Endgame. Whose endgame?

[webfact]

OPINION

 

Endgame. Whose endgame?

By Tulsathit Taptim

 

 

Intensifying vaccination drama in Thailand is taking place against an intriguing international backdrop featuring an apparent race between the West on one side and a Chinese-Russian alliance on the other to pump vaccines into the third world, which is being threatened seriously by COVID-19 at the moment.

 

Call it a subplot in the main theme if you will. Thailand is caught in a peculiar situation where Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha is baring his arm in public, like American and other world leaders, to receive a jab and encourage hesitant but high-risk people to get vaccinated in the process whereas the country is still far from getting enough supplies for the entire population.

 

Prayut and the Public Health Ministry are virtually begging people deemed eligible by great risk factors _ old ages and diseases that make them susceptible to the virus _ to register for vaccination. At the same time, a lot of Thais are waiting for vaccines with more and more scare and less and less patience. Through all this, the parliamentary opposition and the anti-establishment movement have been drumming up criticism against what they dub ineffective vaccine management to add to their uproar over other issues. Female protest leader Panusaya Sithijirawattanakul has been infected, and while it remains unclear as to where and how, the number of cases in prisons nationwide have become hair-raising.

 

Full story: https://www.thaipbsworld.com/endgame-whose-endgame/

 

-- © Copyright Thai PBS 2021-05-13

 

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[khwaibah]

39 minutes ago, webfact said:

 

40 minutes ago, webfact said:

Endgame. Whose endgame?

Bend over and find out.????

 

[herfiehandbag]

The endgame will be played out at late one night in the future at an airport near Bangkok...

[stranded2020]

You mean this , the real "end game" , making sense of these vaccinations :

http://www.endgamethemovie.com/

 

[Pattaya Spotter]

The West has shown its true colours in the pandemic...that all their paeans to solidarity with Third World, their wokism, and their pathetic Covax initiative, are noting but empty words and gestures. Like President Trump told Americans, in the real world, it's every country for themselves.

 

Non-Western developing countries can also learn a lot from the experience of China and India in handling the virus...that one-party government is far superior to supposed "democracy."

Edited May 14, 2021 by Pattaya Spotter

[simon43]

28 minutes ago, Pattaya Spotter said:

The West has shown its true colours in the pandemic...that all their paeans to solidarity with Third World, their wokism, and their pathetic Covax initiative, are noting but empty words and gestures. Like President Trump told Americans, in the real world, it's every country for themselves.

 

Non-Western developing countries can also learn a lot from the experience of China and India in handling the virus...that one-party government is far superior to supposed "democracy."

 

Here in Laos, our one-party government provided free vaccinations (AZ for older), Sinovac/Sinopharm for younger, Sputnik V for front-line workers etc), for all people, expats and Lao.  I've had my first AZ jab a few weeks ago.  The country was free of Covid-19 until 2 infected Thais illegally crossed the Mekong and brought the infection with them... Right now, there is a strong lockdown in all provinces, in a bid to contain the spread of the virus.  I'm very happy with the response of this one-party government ????

[wwest5829]

1 hour ago, Pattaya Spotter said:

The West has shown its true colours in the pandemic...that all their paeans to solidarity with Third World, their wokism, and their pathetic Covax initiative, are noting but empty words and gestures. Like President Trump told Americans, in the real world, it's every country for themselves.

 

Non-Western developing countries can also learn a lot from the experience of China and India in handling the virus...that one-party government is far superior to supposed "democracy."

History does bear out that, in many cases, totalitarian government is more efficient ... in the short run. For all its faults ... I am far too old to want to give up any semblance of a government form which is more inclined to personal freedoms ...

[Thingamabob]

We don't know what is really going on in China. There are reports that covid is out of control in some areas. Fact is, whether any one country is handling the pandemic better than another, there will be no end only a degree of control through vaccinations.

[Dogmatix]

"...and how, the number of cases in prisons nationwide have become hair-raising."

 

If I were a betting man I would wager that the next institution where people live and work in tightly packed conditions to get a surge of infections will be the Royal Thai Army.  Perhaps they should reliease all the unneeded conscripts now.  Let the officers wives tend their own gardens and fighting cocks.

[Pattaya Spotter]

3 hours ago, wwest5829 said:

History does bear out that, in many cases, totalitarian government is more efficient ... in the short run. For all its faults ... I am far too old to want to give up any semblance of a government form which is more inclined to personal freedoms ...

"One party" government and "totalitarian" government aren't synonymous. 

[DrJack54]

3 hours ago, wwest5829 said:

I am far too old to want to give up any semblance of a government form which is more inclined to personal freedoms ...

