MikeN

I was replying to somebody who claimed that Surachate would not be corrupt because he was already successful. My point was that there have been plenty of rich and apparently successful people who wanted more and were prepared to commit crimes to do so. Thaksin was just one example, relevant to Thailand, but there have been plenty of others. Alan Bond, a multi millionaire and Australian folk hero for taking the America's Cup ended up in jail for financial crimes. Bernie Madoff in America. The president of Samsung in Korea. And plenty more around the world. And as for Surachate's career success, some people wonder if it has anything to do with his family connection to Thaksin's, his ex-wife Khunying Pojaman in particular. That's also online for you.

Of course not, you are still white.... and don't expect to get into National parks cheaper either! If expat retirees did get Thai prices for park admission etc then the govt would lose about as much money as it gains from taxing our pensions.

You don't miss what you have never had, but once you get used to the lifestyle you always want more. Does the name Thaksin ring a bell ?

The last investigative journalism in Thailand that I can recall was the story on the airport runway cracks, and look what happened to the journalist then! https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2007/2/2/sacked-for-exposing-airport-cracks

The first 90 day report on a new passport has to be done in person.

The background was too tempting :

Moving forward is the last thing "they" want to do !

Didn't the old govt legal adviser say the process takes about a month ? The prison warder approves it and sends it up to dept of corrections boss, who does his bit of paper shuffling and sends it to the justice Minister, who sends it to the PM, who considers it and then sends it on HM. And this got done in about 24 hours...amazing how fast Thai bureaucracy can work when they cut out the committees.

Well, as the minimum rate on this particular agency is 6,000 baht for 2 hours, and up to 20 thousand for a 24 hour booking, then no I don't think poor people would be using these escort services !

HEADLINE : "growing turmoil likely to end with General Prawit as PM" The turmoil will just be starting if he becomes PM!

The junta side (BJT+PPRP+UTN) actually have more MPs than Pheu Thai do, so it might be PT who get a rude shock when it comes to implementing policies.

With the complete lack of morals and political scruples of Thai politicians and parties, I wouldn't be at all surprised if PT (or Thaksin) plans to make a coalition acceptable to the senators now, then engineer circumstances which cause one of those parties to leave. Perhaps some dirt comes out about the watch collector, or the man from Buriram, in about a year's time. Their party leaves, and MFP is invited to join the ruling coalition. According to the story at "you know where" PT is going to support many of MFP's policies (except 112) even if they are not going to be part of the new govt. Perhaps once the current Senate is no more and the EC has been manipulated to get a more amenable senate PT may support the MFP when they try to abolish conscription. Prawit and his mob walk out in disgust, PT invite the MFP in, then BJT would leave too, and it's back to the original PT-MFP coalition. we will just have to wait and see !

The agents would love you to be locked in to using them as a reliable income source, which of course filters down to corrupt IOs (allegedly) so they would like it too. There are no real checks on the online 90 day reporting, you can use any address from a computer or phone located anywhere.

With Westpac I had to log in normally then provide 2 of my passport number, Aus drivers license, medicare card or Aus birth certificate. Passport was easy, but luckily the system accepted the number of an expired drivers license ! Those numbers are checked with an electronic data verification system, which might be worrying for the tinfoil hat brigade. Then I got an email saying all ok : We're happy to let you know that we successfully confirmed your identity online using the electronic verification services of one or more of the following entities: • Equifax Pty Limited; • Equifax Australia Information Services and Solutions Pty Limited (EAISS), operator of Equifax's electronic verification service; and/or • Experian Australia Credit Services Pty Ltd (Experian) It did make me wonder about the 100 point check needed to open an account originally, some 30 or more years ago.....have I changed my ID since then ?

My wife recently sent an important document to her sister in USA by EMS, according to the tracking data it was "with the airline' for 3 weeks and took just over a month in total. Yesterday I got a "know your customer" form to fill out from my bank in Australia (to verify my ID or else) that was posted 30th May, and had to be completed by 7 July. Luckily I've already done it online.

No, that was for the current Senate, the link before was for the current process as in the 2018 act. The amphoe level committee is the amphoe head plus 5 others including heads of 3 amphoe agencies. Provincial screening committee is governor plus 5 including heads of 3 provincial agencies. but when it gets to national level, it seems the Election Commission is also the national committee (section 24 (1), with reference to section 4, https://www.ect.go.th/ect_en/download/article/article_20210806135906.pdf ) "(1) the national committee, with the Commission serving as the national committee; ", "Section 4. In this Organic Act: “Commission” means the Election Commission under the organic law on the Election Commission; " People can make their own conclusions about how unbiased or otherwise the EC is.

https://www.ect.go.th/ect_en/download/article/article_20210806135906.pdf has the 2018 Organic Act on selection of senators, which is as clear as mud in the English translation but sections 10-35 seem to say that qualified people may nominate themselves, selection is whittled down first at amphoe level then by provincial comittees, final selection is done by secret ballot by committee at national level. So it's not a direct peoples choice election,

It is actually a maximum of 3 names that have to be submitted to the EC by the parties, a party can nominate anybody from the published list as long as the party that person belongs to got at least 25 seats.. Pita was actually nominated in Parliament by a Pheu Thai speaker from what I read.

Well, according to section 107 of the 2017 constitution "selection of senators shall be made in the form of a Royal Decree" (https://cdc.parliament.go.th/draftconstitution2/download/article/article_20180829093502.pdf) Which could possibly open up a Pandora's box under easily imaginable circumstances. While scrolling through that document I also noticed Section 113 : "A Senator shall not align with or yield to the mandate of any political party". No comment on that bit !

Yes, they would have found something else to hang him with....such as that video clip of him riding a motorcycle taxi after the election. No helmet, so breaking the law there would be sufficient for the Senate. To say nothing of such behaviour being unbecoming of a PM and making him unsuitable in their eyes. They never needed much of an excuse.

Now that it is decided a PM candidate only gets one shot, the senators have even more power. They can combine with the junta parties to reject every nominee from PT and the other democratic coalition parties, until Anutin or Prawit are last men standing and vote for them. A minority government ahead perhaps ?

Now that the junta and senators have decided the issue, every PM candidate can only be nominated once. So PT's nominees can be rejected by the senators, and every other candidate from the democratic coalition....which would leave the junta nominees as last man standing. Minority government ahead ?

Ah, but the generals don't run for office, they just take over. That's the difference, and once there, the rules don't apply to them

Well I did read one article in the BP which suggested they could keep it up until the senators have been retired next May, but that would mean the general stays as caretaker PM, and who knows what he might arrange in the meantime ! There is also a provision that if they cannot agree on any of the nominated PM candidates then an "outsider" PM can be roped in, but I don't know what the criteria is for that to happen.

Not here when abstaining is a "NO" vote...as is not even turning up to vote. 44 were not there for the vote, which shows what they think about democracy.