Insight

One of the causes of the people's disdain for the Dems is their insipid silencing of any opposition. They are already behind in the polls & this will only hurt them more. Go ahead do it!!!.

One of the reasons lots of people don't like UDD = PTP = Thaksin is because they are to blame in part for those 91 deaths in 2010 and still continue to only blame the government ignoring whatever they are to blame of. Read the HRW report, it's in English, should be no problem

They are 100% to blame. The reason being is that they organised the occupation/protest and their leaders urged violence even before the protests started. It was a 'come-on' and part of Thaksin's strategy.

It's good that some people get it. Unfortunately there's little help of this perpetuating when the likes of the BBC is still on about "reds versus yellows".

This is interesting. If the bail is withdrawn this time around and the red shirts do go on another arson/bombing rampage, it will no doubt reflect negatively on Phua Thai.

On the other hand, the reds can then cry "silencing the opposition" to the international media to maximum effect (local media is unlikely to give a toss), thus tarnishing the outcome of the election.

I'm not a fan of Thaksin, but let's face it - the guy is the second coming and clearly Thailand's only savior. If anybody thinks these recent ABAC polls are not an indication of the blanket love for Thaksin across all of Thailand then maybe they should try living in a swamp for a few weeks. Only if you're lucky enough to repent Thaksin will return and walk on water just to drag you out of poverty.

Back on earth, it looks like we could be heading towards another coalition government. No really surprises there.

^ Yawn. He also spends shitloads on PR too.

Isn't your online nickname missing the word "smokes" in the middle?

He doesn't hold a British passport. Are you familiar whatsoever with the election system? It's not dissimilar to the UK. People vote for party representatives in their constituency, and the majority party (or in both cases presently for Thailand and the UK, a coalition that makes a majority) elects their leader. That's the rule, however many reds seem too ignorant to understand that.

Except when Samak and Somchai were in power. Seemed to make perfect sense to them back then.

Ah . . . I get it! Thailand's most-wanted criminal but taking steps to uphold the law would not look good. Better to ignore him and hope he goes away. I get it now

R

The govt is being made to walk a tightrope. If they block him next thing is Amsterdam will have the international tabloids in a "silencing the opposition" frenzy, yet letting him speak is making a complete mockery of the law. The promises of this "economic genius" are very revealing, however. Just when the world is still reeling from giving cheap debt away, he's promising more of it to those that don't know any better in the hope of getting elected. He might be Thailand's greediest, but he's smart enough to recognise it's a trait shared by many of his fellow countrymen.

The Democrats however should be taking much more of an offensive on the political front. All what I've seen so far is more of the Cambodian border spat, and some of Suthep's "wise words" regarding the HRW report. They need to get a clue very quickly.

The reds are SO democratic ghat they have been systematically defacing posters featuing Abhisit here in Chiang Mai.

And you have witnessed Reds doing this? Usually, kids and students are the ones drawing on the signs. Who doesn't know of a kid anywhere that hasn't tossed a rock at someone's mug on an election sign, or drawn devils horns.

Yeah, you're right. It was probably very politically active kids. Same kids that smashed all the Democrat signs here in BKK before the local Bangkok elections (where Phua Thai got slaughtered).

Shame the witnesses in the report couldn't shed further light on which group this guy could belong to....

Next time a load of marine life washes up on the shores of Phuket, it's probably been blown out the water by the contents of this report.

As stated in the inner quote

Fruits of a poisoned tree,

no illegal and over the top violent rallies, and no deaths.

There was little or no violence before the army moved in using live ammunition.

Previously, during an earlier red-shirt rally that turned violent the army used live ammunition against stone throwing and catapult wielding protestors then lied about it.

No wonder they brought arms with them the next time.

When was this?

anyone notice the proliferation of newbie posters on TV who have suddenly found a voice, a forum to shout from and a political opinion to spout?

sounds dodgy to me......................

What could possibly sound dodgy about "maewrocks" ?

The Red Shirts have failed the Red Shirts. No revolution can succeed when the individuals have no clear idea what they are trying to accomplish and expect the leaders to do the thinking for them - it's recipe for exploitation, not liberation.

It reminds me of an old episode of He-Man about leadership. The moral was not only the importance of being a good leader, but being a good follower.

