Srikcir

"They agreed to foster bilateral military cooperation through exchange visits of military personnel between the two countries at various levels."

First China, now Russia. Why in the world does Thailand need to align itself militarily with the Chinese AND Russians? Thailand faces NO external security threats. Thailand has no mutual borders with either country. It has by extension common seas and air space with China but absolutely no geographical commonality with Russia.

Maybe getting the backing of two of the nations on the permanent UN security council though is a good idea if Prayuth is planning some drastic military operations in Thailand. He might need to forestall possible UN resolutions or actions.

"Gen Prawit confirmed that he would attend an international meeting on anti-terrorism to be hosted by Russia in April."

What timing by the Russians. They see every Ukrainian soldier as a "terrorist." Perhaps the meeting will occur in Crimea, Russia and Prawit can help Putin understand Thailand's circumstance.

merit-making business?

Will Buddhist monks be collecting a portion of the fares as merit or what? If it was to put monks in as bus drivers, that would have some merit as actually making a contribution to society.

"... assuming that Thailand’s economy would grow 4 per cent between 2015 – 2017."

Growth for 2015 will be 2.5-3% so that's one less year to worry about!

At best new elections will come in 2016 and at worse beyond 2017 with the Junta keeping martial law and a Junta-led government in place. If the Junta continues to aggravate Western nations over the lack of any progress to return democracy to the nation, strenghten its alliance with China, and continues human rights violations, the economy may suffer further into deflation.

So the "good" news is that Thailand has a possibility to have such an economic slowdown between 2015-2017 that it won't have a need to fill jobs - they will be lost.

A very amibitous list of projects. No doubt the Chinese and the Prayuth governments will be making plans for more government-to-government deals to benefit the Chinese economy.

Finally, Thailand has found a growth industry!

Why would villagers talk to the NRC? It has no enforcement or legislative authority. The NRC is presumbly involved in long-term reforms and not immediate corrective actions which it can't take in any event.

Villagers would do better to talk to their representatives in the National Legislative Assembly. You know, the members selected and appointed by the Junta that also provided Royal Thai Army soldiers as security for passage of the oil drilling equipment through the village.

Buddhist misbehavor is why there must be a Department of Religious Affairs in the Buddhist Thai government. The nation can't trust some religious council to take necessary corrective action.

But there IS a Department of Religious Affairs that is responsible to promote and protect national Buddhism. Not very effective I guess except to fund Buddhist temples and senior Buddhist phras.

Thailand needs to stay with the concession system and avoid the PSA. But more importantly it needs to CANCEL THE SALE.

Thailand's offshore limited and unrenewable oil & gas resources are currently selling "dirt cheap." Thailand would do better for its energy security to get as long term resource contracts from oil & gas export countries as possible at close to today's prices.

There is no rationale for the Junta to be pushing for this concession sale other than to give it some quick capital injection into the Thai economy. Then maybe the Junta can give the rubber farmers another gift for their political loyalties, or give the public more free movies and televised soccer games in exchange for their complacency over the loss of threir rights and liberty.

Thailand immigration should subcontract its mission to Interpol as it seems to know more about who is in Thailand than does Thai immigration.

"a national reconciliation committee would be created under the new charter and would have the authority to request a pardon for wrongdoers, rather than an amnesty."

And so the sham of reform continues.

The NCPO clone CDC wants to establish another NCPO clone called a national reconcliation committee that will be authorized by the NCPO clone NLA. What a nice little circle of anarchists.

<script type='text/javascript'>window.mod_pagespeed_start = Number(new Date());</script>

The country needs to have a legal system that those in power are answerable to. It needs a legal system that makes it clear to those in power that abuse if power and criminality has consequences. It needs a legal system that applies to all, not just those outside the elite. It needs a legal system that cannot be bribed, corrupted, side stepped, manipulated and avoided.

It doesn't need a reconciliation commission, it needs law and order.

Gaol the guilty.

No amnesties.

No pardons because you admit to being a craven criminal scumbag.

Simply, a justice system that applies to all.

This whole reconciliation committee and its power to pardon appears to be little more than a stealth amnesty.

AND it needs a legal system that cannot be subverted by military coups who immediately grant themselves exemptions from the legal system. There was no basis for NCPO to abolish the 2007 Constitution, even for the sake of "national security," other than to impose its own sense of a rule of law and avoid legal responsibility for its own crimes against the sovereignty of the Thai Peoples.

