Thaksin Announces House Dissolution, New Election

[ovenman]

...the election process is getting murkier than a Bangkok khlong.

And with a similar smell to boot?

[sriracha john]

I would proffer that almost anything is possible, including a decision by Thaksin to cancel the elections...

I'll admit that nothing would surprise me in politics but I can't see how there mightn't be an election of some sort at this point. I don't believe there is any way to undissolve parliament, is there?

dunno...

I never imagined in my wildest dreams I'd ever see a maid and a gardener listed the top 5 SET stockholders with billions in assets... but, yet... it happened.

Strange happenings just seem to occur when Thaksin is involved.

[haha]

my 2 cents...

maybe it is good that these demonstrations came about.

hopefully, politicians will know that they need to help the poor people - somehow.

I still think education is part of the key. ...but am confused with the reasons for the teachers striking.

maybe some more young folks will get interested in politics, and the law to help the country out with their new ideas, and dedication. new blood is good for the country.

foreign investment is in my eyes the solution. but don't understand the reasons for the paranoia that many thais have towards foreign ownership.

anyway, after careful thought, I've pretty much decided to buy a small condo. I think the thais handled themselves pretty well.

yeah. I know. some of you in the back are saying "small condo, big deal." well, for me, it's a lot of money.

..for some reason, I think thailand has a bright future, and I'm willing to contribute with the little I have to offer.

[ColPyat]

my 2 cents...

maybe it is good that these demonstrations came about.

hopefully, politicians will know that they need to help the poor people - somehow.

I still think education is part of the key. ...but am confused with the reasons for the teachers striking.

maybe some more young folks will get interested in politics, and the law to help the country out with their new ideas, and dedication. new blood is good for the country.

foreign investment is in my eyes the solution. but don't understand the reasons for the paranoia that many thais have towards foreign ownership.

anyway, after careful thought, I've pretty much decided to buy a small condo. I think the thais handled themselves pretty well.

yeah. I know. some of you in the back are saying "small condo, big deal." well, for me, it's a lot of money.

..for some reason, I think thailand has a bright future, and I'm willing to contribute with the little I have to offer.

Don't be under the illusion that the demonstration have anything to do with "the poor". The main leaders have no track record whatsoever in caring the slightest bit about the poor. On the opposite - Sondhi has made rather insulting remarks in his speaches regarding the rural poor. Chamlong may live in his religious little dreamland upcountry, but his main support was always city based. They are in for their own profit no less than Thaksin is.

And if buying a small condo in Thailand is a large amount of money for you, i would think more than twice about buying it. If you need to sell it quickly, there is very little chance to ever sell it, unless it is in the middle of the tourist ghettos of Pattaya or Phuket, which have their own real estate rules completely separate from the rest of Thailand, and with it their own dangers such as completely crooked agents and lawyers specialised in ripping off potential farang buyers.

Without going too deeply into the Thai real estate market, you are far better off renting, while investing in far more profitable markets in safer countries with far better legal protection for foreign investors.

Buy it if you like living in the place, and when losing the money won't hurt you.

[LaoPo]

I would proffer that almost anything is possible, including a decision by Thaksin to cancel the elections...

I'll admit that nothing would surprise me in politics but I can't see how there mightn't be an election of some sort at this point. I don't believe there is any way to undissolve parliament, is there?

I might add the HRH approved this, so I don't think there is anyway around not having elections at this point.

Right, but as I mentioned before, I doubt if His Royal Higness had the 'Boycott' in mind, the moment the PM left the Palace last week.

Not to speak about an eventual 'coup'.

LaoPo

[britmaveric]

Coup? Let's be serious - that be squashed before it even gets off the ground. Last I checked the military are eagerly behind fearless leader.

[LaoPo]

Coup? Let's be serious - that be squashed before it even gets off the ground. Last I checked the military are eagerly behind fearless leader.

I meant if HRH had a coup in mind when the PM left the palace...

Military: yes, aren't they where the bucks are? Isn't it about Power&Money, also for the Generals?

LaoPo

[britmaveric]

Coup? Let's be serious - that be squashed before it even gets off the ground. Last I checked the military are eagerly behind fearless leader.

I meant if HRH had a coup in mind when the PM left the palace...

Military: yes, aren't they where the bucks are? Isn't it about Power&Money, also for the Generals?

LaoPo

It's all about which persons' pockets to fill - Thaskin or those against him. As I said I don't really see any difference between them at all. Pretty sad, but this is Amazing Thailand after all.

[ColPyat]

Coup? Let's be serious - that be squashed before it even gets off the ground. Last I checked the military are eagerly behind fearless leader.

