Samak Bows Out

[roamer]

They should make a rule that you need a high school education or better to vote.

Well I guess you would say that, after all its "no no obama" as your signature on TV isn't it ? Seem to recall that literacy tests were used to disqualify black voters in the south in the 50's and early 60's.

Anyway isn't your comment a little like turkeys voting for Xmas, I mean if you have had an education its certainly not obvious.

[ding]

Also 'perhaps' worthy of a mention is the reported FACT the vast majority of controlling rice-millers in the NE whom the tragically-trapped and hard-working electoral 'bond-slaves' in the main PPP/TRT 'vote-growng' region are 'moon-lighting' as part of the vast NE PPP/TRT network of canvassers... (along with bottom-feeding opportunist loan sharks etc). Add to this the reported FACT the vast majority of NE village-heads are PPP/TRT self-opportnunist 'drones' whom siphon-off most of the 'populist' entrapments cynically and continually 'bought' from their own constituents public purse in effect. All offered as mere 'dissolving and decaying ' temporary candy' to the forever trapped yet continually impovershed but gratefull and faithfull, to once again 'harvest' the main objective, THE VOTE. Yet in reality the tragically trapped people of the NE continue on in chains provided by their perpetually narcasistic and self-serving by design 'mentors' seeking GROSS profit and ultimate control of an entire Nation. This was key to Mr Thaksin's self-success and it continues straight out of the TRT 'play-book' and ongoing by the PPP (if it ain't broke, why fix a 'good' thing?)

So, what you're aying is, chickens vote for Colonel Sanders, no? Well, welcome to America, Thailanders! This is the 'rabble' quotient that makes democracy so messy. Thais had a weakness, the rich and powerful exploited it. Some suffered and died to correct it and defend the fledgling constitution. It seems they're doing very very well.

Will the NE folks learn from the voting for their own demise? Nope, I doubt it. Look at America where McCain is leading the polls. And education, or misinformation, is rampant here. But Americans find it easy to sit on ever-widening <deleted> and hate "others" as a solution to???

Contrast this with Thailand where they show up for drill enmas. But it's the collectively agreed upon reality that's spoon-fed to the rabble that is neither collective nor agreed upon. It's propaganda. And there is the threat to democracy. That's why checkens vote for Colonel Sanders. But we're talking about countries, human beings, and the noble ideal of a democratic republic. So, tragedy.

Edited September 12, 2008 by ding

[AussieFarang]

Good riddance but will the replacement be any better. NO.

Thai society & politics continue to develop and support unsuitable candidates because the majority of people think that if one day my man gets a go it'll be my turn on the gravy train.

Don't expect anything to really chamge anytime soon.

[Plus]

Ok, most of the banned 111 had personally nothing to do with perpetrating that fraud, but they haven't said a word against it either.

Actually, it's very simple. Do you want a winning team for Thailand or settling personal score is more important for you?

I wouldn't call it a winning team.

A real "winning" team wouldn't have divided the country and invited a military (and popular) coup on itself.

That's the main reason, regardless of our differences of opinions on their "winning streak" (that lasted no more than three years, I might add).

[Ricardo]

They should make a rule that you need a high school education or better to vote.

The -racist- quote of the day.

You're saying that anyone with a lesser than high school education is lower class and not educated/intelligent enough to vote, is that right ?

Elitist, perhaps, but surely not racist.

Ok, most of the banned 111 had personally nothing to do with perpetrating that fraud, but they haven't said a word against it either.

Actually, it's very simple. Do you want a winning team for Thailand or settling personal score is more important for you?

If a "winning team" has to cheat, in order to win, are they still really 'winners' ? Perhaps we should leave it to the (Thaksin-appointed) E.C. to decide ? Because it's their job to, and they haven't done too badly, over the past couple of years.

[sriracha john]

you see

[h90]

They should make a rule that you need a high school education or better to vote.

The -racist- quote of the day.

You're saying that anyone with a lesser than high school education is lower class and not educated/intelligent enough to vote, is that right ?

Tell that to any Western media, Television, newspaper and the mob will lynch you.

