cocopops

Strange why the other 17 vehicles wern't reported stolen.

Perhaps the "rental" period on the others is yet to expire.

Silly. They should rename themselves as "Yellow Cross/Yellow Crescent".

Where in the article did it mention 'yellow' anything ? Where in the article did it mention that they were anti government protestors ? IT BLOODY DIDN'T. Read it properly. The 'protestors' were a group of lady boys having a shop 50 metres away and they tried to drown out the red cross with their noisy show..This has absolutely nothing to do with the government protests. Badly written crap.

More detail here:

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/694513-phuket-loses-seks-appeal/

The Army and the Navy just can't take it when someone tells the truth about them.

So, there it is. You officially endorse and support Amsterdam's statements. That might be a foolhardy action if your side doesn't win. Frankly, I continue to be amazed at many of the posts on this forum that routinely engage in what Thai law regards as criminal defamation. The people doing so, I assume, do not reside in nor plan to visit Thailand anytime soon.

Is it seriously your opinion that there exists a scenario in which a future Thai government will comb through old thaivisa threads in order to assemble a blacklist of foreigners who have posted opinions critical of them?

There is a current Thai government that has its police overseeing social media for threats to "instability". People have already been summoned and appeared before the police. Do you ever read the newspapers, here, in Thailand? Or do you just comment? If it's the latter, there are also several past discussions on the topic in this very forum. http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/658612-four-people-to-be-summoned-for-posting-unwanted-texts-on-social-media/

Thanks for the link.

But in this case the guy is a media figure - the political editor of Thai PBS. If he really did post misinformation that is likely to be taken seriously by large numbers of people, perhaps inciting panic and so on, then there is nothing wrong with reining him in. The imprisonment bit seems over the top, but I can think of plenty of things that, if irresponsibly posted by someone in his position, might warrant a fine.

Maybe they overreacted in that case. Difficult to tell without seeing the original post and knowing exactly who the fellow is.

But regardless, it would be my opinion that there is a pretty significant amount of slippery slope between that sort of thing and gratuitously searching through a forum like this after the fact in order to weed out inconsequential foreigners with the misfortune to be perceived as having chosen the wrong "side".

Should I assume that your answer to my question is "Yes. It is quite possible."? That you do seriously believe there is a chance a representative of the Thai government will one day comb through this thread in order to assemble a list of those unwelcome in the kingdom?

It's not a trick question. I'm interested in peoples ideas.

The Army and the Navy just can't take it when someone tells the truth about them.

So, there it is. You officially endorse and support Amsterdam's statements. That might be a foolhardy action if your side doesn't win. Frankly, I continue to be amazed at many of the posts on this forum that routinely engage in what Thai law regards as criminal defamation. The people doing so, I assume, do not reside in nor plan to visit Thailand anytime soon.

Is it seriously your opinion that there exists a scenario in which a future Thai government will comb through old thaivisa threads in order to assemble a blacklist of foreigners who have posted opinions critical of them?

Meanwhile another arm of Sutheps Ruling Elite - the Criminal Court, refuses to support the DSI in arresting the ringleaders - instructing the DSI to issue more summonses, thus playing for the time they all hope, for the coup that they want.

Great quoting the press about the "ruling elite". So the elite is 11.433.762 Thais?? !!

Stop believing all you hear and look for the truth in the numbers:

Very large constituencies with large numbers of voters would give one party only one seat (These they changed and were Democratic strongholds) much smaller constituencies, with much fewer people were divided up in several constituencies with one seat each. This means that even when people did not vote a 100% for the TRT they would still have a "glorious victory" over the Democrats. It was all made to match the TRT.

