Thailand's Reds Return To Heartland In Disarray

[andyww]

I think (and hope) that the Reds are gone for ever as a movement.

The reds themselves were always a a split movement. On the one hand there were leaders such as Veera who is and always has been a genuine campaigner for peaceful change, since long before Thaksin was around, and some of the other leaders who are just thugs. The thugs won over thus destroying the movement.

I would think that 90% of the people involved in the peaceful parts of the red protests were not involved out of any strong political conviction at all. They were just like members of a religious cult brainwashed into following some kind of common movement without fully understanding what it was all about.

The Reds relied on these people but they never can do so again, owing to the actions of Red factions in the last few days. The violent factions within the Reds have been exposed for what they are, thugs. So the Red movement will never again have the critical mass it would need for further protests because the ordinary people will have seen the light by now.

What I do fear unfortunately is a very small band of Reds morphing into real terrorists. I certainly hope I am wrong about this.

[rubl]

I don't recall yellowshirts burning down the airport before they left though.

That's because the yellow shirts got exactly what they wanted. What would they have done if the army had moved in and shot dead dozens of yellow shirts? Conversely, if after a couple of weeks of protest the red shirts had got exactly what they wanted, there would have been no carnage and burning.

If the reds had gotten what they wanted we would have had a country without government, two constitutions and uncontrolled elections. The UDD leaders wanted K. Thaksin back and his money. Other red-shirt would get hand-outs and that would have been the end of democracy.

Said before: shut up about right and wrong. Be positive, find ways of improving for ALL.

[wolf5370]

fyi . the heartland of thailand is bangkok and the central provinces , NOT the north or northeast (issan).

How do you think BKK would get along if Issan stopped the delivery of food to BKK and all the Issan people working in BKK just packed up and went home? Where do you think the working class comes from? Without them, how would the elite in BKK get by?

Curious.

Not that I disagree with your sentiments, I don't. But, I would suggest rice is probably cheaper from Burma these days and I guess the workers would come from Burma and Cambodia as many do now. Without government control of rice prices etc, many Issan farms would simply not be able to survive because you can be sure as hel_l that the rice mmillers and traders will not loose out on the deal. If ever the "reds" had a target it was there I would have thought.

[gardenubon]

fyi . the heartland of thailand is bangkok and the central provinces , NOT the north or northeast (issan).

How do you think BKK would get along if Issan stopped the delivery of food to BKK and all the Issan people working in BKK just packed up and went home? Where do you think the working class comes from? Without them, how would the elite in BKK get by?

Curious.

Not that I disagree with your sentiments, I don't. But, I would suggest rice is probably cheaper from Burma these days and I guess the workers would come from Burma and Cambodia as many do now. Without government control of rice prices etc, many Issan farms would simply not be able to survive because you can be sure as hel_l that the rice mmillers and traders will not loose out on the deal. If ever the "reds" had a target it was there I would have thought.

got to say your are an idiot pure and simple, do you think that will happen? thailand the worlds biggest rice exporter will buy rice from another country???

also do you think it would be good to see all the poor rural people who work hard in the sun everyday for 200 baht or thereabouts lose thier income? what would they do? it would put the country baqck 50 years!

im enraged by you, if more people think like you then im not surprised there is so much poverty in this world

Edited May 22, 2010 by gardenubon

[jfchandler]

Don't forget, any future large scale activities would require a lot of money, same like the past two months.

But hopefully, this time, the government will have succeeded in clamping down on those people who want to use their billions of baht to tear Thai society apart and steal control of the country in the process.

I hope the Reds do form a new political party and legitimately compete in the realm of politics under a system of fair and open elections. And I hope the next generation of Red leaders mount a legitimate political movement on behalf of their constituents.

But that's a whole different matter from the recent months of having a rogue, ragtag army that wants to try to incite/wage a civil war and take control of the country by force.

If the Red movement (or any other group) could manage to field elected political leaders who are not corrupt and bent on self-enrichment, they might have a chance of holding onto elected office and not getting booted out.