I suggest you jump in a car into the rural areas of Thailand and have a nice few chats with some farmers and tell them that.

PS: don't forget to write us what happened, OK ?

LaoPo

people who think that someone who made it thru high school is a different race should also not be allowed to vote.

[ando]

It appears the only way PAD is going to back off is if they get to decide who is going to be PM.

An illegal street mob whose leaders have warrants out for their arrest on charges of treason among others wanting to decide who can and cant be PM is beyond farcical.

[ando]

They should make a rule that you need a high school education or better to vote.

The -racist- quote of the day.

You're saying that anyone with a lesser than high school education is lower class and not educated/intelligent enough to vote, is that right ?

Tell that to any Western media, Television, newspaper and the mob will lynch you.

I suggest you jump in a car into the rural areas of Thailand and have a nice few chats with some farmers and tell them that.

PS: don't forget to write us what happened, OK ?

LaoPo

people who think that someone who made it thru high school is a different race should also not be allowed to vote.

I think you will find that the vast majority of people in Issarn are of Lao origin. Issarn people in general are ethnically and physcially different from central Thais and quite different from the Chinese Thai ruling class. Issarn people generally have much darker skin and speak their own dialect closely related to the Lao language. While it is true to say that they are not of a different race to central Thais there are many differences that set them apart. Issarn people comprise about a quarter of the Thai population and are the poorest sub group of citizens. In Thailand a high school education is not free and because of the poverty in Issarn many teenagers are compelled to take up employment as labourers to help feed the family rather than attending high school.

Surely the answer to educating the people of Issarn would be to provide them with free secondary education rather than simply banning them from voting because they are too poor to go to highschool. I dont see PAD campaining for free secondary education in Issarn. PADs objective is quite blatently to disinfranchise a large section of the voting population, -- purely for political gain.

[ubonjoe]

Samak steps back

(BangkokPost.com)

Full Story: http://www.bangkokpost.com/topstories/tops...s.php?id=130619

"We will still carry on our protest and call for the resignation of the whole Cabinet after Samak has stepped down. The government is a proxy, a puppet, for Thaksin Shinawatra and his legacy which we have seen as an evil system for this country," fellow PAD core leader Suriyasai Katasila told The Associated Press news agency.

[way2muchcoffee]

I will give the dotcom an open invitation to come up to our village to say that. Along with the one that called them idiots. To repeat their comments.

I will even arrange to have an ambulance standing by.

Actually your statement supports the notion of 'rural idiots'. Any person willing to engage in violence for being called an idiot is exactly that - an idiot. I don't subscribe to the notion of rural folk being idiots simply because they are rural. There are plenty of idiots in the city. There are plenty of clever villagers who simply haven't been given the same opportunities in life as the typical city dweller.

Edited September 13, 2008 by way2muchcoffee

[brahmburgers]

If you forget political correctness for a moment - anyone sincerely voting for PPP needs to have his brain checked. Ok, many thought that they'd bring Thaksin back if they elect PPP, but that was a very tall order, too, not a sign of a mature voter.

Or did they hope that it's possible to have a puppet government and a puppet party running the whole country with TRT and Thaksin pulling the strings in the back? That's downright subversion.

I understand people's love for TRT, I understand their nostalgic feelings, but PPP is simply not the same thing no matter what they say. They didn't have any policies that set them apart like TRT did and they had a moron for a leader who had some spectacular walk-outs when he took to the stage in PPP's heartland.

Far more plausible explanation is that they simply stayed with their gangster pooyais, the devil they know.

'thinking' is not a major factor for those who vote. The 2 main criteria for a vote is: Who tells them the choice, and who pays the most.

[Plus]

I dont see PAD campaining for free secondary education in Issarn. PADs objective is quite blatently to disinfranchise a large section of the voting population,

How's free secondary education is related to the current crisis? First of all it's free already, at least on paper.

Second - there are tens of millions of adult Isanese who won't go back to school anyway, free or not.

