AND OF COURSE ON TAX MONEY....this trip should be sponsored by Montenegro, Burglary, Turkey and Dubai.

Burglary? Do you mean Bulgaria? OTOH maybe not. Suggest pickpocketing rather than burglary.

Three days ago the PM launched a campaign against corruption, today her entire cabinet and high ranking police officers are due to be given their orders by, in effect, a criminal, charged amongst other things with corruption (Rachapheiske land deal)

Hands up if you think the campaign against corruption is not hypocrisy of the highest possible order and that it will (sadly for the hard working folk of this fantastic little country we all call home ) fail (again).

The weak get weaker,

the poor get poorer

and the rich pigs fly to Hong Kong (and our taxes pay for the privilege)

Fair point JC!

The fugitive convicted criminal Thaksin is not part of the government (officially). So there is no official reason for any mimister or lacky to be flying at tax payers expense, unless of course they're going to arrest him, kidnap him and bring him back to face justice (5555!)

If they have used tax payers' money to for this trip then surely they must be breaking some law?

Ombudsman, oppositions, Abhisit - where are you?

I would have said Tarit but we all know where he takes orders from!

PTP are now so arrogant that they make no attempt to hide the fact that they are owned, led and controlled by a convicted fugitive criminal; and senior police officers are also now apparently willing to do this too. The so called PM wanders off on another travel adventure while all this goes on.

No other country in the world would put up with a situation like this. Here its just 'mai pben rai"! Big T appears to have bought the PTP, the Red Guard, and now the police. Future doesn't look rosy, especially if they get their hands on the 2.2 trillion.

I wonder if any one will ask Yingluck what she thinks of the whole thing.

Now would be the time to show Thailand she is the PM. She should shuffle all the ones who run to Thaksin off to the land of unemployed.

Not saying she would find any one capable of doing the job. But lets face it that is not why they get the jobs any how. She would sure show Thailand who the PM is.

Wishful thinking and displaying a total misunderstanding of the Thai way of life. Money = No.1. Family = No.2.

Strange how the Matriarch of the family, the unlovely Potjaman, has been absent from the stage. Does she lurk in the shadows pulling a few strings of her own?

Do Mr. Chalerm Yoobamrung meet with criminals ? Which serious government can contain ministers playing with criminals ?

This is the joke of the year !

Please do some research on the Kennedys. And J. Edgar.

Where are all the usual PTP Red supporters hiding? Not seen any posts from them explaining the rice scheme disaster, water management fiasco, the pushing to get their hands on the 2.2 trillion, PM's lies about the reshuffle, certain ministers' comments on the reshuffle, the TRT boys back after their corruption bans, or this latest "offshore cabinet meeting" with the real PM.

Come on - Rich Teacher, Mutley, The Derby County fan, Indyuk, etc, etc. Please comment and enlighten entertain us. Don't be shy now.

What happened to the 13 parcels of farm land in the south that were put aside for poorer Thai farming families. At least 9 of them were "given" to rich Thai families by the one and only Khun Suthep, yes the same guy who's son supposedly enroached on to government land on Samui using it for the Suthep family...............and so it goes on. In my opinion, both sides are as bad as each other, but of course you could'nt understand this.

The discussion is about the convicted criminal fugitve and his gang who are currently running this country. Do you understand what they are actually doing - having an offshore meeting at tax payers expense with their unelected and convicted fraudster boss? While the supposed PM/DM is off on more travels.

Corruption is endemic in Thailand but the current bunch have taken it to new heights - and now don't even try to hide it. This isn't a pissing contest to see who can piss up the wall highest. It's about a government that acts illegally, lies and contradicts itself, refuses to disclose information and surpresses critics and free speach whilst trying to engineer a whitewasht of its leader's conviction and outstanding charges.

It's not material to this discussion how others have behaved in the past; unless you think that justifies and legitmizes this government's behaviour. But of course, your overwhelming dislike for the opposiition and the rich will prevent you from understanding this.

