soalbundy

Try doing that in falang land and wait for the 'big brother police state' accusations, it would be a disaster.

I started my (almost) daily walk around the lake near the village temple later than usual a few days ago which was why I came upon the large gaggle of very big geese plucking grass at the lakes edge, something I hadn't encountered on my earlier walks. They had some chicks with them which didn't bode well as geese can be very aggressive and although their beaks are flat and not pointed they are razor sharp. As I approached them they made their disapproval obvious with their screeching and before I could react two geese shot out from the gaggle, their necks stretched out in a straight line parallel with the ground, 15 cm above it and struck me in the leg. Their beaks penetrated my trousers and caused two large gashes in my legs, I hobbled a hasty retreat towards some large water buffaloes just emerging from the lake. I could see that they had calves with them. For the city dwellers among you, water buffaloes are far larger than cows, they can weigh about 850 kg, normally they are very timid towards people, even small children can get them to move out of the way by simply walking towards them but it can be a different matter if they have young calves with them, I knew this only too well having been the recipient of a buffalo charge while walking a great Dane towards an oncoming herd of female buffaloes with calves, their charge only stopped when my faithful protective dog ran for home at a speed that was astonishing for such a large animal. After my experience of the geese's protective instinct I moved away from the lake to the road surrounding the lake about 10 meters away keeping an eye on the female buffaloes which is why I didn't notice the cobra crossing the road until I was 2 meters away from it and it reared up opening its hood, all I could do was to stand absolutely still and mutter, "you leave me alone and I will leave you alone ok", moving back was pointless it could strike before I had moved a few centimeters. We stared at each other for a felt 2 years or a real 30 seconds before it lowered its head in contempt and continued on its way. I decided that the lake did not wish me well so I headed back home, thankful that I would, against my expectations see my 75th birthday. Upon arriving my wife handed me a letter from my 16 year old son's school which made the lake seem positively benevolent, it was a bill for the new private school term fees plus the 5 different school uniforms, standard, sports, boy scouts etc. and the new textbooks. My bank account in Germany only recently out of the red was about to return to the colour of blood in a gashed artery sort of way. I prepared myself for the 17km journey by motorbike (the car was low on petrol) to my bank in the market town despite it being the rainy season. The sky was dark with rain clouds but it wasn't raining. I collected the money from my bank and proceeded to drive back home on the motorbike lane of the 4 lane highway, I made it as far as 5km when I heard a loud crack and the bike stopped accelerating and coasted to a stop, the transmission, hidden behind an aluminium housing, had snapped. I had no phone with me and the green fields left and right offered no cover should the rain decide it wouldn't wait until evening as forecast. Fortunately the saying, 'you are never alone in Thailand' is true, in Isaan one is never unobserved, never anonym. After standing helplessly for 10 minutes a middle aged woman with her daughter stopped her motorbike next to me, she was from my village, all would be well. She rang up my wife's oldest daughter who in turn rang up my wife, all I had to do now was watch events unfold. First my stepdaughter and her young daughter arrived and they soon got chatting with the first arrivals who had stayed to keep me company, after another 20 minutes the motorbike repairman's wife with her sister (my wife had telephoned the repairman to pick up the bike), joined the party, the mechanic with his pick up would be here shortly I was told, I glanced at the sky and wondered whether that would be after or before it rained, next the village postman who had just finished his rounds and had heard of my plight through the village grapevine came by to see if I needed anything and joined in the group chat, all that was missing was a crate of beer for it to be classed as a party. The pickup arrived and the bike was loaded on to it with the combined effort of the small crowd after which they, waving and laughing, dispersed. All in all it was quite an unnecessary day.

He is now known as pra crash bang wallop. As for money, temples obviously posses vast wealth. In my village there is a small well kept temple in the temple grounds, then they built a large teaching center for monks for 14 million Baht, next on the list was a new temple for services as the old one was too small but is, unlike the teaching center, still used by the monks, the latest is building a new hall (for whatever purpose), to do this they had to demolish a perfectly usable hall in the same place, I've only seen it being used as a dinning hall for 10 or so monks. Recently they bought four 3 meter tall 'monster guard' statues to be placed in front of the old temple. I saw that my and my wife's name along with other villagers have been commemorated in gold leaf on black marble plaques on the base of the statues so unknown to me my wife has contributed no small amount to buying these decorative monstrosities. They must be rolling in cash, some of it mine.

