kareona

In these YouTube video a mother and a father talk about the death of their sons at Thammasat University, the aftermath, the blaming of the victims ('they were all communists') and their fight for justice.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JAbgvsDvkT4#t=1518

His Majesty the King is called 'the Father of Royal Rainmaking'. Droughts are solved claims the article in this link:

http://www.thaiwaysmagazine.com/king/rainmaking.html

The latest cartoon of 'Sia' in the Thairath newspaper (October 2, one day before he was summoned) was as follows (I couldn't copy the picture here):

left up: a happy Prayut at the UN: 'The Thai government guards and protects all human rights. We are acting for a good future of the country'

right down: an angry Prayut, steaming from his ears, with the texts 'invite people for attitude adjustments' 'draft constitution allows him to postpone elections' 'economical problems' 'Reforms???'

left under two small mice: one 'He talks good but acts bad' the other: 'He promised to the world community....'

ERAWAN SHRINE

Hunt for Thai bomb suspect intensifies

The Nation October 2, 2015 1:00 am

Aod

Police have interviewed his mother and are attempting to confirm his identity

BANGKOK: -- POLICE have stepped up their investigation of a Thai man suspected of supplying the explosives used in the Erawan Shrine blast.

The suspect, Aod Payungwong, has no identity card despite standing trial several times and being convicted of a crime, it was revealed.

Police visited Siriraj Hospital yesterday to see if Aod's birth was registered there.

They had earlier visited Ban Banglamung elderly care centre in Chon Buri province to talk to Anong Payungwong, 61, Aod's mother. Aod is also known as Yongyut Pobkaew.

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/national/Hunt-for-Thai-bomb-suspect-intensifies-30270009.html

He is one of two Thais wanted in connection with the shrine blast, which killed 20 people and wounded more than 100 others on August 17. Police have issued 17 arrest warrants in the case, with most of the suspects being foreign.

Police General Somyot Poompan-muang, a former national police chief, said Aod did not have an identity card. A police source quoted Anong as saying she had not seen her son in about five years and he had stopped sending her money during that period.

The source said Anong told police she delivered Aod at Siriraj Hospital and registered the birth there, making it possible for him to acquire the 13-digit identity card, but that he failed to apply for the card at a district office.

"We want to confirm his identity and his nationality is that of a Thai citizen," the source said.

Aod did not know who his father was, he worked as a garbage collector and frequently moved from place to place, the source said. He had a son and a daughter who were adopted by an Australian couple.

Police previously linked him to explosions when protesters took to the streets against the Abhisit government and later the Yingluck government.

The suspicion that he may be involved in the blast has led police to believe that politics may have played a part in the attack. He was given a suspended jail term in an explosive-related case.

Police General Jakthip Chaijinda, the national police chief, said the investigation would continue despite the closure of a centre set up as part of the probe.

He said he would not make changes to the investigation team.

Two suspects have been arrested in the case while 15 others are at large.

Police Lt-General Sriwara Ransibrah-manakul, deputy national police chief, said police had enough evidence to link Aod to the case.

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/national/Hunt-for-Thai-bomb-suspect-intensifies-30270009.html

-- The Nation 2015-10-02

In the text in this picture it is said that he ( Aod Phayungwong) is accused of football gambling (kaanphanan bon).

From what I see a lot of the poor are poor because the men waste money on cigarettes, gambling and whisky. So the wife and kids go without. The socialists should be calling for a ban on cigarettes and whisky and getting the police more active in shutting down gambling operations.

Brillant! New thinking! Let the poor stop smoking, drinking and gambling. Don't forget whoring though! Don't pity the poor, it's their own fault.

The rich of course can go on with all this expensive vices. Gambling in Macao, Cambodja and Myanmar. No problem. Do not tax the rich! They will have to abandon their vices which is bad for the economy.

Now, if the poor would just stop smoking, drinking and gambling, they will surely become rich in no time! Then, and only then, they can start smoking, drinking and gambling again!

Pattaya is a shining example of compassionate capitalism. Rich people throwing money at poor Isaan girls. That's the way to go. Down with socialism!

Good start. '...illegal workers and vices' Pattaya is next. Let's cleanse Thailand of all illegal workers and vices.

