Collecting Money For Thaksin

[norwayeagle]

Hi.Just want to say that early morning today, Pujai Baan announced on the speakers that every Baan in Esan shall support Taksin with some money.

Have a good day!

Edited March 1, 2010 by norwayeagle

[TheWalkingMan]

I guess if I just got nipped for 46 billion baht I would want to recover it somehow.

[way2muchcoffee]

They obviously feel the need to help their savior financially.

If Thaksin is any kind of man he would reject their offers and ask that any collected monies be returned to the givers or pooled into a fund to help the villagers.

[Samuian]

Does this mean they know already more then the rest of us?

[Carib]

Don't be naive, he will never see that money.... guess who does...

[norwayeagle]

There is a lot going on that we won't see before "it's" here/there .

Edited March 1, 2010 by norwayeagle

[toptuan]

Yeah, and it's gonna take a lot of donations from dirt-poor Isaan villagers to cover his monthly rent in that Dubai palace in which I saw him on the day of the verdict, watching the proceedings on his 50-inch flat screen! Can't help but evoke tears of pity.

[gmac]

Don't you just love it? The rich man has lost half his fortune so the poor have to have a whip round to help him out!!

[WinnieTheKhwai]

More likely is that the money is to fund the protests; it's not like Thaksin himself actually needs some small change from villagers!

This do this quite a lot.. the logistics of protests does cost some money. You need buses, food, water, facilities, a stage, dancing girls, etc.

Sounds like a translation/comprehension issue to me.

Edited March 1, 2010 by WinnieTheKhwai

[yumidesign]

Yeah, and it's gonna take a lot of donations from dirt-poor Isaan villagers to cover his monthly rent in that Dubai palace in which I saw him on the day of the verdict, watching the proceedings on his 50-inch flat screen! Can't help but evoke tears of pity.

and the private jet with fuel getting expensive too, with oil over $80 / barrel down to the last billion dollars.... ignorance is bliss

[Jingthing]

More likely is that the money is to fund the protests; it's not like Thaksin himself actually needs some small change from villagers!

This do this quite a lot.. the logistics of protests does cost some money. You need buses, food, water, facilities, a stage, dancing girls, etc.

Sounds like a translation/comprehension issue to me.

So imagine people who say NO when there is a knock on the door. Do you reckon they get on a political enemies list? This kind of intimidation of apolitical people may be on the rise here, and it is a very bad sign.

Here in Jomtien on verdict day I passed an entertainment establishment that caters to foreigners. ALL of the staff were wearing the red shirts (not staff uniforms). This is the kind of thing that happens in the early stages of a civil war. What of the staffers that did NOT support the red revolution or those in the silent majority that just want peace and prosperity and are mostly apolitical?

Edited March 1, 2010 by Jingthing

[ukrules]

Don't you just love it? The rich man has lost half his fortune so the poor have to have a whip round to help him out!!

He didn't lose anywhere near half his fortune. Just some of what the government froze in his Thai accounts.

[Donnyboy]

He still has a few bucks to play with (minus frozen assets)

US$400 million according to ChNewsAsia

anyone know how som tums that will buy?

Edited March 1, 2010 by Donnyboy

[scorecard]

What annoys me, disturbs me, even more is that there is still no effort by anybody (including the democrat party machine) to try to explain to the rural Essan poor what thaksin did and how he used them.

I support Abhisit and Korn, who I believe will take Thailand into a new picture, therefore I support the democrats but only because Abhisit and Korn have to work from a party.

The dems have made noises about gaining a bigger foothold in Essan and hopefully that means being honest and sincere and quickly providing the long discussed better educational opportunities etc., with support mechanisms which ensure that there is no reason whatever that the Essan rural kids cannot go to school and get a quality education.

And also ensuring that rural folks have a much better understanding of the bigger world, how democracy works, how they are still being manipulated by the village kumnans etc etc.

Where is it, hurry up dems before it's too late?

[barrybankruad]

More likely is that the money is to fund the protests; it's not like Thaksin himself actually needs some small change from villagers!

This do this quite a lot.. the logistics of protests does cost some money. You need buses, food, water, facilities, a stage, dancing girls, etc.

Sounds like a translation/comprehension issue to me.

Good quote. If the Issan peasants as you call them wish to give money to a cause that they believe in, then so be it. Who funded the massive occupation of the Airport last year. You can be sure that the 'yellows' didn't do it for nothing, or out of the kindness of their hearts.

[barrybankruad]

What annoys me, disturbs me, even more is that there is still no effort by anybody (including the democrat party machine) to try to explain to the rural Essan poor what thaksin did and how he used them.

