jonclark

So what happens if the small business, for example a restaurant, you know the type a small Kao Man Gai type which operate on a shoestring budget can't afford to pay the 300 baht a day for it's staff. A fuc**ng useless policy which will increase poverty as employers lay off people, to pay for those that remain. So it seems there are 3 options

1) close the business

2) cut down on staff

3) put up prices to cover the extra cost

I guess they won't be handing out how to vote phamplets at the polling stations either. Ilegal to discuss politics with friends on the social networks. Freedom of speech????

Who are you? what do you want? No wait I didn't mention that "T" word, please wait aaaaarrrrrrgh beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I know exactly where you are coming from. It is a total infringement on the individuals freedom of speech. No argument there. If Twitter etc are used to get people out to vote, even at the last minute, isn't that a good thing? Very strange rule, but we live in strange times. Ah well at least it is nice a quiet in Bangkok at the moment, can even hear the birds singing while I enjoy my coffee and morning smoke in the garden - maybe we could have an election every Sunday.

It is time to stop all the bickering and just let the chips fall where they will. PTP or Dems, it's just the same song on a different record. My only reservation about Yingluck is this. To use an analogy: You wouldn't give a man the job of driving a school bus if he had never driven before. Yet here we stand on the cusp of an election and the prospect of a women, who has never been in parliament, with no political experience about to take the reins of the country. If fear she will be torn to shreds in the lions dens and a crash maybe imminent. It's all well and good on the election trail with prepared notes and choreograph routines, i feel she will be in for a harsh and brutal shock and she may rue the day she was chosen for this.

But on a more positive note its great for women to actually have a high profile public figure to aspire to.

Everyone has a high public figure to aspire to...... Our Lord Jesus Christ.

And this election is certainly not the same song on a different record... just watch the overseas investments dry up... and this money is what has been keeping Thailands head above the water for the last few years.. corruption is killing this beautiful land. Thaksin = corruption on a Grand Scale.. Today, say goodbye to the Thailand you knew...........!

Most Thais are Buddist, so excuse their lack of interest.

But, as you rightly say, it will be interesting to see what happens to the foreign investment if / when the government changes.

It is time to stop all the bickering and just let the chips fall where they will. PTP or Dems, it's just the same song on a different record. My only reservation about Yingluck is this. To use an analogy: You wouldn't give a man the job of driving a school bus if he had never driven before. Yet here we stand on the cusp of an election and the prospect of a women, who has never been in parliament, with no political experience about to take the reins of the country. If fear she will be torn to shreds in the lions dens and a crash maybe imminent. It's all well and good on the election trail with prepared notes and choreograph routines, i feel she will be in for a harsh and brutal shock and she may rue the day she was chosen for this.

But on a more positive note its great for women to actually have a high profile public figure to aspire to.

Third World countries have quite often been led by people that have never been in Government before, Sometimes very successfully (for the majority) of the people of that country.

It's not about you or me it's about them, Thai people, Thailand.

It can take 2 or maybe 3 generations to change the fate of a sector of society but there has to be a starting point

You're right sometimes it has been successful. Lets hope the cup is half full and not half empty this time! There are so many hurdles to overcome just hope she has the legs for the run.

It is time to stop all the bickering and just let the chips fall where they will. PTP or Dems, it's just the same song on a different record. My only reservation about Yingluck is this. To use an analogy: You wouldn't give a man the job of driving a school bus if he had never driven before. Yet here we stand on the cusp of an election and the prospect of a women, who has never been in parliament, with no political experience about to take the reins of the country. If fear she will be torn to shreds in the lions dens and a crash maybe imminent. It's all well and good on the election trail with prepared notes and choreograph routines, i feel she will be in for a harsh and brutal shock and she may rue the day she was chosen for this.

But on a more positive note its great for women to actually have a high profile public figure to aspire to.

You are right, but she is NOT driving a school bus, she is the FACE of a potential leading party and if she / her party win the election, behind her will be a set up of professionals / experienced leading the country.