Whether it's Red, or Yellow or any other color, what Thailand needs is elected leaders who see their mission as working to better the country and the lives of its people -- not just lining their own pockets.

[yoshiwara]

fyi . the heartland of thailand is bangkok and the central provinces , NOT the north or northeast (issan).

How do you think BKK would get along if Issan stopped the delivery of food to BKK and all the Issan people working in BKK just packed up and went home? Where do you think the working class comes from? Without them, how would the elite in BKK get by?

Curious.

Curious?

I don't think so.

The red attack on Bangkok was an attack on the working class of Bangkok.

The workers of Bangkok showed their contempt for the Thaksin forces by not supporting them.

Not one neighbourhood.

[devaram]

Mate,

You're leaving yourself open to a massive flaming there, the Yellows looked like boy scouts compared the the antics of the reds when they were forced to leave.

You are right that the yellows started with mob rule, but the reds have now shown that they are simply thugs and that they couldn't give a sh1t about their own country. They should never be allowed to run anything, yet alone a country.

These people are not Thai, they are simply scum.

Tom.

attitudes like this are precisely why Thai society is so broken

I think you'll find Thai society is in a bad way because of systemic greed and corruption, from both Thaksin and the established rich who hate him so much, as opposed to my comments.

I was simply stating facts. The reds that have just pointlessly burned and trashed large parts of central Bangkok are scum and should not be allowed to call them themselves Thai people.

Do you disagree with this?

Tom.

Tom you dont have any right to say who is Thai and who is not Thai.

You didnt have to grow up in poverty here and you obviously know nothing about the culture or the history.

These are the lower classes who unlike those in your own country never got a union or a civil rights movement to give them a better life.

They work from dawn till dusk 365 days a year and the most they could ever buy at central world is maybe a plate of food from the food court in the parking lot.

Frankly I dont blame them for burning that ugly building down which probably was build over a beautiful green rice paddy and sells useless foreign crap for the rich.

Is your idea of who is Thai is simply that they should smile and obey?

The same thing happened in USA in the 60s you might not be old enough to remember but the black is los angeles completely flipped out for a week and they burmed and looted everything that they could get their hands on because they had enough and couldnt take it anymore and thats what happened this week in Thailand. So now we know what they can do and I think they will not be ignored in the future.

By the way nobody ever accused the blacks of not being American since they are ones who built America.

[Robby nz]

So where to from here? Us farang have no say in what will happen but you never know if there are some reasonablr suggestions they may just be heard.

The way forward dosent want to be based on handouts but on incentives to pull yourself up.

A good start is free education and health care but these need to be properly funded and the roadblocks in the middle with someone syphoning off the cash need to be removed.

I see someone writing in this forum that they paid 4000b for school fees, books and uniforms while another said that to them it was free with 450b given for uniforms.

In the former case someone has their hand in the till and getting it out will not be easy without creating a vindictive red shirt (for want of a better term).

Their needs to be checks and ballances put in place to ensure money is getting to the right place and PR to let people know what they are entitled to.

As far as education goes a scholership sceme where the brightest kids get free university provided they work and get a usefull degree say as a doctor or teacher and then when they are qualified they must go back and do possibly 3 years work in the comunity they came from.

In my experience one of the big things holding people back are the money lenders who charge 20% interest per month making it impossible for many to ever pay back what they have borrowed. This needs to be addressed and with it free financial advice availiable.

OK fellas thats my 2 bhats worth over to you and no ta law gahn please

[jackdawson]

Not one neighbourhood.

wrong

ban kai down there by suan lum was pretty supportive (and there's probably more ; parts of klong toey , victory i hear)

was passing through one day and the good people of ban kai were cheering a parade for a dead red from the 10/april skirmish

and they got burned out in reponse .

[yoshiwara]

Mate,

You're leaving yourself open to a massive flaming there, the Yellows looked like boy scouts compared the the antics of the reds when they were forced to leave.

You are right that the yellows started with mob rule, but the reds have now shown that they are simply thugs and that they couldn't give a sh1t about their own country. They should never be allowed to run anything, yet alone a country.

