2 minutes ago, neeray said:

Talking with a friend in Thailand today, she said "the poor and the disabled get 500 baht from the government each month so they voted accordingly". As I told her, where I come from, we call 500 baht "chicken feed".

You might want to point out that the government lost...

Ups, the Thai government and Senate are becoming more and more militarized (even the policemen are military), where does democracy remain ???

5 hours ago, webfact said:

THE junta has spent Bt1.3 billion to handpick 250 names for the Senate, most of whom helped create the ruling National Council for Peace and Order.

I'd love to see a breakdown of the accounts!

 

 

C'mon people you can't fool me, at this point the only surprise is that the number is not 250.

50 minutes ago, jesimps said:

Be nice to see what the junta fans on here have to say in response. The usual twaddle I should imagine.

But but but Thaksin....

2 hours ago, Eligius said:

Totally agree with you, Enoon (above).

 

But what 'has to come' will not come yet. The Thais will need to hurt a lot, lot, LOT more first before they actually DO anything - in numbers that matter.

 

It's so very sad to see a beautiful and (generally) friendly people who have been so ground down and terrorised that they have actually (nearly all) lost their backbone ...

 

All well and good, but if you were Thai, which you are not, would you want to be the first parent to grieve over his dead student/martyr?

And there will be many. And hopefully the last.

It is the only way fwd.

Unfortunately.

 

6 hours ago, webfact said:

"To cleanse the country of corruption"

And my name is Frank Sinatra.

6 hours ago, webfact said:

pm and his deputy mum

He has a deputy mum as well!!!???!!!55554????????????????????????????

Sad to see Thailand and her people, who are generally very nice, go down like this.

28 minutes ago, thaiguzzi said:

would you want to be the first parent to grieve over his dead student/martyr?

Better to die than as a military conscript?

Forgive me for being a cynic but I agree with someone who once said, many decades ago, "If voting changed anything it would be banned"

Coming soon to a country very near you - universal surveillance, behaviour control through social credit score, and lockdown with militarised police force, Chinese-style.

Just now, PerkinsCuthbert said:

Coming soon to a country very near you - universal surveillance, behaviour control through social credit score, and lockdown with militarised police force, Chinese-style.

I'm a good boy

look how brown their nose is and it is not from the sun or being Thai

What was the point of holding elections no doubt it was down to pressure from other countries because nothing has changed as they say Same Same but different .

1 hour ago, M71 said:

Don't be surprised if the most corrupt countries on the planet, the USA and Israel, now condemn Thailand for being corrupt

You mean when Trump said this (October 2017):  "It’s a great honor to have Prime Minister Prayut of Thailand and Mrs. Prayut.  This is a very great honor for us." https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/remarks-president-trump-prime-minister-prayut-chan-o-cha-thailand-bilateral-meeting/

At the White House:

https://www.voanews.com/a/trump-hosts-thailand-prime-minister-prayuth-chan-ocha/4053069.html

I wouldn't be surprised to see PM Prayut back at the White House after his formal endorsement as PM.

Especially after the Army's recent $80 million purchase of 37 Stryker armored cars from the United States.

 

 

6 hours ago, unamazedloso said:

All future hopes of democracy and  a better future for Thailands now gone. A sad time indeed. The Thai people only have themselves to blame.

NO it is not the Thai people to blame they voted for someone other than the now PM  but EC was hand picked by the PM and they are the ones who corrupted the election for him. Every Thai person I have ask said they would no way vote for the now PM

In other words, gross incompetence will continue throughout the nation. And now the nation is forced to suffer another five years under these hapless fools. My guess is that we will barely recognize Thailand five years from now. After ten straight years of army rule, with the fabulously non visionary Prayuth at the helm, this country will be a pale shadow of it's former self, the entire tourism industry will be decimated, the ex-pat population will continue to shrink, due to their racism, xenophobia, and fear mongering, and the economy will decline. Too bad. Do the Thai people deserve this? Well, yes for allowing the 2017 constitutional charter to pass. And no. In reality nobody deserves the Thai army as a ruler. They benefit nobody other than themselves. They care not one iota for the common man.

A disgrace, but not a surprise. 

