Thai opinion: The curse that keeps on cursing

[webfact]

STOPPAGE TIME
The curse that keeps on cursing
Tulsathit Taptim

BANGKOK: -- Seven and a half years is nothing in cosmic terms, a blink of God's eye, or so they say. Here on earth, millions of meaningful things can occur during such a period. This article, inspired by some frustrated football fans, is intended to highlight how protracted Thailand's political misery has become.

A lot of significant world events have occurred since Thaksin Shinawatra was toppled in a bloodless coup in September, 2006. Using the military takeover as the beginning point does not necessarily mean that it triggered our crisis, but, you see, we need to start somewhere.

With Thailand nowhere near having a workable Parliament, let alone government, the current impasse is gunning for new records. Therefore, you, more likely than not, should be able to add to the following list 10 years from now. Here it is, then: "What has happened since Thaksin's fateful trip to the United Nations":

l Let's start with the biggest thing, the Earth itself. Our planet has travelled approximately 6.6 billion kilometres around the sun since Gen Sonthi Boonyaratglin, virtually by his own admission, acted like a naughty child with a full matchbox back in 2006.

l Two years after Sonthi's coup, an American talent manager found some interesting videos on YouTube. The videos were posted for family and friends of one little boy named Justin Bieber. The rest is history.

l In between that and the coup (2007 to be exact), "Charlie bit my finger" found its way onto YouTube.

l Just a few months before the coup, a social media tool called Twitter was created. Instagram was launched in 2010. LINE was born in Japan in 2011. If you are bored of them already, spare a thought for yourselves.

l In 2007, Spider-Man III starring Tobey Maguire was released. Now we are on track to view "The Amazing Spider-Man 2", starring a different star. "Crash" won the Oscar the year Thaksin was toppled but Best Director went to "Brokeback Mountain".

l Take a look at your iPhone. The very first model was unveiled by Steve Jobs after the coup. An iPhone 6 is around the corner and the great innovator has died.

l What computer tablet are you using? The very first version of the iPad was released in early 2010, more or less during the uprising by the pro-Thaksin red shirts.

l Since the Thai coup, the United States has invaded Iraq, captured and executed Saddam Hussein, and killed Osama bin Laden. Muammar Gaddafi has also died.

l When Thaksin was overthrown, Aung Saan Suu Kyi was under house arrest. She was not expected to venture 200 metres from her home, let alone visit Thailand in 2012. (It was a noble, albeit celebrity-like visit, though, not one that sparked "black magic" rumours.)

l Raheem Sterling, arguably Liverpool's most exciting young prospect of late, was only 12 years old when Sonthi lit the matches. Manchester City were nothing more than Sir Alex Ferguson's "noisy neighbours".

l When the coup happened, Sony Wega, which was as thick as your arm is long, was probably the coolest TV set in many Thai households.

l For a few years after Sonthi's moment of madness, you couldn't call yourself a teenager if you didn't go to an Academy Fantasia concert. Today's teens are more interested in prom nights.

l More than 1 billion people have been born since the coup. More than 400 million have died. Hundreds of billions of e-mails have been sent. It's a bit tricky to get an approximate number of tweets, but it's more than 500 million tweets per day at the moment.

l The US has seen its biggest economic bubble in history pop, was accused of trying to print money with abandon to buy its way out, temporarily shut down its government due to unsolved fiscal conflicts and dragged the world onto a financial roller-coaster. Again, when Gen Sonthi opened the matchbox with the most mischievous of smiles, few people had ever heard the word "sub-prime".

l Just as the curtain caught fire leaving Thaksin homeless in New York, Facebook was made available for anybody aged 13 or older who had a valid e-mail address. Before that, access was limited to students of Harvard and colleges in Boston areas.

l What if someone told you during the coup that, before it was all over, Thais would queue up for hours to buy doughnuts and later do something crazier, like spending more than Bt2,000 on one bucket of popcorn?

l Here's a personal one. I can't remember exactly what year, but it's definitely after the coup. Someone mistook Yingluck Shinawatra's mugshot in one of my online articles for my photo. "A pretty lady you are" was the comment, though I can't recall if it was posted on the website or sent to my e-mail. For failing to see gender hints in a name, he must have been a foreigner.

