George Jetson@73 :
“Well, it is nearly a year since those events. Where are the relatives of those supposedly dead and missing red shirts? Why have they not come forward to declare their relatives went missing and demand justice? Why is there no Committee for the Relatives of April 2010?”
I can think of one very good reason why not – namely : there has been no equivalent of Anand’s post-May’92 government.
Is there anything more dinosaur than this “ditty” ?
That the powers-that-be are trying to re-hash it shows these old fogies should have retired long ago.
What Thailand desperately needs is an up-to-date, modern system of peacefully exchanging power through genuine elections between a modern conservative party, and a modern labour party.
Frank Anderson@29 re. Akbar Khan.
As a UK citizen, Khan could probably be sued for huge damages under English common law, not least by any British members of the FCCT Board, journalists, etc.
If he failed to pay such damages, his UK passport would be withdrawn.
Also there was a post that 20 Thais in the US had filed LM charges against a Thai in the US.
If this Thai is a US citizen, (or even has a Green card?) he could sue the other 20 for huge costs – millions of dollars – for :
1) Infringing his First Amendment rights.
2) Harassment.
If Thailand has made a mistake, it was when she let you
in and allow you to slapped her on the face when you left.
wow ! amazing. and this says who ? I bet – a person, who himself barely got his last Thai name given to his father / grandfather hardly less than some hundred years ago, due to a royal decree aimed to assimilate those immigrants.
yet those people, who themselves have been for quite a long time as much aliens (as they now love to consider farangs, or especially tang dau) – but then have managed to take over ALL the profitable positions and niches in this country, from business (especially most favored – being brokers, lenders, middle-men – all the blood-suckers), army, police and political power (oh, this one is one of the most profitable !)
and yet, now such people are so proud, considering themselves truly original authentic Thais, that they so indignantly refuse to even suppose that someone else can have as much (of perhaps even – MUCH MORE, being able to think “out of box”) understanding of what is REALLY going on in this country.
“you have simplified thousands of years of history…”
interesting, what country is that? as I recall, Thailand has become Thailand hardly half century ago. before that it was Siam – and according to modern data its history is hardly since Sukhotai kingdom, which means some 800 years – before that there were some separate small kingdoms, often vassals of powerful neighbors (Myanmar, Khmer). even if count from Dvaravati, the most it would make some 1000+ years.
so, which “thousands of years” are mentioned here?
unless of course the speaker automatically takes into accounts … history of China ? 😉 which would mean that speaker thus considers presently existing country Thailand as some province of China ? 😀 I won’t be surprised at all. after all, taking into consideration all those who literally run this country – yes, it is understandable that they would consider it so. and no wonder that they look upon / treat with such a disdain and disgust the provincial folks, whom they practically consider lesser beings – only perhaps slightly superficially better than those tang dau, merely because unlike tang dau such rurals have Thai ID card .
I have never stated that i saw that the military killed protesters, i have always stated, as i wrote in my report, that the military has partly shot straight at protesters during the early morning attack, that bullets passed over my head. It is proven beyond doubt that several protesters were injured by gunfire at Samliem Din Daeng, and i stated that it is very likely that a few protesters ( i never used the term “masskillings”) might have been killed, but that there is no proof.
The discussion at the FCCT was with Thierry Falise alone (and not “other photographers”), who stated that no shots were fired at the protesters, that he hasn’t seen any shots fired straight.
I have strongly disagreed with Thierry, and in the course of the discussion it came out that Thierry only came after the morning attack, based his view on the much better disciplined lunch attack, and not, like me, was there during the early morning attack, where the shots were fired, and where people were injured (and maybe killed).
We had no argument at all, we have talked that evening, and many times after, and we have also met today at Rajadamri, and get along fine, as usual.
I would suggest you to check your facts of the discussion with Thierry himself.
I have never ever based my arguments solely on “what Red Shirts told me” – i always look for corroboration from my sources in the security forces, unless i have seen things myself, and even then i compare my experiences with other’s. In the case of Samliem Dindaeng i have myself heard the bullets passing over my head through the leaves of the short tree i was standing under.
