14 hours ago, OneMoreFarang said:

... in the red villages.

And how long would he survive in Bangkok?

I'll only cheer when he gets thrown in prison where he and his twisted sister belong. 

16 hours ago, KhaoNiaw said:

He's certainly not what the new generation of demonstrators are looking for. 

Agreed; somehow the Dinosaurs have to be removed once and for all and the Young must find a way to prevent Soldiers from being in Parliament again...ever !

14 hours ago, MrJ2U said:

He and his sister were voted in.

 

This is a junta thats ruining this country.

 

Theres no comparison.

 

Now theres talk about having a convicted heroine dealer succeeding Pryutt.

 

My Thai wife said that this government is the worst in Thai history.  That seems to be the sentiment of many Thais.

 

There is no comparison.

 

 

The corruptable voted in the corrupt. 

Edited August 12, 20214 yr by Keesters

13 hours ago, Anton9 said:

I arrived in Thailand when Yingluck was the PM and life was so much better.

Oh ye of little history. Thailand has been going down and down for decades, the last 4 of which I've been here. Economy goes up, and along with it corruption and greed increases and the poor as usual get left behind with inflation overtaking wage increases. 

17 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

This picture taken on March 25, 2019, shows exiled former Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra being interviewed by Agence France-presse in Hong Kong. (Photo by ISAAC LAWRENCE / AFP)

His exile is self imposed. If he weren't such a coward he'd be here facing the charges of which he claims to be innocent of. 

49 minutes ago, Toscano said:

Thaksin would be warmly welcomed back in Isaan , Changmai and other northern and rural regions .

My recollection is that Thailand thrived economically under Thaksin governance , with good international connections .

A man with a flair for business is likely to enrich himself , and Thailand prospered too .

Under Thaksin , better education , improved living standards and jobs were extended to poorer rural communities .

The elite in Thailand who enjoy most of the wealth and big business , rely on northern and Issan people as cheap labour to insure bigger profits . Better educated people demanding a better income is not considered in the best interest of Thailand's economy .

Since the deposing of Thaksin the heart has gone out of Thailand , people have turned introspective and have lost all interest in the government and how the country is governed .

I have to disagree with you on one point; 'better education' !   If this were true we would be seeing a lot more bright and informed young people around by now and i don't see any evidence of that.   Where i live in the North most Kids coming out of School used to be as thick as Planks but seems these days they have moved on to being as thick as Tree's !    They can't show you their own country on a Map; have zero knowledge of the Outside World, can't add up more than their fingers, impossible for them to have a 'sensible' conversation about anything and many can barely speak their own laguage fluently let alone speak any other.   Disgraceful for a country with such a huge Education Budget.

The headline is all hypothetical and the current military would sooner stick pins in their eyes than allow him to return.

 

In difficult times we are all guilty of wanting to go back to the ' good old days ' we only remember the good times and not the bad. I think the problem Thailand faces right now is a despotic leader that thinks everybody likes him and will not and cannot accept that he is not up to the job of politics, and his style is none other than bullying, it simply doesn't work and he has run out of ideas.

 

He didn't have many good ideas to start with. Covid19 came and his initial luck ran out and he simply is out of his depth surrounded by Sycophants that cannot truly advise him, as he doesn't accept any views except his own.

 

Demonstrations play right into his hands because now he will lengthen his already long stay on the grounds of ' stability of the nation ' not taking into account that it is he who is the root of the problem. Next we will have some kind of planted IED in Bangkok or nearby and curfews announced all over again. He is going to take some moving!

 

Lastly and very sadly,, the overriding force that everybody listened to and kept some balance in this nation is no longer here to mediate.

I have no idea which Prime minister that has been the best for Thailand.

I only been vacationing in Thailand while Abhisit, Yingluck, Niwatthamrong and Prayut has been in charge.

 

I do however seem to recall a more happy nation some years ago, but a few things happened besides Prayut taking over.

The death of their beloved king and the recent pandemic surely didn't help towards happiness.

1 minute ago, Virt said:

I have no idea which Prime minister that has been the best for Thailand.

I only been vacationing in Thailand while Abhisit, Yingluck, Niwatthamrong and Prayut has been in charge.

 

I do however seem to recall a more happy nation some years ago, but a few things happened besides Prayut taking over.

The death of their beloved king and the recent pandemic surely didn't help towards happiness.

Good point!

 

And I am sure with the current pandemic every PM would be accused of doing a bad job. Because simply there is no way to have no Covid, a good economy and all the usual freedoms. Now all leaders anywhere in the world only have to chose between bad options and bad options. And often the opposition blame them for their decisions - with hindsight. And the frustrated masses often cheer for the opposition, any opposition, even if that opposition has no track record of doing things any better.