These people are not Thai, they are simply scum.

Tom.

attitudes like this are precisely why Thai society is so broken

I think you'll find Thai society is in a bad way because of systemic greed and corruption, from both Thaksin and the established rich who hate him so much, as opposed to my comments.

I was simply stating facts. The reds that have just pointlessly burned and trashed large parts of central Bangkok are scum and should not be allowed to call them themselves Thai people.

Do you disagree with this?

Tom.

Tom you dont have any right to say who is Thai and who is not Thai.

You didnt have to grow up in poverty here and you obviously know nothing about the culture or the history.

These are the lower classes who unlike those in your own country never got a union or a civil rights movement to give them a better life.

They work from dawn till dusk 365 days a year and the most they could ever buy at central world is maybe a plate of food from the food court in the parking lot.

Frankly I dont blame them for burning that ugly building down which probably was build over a beautiful green rice paddy and sells useless foreign crap for the rich.

Is your idea of who is Thai is simply that they should smile and obey?

The same thing happened in USA in the 60s you might not be old enough to remember but the black is los angeles completely flipped out for a week and they burmed and looted everything that they could get their hands on because they had enough and couldnt take it anymore and thats what happened this week in Thailand. So now we know what they can do and I think they will not be ignored in the future.

By the way nobody ever accused the blacks of not being American since they are ones who built America.

One thing is clear from the red cheerleaders is that when push comes to shove.

They are nothing less than anarchists and terrorists at heart.

The attack on the Bangkok working class jobs showed the reds face for what they are.

This fool doesn't appreciate the number of workers in Bangkok working to support their families.

At least they could until the lumpens started torching the place.

They won't come again.

If there is one real class demand to be made now it would be

Arm the Bangkok working class neighbourhoods and workplaces to defend themselves against the red shirts and blackshirts.

[jackdawson]

Frankly I dont blame them for burning that ugly building down

nice

[chadintheusa]

I don't recall yellowshirts burning down the airport before they left though.

That's because the yellow shirts got exactly what they wanted. What would they have done if the army had moved in and shot dead dozens of yellow shirts? Conversely, if after a couple of weeks of protest the red shirts had got exactly what they wanted, there would have been no carnage and burning.

The red shirts got what they wanted, then turned it down to keep protesting. With an election date scheduled why was the carnage necessary. I think they'll go down as the worst negotiators in history. How did their meetings go?

"The government has given us an election" Red 1

"Does that mean we can go home?" Red 2

"Lets ask for more" Red 3

"I thought we wanted elections" Red 1

"I want to go home" Red 2

"Shut up Red 2 and stack more tires" Red 3

"I'll call Thaksin he'll know what to do." Red 1

"I didn't pay you to get an election you idiots, burn the city" Thaksin

[spud1]

fyi . the heartland of thailand is bangkok and the central provinces , NOT the north or northeast (issan).

How do you think BKK would get along if Issan stopped the delivery of food to BKK and all the Issan people working in BKK just packed up and went home? Where do you think the working class comes from? Without them, how would the elite in BKK get by?

Curious.

From Laos,Burma and Cambodia where all the hard working folk come from now.There's not a days work in most of them from issarn and thats from experience.

[Jingthing]

Just saw a report on Al Jazeera talking about a major red leader there saying the new red movement will be like south Thailand's terrorism, with random attacks on innocent people in places like malls. It seems credible. How long before the USA and Europe get on board with the Thai government to root out these TERRORISTS? You think tourism is dead now, wait until they actually follow through on killing masses of civilians and tourists with a random bomb. Shame on the reds if they copy the southern Muslim radicals. Shame on them for even THREATENING this. That in itself is a soft form of terrorism. There are peaceful avenues for change possible in Thailand, now more than ever. Where is the regard for human life?

Edited May 22, 2010 by Jingthing

[wolf5370]

fyi . the heartland of thailand is bangkok and the central provinces , NOT the north or northeast (issan).

How do you think BKK would get along if Issan stopped the delivery of food to BKK and all the Issan people working in BKK just packed up and went home? Where do you think the working class comes from? Without them, how would the elite in BKK get by?