Hot Off The Press!! Some sneaky person got this one!!! A picture tells a thousand words LMAO. Chalerm being 'greeted' by Thaksin in HK !!!!

http://playplern.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/1758.jpg

Hot Off The Press!! Some sneaky person got this one!!! A picture tells a thousand words LMAO. Chalerm being 'greeted' by Thaksin in HK !!!!

http://playplern.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/1758.jpg

Oooooh. That is a classic

Hot Off The Press!! Some sneaky person got this one!!! A picture tells a thousand words LMAO. Chalerm being 'greeted' by Thaksin in HK !!!!

http://playplern.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/1758.jpg

Oooooh. That is a classic

Thanks be that the photographer made a clean getaway.

One thing sure about Thailand: no one can keep a secret!!!

I bet Chalerm isn't feeling so cocky now and is no doubt nursing the mother of all hangovers this morning.

Maybe he's lecturing him about forgetting to bring him his favourite pad krapow

The charges made against Thaksin were politically motivated... doesn't make them false however.

So you think they were politically motivated. Please tell me in what way and why you hold this view.

If he abused his position by purchasing land at way below market prices (because he could) and got sussed, then why is the prosecution politically motivated???

I think that the charges against Thaksin were politically motivated because the prosecution would not have followed through had there not been an enemy of Thaksin preaching about them to the public. If Thaksin had not been a politician, and was merely a purchasing manager for the police buying computers from his own computer company or something like that, he probably wouldn't have been prosecuted at all... there's no motivation to do so here, it's just run-of-the-mill endemic corruption which sadly seems to be accepted by the majority of Thais.

The charges against quite a lot of politicians are "politically motivated" - i.e. the motivation behind the charges is not for the public good, it is to bring someone down. Just like the murder charges (ridiculous though I think they are) against Abhisit & Suthep. Or like the charges against Berlusconi (which are very valid and should be heard).

Anyway, I really can't stand this "politically motivated" tag. It shouldn't matter who motivates a prosecution or why. At the end of the day, if someone has committed a crime, then that person should be charged. Unfortunately this is not always the case, especially in Thailand and especially for Thais with any degree of power.

(Edited to add the Berlusconi bit.)

Sorry to dig up old content, but something in the news this morning about the infamous audio clip of Thaksin & Yuthasak highlighted another example of the "politically motivated" thing:

The clip that has gone viral has become another hot potato for the government.

While many believe it is genuine, Pheu Thai MPs claim it was made to sabotage the Yingluck government.

So, they're not saying whether it's real or not - they're saying its production was "politically motivated".

Whilst they are most likely correct, the "politically motivated' line has just been used to obfuscate the matter at hand, as it was by Thaksin.

So you think they were politically motivated. Please tell me in what way and why you hold this view.

If he abused his position by purchasing land at way below market prices (because he could) and got sussed, then why is the prosecution politically motivated???

I think that the charges against Thaksin were politically motivated because the prosecution would not have followed through had there not been an enemy of Thaksin preaching about them to the public. If Thaksin had not been a politician, and was merely a purchasing manager for the police buying computers from his own computer company or something like that, he probably wouldn't have been prosecuted at all... there's no motivation to do so here, it's just run-of-the-mill endemic corruption which sadly seems to be accepted by the majority of Thais.

The charges against quite a lot of politicians are "politically motivated" - i.e. the motivation behind the charges is not for the public good, it is to bring someone down. Just like the murder charges (ridiculous though I think they are) against Abhisit & Suthep. Or like the charges against Berlusconi (which are very valid and should be heard).

Anyway, I really can't stand this "politically motivated" tag. It shouldn't matter who motivates a prosecution or why. At the end of the day, if someone has committed a crime, then that person should be charged. Unfortunately this is not always the case, especially in Thailand and especially for Thais with any degree of power.

(Edited to add the Berlusconi bit.)

Sorry to dig up old content, but something in the news this morning about the infamous audio clip of Thaksin & Yuthasak highlighted another example of the "politically motivated" thing:

The clip that has gone viral has become another hot potato for the government.

While many believe it is genuine, Pheu Thai MPs claim it was made to sabotage the Yingluck government.

So, they're not saying whether it's real or not - they're saying its production was "politically motivated".

Whilst they are most likely correct, the "politically motivated' line has just been used to obfuscate the matter at hand, as it was by Thaksin.

So I guess when Yingluck said, ""[We're] in a mode where everything is politicised. I want people to differentiate things," she said. Yingluck was actually talking to he own PTP Mps !