Are Older Men in Thailand Trading Love for Financial Ruin

[Solomon]

Now Solomon I did not state that I had been here longer than you I stated that many who comment have little experience of Thai politics and the machinations involved.

If your interpretation of my comment conveyed to you that you were being judged or criticized you were off of target.

You are in many ways correct concerning the future actions as you see them concerning then current administration.

Hopefully such a time frame might provide a breathing space for Thailand and its peoples to come to understand the principles of the fact that politicians are the servants of the public, not the other way around.

Your comment concerning the status of Somkid indeed tallies with mine, however the introduction of the history of the American economy is irrelevant for many a reason.

I feel that in the long term the Junta may hopefully prove to be the catalyst for dragging Thai politics into a cleaner political arena if such a thing exists although given as politicians around the world are to my mind self serving beggars that hope is probably a pie in the sky hope!!.

The progress of matters short and long term will be governed by world economic factors and any internal matter that may shake the kingdom to the core.

Lived through it all for some 26 years so lets see what the future holds.

To my mind we are in for and will have a white knuckle political and social roller coaster ride with hopefully a calm and placid end to the ride when the end destination is reached.

So Thai people need to understand the principle that politicians are servants of the public? Tell me, do these very same Thai people also need to understand that Generals in the Thai army are also servants of the public? It seems to me that the one group in Thailand who act is if they are the masters and the people are the servants, it is the Thai military. How many banks or TV stations or logging companies does the military in your home country own? How many retired Generals sit on the boards of state owned enterprises in your home country? How many times has the military suspended both your political and human rights and freedoms in your home country or tossed out an elected government? Has the military in your home country killed more of its own citizens than it has foreigners in the last 80 years? Politicians are not the problem, they are the solution to an out of control, greedy elite who have used the Thai military to rip off and enslave the majority of the population since 1932.

You feel that in the long term that the Junta will make Thai politics cleaner? How long exactly are we actually talking, because the Thai military has been casting its shadow over Thai politics for 8 decades already. I'm not sure if you're aware but this is not actually the first coup in Thailand, there has been about 20 of them. You know the old saying about insanity - keep doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result every time is its very definition. If you think the 21st coup is going to achieve anything different than the previous 20, then you my friend fit the definition of being insane. This latest coup has the very same objective as all those that preceded it - to ensure that the right people are in control of the levers of power to maintain the flow of public monies getting channelled into the pockets of the corrupt upper classes and that those same upper class thieves and crooks are also never held accountable by the weakened and corrupted Thai judiciary.

This roller coaster ride will end very abruptly - Thailand has passed the point of no return as far as "one man, one vote" democracy is concerned. The people will no longer accept being slaves in their own country. At some point in the next year or two, events will unfold very quickly, an elected government will return to power and unelected oppressive rule by military Juntas (or their lacky's such as Abhisit) will be well and truly confined to the history books - with any luck perhaps a jail sentence or two for a bunch of corrupt and treasonous Generals will get handed out as well.

[arfurcrown]

Now when we read through your diatribe and the comments made it is plain to see just where you are coming from .

I am certain as are many others it is not Thailand and you do have an interest in the return of the previous style of administration.

Now why would that be and for what reasons?

Certainly not the implementation of democracy as the world at large see's it

Indeed your comments do show a style of rhetoric employed by the supporters the previous administration , classic comments along the lines of Mao Tse Tung and Robert Amsterdam that well known mouthpiece and paid agitator.

Oh and as an aside I am well acquainted with the political and social history of Thailand so please do not try the spin doctor approach.

One can presume that you are qualified to declare a person insane or is that qualification yet another product of your delusional mind?

Oh and on the subject of the''upper class thieves'' have you actually checked the reputation of the members of the last couple of administrations and that of their runaway convicted felon paymaster.

You must indeed be wearing some very peculiar eyeglasses that like a distorting mirror actually prevent you and your paymaster from both seeing and admitting to the truth of the matter.

I wonder did Che Guevara actually die?

If he did, might you and your ideology be him born again

[Thai at Heart]

Solomon post # 15

An unelected PM whose first cabinet full of unelected crony Generals runs the economy into the ground within a year of seizing power from a popularly elected government whose "populist policies" were the only thing keeping the economy afloat now does an about face and appoints a former acolyte of the mastermind of the "populist policies" to salvage the wreckage and you think these peanuts are undeserving of vile and contempt filled commentary?

Please....

Sadly Solomon you lack the wisdom of your namesake.

In all my 26 years here I have never seen such a bunch of inept corrupt self serving politicians as we had in the last couple of administrations.

The current state of the Thai economy is not nor has not been as a result of this current administrations efforts over the last year or so.

It is a combination of factors., Worldwide economic slowdown and the benefits of the previous administrations cronyism, mismanagement and manipulations of the public purse to benefit one political family its cronies and those generally in power as opposed to those who were paid put them into power.

Why then, my dear friend, has Pridiyathorn Devakula been given the ass and replaced with Thaksin acolyte Somkid??

(like shooting fish in a barrel )

Because Piryathorn can't even organise to spend his approved budget at a time when every satang needs to be put into the economy.

[tonbridgebrit]

Okay, it doesn't matter if you are a red-shirt or a yellow-shirt, can you do the job though ?

This man obviously can, and that's why he is in. I really don't think any of the guys who were in the Democrats did that great a job, and so, let's hope none of the senior Democrats are going to be part of the new government. The last thing we want is people being put in charge purely because they are yellow-shirts.

Hope we all agree on this. After all, your ability to do the job should be the only reason why you are in.

