allan michaud

The police and government of this country should feel utterly ashamed of themselves.

'Should' being the operative word here. These scum have no shame whatsoever.

Tiny amounts of drugs, still with the gun being found at least it means some thugs are off the streets.

The real only way it may help the Democrats is that it reduce vote buying. And the Democrats don't have a super rich owner that can finance full scale vote buying like Thaksin.

Not so sure about it... Maybe they (Dems) have less EXTREME SUPER rich people... but definitely a larger amount of REALLY RICH people.

I know for a fact from a very reliable source of one massive payoff to a Dem a few years ago, related to rice, that put him in the very rich bracket overnight and he would not have been alone in abusing his power.

It's the way the country works and it's not changing anytime soon. Even China is attempting to make strides to reduce corruption here it is simply lip service.

Spot on, this about nothing more than getting their snouts back in the trough. Lock up ALL the politicians and their immediate families, high ranking police and military officers and maybe, just maybe the country can move forward.

Now waiting for a speech from PM Yingluck stating the improved ranking was a result of all the hard work she and her government had put into corruption

May want to re-read the article...

Thailand fell 14 places... Meaning it is much more corrupt vs last year ...

I think you'll find he/she was being sarcastic.

"Slips" from 88 to 102, I would call that plummets. The Cambodia 'slipped' a couple of places but I would call a drop of 14 places pretty dramatic.

Hardly a surprise anyway.

Fair enough, he has brought chaos to the capital and started riots... however, what about the other criminal, the one that was already convicted? He should also surrender.

There are 2 chances of either surrendering, slim and fat.

Lock em all up.

I want to make this clear, I am very anti Thaksin, but would support most of the things the reds want if it wasn't for that megalomaniac, as the country dearly needs to throw off the shackles of the entrenched elites. However, this nutjob shows just how low the elites will stoop to keep power. There is absolutely no reason for the violence they are causing, I despair with this country. Lock them all up and throw away the key.

Hopefully we are finally seeing the end of the Shin era.

With similar fears of violent protests, being deseminated and sensatinalized during and after the recent elections here in Cambodia, it would appear they managed the situation far better here. Even more reason to move to Cambodia.

I could not agree more, the basket case that is Thailand is making Hun Sen and the boys look like bastions of democracy.

The craziness has started. What a sad day. These people are not only crazy, but stupid.

And Suthep telling everyone he does not want any Shinawatras in Thailand. Again, attacking the PM's 10 year old. <deleted>?

Sadly, more deaths to follow.

According to the school nothing happened and there was no breach of security, so it looks like that was a pack of lies. Reality is we have no real idea <deleted> is going on (as the media can't be trusted), except to say that the leaders of both sides seem pretty determined to send their paid thugs to fight on their behalf. I feel sure this is only going to escalate and more people will die... sadly not the leaders.

Protesters are demanding the end of the "Thaksin regime" and want to replace the government with an unelected "people's council".

So the "ten thousand or so" protestors will decide among themselves as to exactly WHO will be on the UNELECTED "people's council"....bunch of THUGS who have zero respect for the FACT that millions of voters have spoken loud and clear.

Hate Taksin all you want but if you want to replace his sister then run your candidates in the elections and let the people decide. Otherwise this idiotic cycle of elections followed by demonstrations and coups will never end.

It would be nice if it was as simple as having an election, the trouble is there is always massive vote buying so in reality the results are a complete joke. Sadly I seen no sign of any light appearing at the end of this particular tunnel. The Thai people desperately need an honest alternative to the Dems or Thaksin and his bunch of thieves. It's clear the majority of Thai's want to see the end to the power of the old elites and will not vote democrat, however, the only alternative is a megalomaniac.

I guess they will start lobbing hand grenades at the protester come Sunday.

Jatuporn needs to get a bit more in touch with his feminine side. His testosterone levels are way too high and some estrogen might be needed to balance his mind.

Resorting to violence will have a number of outcomes - and none of them is favourable to the country

It surprises me that the red shirts are in support of a government that has behaved this way

They are being handsomely paid.

"Meanwhile, Yingluck said the rice-pledging scheme was transparent, there was no corruption, and it had helped farmers increase their savings"

Really, rice farmers have savings and they are increasing? From what I have seen they are mostly in debt from rising land rental fees and costs of seeds and chemicals, which all increased when PTP announced the scam.

I wonder what that ugly looking bulkhead in his airplane is made of? It looks like copper foil.

I think you'll find its a luxury wood that has been covered with a inch of lacquer, as is the Asian taste.

Seems fair enough to me, they have broken the law by invading govt offices and so the leaders should be charged as such.

Suthep should have been in jail a long time ago anyway, along with Thaksin, Chalerm and his boy and the vast majority of the rest of Thailand's so called politicians on both sides of the colour divide.

Good luck Thailand, your going to need it.

The restraint shown thus far is commendable. Well done team red, the better people without doubt.

Is this to be entered for the joke of the year, or are you just kidding?

Jesus Artisi he's only been on TVF half an hour, he's excited, but I agree he must be kidding.

I'm still trying to pick myself off the floor after that one, he must be a stand up comedian in his spare time?

Suthep vows to end everything before December 5

Balcony dive?

Only if we are really lucky.

