Battle for Bangkok raging between conservative and liberal camps – but result already looks decisive

[MrJ2U]

12 hours ago, webfact said:

The conservative camp may go extinct

Music to the ears. 

[still kicking]

12 hours ago, OneMoreFarang said:

Some give and/or promise the people money when they vote for them. Is that pro-democracy? 

And one party is run by a criminal fugitive who wants revenge. Is that democracy? 

MFP never offered any money to anybody. 

[Felton Jarvis]

2 hours ago, NONG CHOK said:

Whether you like Thaksin or not he did support the real Thai people. Everywhere you go in the major Thai cities it's dominated by Chinese, their families migrated to Thailand many years ago and their money took over. Go up country where my  wife comes from and you'd be shocked if you seen how people are forced to live. May I add many are working for 100 baht per day and still have to support their families.

Every Thai woman I have ever dated, thought Thaksin walked on water. Even the educated ones. This tells me something.

[Adumbration]

12 hours ago, Felton Jarvis said:

Thailand will never change as long as there is a military.  Costa Rica solved this problem in 1949 by abolishing the military. Thailand has no need for a military since there are no countries who would even consider invading them.

Would have to abolish the Military and the RTP here.

 

As for invasion, China annexed Thailand as a province long ago.

[greeneking]

13 hours ago, OneMoreFarang said:

Some give and/or promise the people money when they vote for them. Is that pro-democracy? 

And one party is run by a criminal fugitive who wants revenge. Is that democracy? 

If you were paid 100 baht for everytime you said 'criminal fugitive' you could buy a very expensive thesaurus?

The only place I hear about plans for revenge are in your postings.

[OneMoreFarang]

1 hour ago, greeneking said:

If you were paid 100 baht for everytime you said 'criminal fugitive' you could buy a very expensive thesaurus?

The only place I hear about plans for revenge are in your postings.

I help you to open your mind.

What do you think he will do? Help most of Thailand and Thai people to develop in a positive direction? Yeah, sure... 

[Fat is a type of crazy]

10 hours ago, OneMoreFarang said:

Most Thais don't pay income tax. Having 10,000B extra to spend feels very different than some tax deduction at the end of the year. 

Point is it is normal for a party to dole out benefits to who they think are the most important voting bloc. Some give tax cuts if they think that voting bloc best represents their base and for those voters it is like a cash benefit. Other parties might focus on the poor and give them better access to health or 10000 baht. So pretty normal.

Australia had it's budget last night and they increased certain benefits for unemployed. I didn't get a cracker, which means going backwards with the same tax, and wages going up less than inflation. 

So I get your cynicism but for every poorer person that spends it on drink there may be two others who use it to give themselves a more dignified life, if even for a short time, or spend it on bettering themselves.

Nothing undemocratic as far as I can see and potentially a smart policy. 

Edited May 9, 2023 by Fat is a type of crazy

[TigerandDog]

On 5/9/2023 at 6:25 PM, OneMoreFarang said:

Name me a single country where a party promised that everybody will get 10,000 THB (or similar) to spend if they vote for party x. Please don't mention tax reductions or similar. 

you've missed the point I was making completely. ALL political parties offer incentives of some sort whether they be cash or some other benefit, to entice people to vote for them. The 10,000 THB is no different, it's an incentive to vote for PT. I suppose the parties offering to increase the daily minimum wage to 600 THB is also undemocratic in your eyes. Just because it's not 10k it's still an incentive to vote for that particular party. It doesn't guarantee that either incentive will become a reality. Your blinkered view of Thai politics, especially PT & Thaksin, leads you to post so many biased comments. Even others have posted about how long it would take for your vitriol to be posted.

[mark131v]

On 5/9/2023 at 3:11 AM, JonnyF said:

IMO, any parties that are not run by Generals in suits.

 

You might not like them, they might not be perfect - but they are democratically elected. They don't steal power through the barrel of a gun. 

tedious, unimaginative, boring, delusional, I can think of a few more but won't feed him...

[OneMoreFarang]

2 hours ago, TigerandDog said:

you've missed the point I was making completely. ALL political parties offer incentives of some sort whether they be cash or some other benefit, to entice people to vote for them. The 10,000 THB is no different, it's an incentive to vote for PT. I suppose the parties offering to increase the daily minimum wage to 600 THB is also undemocratic in your eyes. Just because it's not 10k it's still an incentive to vote for that particular party. It doesn't guarantee that either incentive will become a reality. Your blinkered view of Thai politics, especially PT & Thaksin, leads you to post so many biased comments. Even others have posted about how long it would take for your vitriol to be posted.

