Yingluck warned to attend first day of court trial today

[smedly]

Where to start with this crap-fest of a 'news' article. I think the author of this piece is clearly distorting the truth as exampled below.

and galvanised the protests that eventually felled her elected government leading to last May's coup.

The protests were over an illegally passed 'blanket' amnesty bill that would bring Thaksin home and restore his wealth and position in the Thai political world as well as excuse 27,000 other corruption cases against politicians and NOT the Rice Scheme.

wants to punish the Shinawatras as much as they can

No, just the criminal ones.

Thailand's military-appointed parliament impeached Yingluck in January over the scheme

She was found guilty by the Supreme Court for Office Holders of nepotism in the transfer of a high-ranking Civil Service member and for that she was impeached; not for the rice scheme scam.

But keeping her in prison will definitely anger the Red Shirts even more

More angry than they were when Jatuporn, Nattawut, Weng, Thaksin, and company were preaching hatred every night from the Red stage in their blockaded downtown enclave?

The army takeover last year was the latest twist in a decade of political turbulence that broadly pits a Bangkok-based elite, backed by parts of the military and judiciary, against poor urban and rural voters, particularly in the country's north, who are fiercely loyal to the Shinawatras

That's the party line. Bangkok citizens must be nearly all be elite because they overwhelming voted against Thaksin's choice for Bangkok governor, 'Patsy the Lightpole'. Yingluck's party couldn't get 40% votes in uncontested districts to win the last election and couldn't get enough seats to make a Parliament. The poor, rural voters in the South wouldn't vote for Yingluck if she was the only candidate and most, formerly supportive, districts with poor didn't show up to vote for the Shinawatra puppet government, either. The North and NE is not so 'fiercely' loyal anymore now the fiasco of a Rice Support Scheme has been exposed for the corrupt enterprise it was.

Thaksin was himself toppled by a previous coup in 2006 and

Thaksin was not PM or even caretaker PM when the Army stepped in. He had dissolved Parliament, held new elections that his party got caught cheating in so they were annulled, after 60 days his caretaker status ran out and he stepped down and Police General Chitchai Wannasathit (Acting Prime Minister by Royal Command) 5 April 2006 - 23 May 2006, was appointed caretaker PM. Seven weeks later, Thaksin unlawfully reoccupied the PM's office and it was longer than four months after the annulled election before the Army stepped in (still no new election had been scheduled). How do you topple someone with no right to be there?

now lives in self-exile to avoid jail on a corruption charge.

Correction, not on a corruption charge but a corruption CONVICTION. A felony conviction, for which he was sentenced to two years in prison which he didn't bother to appeal.

The Shinawatras, or parties allied to them, have won every Thai election since 2001.

Two of those elections were nullified; the 2006 one for cheating and the 2013 one for not having enough support to get their MPs elected. Those so-called 'allied parties' were, in actuality, created and controlled by Thaksin.

But their opponents accuse them of cronyism, corruption and financially ruinous populist policies

Maybe the Shinawatra's croynism, corruption, and financially ruinous populist policies are exactly the reason their opponents became their opponents.

TVF might as well publish Robert Amsterdam's propaganda screeds as republish this trash from AFP.

Nobody forced or is forcing you to read it apart from your own hatred which has never been in any doubt.

If something irks me to the point it makes my blood boil, I tend not to read it, but you can't help yourself as it's the only thing, as in your hatred that seems to keep you going here in Thailand ?

Hatred is a reserved occupation for red shirt supporters only, i.e. cheering at a UDD meeting at the news of the deaths in Trat of children just because it was a yellow shirt area.

On this side, that is non red shirt supporters, we want to see facts not distortions. We also want to see justice served against anyone who has broken the law regardless of which political party they belong to. Was glad to see Suthep charged with corruption. Hope he is convicted as well as Yingluck.

If you can't correct anything rametindallas wrote I guess that is because everything he wrote is fact not fiction.

Attack the post not the poster.

It's not about what he wrote, he is constantly reading AFP knowing their Bias, and complaining about it, if you knew a particular paper was full of shit, would you continue reading it, or would you seek a better story elsewhere ?

For example the UK Sun newspaper is full of crap and inaccurate reporting, I stopped reading it after it used to just wind me up, isn't that the beauty of having a choice?

Read something you know is full and shit and complain about it

Or don't read it and not get wound up about it?

It's NOT the contents it's the reader getting pissed off about AFP when he knows full well they're dog shit !!

did you bump your head this morning

[smutcakes]

Trial looms for Thailand's deposed PM Yingluck

AFP

BANGKOK: -- Thailand's first female prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra is expected to appear in court Tuesday for the start of a negligence trial which could see her jailed for a decade.

It is the latest legal move against Yingluck -- sister of fugitive billionaire ex-premier Thaksin Shinawatra -- whose administration was toppled in a military coup nearly a year ago.

A guilty conviction could deliver a hammer blow to the political dominance of her family, but it also risks stirring up the powerful grassroots "Red Shirt" movement that supports her family but has remained largely inactive since the the military took over.

Yingluck is accused of criminal negligence over a populist but economically disastrous rice subsidy scheme, which paid farmers in the rural Shinawatra heartland twice the market rate for their crops.

She is not accused of corruption but of failing to prevent alleged graft within the programme, which cost billions of dollars and galvanised the protests that eventually felled her elected government leading to last May's coup.

Thailand's military-appointed parliament impeached Yingluck in January over the scheme, a move which banned her from politics for five years.

"I believe a hawkish faction in the old powers... wants to punish the Shinawatras as much as they can," Puangthong Pawakapan, a Thai politics expert at Chulalongkorn University, told AFP.

"But keeping her in prison will definitely anger the Red Shirts even more," she added.

Yingluck is expected to appear in person at the trial, which is being heard by the Supreme Court on the northern outskirts of Bangkok.

On Monday Thailand's Attorney General warned an arrest warrant would be issued if she failed to appear without good reason.

Yingluck herself has defended the controversial rice scheme as one which "lifted the quality of life for rice farmers" in the poor northeast of a country where subsidies to farmers have long been a cornerstone of Thai politics.

