Find content
Not Telling
Pure theatre for his Isaan-based fans, but no doubt effective PR.
Of more concern would be the exact nature of the business deals he is attempting to pull off in Laos and to what extent they are "above board". While he is the Big Brother of the PM and an ex-PM himself with a criminal record, presumably there are some business areas that would be sensitive and of potential concern, both to Thai citizens concerned about transparency and good governance, and Lao citizens who would want to be reassured their natural resources and future chances are not being sold off in "under the table" deals to persons of less than glowing character. After all, he has been known to deal in blood diamonds and hang-out with Mugabe and other unsavouries in Africa and the Middle East during his self-enforced exile. Nevermind his oh, so sweet deals over land, oil, casinos, power stations and other goodies in Cambodia with Hun Sen. Surely, his luck will run out soon, no matter how many bacis he attends?
Posts I've Made
In Topic: Ex-Thai PM Thaksin To Address Rally In Cambodia
2012-04-13 06:22:58
AleG, on 2012-04-11 23:19:06, said:
hyperdimension, on 2012-04-11 22:28:20, said:
I urge everyone to ask Thai people how much they know about Hun Sen and his rise to power in Cambodia. If the Thais are Red Shirt supporters, tell them what you know about Hun Sen, and ask them whether they think it's OK that Thaksin is such a close friend of him.
Here is one excellent article about Hun Sen: To live and die with Hun Sen By Paul Vrieze
...
Here is one excellent article about Hun Sen: To live and die with Hun Sen By Paul Vrieze
...
I have the feeling Thaksin would be playing Hun Sen's role in Thailand by now if he wouldn't had been prevented from usurping the PM office by the coup.
The writing is on the wall about his tendencies and objectives. Some people simply refuse to see it.
How the Manager newspaper last week saw the relationship between these two despots:
Seems like the Redshirts will be queuing up to do the same for Thaksin over the next few days in Siem Reap. Lucky people.....
In Topic: Thai-Cambodia clashes continue into fifth day
2011-04-27 06:06:31
webfact, on 2011-04-27 05:53:45, said:
Thailand, Cambodia eye truce as fighting spreads
by Janesara Fugal
PHANOM DONG RAK (AFP) - Thailand and Cambodia were preparing Tuesday for ceasefire talks after a new front opened in their worst border fighting in recent history, in which 13 troops have died.
Tens of thousands of civilians have been forced to flee their homes on both sides as heavy weapons fire pounded the jungle frontier, shattering a fragile truce that had held since February.
"Cambodian Defence Minister Tea Banh has agreed to meet his Thai counterpart in Phnom Penh shortly to discuss a ceasefire between the two countries," the Cambodian defence ministry said in a statement.
Thai Defence Minister General Prawit Wongsuwon indicated that he was ready for dialogue with his Cambodian counterpart.
"We will have an opportunity to talk and there will be no problem. I think the situation will ease within a few days," he told reporters in Thailand during a visit to the border area.
The two armies exchanged fire Tuesday near the 900-year-old Preah Vihear temple, which has been the focus of strained relations between the neighbours since it was granted UN World Heritage status in 2008.
Fighting erupted near the ruins at 1:30 pm (0630 GMT) and lasted for 30 minutes, said Thai army spokesman Colonel Prawit Hookaew.
"They fired artillery and mortar and we retaliated," he said.
Cambodia blamed Thailand for starting the clash, which broke out in an area that had been relatively calm for two months and is 150 kilometres (90 miles) east of two other disputed temple complexes that have been the scene of fierce fighting since Friday.
In February 10 people were killed near the Preah Vihear temple, prompting a UN appeal for a permanent ceasefire.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Monday urged Thailand and Cambodia to show restraint and said Washington was "deeply concerned".
She said that the United States had engaged directly with Thai and Cambodian officials in hopes of ending the violence, without providing further details.
The neighbours agreed in late February to allow observers from Indonesia into the area near Preah Vihear.
But the Thai military has since said the monitors are not welcome and they have not been deployed.
Thai Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya said on Tuesday that Bangkok would review its policy towards Cambodia including trade, border checkpoints and cooperation at all levels, but would not sever diplomatic ties.
Kasit is due to hold talks with Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa, whose country is the current chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations regional bloc, on Thursday in Jakarta.