Curious.

Not that I disagree with your sentiments, I don't. But, I would suggest rice is probably cheaper from Burma these days and I guess the workers would come from Burma and Cambodia as many do now. Without government control of rice prices etc, many Issan farms would simply not be able to survive because you can be sure as hel_l that the rice mmillers and traders will not loose out on the deal. If ever the "reds" had a target it was there I would have thought.

got to say your are an idiot pure and simple, do you think that will happen? thailand the worlds biggest rice exporter will buy rice from another country???

also do you think it would be good to see all the poor rural people who work hard in the sun everyday for 200 baht or thereabouts lose thier income? what would they do? it would put the country baqck 50 years!

im enraged by you, if more people think like you then im not surprised there is so much poverty in this world

Actually its you who show yourself to be the fool. As is evident from anyone that can read, I was merely answering the hyperthetical question as posed by Tokay. I never said, or even implied, that I wanted Bangkok to get along without Isaan. No, to answer your purile and somewhat childish question - I do not think it will happen - I doubt anyone does. I also stated catagorically that I agreed with Tokay's sentiments (sorry it has more than one syllable - ask a friend what it means).

You will also see I am defending the poor farmers, and if you knew anything about the ecconomics here of the rice farming 'industry' you would know that the farmers are kept poor and oppressed by the middle men who make all the money - as my post clearly identified.

If more people thought like I do, then there would be a rice co-op for farmers who would get a decent price - not the 200 Baht you seem to think is acceptable and modern (not 50 years back [sic]) - for their rice, middle men would get a fair margin and no more, and the government would put subsidies where they belong and do most good. Wake up, this country is already 50 years behind - especially in Isaan - its new thinking and not a status quo these people need. Fools like you are happy to sit back and applaude their efforts while they break their back - how very communist of you. If this had been done years ago, then I doubt there would have been any riots this year.

Edited May 22, 2010 by wolf5370

[gardenubon]

fyi . the heartland of thailand is bangkok and the central provinces , NOT the north or northeast (issan).

How do you think BKK would get along if Issan stopped the delivery of food to BKK and all the Issan people working in BKK just packed up and went home? Where do you think the working class comes from? Without them, how would the elite in BKK get by?

Curious.

From Laos,Burma and Cambodia where all the hard working folk come from now.There's not a days work in most of them from issarn and thats from experience.

wow, i must stop reading these forums as im getting angry now!

you obviously dont know anything then. the people of issan have to work hard to feed themselves! and they work hard for 200 baht a day or even less in some cases...grrrr...whats your experience? did you go to kao yai for the weekend?

[hammered]

I think (and hope) that the Reds are gone for ever as a movement.

The reds themselves were always a a split movement. On the one hand there were leaders such as Veera who is and always has been a genuine campaigner for peaceful change, since long before Thaksin was around, and some of the other leaders who are just thugs. The thugs won over thus destroying the movement.

I would think that 90% of the people involved in the peaceful parts of the red protests were not involved out of any strong political conviction at all. They were just like members of a religious cult brainwashed into following some kind of common movement without fully understanding what it was all about.

The Reds relied on these people but they never can do so again, owing to the actions of Red factions in the last few days. The violent factions within the Reds have been exposed for what they are, thugs. So the Red movement will never again have the critical mass it would need for further protests because the ordinary people will have seen the light by now.

What I do fear unfortunately is a very small band of Reds morphing into real terrorists. I certainly hope I am wrong about this.

There is a power vacuum at the top of the reds now and we already see Red Siam who werent involved in this round making a move to fill it. Hopefully the more peaceful ones will form their own movement in a Veeraesque manner and the violent lunatics who took leadership and rejected the roadmap will be dealt with

I wonder if the PTP which did absolutely nothing to help overcome recent problems except see many of its leaders fund the lunacy and who now want to no-cnfidence the government have a policy of amnestying the l;ikes of Arisman and Nattawut who plainly called for terrorism

[Netfan]

Just saw a report on Al Jazeera talking about a major red leader there saying the new red movement will be like south Thailand's terrorism, with random attacks on innocent people in places like malls. It seems credible. How long before the USA and Europe get on board with the Thai government to root out these TERRORISTS? You think tourism is dead now, wait until they actually follow through on killing masses of civilians and tourists with a random bomb. Shame on the reds if they copy the southern Muslim radicals. Shame on them for even THREATENING this. That in itself is a soft form of terrorism. There are peaceful avenues for change possible in Thailand, now more than ever. Where is the regard for human life?