In numbers: The TRT and Dems had respectively: 15,744,190 and 11,433,762 people vote for them. A difference in % of the population of resp. (TRT, Dems) 48.41% and 35.15%. (say 13%) This was NOT reflected in the seats in Parliament by the self dividing rule of the TRT who changed the constituencies. (TRT/ Dems) 265 seats against 159 seats or in seats 106 (!!). If this had been in the range of anything like 225 to 196 this would have been a fair and acceptable result. (the difference being about 13%) or in seats 29. STOP talking about the elite and the poor. IT's nonsense. It's about fairness and each group getting a fair share of government. And yes, in the end agreeing with each other to rule this country justly and fairly would be the solution.

This trick is known as Gerrymandering. But has it really occurred in this case?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gerrymandering

The recent Australian election was won by 6.9M to 6.0M votes. Resulting in a margin of 90 to 55 lower house seats.

By your logic the winners of that election deserved 53.5% of the seats - or a margin of 78 to 67 if you round up in their favor.

May we therefore conclude that elections in Australia are significantly less "fair" than those in Thailand?

Note also that the only real revisions made to the electoral system in recent times were made by Mr. Abhisit. In both 2007 and 2011 the number of proportionately elected MPs was increased (from 0 to 80 and then to 125), a move that advantages minority parties.

But perhaps I'm wrong. Do you have a link to a site showing that some electorates are significantly larger than others?

I really cant understand why the reds think Suthep would want a coup or how it could benefit him, you see the first thing the army would do in the event of a coup would be to arrest him and lock him up and they could do it whereas the police cant.

Perhaps someone could explain.

I suppose because otherwise he will be standing in the street indefinitely. PT will not simply surrender control of the government, no matter how many people he puts on the street. So long as the Thaksin gang maintain any level of support at all the very idea is ridiculous. So we are left with a coup - either military or judicial.

The problem with a judicial coup is that it may not provide him and his cohorts with the time they need to allow the North to forget. If the election comes too soon they will lose in real landslide, regardless of any tweaks made to the electoral system. When offered the Feb. 2 election the Democrats and aligned groups knew they didn't have the numbers and they have spent the 6 weeks since then calling the entire population of the North and North-east stupid and ignorant. They'll need at least a years distance, or a truly monumental <deleted>-up from PT before they are back in the running.

So, by process of elimination, we assume that the plan must be to provoke a military coup.

Thinking this way is nothing to do with being a "red", as you put it. Just calling it like we see it. Presumably you have a different opinion?

I cannot hear this shit with "democratically elected government"anymore!

They paid the rural volks to vote for them and the undereducated rural volk did not know better...cross here and the next bottle of thai wiskey on the new government.

I'm by NO means a Thaksin or Red Shirt fan, but I cannot hear this shit with - paid the rural to vote for them and the under educated didn't know any better IGNORANT, ELITEST BULLSHIT anymore! Apparently you, like other fools, believe that Thaksin and his parties INVENTED vote buying, instead of accepting the truth that it was around long before Thaksin was little more than a lustful gleam in his father's eye. And I guess it might be safe to assume that you totally missed the interview with Korn, a DEMOCRAT LEADER, who flat out admitted that in the last election, the DEMS SPENT MORE THAT PTP, and they STILL LOST, and that Vote Buying had NOTHING TO DO with the outcome of the vote.

I'll tell you the same thing I tell the Thaksonites and Red Shirts - Clean the tint off your glasses and look at the Real World.

By the way, with the spelling and grammatical errors in YOUR post, you have very little ground to be calling anyone else "under educated".

Absolutely agree! Get off this stupid vote-buying nonsense! I have recently been north and talked to many people about this - all say yes, money has been offered - they already know who they're going to vote for, but some idiot comes to give them money, so they take it! Easy! It has no measurable effect on how people decide to vote. A real example.... my wife was given Bt.1,000 by a Dem politician last election (we live south of BKK)...she took the money, but didn't vote for him.

This.

To say that vote buying determines the outcome of the election is to suspect that there is a significant constituency that rocks up at the polls thinking "Well, certainly party A's policies seem a lot better, and I know for a fact that party B's candidate is a crook - he just paid me for my vote. Nevertheless, being a man (or woman) of honor, I shall cast my vote as pledged for party B. After all, a deal's a deal!"

