EnglishJohn

Man can pee anywhere, even on open ground.

I see only dogs prefer peeing on poles and wheels.

It's a quirk of the human male that he likes to pee up against something rather than onto open ground.

I would have done the same if I knew nothing about nothing - poor guy. He should know better than to pee onto the electric box.

Military Autocrats like the self imposed PM do not like it when there is resistance to their plans.

This is far from dead in the water.

Like the Minister said, we are just going to call it something else.

The Prayut Gateway or maybe the ONLY Gateway. Seems to be better aligned to his style as Supreme Ruler.

Hilarious. Even when it is RIGHT IN YOUR FACE that the Junta are more concerned about what the people think than the last lot of dirty cronies ever were, you STILL won't accept it.

Open your eyes, stop humming 'keep the red flag flying' to yourself with your fingers in your ears and wake up.

You just got proved completely wrong so the best advice is to keep quiet until we all forget.

I have said repeatedly that the gateway would not happen because Prayuth actually cares what people think - he just has little clue about technology and the modern world. The last lot would have forced it through then told the press to stop asking them questions. I remember them sending a delegation to Japan to try and get access to everyone's LINE messages ... and got laughed out of the country.

Seems to be the worst business decision since "The rice scheme may even make a profit".

Slowly but surely the truth will out.

2010 bomb, 2014 bomb and now 2015 bomb. One colour links them all. The same one which is the only group to carry out terrorism in Bangkok in the last 10 years.

But plebs like this don't make the decision to do it. Who gave the order ?.

it's very sad that with issues as serious as this, there are fools who cannot resist entirely speculative linkages in their attempt to provoke and add hatred.

Considering every single terrorist event I have seen in Thailand has been from Muslim's or red-shirts, I think some speculation is justified.

Just like during the last protests when you were all saying it was not the red-shirts firing the grenades : it was Suthep doing it to get attention. Oops - the red-shirts got caught !! and so we have forgotten about that one.

If I slapped you in the face 10 times then you closed your eyes and got slapped again, would you run outside wondering who did it ?. Actually, I think you might.

If the authorities had done their jobs and stopped the stupid protests........compensation would not be needed.

Suthep should contribute!

Thank you for your description of 'Democracy - red-shirt style'.

Do you think the same for the protests in 2010 ?. Going by the enormous hypocrisy of your type, why do I think not ?.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-34409343

Analysis: Jonathan Head, BBC News, Bangkok

That this decision, made at a cabinet meeting on 30 June, was kept secret has caused alarm. It only became public when the government public relations department mentioned it on its own website last month.

So the subsequent statement by Minister for Information Uttama Savanayana that the decision was not yet final, and that the single gateway was only intended to reduce the cost of internet access, was met with disbelief, and then the shutdown of government websites.

Thai netizens insist this is not an attack, but a form of civil disobedience. They also argue that the government's plans make a mockery of its stated ambition for Thailand to become a digital hub for the region.

The military may still push ahead with its firewall, whatever the opposition. The need for control, as it confronts the task of managing a sensitive royal succession, will probably trump any concerns it may have for the digital economy.

Jonathan Head has a massive chip on his shoulder against the royalist side of Thailand - he was up for les majeste himself a few years back. He should never have been allowed to come back and report in Thailand, he is tainted goods.

I guess nobody else wanted the job.

I have a feeling that not many people understand what might happen during the 'last sentence' part. A certain somebody has always had his eye on the top-spot but was not able to get close because he knows the people love the current King so much.

