Oberkommando

Khun Thaksin wears red today and is talking about how to solve economic problems now.

He'll win in the end.

He's just too clever for these other politicians.

It's taken years of coups, military junta, propaganda, charges, accusations, and court cases but they can't magic away the facts that he is still immensely popular with the rural electorate.

You've got to laugh, no really, you have to.

Anyone notice there is a shortage of onions?

Tesco Lotus and Carrefour both out of stock of onions here in Bangkok!

easily adopted but overly simplistic politcal ideals built around cult worship.

Sufficiency economy anyone?

The answer's simple. Thaksin has repeatedly said that he wants to come back and help the country through the economic crisis. No need for him to come back, just use this money on a major infrastructure building exercise. Double, electrified rail tracks on all major lines would be a good start, providing jobs and cutting down on the reliance of imported diesel once finished.

Funding megaprojects with Thaksin's money is going to save the country's economy?

Your ideas are almost as useless and ineffective as the Democrat's have been so far.

Thailand's economy is in the swanny and not even a miracle is going to help this time round.

In actuality the economy had already started going south before the coup (2005) according to Economist data and then pretty much stayed around that level until the world economy went down.

The Thai economy grew by 4.5% in 2005, and was affected by rising oil prices and the Tsunami.

So much for the anti-Thaksin mob's predictions that the protests would fizzle out or attract low attendances.

Shows just how out of touch with Thai people and public opinion they are though.

It still IS in low attendance, right?

Especially for an one-off event.

Far more than PAD could muster in the latter part of their campaign.

On one hand the anti-LM proponents talk about multitude of charges. Ok, that's obvious. But then, why only Giles refuses to accept justice system here? Why all the others, Suwalak, who has been cleared by the courts 18 times, Sondhi who has been sentenced, Jakrapopb - why all the others accept courts authority and have faith in fair trial and justice system?

Giles is the only coward who ran away.

On the subject of his offence - you publish allegations against real people, you'd better be ready to defend them. You can't just wrtie that so and so murdered people, wiped out whole families, you can't just write that such and such was supporting some illegal acts.

If you do - be ready to support your allegations.

Thaksin has been suing people for saying a lot less, lots of others sued people for making baseless accusations. Why does Giles demand that royalty should be refused such legal protection? Why does Giles think he should be free to say whatever he wants without any responsibility.

Coward.

I don't blame him for doing a runner.

Da Torpedo was denied even basic legal representation for months while also being denied bail.

The game is rigged and the dice are loaded.

So much for the anti-Thaksin mob's predictions that the protests would fizzle out or attract low attendances.

Shows just how out of touch with Thai people and public opinion they are though.

Makes one wonder how safe is it to holiday in the Kingdom these days. SAD SAD, RIP

Made me think of this article from The Independent.

With so many Britons murdered in Thailand, why does our Government not warn of the dangers faced there?

There are now A4 paper signs up in Bangkok airport warning of jail sentences up to one year for insulting behaviour towards officials.

I didn't want to incur their wrath so I didn't bother with a photo.

The way the meat is prepared and what part of the animal is also important.

If you eat spine, offal and trotters regular it is gonna kill you quicker for sure.

Auto production down over 50% year on year for February.

Estimates of the economy shrinking some 3% this year, and those are optimistic.

Additionally, according to the article in the Post, unemployment could hit 2 million.

This bad news is strangely conspicuous by it's absence on the News section of this forum though.

The current government will eventually fall victim to the failing economy and their own hubris.

No, actually, the current government will fall victim to its being a coalition government as is the case with all coalition governments in Thailand. The economy will be the way it is presented to the clueless, but this is a global recession/depression and has absolutely nothing to do with Thailand specific. In Thailand, at the end of the day, it is all about power and money politics.

Easy to blame the global situation for Thailand's woes when anticipatory damage limitation could have been applied, instead Thailand shot itself in the foot by having a military coup when the economy was doing fairly well.

Additionally, airport shutdowns, prolonged political unrest and protest, human rights abuses and border tensions with neighbours have all contributed negatively to Thailand's economy and reputation, in tandem with the worsening global situation, and certainly not helping matters.

Thailand has been a basket case since the coup in 2006 with no direction, a poorly performing economy, a greedy elite who refuse to enfranchise the rural masses and now a confusing and contradictory economic policy under a government that seems rudderless, inept and out of its depth, with the focus on an eloquent and educated young man in order to fool the politically naive.

Whilst the government is debating borrowing 70bn baht from overseas.

Hmmm.........

It shows who is still pulling the strings in terms of controlling the country and calling the shots though, although it has been crystal clear since the 2006 coup for some.

Today the Post ran a story that conservative estimates show the country's economy to shrink this year by more than 3%. First time since 1961.

Sufficiency economy is localism and it is a very inward looking policy. Personally, I can only see disaster ahead when the Thai economy is reliant on tourism, manufacturing and exports but is adopting a policy not conducive to these. As an investor in Thailand I have been expecting tougher conditions with the global recession but dreading an announcement to this effect. I will now go to plan 'b' and look more carefully at Vietnam for our new projects, on hold since September 2006.

People with investments here really need to start really looking at what is going on in this country and making alternative plans.

The future looks bleak and uncertain here.

Careful guys, your emotions towards Thaksin are affecting your judgement again.

Samak said Thaksin's downfall could be down to his close aides. That is Samak's opinion.

He's also pointing out those around Thaksin were acting in their own interest instead of the country's.

Sorry to interrupt another misinformed anti-Thaksin rant, please do carry on.

You've got the ultra conservatives running things now.