Just doesn't seem plausible.

Different point: I wonder if your wife was lucky to score 1000B. The recent US election is said to have cost $6 billion. If between them the two parties were to hand out 1000B bribes to 50% of the electorate they would be pretty much at the same figure, no? Wow!

Edit: Off by a factor of 10. Still a lot of money though.

Yea, already addressed in another thread. No one seems to know how long that notice has been on the AEON website, but so far no one has reported any Bt150 foreign card fee being charged by AEON like Thai bank ATMs charge on Visa cards and Bt180 on Mastercards. Heck, I used AEION ATMs a half dozen times in December....same as always: no Bt150 applied for foreign cards....hopefully, it will stay that way.

No extra charge today with a Hong Kong ATM card. One with "Cirrus" and "Maestro" are printed on the back of it.

The support is so massive, why is Suthep so afraid to go into a sure win election?

for #@@#$ sake because elections cannot be free and fair when bought or bullied by Taksins cronies

Nobody with any credibility at all has suggested that the most recent elections were not conducted fairly.

Do you have one source? Even one link to any organization, international or otherwise, that even vaguely suggests the elections were stolen? That PT did not win fairly?

Just one will do!

Because if you don't, one has to wonder how you can be so sure of it.

Voters in many parts ae paid 300-500 baht for their votes ... fact

That in itself means it is not a fair vote. Give a poor person with no food 500 baht and he will vote for you

That money is distributed to voters is beyond a doubt. By both sides wherever possible. That this turned the election is an extremely controversial claim that nobody credible seems to have made.

Has Abhisit himself, the guy who lost that election, claimed that he was robbed? Has anyone?

If the election was not stolen, and it seems to me so far there is no objective reason to believe it was, how can one possibly support the PDRC coup?

The support is so massive, why is Suthep so afraid to go into a sure win election?

for #@@#$ sake because elections cannot be free and fair when bought or bullied by Taksins cronies

Nobody with any credibility at all has suggested that the most recent elections were not conducted fairly.

Do you have one source? Even one link to any organization, international or otherwise, that even vaguely suggests the elections were stolen? That PT did not win fairly?

Just one will do!

Because if you don't, one has to wonder how you can be so sure of it.

Do you get out and speak to people or do you sit behind a computer all day? EVERY PERSON i speak to in passing states they recieved hand outs and CASH for their votes. My mates girlfriend sasy the Red shirt leaders in the village LOOK at all voting on the day to ensure the money was well spent.

er you and your CREDIBLE sources as NEWSPAPERS are credible are they? My god I am in pain with laughter! People themselves and THEIR stories are credible sources Sir!

bugg

Of course cash changes hands. I am interested in whether or not anybody credible actually believes the election was stolen. That in the absence of vote-buying the result would have been different.

While your mate's girlfriend may trump "NEWSPAPERS" as a source of information in your eyes and I don't doubt the specifics that she has reported to you, I would suggest that she is in no position to answer the question that really matters - was the election stolen?

And so I'll ask again. Were there any international observer organizations that declared the election to be fraudulent? How about domestic organizations? The EC found a few local problems, but they accepted the overall result at the time.

Mr. Abhisit certainly seemed to think he lost fair and square when he conceded. Has he revised that position since?

If the answer to any of the above is anything other than "No.", I am very interested to hear it. Can anyone provide me with a link?

The support is so massive, why is Suthep so afraid to go into a sure win election?

for #@@#$ sake because elections cannot be free and fair when bought or bullied by Taksins cronies

Nobody with any credibility at all has suggested that the most recent elections were not conducted fairly.

Do you have one source? Even one link to any organization, international or otherwise, that even vaguely suggests the elections were stolen? That PT did not win fairly?

Just one will do!

Because if you don't, one has to wonder how you can be so sure of it.

