Piichai

Nice quick payment from the Secretary General .

I thought he said he was running short

So where did this money come from?

And condolences to the families of the dead and injured!

Watch Blue Sky a bit, and you'll see where the money comes from!

You couldn't be more wrong; the Senate did not align with Suthep, Suthep aligned with the Senate. Big difference!

And as the future marches on in the Senate, PTP and UDD are nowhere to be seen.

Er, that's not the Senate. The Senate comprises 150 Senators and is currently out of session.

Wear blinkers at your own peril.

The times they are a changing.

I'm well aware that certain people are pulling out all the stops to keep the status quo. It doesn't mean I have to agree with it.

If reforms are enacted fairly, they should be indeed sweeping.

How could requiring transparency be seen as maintaining the status quo?

There is no problem with this, but it would obviously be rejected by the Dems/PDRC as they would never get what they want from and election/referendum etc which they well know, which is why the last thing any of them want is a bloody election, the pesky things.

I wouldn't be too confident in that my dear man.

A massive majority of the country want to see an end to all the BS and don't care for keeping the Shin clan in power, and they are sick of this dysfunctional government.

I would say that a very large % will jump at Suthep's proposal.

You seem to have deluded yourself that the vast majority are against reforms and all for corruption and nepotism.

However, a referendum is just a guise for a corrupt snap election style setup that will be conducted across the north and northeast under the exact same fraudulent and undemocratic conditions that your average election is.... so you may well be right and could be rejected.

I agree many are for reforms, they are very much needed. Why doesn't the Democrat party run a reform agenda then? Or a Suthep part run a reform agenda?

At least why dont they set out what their reforms are?

You are seriously trying to suggest that if the Democrats thought they would win an election that they would not be running? because they are to concerned about reform?

Had PTP not raped the country with the rice debacle, you might have a point. But we're well beyond that now.

There is no problem with this, but it would obviously be rejected by the Dems/PDRC as they would never get what they want from and election/referendum etc which they well know, which is why the last thing any of them want is a bloody election, the pesky things.

I wouldn't be too confident in that my dear man.

A massive majority of the country want to see an end to all the BS and don't care for keeping the Shin clan in power, and they are sick of this dysfunctional government.

I would say that a very large % will jump at Suthep's proposal.

You seem to have deluded yourself that the vast majority are against reforms and all for corruption and nepotism.

However, a referendum is just a guise for a corrupt snap election style setup that will be conducted across the north and northeast under the exact same fraudulent and undemocratic conditions that your average election is.... so you may well be right and could be rejected.

I agree many are for reforms, they are very much needed. Why doesn't the Democrat party run a reform agenda then? Or a Suthep part run a reform agenda?

At least why dont they set out what their reforms are?

You are seriously trying to suggest that if the Democrats thought they would win an election that they would not be running? because they are to concerned about reform?

Had PTP not raped the country with the rice debacle, you might have a point. But we're well beyond that now.

You couldn't be more wrong; the Senate did not align with Suthep, Suthep aligned with the Senate. Big difference!

And as the future marches on in the Senate, PTP and UDD are nowhere to be seen.

Er, that's not the Senate. The Senate comprises 150 Senators and is currently out of session.

Wear blinkers at your own peril.

The times they are a changing.

The 2007 Constitution states in Part 4, Provisions Applicable to both Houses:

Section 122. Members of the House of Representatives and senators are representatives of the Thai people and free from any mandate, commitment or control, and shall honestly perform the duties for the common interests of the Thai people without conflict of interest.

Section 123. Before taking office, a member of the House of Representatives and a senator shall make a solemn declaration at a sitting of the House of which he is a member in the following words:

I, (name of the declarer), do solemnly declare that I shall perform my duties in accordance with the honest dictates of my conscience for the common interests of the Thai people. I shall also uphold and observe the Constitution of the Kingdom of Thailand in every respect.

Seems some senators not only desire to unashamedly break laws to achieve Suthep's reforms but also to violate the Constitution. But judging from the activities of the interim government formed after the military coup, that shouldn't be a difficult action. Looks like Thailand may be in for a repeat of the 2006 overthrow of the government sans military-led coup.

