rubl

Some more insight

"Mr. Panetta said that the CIA still has much to learn about Mr. bin Laden’s years as a fugitive, but said the fact that he lived in Pakistan for six years without phone service “suggests the involvement of AT&T.”"

http://www.borowitzreport.com/

I believe that zzaa09 is using "universal" according to definition # 2 -- makes good logical sense to me.

u·ni·ver·sal (yn-vûrsl) adj. 1. Of, relating to, extending to, or affecting the entire world or all within the world; worldwide: "This discovery of literature has as yet only partially penetrated the universal consciousness" (Ellen Key).2. Including, relating to, or affecting all members of the class or group under consideration: the universal skepticism of philosophers.

Mmmh looking in my copy of OCD (aka Oxford Concise Dictionary) I find on

universal (adj)

1. ...

2. Logic (of a proposition) in which something is asserted of all of a class (opp. PARTICULAR).

Have to think about that. 'universal view amongst brethern SE Asian countries'. I think even with that interpretation the 'universal' and 'amongst' conflicts somehow.

edit: add: mind you with 'probably' in front (as zzaa09 indeed had) it might be sufficiently vague to be possibly correct

Precisely how I believe the majority of Americans feel. We've had enough. I'm all for America practicing complete isolationism. Pull all troops out of all countries and let them all fend for themselves. But attack us and pay the price.

Isolationism, brilliant. Cut all ties with the rest of the world. Solves a major part of the $14 trillion debt as well. Why didn't anyone thought of this before ?

I am going to weigh in on this topic at a risk.

... middle removed ...

So flame away, I am sure you will hard facts and truth always gets a rise out of social networking.

Although your post might be called trolling, let's just assume you're seriously interested in this subject. May I suggest you read the HRW report from one/two weeks ago? When you still have questions or remarks after, just post them here

And now for the good news:

Brilliant, it is obvious to all who reneged on a deal here, just as it is obvious who is the aggressor, now we have a foreign minister from a third party also stating who is to blame, no doubt Thailand will hide this from its own people or throw some mud back at malaysia in the hope that thais will believe it.

This Malaysian view is probably universal amongst brethren SE Asian countries, as well as other foreign observations.

To be expected, Thailand is eating crow.

Universal amongst SE Asian brethern? UNIVERSAL amongst a few countries? The logic escapes me, sorry.

The Malaysian remarks only blame Thailand 'saying it had reneged on a deal to send observers to the disputed region'. That has nothing to do with who is the aggressor. Thailand will not hide these remarks and simply state ones more why they cannot accept observers under current conditions.

Why oh why needs the obvious to be pointed out every time?

What else would you expect from a Muslim state?

More than from a Buddhist country that still believes in Animism, Brahmanism and superstitious nonsense that has absolutely nothing to do with Buddhism, and that has a an Oxford and Eton educated Prime Minister that wears protective amulets to further these ridiculous non-Buddhist beliefs.

Does that mean that I should remove the small cross I wear around my neck, take the St. Christopher medal out of my wallet and tell me Muslim friend to throw away his 33/99-beads string he always has with him ? Would you approve if I put a photo of k. Thaksin in my wallet, or as my desktop wallpaper ? With your preferences would Mr. Hun Sen do ?

With you it's probably only blank

Mister Oberkommando was pointing out the obvious: Animism has nothing to do with Buddhism. Superstition has been incorporated to what Thais claim is Buddhism.

Thais can call their fangled religion what they will but it is not Buddhism as it was conceived by Siddhartha Gautama and practiced in India.

Mr. Oberkommando also alludes to the dysfunctional and incoherent aspect of the current political stage when he refers to Abhisit's background and public image.

It would be a false analogy to equate your questions with the factual assertions of Mr. Oberkommando.:jap:

Whereas the post of 'asiawatcher' might be tongue-in-cheek or just provocative, dear Ober said 'superstitious nonsense' which is an INSULT. Whatever you may believe or not believe doesn't give you the right to ridicule others who do. You may condemn some of the harsher parts, like 'kill the infidel', but to ridicule? It doesn't matter a single iota if Thai version of religion is different from Buddhism, it there a need, does it explain a condemnation of the curent Thai PM ?

To defend dear Ober by saying 'he alludes to ...' using terms like 'dysfunctonal', 'incoherent' suggests you accept using contemptuous terms regarding religion to speak in a derogatory manner about the Thai PM. 'Factual assertions', FACTUAL?

To use your words 'it would be a false analogy to equate your defense with opinions brought forward by member Oberkommando'.

What else would you expect from a Muslim state?

More than from a Buddhist country that still believes in Animism, Brahmanism and superstitious nonsense that has absolutely nothing to do with Buddhism, and that has a an Oxford and Eton educated Prime Minister that wears protective amulets to further these ridiculous non-Buddhist beliefs.

Does that mean that I should remove the small cross I wear around my neck, take the St. Christopher medal out of my wallet and tell me Muslim friend to throw away his 33/99-beads string he always has with him ? Would you approve if I put a photo of k. Thaksin in my wallet, or as my desktop wallpaper ? With your preferences would Mr. Hun Sen do ?

