Ricardo

If abuse of power, of any kind, was the focus, ]why didn't it take place it the courts whilst Thaksin was in office ???

Yet, I agree, if Abhisit can hold it together, then let him have a go at it. Since he was "apparently" elected into office.

(my highlight above)

Perhaps you just had to be here four years ago, seeing the checks-and-balances being sytematically removed or subverted, to understand why this would never have happened. "Democracy is not my aim" & 'I'm here for the next 20 years' ring any bells ?

Abhisit & the Democrats' coalition-government, elected by MPs voted-in a year ago by the people, currently remain the best of a very short list of not-very-good alternatives, IMHO of course. Better than civil-war on-the-streets, another military-government, or a kleptocracy/dictatorship ala Marcos, let-alone the marxist vision of a peoples' uprising, which simply isn't going to happen.

If it fails, then one can then hope for an election, to try & break the log-jam.

Their new planes have not yet arrived, meanwhile they've leased some older ones, may be worth trying in another year or two, when Qatar & Etihad are no-longer quite so keen to offer discounts ?

At least they didn't try to still operate the service, despite the aircraft being faulty, a point in their favour IMHO !

Gordon should ask Mark how many billions-of-dollars the BoT can spare, to help out the Bank of England & 3rd-World Britain, and offer in return that all Brits living here henceforth volunteer to become honorary-Thais, thus saving us a fortune in Immigration-fees into the bargain !

P.S. wanna buy a used nuclear-submarine, one careless owner & only slightly bent, be the envy of former-British-colony neighbours, how about a spare aircraft-carrier or 2-for-1 (this decade only) !

While you very-much appreciate the opportunity offered by your father-in-law, you need to discuss the full details of the proposed petrol-station partnership/company with your financial-adviser, who is unfortunately away trekking in the Sahara at the moment.

When he returns 'x' months later, his view is that you're not currently able to consider such an investment, especially having given such a generous sin-sod recently, which has reduced your ability to make further large investments for the next few years. (Hint Hint !)

If pressed, he further advises that, rather than invest everything in just one country, you should continue to spread your money across other markets & forms of investment. This is particularly because Thailand's recent political instability is viewed overseas as a risk, you personally love everything about the country & feel he is exagerating things, but you are bound to follow his advise, So Sorry.

He also confirms that, with the Thai Baht currently so strong against your home-currency the "xxx", it would be the wrong time to bring in further large sums of money.

And you are worried that your visa won't allow you to carry-on a business here, you respect the law almost as much as you respect your new family, and would not wish to upset the Immigration Dept.

If all else fails ... ask your wife's advice, how to handle this situation tactfully, as you don't wish to delay your (previously secret) surprise-plan to take her to 1. Visit your own family in farangland, 2. Have a romantic honeymoon-holiday to Phuket 3. Treat her to a slap-up Full-English Breakfast at the local English-Pub (delete as appropriate).

Eventually you will perhaps be able to announce the arrival of your first child, to the happy grandparents, with regrets about the very-high cost of a good education, which you must now start to save for !

If the $:Baht was fairly solid round 34.9 in recent months, but has slipped in the past week to 35.4799 today, is there a slow steady weakening now underway, with the discreet blessing of the BoT ?

Does anyone know what the going-rate is, to convert a Chalerm-supporting MP, into a Shinawatra-clan candidate, once one has been selected ? Or should this question be posted in the 'Business' forum ?

I forecast a rapid fall, in the conversion-rate, once the latter's count passes 50% of PTP-MPs. The decision whether to deal now, or hold-out for a better price before the inevitable crash, must be quite frustrating.

My money would be on the lady with the money !

Such is democracy, Thai-style.

That train has sailed.

Have they invented a train that can sail now then ? Bloody hel_l, what will they think of next ? This must have been crushing news for shipping companies

I've heard of boat-trains, where the train meets the ship, and train-carrying ships, across rivers or lakes or the English Channel, and even a single-wagon train using a sail to push it (one direction only) along the tracks.

If only Tony Clifton were still active, and able to photoshop a suitable image, to illustrate this idea ? But I guess that ship has left the station ...

So a case against 19 people, and 5 companies involving 4.5 billion Baht ought to be forgotton ...

This case seems to be typical of all the "corruption" cases that come up now - they are aimed at Thaksin solely, and involvement of people and factions allied with the present powers somehow fall under the table.

Not against Thaksin solely, but 18 other people & 5 companies as well, as reported in the OP.

And the count now rises, from 18 other people, plus Thaksin himself ...

The NACC took over investigation of the case from the Assets Examination Committee, which expired in mid-2008. The AEC concluded that Thaksin and 31 others were at fault in connection with 9 Billion Baht loans extended by the state-owned Krung Thai Bank to three private companies with links to people close to certain government figures.

It was found that a large amount of money had been transferred from one of the three companies to a bank account belonging to the son of a politician in power at that time.