Like it or not, she is popular and I assume she will win in, well TIT.

And honestly, neither being a Yellow or a Red shirt here, but what the current government have been doing the last 18 month is quite poor, beside the Red shirt protest treatment last year, the conflict with cambodia, the ongoing trouble in the south, no wonder the tourists are staying away from Thailand...

(not mentioning the incredible raising i.e. Gasoline prices over the last 18 month and the hard to chuckle exchange rate)

Doesn't really fill you with confidence though if you are a passenger on the bus and a man in a suit is telling the bus driver;

"Stop, stop the lights red" or No, you're not allowed to get on the pavement." or Well done, you didn't crash"

I honestly wish her well, but this country needs a leader all people can unit behind. A leader directs the country, she will be (visibly) directed by others.

It is time to stop all the bickering and just let the chips fall where they will. PTP or Dems, it's just the same song on a different record. My only reservation about Yingluck is this. To use an analogy: You wouldn't give a man the job of driving a school bus if he had never driven before. Yet here we stand on the cusp of an election and the prospect of a women, who has never been in parliament, with no political experience about to take the reins of the country. If fear she will be torn to shreds in the lions dens and a crash maybe imminent. It's all well and good on the election trail with prepared notes and choreograph routines, i feel she will be in for a harsh and brutal shock and she may rue the day she was chosen for this.

But on a more positive note its great for women to actually have a high profile public figure to aspire to.

Last gasp from a dying campaign.

I'm sure the political knives will be out for the PM who carried the burden of the election on his shoulders while some of his cabinet ministers hid on the sidelines.

Yep you're right on this one. The problem will be for the dems who would lead the party if / when he resigns? Suthep - well that would be as popular as having a pedo in a school, Korbsak too much yellow in him for large parts of society to stomach.

I'm sure that (despite reports) AV will however do the honorable thing and resign if his party fails by a large margin. but IMO I don't think the margin will be as large as some commentators have us think, just a hunch.

Looking forward to this election purely because the people need to feel they are in charge of the country and its direction

In that case, I wonder why they aimed so low. Why not set the target minimum wage at 5,000 baht. That would make everyone feel MUCH more positive.

I can't believe you're defending these ridiculous promises.

edit: actually, I'm not really surprised you're defending them.

I am not defending the promises. I am pointing out that the statement, which has been put into as negative a light as possible in the opinion piece, was a statement of goal. There is nothing wrong with the statement as a vision statement. It is a positive hopeful position. On the contrary, it is to be expected from a well managed political party. Many political parties elsewhere have similar vision statements. What must follow is a strategy to achieve that goal. Personally, I don't think that the goal is achievable, but that's not the intent. The intent is to fix a target and to say to the party and its supporters, this is what we want to achieve. The Democrats have yet to provide a clear statement of direction.

I believe that Thailand has a looming fiscal crisis and that the PTP should it win will inherit an empty treasury. That's why I do not believe the goal is achievable. I suspect that you and others are trashing the statement based upon the usual negative positions that anything and everything PTP is bad. You may need to reconsider those views once the PTP wins the election.

That last sentence sounds slightly threatening. Surely PTP wouldn't threaten those who speak out against them. After all remember the ruckus caused by PTP in parliament and on the streets when the Dem shut down all the red radio stations. Besides aren't PTP all for reconciliation??

This has been well played by the Abhisit government ( from a political strategy point of view). They will more than likely leave a politically inexperienced PM open to the full sentiment and wrath of a nationalistic nation, as well as the establishment should she lose 1 inch of land. [perfect conditions for a coup] At the same time I'd imagine Hun Sen is expecting the power broker in PTP to give him the temple in return for shelter given or other favours provided by him. There will be no honeymoon for poor old Yingluck and she my well shed a few more tears in parliament. Yingluck - more like Noluck!

I thinly the only job worse in the world than being Thai PM has to be the England Football Manger!!

How dare foreigners come here and cheat our women. If it keeps up like this Isaan will go bankrupt, and foreigners will have a bad name in Thailand.

