Thai at Heart

Perhaps the Eu is using this as a disquise to get her out of Thailand and protect her from the junta.

No, the EU is hereby taking the opportunity to make clear for once and for all, that they don't understand or agree with Thailand's roadmap, regardless of super general's propaganda.

Maybe, but I suggest this letter has Thaksin's fingerprints all over it. I think Thaksin personally requested a favor (with a box of donuts?) to these so called EU gentlemen to raise this issue as Thaksin is drawing at anything to get traction for his cause and to try and save his sister.

This has everything of a compromise written all over it that will put the court case against her to bed, and she gets to leave. A very thai outcome where both parties avoid the possibilty of really washing their linen in public.

Now you're walking off a bit too far.

You write that 'this' (the invitation from two people one of them a EMP and chairman of the Foreign Affairs commission) is a 'compromise? Are you suggesting the EP is collaborating in a possible move to force the case against Ms. Yingluck to be dropped? Surely the EP should be interested in a proper handling of responsibility and accountability, just like EP members are guided by.

I think everyone would like her to get out. It's a nice solution for everyone. Thaksin went to the Olympics, Yingluck will go to germany

Perhaps the Eu is using this as a disquise to get her out of Thailand and protect her from the junta.

No, the EU is hereby taking the opportunity to make clear for once and for all, that they don't understand or agree with Thailand's roadmap, regardless of super general's propaganda.

Maybe, but I suggest this letter has Thaksin's fingerprints all over it. I think Thaksin personally requested a favor (with a box of donuts?) to these so called EU gentlemen to raise this issue as Thaksin is drawing at anything to get traction for his cause and to try and save his sister.

This has everything of a compromise written all over it that will put the court case against her to bed, and she gets to leave. A very thai outcome where both parties avoid the possibilty of really washing their linen in public.

I think you like to exaggerate.

They army could never have done what it did if the Shins weren't that corrupt.

Really? So were the previous 19 coups just as unjustified?

it has been Thaksin's fault since about mid-1932...

No it's the fault of all corrupt politicians. Corruption has made a mismanaged mess out of many areas. Or are you saying that Thailand was properly managed the last few decades? Even the construction of waste disposal plants have been hit with major corruption. Result: billions if bahts gone and a major waste problem. The army is now trying to clean up this mess. There are many more examples. Just sick and tired of corrupt politicians hiding behind so called democracy.

So, if the army has used corrupt politicians as the justification for each of its 19 or so coups, why does the country remain so corrupt?
It really is time for you & the other fanboys to wake up & realise that coups have more to do with the perpetuation of corruption than the elimination of it.

I disagree with you ....corruption loving Shin fanboy.

All these last two coups have occurred to stop, is to stop thaksin pitting himself at the top of the corruption table for a long time thus pushing some others off top spot.

The army isn't ever going to be responsible for stopping corruption, they are in it up to their eyeballs I it anyway.

Do you think Prayuth goes out and organises a coup for free? He and his progeny with be more than well taken care of for services rendered. As if that isn't a total corruption of the use of the armed services.

In your world people only do things for money? Or is it that you have to pay for everything?

Maybe Prayuth does love this country and is trying his best to improve things.

You have no idea how the army in Thailand works. Believe me I do.

You are incredibly naive. Incredibly.

I know more about Thailand, and have been here longer, than you think.

This isn't a pi*****g contest. I was there more than long enough. It's not what u know it's who u know anyway.

I could surprise you there too.

Me too. So unless u know prayuth personally, I will go with the precedent of what happened to all the previous coup making leaders.

I think you like to exaggerate.

They army could never have done what it did if the Shins weren't that corrupt.

Really? So were the previous 19 coups just as unjustified?

it has been Thaksin's fault since about mid-1932...

No it's the fault of all corrupt politicians. Corruption has made a mismanaged mess out of many areas. Or are you saying that Thailand was properly managed the last few decades? Even the construction of waste disposal plants have been hit with major corruption. Result: billions if bahts gone and a major waste problem. The army is now trying to clean up this mess. There are many more examples. Just sick and tired of corrupt politicians hiding behind so called democracy.

So, if the army has used corrupt politicians as the justification for each of its 19 or so coups, why does the country remain so corrupt?
It really is time for you & the other fanboys to wake up & realise that coups have more to do with the perpetuation of corruption than the elimination of it.

I disagree with you ....corruption loving Shin fanboy.

All these last two coups have occurred to stop, is to stop thaksin pitting himself at the top of the corruption table for a long time thus pushing some others off top spot.