Varoufakis claims, “We are no longer going to be following a script that was given to us by external agencies,” … The old program, he added, is “in abeyance.”

Nice spin but not true.

Greece must hand over its custody of nearly 11 billion euros earmarked for stabilizing its banks the bank recapitalization money back to the ECB to be kept safely under lock and key in Luxembourg. Also, the ECB will not restore Greek banks’ former bank privileges until the ECB say "it’s safe to do so."

Greece also must continue to honor all its debts and not to reverse any of the reforms undertaken to meet the conditions of previous loans – a reversal of election promises!

So what did the “communist in a Burberry scarf” really get - four more months to negotiate pending ECB acceptance of any of Greece’s alternative by next week. Then Greece can get 3.6 billion euros from ECB/IMF, with the usual conditions of course. And it will have continued access with ECB approval to the 11 billion euros for bank capitalization. Greece must continue to bend to the will of the ECB - an important message to Portugal and Italy.

The only thing in abeyance will be the communist government’s re-election. It still will not cut the generous pension nor make further monetary restrictions. The government must either sellout its constituency or drive the economy into the ground. Either case spells the end of this red government.

<script type='text/javascript'>window.mod_pagespeed_start = Number(new Date());</script>

I read recently that on a global scale 95% of deaths by terrorist attacks claim the lives of Muslims....... alt=blink.png>

And when people point out that in the "vast majority of cases Muslims are peace loving respectful people", then I ask why the (deleted by me) do they not do something about the ones that are not peace loving and respectful....?

Why does it take the rest of planet earth to rush around saving lives and peacekeeping all over the place ?

Now that the UK and USA are not joining in the fight the locals are having to do it themselves. i.e. Egypt in Libya and Jordon in Syria. And about time to.

If these insurgents in the South want to live in a Muslim state. Why do they not just head more South? they then have the choice of Malaysia and Indonesia...easy.

Maybe because they were living in a Muslim state before the Kingdom of Siam conquered the Muslims. Since the creation of "Thailand", Muslims have had to live under the shadow of a Buddhist government that actively promotes and protects Buddhism. Furthermore, the Thai Head of State must be a Buddhist.

<script type='text/javascript'>window.mod_pagespeed_start = Number(new Date());</script>

I feel sorry for these people, but if legalized, they will take jobs that Americans need. Obama should never have tried this unconstitutional parlor trick and, hopefully the ruling in Texas will put a stop to it permanently.

Oh ye of little knowledge in the American judicial system. The USA government will file an appeal to a panel of federal judges in the state of Louisiana. If that court doesn't overturn the Texas ruling, the case will be presented to the US Supreme Court. Considering the number of women and children affected by the resulting processing slowdown from the Texas decision, the USSC could review and render a final ruling in 3 months.

So far as both legal and illegal immigrants taking jobs away from American citizens - it's a myth. Working immigrants have been instrumental to America's GDP growth over the decades, which has always led to more jobs to be filled.

You can read more at http://www.bostonglobe.com/opinion/2014/07/01/the-stolen-job-myth/PT2ulTub6L2z2Pwq1g05FL/story.html

Surfaced, swept away and drowned. But he had SCUBA gear and if just settled for being dragged by the current he should have been okay. Inflate his BCD and enjoy the ride. It sounds like he was out of air, maybe the reason for surfacing in the first place. A dive master should have been watching for something like that.

Libya has to be a Thai general's wet dream. Three simultaneous military coups happening with no citizens in the way.

It will be interesting to see how many words will be in the final constitution considering the "kitchen sink" approach being used by CDC/NRC.

The USA Constitution is about 8,500 words. India's english version of its constitution is 40 times longer than the USA as the longest national constitution in the world. The english version of Thailand's 2007 Constitution is somewhat more than 47,000 words.

I expect the final NCPO constitution will be around 300,000 words in the english version. Unfortunately, most of it will be focused on constraining an open and free democratic society. And do nothing to safeguard its sanctity from further military intervention. The Thai 2015 Constitution will be long on words and short on life.

The NCPO has stated that NO peacetalks can take place until ALL violence ends. Then at undefined POINT in time LATER peacetalks can be planned.

This and other "preconditions" set by the NCPO seem to guarantee that the NCPO will have unlimited excuses why it can't deliver on Gen. Prayuth's promise of peace with insurgents by end of 2015, extended from end of 2014. Recall also that the NCPO essentially "washed its hands" of responsibility to get peace talks started by stating that Malaysia was the "ONE" to get insurgents to the peace table.