I experience Thaksin and his proxies for many years. I really don't want to see more of the same.

[BenStark]

3 minutes ago, OneMoreFarang said:

I experience Thaksin and his proxies for many years. I really don't want to see more of the same.

You always can leave.

[TigerandDog]

4 minutes ago, OneMoreFarang said:

I experience Thaksin and his proxies for many years. I really don't want to see more of the same.

nobody's is saying that you didn't BUT you need to start backing up you never ending vitriol with some facts instead of the crap you keep posting about Thaksin. Start and list ALL the real crimes he was found guilty of, not those that were made up by the junta. Let's be clear, we are not saying he is innocent of any legitimate crimes, but you really do need to start providing facts to ack up your claims, and as Ben Stark says, if you don't like it You can always leave.

Edited May 12, 2023 by TigerandDog

[OneMoreFarang]

7 minutes ago, BenStark said:

You always can leave.

What a stupid comment!

It seems you want a government with a criminal in charge. How smart is that? 

[OneMoreFarang]

7 minutes ago, TigerandDog said:

nobody's is saying that you didn't BUT you need to start backing up you never ending vitriol with some facts instead of the crap you keep posting about Thaksin. Start and list ALL the real crimes he was found guilty of, not those that were made up by the junta. Let's be clear, we are not saying he is innocent of any legitimate crimes, but you really do need to start providing facts to ack up your claims, and as Ben Stark says, if you don't like it You can always leave.

Is it now my job to list the crimes which can easily be found online?

If people want to look at his convictions, they can easily do that.

And if people want more details about each conviction, I am sure they will be able to look it up.

 

I experienced his crimes over the years. It was obvious at that time that they were crimes. I don't have to look up any details for that.

 

I think it's almost funny when some people think he didn't really commit REAL crimes, he just stole a billion here or there, nothing unusual. 

Thaksin could have defended himself. He could have sent lawyers with evidence to defend himself. It seem he knew he was guilty and didn't even try to show evidence that he is innocent. And now some people believe it when he claims he is innocent. That's what he says but evidence is against him. People could look up these details, if they would be interested in the truth. 

[Felton Jarvis]

On 5/9/2023 at 9:54 AM, h90 said:

A few years ago there was fighting at the Cambodian border with artillery exchanges.
Myanmar is pretty hot.
There are disputes with Malaysia

Thailand needs a strong military.....if it should be a complete different one can be discussed but some military is needed.

Disputes do not equal "threat of invasion". Thailand is not going to war to claim ownership of Angkor Wat. As far as Myanmmar, the current government is only nominally different than the one in Thailand. No threat of invasion. The USA would keep any intruder off their doorstep.

[h90]

25 minutes ago, Felton Jarvis said:

Disputes do not equal "threat of invasion". Thailand is not going to war to claim ownership of Angkor Wat. As far as Myanmmar, the current government is only nominally different than the one in Thailand. No threat of invasion. The USA would keep any intruder off their doorstep.

There was a border dispute with Cambodia...what would stop them if they think a few km are theirs? The USA who supported Pol Pot.....no one need friends like that

[Felton Jarvis]

7 minutes ago, h90 said:

There was a border dispute with Cambodia...what would stop them if they think a few km are theirs? The USA who supported Pol Pot.....no one need friends like that

Cambodia’s King Sihanouk also supported Pol Pot…….until he didn’t.  The USA is usually pretty firm about protecting its allies, for good or bad. Thailand needs a military approximately as much as Costa Rica.  The Thai military invented all sorts of evils that will never go away until they no longer have a pack of Generals ready to mount a coup at the first sign of a leader they don’t like.

[JonnyF]

7 hours ago, mark131v said:

tedious, unimaginative, boring, delusional, I can think of a few more but won't feed him...

Good to see there are still some Junta fanboys out there. Sad, rare creatures but much like the rock spider still discoverable if you look hard enough.

 

Enjoy the weekend. Your boys in green are going to get destroyed at the polls by the Thai people.

[mark131v]

2 hours ago, JonnyF said:

Good to see there are still some Junta fanboys out there. Sad, rare creatures but much like the rock spider still discoverable if you look hard enough.

 

Enjoy the weekend. Your boys in green are going to get destroyed at the polls by the Thai people.

Your right mate they walk amongst us privileged folk from the west, rare but still findable who think the local populace don't deserve democracy and keep on apologising for laughing boy and the watchman

 

Be curious to see what he would say if the ex generals where convicted for their many, many crimes. I reckon he would probably cry that it was not a legitimate court and sentence, ooh the irony...

