Pi Sek

Have I got this wrong, or wasn't she a vocal PAD activist a couple of years back?

I'm sure you'll all accept that I'm playing devil's advocate to an extent. He is a friend of mine and, from Abrak's post above, it sounds like he also knows Ryan - who has adopted the nickname "Chang" - too (although anyone who knows him will realise the futility of trying to dissuade him of following his heart). But if the guy wants to canoe across the Pacific and has dreamed about doing it for years, who am I (or anyone else for that matter) to shatter his dream?

From what he tells me, his life wasn't exactly in danger - although I think it might have been in the Bering Strait. But that's why they have test runs of increasing difficulty, no?

Doesn't he look better without that beard?

I think these fools were lucky they lost their boat now while still so close to rescue. Did they have a radio, or was it taken out by this first wave? No flares?

Their twin hulled wooden kayak (is it still a kayak with two hulls?) lost a rudder the first day out and snapped in half the first time they copped a decent wave side on. And yet they apparently planned to cross the Pacific in the bloody thing!

One would have to wonder what would have happened when they attempted a crossing of the Bearing Strait if they ever managed to get that far!

As I said above, one of these 'fools' (bit harsh, no?) is my friend, so what kind of person would I be if I didn't stick up for him.

The crossing to Koh Phi Phi from Nai Harn is what, 45km? That's almost exactly the distance of crossing in the Bering Strait.

And no, this wasn't the first time their twin-canoe-catamaran has gone out in sea and no, this wasn't the first 'decent wave they copped'. Besides, at no point were they ever more than 25km from land, and this was the point of the Phi Phi test run. They are nuts, not stupid.

Having said that, they took mobile phones with them rather than a radio, but this wasn't the best idea as they're now at the bottom of the Andaman Sea. Ryan - if you're reading this, please call me (I won't mention my name but you'll know who I am from the Jatukram post above) as I've still got your old number!

What is it with the online community (as stated above, including myself)? It's in the nature of 95% of posters here to assume they know the facts and harshly criticise others' intentions without actually finding the facts out. Don't you think that this might warrant a good look in the mirror?

Disgusting man. Unfortunately, even if his actions were "above the norm", the attitude of Thai police that they are the law - not servants of the law - is very much the norm, at least so I have seen in my 8 years of living here.

I hope more people, both Thai and foreign, have a go at corrupt coppers to their face in the future (as I do) rather than accept it as a Thai custom. I consider it my civic duty to do so. And yes, I know that in the future there might be 'repercussions' - but you can say the same with almost any disagreement in this country. Besides, I'm a stoic and I'm not willing to take unwarranted rubbish off someone whose salary comes from the tax I pay. If I do something wrong, then fair enough - otherwise $?&% off!

Having recently moved to Phuket, I had to laugh at the recent 2-page article in the Phuket Post that stated that corruption is 'impossible' by the Patong police department. Ridiculous, I hear corruption stories almost every day, both from the public and policemen.

I know the Abhisit government has put a fairly high priority on reforming the police, but I don't think they have the manpower to sack and replace the lot of them, which is not far off what is needed.

Sailing with a "speck" across oceans is just silly and has nothing to do with seamanship. A search and rescue action is looming quickly and will hopefully be successful. Why do people always try to spend other people's money ?

nevermindtwo

Well, the plan was to go around the Malaysian peninsula, up towards Vietnam, up past Hong Kong, Japan, Kamchatka, cross the 26 miles to Alaska and go down the west Canadian and US coastlines to California.

Why do people always try to shoot down other people pushing the limits of human accomplishment? That includes me, by the way.

This dude is clearly nuts - but he's a good friend of mine, so best of luck to him.

Obviously he wasn't wearning the Jatukram amulet I gave to him that day

Come back Thaksin, we await your return, then things may start to prosper again in Thailand.

Prosper for him without a doubt.

He needs to get his $2billion back some how. And if memory serves me correctly, he helped a lot of poor rural people that deserved it the most. and not to forget the Police and Taxi drivers etc.

Yeah, that's the problem. Memory doesn't serve you correctly. The poor were more poor after Thaksin than before him.

The best thing will be if the dems are disbanded for breaking the election laws and then the country can move forward, hopefully another party will win power and then also indict them for their acts this year causing the deaths of many Thais, and as for winning a second election, surely to win a second one he needs to win a first one.

flame away but you know I am right

So you have the monopoly on truth, eh? Sounds like Jehovah's Witnesses to me.

Different religion, same flaws...

