wandasloan

[snip snip ] In the meantime, it's time for the police to pursue this. They have the evidence already. In the West, if a former prime minister were the subject of such a threat, to be sure it would be followed up with dizzying speed.

It's almost as if the police are treating this assassination plot with the same serious attitude and urgency they treated the Thaksin assassination plot at the Burmese border.

Good.

What grabbed and kept my attention yesterday is that Abhisit (claims he) received this threat of a suicide bomber and shooter so he stayed away from the meeting. But he didn't talk about it until the meeting started, and AFTER the meeting started his spokesman gave a lot of details (if I may use the term loosely.)

If we take Abhisit at his word (hahaha) we believe that he was convinced there was a suicide bomber and shooter in the room BUT it was okay if every other political party and the EC went ahead with the meeting.

This says something about Abhisit. Exactly what it says, that's up to you.

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FWIW a friend, who was working recently as a nurse in Chiang Dao (north of Chiang Mai), says they also had cases up there, but weren't allowed by the authorities to report it.

That does not even pass the simple "HUH?" test. And what would the authorities do if they reported it? A nurse in Chiang Dao "reports" (whatever that means) that a lot of people have the flu. What would happen to that nurse? Realistic, worse case of terrible retribution to a nurse that said she saw a bunch of people in a hospital.

This is ordinary flu, not something sinister or unusual in any manner. It's like a cold. And it's no more newsworthy (and a lot less fatal) than highway crashes, heart attacks, cancer battles, which is why almost no highway crashes, heart attacks or cancer deaths are reported except in wrapup reports, too. This is a wrapup report that for some reason was put in the media. All the other wrapup reports, I guess you have to go to the Health Ministry to get them, but they are there. Including the report from Chiang Dao.

Well, yes. Of course they are. Except when they wipe out bubonic plague and smallpox and prevent your child from having to spend his entire (short) life in an iron lung. Other than that they're useless and dangerous. Oh, and measles, mumps, rubella and chicken pox. But other than that, right on.

And diphtheria. But that's all.

And whooping cough. But you're correct.

Oh, and the flu, the one that killed these four people. Many people don't get the flu because of vaccinations. But other than that, you're right.

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All Thai women want to merry a foreigner?!?

Eat, drink and be merry, yes.

But wait. I've been reading Thai Visa for some time, and it is clear to me now (I missed it for many years, thank you so much Thai Visa) that all Thais hate all farang! Wouldn't that mean that NO Thai women want to marry a foreigner, or at least a Caucasian?

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This is the beginning of the end for the BIG BROTHER.

No. It is a trick answer to a trick question, and every politician in the WORLD uses it.

"Are you willing to quit if it stops the chaos?"

I will follow the will of the people and if they tell me to quit then I will.

"Are you willing to stand for election in the next polls?"

I will follow the will of the people and if they tell me to run then I will.

"Are you going to run for president, Hillary?"

I will study the will of the people and if they tell me to run then I will.

"Are you willing to take over Moyes' job in Manchester?"

If that is the will of the team and the fans, then yes of course.

It is a trick because there is no way to measure the will of the people. It is blah-blah yadda-yadda lip-flapping no-response. It is literally without significance.

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One way of measuring the will of a very large proportion of the people does exist. It's called an Election..............

I also hate to have to explain a joke.

All you've done is explain why it's a trick. BEFORE the election, there is no way of measuring. AFTER the election the question has no meaning. Again, that is WHY it is a trick.

If you want to know the real answer, ask a different question:

Yingluck, will you step down this afternoon to end the chaos?

Hillary, will you state today you are not going to run in 2016 so we can get on with it?

Ryan, can you confirm you are ONLY an interim manager and will refuse any offer to stay on in the role?

Then you know their real ambitions. (You may also learn, as a bonus, that they are out-and-out liars.) But a conditional question (Yingluck would you step down at some indeterminate point in the future if...." ) is going to get the answer she gave EVERY TIME. It's a throwaway, rip-off, disposable, reusable, recyclable answer to a completely useless question. It is a worse question than the post-game idiots who ask, "How do you feel, now that you've won the title?"

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This is the beginning of the end for the BIG BROTHER.

No. It is a trick answer to a trick question, and every politician in the WORLD uses it.

"Are you willing to quit if it stops the chaos?"

I will follow the will of the people and if they tell me to quit then I will.

"Are you willing to stand for election in the next polls?"

"Are you going to run for president, Hillary?"

