forbidden idea(l)s is what got him to run for his life

3 minutes ago, wazzupnow said:

i bet even the quietman would fill his pockets if he could,wich is fine U can ask any thai who they want bac

Just to be clear, I also think Thaksin would have been the best choice for leadership of this country. Of that I have no doubts. I was simply pointing out, that if he had been happy with his lot, he could have went on to maybe even still be PM now.

The greed took him over, and the sale of his telecoms company and then hiding ownership of shares to avoid tax, was his undoing.

That pisses me off, because he could have been great for this country.

Just now, Bender Rodriguez said:

forbidden idea(l)s is what got him to run for his life

He was known for corruption, greed, corruption, illegal killings, corruption and maybe half a forbidden idea.

Now why did he run away? It must be that idea...

3 hours ago, nobodysfriend said:

Corruption and the fact that they became too popular and , with that , too dangerous , lead to their exile .

Still remember the last days of the Thaksin regime ... it was not peaceful ... at that time I thought the coup was good to bring peace to the deeply divided country ... But , now , six years later , it really is time for real and true democratic elections , without eliminating popular political parties just because they get too many votes in the eyes of the ones in power ...

 

1 hour ago, petedk said:

The strange thing is that it was the mostly the very poor, who probably have no idea how much billions really are, who voted for him. He gave them a few thousand baht and paid the villages a million baht and they were happy.

I agree that the time for true democratic elections without interference from the current dictatorship is now. The structure is there for it, and I believe the political is will there too.

34 minutes ago, Mr Meeseeks said:

He deals with all the questions fielded to him competently, in English too. Do you think anyone in this current regime would even go on international TV?

Thanathorn would and in fact, he already has. Several times.

Just now, thequietman said:

Just to be clear, I also think Thaksin would have been the best choice for leadership of this country. Of that I have no doubts. I was simply pointing out, that if he had been happy with his lot, he could have went on to maybe even still be PM now.

The greed took him over, and the sale of his telecoms company and then hiding ownership of shares to avoid tax, was his undoing.

That pisses me off, because he could have been great for this country.

Yes, he had some good ideas.

But he was greedy and behaved as if he is/was above the law.

I think being greedy and egoistic are such bad characteristics that it's impossible to compensate for them with a few good ideas. He gave crumbs to the people so he could get the cake. 

2 minutes ago, Madeline Thompson said:

 

I agree that the time for true democratic elections without interference from the current dictatorship is now. The structure is there for it, and I believe the political is will there too.

And are the Thai voters well informed? Do they understand democracy? Do they understand that corruption is bad? And do they understand that if they elect corrupt politicians then they will have a corrupt government? Someone should explain that to the voters. But who will do that?

Just now, OneMoreFarang said:

And are the Thai voters well informed? Do they understand democracy? Do they understand that corruption is bad? And do they understand that if they elect corrupt politicians then they will have a corrupt government? Someone should explain that to the voters. But who will do that?

Certainly not you.

Post flaming another member removed.

2 minutes ago, OneMoreFarang said:

Who do you think is better informed about Thailand? Someone who lives here since forever or a newbie? 

What do you think, that everyone who lives in Thailand is a Thaivisa member?

 

I know people who never learn as well.

1 hour ago, Mr Meeseeks said:

More than a bit of exaggeration and embellishment in this post. Reads like a post from a person that wasn't here during the Thaksin years or one of the obsessives on here that can't admit the military is far worse in power than Thaksin ever was.

 

To disseminate:

The war on drugs was praised in the birthday speech of the country's revered person, whom we can't discuss here. It was overwhelmingly popular among the public as Thailand was awash with drugs at the time. It instantly improved the situation and did a lot to stop the scourge of yaba at the time.

 

The Southern conflict was exacerbated by the hardliner conservatives not under Thaksin's control. In particular the old guard like Prem and his acolytes (he's from Songkhla incidently) and let's not forget, as they are now, the military does not operate under orders from elected governments. Tak Bai and other incidents that inflamed the situation down there happened under the military, and nobody has been held accountable.

 

Chalerm and Samak are not generals, so please don't name them as such. 

 

Activists going missing? I can name one high profile person that went missing during Thaksin's time. There are dozens that have gone missing under this regime. Human rights is far worse now, that's not even comparible.

 

The red brigade? A direct response to the Yellow Shirt movement that was formed by a jilted media mogul after Thaksin removed his mate Viroj from the CEO position at KTB for poor performance and forgiving Sondti's personal loans of over 1 billion Baht.

 

It's like a Thai soap opera, but if you don't speak the language, read local media or understand the culture you'll get lost in unfounded accusations, uninformed opinion and the obsessive nonsense spouted by a few lost old men on here.