I would say the ones that are blindly following the untruths should be more likened to religion, rather than those that question the official line. But what do I know, knowledge is perceived on here based on post count.

But of someone is able to come up with a counter argument or proof that my postings are wrong i will happily read them and absorb them, but coming up with petty digs based on religion pretty much shows a lack of intellect, I can imagine you sitting in front of your computers thinking "oh, I have no reasonable argument for these comments, i know what I will do, I will flame in the hope that some of the less intelligent members/sheep think my comment is cool and join in, they will not notice that my post is devoid of any decent contribution but they will think I am cool and funny and some of them might even think I have knowledge"

Pretty sad really guys, counter my comments or <deleted>

It's not for anyone else to prove that you are wrong, it's for you to prove you are right.

For the record:

- I believe Thaksin was paying both the Red Shirts to create a popular movement and the “Ronin Warriors” as a separate agency to create chaos by summary killings of those on both sides to instigate civil war, with a view to clearing a path for him to return as the country’s saviour.

- I do believe Thaksin was legitimately elected as prime minister in 2001.

- I do not believe Thaksin was legitimately elected as prime minister in 2005.

- I do believe Abhisit was legitimately elected as prime minister in 2008.

- I do not believe anything that Jatuporn says.

- I do not believe you really believe what you are posting.

...the objective for the latest protests was the general election.

What a load of tripe! There was a genuine Red Shirt cause, and it’s one that’s quite understandable all over the world: the injustice of inequality. They don’t want double standards to apply as has been the case for many; grievances represented by, for example, the Yellow Shirt leaders’ seeming impunity (being addressed) and Kasit’s appointment as foreign minister (addressed already - I don't want him as FM but, as Abhisit stated, there's no doubt he's good at his job).

A big problem with their argument is, with this protest, that they want the Law to be applicable to all, but they then insist on impunity; the protesters sleep in the street, the leaders sleep in one of Thaksin’s 5-star hotels; the rice-milling network, whose elite are protected by Thaksin's “loans for farmers” scheme which actually keeps most of the Red Shirt supporters poor; the protesters risking their lives in the line of fire were being paid 1,000 Baht per day, the leaders who were shepherding them were being paid 5 million Baht per day. The party championing their cause is led by a man whose children were acquitted of murder for dubious silences from key witnesses. The UDD is a movement against the unfair influence for the elite? Doesn't look like it to me.

180,000 (Yellows) or 120,000 people (Reds) shouldn’t be dictating their views through mob rule to 63 million registered Thai people (or an estimated 90 million in total). Any claim that the Red Shirt protest was about democracy is clearly utter rubbish. The Red Shirts are not pro-democracy. Thailand is already a democracy and Abhisit was elected democratically by the process of a constitutional democracy (the same way as pro-red former-PPP prime minister Somchai and UK prime minister David Cameron). You don't see Labour on the streets of London claiming that the Queen installed Cameron as Prime Minister, do you? It became clear after they did not accept a House dissolution in September that a general election was not one of the UDD's main objectives.

Because the government is happy to hold at power (and profits coming from it) as long as it is possible...

Another piece of misinformation. Whilst the govt does want to hold onto power, as any government in power in the world would, to suggest "as long as it is possible" is untrue. The government have been quite clear about this - they are unwilling to hold elections until the situation is stable, which won't happen while Red Shirts are still meeting to discuss their next steps to overthrow the democratically-elected government. The Red Shirts themselves are the ones stopping a general election. Go on, deny that!

Sorry for the long and possibly harshly-worded post, but it incenses me when I see the same old posters posting the same old lies about the "evil military government" and what the UDD are really about. Abhisit's Democrat government was not pro-coup in 2006 and never has been – they condemned it as ‘undemocratic’. They were heavily critical at times of the coup-installed caretaker government and have drawn plenty of criticism from top army figures, including a call to resign from the army’s Chief of Staff. The commonly-circulated idea that his Democrat-led coalition was put together by the army, the monarchy or whoever else is simply not true.

It's very annoying when Red Shirt-supporters spout out the same rubbish, like some kind of copy-paste-robot, even after their arguments have been proved wrong time and time again. I'd love to be proven wrong in this respect, but it hasn't happened yet.

Right.

Try to avoid bloodshed by Army put Abhisit in power.

try to avoid bloodhed by storm protesters by illegal (under int conv. rules) on April 10th.

avoid bloodshed by give sodiers live arms and anti aircraft guns on same day as well.

avoid more bloodshed by let pro gov protestors throw bricks bottle and bombs from army lines at silom.

avoid more blooshed by shoot somebody in head in front of world media.