Teenager sentenced to 2 years imprisonment

Other than the fact she was not sentenced any imprisonment, the story is accurate.

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I beg to differ , loads of my mates ( Thai ) either share or pay, it's not just one way,

I really hate to do this because of the TV collective knowledge that Thais are poor, cheap, ungenerous, gouging, spiteful, xenophobic and mean (my apologies to all you fellows if I missed yours, there). I like your post a lot, because it shows you have actual Thai acquaintances and friends and observe what's going on in Thailand.

On the other hand, however...

The OP is talking about a (first) date, which does not equal mate. The OP describes it as an actual date, where he asked a woman out. She does not expect to pay, really she doesn't. She will not be impressed with the matey-ness of it all, if asked to pay. From the first date on, she might even offer to pay. But this time, add up all the circs, and she's not expecting to pick up half the bill. If she has to pay her way, then the whole idea of a first-date acquaintanceship is over and the whole thing was a bad idea.

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I don't understand why they close doors so early?

Mostly tourists spending money. It does nothing to stop drunk behaviour when you get served till your blind anyway.

The second part definitely, the first part no. It is mostly non-tourists spending money, which is why the real and sham "concern" for the poor Bangkok victimised by those terrible people out late and drinking and being sinful.

If you think this is wrong, you don't remember (or never knew) Purachai Piumsombun. Not only was he the scourge of night life (with blessing and full backing of Prime Minister Thaksin). He was immensely popular and could have been - or may still be - elected as Bangkok governor or even prime minister. He had other interests apart from cleaning up Bangkok, and moved on. He reappears intermittently. He could rise again. He was a typical prohibitionist, with a severe anxiety that somewhere, every moment he lived and breathed, several people were having a good time - many of them after 11pm.

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I'm in the same boat, my Thai prefers Canada and wishes to return, the topic comes up at least once a day. I haven't been able to figure out why the sudden dislike for Thailand.

Really?

I suggest a newspaper subscription, or even a trip once a day to the TV headlines. They carry essays that specifically address her suddenness.

The people *I* see making a difference, such as in Thailand, are the business people who go off to marketing and business schools, and come back and market and do business - and stay out of politics. Yingluck was doing a lot better job as a businesswoman than her predecessors in her jobs, in all measureable ways such as profits and public opinion and the like.

But Kentucky and all the travel and all the exposure to those brilliant western ways had no positive effect on her politics that anyone noticed or remarked on. To be absolutely fair, they also had no negative effects that I've noticed.

Quote: Red-shirt leader Tida Thawornseth said the date of the rally would be called when the Constitutional Court announces "judgement day".

Simple solution do not announce the day when a decision will be made, announce it after the decision has been made

Oh goodie, star chambers. What a great idea to help to move forward the entire policy of "democracy-delayed" a little faster and more efficiently.

I can't be bothered looking, but have you posted previously on the advantages of denying education and information to the public at large - as a general concept, that is? Or is it just justice that you feel should be dispensed in darkness and secrecy? Or what, exactly? I can't actually grasp that idea. I'm impressed and thankful that the judges can't, either, and favour openness and public accountability, at least in their own work and field of responsibility. Good for them. That's nine democrats. Any others?

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Sorry, you clearly are not reading what was written.

Of course she is going to be charged.

You are not reading what I wrote. I didn't say she WILL BE charged or she "is going to be" charged. I wrote she will be arrested and so on IF she returns to Thailand. But being charged has nothing to do with that.

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This lady is in the UK where she will not be charged or arrested for her views, however if she returns to Thailand she will of course be charged and imprisoned. I really didn't understand the references to Joe Gordon and Harry Nicholadis as they were only arrested once they set foot in Thailand.

Reading comprehension and context. They are not just a theory, but a good idea.

A poster wrote, quote:

if a person said something about the monarchy while outside of Thailand in a country that allows free speech, I don't believe they can be charged with anything.

unquote

The poster is wrong. He is not wrong in theory, he is not wrong in his "belief". He is completely wrong. A person who says something about the monarchy outside of Thailand can be charged. No... sorry, not "can be" ... has been charged. Numerous times. Their physical place, their nationality... none of this has anything to do with charges. I picked two such people, reasonably well known, who were charged long before they entered this country. There are MANY other cases and Ms Rose will be another for certain.

Then, when said person(s) set foot in Thailand, they were arrested, and away they go.

