Thai protesters congratulated for "reclaiming country with bare hands"

[Scott]

Off-topic posts deleted.

[anotheruser]

Suthep, the Mandala of Thailand. No way, Suthep has lost the plot big time, at least Mandela (note the spelling) had an agenda with an end-game.

Suthep the hub of Mandelas... if nobody beat me to it.

[anotheruser]

Carry on with your vitriol. I've never made a secret of disliking this man, what with his history of shonky land deals and ultra nationalism. But. He's won. Go get a beer, kick back. Don't forget who you are. FARANG

I am confused now, are you talking about Thaksin or Suthep?

[icare999]

Suthep didn't win. He lost. An election is the last thing he wanted. And he will lose again when February comes and the Thai people show the Democrats again that they don't want them in power.

Suthep can proclaim victory like North Koreas Kim Jong-un but the truth is that he has no power at all, without the army or police behind him, which he doesn't have.

He'll have the police behind him soon.

Both "peoples man of choice", suthep and his fellow unemployed murder suspect, abhisit, are due to appear at an arraignment hearing on 12th December - no parliamentary immunity this time, boys.

you wish but it aint going to happen you'll see

[WitawatWatawit]

Regardless of what is said by the instant reds - just add baht and stir - I wonder if we will actually get to the election. Strange for T to be so silent and agree to the election so readily. Knowing how sneaky he is, I fear he might have something up his sleeve to cause more disruption that will benefit his vile agenda. I wonder if it has anything to do with the police? Nah. Not enough firepower. Army? Maybe. But they're still waiting for a clearer indication of who is the likely victor. Better to bet on an invasion by the Tatmadaw. This is perplexing.

[anotheruser]

Suthep didn't win. He lost. An election is the last thing he wanted. And he will lose again when February comes and the Thai people show the Democrats again that they don't want them in power.

Suthep can proclaim victory like North Koreas Kim Jong-un but the truth is that he has no power at all, without the army or police behind him, which he doesn't have.

It is pretty obvious to all that Thailand needs this storm to fizzle down. New elections in February will be reacted to probably in March or April after the tourists leave. Both sides I think, know now that they need to avod further internaional attention and deep financial impacts in the high season.

[anotheruser]

Suthep, the Mandala of Thailand.

Suthep, the Madman of Thailand is more apt.

So disrespectful to a man who has done more for democracy than you can imagine.

All of us have opinions and view points that are subjective. I somehow fail to see how a man that will not let a leader that was voted into government by a clear majority represents democracy. To suspend the people's will and impose an interim government, when in fact the election results if they do another one will be more lop sided.

[pisico]

Personally, I think that anyone involved with protests and government overthrow should be banned from politics for at least 10 years if not forever.

I think that the only way this country will ever have a true democracy is when both parties find a common ground and those that don't like what the other party does wait and change the government through elections and not courts or protests.

Makes my whole family cry everytime either side has a fit

Common ground, probity and fairness in politics are not elements of the Thai psyche.

Thais are rather simplistic in their thought processes because they are intellectually lazy. Check out the list of Nobel Prize recipients in any discipline who are Thai. Or enumerate the names or Thai inventors and their contributions to the humankind. Can we compare the mental realm of the Thai people and the people of Nazi Germany?

Remember that Hitler was elected to office in Germany by the most educated and cultured country in Europe and perhaps (arguably) the world using ad hoc slogans of the time. He knew how to manipulate the emotions and then the minds of the people.

If one controls the language (the principle behind Political Correctness) one will control thought. Language is a graphic or verbal representation of thought. Make people repeat and repeat the same slogan and people will be driven to think in a specific way and consequently, act likewise.

It does not matter that Suthep or anybody else seizes power. Thais welcome autocratic governance because they feel comfortable being under the authority of a power greater than they are. Such is the power of an amulet, a military coup 'etat or mob rule,

Sounds a bit racist

It sounds a bit accurate to me.

A bit racist, he says. A toe tag egalitarian.

The egalitarians of this world want all of us to be equal. One size fits all. No winners or losers in competitions: Everybody get a prize! They do not want anybody to feel inferior...etc.,etc.

We humans have hands. Each hand comes from the factory with 5 fingers but, Mother Nature in its non-egalitarian wisdom, adjudicated 60% of dexterity to the thumb. The remainder 40% to be assigned to the other 4 fingers in varying degrees. Yes, all the fingers are in the same hand. They are all fingers but: they are not alike!