Everyone already knew this was going to happen.   

1 hour ago, PerkinsCuthbert said:

Coming soon to a country very near you - universal surveillance, behaviour control through social credit score, and lockdown with militarised police force, Chinese-style.

Well if you got nothing to hide....lol

 

All for your safety of course.....

Surprise surprise! I would never have guest it!!!! 

13 minutes ago, spidermike007 said:

In other words, gross incompetence will continue throughout the nation. And now the nation is forced to suffer another five years under these hapless fools. My guess is that we will barely recognize Thailand five years from now. After ten straight years of army rule, with the fabulously non visionary Prayuth at the helm, this country will be a pale shadow of it's former self, the entire tourism industry will be decimated, the ex-pat population will continue to shrink, due to their racism, xenophobia, and fear mongering, and the economy will decline. Too bad. Do the Thai people deserve this? Well, yes for allowing the 2017 constitutional charter to pass. And no. In reality nobody deserves the Thai army as a ruler. They benefit nobody other than themselves. They care not one iota for the common man.

After another 5-10 years of visa tightening.....The majority of posters here will be gone....Thats for sure....

27 minutes ago, randy723 said:

NO it is not the Thai people to blame they voted for someone other than the now PM  but EC was hand picked by the PM and they are the ones who corrupted the election for him. Every Thai person I have ask said they would no way vote for the now PM

 

That's not totally true. The PP Junta and current PM supporting party received the largest number of votes of any party. 7-8 million voted for them. So you've been asking the one's who didn't.

 

Whether those who voted to support PP and the Junta fully understood all the implications of having a Junta party probably forming the next government, with a Junta appointed senate is debatable. They will soon understand now they've got what they voted for.

 

It seems a decision was taken to stop one faction ever gaining control again, stop the musical chairs and the alternating of power between factions. One group has come out on top and will do everything to stay there.

 

As for the 90% of the population who don't control the wealth - no one really cares what they think or want. Which sadly is in line with most countries these days.

I personally don't think that democracy is doomed with this crony senate house. We have a bicameral system and both houses must agree when new laws are made. With only a tiny majority in the lower house, the junta may not have things all their ways. Fortunately we still have strong anti junta pro democracy MPs who will block any abuses of power. The situation is not doomed but certainly chaotic. 

3 hours ago, Eligius said:

Many of us on these threads warned - months, if not years, ago - not to legitimise a fake 'election'. But the people did not listen (including the politicians).

The whole sorry and blatantly obvious pretence of a restoration of democracy should have been opposed and voiced down, over and over again, by the mass of the Thai people.

Instead - they let all of it happen - and are still letting it happen. They stood by, watched the plotters plotting the people's undoing - and then hurried off to support that wicked scheme in their millions - instead of saying 'NO TO LIES AND DECEPTION' in their MILLIONS.

 

Well, when you make your own bed - you then have little choice but to lie on it ...

There´s no legal way to be opposition in Thailand at the moment. Anyone who protests against the junta will be arrested and then who knows what might happen to the person. Thailand is now a full fledged dictatorship and protest (at least in the meantime) will not bring any change.

yhanks to the PM Thailand will now become a real third world country and the peole will suffer

8 hours ago, webfact said:

Six military /police members were named as senators based solely on their position, namely Defence Ministry’s permanent secretary-general General Natt Intrachroen, Supreme Commander General Pornpipat Benyasri, Army chief General Apirat Kongsompong, Navy chief Admiral Luechai Ruddit, Air Force chief Air Chief Marshall Chaiyapruk Didyasarin and National Police chief Pol General Chakthip Chaijinda. 

and all were elected/select by their professional merits/acomplishements

8 hours ago, webfact said:

He refused to explain why so many of the Senate nominees were military and police officers and snapped on the selection of a number of his close aides.

 

“What are you talking about?” the general said, apparently upset by the question. But when reporters started naming several officers, including his brother, Prawit dodged past the media throng, got in his car, and left Government House.

how can a government spend so much money and time,  go through a mock election just to make a mockery out of the all process not to mention mocking the people as well

if he is still PM then good bye Thailand because me and my 7 expats friends are moving to Vietnam before the fighting start