deminister

Luckily we live in a country where half the population is not ashamed to inform the police on the other 50% of the population. Thailand is a true police state, a state which learned a lot from the Stasi and Securitate. It is still quite sympathetic from the upstanding jokers in brown that they have not yet asked their recruits from grade 3 to 6 to inform about their own parents making a phone call. Yes rules must be enforced, but come from you BiB

This airport has been in the planning stages for more than fifty years before completion. Most, if not all these complaining residents would have been aware that an airport was to be situated on this land before they moved in.

Cash grab, pure and simple.

oh dear soundman, 50yrs, i dont think so. also you should know these local residents have, more than likely,have been there for generations, just moved in?? i dont think so. give the poor sods a break.

YES IT IS CLOSE TO 50 YEARS!. And if someone has to pay it must be the military government who promised compensation. it should be no problem to take it out of their budget. And maybe it is an idea than to give the people near Don Muang also compensation, after all that airport should have been closed...

Arrest and execution on the spot. Guys we have a new government so the behind kissing has started again. Officers need to show loyalty so they can stay in power a while longer. enjoy the game. Nothing wrong with it.

Police ready to arrest breakers of smoking ban

BANGKOK: -- Responding to the Public Health Ministry's regulation to ban smoking in air-conditioned pubs, discos and clubs from February 11, Metropolitan Police Friday had all of Bangkok's 88 police stations ready to arrest and fine any rule breakers.

City deputy police commissioner MajGeneral Suporn Phanseua said all officers were ready to reinforce the new rule by fining smokers Bt2,000 and venue operators Bt20,000.

Police will act upon public complaints or the Public Health Ministry's request for inspection of entertainment establishments, rather than pressuring the establishments themselves, he said, adding that he believed all venues would give full cooperation.

Smoking is already prohibited in airconditioned restaurants but the ministry's regulation to include airconditioned pubs, discos, bars and parts of outdoor public venues such as Chatuchak Weekend Market will take effect as of February 17.

However, those frequenting pubs, clubs and discos have objected to the ban, claiming they pay money to go out so they should be able to do as they please - including smoking cigarettes.

One 20-year-old man said he disagreed with the new rule because it limited people's rights to entertain themselves when they actually pay money to be at a club or a bar. He said most people who drank also smoked, and pubs and clubs kept their business because of them.

"If you don't want to get exposed to smoke, stay home or go somewhere else that is smokefree. Leave us partygoers to smoke as we please," he said.

A 30-year-old office worker who frequents night venues said he did not smoke, and felt irritated by the cigarette smoke and that his clothes reeked after visiting pubs.

Some places do not have good ventilation systems and are so filled with smoke that he sometimes feels dizzy in them, he said.

Some partygoers, especially nonsmoking women, also spend money to go out but have to put their health at risk when visiting such venues, he said, adding that he welcomed the new rule.

-- The Nation 2008-02-08

One set of rules for the Elite and one for the rest of us. Prosecution for the Ratchada land, no prosecution for the stolen land from the current PM. Prosecution for the 2 and 3 digit lottery (because it was meant for poor students) no prosecution for the 2,3 digit lottery of this government. prosecution for more than 25% stake in a company, not even a request to resign by 6 members of this government.

It is the last thing you see when a chicken runs without a head. The prosecutors will soon be out of a job, so are the kangaroo court judges and CNS. It is pretty tough for the Elite to learn the benefits of a democracy.

Hmm well get used to it all old boys that have protected your sick interests are old very old and Thaksin is still young.

It is all a big circus. nobody is impressed by Thai politics and certainly not with the so called democratic reforms of this bunch of junta backers. There is no democracy and there will not be. We have to wait at least another ten years before the dinosaurs have really died out.

In the meantime Izan will show us the way. They have rightly discovered that they have the numbers and that they can use that one specific finger to the elite.

Yes you are missing a lot. Fares NEVER went up. they are already 35 baht since 1992/1993 or so. It is about time that the fares went up, nobody can make a decent living on those fares and wen nobody can make a living it means that they cannot afford the maintenance and so on what ultimately means that the safety of the passengers is becoming dismal. They have my blessing, we all need to eat.

Of course this is a priority case. This normally means that a hotshot from Bangkok will order that the culprit must be caught within a week or so. As the Thai judicial system is even rotter than that of any other banana republic, it means that they'll catch a sucker without money and without lawyer who will get the jackpot, being life or a death sentence. Who cares?

Sonthi must be feeling very good. His best friends were after all very satisfied with him as he said when he left Than Shwe a few weeks ago. It is because of Thailand, India and foremost China that these kinds or criminals are still in power in Burma. A typical case of sam nam naa for all Thais who do business there.

