Eric Loh

Let the fascist Suthep has his last hurrah before spend jail time. The caretaker government will not bow to him neither are the Reds. They keep re-cycling their allies and plans. Same old face Komsan, staunch Suthep lackey who called for general strike last November and not many responded and the attempt went flat. The Senate can do their song and dance but it will never get their interim PM as their act and speaker are illegal. This week will pass like any other week and by next week, Suthep will announce another Mother of all final push.

Should be on Narendra Modi stage. Wrong stage in a wrong country. Having problem with his identity.

I guess the rational answer is whether you have 2 businesses as 1 registered company or you have 2 registered companies. Work permit state the name of the registered company and that is the legal limitation. You can't work for another registered company even under the same roof. Nothing wrong having 2 companies in the same premise but work permit has totally different rules.

The area around Democracy Momument has being lock down since the PDRC shifted their rally site. Most roads around there are closed or have soldiers manning check points. Just how did a pick-up with guns sneaked into such an well guarded enclosure and escape so easily. And why did Suterp chose to leave Lumpini which is easier to protect from intruders due to its design. I wonder what the real story. Lots of unanswered questions.

Suterp must pull his people out of harm's way. He is safe

Posters trying to made a bad situation good here. Must be hard and painful to see CNN interview the legit government. Really need to bite the bullet and face the fact that the caretaker government is legit and the caretaker prime minister is also legit and within the law of the constitution. By the way, Suterp's appointed PM is illegal and unlikely to happen.

What happen Khun Thawil since you replace Khun Paradorn in his NSC job. You was so critical when you on the outside of the policies. I have yet to see any new initiatives and situation is getting worse as though the insurgents are treating you with disregard.

A suggestion. Start your cafe with your future wife as sole proprietor. The registration is fast and trouble free. No money in the bank rule. You can buy the cafe which is a private arrangement in your name. You may not get work visa but you can guide the business and when the right time for corporatization, change to business registration and apply working visa. You can stay here on a 90 days visa. I did it this way. Hope this useful.

what other choice do we now have

No matter what we do we are in trouble

don't do and the protestors get upset

Do and the red shirts get upset

The Senate are proving Thailand is now in no man land, and we are all going down hill

We need to find a way we can both win and loose

and that is an acting Caretaker who has no affilition with either side and has a good knowledge of the law

and put us on a course to reform and new elections

This is, and has always been about removing Thaksin's influence and power in Thailand.

He is an embarrassment to the country on so many levels and his regime has decimated democracy in the nation to the point it is a 100% dictatorship that has seen 10 years of dangerous instability and completely polarized the people to the point of a civil war.

He also happens to be a convicted criminal and mass murderer.

His only support is a core of paid cronies and a very small following of ill informed and vastly uneducated red shirts that have no numbers to dictate a controlling interest over the country.

If the senate are not allowed to even consider a move to get at least a neutral PM and cabinet in place on a temporary basis, then the country really has no use for a senate.

The constitution points at the ONLY way to move forward is for the senate to elect among themselves, a PM and cabinet to get us through a crisis and into an election.

Thailand is in a POLITICAL VACUUM..... the constitution has a provision for political vacuums, and that provision MUST be followed.

No matter what happens, you are going to upset some people..... that is what happens in a polarized society.... But those people just have to take it on the chin for the sake of the constitution and democracy.

It also does not help when one camp is operating completely outside of democracy and the constitution as it does not favour them....

The constitutional court MUST sit to debate the situation, and make a ruling as to whether the next move is from the senate.

It also needs to reiterate its ruling of last week, as certain elements seem to be continuing to wield power over the people, and these are people who have been convicted for abuse of power.

This country is a complete joke.

Chill mate before you get a stroke from frightening yourself. Part of the 10 years you mentioned include a coup and 3 years of Ahbisit. Are they part of your diagnosis you mentioned as bringing instability and polarization? That's where the problem of only looking at one part of the problem. Concentrating on Taksin alone will not solve the country woes. Your arrogance and denial like all your kinds of belittling other people who don't subscribed to your thinking is part of the problem. Recognize and empathize with these large majority will be part of the solution. De-franchise them further is forcing and pushing people to the brink and you can expect a retaliation.

