Oberkommando

How can Laos be so selfish to Dam a river that runs through so many countries and supports life?...War is fought over natural resources. They can route part of the river making it a tributary and make electricity, no need to feed off the main flow.

It will be Thai built, Thai financed and 95% of the energy provided will be consumed by Thailand.

http://www.internationalrivers.org/en/blog/kirk-herbertson/2011-12-5/guilty-getaway-driver-thailand%E2%80%99s-role-xayaburi-dam

Incidentally worth watching Tharit squirming with embarassment

There's not many things more satisfying than catching a Thai out with their lies.

Havent read all the replys to this topic but was interested to note in todays news

Posted Today, 11:23

Flood crisis creates Thai Airways Bt3 billion Q4 loss; passenger load falls to 61% from 72% year-on-year in November: THAI president /MCOT

RT @BangkokDan: Phnom Penh's today what Bangkok once was. Bustling with young travelers, hip bars, colonial-style restos, great vibes.

Seems to be some conflict of opinion somewhere

I have been going to Phnom Penh regularly for over 10 years and enjoy every minute of it. It just keeps getting better and better. I was there a couple of weeks ago and apart from an unpleasant experience with the owner of the Green Vespa bar I thoroughly enjoyed myself.

Those Thai Airways statistics don't lie either, unless these vast numbers are arriving on foot or by boat.

I wonder where Chalerm's "belief" on the reason for Reuters not releasing it earlier came from, because it differs so much from the reasons that Reuters gave Marshall in the earlier quote.

"Reuters says didn't share Hiro report because it conflicted with army's denial of blame. That's exactly why they SHOULD have shared it."

Tweet from Marshall himself @zenjournalist

Nope, it is not fiction. Don't forget that Phuket is Thailand's 2nd biggest tourist destination and in comparison to last year, the number of visitors is way up. Occupancies at the mid to upper end hotels were robust. This is due in large part to the increased number of direct flights from Australia, Asia and Russia that brought in additional package groups. Indian visitors also surged this year. Toss in the Koh Samui and surrounding regions and the tourist trade had a vibrant lifeline. Nor should one lose sight of Chiang Mai another pillar of the tourist trade. It has a loyal and steady tourist base that appreciates the region. As for Pattaya, well the city would have to be under a massive zombie attack before its visitors paid attention.

Yes the Bangkok floods hurt, but tourists don't want to hang around Bangkok for more than a couple days. Many of the betterorganized tour operators changed their itineraries around and moved the tourists to other venues. In any case, BKK operated, and aside from a few weeks, the popular tourist areas of BKK were ok.

I know that many will disagree, but the only real historical dent to the tourist trade came when the airports were occupied. Even at the height of the Bangkok Redshirt protests, key tourist areas in Chiang Mai and Phuket were humming along. Yes, many people were hit hard by the floods, but those areas doon't hold the big tourist draws, which remain, beaches, sun and golf courses. I predict that the December 2011 tourist numbers are going to surge.

Don't believe me? Check out the room availabilities on Phuket and Samui.

I was in Phuket for three months last year (when tourist numbers were at record numbers apparently) and everyone, and I mean everyone was complaining that there was no-one there.

I have never seen it so quiet.

I don't doubt Phuket is busier than Bangkok (I was at the Motor Expo last Friday and didn't see another white face) but talk of 'record number's and figures north of 9 million per annum are nonsense.

715,000 'tourists' from Laos.

The fact they have 'England' and not the 'UK' is enough to disregard those statistics posted above as nonsense IMO.

Black Money?

I believe Reuters did not share the report with the previous government because of differing opinions on the cause of death

How could the previous government have a differing opinion on the cause of death when both independent and Thai Police investigations came to the same conclusions?

How many Thais are working in Saudi Arabia?

I would say 9 million absolute maximum for this year, nowhere near 14-15 million which were the phony 'record' numbers from last year.

Cambodia launched 4G back in November.

Reuters have just agreed to release the Control Risk reports on Hiro Muramoto's death to the Thai authorities. Watch this space!

Something about learning to crawl before you walk would be appropriate here.

Article from International Rivers pointing out this dam will be Thai financed, Thai built and 95% of energy will be consumed by Thai customers.

http://www.internationalrivers.org/en/blog/kirk-herbertson/2011-12-5/guilty-getaway-driver-thailand%E2%80%99s-role-xayaburi-dam

The murder rate alone of Brits in Thailand is five times that of Brits in the UK according to FCO statistics.

That doesn't include suicides, unexplained deaths, death on Thailand's lethal roads or pensioners dying in their sleep or anything else.

Creepy avatar.

Yep, you know who it is right?

