SeanMoran

If you look back in the Political threads, there seems to be many Farang that would never and could never stay in Thailand if Thaksin came back.

I wonder how many of those are planning to leave now....................

I hope 100%.

Come to think of it. if Thaksin was still here, I'd have had 20,000 baht more to feed soi dogs, rather than have to pay for my friend's sister's and my friend's daughters medical expenses. Governents change but I stay the same. Only the soi dogs go hungry.

I must knock off at 15:00 GMT or 22:00 Thai time. I have some crazy idea about replacing all the extra shell scripts in my Linux composition with functions within the main bash script, and there are a couple of dozen scripts to transpose before my girl gets home at midnight or whenever, so I logout in ten minutes, and wish you sweet dreams and a good night. Wake up bright and healthy and see you on Monday.

I am happy your GF is happy too! Whatever.

You're good, mate. Let's enjoy the party while it lasts, and be careful not to upset the natives in this wild jungleland.

---o0o---

I mean that things have been sweet since 2006 (2549) but anytime now it might turn sour, so take care of your life and be prepared for a change in the political style. It is a jungleland, but it's been most pleasant for a few years. That doesn't mean that it will be as pleasant tomorrow.

OK, I think you are saying nothing of this matters to you, and therefore, none of this matters to anyone, or to non-Thais anyway.

So I should now post on a GOLFING topic (which means nothing to me) and post lyrics of childish songs?

You're a pistol, dude.

I love Thailand. I wish I was born here. I was not.

My girl was born here. When I can think with my head and not with my heart, then I give the same appreciation to Thailand that Thailand has given to me, which is stuff all, but then there is my heart, and I love Thailand, and my girl was born here in Ban Khai Rayong, and I am happy that she is happy that Yingluck is happy.

so, at the end of the day, it is only my heart and my girlfriend's entire existance existence; her nationality and also her ancestry that makes my heart happy that Yingluck is taking care of the citizens. If I think with my head, and not my heart, I'd just catch a bus down to Patong and have a good time, and catch the next plane to Cebu. Too bad my head is not the only one writing this post.

Corruption free? A party led by Thaksin corruption free? Please tell me, you don't really believe that! Even most PTP supporters fully understand Thaksin has a long rich record of corruption. Not saying they aren't ALL corrupt, but please let's stay out of the fantasy world, shall we?

If you're happy and you know it clap your hands,

If you're happy and you know it clap your hands,

If you're happy and you know it then you really ought to show it,

If you're happy and you know it clap your hands.

Thanks for tonight's conversation. I hope we can grind on again tomorrow about the politics and Thai life, but my girl just got home from work, and my latest Linux build is almost ready for testing, so I am going to get my priorities right, and test the Linux tomorrow and see you again tomorrow. There are more urgent matters to be dealt with at this moment, so goodnight and good dreams. See you tomorrow mates.

How can readers be so out of touch with reality?

Thaksin bought off just about every man & his dog.

Motorbike drivers, taxi drivers, sidewalk vendors,

shop attendants, and many more were given

1000 baht for their votes.

Heads of constituencies were given 1,000,000 baht

to gather votes for Thaksin.

This information i know first hand, for here around

my neighbourhood all such people vanished

mysteriously out of sight much earlier than usual

on the eve of the elections.

Later they themselves told me they had gone to collect

their money.

Do you still call this a democracy?

My girlfriend's elder sister fell over in the bathroom Mokolakom. She had to go to the hospital and feed and bathe her own sister until she recovered. They charged her 6,000 baht. I put in 2,000 to help out. My girlfriend and her sister were both born in Ban Khai, Rayong. Where did the 30 baht plan go? Yingluck doesn't have to pay for votes. Thailand wants affordable health care for 100% of the population.

I think of all the Ventolin puffers I bought for the daughter of a friend who was a maid at a hotel I stayed at last year. 200 baht a puffer. Where is the government to help a mother who earns 4,000 baht p/m pay for her daughter to breathe at night?

What am I supposed to be? The saviour of Thailand? No thanks. Your country, your problem Yingluck, That is why they voted for you. I didn't vote because I am farang, but I have been taking care of your citizens out of my own pocket for two years now, and I think it is time that a little girl with asthma can go to the doctor and get herself a ventolin at a price her mother can afford, because I'm run out of money, and she still has asthma, and so do I.

So your opinion is based on a personal grudge with no real factual basis- that explains it.

As for your questions, I plead both ignorance and apathy to all 3.

I hope your head injury wasn't too severe.

Personal experiences can be causal to grudges. There is NOTHING more factual than personal experience.

I guess you've been lucky.

Six years and I still get the pain. Nothing I can't handle as long as they stock bia Chang and tylenol at the minimart.

".............Australia beats Thailand by far for corruption." Iwould like some proof of this statement please, in the morning when you are sober might be a good time to put up or shut up.

I'm happy to do it now.

Where are all my government records?

How did they get quietly 'altered' while I was in prison in 1999?

How did they get 'forgotten' when I was in hospital with head injuries?

