redewenur

I am a woman married to a Thai man and I can't own land either. Don't know about the loan situation, however. That sounds more like bank policy than govermental policy, to me however.

Yes, the land ownership aspect is well known and most would say it's reasonable. The difference is the loan, and I believe the person providing the information is an officer in the land department of the local government office, Lamphun. I could be mistaken, of course. I'll check and get back to you

Well, sbk, you're right about it being a bank policy, but it also appears to be a government policy as the bank in question is not a plc but rather a government service dealing exclusively with loans to assist Thai agriculural workers.

Because you are a farang...hmm..because you are not a thai national is more accurate.There are farang(white dudes) with thai nationality.

Yes, indeed. But in this case, of course, the officer refers to a farang who isn't a Thai national.

I am a woman married to a Thai man and I can't own land either. Don't know about the loan situation, however. That sounds more like bank policy than govermental policy, to me however.

Yes, the land ownership aspect is well known and most would say it's reasonable. The difference is the loan, and I believe the person providing the information is an officer in the land department of the local government office, Lamphun. I could be mistaken, of course. I'll check and get back to you

Can I buy land and build a house on it?

No.

Why?

Because you are a farang.

But I'm married to a Thai.

Being married to a Thai lady makes no difference.

Nevermind, my wife can buy it...

Yes.

...and later she can use it as security for a loan.

No.

What?

No.

Why?

Because she is married to a farang.

Oh. But if I were a woman and she were a man, no problem then?

Right. No problem then.

"In a political transition into a full democracy, which is a sensitive period for all sides, the military should not be involved in politics and politicians should not interfere with the military," he said.

what a strange statement that is. The Government should be able to control the military. Well thats how it works in most other countries.

Yes, indeed. Yet another embarrassing statement on behalf of the military establishment, many of whom clearly persist in their determination to be a law unto themselves; and note the inane proposal that the defence minister should be someone at odds with the government. Maybe the PPP can instill a little discipline into the upper echelons of the Thai war machine.

It's all about intent. If someone wants to be derogatory, the word they use makes no difference. As a racial group, us caucasoids are hardly as pure as the driven snow and often invite criticism and derision. On the other hand, despite that fact, many Thais seem to view us through rose tinted glasses. Maybe the remainder are simply realistic. People are people the world over.

For me, the problem - if you could call it that - lies with myself, but has nothing to do with "low self esteem" mentioned in an earlier post. On the contrary, I'm an odd character in that I take great pride in my nationality and prefer to be tagged as English, or British. I let my friends and acquaintances here know that.

My vote is "somtimes".

P.S. What may be construed as distasteful is the fact that the word "farang" refers to a racial group, and may therefore touch the racism nerve.

So, now we expect honesty in politicians? Let's not be too naive. A politician is also a strategist and a tactician. Misleading one's opponents for the benefit the nation may be questionable ethics, but it's common practice and much appreciated by the beneficiaries, or, to use a old fashioned word, the 'electorate'. It should also be remembered that 'a week is a long time in politics'.

Thaksin is the most successful PM Thailand ever had. And the first democratically elected PM to begin to shake up the feudal elite.. This of course had consequences that we've seen last year.

Well said, chanchao.

Most people in Thailand are already experiencing the negative repercussions of the ousting by the non-democratic Military top brass and their affluent, middle-class Bangkokian associates. Anyone gambling on good news within the next six months should hedge their bets. A weak and ambivalent government will do nothing to restore confidence.

Pound to baht has been fairly steady over past 4 months, after downward trend over previous 3 months.

US Dollar to baht has been falling steadily since mid 2005 (when it was about $1 to 44 baht)

US Dollar to pound...the Dollar has been in decline for at least 5 yrs - it's lost about 35%, maybe more. That can't be accounted for simply by the strength of the Pound, which has been comparatively stable against the Euro for the past 4 yrs.