Educating them is not a matter of going to school, it's a matter of giving them access to information, and PAD did reasonably well by providing a wide coverage of ASTV. Now they at least aware of the alternative view point to the usual government propaganda, even if they learn about it from their local PPP demagogues rather than the source itself.

As for desinfranchising a large section of voting population - where exactly did you get that? It's a completely baseless accusation.

[Smithson]

Regarding education, I can't see high school helping ppl make better choices. It's a matter of quantity over quality, the system itself here is very poor.

The attitudes to education are a big problem here, ppl are taught that education makes you smart and honest. The drafters of the 97 constitution made a clause saying parliamentarians needed Bach degrees. They thought it would reduce corruption.

[Thai at Heart]

They should make a rule that you need a high school education or better to vote.

The -racist- quote of the day.

You're saying that anyone with a lesser than high school education is lower class and not educated/intelligent enough to vote, is that right ?

Tell that to any Western media, Television, newspaper and the mob will lynch you.

I suggest you jump in a car into the rural areas of Thailand and have a nice few chats with some farmers and tell them that.

PS: don't forget to write us what happened, OK ?

LaoPo

people who think that someone who made it thru high school is a different race should also not be allowed to vote.

I think you will find that the vast majority of people in Issarn are of Lao origin. Issarn people in general are ethnically and physcially different from central Thais and quite different from the Chinese Thai ruling class. Issarn people generally have much darker skin and speak their own dialect closely related to the Lao language. While it is true to say that they are not of a different race to central Thais there are many differences that set them apart. Issarn people comprise about a quarter of the Thai population and are the poorest sub group of citizens. In Thailand a high school education is not free and because of the poverty in Issarn many teenagers are compelled to take up employment as labourers to help feed the family rather than attending high school.

Surely the answer to educating the people of Issarn would be to provide them with free secondary education rather than simply banning them from voting because they are too poor to go to highschool. I dont see PAD campaining for free secondary education in Issarn. PADs objective is quite blatently to disinfranchise a large section of the voting population, -- purely for political gain.

I think you'll find the one's with the darker skin are only dark because they spend most of their time in the sun and sun block runs in your eyes when your out working in the fields anyway. They are some of the toughest people I know. I don't believe this line about them being brown at all.

Edited September 13, 2008 by Thai at Heart

[tomo22]

They should make a rule that you need a high school education or better to vote.

The -racist- quote of the day.

You're saying that anyone with a lesser than high school education is lower class and not educated/intelligent enough to vote, is that right ?

Tell that to any Western media, Television, newspaper and the mob will lynch you.

I suggest you jump in a car into the rural areas of Thailand and have a nice few chats with some farmers and tell them that.

PS: don't forget to write us what happened, OK ?

LaoPo

people who think that someone who made it thru high school is a different race should also not be allowed to vote.

I think you will find that the vast majority of people in Issarn are of Lao origin. Issarn people in general are ethnically and physcially different from central Thais and quite different from the Chinese Thai ruling class. Issarn people generally have much darker skin and speak their own dialect closely related to the Lao language. While it is true to say that they are not of a different race to central Thais there are many differences that set them apart. Issarn people comprise about a quarter of the Thai population and are the poorest sub group of citizens. In Thailand a high school education is not free and because of the poverty in Issarn many teenagers are compelled to take up employment as labourers to help feed the family rather than attending high school.

Surely the answer to educating the people of Issarn would be to provide them with free secondary education rather than simply banning them from voting because they are too poor to go to highschool. I dont see PAD campaining for free secondary education in Issarn. PADs objective is quite blatently to disinfranchise a large section of the voting population, -- purely for political gain.

What part of Isan do you live in.

Secondary education where I live in Isan is free at Public Schools.

[tomo22]

They should make a rule that you need a high school education or better to vote.

The -racist- quote of the day.

You're saying that anyone with a lesser than high school education is lower class and not educated/intelligent enough to vote, is that right ?

Tell that to any Western media, Television, newspaper and the mob will lynch you.

I suggest you jump in a car into the rural areas of Thailand and have a nice few chats with some farmers and tell them that.

PS: don't forget to write us what happened, OK ?

