They wanted to completely subdue/wipe out the opposition on the strength of their [imagined] numerical superiority, that’s what made them fascist.
Wow! really?? if they really intent on doing that they would have burn BKK the first day they protest and not after 2 months of sitting in summer heat.
@Tarrin The source given in the comment above breaks Thailand into four regions (+bangkok): North, Northeast, Central and South. The East was lumped in with the Central provinces.
Reds are a large group with a single aim implies they are fascistic
It’s a bit more than that, just like they wanted a bit more than just elections.
They wanted to completely subdue/wipe out the opposition on the strength of their [imagined] numerical superiority, that’s what made them fascist. That, and total disregard for morals and ethics in attempts to achieve their goals. Co-existing with the opposition is not on the cards, they want total domination and show no mercy.
That explains nicely whey they cheered and celebrated when they knew there were casualties among Silom crowd after the grenade attacks. They didn’t care who was hit, everyone on the other side of the fence was a legitimate target.
Of course reds never truly grew into a fully blown fascism but the signs are all there.
I agree with Martin Rathie’s assessment. It was surprising that so many of the now established researchers on Laos did not attend. The absence of French researchers was especially striking. If the Lao Studies Conference is going to succeed (and it may not) it is crucial that those at the forefront of current research attend.
The staging of the event in Laos is very important, but when will the government be ready to host a spectrum of different opinions?
Tons of so called Freedom of Expression in Thailand had mislead to allegations range from the frequent use of libel suits against critics to coercion into self-censorship.Self-censorship has been used as an daily excuse for the government or administrative branch to interfere in people’s communication sphere,however,those long lasting TV ,Media and radio stations in Thailand must be government licensed and must be traditionally operated primarily by the Elites ,Government and Military , the far worst existence drastic use of lèse-majesté laws by the authority has even a longer tradition and it is used mostly out of fears of charges of ( lèse majesté). Well !!! in conclusion freedom of expression inThailand,once vigorous free press is being slowly squeezed to dry death,according to Thai Journalists Associations labeled the situation of press freedom in Thailand as an “era of fear and hatred”.
Well, I am not really trying to bring down a regime. It just irks me to see blatant injustice, and, it irks me even more to see pseudo intellectuals trying to justify that injustice.
The Thailand problem is a historical, hierarchal system of govt dominated by the royal / military / elite (read democrats) complex. The governing rule sets are really un-written. The written constitution and laws are secondary to that un-written rule sets. Constitution and laws are for general public and international community consumption. The current troubles and “upheaval” is the result of Thaksin upsetting the established hierachy. The leash placed on the “democratic” process by that dinosaur group got snapped, and they do not have a reasonable solution to the new found “awakening” and freedom expressed by the populace.
Immediately comes the accusation of “vote buying” etc. with their supporters etc claiming foul play and a pretension that the dinosaur complex was “clean as driven snow” (my favourite line, used to irate some parties)
Prachatai was block on many occasion, they have changed their name from prachatai.com to prachatai.net to prachatai.cc and countless other name to avoid the censorship.
What is denyzofisarn saying about Prachatai? Here in Bangkok, it remains blocked as are the others mentioned by authurson. The blocking is actually becoming more intensive, including to parts of WordPress.
Prachatai was not blocked, it got tired and called it the day. For a moment I thought I was banned for posting one too many of my thumbdowns. Go Malaysia for that experience.
I take this ‘Providence’s nickname–aftre been cured of X’tianity’ to say ‘Thank you!’ to NM for this excellent project where I can continue my freedom to err.
Thailand’s poorest provinces aren’t in the South, they are in the Northeast. The South is the country’s richest region after Central Thailand. The poorest provinces in the South (Pattani, Yala, Narathiwat and Phatthalung) would be somewhere in the middle in terms of provincial GDP per capita on a national basis and would be near the top if grouped with provinces from E-sarn (See UNDP 2009 Thailand Human Development Report).