A source said yesterday that the OAG working group would meet on Monday to discuss who would be sued.

According to the NACC probe report, three groups of people are involved. They are public office holders, including then-prime minister Thaksin, board members and top executives of KTB, and the loan recipient companies and individuals benefiting from the loans. The companies were identified as Krisda Mahanakorn, RK Professional, and Golden Technology Industrial Park.

- The Nation / 2009-02-21

... to 31 people plus Thaksin. So this case is even less "aimed at Thaksin solely", than when that claim was made, and is clearly not just a witch-hunt against one person.

jacobbells, ThaiVisa is owned by a gentleman named George, not by SJ.

Post edited to remove flaming post by another member, since removed by mods, and my response to it.

OK so Air Asia don't currently do luggage-transfers.

But as the Air Asia long-haul fleet & network grow, at some point they will surely want to use their short-haul network, to feed passengers into their long-haul network ?

And luggage-transfer & guaranteed-connections would be a very big help in achieving this.

The average Thai worker is employed in a factory, construction, or agriculture. So far the slowdown has impacted several thousand factory workers that have been laid off due to weakening demand for exported manufactured goods. The strong baht is not the the problem with slowing exports, it is the worldwide slowdown. When the baht was in the lower 30's in 2007 and early 2008, imports continued to grow, it was only when the world fell off a cliff in the 4Q of 2008 that export tumbled.

TH

Sorry, but there were a reported half-million factory jobs lost, in the 4th Qtr of last year, not just several thousand. Which rather changes the overall picture.

Pro-Thaksin protesters in Chiang Mai who rallied at the City Hall nearly clashed with corn farmers who gathered at the City Hall after the farmers refused to join the group.

The Nation

Perhaps the farmers remember who negotiated & signed the Free Trade Agreement, with China, which allowed a flood of cheaper agricultural-products in, reducing the prices they get paid for their own crops ?

Hope that the red-shirts in Chiang Mai don't take their usual stance, opposing with violence, anybody who doesn't agree with them ? Perhaps they might settle for putting the farmers, on the long list of Thaksin's enemies, at the next voodoo ceremony ?

There's a (monthly ?) magazine called 'Home Buyers' Guide - Chiangmai', which might be useful, it has a lot of info about local moo-bans, mainly in Thai but partly in English. Buy it at good bookstores or PM me for their www-address.

Really?

I booked C (well in fact D) on Etihad Bangkok- Paris, paid 65K + tax = 75K

Thai airways always much cheaper in C/D, really?

Certainly from London.. I'm usually flying to Sydney via Bangkok and it's about £2800. EVA are comparable.

I expect the Arab airlines may be cheaper, but I prefer non stop.

I don't understand, how is LHR-BKK-SYD any more 'non-stop', than LHR-DUB-SYD or LHR-AUH-SYD or LHR-DOH-SYD ?

So a case against 19 people, and 5 companies involving 4.5 billion Baht ought to be forgotton ...

This case seems to be typical of all the "corruption" cases that come up now - they are aimed at Thaksin solely, and involvement of people and factions allied with the present powers somehow fall under the table.

Not against Thaksin solely, but 18 other people & 5 companies as well, as reported in the OP.

Fact is Hillary Clinton gave Thailand a miss on her 4 nation maiden tour of Asia

This is an insult to all Thai people, and repercussions will be severe.

Perhaps one more name, to go on the list in the cursing-ceremony, next time ?

Weaker baht won't help exports now: Thai central bank

BANGKOK: -- The weakening of the Thai baht has not contributed to export growth amid the current economic uncertainties, according to the latest Bank of Thailand (BoT) report.

Deputy Prime Minister Korbsak Sabhavasu said Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva had instructed the central bank to consider how much exports would grow due to the present baht depreciation.

The bank reported in the fourth quarter last year that the baht had weakened by 2.1 per cent while exports had dropped by 8.5 per cent.

The Thai central bank study showed no positive relationship on export growth or potential deriving from a weaker currency.

-- TNA 2009-02-19

Related link:

Thai Baht Exchange Rates

But had the Baht weakened more than a couple of percent, presumably against the dollar, would exports have fallen more or less than they did ? Perhaps the BoT are aware of a global economic crisis, leading to many countries having falling imports, and might also consider this a factor ? Or not, as they appear to.

When exports are falling anyway, due to falling demand from other countries, a weaker Baht has to help keep Thai exports competitive, and reduce the fall in exports. Or perhaps the BoT really does believe, that a stronger Baht will assist exports to recover, which would be an expensive mistake.

This is really weird to me.

'Smoothing' is a fairly-common strategy, for a government to use, to even-out the effects on their economies of a volatile factor.

Other examples might be buying/selling rice, or cocoa, or coffee. Or having an emergency-stock of oil stored 'in the ground'. Or using the central-bank's foreign-reserves to smooth the exchange-rate from day-to-day or over a period.