LaoPo

people who think that someone who made it thru high school is a different race should also not be allowed to vote.

I think you will find that the vast majority of people in Issarn are of Lao origin. Issarn people in general are ethnically and physcially different from central Thais and quite different from the Chinese Thai ruling class. Issarn people generally have much darker skin and speak their own dialect closely related to the Lao language. While it is true to say that they are not of a different race to central Thais there are many differences that set them apart. Issarn people comprise about a quarter of the Thai population and are the poorest sub group of citizens. In Thailand a high school education is not free and because of the poverty in Issarn many teenagers are compelled to take up employment as labourers to help feed the family rather than attending high school.

Surely the answer to educating the people of Issarn would be to provide them with free secondary education rather than simply banning them from voting because they are too poor to go to highschool. I dont see PAD campaining for free secondary education in Issarn. PADs objective is quite blatently to disinfranchise a large section of the voting population, -- purely for political gain.

I think you'll find the one's with the darker skin are only dark because they spend most of their time in the sun and don't have any money for sun block. I don't believe this line about them being brown at all.

Good response. Money again.

[Sakeopete]

They should make a rule that you need a high school education or better to vote.

Agree with you. But why stop there ?

Why not a PhD? But who are these people who never had the guts to leave school ? Business people know better. They run business. They have to pay salaries every month. They understand what it takes to run a company. So they are the best suited to run a country.

Then you have the military guys. If anything happened, who's going to put their life in the front line? And by the way, if you haven't noticed, we're the one with the guns ...

One person, one vote. Whatever the way you look at it, can't find anything better !

How about you need to have ???????????????????? Baht in the bank to vote.

I get your point but "????? Bahts" is how much ? Do you agree Mr Bill Gates should rule the world?

One person, one vote.

If he did the WHO would be busy fighting off all the viruses

[ubonjoe]

I will give the dotcom an open invitation to come up to our village to say that. Along with the one that called them idiots. To repeat their comments.

I will even arrange to have an ambulance standing by.

Actually your statement supports the notion of 'rural idiots'. Any person willing to engage in violence for being called an idiot is exactly that - an idiot. I don't subscribe to the notion of rural folk being idiots because simply because they are rural. There are plenty of idiots in the city too!

I was replying to a previous post. Which you have not included.

The ambulance line was just in there in jest.

[way2muchcoffee]

Okay. I didn't intentionally cut a relevant previous post in order to make a point. Apologies if it looked that way. As far as education being a prerequisite for voting, well that's just plain nonsense.

Edited September 13, 2008 by way2muchcoffee

[h90]

They should make a rule that you need a high school education or better to vote.

The -racist- quote of the day.

You're saying that anyone with a lesser than high school education is lower class and not educated/intelligent enough to vote, is that right ?

Tell that to any Western media, Television, newspaper and the mob will lynch you.

I suggest you jump in a car into the rural areas of Thailand and have a nice few chats with some farmers and tell them that.

PS: don't forget to write us what happened, OK ?

LaoPo

people who think that someone who made it thru high school is a different race should also not be allowed to vote.

I think you will find that the vast majority of people in Issarn are of Lao origin. Issarn people in general are ethnically and physcially different from central Thais and quite different from the Chinese Thai ruling class. Issarn people generally have much darker skin and speak their own dialect closely related to the Lao language. While it is true to say that they are not of a different race to central Thais there are many differences that set them apart. Issarn people comprise about a quarter of the Thai population and are the poorest sub group of citizens. In Thailand a high school education is not free and because of the poverty in Issarn many teenagers are compelled to take up employment as labourers to help feed the family rather than attending high school.

Surely the answer to educating the people of Issarn would be to provide them with free secondary education rather than simply banning them from voting because they are too poor to go to highschool. I dont see PAD campaining for free secondary education in Issarn. PADs objective is quite blatently to disinfranchise a large section of the voting population, -- purely for political gain.

Darker skin might be found in the south...They also speak a different dialect and are also not " from the Chinese Thai ruling class". And no one things they are a different race.....