"Thailand will inform him that Thailand agrees to international observers but Cambodian troops must withdraw from Preah Vihear," Thai government spokesman Panitan Wattanayagorn said.
The World Court ruled in 1962 that the temple belonged to Cambodia, but both countries claim ownership of a 4.6-square-kilometre (1.8-square-mile) surrounding area.
Eight Cambodian soldiers and five Thai troops have died in the latest fighting further west along the border, while another Cambodian soldier is missing.
Thailand said nearly 26,000 people had been evacuated on its side of the border and were being housed in 22 shelters. Three districts -- Phanom Dong Rak, Kap Choeng and Prasat -- have been declared emergency areas.
More than 23,000 people have been displaced by the fighting on the Cambodian side, authorities have said.
Cambodia has accused Thailand of using spy planes and poisonous gas in the recent fighting -- which Bangkok has strongly denied.
The fighting comes at a sensitive political time for Thailand, with Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva preparing to dissolve the lower house of parliament soon for elections he has said will be held by early July.
Abhisit said on Tuesday that the clashes would not derail his poll plan.
"The border problem will not affect the house dissolution because there will be a caretaker government which has full authority," he told reporters, adding that it was possible that the vote date could be announced next
-- ©Copyright AFP 2011-04-27 | AFP News Sponsor
Published with written approval from AFP.
by Janesara Fugal
PHANOM DONG RAK (AFP) - Thailand and Cambodia were preparing Tuesday for ceasefire talks after a new front opened in their worst border fighting in recent history, in which 13 troops have died.
Tens of thousands of civilians have been forced to flee their homes on both sides as heavy weapons fire pounded the jungle frontier, shattering a fragile truce that had held since February.
"Cambodian Defence Minister Tea Banh has agreed to meet his Thai counterpart in Phnom Penh shortly to discuss a ceasefire between the two countries," the Cambodian defence ministry said in a statement.
Thai Defence Minister General Prawit Wongsuwon indicated that he was ready for dialogue with his Cambodian counterpart.
"We will have an opportunity to talk and there will be no problem. I think the situation will ease within a few days," he told reporters in Thailand during a visit to the border area.
The two armies exchanged fire Tuesday near the 900-year-old Preah Vihear temple, which has been the focus of strained relations between the neighbours since it was granted UN World Heritage status in 2008.
Fighting erupted near the ruins at 1:30 pm (0630 GMT) and lasted for 30 minutes, said Thai army spokesman Colonel Prawit Hookaew.
"They fired artillery and mortar and we retaliated," he said.
Cambodia blamed Thailand for starting the clash, which broke out in an area that had been relatively calm for two months and is 150 kilometres (90 miles) east of two other disputed temple complexes that have been the scene of fierce fighting since Friday.
In February 10 people were killed near the Preah Vihear temple, prompting a UN appeal for a permanent ceasefire.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Monday urged Thailand and Cambodia to show restraint and said Washington was "deeply concerned".
She said that the United States had engaged directly with Thai and Cambodian officials in hopes of ending the violence, without providing further details.
The neighbours agreed in late February to allow observers from Indonesia into the area near Preah Vihear.
But the Thai military has since said the monitors are not welcome and they have not been deployed.
Thai Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya said on Tuesday that Bangkok would review its policy towards Cambodia including trade, border checkpoints and cooperation at all levels, but would not sever diplomatic ties.
Kasit is due to hold talks with Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa, whose country is the current chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations regional bloc, on Thursday in Jakarta.
"Thailand will inform him that Thailand agrees to international observers but Cambodian troops must withdraw from Preah Vihear," Thai government spokesman Panitan Wattanayagorn said.
The World Court ruled in 1962 that the temple belonged to Cambodia, but both countries claim ownership of a 4.6-square-kilometre (1.8-square-mile) surrounding area.
Eight Cambodian soldiers and five Thai troops have died in the latest fighting further west along the border, while another Cambodian soldier is missing.
Thailand said nearly 26,000 people had been evacuated on its side of the border and were being housed in 22 shelters. Three districts -- Phanom Dong Rak, Kap Choeng and Prasat -- have been declared emergency areas.
More than 23,000 people have been displaced by the fighting on the Cambodian side, authorities have said.
