Jawnie

There is only one way - cops of the roads, stopping, ticketing, arresting people. Offenders must go to court, pay the tickets, etc. Saying 'please' and writing editorials does nothing. It will take a multi-year program of cops on the roads stopping people. That's how it works elsewhere...no one can/will police themselves. In the US, drunken driving was reduced only after it became very expensive - big fines, lose driver's license, go to jail, etc. - to be caught.

Yeah, the writing in this article is pretty bad for one of the main newspapers - terrific example you are setting there, Mr. Editor.  Not.<div><br></div><div>Thais - all Thais, not just politicians - will need to change their mindsets regarding people whose opinions are different than their own. They'll need to learn how to 'get over it' when someone says something they don't like.  For example, like the Deputy PM who threatened to jail a reporter recently for asking perfectly legitimate, but hard, questions about the government.  I can't think of a more obnoxious abuse of power than that.</div><div><br></div><div>Maybe Thailand government wants to be like China.  Maybe it wants to stop every bad thought or arrest/beat up every person who disagrees with it.  Only those who benefit from such outrageous repression would want this.  Obviously those who support it haven't been on the receiving end.</div>

Yet another piece of slanted and dishonest reporting by The Nation. How on earth could such a newspaper legitimately report comments criticizing an administration in power for less than 6 months, blaming them for 40 million impoverished Thais? Hahaha....that did not happen in the last 6 months, but during all previous administrations. YL just inherited they doings. Pitiful.

The government, any government, has the duty to act reasonably, even when others don't. It is unreasonable for government troops to fire into crowds of protesters even when some of those protesters are attacking them. That's just the way it's supposed to work. There is a way for the government to handle such situations without resorting to unrestrained violence. Hundreds of people shot and killed by government troops is not a reasonable response, even when some of the protesters themselves are shooting.

Unless, of course, you are in favor of government by violent and despotic methods. It is the duty of the government to set the standard of reasonableness in such situations, especially when others aren't. Otherwise, you get the situation Thailand has now, which is: trying to find justification for shooting lots on innocent protesters. Because the government acted unreasonably, it will always be wrong to try to justify its actions because of actions by some of the protesters. It can't be done, not completely...not even close.

Hate to put the "cabash" on your street justice approach to public security/safety. But, you arrest people, the guilty people, for the crimes you mention. You don't fire into crowds of protesters indiscriminately. Especially so if it's government troops doing the shooting. Now do you get it?

What do you do when protesters are shooting back at you ... or lobbing grenades?

I don't think you do get it.

Hate to put the "cabash" on your street justice approach to public security/safety. But, you arrest people, the guilty people, for the crimes you mention. You don't fire into crowds of protesters indiscriminately. Especially so if it's government troops doing the shooting. Now do you get it?

I don't understand why the government from that time is being indicted...they were merely quelling a group of terrorist protesters who openly were threatening to fire bomb Bangkok, derail the skytrain, destroy all manner of properties, and who invaded a hospital with intent to harm! and no, I don't have all the evidence from back then to back up this post, but I certainly did see it in the news, heard it from Arisman and his lot, and saw it played out on the TV.

Just another Thaksin-hating, The Nation hit piece. Move along, folks, nothing to see here.......

The current PM was only in office a few months before the flooding. She had no plan to go to for the flood. Where was the flood plan of the previous administration(s)? No one, regardless of who they are, could prepare for or "properly" manage a flood of this magnitude.

It is the height of hypocrisy and dishonesty for Mr. Abhisit to be so vocally critical when he provided no flood plan himself, despite the King requesting flood mitigation measures 15-20 years ago.

Shame on all Thai politicians for this flooding debacle.

Thai politicians are lucky they don't conduct meetings in English, the scorn and ridicule toward them would be infinitely greater if the whole world could hear the immeasurable hate and deceit coming from each.

The PM is the one in charge. Everything leads back to her. She is responsible for selecting her cabinet and enacting decisions. End of story. For HER failure during this flood debacle, she should at least express her apologies by shaving her head. But to really accept the consequences of her actions, she and her ministers should follow the time honored examples of the past and do the "honorable thing".

Raising money and giving money to save the animals can't be compared to giving money to thieves and murderers. The animals cannot save themselves yet it is completely within the power of thieves and murderers to change their actions.

But, I never give money to those people selling birds and fish at wats because that is a completely selfish, cruel, hypocritical enterprise. If it were not for the sellers and vendors capturing the fish and birds, the animals would be free and not in need of freedom.

Pu-leeeeez. If we start going down the road of criticizing Thai officials' English... OMFG!! Pu-&lt;deleted&gt;'-leeeeez.

