jonclark

The price of limes always goes up this time of year, simply because (i think) they don't grow as well in the hot season, a month after the first rain falls they will fall in price. By October they will be down to their normal cheap price.

Britannia used to rule the waves, these days they waive the rules. If he is allowed entry into the UK then my contempt for the last several UK Governments, and now this one, soars to galactic heights.

Why? If Thailand and its politicians are unable or unwilling to get their own house in order, why should the UK give a shit about Taksin and his crimes - Thais clearly don't and if their happy, so be it!

Interesting to see the criteria used to decide whether the applicant has "a good record of debt repayment" Those in greatest debt are usually those with the worst debt repayment records, which makes me think those in greatest debt will be least affected by this policy. Hopefully I;m wrong.

I also think that as a condition to being eligible, applicants should be provided with some rudimentary business skills (2 day course) to help them avoid or minimize future debts and better manage their businesses.

Perhaps they should start treating MPs like school children and have the House Speaker take a register before every vote. So the total number of votes cast equals the number of bums on seats - just a thought.

Edit - does anyone know what the amendment bill being voted on was?

They will cull the best looking inmate newly released from jail to run in her place why continue to be cagey about thief just put it in the voters face.

Thief, why stop there, how about an MP accused of premeditated murder, I mean surely the democrats would want to wash their hands of this man............

What, oh sorry, he's still a democrat MP, under immunity, still not answering police questions.

He should be stripped of immunity, be removed from the dem party and a fresh by election held to replace him, for which he pays the costs. If he is found innocent the cost will be reimbursed. Because lets be honest if you have to hid behind 'immunity laws' it speaks volumes about how you as a person perceive your own guilt or culpability

I have to disagree with your suggestion. There is no reason any MP should have to give up his seat because he faces unproved accusations, and this is the reason the immunity system exists. Of course it is open to abuse, such as the nomination of accused candidates to help them avoid prosecution.

A better system is "pairing" where when an accused MP is absent from parliament, another member of the opposite party is not allowed to vote until the charges are heard and guilt decided. Not a hard system to implement, but not likely while THIS government has a substantial portion of their party list profiting from their immunity.

Although I don't know the details of this case, I seem to recall it was an allegedly fairly gruesome affair with several shots fired into the victim at close range. The immunity clause prevents the main suspect from being investigated which must be traumatic to say the least for the victims family, knowing that the suspect is walking around 'untouchable'. in this case his immunity is a hindrance to justice and i think, on balance the right of the MP to be protected from false allegations should not outweigh the responsibility of the authorities to find the victims killer.

As for the OP well I bet Cinnicha is happy Auntie Yingluck was able to come back from Japan with millions of Yen in 'investments' which she'll 'gift' to her to cover the cost of the by-election. Cinnicha is a Shinawatra we all know any cost from this by-election will cost the dynasty sweet FA. Mind you it would put the cat amongst the pigeons of the Dems or another party won a CM seat. The boat may start to rock.

They will cull the best looking inmate newly released from jail to run in her place why continue to be cagey about thief just put it in the voters face.

Thief, why stop there, how about an MP accused of premeditated murder, I mean surely the democrats would want to wash their hands of this man............

What, oh sorry, he's still a democrat MP, under immunity, still not answering police questions.

He should be stripped of immunity, be removed from the dem party and a fresh by election held to replace him, for which he pays the costs. If he is found innocent the cost will be reimbursed. Because lets be honest if you have to hid behind 'immunity laws' it speaks volumes about how you as a person perceive your own guilt or culpability.

The PM should quit to show her responsibility.

Else it could tarnish Thailand reputation.

Why is it her responsibility - she wasn't there (again!!)

Good to hear Yingluck is making progress on solving Asias problems and the trip has resulted in a windfall of 6 billion yen.

Before Yingluck starts solving Asia's problems, she may want to consider solving Thailand problems first...

