Ricardo

Pissed down here

I should have been more specific. At Maejo it poured.

Passed us by in our moobaan in the Mae Jo Sansai area. Not a single drop. Just a lot of dust and leaves blowing around.

Really strange. My moobaan is 3 km past Ring Rd. 2 off 1001 heading toward Maejo. It literally poured.

Ditto a couple of km NE of Maejo University, we also had a small tree snapped in half, 1m above the ground, that was a pretty strong wind for a while !

It's underneath the battered Mars-Bar !

Have they yet identified a volunteer, to become Thailand's first person in space, does anybody know ? Given a choice between that, and teaching English, it would indeed be a tough decision.

I guess that we must be regarded as the perfect 'captive audience', unable to run away, or slam the door in the face of the unwanted caller. Thank God the Immigration workers don't include Jehovas Witnesses !

Why is it only one land case is judged after almost 3 years?

Surely the reason that only one court case has reached a conclusion, is that Thaksin's lawyers have done their best to delay every case, and the continuing deliberate absence in self-imposed exile of Thaksin himself, which delays these cases ?

You know this, we all know this, so why does it come as such a surprise ?

In the meeting today in Chiangmai, around 20:00 hours, we expect Khun Thaksin to address and tell who the real Prime Minister now, not Abhisit, and that is the one who is controlling all those games. But I don't know if he will tell or not or signals will be cut.

Signals were cut many times when Khun Thaksin talked on the phone when we watched via MVtv and DStation online. Freedom of speech?

His call wasn't cut, but sadly Thaksin failed to tell the faithful gathered there who the real Prime Minister now is, as promised. Perhaps he's still trying to decide who it is ? He also forgot to mention his promise that, as soon as he got his pardon, the rallies would end. Why not ?

Those stands look pretty empty, in the photo, perhaps they all got lost, on the way to the rally ?

The 'Love Chiang Mai 51' red-shirt group gathered at Chaing Mai Airport to protest Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban’s arrival

Trying to say the reds will do or have done what the yellows did doesn't make it happen.

But surely in this case Koo, the reds did gather at our local airport, just as the yellows used to ? So it has happened, with the red-shirts, as it used to with the yellows ?

A better law, I think, would require all Farangs to report to bars, and consume a minimum of 100 baht of whatever, for three hours per day at hours when the traffic to and fro said bars did not interfere with school-traffic hours or work-related hours : say 11AM - 2 PM. That way bar employees can have dependable incomes, spend more time with their families. But, that would be a problem for me since 100 baht will buy six liters or more of soy milk on the street

Idea !

Limitless Visa-free stays for all foreigners, who spend at least 200B/day, in bars owned/recommended by the helpful Immigration police ?

In such extreme conditions, I hope you will understand and excuse the poor syntax.

I thought sintax was the government-tax on the beer ?

Here is a photo showing what Abhisit government used to block the red from going near the Government House in Feb. Police and military were sent there.

If they had sent that many Police and Army, PAD might not have occupying the Government House for months.

So basically Koo, you would agree that the new Democrat government is in proper control of the country, while the old PPP ones were simply not that competent ?

Or was it that they only had one item on their agenda ?

Alos don't carryany bottles in your hand luggage. A passenger en route to Thailand bought 2 very expensive bottles of champagne duty free at Heathrow. Despite the bottles being clearly customs sealed and untampered with the Indian officials would not let him take them on the plane. Blatent theft, so be warned.

This is surely standard procedure, in many other countries also, which is why I can't buy whisky at LGW when flying home to BKK via Doha ? The Duty-Free shop asks you, are you connecting to an onward flight, and refuses to sell liquids to you !

I've seen so many subjects about Khun Thaksin that he was wrong for this and that but still nothing has been announced further. Am I right that so far he has only the land case? Nothing more?

Do you think this might be, because he has run away, and is in self-imposed exile, having been found guilty in the one case, even though his nominee-government was in power at the time ?

I'm sure we'd all like these other cases to be completed, and Thaksin proven innocent (as you believe) or guilty (as most of us expect), but your hero is too busy 'fighting for justice' from overseas to actually come and experience it at first hand.