I aways afraid to fly with them. I have seen them cannibalizing Boeing planes at U-tapao airport. And the fact that children are working in one two go and Air Asia do not help the survival rate either. rather pay double with Thai.

123 aboard, according the BBC most people have been killed.

Just wanted to get a feel if most people think the Sonthi government will complete the prosecution of Thaksin before the upcoming election? Or will we have to wait for justice to be served during the next government?

You mean with justice a life long sentence for the people who raped parliamentary democracy. JUST like that is in any developed country? I suspect that you have t wait for that. Sonthi is in bed with his close boyfriend Than Shwe. If you mean that people have to rush to a judgement that is favorable to all people who hate democracy and the poor, well this unlikely too. And if you are asking yourself how it is possible that Sanoh is not in jail for telling that he paid off senators for twenty years, than the answer is because this is Thailand. A country where only the rich stealing people and dinosaurs know what is good for the Thai people. Do not worry Samak will become the new PM and pardon everyone Maybe he can prosecute the corrupt judges and prosecutors as well the police. After all they always changes their opinion immediately after they see a bigger ass to kiss.

If it is already too difficult to deduct 20 from 100 baht on a market without a calculator, it is for sure too difficult to paint a line exactly in the middle somewhere. Given the fact that it was not a pilot error and he followed the yellow line, it is thumbs up for Thai ingenuity.

Who cares? It is after all a kangaroo court. If the courts were serious about corruption, they would have arrested Sanoh immediately upon giving his interview in which he openly admitted paying senators for over twenty years in order to secure their votes.

Or they would have arrested and jailed the commanders in chief of Napoleon's army in Thailand for purchasing bullet free or not so free vests for many times the price. We live in a country where you may only vote yes. A country where the military are robbing the country from its trees (just before the properties are handed over to highly regarded people); a country where coup takers have taken out billions of baht for secret funds (check their bankaccounts, oh I forgot they are not obliged to state their wealth before and after they raped the democracy) and a country in which the people who claim to work for the country receive expense accounts of 891,000 Baht per month. Who takes a court serious which is appointed by the military? Who take a parliament serious that is democratically appointed with rubberstampers?

60% will vote and 70% will say yes to Hitler's constitution, in which senators are appointed and Rayong has as many votes as Bangkok. A constitution which bans free speech and tramples on human rights. Wonder what they do with all those high police and army people who pulled the trigger in the war of drugs. It is probably a case of BEFEHL IST BEFEHL, and ICH HABE ES NICHT GEWUST!

I feel that both the Nokia N95 and 6610 Navigator are not worth the money at all, maps seem to work only around Bangkok, you must pay on top of the purchase for navigation. Nokia batteries are some of the worst performers in the mobile industry, navigating depletes them within a few hours. Nokia should advertise the prices and the possibilities and not claim that they navigate as such. it is far more interesting to buy a dedicated GPS for your car with real maps, maps that are detailed everywhere in LOS. Thailand is more than BKK and CM.

I would not worry one bit. Have a look in Pattaya, it is full of real trash. Besides as long as the Thai immigration do only ban passport numbers when a crime is committed in their own country and people simply swap a passport and re-enter and as long as dictators are in power European countries at least (but not Australia) will never ever fit the Thai embassies with information. (and why should they, if you have served your sentence)

Indeed there is always a kangaroo court willing to please a dictator. But than again, Thaksin could go to a Western court and aks them to freeze assets of the Thai government. Any decent free country would admit that laws should not apply retroactively.

But than again, most people just shout something, why? Because they never even attempt to speak with Thai people and ask for an opinion. If Thaksin came back tomorrow he would get 70% of the vote with two fingers in his nose. And Sonthi, well he will get a handful of votes, from the military who will get a advice to vite on him.

By the way, you would make a great judge! Apply at Imam Sonthi's place!

If my G/f is on UK tourist visa would his make a difference ?

Unfortunately, it may well do so. As a general rule your g/f would be expected to apply for her Schengen visa in her country of normal residence, presumably Thailand. However, by all means contact the French and see if they'll overlook this in the circumstances.

Scouse.

Actually it should be very easy to get an Schengen visa when you are on e genuine British visa, the procedure is actually the same and they are using the same system to register applicants that were refused. You do not need to be in your country of origin to apply. the problem is that some countries are plagued by nationalists demanding an stop on immigration, what they actually like to say is that they want to stop immigrants from North Africa and as we all know we all have to suffer to avoid accusations of discrimination.

