4 hours ago, toolpush said:

Was a way more free and better before him

Maybe for foreigners, sure not for the people.

Never again!

 

 

7 minutes ago, OneMoreFarang said:

Never again!

 

 

You're so right: Never again let the old elite and it's proxy Sonthi Limthonkul pay yellow shirt low lifes for rioting.

Ever heared of Sonthi and his curriculum vitae?

10 minutes ago, JustAnotherHun said:

You're so right: Never again let the old elite and it's proxy Sonthi Limthonkul pay yellow shirt low lifes for rioting.

Ever heared of Sonthi and his curriculum vitae?

I experienced the red mob for months in Bangkok. Never again!

13 hours ago, mikebell said:

A mentally retarded goldfish would be smarter than what we've got at present.

I really think the moderators need to clamp down on these posters demeaning goldfish.

14 hours ago, mikebell said:

A mentally retarded goldfish would be smarter than what we've got at present.

Yes but can you find one that's prepared to do the job.

"They were mostly about him and his yearning to return. "

Yes I remember when he had one of his video rallies and he had to have another one a few days later as he's spent the whole time talking about himself and forgotten his supporters.

14 hours ago, hughrection said:

..... and all current and past charges to be dropped. ????

And future ones.

34 minutes ago, OneMoreFarang said:

I experienced the red mob for months in Bangkok. Never again!

Yes, that was awful, especially at night when shootouts started...

14 hours ago, Mr Meeseeks said:

Smartest leader Thailand ever had. Yep, he dipped the till just like the rest, and?

 

Nearly every Thai I know would take him back in a heartbeat.

I wouldn't say he's that smart.

Before the coup he put his sister in as PM and sent her off on photo shoots around the world and made very little secret of the fact he was running the country. He'd have done better if he'd allowed someone with some experience to be PM and kept a low profile. The problem was he was only interested in himself and coming back to Thailand with no repercussions.

 

When the army took over they made a mess of things. They obviously didn't like Thaksin but instead of trying to working with Pheu Thai and isolate Thaksin they tried to take all power for themselves which was never a good idea and showed their lack of political skills.

14 hours ago, Mr Meeseeks said:

Nearly every Thai I know would take him back in a heartbeat.

Many Thais I know hated Thaksin but almost all would take him back now as a better option to the current bunch of ministers. I agree.

 

 

14 hours ago, JustAnotherHun said:

Thaksin was as corrupt as any "leader" before and after him.

But Thailand was a more free and better place then.

 

indeed, it was, and as much as I hated him back then, I wish he was to return and replace the current broken leadership

1 hour ago, OneMoreFarang said:

I experienced the red mob for months in Bangkok. Never again!

I have seen it go off both sides and always felt safe .:

4 hours ago, david555 said:

He himself  was in that coffin quicker .....Karma..? ????

It might just have been because he was decades older.

Could he be worse than the current leader?

6 hours ago, JustAnotherHun said:

You're so right: Never again let the old elite and it's proxy Sonthi Limthonkul pay yellow shirt low lifes for rioting.

Ever heared of Sonthi and his curriculum vitae?

Conveniently, none of those principles ever suffered for their heinous activities. Protected, one and all.

 

 

20 hours ago, Mr Meeseeks said:

Smartest leader Thailand ever had. Yep, he dipped the till just like the rest, and?

 

Nearly every Thai I know would take him back in a heartbeat.

Exactly, He was way too competent for the "invisible hand" (army generals/privy council) that likes to call the shots.

A persistent smear job by The Nation newspaper has convinced a lot of expats he was a criminal. (The Nation is the Fox News of Thailand)

Things were booming when he took office. Thai Stock Market was rated #1 in the world. 100% return in 2003. 

Of course The Nation headlines shouted: "Thaksin Doubled His Money" but fact is, his returns we in line with the averages.