Sanuk? Not on your nelly.

Trying to say the reds will do or have done what the yellows did doesn't make it happen.

You mean, like oust useless, proxy PM's and effect positive change in Thai politics?

Back to the eggbox gal.

Blockading an airport and causing irreparable damage to the country's economy and reputation in the process.

"Positive change" is also debatable, especially when the Dems have to band together with Newin's mob to achieve anything.

Unfortunately it is looking increasingly like nothing has really changed, just different puppets but the puppeteers are the same.

Auto production down over 50% year on year for February.

Estimates of the economy shrinking some 3% this year, and those are optimistic.

Additionally, according to the article in the Post, unemployment could hit 2 million.

This bad news is strangely conspicuous by it's absence on the News section of this forum though.

The current government will eventually fall victim to the failing economy and their own hubris.

I think its wonderful. Wish we had the same sentences in the UK

Why? So the UK can deteriorate into a corrupt lawless state where fear and intimidation rule and the Police are the biggest organised criminal gang in the country, similar to Thailand, where sentences are handed down based on social and financial status, rather than taking into consideration the actual crime committed and people affected?

No thanks.

A true story: Got stuck in a traffic jam on the highway near Pattaya. A Chinese looking Thai knocks on my drivers window. He says, that he is a bus driver and he had to brake hard, because of my driving. I, driving cars and bikes since many years everywhere in Thailand and knowing the behaviour on the streets here very well, was not aware of that. But I, trying to avoid a conflict, told him, that I really have not wanted that and I apologised.

He said now, that all of his Korean tourists in the bus are shocked after his hard braking. He wanted me to go to the bus and apologise in the bus for my driving to the Korean Tourists. I told him now, that I am sorry, but I will not leave my car. His face got very angry. He asked me again to apologise to the Koreans and I denied that again rather friendly. He went away.

I was relieved. But only for a short while. Still no way to move out of the traffic jam, I saw him coming back in the mirror. He seemed to be very angry, while holding a baseball bat in both hands. I locked all doors and closed the windows. I saw him standing next to my drivers window again. He shouted, that I have to go to his bus to apologise to the Korean tourists. He got the same answer from me like before, while I tried to change the mode on my mobile to camera. He hit my car with the bat in full force. I was still struggling to get the camera function on the mobile. But at least I got it and he recognised that.

He went back to the bus. Traffic was moving now and soon I was now behind his bus, simultaneous looking for the next police. At the crossroads in North Pattaya I saw one. I stopped...wife explaining the situation...policeman said, we should wait here...he tried to catch the bus...he came back 10 minutes later, saying the bus is gone, we should make a report at the police station...but we did not...paid 500 Baht for the repair...

You are lucky he did not have access to a gun.

Many drivers do carry weapons, many have handguns also. It's the reason you don't hear too much horn honking or shouting in Thailand.

I have seen a similar incident outside my local bar on Sukhumvit in Bangkok. Much the same but involving a bus driver in an altercation with a taxi driver. The bus driver started shouting, didn't get anywhere so returned to his bus and the produced an iron bar which he began threatening the taxi driver with. At this point the lights changed and the taxi sped off.

Centre of the city at a junction with police box and Police nowhere to be seen as usual.

I was told by a friend that the Tank question is on the written driving test in Thailand..

Something like who has the right of way; you or the tank. lol

Having done the test, I can confirm that is correct.

The lampshade hat!

Drunks used to put lampshades on their heads for a laugh, the Thais turned it into a fashion statement.

My sig line pretty much sums it up.

It took a military coup and subsequent junta, mass banning of political rivals from a bias judicial system (the Democrats, widely accused of the same practices have thus far escaped and punishment) plus paramilitary and civilian protests shutting down the country's main airport which damaged the country's reputation and economy irreparably to get to the "fair selection" of Abhisit and the "parliamentary democracy" his supporters seem to cling to.

Of course it's a stacked deck, but don't expect the rabid and fanatical anti-Thaksin mob on here to acknowledge it.

Both sides are guilty, both sides are detrimental to the country and both sides are no going to give up.

While one side has the support of the rural electorate another has the support of the institution and the elites so we are at stalemate yet again.

If the military stopped interfering in politics perhaps all this mess could have been avoided.

Bangkok attractive???

There are a few thousand farang permanent residents but certainly not many farang immigrants who have been granted Thai citizenship.

There's a quota on how many foreign nationals of each country are given Thai citizenship each year and the numbers are very low indeed for Western countries (in the dozens I believe).

I'd also suggest that "farang" are the minority percentage of "foreigners" with permanent residency or grants of citizenship

Annual quotas on permanent residency are 100 per country so it won't be much different, Western or otherwise.

Just answer the question -

What do you do to improve your Thai?

If you do nothing, why?

Mine rarely improves these days. I pick up certain words occasionally, usually slang or from a dialect.

Been speaking, reading and writing it for over 20 years though.

But then, when seeing what the BP has become, he's most probably happy not to work there anymore.

Quite. It's ironic that at the time the Bangkok Post started facing serious competition in the shape of the internet, the quality of the paper started to deeply decline. As if the readership didn't have reason enough to start looking elsewhere, the Bangkok Post made it that much easier for their customers, some of whom had been subscribers for decades, to stop buying it.

I wonder if the days of there being a quality daily English language newspaper in Thailand are behind us for good - certainly seems that way.

Sad.

Times change i guess.

Agreed, however be careful as there are a bunch of resentful posters here that will no doubt be along to condemn you for criticising the laughably poor quality of English language newspapers available in Thailand.