Robespiere

It's not about Thaksin - never has been.

Tyranny is not a form of government. In your mind, anything short of Dr. Thaksin being in complete control is 'tyranny'.

Bitter, much?

Anything short of the people choosing their own government is tyranny.

The noble struggle that began in 1932 continues.

It is ALWAYS about Thaksin with Thanet; that is to whom my reply was directed.

One can have tyranny even when the people choose their own government.

That's why elections are held, if necessary, the people can correct earlier decisions.

Democracy, the best system ever invented.

Can't understand how you oppose it.

You can't understand why I oppose democracy (democracy is not the same thing as holding elections) and I can't understand why you want to remain so ignorant. Watch the video so you can, at least, understand what democracy is and the harm it has caused since early Greece began that form of government.

Democracy, the best system ever invented.

Your dogma is showing.

Just noticed the Ron Paul quote.

I now realise I'm in the alternate reality Teabag fruit-loop arena.

Churchill had it figured - It has been said democracy is the worst form of government except all the others that have been tried.

Thailand has always been an oligarchy. Now it's a tyranny.

Tyranny is not a form of government. In your mind, anything short of Dr. Thaksin being in complete control is 'tyranny'.

Bitter, much?

It's not about Thaksin - never has been.

Anything short of the people choosing their own government is tyranny.

The noble struggle that began in 1932 continues.

It is ALWAYS about Thaksin with Thanet; that is to whom my reply was directed.

One can have tyranny even when the people choose their own government.

That's why elections are held, if necessary, the people can correct earlier decisions.

Democracy, the best system ever invented.

Can't understand how you oppose it.

10 billion baht for farmers.

Now another 6 billion baht to prop up the rubber price.

These guys are going to outspend the PTP before they even get their cabinet appointed.

Yes, obvious falsehood.

Do you know, for a fact, that the gunman went to Laksi with the objective of shooting at voters specifically? Not at the Red Shirts that assembled to confront the PDRC, voters just trying to cast their vote.

Do keep in mind that there were no other gunman waiting for voters anywhere else, only where a group of Red Shirts moved in with the express intention of facing off with the PDRC (something that had previously ended up in anti-PTP protesters being killed)

Do you know for a fact that he didn't?

He went with bad intentions to further a cause - i.e. to prevent the election from occurring because he, like everyone else, knew that if the election went ahead PTP would win handsomely.

Further - it is quite obvious that whoever chooses to wear a red shirt is pro-democracy so "assembled Red Shirts" and "voters trying to vote" are one in the same, which leads to the conclusion that yes, the popcorn shooter showed up with the intention to shoot at and cause bodily harm to the Red Shirts / Voters

What an utterly pathetic answer.

How so?

Junta to protestors - Those who violate the ban on public protests may be sent to face trial in martial court and sentenced to one year in prison

PTP to protestors - Deputy Prime Minister Plodprasop Suraswadi threatened to arrest protesters who showed up at the 2nd Asia-Pacific Water Summit in Chiang Mai.

Junta request protestors - "Anyone who genuinely has problems about their livelihood or agricultural crops must send representatives to submit petitions through complaint centers"

PTP request to protestors - Comparing them to "garbage", suggesting that there was no place for them and that their concerns and that their opinions were worthless.

The only thing analogous to the ease at which Bach composed masterpieces in his youth is the ease at which one can compare the PTP to a dictatorship and to think, THAT dictatorship was elected. Just as the magic of Bach's compositions that swim in the sub conscience of ones soul is lost on the deaf, the injustices of the PTP is lost on the blind. That is why reform is needed. So the blind can see.

The road to true democracy is hard fought as history has shown. The Junta have a battle ahead and some liberties need to held back to ensure the infestation of violence does not resurface. This is an example of the Right Honorable General Prayuth saving lives again like he did on the 22nd of May when the PDRC protests ceased.

Good luck.

PTP were elected, time and time again (TRT, PPP) and will be again.

(In fact, they will win with greater ease than your dead friend Bach ever achieved anything)

Despite all of humanities flaws we somehow mange to get it right in the end, much to the chagrin of those who stand in the way of progress.

You are not assessing facts, you are obfuscating to save face.

1 So why did you "like" the post if you don't agree with it?

2 It contains an obvious falsehood, namely that the Popcorn Shooter went to Laksi to shoot at people that wanted to cast their votes, do you agree that is a falsehood yes or no?