The army isn't ever going to be responsible for stopping corruption, they are in it up to their eyeballs I it anyway.

Do you think Prayuth goes out and organises a coup for free? He and his progeny with be more than well taken care of for services rendered. As if that isn't a total corruption of the use of the armed services.

In your world people only do things for money? Or is it that you have to pay for everything?

Maybe Prayuth does love this country and is trying his best to improve things.

You have no idea how the army in Thailand works. Believe me I do.

You are incredibly naive. Incredibly.

I know more about Thailand, and have been here longer, than you think.

This isn't a pi*****g contest. I was there more than long enough. It's not what u know it's who u know anyway.

I think you like to exaggerate.

They army could never have done what it did if the Shins weren't that corrupt.

Really? So were the previous 19 coups just as unjustified?

it has been Thaksin's fault since about mid-1932...

No it's the fault of all corrupt politicians. Corruption has made a mismanaged mess out of many areas. Or are you saying that Thailand was properly managed the last few decades? Even the construction of waste disposal plants have been hit with major corruption. Result: billions if bahts gone and a major waste problem. The army is now trying to clean up this mess. There are many more examples. Just sick and tired of corrupt politicians hiding behind so called democracy.

So, if the army has used corrupt politicians as the justification for each of its 19 or so coups, why does the country remain so corrupt?
It really is time for you & the other fanboys to wake up & realise that coups have more to do with the perpetuation of corruption than the elimination of it.

I disagree with you ....corruption loving Shin fanboy.

All these last two coups have occurred to stop, is to stop thaksin pitting himself at the top of the corruption table for a long time thus pushing some others off top spot.

The army isn't ever going to be responsible for stopping corruption, they are in it up to their eyeballs I it anyway.

Do you think Prayuth goes out and organises a coup for free? He and his progeny with be more than well taken care of for services rendered. As if that isn't a total corruption of the use of the armed services.

In your world people only do things for money? Or is it that you have to pay for everything?

Maybe Prayuth does love this country and is trying his best to improve things.

You have no idea how the army in Thailand works. Believe me I do.

You are incredibly naive. Incredibly.

Well an 8 year sentence isn't a moral lessons is it, it's a legal one. Duh

In a way I wish they'd start here. Duh without really bothering since they were just charged on the weekend, it's unlikely they're going to get what's probably the max if convicted and sentenced to 8 years. But it does send out a message to fabricators that spread misinformation like gospel don't it?

Was it false information.I don't think so.

It is a ludicrous issue to have the police complaining about their reputation being damaged. They are not a business, they are not an individual, they have an obligation to SERVE the people.

That includes NOT suing people when they complain rightly or wrongly about their service.

They can have a chit chat to explain their bit, but they should never be allowed to sue for defamation.

I think you like to exaggerate.

They army could never have done what it did if the Shins weren't that corrupt.

Really? So were the previous 19 coups just as unjustified?

it has been Thaksin's fault since about mid-1932...

No it's the fault of all corrupt politicians. Corruption has made a mismanaged mess out of many areas. Or are you saying that Thailand was properly managed the last few decades? Even the construction of waste disposal plants have been hit with major corruption. Result: billions if bahts gone and a major waste problem. The army is now trying to clean up this mess. There are many more examples. Just sick and tired of corrupt politicians hiding behind so called democracy.

So, if the army has used corrupt politicians as the justification for each of its 19 or so coups, why does the country remain so corrupt?
It really is time for you & the other fanboys to wake up & realise that coups have more to do with the perpetuation of corruption than the elimination of it.

I disagree with you ....corruption loving Shin fanboy.

All these last two coups have occurred to stop, is to stop thaksin pitting himself at the top of the corruption table for a long time thus pushing some others off top spot.

The army isn't ever going to be responsible for stopping corruption, they are in it up to their eyeballs I it anyway.

Do you think Prayuth goes out and organises a coup for free? He and his progeny with be more than well taken care of for services rendered. As if that isn't a total corruption of the use of the armed services.

P

... and assign a high-level Nestle manager to make sure change is underway

Well, if that requires travel within Thailand, he/she better bring a bulletproof vest

Oops just remembered - they are illegal for civilians who are at risk of getting shot

Purina has a factory in Chachoengsao...Nestle already has foreign managment in the country. Lots of them

back in another life, my vet cautioned me about the canned/bagged crap all corporations, not just 'Nestegg' feed our pets. It's junk food for animals. Quite right. feed your dog or cat things they'd catch in the wild. Raw chicken, ruminants, etc. Buying at tesco means youll pay thrice, at the checkout, at the vet, to fix the health issues, and at the grave, when your pet succumbs to their processed unnatural diet.