Of course one can thank yinglucks unsustainable, bad political and poorly thought out populist policy for this. Th farmers have grown so accustomed to that carrot that is just out of reach they become reliant on anyone that can offer them extravagant amounts of money for their crop. Like a drug addict without his hit they collapse without that easy unsustainable "hit". I did say 2 years ago that populism destroys prosperity. In 2 years populism destroyed Thailand's ranking in the global rice market. Indonesia exported oil. Decided to subsidize on fuel for its citizens, demand increased, roads were congested and they started importing oil. Greece was giving welfare pledging the future of its citizens. Look at it now. Populism destroys human values of pride, self-respect and hard work. Populism, when unleashed, doesn't go away and often eats its own master. It certainly contributed to the fall of the PTP. History is a good teacher, but the PTP and Yingluck knew better and now their erosive corrupt policies are coming back to haunt them, but the current govt is the target of blame on the uneducated as they are conditioned to focus on a carrot just out of reach. Like the fallout from a nuclear holocaust the famers would blame the people trying to decontaminate the area instead of the people that dropped the bomb. They know no better. I pity them.

Of course has the tax money assisted the sector towards sustainability, such as research and development, irrigation, transportation, financial management, cooperatives and agriculture education that Prayut is looking at pushing on with the sustainable agricultural framework to help the farmers, not bribe them. These efforts of sustainability have multiplier effects that have the power to eventually lift poor farmers out of poverty.

I feel that funding for these longer-term measures however should have been accompanied by several sensible short-term measures to alleviate the innocent, "handout addicted" victims of the populist unsustainable fallout.

The PTP...Really keep on giving and giving well after they have gone. I bet you will, not see anyone from the UDD or PTP offering constructive advice on how to help the farmers because the farmers cannot vote now. As soon as they have the power to vote the PTP and UDD will magically start caring as that is when it suits their agenda.

EDIT - I love this comment "People want to protest," said Sabina Shah, a local leader of Thaksin's "red shirt" supporters in Khon Kaen" Well Sabina the farmers wanted to protest when yingluck was in power as well, but they were unfortunately turned back by the red shirts, intimidated and their families threatened.

"farmers have grown so accustomed to that carrot that is just out of reach"

Yes those pesky poor farmers why don't they just shut up and love the Junta? so accustomed to that "carrot" they really should know their place huh??? why should the last government want to try and help them with subsidies eh? (yes we know it was mis-managed) why not let them starve! EU and USA too!!! stop ALL the farming subsidies dear WORLD

One might think this all has nothing to do with politics and something to do with RICE - if one were a fool that is

'Mis-managed' ???. Just like the amnesty bill was 'mis-understood' ?.

You people really are a class act. You will NEVER admit anything you or your dirty leaders did wrong. Until you grow up, Thailand is stuck in this rut.

What a complete load of BS : who writes these articles ?.

The 'generous subsidies' had already run out of money before the last government left office because the scheme was unsustainable and rife with corruption. They had already 'borrowed' from other budgets. Farmers were not being paid and had taken out loans because they were planting as many crops each years as they could to take advantage. Suicides of those unable to pay them back were on the increase long before the coup.

If those 'mega loans' had been taken out off-budget, they would have been siphoned away on vote buying schemes like this leaving the tax-payer with a 50 year burden and little to show for it.

It has nothing to do with the red-shirt threats of revolt. They think they lost their free lunch and they want it back. We won't see any spontaneous protests from these people : only free parties on organised coaches. Contrast that with the protesters against the amnesty bill who turned out on a matter of decency and principle even though they knew they might get murdered on the streets without any police protection.

In case this joke of a journalist didn't realise, the whole world has been suffering economic hardship for more than 6 years now.

red-shirt arsonists

Seems redundant doesn't it?

That's not really fair. They are not just one-trick ponies : they have many more abilities than that:

Drive by AK47 shootings

M79 Grenade launching

Forming intimidation Mobs outside court-rooms if one of their leaders has been caught.

Attacking the PM's car if he dares to enter red-shirt country

Throwing fire-bombs, grenades or ping-pong bombs at the homes of newspaper people

Shooting opposition candidates if they dare to appear in red-shirt areas

Willingness to throw the rest of the country under a bus if they see something in it for them personally

And others I'm sure missed with an off-the-cuff reply. Oh - and the biggest one of all:

Extreme hypocrisy. Total denial of what they all know is true.