Will Egalitarians call Mother Nature a "bit racist" too for not giving all the fingers an equal amount of dexterity

What can we tell them? That they are self-absorbed in their naivete?

Not even Thais are that way. Thais firmly believe that the more the money and power one has, the more equal to others one is.

How do you like them apples?

[Soi Sauce]

What do you think red supporters? Has Yingluck's government deliberate loss of more than 10 billion US dollars on rice scheme been justified? Bear in mind, they wasted 10 billion USD, not baht, just to stay popular in rural Thailand. How can anyone justifie that? It endangers the whole country's financial stability and the system.

An absolute idiot could run the country that way and win the election. Who is going to make up for more than 10 billion USD lost? By the way, rumour has it that there are 200 billion baht unaccounted for.

The rice scheme was designed to help poor farmers who were being forced to sell their land to the rich and become tenants because they couldn't afford to keep going. The ruling elite rubbed their hands in glee as they bought up even more ethnic Thai owned land. I'm not saying the scheme is not corrupt. I'm not saying it is the most efficient way of taking money from the rich to give to the poor. I'm not saying that some of those administering the scheme don't have their fingers in the till. but it is a scheme. and no government has ever come up with a way to help the rural poor before. If Suthep has a better scheme to help the poor I'd love to hear it. But of course he hasn't. His patrons are very keen to abolish the scheme so that they can get their hands on more of the peasants land.

Mr T wanted to take the land from the poor to make mega rice-farms owned by his Arab mates; Or have u forgotten?

He also wanted to denationalize all the Thai utilities so his gang could buy them up.

Also, look at how his airline, through his Pm position, set out to destroy Thai Airways to enrich his Air Asia, and you have an idea how much this person cares for Thailand.

Put the law changes to enable his sale of his telecom biz to Singapore - Changed Friday, sold Monday - and you might get an idea where he's coming from and this is going.

Man of the People? He ain't even a man. Who of you with a dick has ever hidden behind your sister?

Edited December 9, 2013 by Soi Sauce

[anotheruser]

Suthep didn't win. He lost. An election is the last thing he wanted. And he will lose again when February comes and the Thai people show the Democrats again that they don't want them in power.

Suthep can proclaim victory like North Koreas Kim Jong-un but the truth is that he has no power at all, without the army or police behind him, which he doesn't have.

So do you really think that the Thai people want this bunch of thieves voted in again? If (and it's a big if) there will be an election in two months time, Thaksin will not win. During the time up to the election I am sure of a lot of irregularities will show up regarding how the country's finances been managed during the last two year. The people in the north and north-east of Thailand are maybe not as well educated as the Bangkok Thais but they still hate thieves.

That is sound logic indeed considering the "Thaksin clan" has only won like 5 out of the last 7 elections. I am not saying they are right but please examine the facts. Election held later makes this high season possible and defers collateral damage until posted. Name the next PM if you feel the Thaksins will lose.

[Baerboxer]

Not sure if it's the poor sound quality on his 6pm speech tonight, but does he sound like a slightly laid back Herr Hitler or what?

How many of Hitler's speeches have you listened to then?

[timoclark]

What an absolute joke. This scheme was never intended to help farmers, just a dangling carrot to get them to vote PTP. It was always intended to enrich Thaksin and his cronies, in that sense the rice scheme, the floodwater scheme, and all his other schemes have worked to perfection. Fact is that Abhisit had a very well functioning subsidies scheme for rice farmers that was less costly, less corrupted, and helped the farmers much more directly. However, the farmers couldn't resist being baited once again by Thaksin. Many Red farmers know this, but they move along helplessly like sheep, not wanting to stand out among their neighbors or catch the notice of the Red village poo yais. The 30B heathcare scheme was never funded by Thaksin's governments, it was left to the hospitals to cover the difference. This has resulted in the consolidation of hospitals into bigger corporations, giving patients less choice.

Tell the farmers who aren't getting paid how well this is working out for them.choice. Unfortunately, the Red village poo yais might not allow them to vote their conscience. Thaksin uses the carrot and the stick to get what he wants.

This scheme is not taking money form the rich and giving it to the poor. It is taking money from every taxpaying resident and giving it to Thaksin and his corrupt cabal.

From your non-answer, I guess your answer is that the deliberate theft of US$10 billion is justified, so long as each farmer gets a few satang in his pocket, if that. I guess it's worth it to destroy the reputation of the Thai rice industry and drive the country deeper into debt, right?

