Charupong: Violence or not, Sunday election is on

[Skywalker69]

might as well have said .............."election is on and we do not care how many people die"

It doesn´t go well with Yingluck said a couple of weeks back. "We want peace not power" No we know she really meant it the other way around.

[pipkins]

might as well have said .............."election is on and we do not care how many people die"

It doesn´t go well with Yingluck said a couple of weeks back. "We want peace not power" No we know she really meant it the other way around.

She has a duty to the people of thailand, not only the 15 million who voted for here. Her duty is to keep the country as a democracy and prevent people like Suthep usurping power.

PT Stood down after the rigged election when Newin was brough back to get Abhisit the PM job. They proved they respect the laws there.

Here is now a brazen, shameless with no pretence any more of legitimacy attack on the Thai Democratic system by the Courts, EC and Suthop with the army once more making sure the elites get their rightful place back at the trough. It is disgusting and most educated people are calling this for what it is now.

No support whatsoever from anybody outside his immediate clique. We are all sickened by this and wish Yingluk all the best as she stands up to these dinosours of 1950's power politics. I

[millwall_fan]

If the election goes ahead I agree that anyone who wants to vote should be allowed to vote, but for all you fools constantly bleating on about upholding democracy. You also have to allow for peaceful protests against the vote, as long as they do not use violence or physically impede voters then that is also their democratic right. Democracy isn't just for for your friends it is also for your enemies whichever side you are on so deal with it.

But that is exactly what they did. Look at video footage on other threads on this forum or search youtube. Voters were PHYSICALLY PREVENTED from voting last weekend. Just as civil servants are being physically impeded from going to work. This is way beyond the bounds of peaceful protest it is an attempt to intimidate an entire nation.

[tezzainoz]

No Government with out an effective opposition will ever do any good for a country

2 Major Parties in Parliment is called Democracy

1 Major Parties in Parliment is called Dictatorship

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pQVjUsKSKUE#t=71

[gerry1011]

Democracy must be saved.

The government is doing the right thing.

Only those who block the democratic election will bear the responsibility of any delay in forming a new government.

Millions of people, from all sides, want to vote in Feb 2nd...

Why would an insane person, followed by a small bunch of irrational extremists, be allowed to annihilate the most basic right of the people?

Let the yellow crazy ones shut down their own southern provinces, and let the majority of people show them that they don't want to exchange democracy for an unelected "people's minority council".

Praise on Yingluck and the government for not giving up and keep protecting the country from these mad dogs.

Sent from my HTC One using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[khunken]

might as well have said .............."election is on and we do not care how many people die"

It doesn´t go well with Yingluck said a couple of weeks back. "We want peace not power" No we know she really meant it the other way around.

She has a duty to the people of thailand, not only the 15 million who voted for here. Her duty is to keep the country as a democracy and prevent people like Suthep usurping power.

PT Stood down after the rigged election when Newin was brough back to get Abhisit the PM job. They proved they respect the laws there.

Here is now a brazen, shameless with no pretence any more of legitimacy attack on the Thai Democratic system by the Courts, EC and Suthop with the army once more making sure the elites get their rightful place back at the trough. It is disgusting and most educated people are calling this for what it is now.

No support whatsoever from anybody outside his immediate clique. We are all sickened by this and wish Yingluk all the best as she stands up to these dinosours of 1950's power politics. I

Complete rubbish.

Around 15m voted (some paid to vote) for the PTP. YL, being installed on the party list by her brother got none.

Rigged election? Yes, most of the last half-dozen have been rigged one way or another. PTP (Thaksin actually) didn't respect the BJP joining the Dems because he called out his militia to organise protests in Bangkok (sound familiar?) to bring down the elected government.

We are all sickened? No we're not. Many are far more sickened by a dynasty that regards themselves above all laws in Thailand as well as the constitution.

Thailand is a lawless country from top to bottom. To start fixing it, a start must be made at the top followed by the corruption-riddled police force. A pause is badly needed to help the country become a real democracy.

[thaigold]

First, the original sin was the removal of a twice elected government by coup d’état. My country, the United States, removed a flawed president (Richard Nixon) by legal means, not by destruction of the constitution and the social contract of the nation.