Just to clear up one thing - and not defending what is going on in the south at all, but - i do not know of one foreigner that has been killed down there by the separatists / mafia. I seem to remember one being injured in an explosion outside a Tesco a few years ago. Terror attacks that included foreigners would be a death blow to Thailand, but that is not what's been happening down south.

Based on the desperation of Thaksin and his cohorts, bombings in Bangkok would not surprise me.

[hammered]

How many of the poor have lost their jobs because of the red arson campaign? Enough lost them when the occupation was on but after it was ended they made sure nobody would be returning to a job. It is always those the bottom that suffer.

Another thing the authorites have to do apart from the roadmap is to create conditions where fear doesnt exist. Right now there are still a lot of people scared of the reds all across the country whether it be scared to criticse them in the N or NE or scared of their violence in other places. How will the government deal with this. It is made harder by the seeming unwillingness of police to protect the people and even side with the group people are scared of. Nobody should have to live afraid of violence form a politcal group.

[spud1]

fyi . the heartland of thailand is bangkok and the central provinces , NOT the north or northeast (issan).

How do you think BKK would get along if Issan stopped the delivery of food to BKK and all the Issan people working in BKK just packed up and went home? Where do you think the working class comes from? Without them, how would the elite in BKK get by?

Curious.

From Laos,Burma and Cambodia where all the hard working folk come from now.There's not a days work in most of them from issarn and thats from experience.

wow, i must stop reading these forums as im getting angry now!

you obviously dont know anything then. the people of issan have to work hard to feed themselves! and they work hard for 200 baht a day or even less in some cases...grrrr...whats your experience? did you go to kao yai for the weekend?

You better stop reading them then.

[gardenubon]

Not that I disagree with your sentiments, I don't. But, I would suggest rice is probably cheaper from Burma these days and I guess the workers would come from Burma and Cambodia as many do now. Without government control of rice prices etc, many Issan farms would simply not be able to survive because you can be sure as hel_l that the rice mmillers and traders will not loose out on the deal. If ever the "reds" had a target it was there I would have thought.

got to say your are an idiot pure and simple, do you think that will happen? thailand the worlds biggest rice exporter will buy rice from another country???

also do you think it would be good to see all the poor rural people who work hard in the sun everyday for 200 baht or thereabouts lose thier income? what would they do? it would put the country baqck 50 years!

im enraged by you, if more people think like you then im not surprised there is so much poverty in this world

Actually its you who show yourself to be the fool. As is evident from anyone that can read, I was merely answering the hyperthetical question as posed by Tokay. I never said, or even implied, that I wanted Bangkok to get along without Isaan. No, to answer your purile and somewhat childish question - I do not think it will happen - I doubt anyone does. I also stated catagorically that I agreed with Tokay's sentiments (sorry it has more than one syllable - ask a friend what it means).

You will also see I am defending the poor farmers, and if you knew anything about the ecconomics here of the rice farming 'industry' you would know that the farmers are kept poor and oppressed by the middle men who make all the money - as my post clearly identified.

If more people thought like I do, then there would be a rice co-op for farmers who would get a decent price - not the 200 Baht you seem to think is acceptable and modern (not 50 years back [sic]) - for their rice, middle men would get a fair margin and no more, and the government would put subsidies where they belong and do most good. Wake up, this country is already 50 years behind - especially in Isaan - its new thinking and not a status quo these people need. Fools like you are happy to sit back and applaude their efforts while they break their back - how very communist of you. If this had been done years ago, then I doubt there would have been any riots this year.

firstly did i say 200 baht is acceptable? of course its not.. when i said it will put the country back 50 years i mean, like before when they were subsistace farming! ok maybe your not the monstor i thought you were. but how do you come to the conclusion that i just sit while they break their back? i actually help out with my wifes familys farm and obviuosly dont get paid for it.

