Thaksin Shinawatra, How Do You Feel About Him?

[francois]

I am sorry but I am of the opinion that many of you are a bit hard on the guy. I always said that if a lot of people complain then that means that you are doing something. It is impossible to please everyone. I see him as doing his best, although he may lack political experince and the diplomatic finesse we require of our leaders, he certainly is a leader. He eradicated drugs, he has helped many poor people avoid the Chinese Loan Sharks and he is constantly striving to make Thailand a better place for the little guy.

If we were really a thorn in his side he could shut us (the thaivisa.com) down without a problem but I see him as tolerant, wether out of design or forced to be so, by fear of public opinion.

it's so naive

let's open your eyes and take a look at the new asian dictator

I once thought that he might be good fot Thai people .. I then thought twice ...

I don't like the guy ... that's all.

anyone have a sociology experience or psychology one ...

could be interesting to study his face, and his behavior's habits

francois

[cdnvic]

I am sorry but I am of the opinion that many of you are a bit hard on the guy. I always said that if a lot of people complain then that means that you are doing something. It is impossible to please everyone. I see him as doing his best, although he may lack political experince and the diplomatic finesse we require of our leaders, he certainly is a leader. He eradicated drugs, he has helped many poor people avoid the Chinese Loan Sharks and he is constantly striving to make Thailand a better place for the little guy.

If we were really a thorn in his side he could shut us (the thaivisa.com) down without a problem but I see him as tolerant, wether out of design or forced to be so, by fear of public opinion.

Mouse, you need to read up more on recent (1900's) history of China to understand Thaksin.

Mao was the champion of the 'little guy' (the peasants). He used them as propaganda tools to his own political ends and even when he starved millions of them, he held himself up as their protector.

Like Mao, the PM loves to espouse grandious plans with bombastic rehtoric, and catchy slogans (U Athorn/ First world status/ 100000 hubs, etc). All the time he is plotting who is going to take the fall when something goes wrong. He moves relatives and advisors around the government like chess pieces, and when trouble emerges, he finds a pawn to sacrifice while moving his prime pieces/friends into a safe position.

Even looking at the Thai media over a period of time it's easy to see this.

cv

[huski]

Davidm, time will tell. I've lived here 27 years, seen policies and PMs come and go. When Thaksin and his cronies, eg, Purachai, have moved on I'm betting it'll be back to business as usual as far as the status of expats-on-tourist/non-B/non-O visas go. Hey I could be wrong, but that's my take on the medium-term future.

i like sabaijai's attitude, just wish thaksin had a short-term future or at least if he came down with laryngitis for 6 months.

[ChiangMaiThai]

Do you think Thailand will eventually have a real night life again too?

Perhaps, but by that time I might be so old that I wish to go home by 8:00 pm

Well said... The moral crusade seems to have plenty of momentum.

[The Gentleman Scamp]

Who was it, Mouse? ...Who said that if a lot of people complain then he is doing something??? The PM of Haiti isn't doing enough and more people are complaining about him, and Saddam Hussein did many things and got a lot of support so what does that statement mean?

I'm not comparing Thaksin to an idiot who doesn't know how to run a country or a ruthless dictator by the way, but i will say that we do have a right to have a negative voice because it was a nice country that we were attracted to and it's being changed against not only our favour but that of half the Thai population, many of which are our dear friends.

Mr T is just one man, and he is not, nor ever will be our friend.

[Paul]

He who did nothing made no mistakes.

Have you done anything that truly have

an impact beyond yourselves?

[Orion76]

fyi: eventhough this server may be in the US the Thais can block access to this domain from Thailand at the push of a button.

[mbkudu]

Does anyone remember Prime Minister Baanharn Silpa-Archa? I didn't think so. Or what about Chavalit Yungchaiyut, Chuan Leekpai. Ahh come on people, these were all great leaders who helped crush the Thai economy and bring the country down to the knees of the IMF and kiss its' feet. Ya, those were the days, boy I'll tell ya! And look at Thailand now. Who'd a thunk it?