Only thing Abhisit and Anupong want to avoid is ELECTIONS

Promise you my friend, nobody agrees with you outside this webforum and maybe your missus.

You're from Songkhla and you hold an opinion like that??? Unbelieveable - I can only think of one person from Songkhla who says like that (and I'm pretty sure he believes none of what he says) - Veera Musikapong. More likely nobody agrees with you my friend.

And anyway, what have elections got to do with it? It's about "justice for our 20 fallen brothers" or something now.

Personally, i think it is shameful that people who ive as guests in a country to take sides and exhibit their (mostly) european elitist prejudices ike these anti red bloggers do

Oh give it a rest with the 'guest' treatment. I think its shameful that some people use that as an excuse to turn a blind eye ti corrupt, criminal and unethical behaviour. The international community needs to resist evil and we are part of that. Don't imagine you improve the situation by sticking your head in the sand.

Interesting thoughts.

If it is really true that the international community needs to "resist evil", then one needs to be consistent in that view. Was the coup that deposed an elected government here not wrong? (Does it REALLY make me an apologist for the Reds to keep asking this question?)

And if perchance you agree, then what exactly is wrong with the red demand that elections come quickly? The government has cut one full year off their original timetable and should be congratulated for this.

Oh, you dont like the fact that the reds are exacting economic pain on others? Well, that's exaclty what Gandhi and Martin Luther King did, if that thought makes u feel any better. And what the Yellows did. But regardless of whether u think its right or wrong, it a thai issue, not one for arrogant europeans to judge.

The problem with your appeal to resisting evil is that one man's evil is another man's justice. Its tough enough to deal with this when one is a local. We shouldnt be apologists for one side or the other. But yes, i agree we shouldnt stick our heads in the sand either, particularly if we live here.

And one way to do that is to call out bloggers here who are baying for red blood, or who call some of the thais who host them "kwai" and other disgusting names. These are bitter comments by bitter people.

Well, in answer to your first question: yes, the coup was wrong, but it was less wrong than allowing Thaksin to continue raping the country. Unfortunately noone had any better ideas.

The situation is different in this case because Abhisit is actually addressing the issues that the Red Shirts are protesting about; whereas Thaksin & TRT were literally changing the Law, doing a blatantly corrupt deal, and then changing the Law back!

RE: Gandhi etc, yeah I suppose I get that. But again, Gandhi actually stood for something. Each day that passes is showing that the Red Shirt protests are nothing to due with democracy, the good of the country and civic duty.

I agree that calling the Reds "khwai daeng" and so on is wrong - but the Reds themselves are making it a more and more common expression.

I can't help but think that Abhisit should shut up with this nonsensical naming of people he doesn't like as being responsible for whatever crime du jour...it isn't at all helpful...if he suspects someone of a crime, he should have him arrested and prosecuted...

This stupid putting names on a piece of paper and calling it a conspiracy against the monarchy without a shred of evidene, or this senseless naming of Seh Daeng, it's worse than pointless, it's counter productive....show us the beef Abhisit, show us the beef...

Arrest warrants have been issued. DSI is still working but has caught plenty of people involved with the red shirt leadership that have had weapons with them or in their houses.

Thailand has some of the strictest defamation and libel laws in the world and the PM goes on TV with this. The evidence is there.

Where exactly is the evidence? I assume that it will be a "closed-doors" trial. The public won't ever get to see the evidence. So how sure are we that it's there? Sure, Seh Daeng is a rogue nut, but I'd still like to see the evidence that the government has on him. Simply saying "grenades were thrown, Seh Daeng is responsible" probably wouldn't stand in a court of law anywhere in the world, but it may well be enough evidence in Thailand.

OK, I'm going to be blunt.

Che, I've seen others on this forum say you a paid Thaksin-propaganda artist. I think the majority would say they are not happy to do this publicly as it might make them look non-neutral.

I believe you are either a serial flamer (playing devil's advocate to get a reaction off people for your own amusement) or the above statement is 100% spot on. Your posts and your writing style would suggest you have had an education, so you're obviously not a fool.

Also, please remember that being critical of the courts in Thailand is against the Law. Possibly this is not a good Law, but it is a Law nonetheless and so I'd presume it's against the rules of this board.

Anyway, as many have said, Abhisit is not a court so he doesn't need to show any evidence - but if he's wrong he can expect some serious backlash at some point, don't you think? Of course, he is also an educated man and I wouldn't expect any such statement from Abhisit unless he knows full well and has physical and documentary evidence that his statement is absolutely true.

