Thailand Politics

[Giotto]

To whom it may concern. To all who are interested in some background information:

http://www.scribd.com/doc/58516989/thaistory1-1

Dynamite. Must Read!

Background Info:

http://asiapacific.anu.edu.au/newman...ls-thai-story/

http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion...s-2301363.html

http://twitter.com//search? Q=%23thaistory.

That's it then.

Giotto

[Xerman]

What effects will these elections have? Do July travelers need to do anything to be prepared for possible unrest in Bangkok?

Thanks.

[Skeetm]

What is more likely to happen?

I arrive late July. I figure no matter who wins, protests will kick off / peak about a month later.

I figure some 'horsetrading' may need to take place if no outright majority, and my reading of the internal structure.

Is that the power brokers refuse to accept things HAVE changed, and 'no deals' leading to a stalemate.

On the plus side, baht may drop and gals may be cheaper, because no matter what, press.

Will make it appear 'newsworthy'. Or will this time be different?

I figure Pattaya and the Main airport should be safe enough, and just give BKK a miss. I really only care if a 'Do Not Travel' alert pops up. What do members reckon?

I too am planning a trip. 24 Jun thru 3 July. Anyone heard travel restrictions?

Thanks

[Keeniu]

What is more likely to happen?

I arrive late July. I figure no matter who wins, protests will kick off / peak about a month later.

I figure some 'horsetrading' may need to take place if no outright majority, and my reading of the internal structure.

Is that the power brokers refuse to accept things HAVE changed, and 'no deals' leading to a stalemate.

On the plus side, baht may drop and gals may be cheaper, because no matter what, press.

Will make it appear 'newsworthy'. Or will this time be different?

I figure Pattaya and the Main airport should be safe enough, and just give BKK a miss. I really only care if a 'Do Not Travel' alert pops up. What do members reckon?

[Stevebny]

I remember reading something about Toxin about a year ago that complained not that he was corrupt but that he was too corrupt. That explains a lot about Politics here.

[Goyave]

http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/loca...e-buying-money

Most of the people will accept money offerred by election candidates to buy votes from them, according an Abac Poll conducted by Assumption University.

The poll was conducted on 2,604 eligible voters in 18 provinces - Bangkok, Chachoengsao, Suphan Buri, Lop Buri, Chon Buri, and Samut Prakan in the Central Region; Sukhothai, Phitsanulok, Nakhon Sawan, and Chiang Mai in the North; Nakhon Phanom, Sakon Nakhon, Si Sa Ket, and Udon Thani in the Northeast; and Satun, Pattani, Nakhon Sithammarat and Songkhla in the South - during Jan 8-15.

Most or 53.2 per cent of those surveyed said they would accept the money offerred to buy votes from them, 40.2 per cent would not take it, while 6.6 per cent were non-committal.

Of those who would take the money, most or 69.6 per cent were in the Northeast, followed by those in Bangkok.

Most or 79.5 per cent of the respondents admitted vote-buying took place in their communities, while 20.5 per cent said otherwise.

Asked about their political standpoint, 61.1 per cent of the respondents said they would rather be a silent force in the middle, 27.2 per cent supported the government and 11.7 per cent did not support the government.

[The Pro]

A good read on the PAD / Dems / Cambodia.

http://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/o...rong-direction

[The Pro]

Finally an "official" stamp to what everyone has been saying.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20101215...iticswikileaks

Thai queen accused over 2006 military coup: US cable.

Wed Dec 15, 2:03 am ET.

LONDON (AFP) – A former Thai premier accused the queen of responsibility for a 2006 military coup, a leaked US diplomatic memo showed, prompting Bangkok to insist the monarchy was above partisan politics.

Samak Sundaravej, who was prime minister for seven months in 2008,"showed disdain for Queen Sirikit, claiming that she had been responsible for th.

[The Pro]

Another good article in the Bangkok Post. This writer must be the target of a sniper bullet or "accident" fairly soon if he keeps writing this.

http://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/o...where-we-stand

The Thai courts and justice system is corrupt to the core it is said and its been the tool of the Yellows sponser to evict Thaksin and his party from power, everyone knows that but at last people are not exposing just how corrupt it is.

Now perhaps more people will understand why Thaksin can travel the world freely, its because the world knows the charges were "approved" under a corrupt justice system by corrupt judges under the pay of the sponsers of the yellow shirts, so it is said.

[The Pro]

Bangkok Post is getting much better now. This article is the latest in a few of decent bits of coverage on Thai politics.

Sadly, its mostly from just a couple of their journalists, but its a start.

http://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/o...humjaithai-out

.

[Fon Tok]

A view of Thailand from the the far side of left,

"...The primary role of the Thai military is to police and repress Thai citizens on behalf of the ruling class. The only other additional role is as a wealth-generating machine for the generals..."

http://socialistworker.org/2010/09/0...he-thai-throne

[Fon Tok]

There is an interesting article in the Asia Times about alleged arms dealer Viktor Bout.

Why the US really wants Bout
By Bertil Lintner

"While Bangkok-based observers weigh the legal merits of extraditing alleged Russian gunrunner Viktor Bout to the United States, a far more important issue seems to have eluded the media: why is Washington so eager to get its hands on Bout and why is Moscow doing everything in its power to prevent that from happening?

Bout was caught in a sting operation in Bangkok in March 2008 when US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agents, posing as representatives of the Colombian narco-rebel movement Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (FARC), claimed that they wanted to buy a large consignment of weapons from him.

Notably there had been no other reports of Bout's alleged involvement in the international arms trade since..."

Full story here: http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Southea.../LH31Ae02.html

[Pita123]

I don't get out much...

gf got you tied to the bed again?

[Opebo]

The crackdowns and late opening never bothered me in the slightest, the crackdowns were anti-drugs and to to be honest I am all for more of that against substance abuse.

Yes! You are precisely the sort of person who is served well by democracy.

[The Pro]

the crackdowns and late opening never bothered me in the slightest, the crackdowns were anti-drugs and to to be honest i am all for more of that against substance abuse.

as you will see the less crackdowns there are, the more africans there are in bangkok selling drugs and doing all sorts of illegal activities.

late opening, do not care, i am normally all spent a couple of times and happily sleeping by 1am.

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yes, i do mean the upper end is coming down in prices and upper mid is now priced at lower mid.

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actually i find the current regime far, far more salubrious for our hobby than the previous ones. venues are open later, and there are a lot fewer 'crackdowns - attempts to control sexual business in the name of 'social order'. i'm a strong believer that, generally speaking, hedonism and personal freedom fare far better under the ancien régime than under democracy. after all, what good does political freedom or 'free speech' do anyone? back home in the land of rules we can look at porn but not buy sex.

haha, interesting point of view. to me bangkok is enormously more expensive than years ago because the old 400-500 baht hotels are so much rarer. but at your higher-end, perhaps it is cheaper.

competition for what? family tourism? foreign direct investment? certainly not sex tourism, the bedrock of which is corruption and oligarchy. we are never popular, gentlemen, with the mass of the people, and our only hope of freedom is when they lack a voice (the nosy prudes).

oh, i will relish it while it lasts - alas it cannot last much longer and this last tidbit of the old order will pass away, and even this happy place will succumb to individualism, human rights, absolutism and democracy - in other words another joyless little america.