To provide some balance to the discussion - In praise of the junta ;)
http://www.chiangmaicitynews.com/news.php?id=4402
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To provide some balance to the discussion - In praise of the junta ;)
http://www.chiangmaicitynews.com/news.php?id=4402
The writer should learn from lego, whose morality in this matter is identified completely with the wholly commercial viewpoint of his employer.Quote:
Originally Posted by Up2U
That's all very well, but what Machiavelli has in common with many great men is that he's as dead as a doornail... Thailand needs a PM right now, and given the dreadful choices, I think it could be far worse than it is. That doesn't mean that the General PM is my hero, as you insinuate, at least it would be very premature to call him a hero at this point. Then there's another problem, the more successful he is, the less I will probably like the resulting version of Thailand. :))Quote:
Originally Posted by kommentariat
UN wants to investigate charges of Human Rights Violations.
Http://www.fidh.org/en/asia/thailand/15 ... nvestigate
The human rights event scheduled has reportedly been canceled by the military.
http://fccthai.com/items/1472.html
So is the Buddha and countless others we could name. Does death somehow invalidate their insights? Do great ideas now come with a "use by" date?Quote:
Originally Posted by lego
You really done wanna face facts do you lego? Whatever he or his toadies call him Mr. P is the military dictator of a corrupt third world banana republic.Quote:
Originally Posted by lego
As kommie says if you have to lick his arse then do so but then you go home afterwards have a very very very long shower and use lots of Dettol.
Eloquently put, as always, brisbaneguy.
Agreed; and I repeat my warning that, before long, those expats and tourists who think that their individual pleasures, concessions and interests will continue as before may be in for a shock. And that's not taking into account the possibility that the supporters of the government turfed out by the junta don't get their act together and use their vast numbers to restore democracy....by any means necessary.
National Geographic - Divided Kingdom
http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2014/ ... ts-670.jpg
You maybe right Oliver I see Mr. P announced recently he's here for the long haul and there is no election timetable.
I read recently that the US Supreme Court has held that "Democracy does not presume that some subjects are either too divisive or too profound for public debate".
That must be the basis for lego and other farang junta supporters very kindly on behalf of all Thais deciding that Thailand and democracy are incompatible.
but as Justice Kennedy continues "It is demeaning to the democratic process to presume that the voters are not capable of deciding [an issue] on decent and rational grounds" - an opinion I am sure Oliver would be happy to support but lego and the junta possibly less so?Quote:
Originally Posted by kommentariat
but then the linked article is not about democracy per se, it is about SCOTUS interpreting the US Constitution and the First Amendment, neither of which apply to Thailand
however justice Kennedy's comment that "Freedom embraces the right, indeed the duty, to engage in a rational, civic discourse in order to determine how best to form a consensus to shape the destiny of the Nation and its people" highlights something sorely missing in the Thai political and social process, something that neither side of the political/power spectrum wants to see, and even without getting into discussions of the more esoteric attributes of democracy like respect for the rule of law and equality under the law etc may explain why Thailand's patronage society is incompatible with democracy
but then the same applies to most western democracies I suppose!
bkkguy
The latest from Andrew MacGregor Marshall.
BP: New Crackdown on Criticism Has Ominous Overtones
http://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/opin ... -overtones
Words of wisdom from the General.
http://asiapacific.anu.edu.au/newmandal ... l-prayuth/
A rather superfluous use of adjective Up2U. Surely every word the General uses is a wise one?Quote:
Originally Posted by Up2U
I'm no admirer of Gilbert & Sullivan operettas but the Dear Leader surely deserves one of his own. ....Thailand's very own "Modern Major-General."
I cannot agree. Prayuth is Pooh-Bah, surely?Quote:
Originally Posted by Oliver
NYT: Human rights abuses reported.
http://mobile.nytimes.com/2014/09/11/wo ... &referrer=
BP: Amnesty international launches anti-coup report.
http://bangkokpost.com/news/local/43158 ... oup-report
Junta to AI "get your facts straight"
http://mobile.reuters.com/article/idUSK ... 1?irpc=932
BP: Pricey toys raise doubts.
http://m.bangkokpost.com/opinion/431641
It looks like the Great Dictator is softening the people up for the realisation that he's there for a long stay http://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/opin ... ong-tenure
But then we all know it's always been about the Army wanting to control the royal succession.
A Certain Person was in the UK during the coup....obviously forewarned. Is he now back in Thailand?
He came back and left again.
He was there to preside over the puppet convention that "chose" a new government - daddy being so completely gaga that they weren't game to wheel him out.