Dr PM Abhisit

The people of Thailand for the past two months have suffered under an intolerable situation. When the ruling was issued by the courts regarding the seizure of part of former PM Thaksin's frozen fortune people expected his followers to protest. Within weeks they managed to mobilize their foot soldiers and we watched as they handed out cash and sent them off to Bangkok. They arrived and at once set about their plan to wreak havoc on the streets of Bangkok. We suffered through their traffic jams as they organized mobile rallies to disrupt the lives of the people here. With their arrival came the grenade attacks that occurred during the nights targeting businesses, politicians, and government buildings. Yet they were allowed to continue their protests. Seeking to do greater damage they occupied Rajasaprong intersection forcing the closing of many malls and businesses and putting tens of thousands of Thais out of work. The Red shirts continued to seek confrontation, they found it in Pathum Thani and the police meekly backed off. On April 10 the Red protesters turned the city streets into a battlefield, but that would not be the end of the killing. In other grenade attacks and clashes innocent bystanders and police have been killed or injured. Still the protests raged on. Despite a date for a new election the protests in recent days have only increased.

We have seen many crimes committed, we have seen violence, terrorism, kidnapping, murder, intimidation, and so much more. But there has been no justice. Millions of people live in this city and strive everyday to live productive lives within the law only to watch these people flaunt their contempt for that law. We have waited for a peaceful resolution, we have backed negotiations as a way to end these protests. New elections have been proposed to placate terrorists and even that is not enough for them. The people given the task of enforcing the law have repeatedly shirked that responsibility. Decent people have been harassed, attacked and had their rights violated by the Red protesters. No one protects them. It is my fear that even more innocent bystanders will be harmed by these protests before they are over.

We have trusted you as Prime Minister to handle this crisis. The choices you make are very important and the lives of more people hang in the balance. The roadmap to reconciliation is a positive step, but without the full cooperation of the Red protesters it is not enough. We have put our confidence in you, now is the time to show that confidence is deserved. The people of Thailand deserve a return to order and peace. Give us hope that you do indeed have a plan that will achieve this goal shortly. If however you do not, and if this crisis is beyond your ability to solve then I ask you to consider all the alternatives. If the decisions that must be made are to heavy for you we will understand if you must remove yourself and pass the job of Prime Minister to someone else within your party. It is the job of the Prime Minister to steer the nation in a direction that benefits all it's people. For the past 2 months it has been adrift at it is time to get back on course.

Lazarus, I don't think that it is fair to say that the "people of Thailand' are suffering...it's totally quiet and peaceful in the provinces and apart from a the relatively few who live or work in the better off parts of Bangkok, no one is even being inconvenienced to any great extent....I will accept that the rich folk who want to shop in those fancy shops around Rajprasong have been inconvenienced and may even have had to shop somewhere else, or delay their purchases...indeed what is so effective about the protest is its targeting, it has left 95% of the population totally untouched, but has hurt the privileged classes....

Retarius, sorry that's absolute rubbish.

I live elsewhere than Silom - OK, on a tourist-populated island, so I'll be feeling the effects of the major damage to tourism - but the simple fact is there is a lot less money coming in, which has knock-on effects everywhere.

Examples: Hotels don't get guests, airlines don't get passengers and real estate companies can't sell property - so the local laundry service, tour guides, Web designers, advertising media, travel agents, shops... plenty more can go on that list.

Then of course the political instability causes companies to decide to invest elsewhere, sometimes costing as much as 5,000 jobs a pop.

This is basic economics. Everyone must bear the brunt of a drop in national income. If people who buy rice can't afford to buy as much as before, it's the farmer who has to deal with it.

Erm... no, no coup please, regardless of how peaceful or unpeaceful it is.

Also, I asked a question earlier and I haven't seen an answer. Can someone please help me?

What’s the difference between the UDD and the DAAD? Are they separate groups in alliance; is one a splinter of the other; or are they one and the same?

Now now now take a deep breath and relax in a democracy sometimes people have different views, you dont have to get angry with them relax you're in Thailand

Yep, very aggressive post (mods did well to delete very quickly!), and he should calm down. He's still correct though - anyone STILL trying to justify the Red actions as beneficial to country, be it now or in the future, has clearly got himself mixed up.