I support Abhisit and Korn, who I believe will take Thailand into a new picture, therefore I support the democrats but only because Abhisit and Korn have to work from a party.

The dems have made noises about gaining a bigger foothold in Essan and hopefully that means being honest and sincere and quickly providing the long discussed better educational opportunities etc., with support mechanisms which ensure that there is no reason whatever that the Essan rural kids cannot go to school and get a quality education.

And also ensuring that rural folks have a much better understanding of the bigger world, how democracy works, how they are still being manipulated by the village kumnans etc etc.

Where is it, hurry up dems before it's too late?

HA HA HA, you have got to be joking!

[ballpoint]

What annoys me, disturbs me, even more is that there is still no effort by anybody (including the democrat party machine) to try to explain to the rural Essan poor what thaksin did and how he used them.

I support Abhisit and Korn, who I believe will take Thailand into a new picture, therefore I support the democrats but only because Abhisit and Korn have to work from a party.

The dems have made noises about gaining a bigger foothold in Essan and hopefully that means being honest and sincere and quickly providing the long discussed better educational opportunities etc., with support mechanisms which ensure that there is no reason whatever that the Essan rural kids cannot go to school and get a quality education.

And also ensuring that rural folks have a much better understanding of the bigger world, how democracy works, how they are still being manipulated by the village kumnans etc etc.

Where is it, hurry up dems before it's too late?

The trouble is that firstly the dems have to work with their current Isaan coalition partners, and they are in no hurry to educate their constituents. Sure, the non PTP areas won't be playing calls for donations over the village PA, and they may broadcast details of his crimes, but they won't be encouraging villagers to think about other options. Secondly, any campaign by the dems to actively go into pro red areas of Isaan (and, despite the propaganda continually posted about Isaan being one large pro red mass, there definitely are large areas of Thaksin haters here), would be met by the same violence, intolerance and hatred from the reds as usual. And thirdly, any attempt to use public media to educate the masses would result in indifference from many, who'd rather watch two rich girls screech and scratch at each other on the day's soap opera, and scathing attack from others for hijacking public communications. Any proper attempt to really educate the poor will have to start with the next generation, a strategy that will only pay off, if it works at all, in a number of years, and runs the risk of another populist vote briber like Thaksin coming along in the meantime and undoing it all.

[Jingthing]

Again, this is the beginning of a civil war mentality. We're from Isaan, so we're red and love Thaksin. Is there even a CHOICE in most of those villages to NOT be pro red? Their propaganda says they are pro democracy and freedom. I don't believe it for a second.

Edited March 1, 2010 by Jingthing

[way2muchcoffee]

Again, this is the beginning of a civil war mentality. We're from Isaan, so we're red and love Thaksin. Is there even a CHOICE in most of those villages to NOT be pro red? Their propaganda says they are pro democracy and freedom. I don't believe it for a second.

It is an interesting point. My wife hails from Surin - definite Thaksin country. On the night of the assets verdict she was over at her sister's place in BKK. A fight ensued between my wife and her sister's husband. Wife said something to the effect that Thaksin deserves what he has coming. She was immediately the target of violent verbal abuse. The fight even caused a rift between her sister and sister's husband, who now haven't spoken to each other for a couple of days. Passions are definitely high. Anger is strong.

Edited March 1, 2010 by way2muchcoffee

[ballpoint]

Good quote. If the Issan peasants as you call them wish to give money to a cause that they believe in, then so be it. Who funded the massive occupation of the Airport last year. You can be sure that the 'yellows' didn't do it for nothing, or out of the kindness of their hearts.

The quote from the OP sounded more like a threat to the villagers to me:

...every Baan in Esan shall support Taksin with some money

Every bahn? What about the ones that don't wish to? What about the many parts of Isaan that don't like him? If anyone wishes to give a portion of their meagre savings to a dollar billionaire then go ahead, but when someone tells them they shall do it you'd better watch out.

[cdnvic]

Reminds me of Ferdinand and Imelda Marcos showing videos of friends bringing donations of food to them.

[Moonrakers]

Every bahn? What about the ones that don't wish to? What about the many parts of Isaan that don't like him? If anyone wishes to give a portion of their meagre savings to a dollar billionaire then go ahead, but when someone tells them they shall do it you'd better watch out.

Don't be silly. It is only farangs and the 'elite' who don't like Thaksin.

[WinnieTheKhwai]

Again, this is the beginning of a civil war mentality. We're from Isaan, so we're red and love Thaksin. Is there even a CHOICE in most of those villages to NOT be pro red? Their propaganda says they are pro democracy and freedom. I don't believe it for a second.