In addition to this i have recently spoken with a Thai colleague who was with me at Samliem Din Daeng, who, while i ran, he hid behind a pillar, and next to him a Red Shirt was shot through the chest.
And no – i have not “backed down sheepishly” – anyone who knows me knows very well, that i will hardly back down, and that “sheepishly” is not part of my character.
You, sir, are a liar and a coward who discredits me from anonymity. And in the unlikely event that you come out of your comfortable anonymity, i will state the same directly in your face.
Banrachawaong@21 no farang here is “choosing” for the Thai people, as almost no farang are entitled to vote in Thailand – unlike in Western countries, where many Thais are allowed to vote.
Your highly discriminatory, fascist inspired nationality laws make THIS is yet another “Thai”/ amart double standard.
Also your “Thailand” has not existed for even one century, let alone the many you claim. It was Siam – with its’ more multi-ethnic, democratic connotations and reality – which existed for so long before the Thai military fascist constructed “Thailand” in 1937. If you want to keep “face”, keep up with the modern world.
it is truly amazing how some folks (like banrachawong ) continue stubbornly adhere to their holy belief that only they are better species, and those other “dark skinned, dumb buffaloes”, who are practically almost not as human, – they can’t possibly even hypothetically evolve to their own level, and thus – to be eligible to even recognition that they too have can their own opinions which they can voice / express, and also be able understand the state of affairs (the DEEP sh1t this country in – mainly due to such attitudes ), and rights to strive for an improvement of their lives !
yet there is a lot of talk about “peace, unity, reconciliation” – total crap ! how can be even ANY honest mentioning of such things, as long as such fellas, the sheeple thoroughly brainwashed with value of “consume and be happy” and eager to preserve such status quo no matte what, – how can this country be EVER really united?
well, stupidity eventually pays off : there are many examples in human history when pushed to the brink masses, hating very guts of such people who used to vilify and disenfranchise them, make the worst nightmares come true – to make those “better” (as they arrogantly and stubbornly consider themselves) LOSE EVERYTHING ! recently Thinitan has mentioned about it in his article.
I once support Taksin, but now I hate Taksin…Taksinomic theory was the cause…you know nothing, say nothing then…leave things to Thai people…I’m sick of Farang who thinks they know better… mind your own business and do good to your mother land.
I don’t find it surprising at all that Bangkokians don’t want a corrupt, murderous despot to come back to get his nose back into the trough again. Yes, there are many ills that need to be righted in Thailand but please come up with a political platform that doesn’t have the sole aim of bringing back one odious man and legalizing the activities of a handful of criminals. The only thing Thaksin dislikes about double standard is his current difficulties in applying to them to himself and his cronies.
I am indeed very angry with the Red shirt leaders for many reasons, but a few below will suffice:
(a) Most recently PM Abhisit pleaded the Red leadership to negotiate seriously . . . and to urgently sit down with government representatives plus any other groups w/ vested interests in Thailand’s political direction . . . to finally remove/reduce lingering divisiveness, disharmony and distrusts . . .and ease tensions. Had the Red leadership concurred, that could have been a milestone of sort . . . for the parties to thresh out a cohesive political path in the way Thailand should be governed and how various Thai groups, with opposing political ideas, should participate and what or how Thai institutions are needed to effect those needed changes. The Reds instead stopped negotiations and continued with their demands for house dissolution/new elections and damn whatever happens next!
(b) The Reds movement have a very violent elements and these elements M-79 grenade attacks continue with more frequency as their Bangkok street protests get more noisy and incoherent. See Shawn Crispin’s ‘Bombs Away’ article at AsiaTimes with excerpts quoted below:
A campaign of terror is underway in Thailand, with both sides to the political conflict pinning blame on the other for a series of grenade attacks that have targeted government offices, military installations and private businesses. Unknown assailants have launched more than a score of explosives attacks this month amid a heavy security force presence in the national capital.
