tominbkk

"Supporters of Yingluck have argued that buying a plane exclusively for official use is not splurging, given the more than 30 trips overseas she has made since taking office over two years ago, plus other domestic trips."

Then maybe she should stop running off abroad to avoid issues and stay home to do her job.

With PTP in power and especially if Thaksin gets back you can expect more of this type of policy, times ten!

I seem to recall he clamped down on facebook the last time he was in power, or maybe not as it was rather difficult to get any form of decent internet then

Stop calling the the red shirts at that time protestors. They were insurgents who were coddled and allowed to commit crime after crime until the government was forced to step in and stop them. The red shirts invaded and destroyed private property. They should be happy not more was done to them. My sig pretty much says it all, as far as the mentality of the red shirts at that time.

And the yellow shirts who managed to close the international airport for a week.

500 per message per 24 hours if sending through web. 100 per message per 24 hours, capped at 500 messages, if using an email client.

Total cap is 500 messages per 24 hours.

Surely the reds were justified in fighting the results of an illegal coup?

No, they were not.

What a shameful, wasteful policy.

After the coup they would not let Thaksin return, why? They were afraid. After he was sentenced to gaol time they wanted him back, why? They were afraid of him being free, even outside Thailand. Why do they oppose the amnesty bill? They are afraid of his return. If Thaksin does not have widespread support as the opposition claim, then let him back and the sooner the better. Then hopefully this matter can be laid to rest, it is time to move on. Too much time is being wasted over Thaksin and it is getting silly. In the end the people will decide and every dog has his day, perhaps his day has already been had. Pass the bill, waste no more time, is Thaksin any worse than the others in Thailand or internationally, I doubt it. Let the people speak at the next election and dont do any electioneering for him by keeping his name at the forefront of Thai politics.

Thaksin came back.

He agreed to abide by the verdict of the courts and then ran away, skipped his bail and didn't even appeal against his sentence.

He has ALWAYS been able to come back.

However IF he comes back without an amnesty clearing him of all past and current charges and spends even one day in jail he cannot ever legally be an MP or PM again as the law and constitution of Thailand forbids it.

If he does come back whitewashed and pure Thailand can forget reconciliation at look at many years of retribution from Thaksin.

.......many years of retribution from Thaksin??? So as I said... they are still afraid of him. Why? Still too much support from the population? I would like to see this 'support' tested, let him return a free man and move on. Many other convicted persons have returned in this way, even murderers, so why not Thaksin. This saga must stop for the good of Thailand, let the people decide or are they afraid of them as well???

Why SHOULD he return a free man? He IS still a convicted fugitive and he should come back to complete his sentence but if he does he CANNOT EVER be in any government in any position legally. THAT is the reason why he wants amnesty and a whitewash.

AFAIR an amnesty is granted by the King and on the condition that the person has served part of his sentence AND shown genuine remorse. Thaksin has done neither.

Exactly. He has done quite the opposite, commanding his red shirt peasant troops to topple the government.

But I'm not Buddhist. Politics and religion. Never a good mix.

No, but you live in a buddhist country so respect their rules

I believe Buddhism does not say no drinking, just all things in moderation. It's the fervent Sangha yahoos who want to control people, not in the name of Buddhism, but in the name of their own perverted idea of "morality". Meanwhile, look at the mess they have themselves in...almost as bad as the catholic church!

What are they scooping up with those tiny little nets?

They look more like absorbent pads on the end of sticks.

The pads are an appropriate method of cleaning oil from the top of the water. Putting them on the end of a stick is actually a pretty good way to clean up more than you could reach by tossing them on the water and picking them up later, especially when you're going after that last bit of oil that defies mechanical methods of cleanup.

And it's a lot easier than bending over for hours at a time.

Say what you want, but I'm seeing a bunch of people giving up their time because they do care.

Sounds like a super duper can't fail idea to be implemented after they bring in a decent connection to Thailand.

In the 7 years I have been here they have not really improved a heck of a lot since the dial up on the phone lines.

I had better service in Canada 10 years ago. Watch the service deteriorate and we have to pay for them to do it. I wouldn't mind spending a little to improve it. But this bunch of nitwits want to see it deteriorate at are expense.

I've had a different experience. My Thai internet service has definitely improved in the past ten years. Even in the past five years. It's gotten faster and I it seldom fails anymore.

.mov, or .mp4 work pretty well. But iMovie will convert your video automatically to optimize it for the program. Just throw it in and let it do its work.