I think a good summary of recent times . Well written.

4 hours ago, naryan said:

I was coming to Thailand when he was the prime minister, Thai people were free & happy they had more money. Foreigners were welcome visa's were easy to get, no charges at the ATM the the baht was at a good rate of exchange, the police only stopped people for not wearing helmets.

He could speak English and he new Thailand needed help from the west & Foreigners were respected!

It's a pity that he gave the police a license to kill suspected drug dealers without them being given their right to a trial. Nearly three thousand were murdered. Whether they were guilty or not? It was a good time for old scores to be settled.

5 hours ago, rtco said:

And this Government don't?

By the looks off All the Pollies It wouldn't matter Who is in Charge off this country. 

They All have that Virus "Greed" .Can't Kill it.

This will take a Few Centuries to Breed that out (we hope).  

Cannot help but think that when the young hold up 3 fingers they want political change with no free loading rich politicians, seems granny could now be lining up the government to say 'see the young now want Thaksin back' with holding up three fingers and come down all the harder

     I believe all the alleged crimes of the Thaksin's, have been blown out of all proportions, by this corrupt military, to make their case for a coup more acceptable.

     Thaksin's sister created a rice scheme to help the farmers, it was the crooked Thais themselves that screwed it up by making false claims, none of those were ever prosecuted, she never made profit from the scheme, but again this corrupt government let the Thaksin's to take the blame.

     And the Thaksin's never wasted Tax money on tanks, sub's, and luxury jets,as toys for the boy's

 

3 hours ago, fvw53 said:

Do I remember well that some Red Shirt leaders wanted - like Emperor Nero - burn the city?

Ah yes, the "if everyone brought a 1 litre bottle of petrol to Bangkok" hypothesis.  I think they arrested him for that. 

 

In history class I learned there are leaders who surround themselves with smart, capable people, and others who prefer fools for their underlings.  Mr T here was the latter, it became especially apparent during the negotiations with Abhisit during the occupation of Ratchadamri.  Those three guys T sent in were more like a comedy troupe.  If he were PM now, I can think of one world leader who would be polishing his buttocks.

 

One time during the occupation he appeared on the jumbotron, and woops!  he forgot to put on his hairpiece!  The crowd got to see him bald and jaws dropped, and he explained that away as "just a little bit of chemo."  I never heard more about this, but not that I followed his story that closely. 

I believe that thing with purchasing Manchester City FC, and then selling it so soon afterward, was a money laundering maneuver.

 

 

Edited July 27, 20205 yr by bendejo

He cleverly duped all those rural voters to support him so perhaps he is a clever politician.  That said changing once group of rapacious elites for another is not what this country needs

It's amazing that so many TV members, most of them who don't even understand Thai language and rely on what their rented wife who speaks 6 words English tells them, are so knowledgeable about Thai politics.

 

Even to the point that they start ridiculing other members, because they know more than the other.

Edited July 27, 20205 yr by Susco

1 hour ago, grumpy 4680 said:

     I believe all the alleged crimes of the Thaksin's, have been blown out of all proportions, by this corrupt military, to make their case for a coup more acceptable.

     Thaksin's sister created a rice scheme to help the farmers, it was the crooked Thais themselves that screwed it up by making false claims, none of those were ever prosecuted, she never made profit from the scheme, but again this corrupt government let the Thaksin's to take the blame.

     And the Thaksin's never wasted Tax money on tanks, sub's, and luxury jets,as toys for the boy's

 

You must be joking! Thaksin's little sister's rice scam was planned as a scam from the very beginning. It's obvious to anybody who is willing to look. Obviously she told the masses that she did it only to help the poor farmers just like her corrupt criminal brother pretended to help the poor because he has such a good heart. I find it amazing that some people still believe these fairytales. 

2 minutes ago, Gandtee said:

Isn't Thailand awash with drugs now? What's changed?????

Thailand was always awash with drugs.

What changed is that now the police does not execute people anymore and later pretend the victims were drug dealers.

Of course the police also killed drug dealers. But it was the perfect pretext for them to kill whoever they wanted to kill.

1 hour ago, digger70 said:

By the looks off All the Pollies It wouldn't matter Who is in Charge off this country. 

They All have that Virus "Greed" .Can't Kill it.

This will take a Few Centuries to Breed that out (we hope).  

The biggest problem is that Thais again and again vote for greedy corrupt politicians. And then the same voters are somehow surprised that they have a government full of greedy corrupt politicians.

The system is wonderfully described in this book: Guns, Girls, Gambling, Ganja : Thailand's Illegal Economy and Public Policy

4 hours ago, Razek said:

Thaksin came with 0 Dollars and he get out with Milliarden .....