Secondly, Mr. Thaksin is not the true cause of Thailand's discontent. Thailand has years of legendary corruption that long preceded Mr. Thaksin's election; the Saudi gem mystery; the Hopewell (Bangkok Stonehenge) project; the Wansley sugar mill murder case; the celebrated Thanong Siriprichapong ganja case in the US ... the list is long.

No, just last Sunday I walked throughout the Victory Monument campsite and met many (not a Baccalaureate degree among them) friendly and engaging Thais. Now this is not meant as an indictment of the whistle blowers, but only to illustrate that many really have no understanding about what is at stake when you willingly give up your rights to the will of a few “Good Men.”

But, as many say, Thailand’s “Moment of Truth” is just over the horizon … and this just might be the deposed man’s final revenge. For what good is it to gain the home if it burns down all around you – and by your own hand?

People of good will wish the Thais the best – justice will prevail.

Edited January 29, 2014 by metisdead
Oversize font reset to normal.

[pipkins]

might as well have said .............."election is on and we do not care how many people die"

It doesn´t go well with Yingluck said a couple of weeks back. "We want peace not power" No we know she really meant it the other way around.

She has a duty to the people of thailand, not only the 15 million who voted for here. Her duty is to keep the country as a democracy and prevent people like Suthep usurping power.

PT Stood down after the rigged election when Newin was brough back to get Abhisit the PM job. They proved they respect the laws there.

Here is now a brazen, shameless with no pretence any more of legitimacy attack on the Thai Democratic system by the Courts, EC and Suthop with the army once more making sure the elites get their rightful place back at the trough. It is disgusting and most educated people are calling this for what it is now.

No support whatsoever from anybody outside his immediate clique. We are all sickened by this and wish Yingluk all the best as she stands up to these dinosours of 1950's power politics. I

You are really seriously deluded, you should seek psychiatric attention immediately...

None spare. All the shrinks are on hand for when Suthep finally goes!!! Which he will.

Is that the best you could come up with? Why don't you defend the Courts and say they are not all in collusion and why you think this.

Why not say that the army has never acted in its own interest or the Dems paid them back with a 35% budget increase for the last coup. Why not say they are not a business clique and that army duty is almost secondary to most of them

Say the army is not top heavy with Generals. Say how many there are and defend it, say how many generasl are in USA forces or UK or Nato etc.

make a good case for them Good as you can... and we will tear it to shreds and embarass you for your trouble.

This is why it is all flames fro your side. There is nothing you can argue about, its a Coup, they are all involved in it and it's not good for the Country... or maybe you think it is.... and maybe even tell us why.

[Muhendis]

Charupong: Violence or not, Sunday election is on

Spoken from a secret/safe location in Buri Ram

[DavidBonnie]

A few really negative remarks from Thai and Westerner alike here. It's very sad that the Thai people who use remarks like, 'go back to your own country' etc don't wake up to the international affairs of the global community and realise that most foreigners here aid Thailand considerably.

It seems that (and I have always felt so) there is a strong racist undercurrent in most of the chinese/thai middle classes and the remark about the elite wanting to get their noses back in the trough seems to hit the mark. It's kind of ironic that our own (English) upper classes would not even give the Thai equivalants a step to stand on the social ladder because , well, they are Asians.

Many of us revile the class system of our own countries and so to see it here being played out in protean form is sickening, disheartening, saddening and indeed sometimes lately makes me want to leave the country as i am surrounded every day by the very elite in bangkok that hate the current government so fiercely.

Yingluck has offered to parley with Suthep but either he knows something we don't about the army or he is madder than a March hare and determined to lead many people to their deaths.

On the other hand it is heartening to see, albeit, quietly at present, the red shirt support of the poorer people in Thailand in the north east, that much derided hinterland. Imagine if you will an english yeomanry not divided and split by Tory lies and distracted and fueled by bigotry toward immigrants and the poorest . . . . . .imagine an English working class population that voted for a labour government (if indeed one existed) with the fervour that even now is bubbling and boiling up country and waiting to sweep down on Bangkok like a crimson tide if their votes are discarded, reviled or prevented by the anti-government protesters.

Talk Suthep, talk, before it is too late should be the cry.