. . . ., more recent blasts have targeted populated areas and seriously injured soldiers and civilians. (And today an M79 grenade was fired at the Democrat Party headquarters on Tuesday afternoon, and the explosion wounded two policemen.) The explosive attacks in Bangkok have coincided with anti-government street protests spearheaded by the United Front Against Dictatorship for Democracy (UDD), a Thaksin-aligned protest group that remobilized in mid-March to pressure Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva to dissolve parliament and call new polls.
. . . While the circumstances around the attacks are murky, many analysts discount the UDD’s claims that the military’s top brass is behind the bombings. They reason that the military has little, if any, motivation to further destabilize Abhisit’s coalition government, which top soldiers allegedly helped from behind-the-scenes to cobble together in a late 2008 parliamentary vote.
. . . One Bangkok-based diplomat speculated that it was “no coincidence” that the grenade targets were often the same government institutions that house the bureaucratic elites that UDD leaders have pilloried from their protest stage. He noted that while there were similar anonymous grenade attacks during the rival PAD protests in 2008, in contrast the explosions were launched inside, not outside, of the protest site. . . “
. . .Other analysts believe that the mysterious violence corresponds with previous UDD threats to take up arms. The UDD said in a recent press statement that it had abandoned its previous call to “armed struggle” and from its protest stage UDD leaders have distanced themselves from more radical Thaksin supporters who had criticized the UDD’s tactics and advocated more aggressive means to topple the government.
It’s unclear to some diplomats and analysts whether the bombings are an outgrowth of competition between different camps jockeying to maintain Thaksin’s favor. The radicals include most notably Maj Gen Khattiya Sawasdipol, . . .”
(c) If I continue to regard the Reds as no more ‘bought-and-paid-for-‘ mercenaries of Thaksin is because I know that for a fact . . . during elections and during protests. I have relatives in the provinces and neighbors and friends who will repeat the rampancy by which standing cash offers of Baht 1,000 or more to anyone willing to wear a shirt colored in Red and join the protests. (my driver and househelps and their relatives routinely cash those offers in exchange for their ID cards).
I just could not resist to respond to MCSING particular lament that ” . . redshirt supporters . . are regarded as stupid buffaloes by those in Bangkok.”
MCSING continues on . . “But the Bangkok view has not been my experience – and as I am a university professor I have some credentials for judging this.”
I am not sure and thus wish to be clarified . .. by credentials must mean ‘veterinary credentials’ right?
there were 2 found floating in a khlong, accounted for but of course the “obvious” killers have been covered up
plus on the international news there was a sequence where soldiers backed up some covered trucks and threw in some (6?) dead/unconscious bodies early on the morning of the military attack… I have never seen any coherent story about this… another Thai cover up or just never explained in english?
Tarrin: You’ve become a very active poster lately. Your posts are impressive — you are obviously passionate about your beliefs and you are scrupulous in supporting them with facts. A model for all.
I would disagree with one fact in your list of what Thaksin accomplished — about the 2 a.m. closing law for bars. I think the new law under Thaksin requires a 12 midnight closing. Most bars ignore it, via a little tip to the police. Most seem to close at 2 a.m., which reinforces everyone’s assumption that that’s the legal closing time, though it’s two hours past the legal deadline. Even one of Abhisit’s cabinet members commented a year or so ago that he’d like to see the Bangkok Governor “enforce the 2 a.m. closing time” for bars!
I think Thaksin also made big strides toward improving education. He took the Education portfolio for himself, indicating his interest.
(In sum, I hope he doesn’t return; he was corrupt and was and is mainly interested in himself, though he did accomplish some good.)
@Mike
A friend who manages a construction site in Rajprasong area said that on the day of the road seizure the site had to be closed down. So his lived-in construction workers went to join the mob for 1000 baht each and returned to work on the next day. Perhaps they were the Bankokians you saw.