Thaksin erased from erased textbooks but from people's memory or hearts? NYT.
http://mobile.nytimes.com/2014/09/16/wo ... &referrer=
Thaksin erased from erased textbooks but from people's memory or hearts? NYT.
http://mobile.nytimes.com/2014/09/16/wo ... &referrer=
US waives human trafficking sanctions against Malaysia and Thailand.
http://asiancorrespondent.com/126824/us ... d-thailand
Military junta raids university seminar on democracy.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world ... 45933.html
Any signs of a popular revolt against these thugs and imbeciles? Surely there must be a tipping-point when the vast majority of Thais, who voted overwhelmingly for the deposed government, say "enough is enough"?
That tipping point is a long, long way off (if ever) and it certainly will not emanate from Bangkok. Just kick back, relax and watch this circus.
Keep trolling, I think you know exactly that nothing will happen. I'm not getting the impression that there's a lot of built-up anger and desperation within the Thai populace at large at this time. Are you? Or is a revolution on Thai soil more like a wet dream of yours that doesn't have anything to do with reality? Governments change, life goes on.Quote:
Originally Posted by Oliver
I'm feeling charitable today, so I'll give you something else to foam about:
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/webmobi ... 43892.html
All under the watchful eye of "overwhelmingly elected" governments in recent years. Shameful, isn't it? =))
What an overwhelming naive comment lego.Quote:
Originally Posted by lego
The whole point about "overwhelmingly elected governments in recent years" is that the old order made damn sure they were not able effectively to do very much at all. When they did, the screams from the Bangkok NIMBYs about wasting "their" taxes was so overwhelming it gave impetus to the current situation. As for "your impressions", since you live in the cocoon of Bangkok and spend your time sucking up to the junta, your ideas about what "ordinary" Thais think is neither here nor there.
Perhaps you haven't read recent political commentary. Here's something for you to mull over:HereтАЩs some more:Quote:
AbhisitтАЩs administration was among the most corrupt in living memory due the presence of the Bhumjai Thai party of notorious politician Newin Chidchob in the coalition. To reward Newin for switching sides, his party was given control of the three most lucrative ministries тАФ Interior, Commerce, and Transport and Communications тАФ and embezzled a staggering 25 percent of ministry funds.
Quote:
In 2011 тАж believing that poorer Thais have no understanding of politics and just sell their votes at election time, the Democrat Party encouraged their Bhumjai Thai coalition partners to launch a massive vote buying campaign in north and northeast Thailand. The electorate rejected this cynical gambit and overwhelmingly voted for the Pheu Thai party.
Don't box me in.
http://prachatai.org/english/node/4355? ... m=facebook
Sorry, but you don't really think I don't know that, do you? That is an outright trivial observation, and it would be pretty obvious even without airport occupations, the Government House sieges and "judicial coups".Quote:
Originally Posted by kommentariat
Still, and that is really something to think about, revolution isn't in the air. That you and Oliver have been dreaming of it since years (and most likely with your panties all wet) is one thing, but what does it have to do with reality? You keep claiming that I'm out of touch with reality and ordinary Thai people because I live in Bangkok, yet it has been you who has been making nonsensical claims about events that are supposedly "imminent" but then have failed to happen, time and again. I remember all these silly "get out before it's too late" posts from almost one year ago all too well, and yet here I am, safely going about my day at the very same Bangkok office building. That doesn't mean that I don't talk to Thai people who aren't from Bangkok, by the way.
I'm careful with predictions and, for the most part, merely observe the situation and describe it as I see it, without too much regard to what way I would like it best myself. In my opinion, living in the real Bangkok beats living in a lofty Fantasy World where the poor, enslaved Thai people resemble brave and determined revolutionaries who fight the good fight for their right to be represented by an "overwhelmingly elected" government that is just, free of corruption and overall pure goodness. In your funny little Thai utopia, a civil war or revolution is (always) imminent, I know. We shall see.
I'd give that a 'like' if there was a button.Quote:
Originally Posted by lego
You little rascal, lego. I suspected you might be yanking Oliver's chain and now we all know you were.Quote:
Originally Posted by lego
I bet you were one of those people who read some of Roubini's commentary in 2006 and said "Financial crisis imminent!? Pshaw. I don't see it. The bellhops are all piling into the interest rate swaps market. What could possibly go wrong." Mind you, Steve Keen began predicting the GFC in 2005. It arrived in 2008. Whether something is "imminent" is relative to the perspectives and prejudices of the observer.
I've made a lot of money in my life by being a contrarian investor and assessing the probabilities in order to determine the risk (or the odds, if you like) of various events. A few days ago I tried to get some bookies to offer me odds on a certain event happening within a defined timeframe. Most declined, citing last week's photographs of individuals being driven away from hospital. One bookie offered shorter odds than those for the No side winning the recent Scottish referendum. As you say, we shall see.
I'd give it a "like" also just for creativity. The Thai utopia he describes certainly doesn't represent the thinking of those of us critical of El General.Quote:
Originally Posted by PeterUK