The consensus in this thread is that it's not really a case of a rising baht, more a case of a falling dollar - which the figures confirm. In any case, it's all mumbo-jumbo to the majority of Thais - until they can see a change in their standard of living.

...The rural Thais feel marginalised...

Excellent post. All that you said fits the facts. And rural Thais feel more than marginalised. They have been given a clear message that they are too ignorant to vote, and are not worth spending money on; that Big Brother will take care of himself and his Bangkok cronies, and bahn-nok can go scratch its armpit.

THAT is the REAL ISSUE - but the military bully-boys, who have secured 100% media control by force, have an effective propaganda machine that diverts attention from it by pumping out the daily quota of anti-Thaksin poison.

like his money isn't far, far away !

they never get it, they better give the 500 million bath back they gave to army. (read, the 500 million bath the army paid themselves for kidnapping the country) what ? you didn't know that one ? happily ignored it ? sdtill pretending that isn't more blatant corruption then all Thaksin did ?

Thanks for that. A statement that should be headline news in every 'democratic' nation. Still, business is business, and this isn't N. Korea or Iran, after all, so the democracy crusaders will turn a blind eye.

_____________

For those who tout the word 'populist' every five minutes:

Calling his policies 'populist' is playing into the hands of a criminal junta's propaganda. Sure, the policies were popular. How could he possibly have done anything worthwhile for the 70% semi-destitute population without earning popularity? Calling his policies 'populist' is to presume that the only reason he diverted wealth to the poor was for personal gain. Sure he got rich. Sure there was corruption. But, as it happened, his policies were having a genuinely beneficial effect on the the real Thailand, instead of pandering to the sneering, contemptuous, affluent elite in that other nation, Bangkok. That was the conventional 'populist' policy of the pre-democracy regimes. Wake up. Cut through the bigotry and propaganda!

Just my two satangs worth, and I'm probably not qualified to speak 'coz I'm in the UK

I'm not qualified to speak either. I'm in Thailand, but from the UK. That's fine. What's not fine is that the majority of Thais were also considered not qualified to speak. Just take a trip around Thailand and ask the (70-80%) "bahn nock" villagers who they voted for twice, and who they would have voted for yet again if the rug of democracy hadn't been pulled from under their feet. TRT had no need of illegal electioneering. Beware of an effective propaganda machine. All nations keep one handy. This is no exception.

There's a political fence around Bangkok, with the real electorate inside. Trespassers will be ignored.

As Thumper's father told him (and Big Brother told us), "If you can't say something nice, don't say nothin' at all". So, I won't.

Let's face it, THIS IS 'political', and as such IT IS 'incorrect'. That's all.

It will not be too long from now when people will be using non political correct phrases like “Stuff it”

Not long at all, in fact you took the two words right out of my mouth.

The guy's got red blood, and also my good wishes.

Thailand worries that its patented jasmine rice will be stolen and used in other countries but doesn't care about stealing patents on medicine, entertainment, software, or technology...

...I certainly have put off investing there until I see a democratically elected government in action. I am advising others to do the same.

Yes, the pot knows well how to call the kettle black. You and I are quicker to acknowledge that than the majority of Thai nationals, in whose interests these decisions are made.

I expect we will see a government elected by the people. How democratic it will be remains to be seen. Big brother is watching. One false move and there'll be another PM in exile - for the good of the country, of course.

What we see is a pattern that's been repeated many times in poorer countries frantically struggling to compete with the economic giants. A sorry mess in which the rich usually become richer, and the stay poor; but it needs the support of the West - in the absence of that, the East will do.

Unfortunately, what I'd like to say about it can't be said publicly. Still, we know that this regime can't be idiots, after all, the king OK'ed it. This isn't toy town is it? is it?

It seems to me that in a country with so few English speakers any Native English speaker would be a benefit. A criminal background check should suffice.

Agreed. Whilst it's often a good idea to aim high, there's a danger of supporting grandiose ideas.