The army takeover last year was the latest twist in a decade of political turbulence that broadly pits a Bangkok-based elite, backed by parts of the military and judiciary, against poor urban and rural voters, particularly in the country's north, who are fiercely loyal to the Shinawatras.

Thaksin was himself toppled by a previous coup in 2006 and now lives in self-exile to avoid jail on a corruption charge.

The Shinawatras, or parties allied to them, have won every Thai election since 2001.

But their opponents accuse them of cronyism, corruption and financially ruinous populist policies.

As a result, the Shinawatra family have faced two coups and the removal of three of their premiers by the Thai courts, while several deadly rounds of protest have rocked Bangkok and dragged on the Thai economy.

Former Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat, brother-in-law to Yingluck and Thaksin, is also facing criminal charges over a crackdown against anti-Shinawatra protesters in 2008.

Analysts say Yingluck trial is likely to drag on in order to keep her bogged down in ongoing legal challenges.

-- (c) Copyright AFP 2015-05-19

Where to start with this crap-fest of a 'news' article. I think the author of this piece is clearly distorting the truth as exampled below.

and galvanised the protests that eventually felled her elected government leading to last May's coup.

The protests were over an illegally passed 'blanket' amnesty bill that would bring Thaksin home and restore his wealth and position in the Thai political world as well as excuse 27,000 other corruption cases against politicians and NOT the Rice Scheme.

wants to punish the Shinawatras as much as they can

No, just the criminal ones.

Thailand's military-appointed parliament impeached Yingluck in January over the scheme

She was found guilty by the Supreme Court for Office Holders of nepotism in the transfer of a high-ranking Civil Service member and for that she was impeached; not for the rice scheme scam.

But keeping her in prison will definitely anger the Red Shirts even more

More angry than they were when Jatuporn, Nattawut, Weng, Thaksin, and company were preaching hatred every night from the Red stage in their blockaded downtown enclave?

The army takeover last year was the latest twist in a decade of political turbulence that broadly pits a Bangkok-based elite, backed by parts of the military and judiciary, against poor urban and rural voters, particularly in the country's north, who are fiercely loyal to the Shinawatras

That's the party line. Bangkok citizens must be nearly all be elite because they overwhelming voted against Thaksin's choice for Bangkok governor, 'Patsy the Lightpole'. Yingluck's party couldn't get 40% votes in uncontested districts to win the last election and couldn't get enough seats to make a Parliament. The poor, rural voters in the South wouldn't vote for Yingluck if she was the only candidate and most, formerly supportive, districts with poor didn't show up to vote for the Shinawatra puppet government, either. The North and NE is not so 'fiercely' loyal anymore now the fiasco of a Rice Support Scheme has been exposed for the corrupt enterprise it was.

Thaksin was himself toppled by a previous coup in 2006 and

Thaksin was not PM or even caretaker PM when the Army stepped in. He had dissolved Parliament, held new elections that his party got caught cheating in so they were annulled, after 60 days his caretaker status ran out and he stepped down and Police General Chitchai Wannasathit (Acting Prime Minister by Royal Command) 5 April 2006 - 23 May 2006, was appointed caretaker PM. Seven weeks later, Thaksin unlawfully reoccupied the PM's office and it was longer than four months after the annulled election before the Army stepped in (still no new election had been scheduled). How do you topple someone with no right to be there?

now lives in self-exile to avoid jail on a corruption charge.

Correction, not on a corruption charge but a corruption CONVICTION. A felony conviction, for which he was sentenced to two years in prison which he didn't bother to appeal.

The Shinawatras, or parties allied to them, have won every Thai election since 2001.

Two of those elections were nullified; the 2006 one for cheating and the 2013 one for not having enough support to get their MPs elected. Those so-called 'allied parties' were, in actuality, created and controlled by Thaksin.

But their opponents accuse them of cronyism, corruption and financially ruinous populist policies

Maybe the Shinawatra's croynism, corruption, and financially ruinous populist policies are exactly the reason their opponents became their opponents.

TVF might as well publish Robert Amsterdam's propaganda screeds as republish this trash from AFP.

Nobody forced or is forcing you to read it apart from your own hatred which has never been in any doubt.

If something irks me to the point it makes my blood boil, I tend not to read it, but you can't help yourself as it's the only thing, as in your hatred that seems to keep you going here in Thailand ?

I am surprised at that reply, I see no reason to be critical of someone that is correcting a very badly and possibly biased news article with the actual facts - and facts being not an opinion

If you believe any of what he posted to be incorrect then please offer an alternative or at least make an attempt to correct any error you see for the benefit of us all because -

I personally find most if not all of what he said to be correct and accurate

Well some of his post is opinion and some of it is just wrong. The point below is just one example. She was impeached by the Junta appointed legislature on the 23rd January 2015. If you are going to accuse AFP of being factually incorrect and put your post up as educating new members, you should be sure you yourself get your facts straight, otherwise you are just as bad as AFP. There are other issues within his post which are just his opinion, nothing more.

Thailand's military-appointed parliament impeached Yingluck in January over the scheme

She was found guilty by the Supreme Court for Office Holders of nepotism in the transfer of a high-ranking Civil Service member and for that she was impeached; not for the rice scheme scam.

[LannaGuy]

yes that's right... it's a fundamental right that anything said within the House cannot be said outside and THAT guarantees freedom to say what they really think and let's the PM and government not be fearful to have the same scenario as here

they cannot be sued, taken to court etc

That all may be true. But it's not relevant. She's not being sued for something she said.

totally and utterly relevant as it protects laws enacted, policies pursued and even wars fought whilst in power. Try taking to Court Bush over Iraq or Blair over Afghanistan it is absurd and no one would ever go into politics

You Just don't get it do you. The poster is quite correct when he said your post wasn't relevent in the case against Yingluck. Time for your tablet.

no i don't get it because it's not true my point was utterly relevant but Thailand doesn't recognize it and that is an entirely different thing. How's the Chang?

[saltandpepper]

Trial looms for Thailand's deposed PM Yingluck

AFP

BANGKOK: -- Thailand's first female prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra is expected to appear in court Tuesday for the start of a negligence trial which could see her jailed for a decade.