What a terrible article : snippets of facts interwoven with the authors 'opinion' and condescending interpretations.

They got their bottom spanked for misbehaving and lost some 'face' and now they are sulking like spiteful schoolboys.

I've seen this many times from Thai men in various aspects of society - it's like they got stuck at 12 years old. There's no wonder this country makes such a mess of everything.

I wonder what the FCCT and Thamasat Students have to say about that?

The FCCT whose president is the disgustingly biased Jonathan Head and Thamasat whose name only ever crops up with some politically motivated red-shirt support (and no prizes for guessing why they are encouraged to do that) ?.

After they did precisely nothing under Pheu-Thai when 'democracy' was (to quote a deputy prime-minister) "We don't need to bother about minorities. If they don't like it, they can vote us out next time" and the complete absence of any comments during the string of dictatorial bills forced through by Parliamentary majority including the amnesty bill or when peaceful protesters were being murdered by the government, it is an act of supreme hypocrisy for them to start complaining now.

why do so many Farangs with no right to vote here have a problem with the Shinawatra political dynasty?

Maybe because they find their greed and corruption abhorrent even by Thai standards.

And maybe having grown up under a good education system and an accountable democratic government, they are disgusted by what they see these people are prepared to do.

How the dirty and corrupt in Thailand wish farang would mind their own business. This is the root of Thai xenphobia .

Plus I can easily imagine most of us pay a lot more into the Thai system than most red-shirts - so you are stealing from us too. Not that you care of course.

I suspect they pretty much know who did it but maybe don't have the physical evidence.

And - as usual in Thailand - truth and justice come a distant second to forcing through the verdict you want. This might be to protect someone powerful or to avoid giving political enemies an excuse to incite others to violence.

I still remember Chalerm closing the Akeyuth case before any kind of investigation had taken place.

In my time here, I have seen several 'locally' made high-tech products which have been attempts to copy the same thing from foreign countries.

And every single one has been built with the cheapest, lowest quality crap they can get hold of which will hold together long enough to be shipped out the door. The rest of the budget was spent on things like employing family members who never actually turned up for a days work.

Of course this is Thailand so we will cling to the belief that this time it might be different. Learning from mistakes is not a strong point of this culture. Actually, I suppose no mistake was been made : the money was successfully siphoned out of the system and the 'market' for another one in a few years is still there. You can be sure nobody will ever be held to account.

They are saying 'people misunderstand' the policy just as Thaksin said people misunderstood the amnesty bill.

But Pheu-Thai forced that through any way. Lets see if the Junta are more democratic than the cronies : I predict they will drop this plan.

Strange how so many people feel confident enough to voice dissent : I thought everybody who did got hauled away for adjustment ???. I guess I have been listening to the red-hats too much.

"But he insisted that the Erawan Shrine and Sathon pier bombings were linked with the trafficking of Uighur immigrants."

LOL - and how on earth can he be so sure of that ?. Sounds a bit too much like that was the intention : set off a bomb to try and destroy the tourism industry to damage the economy but let someone else take the blame.

If he thinks no Thai could commit such an act, he should have a chat with the red-shirts who pulled the trigger which fired grenades into groups of women and children.

Me thinks Mr Worachai protesteth far too much and far too quickly. He just convinced me that they were behind it.

I'm still not sure - is this plan just for traffic going in and out of the country, or for ALL internet traffic ?.

Because some posters here have got themselves into a right lather thinking their LINE messages might get blocked.

The first might happen but the second definitely will not.

What a completely empty gesture! It is a complete farce that the elections were allowed to be blocked like this in the first place!

Where was our savior Prayuth when this was happening eh?

What a hypocrite : you people are the first to accuse the Army of meddling in politics if a suits you. Prayuth gave plenty of warnings before the coup and only stepped in because of the terrorist attacks by Pheu-Thai against their own people.