You couldn't be more wrong; the Senate did not align with Suthep, Suthep aligned with the Senate. Big difference!

And as the future marches on in the Senate, PTP and UDD are nowhere to be seen.

The yellows will never go for this because the last thing they want is for the people to have a say!

Nice move calling him out but sutep wants no voice just his!

1. Framework

2. Reforms

3. Referendum

4. Elections

The constitution needs to be amended the right way and all senators and governors must be elected not having someone pick who going to be your voice about matters of state. Free and fair elections need to be held now and reform of people rights to vote for their choice to represent them not some elite academic who doesn't not represent your feeling.

I think that it would be a very bad idea to have a fully elected senate. Then Thailand might end up as the same disaster as the USA is. Much better to follow the Canadian model of a fully appointed Senate. It's a much more stable and productive system!

Elected governors is a good idea, allow more decentralized representation. Same for the other reform suggestion from the PDRC of having provincial police report to the governors instead of the central government in Bangkok.

You seem to balanced views. You are wrong with supporting the PTP idea for a fully elected senate and you are right to support the PDRC in electing governors. Throw in decentralizing the police force and enforcing election regulations strictly, and Thailand would be making the right first steps in the right direction. (in my opinion of course).

The one thing that escapes me is how can Thailand reform its RTP? It's easy to lay down the objectives, but how to go about it? Should they report to their local governor? Or would that create warlord-type setups?

Thailand needs a functioning law enforcement.

It wasn't so long ago that western countries were faced with the same problem, yet they were able to resolve it.

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Will probably join Yingluck for lunch!

well he did say he was meeting troubled people.

How typical of the Bangkok-centric attitude and sad it is that the usual suspects on the Thaksin Vegence Forum can only crticize when members of the acting government are visiting a disaster area in the country. Never a thought for the suffering of the people in that area. Instead, you make fun of them.

Indeed!

How many people have died in the disaster zone compared to the peaceful protesters?

It's time for the PM to get his priorities straight!

Acting Senate Speaker Surachai offered to meet with UDD, but they didn't show.

WIsh you guys would wake up.

He is "Acting" Sen Speaker.

They are not in formal Session and have not been Royally Endorsed.

They are not elected by anyone (the ones helping Suthep here are mostly the appointed ones, most of the elected ones want no part of it and did not show"

They are working hard in collusion with the Amart to dissenfranchise more than half the country.

With all this, why would the UDD lend credibility to their INFORMAL gathering and plotting by showing up? We all know what they want and that they will stop at nothing, not even Civil War.

By siding with Suthep and being backed by the Army, they have lost any pretense of impartiality and should be sidelined. Remember the Senate used to be elected until the Coup plotters and the Coup Charter imposed on the country by the Junta (It was illegal to campain against it and the Junta would have stayed in place until it was forced through). With all this, there are some alleged intelects commenting on this with one liners such as this.

Support the PDRC by all means, it is your choice and we'll support Democracy which will prevail in the end as it always does.

Thus far, the Senate has not sided with Suthep, but rather Suthep has sided with the Senate, which is rather different indeed.

It's very easy to hide behind the word 'democracy' but it's considerably more difficult to create a democratic landscape.

C'mon where you been? The Army is yellow not red!!!

They're both, probably slightly more red than the average population, rich elites can get out of military service, poorer folk not so easily, so since the poor tend to be more red politics, and reds won 53% in 2011, there will be a slight bias to red among the troops (e.g. 54%).

Yet back in 2010, the watermelon soldiers had no trouble running the Reds out of Bangkok.

What?

Those were Special Operations Forces not the rank and file troops of the regular army. Coup forces are specialized, ultra-loyal Special Operations troops, not the rank and file of the regular army - this is true in any coup country. The 2010 army combatants were Special Ops forces, not the rank and file grunts.

The commanders of the armed forces allowed their soldiers, sailors, air force personnel to vote freely on February 2nd to gauge and measure the watermelon element among the rank and file privates corporals, sergeants. It's one of the reasons there's been no coup. What happens when you slice a watermelon into two chunks?