It is the latest legal move against Yingluck -- sister of fugitive billionaire ex-premier Thaksin Shinawatra -- whose administration was toppled in a military coup nearly a year ago.

A guilty conviction could deliver a hammer blow to the political dominance of her family, but it also risks stirring up the powerful grassroots "Red Shirt" movement that supports her family but has remained largely inactive since the the military took over.

Yingluck is accused of criminal negligence over a populist but economically disastrous rice subsidy scheme, which paid farmers in the rural Shinawatra heartland twice the market rate for their crops.

She is not accused of corruption but of failing to prevent alleged graft within the programme, which cost billions of dollars and galvanised the protests that eventually felled her elected government leading to last May's coup.

Thailand's military-appointed parliament impeached Yingluck in January over the scheme, a move which banned her from politics for five years.

"I believe a hawkish faction in the old powers... wants to punish the Shinawatras as much as they can," Puangthong Pawakapan, a Thai politics expert at Chulalongkorn University, told AFP.

"But keeping her in prison will definitely anger the Red Shirts even more," she added.

Yingluck is expected to appear in person at the trial, which is being heard by the Supreme Court on the northern outskirts of Bangkok.

On Monday Thailand's Attorney General warned an arrest warrant would be issued if she failed to appear without good reason.

Yingluck herself has defended the controversial rice scheme as one which "lifted the quality of life for rice farmers" in the poor northeast of a country where subsidies to farmers have long been a cornerstone of Thai politics.

The army takeover last year was the latest twist in a decade of political turbulence that broadly pits a Bangkok-based elite, backed by parts of the military and judiciary, against poor urban and rural voters, particularly in the country's north, who are fiercely loyal to the Shinawatras.

Thaksin was himself toppled by a previous coup in 2006 and now lives in self-exile to avoid jail on a corruption charge.

The Shinawatras, or parties allied to them, have won every Thai election since 2001.

But their opponents accuse them of cronyism, corruption and financially ruinous populist policies.

As a result, the Shinawatra family have faced two coups and the removal of three of their premiers by the Thai courts, while several deadly rounds of protest have rocked Bangkok and dragged on the Thai economy.

Former Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat, brother-in-law to Yingluck and Thaksin, is also facing criminal charges over a crackdown against anti-Shinawatra protesters in 2008.

Analysts say Yingluck trial is likely to drag on in order to keep her bogged down in ongoing legal challenges.

-- (c) Copyright AFP 2015-05-19

Again AFP usual craps

Can not even get their facts right

[Baerboxer]

Depends mate, fact is there was no budget for the rice scam, and if you don't budget for it knowing it cost money its negligence. The budget was already overstretched and could not bear it so they kept it off books. However they needed the rice scam to keep the voters happy.

Did she benefit..sure.. not financially but she would not be as popular or even win an election if it was not for the vote buying policies she did. This was one of them a major one.

Now 2 of her top underlings have been implicated in fake G2G deals where companies allied to Thaksin bought rice pretending to be Chinese government (so they could get a low price as it was stated only governments could get a lower price on sales) and then they resold it for a higher price back into the program. So they benefited and you can bet your bottom dollar Thaksin took his cut.

Now also not forget she checked the rice.. said it was good quality (we know it was rotting and loods of it of worse quality as it was registered) and noting was missing (we seen the figures enough missing). That is also negligence.

you don't think if we tried all politicians for negligence the worlds jail's would not be full??? it's absurd and nothing to do with that as we all know, hopefully even you, that this is entirely about 'something else'

Your attempts at diversion just aren't working anymore.

This trial is about Yingluck and her behavior when PM and Chair of the rice policy committee.

Nothing to do with any other politicians, And please, don't try and say "something else" is the excuse for Yingluck's lies, cheats, and illegal acts.

Note you been a member of this forum since March 2015. Yet your style seems so so familiar.........................................

working at the truth is a labor of love and I know you must be heart broken at some's attempts at bringing honesty, integrity and truth to the table so if my style is similar to other 'truth seekers' then so be it

you try, again and again, to deny that we cannot speak about 'other matters' and you deny again and again that there is an ulterior motive to her demise and I can't for the life of me understand WHY as it's so obvious yet you remain in denial

You don't half tell them

Honesty, integrity and the truth - somewhat lacking in the Shin clan and their cronies don't you think.

Let's discuss them, truthfully as you wish.

Do you think it was honest,ethical and legal for Yingluck to pretend to be PM whilst really her non elected criminal brother was actually controlling everything?

Come on Fabby LannaGuy, be a devil, answer a direct question for once.

[Thaddeus]

and galvanised the protests that eventually felled her elected government leading to last May's coup.

The protests were over an illegally passed 'blanket' amnesty bill that would bring Thaksin home and restore his wealth and position in the Thai political world as well as excuse 27,000 other corruption cases against politicians and NOT the Rice Scheme.

wants to punish the Shinawatras as much as they can

No, just the criminal ones.

Thailand's military-appointed parliament impeached Yingluck in January over the scheme

She was found guilty by the Supreme Court for Office Holders of nepotism in the transfer of a high-ranking Civil Service member and for that she was impeached; not for the rice scheme scam.

But keeping her in prison will definitely anger the Red Shirts even more

More angry than they were when Jatuporn, Nattawut, Weng, Thaksin, and company were preaching hatred every night from the Red stage in their blockaded downtown enclave?

The army takeover last year was the latest twist in a decade of political turbulence that broadly pits a Bangkok-based elite, backed by parts of the military and judiciary, against poor urban and rural voters, particularly in the country's north, who are fiercely loyal to the Shinawatras

That's the party line. Bangkok citizens must be nearly all be elite because they overwhelming voted against Thaksin's choice for Bangkok governor, 'Patsy the Lightpole'. Yingluck's party couldn't get 40% votes in uncontested districts to win the last election and couldn't get enough seats to make a Parliament. The poor, rural voters in the South wouldn't vote for Yingluck if she was the only candidate and most, formerly supportive, districts with poor didn't show up to vote for the Shinawatra puppet government, either. The North and NE is not so 'fiercely' loyal anymore now the fiasco of a Rice Support Scheme has been exposed for the corrupt enterprise it was.

