24 minutes ago, PS2 said:

'Democracy is Not My Goal'

Thaksin Shinwatra, 11 December 2003

 

PS2/Rob, that was a paraphrased headline. Perhaps you like to read the full context for better understanding.

 

“Democracy is a good and beautiful thing, but it’s not the ultimate goal as far as administering the country is concerned,” he said. “Democracy is just a tool, not our goal. The goal is to give people a good lifestyle, happiness and national progress.”

5 minutes ago, Eric Loh said:

PS2/Rob, that was a paraphrased headline. Perhaps you like to read the full context for better understanding.

 

“Democracy is a good and beautiful thing, but it’s not the ultimate goal as far as administering the country is concerned,” he said. “Democracy is just a tool, not our goal. The goal is to give people a good lifestyle, happiness and national progress.”

Returning Happiness to the People, - Prayut Chan-o-cha

12 minutes ago, Eric Loh said:

PS2/Rob, that was a paraphrased headline. Perhaps you like to read the full context for better understanding.

 

“Democracy is a good and beautiful thing, but it’s not the ultimate goal as far as administering the country is concerned,” he said. “Democracy is just a tool, not our goal. The goal is to give people a good lifestyle, happiness and national progress.”

Sure so a junta in power is not bad according to Thaksin..  as long as they govern good.. i once said as much and you totally burned me down now your hero is saying the same. He just does not value democracy.. and you call him a democrat.. so funny.

 

 Thaksin said that as long as the country could progress and people were happy, he was not concerned about the means used.

 

You left part out... i guess i know why you did.

 
No. Prayut hasn't run off (yet).
 
Nor did he promise to 'stand with you shoulder to shoulder when the first bullets fired" whilst really evacuating his family and going shopping in Paris. 
 
Your hero is as cowardly as they come.

Easy to be a hero when your amnesty is enshrined in the constitution you wrote yourself.

C'mon. You are better than that.

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43 minutes ago, brucec64 said:

Easy to be a hero when your amnesty is enshrined in the constitution you wrote yourself.

C'mon. You are better than that.

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Nobody said Prayut is a hero (he is not) but Thaksin is a coward.. promising to be there shoulder to shoulder when the bullets fly only to cowardly run. They can both be bad Bruce..   

2 minutes ago, robblok said:

Nobody said Prayut is a hero (he is not) but Thaksin is a coward.. promising to be there shoulder to shoulder when the bullets fly only to cowardly run. They can both be bad Bruce..   

Rubbish talk. Thaksin was setup a beauty from high above

Nobody said Prayut is a hero (he is not) but Thaksin is a coward.. promising to be there shoulder to shoulder when the bullets fly only to cowardly run. They can both be bad Bruce..   

I agree with you. Except the present regime will never be held accountable for their crimes. So they are worse in my book.

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6 minutes ago, Media1 said:

Rubbish talk. Thaksin was setup a beauty from high above

How was he setup in not keeping his promise of being there when the bullets would fly. He made that promise but he cowardly did not keep it. Letting others take bullets in his place after having incited them. 

1 minute ago, brucec64 said:

I agree with you. Except the present regime will never be held accountable for their crimes. So they are worse in my book.

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No problem agreeing.. that its worse that the present mob cant be held accountable. In my book that does not mean Thaksin gets a free pass. Just means they are both evil and I would not vote for either (if I could vote). I don't understand why so many here keep defending Thaksin. I stopped defending the junta quite a while back. Now I just attack them both though funnily the moment you attack Thaksin your a junta lover. Its so hard for some to understand both are evil and a third option would be preferable (don't mean democrats). Just mean what is the point in voting if you have these two choices. 

No problem agreeing.. that its worse that the present mob cant be held accountable. In my book that does not mean Thaksin gets a free pass. Just means they are both evil and I would not vote for either (if I could vote). I don't understand why so many here keep defending Thaksin. I stopped defending the junta quite a while back. Now I just attack them both though funnily the moment you attack Thaksin your a junta lover. Its so hard for some to understand both are evil and a third option would be preferable (don't mean democrats). Just mean what is the point in voting if you have these two choices. 

I actually agree with you. I wish i had more optimism for the future of this country but i dont see past or present rulers as the ones who will bring this country into the 21st century.

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4 hours ago, Media1 said:

He is 3 fold better than the left over garbage that is currently sitting on the trash can lol

Yeah, right.

11 minutes ago, brucec64 said:

I actually agree with you. I wish i had more optimism for the future of this country but i dont see past or present rulers as the ones who will bring this country into the 21st century.

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The answer is allowing democracy to flourish without disruption which will give empowerment to the electorate to only select leaders who can bring the country forward. 

Are we talking about the same Thaksin Shinawatra who has told us on innumerable occasions that he had personally withdrawn from Thai politics? Maybe he has run out of family members he can throw under the bus or maybe the strategy of illegally pulling the strings of whichever clone gets to be PM will not play any more. The last final play of that one which saw the whole government subordinated to the effort of using parliament to give Thaksin amnesty directly led to the coup and the very wonderful Richard Mille Junta Team. Carry on!

12 minutes ago, Eric Loh said:

The answer is allowing democracy to flourish without disruption which will give empowerment to the electorate to only select leaders who can bring the country forward. 

Yea right Eric.. with the two choices presented.. the utterly corrupt PTP  or the corrupt and untouchable junta.. wow... good choices that is going to help. 

 

You never got back to Thaksins quote.. probably because you could no longer defend him and thought better to let it rest.. I still want to know how you can call someone a democrat who does not think democracy is needed as long as the country prospers. 

Inflammatory posts and the replies have been removed. 

4 hours ago, timber said:

Don't see a problem the United States calls themselves a Democracy.

