mfd101

You may - like most people under the age of about 60 - use the word 'peasant' as a term of abuse. I do not. OED: "A poor smallholder or agricultural labourer of low social status ... chiefly with reference to subsistence farming in poorer countries." Which exactly describes my large and very poor Khmer family here in south Surin.

(1) They were'nt paid (2) Whether it's 'worth anything' depends on your value system. If 'marriage' and especially a wedding is about recognition and acceptance by family and friends, then we were amply rewarded both here and in Oz. As to the Thai bureaucracy, the attitude of the peasants here is one of contempt: "They've never done anything for us. We don't care about them."

When/If the CC gives him the all-clear, he can resume his leadership of the party and the position of L/O.

My b/f & I were 'married' in a village (Buddhist) ceremony here in Surin in 2013. The village elders did the job. "Marriage is for 2 people who love each other." All fine by family & friends, but of course unofficial ...

As far as I'm aware, there's no such thing (yet) in Thailand. PTP promised action on gay marriage during the election campaign (as did MFP) but don't hold your breath ...

Ever heard of 'self-exile'? Given that we live in a banana non-republic, your last sentence makes no sense. The laws of the land are not imposed equally, as has been amply demonstrated over the last 4 months. As to Thaksin I merely make the point that, whatever his sins, I am disinclined to take seriously the penitentiary outcomes imposed on him back then as a democratically-elected PM by the would-be authoritarian regime that had just overthrown him.

Golly, there are more Thaksin-haters out there - well, out there on AN at any rate - than I had imagined.

That would be fine if his exile & convictions were not the outcome of 2 different military coups, against his government in the first instance and against his sister's in the second. He may well have been guilty of all sorts of sins & crimes but people rabbiting on about how he should suffer the punishments dolled out by unconstitutional means are hardly in a position to preach virtue.

Both the bureaucratic boss AND the spokesperson? She is going to be busy!

Probably to let him be, as long as he plays no further role in politics. Thais are ready to move on and, depending how the current semi-new government pans out, they'll vote next time in overwhelming numbers for fundamental reform of all Thailand.

Only some people. People who find it hard to move on and hope for a better future.

That depends on how you read the complaint to which the CC was responding.

Occasionally the CC gets it right. Perhaps things are looking up ... or the wind blowing in a new direction ...

Just say No. Very politely to the parents, very sweetly to your girl. Over to them.

Useful change in salary payments for government officials (who often seem to an outsider like 90% of anyone in Thailand who earns a salary). Given the inability of so many people to manage money - yes, even government officials! - paying them every fortnight rather than monthly makes sense.

Which might suggest that actually changing the Constitution might stretch out in to Never-Never Land.

Of course. Just wait for the real thing.

Ping! went Ping Ping.

One set of metaphysical concepts has about as much value and as many contradictions as another ...

Such useful advice! I imagine he was a highly successful PM in his day (he got 6 years, I see, in 2 doses).

I've been using the same mug shot for the last 5 or 6 years ... Just about time for a new one next month, I think. (So hansum!)

In terms of its capacity to project power or to influence anything at all beyond its own borders, Thailand could scarcely be described as a 'middle power'. Small, incompetent and inward-looking would be more accurate. But nothing is achieved without optimism and aspiration.

It will be interesting to see how 'family' is defined. My Khmer peasant family here in south Surin consists of: 2 grandparents (my FIL & MIL) in their 70s, 6 sons & daughters from this marriage in their 30s & 40s (ignoring another approx. 8 sons & daughters in their 50s from previous marriages), 4 husbands & wives of the daughters & sons (marriage here is matrilocal), & 9 children & teenagers, and that's ignoring assorted cousins in a village where just about everyone is 'cousin of Yong' (my MIL). And guess who gets to keep all of that lot on the not-quite-stable financial road. I'll certainly be looking forward to the government's monthly brown envelopes.

So how do you cope with governments in Western democracies where 'no relevant expertise' is the norm for all Ministers & Prime Ministers/Presidents? Funny that.

Basically I was too busy slaving my guts out to notice, first climbing the academic ladder of pretentiousness, then the Oz federal bureaucracy's slippery & dangerous ladder ... Happiness (love) came to me late, at age 62. Now quite content with life amongst the Khmer peasants of south Surin - cuddles every night, books all day. What's not to like.