Wouldn't know. Haven't had a pet cat or dog for a long time.

Find it hard to believe that processed animal food is that bad.

I do not believe in the authenticity of this 'invitation'. It's a hoax/joke.

Are junta apologists trying to outdo each other for the most facetious face saving excuse for the junta? Waiting someone to claim it was a plot and politically motivated to cause unrest.

IF you'd read any of my posts you would have noted I am by no means whatsoever a bloody junta apologist! But I AM capable of critical thinking and do not believe the EU would go out of it's way to invite Barbie to tea and political discourse on the situation in Thailand, after all, she was barely aware of it when standing in for her 'brother' during her questionable tenure.

Some of us have minds capable of more than binary choices you know. Eric.

It would if you understood what deals can be done to get her out of the country.

Where does Thailand have its largest embassy in EU after London? Germany. Where does a certain VIP apparently spend the vast majority of his time? Germany.

Where did thaksin run out of friends? London.

If she goes, I will be surprised if she comes back. Everyone wins. The junta get their freedom to point a guilty finger at her. She spouts she wouldn't have got a fair trial, and everyone can calm down until the next elections.

It's a deal. The junta have to make it look like they are doing some due diligence. Yingluck has to bleat it's not fair if she doesn't go.

And lo and behold she runs.

P

... and assign a high-level Nestle manager to make sure change is underway

Well, if that requires travel within Thailand, he/she better bring a bulletproof vest

Oops just remembered - they are illegal for civilians who are at risk of getting shot

Purina has a factory in Chachoengsao...Nestle already has foreign managment in the country. Lots of them

This undoubtedly opens the govt open to accusation of corruption. If the surveyors claim some is safe for Consumption, how on earth can this all be sold as rotten. Bear in mind, the volume designated as rotten is also figured in the cases for damage going on.

Classing rice as rotten when it isn't and thus increasing the damage is a bit off, all in all.

The OP has "some of it was of high enough quality to be sold for human consumption". I guess foreigners will surely believe this.

BTW in June 2014 we had 10% rotten, 80% of reasonable quality with 72% of 18m tonnes pledged checked. That could lead to 1.8m tonnes of rotten rice. Now we have "Altogether the government has 1.29 million tonnes of rotten rice and declining quality rice in government stocks."

Does this mean the volume designated as rotten is decreased on purpose the help lower figures in the damage case?

God knows what it means, but if they are going to prosecute someone for a figure of expected losses and they haven't even counted the quality of the tonnage they have in the warehouse I would suggest they havent got a clue.

How on earth they havent yet, accurately got one set of figures for everyone to work from God knows.

Possibly in the first numbers they were all excited to chase after Yingluck, now the reality comes out.

1mn tonnes rotten out of 60mn stored. Less than 2%. If I was her lawyer I would be checking what mould losses are in any normal year of operation. That sounds quite low.

It seems you have to read again.

June 2014 about 72% of 18m tonnes was surveyed and 10% of that 72% found rotten, 80% of 72% found a reasonable quality.

The previous government (and the current one honoring contracts for already pledged rice of the first season 2013/2014) bought a total of more than 60m tonnes of paddy which normally would lead to about 45 - 50m tonnes rice.

Anyway first you complain about a possibility that the volue of rotten rice has been 'manipulated' upward and confronted with data you just blunder on. I would have expected the volume of rotten rice to increase over the years, but it seems to have decreased. Now of course Ms. Yingluck's lawyer may state that the current government provided figures for rotten rice are way too low and demand a recount.

This is the point. It can't have decreased. That is an impossibility.

Yield on rice is about 60%. They bought 90mn over the years it was in place. They have 1.??? how much rotten?

Apparently they don't know. I am surprised all the accumulated loss over 3 crops is this low at this point. Over a 3 or 4 year period 5 to 10% would be expected under conditions in Thailand. It is almost impossible with this volume to manage it at all just because of the volume.

Why do so many employers have compulsory blood tests. What exactly are they insuring against because believe me, it ain't much. Seems like a gross invasion of privacy to me.

This undoubtedly opens the govt open to accusation of corruption. If the surveyors claim some is safe for Consumption, how on earth can this all be sold as rotten. Bear in mind, the volume designated as rotten is also figured in the cases for damage going on.

