Piichai

Phra Buddha Issara handed the PDRC guards responsible for the assault over to police and gave Bt50,000 to Wittawat's family.

Why doesn't UDD police their following the same way?

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They load teachers with so many additional duties that they work 10 to 12 hours a day. Teaching classes with 40 to 50 students is just stupid how do they learn anything. Get some of the non teaching jobs to administration. Teachers still have to hand score test. Living the dark ages Let the teacher teach not to kiss the administration ass to get things done. Pay them what they are worth.

Yes, indeed, why hasn't Thaksin addressed this issue with any of the Govt's he's had in place for the past 10+ years? You always complain about "the establishment" doing nothing, well come on, Thaksin's the one that's been running the Govt the longest over the past 10+ years so if there is a failing here (or anywhere else) it's on his watch.

Actually the paymaster appointed himself as the education minister at one stage with all sorts of wild promises. Nothing happened, six months later he quietly passed the minister position to someone else.

I seem to recall something like eight different Education ministers in five years.

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They load teachers with so many additional duties that they work 10 to 12 hours a day. Teaching classes with 40 to 50 students is just stupid how do they learn anything. Get some of the non teaching jobs to administration. Teachers still have to hand score test. Living the dark ages Let the teacher teach not to kiss the administration ass to get things done. Pay them what they are worth.

Yes, indeed, why hasn't Thaksin addressed this issue with any of the Govt's he's had in place for the past 10+ years? You always complain about "the establishment" doing nothing, well come on, Thaksin's the one that's been running the Govt the longest over the past 10+ years so if there is a failing here (or anywhere else) it's on his watch.

Once again you know nothing but got a lot to say.

He asked an important question, and that's your response?

Shameful.

They load teachers with so many additional duties that they work 10 to 12 hours a day. Teaching classes with 40 to 50 students is just stupid how do they learn anything. Get some of the non teaching jobs to administration. Teachers still have to hand score test. Living the dark ages Let the teacher teach not to kiss the administration ass to get things done. Pay them what they are worth.

You obviously don't have children in school.

Many teachers exhibit the same lackadaisical attitude and sense of entitlement one sees in the current PTP roster.

Education improvements are very important for the future of Thailand. I'd love to see it start by weeding out the bad seeds.

Wait, what? Did they hide rotting rice there too?

Acting PM wants check, amid fears that Surachai may move to impeach Yingluck

I suppose the acting PM would rather have an election, and *then* convict her thus removing her from office again.

One wonders what these people use instead of brains.

The senior Democrat politician Korn is also on record as saying that vote buying no longer determines election results and that indeed in the last valid election his party spent more on vote buying than did PT.

You might want to go and find the original quote. Korn did not say he bought votes.

You're half right. I saw the interview, and read the transcripts from it. He didn't say "he" bought votes, he said the Democratic party spent more on vote buying than the PTP, and they still lost, so, in his opinion "vote buying" had/has no bearing on the final vote count.

No, he said the Democrats spent more money. There was no mention of vote buying.

The senior Democrat politician Korn is also on record as saying that vote buying no longer determines election results and that indeed in the last valid election his party spent more on vote buying than did PT.

You might want to go and find the original quote. Korn did not say he bought votes.

if you want to fight for democracy your supporting the wrong team sunshine...now why is it they call the reds kwai..

You look at the red leaders bank accounts and you look at your bank account and than you reconsider who the kwai is.

I am sure the man in Dubai pays them very well to fight for HIS democracy.

my money was earned through actual work not theft..my heart and mind is clear of any guilt...but then you dont know how much im worth...i retired at 46..

did you retire in job? why so early?

Why not!?!?

I doubt they will extend the session because then they have to go back to the caretaker cabinet for another 'urgent' session; The Senate can deal with the Yingluck rice case after the next election.

This 'chapter 7' thing with the Senate appointing a PM is not going to happen-so there is no reason for it to stick around w/o the lower house, the CC's verdict on the Tawil transfer put the final nail into that coffin; without a 'vacuum' the senate appointing PMs is out of the question, it probably wouldn't have happened even if the CC had taken out the entire cabinet because the government would have faught it.

It'll be interesting to see what happens.

In another thread, IIRC I believe some Red Heads opined that Yingluck was safe because it would take 90 votes to convict her. With Surachai getting 96 votes, it might not be so difficult after all.

And with the impeachment indictment now sitting in the Senate, will they extend the session?

If so, one wonders if Suthep could be gaining traction.

I can just imagine the PTP boys scrambling to negotiate with Abhist to avoid a worst case scenario.

It just keeps getting better.