Insurgents - NCPO is wating for your phone call! Operators are standing by.

As one of the largest producers of illicit drug components in Asia and having 12 million drug addicts, China shares the same determination as Western nations to interdict and stop thse drug products. It cooperates with the UN and USA DEA as well as its neighbors on the issues. This inter-nation cooperation shows that nations of different political natures can have common interests. That is something the Junta doesn't seem to understand.

But physical interception is only one factor to stopping the illegal drug trade. Equal efforts must be made in detecting and stopping money laundering. And for China and Thailand that is a major problem that can't be solved with a police boat in the river.

Just to be clear what Talesun is doing ...

It is building an automated MANUFACTURING plant that will make solar energy producing cells and modules that will be sold and installed in future power plants in Thailand. This Talesun plant is not an solar-energy producing plant. It uses Chinese technology and equipment already used in China.

Apparently, the Chinese and Junta have made another government-to-government deal wherein the Chinese will invest $2.4 billion USD to build solar parks in Thailand and sell the power to the Thai power grid. So in short, no technology transfer or skilled labor for Thailand and the solar manufacturing plant and subsequent solar parks will undoubtedly receive massive tax breaks and subsidies to support the solar enterprises. But who will really knows as there seems to be a complete lack of transparency in the deal.

"Asked why U.S. Central Command was telegraphing the timeframe and details of the operation to the enemy"

So hopefully ISIL will begin massive reinforcements into Mosul to save its reputation as a military force. The result might be two-fold.

1) ISIL weakens its positions in Syria where Syrian rebels being trained by the US & Turkey can start a counter offensive

2) ISIL exposes large forces to massive air strikes

Essentially, by the early announcement the USA makes Mosul into a reverse Kobani. It freezes ISIL forces in Mosul, stops ISIL momentum into Iraq/Syria, and destroys large ISIL troop movements into Mosul. By surrounding Mosul the anti-ISIL military forces can defeat it in detail and drive a stake through ISIL's military heart.

The downside though is that ISIL will begin a massive retaliation against the Mosul civilian population in hopes of stalling any anti-ISIL advance into the city. ISIL will reach new heights for atrocities.

A question not asked:

SHOULD THE JUNTA GET AN AMNESTY OR A ROYAL PARDON FOR ITS VIOLATION OF THE 2007 CONSTITUTION AS PART OF THE NATIONAL RECONCILIATION?

The military operates outside any constitutionan and, since it holds absolute power over Thai sovereignty, it isn't required to reconcile with anyone. It can and will continue to grant itself amnesty whenever it fears it has breached Thai laws and could be prosecuted. As Prayuth might say, "Why do you waste my time with such a stupid question?"

Guiliani has a love of war. It's no wonder he dislikes Obama.

2008 GOP debate, Boca Raton, Florida , Jan 24, 2008:

Q: Was the [iraq] war a good idea and worth the price in blood and treasure?

A: I was for it when six out of 10 were for it; I’m for it when six out of 10 are against it. I’m for it not because of polls but because America is in a war, an Islamic terrorist war against us. America has to succeed in Iraq. And the goal in Iraq is an Iraq that’s stable and an ally of the US. To be president of the US, you have to be able to read polls, but you can’t have them push you around.

"Going back on recent election campaign pledges, Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras' new left-wing government said it would honor debt obligations and agree to continued supervision from bailout lenders and the European Central Bank"

There is now no further reason why the Tsipras government should continue to exist. By March 2015 we'll see another new government with promises of easy money for the Greeks, and round they will go again with the EU. That is if there's still a country left to have a government.

"The government’s revenue collection for the first four months of 2015 fiscal year has surpassed the target by 1,124 million baht to 665 billion baht representing an increase of 0.9 percent compared to the revenue of the same period a year ago,"

A street vendor could have collected more tax than the government for the period Oct. 2013-Jan. 2014!

The Democrats and PDRC virtually shutdown most of the critical government functions and were actively trying to get government civil service to work slowdowns and join the street marches. They frequently invaded government facilities to disrupt work. The military coup in May 2014 further interferred with all critical government functions until Prayuth made himself the PM and formed a new government in Sept. 2014.

But there is some "good" news. With the now almost stagant GDP growth the percentage of tax collection to GDP will reach new highs. Unfortunately, the Thai middle class will bear most of the burden and few of the rewards.