jayjayjayjay

The OP does a good job but fails to mention the radical new development in Taiwan of the Sunflower Revolution that earlier this year marked the end of Pres Ma Ying-jeou's policy of gravitating towards unification.

Led by students and joined by citizens, tens of thousands of demonstrators seized control of parliament and other government buildings to prevent voting on a new agreement that would give the CCP Boyz in Beijing unprecedented access to ownership of Taiwan corporations and involvement in the economy. The Ma and Guomindang ruling party proposed agreement is dead, kaput.

Sunflower Revolution demonstrators occupy Taiwan parliament April 2014.

And now Pres Ma has had to recant his interview in Germany saying Taiwan and Beijing can pursue a German style reunification. Ma had to backtrack after the independence oriented Democratic Progressive Party party said Taiwan is in fact West Germany and that the PRC is East Germany.

The Sunflower Revolution hitched up with democracy activists in Hong Kong who are calling Hong Kong West Berlin. The Sunflower Revolution and Cold War rhetoric and feelings prompted Xi Jinping to call his first meeting about Taiwan with carefully selected Taiwan leaders -- leaders of unconditional unification.

The DPP has seized the moment....

Whats happening in Hong Kong now shows that one country, two systems is a failure. Beijing should try to solve the problems in Hong Kong first, because its handling of the political situation in Hong Kong is a slap in its own face, DPP caucus whip Tsai Chi-tsang 蔡其昌 said in the legislature.

Before talking about one country, two systems, Beijing had better ask how Hong Kongers feel about it first, Tsai said.

The Sunflower Revolution began the series of events to include Xi calling friendly leaders in Taiwan that will culminate in a wipeout of the KMT in the local elections coming on Taiwan November 29th. The consensus on Taiwan is that the Nov 29th local elections will indicate how the next presidential election will go in 2016.

Pres Ma meanwhile is looking at an approval rating of 6% (six percent). Ma's own prime minister, Premier Jiang Yi-huah rebelled against Ma and the KMT when he said, "The government cannot accept the so-called one country, two systems arrangement described by Chinese President Xi Jinping as Beijings solution to solving the Taiwan problem.

Academia Sinica assistant research fellow Huang Kuo-chang, who is also one of the leaders of the Sunflower movement, called Xis remarks ridiculous, saying they are only suitable to slaves wanting to gain favor with the CCP and should not be made public.

We understand that different people might have different interpretations of history, but China must not overlook the universal values of democracy and rule of law, DPP spokesperson Huang Di-ying said. Taiwanese insist on making cross-strait exchanges only on the basis of democracy, freedom and the rule of law. The DPP insists that the future of Taiwan should be decided solely by its 23 million citizens.

Police use water cannons to disperse Sunflower Revolution demonstrators as they protest near Taiwan's government headquarters in Taipei, early morning March 24, 2014. Photo: Reuters/Cheng Ko.

Thank you for the detailed explaination/update.

How to stop this rot

And Thaworn is a good source?????? Fools!

100 baht gets you more than 50 million baht in the UK. In Thailand? About 3 million. Go figure.

Why do you think it was the first issue the Junta got their teeth into ! That one was delt with in days!!

Totally <deleted> up our normal enjoyable travel between BKK- CNX. Who is this <deleted> <deleted>! Stuff this American panic shit! The Junta will employ those TSA <deleted> next.

555555 5555555 pick me up off the floor.. The suppliers quotes price was 145,000 baht to - 94,250baht.. We blow me away! They chose the highest price to maximise the spread of corrupt takings, including all Army personnel in on the Junta. What a farce! Now we have three factions! Red, Yellow and Green.

Can the smartest man in the room put up his hand... Oh sorry ML Panadda Diskul, permanent secretary at the PM's Office that is NOT YOU.

Can someone explain to me how this bullshit goes. The claims by ML Panadda Diskul are of a destitute situation, along with everyone in "power now"!!! BUT but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but but

can someone explain to me why the recent auctions yeilded as per the BP today, not to mention name, the business section, lead story. Bidders offered 28.50 baht per kilogram for Horm Mali, and 11.50 baht per ton for standard white rice, when the Thaksin program was buying at 15 baht per ton. I can see that this project will potentially make money, not that any of the sycophants would let us know. This whole last 12 months has and will continue to be nothing but a giant fraudulent attempt to ensure the rural base do not ever get a leg up.

how can what is basically a dictatorship be called democracy/

Because it's from The Nation!