The whole point about Thaksin, and what inspires so much dislike (or worse) amongst so many, both amongst those within Thai society " born to rule" and amongst their apologists here on TVF, is that he made a great deal of money in business, and then went into politics, and was equally successful at that. New money and consequent political success put the old elite's noses severely out of joint. That is why they got rid of him.

Some troll stuff and replies have been removed

Thaskin was the first person make it harder for visa hoop jumping for us. But before him it was soooo easy to stay here. After that it got a bit more complicated and then coming to now this regime has moved the goal posts literally letting us know that they do not like us. It is hard to tell where Thaksin would have moved the goal posts to, but he started the whole mess.

7 hours ago, rtco said:

And this Government don't?

 

But, but, but,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

 

 

Doesn't change that the Shins were greedy corrupt thieves does it? 

11 minutes ago, holy cow cm said:

Thaskin was the first person make it harder for visa hoop jumping for us. But before him it was soooo easy to stay here. After that it got a bit more complicated and then coming to now this regime has moved the goal posts literally letting us know that they do not like us. It is hard to tell where Thaksin would have moved the goal posts to, but he started the whole mess.

 

He never liked foreigners. Wasn't it him who mandated that foreigners wouldn't be paid interest on their bank accounts in Thailand? I remember someone posting the comment that he didn't like foreigners because most could see straight through him! 

I find it interesting to look back on the Taksin era with hindsight.

 

I was a fan at first and then came to detest him. I preferred the yellow cause over the red one. I was actually pleased when the coup took place.

 

Many expats shared my views. But these years past have shown us that there has been no improvement. There has been no change. The old cronies, be they "yellow" or "red" still command business, government and power. Corruption and incompetence still pervades. The media, who play a huge roll in everything here, has actually gotten worse (maybe thats a worldwide thing as well).

 

The one thing I wish is that the red movement got its act together and dumped the taksins and their clan, dumped their thug element, and stood on the democracy ideal that many of their rank and file truly supported. It was a mad time but the reds really opened up Thais to dialogue (even if some was vitriol) and change. Sadly that narrative of change seems to have been drowned. For now.

 

 

 

7 hours ago, naryan said:

I was coming to Thailand when he was the prime minister, Thai people were free & happy they had more money. Foreigners were welcome visa's were easy to get, no charges at the ATM the the baht was at a good rate of exchange, the police only stopped people for not wearing helmets.

He could speak English and he new Thailand needed help from the west & Foreigners were respected!

 

Seems like you've been imbibing and looking back through rose tinted glasses. 

 

He was an ex copper. Nuff said.

2 hours ago, grumpy 4680 said:

     I believe all the alleged crimes of the Thaksin's, have been blown out of all proportions, by this corrupt military, to make their case for a coup more acceptable.

     Thaksin's sister created a rice scheme to help the farmers, it was the crooked Thais themselves that screwed it up by making false claims, none of those were ever prosecuted, she never made profit from the scheme, but again this corrupt government let the Thaksin's to take the blame.

     And the Thaksin's never wasted Tax money on tanks, sub's, and luxury jets,as toys for the boy's

 

No, Thaksin sold his company to Temasak for 73bn, avoiding paying capital gains tax, and all this just days after he changed the laws on foreign ownership in telecom companies. A real hero of the working man.

1 minute ago, MRToMRT said:

I find it interesting to look back on the Taksin era with hindsight.

 

I was a fan at first and then came to detest him. I preferred the yellow cause over the red one. I was actually pleased when the coup took place.

 

Many expats shared my views. But these years past have shown us that there has been no improvement. There has been no change. The old cronies, be they "yellow" or "red" still command business, government and power. Corruption and incompetence still pervades. The media, who play a huge roll in everything here, has actually gotten worse (maybe thats a worldwide thing as well).

 

The one thing I wish is that the red movement got its act together and dumped the taksins and their clan, dumped their thug element, and stood on the democracy ideal that many of their rank and file truly supported. It was a mad time but the reds really opened up Thais to dialogue (even if some was vitriol) and change. Sadly that narrative of change seems to have been drowned. For now.

 

 

 

 

Spot on mate. Totally agree. I too thought Thaksin would be different - and of course he soon showed us he wasn't. Little sister was a mere puppet.

 

I too preferred the Yellows and welcomed the coup - the wipe the slate for Thaksin and let them get their hands on 2,2 trillion baht loan unchecked was the ball breaker for most former supporters I know,

 

But, as you say, nothing has really changed, except the politicians. Some win some loose and then it swaps

 

PTP, the Red Shirts, can't loose the Shin clan because they're owned by them. Lock, stock and barrel. 

 

The only way for change to happen is with exciting, new, fresh, people forming political parties and driving change. But we see how easily any who try get derailed.