I will strictly abide by the rule (of law). I’m willing to listen to every voice in society to jointly find a resolution for the nation

A bit late for that. Why didn't she listen before?

Why weren't the opposition allowed to speak in parliament?

Also we have seen time and time again how she has avoided responsibility and lied her way out.

Does anyone trust her now?

Sorry but she won't be able to answer question 2 as I am pretty sure she doesn't even know where the building is.

"Thida would love to see a riot between protesters and police break out. Oh how the rhetoric and propaganda will flow."

I have no desire to defend Thida, but I think you are out of line with that comment. I'm sure she would not want to see any more deadly violence, and if it did happen, I'm sure she would be smart enough to know that making propaganda out of it (especially in the immediate aftermath) could backfire badly on her and her movement. The deaths of 2010 are still fresh in the mind and still hurt those affected.

If I can stop you right there.

While I respect your right to an opinion, I will also expect you to respect my own right to the same.

I don't think that my statement is in any way one bit 'out of line'. I would argue that it is very much 'in line'.

Just because you give Thida and her red brigade a HUGE benefit of the doubt, that any violence between anti-gov protesters and the police would not use this to their advantage through rhetoric and propaganda is laughable. What do you expect them to say about it? At the moment they have very little fuel on their fire, they and their protesters are pretty much just a fancy dress contest with no real reason to be having a protest sat in a stadium that puts almost zero pressure on anyone.

If the anti-gov protesters were pushed into a let's say 'less than orderly' conflict with the police, it would probably be no more than a surge and few water bottles being thrown, and a bit of tear gas, then the police will retreat and the protesters will get to where they want to be. It is not going to be anywhere near the same as 2010 when the reds were burning down BKK, throwing grenades and shooting at the army.

Believe me... Any skirmishes will be lapped up with extreme pleasure by the reds, their leaders and the PTP.

TT, I agree with a lot of your posts - you and I are on the same page, I believe. But you are making some huge presumptions without any factual backup. That's what I find uncomfortable, and why I said it was out of line. You said Thida would love to see a riot, but how do you know this? Maybe she would, maybe she wouldn't. Casualties would be inevitable in a riot, so I ask, would anyone be game to make political capital out of more deaths and risk approbrium of the people and possibly the world? I'm sure there would be some political capital made by the reds, but your comment indicates something akin to gloating. I'm inclined to think she would be somewhat more sensitive and back off a bit. Sorry if that sounds like I'm defending her, but I'm only trying to use some perspective. I despise her and her red elite, just for the record.

Anyway, none of us has any idea how this is going to play out. Not at this stage.

Well I have to agree with the original comment for the most part, and in answer to your question "would anyone be game to make political capital out of more deaths?" I have to say an indefatigable YES, sadly there are plenty that would. Without wishing to appear rude it seems a very naive question to be honest, we are after all talking about politicians here.

You are correct in that as far as Suthep and co are concerned this is about getting their noses back in the trough, however, for a lot of people Thaksin is no better and in fact a lot worse as he seems determined to destroy the Thai economy (he will benefit massively if the Baht collapses) Thailand's so called 'democracy' is a joke and Thaksin clearly wants power at any cost. I think you will find the majority of 'educated' westerners like myself would love to see an end to the traditional elites, the problem is Thaksin is a megalomaniac and a very nasty piece of work that will stop at nothing and is in no way an improvement. What the constitution court did last week was appalling as far as any democracy is concerned, however, what PTP are trying to do by forcing through the laughably named 'amnesty' bill is equally appalling.

Personally I cannot understand any supposedly educated westerners supporting Thaksin, can you not see what this man is? Just because I, and I am sure many others, don't like or trust Thaksin it does not mean I support murdering scumbags like Suthep and I am pretty sure it's no different for many Thai's. From my perspective as the father of a 10 year old Thai/farang I fear what Thaksin's Thailand will be like far more than I fear what the Dems would do. It's hardly a great choice but I see Thaksin as a far more serious threat to my sons future.

Why doesn't the big shot tell his paid police servants to enforce the law that is already in place. alt=rolleyes.gif width=20 height=20>

Yep so very true. Many of Thailand's woes and unnecessary deaths could be solved by having an effective police force, sadly Thailand only has the RTP. Is it really so difficult to ask them to do their jobs?

I was amazed at the massive up take in helmets here in Phnom Penh a few years back when our dear leader announced it was now illegal to ride without one. There are still lots of people riding without helmets but I have to say the numbers were very impressive and I am fairly confident a higher percentage of Khmer's wear helmets than Thai's. I find the situation in Thailand laughable, most people I see actually wearing a helmet don't have it done up so it's an utter waste of time anyway. My wife had 2 accidents without a helmet despite the warning's, the first made a mess of her and yet she still refused to wear one. It was only after the second one left her looking like she had gone a couple of rounds with Mike Tyson that she decided it might be a good idea after all. People will change if they know they can be stopped anytime anywhere and be fined 500baht, no bullshit. A few graphic but educational doco's about the horrific injuries and suffering people have experienced might actually get some of these idiots thinking.

But I thought there were millions of flights and trillions of passengers?

TAT says so

I think it was 14million arrivals in the first 10 months of the year according to a TV posting yesterday so that a lot of Baht. For the math experts posting today I believe that would be Baht 1.4 billion in 10 months.