What I find weird is that in Thailand the government taxes fuel so lightly, compared to some farang countries, but perhaps they are constrained to some extent by the effects of smuggling, if Thai prices get too far out-of-line with neighbouring countries ?

My guess (i.e., drunken dart throw) is the Baht will weaken to around 37 Baht to 1 U.S. dollar over the next few months. The Bank of Thailand will reluctantly and slowly allow the Baht to weaken as this is about the only way they can show the general Thai public they are working to improve the Thai economy by lowering the cost of Thai exports through a weaker Baht.

There were reported to have been 500,000 jobs lost, in the last 3 months of 2008, with factories & companies shutting-down left-right-and-centre. The tourist-industry saw a fall in arrivals from August onwards, not to mention the effects, of the 1-week airport-closure on confidence. Farmers have seen export-prices fall, and no weakening of the Baht, to cushion this effect.

So right now it's all about showing the Thai public, and their Masters-degree-in-economics new boss, that the BoT is doing the right thing, and keeping their jobs. But since this involves a reversal of policy, with risk of loss-of-face, this will only happen slowly.

And the BoT don't care about the further job-losses & damage to the economy that may result from their slow reaction. They can always blame the farangs, for the global economic-crisis, rather than their own slow response to it.

Moreover, the names of the enemies of the deposed premier were written and put into a monks' alms-bowl to make merit for them so that the merit might release Thaksin from his misfortune and bring him back to Thailand.

The names which were put into the alms-bowl include Privy Council President General Prem Tinsulanonda, PM Abhisit Vejjajiva, Deputy PM Suthep Thaugsuban, as well as core leader of the People's Alliance for Democracy Sondhi Limtongkul.

- TOC / 2009-02-17

Perhaps the list ought also to have included, the 60% of all voters in the last election, who failed to support the Thaksin-nominee PPP, in December-2007 ? Or the people who could have voted, but didn't, and thereby let him down ?? Perhaps the UK & Japanese peoples, for having denied him visas, to hide-out in their countries ???

But I'm sure that most of the named individuals, in the list above, would want to bring him back to Thailand, if only to serve his time and face his several other court-cases ?

Meanwhile the coming bad luck continues, with the news of yet another corruption-charge, against Thaksin & family-members. The bad luck seems endless.

March 6: The AEC agreed to a suggestion by its subcommittee to incriminate seven politicians, eight Krung Thai Bank officials, four executives and five companies and their management for alleged involvement in the loan scandal.

Sak said damages caused by extending the KTB loan to the Krisada Mahanakorn group was estimated at 4.5 Billion Baht.

A Krung Thai Bank witness has testified to the subcommittee, incriminating Thaksin, his wife Pojaman Shinawatra, and their son Panthongtae Shinawatra for ordering the bank to approve the loan.

The panel found that some part of the loan extended to the group was paid as cheques in the name of Panthongtae and Manop, executives of How Come Entertainment, run by Panthongtae, and the mother of Kanchana Honghern, personal secretary to Pojaman.

- The Nation

So a case against 19 people, and 5 companies involving 4.5 billion Baht ought to be forgotton ...

what a waste of taxpayers money.

the thai injustice system strikes again !

... because one of the accused happens to be an ex-PM, from 3-4 years ago, who is already a convicted-criminal on-the-run overseas ? Or because some of his co-accused happen to be poo-yais, from an important & rich family, perhaps ? Now that would be an injustice !

Perhaps the general should copy previous best-practice, and just build a very large hoarding, to block the view of anything untoward, from the delegates as they race past in their executive-minibuses ?

Credit should perhaps be given to the new government, for actually being sufficiently in-control of the country, to permit the ASEAN-summit to actually go ahead ?

Call me a cynic, but could this deliberate down-playing, of the potential hazards of radio-activity, be in-preparation for the launching of the new nuclear power-station project ? So as to allow the spent fuel-rods to be dumped cheaply, into the nearest land-fill or along the country's road-sides, as with other 'non-toxic' rubbish like batteries ?

There are so many to choose from, but probably my personal favourite, is the multi-cultural/international 'feel' of Chiang Mai.

There are plenty of different farang cultures represented, but also Lanna/central-Thai & the several hill-tribes, amongst the local people, in fact to me it feels a little like a 'small-town' version of London !

So what's your favourite ?

Also having an infant I am expecting (I might be wrong) a bulk head style seat to have a cot rest bit so leg room here is usually better.

I would make sure of the cot, by requesting it, when booking !

Also Qatar have just announced (see seperate thread) GBP 356 (Adult), for return-fares booked online, until 30th June (except for a couple of weeks in April) !

Utterly insane to treat government-workers to the same rights as private-industry ones, I mean just who do they think they are, human beings with equal employment-rights ?