 

Wow! I know i had better buy all my booze now before they start to do this. Surely i will never touch acohol again if i have to see those pics and warnings.

Sent from my GT-S5310 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

They give a shít what you do - it's the next generation who counts. Growing up with these warnings will have some influence.

 

 

You think anyone over 18 needs warnings on labels to make a decision! Why not cover petrol stations with pictures of blood and guts. Why not have hardware stores showing repeated large screen TV videos of collapsing buildings blood, guts and brains all over the place. Why not have 7/11's postered with heart disease dying people. Why not enforce newspapers to have the full front page a picture of a desolate earth fried from tree loose. Why not have your refrigerator, airconditioner and TV all start up with a lecture on global warming and 15 minutes of graphic radiation poisoned people withering to death.  You give a shit, piss off. This is stupid bs.

What next, "prohibition" ----------> moonshine -----------> moonshine related deaths and blindness ---------> end of prohibition ----------> Thai government catches up with Euro allows 18 year olds to make there own mind if they want to drink or not and legalise soft drugs..  Could be 2050. Buy that time Thailand would have lost all the charm and reasons people came here anyway (ganja on the beach in the 80's) 5555555

Will he serve time in jail?

He might end up neighbours with his nemesis in Dubai, now that would be political justice 555555

Funny to read what Khun Panadda Diskul meekly said now and weeks before. No mention of massive frauds and corruption or even rice loss but just a polite mention that samples will be sent to the lab for quality check and result known mid-sept. Looks like the air has been leaked out of a much inflated oppositions claim.

There's no accountability to what 99% of TV poster say here. All rave on with zero facts suppourting there arguments so as much as I support your arguement I urge your to leave them swilling in their own vomit! 5555 let's wait to see, the rice scheme might even make money after most is found in good condition and with India's increased domestic consumption and Vietnams bad year, the reason for a rice trading scheme can be shown to the naysayers. Only problem is not a single one would admit to it as they are so fixed on their political beliefs facts have no place in this arguement ;)

Well I'll be screwed. What happens if the stockpile makes money. Vietnam with a low crop, India having to service an increasing domestic market! Low and behold, plenty of RED faces if it does. Pardon the pun.... ;)

As normal, if you withdraw you loose interest!

I hope that Thaksin doesn't come back, but the fact that the new leaders are mostly part of the Suthep camp and that mainly red-shirt leaders are the ones blamed for all the deaths and injuries, clearly shows that the army is not a neutral player (and never was).
 
They are clearly preparing a "democracy???" in which one side (the red shirt side) can never win again.

A democracy in which the reds are effectively excluded, which by definition means minority will rule, will result in Thailand following the disasterous path of one very sad poor country Nepal. Buhhda have mercy.

1. 19:20:

   Italy's Alitalia has joined the growing list of airlines to announce it is diverting flights away from eastern Ukraine in the wake of the incident. The list also includes: Lufthansa, Air France, British Airways, Russia's Aeroflot, Turkish Airlines.

2. 19:13:

   President Obama says the plane crash is a "terrible tragedy" and that his first priority will be to determine if US citizens were on board. Speaking at an event in Delaware, he said the US will offer any assistance it can to help determine what happened. "Our thoughts and prayers are with all of the families of the passengers, wherever they may call home," he adds.

3. 19:12:

   Images are continuing to come in from the crash site showing the debris:

   
4. 19:08:

   French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius says "at least" four French nationals were on board the flight, AFP reports.

5. 19:05:

   The upper floor of Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport has now been closed to media and reserved for family and relatives of passengers on flight MH17:

   
6. 19:05:

   Malaysia's official news agency Bernama reports that the foreign minister and the head of the armed forces have joined other ministers and the Prime Minister Najib Razak at Kuala Lumpur airport.