Not, they weren't.

P. S. You missed the part about Suthep aligning with the Senate today.

C'mon where you been? The Army is yellow not red!!!

They're both, probably slightly more red than the average population, rich elites can get out of military service, poorer folk not so easily, so since the poor tend to be more red politics, and reds won 53% in 2011, there will be a slight bias to red among the troops (e.g. 54%).

Yet back in 2010, the watermelon soldiers had no trouble running the Reds out of Bangkok.

First, ALL parties need to agree that there is a need for reforms,thats the easy part. Then the more difficult question will be: what exactly needs to be reformed? The PTP and PDRC have polar opposite ideas about what needs to be reformed.

Perhaps, but it's a moot point if they refuse to come to the table.

"He disagreed with the attempt of the acting Senate speaker to find ways out for the country without listening to all sides."

the interim acting temporary caretaker PM would love to, but simply is too busy, he had no time to meet the Senate Speaker. The poor chap is as busy as Ms. Yingluck was in avoiding the talks they really would like to have.

Niwattumrong says he has no time for discussing political solution with Senate

BANGKOK: -- Acting Prime Minister Niwattumrong Boonsongpaisan said Friday that he has no time for meeting the Senate to discuss political solutions.

The Senate invited the government to hold a discussion with the Senate on Saturday.

Niwattumrong said he had to work in Chiang Rai, Chiang Mai and other northern provinces over the weekend and would have no time for a meeting with the Senate.

-- The Nation 2014-05-16

He's not the Senate speaker, he's the deputy senate speaker holding unofficial meetings of the senate and declaring that what comes out of those meetings are legitimate when half the actual Senate is not present at those meetings.

Why would the acting Caretaker PM give credence to such an obvious non partisan grouping by attending their closed door meetings?

Well, everyone else has.

Doesn't matter attend or boycott, its now Suthep and his puppets turn to establish dictatorship.

With the beehive of activity in the Senate this week, it's incredulous that people would still be bleating on about Suthep.

Bearing in mind that if, according to suthep, the Senate do not appoint a interim PM by Monday, he is going to declare his "followers" have sovereign power and elect one on behalf of 45 odd million disenfranchised members of the Thai electorate, there might be a good reason to bleat on about suthep, doncha think?

You missed the part about Suthep aligning with the Senate today.

Do try to keep up, dear.

Yet another delaying, hold onto power tactic from the think tank of the boss in the desert.

Wont happen Jatuporn, go and talk to the senate like they have been asking you to do.

It reads to me very much like an offer of compromise, somrthing sadly lacking from the PDRC.

When will people like yourself realise this cant be a winner takes all scenario. Compromise is the only way.

Guess you missed the story today about Suthep aligning with the Senate.

The Dems and PDRC are the same, there is no difference.

I dont think its much of a stretch to assume that they dont want a referendum, considering the political party of the protesters have boycotted the last one and threaten to boycott the next, and their militant arm the PDRC have been campaigning on an anti election platform, so i dont think i am stretching it to far saying it would be rejected.

There's quite a bit of difference; Abhisit has been working with the Senate, while Suthep has been out on the streets. And don't forget Suthep turned his back on Abhisit's framework.

My guess is that there will indeed be a referendum, but all in due time.

1. Framework

2. Reforms

3. Referendum

4. Elections

He seems like a decent chap but it's too much to expect that he will be given a fair go

All he has to do is participate, but he chooses to run.

Oh, so they are paid to be there?

I though that was propaganda.

Way to rob them of any notion of revolutionary spirit.

Let's hope they consented to be bought and paid for.

Shameful.

It would be nice if it made a difference. But with the police involved, I'm skeptical.

Acting Senate Speaker Surachai offered to meet with UDD, but they didn't show.

Jatuporn said he believes the new election, scheduled on July 20, would never take place because "the EC will not perform its duty so the country cannot move forward".

Hasn't it already been canceled?

Did Plodprasop get the chop too or can we look forward to his kindergarten fluid mechanics and imposed water projects?

Plodprasop gone.

I hiding already? Not even a week.

He learns fast!