WinnieTheKhwai

Don't really care but it would give the elected government back to the people

Funnily enough it is an elected government.

This goes around and around doesn't it?

NO!, again NO!

It's a coalition of elected MP's cobbled together by Suthep from disparate and opposing parties (read vested interests) many of whom abandoned their electorate to benefit from the patronage system. (Same system which probably got them voted in, I admit).

This government replaced the previous government which was rendered null and void by a judiciary appointed by an illegal military coup that was retrospectively made legal and subsequently so was the appointed judiciary and government.

That's a VERY good summary. I'd save that and paste it in the next time someone wonders about this topic.

It's no use pointing out that Thaksin was possibly corrupt, etc. So are the rest so he's no different.

Abhisit is corrupt?

Of course! He's the PM, so he's responsible for what goes on in the government. This very much includes xxxx [Edit: Enticing ] the Newin faction to join the government, or do you suppose they joined because of his handsome looks or democratic ideals?

EDIT: changed a word to make it less likely to break forum rules.

My company is considering to invest a not small sum of money in Thailand, creating and securing jobs for Thais (rather well paid).

When everything goes wrong they will decide for another SEA country and then thank you Mr. Fh***sin. Another crime against the people of Thailand!

How about thanking the yellow side as well, they also cripled BKK.. Probably worse than what will happen this weekend.

This thread is about Thaksin .... but if you compare the results on last year's Songkran and the year before's airport fiasco the numbers were about the same in results of scaring people away from Thailand. Thaksin's group is however, lining up to do the damage again.

Disagree on that one; if you check out travel forums on Thailand then the major recurring concern is 'the airport being blocked'. This shows that this still lives on in people's minds as a concern, two years after the fact. Oppositioin protests in the street however happen in any country on the planet. (Possibly except Monte Carlo et al.)

I think you may be confusing the Warorot market with the Grand Warorot hotel behind Wat Pra Singh?

Either way, while protests are likely, it's not very likely to result in major unrest.

Talk about intimidation. Jingthing a couple weeks ago alleged intimidation / peer pressure by/among red leaning people. I never noticed anything of the sort, at least not in Chiang Mai.

Now I'm in Bangkok and there is most definitely (perceived) intimidation here, many people don't dare to speak out that they want change and are behind the UDD. Only when I first make a somewhat Red leaning statement (such as that I would hope to see Thailand become a democracy one day) they tell me their point of view, in a hushed tone in case others hear.

As an aside, I'm in Bangkok right now and I have to say it's pretty hazy here as well. Similar to Chiang Mai a week (or two) ago. Rather nice temperatures as well, I remember Bangkok being excruciatingly hot, but it's quite pleasant at the moment.

Hope it stays this way for this weekend's events.

Yes we are.

Priceless confided to me in a private e-mail that he's getting a bit tired of replying to bar-stool blabbermouths' fantasies in response to straight facts.. Can't really blame him.

(Ok he didn't actually say bar-stool blabbermouths, that's my interpretation. )

Sadly. or maybe not sadly, I don't have a daughter. If they really want to do this right they need to set up and "auction block" where they can sell her off to the highest bidder. Quick & easy I would think & no "mincing around" negotiating with relatives, etc. I think there is a similar one in Charleston, South Carolina, used in the "old days" for a bit different purpose, but similar none-the-less.

LOL! I can toally see a social networking / e-commerce site to streamline that... I'm registering www.FaceBay.com

I'll join you there Friday. I'll be the yellow buffalo with a smile on his face.

Then on Saturday I'll wear the ol' Farmer's shirt to check out Sanam Luang if indications are that it's feasible to get there (river boat possibly).

Bring the invoice. Worst-case is that you have to pay duty on it. Though it probably qualifies as food & medicine, which is exempt from VAT at least. Chances are that nobody looks at your bag though, especially if you go through customs in BKK before connecting to Chiang Mai.

Well, what's wrong is that yesterday (todays' report) was the first 'bad' day this season. The numbers for Mae Hong Son, Chiang Rai and especially Mae Sai remain horrific though. I seriously hope that crap doesn't come our way, and/or the area gets some decent rain today.