Thaksin was himself toppled by a previous coup in 2006 and

Thaksin was not PM or even caretaker PM when the Army stepped in. He had dissolved Parliament, held new elections that his party got caught cheating in so they were annulled, after 60 days his caretaker status ran out and he stepped down and Police General Chitchai Wannasathit (Acting Prime Minister by Royal Command) 5 April 2006 - 23 May 2006, was appointed caretaker PM. Seven weeks later, Thaksin unlawfully reoccupied the PM's office and it was longer than four months after the annulled election before the Army stepped in (still no new election had been scheduled). How do you topple someone with no right to be there?

now lives in self-exile to avoid jail on a corruption charge.

Correction, not on a corruption charge but a corruption CONVICTION. A felony conviction, for which he was sentenced to two years in prison which he didn't bother to appeal.

The Shinawatras, or parties allied to them, have won every Thai election since 2001.

Two of those elections were nullified; the 2006 one for cheating and the 2013 one for not having enough support to get their MPs elected. Those so-called 'allied parties' were, in actuality, created and controlled by Thaksin.

But their opponents accuse them of cronyism, corruption and financially ruinous populist policies

Maybe the Shinawatra's croynism, corruption, and financially ruinous populist policies are exactly the reason their opponents became their opponents.

TVF might as well publish Robert Amsterdam's propaganda screeds as republish this trash from AFP.

Nobody forced or is forcing you to read it apart from your own hatred which has never been in any doubt.

If something irks me to the point it makes my blood boil, I tend not to read it, but you can't help yourself as it's the only thing, as in your hatred that seems to keep you going here in Thailand ?

Hatred is a reserved occupation for red shirt supporters only, i.e. cheering at a UDD meeting at the news of the deaths in Trat of children just because it was a yellow shirt area.

On this side, that is non red shirt supporters, we want to see facts not distortions. We also want to see justice served against anyone who has broken the law regardless of which political party they belong to. Was glad to see Suthep charged with corruption. Hope he is convicted as well as Yingluck.

If you can't correct anything rametindallas wrote I guess that is because everything he wrote is fact not fiction.

Attack the post not the poster.

It's not about what he wrote, he is constantly reading AFP knowing their Bias, and complaining about it, if you knew a particular paper was full of shit, would you continue reading it, or would you seek a better story elsewhere ?

For example the UK Sun newspaper is full of crap and inaccurate reporting, I stopped reading it after it used to just wind me up, isn't that the beauty of having a choice?

Read something you know is full and shit and complain about it

Or don't read it and not get wound up about it?

It's NOT the contents it's the reader getting pissed off about AFP when he knows full well they're dog shit !!

By that logic you think that uninformed is better than misinformed.

[ianf]

I'm not taking sides. I'm just curious as to how much the junta could beat her up before her supporters would start squealing. I wonder if she's really as popular in some places as some report she is.

I think this goes beyond the junta in as much as she has been clearly manipulated by her 'brother' and was chosen as the leader of the family dictatorship because, ultimately, she is disposable. Off course, those that are easily manipulated are supportive of her without any understanding of what she represents and why she is there. I feel sorry for her in as far as she trusted those in her family who put her in this position and also because she had little choice given how Thai family hierarchies operate. You have to look at the bigger picture. Was it Reich who wondered why it is so much easier to develop movements behind people who do the bad things than to build up movements behind the forces for good?

[Baerboxer]

You Just don't get it do you. The poster is quite correct when he said your post wasn't relevent in the case against Yingluck. Time for your tablet.

no i don't get it because it's not true my point was utterly relevant but Thailand doesn't recognize it and that is an entirely different thing. How's the Chang?

Would be more relevant if Yingluck attended parliament and said something. But that was indeed something rare.

Stop pretending parliamentary privilege is the "we can do anything we like, we're above the law and untouchable" nonsense. A little feeble even for you.

[ginjag]

Depends mate, fact is there was no budget for the rice scam, and if you don't budget for it knowing it cost money its negligence. The budget was already overstretched and could not bear it so they kept it off books. However they needed the rice scam to keep the voters happy.

Did she benefit..sure.. not financially but she would not be as popular or even win an election if it was not for the vote buying policies she did. This was one of them a major one.

Now 2 of her top underlings have been implicated in fake G2G deals where companies allied to Thaksin bought rice pretending to be Chinese government (so they could get a low price as it was stated only governments could get a lower price on sales) and then they resold it for a higher price back into the program. So they benefited and you can bet your bottom dollar Thaksin took his cut.

Now also not forget she checked the rice.. said it was good quality (we know it was rotting and loods of it of worse quality as it was registered) and noting was missing (we seen the figures enough missing). That is also negligence.

you don't think if we tried all politicians for negligence the worlds jail's would not be full??? it's absurd and nothing to do with that as we all know, hopefully even you, that this is entirely about 'something else'

Your attempts at diversion just aren't working anymore.

This trial is about Yingluck and her behavior when PM and Chair of the rice policy committee.

Nothing to do with any other politicians, And please, don't try and say "something else" is the excuse for Yingluck's lies, cheats, and illegal acts.

Note you been a member of this forum since March 2015. Yet your style seems so so familiar.........................................

working at the truth is a labor of love and I know you must be heart broken at some's attempts at bringing honesty, integrity and truth to the table so if my style is similar to other 'truth seekers' then so be it

you try, again and again, to deny that we cannot speak about 'other matters' and you deny again and again that there is an ulterior motive to her demise and I can't for the life of me understand WHY as it's so obvious yet you remain in denial

Let's be honest then, Your posts are a deliberate attempt to divert the seriousness of the TOPIC, as if you are programmed to do.

Bearboxer comment--re familiar.-------That last sentence sums the job up, so many on this Forum that has your opinion vanish, looks like they re-appear at a later date and I mean countless it is there for all to see--and obvious.

How many TVF members that post against the Thaksin-Shin regime disappear and return under another name. just an observation. Get out the rut and see the light, But all you will say in the end outcome is--"politically motivated"

[Fat Haggis]

Nope, I think that researching all avenues is better based on ones own ability to be informed as opposed to relying on a base section of TVF members who have their own agendas to pursue.