Sawarin Suwichakornpong, I agree with the assessment of Thaksin in your letter to The Times. He is like Sir Robert Walpole, not a good moral example, but someone who tipped the balance of power towards the elected institution. The difference is that Walpole was followed by a gradual strengthening of democracy in Britain. After Thaksin we have had a successful absolutist reaction, as if the Jacobites had won in 1745.
@banshack . First, I sincerely thank you for thoughts and experience you have shared. This makes me glad that I found this blog. I do not deny that some traditions are there for control. Our way of governing does come from trial and error, whose doesn’t. But that does not give us the right to throw away our long held values. If the reds were against the unfairness from oppression from “Pu Yai”, we wouldn’t have heard Dr. Weang Tojira attacking PM Abhisit saying “as someone who is older” and then lectured on how the PM shouldn’t quarrel with Jatuporn. So the PM is supposed to listen to Dr.Weang’s nonsense just because he is older? I do not think we can take our inconveniences here and there to be the basis for the rationale to overthrow an existing system and neither should we ignore them. But the way the reds rush into this is what amazes me the most. Many of the thing about the red’s movement is suspicious. For instance, I still can not figure out why UDD has four different websites (.com, net .org .biz) that when accessed come to the same page??? and how some of the links (out of numerous liks) for articles in big name magazines led to nowhere? I am not trying to pick a fight with anyone but just trying to exercise my right in believing.
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Bangkok or bust, Part 1
George Jetson@73 :
“Well, it is nearly a year since those events. Where are the relatives of those supposedly dead and missing red shirts? Why have they not come forward to declare their relatives went missing and demand justice? Why is there no Committee for the Relatives of April 2010?”
I can think of one very good reason why not – namely : there has been no equivalent of Anand’s post-May’92 government.
Scum of the earth
Is there anything more dinosaur than this “ditty” ?
That the powers-that-be are trying to re-hash it shows these old fogies should have retired long ago.
What Thailand desperately needs is an up-to-date, modern system of peacefully exchanging power through genuine elections between a modern conservative party, and a modern labour party.
Occupation of the malls – UPDATED
Gee, I’ve been to the Red Shirt rally site a few times now and all I was offered was a pork bun. I should have held out for more.
The evidence of intention
Frank Anderson@29 re. Akbar Khan.
As a UK citizen, Khan could probably be sued for huge damages under English common law, not least by any British members of the FCCT Board, journalists, etc.
If he failed to pay such damages, his UK passport would be withdrawn.
Also there was a post that 20 Thais in the US had filed LM charges against a Thai in the US.
If this Thai is a US citizen, (or even has a Green card?) he could sue the other 20 for huge costs – millions of dollars – for :
1) Infringing his First Amendment rights.
2) Harassment.
Imagining a new mandala in mainland Southeast Asia
wow ! amazing. and this says who ? I bet – a person, who himself barely got his last Thai name given to his father / grandfather hardly less than some hundred years ago, due to a royal decree aimed to assimilate those immigrants.
yet those people, who themselves have been for quite a long time as much aliens (as they now love to consider farangs, or especially tang dau) – but then have managed to take over ALL the profitable positions and niches in this country, from business (especially most favored – being brokers, lenders, middle-men – all the blood-suckers), army, police and political power (oh, this one is one of the most profitable !)
and yet, now such people are so proud, considering themselves truly original authentic Thais, that they so indignantly refuse to even suppose that someone else can have as much (of perhaps even – MUCH MORE, being able to think “out of box”) understanding of what is REALLY going on in this country.
interesting, what country is that? as I recall, Thailand has become Thailand hardly half century ago. before that it was Siam – and according to modern data its history is hardly since Sukhotai kingdom, which means some 800 years – before that there were some separate small kingdoms, often vassals of powerful neighbors (Myanmar, Khmer). even if count from Dvaravati, the most it would make some 1000+ years.
so, which “thousands of years” are mentioned here?
unless of course the speaker automatically takes into accounts … history of China ? 😉 which would mean that speaker thus considers presently existing country Thailand as some province of China ? 😀 I won’t be surprised at all. after all, taking into consideration all those who literally run this country – yes, it is understandable that they would consider it so. and no wonder that they look upon / treat with such a disdain and disgust the provincial folks, whom they practically consider lesser beings – only perhaps slightly superficially better than those tang dau, merely because unlike tang dau such rurals have Thai ID card .
