kareona

Disgusting, but East is East and West is West! We will never understand.? Hopefuly karma will catch them?

This is the full quote, just opposite of what most people think the quote means.

Oh, East is East and West is West, and never the twain shall meet, Till Earth and Sky stand presently at God's great Judgment Seat; But there is neither East nor West, Border, nor Breed, nor Birth, When two strong men stand face to face, though they come from the ends of the earth!

This may be read as saying that 'it is indisputable that geographic points of the compass will never meet in this life, but that when two strong men [or equals] meet, the accidents of birth, whether of nationality, race, or family, do not matter at all—the mutual respect such individuals have, each for the character, prowess, and integrity of the other, are their only criteria for judging and accepting one another. Any differences in ethnicity between such individuals are never even considered'.

I listened to the video. Prayut said not only 'Thaksin!' but 'Ai Thaksin!' which in this context means 'that damned Thaksin'. The newspapers didn't mention it, too embarrassing perhaps or just his normal kind of talking.

As foreigners there is to much idle chatter going on about things that don't concern you.......but don't forget your toiletry bag and a change of underwear if the army come a knocking!

It does concern us, since a soldier will have powers over immigrant issues with exception from judicial process.

It concerns us because we are subject to the same laws as Thai citizens.

It concerns because we also pay our taxes in the form of vat everytime we purchase an item.

It concerns us because we have wives and husbands and children that could dissappear at any moment because of this law.

It concerns us because some have invested in long long term business ventures, that in turn brings jobs and taxes to this country.

Don't say the laws, constitution, or situation in Thailand does not concern foreigners, tourist and expats.

We all contribute just as much as the Thai to the benefit of this country.

Well said. I feel the same.

Statistics from the Bank of Thailand indicate that farm income, on which a lot of people rely for their livelihood, has dropped more than 20 percent in the past two years due to a drop in production and prices. The impact on consumption and national income will be huge in the coming years.

https://www.bot.or.th/English/Statistics/Graph/Pages/FarmIncome.aspx

I dont expect The General to have great media handling skills as he has been a military man all his life and not for a good while I imagine, had much experience in being questioned..... however I would expect in consideration of his role, that he has retained the services of a few good men who can render meaningful and expert guidance as to handling the media...... I would expect him to be schooled and to some degree exhibit a growing proficiency in media handling .. Specifically

1) Never lose your cool in front of the media.. smile even when its killing you inside.... .. no question/ statement or position as posed by the media should ever be seen to antagonise or annoy .... like sharks in bloody water they are attracted to it as it makes news....and sure as the Sun rises each day they will try and reopen the wound at every occasion thereafter

2) Never reply to a question with a question.. such as "you think we are not trying ?" it sounds like its almost an aggressive, quasi apologetic stance of defeat .

3) Unless to the question posed , it has a favourable answer.or spin you can thus place on it .. never, never , never answer the question as asked.... " Thank you, its a good question but the real underlying significant point here is " and then proceed to give three points at length, they need not be related whatsoever to the question asked in fact preferably not ..if interrupted hold up your hand, small and say "I'm sorry , could you please let me answer the question as asked"... and then proceed back to your three points.. no reporter will dare question you and by the time you finish your three points they will have forgotten what the original question was anyway and will be impatient to ask their own question.

4) If you field a question that is remotely close to a question asked previously or even at a past press conference... refer back to that " thank you for that question but I believe I covered that in the Press conference on Jan 12th"

5) Select a journalist or publication whom you feel will present a balanced and moderate view perhaps leaning to your side but not OTT... grant a 30 minute question and answer session and have your PR team release to the papers / publications after it has been vetoed....... your focus and theme should be " for the greater good and future of Thailand" dwell not on water holes and who dug em but talk of Thailand in bigger terms in what your vision is and then come back to the plans and steps you are making sure happen to effect this....

6) Not every question warrants a response.... " Sorry I dont see the relevance to that question at this point in time".. Next question please

7) Last but not least "smile"....... a grimace and show of annoyance just adds more blood in the water to the frenzied pack.....

While no-one expects a Statesman like stance from a career military man they dont expect a petulant aggressive response either ..... get a few good people , polish up your act some and then start turning these opportunities around such that both domestically and internationally their is an air of quiet and assured confidence in the policies and endeavours your are undertaking .....

Quote : 'I dont expect The General to have great media handling skills as he has been a military man all his life and not for a good while I imagine, had much experience in being questioned..... however I would expect in consideration of his role, that he has retained the services of a few good men who can render meaningful and expert guidance as to handling the media...... I would expect him to be schooled and to some degree exhibit a growing proficiency in media handling'.

It has nothing to do with this, it is his faulty personality.

