virtualtraveller

Jekyll and Hyde: Thaksin and Nattawud shouting their mouths off with their usual bluster and BS, then Yingluck sounding conciliatory and poise, man these guys have reading the 'know to run a campaign' books.

Still, a rats a rat. Wolf in sheep's clothing...

Act like the innocent flower but be the serpent under it (that's Shakespeare btw Maewrocks just in case you ill informed lot were wondering)

Maerocks what have the Dems got to do with it? There's a lot fo different groups who rightly feel PTP and their clone and bunch of terrorists is a complete farce, of course these are going to come out.

UDD were pretty desperate a year ago with their smear campaign against Abhisit in anticipation of an election. With such dodgy characters involved this is politics as usual...

Yes, 230 is the magic number for PT, they know full well that with CTP on board they won't manage to push through their amnesty bill, making it all a pointless exercise.

The unknown is how many seats BJT steal from both sides. If the PTP finish more than 40 ahead of the Dems, a minority coalition will not wash with the public and we can expect the UDD back on the streets. Since BJTs chances are dead in the water for a PTP coalition they should just come out with an official alliance with the Dems, so that 250 seats between them would be the new magic number, that will pull the carpet from under the UDDs feet.

Abhisit is dead right, let the Peau Thai form the government, let them then try to absolve Thaksin and the UDD and everyone else of any guilt, and see what happens. Let them go through what this government had for two years, what's the difference between an illegitimate government and a proxy government, both deserve their just desserts. One way or another we are definitely headed for more trouble and will continue to do so until Thaksin realises the futility of what he's trying to achieve. He should channel his energy into putting the coup makers on trial.

New election, new government, all change please. And thus we have a country of musical chairs and the incumbent will always have the advantage in an election since they have appointed the village headmen, and they wonder why democracy is a mess here.

The area around the Big Buddha is unsightly and there aren't any good views of the coast below, the Big Buddha is best admired from down below, it's not worth the drive up.

For all it's popularity with the masses, and not withstanding voters dissatisfaction with the present Army influenced power, Puea Thai is not a party you can take seriously, it's a farce run on r emote control from Dubai with a clone political lightweight as it's prime minister, and an agenda to whitewash the most divisive and criminal leader in recent memory. that alone is a good enough reason why smaller parties can be persuaded not to form a coalition it, clear and simple. But if PTP 'win' by 40 seats or more, the public just aren't going to accept a minority govt and we should face up to the fact that the Reds will have good reason to take to the streets once more.

It's shaping up to be an election that will only spell trouble for Thailand. Best scenario is that PTP be allowed to form a government but with coalition partners who block any moves towards amnesty. Let them get on with dishing out to the poor and we will soon see that they are no better or worse than the present govt.

Thaksin expressed hope that he could return to Thailand in November to join His Majesty's celebrations....

On this one statement hinges the future direction of this country. If it's possible for a proxy party to come to power and reverse verdicts against criminals within months, overriding the judiciary and infuriating a sizable part of the population who strongly feel that pardons for popular politicians is not proper, then this country has a very big problem ahead of it. That Thaksin so confidently believes that he is innocent and that having his crowd in power will quickly exonerate him despite everything we've been through and the enormous resistance of the past few years (not just from the establishment but also the public) then we he has a very big problem ahead, or rather, his kid sister does.

It seems that the only way Thailand is going to learn is to vote PTP in, let them try to bring back Thaksin and see how much resistance they face from all quarters. and the day Thaksin walks free without doing time or a proper retrial is the day you see Ratchaprasong 2.0 only the shirt colours will be different. Perhaps we need to go through that all over again for the voters to realize what a folly this is all turning out to be. I just hope it doesn't happen on the eve of the tourist season.

There are lots of hands at work here, the one in Dubai isn't even bothering to be invisible, the others are about to be exposed.

Viewing Thai politics through international media every time Abhisit speaks he comes across as reasonable, sensible, articulate and honest (ok so it's an election and everyone is going tp talk up their chances), every time you here Thaksin speak he comes across as sniveling, victimized, flippant or confrontational. Setting aside the character assassinations that both men have had tp weather, there can be no doubt who the better man is, even if the votes recognize who the better politician is!

Under the current rules you disqualify a cheating candidate and re run the poll in that constituency but thats pointless since the party just puts up his/her sibling or offspring or whatever and wins the seat anyhow. Far better would be to award the victory to the next most popular candidate after the disqualification. In any case, by the time the investigation and hearing is completed fairly the govt will already be formed so it becomes irrelevant in the grander scheme of things.

The Philippines has someretty archaic laws that are used to good effect against foreigners. A common one is that an estranged wife can have her foreign spouse deported from the country, with a bit of bribery this occurs fairly regularly I hear, making it difficult for him to get any control over their assets or find a lawyer.