Nops, they aren't.

The military in Thailand has always been fractionalised, especially along the huge divides between the graduation classes. Thaksin has of course moved his relatives and buddies in the top positions, often over stepping more senior, or more qualified officers. That has created serious frictions within the military.

The correct thing to say is that the top brass are eagerly behind Thaksin, but many very high ranked and respected officers are very much opposed.

Nevertheless, i don't think the situation is so out of hand that anyone in the military is seriously considering a coup.

[sriracha john]

Coup? Let's be serious - that be squashed before it even gets off the ground. Last I checked the military are eagerly behind fearless leader.

The only ones eagerly behind the fearless leader are his occasional golf buddies... the rest? who knows...

Give Post#271 a good read and then get back to us, ok?

Military Coup Possible post

[britmaveric]

Coup? Let's be serious - that be squashed before it even gets off the ground. Last I checked the military are eagerly behind fearless leader.

The only ones eagerly behind the fearless leader are his occasional golf buddies... the rest? who knows...

Give Post#271 a good read and then get back to us, ok?

Military Coup Possible post

Course you are assuming he has no other cards up his sleeve - I kind of think the lad does, and we aren't aware of it.

[sriracha john]

Coup? Let's be serious - that be squashed before it even gets off the ground. Last I checked the military are eagerly behind fearless leader.

The only ones eagerly behind the fearless leader are his occasional golf buddies... the rest? who knows...

Give Post#271 a good read and then get back to us, ok?

Military Coup Possible post

Course you are assuming he has no other cards up his sleeve - I kind of think the lad does, and we aren't aware of it.

Can you expound on that, please? I'm not sure I completely follow what you saying about

Gen Panlop. Thank you.

[haha]

my 2 cents...

maybe it is good that these demonstrations came about.

hopefully, politicians will know that they need to help the poor people - somehow.

I still think education is part of the key. ...but am confused with the reasons for the teachers striking.

maybe some more young folks will get interested in politics, and the law to help the country out with their new ideas, and dedication. new blood is good for the country.

foreign investment is in my eyes the solution. but don't understand the reasons for the paranoia that many thais have towards foreign ownership.

anyway, after careful thought, I've pretty much decided to buy a small condo. I think the thais handled themselves pretty well.

yeah. I know. some of you in the back are saying "small condo, big deal." well, for me, it's a lot of money.

..for some reason, I think thailand has a bright future, and I'm willing to contribute with the little I have to offer.

Don't be under the illusion that the demonstration have anything to do with "the poor". The main leaders have no track record whatsoever in caring the slightest bit about the poor. On the opposite - Sondhi has made rather insulting remarks in his speaches regarding the rural poor. Chamlong may live in his religious little dreamland upcountry, but his main support was always city based. They are in for their own profit no less than Thaksin is.

And if buying a small condo in Thailand is a large amount of money for you, i would think more than twice about buying it. If you need to sell it quickly, there is very little chance to ever sell it, unless it is in the middle of the tourist ghettos of Pattaya or Phuket, which have their own real estate rules completely separate from the rest of Thailand, and with it their own dangers such as completely crooked agents and lawyers specialised in ripping off potential farang buyers.

Without going too deeply into the Thai real estate market, you are far better off renting, while investing in far more profitable markets in safer countries with far better legal protection for foreign investors.

Buy it if you like living in the place, and when losing the money won't hurt you.

I used to think that way.

but a canadian friend explained it to me in simple terms that even I could understand.

here's the scoop....

I've been living in a small studio apartment for 7 years now. I pay about 6k baht a month. one year is 72k baht. 7 years is about 500,000 baht.

now, if I bought a condo for 500,000 baht when I first moved here 7 years ago, I would NOW not have any more rent payments EVER again.

since I plan on living here for at least another 10 years (unless someone kicks me out), I will come out ahead whether I can sell it or not later on. right?

...think about what I said.

[ColPyat]

I used to think that way.

but a canadian friend explained it to me in simple terms that even I could understand.

here's the scoop....

I've been living in a small studio apartment for 7 years now. I pay about 6k baht a month. one year is 72k baht. 7 years is about 500,000 baht.

now, if I bought a condo for 500,000 baht when I first moved here 7 years ago, I would NOW not have any more rent payments EVER again.

since I plan on living here for at least another 10 years (unless someone kicks me out), I will come out ahead whether I can sell it or not later on. right?

...think about what I said.

There are a few problems. I assume that you are on tourist visas, not on an retirement visa, or workpermit. At the moment it is still rather relaxed with renewing your visas and staying on. His though might change, and you might find yourself in a situation that you have to sell the apartment quickly. You can generally forget about that with a small studio apartment even in a place like Pattaya or Phuket. The apartments that sell there are only in the luxury class.