Point in case, I don't like the Junta, I don't believe what they're doing, I believe it s all about who needs to be in power when a date happens that will change Thailand overnight.

To some that makes me a rabid red supporter, despite NOTHING about them would appeal to me. Nothing about Thaksin would make me believe he was the only choice to lead Thailand either.

Thailand and the Thai people are victims of their own doing, by constantly re writing constitutions to suit whatever snouts are in the trough.

Having spent time in the Military, having them preach about democracy is about the same as Julio Iglasias preaching about virginity!!

[FreddieJ2]

And In between the degrees of people who saw her as incompetent perhaps but hardly evil.

As well as those that don't see her as "evil" (whatever that means), but criminally incompetent AKA malfeasance.

I speak in the former as I mention her in the political context.

And politics are behind her family now.

It certainly doesn't seem that way. Not with this family.

What this test is today , and beyond , is how far will the Thai people tolerate the path the elites and their judicial courts are leading them down?

Will they suffer the former Pm (and mother) jailing in quiet?

Little chance that their will ever be tested.

Potjaman, the former First Lady, and closer to Lord Thaksin than even his sister is,was found guilty of clear-cut tax evasion and sentenced to prison.

But that never materialized. She appealed her guilt and was never incarcerated for three years before appeasement allowed a verdict reversal. Even if she is found guilty and sentenced to prison like her sister-in-law, there will be no "jailing" for years and years, if ever.

.

Edited May 19, 2015 by FreddieJ2

[2fishin2]

This is what the junta has been waiting for and the purge end is in sight for them. When this is complete, they can get down to the real business of owning the country as they see fit. Dont you think its comical that Suthep is coming out of the monkhood at exact same time?

[smedly]

It's not about what he wrote, he is constantly reading AFP knowing their Bias, and complaining about it, if you knew a particular paper was full of shit, would you continue reading it, or would you seek a better story elsewhere ?

For example the UK Sun newspaper is full of crap and inaccurate reporting, I stopped reading it after it used to just wind me up, isn't that the beauty of having a choice?

Read something you know is full and shit and complain about it

Or don't read it and not get wound up about it?

It's NOT the contents it's the reader getting pissed off about AFP when he knows full well they're dog shit !!

Actually haggis its posted here in Thai-visa and people might think its the truth. But in fact its just red lies. Bij not commenting on it more people could be deceived by the reds. He is only making sure the real facts come out.

If you don't agree that his facts are true please correct them, else understand why its important not to have lies on a forum that can influence people. Newspapers are often accepted as truths and new members might believe this shit.

It might also be worth noting as on a previous post of mine and a familiar failure of many on this forum -

Knowing the difference between posting a fact and an opinion -

Haggis mentioned the Sun newspaper, others post here about Fox news in the US, both these media outlets may have (along with many others) a leaning towards certain political groups or beliefs and present discussions opinions arguments in support, but one thing they do not do is lie or post untruths or inaccurate information distorting the truth, some would like to think there is a fine line between the two but in fact there is a huge void leaving even popular media outlets open to lawsuits and even criminal charges if they cross the line.

AFP posted their article as fact, in the west as a media outlet they could be in big trouble for all the "errors" they made, in the west it is not unusual for a media outlet to correct a factual error when challenged and correct it in a follow up publication along with an a apology, even the BBC have do so on numerous occasions

On top of that and additional you have also something called "media ethics"

[LannaGuy]

You Just don't get it do you. The poster is quite correct when he said your post wasn't relevent in the case against Yingluck. Time for your tablet.

no i don't get it because it's not true my point was utterly relevant but Thailand doesn't recognize it and that is an entirely different thing. How's the Chang?

Would be more relevant if Yingluck attended parliament and said something. But that was indeed something rare.

Stop pretending parliamentary privilege is the "we can do anything we like, we're above the law and untouchable" nonsense. A little feeble even for you.

I agree I wish she had and she was no great PM that's for sure but that doesn't turn me into a junta lover or someone who gloats at the way she is being treated nor am I a 'red under the bed' I'd prefer a middle-way, neither right nor left but don't believe this is not 'politically motivated' is as long a stretch as asking someone to believe in the tooth-fairy

[FreddieJ2]

I've read elsewhere that an official has said bail is a question for the court but refusal could upset her supporters so what would jail time do ?

Based on nearly 100% precedent, there's VERY little chance that she would be refused bail, even without the threat of Red Shirt violence in the streets again.

Edited May 19, 2015 by FreddieJ2

[smedly]

Anyone who is serious about Thai politics and the power struggles ongoing to include those power struggles prior to Thaksin needs to read lots of stuff, including banned material to be able to get a look at the bigger picture.

Otherwise it's propaganda pushed out whatever side, to include the Reds and the yellows, to suit their agendas.

Isn't it up to the individual to draw their own conclusions?

I read your links it offers perspectives, but at the end of the day, it's down to what I want to believe, it's freedom of choice.

Sure the AFP is crap, hence why I don't bother with it, it's a shame lots stuff is "prohibited" as it really does offer up lots of different views.

as in my above post - you are getting confused with facts opinions and views - you have made my exact point mate and should pay attention to my above post, not having a go but you should by now be able to understand the difference between propaganda and accurate news reporting

[Eric Loh]

Trial looms for Thailand's deposed PM Yingluck

AFP

BANGKOK: -- Thailand's first female prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra is expected to appear in court Tuesday for the start of a negligence trial which could see her jailed for a decade.

It is the latest legal move against Yingluck -- sister of fugitive billionaire ex-premier Thaksin Shinawatra -- whose administration was toppled in a military coup nearly a year ago.

A guilty conviction could deliver a hammer blow to the political dominance of her family, but it also risks stirring up the powerful grassroots "Red Shirt" movement that supports her family but has remained largely inactive since the the military took over.

Yingluck is accused of criminal negligence over a populist but economically disastrous rice subsidy scheme, which paid farmers in the rural Shinawatra heartland twice the market rate for their crops.

