retsdon

The demonstrators do want elections, its just quite clear that a few changes need to take place first.

What changes would those be? And what's the timescale. Have we been told?

Just read on bloomberg 10 minutes ago that there was about 80,000 protesters, come on! Is this really a people's revolution? If people are that serious they should be coming out in there millions! These shutdowns are a mere inconvenience to the government. Suthep, I think your days are numbered!

CNN put it at 'tens of thousands'. Hedging their bets probably. But a long way shy of the hoped for million, that's for sure. Maybe this time if the army can be persuaded to sit on its hands this might be the dawn of political maturity in Thailand. One would like to hope so.

I smirk when the PTP/UDD incessantly repeat elections in every comment they ever quote as if like sheep they blindly follow regimes like in Syria, Zimbabwe and Sudan........

Are you saying that PTP stuffed the ballot boxes or falsified the count?

"....... but if there is an election then he will be in charge again undemocratically.

Why? Any decent political campaign manager would be wetting his pants at the thought of running a campaign against PTP with all the ammunition they'd given him. Why is the DP so cowardly and lazy that it prefers to throw its weight behind a thinly disguised coup rather than fight a winnable democratic election against a corrupt and incompetent administration?

In effectively spitting in the faces of the people whose votes they would need to win an any future election, the DP are basically signaling that they have no interest in winning fairly at the ballot box - ever. They're doing far more harm to the development of an adult democracy in Thailand than Thaksin ever has.

Just another common or garden Thai coup engineered by the usual suspects. Anyone who ever thought otherwise has been deluded. They don't like democracy, they never did like democracy, and they've decided to knock the experiment on the head once and for all. So there's nothing to talk about. At least Suthep is being honest.

The powers behind the latest coup will do whatever it takes to restore the status quo ante ThaksiN - public safety is of very little concern to them. And they are very parochial nationalist people who believe in ancient powers and given authority and couldn't care less about international opprobrium. And the uniformed forces are beholden. They will do nothing.

These guys should get minimum life sentences.

Without doubt they'll get whatever sentence their status in society merits....

The Thais are very specific in their xenophobia though. Some years ago when I taught English in Thailand - this was back before Air Asia and such - I schemed up this little speaking activity called 'The Bangkok Bus' . As anyone who's ever taught language in Asia will attest, the hardest thing is getting students to speak - they're all shy to do it - and the BB was a ploy to coax them into practicing their English.

Basically it worked like this. The chairs were moved into two double rows down the room like the seats on a bus. Then the kids were seated, and then I'd walk down the 'aisle' handing one of each pair a card with a name, a nationality, a city, a job, a family status, and some general info on it. The idea behind it was that one of the pair would be themselves from the town we were in, and the other one with the card would use the info on the card to play the fictitious foreigner, who of course couldn't speak Thai. On the word, they'd strike up a short conversation with each other exchanging personal info and stuff about their hometowns as you might with a stranger on the bus to Bangkok. And then, when it started to flag, I'd blow a whistle or whatever and the inside row would move back one seat, and they'd start over again with another stranger...and so on and so forth.

As an activity it worked pretty well. But here's where the xenophobia comes in. Once they were seated and I was handing out the cards, I'd walk down the line telling them 'You're names Willie and you're from Frankfurt in Germany', 'Your name's Susan and you're from Dublin in Ireland', And your name's Lee and you're from Singapore...and so forth and they'd mutter 'OK' or whatever.

But then I'd come to a kid (and it happened every time and was a joke ) and I'd say, "And your name's Moi and you come from Phnom Penh in Cambodia' And the kid would IMMEDIATELY jump up going 'NO! NO!. So then I'd say OK, and put the card to the back and say 'Right never mind, you can be Nan from Luang Prabang in Lao - OK?' and there'd be the exact same reaction as the Cambodian ID. When we got to Mandalay in Burma the whole class would be laughing, and eventually I'd tell the kid he was from Denmark or wherever and he'd be happy as Larry. But anywhere in Africa, or the immediate neighbours was a complete No no.

And they were quite shameless about it too - which strangely I found quite refreshing.

"In other political developments, the Krabi provincial branch of the People's Democratic Reform Committee (PRDC), which has vowed to participate in the shutdown of Bangkok on January 13, said it would not rule out a possible blockade of roads leading to airports. However, its leader, Detchart Damdee, said the matter would not be decided until the issue had been discussed."

Where does some random bloke called Detchart get the idea that he has the right to shut down the country's transport infrastructure on a whim? What's that you say? It's the right of protest against a government he doesn't like? Of course! - Thailand, the land of freedom. Anarchy might be better word.

A disappointing article altogether. When I saw the headline, I thought it was going to discuss the cult of personality in Thai politics - Suthep, Thaksin, etc, etc, and how this phenomenon which has been been part of the Thai psyche for a very long time is so destructive of rational and reasoned political debate. Instead the article is about Surapong, one of these uninspiring but trusted jack of all trades ministers in the mold of Jack Shultz, or even Jim Callaghan who held all four major offices of state. Yes, he's related to Thaksin, but even so.... No, disappointing.

