Well, they got Capone for tax evasion…
I came to this thread after seeing the story about the Prime Minister on Yahoo News. I figured you’d have something to say about it. 
I´m mind boggled, truly, honestly , physically mind boggled.
Tax evasion, okay. At least that can be considered a serious crime. But … A COOKING SHOW??? 
Welcome to Thailand! 
They should loop the Twilight Zone theme on the PA at the arrival gate in Suvarnabhumi airport, just to set the mood from the start.
So yes, as it turns out, Somchai Wongsawat, the brother-in-law of the man behind all of the troubles, Thaksin Shinawatra, will be caretaker prime mininister until Parliament votes a new PM. The ruling coalition has vowed it will be Samak Sundaravej again. The PAD is vowing to hold onto Government House until it’s clear Samak will never ever be PM again. The rail workers are vowing to remain on strike until it’s clear Samak will never ever be PM again. (Not sure, but I think it’s only the southern lines that are still down, 13 days now.) Business leaders are begging the coalition partners not to nominate Samak again. There’s supposed to be a vote held by Friday afternoon. Meanwhile, the government has decided to conduct its business at the old Don Muang Airport, since it can’t use Government House now, and they estimate it will take several months to repair the place once they do get the protesters out.
More madness: Samak was found guilty of defamation in a separate case a short while back and sentenced to I think three years in prison. That’s been on appeal, and the Appeals Court verdict is due on September 25. If Samak does become prime minister again, which looks likely, and the the court upholds that verdict, he will have to step down yet again, because the Constitution says any PM or cabinet minister sentenced to jail time must give up the office.
Samak was busted for hosting a cooking program, so we can say, stick a fork on him, his done?
However it seems that all this bruhaha has only given the PM a very needed month long holiday, he looked stressed lately. :smack:
Funny you should say that. Krungthep Turakij just ran such an editorial cartoon. A cooking fork sticking out of what looks to be a dead Samak. 
The trains are all back in service now. The last strikers returned to work this morning (Friday morning).
Parliament votes this afternoon on a new prime minister.
Okay, so the southern trains are NOT running again after all, but now it’s because the government refuses to let them start up! It says after two weeks, they have to inspect the lines carefully, because the strikers or the insurgents in the deep South may have sabotaged them. The PAD is screaming bullshit and saying the government is simpy afraid a bunch more PAD supporters will travel to Bangkok by train from the South if they’re running again. Actually, I think it’s a little of both. But an angry PAD mob gathered at the main southern rail terminus in Hat Yai today and are promising nasty shenanigans if the trains aren’t running by tomorrow instead of Monday like the governmanrt now says.
Parliament somehow failed to make a 50% quorum today, so a vote on a new prime minister has been postponed until next Wednesday. The fact that a quorum was mysteriously missing can only mean there’s still a lot of back-room bargaining going on.
I feel it my duty to inspect the bars again tomorrow night and make sure all is well there.
Woo Hoo! Word is Samak is going to withdraw from consideration for PM and maybe even the People Power Party. If this is true, it may end the protest. As long as it’s not some dickhead like Thaksin’s brother-in-law.
I’d best check the bars tomorrow night anyway, just to be sure everything’s okay.
I found out this morning that my wife’s son-in-law has just bought a holiday home in a complex in Pattaya. Any thoughts on the advisability of that, just now?
Pattaya is on the Eastern Seaboard and completely unaffected. You CAN take a train there, but no one in their right mind does, because buses are plentiful all day and much of the night and take only 90 minutes or so to get there. The awkward train line that runs there is not very frequent and takes a long time. And anyway, Pattaya is not a very politically minded town; its main purpose for existence is to provide pleasure to foreigners. Sort of reminds me of the Japanese pleasure town in James Clavell’s Gai-Jin.