3 Did you read my reply yes or no?

You are scoring pretty badly.

Obvious falsehood??

A man heads out on election day, takes a loaded weapon, conceals it in a popcorn bag, wears a balaclava to hide his identity, has a spotter accompany him - seems to me he had but one, single, solitary intention - to shoot at people that wanted to cast their vote.

Surprise, surprise - he actually did shoot and grievously wound voters.

It never ceases to amaze me how peoples bigotry, prejudices and fanaticism blinds them to even the most OBVIOUS and simple truths.

What chance has humanity when there exists so many hateful fools amongst us.

Yes, obvious falsehood.

Do you know, for a fact, that the gunman went to Laksi with the objective of shooting at voters specifically? Not at the Red Shirts that assembled to confront the PDRC, voters just trying to cast their vote.

Do keep in mind that there were no other gunman waiting for voters anywhere else, only where a group of Red Shirts moved in with the express intention of facing off with the PDRC (something that had previously ended up in anti-PTP protesters being killed)

Do you know for a fact that he didn't?

He went with bad intentions to further a cause - i.e. to prevent the election from occurring because he, like everyone else, knew that if the election went ahead PTP would win handsomely.

Further - it is quite obvious that whoever chooses to wear a red shirt is pro-democracy so "assembled Red Shirts" and "voters trying to vote" are one in the same, which leads to the conclusion that yes, the popcorn shooter showed up with the intention to shoot at and cause bodily harm to the Red Shirts / Voters

"Mr. Veera's arrest is notable because his group of activists widely support the military coup, while most of the demonstrators who authorities have detained and prosecuted in recent months have belonged to the anti-coup network."

Interesting development.

Thaksin is contentedly sitting on the sidelines watching the show.

Then you didn't even bother to read my reply since I quite clearly said that the shooter should be prosecuted.

Anyway, the fact that you :"liked" a post containing deliberate falsehoods (to put it delicately) tells everything that needs to know of your ability to asses facts.

Let me assess some facts:

1. you have no idea why i liked that post, you assume it is because i totally agree with it but fact is that you don't know that.

2. you have no idea if the post i liked contains "deliberate falsehoods". It is a fact that the post is not completely correct, but you have no idea if that was deliberate or not.

3. you have no idea if i bothered to read your reply or not.

So how am i scoring on your "ability to assess facts" scaling system?

You are not assessing facts, you are obfuscating to save face.

1 So why did you "like" the post if you don't agree with it?

2 It contains an obvious falsehood, namely that the Popcorn Shooter went to Laksi to shoot at people that wanted to cast their votes, do you agree that is a falsehood yes or no?

3 Did you read my reply yes or no?

You are scoring pretty badly.

Obvious falsehood??

A man heads out on election day, takes a loaded weapon, conceals it in a popcorn bag, wears a balaclava to hide his identity, has a spotter accompany him - seems to me he had but one, single, solitary intention - to shoot at people that wanted to cast their vote.

Surprise, surprise - he actually did shoot and grievously wound voters.

It never ceases to amaze me how peoples bigotry, prejudices and fanaticism blinds them to even the most OBVIOUS and simple truths.

What chance has humanity when there exists so many hateful fools amongst us.

Populist??

Where goes the economy goes Mr Prayuth.

Never have truer words been said.

If people have money in their pockets they will tolerate much.

Empty pockets and it's an entirely different story.

Expect an awful lot of government spending on major projects to inject capital into the economy.

How much debt can the nation take on?

The Junta has mounted a tiger - the longer it stays on, the more difficult the dismount

None of the people to who will be appointed will have much competition when compared to the previous PTP government ministers. Average job length was about 6 months and qualifications needed were to be a part of Thaksins family or a crony from the police school. The last Defence Minister was Yingluck who knows as much about being Defence Minister as she did about being the PM.

Yes it's sad when a PM has to appoint oneself as Defence Minister just to keep control of the army - or didn't you see the irony in that?

But he is merely considering that. Yingluck on the other hand had no choice in either being the PM and Defence Minister. Big brother told her and like the clone he admitted that she was, she simply did as she was told. Don't YOU see the irony in that?

Yingluck did not have a choice about becoming Defence Minister but not for the cliche reasons you put forward. The reason why she became Defence Minister is clearly obvious, as I said before, she forestalled the coup which was long in the planning stage.

Prayuth more than likely has the same problem.

Hatred of Thaksin was the only thing that united all those wishing to overthrow the elected government.

