Professor Kevin

It's about size. most of the time, the bigger the more priority.

altho very nice cars and super bikes do get much more respect on the road.

my scooter is sitting for a month already, dont touch because everytime I try to ride scooter, I almost get into trouble, lol, believing im still on the big one, but Im NOT.

There is actually a force field around a Benz or BMW.

This is clearly a file photo, and not a good one. People who are reading more into it than that are fools.

The photo might be from one of the annual US 4th July Picnics when she might have been pitching in to help serve up all of the great food just like executives from large US companies do as well. Nothing wrong with this.

I met her. She's real. Slackers don't get US Ambassador positions.

She has a charming, sweet, folksy disposition but she does carry a big stick, no doubt about it.

I think very highly of Abhisit but he blew it by not doing more for the people in the north to show them his party is truly the one who is going to make their lives better in the long run.

One can only do so much without causing damage to the country.

Abhisit's programs to help the people in the north were sustainable. As we can see from the headlines, Taksin's clearly are not.

"As we can see from the headlines"

That is too funny. Reading the local papers and believing it.

I will have to give your post a grade "F'. Clearly you have not done your homework.

It was high fives all around when the drug war were announced. Students, the elite, The Nation *edited out* were all for it. Isn't it curious that Abasit and Suthep never ordered an investigation?

They hate Thaksin and certainly would try to pin the deaths on him if they had a chance. Somethings wrong.

The story of Thaksin ordering the killings doesn't fly.

What?!?! Were you even here at that time?

Sent from my iPhone using Thaivisa Connect Thailand

I was here long before that and even dated Thaksins secretary at the early stages of his telecommunications empire.

That was when it took years to get a telephone landline in Bangkok without an enormous bribe. He began selling pagers(remember them?) then cellphones. Did big communication deals in PI, Laos, Vietnam etc.

She told me he borrowed 1 million baht from a banker that started his climb. A few years later his company was launching satellites.

Thaksin stepped on the wrong toes on his way up the foodchain. He thumbed his nose at the elite.

You do know he was a billionaire and owned 60 companies before politics?

Are the Generals concerned their soldier grunts may turn on them?

First the army causes the havoc and chaos through its proxy Suthep, than they come out as the "salvation army" and stage the damned coup.

That's what they wanted since the beginning.

To go on forever with military dictatorship for their interests and the interests of 20 billionaire families in a pseudo-feudal country.

Nothing new on the horizon.

They prefer a destroyed, divided and miserable country under their control, than a prosper fair country as Thailand could easily become without an army. Like Costa Rica did in 1948 abolishing the army, investing in education and having one of the freest and most democratic countries in the world. Thailand is just the opposite.

This poster apparently did his home work.

The Professor will grant this post "A" for comprehension of the issues.

Coup Coup CA Chu... name that familiar tune of Thailand.

This time I for one welcome green shirts.

T.I.T.

And that's the intent of the violence. Get the public scared and weary of the ongoing violence.

Sabotage the civil government by preventing the civil authorities from dispersing the protestors and by legislating from the bench.

Then they will welcome the benevolent smiling generals.

Don't be a patsy.

You sir have done your homework and I will grade your post "A."

Seems there are two camps here on Thai Visa.

One camp reads the Thai papers (and believe it) and the other camp has schooled up and read the stuff that is being blocked & kept away from the masses.

ANU-Australia National University Asian Studies would be a good start to getting up to speed on the political issues in Thailand.

http://asiapacific.anu.edu.au/newmandala/category/thailand/

You must be joking, New Mandala is a cesspit of ideological rubbish and nutters.

I know, I know...Thaksin pays off the university too...

Just like he pays off The Economist, BBC, CNN, ABC etc.

Apparently he even pays off SuuKyi that threw her support toward him.

I sometimes see people in similar three wheelers and I cringe. 3 wheels are not that stable.

There are some newish 3 wheelers with the two up front wheels that articulate. Very popular in Europe.

The Piaggio MP3 i have seen quite often.

Here is an interesting character customizing them. Nice.

Why doesn't Yingluck avoid a coup by offering Ten Million Baht Reward for killers at Trat and Big C on her famous Facebook?

T.I.T.

I find it quite curious the Democrats, when in power or The Nation didn't initiate investigations on the drug war and southern massacres.

They are rabid haters when it comes to Thaksin but dropped these issues.

Very telling.

She has openly sided with election winners.

I'm sure she was repulsed when Suthep stated he has no respect for foreigners and insisted there will be no international election observers overseeing the polls.

Vote buying is the only excuse the Dems have for losing over and over and over again and she is tired of hearing it.

But the chicken dishes may have feet, heads or guts....no? Hell, the Chinese probably even eat the feathers.

So the US Ambassador was telling porkies and the Reuters reporter is paid by Thaksin?

Not necessarily, but there's more to a country's history than the view of the official representative from a single country. Much more. I know and have known several ambassadors during my time here, and although many of them are dedicated to the task of gathering as much information as possible about the country they are in, their limited time frame and the fact that they represent one nation only, limit their scope.

Andrew MacGregor Marshall hasn't worked for Reuters since 2011. Google him

Agreed but I would trust the confidential US Embassy cables before I would give any weight to the Thai press. Half the Thai press is crooked and the other half scared shi*less.

I know Andrew. He resigned so he could print the story about Thailand. If Reuters printed it, their entire staff in Thailand would be at risk.

So the US Ambassador was telling porkies and the Reuters reporter is paid by Thaksin?

I just wish more Thai people would complain.

I am getting fed up going to the condo offices telling them all the faults (all genuine I assure you) and getting these blank looks.