It was reported on Thai PBS this morning that the Speaker of the Senate would convene the Senate next week to decide how best to resolve the current political situation.

No mention of Yingluck's impeachment.

It's so clear why some of you are so supportive of this guy -- not.

Suthep may well be a nut, he may well be all you say, without a person like this to do something what on earth will this Land be like. Go think, if it was a jelly fish opposing the wrongs I would support it's healthy, YOU ????

There is a right and a wrong way to go about achieving change, the wrong way is to support power hungry, idiot, who does not negotiate and help him to seize power, history tells us this is a very dangerous thing to do. The right way is to use the democratic process, even though it is slow and painful.

Wait, what? Didn't Suthep ask to meet with Yingluck?

It took about 100 working days to write the US Constitution. Expect the framing of reforms to take as long.

Imagine the masses of the North and North East coming to Bkk as well now? Who's masses would be bigger?? Now they won't come cause they need to work for lost rice money etc.. But still...

Thank you for the "lost rice money" comment; made my day.

Looks like we know who's masses are bigger.

Richard Barrow photo taken today at 11AM.

"Pheu Thai Party lawyer Pichit Chuenban has accused the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) of unfairly indicting former caretaker prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra - in contravention of the Constitution - by combining two petitions to examine alleged mishandling of the rice-pledging scheme into one."

At least he isn't stupid enough to claim she isn't guilty as charged, only that Yingluck, the darling of Issan, is.

"Pichit said Yingluck had protested her innocence to the NACC, but to no avail."

yingluck 0.jpg I have been framed

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You wouldn't believe what I just PhotoShopped into that picture!

CAPO at this point has not been able to broadcast announcements on Channels 3, 5, 7, and Thai PBS. Channel 9 still covers CAPO announcements. Pheu Thai had been also able to get on Channel 11's signal, but it seems that was short-lived. The narrative of Pheu Thai has thus been compromised, and CAPO's increasingly surreal announcements are now reaching a diminished audience. From every conceivable and practical standpoint, the Pheu Thai administration has ceased to function. They can just basically stand still while the courts and public opinion surrounds it. It needs to be reiterated - they have no constitutionally elected prime minister - either through a quorum-filled parliament or the Senate in the event of a quorum-less parliament - they have half a cabinet, they have no legislative power, they have no parliament, and they have no public mandate. And in fact, there is no present path for an election for three reasons - 1) things on the ground are as unsettled - and likely more so - than the previous election. Under such conditions an election could not be successfully held. 2) Pheu Thai has tried to impose a clause in a new decree whereby the EC can postpone the election again if it has difficulties with the poll. Such a clause has never been included in an election decree before, and could be successfully challenged constitutionally. You simply can't have an election clause that includes an optional moving election date. 3 ) As the man picked by Phue Thai was done outside the provisions of the constitution, he has not the authority to set an election date.

In short, the Pheu Thai administration is frozen in a state of paralysis.

Shouldn't all sides be heard by the public? If you're worried about 'surreal announcements', lets start with yours.

It is the opinion of some that with Chalerm and Surapong still at the helm, CAPO ceases to be legitimate.

In my time here in Thailand I have almost never seen a negative comment from officials about the economy or stuff like that. They always have to give it a positive spin. Sometimes they just lie like the minister of white and evil lies Kittiratt

I'd agree with that. There is however a difference between optimism (even if blind) and false and/or misrepresented information. I can't prove but TIT so I suspect there is an element of both.

On the other hand and assuming it is for the moment simply that, there is nothing wrong with optimism. If foreign investors don't do their research properly or internal investors who should know better believe the BS and then get burned, then more fools they.

The rest of us just have to swallow our exasperation as part of the cost of living here and take everything we hear with a pinch of salt. There will always be some naive innocents who will lose out and for them I do feel sorry.

Mendacity is a very big problem in Thailand, and it's not just confined to the BOT and TAT.

Last year I did some research on Thailand's traffic statistics and found that since the beginning of Yingluck's administration, WHO no longer uses numbers published by Thailand's government. Instead, WHO canvases hospitals and compiles there own statistics for Thailand. The first year, WHO published the statistics side by side, and I was shocked to see the difference between what Thailand claimed and WHO found. And that was even assuming WHO's numbers might be low; easy to miss clinics that seem to pop up like mushrooms, and of course injuries and deaths that aren't reported.

If they are lying about traffic statistics, what else are they lying about? AIDS/HIV? Malaria? Dengue Fever? One could go on and on.

While I have no doubt the cabinet ministers are congratulating each other for successfully jiggering the numbers and disseminating "little white lies," it actually does a great disservice to the country, as the government, NGOs, and foreign agencies really have no idea what is really a problem or where to best put their resources. And that can be translated to dollars for the poor who need it most.

