bannork

Sadly Ravip, that video is unavailable. Try again with a link

A leading Democrat boasted to me once that southern voters were much more politically savvy than those in other regions. He told me about coffee shops in the south where politics is debated daily amongst locals. Thaksin could never make inroads here, he proclaimed. Southerners won't fall for populist tricks. Yet it seems many have taken the coup leader to heart. What happened to their political sophistication?

Proof you can check out of Thailand but you can never really leave.

We had our wonders in the UK, an embarrassing overflow of talent from The Beatles, Stones, Floyd, Led Zep, The Who, Hawkwind, etc to the folk talents of Roy Harper, Fairport, etc. But for me, conscious of how small the UK was, to hear those US bands from the West Coast, with their sense of space and country imbued in their music was a joy indeed

74, this album was big. Many a spliff was rolled on its cover. LPs had many uses.

Lol, subliminal for sure, zzaa09. The question is, is that the case now regarding a significantly large percentage of Thais? And worryingly, as military power has become concentrated, could that lead to catastrophe?

Anand was not responsible for Black May. That was Suchind's greed. If Anand had resigned as PM the military would have replaced him with a right winger. Anand was held in such high esteem that he was reappointed PM after Suchinda's fall. But it's sad to see Suchinda to this day still walking the streets freely after the Black May massacre.

Amand's government after the coup of 1991 was a massive improvement on Chatchai's corrupt regime .

But he did return and later violated his bail conditions by flying to the Beijing Olympics and never returning. I think it's fair to assume the authorities wanted him gone as judging by the amount of luggage he took, it was plain he wasn't coming back soon

I didn't realise that Kanchanaburi and Samut Prakan were in upper Thailand.

How do you know that?

Back up plans usually involve 'persuading' opposition MPs to switch sides. Such folk are known as cobras, and the carrot and stick approach may be used. The carrot is obviously financial inducements or offers of lucrative government positions, the stick is threats of harrassment/ possible prosecution for skeletons in the closet.

Ain't too proud to beg.

I read that Settha joined PT on condition he got the top job. It makes sense. Use Paethongthang as a Thaksin brand to win the grassroots support and then let Settha as a successful businessman, run the show

The cost of stupidity.

The conservatives know they're going to get hammered in the election yet they still hope Prayuth or Pravit can be PM. How? The constitution doesn't limit the length of time that a new government must be formed within post election. So Prayut continues as a caretaker government, he's got the senators, the MPs from the present government. All he has to do is 'persuade' enough PT MPs to switch sides, as they've done before, and hey! Bob, or rather Tu, is your uncle again. I hope I'm wrong but the deliberate loophole of no time limit to form a government is a worry.

Oh dear! The staid Democrat Party, conservative to the core, devoid of any catchy slogans since time immemorial, have finally found a gimmick. Are their polling figures so bad this is all they can think of? They have some decent folks in their ranks but they just can't grasp the winds of change. The young will vote for MF or PT, the grass roots will vote for PT. The conservatives will vote for Prayut or Pravit. There's no one left to vote for The Democrats. Voting for Prayuth as PM will turn out to be their death knell. Just a few MPs will be left post election, plus thousands of illegal sex dolls crying out for legitimacy.

It's Settha's opinion but he's not the owner of PT. In the end the man in Dubai, the owner, will see post election which way the sand is blowing and build his castle there.

Not again! https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-65358070

Russia's suffocating total control of the arts. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-65347833

'Honestly occifer, it wuz jus the one' Do they have lao khao in Russia?

Loved his Barry McKenzie cartoon strip in Private Eye back in the early 70s. We learnt some wonderful vocab- A technicolour yawn ( throwing up), point percy at the porcelain, etc. His Dane Edna persona was so funny, his timing and the hilarious put downs.

Pardoned Wagner convicts return to terrorise home towns https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/apr/22/alcohol-and-prostitutes-wagner-convicts-pardoned-by-putin-return-to-terrorise-home-towns