Unfortunate for the women involved, but it's nice to see the boot on the other foot for once.

Thailand sits like a child in the corner sulking.

With a loaded gun.

Which it uses constantly to shoot itself in the foot

Bad move to walk out. Now you have no international voice on this matter and only the Cambodians will be heard. Thailand sits like a child in the corner sulking.

this guy can lie all day and most Thais still believe him... Including the media of course. he can say black is white and white is black and nobody is going to question anything because there's just no use anymore.

he's going to come back and reign (or rule whatever) for 20 years until he nominates his son to be the next president for life...

Well if it's what the people want, let them have it. It's their country, so they know best. And when they cry we shan't listen.

It wasn't us it was them.

Who are they?

Not us.

Are you sure?

Errr.........

If there is any violence at this rally the blame falls entirely on caretaker PM Abhisit for being so provocative> I hope this time he will be held accountable.

So let me gt this straight

Reds rally at Ratchaprasong - result violence and death = PM responsibility

Dems rally at Ratchaprasong - result violence and death = PM responsibility

Whats next - Aliens invade down town Bangkok = PM responsibility!!

To be honest the responsibility for deaths last year is shared. If both sides had sat down, talked, negotiated and not been so f**king pig headed and obtuse none of the events would likely to have occured. So stop all this <deleted> trying to pin the blame onto a single man. It takes two to tango.

It will (hypothetically) be interesting to see a PTP government response if the dem supporters barracked themselves into Ratchaprasong for 3 long months. Clearly they would be unable to send in the tanks as they would just be hypocrites. Their constant complaining about how the dems handled things is making a rod for their own back. If anyone thinks PTP / UDD would do things differently if the shoe was on the other foot, well they need to remove their head from their backside. (Hypothetically of course!!)

I never got what the fuss was all about As Thai films generally focus on similar themes, sexual innuendo , fights, and taking the piss out of those on the fringes of society (ladyboys, dwarfs and farangs).

Wouldn't it be a real bitch slap to the face if the Dems actually managed to pull more people to Ratchaprasong than the Reds did. Explain that Thida !!! But in all seriousness lets hope it is peaceful and all sides get to hear all sides of the story.

BTW on a slight detour, an i correct in my assumption that Thida (and her husband and by association the party she heads) follow a Maoist/communist ideology. Can anyone explain to me how that ideology fits with having a monarchy?

hahahahaha hahahahaha :lol: :lol:

Thanks saved me the trouble - funny as <deleted>!

The army must be a penny short of a pound. Does it not realize that its incident like this that increases the anger and resentment against this institution and provide more ammunition for the UDD and their political allies to rouse the public with. Is the army without honour? Does the army not serve the Thai public ? Is teh army not funded by the public through taxpayers money? If PTP or DP form the next government i hope they absolutely slate the army and bring all members of the armed forces under the jurisdiction of the law. The time is right now for this to be done, as another coup will not be tolerated, either domestically or internationally.

Latest & most comprehensive poll (Nida) just out. 103,000 people surveyed across the country. PT:51.55, Dems 34.04. Undecided1.85%.

Heaven forbid we would doubt the veracity of your posting, but, frankly, without a news source and a link, it's completely worthless.

.

12:03 PM BP Breaking News

Man, BJP and all the other 'minor parties must be pissed - no one single vote from 103'000 people !!!

OK, alleged. Who's playing the FEAR card now?

The Dems playing the Fear card. PT wants to bring *Thaksin back*, they say. to appeal those people who fear/hate Thaksin.

Problem: Thaksin was the most popular PM ever, during his days as PM. And it is only a tiny minority who actually hate him or hate the reds. Many people still support Thaksin and/or the reds. And probably much more don't care, don't hate Thaksin and don't mind if he would come back or not.

The Dems playing a game that they cannot really win, alleged target are the undecided voters, but they have probably those in mind who would choose the NO Vote option. For that ultra wing they are now trying to look a little bit like tough girls.

So you are saying he is, or was popular? Ok, then let's have a look at the Proportional votes of the 2007 election by comparing the valid votes of all adult citizens who were eligible to participate.