Interesting; very similar. However this year, yesterday was the first 'bad' day of the year (over 120). In 2009, the first bad day was a good three weeks earlier, in mid February. Note by the way that when comparing pictures you need to make sure you take the picture at the same time of day when it comes to visibility. Between noon and 1pm is a good time for comparison, as you're rid of any morning moisture, while not taking pictures against the direction of the sunlight yet.

It's an excellent year so far, relatively speaking of course.

Let's hope all areas get some rain today.

You know the way TV is Mr. GF. they have two threads at once. going.

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/Thaksin-s-Fa...ml#entry3400973

thats good, we have two opportunities to comment on the traitorious Thaksin and his pond life offspring

Somewhat unkind to pondlife IMO.

This is all very defamatory and legally and factually iffy. I had no other option than to report your posts. In addition it incites hatred with a term like traitor/traiterous. In hateful environments, some people go over the edge which is not helpful in tense times. I would hope things remain respectful, and peaceful.

For the Roong Ruangh bus (the best one), the route is sometimes tweaked depending on where people indicate they want to get off the bus. Plus they somtimes have to pull into their designated gas station to fuel up, and/or to pick up more passengers. Generally though this does not impact the overall driving time too much.

It's just warming up in the North as well, since last week or so. Mornings are still fairly nice at 22 degrees or so, but the afternoon highs are getting real high.. (Higher thirties). Happy about the nights though, no need for aircon yet.

Mine gets angry quite quickly, but fortunately not usually at me. Tends to be her mum, sister, staff and the maid that take most of the flak. Then I do my bit calming her down a bit.

What newspaper came up with the term "maoist tactics" anyways?

The Nation.

A really outrageous statement. People coming from the countryside is just a function of that being where people are the poorest and most disenfranchised in terms of having a voice in how the country is run. This divide in standard or living and political influence/equality is the real issue worth highlighting, but someone at The Nation thinks they can just call it Maoist tactics. It's beyond words. They might as well have said Khmer Rouge tactics.

Sao Jiang Mai is not only Thai, but she has her own magaazine and ties to the news industry.

That may be where it breaks down, at the news industry. Because the news industry at times doesn't have to many ties to what's actually happening, and are often actively trying to paint a picture that sits well with their agenda.

Case in point were the pictures posted by dave2, very newsworthy but not from any newspaper. I don't like seeing that, if only because it's an eyesore. I think that should be cleaned up.

Thais can generally travel in SE Asia pretty easily. Do look into each particular country though, a visa may be needed for multiple day visits. Also when you say 'motorcycle ride to Malaysia', if you rent a bike in Thailand then the renter (owner) of the bike would need to do the paperwork to take it into Malaysia, which is unlikely. You may be able to rent in Malaysia of course.

I would. This is one case where (a segment of Thai culture) really is completely opposed from typical Western culture; Some Thai families would perceive they gain face by a big display of money and gold. To me however it would be the ultimate loss of face, as people in my family would most likely perceive it as selling a daughter, as that's what it looks like. Losses of face (to me) don't come bigger than that.

And it's sexist as well.

So, what happened to basic human rights and freedom of expression?

You are free to exercise those rights in your own country rainman.....how hard is that to understand?

Interestingly, yes, it is. Because the constitution applies to everyone who is in Thailand. People in the same circumstances should be treated equally regardless of race, gender, nationality, etc. It is a very puzzling statement on the part of the government.

I'm still planning to go check out the rally this weekend, but very much as an observer.

Yes indeed.. (Note that my 'I couldn't aree more' was in reference to Moonraker's post, so the same opinion as yours, above)

Couldn't agree more.

Interesting results so far though, but it's early days.

2,555 posts Winnie and you are starting yet another Sin Sod thread.

You should know better by now.

I would agree with you that these topics tend to be incredibly tedious, and it's all been said 100 times.......from the position of being on the receiving end of a sin sod request!

This poll turns the tables to put people in the position of potentially receiving some money, as opposed to being asked to part with it. I'm testing if this affects people's feelings. I hope this will provide a more impartial exploration of the topic. Feel free to skip it though.

This topic originated in another discussion where some people made references to looking forward to receiving a sin sod (bride price, "dowry" (it's not technically a dowry)) for their daughter when she gets married. Possibly this was in jest, but let's test that with a poll.

I included rationales with each option. Obviously in any poll it's impossible to capture the entire gamut of feelings towards the topic. Feel free to fine-tune your response with a post below.