In the 2007 election Peua Thai and Dems got more or less equal numbers in the Party List system (a more accurate reflection of nationwide support), yet PT got 48% of MPs deems 35%, due to the weighted constituency proportions. Then you have the small parties who will 'go where the money is', so you have a coalition with a strong parliamentary dominance, led by one party which is led by one unelected person, thinking they are 'the majority'. Can't you see the shortcoming then?

Madam, we are not seeking to beat you at the elections we are seeking to hold you, the elected leader, accountable. Something you seem to have overlooked.

According to wikipedia, while the proportional vote was more or less even at 14M each, PPP took the constituency vote by 26.2 to 21.7 million. That is why they had more seats in parliament.

Who can tell me where the missing party list votes went? Did large numbers of people vote for their local MP but not cast a party list vote?

Most Thai girls are driven by a desire to help and support their parents, this help includes marrying for money. But just because they do marry for money doesn't mean to say ...

General rule: People very rarely do things for a single reason.

Better questions:

Given the support you claim to have, do you believe that if you (PDRC or aligned parties) did field candidates in the upcoming election you would win? If so, why not do so?

If not, why not? Why do you think it impossible to convince even a small fraction of Thaksin's 15 million to support you?

Try this for an answer:

"Because these will be stolen elections (again) that do not address the concern of the rank and file. The concern is how power is concentrated into the hands of one family and how this family has managed to distort the whole concept of democracy. Historical evidence shows that merely holding an election is not a demonstration of democracy. Saddam, Mussolini, Kim, Hun Sen and many others have shown this to be so. What we are asking for is a clear, fair and transparent election that allows ALL parties to compete on equal terms. For example, the Red supporters defacing more than 90% of the posters errected by the Democrats at the last election is not a demonstration of a fair and democratic electoral process. Nor is the setting up of red villages where, in many cases, if you do not vote for the PTP then you are a marked person in that village and do not share the privileges that your neighbours enjoy. And democracy, above all, is dependent on the rule of law. When the ruling party is in fact run by a convicted criminal on the run from justice how can anyone call this a democratic process. This stretches credulity too far."

Does this help Coco?

It begins to speak to it. Thanks for the answer. If I were to play the devil's advocate, based on my limited understanding of the situation, I would respond that:

The most recent elections were not stolen. Nobody has credibly claimed that (If I'm wrong here, please provide a link). And while it is true that dictators have come to power via the ballot box, it is also true that many have seized power as part of revolutions conducted on behalf of "the people". But in both cases the comparison is ridiculous. Thaksin, Yingluck and Suthep are nothing like those tyrants. And it's insensitive to the many, many victims of such to pretend otherwise.

As for "distorting the whole concept of democracy", well... come on.

So we're left with:

• Red supporters defacing posters,
• The idea that people in far off villages are being compelled to vote for Thaksin & co. by violence and other extraordinary means.
• The fact that Thaksin himself is a fugitive from justice.

Of the three above, the second seems the most important. Sounds like despicable behaviour that should certainly be stopped. But is anyone seriously contending that this sort of thing influenced the election result? The areas where this can occur must be areas where the populace is pretty solidly red anyhow.

Much is made of Thaksin's criminal convictions. And the fact that he has (so far) evaded punishment. Assuming the conviction was justified (and I have no reason to believe it was not - just noting that I don't know) this should also be rectified. That he is caught and imprisoned is important in the sense that it provides a disincentive to future corrupt politicians. But I don't see that it goes further than that. That Yingluck takes advice from him is not a betrayal against those who voted for her (it was, after all, her campaign slogan). Reagan took advice from an astrologer.

So for me, I guess my questions stand. These things seem to be political scandals, nothing more. Nothing like the magnitude of what should be required to seize control of the state and suspend the democratic process by extraordinary means. Which is, after all, a pretty big step (or at least it should be).

If I missed anything, please correct me. If there is information out there that can help me change my mind, please provide links!

Final clarification: If there were a real election tomorrow and I were invited to vote, I would vote Democrat.