 

 

32 minutes ago, LarrySR said:

A persistent smear job by The Nation newspaper has convinced a lot of expats he was a criminal.

With hindsight and reviewing his criminal record today I'd say 'The Nation' were 100% right. He is a 'criminal' and was convicted so. And his sister Yingluck. Another one that done a runner.

46 minutes ago, IvorBiggun2 said:

With hindsight and reviewing his criminal record today I'd say 'The Nation' were 100% right. He is a 'criminal' and was convicted so. And his sister Yingluck. Another one that done a runner.

Lots of people believe the tripe they see in The Nation. 
fact is, the military junta illegally took control, pardoned their own crimes, confiscated Thaksins banks and chased him off. 

15 hours ago, ikke1959 said:

I was watching some old videotapes and I said to my partner that Thai people looked more happier than nowadays.. It was in the time of Thaksin indeed, and the country did much better than after the coups we had. But he had to leave in fact for the reasons of non tax paying, and with his leaving the country went down..... and  now the Thai people are not happy anymore. Yes it is time to change, but it will be very difficult as long as the army is in charge

Some of it may be everyone having access to the internet and seeing how the rest of the world really lives. Everyone wants better lives and opportunity to do better. When they feel they can't get that...and things get worse with increases in the concentration of wealth...

The problem the "invisible hand" had with Thaksin was.....wait for it.....he kept winning the elections.

4 hours ago, mokwit said:

It might just have been because he was decades older.

Yes of course it was ....so Karma had to be hurry on ...

 

10 minutes ago, LarrySR said:

The problem the "invisible hand" had with Thaksin was.....wait for it.....he kept winning the elections.

And he would again win if he was given  the opportunity ....

8 hours ago, OneMoreFarang said:

I experienced the red mob for months in Bangkok. Never again!

Was it the red mob to start rioting by tens of thousands? Was it the reds who tried to storm the government district? Did the reds block the airports?

 

Or was it a yellow mob incited by the criminal con man Sonthi with the strong support of parts of the palace, especially Prem and happily applauded by those who owned the country like their own backyard and kept the majoritiy of the rural people in slavery like condtions?

Don't get me wrong. I did not like Thaksin when he was in power. But then I was new in Thailand and naiv enough to expect, the country should be run according to "western values". I thought things would get better when he was ousted. I was wrong.

2 minutes ago, david555 said:

And he would again win if he was given  the opportunity ....

During Thaksins administration the poverty rate plummeted and standard of living rose for the average Thai. 
Ask any up country Thai and they like him because the economy boomed and they had better paying jobs. 

 

1 minute ago, JustAnotherHun said:

Was it the red mob to start rioting by tens of thousands? Was it the reds who tried to storm the government district? Did the reds block the airports?

 

Or was it a yellow mob incited by the criminal con man Sonthi with the strong support of parts of the palace, especially Prem and happily applauded by those who owned the country like their own backyard and kept the majoritiy of the rural people in slavery like condtions?

Don't get me wrong. I did not like Thaksin when he was in power. But then I was new in Thailand and naiv enough to expect, the country should be run according to "western values". I thought things would get better when he was ousted. I was wrong.

Yep. The real problem with Thailand is you can’t talk about the real problem. 
 

8 hours ago, kimamey said:

Yes but can you find one that's prepared to do the job.

A million a month and all the mosquitos you can eat, most fish would jump at it.

There is a clearly a distinction among the commentators here.
 

Those that read The Nation….. and those that have read the very informative banned books published about politics by authors that had to flee the country. 

 

Many of us agree with him.  Despite being corrupt, he got things done.  The Shinawatra family has benefitted many Thais for many years. Most any politician here is corrupt by western standards.

15 minutes ago, Nickelbeer said:

 Despite being corrupt, he got things done. 

Only because it suited his agenda. He used the masses (poor) as his tool to get rich. 2 Billion USD currently. Thai working the fields, currently 400Baht a day if he's lucky.