*Writer's note: This article was written before fresh threats of violence occurred at noon on Tuesday.


-- The Nation 2014-02-19

[focus27]

Tulsatit has sunk to such new lows of pointlessness that even the Nation editor felt obliged to add a disclaimer at the bottom of the article.

Has anybody bothered reading the whole thing, or did you scan down? Be honest!

[canuckamuck]

The writers concept of important world events leads me to believe he is not yet entered college, and spend most of that 7 years in an internet shop playing Ragnorok.

[jollyman]

Here is Mr Sehup getting desperate yesterday

[telecom]

Why the hell The Nation keep this burk on its books I do not know.

He is like the David Lynch of journalism (if you can call it that).

[noitom]

Tulsatit has sunk to such new lows of pointlessness that even the Nation editor felt obliged to add a disclaimer at the bottom of the article.

Has anybody bothered reading the whole thing, or did you scan down? Be honest! alt=coffee1.gif width=32 height=24>

Scan, but read most. Why, I don't know. Same old same old.

[LevelHead]

Tulsathit for the Nation and Veera for the Bangkok Post.

It appears both news sites like to keep (in my opinion) at least one totally mad man on their books. I guess its for entertainment value and to "wind people up" because they certainly have not got a clue about politics or anything else that requires a small amount of intelligence.

In my opinion of course.

[noitom]

Another rambling disconnected diatribe of nonsense by this same guy. He must have some sort of an ownership stake in nation multimedia through some sort of family favor.

[LomSak27]

If you can't talk about the issues of the day why not throw something anything against a wall and see if it sticks

Good to see the Oped department of The Nation hard at work

[chainarong]

What's the point to all this, is there a message , am I missing something, one of the best pieces of crap, I have read for sometime and there has been a lot of that lately, generally generated by the PTP Administration or the old mate DSI.

[mca]

He must have some sort of an ownership stake in nation multimedia through some sort of family favor.

Yeah I recall when I worked in an international chain hotel one of the friends of the owner asked me to get a job there for his no hospitality experience nephew. I asked in what position and he said " could you make him a manager of some sort?"

Right......

[bkkdave1220]

They all missed the other lead stories. the hero cop that Suthep and Akanart and a paid up granny lied about.

The PDRC dressed up as police and roaming around... pics. of them posing on burnt out police car,

BBC, Reuters, CNN reporting "Armed insurecction" as they snear about popcorn gunman and a cop with a bullet in his head.

True as it is that the Nation and the Bangkok Post have now become part of the problem in Thailand, we have to read it to keep some balance. just wish some of their faithful would try reading about a bit. ah well

for the majorithy of falang intellects the thai writing says Hia and kwai. and that looks like a fitting caption for the vermin on top of it.

[promatrix]

Yeah I recall when I worked in an international chain hotel one of the friends of the owner asked me to get a job there for his no hospitality experience nephew. I asked in what position and he said " could you make him a manager of some sort?"

Right......

did he manage to get 'rubbish bin manager' post?

[Luk Mhee]

It has been calculated that in the past 3000 years, only 240 years of peace have been achieved in the world.

[ETatBKK]

conceptually it is not just 7 and a half years, it is much longer !

a 'sensible' Thai friend sent me a mail yesterday and said :

'We are bearing the consequences of electing bad guys to govern the country. I hope the Thais learned some lessons after this otherwise we'll have nothing left.'

then do you think then ?

[bobmac10]

Tulsatit has sunk to such new lows of pointlessness that even the Nation editor felt obliged to add a disclaimer at the bottom of the article.

Has anybody bothered reading the whole thing, or did you scan down? Be honest!

a waste of my time and newsprint

[fab4]

For a very long time now, I have asked myself what point there was in having someone like Tulsathit write for a "news"paper apart from the obvious.

That "obvious point" being setting the standard for anti Thaksin/PTP/Yingluck diatribe.

I now realise I was wrong all that time.

There is no point to Tulsathit.

Edited February 19, 2014 by fab4

[Jack Mountain]

Tulsathit for the Nation and Veera for the Bangkok Post.