Yingluck and even Taksin himself cannot be blamed for all Thailand's troubles for even amongst the elitist demigods of Chulalongkorn who add their intellectual weight to the voice of the protesters, corruption blooms like a rancid yellow rose, the deacons, the chairs, the educators . . . . .

Yinglucks government must be made to instigate reforms it is true but only by civilised and dare I say, democratic means.

The Thai voices that tell us we should look to our own disjointed, ununified, sullied by capitalism homelands are right. Thailand has a chance to avoid the path of business interest led nepotism and corruption and Bankers Rule that has transformed our erstwhile homes into a strange and cold place of hard looks and harder luck, but only by rejecting the elite and following the democratic path.

Talk Suthep, talk! Before it is too late!

[khunken]

First, the original sin was the removal of a twice elected government by coup d’état. My country, the United States, removed a flawed president (Richard Nixon) by legal means, not by destruction of the constitution and the social contract of the nation.

Secondly, Mr. Thaksin is not the true cause of Thailand's discontent. Thailand has years of legendary corruption that long preceded Mr. Thaksin's election; the Saudi gem mystery; the Hopewell (Bangkok Stonehenge) project; the Wansley sugar mill murder case; the celebrated Thanong Siriprichapong ganja case in the US ... the list is long.

No, just last Sunday I walked throughout the Victory Monument campsite and met many (not a Baccalaureate degree among them) friendly and engaging Thais. Now this is not meant as an indictment of the whistle blowers, but only to illustrate that many really have no understanding about what is at stake when you willingly give up your rights to the will of a few “Good Men.”

But, as many say, Thailand’s “Moment of Truth” is just over the horizon … and this just might be the deposed man’s final revenge. For what good is it to gain the home if it burns down all around you – and by your own hand?

People of good will wish the Thais the best – justice will prevail.

More rubbish except for the last sentence which I agree with.

I'm no expert on US history, but didn't Nixon resign? This is precisely what the protestors want here - Yingluck to resign and take the rest of her clan away from their corrupt power.

Of course corruption has a long history in Thailand but it became quite open around 2004 and has got worse ever since. The country is now deeply divided and it is stupid to ignore who the divisive person (or clan) is.

Just to give a few examples - he changed the law more than once to ensure he was able to sell his companies (AIS & others) to Singtel. He intimidated the tax collectors to ensure that his clan paid no tax on shares brought into the country from offshore. He forced the EXIM bank to increase a loan to Myanmar so they could buy services from AIS (before he sold it).

These are unprecedented and illegal, not to mention corrupt, actions of a master criminal. Some of these are with the courts awaiting his return - which the amnesty attempted to overcome.

BTW if you think that a Baccalaureate somehow defines the quality of a Thai, you don't know what you're talking about. I rather suspect that the protestors know a dam_n site more than you do about Thai politics.

[Thaiready]

I was gonna comment but would only get me banned.....but I will say I'll be voting just bring your yellow arse an TRY to stop me.

[DavidBonnie]

khunken, you did not understand thaigolds well made point that the protesters are following the party in a sort of half thought out idea about corruption being bad. They have enough understanding to launch into a plan but sadly, rarely enough to actually see it through.

I think that is what he meant.

[khunken]

khunken, you did not understand thaigolds well made point that the protesters are following the party in a sort of half thought out idea about corruption being bad. They have enough understanding to launch into a plan but sadly, rarely enough to actually see it through.

I think that is what he meant.

I full well understood what he said & don't need an interpreter.

He, & apparently you, distorts what the protestors clearly want. Corruption tackled and the removal of a clan that is not only refusing to tackle it but regard themselves above the law and the constitution has been their mantra.

The divisiveness started (which he deliberately ignored) in 2001 when Thaksin had his acolyte Sanoh and his wife ensure that his dishonest assets declaration was acceptable. It has got worse ever since.

[Emptyset]

"He said the caretaker government is indifferent to possible violence during the election which may be eventually nullified."

Well this just goes to show that the ptp dont give a sh*t about anyone except themselves, they need the election so they can bring back big brother and screw the people, they dont care if any are kiiled as long as they get what they want. These idiots are low lifes and continually show it with their disregard for what the people want, the reds in here are just as bad, killings mean nothing to them as long as they get what their master tells them too.