Yeap with this cash they may be able to buy the tablet computers they promised, implement the minumum wage of THB 300/day they promised, give all University graduates the THB 15000/m they promised and erradicate all drugs in Thailand by 2015 as they promised....

Come on, we can't knock her down every time. Give her some credit, she has represented Thailand on an international stage, has tied down a nice piece of short term investment whilst the dam in Myanmar will be a long term investment which should bring jobs and development to both Thailand and Myanmar. If she can get Japanese companies to offer skills training to SME;s even better.

Good. Dams can be useful, but they fit better for a smaller population world. Similarly, hunting large beasts was useful for our long-ago ancestors, but is not practical now. It's good that the trend of building large dams is passing. The cost in relocated people and in environment destruction is not worth the advantages. Plus, greenhouse gases are released as part of the dynamics of dam construction and their daily operations.

The county I resided in the USA (in California, the trend setter of the world), had a successful prolonged protest in the 1980's - which stopped a French company from building a dam.

Next, Thailand needs to try and slow down China's dam building mania - for the sake of the Salween and Mekong rivers, and for the sake of the people and flora and fauna which are barely holding on in their watersheds. The once mighty Mekong: you can now walk across parts of it with the water just above your knees wet. Future projections indicate it will be considerably lower - much of that thanks to China hoarding water in its seven giant dams upstream.

I think its worth remembering as well that of the total volume of water on the plant only 3% is freshwater and 50% of that is locked up at the poles as ice. So that 1.5% of water needs to be used to sustain all life. It's a very fine balancing act.and poorly managed dams upset this equilibrium often with disastrous ecological and social consequences.

I'm scratching my head, deciding which group to give the 'most ridiculous name' award to.

SEVEN SONGKRAN DANGEROUS DAYS

320 killed in road accidents during festival

The Nation

BANGKOK: -- A total of 3,129 road accidents occurred during the seven Songkran "dangerous days", killing 320 people, Interior Minister Yongyuth Wichaidit announced Wednesday.

Yongyuth, the director of the Road Safety Centre, said the seven-day period from April 11 to 17 ended with 3,320 people being injured in the road accidents.

He said the period saw a lower number of accidents compared with the same period last year but with an 18.08 per cent increase in fatalities.

On Tuesday alone, 257 accidents occurred, killing 38 people and injuring 261 others.

At the end of the seven-day monitoring period for road accidents, six provinces were found to have suffered no fatalities. They were Nakhon Phanom, Trat, Trang, Pattani, Ranong and Satun.

Yongyuth said Chiang Rai had the highest number of road accidents with 125 accidents occurring during the seven-day period. Surat Thani had the highest fatalities with 13 people killed.

The interior minister said drunk driving was the biggest cause of the accidents - 39.21 per cent of the accidents were caused by drunk driving. Violation of the speed limit was the second cause or 21.57 per cent.

Wibul Sanguanpong, the director-general of the Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Department, said he would coordinate with the seven death-free provinces and study the measures they had used to put forward as a role model for other provinces to try to prevent more fatalities next time.

-- The Nation 2012-04-18

Go one mate,encourage shool children to ride a motorbike with at least 3 people sitting on and no helmets,it promises a great future in road safety understanding.

I have a 8 year old going to a school that has classes from P1 to P6, for those who don't know P6 students are 12 year old. While there is a policeman at the school to direct traffic at the start and the end of the schoolday, I see some students come to school riding a motorbike.

Love he picture with this article - woman walking against the flow of traffic in the second lane pushing a large trolly - past a police truck???(right).

Sukampol added that criticism of Thaksin’s recent moves might hamper national reconciliation and had not taken into consideration that Thaksin had the right to travel and his actions were acceptable.

It's interesting that the Defence Minister thinks that someone who is on the run to avoid a jail sentence has the right to travel.

If you are on the run avoiding a jail sentence, you do have the right to travel, providing you think you did nothing wrong. farlangs just don't understand Thai law!! Duh

Looking at the OP photo I'm thinking " So this leprechaun walks into a pub....."

