RobinHolmes

Think they MUST mean 4G

Mmmmm an African with drugs? How unusual.

Democrat Party? More like Autocrat Party!

At least 35 unarmed protesters have been killed. The dead include two medics who were wearing white medical uniforms with visible red crosses, shot on 15 and 16 May; and a 17-year-old boy, shot on 15 May. Maj. Gen. Khattiya Sawatdiphon (known as "Seh Daeng"), a military advisor for the protesters, was struck by a sniper's bullet on 14 May and died on 17 May. In addition, another soldier has been killed.

Over 200 people have been injured, including several Thai and foreign journalists, and a 10-year-old boy.

"The government cannot allow soldiers to essentially shoot at anyone within an area it wishes to control," said Zawacki.

I'm not sure if the truth is easily accessed in Thailand but thankfully it is in the rest of the world.

http://www.amnesty.org/en/news-and-updates...orce-2010-05-18

The Reds had a point: Thailand is a very unequal society, with a handful of key families controlling so much of its commercial life - & pocketing the proceeds.

Of course they were used by the odious Thaksin - who must never be allowed to influence Thai polity again.

And they contained their fair share of violent nutters.

But their key point remains valid: Thailand is precipitously unequal.

Unless that is rectified, the Reds will rise again.

That might be the end of the present elite, even the end of civil peace.

Better to make a deal now, to bring about fairness.

I wouldn't waste too much time on this forum, it has been taken over by the PAD:-(

Every single Thai I know supports this man - I hope in the weeks and months ahead, he shows everyone a path towards peace, reconciliation and unity.

Why doesn't that surprise me? Being a member of PAD I should imagine you are quite cut off from the rest of the world.

Every decent Thai I know thinks he is the leader of the most evil government Thailand has known for decades.

Don't think the rest of the world doesn't know what went on in Thailand in the last few days. All the manipulation of the Thai press and the take over of Thai Visa Forums will not suppress the truth indefinitely.

The people of Thailand will learn the truth over time.

However, I too hope for reconciliation and unity, but that won't come through people like you.

I hope this isn't used by The government and PAD for propaganda as this Forum is.

You will need to purchase the half built house as well as the land with chanot. Next put a roof on it to stop any deterioration of the steelwork. Then you can do things slowly as you like. Get a trusted builder to look at the build so far. Maybe dig down and look at one or two of the footings too.

You are what is known in the UK as a <deleted>

Abhisit should stop this lunacy. Step down and call an election now

I'm pleased there is no violence. I hope they get their way and get an election. Abhisit isn't a bad man, he just isn't elected.

ALOT of hullabaloo for a LITTLE amount of blood that does a LARGE amount of damage to this country. All of the hype for that teeny little amount of blood? So sad, I mean if youre going to do something, do it BIG and make an impression.

I say leave it where it is and wait for Songkran. A few squirt guns and it will be gone. Problem solved.

Nowhere near as much harm as the PAD did.

I find this quite repulsive,,it does nothing for Thailands image around the world.

It makes Thailand seem like the Dictatorship it is. The ordinary people fighting for democracy.

They will get frustrated. They don't have the majority support or the moral authority to pull off what they are demanding. They do have fermented fish. You figure it out ...

You're wrong again dude - they have majority support in the country as far as people i know - tuk tuks up here are flying red flags - I have yet to find any yellow fellows outside of BKK and this forum

Here here...........Good luck in the fight against dictatorship!

Some on here think over 50% of the population of Thailand need to be red protesters in Bangkok for this to be of any use. There are plenty who support but do not want to go to BKK or can't afford to go to BKK. The government should take notice of the good people of Thailand and call an election now.

If you live in the south or Bkk you never see Thailand as it is.

Shame on all you ignorant fools who think you are far better than most Thai's, and I include you if you are Thai too.

BTW, is your occupation a Burglar?

Very witty.................never heard that before...he he

Lots of clear arguments from the rational people. Zip from the 'Thaksin is our savior" brigade. Typical.

If you live in the south or Bkk you never see Thailand as it is.

I feel for the people of Thailand who all they want is a fair Election in which whoever wins gets to govern without being kicked out through a coupe.

Unlike most of you on here, the red shirts couldn't afford to come to BKK without being paid, but they would rather not have to come in the first place.

This isn't fun or funny it's people fighting for Democracy, fairness. Forget Thaksin for a while and if he is a liar, bad, good, a saint, or the devil.

He WAS the Prime Minister of Thailand, he never got voted out of power the people who voted for him - over 60% - do not think this fair. If it were to happen in Germany, the US or the UK would YOU think it fair?

I hope no one gets hurt I hope it is peaceful, and I wish them well.

Shame on all you ignorant fools who think you are far better than most Thai's, and I include you if you are Thai too.

Thaksin apologist puts on the bleeding heart act. A 'feeling' Red. Whatever next? Read between the lines though and there is the usual whitewash of corruption.

How come most on here are "incognito"? You know....some people who say they care......do care.

You no doubt are from the "They are dogs we kick them" camp. What we call in England a ( you guess) tosser, jolly decent chap.