[Sick Boy]

Yeah, I remeber them all. Give me Chuan any day. The Thais called him "meu sa-aat" which means clean hands. The only problem was that he had a cabinet full of gangsters.

Taksin was transport minister under Chavalit, wasn't it? I remember him saying that he would cure Bangkok's traffic problem within 6 months. Fantastic job there! Good job he wasn't PM then or maybe all drivers would have been shot indiscriminately.

[khunphilip]

Read the article 'Toxinomics' in a recent issue of the Far Eastern Economic Review by Dan Fineman. Suggests that what is good for Shin Corp might not necessarily be good for Thighland and vice versa.....In fact, in many respects their interests are diametrically opposed and the country needs a whole new economic direction if it is to avoid another crash.

[stumonster]

even when the economy takes its eventual dive, he will not be a poor man....

[dr_Pat_Pong]

even when the economy takes its eventual dive, he will not be a poor man....

I'd bet that he has bulk brass hidden off shore too

[natee1]

whenever I label "the guy" with one of these Thai words concerning the feet, I get embarrassed smiles and/or change of subject. Unlike talking about Bush, who is really unpopular now, Toxin is very favored in Thailand!

[Axel]

Something came to my mind that I read somewhere before.

You are always complaining about Thaksin. I think this is Thailand-bashing, you Thailand haters.

I forgot where I read this, but meanwhile don't forget, he is elcted until, hopefully, thrown out/

[natee1]

RE: feed him his own medicine!

I like to quote from this poll in a letter to various Thai newspapers. Does someone know how to translate this into Thai?:

According to a recent survey conducted by HUSKI POLLS, the P.M.'s popularity is at an alltime low. More than 22% of the respondents think he should wear a warning label on his forehead, 13.33% felt that he only opens his mouth to change his feet, whereas a minority of 6.67% is convinced he is frequenting illegal gambling establishments to play Solitaire.

[dr_Pat_Pong]

RE: feed him his own medicine!

I like to quote from this poll in a letter to various Thai newspapers. Does someone know how to translate this into Thai?:

According to a recent survey conducted by HUSKI POLLS, the P.M.'s popularity is at an alltime low. More than 22% of the respondents think he should wear a warning label on his forehead, 13.33% felt that he only opens his mouth to change his feet, whereas a minority of 6.67% is convinced he is frequenting illegal gambling establishments to play Solitaire.

Playing it on his own too.

[DPlover]

Once. I was in a Thai airways aircarft and the air hostess as instructed had blocked a row to allow the other passengers to alight first ensuring an orderly disembarkation.

Then comes a big American lady who started screaming that it was against the law in the US to do something like this as they are treating us like cows. All the air hostess said was"This is Thailand". The american lady just stood there embarrassed and dumb founded.

Perhaps we should respect that, we may have our views but we can only be second class citizens, no matter how much wealth no matter what unless we are born here in Thailand. Our children if thery are full blooded citizens may be. Like wise, if the Thais were in any other country they would in the minds of the people of the host country be considered second classs citizens by many no matter how we personnally accept them in our own country by birth. I have not forgotten how my friends wives were talked about in the backs of the discos or restuarants about how they had brought home a Thai or Filipina slut. Racisim is as old as the bible in the story of the tower of Babel.

We have a choice, if we don't like it here we can leave but not the Thai people because this is their land. If their believe that their leader is a dictator it is their right to do something about it not us because we are just trying to kick the ass of a lousy manager that we are paying rent through.

We cannot as guest impose on them and be dictators to their lives, so much as we believe that Thaksin is a dictator. We can just empathize.

Can we be true citizens if we buy our rights to stay here? Can we say that this is our land, are we just tenants or citizens?

Yes I dislike Thalsin for the way he has run the goverment, for the grief he has caused in my own personal relationship but in the end it is the choice of the Thai people. Let's respect that.

I think he should concentrate more on getting rid of bribery in thailand...............