Seems to me Democrat spokesman Chavanond Intarakomalyasut is himself indifferent to the violence that will be caused by blocking people from their legitimate right to vote. Shameful the way he's supporting disenfranchisement and then has the audacity to blame others. These idiots are low lives. It makes me really sick. And the people supporting the fascists in here are just as bad - they don't care about anything other than what their master Suthep tells them. The Democrats really don't care about anything except getting back into power, do they? Outrageous really.

[alphaflight]

The caretaker government will view the election results from their helicopters!

I wonder how all of those executive class machines were paid for? I've never seen so many flying in a row over Bangkok!

[blaze]

The divisiveness started (which he deliberately ignored) in 2001 when Thaksin had his acolyte Sanoh and his wife ensure that his dishonest assets declaration was acceptable. It has got worse ever since.

I think you will find with only a cursory reading of Thai history that the divisions you refer to are much older than Thaksin.

Or are you suggesting that prior to Thaksin there was equitable distribution of wealth, access to justice, and opportunity- ?

And then Thaksin came along and created from this Valhalla a nation with rampant inequities in all aspects.?

You know the term 'historical revisionism'?

How about 'reactionary'?

Maybe while you educate yourself you might want to check the definition of feudalism- and figure out how it legitimized. (or was in other places).

Maybe take a gander at the political system that Mussolini proposed-

Edited January 29, 2014 by blaze

[englishoak]

The clock is ticking. simple 2 choices here.

1 Respect the 50 or so parties taking part in the elections, do not obstruct the election process and enter into talks and gain back some respect.

or

2 block peoples right to a vote and see more violence, injury, more deaths, be condemned by the international community and lose all respect at home.

Suthep is responsible for whatever comes and has either option 1 or 2... the world and most of Thailand is urging for option 1. Ignore it and Thailand will face the consequences.

Take option 1 Suthep it is the only way forward without bloodshed and if you really love your country it should be a no brainer.

[MrSlatersParrot]

Bleat all you want. There is only Sutheps side actively and physically blocking voters.

They get in the way and get hurt nobody, but nobody gives a dam_n.

We do not want fascism and thailand needs to move forward before it goes bust. I have said this often. Suthep is finacially shielded from this fall out, as are many in the elites. They are quite happy that the country go broke so they have a chance to say iw went broke under PT rule.

Even though nobody supports him, his megalomania drives him on. They want this one last coup, settle scores and set their rancid children up for a generation of the same. How many of Sutheps family involved now through politics, PDRC stage, navy etc.

It's a clan of maniacs and Thailand must get better. Any violence required to keep open democracy is laid firmly at Sutheps door. Firmly and without equivocation, he will be condemned by all world leaders and all NGO's outside of Thailand. They are watching and do not like what they see from the PDRC

when will there be a post that you dont flame and troll and actually make a sensible contribution too - we care about the facts of thailand not about your perverse view of our country - go yo your own country and bleat there!! Even red shirt dont need to hear you!! Calling Thai people fascists and in another post of yours "idiots" is NOT the way to behave on this forum!!

And your post is a sensible contribution? It is a flame- nothing more. Adds nothing.

Get off your high horse-

Do you know what fascism is?

I suspect you think it is merely code for authoritatian.

Compare Sutheps Peoples' Council and the Grand Council of Rome.

I respectfully ask that you learn a bit about the various conflicts and attempted resolutions that have occurred in the world.

And if you study world history, you will note that nothing that is happening here is unique- new - or even interesting.

It is the banality of ignorance.

They don't want to know but when there is a coup and there is a government in exile in the north and a military government installed in Bangkok they won't be laughing so much.

When there are power cuts, food shortages in Bangkok, anarchy on the streets.

They should note that the muslim village heads came out to protect their polling station in Pattani. They want the right to vote.

A thai army fighting on 2 fronts?

Historically it doesn't really work does it?

[khunken]

The divisiveness started (which he deliberately ignored) in 2001 when Thaksin had his acolyte Sanoh and his wife ensure that his dishonest assets declaration was acceptable. It has got worse ever since.