This is 'sufficiency economy'.

The defence budget (more than double now since 2006) is the only state budget never discussed or scrutinized in parlement, except for some extraordinary expenditures. The military gets the money and it is nobody's business what they do with it. The military is a state in the state, accountable only to themselves.

Most stories of Andrew Drummond about this case has been blocked by the Ministry of Information and Communication Technology. It shows clearly the lack of justice in Thailand and the evil power of the elite. What about a real revolution for Thailand? I lost my faith in gradual positive change.

So now what? Despite publicly stating he was for the Charter I wouldn't be surprised if this is what the PM really wanted, a furtherance of the status quo with him at the helm.

If we could know the percentage of military nrc members who voted no, it would be a relatively reliable way to test this assumption.

All, or nearly all, of the military NRC members voted no. Most of the academics, NGO and others voted yes. This is the result Prayut wanted although he said in public he supported the draft constitution. We, the Thai people, are being hoodwinked. Let's have the People's Constitution (1997) back and an election!

I see a lot of monks with tattoos. How about that? Remove them from the temple?

Can those religious tattoos be covered so as to not be "visible"?

The tattoos are not always religious. And they can not always be covered by their monk's habit.

I see a lot of monks with tattoos. How about that? Remove them from the temple?

'Army Chief says...........'.
Can anybody tell me who is in charge of the government?

I did a quick calculation, all approximately mind you, and the premise that schools are distributed evenly.

There must be a thousand schools Bangkok. If alcohol can not be sold in a radius of 300 meter around a school, than alcohol can not be sold in an area of 40 square kilometers. That must be half of Khrungthep Mahanakhorn!

Thai people live in Thai-land, an unique place full of Thai culture. All Thai speak the Thai language and love their Thai country. Thai children go to Thai schools where Thai teachers tell them about the Thai language, the Thai culture and Thai logic so these Thai children will stay pure Thai. Thai children become Thai adolescents and these Thai girls and Thai boys make Thai love and beget more Thai children.

Thai farmers sow Thai seeds in Thai ricefields. Thai monks pray in Thai tempels to soothe Thai karma.

All Thai children care for their Thai parents. When Thai parents are getting older they suffer from Thai diseases, go to Thai hospitals where Thai doctors give them Thai medicines. In the end they die, like people everywhere, and they are cremated in the Thai way.

I tried reading that but got tongue-thaid.

This reminds me of something I've noticed with regards to how the students here are taught to write. My brother in law teaches at a nearby high school and whenever he's grading essays or helping students with speeches, the nationality "Thai" must, for some reason, be liberally peppered throughout the copy. For example, they never write "we should always help other people in need...", they write "we should always help other Thai people in need...".

Similarly, there's Thai PBS. As if people might mistake it for German PBS or Canadian PBS if it were missing the "Thai" prefix. Then of course there's the Royal Thai Police, with the nationality helpfully inserted into the agency's name just to make sure you didn't think we were referring to the Royal Danish Police here in Thailand. Many more examples abound. It's as if the people - excuse me - the Thai people need to be constantly reminded what country they're in.

I'm Thai but raised in the US. Over there I don't remember them saying goofy things like "American PBS" or the "American FBI". It was just assumed that people already knew what country they're in.

Yes, so true. It reminds me of the way foreigners talk about people in Thailand. You will rarely hear people saying: ‘I met an American in New York who told me.....’ or ‘I saw a beautiful Dutch lady in Amsterdam....’. A Russian in New York is different of course.

But in Thailand foreigners nearly always mention the ‘Thai’ word. ‘ I gave a present to a Thai boy in Chiang Mai’ , ‘In Buriram I talked to two Thai farmers and...’ , ‘That Thai man got very angry’. Not ‘that man’ but ‘that Thai man’.

It’s kind of weird to always hear foreigners emphasize the Thainess of people they talk about as if Thainess is their most important and striking quality, more important than their humanity.

Thai people live in Thai-land, an unique place full of Thai culture. All Thai speak the Thai language and love their Thai country. Thai children go to Thai schools where Thai teachers tell them about the Thai language, the Thai culture and Thai logic so these Thai children will stay pure Thai. Thai children become Thai adolescents and these Thai girls and Thai boys make Thai love and beget more Thai children.