Bangkok or bust, Part 1
“George Jetson”:
You said:
“You were exposed as a teller of untruths.”
I have never stated that i saw that the military killed protesters, i have always stated, as i wrote in my report, that the military has partly shot straight at protesters during the early morning attack, that bullets passed over my head. It is proven beyond doubt that several protesters were injured by gunfire at Samliem Din Daeng, and i stated that it is very likely that a few protesters ( i never used the term “masskillings”) might have been killed, but that there is no proof.
The discussion at the FCCT was with Thierry Falise alone (and not “other photographers”), who stated that no shots were fired at the protesters, that he hasn’t seen any shots fired straight.
I have strongly disagreed with Thierry, and in the course of the discussion it came out that Thierry only came after the morning attack, based his view on the much better disciplined lunch attack, and not, like me, was there during the early morning attack, where the shots were fired, and where people were injured (and maybe killed).
We had no argument at all, we have talked that evening, and many times after, and we have also met today at Rajadamri, and get along fine, as usual.
I would suggest you to check your facts of the discussion with Thierry himself.
I have never ever based my arguments solely on “what Red Shirts told me” – i always look for corroboration from my sources in the security forces, unless i have seen things myself, and even then i compare my experiences with other’s. In the case of Samliem Dindaeng i have myself heard the bullets passing over my head through the leaves of the short tree i was standing under.
In addition to this i have recently spoken with a Thai colleague who was with me at Samliem Din Daeng, who, while i ran, he hid behind a pillar, and next to him a Red Shirt was shot through the chest.
And no – i have not “backed down sheepishly” – anyone who knows me knows very well, that i will hardly back down, and that “sheepishly” is not part of my character.
You, sir, are a liar and a coward who discredits me from anonymity. And in the unlikely event that you come out of your comfortable anonymity, i will state the same directly in your face.
Imagining a new mandala in mainland Southeast Asia
Banrachawaong@21 no farang here is “choosing” for the Thai people, as almost no farang are entitled to vote in Thailand – unlike in Western countries, where many Thais are allowed to vote.
Your highly discriminatory, fascist inspired nationality laws make THIS is yet another “Thai”/ amart double standard.
Also your “Thailand” has not existed for even one century, let alone the many you claim. It was Siam – with its’ more multi-ethnic, democratic connotations and reality – which existed for so long before the Thai military fascist constructed “Thailand” in 1937. If you want to keep “face”, keep up with the modern world.
Occupation of the malls – UPDATED
it is truly amazing how some folks (like banrachawong ) continue stubbornly adhere to their holy belief that only they are better species, and those other “dark skinned, dumb buffaloes”, who are practically almost not as human, – they can’t possibly even hypothetically evolve to their own level, and thus – to be eligible to even recognition that they too have can their own opinions which they can voice / express, and also be able understand the state of affairs (the DEEP sh1t this country in – mainly due to such attitudes ), and rights to strive for an improvement of their lives !
yet there is a lot of talk about “peace, unity, reconciliation” – total crap ! how can be even ANY honest mentioning of such things, as long as such fellas, the sheeple thoroughly brainwashed with value of “consume and be happy” and eager to preserve such status quo no matte what, – how can this country be EVER really united?
well, stupidity eventually pays off : there are many examples in human history when pushed to the brink masses, hating very guts of such people who used to vilify and disenfranchise them, make the worst nightmares come true – to make those “better” (as they arrogantly and stubbornly consider themselves) LOSE EVERYTHING ! recently Thinitan has mentioned about it in his article.
Imagining a new mandala in mainland Southeast Asia
I once support Taksin, but now I hate Taksin…Taksinomic theory was the cause…you know nothing, say nothing then…leave things to Thai people…I’m sick of Farang who thinks they know better… mind your own business and do good to your mother land.
