Dogmatix

Definitely an election gimmick. There is no way he is willing to come back and risk even a second in jail, although he didn't mind taking the risk that Yingluck would go to jail. His plan is gain enough power through his nominee daughter to amnesty himself and come home after that but not before. He is very transparent.

Not only do most Thais have little or no knowledge of recent regional or global history, they also know very little about recent Thai history. Try asking someone who wasn't alive at the time about the 1976 Thammasat massacre and you will get a blank stare. They are only taught fictionalised accounts of heroic wars with Burma and about historical figures who may not even have ever existed.

MFP’s resurgence from the ashes of its previous dissolution is nothing short of astonishing. In the last election FFP had a windfall due to the dissolution of Thai Raksa which left many seats undefended by Pheua Thai. That made them too much of a threat. Hence the dissolution of FFP and banning of Thanathorn on trumped up charges. Many MPs were lured away and didn't join MFP. The voting system in the constitution was amended restoring the dual ballots to favour Pheua Thai (obviously a nod to a hoped post electoral alliance between Prayut/Prawit and Thaksin) and to be a supposed disadvantage to MFP, since FFP had picked up many of its MPs from the party list due to the single ballot. Then there was bitter infighting between MFP leader Pita and external advisor Piyabutr. At least in the opinion polls MFP seems to have overcome all these setbacks by articulating a solid platform of much needed reform which is clearly anathema to the dinosaurs who no doubt will look to another dissolution to offset the risk. But protests would be worse than last time without the excuse of COVID to declare emergency and, yes, another coup would be quite possible - not to maintain Prayut and Prawit in power but to elevate a new generation of army leaders.

Apart from all else, one of the MFP policies that really resonates across the country is the plan to abolish wasteful and pointless military conscription. Anyone with a young son, grandson or nephew should want abolition, would rather not worry about their loved one being murdered in hazing rituals by sadistic NCOs or killed by insurgents in the South, not to mention the waste of a couple of years of their life. The military would also benefit hugely from having a professional force of willing soldiers, rather than a constant turn over of unwilling conscripts who tie down NCOs in training for months and then quit. Volunteers who actually want to join the military would benefit from better pay and conditions. The only losers would be officers wives who would have to do their own housework and gardening.

Quotas were already in place when the current Immigration Act came into force in 1979. They date back to the early 1950s in the wake of the communist revolution in China when the military government decided it was time to pull down the shutters on Chinese immigration out of fear of a communist fifth column. That was effective as PR was relatively easy to get apart from the quota and there wasn't any other visa available to migrants. Fees were increased substantially at the same time. The quotas have only ever been aimed at the Chinese. 100 per nationality and 50 stateless persons is the maximum quota allowed by law. So the cabinet only has discretion to set a lower quota or not set any quota. But neither of those options have ever been exercised, so it is completely pointless for the cabinet to have to make a resolution every year. Without that applications could be made any time like citizenship.

I think that's right. You don't want to apply under the humanitarian category for supporting or being supported by Thai wife or kids as that is a PITA and criteria are the same, i.e. work permit required, and they don't like the category but someone put it in the regulations years ago to make it look like they were the nice guys they aren't. You also don't want to apply under the investor category as that is also a PITA and criteria the same, WP needed from own company. think the answer is that there is no specific married category apart from humanitarian category but you apply under the business category and ask for a discount on the basis of having a Thai wife.

Being married to a Thai doesn't make it easier but gets you a big discount on the final fee. I am unaware of any length of time requirement for the marriage before applying but they will scrutinise the marriage in their half arsed way,. e.g. have you photograph yourselves jumping up and down on the marital bed together and may quizz neighbours to see if you really live together there. Applications take place towards the end of the year following the announcement in the RG of the routine cabinet resolution to set quotas for PR (always 100 per nationality) as required by the Immigration Act. The annoucemennt can happen anywhere between May and December but usually from October onwards. Of course quite pointless since there has never been any variation in the quota but that's Thailand for you.

By Intelligence Police I assume you mean National Intelligence Agency )NIA). It’s not part of the police. It is under the Prime Minister’s Office.

They make it very easy for Thai men to get Thai citizenship for foreign wives. No profession or job in Thailand required for the women and the Thai husbands only to show they received income of 180,000 baht from any source the year before. Foreign men to have a job in Thailand earning 80,000 a month for 3 years or 40,000, if married to a Thai. Now it is proven that foreign women get Thai citizenship this way for criminal purposes and divorce the Thai hubby, they might want to look at cancelling the gender discrimination and make foreign men and women apply on the same basis.

Can't wait to pick up my 10,000 baht worth of The Square Face digital currency.