It appears both news sites like to keep (in my opinion) at least one totally mad man on their books. I guess its for entertainment value and to "wind people up" because they certainly have not got a clue about politics or anything else that requires a small amount of intelligence.

In my opinion of course.

They just represent the 'mai pen rai' factor of the newspaper. The paper of today is in what we pack the fish tomorrow ...

Edited February 19, 2014 by Jack Mountain

[fab4]

Why the hell The Nation keep this burk on its books I do not know.

He is like the David Lynch of journalism (if you can call it that).

If tulsathit had come up with excellent pieces of work like "Blue Velvet" or Twin Peaks" I could forgive him for being such a tw##.

[pisico]

The Media in Thailand is all about supporting the "Darlings" of the Bangkokian elite.

They will even support a wannabe elite from the South as long as he is against Thaksin.

As if Mr. T was the biggest problem in LOS. But, the elite is firmly convinced that Bangkok IS Thailand. What the elite wants, the elite gets.

Thailand has over 65 % of the population working in the plots, orchards and rice fields of the country but... They are uneducated, how would they know who is the best candidate to be in government? We, the Media, the Elite in Bangkok (professors, academics, chairmen of boards, owners of CP Foods and Red Bull) really know what is best for the country!

Meanwhile, the Baht continues being devalued and Thailand's image is that a country that cannot be trusted to be a player in the international or regional arena such as ASEAN.

And, while in Lilliput they quibble over who should occupy government house and exact revenge reform to make the country sane and corruption free down South bombs continue to explode, teachers, children, innocent civilians and as of late monks, are being assassinated in Pattani.

But, that is happening so far South that is of no concern to the Elite. And so it goes....

Edited February 19, 2014 by pisico

[Nalo56]

What a waste of reporting with meaningless and boring article. Doesn't the Nation have better reports to do, everytime I read an article from the nation, it seems to be either one-sided and/or boring. Please be a proffesional company and reporter and provide the truth giving both side of the stories or else you are adding wood to the already bonfire.

[tenaceous]

They all missed the other lead stories. the hero cop that Suthep and Akanart and a paid up granny lied about.

The PDRC dressed up as police and roaming around... pics. of them posing on burnt out police car,

BBC, Reuters, CNN reporting "Armed insurecction" as they snear about popcorn gunman and a cop with a bullet in his head.

True as it is that the Nation and the Bangkok Post have now become part of the problem in Thailand, we have to read it to keep some balance. just wish some of their faithful would try reading about a bit. ah well

for the majorithy of falang intellects the thai writing says Hia and kwai. and that looks like a fitting caption for the vermin on top of it.

Geez!! Tough Guy, did you do that all on your own??????? how about gathering up some other tough guys and do something constructive.............................Like taking back the protest site! come on I know you can do it??

[iamariva1957]

As an editorial it was not bad at all. It was supposed to look at and apply a bit of humor behind things that have happened. Yes I did read the whole thing and though I might think that there were a few things left out or not delved into fully... it was a good read (on the toilet or not)! Though I think that the title of the piece should have been different.

[JoeThePoster]

I am deeply disappointed "gangnam style" didn't get a mention.

[Lucie]

The writers concept of important world events leads me to believe he is not yet entered college, and spend most of that 7 years in an internet shop playing Ragnorok.

Anyone heard of tongue in cheek? Might it be possible that the article is NOT intended as a rundown of 'important' events? Sense of humour, anyone?

[Patpending]

I didn't get it. might have been ok to fill one of 20 pages in a paper, but not good enough to be pushing on an expat audience.

I read it thinking it was going somewhere but it never got going. live and learn

[bangon04]

Tulsathit for the Nation and Veera for the Bangkok Post.

It appears both news sites like to keep (in my opinion) at least one totally mad man on their books. I guess its for entertainment value and to "wind people up" because they certainly have not got a clue about politics or anything else that requires a small amount of intelligence.

In my opinion of course.

They just represent the 'mai pen rai' factor of the newspaper. The paper of today is in what we pack the fish tomorrow ...

Not in the EU. Someone invented a Health and Safety Rule why we can't use newspapers fro wrapping. They have to be recycled , not reused. Like the content, maybe..