She is not accused of corruption but of failing to prevent alleged graft within the programme, which cost billions of dollars and galvanised the protests that eventually felled her elected government leading to last May's coup.

Thailand's military-appointed parliament impeached Yingluck in January over the scheme, a move which banned her from politics for five years.

"I believe a hawkish faction in the old powers... wants to punish the Shinawatras as much as they can," Puangthong Pawakapan, a Thai politics expert at Chulalongkorn University, told AFP.

"But keeping her in prison will definitely anger the Red Shirts even more," she added.

Yingluck is expected to appear in person at the trial, which is being heard by the Supreme Court on the northern outskirts of Bangkok.

On Monday Thailand's Attorney General warned an arrest warrant would be issued if she failed to appear without good reason.

Yingluck herself has defended the controversial rice scheme as one which "lifted the quality of life for rice farmers" in the poor northeast of a country where subsidies to farmers have long been a cornerstone of Thai politics.

The army takeover last year was the latest twist in a decade of political turbulence that broadly pits a Bangkok-based elite, backed by parts of the military and judiciary, against poor urban and rural voters, particularly in the country's north, who are fiercely loyal to the Shinawatras.

Thaksin was himself toppled by a previous coup in 2006 and now lives in self-exile to avoid jail on a corruption charge.

The Shinawatras, or parties allied to them, have won every Thai election since 2001.

But their opponents accuse them of cronyism, corruption and financially ruinous populist policies.

As a result, the Shinawatra family have faced two coups and the removal of three of their premiers by the Thai courts, while several deadly rounds of protest have rocked Bangkok and dragged on the Thai economy.

Former Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat, brother-in-law to Yingluck and Thaksin, is also facing criminal charges over a crackdown against anti-Shinawatra protesters in 2008.

Analysts say Yingluck trial is likely to drag on in order to keep her bogged down in ongoing legal challenges.

-- (c) Copyright AFP 2015-05-19

Again AFP usual craps

Can not even get their facts right

How do you detect crabs. You like to define your method? Between the 3 rd largest global news agency and personal skewed opinions, I tend to lean to AFP.

[Nobb]

This trial is a waste of tax payers money. No way will she be found guilty. This trial is like putting lip stick on a pig. Only show for all viewers but no verdict for long long time. She has to much money and a powerful brother.

[saltandpepper]

Trial looms for Thailand's deposed PM Yingluck

AFP

BANGKOK: -- Thailand's first female prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra is expected to appear in court Tuesday for the start of a negligence trial which could see her jailed for a decade.

It is the latest legal move against Yingluck -- sister of fugitive billionaire ex-premier Thaksin Shinawatra -- whose administration was toppled in a military coup nearly a year ago.

A guilty conviction could deliver a hammer blow to the political dominance of her family, but it also risks stirring up the powerful grassroots "Red Shirt" movement that supports her family but has remained largely inactive since the the military took over.

Yingluck is accused of criminal negligence over a populist but economically disastrous rice subsidy scheme, which paid farmers in the rural Shinawatra heartland twice the market rate for their crops.

She is not accused of corruption but of failing to prevent alleged graft within the programme, which cost billions of dollars and galvanised the protests that eventually felled her elected government leading to last May's coup.

Thailand's military-appointed parliament impeached Yingluck in January over the scheme, a move which banned her from politics for five years.

"I believe a hawkish faction in the old powers... wants to punish the Shinawatras as much as they can," Puangthong Pawakapan, a Thai politics expert at Chulalongkorn University, told AFP.

"But keeping her in prison will definitely anger the Red Shirts even more," she added.

Yingluck is expected to appear in person at the trial, which is being heard by the Supreme Court on the northern outskirts of Bangkok.

On Monday Thailand's Attorney General warned an arrest warrant would be issued if she failed to appear without good reason.

Yingluck herself has defended the controversial rice scheme as one which "lifted the quality of life for rice farmers" in the poor northeast of a country where subsidies to farmers have long been a cornerstone of Thai politics.

The army takeover last year was the latest twist in a decade of political turbulence that broadly pits a Bangkok-based elite, backed by parts of the military and judiciary, against poor urban and rural voters, particularly in the country's north, who are fiercely loyal to the Shinawatras.

Thaksin was himself toppled by a previous coup in 2006 and now lives in self-exile to avoid jail on a corruption charge.

The Shinawatras, or parties allied to them, have won every Thai election since 2001.

But their opponents accuse them of cronyism, corruption and financially ruinous populist policies.

As a result, the Shinawatra family have faced two coups and the removal of three of their premiers by the Thai courts, while several deadly rounds of protest have rocked Bangkok and dragged on the Thai economy.

Former Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat, brother-in-law to Yingluck and Thaksin, is also facing criminal charges over a crackdown against anti-Shinawatra protesters in 2008.

Analysts say Yingluck trial is likely to drag on in order to keep her bogged down in ongoing legal challenges.

-- (c) Copyright AFP 2015-05-19

Again AFP usual craps

Can not even get their facts right

How do you detect crabs. You like to define your method? Between the 3 rd largest global news agency and personal skewed opinions, I tend to lean to AFP.

.....especially if it goes your way....

How do I detect crabs? Under some rocks at the sea shore, in restaurants or at the fish market. Some shops offer good selection too, but at higher price though....

But maybe were you referring to craps? In that case and in this article, it is easy to compare what AFP is describing as facts with actual facts. Being the 3rd largest global news agency is not a guarantee of impartiality...

Read the article again and judge by yourself.

[impulse]

This trial is a waste of tax payers money. No way will she be found guilty. This trial is like putting lip stick on a pig. Only show for all viewers but no verdict for long long time. She has to much money and a powerful brother.

And yet, her powerful brother with all the money... was found guilty.

[Emster23]

"To miss a court appointment for trial, you need to have a necessity, such as getting seriously ill," the prosecutor said.

Maybe she should get a sore throat and go to Singapore, like son of Red Bull? Must have been a very bad case, as I have yet to hear of him returning....

[Guest]

Depends mate, fact is there was no budget for the rice scam, and if you don't budget for it knowing it cost money its negligence. The budget was already overstretched and could not bear it so they kept it off books. However they needed the rice scam to keep the voters happy.