I was thinking more along the lines of "A drunk farang walks into a Pattaya bar with a ladyboy on his arm and exclaims, lookee here, I got me one of the prettiest girls I ever done did find.........."

Taksin looks nothing like a ladyboy !!! and he certainly wouldn't prostitute himself for money would he...?

I think what he's asking is what is the best way for a fat ugly bastard to meet a 'lady' on lower suckemoff.

Government to set up flood center....as North hit by drought.

Oh the irony ......

"I can't help people who don't want to reconcile," he said

i wonder if he has ever stopped to consider whether or not people actually want or need his help?? Perhaps the people of Thailand have the skills and wisdom to actually help themselves and his constant media circus is doing more harm than good.

Without being cynical, as I know there are a lot of genuine government supporters here. I can't help but feel that

'I can't pay people who don't want to reconcile' he said would be a better articulation of his thoughts

Wonder how long it will take the US / Koreans / Japanese to recover the rocket / remains / debris and have a nose around to see the type of technology inside the rocket. As i'd image the debris fell into international waters.

The responsibility for the safe passage of this important piece of policy lies directly at the feet of Yingluck. She must be in Parliament. If she is unable to be there, then passage should be delayed by a few days to allow her to go to this summit and return to preside over the debate. Or she should send Chalerm or a deputy to the summit to represent Thailand and she stays.

Yingluck 'the absent PM' . Her absence acknowledges her inherent weakness in her skills to successfully tackle to Democrats head on. This reminds me of those truck / van drivers that have an accident and then run away so they don't have to face the music.

Why does she have to be in the House for the debate? What would she say that cannot be said by other ministers?

Do you not think that she would be open to an accusation of a conflict of interest should the debate turn to references to Mr. Thaksin?

It is customary for board members, judges and others to recuse themselves from discussions when allegations of conflict of interest could arise.

Unfortunately she was elected prime minister on the entire basis of conflict of interest. Namely this abstract interpretation of 'reconciliation' which she seems to constantly make reference to. As she was elected on that platform don't we deserve to see her debate and tackle her critics head on, on this central issue??

She needs to be a leader prove to the public she is not swayed by any conflict of interest and that she wants to and does act in the national interest by listening to and incorporating some of the views of her opponents (who represent a large slice of the population and are feeling increasingly isolated and frustrated), so national reconciliation can be achieved. This was one of the central themes of her election platform, debate it, defend it and try to win over her doubters. Her absence only weakens PTP and strengthens the dems.

Sometimes GK it not what is said, but who says it and how it is said. That is why the Prime Minister needs to say it and not someone beneath her. This debate focuses on one of her central electoral promises.

Thailand is becoming "developed". Government officials, community leaders, and those who aspire to control the lives of others are starting to "decree" how the masses should act. Let see: ban powder, ban alcohol, ban powerful squirt guns.

Keep it up elite ones. We are sure in years to come that the 30 million generated on one road will be diverted to the likes of Cambodia, Myanmar, and less "developed" (and less restrictive) countries who can accommodate fun seeking tourists and natives alike.

Seems as "development" and "acculturation" comes at the price of personal liberties.

mate .the celebrations r getting out of hand they r being ruined by farang louts and the true reasons for the celebrations being lost in over excessive revellry . saw two idiots in pattaya deliberately cause a traffic accident

Or maybe we're the ones getting older and grumpier??

If I was 20 then songkran (beer. sun. sea. water fights, and friends in a tropical country) would have been the highlight of the year. Now I avoid as best i can. So maybe its me that's changed not songkran??

Brilliant politics......... It really 'pisses off' this Opposition,

Reconciliation in a nut shell !!!!

proposed "national fast-track charter for Thaksin" as the title for the amended Constitution.

sounds pretty accurate

.

sounds pretty childish

sounds like reconciliation being brushed under the carpet.