God this guy is such a buffoon.

he's doing a pretty good job considering the mess left by his predecessors ...

somehow I just couldn't see Yingluck on the podium at the UN convention in the US recently ... I don't think anyone really took her seriously ....

Thank god someone with some balls could step up to the plate ...

Yes do verry good job thats why 75 % down or more for no investment in Thailand and i think from Japan 85 % down :-)

And farm income down 30 % in the past 1-2 years (Bank of Thailand)......due to falling produce and prices...go figure...

The Shinawatra's are an intensly political family. Thaksin's father was for many years a MP for Chiang Mai, his mother a descendant from the last king of Chiang Mai. His two sisters and brother-in-law are also politicians. Politics is their hobby, they talk about it at breakfast.

They are good at reading the mood of the people. And the mood is changing. After the coup May 2014 people thought 'Let's wait and see'. That's over. Many former rabid Yellow shirts are complaining that life under the junta is worse than under Yingluck. More groups are very unhappy, farmers, academics, NGO's etc. Only the royalist-military-bureaucratic elite is still happy but anxious.

That's why they see this opportunity to try a come-back.

I follow some rabid yellow shirts on social media. All of them are disappointed in the junta. 'Is these what we fought for?' is there complaint.

I love this guy. He calmly, but assertively stands up for his rights, always politely, with a smile. Someone thailand should be proud of being to feel like a criminal. Why does thailand take its best people and seek to destroy them for no reason.

So true. Here are the names of some very good Thai people, politicians, writers, academics and activics who were murdered, banned from the country, thrown in jail or threatened in the past 80 years. All for the benifit of the 'good people'. This is what holds Thailand back. There are many more of course.

Pridi Phanomyong, Kulap Saipradit, Narin Phasit, Boonsanong Punyodyana, MR Nimitmongkol Navarat, Intha Sribunruang, Chit Phumisak, Puey Ungpakorn, Somsak Jeamteerasakul, Junya Yimprasert, Giles Ji Ungpakorn, Sombat Boonngaamanong en Sulak Sivaraksa

Thaksin is a polarizing figure for sure. But love him or hate him, and whether you think he is innocent, or guilty; would you be confident that anybody, accused of any crime in Thailand, could actually return to this country and receive a 'fair' trial under the Thai justice system? The entire society is so riddled with cronyism, nepotism, corruption, acts of revenge, etc., only the most naive would place any trust in it.

Point taken but don't forget he did get a fair trial in regard to his conviction and 2 year jail sentence for serious abuse of authority. The evidence was well displayed that he had broken the law, and the case heard and his conviction happened when he was in the PM seat.

Plus there has been plenty of details floating around which seem to be pretty solid in regard to many of the charges for corruption / massive corruption. But of course innocent until proved guilty.

And don't forget the 18 year jail terms handed down recently to the KT bank seniors for corruption, the paymaster was clearly the mastermind of this 'event'.

Thaksin got a fair trial? Really? Read this: 'A letter from Chan Nilgianskul, Citizen of the Kingdom of Thailand'.

“Thaksin aided his wife to purchase government land at a reduced rate of 1/3 in violation of the law prohibiting political leaders from engaging in business dealings with the government. Thaksin was consequently sentenced to two years in prison but fled the country and never served his sentence.”

For lack of a better word, what you are talking about is nothing short of a complete joke. The so-called Ratchadaphisek Land “controversy” is not so much a controversy as it is a result of a disgusting witch-hunt after the 2006 coup. The case was pushed forward by the military-appointed Assets Examination Committee (Read: Anti-Thaksin Committee). This was despite prior confirmation from the central Bank of Thailand, which supervised the land sale, that the deal was conducted properly. Thaksin’s wife Potjaman Shinawatra purchased the land in question from the Financial Institutions Development Fund (FIDF) via a public auction, as allowed under the law. The purchase price was 772 million baht, which was actually higher than the Land Department’s appraisal price at the time of approximately 700 million baht.

The “reduced rate” you are suggesting is with reference to the FIDF’s own purchase price for the land of 2 billion baht in 1995 from Erawan Trust Finance and Securities. The intentionally overpriced purchase occurred during a property market boom and went through as a mechanism to effectively bail out Erawan, which was facing liquidity issues. Perhaps someone should investigate the properness of that deal, rather than trying to put the blame on Thaksin?

Again, the purchase was legal. How idiotic would Potjaman have to be to make those bids if the law prohibited spouses of political leaders from participating? To be specific, the charges against Thaksin were based on Section 100 of the National Counter Corruption Act (NCCA), which specifies that “government officials and their spouses are prohibited from entering into or having interests in contracts made with state agencies under their authorization.” However, Section 4 of the Act indicates that “persons committing malfeasance must be direct supervisors of the damaged party”, in this case, the FIDF. At the time, Bank of Thailand Governor Pridiyathorn Devakula was the direct supervisor of the FIDF, not Thaksin. Furthermore, Section 29 of the Bank of Thailand Act of 1942 specifically stated that the Prime Minister “did not have jurisdiction to oversee the FIDF” and that “those managing the fund had sole authority for policies, control, oversight, and regulations governing the agency.”