7. 19:04:

   The Malaysian airliner was flying normally without any problems until it disappeared from radar, the head of Ukraine's airspace regulation body says, as quoted by Reuters.

8. 19:00:

   A tweet (in Russian) from a key Twitter account used by pro-Russian separatists, in which they claim to have captured a Buk surface-to-air missile system, has now been deleted, BBC Monitoring observes. Ukrainians say the Malaysian plane could have been downed with a Buk, but pro-Russian rebels have now denied they have it.

9. 18:59:

   Part of the wreckage of the Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777 plane lies in a field near the village of Grabovo. The airline's logo is clearly visible.

   
10. 18:53:

    More images have now emerged showing the devastation at the scene of the crash:

    
11. 18:51:

    An aviation expert has told the BBC it is unlikely that anyone survived the crash. Peter Felsted, the editor of Jane's Defence Weekly, said sophisticated weaponry would have been needed to take down a flight travelling at such an altitude.

12. Malaysian Astro Awani news website

    tweets: A press conference on MH17 incident with PM Datuk Seri Najib Razak will be held at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport anytime soon....

13. 18:42:

    The plane appeared to have broken up before impact, with the wreck scattered over a wide area in the village of Grabovo, AP reports.

14. 18:41:

    A Facebook page affiliated to Ukraine's pro-European EuroMaidan movement has posted images of Ukrainians offering condolences at the Malaysian embassy in Kiev, with one lady carrying a placard with the slogan: "Putin is a murderer", our colleagues at BBC Monitoring report. (Link in Ukrainian)

15. Reuters

    tweets: #BREAKING: Number of dead from crash of #MH17 more than 300, includes 23 U.S. citizen: Interior Ministry adviser, quoted by Interfax

16. 18:40:

    A US State Department spokeswoman tells reporters they have no information on the cause of the crash or of casualties. She said she could not confirm if there were any US citizens on board or not.

17. 18:36:

    The route taken by flight MH17 was a well-flown route between Europe and Asia, a pilot tells BBC transport correspondent Richard Westcott. He said that any troops should have known the path was full of civilian aircraft.

18. 18:33:

    An Associated Press reporter at the scene has counted at least 22 bodies at the scene of the accident

Huge space at Don Muang, but that's Army property. Oh, the Army is Thai right. Oh, that makes to much sense and why would the army let any other government department use "their" land, that makes to much sense. Let's put it somewhere else with only small access lanes and huge holes in the road totally inaccessible to general Bangkok population. Klong 36 in Rangsit maybe, about 80km from town, then a lot more money can be made from corrupt taxi drivers.

Good report

I would think that they would have thought of a high visibility color. But Obviously Red is out of the Question. Same goes with Yellow. With Orange associated with local mafias - what color are they left with? GREEN? Surely, they could have done better than that!!!

How about burnt orange?? Green is for smoking.

Green is for the Army, who else should control the motorcy wins in this climate!!! nudge nudge wink wink... army green, he's MMMinnnneeeee

Change to Eco green or Army green. Mafioso change of the guard!

JJJ:

"There is no classification for a populist policy unless of course you have a definition. Tell me how different the Rice scheme to America's own USD 47 billion subsidy scheme? !!!!!!!!!"

Huge diff. (tho your point about defining populism is totally valid). Agriculture is a case study in how markets don't work as advertised and every state uses various interventions--e.g. subsidies, crop insurance, paying farmers not to plant crops expected to be in oversupply. The problem with the rice pledging program is that it could have been predicted--was predicted--to fail. TS implemented it as the main intervention (it had been used in a limited way before) and it failed. Abhisit was still saddled with warehouses full of pledged rice that couldn't be released without forcing prices down and he implemented crop insurance. There were problems with that too, but many red farmers were willing grudgingly to admit that his policies were better for them. So why did they overwhelmingly vote him out? One (only one) reason is that they thought PT would bring TS back and that he would forgive them their debts. YS implementation of rice pledging on steroids--well, we know how well that worked.

I'm all in favor of populism, or socialism for that matter, if that means policies benefiting the masses. But it has to be done intelligently, with constant tinkering and adjustments.