That is a misunderstanding. The United States of America is a constitutional republic, which is not quite the same as a democracy.

8 hours ago, robblok said:

I used to think that Thai politics had good guys.. now i despice both the junta and the PTP, and probably all others except future forward. The problem is almost all of them are in it for their own gain. They lie steal and cheat, once in power they act like the rules don't apply to them. 

 

For some die hard Thaksin lovers the moment you comment about Thaksin you automatically support the other side... they can't seem to understand there are those of us who think they are all bad. Sure they all have some good things / plans too but in the end its about filling their own pockets. 

 

In my own country i did follow politics but like here it does not really influence the life of ordinary people that much. I just like the debate here a bit the political threads here are more active then other threads. I like the fitness part of the forum more or the IT part but nobody posts there.

In my opinion the junta here have delayed the election to may times to appear sincere but it could due to another fault. They are simply bad judges of how much time is involved in real politics. After all they are trained as soldiers (Ha, a debatable point too) and their function is to protect the country, not run it. While Thaksin and others have their faults too they were chosen by the people (don't want to debate the point of 'vote buying etc.). As I've mentioned, politics (anywhere) is not one of my interests and I spend most of my online time in science related topics. You mention fitness; I've have been a Martial Artist for many years and have taught in Thailand. I work out every morning and still teach on the occasion when I am asked or invited.

10 hours ago, robblok said:

they will be there shoulder to shoulder.. when the bullets are fired.

they are the ones firing the bullets

Despite anyone's reservations about Thaksin talking about democracy...it's not as if there are any other "entities" here that can claim to be legit here...haha. What, are you going to defend Suthep or a military junta...give me a break. The Devil or the deep blue sea seems to be the deal. 

On 8/9/2018 at 9:10 AM, tracker1 said:

Just the mention of the Taskin name would have Mr P fuming ! but no problem only Pro Junta parties will be contesting the election when and if it happens !

Sad but true, the election is already decided.

Frying pan, fire, which do you prefer? Thaksin's influence may still be significant but every year that passes it diminishes....unless he uses the one tool that will always have influence....Bhat.

7 hours ago, robblok said:

Oh dear.. I wonder how Eric will explain this one. He calls Thaksin a democrat while what i read about him is that he does not care about democracy. His words.. so Eric.. why Thaksins change of heart.. Maybe because he is not in power... so now he can use democracy against the junta once back he will revert to his old ways.

 

Never mind Eric. 

 

Strangely enough I believe that Thaksin was/is far more of  a democrat Than Prayuth will ever be.

 

Even if Thaksin came back and stayed in his old ways it would be far more democratic than the people in power now.

9 hours ago, billd766 said:

 

OTOH Thaksin never promised to end corruption, never promised to reform the police or military, never promised to hold elections 2 or 3 times a year since 2-15 and still has not done so yet.

 

When the coup came back in 2014 I welcomed it and believed Many of the things that Prayuth promised would happen in Thailand. It took me a couple of years to realise that I was not as smart as I thought I was.

 

Now if it were possible for me to vote and given the choice of Thaksin or Prayuth only I would vote for Thaksin every time.

It takes balls to come out in public and admit you were entirely wrong. I salute you for that.

7 hours ago, PS2 said:

Returning Happiness to the People, - Prayut Chan-o-cha

 

If you believe that I have a bridge that I can sell you for cash, buyer dismantles and collects.

6 hours ago, robblok said:

 

 

6 hours ago, robblok said:

No problem agreeing.. that its worse that the present mob cant be held accountable. In my book that does not mean Thaksin gets a free pass. Just means they are both evil and I would not vote for either (if I could vote). I don't understand why so many here keep defending Thaksin. I stopped defending the junta quite a while back. Now I just attack them both though funnily the moment you attack Thaksin your a junta lover. Its so hard for some to understand both are evil and a third option would be preferable (don't mean democrats). Just mean what is the point in voting if you have these two choices. 

 

Under the present government the election has already taken place and the people of Thailand have lost. It is just that they cannot announce the result yet.

5 minutes ago, baboon said:

It takes balls to come out in public and admit you were entirely wrong. I salute you for that.

 

Thank 'ee kindly young man.

 

I wasn't entirely wrong, just 99%.

2 fugitives who stole the Thai people's money and caused hundreds of deaths talking about democracy, what a joke.

They are an evil, corrupt family and I hope they rot in jail, where they belong.

32 minutes ago, billd766 said:

 

Thank 'ee kindly young man.

 

I wasn't entirely wrong, just 99%.

Let's say 'mistaken', not 'wrong'.

36 minutes ago, robblok said:

I only post here because of the fun, you won't see me protesting against the junta or Thaksin.. they both don't influence my life to any great degree. Its just an active debate here. 

 

Fitness is important for me.. at the moment a bit less (always have times like that) but getting back to full attention again. The hardest of fitness is not exercise but the healthy diet.

Yes, there many a OP that provokes the humour of expats and I enjoy that too. For me, my daily w/o is part of my life, or daily routine if you wish. I'm up before 5 a.m., cup of tea, w/o, wash w/o clothes, cornflakes and fruit as breakfast. Then I have the rest of the day for other things. Sometimes, not part of routine, short w/o in the evening.

On 8/10/2018 at 10:57 PM, billd766 said:

 

Never mind Eric. 

 

Strangely enough I believe that Thaksin was/is far more of  a democrat Than Prayuth will ever be.

 

Even if Thaksin came back and stayed in his old ways it would be far more democratic than the people in power now.

'billd766': About Thaksin, '...far more democratic...', as you write, or rather '...less un-democratic...', not same-same, very different IMO, anyway, considering the odds about him to (ever) come back (alive), we're a tiny bit wasting our time here...