WinnieTheKhwai

It actually does not bother me if people know all of this and still support the Yellow side, but admit to the double standard and take the ends justify the means approach. its the weirdo's who say stuff like "Well, what crime really would you charge the yellow's with for seizing the airport? Its a grey area" or some other crazy shit their wife explained to them. Or my personal favorites, "This whole thing is about Thaksin's frozen 80 billion baht" and "By getting rid of Thaksin, its a step towards ending corruption in Thailand".

Well to be fair, some people do acknowledge that.. I remember posts from Plus for example that basically state that the rural poor are too uneducated and stupid and corruptable to have political power.

That IS a valid point of view. I can't find the words to show how much I disagree with it, but as a viewpoint at least it's consistent and logical.

Given that the biggest threat to sustained Thai tourism is in fact mass tourism, this may be a good thing.

Thailand is more and more seen as an over-touristed package tour pit like the Spanish costas, so it may actually be a good thing to recapture that spirit of adventure.

People always whine on how Thailand was so much better 10-20 years ago. Well guess what, far fewer tourists back then, far fewer locals being jaded by it, etc. I would expect some happiness now.. Of course I know better; Internet fora are far more conducive to winging than to being positive.

While touching is a bit extreme, there are LOADS more guys who seem to like chatting up just about every girl they meet even if it's in the Skytrain at rush hour, or anywhere else that's a regular public or business venue..

Kind of embarrassing, but to be honest I also know a few who for some reason pull it off and get quite a bit of positive response.

LOL.. Ehm, actually it's not forbidden in any country. While it's not healthy, it's in the same league as salt; again it's better not to use too much of it, but a little is okay and goes a long way.

If you want to avoid it completely then you're in trouble because it occurs naturally in loads of foods. Obviously you don't want/need to add it to your food by the spoon full, but then the same applies to salt and probably many other things in life.

Can I just say how much I appreciate DBrenn's post.. I completely agree.. It's almost ironic that while it's all so obvious, so many 'Falungs' don't seem to get it.. They disliked Thaksin from the minute the social order campaign started, never mind what he did for the economy or for the rural poor.

Well guess what, sooner or later the rural poor won't just be 'serfs' anymore and the whole fairy tale bar disneyland is coming to an end.

You know what, I bet because of the Bangkok troubles and reduced travel over the holidays, the total number of dead for this month will actually be a lot lower than usual.. So the protests may have been good for something.. less people getting killed on the roads.

Don't hesitate to call agents, most do not charge the prospective renter, they get their commission from the property owner.

While that's true, it's also true that you simply don't see reasonable rents at agents. So indeed it may not be the agent's fault, it may be the mind set of the renters who think "I'll use meself an agent so I can charge 20,000 baht for my 3 bedroom 50 tarang wa home in that derelict compound".

So one way ot the other the fact remains that you see very little under 10,000 rent at agents, whereas just looking around by yourself in fact MOST rents are under 10,000 or can be negotiated to that level pretty swiftly. (More for really nice homes obviously)

Girlx, I would recommend to also have a look around at the compounds around town.. rents are really very low there compared to in town.

I doubt that most Thai ladyboys have ever taken money for sex. They believe they are women, and act accordingly. Surely only a small number of straight Thai males, gay Thai males, or straight Thai females have ever taken money for sex.

Agreed. Just some people who seem stuck in a tourist-nightlife scene may end up with a somewhat skewed perspective on reality in the wider world in Thailand.

My sister in law arrived from Bangkok by car.. No issues.

Convicted by the very people who forced him out of office illegally with a military coup. Cut the B.S.

Agreed General.

I'm not going to get into this, I've better things to do with my day... like walking the dog, but I've never witnessed such a total ignorance of what goes on in Thailand before along with what can only be described as mass forum hysteria.

Those who criticise Thaksin should take a long hard look at the past career of Suthep Thaugsuban, who is almost certainly running the country at the moment.

Ehm, well, running that part of the country that the powers-that-be allow the government to run under supervision.