The real estate market concerning apartments compared to western countries is rather different. Thais do prefer to only buy apartments in new buildings, if they have the choice, where nobody has lived in before. This is partially cultural, due to a religious believe in residue energetic matter (meaning that every person leaves part of his/her emergy behind, which does influence following inhabitants).

There is as well a huge oversupply of apartments, especially in the low range of the market. That makes it even more difficult to resell it if you need to.

There are additional problems with low quality building materials, cost of upkeep that rises the older the apartment block gets.

One very important factor is that things might change. Lets say, for example, you get for some reason a problem with a person living in your apartment block, or some people on the street, a problem that you cannot handle on your own. You get threads, etc. basically, life becomes hel_l. If you rent your apartment, you have the option to pack your stuff, and leave. This can easily happen, i had this sort of situation in the past. One day everything is fine, the next you are in a huge mess. And trust me, if you are not married, and that way part of a large clan, or have lots of reliable Thai friends, you will not win in a conflict against some of the more nasty Thais. And going to the police is often not an option as they are rarely very helpful in those sort of situations (been there - done that, a long time ago before i wizened up, and learned how to take care of myself the Thai way).

You have to be particularly careful also in the lawyer and agent you choose in order to process buying an apartment. There are more crooks in the business of sellng property to farang than honet folks. And be especially aware of farang in that business here in Thailand.

I don't know if you know the page of stickman. There recently was an interview with a farang real estate agent here in Thailand. Personally - the guy was full of shit, trying to sell as much as he can and telling blatant lies about the Thai real estate market, and the international real estate market. He claimed that the rise in value of real estet in Thailand is better than anywhere else, and the beginning investment cheaper than anywhere else. That is a blatant lie in order to get as many farang uneducated about real estate to buy here. My family back in the west happens to be into owning and managing real estate, and we have bought in some western country far cheaper real estate, with far better returns than you could dream of getting in Thailand, plus a far higher rise in value.

And very important in your situation. You mentioned that you have not much money. Don't invest more than you can afford to lose and still have a nice life. Things change in life, you might get some health problem and need fast access to your money, which, if you buy the apartment, is bound up.

The safest place for your money is in a reliable bank. If you don't know exactly what you are doing, you should leave it where it is safest.

I would seriously advise you against buying, especially in your situation. On paper it might look as if you safe money, but reality is unfortunately mostly different than you dream or hope.

If you can live the lifestyle you are happy and comfortable with now, why fix it if it ain't broken? Why expose yourself to many risk factors that give you only a possible small financial gain, but a definate possibility to lose a sizable amount of money, of which you do not have much?

sorry to be off-topic, but i think that this is rather more important than a political debate

[britmaveric]

Coup? Let's be serious - that be squashed before it even gets off the ground. Last I checked the military are eagerly behind fearless leader.

The only ones eagerly behind the fearless leader are his occasional golf buddies... the rest? who knows...

Give Post#271 a good read and then get back to us, ok?

Military Coup Possible post

Course you are assuming he has no other cards up his sleeve - I kind of think the lad does, and we aren't aware of it.

Can you expound on that, please? I'm not sure I completely follow what you saying about

Gen Panlop. Thank you.

John what I am saying is fearless leader isn't stupid - I'm sure he has greased the military to the point where they know where they are fed best. Plus I'm quite confident he has other resources we aren't even aware of and neither is Gen Panlop.

[JAG]

Now have I got this right?

Last year Thaksin wins election with a large parliamentary majority, and a large majority of the popular vote, in a secret ballot.

In the last few months an extremely vocal extra parliamentary (not elected) opposition group has been demanding he resigns. Many of those leading this group are people he has sacked politically, and/or stitched up in business deals.

In answer to their demands Thaksin has now called a snap election. This will (he hopes) result in him being returned by winning an election with a large parliamentary majority, and a large majority of the popular vote, in a secret ballot. It also allows his opponents an opportunity to defeat him in the polls by winning an election with a large parliamentary majority, and a large majority of the popular vote.

Unlike the vast majority of souls on this planet the Thais would have the chance to express their views on who governs them through a secret ballot.

The opposition intend to boycott the election thus denying them that right.

When Thaksin wins the opposition group have every intention of continuing their campaign.

Only four things are clear:

1, The Nation Newspaper does not like Thaksin.

2, Most members of this board do not like Thaksin.

3, Best Beloved and just about everyone else in rural Thailand north of Hua Hin seems to like Thaksin.