Imagining a new mandala in mainland Southeast Asia
How generous of you.
And if the natives don’t want to live as well as you, what are you going to do? Civilize them?
Anti-pro-democracy
I don’t find it surprising at all that Bangkokians don’t want a corrupt, murderous despot to come back to get his nose back into the trough again. Yes, there are many ills that need to be righted in Thailand but please come up with a political platform that doesn’t have the sole aim of bringing back one odious man and legalizing the activities of a handful of criminals. The only thing Thaksin dislikes about double standard is his current difficulties in applying to them to himself and his cronies.
Anti-pro-democracy
Tarrin,
I am indeed very angry with the Red shirt leaders for many reasons, but a few below will suffice:
(a) Most recently PM Abhisit pleaded the Red leadership to negotiate seriously . . . and to urgently sit down with government representatives plus any other groups w/ vested interests in Thailand’s political direction . . . to finally remove/reduce lingering divisiveness, disharmony and distrusts . . .and ease tensions. Had the Red leadership concurred, that could have been a milestone of sort . . . for the parties to thresh out a cohesive political path in the way Thailand should be governed and how various Thai groups, with opposing political ideas, should participate and what or how Thai institutions are needed to effect those needed changes. The Reds instead stopped negotiations and continued with their demands for house dissolution/new elections and damn whatever happens next!
(b) The Reds movement have a very violent elements and these elements M-79 grenade attacks continue with more frequency as their Bangkok street protests get more noisy and incoherent. See Shawn Crispin’s ‘Bombs Away’ article at AsiaTimes with excerpts quoted below:
——
Bombs away in Thailand
By Shawn W Crispin Apr/02/2010 AsiaTimes
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Southeast_Asia/LD02Ae02.html
A campaign of terror is underway in Thailand, with both sides to the political conflict pinning blame on the other for a series of grenade attacks that have targeted government offices, military installations and private businesses. Unknown assailants have launched more than a score of explosives attacks this month amid a heavy security force presence in the national capital.
. . . ., more recent blasts have targeted populated areas and seriously injured soldiers and civilians. (And today an M79 grenade was fired at the Democrat Party headquarters on Tuesday afternoon, and the explosion wounded two policemen.) The explosive attacks in Bangkok have coincided with anti-government street protests spearheaded by the United Front Against Dictatorship for Democracy (UDD), a Thaksin-aligned protest group that remobilized in mid-March to pressure Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva to dissolve parliament and call new polls.
. . . While the circumstances around the attacks are murky, many analysts discount the UDD’s claims that the military’s top brass is behind the bombings. They reason that the military has little, if any, motivation to further destabilize Abhisit’s coalition government, which top soldiers allegedly helped from behind-the-scenes to cobble together in a late 2008 parliamentary vote.
. . . One Bangkok-based diplomat speculated that it was “no coincidence” that the grenade targets were often the same government institutions that house the bureaucratic elites that UDD leaders have pilloried from their protest stage. He noted that while there were similar anonymous grenade attacks during the rival PAD protests in 2008, in contrast the explosions were launched inside, not outside, of the protest site. . . “
. . .Other analysts believe that the mysterious violence corresponds with previous UDD threats to take up arms. The UDD said in a recent press statement that it had abandoned its previous call to “armed struggle” and from its protest stage UDD leaders have distanced themselves from more radical Thaksin supporters who had criticized the UDD’s tactics and advocated more aggressive means to topple the government.
It’s unclear to some diplomats and analysts whether the bombings are an outgrowth of competition between different camps jockeying to maintain Thaksin’s favor. The radicals include most notably Maj Gen Khattiya Sawasdipol, . . .”
(c) If I continue to regard the Reds as no more ‘bought-and-paid-for-‘ mercenaries of Thaksin is because I know that for a fact . . . during elections and during protests. I have relatives in the provinces and neighbors and friends who will repeat the rampancy by which standing cash offers of Baht 1,000 or more to anyone willing to wear a shirt colored in Red and join the protests. (my driver and househelps and their relatives routinely cash those offers in exchange for their ID cards).