Did she benefit..sure.. not financially but she would not be as popular or even win an election if it was not for the vote buying policies she did. This was one of them a major one.

Now 2 of her top underlings have been implicated in fake G2G deals where companies allied to Thaksin bought rice pretending to be Chinese government (so they could get a low price as it was stated only governments could get a lower price on sales) and then they resold it for a higher price back into the program. So they benefited and you can bet your bottom dollar Thaksin took his cut.

Now also not forget she checked the rice.. said it was good quality (we know it was rotting and loods of it of worse quality as it was registered) and noting was missing (we seen the figures enough missing). That is also negligence.

you don't think if we tried all politicians for negligence the worlds jail's would not be full??? it's absurd and nothing to do with that as we all know, hopefully even you, that this is entirely about 'something else'

I know in my country it would be tried as its a grave financial sin not to include something in a budget if you know about the cost. People have been persecuted for it especially in projects that started to cost far more as they were budgeted and the people knew this but kept it hidden. That is exactly what happened here. These are financial crimes even more so as this was a project to buy votes. Try that one back home and see where it lands you.

In the running to be the next President of the USA?

[rametindallas]

Nobody forced or is forcing you to read it apart from your own hatred which has never been in any doubt.

If something irks me to the point it makes my blood boil, I tend not to read it, but you can't help yourself as it's the only thing, as in your hatred that seems to keep you going here in Thailand ?

Do you think I am responding to this article to vent my spleen? No, there are new forum members and members who are new to Thailand and there is a possibility they will take this article as truth. I know because I argue every day on this forum with those who believe this propaganda and push these 'facts'. It doesn't make my blood boil; I am too old to waste energy on anger or even getting upset. When I see distortions, I want to correct them. You don't have any problems with that, do you?

Anyone who is serious about Thai politics and the power struggles ongoing to include those power struggles prior to Thaksin needs to read lots of stuff, including banned material to be able to get a look at the bigger picture.

Otherwise it's propaganda pushed out whatever side, to include the Reds and the yellows, to suit their agendas.

Isn't it up to the individual to draw their own conclusions?

I read your links it offers perspectives, but at the end of the day, it's down to what I want to believe, it's freedom of choice.

Sure the AFP is crap, hence why I don't bother with it, it's a shame lots stuff is "prohibited" as it really does offer up lots of different views.

I appreciate your frustration about what you cannot say. As I have read several banned histories of Thailand, I know the back-story is huge. (I also have friends in high places on both sides so I get the current back-stories too) Thailand is a fascinating place. I still find it humorous that the 1956 musical 'The King and I' with Yul Brynner is still banned here. I don't like that reporters are too 'Krieng Jai' to ask follow-up or probing questions of authorities but just reprint their statements. I don't especially agree with the L M law but it IS the law of the land and I, not being a citizen, really have no say in the matter. If I want to stay in Thailand, it behooves me to follow the laws and mores here. Since I am not driven to want to change Thailand, these rules are not hard to follow and don't inconvenience me in the least. There's enough to like about Thailand that, by comparison, the politics I discuss on this forum are no more important than a sports club I would follow. (I argue about the Dallas Cowboys all the time but don't lose friends over it) I look at writing on here as entertainment.

Nothing we write on this forum will change the course of Thailand so take it lightly and have fun with the debate.

[Eric Loh]

Trial looms for Thailand's deposed PM Yingluck

AFP

BANGKOK: -- Thailand's first female prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra is expected to appear in court Tuesday for the start of a negligence trial which could see her jailed for a decade.

It is the latest legal move against Yingluck -- sister of fugitive billionaire ex-premier Thaksin Shinawatra -- whose administration was toppled in a military coup nearly a year ago.

A guilty conviction could deliver a hammer blow to the political dominance of her family, but it also risks stirring up the powerful grassroots "Red Shirt" movement that supports her family but has remained largely inactive since the the military took over.

Yingluck is accused of criminal negligence over a populist but economically disastrous rice subsidy scheme, which paid farmers in the rural Shinawatra heartland twice the market rate for their crops.

She is not accused of corruption but of failing to prevent alleged graft within the programme, which cost billions of dollars and galvanised the protests that eventually felled her elected government leading to last May's coup.

Thailand's military-appointed parliament impeached Yingluck in January over the scheme, a move which banned her from politics for five years.

"I believe a hawkish faction in the old powers... wants to punish the Shinawatras as much as they can," Puangthong Pawakapan, a Thai politics expert at Chulalongkorn University, told AFP.

"But keeping her in prison will definitely anger the Red Shirts even more," she added.

Yingluck is expected to appear in person at the trial, which is being heard by the Supreme Court on the northern outskirts of Bangkok.

On Monday Thailand's Attorney General warned an arrest warrant would be issued if she failed to appear without good reason.

Yingluck herself has defended the controversial rice scheme as one which "lifted the quality of life for rice farmers" in the poor northeast of a country where subsidies to farmers have long been a cornerstone of Thai politics.

The army takeover last year was the latest twist in a decade of political turbulence that broadly pits a Bangkok-based elite, backed by parts of the military and judiciary, against poor urban and rural voters, particularly in the country's north, who are fiercely loyal to the Shinawatras.

Thaksin was himself toppled by a previous coup in 2006 and now lives in self-exile to avoid jail on a corruption charge.

The Shinawatras, or parties allied to them, have won every Thai election since 2001.

But their opponents accuse them of cronyism, corruption and financially ruinous populist policies.

As a result, the Shinawatra family have faced two coups and the removal of three of their premiers by the Thai courts, while several deadly rounds of protest have rocked Bangkok and dragged on the Thai economy.

Former Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat, brother-in-law to Yingluck and Thaksin, is also facing criminal charges over a crackdown against anti-Shinawatra protesters in 2008.

Analysts say Yingluck trial is likely to drag on in order to keep her bogged down in ongoing legal challenges.

-- (c) Copyright AFP 2015-05-19

Again AFP usual craps

Can not even get their facts right

How do you detect crabs. You like to define your method? Between the 3 rd largest global news agency and personal skewed opinions, I tend to lean to AFP.