4 All bars will be closed on the 5th of April.

[asd]

Now have I got this right?

1, The Nation Newspaper does not like Thaksin.

2, Most members of this board do not like Thaksin.

3, Best Beloved and just about everyone else in rural Thailand north of Hua Hin seems to like Thaksin.

1, The Nation Newspaper does not like Thaksin.

Ans. I still believe in The Nation newspaper that It's good newspaper because most of thai people think that Thaksin should resign. So It's not only The Nation newspaper does not like Thaksin but also most of thai people too.

2,Most members of this board do not like Thaksin.

Ans. I love this country but it's not mean that i have to love Toxin.

3,Best Beloved and just about everyone else in rural Thailand north of Hua Hin seems to like Thaksin.

Ans. I am not agree with you cos Thaksin will get out soon and everything in this country will be change.

God bless Thailand

[lukamar]

Now have I got this right?

Yes.. Exactly right...

[britmaveric]

Ans. I am not agree with you cos Thaksin will get out soon and everything in this country will be change.

Nice dream, now wake up!!!!!

Edited February 28, 2006 by britmaveric

[haha]

I used to think that way.

but a canadian friend explained it to me in simple terms that even I could understand.

here's the scoop....

I've been living in a small studio apartment for 7 years now. I pay about 6k baht a month. one year is 72k baht. 7 years is about 500,000 baht.

now, if I bought a condo for 500,000 baht when I first moved here 7 years ago, I would NOW not have any more rent payments EVER again.

since I plan on living here for at least another 10 years (unless someone kicks me out), I will come out ahead whether I can sell it or not later on. right?

...think about what I said.

There are a few problems. I assume that you are on tourist visas, not on an retirement visa, or workpermit. At the moment it is still rather relaxed with renewing your visas and staying on. His though might change, and you might find yourself in a situation that you have to sell the apartment quickly. You can generally forget about that with a small studio apartment even in a place like Pattaya or Phuket. The apartments that sell there are only in the luxury class.

The real estate market concerning apartments compared to western countries is rather different. Thais do prefer to only buy apartments in new buildings, if they have the choice, where nobody has lived in before. This is partially cultural, due to a religious believe in residue energetic matter (meaning that every person leaves part of his/her emergy behind, which does influence following inhabitants).

There is as well a huge oversupply of apartments, especially in the low range of the market. That makes it even more difficult to resell it if you need to.

There are additional problems with low quality building materials, cost of upkeep that rises the older the apartment block gets.

One very important factor is that things might change. Lets say, for example, you get for some reason a problem with a person living in your apartment block, or some people on the street, a problem that you cannot handle on your own. You get threads, etc. basically, life becomes hel_l. If you rent your apartment, you have the option to pack your stuff, and leave. This can easily happen, i had this sort of situation in the past. One day everything is fine, the next you are in a huge mess. And trust me, if you are not married, and that way part of a large clan, or have lots of reliable Thai friends, you will not win in a conflict against some of the more nasty Thais. And going to the police is often not an option as they are rarely very helpful in those sort of situations (been there - done that, a long time ago before i wizened up, and learned how to take care of myself the Thai way).

You have to be particularly careful also in the lawyer and agent you choose in order to process buying an apartment. There are more crooks in the business of sellng property to farang than honet folks. And be especially aware of farang in that business here in Thailand.

I don't know if you know the page of stickman. There recently was an interview with a farang real estate agent here in Thailand. Personally - the guy was full of shit, trying to sell as much as he can and telling blatant lies about the Thai real estate market, and the international real estate market. He claimed that the rise in value of real estet in Thailand is better than anywhere else, and the beginning investment cheaper than anywhere else. That is a blatant lie in order to get as many farang uneducated about real estate to buy here. My family back in the west happens to be into owning and managing real estate, and we have bought in some western country far cheaper real estate, with far better returns than you could dream of getting in Thailand, plus a far higher rise in value.

And very important in your situation. You mentioned that you have not much money. Don't invest more than you can afford to lose and still have a nice life. Things change in life, you might get some health problem and need fast access to your money, which, if you buy the apartment, is bound up.

The safest place for your money is in a reliable bank. If you don't know exactly what you are doing, you should leave it where it is safest.

I would seriously advise you against buying, especially in your situation. On paper it might look as if you safe money, but reality is unfortunately mostly different than you dream or hope.

If you can live the lifestyle you are happy and comfortable with now, why fix it if it ain't broken? Why expose yourself to many risk factors that give you only a possible small financial gain, but a definate possibility to lose a sizable amount of money, of which you do not have much?

sorry to be off-topic, but i think that this is rather more important than a political debate

after reading many of your postings...

