40 minutes ago, Siripon said:

But jayboy, you insisted the genie was out of the bottle once Thaksin had been elected. According to you, once the majority of Thai people realized  that they had a voice, then there would be no turning back.

I remember you advising the elite to surrender some of their power to the hoi polloi to avoid bloodshed as the inevitable march of history meant power slipping from their hands and into those elected.

 

I was wrong.I suppose over a long period of time there might be some movement in that direction but very little sign of it now.Let's be honest and accept that in the region at large there's little to support liberal and democratic values.More widely there's suspicion of populism and traditional Western democracies are hardly an expiring example.

11 hours ago, Samui Bodoh said:

He is the leader in the poll because all others have been banned from campaigning.

 

Lift the ban and watch the numbers change.

 

Doh!

 

 

So who is really in charge of the poll? 'Nuff said!

Polls can be made to say whatever is desired. One has to wonder who was polled? Were they well educated? Were they farmers? Were the people asked also the people that has had Uncle visiting them often and promising to pave the roads with gold? 

 

Then there is the fact that all those who would be considered the opposition have not been able to get their word to the people. Again, one has to wonder if they will be allowed to with sufficient time to reach all those who will make it to the polls if there actually is an election.

 

And then there is the fact that apathy can be a real concern, if all those who support the junta go along fat, dumb, and happy, and don't vote there can be a big surprise when the votes are counted requiring the junta to manipulate the count (shocking, I know).

 

And then there is the abysmal percentage of those that trust the government...which actually tends to validate the poll.

9 hours ago, NCC1701A said:

where was the poll conducted? Khon Kaen or Bangkok?

Army barracks ??

Off topic posts and the replies have been removed.

 

A post containing a disallowed reference to the PM has been removed as well as a reply. 

5 hours ago, The Deerhunter said:

Boring, (safe) superficially moralistic, (god-fearing) authoritative. (tells me what to do. I need that) and Army (Seen as safer than many other institutions including the rich & privileged and  Amart)  No surprises there.  A very popular mix for an unsophisticated voting population.   AND he said he was going to fix traffic and poverty by the election so we can't argue with that, yet???? can we?

Yet, you fail to recognize that the military, rich and privileged, and Amart are basically one-n-the-same.

 

.....and Thais aren't really of a GOD dogmatic thing. 

That would be your narrow Christian interpretation - that all "religions" and spirituality requires a GAWD like entity.

 

 

Prayut will be the next and first PM of the new constitution, period !  I polled only one person, myself ! no corruption there, no cheating, no lobbying just the truth ... and the result ! 

If that is the case, God help Thailand. It is regressing rapidly, not advancing. The archaic regime is stifling everything. No one can do anything. Everything is now restricted, and if he becomes PM Thailand will be run by the army with army rules. Does anyone really want that??? I certainly would not.

I once had a pole with a cord and on the end of it was a poll. 

9 hours ago, Ossy said:

Yes . . . a good job of turning Thailand into an international laughing stock. Problems or not, at least the country could hold its head up with some degree of pride before Prayuth and his thousand troops forced their way in. He and his joke of a government are an utter disgrace in every conceivable respect.

 

Tell me, RickTik, what improvement has Prayuth/junta brought to Thai quality-of-life as a result of his or the Junta's initiative, as opposed to systems, processes and projects that were already ongoing in May 2014. I can't think of one. In fact, whichever way I look, I only see regression.

1. The farmers are being shown more respect.

2. Civil liberties haven't been compromised.

3. Environmental protection has improved.

4. The slum joints like Pattaya are improving.

5. Foreign investment is strong.

6. Yingluck gets to live freely. 

Bottom line: The junta has been good for Thailand.

Why am I not surprised?

11 hours ago, zzaa09 said:

Yet, you fail to recognize that the military, rich and privileged, and Amart are basically one-n-the-same.

 

.....and Thais aren't really of a GOD dogmatic thing. 

That would be your narrow Christian interpretation - that all "religions" and spirituality requires a GAWD like entity.

 

 

I was describing the situation as i see it in western terms for a western reader.   I was explaining the current PM's attraction to the average Thai voter who is not that well educated, well read or sophisticated.  Many Thais feel the army is much more trustworthy than (well, many other un-named institutions.)

(1) For me to recognise that item is not the same as the average Thai voter recognising it. 

(2) AND for GOD read "Buddha."   My wife and her family seem so consider a 2,500 year dead Buddha as someone they can reach by prayer in the same way Christians pray to an apparently sentient but 2,000 year departed Jesus!

Bye Bye tourists and Thailand if he is elected . All his elected team members will receive Gold watches.

12 hours ago, RickTik said:

1. The farmers are being shown more respect.

2. Civil liberties haven't been compromised.

3. Environmental protection has improved.

4. The slum joints like Pattaya are improving.

5. Foreign investment is strong.

6. Yingluck gets to live freely. 

Bottom line: The junta has been good for Thailand.

 

1. The farmers are being shown more respect. Respect does not put food on the table. They are suffering. Look at the villages and towns up country. Businesses are closing or doing very poorly. Why?  

2. Civil liberties haven't been compromised.  Freedom of speech is not allowed. Freedom of assembly. Computer Crime Act. 

3. Environmental protection has improved.  Perhaps.

4. The slum joints like Pattaya are improving. Slum? Do you know the meaning of the word? You need to visit the Klong Toey slums. 

5. Foreign investment is strong. I honestly do not know. It is likely to pick up under the US vs China trade wars. But investment always seems to be in industrial/financial centers. Government needs to promote other areas. 

6. Yingluck gets to live freely.  Current regime is wasting more money on populists schemes to win the next election than she ever did on rice pledging.  

On 9/24/2018 at 4:39 PM, jayboy said:

I was wrong.I suppose over a long period of time there might be some movement in that direction but very little sign of it now.Let's be honest and accept that in the region at large there's little to support liberal and democratic values.More widely there's suspicion of populism and traditional Western democracies are hardly an expiring example.

 

Just as a postscript it's surprising how things can change quickly in politics.Take the UK as an example where Corbyn has more than a fighting chance of becoming the next PM (actually probably the next but one since a fellow Tory may well replace Theresa May.)

 

The public mood is fickle and can change quickly. To quote the Daily Torygraph

 

"Strip away the antisemitism, the IRA tea parties, the praising of Marx and streak of nastiness (which I admit requires more stripping than a night at Stringfellows) and there is a policy pitch which chimes with the public mood: weary of austerity, angry with big business, nervous of the future and in need of a good dollop of optimism."

 

That could happen here if there's a change of mood in the Thai public, perhaps prompted by as yet unforeseen events.