I think most of what you write happens only in your mind. You make a lot of assumptions about rural Thailand for someone who lives in a very urban expat/tourist environment.

So imagine people who say NO when there is a knock on the door. Do you reckon they get on a political enemies list? This kind of intimidation of apolitical people may be on the rise here, and it is a very bad sign.

This is a great example of what I alluded to above. Again this is something that happens only in your mind, because you come from a mindset where Thaksin and Jatuporn are Hitler and Goebbels, so "therefore" there must also be intimidation..? There really is a lot of hyperbole in what you post. Your logic is sound, but when rooted in wild imaginations then the outcome doesn't make sense.

[Jingthing]

I think most of what you write happens only in your mind. You make a lot of assumptions about rural Thailand for someone who lives in a very urban expat/tourist environment.

Again this is something that happens only in your mind, because you come from a mindset where Thaksin and Jatuporn are Hitler and Goebbels, so "therefore" there must also be intimidation..?

Like I said, I saw the same kind of behavior in Jomtien. An entire business establishment filled with EVERY staff member wearing the red political colors. Clearly a case of conformist intimidation. Foreigners here who do not see the evil of this for what it is are in denial.

BTW, it is YOU not me who invoked the Nazis. I would compare Thaksin to Marcos and Peron, however.

Look the anti-reds are not as easily propagandized as you imagine. We have seen the news reports of the violent reactions when Thai democrats visit Isaan. They are not being allowed to function in their own country. Is that freedom and democracy? We have seen the interviews with peasant villagers who openly say if anti-Thaksin people were to present themselves there they would murder them. This isn't a pretty movement. It is very dangerous and potentially very violent. We have already seen tastes of this. Foreigners who are supportive of this political cancer distress me. Some are even openly cheerleading for a violent civil war to break out. A soft civil war is ALREADY here. Villagers under strong peer pressure have little choice. Maybe some foreigners are falling into the web of this red political intimidation.

Edited March 1, 2010 by Jingthing

[norwayeagle]

Hi again.

What is going on is that most people already have been in the bank before this long weekend and put in money 10.000 bath there is!!.

This money is hard earned savings.Out here it's really not much of it.My village is there only 170 people( young and old).No cars no nothing( ok 1, mine and a few antic kubotas) ( they are still living as what we call : Go camping ,live in the nature) (eat rats,bugs,dogs,green stuff in nature,ooo and snakes of course.

Most every Village in my distance they have done the same,and those who have not is "advised" to do the same the next week to come.

The young once go Bangkok and earn 100 or 200 bath aday and send the most back home to their family .

I wonder what they will say when the house and future planes go down the drain. HARD EARNED MONEY.

Me? I been here for 7 months now non stop.( i was crazy before i came here so it's no difference in my status)

[norwayeagle]

By the way.

Jingthing is actually Hitting that nail with the hammer,and he do not "miss" much!

[somtampet]

More likely is that the money is to fund the protests; it's not like Thaksin himself actually needs some small change from villagers!

This do this quite a lot.. the logistics of protests does cost some money. You need buses, food, water, facilities, a stage, dancing girls, etc.

Sounds like a translation/comprehension issue to me.

So imagine people who say NO when there is a knock on the door. Do you reckon they get on a political enemies list? This kind of intimidation of apolitical people may be on the rise here, and it is a very bad sign.

Here in Jomtien on verdict day I passed an entertainment establishment that caters to foreigners. ALL of the staff were wearing the red shirts (not staff uniforms). This is the kind of thing that happens in the early stages of a civil war. What of the staffers that did NOT support the red revolution or those in the silent majority that just want peace and prosperity and are mostly apolitical?

Just say you are a Thaksin supporter and are skint,maybe theywill give you free beer.

come on youuuuuuuuuuuuuu reds

[somtampet]

If there is a civil war,the Bangkok elite will be stripped of their assets,as many of them have done a Thaksin and stolen the dosh.The reason Thaksin got the vote is because there are more people in issan than the elitists in there little world

[lovenim]

Don't be silly. It is only farangs and the 'elite' who don't like Thaksin.

Don't be silly. That is incorrect. At least in Bangkok.

[lovenim]

If there is a civil war,the Bangkok elite will be stripped of their assets,as many of them have done a Thaksin and stolen the dosh.

While I'd rather not see a civil war whilst living here, such an outcome would be desirable. I agree with your view here. They're filthy rich and their gains and their power are just as ill-begotten as that of Mr T.