Thaksin 'requests British Visa'

[Plus]

Thaksin is very close to their hearts. How he got there is subject to a fierce debate, but it's not uncommon for the most ruthless and corrupt dictators to draw support form the poorest sectors of society.

Take Stalin, for example, after SU collapse he was still very popular among poor Russians who marched with his portraits for a decade, don't see them in the news anymore, maybe they stopped.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but all fascist, extreme righ wing movements appeal to the poor and disenfranchised and offer them glimmer of hope. Thaksin saw this opportunity and exploited it, whether he was really fascist or not is irrelevant - the longing for a benevolent dictator who'd solve all your problems is there, and once such a figure is found, the bond will last for ages.

For an inspiring politician it was a too good opportunity to pass.

[animatic]

If the plane with the loot arrived in Finland, then I would expect that the Finnish governement would demand that they be notified prior to it being brought in. Generally, it is legal to transport a large amount of cash, but the (from- and to- countries) must be notified.

If Finland was not notified, then they can confiscate it?

Which currency was all of the cash?

Search the web- Mr T is very popular with the Finnish Government who have been keen until now to "cement asian thais " or was that ties??

The controversial key word here is "FINLAND", I bel ieve

Finland = Nokia cellphones. Thaksin was cellphone magnate in Thailand with AIS.

Finland wouldn't be ill disposed to someone that brought in millions in revenue

to their bread and butter industry.

[dr_Pat_Pong]

One day the investigators will move in among the wreckage of the Thaksin regime, lighting up the dark corners as they go

They will not.

The only dark corners they will lighten will be the ones that other fractions, now also to be found on opposing sides, have not been involved in as well. And there will be very few ones.

fractions or factions ?

[younghusband]

Thaksin is very close to their hearts. How he got there is subject to a fierce debate, but it's not uncommon for the most ruthless and corrupt dictators to draw support form the poorest sectors of society.

Take Stalin, for example, after SU collapse he was still very popular among poor Russians who marched with his portraits for a decade, don't see them in the news anymore, maybe they stopped.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but all fascist, extreme righ wing movements appeal to the poor and disenfranchised and offer them glimmer of hope. Thaksin saw this opportunity and exploited it, whether he was really fascist or not is irrelevant - the longing for a benevolent dictator who'd solve all your problems is there, and once such a figure is found, the bond will last for ages.

For an inspiring politician it was a too good opportunity to pass.

Thaksin is close to the hearts of the poor because more than any other his policies benefited them.

I'm afraid your reading of the origins of fascism is profoundly incorrect.The appeal of such movements begins almost always with the lower middle class under a real or perceived threat.The appeal of PAD is a classic example.I've recommended Ian Kershaw's work on Hitler before and he is really enlightening on this subject.

Incidentally Stalin remains popular in Russia but it's more of a generational than a class indicator.

[mahtin]

"yes sir, I understand you want a visa. Exactly what type of visa would you like.If you want a tourist visa I must ask have you visited here 3 times in the last 6 months? Oh well, that's no good. I know that's ridiculous, sir. Shall we try a business visa? Ok. You need to return to your country to get the correct visa to start the process. You're not keen on going back there at the moment. Ok. Maybe we can start the visa from here. Do you have partners in your business? Oh, you don't need any because you are rich. Well, your business will have to be owned 51% by British Nationals. You don't trust any British Nationals and why would you want other people owning more than half of your business. Don't ask me sir, I only work here. Marriage visa maybe? Have you had 80,000 pounds sat in a British bank for the last 3 months and never allowed it to go less than that amount. Note, sir, that money will need to stay in the bank for an undetermined length of time because we want to check if you borrowed of one of your friends. Oh, you don't have any friends now.OK. Please don't shout sir, it is considered rude. What about an investment visa? Ah, you like the sound of that. Good. Do you have any property in this country sir? Excellent. Are more than half the people who live in you street British? Not sure.OK, well they would need to be. I imagine you could knock all their doors to find out , sir. I'm not certain how poplular that would be. You did buy the property new, did you sir? Oh, secondhand.Ah. Oh wait i forgot ,they have cancelled the investment visa. Yes sir, I do know what I am doing. May I suggest you nip on a cheap flight to Singapore,but they can be tricky, or KL, but they can also ask for a lot of paperwork,or possibly Penang, and get a single entry there.Once you get over there is an airline called Air Asia, I doubt you have heard of it. Oh you have heard of it. Please stop swearing, sir. Well they are a bit cheap and nasty, but you can bounce round on them until you find a way back. Thank you sir, but I will not do that to myself. Thank you and goodbye."

This has to rate as the post of the month at the very least. Many thanks for the laugh out loud factor.

Regards

Round and round the mulberry bush....

pop goes the weasel.

[Plus]

Thaksin is very close to their hearts. How he got there is subject to a fierce debate, but it's not uncommon for the most ruthless and corrupt dictators to draw support form the poorest sectors of society.

Take Stalin, for example, after SU collapse he was still very popular among poor Russians who marched with his portraits for a decade, don't see them in the news anymore, maybe they stopped.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but all fascist, extreme righ wing movements appeal to the poor and disenfranchised and offer them glimmer of hope. Thaksin saw this opportunity and exploited it, whether he was really fascist or not is irrelevant - the longing for a benevolent dictator who'd solve all your problems is there, and once such a figure is found, the bond will last for ages.

For an inspiring politician it was a too good opportunity to pass.

Thaksin is close to the hearts of the poor because more than any other his policies benefited them.

I'm afraid your reading of the origins of fascism is profoundly incorrect.The appeal of such movements begins almost always with the lower middle class under a real or perceived threat.The appeal of PAD is a classic example.I've recommended Ian Kershaw's work on Hitler before and he is really enlightening on this subject.

Incidentally Stalin remains popular in Russia but it's more of a generational than a class indicator.

I wasn't talking about fascism or Hitler in particular. The longing for a powerful man who dedicates his life to helping the poor is far more widespread. Judging from the news and a few Thaksin supporters I know myself, their attachment to him is more emotional than rational.

For Thaksin it was marketing at its best - create an emotional bond with the brand, the product itself is either generic or can be duplicated, but the emotional bond will always keep your customers with you.

[Heng]

Love the 'make him do visa runs' posts that always come out on Thaksin in just about any foreign country thread.

[younghusband]

I wasn't talking about fascism or Hitler in particular. The longing for a powerful man who dedicates his life to helping the poor is far more widespread. Judging from the news and a few Thaksin supporters I know myself, their attachment to him is more emotional than rational.

For Thaksin it was marketing at its best - create an emotional bond with the brand, the product itself is either generic or can be duplicated, but the emotional bond will always keep your customers with you.

Ok I see what you mean.Certainly the attachment to Thaksin is often emotional in many cases, but then strongly held views are often in reality from the heart rather than the intellect.Rightly as I would argue or wrongly as I expect you would argue many - perhaps the majority of - Thais felt Thaksin was the first leader who took a real interest in improving their lives.

On the more general issue yes there is often a yearning by the poor throughout history for a compassionate ruler.An example would be the last Tsar of Russia who was thought by the peasantry to be actively engaged on their behalf but thwarted by the corrupt inner circle in Moscow.They were of course quite wrong in their belief since despite the ritual of being father to the nation he was relatively indifferent.But by God he was better than the zealots who succeded him.