Cambodia has accused Thailand of using spy planes and poisonous gas in the recent fighting -- which Bangkok has strongly denied.
The fighting comes at a sensitive political time for Thailand, with Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva preparing to dissolve the lower house of parliament soon for elections he has said will be held by early July.
Abhisit said on Tuesday that the clashes would not derail his poll plan.
"The border problem will not affect the house dissolution because there will be a caretaker government which has full authority," he told reporters, adding that it was possible that the vote date could be announced next
-- ©Copyright AFP 2011-04-27 | AFP News Sponsor
Published with written approval from AFP.
The accusations by Cambodia of Thailand using spy planes and poisonous gas are reminiscent of the border spat between Thailand and Laos at Ban Rom Klao in 1987/88. The Lao accused Thailand of using poisonous gas then, which nobody was able to independently verify, as the Thai banned all journalists, Thai and foreign from getting anywhere near the battlezone and more or less denied there was any fighting going on at all. However, I met an ex-soldier in Sayaburi in 1997 who told me he had been there and was gassed and lost several comrades. Sounded like a type of mustard gas. So who does one believe in this instance, when Thailand won't even let ASEAN monitors in to the war zone?
In Topic: Earthquake In Burma/Thailand
2011-03-25 07:58:30
brahmburgers, on 2011-03-25 07:28:06, said:
7:23 here in Chiang Rai, just felt a 7 second aftershock. It's so quiet here, I heard it come on up the hill from the north - to my house.
Hi Brahm,
Good to hear you are ok and no damage from quake there in CR. As a long term resident of CR and not living so far away from the Mekong, I wanted to sound you out if anyone up there is talking about or has ever speculated on, what would happen if one of these periodic quakes that the general region north of you receives, were to damage one of the dams the Chinese have built or are building on the Lancang- Mekong. For example, Jinghong can't be too far away from the epicentre.
While the press immediately report that there are no risks of a tsunami from this quake, they fail to report on the status and condition of the dams in the region. If one of those behemoths on the upper Mekong were to crack and burst, then it would cause a destructive riverine tsunami of biblical proportions downstream. The potential for a cascade effect of bursting dams increases with each new dam added to the river, which is a risk posed downstream which so far has not been given a lot of airing, compared to say the effect on biodiversity, fisheries and livelihoods of people depending on the river. The prospect of a riverine tsunami running all the way down to Vientiane and possibly beyond is something that disaster mitigation planners should be considering for the future I would have thought. It is also another argument for not building the Sayaboury Dam and others in the Lower Mekong Basin countries, given the geological instability of the wider region. There is additionally the risk of reservoir-induced seismicity, something that a massive reservoir like Xiaowan just completed could trigger - and if that went, then heaven help those living downstream to the Delta, I would imagine.
Any discussion going on to your knowledge about this aspect of the dams?
In Topic: Red Shirts Promise Rally Of 'Unprecedented Numbers'
2011-02-22 05:27:59
bulmercke, on 2011-02-21 23:09:55, said:
jdinasia, on 2011-02-21 18:19:57, said:
Tokay, on 2011-02-21 18:05:40, said:
They seriously need to call it a wrap. They are just embarrassing themselves now.
They should have ended it after they refused the elections offered on public TV ... zero credibility after that. Then again since the object wasn't new elections, but apparently to force the government into spilling blood (under direct provocation) they got what they thought they wanted. Unlike any time in the past though ... this government survived after having to stop the reds in BKK through force.
jdinasia - you know very well - last April and May - that the Red-Shirt leaders weren't able to come even close to negotiating a deal with the government over elections - all the time those preposterous terrorism charges were stll being levelled against them.
In effect - they were totally divorced from that miniscule extremist element that was mingling amongst the vast majority of the decent - civil and law-abidding protesters. Individuals over which they had absolutely no control or influence.
The government - in short - last year - had absolutely no intention - whatsoever - of cementing a deal with the Reds - although on the surface it looked like they were genuine and sincere in their negotiations. It was all a sham.
Bulmerke, I'm sorry but you seem to have lost the plot altogether. You've been slipping in deeper and deeper into the Red mire, but you now seem to be in over your head. It must be a rather bleak place, when you have to totally reinvent history a la Jatuporn or Samak Sundaravej to make a point. Shame really, at one time in the past you seemed relatively rational.