You write: "Issarn people in general are ethnically and physcially different from central Thais" and "While it is true to say that they are not of a different race to central Thais there are many differences that set them apart." this two sentences don't fit together....are they different or not different???

[tropo]

If it is too hot for you,

Get out of the kitchen.

That comment is a bit shortsighted. He doesn't have a choice does he. The courts have ruled him out.

[missismiggins]

It appears another national disgrace that mob rule has won over democracy.

Shameful!

[ubonjoe]

Okay. I didn't intentionally cut a relevant previous post in order to make a point. Apologies if it looked that way. As far as education being a prerequisite for voting, well that's just plain nonsense.

Accepted I mentioned that because I have seen many replies where the quotes were used to take something out of context and change the whole meaning.

Agree

[cmsally]

Educating them is not a matter of going to school, it's a matter of giving them access to information, and PAD did reasonably well by providing a wide coverage of ASTV. Now they at least aware of the alternative view point to the usual government propaganda, even if they learn about it from their local PPP demagogues rather than the source itself.

Please be serious, you can't mean that listening to ASTV can be thought of as education. It's a media outlet of poor quality , expounding one extreme point of view. Come on get a grip on reality, you can't surely see that this would be of more value than going to school. It is one point of view and only that; hardly many intellectual debates going on there.

If you are really serious about education you would know that the best thing would be a balanced variety of sources and I think it is a dangerous premise to say that this should be based on TV stations. If you are to have a rounded point of view you need to base it on the printed word first and formerly. That is because TV broadcasts are far to open to emotive performances and pulling all the strings minus the rational ones. There are of course a few exceptions with some balanced programs but rarely on ASTV

To say that you should get your political education from the ASTV and any other extreme TV channel is just beyond a joke.

Is the next step to cut out education entirely so they all become illiterate, then they can only listen to the TV. Hey who needs to read when you can hear everything on the TV.

Take Pakistan as a case in point where now many people even in remote areas have access to satellite TV but still the illiteracy rate is very high.

Manipulation is the name of the game.

[lifeisrandom]

time for me to collect (finally)

[Thai at Heart]

They should make a rule that you need a high school education or better to vote.

The -racist- quote of the day.

You're saying that anyone with a lesser than high school education is lower class and not educated/intelligent enough to vote, is that right ?

Tell that to any Western media, Television, newspaper and the mob will lynch you.

I suggest you jump in a car into the rural areas of Thailand and have a nice few chats with some farmers and tell them that.

PS: don't forget to write us what happened, OK ?

LaoPo

people who think that someone who made it thru high school is a different race should also not be allowed to vote.

I think you will find that the vast majority of people in Issarn are of Lao origin. Issarn people in general are ethnically and physcially different from central Thais and quite different from the Chinese Thai ruling class. Issarn people generally have much darker skin and speak their own dialect closely related to the Lao language. While it is true to say that they are not of a different race to central Thais there are many differences that set them apart. Issarn people comprise about a quarter of the Thai population and are the poorest sub group of citizens. In Thailand a high school education is not free and because of the poverty in Issarn many teenagers are compelled to take up employment as labourers to help feed the family rather than attending high school.

Surely the answer to educating the people of Issarn would be to provide them with free secondary education rather than simply banning them from voting because they are too poor to go to highschool. I dont see PAD campaining for free secondary education in Issarn. PADs objective is quite blatently to disinfranchise a large section of the voting population, -- purely for political gain.

Darker skin might be found in the south...They also speak a different dialect and are also not " from the Chinese Thai ruling class". And no one things they are a different race.....

You write: "Issarn people in general are ethnically and physcially different from central Thais" and "While it is true to say that they are not of a different race to central Thais there are many differences that set them apart." this two sentences don't fit together....are they different or not different???

100 years go when it used to take 1 month to get to Chiangmai from Bangkok people didn't move that much. So people can maybe say that they are of a specific ethnic group although of course mixing occured even before the lines were drawn in the soil concerning borders etc. To say that though skin colour is pretty irrelevant. It is a bit like saying Northern Ethnic Chinese are whiter skinned than southern because the sun shines more down south. If every Isaan farmer grew up in Central bangkok, went to Bangkok Pattana for school and worked in an air conditioned office, he wouldn't be brown.