We find Thai kids inundated with the mechanics of English. For example, schools try to teach the names of a dozen tenses and a dozen flavours of adjective. Kids are also expected to learn the phonetic alphabet. All the while, most never get beyond a few simple sentences such as "My name is...I live in...” I'm dumfounded - admittedly sometimes infuriated - that the education authorities, who must surely be fully aware of this, seem perfectly happy to press on with the charade, and still support the idea that native-English speakers, keen to provide help, must have a degree.

I have no quarrel with the vetting for criminal background, but an interview by the school ought to suffice with regard to linguistic competence. One doesn't need hold a degree in auto-mechanics to teach people to drive.

Events have cast a spotlight on a dire situation. A decision has been made to apply existing laws to correct it. Let's hope that's carried out effectively. One can only speculate on alternative resources for the future.

Someone's idea of propaganda? Slightly over the top, though: "lowest unemployment in the world" - surely they could do better than that. Living in a rural area, I see a very large number of people who make a few baht from their little plot of land, and get the occasional chore on a neighbour's plot, or the odd job such as repairing someone's irrigation pipe. A subsistence livelihood and far from steady employment, but I guess it counts in the stats.

There are zero grounds for assuming that Thais are lazy. Just take a look at people carrying cement and laying bricks all day in 35 degrees of relentless sun - not only men, but not so young ladies too. OK, it takes all kinds, and you find them all around the world, but let's bury the rediculous stigmatisation.

No witnesses. Only the reported allegation of the man already charged with GBH. If the story is true, then it's fortunate for both parties that his target wasn't also armed. This kind of violent incident isn't 'Thailand specific'. It occurs every Friday night in the UK - ask a casualty nurse.

Judging from the some of the above posts, it's yet another issue to fuel the fire in the hearts of Thai-haters.

Seems to me that the list demonstrates that so-called democracy was indeed broken.

Democracy is more than just villagers voting for the man they want, it must imply a system to ensure that power cannot be usurped by an individual for personal benefit. If the list is correct then this has sadly happened; the fact that the man was elected does not prove democracy.

By highlighting these items the new regime is showing it recognises a much broader scope of factors for healthy democracy and I hope they are flagging that all these factors will be open for examination in the new democracy yet to be constructed.

Sportrider

Yes, point taken - there's more to the democratic process than a 'free and fair election'; but 'just villagers' you say? Let's remember we're talking about 80% of the Thai people...although I do realise that the Bangkok elitists would probably consider that 80% barely worth counting.

Well, it was a member of royalty who made her opinions known and, as we all know, royalty is not ignored in Thailand. The opinions of lesser mortals are of correspondingly lesser importance. Action of some kind - any kind - had to be seen to be done. I would think that the question of whether or not the action can be expected to produce results is very much a secondary consideration.

...During my many years of living here, I have heard the word "Culture" being used so many times to explain away the ills and troubles of this country. The word is used as an excuse for all sorts of behaviour by all social levels of the population. Not only does it smack of desparation but embarrassment and apology also...

ditto!

That's spot on, totally in line with my own experience. Queries are so often met with "Oh, it's Thai culture" - fullstop / period. As though that answers everything and justifes all. If you're naive enough to press your point further, you'll get the other classic Thai response "You think too much".

No, I'm not anti-Thai. I'd just like to see Thailand do better for itself.

Sergeant to Captain: "What will you be having, Sir, beer or whisky?"

Captain to Sergeant: "Neither, thanks, sarg, I'm under age. I'll have a lemonade"

I'd hazard a guess that this is yet another law that will be 99% unenforced and almost totally ineffective; like the need for a driving licence. Have you been out in the sticks? Have you seen how many 10-15 yr olds ride motorcycles? - often four very young kids on one bike, and not a crash helmet between them - totally ignored by the local police. Will more attention be given to this new law? Extremely doubtful, I'd say.