15Peter20

Will all those who were quick to label the red shirt movement as communist because they saw some headware with red stars or che guevara t-shirts at red shirt rallies now associate yellow-associated groups with fanatical muslim doctrine? I think not.

On reading the headline, why did I think the man would be a farang?

The death penalty is inhumane by definition. How long will it take for certain countries to realize this?

I wonder how they will word the bill so that Thaksin gets off and Abhisit and Suthep don't.

They don't need Abhisit and Suthep to 'not get off', they just need everyone to be pardoned. A somewhat easier proposition to achieve than the one you suggest above.

Yeah, and if he was shaped like a donut his name could be...err...Fred.

Anyone that has lived in Thailand knows that Thais have total disregard for traffic laws and safety while driving.

I don't think this is entirely fair.

Is it possible to disregard something if you're not aware of it in the first place? I think not.

Why doesn't someone table an amendment to the amendment saying that Thaksin alone would not qualify for the pardon?

In this way, those who would table a blanket amnesty according to tradition (see Thai history) would largely be appeased and the real issue would be brought into the limelight instead of being hidden behind the 'blanket' aspect of the amendment.

Taking out a debt-ridden drug dealer is one thing, but killing 2 innocent people in the process is unnecessarily badass.

If you are the drinking partner of a debt-ridden drug dealer, I would suggest you think twice about going to roadside bars with him/her in future.

Haha! Residents inconvenienced by red shirt demos are normal people just trying to get on with their lives whilst anyone inconvenienced by Yellow-affiliated groups simply MUST be red shirts or paid proxies.

Really...some of you people just end up making yourselves look silly. The possibility that residents near both red and yellow-affiliated rallies were just normal people with understandable complaints just cannot enter your minds.

A yellow-affiliated group is pissing off normal people - suck it up, coup lovers!

So the skeletons on his land...... case is buried too.? .... is Thailand becoming the Lberia of S.E Asia ?

No, it isn't.

So we've got 3 anti-government groups, numbering just over a thousand, a couple of hundred, and thirty.

Why is this a news story?

Because they suppress opposition very heavy-handed when PTP is in office; but another party in office sitting patient trying to manage violent protests, looting, mobs, riots, inactive police, mercenaries in black, and a city under siege. Absolute intimitation, hypocracy, and a real plot to run a dictatorship, with police very active unlike when there is a red communist rent a mob riot. Should be an awakening to the general public of the big picture, unless you prefer to be asleep and not take notice.

Whoa there - check your blood pressure! Once I get my head around a 'red communist rent a mob' supporting a capitalist dictator I might be able to follow the rest of your rant.

Pursuing corrupt politicians and successfully convicting them a la Thaksin is good for the country and no doubt Thaksin lovers are upset that this change form the normal impunity Thai politicians enjoy was applied to him instead of any number of other - possibly opposition - politicians. But when the police are finally being used as any developed country would use them, to discourage long term potentially disruptive demonstrations, this particular advancement is not welcomed by you.

You will probably admit your own bias in this matter, but you should take care not to get too carried away with your ire or else statements like the one relating to the 'communist rent a mob' will just make it impossible for most people to take you seriously.

So we've got 3 anti-government groups, numbering just over a thousand, a couple of hundred, and thirty.

Why is this a news story?

Well, it's taken them a while to come to this realization. If they try really hard and defeat the dinosaurs in their party, they might start becoming electable in 4-5 years.

How refreshing to at last see the opposition behaving like a properly functioning one. Instead of fruitlessly sniping from the sidelines, filibustering in parliament and seeking judicial blockage of governement initiatives, they finally give the voters some respect and lay out an alternative plan that some might just think is a viable alternative to government policy.

We need to see more of this type of thing for the good of the country. This thread has attracted few posts so far, but I believe it is more significant than ones questioning how many times Yingluck has been to parliament or the US.

Better from the Dems. Hope it continues.

It's all Thaksin's faul...oh sorry, wrong thread.

If you had any knowledge of the red riots you would be aware thet the water cannons were captured by the reds at the begining of the riots and then used to fire rockets at the security forces for the remainder of the insurection. Further the more traditional methoods of crowd control such as police, riot shields and clubs and rubberbullets were either ineffective or countered with automatic weapons and granade launchers.

"the water cannons were captured by the reds at the begining of the riots and then used to fire rockets at the security forces"

Hysterical and hilarious at the same time.