Anti-pro-democracy
I just could not resist to respond to MCSING particular lament that ” . . redshirt supporters . . are regarded as stupid buffaloes by those in Bangkok.”
MCSING continues on . . “But the Bangkok view has not been my experience – and as I am a university professor I have some credentials for judging this.”
I am not sure and thus wish to be clarified . .. by credentials must mean ‘veterinary credentials’ right?
Bangkok or bust, Part 1
“The heart of the micro-loan concept is that, 1 success for every 10 fail cases.”
Huh?
You are obviously not in any money lending business.
Bangkok or bust, Part 1
George jetson…
just on whether some reds were killed last April…
there were 2 found floating in a khlong, accounted for but of course the “obvious” killers have been covered up
plus on the international news there was a sequence where soldiers backed up some covered trucks and threw in some (6?) dead/unconscious bodies early on the morning of the military attack… I have never seen any coherent story about this… another Thai cover up or just never explained in english?
all a bit murky and leaves a nasty taste…
do you have a straightforward view on all this?
Bangkok or bust, Part 1
Tarrin: You’ve become a very active poster lately. Your posts are impressive — you are obviously passionate about your beliefs and you are scrupulous in supporting them with facts. A model for all.
I would disagree with one fact in your list of what Thaksin accomplished — about the 2 a.m. closing law for bars. I think the new law under Thaksin requires a 12 midnight closing. Most bars ignore it, via a little tip to the police. Most seem to close at 2 a.m., which reinforces everyone’s assumption that that’s the legal closing time, though it’s two hours past the legal deadline. Even one of Abhisit’s cabinet members commented a year or so ago that he’d like to see the Bangkok Governor “enforce the 2 a.m. closing time” for bars!
I think Thaksin also made big strides toward improving education. He took the Education portfolio for himself, indicating his interest.
(In sum, I hope he doesn’t return; he was corrupt and was and is mainly interested in himself, though he did accomplish some good.)
Occupation of the malls – UPDATED
@Mike
A friend who manages a construction site in Rajprasong area said that on the day of the road seizure the site had to be closed down. So his lived-in construction workers went to join the mob for 1000 baht each and returned to work on the next day. Perhaps they were the Bankokians you saw.
Imagining a new mandala in mainland Southeast Asia
Sawarin Suwichakornpong, I agree with the assessment of Thaksin in your letter to The Times. He is like Sir Robert Walpole, not a good moral example, but someone who tipped the balance of power towards the elected institution. The difference is that Walpole was followed by a gradual strengthening of democracy in Britain. After Thaksin we have had a successful absolutist reaction, as if the Jacobites had won in 1745.
Bangkok or bust, Part 1
Wow — Daddy George knows the wai run expression of ya ma weng!! But since aunty Sri has heard of this, why not daddy? Choke dee kha.
Imagining a new mandala in mainland Southeast Asia
@banshack . First, I sincerely thank you for thoughts and experience you have shared. This makes me glad that I found this blog. I do not deny that some traditions are there for control. Our way of governing does come from trial and error, whose doesn’t. But that does not give us the right to throw away our long held values. If the reds were against the unfairness from oppression from “Pu Yai”, we wouldn’t have heard Dr. Weang Tojira attacking PM Abhisit saying “as someone who is older” and then lectured on how the PM shouldn’t quarrel with Jatuporn. So the PM is supposed to listen to Dr.Weang’s nonsense just because he is older? I do not think we can take our inconveniences here and there to be the basis for the rationale to overthrow an existing system and neither should we ignore them. But the way the reds rush into this is what amazes me the most. Many of the thing about the red’s movement is suspicious. For instance, I still can not figure out why UDD has four different websites (.com, net .org .biz) that when accessed come to the same page??? and how some of the links (out of numerous liks) for articles in big name magazines led to nowhere? I am not trying to pick a fight with anyone but just trying to exercise my right in believing.