Clever fox that he is, Thaksin has (temporarily) completely withdrawn from Thai politics and instructed his followers to do likewise.

Without anti-thaksinism to bind them together ......etc.etc.

So it has been just days since Thaksin instructed his acolytes to sit tight and do nothing that allows the junta to point the finger at them should the current regime begin to falter and we see the first public cracks in the right wing coalition that assumed power in May. If they can't even keep their own team together .....

fab4 post # 14

Yes it's sad when a PM has to appoint oneself as Defence Minister just to keep control of the army - or didn't you see the irony in that?

. One of the key changes is Yingluck also becoming Defence Minister.The Democrat’s Chuan in the late 90s and Samak and Somchai in 2008 also served as Defence Minister while being Prime Minister

The precedent had been set.

Did you criticise the Shinwatra clique when they tried to make the military their own plaything?

But - but that's different.

Yes it is - very, very different.

Unfortunately, in the current climate, not much more can be said.

Considering staff of this company are paid faaaaaaaaaaaaaar less than farang airlines, yet they are expensive, how can they make a loss.

For sure I don't know, so perhaps someone can enlighten me.

Salary difference is not that great but the biggest problem is overstaffing: far too many hangers-on, achieving little. The response of the union is going to be very interesting to watch: they were inextricably linked with Suthep.

So bad management......?

http://www.eturbonews.com/48247/thai-airways-parallel-malaysia-airlines

The Democrats have made no secret of the fact that they'd like to disenfranchise those they don't think are qualified to vote, meaning a great many of the Thai voters. I don't think the election will be that blatantly fixed. I think it will probably be a reasonably fair election, but the elected offices will have little real power under the constitution that is being written.

... ...

Which reminds me

"Besides, continued Tully, as if he had not heard her last remark, I dont like Communism. I dont like to think that anyones my equal. Nobody is. Im superior to a great number of people and inferior to others, and for that reason Im not at all sure that Im in favour of democracy either. Its nonsense to have the vote of someone who only after enormous struggle achieves the ability to read, be the equal of the vote of another who can read in twenty-four languages, though reading is no criterion. I merely cite it as an example""

The Wrath of Grapes (aka The Mouse that Roared) - 1955 Leonard Wibberly

Is this an argument for only allowing the 'educated' to vote?

I have a Thai friend who is finishing her Masters Degree in Chemistry and is considering options for a PhD abroad, she is the daughter of a barely literate northern Thai woman who worked hard to put all three of her daughters through university. Do you think this woman should not be allowed to vote?

None of my grandparents finished high school, I have three university degrees and belong to two high IQ societies, and do not consider myself the equal of my grandparents who were denied opportunities they made available to me. Do you think my grandparents should have been denied the right to vote?

Are you presenting an argument for elitism that is both arrogant and ignorant?

The worst type of elitism is the one that is based on inheritance and descent.

Careful

Q. What makes Thai style democracy globally palatable?

A. Nothing - that's why it's not.

Energy Reform protesters = Old Red shirts trouble maker.

Just another Wolf in Sheep Skin.

You could not be more incorrect!

Energy Reform Protestors = Old PAD members

Energy reform is a huge split between the anti-Thaksin movement that will only grow.

Maybe I am missing something here, but surely rubber prices are driven by the world market, so whats the point in protesting - do they think the world is suddenly going to say "Oh, OK, just kidding...we'll put the price back up again for you." ?

As for the fact that the army is allowing these protests, I think they are taking a balanced and reasonable view, and obviously realised that coming down hard for no real reason simply undermines the trust that the wider audience has in them.

I am sure that if the protests became violent or more threatening in any way, then they would be shut down, as they should.

I notice that this forum is full of rather weird people - if the army enforces martial law, then people complain, but if they are more relaxed, people complain - what the h*ll is wrong with you people?

Governments can (and do) intervene in markets to protect important domestic industries. Politics is all about deciding who gets what from the public purse. The previous government felt that the rice farmers deserved extra support from the government and so they implemented their rice scheme which paid farmers above market prices injecting money into rural Thailand.

Ditto the 30 baht health care policy.

Now there is a new regime in power.

The previous protest movement that enabled the coup was undoubtedly southern (Suthep and co.). Being that the rubber industry is also southern based they are now looking for the quid pro quo payout.

Ironic isn't it that those so vehemently opposed to the rice scheme now want the exact same government largesse for themselves