Better questions:

Given the support you claim to have, do you believe that if you (PDRC or aligned parties) did field candidates in the upcoming election you would win? If so, why not do so?

If not, why not? Why do you think it impossible to convince even a small fraction of Thaksin's 15 million to support you?

All true joy and happiness in life comes from our relationships with other people. Sometimes from animals too I suppose. And perhaps high-quality audio equipment. But mainly other people!

Sex, booze, drugs, money, cars, fancy houses, or whatever it is that you crave, are just temporary fixes. Those things can be nice, but they won't actually make a fellow happy.

I think too often the kinds of people that the OP's stereotype describes have inadvertently cut themselves off from what really matters by focusing too intently on some of these temporary fixes.

It's unfortunate really, because Thailand seems so full of friendly folks happy to make new friends. Chiang Mai is anyhow. Perhaps it's not like that everywhere.

There is no Thai word for "responsible" or "consequence". And yes, it is just fate, it's meant to happen ...

Not actually true.

They can have their tainted one sided election.

It won't change the feeling on the streets and will almost certainly make it worse.

Dems may well have sacrificed their best chance of winning, especially with the definite votes lost from red shirts who seem to be turning, especially the ones in the swing areas, thanks to the ludicrous amnesty bill. We even have the rice growers association protesting today. Add to that the fact YL only got 49% of a popularity poll that was conducted in their most dominant provinces (isaan).

So I doubt PTP would have walked this one.

I admire the Dems for their sacrifice, it must not have been an easy decision. But they are all about reform before elections as are the majority of the population. Anyone NOT for this, you really have to question their motives.

You seem to know what you're talking about. Do you know where I can read about what the proposed reforms are? Or what the nature of them will be?

I'm completely at a loss on the issue. Is it a new kind of election system? Or a purge of officials seen to be serving something other than the country?

Or does nobody know and we're just hoping they'll be good?

I don't see a problem with variable pricing.

I sell my services to make a living. And I try pretty hard to figure out the customers ability and willingness to pay before quoting a price. It's called commerce.

The situation the OP describes is different though. Surreal, really. Surely somebody misunderstood somebody somewhere there...

oh and by the way this is not a troll

Bullshit.

Stop! All this speculation and apportioning blame by armchair pundits with little information and even less knowledge.

It was my father involved in the accident and the facts are as follows;

My father (an ex RAF pilot with a spotless, accident free driving record) was crossing the dual carriageway and saw a motorcycle (and no other vehicle) approaching at some distance up the road. He then realized the bike was travelling in excess of 120kph (verified by a Thai witness who has come forward and has filed a police witness report). My father accelerated to get to the far side of the carriageway and leave room for the motorcycle. The driver of the motorcycle accelerated further and tried to go round the front of the car, rather than do what any experienced rider would do and go round the back of the vehicle. He hit the front passenger side door, where my mother was sitting and flew over the car. The car then hit the concrete wall as my father had lost control following the collision.

This makes things clearer. The assumption that the motorcyclist would assume the car will continue in it's path across the freeway is a poor one though. Cars trying to do a U-turn or cross the traffic here will often push the bonnet of the car into the path of the oncoming traffic while they wait (this is, quite simply, insane, but is also extremely common). So when the motorcyclist saw the car start to cross his path he almost certainly assumed it was going to stop.

Wishing your father and the other party speedy recovery.

As everywhere in the world (also England,Australia,Africa,America,Europe...)there is priority of the right (except otherwise indicated)

So if you see dammage on the left side of a car ,99% this car was in his right.

In thai traffic rules is stipulated: motorcycles can only drive in the left hand side of the street .Occupying max 1 meter of space.I a car is parked in this space ,the motorcycle is not allowed to pas the parked vehicle on the right,but has to stop and Walk arround the car on the left side .

This is the thai law,check it out in the books.Dont ask a police man ,they know nothing.

Correct at a crossroads in the absence of any other guidance.

But it is a ridiculous suggestion that vehicles turning right across traffic have right of way. I don't think you understood the description of the accident.