Tarnishes us farangs with a bad reputation. Thais don't seem to mind sitting watching crappy satellite TV picture quality with leaking water stains on the ceiling and listening to knocking water pipes.

Or do they?

Complain about a Thai and the retaliation can be off the charts. That's why Thais don't complain.

A Thai landlord I know has lost millions due to the police owned karaoke bar next door. Renters just moved out.

The guy is afraid to complain. He has to "worry about his wife and kids" he said.

Get rid of the complainer is what will often happen.

The army will gun them down, just like the last time and the time before that and the time before that.

There are basically 100 families that are running the show here. Ultra rich who could give a crap about the country.

The party is about over for them and they will go kicking and screaming trying to hang on to the billions $$ they have stolen.

Haven't the Naklua to Beach Rd. Baht Buses always turned up Pattaya Nua then a quik U turn back to the beach?

The US Ambassador has informed them the money gets cut the moment they interfere with democracy.

Just like they did last coup. That time the army promised the US prompt elections and the money flowed again.

This time the powers that control the army have no intention of new elections.

You see, D day is approaching in Thailand and the invisible hand wants firm grip on the country.

The army undoubtedly want what is the best for the country. They are stuck in between the devil and the deep blue sea. However inaction could prove to be very costly as they may have no country to defend.

I know that a lot of reds won't be happy if their representatives are replaced but will they finally start obeying the law, stop corruption on a massive scale and stop bloody pillaging national economy for their own gains. Winning the election does not give the winning side automatic right to do as they're pleased. No matter what happens if Thailand is ever going to be normal country armed political party members and paramilitary formations on both sides (mainly UDD-no need to deny it) must be disarmed. Alternative is political violence for many years to come.

They don't want what's best for the country. They want what's best for their bank balance.

I didn't seem them giving back any of their gigantic funding increase after the coup or under abhisit.

Obviously worried that Cambodia or Burma were about to invade. Get away from this idea of the benevolent army. Armies fight wars, and the thai army isn't it even very good at that.

The army has been ordered to get rid of the Thaksin group, once and for all. The problem is the USA will immediately stop their enormous funding the minute the tanks roll. The generals that are feeding at this trough do not want to have that money flow cut so they are engineering a judicial coup.

The court, stacked with Thaksins enemies have been tasked to do the dirty work this time.

To hell with the voters.

Why does he stay at the Marriott? I thought he had a home here and frequented the TQ?

Rated right behind Jimi Hendrix at # 2 on the list of the greatest guitar players in rock history.

I would never bother him unless he was attending an announced public function such as the Jetsers charity event he often attends.

Love to shake his hand, get a photo and bid on the items he donates to the charity.

I had a similar problem but it was I who lived below and suffered.

A door slamming hooligan Brit, his Thai girlfriend and about 6 or her up-country relatives rented the 1 bedroom condo above me. Constantly dragging furniture around, sounds of people jumping around, water leaking thru the bathroom ceiling destroying my drywall...even pounding away making som tum on the floor(my ceiling) late at night.

I complained so often they management didn't want to hear it! Get rid of the complainer was the solution.

So I moved out and the management was happy........

My landlord lost a good reliable renter and the above apartment got destroyed.

Reason #999 for not investing in Thailand. Too many morons in charge.

Why do you think it is wrong?

It is the truth.... and don't bother asking for proof,

You see Im one of these old fashioned types that demands rationale and proof for everything I do. Just like when a wealth manager is convincing me of where to store capital, Ill demand to see proof of why it is likely to rise, in this case Ill need more than a faceless guy on a forum saying "its the truth."

The simple fact is you cant be sure its the truth and all you can do is make a guess based on political preference.

The people who benefit more from such atrocities are Sutheps crew, so it`s more likely that the attacks emanate from that side. That is an educated guess, it could be wrong, but likely to be true.

The government gains nothing from them. All they have to do is sit back and watch the protests fizzle out which they have done. They have won the PR battle at every stage so far its hard to see why they would change now.

First you say

Im one of these old fashioned types that demands rationale and proof for everything I do

Then you say

The people who benefit more from such atrocities are Sutheps crew, so it`s more likely that the attacks emanate from that side. That is an educated guess, it could be wrong, but likely to be true.

That is neither rational and you certainly can't prove it. So how educated is that?

The government may not have anything to gain

huh?

I didnt say I could prove it, I said its an educated guess based on the fact the government has nothing to gain from such actions. Look you even said so yourself at the bottom of your post.

Perhaps you could give a detailed explanation of how the killings could possibly help Suthep.

And don't say because he wants the army to step in because that is just BS.

The only one who can benefit from the killings is Chalerm. He has ben slapped in the face by the courts more than once and must be hurting.

He desperately wants to get his SOE in full operation and the only way he can get that is through an escalation of violence to try to prove that it is needed.

Whether you want to argue that he represents the Govt or not is up to you, but you could have an educated guess.

__________________________________________________________

Violence against the yellow shirts would benefit whom?

Back home, a guy running for the mayors office would throw a brick thru his own window and immediately blame the opposition.

If you have read the wikileaks cables it reveals that is exactly what the yellow team was doing in their previous attempts to get rid of the Thaksin crowd. Instigating violence so the Army has their excuse to take over the government.

I wonder why The Nation never covered that story?

If the baht bus turns off beach road onto Pattaya Klang you need to pay ten baht, then hail another bus to complete the journey to walking street?

Doesn't seem fair. A100% increase in fare to reach the destination.

Didn't the last US Ambassador high tail it out of town when the wikileaks revelations about Thai politics?