Did you remember that they held the election whilst mass protests were going on and Bangkok was under emergency law ?.

Why would anyone do that ?. One reason : it was their last chance to cling on to power and claim legitimacy whilst continuing to murder protesters.

And you seem blissfully (or is that ignorantly?) unaware that 90% of polling stations were open yet they only polled about 30% - even with no opposition.

Slowly but surely the truth will out.

2010 bomb, 2014 bomb and now 2015 bomb. One colour links them all. The same one which is the only group to carry out terrorism in Bangkok in the last 10 years.

But plebs like this don't make the decision to do it. Who gave the order ?.

So case solved just days before Somyot retires. Money handed out with big smiles to celebrate the huge success and he leaves basking in glory and 'face' gone through the roof.

Except the glory is all self-imposed and he fails to see that the smiles are people laughing at him for how obvious and shallow it is.

@aussieinthailand: it's pretty straightforward if you care to think about it. A political connection is virtually certain to mean the only group who has already committed terrorism in Bangkok on numerous occasions - and people of that group would never dare to do such a thing without the permission from the man in charge. I don't know if you are unable to work it out or hypocritically refuse to acknowledge it. I expect you argued the protesters fired grenades at themselves right up until the red-shirt was caught. Who do you think ordered that ?.

One thinks that the reward should be paid following a successful conviction.

This pantomime is making Thailand look like a complete joke. And a dirty one at that.

Interesting to know the bogeyman is still a suspect : I sense we are being fed the Uighurs line to keep both sides of the political divide quiet.

Lol the attacks were the result of the crackdown in human trafficking. Please.. The Thai navy sued the journalists at Phuketwan for exposing their complicity in human trafficking, some in the Thai military were removed for human trafficking and because they have made virtually no progress they are still at the lowest ranking for the TIP report.

How about the cause was sending the muslim refugees back to China to face God knows what or maybe the elected government was tossed out and the country's economy is rapidly cratering?

Seems like the people they sent back were indeed terrorists. So by your own argument it seems they made the right decision.

And you seem to be missing the fact that the bomb makers were at their business long before those people got sent back.

"The Nation" has the story that at least one of the people involved also made bombs during the 2010 fiasco and again in the 2014 protests. In the same way they avoid the word 'terrorists', everybody also avoids 'red-shirt' these days. The two have less and less distinction between them as things move forward.

In this conversation, it important to bear in mind that a seismic event is just over the horizon for all the Thai people. This eventuality s not a wild guess, it's written in stone. It comes to us all.

So, maybe 2017 is a spot-on estimate, given the very real fact that eventually, all things are eventual.

No it isn't.

It's not a wild guess: it's a fantasy spread by fanatics and believed by crackpots.

There will an attempt at reform, then an election. Then things will go back how they were while politicians try to dismantle or work out how to circumnavigate the new regulations.

Go see the doc and get yourself something.

I'm sure Mr Moon can sleep well tonight after hearing that

Mr Moon, as you put it, is one of the worst if not the worst boss that the UN has had.

Whatever he feels or not feels is of no interest, as the guy is just a muppet.

No decision skills, no assertiveness, no charisma,.....

So in other words he and the General are cut from the same cloth and should fully understand each other!!

Good grief, what planet do you live on ?.

I would say Prayuth has those qualities in spades. It's other parts of his character which let him down.

The description fits Yingluck like a glove.

Taxpayers paying bail money for offenders. I never heard anything so ridiculous. The whole point is that the offender loses the bail money if he does a runner.

Then they said they would publish where the money went in order to get approval to do it, then did the opposite once they had it in their grubby hands.

If it was distributed evenly and fairly, how could it affect reconciliation ?. Obviously it wasn't.

Absolutely typical of how the last bunch of cronies operated. Blatant liars - good riddance to dirty rubbish.