Oh dear - I’m posting on ThaiVisa again! It’s been years since I last did, as the flaming, some really ignorant posts and some “vested interest” posts spoiled it for me in the past. However, the daily news updates during the UDD rally have been very useful and have drawn me back.

Firstly, again we have violence on the streets, which is unacceptable. Condolences (again) to all who have suffered and continue to suffer.

I personally suspect that Maj Gen Khattiya “Seh Daeng” Sawasdipol (on orders from Thaksin) and his Black Shirt warriors are responsible for most, if not all, of the losses sustained on April 10, for the Saladaeng bombings and for the shooting of a soldier near Don Muang – NOT the government, Prem, the military, the southern insurgents, the USA, the tooth fairy or whoever else. Let me qualify the first part: it’s possible that some of the soldiers panicked when the Colonel was killed and took his live ammunition for use in self-defense which, to me, is totally acceptable. It’s clear that an element of the Red Shirt protesters themselves were firing at the soldiers as well as Khattiya’s “ronin” snipers, although I don’t think any of the ammunition “confiscated” by the UDD earlier that day was live (not to say they didn’t already have live ammunition). There are Thaksin-employed propaganda artists (well done to the ThaiVisa editors for combating this when they spot it, by the way) who will claim that the government is directly responsible for the deaths but, I’m sorry, this doesn’t hold much water for me.

However – and this is the first time I have EVER defended the Red Shirts – I am not sure that the UDD is responsible for last night’s violence. Of course it’s possible that the likes of Khattiya, Kwanchai and Arisaman are stirring up trouble again to prolong the protests with a view to gaining criminal amnesty, but it seems more likely to me that PAD extremists would have more to gain from such an action (i.e. forcing a dispersal crackdown).

But, whoever is responsible, this unfortunately highlights that the PM’s decision not to violently disperse the protest was perhaps a mistake. Abhisit didn’t want to see any further bloodshed and so prevented the army’s call to go in all guns blazing last weekend, but again we have bloodshed. I don’t think that bloodshed can be avoided as we have extreme views and a system where these views can be voiced through undemocratic acts seemingly without recourse to the Law.

My political stance – I suppose I am now a “Multicolour”, as I believe Abhisit is one of the only politicians around with any integrity or fairness. Although I would personally have issued notice to the protesters that a violent crackdown was imminent within a couple of hours and that they should disperse immediately (offering transport home of course), then send in the armed forces to shoot on sight, in many ways I admire him for not violently dispersing the protesters to prevent further social divisions and further bloodshed.

As for the UDD: I think that their leaders are liars and thugs, who exploit the poor much more than they would have us believe the “elite” do, as they are at the head of the social and business hierarchy whose best interests depend on keeping the poor where they are (i.e. uneducated, un-wealthy and dependant on their rice-milling “big brother” landlords); whereas 90% of the protesters are there to express concern about the social injustice that we all recognise should be addressed, although they unfortunately don’t acknowledge they are actually representing those who exploit them; the other 10% are hired thugs and corrupt officials who don’t want any of this “transparency” or “no-one is above the Law” rubbish (PTP chairman Chalerm, the historically violent Kwanchai, and Pattaya mayor Itthipol are three great examples of this). I imagine there is also a percentage that recognise the lies and no longer support the red cause but have been coerced to stay at the rally.

I was a strong supporter of the Pantamit until they invaded Government House and (to an extent) defended their policy of civil disobedience to rid the public sector (the government) of over-influence from the private sector (Thaksin and his proxies), so it’s hard for me to condemn those Red Shirts who feel they are protesting for civil rights – whether they are misinformed or not is irrelevant (this is something that can only be addressed through truthful education).

Obviously, with such a long post, I think I know a lot about the real situation here, but I do have one question: what’s the difference between the UDD and the DAAD? Are they separate groups in alliance; is one a splinter of the other; or are they one and the same?

I must say that, after reading this, I could have spent a lot of time in jail in the 7 years I've been here. I often tell police that they are well out of line and that they are servants of the Law, they're not the Law. It's happened at least 5 times! Although I still say I'm right to do so

I didn't think being rude to an official was against the Law here.

Maybe it was a forged passport and he is a bad dude... although it doesn't look like it.

Maybe the immigration official 'heard' him say something bad about the royal family. The immigration officer's word might stand up in court - although it shouldn't - especially given the nationalist media it's spawned. Even then, his lawyer is warning him about 2 years in jail, not 10, so I doubt this happened.

My bet is he'll be chucked out somehow before it gets to court. They can't have this sort of injustice being documented as a legal precedent.