With you it's probably only blank

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

There is news for Suthep. Prayuth and Abhisit too. They will go to jail too for mass murder on innocent demonstrators. Suthep is very very afraid that PT wins a overwhelming majority. A second war on drugs is not a happy thought either for many many people in the government and military who use their complete salary right now to buy petrol for their far too big cars.

Start reading the HRW report first. Just quoting 'government/army to blame' doesn't help your case

Amazingly, a party in disarray with leadership squabbles, run remotely, with a number 1 objective to spring Thaksin, and constantly exposed as fraudulent still manages to edge ahead, only in Thailand.

Not amazing at all when they know the alternative is a military led coalition with an ineffective prime minister.

Nice to see these distinct opinions. I really like it when people speak in absolutes. Ignoring the past when convinient is a nice touch as well. The two previous governments (under the late k. Samak, and under k. Somchai) had only ONE agenda point: 'get back Thaksin'. Apart from having nothing to do with trying to rule and bring forward the country, with k. Thaksin still abroad also very ineffective.

Ah well, begin of July elections. K. Thaksin coming back before the end of the year (as he said), straight to jail, no free pass, and all other cases can finally continue. Justice at last. Then we can start to pay attention to the HRW report which blamed both government/army AND UDD c.s.

From the OP k. Thaksin said

""I will definitely come back at the end of this year. Just when my plane touches down at Suvarnabhumi Airport,""

the courts can finally dust off those dossiers concerning all the cases which were awaiting my return

Based on his initial conviction, he also has 730 days of this awaiting his plane touching down at Suvarnabhumi Airport

As said...

DPM Suthep not worried about Thaksin's planned return to Thailand in Nov; says he will have to go to jail once he lands in Thailand /TAN_Network

Don't tell anyone, but k. Suthep phones me sometimes

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 guess handing out a Thai translation of the HRW report wouldn't help much ? I mean, many 'red-shirt leaning' sites only quote the 'government/army to blame' ignoring anything they don't like themselves

BREAKINGNEWS

Machine gun found in drain in front of Siam Paragon

A machine gun and some ammunition were found in a bag left in a drain in front of Siam Paragon shopping mall Monday.

The bag was found by workers who were cleaning the drain.

The gun, 50 rounds of ammunition, a silencer, a magazine and a giant firecracker, were found in the bag.

Police said they have yet to identify the made of the gun.[thenation][/thenation]

Pure coincidence, nothing to do with us, in front of the main stage, must have been planted by shadowy army groups supporting the government, ect., etc.

We, 'peaceful protesters, not terrorists' involved in any mishap? NO, of course not. The HRW report must have been sponso-red by the government

maewrocks

TV user name means Thaksin rocks

frequent poster in favour of Thaksin

frequent abuser of democrats

joined 1st may 2011

can anyone join the dots here............

To join the dots is easy, to know in which direction requires thought. As k. Thaksin thinks and I only do, I have to ask him first

All are welcome at ThaiVisa ( )as long as they don't abuse the system and adhere to forum rules.

Let the verbal fight begin

Nearly 37 per cent of respondents said they would vote for Pheu Thai while 34 per cent said they would vote for the Democrats. The percentage of support for the Democrats dropped from 39.6 per cent in the last survey while the support for Pheu Thai increased from 36.2 per cent from the previous survey.

With k. Thkasin's continued popularity in certain parts of the country and his recent hand-out of rich-making promises, no real surprise. "Thaksin = PTP = UDD", 'Thaksin thinks, PTP does'

Democracy in action? Sometimes I wonder

Democrats, Pheu Thai (%)

Management efficiency: 35.5 54.5

Economic performance: 35.4 64.6

Vision and policies: 41.0 59.0

Public acceptance: 39.1 60.9.........

It's time for these muppets to get out!! Unelected and unfit to govern. In the last election they were massacred 165: 233

Even though you Dem defenders claim the 'Westminster system' and 'fairly elected by fellow members of the house', the simple fact is; there is not another country in the world that is governed by a party who lost this badly in the most recent general election. And still they refuse to accept the condition that the party with the most votes gets the mandate...they know this will cause more political turbulence, but shamelessly and spinelessly they will cling to power by any means. You've had your turn (as unfair as it was) now listen to the people AND GET OUT!!!!!!!!

Nah, just time for another poll

BTW maybe a poll can be held on the HRW report which blames government AND protesters. Questions like

- should the UDD leaders including those on the PTP party list be prosecuted for instigating violence ?

- How democratic is 'Thaksin thinks, PTP does' ?

- How many times has the PTP asked commissions and courts to investigate Government actions delaying those actions (10 / 50 / more times)

- How many times did PTP MP's use their own money to go to Dubai to wish k. Thaksin well?

etc., etc.