Thai farmers sow Thai seeds in Thai ricefields. Thai monks pray in Thai tempels to soothe Thai karma.

All Thai children care for their Thai parents. When Thai parents are getting older they suffer from Thai diseases, go to Thai hospitals where Thai doctors give them Thai medicines. In the end they die, like people everywhere, and they are cremated in the Thai way.

No disrespect for your sincere feelings (I am an optimist and assume you are Thai/allied rather than being a sarcastic farang) however, assuming the former no country in this age can be an 'island' and isolated from the rest of the world. It will change, for better or for worst, it is inevitable as the sun rising on the 'morrow. Nawn lap fan dee cobber/lass.

Thailand in one of the most diversified countries in the world in every aspect: language, culture, religion etc. There is no 'Thainess' other than imposed by the Bangkok upperclass on all citizens. So yes, I tried to be funny and sarcastic at the same time. Does it matter if I am a Thai or a foreigner? Would you look different then at what I have to say? If so you have to look at your own attitude. Just look at the message and not at the messenger, ok? นอนหลับฝันดีนะเหมือนกันครับ

Most of the deforestation occured in the period 1950 (forest cover 60%) to 1988 (forest cover 25%). This was a period of military rule. (Sanit, Thanom, Prem). Forest were invaded by poor farmers under population pressure (from 20 million in 1950 to 60 million in 1988), and the military slashed forests in their fight against comminisme, especially in the Northeast.

After 1988, under more or less democratic governments and a law that prohibited cutting of trees everywhere, the decline in forest cover slowed markedly.

The truth is just the opposite of Prayut's remarks. Nothing new here.

Thai people live in Thai-land, an unique place full of Thai culture. All Thai speak the Thai language and love their Thai country. Thai children go to Thai schools where Thai teachers tell them about the Thai language, the Thai culture and Thai logic so these Thai children will stay pure Thai. Thai children become Thai adolescents and these Thai girls and Thai boys make Thai love and beget more Thai children.

Thai farmers sow Thai seeds in Thai ricefields. Thai monks pray in Thai tempels to soothe Thai karma.

All Thai children care for their Thai parents. When Thai parents are getting older they suffer from Thai diseases, go to Thai hospitals where Thai doctors give them Thai medicines. In the end they die, like people everywhere, and they are cremated in the Thai way.

The docility of the people in putting up with this circus is extraordinary.

If I ask Thais why they put up with this circus they say 'we have to endure' (อดทน od thon in Thai) like a wife abused by her husband but unable to leave has to endure'. If I ask why she has to endure they make a shooting gesture with their hand. It's not docility but fear.

I am sorry to say that Thailand needs a revolution, something like the French revolution.

The dictator Sarit Thanarat (1957-1963) ordered vendors to sell a cup of ice coffee for 50 instead of the previous 70 satang. The vendors retaliated by using smaller cups and more ice. Then they promoted the old cup of 70 satang by calling it 'super ice coffee'.

Most Thai know if there is corruption in their village. They are practical people. If a village headman (phuyaibaan) is a 'good' person, generous, hard-working and able they will not mind too much if he takes 10 percent from public work money especially if he uses part of this money to help villagers in other ways. If the village headman is greedy, takes 30 percent only for his own benefit, is lazy and stupid then the villagers will try to get rid of him. I dont mean to condone this behaviour. In both instances they must be punished.

The roots of corruption are not so much the Thai culture or the Thai mindset. It is old-fashioned greediness (which is a part of all cultures) and a left-over from the time not so long ago when private and public money were not separated. It is part of the old way to run a business or the economy. The secret and unaccountable ways in which the bureaucracy functions is another part of the problem.

To combat corruption punishments only are not enough. What is really needed is total freedom of information and expression in order to be able to follow the trail of money and to publish and critizise. Until that moment nothing will change.

I heard the woman pronounce de name of the police chief in a wrong way. The police chief is called สมยศ Somjot, with a rising tone and a high tone. The news anchor said สมเย็ด Somjet, same tones.

เย็ด jet means 'to '. She looked shocked and put her hand on her mouth.