I don't think the Phuket governor's statement was very helpful - innocent until proven guilty?

One last thing - it's scary how many post-primate people on here actually think this guy deserves what he got on the grounds that he was 'rude' to an immigration officer.

Thanksin did more for Thailand than any other PM here. Don't believe the hype the new government has fed you.

Oh really... what hype is that? As far as I know, the new government have been very careful not to point any fingers. Thaksin's criminal conviction had nothing to do with Abhisit or the Democrats. He brought it all on himself. He was greedy.

I do know about some hype - namely the common knowledge rumours, which I absolutely believe, that were spinning around when he was in power: I think he is an evil little man with no sense of duty whatsoever. His attempts to make the poorer richer were actually a trap to make them poorer in the long term (which is why there are so many repossessed properties - especially in Udon Thani and surrounding areas - on the banks' Web sites) through overbearing amounts of credit. Much like the British system.

(I am no fan of democracy by the way, especially in a country where the framework of democracy - metered corruption, reasonable education, reasonable spread of wealth - hasn't even been addressed. Hey, at least I'm honest.)

Thaksin was without doubt a very clever PM and many of his policies were good ideas. But does that give him the right the rape the country? I think not.

And now we have fools like Chalerm, Jatuporn from Kwarm Phid Wan-ni and, surprisingly, some clearly misinformed farangs on Thaivisa going on about how Abhisit wasn't democratically elected, how he's a puppet, how he's incompetent. Come on... the whole world is messed up, Thailand moreso because it has been politically screwed since the 2006 coup... what are you expecting, another property boom?

What's more, what are these people complaining about? Thailand has a leader who is actually qualified to do the job - PPE at Oxford, plenty of experience as opposition leader - it's been a while since we've seen that! He does have his faults - like his age, which wouldn't matter outside Thailand - but I'd prefer him to a murdering, corrupt, lying, convicted megalomaniac anyday. The scary thing is I'd take the megalomaniac over morons like Samak, Somchai and Chalerm too.

I still can't believe Chalerm is still in politics. Just goes to show the "Bangkok Elite" aren't all on one side as the BBC etc suggests.

There is nothing wrong with hurdling a bomb into a crowd in Thailand. The PAD does it all the time...

Sadly enough we will have to face much larger scale bombings later. Probably again carried out by the PAD to discredit Thaksin around New Year.

<snip> What's this got to do with the PAD? Or Somchai for that matter (apart from him giving license for this kind of stuff to happen)?

And you really thing the PAD did the NY's bombings before? <snip>

Pridyathorn's departure may be a positive here. With any luck the other obvious foreigner hater in the cabinet, the Commerce Minister Krirk-krai will go too in the reshuffle. At any rate Sarayud has seen that Pridyathorn's anti-foreigner stance did nothing to help the survival chances of his government and may now want to leave the FBA amendments on a back burner, given the huge problems he is facing with the TRT resurgence, the constitutional referendum and his failure in the South. In fact this government's chances of lasting till the next election are not looking so great now. If Sarayud is also replaced, his successor would have an even tougher job to establish credibility in a very short space of time and might not feel any sense of ownership or the FBA amendments.

Land owning companies still face another problem from the Land Code but delaying the FBA amendments would probably give some more breathing space before the possibility of systematic checks could loom. Without any impetus for the Commerce Ministry from the FBA amendments the Lands Dept would have to push the Business Development Department to help it track down illegal land ownership without any benefit to the Commerce Ministry. Not wanting to encourage complacency but feeling more inclined to watch political development for a bit before embarking on expensive restructuring.

Wow - that's one of the most intelligent posts I've seen for ages! Very good, Arkady.

Crispin is as straight a man as you'll ever meet. He and his wife Yu do a 2-month cycle with his publication, Samui-Phangan Real Estate Magazine (widely considered to be one of the leading paper real estate publications on Samui), whereby he sells ads, gets the content to the printers, etc, and he also started up Captain Caveman dive shop. Also, remember that this guy has NOTHING to do with land deals - he runs a media publication. In short, in my basic opinion, the guy has no time to be a criminal and already has established legal businesses, which he takes very seriously. He does drive a nice chopper-style motorbike though. Whilst the guy is very well-built and everything, he is a really nice guy, well-spoken and well-mannered. It's very hard for me to imagine him being violent.

Spike, aka Peter Watkin-Jones, is not Australian, though he was alledgedly in the Aussie navy... past that, there's no connection - he's English. He is involved in the Bungy Jump and the Billabong Surf Club.