[wolf5370]

How do you think BKK would get along if Issan stopped the delivery of food to BKK and all the Issan people working in BKK just packed up and went home? Where do you think the working class comes from? Without them, how would the elite in BKK get by?

Curious.

Not that I disagree with your sentiments, I don't. But, I would suggest rice is probably cheaper from Burma these days and I guess the workers would come from Burma and Cambodia as many do now. Without government control of rice prices etc, many Issan farms would simply not be able to survive because you can be sure as hel_l that the rice mmillers and traders will not loose out on the deal. If ever the "reds" had a target it was there I would have thought.

got to say your are an idiot pure and simple, do you think that will happen? thailand the worlds biggest rice exporter will buy rice from another country???

also do you think it would be good to see all the poor rural people who work hard in the sun everyday for 200 baht or thereabouts lose thier income? what would they do? it would put the country baqck 50 years!

im enraged by you, if more people think like you then im not surprised there is so much poverty in this world

Actually its you who show yourself to be the fool. As is evident from anyone that can read, I was merely answering the hyperthetical question as posed by Tokay. I never said, or even implied, that I wanted Bangkok to get along without Isaan. No, to answer your purile and somewhat childish question - I do not think it will happen - I doubt anyone does. I also stated catagorically that I agreed with Tokay's sentiments (sorry it has more than one syllable - ask a friend what it means).

You will also see I am defending the poor farmers, and if you knew anything about the ecconomics here of the rice farming 'industry' you would know that the farmers are kept poor and oppressed by the middle men who make all the money - as my post clearly identified.

If more people thought like I do, then there would be a rice co-op for farmers who would get a decent price - not the 200 Baht you seem to think is acceptable and modern (not 50 years back [sic]) - for their rice, middle men would get a fair margin and no more, and the government would put subsidies where they belong and do most good. Wake up, this country is already 50 years behind - especially in Isaan - its new thinking and not a status quo these people need. Fools like you are happy to sit back and applaude their efforts while they break their back - how very communist of you. If this had been done years ago, then I doubt there would have been any riots this year.

BTW not so many years ago Burma was the worlds biggest exporter of rice (up until 1964 I believe) and just 2 years later USA userped this position from Thailand. A recent BKK Post report (April 10th) believed that in less than 3 years Burma an Vietnam will have taken over from Thailand as the number one rice exporter due to government interference in pricing and high production costs. Burma lost its position all those years back becuae of governance - Thailand seems set to follow.

[jitenshaman]

Just saw a report on Al Jazeera talking about a major red leader there saying the new red movement will be like south Thailand's terrorism, with random attacks on innocent people in places like malls. It seems credible. How long before the USA and Europe get on board with the Thai government to root out these TERRORISTS? You think tourism is dead now, wait until they actually follow through on killing masses of civilians and tourists with a random bomb. Shame on the reds if they copy the southern Muslim radicals. Shame on them for even THREATENING this. That in itself is a soft form of terrorism. There are peaceful avenues for change possible in Thailand, now more than ever. Where is the regard for human life?

Just to clear up one thing - and not defending what is going on in the south at all, but - i do not know of one foreigner that has been killed down there by the separatists / mafia. I seem to remember one being injured in an explosion outside a Tesco a few years ago. Terror attacks that included foreigners would be a death blow to Thailand, but that is not what's been happening down south.

Based on the desperation of Thaksin and his cohorts, bombings in Bangkok would not surprise me.

your statement was correct up until a few years ago, when several bombs went off in Hat Yai, including one in front of a pub popular with foreigners and a young man (American or Canadian, can't remember) was killed. That was the first time the violence had come into contact with the tourism or expat sector....then again, anytime you have bombs going off in public places, anyone becomes at risk.