[Mac Mickmanus]

7 minutes ago, mark131v said:

Your right mate they walk amongst us privileged folk from the west, rare but still findable who think the local populace don't deserve democracy and keep on apologising for laughing boy and the watchman

 

Be curious to see what he would say if the ex generals where convicted for their many, many crimes. I reckon he would probably cry that it was not a legitimate court and sentence, ooh the irony...

Its not that Thais don't deserve democracy , its just that whoever loses the election goes on strike and protests and the Country comes to a standstill .

   The military took over because the Reds and Yellows wouldn't stop fighting 

[mark131v]

1 hour ago, Mac Mickmanus said:

Its not that Thais don't deserve democracy , its just that whoever loses the election goes on strike and protests and the Country comes to a standstill .

   The military took over because the Reds and Yellows wouldn't stop fighting 

Absolute codswallop the yellows and the dems kicked it off as they couldn't win any other way and because Toxin and his lot was rocking the boat, was all part of the buffoons in brown's masterplan to stage yet another coup and grab what they could. Unsure whether the apologists are just plain blind, stupid or maybe they just don't like democracy to interfere too much either way its reprehensible 

[Sunderland]

On 5/9/2023 at 11:56 AM, OneMoreFarang said:

No, that is not what we all think.

Many of us, who were here then Thaksin was PM, know about his crimes and we are not surprised that he was sentenced to jail, just like other criminals. 

IMHO, the biggest criminals are those who steal power from the citizens, however the public voted.

[Sunderland]

On 5/12/2023 at 11:42 PM, Mac Mickmanus said:

Its not that Thais don't deserve democracy , its just that whoever loses the election goes on strike and protests and the Country comes to a standstill .

   The military took over because the Reds and Yellows wouldn't stop fighting 

And the institution will back or create chaos again if it means they can intervene and take control again.

The army's role is to protect the country, not divide it.

[NONG CHOK]

On 5/12/2023 at 3:51 PM, OneMoreFarang said:

What a stupid comment!

It seems you want a government with a criminal in charge. How smart is that? 

How about all us smart ass farangs shut up, it's not our business. We were born elsewhere, so in reality we are guests of Thailand. If the majority want a so called criminal as their leader so be it, at least he was voted in by a democratic process that's accepted in all democratic countries. Look at all the countries around the World where the military are in control, they're totally out of control. I've been married to a Thai lady for over 20 years now and I've never seen anything like the way human resources have been totally decimated by the current mob. That affects 80% of the nation who are lower income families. If they've got any spare cash they hit 20 baht shops not the places where hiso's spend their ill gotten gains.

[jak2002003]

14 minutes ago, NONG CHOK said:

How about all us smart ass farangs shut up, it's not our business. We were born elsewhere, so in reality we are guests of Thailand. If the majority want a so called criminal as their leader so be it, at least he was voted in by a democratic process that's accepted in all democratic countries. Look at all the countries around the World where the military are in control, they're totally out of control. I've been married to a Thai lady for over 20 years now and I've never seen anything like the way human resources have been totally decimated by the current mob. That affects 80% of the nation who are lower income families. If they've got any spare cash they hit 20 baht shops not the places where hiso's spend their ill gotten gains.

So you are saying nobody can have any opinions of anything happening outside the country of their birth? 

[NONG CHOK]

46 minutes ago, jak2002003 said:

So you are saying nobody can have any opinions of anything happening outside the country of their birth? 

Why have an opinion if you don't get a vote. Also if you don't get a vote let the Thais elect who they want. 

[Mr Meeseeks]

On 5/9/2023 at 9:02 AM, OneMoreFarang said:

What are pro-democracy parties?

I see a battle between supporters of the fugitive criminal and people who don't want to see Thaksin ever again.

Sure, there are also lots of other criteria, but IMHO Thaksin is the most important issue.

Let the Thai people decide please.

 

Something you can't seem to come to terms with because of your ongoing Thaksin obsession.

[Mr Meeseeks]

On 5/9/2023 at 9:54 AM, h90 said:

A few years ago there was fighting at the Cambodian border with artillery exchanges.

Instigated by the Yellow Shirts who were attempting to provoke violent conflict.

[champers]

Al Jazeera reporting an exit poll giving MFP 32 of 33 seats in Bangkok. Pheu Thai won the one other seat.

[Mr Meeseeks]

On 5/12/2023 at 4:27 PM, h90 said:

There was a border dispute with Cambodia...what would stop them if they think a few km are theirs? The USA who supported Pol Pot.....no one need friends like that

Thailand supported Pol Pot. He lived in Trat during the 80's after the Khmer Rouge were forced out of Phnom Penh by the Vietnamese.