It is very funny when I travel to China and ask what people think about Thailand. They believe all Chiangmai women to beautiful and white skinned. Ask them about Vietnam, they believe all the women there are white skinned!! If I ask them anything about Laos or Isaan they have no idea. White skin is simply a traditional stereotype to define farmers and middle class. The sun shines all over Thailand the last time I looked.

This concept of Lao/Isaan is a Thai construct simply to define people on geographical lines, which has now developed to the point that TV shows make the maids characters from Isaan, dark skinned etc. It is a discriminatory tag that is probably illegal, but I would doubt we wont see a farmer take a TV producer to task about it in court anytime soon.

[thaigene2]

Here is a good 'what's next?' piece from the BBC. Both sides of the debate will concur with much of this, incuding the fascist PAD supporters (couldn't resist), and of course both sides will bitch about the bits they don't like. Still, a good summary I reckon.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7613113.stm

[ubonjoe]

They should make a rule that you need a high school education or better to vote.

The -racist- quote of the day.

You're saying that anyone with a lesser than high school education is lower class and not educated/intelligent enough to vote, is that right ?

Tell that to any Western media, Television, newspaper and the mob will lynch you.

I suggest you jump in a car into the rural areas of Thailand and have a nice few chats with some farmers and tell them that.

PS: don't forget to write us what happened, OK ?

LaoPo

people who think that someone who made it thru high school is a different race should also not be allowed to vote.

I think you will find that the vast majority of people in Issarn are of Lao origin. Issarn people in general are ethnically and physcially different from central Thais and quite different from the Chinese Thai ruling class. Issarn people generally have much darker skin and speak their own dialect closely related to the Lao language. While it is true to say that they are not of a different race to central Thais there are many differences that set them apart. Issarn people comprise about a quarter of the Thai population and are the poorest sub group of citizens. In Thailand a high school education is not free and because of the poverty in Issarn many teenagers are compelled to take up employment as labourers to help feed the family rather than attending high school.

Surely the answer to educating the people of Issarn would be to provide them with free secondary education rather than simply banning them from voting because they are too poor to go to highschool. I dont see PAD campaining for free secondary education in Issarn. PADs objective is quite blatently to disinfranchise a large section of the voting population, -- purely for political gain.

Darker skin might be found in the south...They also speak a different dialect and are also not " from the Chinese Thai ruling class". And no one things they are a different race.....

You write: "Issarn people in general are ethnically and physcially different from central Thais" and "While it is true to say that they are not of a different race to central Thais there are many differences that set them apart." this two sentences don't fit together....are they different or not different???

100 years go when it used to take 1 month to get to Chiangmai from Bangkok people didn't move that much. So people can maybe say that they are of a specific ethnic group although of course mixing occured even before the lines were drawn in the soil concerning borders etc. To say that though skin colour is pretty irrelevant. It is a bit like saying Northern Ethnic Chinese are whiter skinned than southern because the sun shines more down south. If every Isaan farmer grew up in Central bangkok, went to Bangkok Pattana for school and worked in an air conditioned office, he wouldn't be brown.

It is very funny when I travel to China and ask what people think about Thailand. They believe all Chiangmai women to beautiful and white skinned. Ask them about Vietnam, they believe all the women there are white skinned!! If I ask them anything about Laos or Isaan they have no idea. White skin is simply a traditional stereotype to define farmers and middle class. The sun shines all over Thailand the last time I looked.

This concept of Lao/Isaan is a Thai construct simply to define people on geographical lines, which has now developed to the point that TV shows make the maids characters from Isaan, dark skinned etc. It is a discriminatory tag that is probably illegal, but I would doubt we wont see a farmer take a TV producer to task about it in court anytime soon.

Thailand is wrought with descrimination. Just read the employment adverts as an example many specify a sex and age. Even the request for a photo can be included.

[jbowman1993]

Seems like we need a "Thread Unity" group here on TV. To much bile and venom for me. Don't you guys have anything better to do?