That's enough from me for now. Tell me about your good experiences with the Australian government and I'll tell you about mine with the Thai government before the coup.

---o0o---

We're talking personal now Mick, okay? This is not about what we read in the newspapers. This is about YOU and the Australian and Thai governments, and about ME and the Australian and Thai governments. We can get onto the newspapers befopre long, but first, tell me your personal experience, so I can work out your mindset regarding the newspapers.

-----ooo000ooo----

Silly argument.

I'll make it simple. The corruption of the Australian government has done me aot more harm thatn the Thai government, and right now it is plain to see that the Australian corruption is getting to its peak.

That is why I believe that the 'honest' corruption in Thailand is more comfortable than the sneaky corruption in Australia, and I don't expect you to share your personal history in public, Mick. It took a lot of guts for me to do it, and in the morning, I won't be drunk enough to have this courage anymore, so let's talk about Yingluck in contrast to Gillard. That would make an interesting discussion.

Since when is giving out food to hungry friends a sin anyway? I'm sure they bought the noodles at discount prices. If anyone comes upto me in the street I'll give them 20 baht to buy a plate of som tam or something. Am I an electoral fraud just because I GIVE A dam_n about hungry strangers?

---o0o---

I don't think that anyone who complains about the opposition doing their best to feed the hungry has ANY place in contemporary politics.

Since you are not running for an elected position in Thailand (and I can't ever imagine you being elected to ANY position in Australia) then you give away noodles to your sweet little heart's content.

But try to wrap your little mind around the fact that electoral bribery by cash or goods is a major problem in this country, and giving away food is specifically mentioned in the relevant law.

Only a totally inexperienced or terminally stupid politician would do this.

It has just occurred to me that this is the second deliberate and obvious infraction of electoral law, which could see both PTP banned and Yingluk disqualified. Given a little agi-prop in Isaan, this could lead to a huge surge in anger from the Isaan people against the Thai court system, even though either action would be quite legal. I said in an earlier post that Thaksin was looking to foment a rebellion - this really could do it.

If someone's hungry, I'll feed them. If someone's thirsty, I'll buy them a beer or cocacola or whatever. If someone doesn't have a place to sleep tonigjht, they can crash out on our lounge. I'm not scared because my girlfriend is good at muay-thai so she'll make sure they don't get upto any mischief.

If I wanted to bribe my way to an election victory, I'd pay hard cold cash, not <deleted>' noodles. Noodles are what you give to someone who is hungry. A plate of noodles feeds, but if you want a vote, pay cash.

In any case, they wouldn't be there in the noodle line if their vote wasn't already decided.

I'm sure the cvould have had a nice plate of roast duck at the other queue.

There is no growth in happiness, Mr Abhisit.

Yeah but our political parties sack their own members if they come under corruption cloud, and most Australians absolutely would not vote for a politician they thought was corrupt, regardless of party lines. The general population has a very healthy scepticism of your average politician and that's a good thing. Politicians aren't hard to replace.

At least in Thailand, the newspapers let us know which politicians are corrupt. In Australia, they're all corrupt, but they never tell us in the news, and most Australians don't have the education to realise that Australia beats Thailand by far for corruption. I like Thailand because corrupt politics in Thailand is honest, and that's more comfortable than Australia, IMO.

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SMH is available online - yesterday's edition carried a large article on the Currawong scandal - corrupt politicians and public servants. People will lose their jobs and and some will do time over a measly AU$4 million.

Since the Rum Rebellion, Australia has never seen anything like Thaksin's blatant rorting, to say that it has requires a little proof, don't you think?

Every now and again there is a rebellion in democratic countries, just like the Rebellion, like Eureka Stockade, like May 19 in Bangkok, and like the Carbon Tax Rebellion that is coming soon to an Australian parliament near you, but the only one's so far rebelling against Yingluck are a little group of 'sour grapes' unhappy minority. Sour grapes to Thaksin? Sour grapes to back at ya. There are not enough military to even blockade Suvarnabhumi again, let alone another coup. Thailand loves Yingluck. Get that in your head and work from there, soldier-boys.

Since when is giving out food to hungry friends a sin anyway? I'm sure they bought the noodles at discount prices. If anyone comes upto me in the street I'll give them 20 baht to buy a plate of som tam or something. Am I an electoral fraud just because I GIVE A dam_n about hungry strangers?

---o0o---

I don't think that anyone who complains about the opposition doing their best to feed the hungry has ANY place in contemporary politics.

Perhaps you haven't appreciated the intricacies of the Thai electoral system which is a mixture of a first past the post constituency system and a proportional representation party list system. PTP got 48% in the constituency component but when the PR votes are taken into account they end up with 53% of the seats. A complex system but also quite a fair one as it allows people who want to vote for a small party to also express their preference for one of the two large parties.

So 53% it is.

