robaus

So are you saying Yingluck and Suthep are both as bad as each other? I just want the rule of democracy.

And if Suthep and the yellow shirts hadn't taken their bat and ball home boycotting the election, sent their armed thugs to disrupt decent citizens wanting to exercise their democratic rights, we would have had a fully functioning elected government and the farmers would have been paid months ago. The words hypocrisy and disingenuity spring to mind!

Silly hyperbole. Stick to the subject. So are you denying that Suthep and his cronies blocked Yingluck's attempts to repay them months ago?

That's because he can censor the media and shoot anyone who protests against him! I bet Aussie PM Tony Abbott wishes he had the same powers!

Yingluck's government tried to issue a bond to raise money to pay the farmers months ago, but guess who blocked that saying she didn't have the authority to do so. Yep, your mates Suthep and the yellow shirts! And now their chums the military dictators instantly find the cash. Surprise surprise. Could it be that the yellow shirts couldn't give a toss about the farmers a few months ago, but are now all in favour of their mate Prayuth getting them all onside. “Former Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra dissolved parliament in December and called an election for February. From that moment, her caretaker government was unable to initiate new policies, even as the economy foundered, and found it impossible to raise funds for the troubled rice scheme. The military has now torn up the constitution and the finance ministry has moved quickly to find money for the farmers, inviting banks to tender early next month to provide 50 billion baht ($1.53 billion) in loans to fund the rice scheme.†http://www.businessi...6#ixzz32uDGRDNu I don’t understand the maths here. KS says 500 billion baht was lost in the corrupt rice scheme. The farmers were being paid at inflated prices, and yet it only costs 50 billion baht to repay the farmers. This does not compute. Could the army be accused of “populist policies†making paying the farmers top priority..to keep them sweet and passive.

I may be misinterpreting your post but I think you are talking about 2 different things: 1. changes to the election process 2. party policy changes to improve all Thais’ lives, social mobility and aspirations. No-one on this site or in the Thai media has yet given a concrete example or even vague hint of what these reforms may be ..although so far 28 people have died for them, Bangkok been disrupted for the last 6 months, and now a coup and military dictatorship that is echoing the same reform mantra. The way I read it: Suthep and the yellow shirts can’t win any elections because too many people vote against them. Consequently, they want to alter the election process so that even if the majority of Thais vote against them, the yellow shirts can still win (eg. gerrymandering electoral boundaries, stacking parliament with more of their own unelected members). I believe that is unjust. I believe the yellow shirts need to change their party policies to appeal to a wider voter audience if they want to win an election...improve rural education, more free scholarships for the underprivileged, more clinics, hospitals and affordable treatment in rural areas (health should be a civil right, like education...our American friends may not agree with that), tax incentives for job creation in Isaan, clean running water, improved roads and telecommunications, pension schemes for the elderly, disabled and unemployed where government matches baht for baht citizens’ contributions. With a free media and TV debates, the various parties can make their pitch and the people have a real choice. I think excuses such as “This is not the Asian way†“Thailand is different ...you don’t understand†are just bullshit.

Reference/link please. You've reported all the other twitter feeds. Why do I not see this very relevant info elsewhere on the net by reliable sources other than your hearsay? It wouldn't surprise me if the red shirts are involved in protesting against the coup and defending the democratic choice that the majority of Thais made before military dictatorship stepped in. But to make the assumption that Taksin alone is upset about a military coup usurping democracy and is choreographing and leading the whole scenario, as some on this website would claim, is bulllshit.

..reforms subtitled “Get the Shinawatras at all costs†If what they propose really is as crude as that, then Prayuth and Suthep’s cronies absolutely deserve to lose the next decade’s elections too. Why are they so puerile? Why don’t opposition parties stay within the democratic framework and beat the Shinawatras at their own game, by helping all Thais to a better life, not just the Bangkok elite and their power base in the south? Is the military dictatorship going to test their reforms in a referendum before an election or impose them as a fait accompli. Any army that fears its own people is doomed to ultimate failure.

Apologies. Just a bit of light satire. I went to remove the reference but you got there before me.

... weasel words unless you can support it with quality evidence. http://en.wikipedia....iki/Weasel_word How about this version... “I’ve heard talk of “... groups of yellow shirt supporters “spitting at the soldiers and shouting insults about HM to try to get them to respond with violenceâ€...so that they can blame it on the red shirts. Just as they fired on their own at the Victory Monument to provoke a coup. My version is just as hearsay as yours unless I have proof. Let's stick to facts and not Propaganda.

..[Removed - KS] is at it again. How [Removed - KS] do you know what their politics is. The BBC’s Damian Grammaticas claims they are unaffiliated...simply prefer democracy to military dictatorship http://www.bbc.com/n...d-asia-27563615

That's because you live in the city and not Nakhon Nowhere.

Another fucking Marvo the Mindreader. Wolff is somehow privy to Taksin's thoughts. He ought to be on the stage. Let's get this straight.. Taksin forced Suthep onto the streets to disrupt Bangkok life for the last 6 months. He then forced him and his cronies to boycott the election that might have given a clear mandate from the people. Then he compelled the yellow shirts to disrupt the elections. Then Svengali like he mesmerised the EC into annulling the elections and the Constitutional Court into sacking Yingluck as PM. Next he convinced Suthep (Taksin’s probably paying him!) to declare his 11th all out final battle and force elected Senators and the caretaker government to resign. Then he made Prayuth conduct a coup. Now finally, he is going to compel Thai soldiers to fire on demonstrators. Cunning plan, Baldrick. .. and think..we might have been waking up tomorrow morning to see Suthep surrendering to the police on his arrest warrant.... problem sorted.

