WinnieTheKhwai

I wear a seatbelt. I don't go near motorcycles.

Have you been cut off from the news? They're pretty much in agreement, with the rally ending likely by Monday.

The Reds may have won this battle, but there are now deep rooted hatreds that never existed in the past. This thing isn't over by a long shot.

Deep rooted hatred on this forum perhaps. The rest of the country will get on with things just fine. Only area of concern during the election that I can see would be Newin's home turf.

The reds holding the government and city of Bangkok hostage is a terrorist act, pure and simple.

Oh.. sorry, are we still doing this?

May he Rest in Peace.

Isn't that the Long Range Acoustic Device (LRAD) crowd control system? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long_Range_Acoustic_Device

Nah I thought not, it's a Thai military karaoke truck

I think I'd prefer the LRAD over Thai Karaoke.

Inflamatory & off topic posts removed.

GOOD! No need for inflamatory comments.

The OP had a legitimate request about what to do... and I suspect the OP is a woman.

Obviously. Otherwise this topic would long since have been closed.

Anyway, like others have said, it may be time to move to a classier neighborhood. (If such exists in Bangkok, South of paying 100K)

Loads of details on that site, but no price. And a PDF with with the last page corrupted.

Looks like a great celebration. Whats the parking going to be like this year for cars? Last year it was not good.

It's at the municipal stadium it seems, so parking shouldn't really be an issue. Take a Red Bus if worried.

For those that may have problems with the .pdf file, here is a snapshot summarizing most things. Appears they will let anyone in, even Brits.

So... How much DOES it cost then? It doesn't say. (It may be in the PDF, but the PDF seems corrupted and doesn't open properly.)

Another tricky one would be the requirement for photo ID for children. Not sure my 4 year old terrorist girl has one.

Very sad... and especially so for someone with a wife and child. We all know the risks of riding bike in Thailand. I do it all the time, but I don't have a family to worry about. Even if you've had a drink or two it doesn't mean you are incapable of handling a motorbike in traffic. It can make no difference at all if a crazy Thai driver decides to ignore the safety of others.

Or indeed a crazy Farang driver. Or just 'crazy driver of unspecified race or gender'.

I think what he's saying is that you'd have to get George's permission first, and if he goes along with it then it'd likely mean that one of the CNX based mods would verify the account number, and then post it.

The point he was making, indeed a bit awkwardly, was that violent deaths are VERY common in Thailand, and that evidence of this can be see daily on the pages of Thai Rath et al.

Anyway, let's hope it's all over by Monday.

What does any of this have to do with Thailand? Don't Bloomberg have a forum to go whine when one's currency goes down the toilet?

The talk of the few months when pollution is bad, is that confined to town ?

No. It affects the entire Northern region. In fact, it's much worse in the (very rural) areas near Mae Hong Son and Mae Sai. It's not city pollution, it comes from forest fires and agricultural burning, mostly in Burma and possibly further afield.

It lasts a couple weeks, in March. A good time to find a beach.

A bit of wind, and a bit of rain, but nothing sustained. Back to bone dry and high temperatures.

I think we should do another Songkran, it's the perfect weather for it!

I stopped going to the Dukes because of their high prices, and because they charge you an extra 9% for VAT....

It did get a bit more expensive yes.. But... what awesome quality and quantity, and super authentic if you like American food. Sure, the price does mean I only visit a couple times a year, but when I do I really enjoy it.

What would you say to PM Abhisit Vejjajiva if you meet him now?

I would ask, "have you seen the really daft poll that George has just started about you"?

We AGREEE on something!!!

(Abhisit must bring us together after all.. )

> How could they check in?

The checking in wouldn't have been the issue, it'd be the boarding ticket check at the gate. It happens. A good way to make this very unlikely to happen is scanning a barcode on the boarding ticket.

This being a Friday, my first drink of the week will be tonight at 6pm or so.

Could be a bit of a wild west town. What SBK mentioned recently about Ko Pha Ngan pretty much also applies to Pai. Don't let that stop you, of course.

And if the red shirts had not broken Thai laws with Mob rules then also no one would have died

..and then nothing would ever change. I think significant progress has been made, not least of which that there's a bigger group of people who have moved beyond Thaksin and is looking at issues that have been ignored for far too long, relating to democracy and the constitution, equal rights, elimination of the political role of the army, the plight of political prisoners and freedom of speech issues.

Winnie, I have to agree that significant progress has been made viz a viz raising the consciousness of the Thai people.

I only despair that it came at the loss of so many lives. I have seen peaceful protests that have changed a whole country, without deaths. Would that the red shirt leaders had only decided beforehand not to use weapons or violent means to achieve their goals. Provocation would not have been necessary to achieve those goals. Strength of spirit (and it takes more strength to peacefully protest than to stir up a mob toward violence) can and will attain goals faster.

Sadly, the red shirt movement has shown its dark side to gatherings. Who can trust them now if they say "we are peaceful" when they have said the same thing while brandishing weapons of war in full view of the public? There will have to be many strategy sessions to determine the best way to try to recapture the 'hearts and minds' of not only those whom they are trying to teach and change, but more telling, those whose loyalty they have now lost.

Time Magazine was in your corner - now it is calling Mr Ahbisit a statesman. Which of the red shirt leaders are being called statesmen in the global news media?

The red shirts have won great concessions - but at a terrible cost to the country, which may take generations to recover (imo).

I hope that subsequent rallies - and there will be other rallies - can be conducted in a peaceful sense; not just in words, but in deeds as well.

I agree with a lot of that. The wait is for a leader who can take the cause further. I probably don't mention this enough, but I'm not a huge fan of Phua Thai.

And if the red shirts had not broken Thai laws with Mob rules then also no one would have died

..and then nothing would ever change. <snipped>

Breaking the law is ok if it brings about change? And here was me thinking you completely opposed the yellow's protest at the airport. I must be thinking of another WinnieTheKwai.

You need to ask...? I could spend the rest of the day giving examples where civil disobedience, which in most cases was dubbed 'breaking the law' or indeed 'terrorism' brought about positive change. Perhaps you'll even agree that Thai Democracy is very much a work in progress, and that it can be much better than it is now? When it comes to PAD, I disagree with several of their viewpoints yes. (Reminder: they're the guys in favor of 'managed' democracy, EXPANDING l.m. laws and the abolishment of the one-man-one-vote system by making rural votes count for less. I disagree with those things.)

In addition we could debate how much protesting would fall under freedom of assembly and freedom of speech. I'd say that the original rally at Phan Fa bridge would very much fall under that, as the level of disruption caused was arguably reasonable. We all know what happened: A violent crackdown and loss of life followed, prompting a relocation to the Ratchaprasong area, where a continued violent crackdown proved harder, but where levels of disruption were far greater. Courts will likely have their say on those topics, as they will on the Airport occupation.

And if the red shirts had not broken Thai laws with Mob rules then also no one would have died

..and then nothing would ever change. I think significant progress has been made, not least of which that there's a bigger group of people who have moved beyond Thaksin and is looking at issues that have been ignored for far too long, relating to democracy and the constitution, equal rights, elimination of the political role of the army, the plight of political prisoners and freedom of speech issues.