You also is talking lot of rubbish like having the Constitutional Court debating and making a ruling. That is not what the court is set up to be. And the appointed senators have to mindful of the law and not arbitarily made decision & start a chain reaction of civil unrest.

So far the abuse of power, intimidation and harassment and total disregard of the law is coming from the PDRC while the caretaker government is just keeping still. Even CAPO is kept still by the court rulings to protect the PDRC. That is a complete joke.

Lawyers Council you have your say, now move along. When you have a chairman who is part of the coup appointed Assets Examination Committee, I would expect this kind of statement.

Perhaps feeling remorse for the way they put Taksin away.

It's funny how people keep on mentioning about the rice scam. This program is designed to help the farmers. There are other programs that the government has done such as 30 baht medical program and funds for the military to upgrade military machinery. These are considered loss investment programs. However, they serve other purposes. They do not generate revenue like business investments. Are there any evidences that the money was put in their bank account? If it is, then it's considered corruption. So far, it is just a speculation because of the loss in this program.

Equally funny is that no one especially the yellow alliance brought up fuel subsidies which is the second largest subsidy. As you correctly put it, subsidies serve other purposes socially and economically. It's just a political motive to try weaken the PTP northern supporters. So far I have yet to heard or read of any corruption linking to rice that has been trial and convicted. All we hear from posters the same repeating groove of corruption and bankrupting the country.

Amazing, isn't it, how little Erika can post an entry on Thailand's economic state and what is contributing to it without making mention of the bankrupting rice scam.

The last I read about the economic health of Thailand is that the rating agencies still maintain the credit worthiness at +BBB and our debt to GDP ratio well below critical threshold. No the rice sheme is way of bankrupting the country.

I never have faith in appointed senators and know they are placed there for a reason. However they may have something here that may break the impasse. Suthep know he is well beatened in all his final battle attempts. He know he will never gets the backing of the military, courts and independent agencies for an interim PM under Section 7. He is looking for a face saving exit and I believed part of his discussion with the Senators may have touched on this. Will wait and see.

We are generating our own fear regarding civil war. It wouldn't happen. First before it can happen, the army will step in. The UDD knows the peril of direct confrontation and they can see that the situation is just lots of smoke but really no fire. The PDRC numbers are small for the CAPO to control and they don't have the support of their courts allies. When the arrest come after the court approved the warrants, the hired guards will have the gumption to offer little resistance. These are hired guns that are not loyal supporters and unlikely to put their life at risk for 500B. If CAPO successfully isoated Suterp and his core leaders, it is games over unless Suterp hide behind his supporters.

I agree with you in part, except I'm more cautious. One never should say "never".

But yes, Thailand isn't close to civil war. People who cry "civil war" are like people crying "tsunami" in Bangkok. It's not on the list of "most likely events to prepare for".

Another thing I don't agree with at all. The army doesn't "step in" as some sort of peacekeeper in a civil war as you intimate. The army does not prevent a civil war. The army is a full-on belligerent in a civil war, involved from start to finish, taking and dishing out heavy casualties. THAT is a civil war. That's why they don't call it a "civil disturbance with some punching and four grenade launchers".

Civil wars are exactly like cross-border wars. They only thing that makes they "civil" (heh, great word for a war) is they are contained within one country's borders. But they are real wars. They build up, they require arms, they require troops and training. Civil wars aren't 75 people in red shirts running through Bangkok alleys and civil wars aren't 82 people in yellow shirts closing off two expressways. Civil wars are REAL wars, only usually they are worse, with more casualties and more motivated fighters.

There could easily be more violence than we have today, as horrible as that is. But that wouldn't be civil war, or anything like it. A civil war is a full-out, real war and it is far down a long, long road in Thailand, if it is there at all.

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What I meant by army stepping in is that the army chiefs will mediate before matters get out of hand or the army gets in between the two opposing sides. I don't think Prayuth will take sides when his retirement is just round the corner. Too much to risk for him.

What he is doing right is that he is allowing the police to take the lead which I feel is more than adequate to deal with the PDRC. CAPO strategy of periodical announcement of arrest is clever as it not only sap the energy of anticipation; it also allow them to chose the time when the guards are done.