Train travel in most of Thailand, although slower and slightly more expensive than the buses, is usually desirable over bus travel in most areas of the country, because of the scenery, not to mention the comfort of the trains. It often gets you away from the main highways and shows you views you’d not see otherwise. Not so with the chuggy short line to Pattaya. I doubt Pattaya has ever been affected politically by anything.
Just make sure he can actually make use of it, a few months ago I got an e-mail from some Spanish guy asking me for advice about his visa, he had bought a condo in Hua Hin but because of some changes on the immigration laws he couldn’t stay in the country. I’m afraid I couldn’t give much help to him.
Is there a concern that the opposition only wants 30% of the seats to be voted? Is the country really fed up with democracy?
It’s NOT the opposition. The opposition is the Democrat Party, and they think that 30:70 nonsense is just that: Nonsense. The people wanting the 30:70 formula is the People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD), which is nothing more than a ragtag group of protesters with no political affiliation whatsoever. A lot of protesters, really, really LOUD protesters, but by no means representative of most people. The 30:70 proposal is a non-starter that is already being forgotten.
Yes, one must be very careful when buying property in Thailand. Property ownership is absolutely no guarantee of being allowed to stay here.
There was a time when it was a guarantee. If you owned 3 million baht worth of property (always buildings, as foreigners are not allowed to own land), then you were eligible for what was called an Investment Visa. They got rid of that. Not sure why.
I have the faint suspicion that it may be because, at it’s core, the immigration policy of Thailand seems to be “give us your money and piss off”. I love this place, I like the people, but I really get the feeling that, from a government point of view, I’m not welcome here.
Yes, a very common point of view, I assure you.
I am pleased to report that all of the bars in the Patpong area are operating as normal, some right up to daybreak. I may need to check out Soi Cowboy and make sure all is well there.
But Patpong did seem less crowded. Tourist numbers are definitely down, and it’s due to the trouble. But honestly, folks, safety is not an issue. The protest is confined to a very narrow area that tourists usually don’t visit anyway. The average visitor will never notice anything going on. I even revoke my earlier caution against coming here; with the trains all poised to resume normal service, it’s pretty sure you’ll get to where you’re going with no problems.
But the tourist numbers will remain down for a while. I even read there’s been 30,000 Chinese alone who have canceled trips here for the long weekend for their October 1 National Day.
The trains are all up and running everywhere in Thailand again now, and the official state of emergency for Bangkok will likely be lifted today (not that anyone really noticed there even was a state of emergency).
But for lack of a better candidate, it looks like the Peopel Power Party will stick with Thaksin’s brother-in-law, who is the caretaker prime minister now. I don’t think the protesters will be vacating Government House anytime soon.
And the state of emergency has indeed been lifted.
Well, Somchai Wongsawat, a deputy prime minister under the previous Samak administration and brother-in-law to Thaksin Shinawatra, has just been voted PM by parliament. Damn! The PAD will never relinquish Government House now. We’re in for a long haul.
It’s been raining hard – this is the height of the rainy seaon – and the Government House grounds have become this filthy, foul-smelling bog. Seems the PAD has hired some outside contractors to come in and help clean the place up, but I don’t see how that’ll do much long-term good. It’s just a cesspool now.
I linked to this article in The Economist awhile back, but it’s worth a rerun. It explains the situation well. But here is an interesting piece on how Bangkok’s iconic Oriental Hotel, “the 19th-century teak and marble hotel, which has hosted kings, presidents and authors including W. Somerset Maugham and Joseph Conrad,” is hurting from the present trouble, even though it’s miles away from the protest. (I believe the Oriental is actually called the Oriental Mandarin now, due to a merger, but they have to keep the Oriental name in there somehow, it’s such a historic hotel, routinely voted in the the world’s top 10 or even top 5.)
The government, which always tries to put a positive spin on tourism figures no matter who’s in power, is now admitting international arrivals are down a whopping 70%! I have to say the danger of being stranded or unable to get upcountry has passed, and there never has been any safety threats, so really, everyone can come on over.