This user has not configured their 'About Me' page and has not added a signature to their account yet.

If one looks at the figure of 1.000,000 (one million) demonstrators although an impressive figure and indeed sight it is actually less than 1% (one per cent) of the population of Thailand.

I hardly think that qualifies as an overwhelming popular demand for the return of Thaksin brand of DEMONOCRACY

Ummm, there's around 67 million people in Thailand, so that's actually about 1.5% of the population. I don't know, but if 1.5% of Canada's population (~540,000 people) of all a sudden showed up in Ottawa to protest against the government, I'd say that'd cause a pretty decent stir nationwide.

I agree and to answer the question am I claiming that I can see Thailand better than the rest of you who have lived here for years?

Well possibly yes......ever heard of the saying can't see the Wood for the Trees? I talk to Thai's most days and I read the Times, The Independent, watch BBC News and many other English speaking newspapers including The Bangkok Post and The Nation. I'd say the Thai newspapers are slightly biased wouldn't you? Or perhaps you haven't noticed.

I take just as much an interest in Thailand than I do the UK because I intend to live in Thailand when I retire because I like it and the people.

Lots of clear arguments from the rational people. Zip from the 'Thaksin is our savior" brigade. Typical.

If you live in the south or Bkk you never see Thailand as it is.

I feel for the people of Thailand who all they want is a fair Election in which whoever wins gets to govern without being kicked out through a coupe.

Unlike most of you on here, the red shirts couldn't afford to come to BKK without being paid, but they would rather not have to come in the first place.

This isn't fun or funny it's people fighting for Democracy, fairness. Forget Thaksin for a while and if he is a liar, bad, good, a saint, or the devil.

He WAS the Prime Minister of Thailand, he never got voted out of power the people who voted for him - over 60% - do not think this fair. If it were to happen in Germany, the US or the UK would YOU think it fair?

I hope no one gets hurt I hope it is peaceful, and I wish them well.

Shame on all you ignorant fools who think you are far better than most Thai's, and I include you if you are Thai too.

Yes I cut and pasted this from a website. This is the sort of thing we read in the UK about Thailand - yes it is old news. It is how a journalist sees things and perhaps they have a better insight than ordinary folk. It also summarizes my views too.

Sitting in deck chairs, eating snacks and clapping along to live music, Thailand's new revolutionaries look like nothing so much as picnickers at a free concert. Judging by the crowd, it is easy-listening for all ages.

It's packed at the front of the stage, on the prime minister's muddy lawn, but there are huge video screens for everyone else.

Enough hot food and iced water for thousands of people has been supplied - free of charge - 24 hours a day for the past eight days and counting.

This is an epic love-in to end democracy. The problem for the middle-class protesters camped out at Government House in Bangkok - and for their leaders, and their leaders' backers, who are throwing this enormous free party - is that the poor who dominate the electorate keep choosing the wrong government.

Perhaps if the well-heeled protesters succeed in overthrowing the seven- month-old administration of Samak Sundaravej this will be called the Yellow Revolution, because they wear the color of Thailand's revered monarch to show their devotion to him. Or perhaps the Golf Revolution, because the thugs who patrol the protests are armed with golf clubs.

The battle lines are familiar from other emerging democracies. The turmoil earlier this year in Turkey was comparable. Wealthy city folk, conservative military and bureaucratic and legal establishment have trouble accepting the people's choice.

"They tend to be richer and regard themselves as more enlightened and Western-leaning than

the other side," says an observer of the Turkish scene. "But many see no paradox in their reluctance to accept the legitimacy of a general election result."

At root, Thai political analysts say, the metropolitan elite is threatened by the electorally popular Thaksin Shinawatra, who was overthrown as prime minister in a coup in 2006.

His protege, Samak Sundaravej, was elected by a clear margin as soon as the people were given another chance to vote at the end of last year.

"This is the problem area," explained a businessman at the demonstration, indicating northern Thailand on a map he had drawn in my notebook. The region is populous, agricultural and relatively underdeveloped.

They vote consistently for Thaksin and his allies, probably because of the cheap health care and improved living standards his policies delivered.

"They have a low education, they are farmers, they don't understand. You give them 10 (HK$139) and they will vote for you," the businessman claimed. "They are dogs. We kick them."

The answer offered by the protesters - who call themselves the People's Alliance for Democracy - is "the new politics."

Under the new politics only 30 percent of parliament would be elected. The rest would be appointed by the army and bureaucracy, controlled by the traditional social elite.

For Thailand's emerging democracy it is a disaster. "Normally Thai democracy is usurped by the army," according to Dr Thitinan Pongsudhirak, a Thai political scientist. "This time it is being threatened by a civilian movement which is even more right wing."

It is also a blow to the region. Of the 10 members of ASEAN - the club of South East Asian nations - only five, including Thailand, claim to be democracies.

Anyone gambling on Thailand's immediate future would be wise to guess that the government will shortly fall.

With its powerful allies in the army and the royal palace, the PAD looks untouchable. Even the local media, although it felt obliged to condemn the illegal occupation of Government House, has a soft spot for the PAD.