Gunshots rang out throughout the night and into the morning in central Bangkok. At daybreak, a group of protesters captured and vandalized two military water cannon trucks at the intersection of Sathorn and Rama IV roads in the heart of the business district. They ripped the cannon from its moorings and used its plastic barrel to shoot firecrackers from behind a sandbag bunker they had commandeered from soldiers

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/world/2010/05/13/thailand-readies-lockdown-red-shirts-says-shoot-terrorists-defy/#ixzz2fcj7CPc2

I see. My mistake. I thought when you mentioned 'rockets' you were talking about some kind of military grade weapon, when really what you actually meant was fireworks.

"While these women might have succeeded in raising the issue of whether Abhisit should be held accountable for his remark, they also unfortunately succeeded in perpetuating a rigid gender stereotype - perhaps reinforcing the belief that women lack the independence to acknowledge their mistakes."

5555!!! Yeah, 'cos men are always admitting their mistakes, aren't they? Yep, nice and independent, us blokes. What utter nonsense.

I think it is you that needs to learn and reflect on history.The junker element in the German army officer corps primarily wished to assasinate Hitler because of his policies were losing the war with the successes of 1940/41 long past.An early Hitler death, say in 1939, would almost certainly have strengthened the Nazi regime because it would have become more moderate, probably under Goering.The foolhardy invasion of Russia would not have taken place and Germany would have kept invaded territories like the Sudetenland, Austria etc.The comparison of Thaksin with Hitler is ludicrous (except in the minds of crazed PAD types) but hypothetically his removal from the scene would not have addressed Thailand's structural and social divisions which Thaksin exploited for his political ends.Indeeed the 2006 coup may well have had the effect of strengthening the Thaksinite forces.It certainly didn't have the effect intended and indeed tragically had the effect of weakening the institutions it ostensibly claimed to be protecting.All of this, both in Germany and Thailand, is the impact of confusing symptoms and causes.

"comparison of Thaksin with Hitler is ludicrous"

This is the first time I have ever agreed with something you wrote. Hitler's actions were borne about by his being an idealist, he wanted the Aryan race to increase in strength and sincerely believed he was doing a good thing. Thaksin on the other hand's disgraceful behavior was only to increase his and his families wealth, face and power at any cost and knows full well that his actions spell disaster for Thailand. Thaksin is far more inherantly evil than Hitler IMO.

That is an insult to millions who died at the hands of Hitler's men. Probably baiting. You may be proud of how blinded your hatred of Thaksin has made you, but to most normal people who have to read your claptrap you're just becoming a caricature of yourself. JaiDam indeed. Have you no objectivity left at all?

Are these the same Red Shirt protestors that are always portrayed as being so peaceful and never doing anything wrong?

What a masterstroke of PR by Yingluck. Putting aside the feelings of foreign expats in Thailand (which Thai politicians do on a daily-to-lifetime basis), what gesture could say 'I'm one of you and I'm proud' to the Thai people better than wearing flood-ruined Thai silk. She couldn't have done better if she'd gone round to every household in Thailand for tea.

It must have taken some balls to wear that suit and no doubt it would have made an impression of some sort with the foreign dignitaries she met, but make no mistake, this was all about her consolidating support in Thailand.

Yingluck haters should acknowledge this particular skill of Yingluck/PTP and be asking why the Dems can't be as imaginative and creative in formulating a response to the PTP PR steamroller. Every large party in the west depends on PR - are the Dems 'above' it, or just hopelessly inept in the face of modernity?

By attributing the problem to ghosts, the guy from Thai Airways was clearly pandering to the sensibilities of the Thai public in general. If he were trying to do the same to the esteemed readers of the TV news forum, he'd surely have blamed Thaksin for it and restored international faith in the company at a stroke.

When I first came to Thailand in the mid 90's, the need to learn English in Thailand was generally perceived as being as important then as it is now - if not more so. Parents spent huge amounts of money on extra classes for their kids and workers would enroll in evening classes to improve their career prospects. Just to come at this issue from another angle, my question is what does it say about the ability of English teachers over the past 20 years if the country is still so poor at English?

Why aren't the rubber tappers in isaan and the North protesting,

has the Government done some secret deal with their leaders ?

Over supply and therefore a drop in prices,can be laid at the

Governments door, as they promoted (with free saplings)

growing of rubber trees in the North and Issan where they

have never been grown before.

regards Worgeordie

It's not surprising the northern/Isaan rubber farmers aren't protesting. They aren't being controlled by local Dem politicians.