[Jingthing]

If the reds attack populated malls in Central Thailand, etc. they will indeed kill different nationalities. Not many western tourists in Hat Yai anyway.

[animatic]

If the reds attack populated malls in Central Thailand, etc. they will indeed kill different nationalities. Not many western tourists in Hat Yai anyway.

I think the reds, before going down this path,

better remember exactly what Sae Daeng made his reputation for back in the day.

Fighting Ideological insurgents back country.

He could have as easily shot Weng back then

as become his partner in a different inssurection now.

Bet the Rangers or some equivalent get a quick resurrection after the first mall is bombed.

And the hunt will be on, and the bodies NOT recovered.

Oh, and Abhisit won't be told a thing about it, it will just happen.

Sarah Pole-in????

Things to do when jet-lagged in Chi?

Edited May 22, 2010 by animatic

[NanaFoods]

fyi . the heartland of thailand is bangkok and the central provinces , NOT the north or northeast (issan).

How do you think BKK would get along if Issan stopped the delivery of food to BKK and all the Issan people working in BKK just packed up and went home? Where do you think the working class comes from? Without them, how would the elite in BKK get by?

Curious.

Not that I disagree with your sentiments, I don't. But, I would suggest rice is probably cheaper from Burma these days and I guess the workers would come from Burma and Cambodia as many do now. Without government control of rice prices etc, many Issan farms would simply not be able to survive because you can be sure as hel_l that the rice mmillers and traders will not loose out on the deal. If ever the "reds" had a target it was there I would have thought.

got to say your are an idiot pure and simple, do you think that will happen? thailand the worlds biggest rice exporter will buy rice from another country???

also do you think it would be good to see all the poor rural people who work hard in the sun everyday for 200 baht or thereabouts lose thier income? what would they do? it would put the country baqck 50 years!

im enraged by you, if more people think like you then im not surprised there is so much poverty in this world

According to Wiki:

Isan's total population as of 2000 was 20,825,00.

The primary rice crop in Isaan is sticky rice, accounting for about 60% of the cultivated land in the region.

Due the the desert-like climate and terrain, they can get one crop per year, two if they are lucky.

Where I live, near the Chao Phraya, they get 3-4 crops per year, and the rice tends to be Hom Mali (Jasmine) or high-yielding Hom Patum.

A large number of Isaan people work in the Bangkok and send money home.

Talk about shooting yourself in the foot.

Hey Reds:

If Thaksin was really your friend, and not just using you as pawns in his Machiavellian plan to take over Thailand, he'd have developed better farming infrastructure in Isaan, and/or researched alternate farming plans, or encourage any other industry suitable for the region.

Example: guayule

This plant grows quite well in desert climates.

What is this plant good for? Rubber.

Not just rubber, but hypoallergenic rubber, which is required in medical applications.

Thailand already is the world leader in Rubber, with all the processing infrastructure and techniques. But competition is close on Thailand's heals, being financed by the Chinese in neighboring countries. However, these efforts focus on the rubber tree, which is not hypoallergenic after normal processing. Guayule could potentially help keep Thailand ahead of the game, and give Isaan a new cash crop.

Well, maybe, Thaksin has his reasons for not coming up with ideas like that for Isaan.

Better to keep you poor and upset, so he can use you as pawns.

Edited May 22, 2010 by ChefHeat

[tigerbalm]

If the reds attack populated malls in Central Thailand, etc. they will indeed kill different nationalities. Not many western tourists in Hat Yai anyway.

I think the reds, before going down this path,

better remember exactly what Sae Daeng made his reputation for back in the day.

Fighting Ideological insurgents back country.

He could have as easily shot Weng back then

as become his partner in a different inssurection now.

Bet the Rangers or some equivalent get a quick resurrection after the first mall is bombed.

And the hunt will be on, and the bodies NOT recovered.

Oh, and Abhisit won't be told a thing about it, it will just happen.

Sarah Pole-in????

Things to do when jet-lagged in Chi?

Oh great Muslims on the rampage in the south Reds on the rampage in the North and the Elitists controlling ever thing in the middle A recipe for disaster if ever there was one.

