soalbundy

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 They are the old guard who feel exonerated by traditions that are no longer valid in today's world.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.

I'm just repeating the NHS's own rules. I know an expat who had dental treatment in the UK and was allergic to the injection, he went into a coma for 3 months and had to learn to walk again, he was given a bill for 200 K pounds but was told they would credit him this if he could prove he had come back to the UK permanently. He rented a cheap flat for 6 months, saved all the utility bill slips and put himself on the voting registry. After presenting the evidence he didn't have to pay and left for Thailand again. For those who say he should have just scarpered, that is fraud and will be prosecuted. I know a Swiss gentleman who left a load of unpaid bills in Zurich, when his time came to renew his passport at the embassy he was refused but was given an emergency passport for one trip back to Zurich. Beating the system isn't easy but you can get lucky.

Senators support the BJT so guess who they will want as PM.

Thais aren't a homogeneous people either, various areas speak different languages as well, I have met old people in Isaan who can't even speak Thai.

That news was enough to knock the Baht down, at least against the Euro.

Yes games indeed, now is the time for the MFP to lose its innocence with a series of deals with the senate, failing that we may indeed see blood on the streets which will destroy any reputation the army has of being the nations saviour, as someone once said, ''it isn't freedom if it is given to you, freedom has to be taken''.

Well good for you. It would depend on your doctors attitude, county, the length of the waiting list as well. I was having prostate troubles as well and since my father had prostate cancer I was thinking of getting checked but did some online research. I am 75 and both the NHS and Mayo clinic advised against it as statistically I have only 3.8 to 5 years of life left and if I did have prostate cancer I would probably die with it but not because of it. This was true of my father who died of a heart attack but not cancer. So now I take 'Uroflow' at 750 Baht a month and all is well. We should realize that we are mortal and no amount of medical intervention is going to make us immortal. At 75 I am fit, slightly underweight and feel healthy but 75 would be a normal death age, every year after that is a plus. During old age one should come to terms with ones own pending death and not desperately seek its avoidance at all cost, hospice would be a better humane alternative for a failing body.

Plus it isn't a free service once you're out of the system, I believe expats are charged 3 times the cost of a residing Brits cost to the NHS and they want it in advance.

The 'voice of the people' means nothing when the hard wall of reality is crashed into. Every government wants to be popular but capital is as shy as a deer at the forest edge, if markets and investors tell the government, do this or that then we will run, the government listens, central banks and the stock markets punish those who don't obey them and investors follow suit by withdrawing their money. I assume that private capital will do better than when under military rule but I'm also sure that uncle Tu and his senate have already been obeying the real masters, what will change is the birth of new ideas......if the markets allow them to bloom. Thinking about us foreigners isn't going to be an issue for any government, we can't vote.

And so the band wagon rolls on and yet there are still people who think a change of government will make a difference, it won't because nobody cares about corruption. The moving hand doth write and having writ moves on nor all your piety or wit shall lure it back to cancel half a line nor all your tears wash out one word of it.

You want to change the nation's psyche? Even the Fascists in Italy under Mussolini couldn't destroy the Mafia. Greed is human nature and Asia has turned it into a fine art. I watched a Youtube channel on super prisons in the US and the UK, there are more drugs in prison than on the outside and most providers are the prison warders, money walks the walk. There are no clean governments anywhere, don't be naive, one doesn't become a PM or president by being an honest, clean, moral person, just the opposite unfortunately, anyone who aspires to government wants power and prestige. Any newbie who has any morals left is soon groomed to be the model that the establishment wants. Revolutions, political or otherwise, have changed nothing, the trappings of power change hands but the establishment still hold the reigns.

It's been in the BBC online news. Wife has been reading about it online with interest as we also have a 16 year old son, she says some reports say he was selling class A drugs for the perp but not giving him the money.

So of course the thing to do was to act like an animal and resort to violence. What these 'gentlemen' don't realize is that many tuk tuk drivers aren't the owners, they rent them and have to pay the damage themselves and while the vehicle is being repaired they aren't earning. There is something about young Brits that is alarming (I am an old Brit) the propensity to resort to violence with or without alcohol, with alcohol the are real primitives. It's a delight to find somewhere without Brits on holiday. I do hope they get locked up.

They get time off for good behaviour

No, the public isn't stupid, they all know what is going on. Prostitution is work and should be regulated for the health of the punters and girls (healthy pussy checks), then there is the enormous tax revenue, the police would of course lose out. This is not about morals, it's about money, lots of money.

I rather doubt his statement unless pue thai has a landslide win but even then would the leaders welcome a grey eminence who would likely remove them and take charge himself, he is just stirring the pot

Very commendable but they should have lied about that.

I doubt that she will be, it doesn't matter if she was involved with the perp or not, she knows (knew) too much, who could trust a 16 year old girl to keep her mouth shut.