What do you think red supporters? Has Yingluck's government deliberate loss of more than 10 billion US dollars on rice scheme been justified? Bear in mind, they wasted 10 billion USD, not baht, just to stay popular in rural Thailand. How can anyone justifie that? It endangers the whole country's financial stability and the system.

An absolute idiot could run the country that way and win the election. Who is going to make up for more than 10 billion USD lost? By the way, rumour has it that there are 200 billion baht unaccounted for.

The rice scheme was designed to help poor farmers who were being forced to sell their land to the rich and become tenants because they couldn't afford to keep going. The ruling elite rubbed their hands in glee as they bought up even more ethnic Thai owned land. I'm not saying the scheme is not corrupt. I'm not saying it is the most efficient way of taking money from the rich to give to the poor. I'm not saying that some of those administering the scheme don't have their fingers in the till. but it is a scheme. and no government has ever come up with a way to help the rural poor before. If Suthep has a better scheme to help the poor I'd love to hear it. But of course he hasn't. His patrons are very keen to abolish the scheme so that they can get their hands on more of the peasants land.

Edited December 9, 2013 by timoclark

[timoclark]

..... and every time Thaksin fields a party, they are dissolved for electoral malfeasance. Even his own handpicked Electoral Commission dissolved his party on such grounds. My guess is that the Dems didn't challenge the vote-buying last time because the economy was still trying to recover from the Reds' "peaceful" burning of Bangkok.

Suthep didn't win. He lost. An election is the last thing he wanted. And he will lose again when February comes and the Thai people show the Democrats again that they don't want them in power.

Suthep can proclaim victory like North Koreas Kim Jong-un but the truth is that he has no power at all, without the army or police behind him, which he doesn't have.

So do you really think that the Thai people want this bunch of thieves voted in again? If (and it's a big if) there will be an election in two months time, Thaksin will not win. During the time up to the election I am sure of a lot of irregularities will show up regarding how the country's finances been managed during the last two year. The people in the north and north-east of Thailand are maybe not as well educated as the Bangkok Thais but they still hate thieves.

That is sound logic indeed considering the "Thaksin clan" has only won like 5 out of the last 7 elections. I am not saying they are right but please examine the facts. Election held later makes this high season possible and defers collateral damage until posted. Name the next PM if you feel the Thaksins will lose.

[gemini81]

Suthep didn't win. He lost. An election is the last thing he wanted. And he will lose again when February comes and the Thai people show the Democrats again that they don't want them in power.

Suthep can proclaim victory like North Koreas Kim Jong-un but the truth is that he has no power at all, without the army or police behind him, which he doesn't have.

So do you really think that the Thai people want this bunch of thieves voted in again? If (and it's a big if) there will be an election in two months time, Thaksin will not win. During the time up to the election I am sure of a lot of irregularities will show up regarding how the country's finances been managed during the last two year. The people in the north and north-east of Thailand are maybe not as well educated as the Bangkok Thais but they still hate thieves.

That is sound logic indeed considering the "Thaksin clan" has only won like 5 out of the last 7 elections. I am not saying they are right but please examine the facts. Election held later makes this high season possible and defers collateral damage until posted. Name the next PM if you feel the Thaksins will lose.

They're trying to use tactics to avoid the red commies from buying another election on the back of the poor by not enabling it in 6 months. The new PM will hopefully get royal approval and the country can move forward. And hopefully move forward in forums from expats with farm girls they met in bottom of the barrel pubs. A new constitution with preventions against corruption and oligarchies is the goal. That's the deal from the anti gov't leaders who are customers at our firm. The next PM would likely be the likes of Korn or Abhisit. A leader with a clue, an education and a clean history- and maybe one who can not be a total inept ass for interviews with CNN and Al Jazeera etc.

[backtonormal]

Last thing Suthep wanted. They have an ever decreasing window of opportunity to seize power and that may have been shortened by the wait for the election which they cannot win. Some on here are missing the real end game, If you gave Suthep a choice of being in power with his council or removing Shinawatra he would at this time, without hesitation choose the former. Failure to take dictatorial control of the nation will have dire consequences for his backers in the future

[cocopops]

Various other sins and alleged sins put aside, Prime Minister Yingluck has stood tall through all of this. Plenty of governments in plenty of countries would have had this end in bloodshed.