Classing rice as rotten when it isn't and thus increasing the damage is a bit off, all in all.

The OP has "some of it was of high enough quality to be sold for human consumption". I guess foreigners will surely believe this.

BTW in June 2014 we had 10% rotten, 80% of reasonable quality with 72% of 18m tonnes pledged checked. That could lead to 1.8m tonnes of rotten rice. Now we have "Altogether the government has 1.29 million tonnes of rotten rice and declining quality rice in government stocks."

Does this mean the volume designated as rotten is decreased on purpose the help lower figures in the damage case?

God knows what it means, but if they are going to prosecute someone for a figure of expected losses and they haven't even counted the quality of the tonnage they have in the warehouse I would suggest they havent got a clue.

How on earth they havent yet, accurately got one set of figures for everyone to work from God knows.

Possibly in the first numbers they were all excited to chase after Yingluck, now the reality comes out.

1mn tonnes rotten out of 60mn stored. Less than 2%. If I was her lawyer I would be checking what mould losses are in any normal year of operation. That sounds quite low.

They black listed 15000 BOI firms? <deleted>?

"industries would be moved to neighboring countries very soon, as nations like Myanmar and Vietnam were developing their infrastructure and were reportedly more friendly to international businesses. The Thai government should focus on developing value-added products, start-up businesses and innovative and technology-savvy industries".

I agree with him - more businesses are indeed looking elsewhere in the region. Especially Vietnam is looked at by many companies - including companies considering moving away from China. However moving from production to innovation in Thailand requires a labor force that can meet those requirements. That brings us back to the never-ending issue with current education in Thailand. They are not nurturing innovation and free thinking, but producing mind slaves which are really good at an assembly line, but not really useful when required to think creatively.

Thailand might suddenly find themselves standing in the middle not being able to compete on labor costs nor able to show innovative ways of business. Cheap labor is in the neighboring countries and innovation is found in places with good education such as Singapore. Thailand needs to come up with an intelligent plan to develop their economy - and sadly intelligence is really a rare resource in government agencies.

What do you mean by "might suddenly"..? It has happened already.

There is a massive shortage of people to work in skilled jobs such as petrochemical or car industry.

The huge assistance given to companies like CP giving them a protected field in agribusiness is coming back to haunt them. When they should have been encouraging higher tech business into the country they were assisting agribusiness to continue to dominate.

Throw in a focus on spending all the govt money in Bangkok instead of planning to educate the rural population and they have the results they have today.

Stupid policy with serious outcomes today.

This undoubtedly opens the govt open to accusation of corruption. If the surveyors claim some is safe for Consumption, how on earth can this all be sold as rotten. Bear in mind, the volume designated as rotten is also figured in the cases for damage going on.

Classing rice as rotten when it isn't and thus increasing the damage is a bit off, all in all.

Unlike a bunch of guys in green with guns who don't just create unrest, they take over the whole country. Regularly.

And so it appears the deal has been done.

Hello? Hello? No one is listening, they are busy having happiness returned to them......

http://asiancorrespondent.com/2012/06/thailand-how-the-meaning-of-and-starts-a-constitutional-crisis/

Doesn't really matter whether hes independent or not, when it takes the constitution court to interpret what he can and cannot do.

This is what happens when you rewrite a constitution very poorly. Every single legal act comes under scrutiny and deliberation to work out what the intention of the writers actually was. Note, almost NO one interpreted the constitution to mean what the constitution court said it did in this matter. NO one.

The attorney general should have to produce a specific ruling in a post of law why or why not to continue with a prosecution. Seems they go forward when pushed politically, not according to a point of law.

The problem is uneven application of the law.

All will have the great Briton accent that many students will not understand.

...or spell.

Hmm, when I taught Primary School students in Myanmar, all the parents clamoured (not 'clamored') for me to be their Homeroom teacher because of my clear, British accent..

As for the spelling, if my 7 year old students could easily grasp the difference in spelling between colour and color, or the meaning of boot and trunk on a car, then I'm sure the Thai students can do the same.

A yes, American English.

A few missing "U"s and" gotten" thrown in, and apparently that makes a language completely undecipherable by any but the most discerning ear and mind.

If they ever really get to grips with the mess at Thai airways it will be death by a thousand cuts.

They can cut and cut and cut and it still won't be enough people

The concept isn't wrong, it's just they aren't even at a basic average level nationwide for english yet. This change will only make a very very poor effort even worse.

I just don't get it. Why are Thais, on average, incapable of learning a second language?