Even with such clear logical facts in their faces, the Supreme Court (which, by the way, lacks any democratic legitimacy) still had the nerve to claim that Thaksin was a “de facto” supervisor of the fund and sentence him to two years of imprisonment. One has to wonder what the point of having Section 4 of the NCCA is, if the court is to look at “de facto” supervision. Of course, this allegation of “de facto” supervision does not even hold water in this case, precisely due to Section 29 of the Bank of Thailand Act of 1942, as explained in the previous paragraph.

Following this conviction and his subsequent self-exile, Thaksin has claimed that this case was politically motivated. Given the information above, wouldn’t you agree?

This is her Facebook page. Her posts are 'liked' between 100.000 and 300.000 with between 1.000 and 3.000 comments , nearly all favourable. Many comments call her still 'nayok', prime minister. Many ask her to go on fighting: 'soe,soe'.

https://www.facebook.com/Y.Shinawatra/?fref=ts

One of the suspects, Thanakorn Siripaiboon was also charged with LM for defaming the Royal Dog Thong Daeng. See this link:

http://www.khaosodenglish.com/detail.php?newsid=1450077850

The Editorial Management of Khaosod Rnglish removed this article

http://www.khaosodenglish.com/detail.php?newsid=1450111767

One of the suspects, Thanakorn Siripaiboon was also charged with LM for defaming the Royal Dog Thong Daeng. See this link:

http://www.khaosodenglish.com/detail.php?newsid=1450077850

...any chance that it was taken out of context.....and badly translated.....

...because it does seem that nowadays.....if anyone is offended in any way....they might face such extreme 'reactions'....

...as a general statement is is merely a reflection of events that have taken place recently....

...to suggest that he would have been making such a statement as a 'threat' to the opposition....or to intimidate them....

...sounds like the infantile hogwash that is being paid for by the 'sore losers'.....

No chance it was taken out of context or badly translated. I saw the video and read the text. It was a threat. Why else should Thai academics protest?

Prayut said something more what the Nation does not (want to) report. I am not allowed to write something in Thai here but this is a translation from the Matichon newspaper today. He spoke about the protesting academics, then he blew up and said in an angry voice (I saw the video too), warning the academics: 'They (the academics) could be shot at or blown up by bombs.'

He is always angry, intimidating and using foul language. If you use his kind of language with a stranger you get beaten up. Between friends it's OK.

Asking for donations for building the Rachaphakde ('Loyalty to the King') Park by the good general was exactly the same as asking for money for 'Bike for Mom' and 'Bike for Dad' manifestations by the three accused of which two died. Why then were this three accused of lese majeste and general Udomdej not?

Seems like the fortune teller's health took a nasty turn for the worse and he passed away from septicemia in the prison hospital on Friday.

News now says he died Saterday evening. Yesterday an autopsy was done. The body was released to the family and immediately cremated in a Wat in Bang Seu.

The man who hanged himself while in custody a few days ago was also cremated hours after the body was released.

Sorry to see his free speech curtailed. His idea to fight fire with fire, speaking the same language as the Islamists, would have had a more positive effect on the peace process than appeasement. Bending over for these religious creeps does not work, it just emboldens them(if in doubt look to the N European models). No, they must be smacked, and smacked hard, every time they perpetrate violent acts in the name of their deity. Non violent solutions such as burning down mosques is a particularly savvy plan, in that when the mosques that bred and fomented the hate and rage no longer exist - the brainwashing will cease also. Win win.

Do you agree then that every time if a Buddhist kills a Muslim a Buddhist temple must be burned to the ground? If you don't agree then why not?

He is right....better than having some red mob burning downtown Bangkok again.

Better less democracy than deads on the street.

Most of the dead on the streets of Bangkok were caused by the military. Think October 1973 and 1976, May 1992 and April-May 2010. If I count the dead outside of Bangkok like the Red Drum Murders in Phatthalung 1965-1974 they go into the thousands.

The arrested police officer "hanged himself" whilst in custody.

Reports from outside of Thailand state these three are all within the royalist / junta power clique with the now dead Police Major Prakrom Warunprapa having played a key role in the current administration on previous very well-publicised lese-majeste cases.

This has all the hallmarks of an internecine power struggle.

So, expect nothing in the way of real information in the mainstream press.

Here a link to Prachatai about this story. The social media call this very murky and suspicious. The first report said he hanged himself from the bars on his window but the newsbulletin from the jail says he was in a windowless room.