 

Thailand can wait a long time.

The idea of replacing corrupt politicians with other corrupt politicians has no future for the country. Taksin knows that the army government is currently weak in terms of popular support; and that the infantry of the army is made up mostly of the sons of poor farmer peasants.

 

I hope that the honest politicians (there are actually some) can finally prevail against these corrupt robber gangs.

But there is only little hope.

All control institutions (unelected parliamentarians, NACC, courts ombutsman, press, critical voices, new democracy movements) have been systematically weakened over the years.

 

In the past, the army had carried out its coups, but resigned then after quickly. This time it's different. Since 7 years now and nobody knows how long this condition will last.

Edited August 12, 20214 yr by tomacht8

Be great to have an elected officials

 Come back.

 

Those people who are in power because of the military takeover need to be held responsible.

17 hours ago, Rookiescot said:

While I would prefer Thaksin to the current administration you have to ask the question.

Can Thailand really not find better leaders than this?

Yes they can, the Future Forward party guy (can’t remember his name) was the ideal candidate but he simply did not have the power to defeat the military junta.
 

Thaksin on the other hand may well be able to give them a good fight, but unfortunately there will be bloodshed on the streets in order for him to succeed.
 

The red shirts will be ready next time round, they won’t be such an easy push over as they were last time.

31 minutes ago, trainman34014 said:

I have to disagree with you on one point; 'better education' !   If this were true we would be seeing a lot more bright and informed young people around by now and i don't see any evidence of that.   Where i live in the North most Kids coming out of School used to be as thick as Planks but seems these days they have moved on to being as thick as Tree's !    They can't show you their own country on a Map; have zero knowledge of the Outside World, can't add up more than their fingers, impossible for them to have a 'sensible' conversation about anything and many can barely speak their own laguage fluently let alone speak any other.   Disgraceful for a country with such a huge Education Budget.

My adopted Thai grandson has just reached 5 years old. He appears to be quite bright and very interested in sea animals, shipwrecks, and botany. Only one language at the moment, Thai, but he uses many English nouns rather than the Thai equivalent. E. G. crab, lobster, jellyfish, cactus. 

He'll be starting school as soon as its possible. My hope is that they'll not dumb him down. 

13 hours ago, it is what it is said:

 

better for who? my thai friends were very happy to see the back of her

As I recall, the back view of her was as cute as the front view ????.

A far cry from the current mob.

2 hours ago, Scouse123 said:

His picture was everywhere because he ordered it to be everywhere which annoyed somebody else whose picture was already there for a long time before Thaksin, if you get my drift!

 

He wouldn't be wasting money on submarines, he was too busy stealing it.

 

He wasn't a particularly good Prime minister, he created an illusion, and many of his policies unraveled and would have unraveled even if he had remained in power.

 

His war on drugs was a PR exercise and many innocent people lost their lives, his rice pledging could not go on, it was built on pillars of sand, and cost the country billions, the health scheme could have worked with further funds diverted to it.

 

He was greedy, he was and remains a personable narcissist.

 

I was here throughout his reign and the coup right up to the tanks steaming through Bangkok with yellow ribbons on their sleeves, I was there taking photos.

 

And that was his biggest error, he alienated he who could not be alienated

HIs greed and treat was the reason the military reacted hence that's why I say he is the cause (he give the military an excuse to react) of the problems we have right now

17 hours ago, david555 said:

the ideal leader for Thailand is not born yet i fear ..... only he  T can count already on a winning majority at start ..... (the reason why the BKK Hiso plotted against him)..... say's enough  ????

Oh, he’s born, and has been for about 42 years. How could anyone who’s lived here for more than 20 minutes not know this?

17 hours ago, Nickelbeer said:

All charges should be dropped and he should come back and run again. He would win by a landslide.

You are a fast learner. 

12 minutes ago, Songlaw said:

Oh, he’s born, and has been for about 42 years.

Can you give us a clue? 

18 minutes ago, Songlaw said:

Oh, he’s born, and has been for about 42 years. How could anyone who’s lived here for more than 20 minutes not know this?

Since founding the party, Thanathorn has advocated his vision for the party: the return of civilian government and demilitarization of Thai politics, greater political accountability, a fairer distribution of wealth, a social welfare system that promotes human dignity and greater decentralization of power.

 

A missed opportunity. In the end he was dismantled with all nasty Tricks.

Edited August 12, 20214 yr by tomacht8

5 hours ago, recom273 said:

It was a lot fun before he arrived, I only knew Thailand as a tourist, but pre-Taksin, bars closed when they wanted to, Taksins government imposed the 2.00 am closing time. Immigration was a lot more “flexible” their job wasn’t so serious.
 