The new-car tax break was probably foolish and the rice scheme is clearly a huge misstep. And the less said about the amnesty shenanigans the better. I don't think anyone would describe the most recent term of government as particularly successful.

But there is very little to criticize about the way they handled the last month or so. There are dozens of families in this country, some of whom happily decrying her and her family as "pure evil", who would have been attending a funeral this week if she had not dealt with the situation in the frankly statesmanlike manner that she did.

So by all means congratulate the protesters on their success. Fair enough, perhaps some good will come of it. But perhaps spare a thought for the cooler heads that have (hopefully) saved Bangkok's streets from another truly ugly episode. No matter how much you detest their last name.

Edited December 9, 2013 by cocopops

[Bender]

Various other sins and alleged sins put aside, Prime Minister Yingluck has stood tall through all of this. Plenty of governments in plenty of countries would have had this end in bloodshed.

....

So by all means congratulate the protesters on their success. Fair enough, perhaps some good will come of it. But perhaps spare a thought for the cooler heads that have (hopefully) saved Bangkok's streets from another truly ugly episode. No matter how much you detest their last name.

The sad realitity, she doesnt have the support of the army so any time, few thousands yellow terrorist can take again the street. And she can do nothing!

Yes this country will be ruled by a tiny minority yellow thugs as long the army will allow it!

Nothing good will come out of. The same story will repeat again and again.

The PTP will again win the next election, this yellow tiny minority will disagree once again and will invade the government house, etc...

this country is completely fck

[Trembly]

Various other sins and alleged sins put aside, Prime Minister Yingluck has stood tall through all of this. Plenty of governments in plenty of countries would have had this end in bloodshed.

The new-car tax break was probably foolish and the rice scheme is clearly a huge misstep. And the less said about the amnesty shenanigans the better. I don't think anyone would describe the most recent term of government as particularly successful.

But there is very little to criticize about the way they handled the last month or so. There are dozens of families in this country, some of whom happily decrying her and her family as "pure evil", who would have been attending a funeral this week if she had not dealt with the situation in the frankly statesmanlike manner that she did.

So by all means congratulate the protesters on their success. Fair enough, perhaps some good will come of it. But perhaps spare a thought for the cooler heads that have (hopefully) saved Bangkok's streets from another truly ugly episode. No matter how much you detest their last name.

I doubt she had much of a say in it one way or the other.

[moradave]

Did Suthep win today? Answer these questions:

Is Yingluck still in power or is he now the acknowledged leader of the country?

Is his "people's committee" now in power?

Was he able to avoid a general election?

Does he have the King's approval to take over without an election?

Does he have approval by the courts? the police? the Army? Prem? the people?

Does he have international recognition (including the UN)?

If he won, why is he asking his supporters to stay over tonight?

[noitom]

'Seizing the country with his bare hands', the 'long march'...... veritable shades of William the Conqueror and Mao Tse Tung here. Could we be witnessing the emergence of Thailand's long overdue national hero or just another mouth and trousers politician with a big ego?

My money's on the latter. width=20 alt=wai2.gif pagespeed_url_hash=1722055545>

Suthep's been around for a long time working the system. He's had plenty of issues of his own land giveaway scandals to "insider" good old boys..etc. He's held his own, but has a ton of baggage.

[jacko45k]

He won. So go suck it up.

He has not yet achieved all his aims and I doubt he will.

Another election and perhaps they will have the sense to sideline Shinawatra family members.

[kurnell]

Fact is that if Yingluck and her cronies are booted out, the next lot in will be just as corrupt, always have been always will be.

Isn´t better to say that both parties are equally immature?

I stood in the middle of the protest yesterday watching the faces of the protesters as they blew their whistles and chanted thinking that every single one of them would almost certainly fill their bank accounts with Thailand's money if they too were in a position of power.

[Muhendis]

Suthep, the Mandala of Thailand. No way, Suthep has lost the plot big time, at least Mandela (note the spelling) had an agenda with an end-game.

In common use, mandala has become a generic term for any plan, chart or geometric pattern that represents the cosmos metaphysically or symbolically; a microcosm of the universe. [Wiki]

[WhizBang]

He won. So go suck it up.

No, he didn't win. What we have now is a temporary stalemate. Unless the Democrats can pull off a miracle in the next election (I am not holding my breath), it will be back to business as usual after the upcoming elections.