In Nicolaides' case, for example (repeat "for example"), the charges were held in abeyance for many years, nine as I remember, just in case he returned to Thailand. Which he did. He even knew about the (old) charges but thought (if I may use the term loosely) they had been forgotten, forgiven or somesuch. He was charged for, in the words of the mistaken poster, "saying something about the monarchy while outside of Thailand in a country" where this is not an offence, YEARS before his detention, arrest and incarceration. Actually, really, charged, while outside Thailand.

The idea that Rose will not be charged is a fantasy. She will be. I'd be surprised if she hasn't already been charged but I don't care enough to find out since it is absolutely certain she will be.

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You are the one in a parrallel universe.This has nothing to do with the colour of ones shirt,it is defending freedom of speech?

I take it you are not one of the hypocrites "defending freedom of speech" in this thread while calling for... nay, demanding in other threads the renewed imprisonment of red shirts like Jatuporn and Nattawut, for speaking. Well good on you then.

But you seem to think this post is about you. Have a read of ThaiVisa when you get the chance, and see them by the scores or probably hundreds. You and I are not among them but they exist anyway, and prominent first of all by their distressing numbers. They believe strongly that only some people should enjoy freedom and make no bones about their hypocrisy and double standards about it - and their own inerrant ability to tell us which are qualified to be granted freedom of speech and freedom-period, and which denied.

Your belief is completely wrong.

But just how the Thai police are going to take any kind of action against her, a British citizen in the UK, boggles the mind. Particularly as lese majeste is - thankfully - not a crime in the UK.

I don't understand why you and several others think the Thai police are contemplating any action against her. There are hundreds of known cases of lese majeste occurring overseas but not one that brought police action overseas. Police "investigate" every single complaint brought to every single police station. After investigation, they take action deemed necessary. Of hundreds and hundreds of known lese majeste cases occurring outside Thailand, there never has been one in which police "take any kind of action" in a foreign country.

I haven't seen a single post addressing what DOES happen with some few such cases - visits from "foreign ministry" officials, direct one-on-one harassment of the person involved, and more. But there is not a hint in the OP or elsewhere that anything like an extradition case is being contemplated, let alone likely. It's a strawman, and a very poor one at that.

Like it backed the two preachers on trial in Jordan and the US for *_SAYING_* terrible things? By the record, the UK seeks to harm its citizens suspected of serious thought-crimes in foreign countries. If I were Rose, this would not be one of the points that kept me going in scary times. There is not one chance in a billion trillion that the UK will back her up, and no chance whatsoever they could actually help her.

And to look at it another way: There is not the slightest thing the UK could do about her if she set foot in Thailand, if she holds one or one hundred different passports. The only possible "back up" they could give is to try to beg gracious Thai gaolers to pass her the embassy's list of lawyers. Were she to come to Thailand, it would be a simple manner of "already did the crime, prepare to serve the time". In the hugely unlikely case of a mild, Milquetoast complaint by some brave, unauthorised British diplomat, Thai authorities might hurt themselves falling down in laughter at such stupidity — and then lodge a diplomatic complaint about interference in the justice system.

You know -.that unassailable legal system so many posters think is doing a great job at getting rid of that other red shirt woman reviled by far more people than Rose. That justice system? A lot of people here vying for the gold medal in blatant hypocrisy.

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Freedom of speech is a unknown concept in many parts of the world. It is a basic element of freedom which is suppressed by those that fear losing power over the oppressed.

On the contrary. Freedom of speech and the concept of it, which is THE basis of freedom, is well known everywhere - no exceptions. It is also suppressed everywhere - no exceptions - although obviously in some places more than others, and at different times in history.

For starters, as has been pointed out by several thinking persons already, if freedom of speech were not universally known, there would be no reason to have any laws about it.

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This is a parallel universe. Nine pages of yellow-shirted TV members defending the reddest red-shirt rant ever seen on ThaiVisa. What a strange experience.

Are any of you men (of course) rethinking the whole yellow-shirt thing to throw in with Rose's dear friends.?

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It is rare to get money back that you lend to a Thai , harsh but true ,

Of course. This is why there are no banks left in Thailand and there's not a single item in the country you can buy on time payments. Every other country worldwide has a credit system, but Thailand's totally collapsed three weeks after it began in 1952.

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The whole concept of "Lese majeste" is medieval and should be outlawed itself.

We could have a debate about that, except that you seem quite unfit for that.

Lese majeste laws exist worldwide, and there is a reason for them. The reason is that unlike me and thee, a head of state (including a monarch) and his/her family do not have access to the normal libel/slander/defamation laws, and that an extraordinary law should protect them. NO country with lese majeste laws among the many countries accepts that the law is medieval or has any important movement to abolish it.

