Guest Posted June 27, 2003 Report Share Posted June 27, 2003 >>>A war? Its not. <<< there are a lot of things happening which do not necessarily make it into the news, especially around the border areas. i have spoken with more than a few coppers deeply involved into that war on drugs, and even they compared it to the communist insurgency days. the ones i spoke with were veterans of the djungle wars and the deathsquads from those day as well. and we haven't seen the end of it yet even though the government appears to be very busy clapping themselves on the shoulder right now. wait and see. >>>- surround the villages by jungle. The Thai approach which finally succeeded was exactly the opposite.<<< yeps - huge deforestation which, as a sidebenefit made some people enourmaously rich, and others lost their livelyhood. >>>A lot of emphasis was put on winning over forgotten parts of the the country to a national identity, and they came out stronger for it.<<< problem is that those parts and the problems of the people living in those parts are still largely forgotten, hence the drugproblem. >>>be aware than there are a lot of Thais who support the approach towards this. <<< yeah, those whose relatives are not in danger of getting killed, who are not sent to the camps and get brutalised there. you go to my wifes village and you will not hear many positive voices about that war, and thaksin. ten meters away from my wife one unarmed small scale dealer was executed upcountry, fortunately she was not the only witness. but that side of the drug war is hardly seen by those positive voices. >>>to a national identity,<<< actually about five minutes ago me and the missus had a small conversation about that national identity after watching 'ong baht'. i critisised the nationalist tendency about the movie. she said: "#### national identity - bangkok is not my country - my village is my my country!" another young guy i know and his asked me once after we had a bit of sangtip why we farang like to live here in thailand, for him his country is a country of slaves (his words, not mine!) which somehow sums it up for a lot of thais - that national pride thing is something the governments like to promote, and people play lipservice, but inside this place here is still torn apart between the classes. and will stay as long as the governments are not serious in solving the people's problems. thais aren't stupid - they know very well that empty words and pompous gestures do not feed them. the one who really keeps that place together is the king as a person, because he has proven to the people that he personally cares and tries to improve whatever is in his power. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 27, 2003 Report Share Posted June 27, 2003 >>>Conclusion - yes, you are right that there has been internal war.<<< and i completely forget the brief war against laos about 20 years ago which thailand lost. highlight i think was the very bloody battle at lom gao which cost countless thai rangers and soldiers their life due to a completely incompetent leadership. you should talk with some of those veterans. i was fortunate enough to speak with combat veterans of both sides. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
check_bin_krap Posted June 27, 2003 Report Share Posted June 27, 2003 "and i completely forget the brief war against laos about 20 years ago which thailand lost. highlight i think was the very bloody battle at lom gao which cost countless thai rangers and soldiers their life due to a completely incompetent leadership. you should talk with some of those veterans. i was fortunate enough to speak with combat veterans of both sides. " ................................................................... I never heard of it. But honestly, if you classify border clashes as war its there all the time. I am not surprised if Thailand lost in such a clash. After all, 20 yrs ago Laos had experienced vets who had been in war. Cheers! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
check_bin_krap Posted June 27, 2003 Report Share Posted June 27, 2003 On your comment about the drug stuff Fly: I simply do not have the knowledge about the current situation, and admit that you might be right. I am merely referring to what Thai's I know say. And they might not be the correct ones to ask about this. ................................................................... >>>- surround the villages by jungle. The Thai approach which finally succeeded was exactly the opposite.<<< "yeps - huge deforestation which, as a sidebenefit made some people enourmaously rich, and others lost their livelyhood." No, that is not what I meant. It was winning over the villagers, getting the communist isolated in their beliefs by other means than terror and war. The communist quote was not about growing/cutting trees - you missed my point. There was a huge effort which is shown today also in an area like Isaan - they are Thai. Its cultural as well as economic, health care and development. Before you cry wolf, what you see today is something else than what was in the 60's. They are Thai - they were not necessarily Thai in the past. Fly, you are right in many ways. But I think your ambitions are too huge and your views too dark. The positives came before Thaksins regime, and I think they are strong enough to outlive him. Yes, border areas have been glum all along. But you can not judge Thailand on a whole on that. Its like saying India is like the disputed area between Pakistan and India, where there has been an ongoing war for God knows how long. Actually we agree, I think the current government stinks. Their reaction to matters is a swift, easy way to do it surrounded by a lot of PR. Its businessmen who are not competent with anything else than money. Cheers! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 27, 2003 Report Share Posted June 27, 2003 I thought that to discuss about politics is forbidden on this board. :: Best regards Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 27, 2003 Report Share Posted June 27, 2003 Its not that different to the hard line approach being taken more and more often in other countries A hard approach is only taken by countries which are forced to it by the USA. There exists several studies showing that a hard approach costs too much money and lives, increases the criminality and corruption. Drug experts have been saying since many years that a legal and controlled access to drugs would be a much better solution. But the USA inhibit every step in this direction, so that only "independent" countries (i.e. europeen countries) can experiment with other approaches than the raw use of force. Best regards Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BelgianBoy Posted June 27, 2003 Report Share Posted June 27, 2003 Says naiv: I thought that to discuss about politics is forbidden on this board. :: Best regards IT IS, but I cannot be here every minute of the day ! CBK and Fly knock it off, and stay on topic please ! Subject of this thread is ""BG Interviews#1 Is it "fun" to be a prostitute?"", as good as your discussion is, do take it elsewhere or per PM, sorry. Cheers - BB - moderator Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 27, 2003 Report Share Posted June 27, 2003 >>>>I never heard of it. But honestly, if you classify border clashes as war its there all the time.<<<< http://www.historyguy.com/thai_laos_border_war_87.html there is a little bit of info on that war. >>>No, that is not what I meant.<<< yeah i know, but i just had to get some little propaganda in as well >>>But I think your ambitions are too huge and your views too dark.<<< definately possible. but still, i prefer to show some other side to thailand as well, there is at times a bit too much of that "amazing thailand is a paradise" feel by some posters. there is a very dark side to this place as well. coming back to the topic of the interview - the darker sides of this country here make this nightlife scene here only possible, that is the thai background of this scene here. this scene grows out of the darkness (metaphorically speaking). the vast majority of the girls in that scene do come from the disenfranchised parts of the population here. and i believe if one tries to understand that scene, and the reactions of those girls, one has to learn about life in the villages and the slums, especially the problems, material and cultural. there is no way around that. the bars give only half the story. >>>Actually we agree, I think the current government stinks. Their reaction to matters is a swift, easy way to do it surrounded by a lot of PR. Its businessmen who are not competent with anything else than money. <<< for sure! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
check_bin_krap Posted June 27, 2003 Report Share Posted June 27, 2003 hihihihi While BB was having a nap we were naughy boys Fly! Honestly BB, I will try to behave. Cheers! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 27, 2003 Report Share Posted June 27, 2003 BB may be taking a nap, but I'm not. Have no choice to close this thread, if not immediatly back to topic. HT - Relationships Mod Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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