BangkokReady

Of course, that's why his vote buying++ has been so successful. The point is, they don't see that it is better to have 300B a day for ten years, than 500B a day for two years, then 200B a day for eight years. They don't look at what happens to the economy or what is likely to happen. This, I'm sure you will agree, would be a problem for them, at least after that initial two years. They're still free to think what they like and vote for whomever they wish, but we are also free to point out that that things always get worse for them in the long run when the vote buying money dries up. It's an easy enough concept to understand, that you can pay poor and uneducated people to vote for you and then use the country as your personal business while they take zero interest in what you are actually doing, but it isn't necessarily a good thing, nor something that should be encouraged.

Unfortunately, most people only care about the money in their pocket that day. "Thaksin gave us money so we like him." I doubt many cared about what he actually did to the country or the economy.

It makes you wonder how these people really see things progressing in Thailand along the lines of wages. Clearly you cannot have the wage increases these people want as well as businesses employing double the workers they need, with most of them sitting around on their phones all day. And jobs are so easy to come by, workers start and quit very quickly. I think a lot of people don't realise how good some Thai employees have it. If people want to see workers being treated more like they are in wealthier countries, they have to be aware that they might end up being treated more like they are in wealthier countries.

How can he? They made Trump the bad guy as he continued Obama era policies which he then changed immediately due to public backlash. Now they, the good guys, are letting the immigrants in and helping them set up a home. "Because that's what heroes do!" They can hardly go back on their campaign pledge of "Awful, but not quite as bad as Trump!". Progressivism can be so funny to watch sometimes.

Thaksin oversaw a pretty substantial economic blunder in the form of the rice pledging scheme, which still hasn't been resolved. The scale of vote-buying and cronyism that kept Thaksin in power had to be funded somehow. If Thaksin, or another Thaksin proxy, was still able to run, who knows how it might effect the economy as he tries to find money to fund the vote-buying.

In order to suggest that times "should not have changed", someone is clearly stating that times have changed. Whether they celebrate that concept or wish it wasn't the case, acknowledgement remains a key part of it.

He was in power 8 years ago through his proxy so you're not quite right there. And this also highlights the threat. Some foreigners actually care about more than just themselves.

You don't think they're two sides of the same coin?

I would alter that slightly to: "Country continuing to change attitude towards expats and becoming even worse than it already has."

How does someone go about repairing mud?

Aren't those comments actually reflecting on how times have changed?

"Please, give what you can, I'm hungry and I need a holiday..." The nerve of some people! ????‍♂️

This is really the key. Thailand might have some money and some flash malls, but it's really a poor third world country in most respects. These things happen very gradually, and to expect Thai people, who mostly still believe in ghosts, magic, spirits, luck, fate, etc., to behave like socially responsible people is quite an ask. Especially when an absolute cornerstone of Thai culture is to not hold people responsible for anything, not cause people to lose face, and not to really make a fuss about something. It will probably happen eventually. But, as you say, the changes that come with it might not be to everyone's liking.

"When will the drownings end?" "When will the motorcycle deaths end?" "When will the crossing accidents end?" "When will the corruption end?" "When will the cheating end?" Answer: when Thai people decide that they want to change these things...

Interesting. I checked out the beans in the coffee I used to buy in Vietnam and it appears it was a blend of Arabica and Robusta. (I had assumed they were 100% Robusta.) I'll find out what 100% Robusta is like soon, then I might try the mixed beans shared by @Peterw42 above. ????

No police officer in that photo has a "skinhead" haircut.

I've had robusta in Vietnam and really enjoyed it. I felt that it didn't have the bitterness that I'm finding now that I'm trying some fresh ground beans here. Some of it had quite a rich taste with an almost chocolaty smoothness. I'll have to give some robusta beans a try here. There don't seem to be many around though.

They aren't. They both involve a guaranteed price for rice, but the source of the money, the destination/purpose of the rice, and the execution of the endeavour are completely different.

What is the difference in taste?

Isn't it said that Pattaya is a microcosm of the true Thailand, once you scratch away the veneer of wais and smiles and see the true corruption, exploitation and vice?

It does sound similar, but the key difference here would be the lack of rice-hoarding and attempted (and failed) global rice price manipulation. Also, without the pledge/hoarding, there is less chance of the smuggling of low quality rice from abroad, mismanagement of storage leading to most of the rice going bad, many farmers not even getting the money promised to them, and the whole thing still being an issue ten years later. So, if your question is really "Wait! Aren't they just doing the same thing that Thaksin did through his proxy sister?", the answer would be: no.

200,000 Baht and still face some charges! Thank goodness it wasn't a foreigner or presumably a firing squad would be being assembled

Neither Vietnam nor China are economically communist. In order to prosper, both had to switch to a capitalist free-market economy. The difference with Vietnam is that they are very much on the up, whereas China has plateaued somewhat. It could be suggested that the "politically communist" thing could have also run its course, but, given China's awful human rights abuses and many other crimes which go unpunished, it's hard to make a case for it to have ever been valid there.

Proof reading is your friend.

Also, were they still together? If the woman snuck off with another man and the husband thought things were ok, you can understand the reaction.