The real goal was (or should have been) to rid Thailand of the Shinawatra family by exiling them AND to have political reform that would prevent anything like this from happening again. The goal should also be to put an end to corruption (see political reform) and to reform the police so they actually do their job and are not just another arm of corruption.

Right now, Thailand is on a merry-go-round. The Thaksin proxy party wins the election. The Thaksin proxy party is removed for wrong doing/miss deeds. New elections sees the Thaksin proxy party voted back into power. Again, and again, and again.

Nothing will change without meaningful changes in the entire system. Not a hope in Haydes of that happening. Too many vested interests in maintaining the status quo.

So as Thailand stagnates, or moves backwards, Thailand sinks lower and lower and lower. No end in sight.

How long before the exchange rate is at 50 baht/US$?

[maxme]

Fact is that if Yingluck and her cronies are booted out, the next lot in will be just as corrupt, always have been always will be.

Isn´t better to say that both parties are equally immature?

I stood in the middle of the protest yesterday watching the faces of the protesters as they blew their whistles and chanted thinking that every single one of them would almost certainly fill their bank accounts with Thailand's money if they too were in a position of power.

Thank the lord, I will know recant all my beliefs and do 10 "Hail Suthep's"

Edited December 10, 2013 by maxme

[LomSak27]

RT@Myaimistrue7: If the Reds are so poor/stupid, & the Dems so rich/smart, why can't they figure out how to get the Reds to vote for them? #ThaiUprising

Jip99

Check out the Robe Changing Conspiracy theory

Then check out the Erawan buddha image destruction conspiracy theory

the dems have been working over time on magical mystery conspiracies aimed at the poor stupid and superstitious

Its one of the funnier, if completely obvious, political devices they use

[Spare]

RT@Myaimistrue7: If the Reds are so poor/stupid, & the Dems so rich/smart, why can't they figure out how to get the Reds to vote for them? #ThaiUprising

Jip99

Check out the Robe Changing Conspiracy theory

Then check out the Erawan buddha image destruction conspiracy theory

the dems have been working over time on magical mystery conspiracies aimed at the poor stupid and superstitious

Its one of the funnier, if completely obvious, political devices they use

Go and read this. Written by the DEMS themselves:

http://asiancorrespondent.com/19554/korn-on-the-democrats-in-the-northeast/

[GeorgeO]

For the many of you who are banking on a PTP win in the forthcoming election, I would suggest you have missed the whole point of this uprising. The people want to see the end of both Thaksin and the PTP, so this battle will not be over until that is achieved.

I would suggest that the proposed election will not take place in February; indeed, I think there is a better chance of a multi-party interim government taking over for the next year or so, which would finally give this country a chance at achieving real democracy.

[SantiSuk]

Amnesty on past corruption. No existing member of government, police military or judiciary allowed to stand. Publicly disclosed audits of past affairs of candidates. Annual audits of all elected MPs. Strictly controlled subsidy for political campaigning and audits of campaign budgets. No-one over 40 allowed to stand as MP.

Easy really. Will never happen.

[Nickymaster]

What do you think red supporters? Has Yingluck's government deliberate loss of more than 10 billion US dollars on rice scheme been justified? Bear in mind, they wasted 10 billion USD, not baht, just to stay popular in rural Thailand. How can anyone justifie that? It endangers the whole country's financial stability and the system.

An absolute idiot could run the country that way and win the election. Who is going to make up for more than 10 billion USD lost? By the way, rumour has it that there are 200 billion baht unaccounted for.

The rice scheme was designed to help poor farmers who were being forced to sell their land to the rich and become tenants because they couldn't afford to keep going. The ruling elite rubbed their hands in glee as they bought up even more ethnic Thai owned land. I'm not saying the scheme is not corrupt. I'm not saying it is the most efficient way of taking money from the rich to give to the poor. I'm not saying that some of those administering the scheme don't have their fingers in the till. but it is a scheme. and no government has ever come up with a way to help the rural poor before. If Suthep has a better scheme to help the poor I'd love to hear it. But of course he hasn't. His patrons are very keen to abolish the scheme so that they can get their hands on more of the peasants land.

You talk like Yingluck. It's all for the poor therefor don't ask me where the 600,000,000,000 THB went. I bit nasty IMO. Using the poor farmers as a reason to fill your own pockets. But of course Yingluck is a real Thaksin so what else could one expect. Luckily the plundering of the state coffers is coming to an end.