Northeast farmers now threaten to blockade Friendship Highway

[ALLSEEINGEYE]

In 1887 Alexander Tyler, a Scottish history professor at the

University of Edinburgh, had this to say about the fall of the

Athenian Republic some 2,000 years prior: "A democracy is always

temporary in nature; it simply cannot exist as a permanent

form of government. A democracy will continue to exist up until

the time that voters discover that they can vote themselves generous

gifts from the public treasury. From that moment on, the majority

always votes for the candidates who promise the most benefits from

the public treasury, with the result that every democracy will finally

collapse over loose fiscal policy, (which is) always followed by a

dictatorship."

"The average age of the world's greatest civilizations from the

beginning of history, has been about 200 years. During those 200

years, these nations always progressed through the following sequence:

From bondage to spiritual faith;

From spiritual faith to great courage;

From courage to liberty;

From liberty to abundance;

From abundance to complacency;

From complacency to apathy;

From apathy to dependence;

From dependence back into bondage."

[scorecard]

Thaksin has been successful in dividing a nation, stripping assets and causing mayhem. A total joke of a situation. Good riddance when it finally happens that Thailand sees the end of the Shin cancer.

Thaksin, Thaksin, Thaksin... cronies, cronies... lord, can you guys come up with something original?

It's just as much true and to the point as your lot Suthep, Suthep, Suthep, ....thugs, thugs, thugs,.

Oh, I forgot "thugs" is nowhereman's pet word..

Maybe put the lot of 'em on a barge and kick it out to sea.

Yeah well, he is one of the few though and even though he uses the term quite often (which is also an apt description of Suthep's followers) I see more Suthep wing-nut supporters here using the words "crony" and "puppet" as they were the only two words in their entire vocabulary. The fact that these terms could also be applied to the democrat party members such as Abhisit and Suthep have totally eluded these people.

Usually Thais like to make comments like that but it seems that the western counterparts are quick to follow that routine. Quite amusing to be honest.

Yadda yadda yadda. Perhaps you'd like to contribute some specific & constructive discussion.

[maxme]

@Scorecard //Yadda yadda yadda. Perhaps you'd like to contribute some specific & constructive discussion.//

Well, tbh, you have your share of nonsense posts why don't you let me have mine? Oh right, forgot... my bad.

[wolfmanjack]

Lots of sense being talked on this thread !

From the OP, it's worrying that the poor rice-farmers are being driven into the arms of the loan-sharks, because of the failed implementation of this anyway-daft idea of the Big Boss. Almost as bad is the government-owned BAAC making loans & profitting, from the distress of the same farmers, whose rice-sale payments they've failed-to-make, thanks to government defaults.

It would clearly be better to return to the Dems lower-cost price-support scheme, with payment direct to the farmers, but could PTP/Thaksin accept the loss-of-face or the loss of support from the millers & middle-men & regional power-men & corrupt, who currently appear to benefit ? Are they 'big enough', to accept that they've made a mistake, and fix it ?

Agricultural-cooperatives would also be a great idea, provided they could be controlled by the local-farmers rather than the local bosses/merchants, who might lose out from them. The old nationalist excuse, that it opens-the-door to communism, is BS and should be ignored ! Local-democracy is good, not bad, provided that it doesn't get hi-jacked by the same old leaders/bosses/crooks.

The farmers mention having to pay school-fees, isn't education supposed to be free here, except for uniforms & so-on ? If it's still not, after a decade of Thaksin-government, then the funds saved on a more-rational rice-scheme might be diverted to make it free, or to improve it.

Just my two-satangs-worth !

I do not know about other schools but at the government school my kids go to it was free under the dems and the first year of yingluck. Now we have to pay.

[Robby nz]

Got some more feedback on the farmers closure of Asia Rd yesterday.

They say there were several plain clothes police there taking photos of all the farmers who were there.

Yes the farmers know who the outsiders are and could see what they were doing.

Now why would the police want photos of the farmers ?

[JRSoul]

Got some more feedback on the farmers closure of Asia Rd yesterday.

They say there were several plain clothes police there taking photos of all the farmers who were there.

Yes the farmers know who the outsiders are and could see what they were doing.

Now why would the police want photos of the farmers ?

First you ID, then you find out where they live. Next comes the 3 am hail of bullets, grenade or fire-bomb. SOP for Thaksin's little helpers.