There is also a story that Mo Yong, the soothsayer, was first 6 days in military custody before he was arrested 2 days ago. Something is very rotten in the state of Thailand.

http://www.prachatai.com/english/

The wardens appointed to look after the welfare of LM cases in custody seem to have scope for improvement given the Police Major "hung himself" within 24 hours of arrest.It's only a year since a LM accused prisoner "fell" to his death from a window.

Draw your own conclusions.

The LM accused prisoner who 'fell' to his death a year ago was cremated the very same day he died. This was the time all the family (parents, uncle, brother-in-law, brothers and sisters) of ex princess Srirasmi was accused of LM, corruption and unusual wealth, very similar to this case. The man who 'fell' to his death was a business partner or secretary to this family.

The arrested police officer "hanged himself" whilst in custody.

Reports from outside of Thailand state these three are all within the royalist / junta power clique with the now dead Police Major Prakrom Warunprapa having played a key role in the current administration on previous very well-publicised lese-majeste cases.

This has all the hallmarks of an internecine power struggle.

So, expect nothing in the way of real information in the mainstream press.

Here a link to Prachatai about this story. The social media call this very murky and suspicious. The first report said he hanged himself from the bars on his window but the newsbulletin from the jail says he was in a windowless room.

There is also a story that Mo Yong, the soothsayer, was first 6 days in military custody before he was arrested 2 days ago. Something is very rotten in the state of Thailand.

http://www.prachatai.com/english/

When are Thais going to say enough is enough and rise up.[emoji35]

The country is ready for a Khmer Rouge cleanup, where rich and famous, police tops, military tops, politicans should be wiped out.

Thailand is heading for a Burma style governemt.

I doubt it : there are not many of the 'foaming at the mouth' communist revolutionary brigade. Their time passed several decades ago.

The Thais I know think the Junta are much better than the last lot of dirty cronies and everything I see is going roughly in the right direction. It can never change overnight : the only chance for the country is if democracy can get a toe-hold and expand from there.

I wonder how many people actually realise why LM is being enforced so strictly at this time ....

John, you really must stop making up stories to suit your agenda.

That is the most ridiculous thing I've read all year.

"The Thais I know think the Junta are much better than the last lot of dirty cronies"

I don't know where you gleaned this information from, but it certainly isn't from the villagers from the North of Thailand where I live.

I speak Thai, have lived here on and off for 39 years and I can say in all honesty that the Thais I know (many in business, and social circles) all agree that this Junta is just a front for the powerful aristocratic families that have ruled Thailand for the past hundred years or so.

I also travel widely in Thailand and make it my business to discuss current affairs with Thais I meet.

Almost without exception, (the exception being public servants and government salaried workers in Bangkok) they say this Junta was initially supported by powerful factions within the aristocracy.

The reason being that the redshirts didn't invite them into their new regime, almost excluding them from their positions of priviledge where they could use government to enrich themselves.

The reds weren't much better mind you, but at least they were breaking up the cosy cabals that have existed from the days of elephant parades.

All this propaganda, that you swallow with gusto, is laughed off by Thais, the social network of stories and rumours at village level, tell the real story of what Thais think.

I agree with the above story. I speak Thai fluently. If I ask Thais what they think about the current political and social situation many people say something like 'tong od thon' which means 'we have to endure it'. They compare it to a husband who is beating his wife but the wife isn't able to resist or to flee. When I ask 'Why not?' they make a shooting gesture from the hip.

One day the Thai will rise up, like they did in the past, and I hope this time there will be succeed in the long run.

There was a huge outcry when the last elected government wanted to amend the Constitution and make the Senate wholly elected in stead of half-elected and half-appointed. The Constitutional Court did strike the amendment down because 1.it would undermine Democracy with the King as Head of State 2. because a wholly elected Senate would have too many family as members.

Sometimes I don't know if I want to cry or to laugh.

I wounder what would happen if this country was attacked... after all, the army is in a new job now !

The army never succeeded in destroying communist centres of resistance in the Northeast, the North and the South in the period 1960-1980, they can't keep the peace in the South and they lost a short frontier war with Laos (somewhere to the north of Phitsanulok) in 1987-1988.

They are only good at one thing as shown by Thailand's history from 1932 to the present. A thing called bullying.

Thai PBS (Public Broadcasting Service) is the only really independent public broadcasting system in Thailand. All the other public broadcasting stations are either controlled by the military (Channel 5) or by the government. It is financed by the governmenty with no strings attached. It has no soaps and no advertisments. It's programming is the best of all stations, really public-minded and interesting subjects with sometimes daring programs as the one with Sulak Sivaraksa about Article 112. It is the only Thai television station I ever look at.

In the past year the military has warned Thai PBS to be 'more objective'. A reporter was suspended when she asked a group of normal ('grassroot') citizens about what they thought and felt concerning the junta.