TomJoad

Thailand doesn't have a "Fox News" (i.e. Rupert Murdoch) who can turn something as simple as wearing masks into a political issue.   110,000 dead in America because that orange-tinted idiot only played golf and held campaign rallies all of February.  

On 5/8/2020 at 6:56 PM, mr mr said:

i fear the 2nd wave will kill a massive 67 people in thailand. you know like a regular day of car accident deaths.

Yes . . because everyone knows cars and viruses are the same thing. 

The only way to know the true numbers is an antibody test (there isn't one yet).  

This would give an indication of the total number of people who have been infected in the past.  Only then will it be possible to know the true mortality rate and extent of infections.   

The only way to say for certain that this virus is of a different strain (and is from Italy) is by sequencing the genes of the viruses.   I didn't see where that has happened yet.   If there hasn't been any sequencing, then this is conjecture IMO.  

Just to set the record straight, in America we have a CORPORATE media. Not sure why flag-waving Americans want to call it "free" all the time because it's not free. And it's not really very liberal, either.

If we had an actual free, liberal media in America, the Bush administration never would have been able to lie us into Iraq.

ah those meddling Americans.... why can't they just clean up their own back yard first....

beat you to it...

In the buildup to the IRAQ INVASION in 2003, journalists in the USA who dared question the Bush Administration's claims of WMDs were effectively silenced by their own editors. These editors wouldn't print any contradictory stories. (hence, the "echo chamber" effect)

This is how the New York Times - among others - helped lead America into the Iraq debacle.

In America we have freedom of speech.*

____________________

* Didn't do much good in 2003, though. Bush still decided to do his own thing in the Middle East. But at least we could protest his policies.

"..welcome to Thailand, where your peace of mind will be closely associated with your ability to detach yourself from its unique quest for peace."

A Buddhist strategy...? Might just work (along with plenty of meditation at WPK).

"In America, land owners become rich - very rich from the gas and oil taken from deep under their land - royalties."

Thanks to smallpox, the original land owners are now selling moccasins and blankets near the interstate.

As long as he's not into taking "selfies" all the time like the last one, this one should be an improvement.

"These problems affect the image of the country as many countries, besides the United Nations, have expressed concern that Thailand is undemocratic because of such actions."

He can always ignore the UN and then retire to Texas to take up finger-painting. Like Dub'ya.

There are MANY WAYS to restore order in a true democracy. In America we tend to retire our war criminals and let them finger-paint down in Texas. Keeps 'em out of trouble that way.

BTW...I hear he's doing another nice portrait of Vladimir Putin, this time in his KGB uniform. We're all looking forward to seeing that one.

The US Federal reserve is currently trying to slow the dollar's increasing value by putting off raising interest rates, which is why the Euro is still worth slightly more than the $ at the moment. Maybe that will stabilize things for a while..?

Maybe the Thai media can take a lesson from their much more hard-hitting Western colleagues.

#1: Celebrity "news"

#2: Movie reviews

#3: Fluff pieces on politicians

#4: If it bleeds it leads (always good for ratings)

#5: Ebola!!!!!!!!

#6: WMDs must still be somewhere in Iraq (Bush said so, after all)

Maybe Thais are watching how well "democracy" worked out in Iraq so they decided to take a slightly different approach.

Can't say as I blame them. (( ))

Until Thailand invades a sovereign nation halfway around the world, institutes water-boarding, and triggers a civil war under false pretenses....it'll never be a true democracy IMHO.

It's because of all those selfies the tourists were taking with Thai soldiers that went viral.

The UN wouldn't intervene in Rwanda in the 1990s' even though there was a genocide taking place there....

Instead, they argued amongst themselves on what the definition of a "genocide" is.

I know what you wrote but you are discussing democracy which involves elections, not appointments.

Okay....so when Obama appoints a judge to the Supreme Court, that's not considered part of the democratic process?

We must have gone to different schools, Muirton.

Keep this thread civil everyone. I think it's important to keep it open.

Don't rise to the bait of opposing beliefs. Keep the thread going to try to pass on our ideas. We could be wrong but let's keep sharing and not get into flaming other posters and getting into threats of defamation.

The last time I posted my thoughts here...someone jumped all over me for claiming to have a crystal ball. Yet he conveniently ignored all the other posters who knew for certain that the police were involved in some sort of a massive conspiracy (but lacking evidence to back up these theories, btw).

Why is democracy ALWAYS assumed to be the BEST form of government....?

Germany 1933 - a democracy that allowed Hitler to come to power. Millions died.

USA 2003 - a democracy that allowed George W. Bush to start a war over false claims. Hundreds of thousands died.

Your knowledge of democracy and history is lacking.

I know enough history to be aware that Thailand has never started a war that cost the lives of millions of civilians.

It's possible over a million Iraqis died because of the Bush Administration's mismanagement of their effort to form a "beachhead for Democracy in the heart of the Middle East."

Unfortunately you don't know enough about history to be aware that Hitler didn't rise to power by a democratic process and your equating Nazi Germany with a democracy is beyond laughable. I'd keep my history knowledge well hidden away if i was you, Tom Joad.

Don't twist the words of another poster. It's a giveaway that you're sophomoric.

In the original post I stated that Hitler came to power in, what was, a democracy. I DID NOT say he rose to power through "a democratic process" as you put it, or that Nazi Germany was a democracy. The Weimar Republic prior to it was a democracy. Hitler was appointed by elected officials.

From Wikipedia:

"The Nazi party lost 35 seats in the November 1932 election, but remained the Reichstag's largest party, with 196 seats (33.09%). The Social Democrats (SPD) won 121 seats (20.43%) and the Communists (KPD) won 100 (16.86%)."

"Hindenburg appointed Hitler as Chancellor on January 30, 1933, in a coalition arrangement between the Nazis and the Nationalist-Conservatives. Papen was to serve as Vice-Chancellor in a majority conservative Cabinet – still falsely believing that he could "tame" Hitler."

WORLD WAR II was started by someone who rose to power in a democracy. Deal with it.

"Do not worry as to how the charter will turn out. Instead, worry about who will become candidates for the next government." What lunacy ! The written holds meaning now and the future and not just the next election.. If the general does not hold the written word in high regard, he should step down immediately. He will cause even more harm .

Still amazed by all the westerners who agree with deposing a popularly elected government. It is just shameful.

Yes, yes, yes. If those people were back in their own countries, they would be the first to protest if the military took over their country. It is comical and the pinnacle of hypocrisy that so many western people defend the coup action. And even funnier if you read some of their posts, on other threads they criticize militaries in other countries fighting terrorism.

Its a strange world some of these people live in....

You're wrong (again). There have been several times in American history where democracy was suspended. Abraham Lincoln had editors of opposition newspapers thrown in jail without even being charged. Lincoln could have been considered a dictator.

He realized that democracy has its limits. If he hadn't, then the USA would be two separate countries today.