spidermike007

That is a completely ridiculous statement, the inflation numbers are totally fake, consumer confidence is way down, the stock market is pumped up with more gas than the Hindenburg had, due to corporate shaving of their labor force, and there are so many other aspects of the economy that are pumped up and in dramatic need of correction. Many expect real estate in the next few years to take quite a hot, as well as the stock market. Huge corrections over the next 1-3 years.

This is a fairly nonsensical argument since the government was already in a state of disarray, nobody knew who was really pulling the strings, and we still don't know. Nobody knows why he was dismissed, and it's likely we will never know. One thing that's peculiar is that the army and higher powers likely approved the dismissal of Pita, and the approval of PT and the appointment of Srettha as a puppet. And they're likely still in control, so what exactly happened? Did wide open visa policy create too much competition for their mafias?

Any investor would have to be insane to invest in a casino here, knowing how many flip-flops the government here makes, and knowing how incredibly undependable they are. Just look at what happened with the ganga industry and the reversal after billions of baht were invested, and just look at what happened next door in Cambodia where the government changed its policy on gambling and hundreds of buildings were abandoned by the Chinese.

Oh please, when was the last time you seen somebody cited for a poorly maintained diesel vehicle that was spewing black smoke? A while back they had a campaign and they had posters with phone numbers that you could call to report vehicles that were polluting. We were driving and we saw this truck that was pumping out huge black clouds of smoke and I copied down their license plate and I dialed the number, and handed my phone to my Thai wife and ask her speak to the department. She asked the person who answered the phone what can they do? He ask my wife why are you calling us and she said, well you have phone numbers posted to report polluting vehicles? The guy said well I don't know who I would report it to, and she said well that's not really our issue is it? You're supposed to be monitoring polluting vehicles. He said OK, I'll give me the license plate number and I'll see what I can do. My wife said are you going to do anything? He said, I don't know I need to look at the regulations first and see who I'm supposed to report it to, and then maybe somebody will do something.

We don't know that this is the case, and it is pure speculation. We can only guess as to who is behind his ouster and what the reasons were. The chances of them being reformist and progressive are extremely low.

The PT has created an OLOA (open legs, open arms) visa policy towards China and Russia. It has allowed both the Triads and the Bratva to come here and start plying their criminal trade. This sounds highly organized. Anyone want to guess the real reason for the dismissal of Srettha? Too much competition for the local mafias?

Although what you say is true, his current inability to pivot and adapt is what is shocking even his top donors. A likely reason why he is so far behind in fundraising. The real issue is he has no policy. He has only the Trump brand of hatred and division. Even Vance is starting to look ridiculous by not being able to move on from the Walz military service criticism. It is just who these people are. They are haters. Vance attempts to appear dignified, in stark contrast to Trump, but what he says is not. They are a disaster.

I seriously doubt the new guys were not carefully selected, with alot of army influence.

She is so correct. However, nothing she says will change his course. He's old, he's tired, he's now the oldest person to ever run for president, he's feels like he's 85 or 90 right now, he seems to be losing interest, he seems to be losing the plot, his message is getting tired, he has no ability to dance on his feet and be creative, and adapt, and he just seems to be disintegrating before our eyes, which is a beautiful thing to watch. He has no policy. He has no ideas. All he has are his false criticisms, his increasing paranoia, and his made up lies. People are getting tired of hearing it. I look forward to the humiliation of a lifetime in November, then his dismissal from relevance, as a two time loser.

This highway is how far behind schedule? 15 years? And they are only at km 36. How long to reach Phetchaburi? 16 more years? Any nobody has been fired yet? I am no fan of the Chinese, but they would have had this done in 24 months. This is an intolerable mess. Getting in and out of Bangkok is a nightmare.

They are sleeping together. Thaksin sold his soul and the party to the army, upon his return. He is no threat to them now. They appointed his attorney.

Likely the top choice of the army. They like very old, and very conservative dinosaurs, who will maintain things just as they are. We wouldn't want any youthful energy, change or progress, would we?