Thaksin, through the Wadah group of Malay Muslim MPs who were previously with New Aspiration, did have a power base in the South’s poorest provinces, but lost the seats following the flare up of violence in region in 2004. Pheua Thai reclaimed some of the lost seats in the 2007 election and are now campaigning hard to reclaim their position in the Far South using Chawalit’s ‘Nakhon Pattani’ plan for autonomy as a vote winner.
I suggest as a starting point the excellent words of the Thai Constitution relating the right of the people to information and to actively participate in the management of the country’s natural resources.
One of the article in 2007 constitution already guarantee the freedom of speech and other right but not a single soul in Thailand seems to care that several laws have violated the country highest law. Therefore I dont think fixing the constitution will do any good, look at how the 1997 had been easily torn apart by the coup.
I’ll leave it to Giles to address the points in comment #26, but one of the side comments shows how warped this whole issue around Thaksin has become:
“Yet, you didn’t think Thaksin should have resigned when hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets protesting he resign“.
The big difference between Thaksin and Abhisit is that one was always willing to go to the electorate to renew his mandate, and the other relied on military coup & other judicial/military inteference to get to (and keep) power, and would rather see people be killed than go to the electorate to seek their opinion of how he got there.
At least Giles recognises that fact!
I admire Tarrin’s persistence but suggest that non-PADists (anti-fascists) might better discuss amongst ourselves how to undermine and bring down the regime.
I suggest as a starting point the excellent words of the Thai Constitution relating the right of the people to information and to actively participate in the management of the country’s natural resources.
If we all get out and insist on this at every opportunity we may well succeed in bring the regime down.
For example: In my Tessaban the annual budget has just been passed but there was no process of presenting options and costs & benefits, social,economic & environmental, of the various budget items to the public nor were there public hearings that I am aware of. This means the budget contravenes the constitution and no matter how sound it is should be thrown out and redone.
Thailand has been in a dictatorship state for more than 60 years but under the Apisit government, it seems to be getting worse. The Apisit government seems to be the only government in the history of this country that can commit any crimes, even killing its own people seems no wrong to them. Hundreds of innocent people were killed and portrayed as terrorists. Many innocent people were put into jail without any wrong doing. The worse has yet to come. But keep in mind, democracy will always prevail at the end.
Well, I have been arguing with them since 2006, why stop now? its good to have a discussion/discourse/argument with the PAD people because we get a chance to understand why they think that way and what is the reasoning behind their thought. We can only do that here, on the internet, since open political discussion in Thailand now a taboo. Moreover, quite frankly most of the time when I got into argument with the hardcore PAD they usually retort to simply rant that I got money from Thaksin or that I am Thaksin right hand man and so on. Seeing people like StanG who try to came up with plausible reasoning (although not quite logical) is a breath of fresh air.
However, the ultimate goal to try to engage in a reasonable discourse with a PAD man is to prove that we are right and they are wrong.
I’m second in on that. Thais have been taught since little that Communism represent all that is unholy, much like Hitler. Therefore, when someone just slightly express any idea that tilt toward the left they will be brand as Communist as such. I think Thailand has been living under McCarthyism since 60 years ago like Sophie said.
denyzofisarn – 8
Let me response to your statement by quoting a famous French writer and revolutionist Voltair (Fran├зois-Marie Arouet) “I do not agree with what you have to say, but I’ll defend to the death your right to say it.”
Facebook 
Twitter 
Soundcloud 
Youtube 
Rss
Big questions for Thailand
StanG – 41
They wanted to completely subdue/wipe out the opposition on the strength of their [imagined] numerical superiority, that’s what made them fascist.
Wow! really?? if they really intent on doing that they would have burn BKK the first day they protest and not after 2 months of sitting in summer heat.
Interruption to normal New Mandala service
I can get prachatai.com/english now. Bit of a surprise, after months of blocking.
Abhisit’s talk in Oxford: From the inside
@Tarrin The source given in the comment above breaks Thailand into four regions (+bangkok): North, Northeast, Central and South. The East was lumped in with the Central provinces.
Big questions for Thailand
Reds are a large group with a single aim implies they are fascistic
It’s a bit more than that, just like they wanted a bit more than just elections.