I would love Taksin to remove this current clown, just saying, things were certainly a lot more fun, maybe it was down to the exchange rate.

And don't forget that it was during his time as PM the 11 to 2pm and after 5pm rule came in for alcohol sales. 

But that directive may have come from up higher.??

In most other countries stopping alcohol sales to underage people is handled  by using their ID card.

Every Thai carries and ID card.

8 minutes ago, Venom said:

Can you give us a clue? 

The age was the clue to the identity of he whose name cannot be spoken. But if that doesn't work for you, you can simply ask any Thai university student.

7 minutes ago, tomacht8 said:

Since founding the party, Thanathorn has advocated his vision for the party: the return of civilian government and demilitarization of Thai politics, greater political accountability, a fairer distribution of wealth, a social welfare system that promotes human dignity and greater decentralization of power.

 

A missed opportunity. In the end he was dismantled with all nasty Tricks.

BINGO.

17 hours ago, lolalol said:

Serious question. 

 

When I first came to Thailand around 2017~2018, Thais smiled a lot. Very natural and beautiful smiles. 

When I came back around 2019~2020, I sensed that Thais smiled a lot less. Very fed up looking smiles. 

 

Q1. Did Thais smile more before 2017?

 

Q2. What happened between 2018 & 2019 to make Thai smiles fade away?

 

I think you should chance girls in soi cowboy! After 2000 "boyfriend" is hard to smile. 

4 hours ago, cnx101 said:

Your right he’s just as bad as the rest but in those days it was fun here.

I recall asking a Philippino maid in HK why she and her mates loved (then) president Marcos so much as he was so obviously corrupt (and rich)?

She replied that ALL Philippine politicians and government officials were corrupt,  but He helped the people and better than most !

Gee!   Only 104 mil?    Must have been a bad year with the covid I guess??

3 minutes ago, orchidfan said:

I recall asking a Philippino maid in HK why she and her mates loved (then) president Marcos so much as he was so obviously corrupt (and rich)?

She replied that ALL Philippine politicians and government officials were corrupt,  but He helped the people and better than most !

She is absolutely correct and it is loosely connected to whats called 'divine right' so its just accepted so long as there is a somewhat fair trickling down affect.  Thaksin would not have got to where he did without the Isaan people who, although knowing he was rotten to the core, loved him because he made their lives a little more comfortable.

17 hours ago, OneMoreFarang said:

I remember when Thaksin started in politics. He told the people he is already rich and he does not need to get richer in politics. And the people believed him. And then, not much later, he had to admit what he called an "honest mistake", hiding assets in the name of his maids, drivers, etc. Yeah, very honest.

And then he did all the time those honest mistakes. And he was not only corrupt, he showed to all Thais and the world that he is corrupt and can get away with it. Obviously he gave the masses a few crumbs and the masses loved him. Stupid! 

I was here when Thaksin brought people hope when he started and I was here in the years when many people saw when Thaksin enriched himself. And I was here when the "first" coup happened and people gave flowers to the soldiers because they were happy that finally someone stood up against Thaksin. That was a joyful time.

 

It seems many people who think Thaksin is good were not here or closed their eyes to reality. He is a criminal and he always was a criminal. What is so difficult to understand about that obvious fact?

Yup, we've got it farang: you hate Thaksin.

You seem to have an obsession with your length of residence here. Why do you keep showing off?

Just to pick on one part of your delusional anti Thaksin rant: "he gave the masses a few crumbs".

Well, I invite you to come to the village where I live and tell the villagers that Thaksin only gave them crumbs. 

 

2 hours ago, trainman34014 said:

I have to disagree with you on one point; 'better education' !   If this were true we would be seeing a lot more bright and informed young people around by now and i don't see any evidence of that.   Where i live in the North most Kids coming out of School used to be as thick as Planks but seems these days they have moved on to being as thick as Tree's !    They can't show you their own country on a Map; have zero knowledge of the Outside World, can't add up more than their fingers, impossible for them to have a 'sensible' conversation about anything and many can barely speak their own laguage fluently let alone speak any other.   Disgraceful for a country with such a huge Education Budget.

Ahem! In case you didn't notice Thaksin was ousted 15 years ago,  Since then, apart from two short episodes, the country has been governed by the yellow/green network. Then how is it possible he would be responsible for the current level of education in Thailand?

15 hours ago, it is what it is said:

 

better for who? my thai friends were very happy to see the back of her

Yeh and see what they got after her.!!!! Presume there happy with the bunch of military clowns and wasters that are in now.

Sorry, double post

Edited August 12, 20214 yr by candide