I'm guessing Australia the exception.

[wwest5829]

43 minutes ago, DrJack54 said:

I'm guessing Australia the exception.

DrJack54, don't know why your response to Endgame was attributed to me ...

[wwest5829]

56 minutes ago, Pattaya Spotter said:

"One party" government and "totalitarian" government aren't synonymous. 

I am inclined ... "Totalitarianism is a concept for a form of government or political system that prohibits opposition parties, restricts individual opposition to the state and its claims, and exercises an extremely high degree of control over public and private life." I believe this fits the definition of the current Chinese or North Korean government model, for instance.

[DrJack54]

5 minutes ago, wwest5829 said:

DrJack54, don't know why your response to Endgame was attributed to me ...

Nothing don't worry about it.

My comment was pointing out that in Australia the government has threatened it's citizens with fines and even jail (that wouldn't happen) if they left Au currently. Some have done this by flying to NZ and then onward.

They also stopped planes from India with returning Au citizens. Not normal run of mill stuff from a democratic country. Having said that, these are not normal times. I note that Thailand (imo not an elected government) has encouraged it's Thai citizens to return if currently in India

[Pattaya Spotter]

17 minutes ago, wwest5829 said:

I am inclined ... "Totalitarianism is a concept for a form of government or political system that prohibits opposition parties, restricts individual opposition to the state and its claims, and exercises an extremely high degree of control over public and private life." I believe this fits the definition of the current Chinese or North Korean government model, for instance.

That's your opinion and your certainly entitled to it...I'm sure if you surveyed the PEOPLE OF CHINA, you would find them quite happy with their overall quality of life (and they're the ones that count); probably more so than most Americans. 

[wwest5829]

1 hour ago, Pattaya Spotter said:

That's your opinion and your certainly entitled to it...I'm sure if you surveyed the PEOPLE OF CHINA, you would find them quite happy with their overall quality of life (and they're the ones that count); probably more so than most Americans. 

The definition is not mine. Google the quote and you can see the source is Wikipedia (Britannica if you would rather: "Totalitarianism, form of government that permits no individual freedom and seeks to subordinate all aspects of individual life to the authority of the state") so, it is not just my opinion. You overreach, but as I have not seen your personal educational background, I cannot access the basis of your statement other than to fall back on my own knowledge base. I do recognize that there are many people around the globe willing to accept a one party (and thus totalitarian) government in return for some semblance of stability and controlled peace. There are others, however, who are certainly not happy with this arrangement and all one need do is be knowledgeable concerning Hong Kong, Tibet or the Uyghurs to confirm this as fact.

[TheFreqFlyer]

7 hours ago, wwest5829 said:

I am inclined ... "Totalitarianism is a concept for a form of government or political system that prohibits opposition parties, restricts individual opposition to the state and its claims, and exercises an extremely high degree of control over public and private life." I believe this fits the definition of the current Chinese or North Korean government model, for instance.

Increasingly this also applies to Thailand. 

[connda]

15 hours ago, simon43 said:

 

Here in Laos, our one-party government provided free vaccinations (AZ for older), Sinovac/Sinopharm for younger, Sputnik V for front-line workers etc), for all people, expats and Lao.  I've had my first AZ jab a few weeks ago.  The country was free of Covid-19 until 2 infected Thais illegally crossed the Mekong and brought the infection with them... Right now, there is a strong lockdown in all provinces, in a bid to contain the spread of the virus.  I'm very happy with the response of this one-party government ????

if everybody has been vaccinated, why did two Thais illegally crossing into Laos create a new epidemic?  Seychelles?  Same same and not different.  There too.  The country is mostly vaccinated and still - an epidemic.  "The shots are going to save us all.",  an "expert" assured me on TV.
What gives?  Inquiring minds would like to know...???

[BusyB]

10 hours ago, wwest5829 said:

The definition is not mine. Google the quote and you can see the source is Wikipedia (Britannica if you would rather: "Totalitarianism, form of government that permits no individual freedom and seeks to subordinate all aspects of individual life to the authority of the state") so, it is not just my opinion. You overreach, but as I have not seen your personal educational background, I cannot access the basis of your statement other than to fall back on my own knowledge base. I do recognize that there are many people around the globe willing to accept a one party (and thus totalitarian) government in return for some semblance of stability and controlled peace. There are others, however, who are certainly not happy with this arrangement and all one need do is be knowledgeable concerning Hong Kong, Tibet or the Uyghurs to confirm this as fact.

 

One party government is a bit like a fixed menu with only one dish in a restaurant.

If you like what's on offer it's fine.

If you don't it ain't, with everything that involves.

 

Edited May 14, 2021 by BusyB