile. They should forget this focus on Thaksin and passports/media interviews. The ONLY message they should be sending about him is that he is yesterday's man. Repeat ad nauseum. They are playing into his hands with this chickenfeed stuff and he is a master of the art of politics.

As long as we have "Thaksin is the de facto leader of the Redshirt movement and Pheu Thai Party" it shouldn't surprise that a party run by a criminal fugitive risks dissolution.

You call him a criminal fugitive leader. Foreign Affairs officials in multiple responsible developed world countries classify him as the former PM of Thailand, deposed through an engineered military coup d'état.

The current Thai admin has its 12 very important, big hitter friends (Antigua and Barbuda, Burundi, Central African Republic, Comoros, Dominican Republic, Gabon, Ghana, Kiribati, Hungary, Nauru, Vanuatu, and Cameroon).

When the former PM was in power he was well received in the G-20. He laid the foundation for a free trade agreement with Canada and Australia. Both discussions are on hiatus now that the latter countries have banished Thailand to the political outhouse. The EU has condemned the current Thai admin, but had previously applauded the former PM's progress on moving towards social justice for the poor.

Beauty is n the eye of the beholder. It helps if one has good eyesight.

Hah! Who needs Australia or Canada....we have the CAR , Botswana and Kiribati in our play group

Not saying it isn't deserved but when will we see some REAL unusual wealth challenged, rather than low-level chickenfeed? The measure of this govt will be how many USD multi-millionaires and billionaires, who acquired some or all of their wealth through: graft, kickbacks, payola, cartels, price-fixing, gouging, profiteering, get taken to court.

To say that she behaved foolishly is not blaming the victim. These kids are lulled into a false sense of security and act in a way they would never contemplate in London, New York or Sydney. Generally Thailand is less dangerous than those cities and that is why this story is shocking and newsworthy.

I do hope they find this man but after 8 days the signs look bleak .I wonder if his wife knew the 4 men there is no mention of her knowing them another mystery in Phuket I wonder how much this mans worth 2 houses ? .

It's 8 weeks now, due to return March 27th, YouTube video posted April 3rd

It's pretty small beer relative the the tens of billions of losses the same mob caused through their airport escapade. They belong in jail.