Be careful because 'yes' sounds in the Thai ear sometimes like 'jet'. There is no final -s- in Thai, the -s- sounds like a soft -t- . I have heard a Thai saying: Why is this man always saying' Jet, jet, , , dirty man'.

'jet' is a dirty Thai word for intercourse. The comuter does not like '<deleted>'.

This is from the Bangkok Post January 19, 2013 (writer Wassana Nanuam and Wassayos Ngamkham)

Army chief Prayuth Chan-ocha has admitted some of his soldiers in the Far South are involves in trafficking Rohingya migrants into Thailand before sending them to work in Thailand.

Gen Prayuth said some members of the Internal Security Operations Command (ISOC) were linked to smugling rings and he promised to track them down.

'These bad apples must be punished and get rid of', he said on Saterday.

In the beginning of 2013 Prayuth knew soldiers were involved in human trafficking. Were they tracked down and punished? I don't think so.

Toscano, on 25 May 2015 - 09:48, said:

Since 2006 Thailand has not had a leader with business and entrepreneurial skills !!! The downward economic trend will continue until a semblance of true democracy returns , with a leader who is an astute businessman .

Does it have to be a businessman or could it be a businesswoman?

This is what the FT (The Financial Times) said about Yingluck Shinawatra on July 3, 2011

She was the chief executive of Advanced Info Service, the telecoms company he (Thaksin() founded and built into the country’s biggest mobile carrier; she was also a director of Manchester City, the British Premier League soccer club that her brother bought in 2007 and sold the following year; and most recently she has been the CEO of SC Asset Corp, a listed property developer majority owned by Mr Thaksin’s two children.

But, despite her gilded rise to the top, she commands respect in the business world. SC Asset Corp’s share price has more than doubled in the five years she has been at the helm, compared with a 45 per cent increase in the broader SET Index. She also has a master's degree in public administration from Kentucky State University.

“She was very well armed with all the available facts and statistics, and certainly very professional,” said one businessman who has travelled on international conferences with Ms Yingluck. But, he adds, “She was certainly less approachable then than she seems now.”

Ms Yingluck has proved to be a fast learner. In May, at the start of the election campaign, she was a halting public speaker who tended to sound shrill and who avoided in-depth interviews. Last Friday night, she stood on a stage in the pouring rain working the crowd at Puea Thai’s final campaign event like a seasoned pro.

Just shows how wrong they can be. Unless you see any of that demonstrated in the near 3 years she pretended to be the Thai PM for her brother.

Remember all those wonderful debates in parliament, the sparkling conference performances, her quick wit and shrewd mind in answering all those PM's questions? No, neither does anyone because it never happened. She did demonstrate a bit of acting though - crying for the cameras and then bursting out laughing when she thought the cameras were off. An Amply Rich spoiled very wealthy woman, member of a very rich family that can boast numerous convictions for corruption, and quite happy to break oaths, vows and promises to further the family interests. Without morals, ethics and any compassion for others. Just like her siblings.

Enron did will at one time to, and WorldCom. Of course they didn't have the benefits of changing laws to create monopolies, charge what they liked or change laws to avoid taxes and make sales that might be against the countries interests interests.

Anyone who traveled with Yingluck is not likely to be someone who has an objective view. Your not naive to believe that other than lackeys would be taken are you?

I congratulate you, you must be fluent in Thai to be able to make sense of Yingluck's speeches. I am also fluent in Thai and I agree that she was no genius. But she was never stupid or bad-mouthed. She was soft-spoken, agreeable and warm-hearted. Painting her as only a spoiled child is beside the truth.

She was not crying before the camera's and not bursting out laughing afterwards. She became emotional when she said: 'If people attack me as prime-minister, it's OK. But they attack my family and my son too.' What's wrong becoming emotional then? And when she walked away she smiled at somebody behind her.

'She commanded respect in the business world', is another quote. I have more.

Toscano, on 25 May 2015 - 09:48, said:

Since 2006 Thailand has not had a leader with business and entrepreneurial skills !!! The downward economic trend will continue until a semblance of true democracy returns , with a leader who is an astute businessman .

Does it have to be a businessman or could it be a businesswoman?

This is what the FT (The Financial Times) said about Yingluck Shinawatra on July 3, 2011