There is SOOOOOOO much bad and incorrect English usage among Thai officials and the Thai media, for that matter, that to point out one error is completely laughable.

This is, yet again, another irrelevant and dishonest political smear by The Nation.

The fact that Thailand is his country, alone, is enough to justify Thaksin's desire to return.

Personally, I think his going into exile was a mistake. He should have gone and sat out his two years in prison, then it would be a resolved issue. Going into exile only compounded his so-called 'crimes' ie, now he's a fugitive.

Had he swallowed his pride and had some foresight, all that would be behind him now and he could walk the streets a free man. He may never be able to do that now, even with a pardon.

I agree completely. Thailand's politics and society are hopelessly mired in a hateful cat-and-mouse game of "Gotha", a game that goes on round and round. There are no innocent parties here.

I don't see how amnesty could be "dangerous" unless, of course, Thais continue on their usual path of violent repression of those with whom they disagree. This is one way that people know Thailand's so-called "democracy" is a farce.

To be quite honest about it, I don't really care if Thaksin returns or not.

As far as I am concerned all Thai politicians are crooks and theives anyhow...whether one or another one is the biggest thief or crook is immaterial.

As a farang...it really doesn't matter to me who is the head crook.

All I really want to know is if we can look forward to the excitement of a military coup, street riots, or such events in the next three months or so.

Well, again, I make the case that there was no prior planning. Planning for a event this size would necessary include a communications plan. Without any plan, the communication suffers, as well. Recall, if you are American or followed the issue, on Sept. 11, 2001, all sorts of communciation problems occurred. Why, because the 'system' had never experienced that type of event before so there was no response plan, including communication, so there were all manner of problems that day and the days following.

It's similar here. They say this is the biggest flood in over 50 years. 50 years ago was a different world; the communications system here has never been stressed like this. To some, the problems are so obvious, but that's an easy blame to make.

I dare say, in the US, there was certainly nothing near the level of shameless political sniping at GWB then as there is now with YL. Which is one more unaccounted for issue, the deliberate undermining of the PM by other political actors, including the Army. The amount of this may never be known. I mean, there are people, important people, who actually want her to fail. That's a truly repugnant state of Thai politics.

Cut the girl some slack, she's in a tough spot right now. But, it's not just her, it's the whole country. Some people act like it's all hers to solve. Pitiful.

I have no vendetta against Abhisit. I'm simply pointing out that his administration did not provide any flood management plans or implement any infrastructure changes related to flood control during his time in office. Even with that, so many people are criticizing the current PM for her handling of the flood even though she's only been in office a few months.

Why are so many willing to forgive and forget Abihist's over-sight but not for the current PM? Well, because it's happening now, and she's the PM, is the answer some will say.

They miss the point that for events/floods this large, it takes years of planning and preparation to manage the deluge...not a few months. It seems that some people are completely blinded by their hatred of YL (and K. Thaksin) as to be completely irrational in the current situation.

You would think that a party that had just won an election would know how to communicate and organise groups of people. PT have completely failed with these things during the flooding. That's what most people are complaining about.

You are Thai, right? I think this because Westerners who have lived in democratic societies would never suggest this. By contrast, Thais, who have never known real democracy, still think military coups are a legitimate political alternative. Pity.

It is about time that the Army kick her out and put AV back in charge.

I have no vendetta against Abhisit. I'm simply pointing out that his administration did not provide any flood management plans or implement any infrastructure changes related to flood control during his time in office. Even with that, so many people are criticizing the current PM for her handling of the flood even though she's only been in office a few months.

Why are so many willing to forgive and forget Abihist's over-sight but not for the current PM? Well, because it's happening now, and she's the PM, is the answer some will say.

They miss the point that for events/floods this large, it takes years of planning and preparation to manage the deluge...not a few months. It seems that some people are completely blinded by their hatred of YL (and K. Thaksin) as to be completely irrational in the current situation.

It makes no sense to let Abhisit, or an previous PMs, off the hook and to lay any blame solely on the current one.

Again, I ask: where are the flood plans of any of the previous PMs?

It is the duty of government to plan for such natural events.

One simply can't plan for or respond to such a situation when it is happening. It needs, well.....a plan.

You seem to have a major vendetta against Abhisit. Take a look at a very recent Bangkok Post breaking news headline as to what leading members in Phua Thai think of Abhisit's recent conduct.

Yeah, it might be a bit of a PR stunt to make PT look a bit more reasonable given this latest huge debacle, but I don't think they would hand out such praise undeservedly.

It makes no sense to let Abhisit, or an previous PMs, off the hook and to lay any blame solely on the current one.

Again, I ask: where are the flood plans of any of the previous PMs?

It is the duty of government to plan for such natural events.

One simply can't plan for or respond to such a situation when it is happening. It needs, well.....a plan.