Si Sa Ket senator, Jittipoj Wiriyarote, backs the issuance of a New Passport for Thaksin.

The reason he gave are more than uneducated.

He doesn't know that a passport is a travel document and not an ID card.

Issuing a passport for a fugitive could also mean that there are no legal issues against Thaksin.

He can always request a travel document back to Thailand, and Thailand only.

He's got a Montenegrin passport so he certainly doesn't need the Thai one to travel. Indeed the Montenegrin passport is actually better for international travel than its Thai counterpart.

First of all, that the military somehow controlled the courts is an outright lie.

The courts were empowered by the new military backed constitution of 2007.

That they were not heavily influenced and backed by the military is the lie, my friend.

I doubt Paul Gadd will be getting a passport any time soon.

He has got one.

He is on the sex offenders register, and is still allowed to travel on his passport. he must notify Police if he intends to travel abroad for more than three days.

When it's his proxy government, of course he can get permission to leave.

The military pretty much controlled the courts at that time though, even if Samak was PM.

The same courts, if you remember, that had just jailed his wife for three years for tax fraud then gave them permission to leave the country, and then said they had broken the terms of their bail.

Has Pojaman ever been punished for breaking those bail terms?

A complete and utter farce as per.

They can't remove citizenship except for those naturalized in most countries.

Having a PASSPORT on the other hand is a privilege extended to qualified citizens and not a blanket right. One of those QUALIFICATIONS is not being convicted and absconded.

In most all countries fellons can and daily do have their passports confiscated to prevent escaping justice. In some cases they are never returned

What countries do not issue passports to felons after their sentences are fully served and after a term of license or parole is completed? I'd be interested to know as I would consider that discrimination and could easily be challenged in a court of law given the onus would be on the defence to prove a risk if the felon is considered to be rehabilitated.

But again, back to Thailand, other countries, with functioning justice systems do not have military coups to remove elected leaders, nor do they give those deposed leaders 'special permission' to leave the country when they are facing criminal charges, knowing fine well they will not return of their own volition.

Generally, the only time a country teaches honest history is when it doesn't involve its own history. If you want to true history of Thailand then it is not something you are going to get in a public school in Thailand. The same is true if you want the true history of the USA, it is not going to be taught in US public schools.

Most countries have pledges, songs or such things they make school kids recite (often daily) in school in order to enforce from a young age their loyalty to ones own country. If people didn't believe their country and people were the best then they would not fight for than country but rather wish for it to be taken over by a more smarter people and nation.

One only needs to read the posts on ThaiVisa to see so many people bringing their feelings of superiority with them to Thailand. So, many things they look down on Thais for are reasons Thais feel proud. National pride is a common theme throughout the world and arguing this only proves how deep one has been brainwashed because they don't believe Thais should also instill this in their people as their country did to them.

Making broad statements about what countries teach what is a big stretch as you clearly don't know what is actually taught outside of the US.

Again, in most of Europe and the UK we are taught our history however bad it is. Do you think the Germans don't learn about the Nazis? Or British involvement in the slave trade to the US colonies? Think again. We don't have 'pedges' either.

National pride is taught in most countries, but overt nationalism and xenophobia is nurtured and taught in Thailand. There's a big difference.

Teaching one to believe they have the best system and are the best nation is the norm throughout the world. For all of your wanting to argue about this it is actually very funny since your posts constantly ring as if Thais are foreigners in their own country and you are superior to them.

I don't care what country you are from unless it is the land of retardation, a non-citizen is always going to be treated a bit differently when a crime a possible murder has been committed because they are much much more of a flight risk.

I disagree that "teaching one to believe they have the best system and are the best nation is the norm throughout the world." As I previously stated, I was educated to understand and accept other cultures and differences. It does show what level of education you received if you were educated in this manner though, it certainly explains your unbalanced defensiveness over any perceived slight on the country you are currently residing in.

Your statement that a non-citizen would be treated differently simply because they are a flight risk is nonsense. In a proper, functioning justice system each case is judged on it's own merits and decisions made based on evidence presented in a court of law.

I've asked you before to drop the childish insults when addressing my posts, it seems old habits die hard.

It's not Thai bashing, it's perfectly natural to question any statements coming from any Thai source when it comes to situations like this. Their media and police are corrupt, inept and ultimately self-serving.

Even the Thais don't trust their own media and Police, and they should know.

Well if it does come to pass that Thaksin is given pardon from serving a prison sentence and he is reinstated in the government, it will be a sad day for Thailands world opinion. It would reinforce that the govt is just as corrupt as many other southeast asian govts.

Most elected governments will see his charges as politically motivated after a military coup, so I doubt there will much change in World opinion.