Give the population a chance, mate. Whatever the system, most of Thailand has been celebrating for the past week, and you can see a change in the restaurant customers, and the karaoke bars, already. Thailand has been mai-sanuk for a long time, and now they rejoice, for whatever reasons, maybe right or wrong - time will tell, but there has been a very significant shortage of sanuk in Thailand for few years, and now it's finally over, so let's not get in the way of a good time for the moment. Let Yingluck have enough rope and see what she does with it. The people of Thailand are happy tonight, because their voice was heard.

Yeah but our political parties sack their own members if they come under corruption cloud, and most Australians absolutely would not vote for a politician they thought was corrupt, regardless of party lines. The general population has a very healthy scepticism of your average politician and that's a good thing. Politicians aren't hard to replace.

At least in Thailand, the newspapers let us know which politicians are corrupt. In Australia, they're all corrupt, but they never tell us in the news, and most Australians don't have the education to realise that Australia beats Thailand by far for corruption. I like Thailand because corrupt politics in Thailand is honest, and that's more comfortable than Australia, IMO.

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Such an irony that a few years ago, all the news was Thaksin's 'sour grapes', and look at us now, won't you? I'm getting back to work before the night is over, but thank you for the discussion and hope to check in again tomorrow. Goodnight all, and sweet dreams. Norn laab faan dee, kap.

... it seems the best thing for them to do at this point would be to grin and bear it and let the PT hang themselves with their own rope.

That is the way that the Australian federal opposition has been doing it for the past year, and it seems to be working a treat. Just shutup and give the government all the rope it asks for, and see what they do with it. Excellent political tactics if you have a little patience. Great idea.

You can't compare Oz politics with Thai politics. You don't have coups there or red revolutionary mobs closing down your capital, throwing blood on your PM's private home, etc.

I can. There are many similaritiies between the politics in Australia and Thailand. Both are monarchies, both have endured minority governments recently, and both have enjoyed a female prime minister for the first time. Australians don't throw blood at people's front gates, (we throw molotov cocktails, just to get the point across), but they do have the same revolutions when necessary.

... it seems the best thing for them to do at this point would be to grin and bear it and let the PT hang themselves with their own rope.

That is the way that the Australian federal opposition has been doing it for the past year, and it seems to be working a treat. Just shutup and give the government all the rope it asks for, and see what they do with it. Excellent political tactics if you have a little patience. Great idea.

Now you're being silly! Thaksin Thinks, PTP acts. The PTP slogan. No use talking to someone who isn't accepting the basic facts about this.

Next ...

Yeah, I am being silly. Another day goes by in Thailand. Another election, another coup, another government. Why would anyone want to be in Australia and miss out on all the fun?

---o0o---

Another failed attempt at democracy is on the way ... again. Good news is the AUD might break the 34 THB milestone before the week is out. I can't complain.

Lots of answers to your question. I'll take a stab. Perhaps the anti-Thaksin forces don't believe Thaksin when he says he is all about reconciliation and not about revenge? What rational reason can you come up with why they SHOULD believe him (based on track record)?

Good to catch up with you again after all this time, Jing'. I hope you've been doing well since we last had a chat.

What's this got to do with Thaksin? Everyone has the right to listen to their big brother or sister, no matter who they are. Maybe Thaksin is lucky now, to have a chance to run the Kingdom by proxy, but that's just good luck, because most of Thailand did not vote for Thaksin back, (or did they? That's their decision). The majority of Thais voted for Yingluck by default, because they wanted to get rid of the usurper.

---o0o---

My words. My opinion. I am not here to try to put words in the mouths of Thai citizens, but just based on the discussions I have enjoyed over the past two years with people born in Thailand.

The problem is, that this has been going on for almost five years now. Why not just be a good loser and let Thailand get back to normal life again, without all these military coups and sleights on democracy?

Then again, I guess military coups and sleights on democracy are normal life in Thailand. Bring on the sanuk, Abhisit.

I would be upset too, if I was a hi-so Bangkokian with a nice big house and a nice big car and a pretty wife and a nice big masters' degree hanging on my office wall, and yet some Issan peasant who works at the 711 down on main street in Nowhereburi can have precisely the same sway with a vote in an election as I can! It doesn't fit with my karmic understandings, this democracy thing. I think we should blockade the airport!

...

On second thoughts, we did that already. Hiow about we blockade McDonalds around the country, and then they'll all get hungry and vote for us!

It has been the same since a long time before Abbhisit even called the election. Ironic to be sitting here in Rayong and write this, because people I know in Rayong who work in Mapthaput went with the yellows, and so did my military friends down in Sattahip, but they're still a minority of roughly 1:2 as the polls would appear to have shown.

Everyone I know in Thailand who doesn't work for the military or in Maptaphut have been waiting a very long time for this last election, and not to get Thaksin back, but to get Abhisit out. It would be nice if Thailand could just get back to business as usual, because most people have been very unhappy since September 19, 2006. Not necessarily because they miss Thaksin, but because they miss democracy.

Long bow to draw when giving out free noodles is classified as electoral fraud by vote-buying. Free roast-duck might qualify, but if someone offered me a cup of noodles, I'd probably vote for the other side. Yuck!

Here we go again

Chai ...

*facepalms self*