[huski]

local repairman wearing a shinawatra t shirt at the internet cafe i was in a couple days ago, phnom penh. after two days they still didn't have it working.

[dr_Pat_Pong]

local repairman wearing a shinawatra t shirt at the internet cafe i was in a couple days ago, phnom penh. after two days they still didn't have it working.

Genius runs in the company Huski

[adjan jb]

Is Taksin Shinawatra related to the late American crooner and mafioso Frank Sinawatra ?

[dr_Pat_Pong]

Is Taksin Shinawatra related to the late American crooner and mafioso Frank Sinawatra ?

Frankie was a bit of a lad, but he had friends ( not nice one's but nevertheless friends )

[et33.com]

yawn...

still at it ???

boring.....

at the end of the day

it's the money that makes

the world go round

all top politician

as far as i am concern

is in some way

slave to some money machine

run by powerful businesses

bush is the same

blair is the same

why do you think the rest are not the same ???

mmm... huh ?? / did i say something ???

now where did i put my beer... ?

[et33.com]

just awaken from me beer party...

mmm...

where's the rest of me party mates ??

[grim_marmazet]

yawn...

still at it ???

boring.....

at the end of the day

it's the money that makes

the world go round

all top politician

as far as i am concern

is in some way

slave to some money machine

run by powerful businesses

bush is the same

blair is the same

why do you think the rest are not the same ???

mmm... huh ?? / did i say something ???

now where did i put my beer... ?

Well said

Im British, and we put up with Blair and his so-called "Reforms".

He promised to reduce NHS waiting lists, now they've trippled.

He promised to increase amounts of teachers & education spending, both have decreased.

He promised us a quick end to Foot & Mouth, with reperations to famers, instead he burnt their livestock.

He promised redution in the strength of the pound and interest rates & taxes, guess what? They've all gone up.

He took us to war on the charge of WMD's, we never found any.

The only thing he's consistantly done is kiss GWB's you-know-what.

Americans have a similar thing, their on their biggest national deficit since the Great Depression. They have increased crime, lower standards of education, and higher taxes than before Bush.

You have Mugawbe in Zimbabwe, tourturing citizens. Sharon & Arafat destabiling the middle east. India & Pakistan on the verge of nuclear war. The list is endless...

So as you can see, Thailand hasnt really got it any worse than anywhere else in the world, the whole planet is a shambles.

On the flip-side though, a population has to believe that what is happening is wrong to make a stand against it (i quote the mass-protests in London & many other cities worldwide).

So IF the Thai's feel their getting a hard deal, they will rise up against it (im not talking revolution here! lol) just as many in western countries are.

[avenge]

when the current James Bond, Pierce Brosnan was shown 3 pictures or 3 thai men

and asked 'which one would you want for your next movies', Brosnan chose

Taksin and said 'who is this one, he'd be great for playing the bad guy', when told

he was Thailands' PM, Brosnan added '...that's perfect, he already had experience'

[PvtDick]

There have been far more inept, stupid, and just plain evil PM's in Thailand over the past 10-15 years than Taksin. How about Suchinda, Chatichai, Suchinda, Banharn, and Chavalit, for starters?

Yet none of these men invoked the ire of the expat set in anywhere near the same way Taksin has. Why is that? Simply because Taksin has tinkered around with the naughty nightlife that is the main reason most of these expats are here. They're a one-issue constituency.

[sonthaya]

He's bad news for Thailand

[mbkudu]

There have been far more inept, stupid, and just plain evil PM's in Thailand over the past 10-15 years than Taksin. How about Suchinda, Chatichai, Suchinda, Banharn, and Chavalit, for starters?

Yet none of these men invoked the ire of the expat set in anywhere near the same way Taksin has. Why is that? Simply because Taksin has tinkered around with the naughty nightlife that is the main reason most of these expats are here. They're a one-issue constituency.

I couldn't agree with you more.

[dr_Pat_Pong]

He's bad news for Thailand

I second the motion.

[dr_Pat_Pong]

He's bad news for Thailand

I second the motion.