...well, I get this feeling you are really not looking out for my welfare.

...not one bit. right?

frankly, if I were to keel over right now, my guess is you would probably be very happy.

..my 2 cents.

[sriracha john]

Coup? Let's be serious - that be squashed before it even gets off the ground. Last I checked the military are eagerly behind fearless leader.

The only ones eagerly behind the fearless leader are his occasional golf buddies... the rest? who knows...

Give Post#271 a good read and then get back to us, ok?

Military Coup Possible post

Course you are assuming he has no other cards up his sleeve - I kind of think the lad does, and we aren't aware of it.

Can you expound on that, please? I'm not sure I completely follow what you saying about

Gen Panlop. Thank you.

John what I am saying is fearless leader isn't stupid - I'm sure he has greased the military to the point where they know where they are fed best. Plus I'm quite confident he has other resources we aren't even aware of and neither is Gen Panlop.

Thanks for the added comments, Brit.

The only thing I would say is that the military is a question mark now. Thaksin has taken care of the few bigwigs at the very top... but some of the lesser Generals, like Panlop, and unknown numbers of others in the Army might decide it's better that they be the ones buttering the bread instead of settling for being the bread being buttered.

[sriracha john]

Now have I got this right?

you have "some" things right, but with other matters, not so much.

Last year Thaksin wins election with a large parliamentary majority, and a large majority of the popular vote, in a secret ballot.

right

In the last few months an extremely vocal extra parliamentary (not elected) opposition group has been demanding he resigns. Many of those leading this group are people he has sacked politically, and/or stitched up in business deals.

In answer to their demands Thaksin has now called a snap election. This will (he hopes) result in him being returned by winning an election with a large parliamentary majority, and a large majority of the popular vote, in a secret ballot. It also allows his opponents an opportunity to defeat him in the polls by winning an election with a large parliamentary majority, and a large majority of the popular vote.

It doesn't allow for that opportunity. The timing of it prohibits any candidate from joining the political party of their choice. Why not set it up as a truly free election by adding an additional month to its timing?

Unlike the vast majority of souls on this planet the Thais would have the chance to express their views on who governs them through a secret ballot.

Does the "vast majority" (say 70%, being considered as "vast") of the world population not live in democratic countries? I'd be interested in seeing a breakdown of those kind of numbers.

The opposition intend to boycott the election thus denying them that right.

I would say they prefer to offer the electorate an opportunity to participate in a truly free election.

When Thaksin wins the opposition group have every intention of continuing their campaign.

Only four things are clear:

1, The Nation Newspaper does not like Thaksin.

I suppose it depends on how you define "like." If by disagreeing with his policies and reporting on his shortcomings, then I would say yes they, along with the Bangkok Post and many other publications that expose his failings, don't "like" Thaksin.

2, Most members of this board do not like Thaksin.

Again, with "most" meaning over 50%, I'm not so sure about that. Seems like it's fairly evenly split based on postings. Perhaps a poll is in order?

3, Best Beloved and just about everyone else in rural Thailand north of Hua Hin seems to like Thaksin.

If you read about who's attending the rallies, where they are from, who they represent, and who is protesting in other areas, I think "just about everyone" (now we're talking say 95%? of that population) far exceeds the reality.

4 All bars will be closed on the 5th of April.

[Neeranam]

There's going to be a bloody coup.

I had dinner last night with a professor of politics and was I surprised who is actually behind the anti-Taksin campaign. Does evryone here know?

[CL0R0X]

maybe somebody should send a group of protester over to the Singapore embassy and protest there, there was a deal with Thanksin that if there a protest in front of the Singapore embassy the Shin deal is off, no money, no Thaksin.

[Plus]

So if you don't like elections, what do you prefer?

I don't believe in rigged elections, do you?

[thedude]

Only four things are clear:

1, The Nation Newspaper does not like Thaksin.

2, Most members of this board do not like Thaksin.

3, Best Beloved and just about everyone else in rural Thailand north of Hua Hin seems to like Thaksin.

4 All bars will be closed on the 5th of April.

exactly right. i have been at pains to point out to the people here for months now that the nation and other english papers in thailand are actually extremely anti-thaksin. they don't realise they are getting brainwashed. you see people repeating the propoganda on these pages. this i believe accounts for the vast number of anti-thaksin views on this board. to get a balanced view, the moderators should be posting other international news sources. but some of the posts here suggest that some of the mods hold one-sided views too. i wonder why the nation is the most quoted news reference on this site.

[Jai Dee]

Continued discussion and news bulletins on this subject can be found in this thread.

/Closed.