[Solomon]

Solomon post # 15

An unelected PM whose first cabinet full of unelected crony Generals runs the economy into the ground within a year of seizing power from a popularly elected government whose "populist policies" were the only thing keeping the economy afloat now does an about face and appoints a former acolyte of the mastermind of the "populist policies" to salvage the wreckage and you think these peanuts are undeserving of vile and contempt filled commentary?

Please....

Sadly Solomon you lack the wisdom of your namesake.

In all my 26 years here I have never seen such a bunch of inept corrupt self serving politicians as we had in the last couple of administrations.

The current state of the Thai economy is not nor has not been as a result of this current administrations efforts over the last year or so.

It is a combination of factors., Worldwide economic slowdown and the benefits of the previous administrations cronyism, mismanagement and manipulations of the public purse to benefit one political family its cronies and those generally in power as opposed to those who were paid put them into power.

Why then, my dear friend, has Pridiyathorn Devakula been given the ass and replaced with Thaksin acolyte Somkid??

(like shooting fish in a barrel )

Because Piryathorn can't even organise to spend his approved budget at a time when every satang needs to be put into the economy.

More or less proves the point doesn't it? Junta appointed Pridiyathorn's incompetence hurt the Thai economy.

Somkids first major action - a 100 billion baht stimulus package targeted at village level - a means to achieve the very same ends the rice scheme sought.

[Thai at Heart]

More than having Devakula continue as Finance Minister?

Can you say currency control? The only finance minister for whom every statistic either "isn't important" or "didn't matter"

[GeorgesAbitbol]

Now when we read through your diatribe and the comments made it is plain to see just where you are coming from .

I am certain as are many others it is not Thailand and you do have an interest in the return of the previous style of administration.

Now why would that be and for what reasons?

Certainly not the implementation of democracy as the world at large see's it

Indeed your comments do show a style of rhetoric employed by the supporters the previous administration , classic comments along the lines of Mao Tse Tung and Robert Amsterdam that well known mouthpiece and paid agitator.

Oh and as an aside I am well acquainted with the political and social history of Thailand so please do not try the spin doctor approach.

One can presume that you are qualified to declare a person insane or is that qualification yet another product of your delusional mind?

Oh and on the subject of the''upper class thieves'' have you actually checked the reputation of the members of the last couple of administrations and that of their runaway convicted felon paymaster.

You must indeed be wearing some very peculiar eyeglasses that like a distorting mirror actually prevent you and your paymaster from both seeing and admitting to the truth of the matter.

I wonder did Che Guevara actually die?

If he did, might you and your ideology be him born again

Until this post you were quite trustable....

Tossing the endless red cart and communism may also hint that you come from USA were communism was the big bad wolf...

If you cannot understand that the military Junta has no intention to bring back democracy but work with the establishment, then my friend you should REALLY consult at least for an eye and ear check.

Can you please explain to me how a corrupted government being challenged by a corrputed Suthep until a corrupted military comes into power may help this country?

It was a time where Thaksin was praised by the politicians of thailand, the opposition of thailand, the Guy At The Top and the foreign governments....

If I remember well since the Army took power last year, there was since this time no improvement in politic, economy, south insurgency,....

Are you not wearing very peculiar eyeglasses as well not not see what we witness everyday since the Generalissimo prayouth came to power?

Economy falling : check

international relationships crumbling apart? check

bombing, check

Before the army : 2 lese majeste trials, since they arrived? 58

Even Forbes, a paper far from communism, che guevara, spit on this government

So if your only argument is : yes but the army will prevent Thaksin to come back, then just wait and see what is looming....

So tired of people tossing the Thaksin card as soon as the people complain about this joke of government

[arfurcrown]

A somewhat strange response from someone who makes quotes concerning matters never mentioned .Now why would that be I ask?

Nowhere in the post(s) did I, have I made any allusions to the colours of peoples shirts or made any comment about a political standpoint.

Indeed it is true that in the early days Thaksin was greatly respected as were in their time, Adolf Hitler, Mao Tse Tung, Joe Stalin etc.

Then after being co-opted into the democrat party and seeing the opportunities that lay ahead and the money pit Thaksin created his own personal party purely to serve his his family and their cronies own ends as past events clearly show.

Yes the economy was strong, Thailand like a good many other countries was riding on the coat tails of a worldwide economic boom. That set of circumstances was in no way due to the efforts and policies implemented by Thaksin.

The same state of affairs in a reverse economic situation as we like many other countries are currently experiencing here is due yet again the world financial climate not the policies of the Junta.

Like all medicine some of the affects are unpleasant but in the long term patient improvement is the result.

You. or I should say we, all need to remember that the make up of the Asian mind concerning politics, power and democracy is indeed very different from our western standpoint.

Patronage, self rewards, consolidation of family and crony power are considered par for course and it is going to take a long time to change that particular outlook, the evolution process has to be political as well as humankind

Indeed the definition of democracy here is somewhat clouded in mist, in truth none of us have the answer apart from what we want or decide what our brand of democracy is..

So please next time do try to produce a logical argument as opposed to a thinly veiled attack on the Junta and the stout hearted defence of Thaksin and co.

Oh let me inform you of a few personal facts too.

I am an Englishman and not from the colonies and I do not see ''Reds under the bed '' everywhere I go. regardin Forbes well it is the fourth estate which I don't think we will find too many Thais reading Forbes across the country.

the Army preventing the return of Thaksin?

.

Sorry you're wrong on that count, the only barrier to the return of Thaksin to Thailand is his own ego nothing more nothing less.

He has happily sold his sister down the river, thus if one judges his principles by that particular action alone he yet again proves he is unprincipled.

[jerojero]

At least Somkid has a bit of a clue what to do, compared to military generals trying to run all aspects of the country.