Many laws are abused all over the world, and there can be no doubt that some people abuse lese majeste laws in Thailand. So is the criminal defamation law abused. Two journalists in Phuket attest to that right this week.

But the argument against legal abuse is not to delete the law; it is to amend it where necessary and enforce it properly, fairly and equally. BY LAW the Thai monarch does not have recourse to the standard protection against defamation, so there is a law - as in dozens of other countries - to account for that. In the United States, the world's leader in free speech, there are special laws protecting both the status and work of the head of state. Suggesting they just be thrown out is ridiculous.

It will be a great day when both the Thai head of state and his subjects have similar protection under well-written and properly, equally enforced laws. You don't sound rational when you write that the law should be totally abandoned.

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More likely she stopped sending money home some time ago and the parents are looking to get back at her

You are a silly man, and inexperienced as well. You think people including Thai people would accept payment to be connected with lese majeste writing? Please put on the coned cap and move to the corner. You really should not be commenting on the serious and seriously sad situation this family is in.

Mostly, the parents are looking to save themselves from ridicule and peer-punishment. This is a way to send a message to the community that, "We have no responsibility for what she says". It is similar to the comedian Koh Tee, who had to go to huge lengths to disassociate himself from Ko Tee the red shirt. There are physical, financial and social penalties for anyone involved in an obvious lese majeste offence - parents, siblings, children, aunts and uncles, anyone sharing the family name, on and on. All the penalties, physical and mental, are serious and probably life-lasting.

Tell us, Mr Yapoon, how much you would need monthly from this British lady to accept all of this.

In addition, at the very least, these parents have served *_official_* notice via the police-log entry that they claim to have no link to their daughter's political rants. This in case some detective work by the sort of zealous lawn forcement officer TV posters always are hoping to see. I can tell you for certain fact that being a suspect or suspected accessory in a lese majeste investigation is an experience no one wants to be hired for.

Interesting. I personally have never met a Thai teen or adult that ignorant, not one.

Where do you figure all the demonstrations and petitions and the like against Article 112 and against the Computer Crimes Act are coming from then, if not "most Thais"?

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The Rohinga people in Myanmar originated from Hezbollah fighters that entered the Country to try and establish a Muslim state when the British vacated about 60 odd years ago. The Burmese Army overcame them. Maybe some of the ideology has been passed to offspring. Some bleeding hearts would like to see Rohinga refugees settled in Thailand.......I would have thought there was enough trouble here already.

This is complete nonsense, top to bottom. The Rohingya have been around for a little more than 60 years — start 1,300 years ago when traders first met them, and work backward from there. Hezbollah has been around for about 30 years. They are entirely, completely absolutely dissimilar in origin, politics, branch of Islam and more. It would be difficult to imagine two more different items than "Hezbollah" and "Rohingya".

Many thousands of Rohingya are settled very successfully in Thailand, mostly in Bangkok. They are generally known as Arakhanese from the older term for them.

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First off... Sutheop doesn't have an appointment with the court, he has an appointment with the DSI.

Do you mean nobody died in the South from the Muslims trouble makers

Only 6000 Buddhist have died

Any you blame this on Israel

No way Jose

I think you should do research on what is going on in South Thailand

The poster you answered could benefit by heeding your advice. So could you. Start with the "6,000 Buddhists". Taking your own advice would show you how very wrong you are. That, in turn, would lead almost automagically to some initial understanding of what is happening in the far South of Thailand, assuming you were only just a teensy bit curious. For a start, most of the roughly 6,000 estimated deaths were Muslim. Most of the known 54 beheadings? Muslim. And so on.

It's not simple or simplistic. You are right about Israel. But you could also know that the separatists have turned down and even violently expelled outsiders who offered to help, including those from close-by countries. When the Indonesian head of "Asean al-Qaeda" or Jemaah Islamiyah (the Bali bombers) tried to hide in the South, the separatists tossed him out in hours. He was arrested, baffled and lonely in Ayutthaya, and has since 2003 come to know the far southern edge of eastern Cuba extremely well from his quarters there, free room and board included.

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You make a poor case wandasloan and actually "you" are the one cherry picking. You quote from wikipeadia....

Oh my. I believe I have a case for criminal defamation there. Laugh at my dancing, post calumnies against khao thom, but never EVER accuse me of "quoting from Wikipedia". Blows do not come lower or more libellous and harmful than that.

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