"Mr Pawit said tablet distribution had entered its second year and data on the scheme is being collected and analysed."

I rest my case. Normal organizations would have piloted the scheme properly and tested the resulting data BEOFRE jumping in wholesale. Sheer blithering incompetence.

have the current unrest.

If they (Thaksin, et al) truly believe in democracy, then they should have no problem in agreeing to reforms prior to elections ... but of course, Thaksin is on record as having said that he does not believe in democracy...!!

What reforms? How can you agree to something that's yet to be proposed?

And if you want to know the strength of feeling amongst the Thai population, ask Jatuporn why they have decided not to stage a Red Shirt rally in Bangkok a week on Monday...!!

It's because the unpaid rice farmers are showing him the middle finger. They have seen the light, and Thaksin has now lost his stronghold support...!!

So why not stand in the election then?

The Pheu Thai-led "Tablet PC per Child" initiative, which aimed to distribute free tablet computers to schoolchildren could be scrapped.

Officials are in talks about replacing the policy with a new way of enhancing education.

Pawit Thongroj, an adviser to Education Minister Chaturon Chaisang, says he will suggest to the minister that the provision of tablets to students in Prathom and Mathayom 1 classes ends.

A "smart classroom" using technology to enhance teaching and learning in schools could be introduced instead, the adviser said.

The smart classroom would be equipped with about 30 tablet computers, a smart board, server and class-management software.

The smart classroom would make better use of the state's education budget and avoid procurement problems such as those encountered with the free-tablet policy, said Mr Pawit, one of the Pheu Thai Party's education policy experts.

Although students will not have their own personal device, they will be able to make use of what the smart classroom has to offer.

The smart classroom will enable teachers to monitor their students' use of technology and allay concerns about young students surfing age-inappropriate content.

Mr Pawit said tablet distribution had entered its second year and data on the scheme is being collected and analysed.

The tablet policy, which was introduced in 2012, delivered about 800,000 tablet computers to all Prathom 1 students. The second phase last year was extended to cover Mathayom 1 students.

The number of delivered tablets so far is 1.6 million units, worth over 4.6 billion baht.

.......... maybe an excuse to cancel the contract and recoup funds.......... maybe...

The incompetence is staggering.

I rather liken it to "stealing from the mouths of babes." Contemptible...

Of course it's Thailand, so there were obviously some kickbacks involved, yet I can quite believe that the scheme was undertaken with the best of intentions. But nothing was thought through. When I worked in Thailand even before Thaksin was ever elected, I saw the phenomenon at first hand constantly. Some bigwig would get a bright idea; the idea would be hurriedly implemented by unquestioning minions regardless of merit or feasibility; and then the whole thing would skid into the ditch when the plan met reality and lie there forgotten.

That's just how it seems to work most of the time.

The real elephant in the room is that the Democrats and their shadowy support are not in the least interested in democracy as a form of government. Elections are an inconvenient nuisance, and when they can't be won legitimately at the ballot box, some stratagem or other is manufactured to seize power some other way.

I don't really understand why they have gone down this road. PTP are certainly not unbeatable. The rice subsidy scheme is a bust. The rubber subsidy scheme is a bust. The car subsidy scheme is a bust. Millions upon millions of Thais now find themselves saddled with consumer debt that will keep the wolf at their door for years and years. Add Chinese economic rebalancing, US tapering, creeping world interest rate rises, and the smoke and mirrors stuff is coming home to roost big time.

So fine, demonstrate on the streets against the government, but why boycott the election? Why tear up the constitution? As a political party the Democrats should be champing at the bit to debunk Yingluk's dog and pony show and give PTP a hammering at the polls. Where is the slick TV advertising showing money pouring down a drain? Where are the billboards on every road showing a poor man carrying a mountain of debt on his back? Where are the newspaper exposes of the gross corruption and incompetence? Any normal political campaign manager would give his eye-teeth to have the political ammunition that Yingluk has handed to the DP.

But the DP are not interested in even trying. Abhisit and co prefer to throw their weight behind overthrowing the constituton of rhe country. Not once, but twice now, have they preferred the mob and junta option to the ballot box. Once might have been a mistake, twice is surely policy. So if you are a normal person, who would like to have some say in the running of the country and the only people not likely to tear up your voter registration card at the first opportunity are PTP - then that's who you're forced to vote for.

PTP haven't bought the popular vote. The Democrats have given it to them, and now their only option is to take it back by force and throw it in the bin. Terrible, terrible, lazy stupid people.

I agree with the most of your post. However, you keep forgetting that Thailand is not a typical western country where people are informed. Do you honestly believe that all those brainwashed poor souls in red mob villages have got any clue about what is going on in Thailand? Do you honestly believe that they have any information about the rice subsidy scheme scam, a rubber subsidy scheme scam, a tablet for every school child scheme scam etc...etc...There are hundreds radio stations in North/Northeast which operate outside the law and brainwash populace 24/7. Moreover, how are you going to conduct your political campaign anywhere in the red mob controlled areas if you are going to be subjected to physical intimidation and almost certainly stopped from promoting any political view which is contrary to their official party line. PTP line. You seem to not understand the complexity of Thailand and its political scene.