"Will of the people", how naive are you? Government is all about deal making and pragmatism, the voting slip in your excited sweaty hand only transfers the trappings of power from one party to another, the present socioeconomic problems don't disappear after the votes have been counted, the civil service who run the country on a day to day basis haven't been changed, I again use a quote from Mark Twain, "If voting changed anything it wouldn't be allowed".

They already have many international companies since at least 2 decades producing in Thailand, doesn't seem to have taken them to the first world level. You live in Bangkok, that's almost a Thai enclave in a country called Thailand. Thailand is still basically rural and although even Isaan has improved by leaps and bounds from what it was 20 years ago but it is still rural, government offices lose almost half their staff in the harvest season where I am, at the IO you can chat with the officers about the cost of hiring a combine harvester or the lousy price the government is paying for rice. MFP isn't a new word for magic, they, like all other parties, are going to have to compromise to different group interests, coalition partners, the establishment (they have already backed off from meddling with the lese majesty laws) and traditional beliefs. What government in the world keeps to its manifesto promises? Opposition is easy, governing not so much. Give Pita a year and he will be just another Thai PM struggling to keep the status quo with a few tweaks here and there. As Mark Twain once said, "If voting made any difference they wouldn't allow it"

Those backhanders are affecting their stomachs by the look of it.

Not while I am using it. I can't see why Thailand shouldn't by gas from them......just don't be nice about it. Bankrupting Myanmar isn't going to help the people, ostracizing its military leaders might but that is a matter for ASEAN.

I'm all for pragmatism normally but it's hard to have pragmatic dealings with a government who is murdering farmers daily with its military on your border. Myanmars military government makes the Thai military look positively democratic and holy by comparison.

I can imagine that Thailand's closeness to China is what caused the rejection of the F-35, no point in actively helping espionage.

I think you are exaggerating, MFP has done the inevitable by realigning its manifesto to conform to the establishments wishes, eg. removing its opposition to lese majesty laws, undoubtedly more will follow. Noble aspirations meet the brick wall of reality and as a result very little will change, 90% of the status quo will remain. The establishment can't be beaten down with a club; it has to be gently sandpapered away and that takes time and patience, lots of it. The social ills in Europe took 200 years of sandpapering and there is still a block left over. People don't want blood on the streets, they want stability and the majority (assumption) want it above all else, let the toddler walk before it runs.

They look like mafia thugs demanding protection money.

Agree, and once again the military has a foot in the door, the establishment is hard to beat. Pita should have been more careful with his announcements, he has alarmed the old war horses and Thaksin will be easier to manipulate considering the legal leverage they have against him.

I can't understand how the metal roof support frames can fall down, I've watched these type of roofs being constructed in my village, they are securely welded to the rebar metal rods coming out of the concrete pillars. I can't see any evidence however of any concrete pillars so it may be just a flimsy construction to begin with.

He is intelligent and has a strong sense of morality.......that disqualifies him from being a PM of any country.

I suppose the crackdown includes buying a few more 'smart' BMW's.

Yes, quite strange behaviour considering that they must have known that all the ammo available would be used against them, one would have thought that they would enter the fray squeaky clean, stupidity or calculated? Almost as if Pita is enticing the establishment for a final showdown.

Looking at him I'd pay 10k to keep him lost.

Yes, that is what will happen, the establishment isn't stupid, ever wary of privilege and its power in the background it will give an inch here and there but never the full yard.

Those 42,000 shares don't belong to Pita........he borrowed them from a friend. That explanation has been used before so why not here. ????

Anyone who has lived more than a decade in Thailand knows that nothing here is set in stone.

might be a bit dangerous for them this time, soldiers also vote.

Banning prostitution is like banning the common cold.

commenting among ourselves does no harm.......pointless though it may be.

how do you fall into a sewer? if it was only 1.50 meters deep why couldn't scramble out?

Arrogant, rich, self entitled men who have drunk from the well of power, difficult to move men like that. They are the old guard who feel exonerated by traditions that are no longer valid in today's world. Traditions are a two edged sword, they bring stability but if written in stone they are a brake on progress. Their mode of thinking is so steeped in historical precedence that there is no room for introspection, confused old men being swept away by events they are incapable of understanding. This election was a harbinger of the end of an era which they cling to in desperation.