It certainly seems dominated by banned TRT bigwigs...

Once the banning goes into complete effect... it'll be interesting to see what level of participation in this party's functioning they play.

First of all the ruling of the Junta appointed Kangaroo court tok ful effect immediately, which cannot barr anyone from being an advisor. It will not take too long though, dictators are always busy rewriting new charters but always without a bill of rights. By the way who cares what this bunch coup takers are doing, what they did was against the law and they should be held accountable. for those smart people who supported the military white noses only d so on irrational grounds like the visa runs have been made more difficult, and the newspapers and dirty old man Chamlong was against Thaksin, have seen who the real Devil is.

Now an emergency bill will come into effect, rubber-stamped by an parliament of parrots, which will bring this junta on par with that of Burma. Good luck all with your Thaksin criticism. Chuan is another man who lost all his credibility by constantly giving the junta crooks an okay and informing about his friends. If the junta was real honest they would not have raised their salaries to 891,000 baht a month and they would have brought Sanoh to justice for admitting that he bought senators, Suthep would have been in jal for his links with DTAC and his taxfree payments Jaruvan in jail for not being impartial and employing half her family, Banharn for building Banharn (supan) buri on his own from government money, Chuan for having not spent one baht in his own stronghold the South, Prem for interfering in the work of the parliament (what can ou expect from an 8 year long dictator) and the courts would have allowed us to question their wisdom. You can read a sentence for ten days in a row but without substance it is just another joke. Why did the kangaroo court not proof that each and every banned politician was involved. Ho could it have been possible that the military knew about the sentence upfront. Sonthi stinks!

The Baht is strengthening in line with other regional and major currencies against the dollar. The baht should hit 30 against the dollar, it is in general good for the Thai people. Nobody really needs the poisonous businesses that are thriving on cheap currencies.

A strong bath is good for the Thai people in general it outweighs the disadvantages. The fact that the export sector never did so good underscores that the BOT does not have a clue.

This incredibly nepotistic and incompetent government is the real danger to the Thai economy. God forbids that Sonthi really wants to have an own political party. As a army leader he is an disaster as a man in charge of the South for 4 years he has proved that he has no inkling what is happening in Thailand.

With a government that is overspending (what do you expect from people with a beard of 80 years?) applying the theories Keynes to an already heating economy and you have all ingredients for another crisis. I will not be surprised when they establish another kangaroo court to blame Thaksin for it.

By the way it is raining cats and dogs here, it seems that Thaksin has paid the weather Gods has bribed them.

Nothing wrong with going native isn't it? Complaining in the West that people do not integrate and at the same time expecting from foreigners that they will keep their old habits is a bit far fetched. maybe they laugh behind your back too, who knows, maybe also behind the back of your wife.

I believe that you might simply be jealous that you have to live in a white nose ghetto.

This leaves a bad taste in my mouth. This guy is a self confessed drug smuggler, has done time in several prisons and is now making money on the story of his escape. I certainly wouldn't buy the book and give him my money. This just isn't right.

It is not right either what Thais are doing with their prisoners. Chapeau that he escaped.

Except for the whitewash-house maybe the government of Iraq is working on it. if they quote their oil in Euro's it is another 17%. But it is about time. that is what you get when you live on credit. On the other hand, we have won 17%. After speculators wiped out the baht 10 years ago, it is good to see that the currency is rising.

Isn't just about everything appreciating against the US dollar lately? The Baht has been dropping against the Canadian and Australian currencies, so is it more a case of the US dollar being weak than anything?

Indeed, it is certainly not the strength of the THB, it is the weakness of the Dollar. The underlying factors of a strengthening baht could be questioned. This government has a credibility problem. We might even question their forecasts as they seem to be based on hope, believe and expectations rather than on figures. Add the fact the the foreign business act will eventually be most damaging to investment and the elite is doing everything to screw 70% of the voters and we know that we should not worry. The Baht will nose dive sooner or later, not only in comparison with the dollar but also in comparison with the other South East Asian nations.

Yes, but at least these people are elected and not helped in power by the happy few. As long as one constitution after another is discriminatory against common folks who did not had the money (but certainly had the brains) to study in University or buy a degree, and thus are banned from being elected, money MUST be paid to compensate.

The worst democratically elected government is still better than a dictatorship. For anyone claiming that the Thai courts are independent, I can only say: Dream on!

Depends on what is in it. But count on at least a few years and a fine and they wil be blacklisted. Better to pay up. I doubt that they want bail, I suppose they want to clear. Besides Thai jails are not healthy, and the hospital bill might be well over that amount when they come out.