Obviously the government’s heart was not in this bill or why would they announce it after parliament has already been dissolved and there is no chance of it going through any of its parliamentary readings, let alone being passed into law? New governments rarely pick up old bills left behind from the previous government. Can only assume it is to allow Prayut to claim he is doing something for women's rights or something on the campaign trail. Seeing as only soliciting to the extent of being a nuisance to someone and keeping a bawdy house are illegal in the current Act, this one is no big deal. But the bill would make it illegal to have sex a hooker under 20 (previously 18) not mentioned in the article. However, there were very few successful prosecutions for this under the current law because it is difficult for police to prove that it was commercial sex, since the customers can easily pay more to get the hooker to say it was free of charge. So police never tried hard to enforce this but do go for statutory rape prosecutions for sex with under 15s under the Criminal Code which is much easier to prove since it makes no difference if no money changed hands or if consent was given. But given the large number of 18 and 19 year old prostitutes on the game to support their fatherless kids this provision may be a bit ridiculous and perhaps lucky that the government didn't attempt to pass the bill into law.

Articles in Thai say the female employee was fired for stealing 10,000 baht from the resort which she denies.. The deceased allegedly deducted the 10,000 from her severance pay, which would be illegal without a court case convicting her of the theft. The husband was a cook at the resort and took a knife from the kitchen to murder his boss who was celebrating his birthday at the time. Very sad. RIP.

Those indicted were 1 major, 2 captains and the rest sergeants. I wonder why the roadblock in Rachada at night needed to be so top heavy. Oh silly me. Of course.

Thaksin is not planning to go to prison. That is just his election propaganda. Somsak probably did him a much bigger favour in assisting with the Supreme Court decision that gave Thaksin back 36 billion in assets confiscated by the lower court and confirmed by the appeal court in what looked an open and shut guilty verdict. That was obviously intended as a war chest for the election and two of the 3 Ps must have signed off on it two hoping Thaksin would support one of them for PM. There is no independent judiciary in important political cases for sure. Actually rotten from the beginning. He started off by bribing and suborning the constitutional court to get off in his asset concealment case where he put his shares in the names of gardeners and drivers. Without that initial criminal act he would never have been PM at all.

I think Mr Rak is in for more serious trouble, when and if they find him. Other Thai media reported that people found that none of the firearms were registered and therefore possession of the ammo is also illegal. This is quite serious even if threatening a tourist may not be. Apparently they also found a swordstick which is also an illegal weapon.

Only 180 charges to foreigners when there are hundreds of thousands there? How Thais charged?

Bhumjai Thai is also set to do well in the election and increase its seats. Althtough their power base is in the NE, especially Buriram and Srisaket, they have been aggressively targeting the South, particularly Democrat held seats there, which explains why the Dems did a volte face and torpedoed the second reading of the Cannabis Bill after supporting the first one. Although Anutin is a venal individual and messed up big time over vaccines, cannabis afficionados have to hope his party does well enough to be in the next government and for Anutin to get the public health ministry again. Closing all this shops and businesses would create a huge backlash but Thaksin wouldn't care, if he got enough power after the election. He would present himself as the saviour of the nation's youth as he did in his murderous war on drugs which left many children and youths dead or orphaned, as police went on a killing spree to protect the drug dealing networks they sponsor and eliminate competition, as well as drive up the price. Police and police affiliated dope dealers ae hurting fro the legalisation of cannabis. Prices of their yaabaa have plummeted as users switch to a legal and readily available alternative. Also bribe money from shaking down cannabis dealers has dropped to zero. Thaksin is always supportive of police gangster networks He is also still out for revenge against drug deealers in general for supplying his son.

Was walking around Sukhumvit Soi 11 and 13 yesterday morning and the proliferation of weed shops is impressive. No need for the mobile shops at all any more but there will big losses of investments, if the next government decides to ban it again, as threatened by Thaksin. Let's hope his daughter doesn't become PM after the election, although the military will send her off to join daddy and aunty Yingluck, if she gets too uppity.

Subject to the same measures against smoking tobacco in public under the Public Health Act, not in restaurants, bars, shopping malls or anywhere it may cause a nuisance to others. Most regular bars and restaurants don't allow customers to smoke cannabis in their outside areas. But places like Soi Cowboy and othe girly bar areas have no problem with customers lighting up at their outside tables. Pop along for a drink and a smoke even if you have no interest in the girls.

This is an advertorial for cosmetic surgery clinics.

Probably didn't know about that one. But indeed the US exercises a double standard in demanding extradition for one hit and run driver, while refusing to extradite another one.

This means negotiations are ongoing. Otherwise just swoop down and arrest them after making vague statements like we are doing our best to find out who they are.

Can't wait!

The first part already happens. Applicants for a Por 3 license to acquire a firearm are fingerprinted and checked for criminal records. The other stuff doesn’t happen and cannot easily be made to work effectively in Thailand due to corruption. Indeed some applicants with multiple licenses already have been asked to photographs of how they store their weapons. But these were only people who applied themselves, rather than through an agent or gunshop, and omitted to pay the express fee. Thaksin’s minister of the interior Sanan, a man noted for his high level of corruption, took the Bkk gun licensing from the police as he said there was too much corruption. He moved it under his personal control at the ministry in a department that was oddly set up for hotel licensing. Unsurprisingly the corruption continued unabated at the new hotel licensing office which later dropped the hotel business.

Cabinet approved bill just before PM dissolved parliament. So no way for bill to go any further. Just like the last one that was shelved before the last election. This must be just an election campaign statement.