[agord]

I don't recall yellowshirts burning down the airport before they left though.

That's because the yellow shirts got exactly what they wanted. What would they have done if the army had moved in and shot dead dozens of yellow shirts? Conversely, if after a couple of weeks of protest the red shirts had got exactly what they wanted, there would have been no carnage and burning.

sweet logic you have. So when they come up from the three provinces down south and demand that the whole nation converts to Islam the government has about two weeks or...? what's it like being an apologist for a terrorist group? there is NO justification for what they did period. btw I don't approve of the yellow shirt occupation of the airport either but at least they just sat there instead of forming an armed terrorist group. Abhisit did give them what they wanted it just wasn't good enough for Thaksin you know it, I know it every Thai knows it as well.

You can stop twisting the facts now as well making it sound like soldiers shot innocent people it's weak and tired.

[agord]

Mate,

You're leaving yourself open to a massive flaming there, the Yellows looked like boy scouts compared the the antics of the reds when they were forced to leave.

You are right that the yellows started with mob rule, but the reds have now shown that they are simply thugs and that they couldn't give a sh1t about their own country. They should never be allowed to run anything, yet alone a country.

These people are not Thai, they are simply scum.

Tom.

attitudes like this are precisely why Thai society is so broken

I think you'll find Thai society is in a bad way because of systemic greed and corruption, from both Thaksin and the established rich who hate him so much, as opposed to my comments.

I was simply stating facts. The reds that have just pointlessly burned and trashed large parts of central Bangkok are scum and should not be allowed to call them themselves Thai people.

Do you disagree with this?

Tom.

Tom you dont have any right to say who is Thai and who is not Thai.

You didnt have to grow up in poverty here and you obviously know nothing about the culture or the history.

These are the lower classes who unlike those in your own country never got a union or a civil rights movement to give them a better life.

They work from dawn till dusk 365 days a year and the most they could ever buy at central world is maybe a plate of food from the food court in the parking lot.

Frankly I dont blame them for burning that ugly building down which probably was build over a beautiful green rice paddy and sells useless foreign crap for the rich.

Is your idea of who is Thai is simply that they should smile and obey?

The same thing happened in USA in the 60s you might not be old enough to remember but the black is los angeles completely flipped out for a week and they burmed and looted everything that they could get their hands on because they had enough and couldnt take it anymore and thats what happened this week in Thailand. So now we know what they can do and I think they will not be ignored in the future.

By the way nobody ever accused the blacks of not being American since they are ones who built America.

Actually they don't work "dawn till dusk 365 days a year" they are farmers so their work is seasonal. You don't blame them for burning down CTW eh? "it used to be a beautiful green rice patty"? You may want to go back and revise your post because for soemone who claims to know so much about Thailand you don't seem to have a clue! Any idea who owns that land genious? look it up

[tigerbalm]

I don't recall yellowshirts burning down the airport before they left though.

That's because the yellow shirts got exactly what they wanted. What would they have done if the army had moved in and shot dead dozens of yellow shirts? Conversely, if after a couple of weeks of protest the red shirts had got exactly what they wanted, there would have been no carnage and burning.

sweet logic you have. So when they come up from the three provinces down south and demand that the whole nation converts to Islam the government has about two weeks or...? what's it like being an apologist for a terrorist group? there is NO justification for what they did period. btw I don't approve of the yellow shirt occupation of the airport either but at least they just sat there instead of forming an armed terrorist group. Abhisit did give them what they wanted it just wasn't good enough for Thaksin you know it, I know it every Thai knows it as well.

You can stop twisting the facts now as well making it sound like soldiers shot innocent people it's weak and tired.

But that is exactly what the yellow shirts were demanding (for the government to step down)

The PAD at the time said it would not allow the Airports to reopen until Thailands elected government steps down, the constitutional courts took care of that in the coming weeks amounting to what some in the government at the time said amounted to a Judicial coup (Basically the courts ruled the present Government at the time in power had to be dissolved for electoral fraud ) paving the way for the present government to form a coalition.