The coffins, meant to be those of the Constitutional Court judges, were burned

The Red Shirts certainly do seem to have a long-standing and often-displayed affinity with fire.

And the opposition yellow cheats do seem to have a long-standing and often-displayed affinity with undemocratic behaviour.

Since when are fair and free elections undemocratic?

They are not But you cannot deny PCAD prevented the last election from being completed by criminally preventing people from voting. They have said many times that they will do it again unless they get the non-elected government of unnamed people to carry out the undisclosed political reforms that they want. Their leader has even said, and is a matter of public record, that he wants to emulate one of Thailand's most corrupt dictators.

Abhisit has put forward essentially the same demands as PCAD and said if they were not met his party would boycot the next election. That will make three times the Democrat Party has run away from an election. Three times they would have removed choice from the voters. How ironic Abhisit is the leader of the Democratic Party.

Yes, and you cannot deny that Red Shirts beat and murder Democrats canvassing in the north.

That's why they are pushing for reforms before elections; without a democratic landscape, you can not have democratic elections.

...problems due to less companies operating businesses this year and lower income levels among workers.

I guess raising the minimum wage wasn't such a great idea after all.

An example of specious reasoning at it's best.

Okay Mr Nobel Prize In Econ101.

A company sells a hamburger in Los Angeles for $1.19 USD.

The same company sells the same burger in New York City for $1.89 USD.

Which city has the higher minimum wage? Both cities are located in the USA just to clarify that point.

LA at $8.00 USD. NYC at $7.25 USD.

So why, Mr Economist, does the same hamburger cost less at the location with the higher minimum wage?

It's because real estate prices are much higher in NYC. That is the major factor in the price discrepancy. The labor cost is rarely the driver behind rising prices at the checkout. Raising the minimum wage stimulates the economy as business's now have more customers capable of buying their products.

Well, you better run and tell someone because after raising the minimum wage 60% there are "less companies operating businesses this year and lower income levels among workers."

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The coffins, meant to be those of the Constitutional Court judges, were burned

The Red Shirts certainly do seem to have a long-standing and often-displayed affinity with fire.

And the opposition yellow cheats do seem to have a long-standing and often-displayed affinity with undemocratic behaviour.

Since when are fair and free elections undemocratic?

Looks like Surachai won. 96 to 51

Considering the count, it doesn't look good for Yingluck.

Sounds like there'll be nothing on a new PM for a while. For sure not tonight.

suthep praised the election of the Senate President in part of his speech tonight, and I quote, "our dream came true".

So much for the perceived independence of the new Senate President

When was it all going to come unstuck now, as you said yesterday?

It'll be interesting to see what happens.

In another thread, IIRC I believe some Red Heads opined that Yingluck was safe because it would take 90 votes to convict her. With Surachai getting 96 votes, it might not be so difficult after all.

And with the impeachment indictment now sitting in the Senate, will they extend the session?

If so, one wonders if Suthep could be gaining traction.

I can just imagine the PTP boys scrambling to negotiate with Abhist to avoid a worst case scenario.

It just keeps getting better.

The Wall Street Journal editorial page:

I'm afraid that was NOT a Wall Street Journal editorial at all, but rather an Opinion piece, which WSJ buys by the dozen.

In other words, just another article from the Thaksin PR machine.

Fair enough - "from the Wall Street Journal opinion pages". As for your predictable bleating about the WSJ piece being "from the Thaksin PR machine", I will just let it speak for itself.

(Curious: Given that the yellows elicit roughly 0% approval in the international press, is it your standpoint that they are to a (wo)man paid by Thaksin?)

It's important to remember that the PDRC is a collection of grassroots organizations.

Admittedly, they have yet to exhibit Thaksin's media savvy. On the other hand, they are focusing on what's right for Thailand instead of trying to form opinions in the international press.

Thaksin's strategy will work well for a while, up until some little no name reporter gets the idea that everything looks just a little too polished, and decides to go digging on their own. Once the international press realizes they've been duped, there'll be an anti-Thaksin backlash like you won't believe.

To answer your question: No, I don't think they are all paid by Thaksin. Nor must they be to be part of his PR machine. Writers need access to information to write articles they can in turn sell. The upper tier get paid to write, but the scruffs just get a list of talking points that they must turn into cash. That's how the game works.

Lists that show a dozen pro-Thaksin articles does Thaksin no favors. It doesn't take Sherlock Holmes to notice familiar threads running through the articles, and when the right person does, that's when the unraveling will begin.