Listen to the people? Why? K. Thaksin will tell us

From the OP k. Thaksin said

""I will definitely come back at the end of this year. Just when my plane touches down at Suvarnabhumi Airport,""

the courts can finally dust off those dossiers concerning all the cases which were awaiting my return

The "foggy notion" you refer to - that the the present government's populist measures go far beyond what Thaksin's administration envisaged is hardly something I dreamed up.It has been a topic of discussion for months.

The reason why I said read the newspapers is simply because there has been so much extensive coverage recently.Sutichai Yoon's piece is typical:

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/home/2010/12/23/opinion/Populism-then-and-now-The-pot-calls-the-kettle-bla-30144991.html

Measures going far beyond is not the same as being much more costly. Anyway, Robert A. told me not to trust theNation

"The Nation’s intrepid editorialists have taken a novel line in their continuing, craven defense of the only regime under which it is possible for them to work at a national newspaper"

http://robertamsterdam.com/thailand/

Good old ThaksinVengeance.com. Sorry guys, no matter how much you hate him, he is still (according to various polls) the most popular Thai politician. By continually deriding him you are simply belittling and ridiculing a huge section of Thai society. Call them naive, easily fooled, or whatever you want, but the simple fact is they have a vote and you don't. This government isn't and has never been a government of the people and just like every election since 1992 they will lose convincingly.

Thaksin has been politically persecuted by a group of extremely well connected people who knew the only way to get power was by getting rid of him. Regarding his 2 year jail term;

... rest removed

K. Thaksin, everybody's hero, saviour, brain, etc., etc.. Whatever.

As for the 2-year conviction and land case, it doesn't matter if the land plot was sold to k. Potjaman at a price which was higher or lower than estimated value. It also doesn't matter whether k. Thaksin had to sign some papers as legal husband of k. Potjaman. It was a case of a PM to be held to a higher standard and to the letter of the law. An example figure as it were.

2006-11-10 "LAND CONTROVERSY

Blow to Pojaman on status of FIDF

Agency considered to be part of the state, which could affect her purchase of pricey city plot"

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2006/11/20/headlines/headlines_30019425.php

2007-01-16 "FIDF to sue ousted premier, Pojaman

The Bank of Thailand's financial-rescue arm FIDF yesterday decided to file a charge against ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra and his wife Khunying Pojaman over a Bt772-million land purchase."

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2007/01/16/headlines/headlines_30024246.php

2010-10-08 "Thaksin’s Ex-wife Receives Bt823 Million after FIDF Decision"

http://www.pattayadailynews.com/en/2010/10/08/thaksin’s-ex-wife-receives-bt823-million-after-fidf-decision/

BUchholz, certainly i ain't a thaksin supporter, in fact i dont want him back, but i dont like abhisit neither, i would prefer to see the PT forming a government(i don't think they will be alloud to) than having abhisit as second term PM.

Unfortunately k. Thaksin thinks and PTP does. One goes with the other, no choice. Start looking for a third person

Yawn...

The anxiety, the waiting, short nails already ... still six hours to go

abhisit was given british citizenship by force but if he wants he can stop being a british ctizen with a very simple act :renunciating to the britsih nationality, he doesn't do so cuz having british citizenship is very usefull, expecially if you are a corrupt PM who has not do anyting but increase the debt of this country , plus inflation, plus the price of living, and if you read carefully the thai nationality act you will see that in thailand you can't hold two citizenships, if you get another citizenship you must to reounce to your thai nationality,and if you are a farang you are expected to renounce t you previous citizenship after you get the thai one,the problem is that in the real life almost nobody do so, and dont get me wrong, i am not a thaksin supporter , but definitly i dont like abhisit,one guy who has been in power for almost a complete term and hasn't done anything good, i am hoping for somebody who improve he economy and bring to an end all this boring story of red shirts vs yellow shirts vs democrats:)

So having British citizenship is useful, especially if you are a corrupt PM. The sentence before just happens to mention k. Abhisit been given British citizenship. I guess that will mean you will not be charged with defamation, lucky you. Mind you, most of your post is on k. Abhisit, who is NOT known for being corrupt.

Just rambling along, are we?

Thompson, Larry Clinton (2010). Refugee Workers in the Indochina Exodus, 1975-1982. McFarland & Co.

edit- link sends me to an "invalid book code" page. Can you give another one?

http://www.amazon.com/Refugee-Workers-Indochina-Exodus-1975-1982/dp/0786445297

I have nothing against any member of the forum, and certainly not Rubi.I do however resist somewhat (being in any event of a somewhat indolent disposition despite my Mekon like brain) at being asked - sometimes aggressively - to do research or provide "links" on a subject that would be clear from reading the newspapers.The subject at hand was I think whether the populist measures of the current government were much more costly than those of Thaksin.Do I really have to spoon feed on subjects like these which have had so much recent coverage?

The only reason the government measures may be more costly is because k. Thaksin paid out of his own pocket rather than using tax money. At least that's the gist of this issue, as I think the subject at hand was, or might have been. Something about numbers and figures as far as I can remember posts I wrote a few hours ago