The pledging program:

The farmer mortgages the rice with the government, taking a loan on the rice,

The govt holds in storage, forcing prices up.

Prices go up

The farmer pays off the loan and sells the redeemed rice on the open market.

'course nobody, as far as I know, ever actually redeemed the rice, so it sits in warehouses waiting for the govt to auction off at the higher market price. As soon as they put it on the market, of course, the prices fall. Meanwhile, the next harvest has come in.

Good reply, and I appreciate your detail rational discussion. I do however challenge the major assumption you have made. That is the "failed" Rice Scheme. No a single person on the face of the earth is able to declare it a failure until every "i" is dotted and "t" crossed. I have noticed a clear move of Thai labour from Industrial Estates (and I run a company of 150ppl) back to there upcountry homes. Labour rate adjustment of 180 to 300 baht a day has been successfully implemented, and yet still we need to employ Myanmar and Cambodians to base labour tasks. Why the move of Thais back upcountry, two reasons. Upcountry employers have been forced to meet the 300 baht a day target and better wealth distribution, plus others have moved back to produce rice where previously farming the families land was nonviable. There is a two fold benefit. Sharing wealth(from the elite city dwellers who product nothing, no primary products), and yes the taxes we pay including my huge share contribute greatly to this, and second, the maintenance of the Thai family unit as a majority of those born upcountry want to live around there ancestor homes, take care of parents and old folk, develop there communities and avoid the HELL of Bangkok and Eastern Seaboard or the scummy suburban areas with boy motorbike gangs beating up ever unsuspecting westerners(and yes, my three week resident Swiss engineer had a machete pulled on him, and a close friend got beaten with pipes and chains all in the last two weeks) .

Now if the total loss in the Rice Scheme is 50 billion baht, well I say well spent. If the total loss is 300 billion then I say maybe a bad project. BUT, I still say it was a well intentioned project and should have been allowed to run without the vein of dirty politics being played out the damage it's credibility which is the essence of the projects requirement.

But first and foremost. I want to see a REAL independent audit. Get a damn Singapore company to do it, because at every level of politics and public service there are vested interests. Just like the CT Scanners at the airport or the airport runway cracks that were EVILLLLLLLLL at the time of hate Thaksin campaign,,, well, what did every happen to them. Are you worried about your plane landing at Sawanaphubi Airport.. I think not pray-tell!

Facts, wait for them from a truly independent organisation, then we really have something to discuss.

You guys don't get it! I have personally attended every election vote of my girlfriend in Hot city, Chomthong in Chiangmai for the past 9 years. Not a single baht passes into her hand. They vote the Shins in because they like, trust and believe in the hope Shins policies will continue to help improve the lot for country folk. Get you head around this. There is vote buying from both sides, but only in marginal areas or flip flop areas like Buriram n Surin.

And you get it? Since when is a word of your girlfriend or anyone else's girlfriend a reliable source of information in any discussion? Get a grip.

It appears that you need to get your head around this. It keeps happening time and time again. It has got to stop if Thailand is going to move forward.

Thailand red shirt get paid to protest?

All nicely lined up, lists, ID cards and plenty of 1,000 baht notes to flash around. It must be a figment of people's imagination, eh!

http://ireport.cnn.com/docs/DOC-420390

Read what I wrote. I did not have to rely on my girlfriend. I have been to every election. I have been in the community and at the poll booths. I don't have to rely on hearsay, gossip or inuendo. It is fact I witnesses with my own eyes and ears repeatedly. My only statement is this "city people believe the only reason country people vote for PTP is a bought vote, wrong", I get that, do you get it!

It doesn't make any difference. Her words or your words, they don't count much in a real debate. To expect of people to hand over money during the election day and at the poll booths publicly is beyond ridiculous. The only reason country people vote for PTP or any other party before is that they are mislead into believing that they will get something for nothing. Time and time again. Populist policies and empty promises based on thin air. At the end someone will have to pay for it. Most likely the poor. Do you get it?

There is no classification for a populist policy unless of course you have a definition. Tell me how different the Rice scheme to America's own USD 47 billion subsidy scheme? !!!!!!!!!