Thanks for standing behind your PM at a difficult time - NOT!

You actually think anyone else could handle this flood better? NOT, again!

Btw, where is the Abhisit flood plan? None.....

Disgraceful political attacks of incredibly bad timing. No wonder Thai society is in the ditch.

Abhisit is now Not the PM, so has no duty to have a flood plan... many people would have and could have handled this much better, it is a man made disaster because those in charege FORGOT to run the water down in over 20 dams, If they had reduced the dams to 20% of capacity, there would NOT have been any floods.. 80% of those dams capacity would easily have taken up the excess water .. Yinluck is completely responsible.. she placed the guys who were in charge.. its on her shoulders..!

Thanks for standing behind your PM at a difficult time - NOT!

You actually think anyone else could handle this flood better? NOT, again!

Btw, where is the Abhisit flood plan? None.....

Disgraceful political attacks of incredibly bad timing. No wonder Thai society is in the ditch.

Why would any government in the world today consider a law limiting free speech and public opinion, especially handing the enforcement to the police? The answer is because that government is already controlling speech by force and without popular mandate.

In the case of Thailand, that is done by the military, encouraged by powerful, but mean-spirited, Thais who simply have no regard for basic rights or the humanity of their fellow citizens. Article 112 is also another reason why limiting free speech still has traction in Thailand. Article 112 is a complete absurdity.

Yes, this would be a step backward. It displays a way of thinking that is becoming less and less "exportable" beyond Thailand (or any other country practicing it: China, notably). The idea that states exist to serve and protect the few and the privileged is out of date in the 21st century.

Some of the government thinking about this is a little backward. Save the downtown businesses at the expense of the residential and neighborhood commerical areas. Makes sense, right...the 'heart' of the city and it's economic engine?

Yes, but.....don't the downtown businesses have more resources and money to repair and reconstruct than individuals homeowners and small businesses? The big malls and businesses downtown are more likely to be insured, also. Also, if you lose a business, okay, you lose a business and you come in and work until it is up and running again. But if you lose your home and your neighborhood, it is much more difficult to cope and stay focussed on moving forward.

There's a bit of the same mentality here as in the US where banks 'too big to fail' were bailed out by taxpayers, but the taxpayers got screwed. For instance, my bank, Chase, got billions in bailout funds. However, during 2011, Chase plead guilty in two separate court cases for it's business practices and paid millions of dollars in fines. But, I digress.

The businesses downtown are simply more able to rebound from a disaster or flood, in this case, than individuals and small businesses.

The mickey was "a mix of five Alprazolam pills, seven Atarax pills and five Chlorphen-Y pills".

Sounds like it would taste awful, or is it color/odorless, or were the guys just brainless?

Tibetan masters I've heard more than once when discussing a loss like this, or having something stolen, say something similar to how you handled it. That is, they say to wish happiness upon the person who found or stole the item. If it is a big item or is stolen, they say to visualize giving the thing away to the person, mentally offer it as a gift along with the wish that the person will find happiness in the gift. Then let go of it.

Frankly, I've seen much too little recognition for how difficult this situation. I am confident that no one here could handle this situation as well as the current Prime Minister. Sure, there have been mistakes. But there comes a time when people need to acknowledge the difficult job she has right now taking care of her country. Everyone could try this simply acknowledgement and expression of support for the PM and Thailand now when it is need the most. It doesn't mean you love her or like her policies and it would only cost a little of your pride.

I say "DO IT."

And a big THANK YOU for the lady Prime Minister who is holding up and doing remarkably well. I believe in you and I support you. You are dealing with an unprecedented situation in Thailand.

May the blessing of the Triple Gem be with you!!!

Could you please provide address so that I can "evacuate" to your complex?

Inside my condo complex there is a family mart, Indian restaurant x2, Pakistan restaurant, 2 bars complete with bar girls.

Im happy to stay

Too bad. The US offer fo assist should have gotten an unqualified yes!.

No doubt the Thai politicians didn't want to expose their confusion and incompetence to a group of competent Americans who would do the job MUCH better than they.

This is sad for the Thai people who need the help.

Do you think those Thai people in need care about who brings them water, food, or safety?

Very bad decision.

Very easy to play both sides of this: Criticizing the current government is okay.

But, criticize the past administration for same mistakes, you play the "current flood victim" card. Seriously, how transparent of you.

Had any of the previous administrations developed a plan for such flooding as we have, they'd all be heroes now.

Since none of them had a plan, they are all now villans, not just the unfortunate party in power at present.

All it proves that you are a compulsive government apologist. Only a bonehead would think the criticism is politically motivated. Just ask someone who has been flooded out of their house.

Honestly...