What I was trying to say was that in the main people in Thailand are generally happy and can lead a good life, political freedoms are only important if one is engaged in politics and for the most part people aren't although come election time emotions can run high for a few weeks, afterwards things get back to normal and politics are usually just a foot note for most. As long as one isn't oppressed in daily life I don't care who holds the scepter. Politicians and CEO's have been found generally to be sociopaths and corruption is the norm, in the west it's just better hidden. Every country has its own way of dealing with its society, it has grown organically, even in the west there are huge differences under the umbrella of freedom, most Europeans would be horrified to have to adopt an American way of life for instance. It is wrong to push the standards of one country onto another, shoving democracy down the throats of people who haven't been used to it doesn't work and some countries get by ok with a benevolent dictatorship, stay away from politics (and religion) and one is usually safe.

There is a lot of talk about freedom here, perhaps one should define it. If you live in any society you are not free, you have basic freedoms given to you by the state but no more. Let us take a young man in any western state;- must you pay taxes, yes, must you obey the laws of your state, even if you disagree with some of them, yes. Is it required that you work for a living, yes, If war is declared would you be called up to fight, yes, If you break an important law of your state would you be imprisoned, yes, are you allowed to express views that could cause offense to others or lead to violence, no, etc. etc. Our constrained freedom, which seems satisfactory to me, is can I choose to work and live where I want to, yes, can I spend my money legally as I choose, yes, am I protected by law from violence or theft, yes, If I am ill will the state look after me, yes, can I choose to leave the state when I wish, yes, is my privacy respected, yes, do I have the right to a fair trial, yes, is there a free press, yes. Anything else is decoration, philosophical banter for an average citizen, who cares who holds high office, PM's, generals, come and go like the seasons. Now of course if I have a state like Myanmar all bets are off, the state is not worthy but it would take courage to rebel, would I find the courage to fight a state from within like Nazi Germany, China, Russia, Myanmar, no I would not. Life is a compromise, there are those, tall like oak trees, willing to risk all, unbending in the pursuit of 'freedom' and then there are small bushes like myself, growing in their shade.

Missed that, good for them but I presume this was a temporary thing due to covid lock down. The food banks in the UK are permanent and increasing with proper offices and rooms. They don't just provide food but also clothing, blankets, kids toys, and even electrical equipment. They can't keep pace with demand, these people have to provide confirmation from social services as proof that they are needy. Another thing on the increase is debt help services, people are maxing out their credit cards for basics, food, rent, gas, electric etc. and are seeking help how to deal with their debtors. I've seen examples on YouTube of families, now homeless, with debts totaling 40,000 pounds. Marriage breakups, kids on tranquilizers, it's heart breaking, life in a Thai farming village would seem like paradise. 100 million pounds for a coronation and two aircraft carriers and a new class of nuclear submarines though so we must be doing OK.

I realize that but it just isn't an issue in my (large) village. At the height of the last 'confrontations' I only saw two pickups full of red shirts at the market town 17km from me and a demonstration opposing violence and unrest at the council offices, there was flag waving and a bit of shouting between the two factions but no violence, the red shirts weren't even from our Ampour, they had traveled from Surin to stir up trouble and in the end the police saw them off. The only army I saw during the coup was at Surin railway station, when they saw me, the only farang on the platform they lowered their M16's and grinned sheepishly they were just kids, I got chatting to them, they were pised off and wanted to go back to barracks.

In Surin province it was even easier, medical cert. license and passport. had to watch the one hour video but they let my wife watch it for me because I had to go back home to get my yellow book. It was all done at the transport office because the DL center was upstairs.....no problem.

If you want to see inequality try the UK, I haven't seen any food banks here, in the UK even teachers and nurses use them and let's not talk about homelessness, the only country in Europe tackling this huge problem is Finland. I live in a North Eastern rice farming village, whoever is in charge makes no difference to them, army or pue thai, it's just smoke and mirrors, they get on with their lives and farm and from what I can see they have a decent standard of living. At a neighbour's wedding yesterday 400 people turned up in their best, were wined (beer) and dined watched a stage show and danced, money was collected to help pay for everything, we all had a good time. No old aged pensioners having to choose between heating (aircon) or eating here, Bangkok is a long way off, I speak and read Thai, never heard anyone speak about politics at the local shop (an informal get together place in the mornings and evenings). Big city folks will argue about politics, hot air, it will make no difference.

Tell me country which has democracy other than in name. It has been said that true democracy can only be had in a society numbering less than 5,000 people, they can vote on every issue passed into law. As it is once politicians are in power they don't give a flying fart what you want (I wonder how many people wanted the council tax or wanted to send troops to Iraq). What we have is a compromise governed by international market forces, parliament can only react to the stock exchange and at the same time keeping an eye on the 'free' press which molds our opinions according to which fat cat has control of it.