They wanted to completely subdue/wipe out the opposition on the strength of their [imagined] numerical superiority, that’s what made them fascist. That, and total disregard for morals and ethics in attempts to achieve their goals. Co-existing with the opposition is not on the cards, they want total domination and show no mercy.
That explains nicely whey they cheered and celebrated when they knew there were casualties among Silom crowd after the grenade attacks. They didn’t care who was hit, everyone on the other side of the fence was a legitimate target.
Of course reds never truly grew into a fully blown fascism but the signs are all there.
Interruption to normal New Mandala service
Try the latest one here: http://www.prachatai3.info/
I still can gain access to it but the ICT guys will see it too.
For me, the best source is always http://www.voicetv.co.th
In fact, I challenge them to ban all sites, which only show their own fears and lack of ethics as a fascist regime.
Lao Studies on the move
I agree with Martin Rathie’s assessment. It was surprising that so many of the now established researchers on Laos did not attend. The absence of French researchers was especially striking. If the Lao Studies Conference is going to succeed (and it may not) it is crucial that those at the forefront of current research attend.
The staging of the event in Laos is very important, but when will the government be ready to host a spectrum of different opinions?
Freedom of expression in Thailand
Tons of so called Freedom of Expression in Thailand had mislead to allegations range from the frequent use of libel suits against critics to coercion into self-censorship.Self-censorship has been used as an daily excuse for the government or administrative branch to interfere in people’s communication sphere,however,those long lasting TV ,Media and radio stations in Thailand must be government licensed and must be traditionally operated primarily by the Elites ,Government and Military , the far worst existence drastic use of lèse-majesté laws by the authority has even a longer tradition and it is used mostly out of fears of charges of ( lèse majesté). Well !!! in conclusion freedom of expression inThailand,once vigorous free press is being slowly squeezed to dry death,according to Thai Journalists Associations labeled the situation of press freedom in Thailand as an “era of fear and hatred”.
Abhisit’s talk in Oxford: From the inside
anonymous – 27
The East was actually the 2nd highest earning next to the Central, not the South.
http://asiancorrespondent.com/bangkok-pundit-blog/just-a-battle-of-elites
Big questions for Thailand
Well, I am not really trying to bring down a regime. It just irks me to see blatant injustice, and, it irks me even more to see pseudo intellectuals trying to justify that injustice.
The Thailand problem is a historical, hierarchal system of govt dominated by the royal / military / elite (read democrats) complex. The governing rule sets are really un-written. The written constitution and laws are secondary to that un-written rule sets. Constitution and laws are for general public and international community consumption. The current troubles and “upheaval” is the result of Thaksin upsetting the established hierachy. The leash placed on the “democratic” process by that dinosaur group got snapped, and they do not have a reasonable solution to the new found “awakening” and freedom expressed by the populace.
Immediately comes the accusation of “vote buying” etc. with their supporters etc claiming foul play and a pretension that the dinosaur complex was “clean as driven snow” (my favourite line, used to irate some parties)
Interruption to normal New Mandala service
denyzofisarn – 3
Prachatai was block on many occasion, they have changed their name from prachatai.com to prachatai.net to prachatai.cc and countless other name to avoid the censorship.
Interruption to normal New Mandala service
What is denyzofisarn saying about Prachatai? Here in Bangkok, it remains blocked as are the others mentioned by authurson. The blocking is actually becoming more intensive, including to parts of WordPress.
Interruption to normal New Mandala service
Prachatai was not blocked, it got tired and called it the day. For a moment I thought I was banned for posting one too many of my thumbdowns. Go Malaysia for that experience.
I take this ‘Providence’s nickname–aftre been cured of X’tianity’ to say ‘Thank you!’ to NM for this excellent project where I can continue my freedom to err.
Abhisit’s talk in Oxford: From the inside
Thailand’s poorest provinces aren’t in the South, they are in the Northeast. The South is the country’s richest region after Central Thailand. The poorest provinces in the South (Pattani, Yala, Narathiwat and Phatthalung) would be somewhere in the middle in terms of provincial GDP per capita on a national basis and would be near the top if grouped with provinces from E-sarn (See UNDP 2009 Thailand Human Development Report).