.....especially if it goes your way....

How do I detect crabs? Under some rocks at the sea shore, in restaurants or at the fish market. Some shops offer good selection too, but at higher price though....

But maybe were you referring to craps? In that case and in this article, it is easy to compare what AFP is describing as facts with actual facts. Being the 3rd largest global news agency is not a guarantee of impartiality...

Read the article again and judge by yourself.

Read it once and the news no different from other international news agencies that analyzed the political environment and came up with the same conclusion. You don't share the view, that's your prerogative. You probably also believe that the coup like the past 17 coups were necessary and that this is different to safe the country, carry out reforms and bring about reconciliation. You see any of those cornerstone pledges materialized? Corruption, cronyism, nepotism are still there with a crooked constitution in the horizon.

[jesimps]

I'm not taking sides. I'm just curious as to how much the junta could beat her up before her supporters would start squealing. I wonder if she's really as popular in some places as some report she is.

You won't get any squeals from her supporters because they'll be carted off for readjustment if there are. Nothing to do with waning popularity.

[jesimps]

Good luck Khun Yingluk, have the feeling you'll need it against the treacherous bully boys.

[Fat Haggis]

Nobody forced or is forcing you to read it apart from your own hatred which has never been in any doubt.

If something irks me to the point it makes my blood boil, I tend not to read it, but you can't help yourself as it's the only thing, as in your hatred that seems to keep you going here in Thailand ?

Do you think I am responding to this article to vent my spleen? No, there are new forum members and members who are new to Thailand and there is a possibility they will take this article as truth. I know because I argue every day on this forum with those who believe this propaganda and push these 'facts'. It doesn't make my blood boil; I am too old to waste energy on anger or even getting upset. When I see distortions, I want to correct them. You don't have any problems with that, do you?

Anyone who is serious about Thai politics and the power struggles ongoing to include those power struggles prior to Thaksin needs to read lots of stuff, including banned material to be able to get a look at the bigger picture.

Otherwise it's propaganda pushed out whatever side, to include the Reds and the yellows, to suit their agendas.

Isn't it up to the individual to draw their own conclusions?

I read your links it offers perspectives, but at the end of the day, it's down to what I want to believe, it's freedom of choice.

Sure the AFP is crap, hence why I don't bother with it, it's a shame lots stuff is "prohibited" as it really does offer up lots of different views.

I appreciate your frustration about what you cannot say. As I have read several banned histories of Thailand, I know the back-story is huge. (I also have friends in high places on both sides so I get the current back-stories too) Thailand is a fascinating place. I still find it humorous that the 1956 musical 'The King and I' with Yul Brynner is still banned here. I don't like that reporters are too 'Krieng Jai' to ask follow-up or probing questions of authorities but just reprint their statements. I don't especially agree with the L M law but it IS the law of the land and I, not being a citizen, really have no say in the matter. If I want to stay in Thailand, it behooves me to follow the laws and mores here. Since I am not driven to want to change Thailand, these rules are not hard to follow and don't inconvenience me in the least. There's enough to like about Thailand that, by comparison, the politics I discuss on this forum are no more important than a sports club I would follow. (I argue about the Dallas Cowboys all the time but don't lose friends over it) I look at writing on here as entertainment.

Nothing we write on this forum will change the course of Thailand so take it lightly and have fun with the debate.

Spot on sir, spot on, I feel the very same, part from the fact the cowboys suck !!

Thailand is unique and does any farang really understand Thailand ? Great post sir, and appreciated too.

[Ccalle]

If making bad decisions, and not successfully fighting corruption, is something politicians can go to jail for,,,not many politicians in the world would be outside prison. And with Yingluck in prison, the red´s will easy win next election. I thought the military wanted "peace and order" in the country.

[Plutojames88]

Nobody forced or is forcing you to read it apart from your own hatred which has never been in any doubt.

If something irks me to the point it makes my blood boil, I tend not to read it, but you can't help yourself as it's the only thing, as in your hatred that seems to keep you going here in Thailand ?

Do you think I am responding to this article to vent my spleen? No, there are new forum members and members who are new to Thailand and there is a possibility they will take this article as truth. I know because I argue every day on this forum with those who believe this propaganda and push these 'facts'. It doesn't make my blood boil; I am too old to waste energy on anger or even getting upset. When I see distortions, I want to correct them. You don't have any problems with that, do you?

Anyone who is serious about Thai politics and the power struggles ongoing to include those power struggles prior to Thaksin needs to read lots of stuff, including banned material to be able to get a look at the bigger picture.

Otherwise it's propaganda pushed out whatever side, to include the Reds and the yellows, to suit their agendas.

Isn't it up to the individual to draw their own conclusions?

I read your links it offers perspectives, but at the end of the day, it's down to what I want to believe, it's freedom of choice.

Sure the AFP is crap, hence why I don't bother with it, it's a shame lots stuff is "prohibited" as it really does offer up lots of different views.

(I also have friends in high places on both sides .

Wow Walter Mitty would be proud of you announcing such esteemed connections .

They must be very bright people to be so discerning ?

The reality for many ageing Expats that have ""high Brow "" fantasies and living online , is their delusions eventually get too ridiculous .

In reality their friends may look somewhat different to what's claimed.

Edited May 19, 2015 by Plutojames88

[Robby nz]

I've read elsewhere that an official has said bail is a question for the court but refusal could upset her supporters so what would jail time do ?

Based on nearly 100% precedent, there's VERY little chance that she would be refused bail, even without the threat of Red Shirt violence in the streets again.

Do you really believe the court would be swayed by the threat of red shirt violence again ?

The reds tried to intimidate and threaten the courts and judges during Yinglucks tenure and it failed, Thaksin tried to bribe them and it failed.

It would be interesting to see the red leaders attempt to get their remaining supporters out on the streets again, there would be no hesitation as there was last time under Abhisit they would be rounded up even before they got off the chartered busses and the leaders would be locked up so quick their feet wouldn't touch the ground.

But it wont happen for the leaders know which side their bread is now buttered on and no amount of Thaksins money is worth a death sentence or even a life time in jail.