I think you will find with only a cursory reading of Thai history that the divisions you refer to are much older than Thaksin.

Or are you suggesting that prior to Thaksin there was equitable distribution of wealth, access to justice, and opportunity- ?

And then Thaksin came along and created from this Valhalla a nation with rampant inequities in all aspects.?

You know the term 'historical revisionism'?

How about 'reactionary'?

Maybe while you educate yourself you might want to check the definition of feudalism- and figure out how it legitimized. (or was in other places).

Maybe take a gander at the political system that Mussolini proposed-

Maybe you should read the TV rules first - don't edit or snip other's posts.

If you read my previous post and know anything about Thailand's current crisis - you would know that the divisive issue is pro or anti Thaksin. The division of wealth is a separate issue (which I didn't address) & has indeed been with the country for decades (if not millenia) and has not changed under Thaksin.

Maybe you should educate YOURself and look up autocracy, Dictatorship and even how feudalism exists throughout Isan (as well as the rest of the country), Thaksin's power base.

Any poster that has to resort to stupid references to Mussolini or Benito or Fascism or terrorism (which anti-protestors do ad infinitum) - displays either an ignorance of the names/terms or ignorance of the current state of the social strata of Thailand. It's a complex set of issues that few, especially yourself, seem to understand.

[MaxLee]

Thaksin wins, Pheu Thai acts,... and take the law into their own hands,... what did you expect???

[metisdead]

Inflammatory posts and replies have been removed.

Off topic posts and replies have removed.

[Emptyset]

Yes I closely followed what happened during Thaksin's assets scrutiny case. The law was usurped.

Many people are happy when the courts legally make judgements against PTP or their forebears. Others are happy when the courts legally make judgements for the PTP etc. Unfortunately PTP & their supporters can never accept rulings against their self-serving efforts that - too often - are anti-democratic, unconstitutional or just illegal. That is a big problem.

I agree that either Thaksin or Suthep winning is a lose-lose result for Thailand. I want to see some of Suthep's ideas accepted as they are well worth being pursued but unfortunately Thaksin won't countenance any change that removes his grip on power and doesn't leave open the possibility of amnesty.

In case you missed it, violence has already flared and it's hard to understand why the police only come up with culprits that are either released, are alleged to be protestors or a mysterious 'third hand'. CAPO & CMPO are a major part of the problem with the worst set of three stooges - Chalerm, Surapong & Tarit supposedly in charge. Only Thaksin could have come up with that lot.

BTW Emptyset, I have had respect for you as an adversary, but in an earlier post you seemed to join the idiotic verbal diahorrea of Fascist, Terrorist et al. I hope that was just an aberration.

Also BTW, I disagree with physically preventing people from voting. But please, don't equate Thaksin with democracy - it is a means to an end - and not a happy one for Thailand.

The "outraged" post I made earlier on the thread was a sarcastic reply to a post which irritated me - perhaps I should've restrained myself but sometimes we all succumb to the temptation. lol. I generally don't find these epithets flying around particularly useful. I know people who earlier joined the anti-govt march and they are definitely not fascists. They just know they hate Thaksin and corruption. Problem is when you try to elicit the specific reforms they talk about vote buying and then it all seems to be a matter of trusting Suthep.

But the moderates I know seem to have turned against the movement as its got more extreme. I do think Blaze has a point when he discusses historical parallels. There is a nationalist ultra-royalist current running through the protest and although those who subscribe to such views may be a minority at the moment - though a significant minority - the fear is those quasi-fascistic currents may become stronger as the moderates cease playing an active role and the hardcore rump is left, no doubt more entrenched in their views than ever.

Of course, I'm well aware that there are also those with liberal views that have supported the movement. The worry is that like the Egyptian liberals who opposed Morsi and backed the coup (though many realized how mistaken they were), they're willing to countenance extremely authoritarian means in order to restore what they would consider to be a liberal polity. Thousands dead. Any serious reform requires long term commitment. There are no overnight solutions. And joining forces with those who continually insult and disparage the red shirts with snobbish and elitist overtones isn't going to help their cause. Quite the contrary.