What utter patronizing bollocks, Jeffrey Rock. >>Democracy cannot flourish where ..vote buying (through populist policies).... ...That’s the whole fucking idea! It just about describes every democracy in the western world. Poli’s make their policy promises, folks vote for them because it’s in their interest, then sometimes (often?) the poli’s break their promises. The voters sometimes (often?) remember the deceit and vote them out of office, giving another party a chance, who in turn promises them something better. It’s up to opposition or new parties in Thailand to offer the voters a better alternative... not take their bat and ball home, and say no-one can play now, and I’m sending my big brother along to make sure nobody does. >> and undermine the fabric of Thai society. (ho ho ho) ..the fabric of Thai society is paternal feudalism..the plebs in Isaan and the lower castes who managed to infiltrate Bangkok have to get back in their box and not be so uppity, just because they’ve got the vote. Plus the greed factor..the powers that be are getting cramp in their hands because it’s so long since they've had their hands in the till. >> Remember in our own history for the first 50 years of US democracy. The only people who could vote were land and business owners. We did not extend the vote throughout the country for another 100+years. ...WTF?! What century is Rock in? He wants to apply 18th century repression to 21st century civil rights. Get real, mate. Rock, get back to Bedrock!

...weasel words. What a load of bollocks! Has the head of CIA told you in a confidential briefing or perhaps you have a hotline to Edward Snowden? You clearly don’t like Taksin (no problem), but let’s deal with verifiable facts eh, and not get carried away with hysteria.

"She" (in pic 1) looks like a katoey to me...watch your back, son! Thailand is definitely fucked, you may be next.

Sit it out and wait for power to return to the people, as it inevitably will. And unless the other parties (or new ones) come up with better policies that address the needs of all Thais, his associates will win the next election too, same as they have done for the last 10 years..

However long this all lasts, the army is just pissing in the wind until they address the will of the people through the ballot box. The genie of voter empowerment is out of the bottle now. The days of feudal paternalism are numbered. Maybe a 3rd party will emerge that will appeal to the interests of all Thais.

Did the cleaners look under the carpet...Suthep sweeps all his mystery reform bullshit there. Obviously a crucial election issue ..the party with the biggest wheelie bin??

KS, I can see your point about escalation in violence. I hope this is just martial law and that elections can now proceed in a few months time with the army ensuring that the democratic process takes place peacefully. Bear in mind that it is Suthep and the yellow shirts that have been stirring up trouble for the last 6 months and had vowed to “force†elected senators to resign. I don’t know what they were going to use to “force†them? An alternative scenario would have been to get through this week and allow Suthep to hand himself in next Monday. You've got to ask, in whose interest was it that this week should not pass peacefully.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/worlds-most-expensive-divorce-costs-russian-billionaire-dmitry-rybolovlev-27bn-9400148.html Worlds most expensive divorce costs Russian billionaire Dmitry Rybolovlev £2.7bn Russian billionaire Dmitry Rybolovlev has been ordered to pay about £2.7bn to his ex-wife in what could become the biggest divorce settlement in history. AIn papers delivered on Monday to both parties, a court in Switzerland said Mr Rybolovlev, 47, one of the owners of French soccer club AS Monaco, must pay more than 4bn Swiss francs to Elena Rybolovleva, also 47. The judgment also granted his ex-wife property in the ski resort of Gstaad worth 130.5m francs (£86m) and two other buildings in the wealthy Cologny area of Geneva, where the couple once lived together. It confirmed her custody of their 13-year-old daughter, Anna. The couple also has an adult daughter, Ekaterina. Ms Rybolovleva’s lawyer Marc Bonnant called it “the most expensive divorce in historyâ€, an unheard-of amount for Switzerland. ....He'd have been better off hiring a couple of those Uzbeki lap dancers with platinum blonde wigs down at Galaxy on Wanking Street

Perhaps they will be able to serve Suthep with his arrest warrant for murder and insurrection now...but don't hold your breath. You have lost all credibility in this discussion, Flash and Jitagorn, for your failure to come up with a single reform that seems to be the mantra of the yellow shirts, whom you support, and what this struggle for democracy (ho ho ho) is supposedly all about.

Sad day for Thai democracy. An unelected yellow shirt mob of bully boys allowed to disrupt national elections with impunity, disenfranchise the majority of Thai citizens for the 3rd time in a row now, bring the country to its knees economically and the army steps in to defend them. TIT. Interesting times we live in. The world is watching.

I think that's Flashspeak and Jitagorntalk for you haven't got a clue what the reforms are, but you are prepared to defend to the hilt Suthep and his cronies to promote them. Blind fanatic faith. You see it everywhere in this sad world.

Thank you so much for that link, nkped. That makes much more sense for someone who truly wants to be a tourist in SE Asia. I will contact the secretary for my next double entry visa, and as politely as I can point out the link you sent me. She may not know the regulations and fears losing face. If still no joy, I'll try Canberra or Tasmania. Thank you kindly again.