Eventually Historians will record that in Thailand, if you're rich enough to buy popularity you can get away with everything and the poor supported that thru the 2011 election. Thus we move towards a future entrenched with inequality and manipulated law enforcement.

It's all a pointless waste of time if the taxi mafia are going to blockade it in protest when complete and insist on compensation for losing business.

Go back a couple of years and study the deals and allied alliances before the election that brought Netanyahu back to power in Israel.

nattawud came out with a beauty last week asking the Democrats for a guarantee that they would let Peua Thai form the next government should they get the most seats. So much for his idea of 'democracy' - it's not up to the Democrats, even if they conceded defeat, as long as Puea Thai needs to form a coalition it will remain up to the other minor parties. If BJT and CTP both refuse to join the PTP (for reasons we all know well), then what?

I respect the fact that Abhisit comes out and says realistic and sensible things like this, while the other camps bamboozle us with wildly inflated figure and then insist that though they want democracy to be followed they also say things like, 'its our right to form the next govt and all minor parties should respect our coalition proposal' or 'neither of the two main parties will get the primp ministers seat'.

Hear hear!!!

Every group involved has the right to monitor the elections, though I think it's a bit cheap of Thida to suggest the EC are going to help cheat PTP of a victory.

Like the PAD, it's difficult to take anything the UDD says seriously, a year ago they were basically trying to overthrow a democratically elected govt (yes the process was democratic) and when offered an election they turned it down. their intentions and integrity from the start was dishonest and insincere, and when democracy denies PTP a coalition govt because they are nothing more than Thakin Inc., the UDD will likely be back on the streets conducting democracy through confrontational protest.

How BJT fairs in th election is anyone's guess, no doubt they will spend big and shamelessly, but in the party list stakes and outside of their turf will anyone trust this party? Traditional Thaksin voters will shun BJT for Newins disloyalty, traditional Dem crowd will be wary of their corrupt practices.

it's a survival high stakes game for Newin, if he and the Dems have a disappointing showing he will be shut out of a PTP govt or will have to grovel to Thaksin to be included meaning the end of his rising star. don't be surprised if a PTP govt splits up BJT by causing mass defections after the election if they win.

Newins alliance with the other two parties to do their bidding together was a shrewd move but if BJT doesn't emerge convincingly as the third party, the other two will break ranks and opt to join PTP should the Dems lose convincingly. I think the magic number is 210, if PTP reach this, they can form a slim majority using CTP and PP. After all PTP only need a stable government long enough to reposition themselves as the incumbent and call a snap poll to assert a stronger victory.

It's simple my friends, Thaksin's crowd get voted in on numbers based on their conning of the vast rural poor vote (after all you can't be serious about a party run on remote control by a fugitive), in the last election 70% of the red and yellow cards were against the PPP, they flagrantly break the rules or make a mockery of them and when they attempt to free Thaksin by tearing up the law books they will come unstuck. Their opponents have plenty of material to nail them, and disqualify them using the law. So, we have this endless cycle of the Thaksin camp trying to legitimize their claim to leadership through vote numbers and their opponents delegitimizing them through the legal system. If PTP were a little less blatant about being Thaksin Inc. And a little more real as a political party they might manage to break this ridiculous cycle. The whole system is a farce, starting in 2001 with the assets concealment case, and since the coups of 2006 and 'Dec '20007' The red camp have taken it all to new heights!

Prices are reasonable I think but what you get is rubbish. Outside Bangkok the selection of movies is so low brow and narrow I never ever go to major cineplex. They might have 30 screenings a day in my local but half wil be on movie a quarter wil be a mother movie and then you have about 3 others to choose from. Movies are released with maximum screenings and then disappear after a week, maybe two so if youre not on the ball you miss out, then add t that the ridiculously cold air con and ear splitting volume, it's all a sad waste of time. Over priced popcorn is a cinema reality, if you don't like it then bring your own discretely or eat before you go.

With no political experience or background it's essential the public gets a chance to hear Yingluck in a debate as opposed to a scripted campaign trail, if she can hold her own I might vote for her, but hey, this is Thailand where evidently the average voter isn't bothered wi that, as long as she's fresh, speaks softly and is good looking or connected to a successful family then she will do.

This reporter can be very investigative and study the number of timed PTP leaders and MPs have flown to Dubai this year, and monitor the number of phone calls and teleconferences between the two. the fact that Thaksin himself announced Yingluck as the PM candidate for the party says it all. the 'clone' comment didn't help but that probably just Thaksin using the wrong word.

Sadly, though Puea Thai are making it quite clear that their main focus is t bring back Thaksin, polls indicate that the largest number of voters might well support them. So, if democracy is all about the mandate of the people then perhaps Thailand ought to continue down the route of forgiving everyone and letting the crooks rule the roost. All this talk of Thaksin not actually being guilty but instead part of plot to keep him out of poweris pure nonsense and everyone, PTP included not that!