To win people over, you have to go and preach in their church. That's why I place more hope in liberals like Sombat, who strongly oppose Thaksin, but have tried to understand the rural poor and work with them rather than deriding them from on high. Sometimes the best way to advance your cause is not to directly oppose something but to come at it from another angle. People should resist the temptation of thinking there are easy solutions. Idealism is good when it's tempered by realism. Utopianism in itself bad either - I mean people need visions and dreams of an alternative to hold on to - the problem comes from thinking utopia can be achieved by defeating or violently crushing some adversary.

A few less illusions on both sides would be good. And recognition that there are elements of justice on both sides too.

[SCARLETIBIS1]

First, the original sin was the removal of a twice elected government by coup d’état. My country, the United States, removed a flawed president (Richard Nixon) by legal means, not by destruction of the constitution and the social contract of the nation.

Secondly, Mr. Thaksin is not the true cause of Thailand's discontent. Thailand has years of legendary corruption that long preceded Mr. Thaksin's election; the Saudi gem mystery; the Hopewell (Bangkok Stonehenge) project; the Wansley sugar mill murder case; the celebrated Thanong Siriprichapong ganja case in the US ... the list is long.

No, just last Sunday I walked throughout the Victory Monument campsite and met many (not a Baccalaureate degree among them) friendly and engaging Thais. Now this is not meant as an indictment of the whistle blowers, but only to illustrate that many really have no understanding about what is at stake when you willingly give up your rights to the will of a few “Good Men.”

But, as many say, Thailand’s “Moment of Truth” is just over the horizon … and this just might be the deposed man’s final revenge. For what good is it to gain the home if it burns down all around you – and by your own hand?

People of good will wish the Thais the best – justice will prevail.

More rubbish except for the last sentence which I agree with.

I'm no expert on US history, but didn't Nixon resign? This is precisely what the protestors want here - Yingluck to resign and take the rest of her clan away from their corrupt power.

Of course corruption has a long history in Thailand but it became quite open around 2004 and has got worse ever since. The country is now deeply divided and it is stupid to ignore who the divisive person (or clan) is.

Just to give a few examples - he changed the law more than once to ensure he was able to sell his companies (AIS & others) to Singtel. He intimidated the tax collectors to ensure that his clan paid no tax on shares brought into the country from offshore. He forced the EXIM bank to increase a loan to Myanmar so they could buy services from AIS (before he sold it).

These are unprecedented and illegal, not to mention corrupt, actions of a master criminal. Some of these are with the courts awaiting his return - which the amnesty attempted to overcome.

BTW if you think that a Baccalaureate somehow defines the quality of a Thai, you don't know what you're talking about. I rather suspect that the protestors know a dam_n site more than you do about Thai politics.

President Nixon resigned because otherwise he knew that that the Congress of the United States would have impeached him. (Look it up). The then Vice President would have and did become President. The USA and Western countries have a legal process for applying a rule of law in a civilized, democratically elected society. Thailand's rule of law seems to be whoever has the biggest gun, wins. Not quite the same thing I pose.

I have lived here a long time. 99.9% of the people are hard working, nice people who want what we all want but there is a culture of corruption here that permeates the entire society emanating from the top. The government, the military and the police seem to be all corrupt.

I read somewhere 75% of the Thai people think it is ok to bribe someone. Fine, I've bribed police officers myself for not wearing a helmut. One time I went to the police station and told them I didn't have 400 baht how about taking 100 baht? The guy took it and shook my hand. I mean this system is a joke. Why obey any laws if they aren't enforced and you can bribe your way out of the penalty?

If any rogue, disgruntled Thai citizen can simply march around the core city and disrupt everything because he is pissed off who is in power and declared a new government fine, if you have the almonds to do it, but don't get upset when the rest of the world chuckles. If that is the Thai way fine, but realized the Thai way is the highway to nowhere.

Thaksin may have been the most corrupt politician in history. Yet he was democratically elected. So does that mean all those who voted for him are total idiots? Were they all duped? Were they all bought off? If the answer is yes then I suggest long before Mr T came in to power the other power brokers kept the people illiterate and duped and paid off as well.