First the beleaguered prime minister turned to the courts. An order was duly issued, ordering them to end their occupation of the prime minister's front lawn, then inexplicably revoked.

"The occupation of Government House calls into question not only the viability of democracy in Thailand, but also the political neutrality of the court system," credit ratings agency Moody's noted.

Next, Samak called on the police to control the protests. They failed. Finally, on Tuesday, he declared a state of emergency and called in the army. The army chief, General Anupong Paojinda, while promising not to stage a coup, says he will not evict the protesters occupying the seat of government.

Samak, it appears, has been deserted by the powers that be. But if he has nowhere left to turn, neither does Thailand. Not for as long as its people are denied the governments they choose.

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH

You sir are just flat out wrong and are trying to rewrite history. TRT won the election in a landslide taking every province except for Bangkok and one in the south. Pattani maybe. But even in BKK a significant number of people voted TRT.

Every province except for Bangkok and one in the south??

Here are the 2005 Election Results:

House of Representatives - Feb. 8, 2005.

Vote%

Seats

Thai Love Thais Party -

Phak Thai Rak Thai (TRT)

60.47%

377

Democrat Party -

Phak Prachatipat (PP)

18.08%

96

Thai Nation Party -

Phak Chart Thai (PCT)

11.37%

25

Mahachon Party (MP)

8.26%

2

But maybe you're talking about the 2006 election, which was boycotted by most of the parties except for TRT:

House of Representatives - Apr. 2 and Apr. 23, 2006

(Partial results)

Vote%

Seats

Thai Love Thais Party -

Phak Thai Rak Thai (TRT)

61.1%

298

Other parties

1.1%

--

No vote

37.9%

--

Vacant

--

40

Proportional Representation

--

100

Or the 2007 Elections with PPP standing in for TRT:

House of Representatives - Dec. 23, 2007

Const.

Vote%

Const.

Seats

Prop.

Vote%

Prop.

Seats

Total

Seats

People's Power Party

36.63%

198%

39.60%

34

232

Democratic Party

30.30%

132

39.63%

33

165

Thai Nation Party

8.87%

33

4.35%

4

37

For the Motherland

9.19%

18

5.57%

7

25

Thais United National Development Party

4.73%

8

2.67%

1

9

Neutral Democratic Party

5.36%

7

1.49%

--

7

Royalist People's Party

2.27%

4

2.11%

1

5

or the 2009 by-elections:

Let's try to keep the disinformation to a minimum here. Statements like the OP are simply an insult to everyone's intelligence.

I'm pleased to see that someone is interested in FACTS and not just what they read in the BKK post and The Nation.

Anyone who admits to being a Net fan has my respect. I also agree with you, but would add that 4 years ago he wasn't the man he was before he entered politics.

Yeah, this may be slightly off topic, but it ain't easy these days

Back on topic, kind of - @ RobinH - I'm also a little confused because so many Red supporters are saying it isn't about Thaksin anymore, but here you are saying he should be the PM. So which is it?

Seein' it's Joisy, gotta ask; Which exit?

All I would want to see is an election that is fair and that the winner serves the whole term without being slung out either by the yellow shirts taking over this that and the other or by military coupe.

Is Thaksin the liar and cheat they say he is?

I don't know, but I don't believe The Nation or the Bangkok post or the Judges who are doing the Judging.

The government in the UK are just as bad but we will Vote them out, there will not be a military coupe.

Now as for leaving a sinking ship........Why is it sinking? Thailand could be the next China, Taiwan or India all it needs is a stable elected government.

rats leaving sinking ship springs immediately to mind.......

Some people don't seem to realize that Thaksin is the LEGAL democratically elected head of the Thai government. The military took over when he was on a trip out of Thailand. He was the people's choice to lead the country. We seem to be currently under military control without elections. I am sure if you were in his shoes you would want your family to leave the country to insure they were out of harm's way.

I'm not sure how many on here know what the hel_l they are talking about. I'm married to an Issan woman, a nurse and certainly educated. I read all I can about the situation in Thailand and I'm a red, pro Thaksin. The government now in power is 100% NOT elected. The FACT is that if there were an election and Thaksin were allowed to stand he would win. Anyone want to argue that fact?

She may need shoes too, do you know her size? My wife has lived here (UK) for 2 years and loves the snow just like a child likes it.

When we first met she came over for two weeks but as it is a six month Visa, we changed the flight and she stayed for 6 months so wew knew she could live in England and we could get on well.

Remember to take lots of pictures as this will help with Fiance/marriage Visa. Mery Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Useful information can be found here http://www.vfs-uk-th.com/thai/index.aspx It will take up to 3 months to get your Visa's from when all the forms and documents are submitted to the British Embassy. A friend has just been through the same as you (mother and child wanting to go to uk) and although straightforward it does take a long time. For my wife to come to the uk two years ago, it only took a matter of days but now they say "at least 3 months".

I'm sending money to my wifes Son in Thailand from the UK with "FairFX". It's very easy and safe. Go through this site and it's free. http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/travel/ch...-money#cheapest

It works just like a Debit card.

I used Halifax untill they found out and put a stop on my card. Got away with it for over a year though.