So what you're saying is that universal suffrage is inappropriate for Thailand. Sorry, that's defeatist. One, both sides have their propaganda outlets. Two, have you ever talked to those 'brainwashed poor souls in red mob villages'? I have because they're my inlaws, and to be honest they're just as canny as most every other Thai I've met. Three, it was the DP who started the political intimidation game when they engineered the first coup that overthrew the democratically elected government. So for sure there's hostility to them. But the same could be said for PTP in somewhere like Trang or Nakhon Si. What's required to overcome it is a dual-party commitment to the rule of law.

None of this is impossible or even new. All democracies have gone through growing pains. But what has to come before the child can grow into an adult is an unswerving commitment on the part of all those involved in politics to the democratic process itself. The ironically named Democrats unfortunately don't have that commitment. And therein lies the biggest problem facing Thailand.

The real elephant in the room is that the Democrats and their shadowy support are not in the least interested in democracy as a form of government. Elections are an inconvenient nuisance, and when they can't be won legitimately at the ballot box, some stratagem or other is manufactured to seize power some other way.

I don't really understand why they have gone down this road. PTP are certainly not unbeatable. The rice subsidy scheme is a bust. The rubber subsidy scheme is a bust. The car subsidy scheme is a bust. Millions upon millions of Thais now find themselves saddled with consumer debt that will keep the wolf at their door for years and years. Add Chinese economic rebalancing, US tapering, creeping world interest rate rises, and the smoke and mirrors stuff is coming home to roost big time.

So fine, demonstrate on the streets against the government, but why boycott the election? Why tear up the constitution? As a political party the Democrats should be champing at the bit to debunk Yingluk's dog and pony show and give PTP a hammering at the polls. Where is the slick TV advertising showing money pouring down a drain? Where are the billboards on every road showing a poor man carrying a mountain of debt on his back? Where are the newspaper exposes of the gross corruption and incompetence? Any normal political campaign manager would give his eye-teeth to have the political ammunition that Yingluk has handed to the DP.

But the DP are not interested in even trying. Abhisit and co prefer to throw their weight behind overthrowing the constituton of rhe country. Not once, but twice now, have they preferred the mob and junta option to the ballot box. Once might have been a mistake, twice is surely policy. So if you are a normal person, who would like to have some say in the running of the country and the only people not likely to tear up your voter registration card at the first opportunity are PTP - then that's who you're forced to vote for.

PTP haven't bought the popular vote. The Democrats have given it to them, and now their only option is to take it back by force and throw it in the bin. Terrible, terrible, lazy stupid people.

...self scented people ....

How does that work, then?

t. So I would really appreciate if Suthep and the AOT would leave Swampy alone.

AOT has a difficult rope to walk. If rhey close down the airport without it actually being occupied - they'll get flack. On the other hand, if there's a major disaster caused by stressed or absent airport staff, they'll be hung out to dry. They're bound to err on the side of caution.

So Bangkok gets shutdown.

Businesses have to close.

People cant get to work or will be intimidated trying to.

NO as they wont think past today.

Sad that they can be manipulated so easily

..... Do you have children who are Thai citizens? I do, four to be exact. If you do, do you want them to grow up and live in a country run by a kleptocracy? I don't.

Quite. That's why our future plans are currently undergoing very serious revision. This ongoing nonsense reveals just how backward Thailand is, and no amount of wishful thinking can disguise the fact anymore. Kleptocracy or feudalism (with a good dose of both either way)? It's not much of a choice.............

The Pheu Thai-led "Tablet PC per Child" initiative, which aimed to distribute free tablet computers to schoolchildren could be scrapped.

Officials are in talks about replacing the policy with a new way of enhancing education.

Pawit Thongroj, an adviser to Education Minister Chaturon Chaisang, says he will suggest to the minister that the provision of tablets to students in Prathom and Mathayom 1 classes ends.

A "smart classroom" using technology to enhance teaching and learning in schools could be introduced instead, the adviser said.

The smart classroom would be equipped with about 30 tablet computers, a smart board, server and class-management software.

The smart classroom would make better use of the state's education budget and avoid procurement problems such as those encountered with the free-tablet policy, said Mr Pawit, one of the Pheu Thai Party's education policy experts.

Although students will not have their own personal device, they will be able to make use of what the smart classroom has to offer.

The smart classroom will enable teachers to monitor their students' use of technology and allay concerns about young students surfing age-inappropriate content.

Mr Pawit said tablet distribution had entered its second year and data on the scheme is being collected and analysed.

The tablet policy, which was introduced in 2012, delivered about 800,000 tablet computers to all Prathom 1 students. The second phase last year was extended to cover Mathayom 1 students.

The number of delivered tablets so far is 1.6 million units, worth over 4.6 billion baht.

.......... maybe an excuse to cancel the contract and recoup funds.......... maybe...

The incompetence is staggering.