But other than that, good point. So many people are really ill informed.. And reading the likes of the Nation won't make that any better in a hurry..

> That's an additional criminal offense on his part.

Well, add it to the list. Looking at how this type of offense is prosedded for PAD leaders in the Thai 'justice' system I think it's one he can safely not worry too much about.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/

Best coverage you'll find. Much better than Thai sources like The Nation and others anyway.

mY my.. and someone was complaining about childish name calling of Abhisit.. I promised I'd spell Abhisit properly from now on, but it seems the same defamation standards are not applied to Dr. Thaksin...?

It's probably copyrighted content so can't provide an mp3 link. If you really can't find it then PM me.

Well, give and take, youknow.. So many people saying Sonkgran is getting out of control, so let them have their little patch of morality without trucks, music, smoking, drinking, spaghetti straps and all those other evil un-Thai things. Then everyone else can properly misbehave everywhere else.. Give & take.

Well, Thaksin... oh, wait. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WAdZzr0ysxg There you go..

Band is called 'Job 2 Do' .. Can probably find mp3 etc by googling.

I think it went out of control. I doubt he expected the Red Shirts to be burning buses, threatening to blow up Din Deang with a tanker full of petrol, beating the residents of DinDeang when they told the Red Shirts to bugger off or the army to move in.

So a miscalculation, an undiscipline mob that alienated and frightened the masses. So no massive up rising by the people. Hence he is not here "to lead the revolution".

Yes, I think that's probably as close to the mark as we're going to get this evening.

Also, I can't imagine that every single person who's ever worn a red shirt in the last month or so is unanimously happy with recent events, to put it mildly. There are genuine grievances out there and it would be REALLY DUMB to ignore those, even dumber than the uneducated upcountry people are made out to be, Katasyd / #17. But turning Bangkok into a war zone is just not going to help anyone. Progress and empowerment of all classes must come through the political system, so I think there's much more mileage in getting that organized in the same stellar way as Thaksin managed with Thai Rak Thai.

I think this topic / question was answered? Thaksin was just on BBC and made it clear he is for a peaceful revolution, not violence. I don't think Thaksin encouraged violence per se and was as shocked (especially at the heavy handed military action) as everyone else.

By the way, there's a defaming / defacing picture on this topic in post #2. If I do that of Abhisit then I get banned. Clean it up please for the sake of fairness?

BBC just interviewed Abhisit for a response.

What I found interesting was that Thaksin managed a perfect video feed, being a fugitive and basically in hiding and all, while Abhisit managed only a very cracking phone line. Just doesn't sound very reassuring at all.

As for what he actually said it was rather predictable; no real news there.

Lest not forget that Bangkok is by and large yellow territory.. the main backers of PAD are from there (and the South), and they were the ones sticking flowers on tanks after the coup. You'd expect some clashes between the Reds and yellow elements in Bangkok. (who are probably a big majority there)

In the future they should prevent ex police from entering politics, make it a law or write it into the constitution.

This would solve everything.

That's a GREAT idea. And let's especially also include the military.

I think he could have been clearer yesterday about the peaceful bit. But anyway, better late than never.

They must have realized it's impossible to pull off. So many people and businesses on the inside of the moat.. And no place for any traffic heading towards the moat to go.. Completely impossible.

Idea for next year: Make Ratchadamnoen Road a Songkran Walking street. That we know is possible, and would provide plenty of opportunity for non-vehicular celebrations. Heck, make it a no alchohol zone as well.

Well, sorry but even big international chains pull the Thai numerals scheme. Why do you suppose that big banner on the side of the Chiang Mai Best Western Hotel reads:

๕๙๐

and not a regular number that seems perfectly fine to price things like noodles and water melons.

It's shocking how many of you sympathize with this crook. He should go to prison, get only the money back that is left after he paid for the damage done and of course be banned from politics.

And I think it's shocking how many of you have this obsession with Thaksin.. Without seeing the elephant in the room. Oh well.