There won't be a civil war even if Suterp snatch power and announce a parallel government as it will be Bangkok centric but seriously Suterp is too smart to carry out such foolish act. As I said, the PDRC is small and the guards are hired and can be neutralized by CAPO.

This gone beyond colours; a young man stabbed next to a pleading wife. Can't be more sick than this. What we have loose in the city is a gang not a political group who is terrorizing and beating up civilians and the PDRC leaders can't control them.

We are generating our own fear regarding civil war. It wouldn't happen. First before it can happen, the army will step in. The UDD knows the peril of direct confrontation and they can see that the situation is just lots of smoke but really no fire. The PDRC numbers are small for the CAPO to control and they don't have the support of their courts allies. When the arrest come after the court approved the warrants, the hired guards will have the gumption to offer little resistance. These are hired guns that are not loyal supporters and unlikely to put their life at risk for 500B. If CAPO successfully isoated Suterp and his core leaders, it is games over unless Suterp hide behind his supporters.

That's what civilised people do.....clean up after their mess.

Any chance of the reds taking any notice?

Difference is that the BMA is cleaning up the PDRC mess and the BMA not cleaning any UDD mess.

Sane warning for this insane times.

Just came from Sai 4 and the Reds are massing. They are here to protect Thailand from falling into fascist hands. The courts and the senate can't do much as the Constitutional Court verdict was clear that the caretaker government will only change after the election. Suterp will never ever get his interim government. Bets are on.

If they are in soi 4 I would assume that they have realised the futility of supporting one family and have decided to have a little party before returning to their abodes

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

More likely they will set fire to it on their way out, a-la 2010 when they left the city with their dirty red tails between their legs and having proved their point - that they are employed by a vengeful psychopath.

They are not there to protect Thailand from anything, they are there because they are paid to be there. Even a village idiot can see that.

Just glad there are people whether paid or not that are standing up against an unconstitutional and undemocratic putsch and trampling on their choice of their leaders. Sorry your man Suterp is not having his way because there are these people whether paid or not who will stand up and be counted. By the way, ain't soldiers paid when they stage a coup for their leaders.

Well rubl lets try out your comprehension and see if it's improved. Suthep makes a speech and in it refers to the fact that "his" people were praying for the senate election to result in a President that "listens" to "his" people and then gives the election result and says "our dream" has come true.

Now call me old fashioned but I believe that Surachai was suthep's, sorry, his peoples choice. Why do you think that is, rubl, do you think it might have something to do with a possible impeachment coming up or the fact that suthep thinks the Senate President will nominate a new PM?

Go on , have a guess.

Don't tell me you're still playing the naive "everybody is independant" game?

"Anyone not for me must be against me" you mean?

If all Thai were like you we would never ever get anywhere. One more reason why we need to find a few good men to force reforms and changes.

No I don't. I mean it's just one step along in the Judicial coup. It's embarrassingly obvious to most people.

By the way your "I'm just an non partisan observer" mask is slipping , force reforms and agendas? If they know what's good for them, eh?

On Friday night, Surachai beat Jongrak Jutanont, who is supported by the pro-Pheu Thai camp, 96 to 51.

BTW if you do not know how to post without added personal attacks you would do better not to post. Your suggestion that I may have posted under false pretenses I find insulting

If you considered the amnesty bill to be passed at the early morning as sneaky than this senate election will be ranked just as sneaky. The elctionbwas a sneaky ambiqious small part of the senate agenda that pop up during the seating and Surachai has yet to be royally endorsed. His win means zilch and will be challenged.

Trying hard to stay relevant by popping once in while with absolutely 'nothing to offer' statement. As days dragged on, he is moving further and further away to being relevant to any political solution. Soon he will remember in history as a divisive and controversial ex-PM that brought the country through a dark period by being weak and subservient to the powerful establishment.

Smart display of Thainess by the police. A bit of humility to disperse the arrogant Rasputin so the public is not inconvenience too much, is right thinking. Words don't hurt so much as tear gas and water cannon. Sooner or later the police will have their last laugh when they lock the mad monk away.

Just came from Sai 4 and the Reds are massing. They are here to protect Thailand from falling into fascist hands. The courts and the senate can't do much as the Constitutional Court verdict was clear that the caretaker government will only change after the election. Suterp will never ever get his interim government. Bets are on.