"You never have to do something you know is wrong just because someone tells you to," said He-Man.

It's too bad Thais don't watch it.

Thai Politics 0 He-Man 1

270 BHWHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

Thaksin Fail

Typical college humour response from SomTumTiger.

Love it

Ha ha ha, after the LM saga now closing down community radio stations...lower than kathoy..i think worse than vermin..

Nice to have an LCM51 member in the house.

Did Abhisit really say "I can't believe that our children can be this stupid."?

He's clearly been spending too much time on ThaiVisa.

Somebody out there is screaming "election... must... not... happen!!!"

Betya it will.

The reason why they are so stupid is because they are greedy. Greedy scammers....Greedy customers....what goes around comes around!!!!

It seems like stupidity - until it happens to you, or someone you know well. Some of these scams are incredibly convincing.

Greed may be the prime motivator in some of the cases, but other scams draw on a mark's compassion, or even their willingness to help (bogus) policemen.

bkklife's statement is a tad harsh (actually that's an understatement).

A scam my wife was telling me about a while back was how these con merchants would somehow obtain the numbers for and call up poor families up country who have ATM cards but rarely go the ATM. They would dupe them into believing they've won a cash prise that they could collect at the ATM in town. Once the victim had arrived at the ATM and called the scumbags back, the con merchants' would direct them on how to use it, but directing the victims to use the English language option rather than phasa Thai - thus leaving them completely in the dark. The con merchants would then instruct them to unknowingly make a transfer back to their own account.

The stuff of real lowlives.

Surely they can trace the account the money was deposited in...?

Political activists and associates of high-profile Thammasat University historian Somsak Jiamteerasakul have reacted with shock to the lese-majeste charge filed against him.

To further confuse matters, according to Somsak's speech yesterday, he's not yet actually had charges filed against him (which probably accounts for his accuser not being identified in the OP as is usually the case in these matters).

I smell red shirts.

the country is close to civil war between red and yellow.....

after the next election

there are possible outcomes...

1. Democrat join PTP

2.coup

3.Taksin is back...............

No such thing as civil war in Thailand, red vs yellow is such an over-played card. The Thais are united by a much higher authority.

Border skirmishes, for example, may be a reason for instigating a coup before an election date is announced (if the powers that be fear a defeat for the Democrats).

I'm wondering if the border skirmish is a response from the military to the (completely bases and unsubstantiated IMO) coup rumours. Diverts attention away from Thaksin's PR push, suggests a unified army fighting a known assailant while also serving to discredit anybody associated with that assailant.

Maybe my imagination doing overtime, but it certainly distracts from the almost predictable political cat fights.

Party and movement in jeopardy? Red shirt 101 - start another baseless coup rumour.

Good write up, but still missing a fundamental point. Thailand's infamous sex industry aside, the sexualisation of girls happens at a young age here, by the very parents who are probably condemning the acts committed by these young girls during Songkran.

Check out any show in a temple fair, or videos on the karaoke CD's available and you'll see it. Young girls wearing make up and clothes, pulling off dance routines that probably wouldn't look that far out of place in the above mentioned red light districts.

It's amazing such parents can't make the connection between the two events. Maybe it is plain denial.

So a string of outlandish claims by somebody I considered to be a more "moderate" and less intellectually challenged red shirt leader (who interestingly seems to be putting his weight behind Juttaporn).

Perhaps the ties are well and truly severed?

There will be surprises and expect the unexpected.

On that, we agree. What those surprises might be, we probably don't lol. Hopefully I will be surprised if the Reds decide not to burn down any more buildings!

The red shirts, or Phua Thai? It's easier than ever to get them both confused nowadays

Wow - who saw this coming? I did, and have said so repeatedly. The fracturing of PTP has begun. Bad for Thaksin, but -

GREAT FOR THAILAND

Chawalit is just one man, but the people who support PTP is still here. Democrats party is also being ignored by the yellow now, do u say they would win this time? How about the damages that they made fro Thailand, oil, cooking oil, egg, unemployment, drugs, corruption etc.

By "yellow", do you mean the New Politics Party? The party that, in their "stronghold" of Bangkok, received a sum total of 0 votes?

I understand that despite this, the Democrats done particularly well.