In 2007 TRT Party received 14,071,799 of the Proportional votes, and the Dems received 14,084,265 of the Proportional votes.

Can we say that in 2007 Abhisit was more popular than Thaksin (Samak)?

Luckily, now the Proportional votes are becoming more important then that they were in 2005. In 2005 it was all about the Constituency votes.

Or let's look at it this way. From all the 38,981,412 Thai People that were eligible to vote in 2007, TRT Party received 14,071,799 votes.

Why the huge decline in votes in 2007 from the landslide wins in 2001 and 2005? Because people were fed up with over-the-top corruption and started voting for the Dems.

I believe that today his propaganda machine is trying to make him very popular again by portraying him as the "warrior for justice". Our own Super Hero. And it might work.

Remember, the best way to confuse (and then brain-wash) people, is by making them believe the exact opposite.

.

PPP won 199 of possible 400 seats in the constituencies. they won 34 seats of possible 80 seats in the proportional voting.

And that after the gerrymandering of the constituencies and the voting system by the military.

This election will have different constituencies again.

For the proportional vote there isn't any Samak anymore, but Yingluck and she is very popular according to the polls.

The promising new comer - 'lets give it a try' - bonus for Abhisit in 2007 don't exist anymore and people have seen how is under the Dems. Check the latest polls how convincing it was.

Though you didn't check polls??

Maybe the Dems should pay some red shirts to actually turn up and be abusive, violent - It would wonderful PR for the PM and also a timely reminder to Bangkok of the 'red menace' .

The final throes of a truly desperate bunch. They are throwing away any chance of future reconciliation by riling the opposition just for the sake of their political gain. It's only going to turn more against them. I hope their propaganda is drowned out by the many reds who will surely turn out.

Suppose some / many reds do turn up and attack the PM as he speaks. Wouldn't that simply reinforce the PMs propaganda. Imagine the PM is talking about the alleged red shirt violence and the heckling red shirts become violent - reminds me a slogan currently doing the rounds. Abhist says, UDD does.

The reds need to respect his right to speak.They had their turn for three long months. If they don't respect him as a person fair enough. But they need to respect the office he holds!!

You think your doctor intentionally sabotaged your operation, because you lied on your application which he discovered by monitoring your wireless communication?

Cindy - forget it! Is there any solid evidence of these claims that the doctor sabotaged the op? Even if it was sueing a doctor in Thailand will take forever and at most you'd get a couple of thousand US?

Seems like someone got an op on the cheap, it went wrong and he/she is pissed.

It certainly isn't because of all the trees blocking the sun, that's for sure.

I am quite surprised how people can avoid getting 10 to 15 minutes of sunlight every few days.

You know how it is Scott, the cosmetic interests comes before health.

2001 Thaksin Shinawatra won the elections. Allegations of vote-buying forced partial re-run of poll. Thaksin formed a coalition government.

2008 8 July - Former parliamentary speaker and deputy leader, Yongyut Tiyapairat was stripped of his seat by Thai election officials for vote buying in northern Thailand during last December elections.

December 2 - A Constitutional Court ruled that the People Power Party (PPP) be disbanded because one of their party executives was convicted of vote buying during the December 2007 elections.

Answer this question here:

http://www.thaivisa....ost__p__4488080

And how many people exactly sold their vote?

that's not for me to say, you called a previous post ''nonsense'' that said Thaksin bought votes

a little research states otherwise so that makes your red defense ''nonsense''

however it follows that where there are sellers, there will be buyers

so if there were no sellers there could be no conviction for buying

there were convictions for vote buying so obviously there were sellers of votes

simple enough for you...........?

No, its too much simplification and stupification for me. A nonsense debate.

Vote buying is not the reason why so many people voted for TRT, PPP or will vote for PT.

Probably not the only reason, but the provision of money for placing an X on a ballot paper is a reason, and in some cases a welcome (additional) reason for many poorer Thai families. Poverty and corruption are bedfellows.