Thaksin, through the Wadah group of Malay Muslim MPs who were previously with New Aspiration, did have a power base in the South’s poorest provinces, but lost the seats following the flare up of violence in region in 2004. Pheua Thai reclaimed some of the lost seats in the 2007 election and are now campaigning hard to reclaim their position in the Far South using Chawalit’s ‘Nakhon Pattani’ plan for autonomy as a vote winner.
Big questions for Thailand
Ricky Wand – 41
I suggest as a starting point the excellent words of the Thai Constitution relating the right of the people to information and to actively participate in the management of the country’s natural resources.
One of the article in 2007 constitution already guarantee the freedom of speech and other right but not a single soul in Thailand seems to care that several laws have violated the country highest law. Therefore I dont think fixing the constitution will do any good, look at how the 1997 had been easily torn apart by the coup.
Abhisit’s talk in Oxford: From the inside
I’ll leave it to Giles to address the points in comment #26, but one of the side comments shows how warped this whole issue around Thaksin has become:
“Yet, you didn’t think Thaksin should have resigned when hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets protesting he resign“.
The big difference between Thaksin and Abhisit is that one was always willing to go to the electorate to renew his mandate, and the other relied on military coup & other judicial/military inteference to get to (and keep) power, and would rather see people be killed than go to the electorate to seek their opinion of how he got there.
At least Giles recognises that fact!
Thaksin (& Julia Gillard:) put Abhisit to shame.
Reconciliation, Thai style
http://www.prachataiboard1.info/board/id/52811
This is one, its the last picture.
Note: Nick was in one of the picture too!
Big questions for Thailand
I admire Tarrin’s persistence but suggest that non-PADists (anti-fascists) might better discuss amongst ourselves how to undermine and bring down the regime.
I suggest as a starting point the excellent words of the Thai Constitution relating the right of the people to information and to actively participate in the management of the country’s natural resources.
If we all get out and insist on this at every opportunity we may well succeed in bring the regime down.
For example: In my Tessaban the annual budget has just been passed but there was no process of presenting options and costs & benefits, social,economic & environmental, of the various budget items to the public nor were there public hearings that I am aware of. This means the budget contravenes the constitution and no matter how sound it is should be thrown out and redone.
Freedom of expression in Thailand
Thailand has been in a dictatorship state for more than 60 years but under the Apisit government, it seems to be getting worse. The Apisit government seems to be the only government in the history of this country that can commit any crimes, even killing its own people seems no wrong to them. Hundreds of innocent people were killed and portrayed as terrorists. Many innocent people were put into jail without any wrong doing. The worse has yet to come. But keep in mind, democracy will always prevail at the end.
Big questions for Thailand
neptunian – 39
Well, I have been arguing with them since 2006, why stop now? its good to have a discussion/discourse/argument with the PAD people because we get a chance to understand why they think that way and what is the reasoning behind their thought. We can only do that here, on the internet, since open political discussion in Thailand now a taboo. Moreover, quite frankly most of the time when I got into argument with the hardcore PAD they usually retort to simply rant that I got money from Thaksin or that I am Thaksin right hand man and so on. Seeing people like StanG who try to came up with plausible reasoning (although not quite logical) is a breath of fresh air.
However, the ultimate goal to try to engage in a reasonable discourse with a PAD man is to prove that we are right and they are wrong.
Freedom of expression in Thailand
John – 4
I’m second in on that. Thais have been taught since little that Communism represent all that is unholy, much like Hitler. Therefore, when someone just slightly express any idea that tilt toward the left they will be brand as Communist as such. I think Thailand has been living under McCarthyism since 60 years ago like Sophie said.
denyzofisarn – 8
Let me response to your statement by quoting a famous French writer and revolutionist Voltair (Fran├зois-Marie Arouet) “I do not agree with what you have to say, but I’ll defend to the death your right to say it.”