Because how could all those tens of thousands of intellectuals who own all those "Baccalaureate degrees" with all their intelligence have voted for such a corrupt individual in the first place? LOL

Where was the investigative media here? How could Thaksin change so many laws unless the entire government was also corrupt? And what did the previous governement do to the people that was so bad their guy didn't beat Thaksin at the polls? Must have been doing something that pissed off the other side. Corrupt governments everywhere want to keep the media at bay and the people illiterate. Most Thais I talk with tell me they don't like what goes on but feel powerless. They are afraid of the police and military.

I said it before whoever has the biggest guns wins everywhere. This guy, Suthep would have been arrested in a heartbeat in the West. The difference between the American Revolution and this Thai Revolution is that the American Revolution produced a true democracy with a rule of law and freedom of speech; this Thai Revolution seems to be just to replace one corrupt government for another.

Seems to me Thailand needs a complete blood transfusion. I don't know how that can happen here. It would take a "people's party" candidate I think who comes from no where. He would have to be either a complete idiot or a courageous individual but someone who all the people trusted. Good luck, Thailand.

[theslime]

I think you are behind the times. freedom of speech, you can get jailed for having an Opinion in the US. Those with the money are the ones that win, so, Democracy it ain,t.

[SCARLETIBIS1]

Really? So you prefer your "lese majeste" laws over freedom of speech? Can you give me an example of someone in the USA who was jailed for an "opinion"? I doubt it. In the USA you can call ex President Bush a m..f..c...s....a... and you cannot get arrested for that. You can call any public politician any name you want and cannot sued for slander. Well, you could get sued but they can't win.

It's not perfect but I'll take it over anarchy any day.

[Jasun]

No Government with out an effective opposition will ever do any good for a country

2 Major Parties in Parliment is called Democracy

1 Major Parties in Parliment is called Dictatorship

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pQVjUsKSKUE#t=71

Singapore. No credible opposition, success story.

Malaysia, one party in power for as long as anyone can remembers, works.

Plenty of others.

[blaze]

My post was patronizing, pedantic and as you say, out of order. I do apologize Khunken

The divisiveness started (which he deliberately ignored) in 2001 when Thaksin had his acolyte Sanoh and his wife ensure that his dishonest assets declaration was acceptable. It has got worse ever since.

I think you will find with only a cursory reading of Thai history that the divisions you refer to are much older than Thaksin.

Or are you suggesting that prior to Thaksin there was equitable distribution of wealth, access to justice, and opportunity- ?

And then Thaksin came along and created from this Valhalla a nation with rampant inequities in all aspects.?

You know the term 'historical revisionism'?

How about 'reactionary'?

Maybe while you educate yourself you might want to check the definition of feudalism- and figure out how it legitimized. (or was in other places).

Maybe take a gander at the political system that Mussolini proposed-

Maybe you should read the TV rules first - don't edit or snip other's posts.

If you read my previous post and know anything about Thailand's current crisis - you would know that the divisive issue is pro or anti Thaksin. The division of wealth is a separate issue (which I didn't address) & has indeed been with the country for decades (if not millenia) and has not changed under Thaksin.

Maybe you should educate YOURself and look up autocracy, Dictatorship and even how feudalism exists throughout Isan (as well as the rest of the country), Thaksin's power base.

Any poster that has to resort to stupid references to Mussolini or Benito or Fascism or terrorism (which anti-protestors do ad infinitum) - displays either an ignorance of the names/terms or ignorance of the current state of the social strata of Thailand. It's a complex set of issues that few, especially yourself, seem to understand.

[djhotsox]

I have a question that maybe can be answered by the TV posters/readers.....at what point does the Head of State, the Head of the Armed Forces, step up or step in and say "enough"?

[Ajaan]

"He said the caretaker government is indifferent to possible violence during the election which may be eventually nullified."

Well this just goes to show that the ptp dont give a sh*t about anyone except themselves, they need the election so they can bring back big brother and screw the people, they dont care if any are kiiled as long as they get what they want. These idiots are low lifes and continually show it with their disregard for what the people want, the reds in here are just as bad, killings mean nothing to them as long as they get what their master tells them too.

Ummmmm....if the Suthep thugs were not interfering with the election, WHICH WAS DECREED TO TAKE PLACE ON FEB. 2 BY HIS MAJESTY THE KING, then there would be no question of violence, now, would there?