Hopefully that's not an al Queada test run!

What are they scooping up with those tiny little nets?

Did anybody catch the big front page story last week in the BP about ex PM Anand scorning this reconciliation effort? He said he would not be made a puppet in this farce, or something like that. The next day however, there was a small article on the front page which said that the reporter got it wrong and had never spoken with Anand, and the BP apologized profusely for the error. <deleted> was that all about, I wonder?

I agree pedophiles should be stopped. Problem is, their definition of a "pedophile" is somebody who sleeps with a girl who is one day short of her 18th birthday.

Pedophile to me is somebody who likes 8 year olds, not 15 year olds.

A pedophile technically is somebody who is after prepubescent children, so younger than about 12-13.

Whether or not the military will be found ultimately responsible for Wat Pathum killings ignores the basic fact that a 'civilized' country will not use lethal force against demonstators. Sucn acts are 'extra-judicial' killings.

These protestors were fortified with armed thugs, who had rocket launchers, semi automatics, and other weapons. They were not there to protest, they were there to try and overthrow the government.

Please do not try and candy coat those red thugs.

There is no one in Thailand that makes less income than the farmers, and they work extremely hard for the small amount of money that they earn. No, this is not the US, but the rice scheme is common in the US, known as subsidies for the farmers. If you create a situation where your farmers just give up, you lose your food supply. The farmer, and those wishing to farm, need to be subsidized by the government just as the US as successfully done, with rice, corn, soybeans, wheat, hay, and 1,000 of other crops. The difference is the US does not try to sell the subsidized product above market rates. The subsidy money is paid directly to the farmer, who then sells the product at market prices. The government uses it tax monies to support the program. Just imagine a country where the farmers can no longer afford to farm, and the effect that food shortages would have on that country. The government is attempting to help the farmer succeed, but is using the wrong method. They just need to continue to support the farmer from tax dollars, and continue to sell the rice at world market prices. No storage fees for warehouses. Buy it, mill it, bag it, and sell it. Whatever you do, don't lose your farmers.

Agree with you, it's a pity though that the Thai govt. is not more creative about what they subsidize for the farmer. Rather, they have a carpet bomb policy towards agriculture, with everybody growing as much rice as possible without any consideration towards market value or feasibility.

Then again, this rice scheme was never meant to help out the average farmer, it was to get a few people very rich and to hell with the rest. Like all PTP/Thaksin schemes, the goal is to enrich the Shiniwatra accounts and throw breadcrumbs at the ignorant masses. In that perspective, his rice policy has been extremely effective. By the time the country is on its knees and bankrupt, he will have all of Thailand's money elsewhere.

Farrangs make great news when its about child abuse . There are many pedophiles amongst Thai men , they just don't get in the news , because that's not interesting to write about .. any person messing with my kids will loose a certain bodypart

Yes, it is a bit strange that no Thais, no tea rooms in Bangkok are ever busted for very underage prostitution.

Every once in a while there is a story about underage Thai brothels being busted. Several years back once was raided in Nonthaburi - they had about 40 boys ages 10-15. They also had a ledger filled with the customers info...police, politicians, etc. There was one small report on it and then you never saw or heard anything about it again.

Farrangs make great news when its about child abuse . There are many pedophiles amongst Thai men , they just don't get in the news , because that's not interesting to write about .. any person messing with my kids will loose a certain bodypart

There's a big trend now with middle aged Thai women taking on lovers that are 14-16 years old. They're easy to control and they give them stuff to keep them in line. How about them?

Disgusting.....but the reality is that the cd's are sold on public roads.

Disgusting too

Easy to arrest and prosecute the vendors but the Police would lose their cut.

They could start with some of the vendors in Panthip as they sell it.

"Easy to arrest and prosecute the vendors but the Police would lose their cut."

And posters on Thai Visa would have one less baseless fantasy to post about.

Are you saying you don't think the cops are in collusion with the porn peddlers?

So obvious, so lame; what else would you expect to go viral in Thailand. Just look at the amount of crap that goes viral on the social media.

Only Crap Goes Viral on Facebook

You don't get it, do you. Who do you think the target market is for bras? Well it certainly isn't guys. Well, maybe some guys. But it's well made nevertheless. Just because you didn't like it doesn't really mean anything.

On the other hand, if they can make a guy look that good, then just think what they will do for a lady!

Right after the girl took off her make up, they switched models. The dude has a longer face.

Yeah that's what I think.