They already did, when Thaksin returned and surrendered his party and his soul. No need for a junta this time. It is all behind the curtain.

Still no specifics. Yes, he presided over very dumb visa policy and allowed the Bratva and Triads to enter and stay. Perhaps the power brokers don't want the competition?

I really don't see how it could get worse, Srettha was to do nothing PM, he was appointed by the army, he was not elected, so what's going to change now? I'll be curious to know why this really happened.

Overhaul what? He was the opposite of a reformer.

The what you're saying is certainly not out of the realm of possibility, I'd be curious to know just which policies you're referring to that the powers that be were not pleased with. Doesn't seem to me like he's done anything in the way of progress or reform.

Good idea. Then they could start attracting some tourists with wealth.

Rather callous of Disney to dismiss such a relatively low demand of compensation. I always say it is best to avoid their amusement parks. I was in Florida with my woman several years ago and she really wanted to go to Disney, and we were hanging out with my niece who lives in the Orlando area, and I was able to get my niece and her husband to agree to spend the day with her at Disney. I feel like I escaped by the skin of my teeth! I would have gone if somebody could have found me a sponsor that would have paid me $40,000 for the day, flown us in and out of the parking lot by helicopter, and had an usher bring us on to each ride, avoiding each line. Otherwise, life is far too short.

Well there's no doubt that he deserved to be dismissed, he was certainly the do-nothing PM. He talked a good talk, and he walked a good walk, but he accomplished nothing. It's likely that some of the power brokers here were disappointed that he wasn't able to get more done or that he wasn't able to unite Parliament behind him. Or that he simply looked so foolish, though that did not seem to bother them with Prayuth. One never really knows what's going on here or who is making the decisions. The saddest part of this whole thing is the people that they're naming as potential substitutes to replace this fool, the last thing in the world this country needs is Anutin, Prawit or another Shinawatra.

I didn't say that there wasn't good wine available in Thailand, what I said was that wine in Thailand is overpriced. Maybe I'm a little spoiled I divide my time between here and California and the single vineyard Sonoma pinots that I drink back there for $40 or $50 cost 5000-6000 baht here if you can find them. Same applies to excellent Barolo, Barbaresco, Chianti Riserva, Chablis, etc. I buy 15 -year-old barolo at auction in the US for $60, that same wine here would cost 10,000 baht. So, I do drink great wine, but not here. My primary issue is the fact that things are jacked up here to the point where good wine just doesn't make sense. If you're content with very mediocre wine there's a huge selection of that here for 1000 baht or less. Decent wine here starts at 2,000 baht, and goes up from there. And that is from a reasonable source. This is a very subjective and a very relative topic, obviously.

Well I don't doubt what you're saying is true, but there is a big difference between net worth and competence. Someone might be good at selling condos, but does that give them the ability to lead a nation during troubled times? Obviously not.

I don't think the military could get away with isolating them to the point where they would not have any communication with their families, that alone would cause the population to revolt. You're giving the hapless army here far too much credit, and I think that at a given point in time the tolerance of the people is simply going to run out.

For someone who appreciates good wine living in Thailand is a challenge. Drinking Montclair is a penalty that many of us would be hard-pressed to endure. I would rather stick the fruit juice.

In my opinion he started to fade in the last year of his presidency. He may have had a minor stroke. Since then, it has been a steady downhill path. Far less coherent than in the past, very hard for him to continue a sentence for more than 15 seconds, alot of rambling, complaining, playing the victim card, and juvenile name calling as usual. Even most of the CEO's he met with a month ago were shocked at how lacking his message was. He is in the beginning stages of severe cognitive decline and it's a horrific thing to watch, he's an increasingly dangerous man and having him as the oldest elected president in history would not be a good thing. He rambles on and on, and it is easy to discern that he has a very hard time maintaining a thought for more than 15 seconds. He is, and has always been the master of slogans, and memes, but the public is just getting tired of the same game, day in and day out. He does not possess the creative juice to adapt, and that is absolutely killing his campaign, at this point. He is headed for the greatest humiliation of his lifetime.