People can't complain about the lack of progress in these cases IMHO, when it is Thaksin who is delaying them, nor is it fair to complain that the cases against PAD-leaders go slowly, when these other cases have been running for years. Justice runs slowly here, as in many other countries, including my own country-of-birth. We farangs just observe, and draw our own conclusions, about why he might not wish these cases to reach a conclusion.

Mr McNamara said some of the best ideas receive so far include charging for toilet paper with O-Leary’s face on it,

I suspect that this one would be very popular !

I have been dating her for a week and we've had tremendous fun...

We had lots of nice days together...

You are trying too hard, coming across as desperate, and she has gone off you.

I would agree that the OP seems to be taking things very quickly, why the great hurry, jai yen yen. Things like this may well take years, not days or weeks, here.

Been with her for only 1 week and already invaded her workplace?

NOT-A-SMART-THING-TO-DO

Agreed that to have a farang invade her workplace, when she probably hasn't even mentioned him to her colleagues yet, may well have embarrassed her, leading to her reaction so far. What might they have thought her relationship was, with this large smelly strange farang, who suddenly appears in their midst bearing fruit ?

A letter by post, perhaps to her home rather than office (!), might apologise for any embarrasment caused, and explain that this was due to cultural-ignorance, not intentional. That might get a second-chance, but if not then after a few weeks, move on.

I don't think that anyone disputes that most of them were indeed drug dealers.

Didn't the investigatory commission eventually conclude, about half the dead were totally innocent, of any connection with the drugs-trade ? Before disappointingly going on to find that there was insufficient evidence to charge anybody at all for the deaths ?

While many of the dead may have been low-level drug-dealers, the war seemed to fail to catch any of the 'big boys', which is also a cause for concern. Did/do the BiBs really not know who they are ? When encouraged to 'take them out', without any need for due legal process, by the PM ?

We need to start an end of the world sub-forum on thaivisa for all those in love with this topic.

No Time ... the Sky is Falling Right Now !

This then:

-Democrats win an election in 2011 and serve a full term in office.

-Abhisit signals an intention to stand down in 2015 and takes a position as a Professor of Political Science at alma mater Oxford.

-Newin becomes new PM.

-In 2017, a pardon is given to Thaksin Shinawatra, who has spent the previous years in exile.

-Newin stands down after discovery of a $50 million trust with him as beneficiary. He is prosecuted under laws promulgated by Abhisit.

-Thaksin Shinawatra's daughter becomes leader of an urban-based political party with liberal leanings and is elected prime minister in 2020.

Please can I borrow your crystal-ball, as I need to check up on there the Baht is going, and which number to pick in the village-lottery !

Even the old farts aren't bad dudes!

Most of us aren't that bad, we started out as young guys like you, and just kept on rolling, before suddenly waking up to find that we'd erm ... matured ! It sorta creeps up on you !!

Very light sprinkle here in Mae Jo/Sansai area.

A rumbling murmur of thunder, and a light dusting of droplets, it was over before I'd even got the laundry in !

Silly me, I had assumed from the title, that the police were losing a battle to protect foreign-residents and tourists from local criminals. I should have known better.

Was it fresh or frozen?

The one I saw yesterday was plastic, and singing an entertaining little tune, can't get it out of my head !

In fact you might want to get two or three of them, that way she will make more money and of course she will have to give you some of it.

Co-incidentally, I happen to be the master-franchisor for such a chain of bars, and can offer a 10% discount for three-or-more outlets, purchased for cash in a single deal. Please contact my Nigerian agent, for further details, he's a very friendly helpful chap !

Do you mean to say, they're not all ex-SAS or Navy-Seals, here on a secret mission, as they claim ?

SJ, was that not the same Auditor-General, whom Thaksin/TRT allegedly had locked-out from her own office for a couple of years while they tried to replace her, because she was too successful at finding corruption and inconvenient situations to investigate ?

But I thought Thaksin was now a fighter for justice, perhaps he has changed his viewpoint, since then ?

Blessed are they who eventually see the light ! There is a special place reserved for them, in heaven or Nicaragua, I'm told.

Hope those mean/bad old Muslim Insurgency don't get luck and shot it down, no doubt they will try.

The som-tam lady tells me, the Thai military have a clever solution to this threat, they will paint Osama's face on the blimp, and thus deter any muslim from attacking it. Who needs stealth-technology ?