tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883204318916261809.post7320840326261747503..comments2022-05-22T13:35:55.986+02:00Comments on Changwat, Amphoe, Tambon: Pattani autonomy in discussion againAndyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17710647861853833065noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883204318916261809.post-89748610822008768702009-11-11T18:35:58.068+01:002009-11-11T18:35:58.068+01:00You don't have to be a PAD supporter to despis...You don't have to be a PAD supporter to despise Thaksin. Truth be told, I also despise PAD anyway. The fact that Sonthi and Thaksin were once friends and business buddies, has not escaped me. The way I see things, is that the elite currently has two broad factions who are battling it out for power at the time of succession. The assumption that no one else matters is what gets me about Thai politics. The assumption that the rest of us are just here to gratify their utterly selfish needs. There is no way I would support either set of fascists, criminals and parasites.Born2Serfhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00135967543495980807noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883204318916261809.post-6857847416709016112009-11-11T18:32:55.734+01:002009-11-11T18:32:55.734+01:00You don't have to be a PAD supporter to despis...You don't have to be a PAD supporter to despise Thaksin. Truth be told, I also despise PAD anyway. Thae fact that Sonthi and Thaksin were once friends and business buddies, has not escaped me. The way I see things, is that the elite currently has two broad factions who are battling it out for power at the time of succession. The assumption that no one else matters is what gets me about Thai politics. The assumption that the rest of us are just here to gratify their utterly selfish needs. There is no way I would support either set of fascists, criminals and parasites.Born2Serfhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00135967543495980807noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883204318916261809.post-73252990831932872922009-11-10T14:47:00.697+01:002009-11-10T14:47:00.697+01:00Does that mean you're a PAD supporter?Does that mean you're a PAD supporter?John Francis Leehttp://www.uspvp.orgnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883204318916261809.post-4826926268755425892009-11-09T16:47:38.068+01:002009-11-09T16:47:38.068+01:00Well we agree on that. Abyssmal, in fact! I'm ...Well we agree on that. Abyssmal, in fact! I'm not a betting man, and the Dems have made a complete hash of dealing with a man who has been begging to be convicted for decades.Born2Serfhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00135967543495980807noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883204318916261809.post-59350770667326210962009-11-09T14:04:54.068+01:002009-11-09T14:04:54.068+01:00Well certainly the current cast of professional po...Well certainly the current cast of professional pols is pretty poor. <br /><br />But betting on the increasingly authoritarian, so-called "Democrat Party" is not something I would do, if I were a Thai and in a position to change the political structure of my country.John Francis Leehttp://www.28amen.orgnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883204318916261809.post-2596887561793647172009-11-08T16:36:01.254+01:002009-11-08T16:36:01.254+01:00I won't be adhering to any existing local poli...I won't be adhering to any existing local political heroes or anti-heroes any time soon, thanks! They may demonize each other, but I just see them for a bunch of dumb fools who stir up problems way beyond their own abilities to fix anything. <br /><br />Alternative!? Strange term for a bent cop. Flux!? You mean the turgid ebb and flow of political and big business intrigue in a stagnant millpond full of big fish that have grown way too big. Sounds remarkably like your stasis to me.<br /><br />If the likes of Chavalit and Thaksin had anything to offer the South, they should have done it long ago. Chavalit's former idea to fix the South revolved around buying off certain local politicians. Thaksin, more of the same. It didn't work, because those same politicians have done absolutely nothing to help their own ordinary constituents with their very real problems. And Thaksin became a raging bull in a china shop when he began to realize that the problem could never be fixed by just throwing money around indiscriminately. He thus demonstrated just what a rank political amateur he really is. Deviousness and flat-out dishonesty doesn't automatically make a good PM or CEO. Indeed, the whole idea of a CEO PM is extremely crass. Business is never the be-all or end-all of any society. We should always expect far more than business acumen in a PM. (And buying lucrative contracts off other government officials is not exactly the mark of a consummate businessman anyway.)Born2Serfhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00135967543495980807noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883204318916261809.post-73820383784094504892009-11-07T03:52:46.471+01:002009-11-07T03:52:46.471+01:00So stick with the devil you know? Stasis ensures m...So stick with the devil you know? Stasis ensures more of the same. Flux allows for alternatives.John Francis Leehttp://www.uspvp.orgnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883204318916261809.post-90822830382857610362009-11-06T14:51:14.755+01:002009-11-06T14:51:14.755+01:00Of course, JFL, the big question is whether you re...Of course, JFL, the big question is whether you really want it to "fail" into the arms of the counter elite. You know who I am talking about. The counter elite offers absolutely nothing new. Just the same old corruption and overmeddling interference, in new hands. Right now, there are no viable alternatives. And the likes of Jakraphob aren't even remotely capable of thinking beyond how much someone is going to pay them.Born2Serfhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00135967543495980807noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883204318916261809.post-35756623175434420832009-11-06T12:39:21.607+01:002009-11-06T12:39:21.607+01:00...why shouldn't the other parts of the countr...<i>...why shouldn't the other parts of the country not deserve elected province governors or a really powerful provincial parliament instead of the weak PAO...</i><br /><br />That's certainly the question. The answer is that Bangkok's financial relationship to Thailand is like Singapore's financial relationship to Malaysia and Indonesia, but the Bangkok "elite" have never made the transition from hands-on to purely financial exploitation, and are now once again barricading fortress Bangkok to resist the Thais' demands for more control of their own country.<br /><br />These "defences" will fail and fall at one point. Don't know if it'll be this time, or next time...John Francis Leehttp://www.28amen.orgnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2883204318916261809.post-66281014994210906842009-11-06T04:43:43.322+01:002009-11-06T04:43:43.322+01:00Truly weird! Autonomy is most certainly the way to...Truly weird! Autonomy is most certainly the way to go. But it is unlikely to happen any time soon, because the elite really can't stand the thought of people figuring stuff out for themselves. (Then what would they do for a living!?) Particularly since if you give it to one region, they will all want it.<br /><br />How ironic that such radical proposals always come from Thailand's biggest scamps. Anyone with the slightest inkling of Thai politics knows that General Chavalit is hardly an honest man. His life has been full of intrigue. And most of that revolved around gaining more power, influence and wealth for himself. And it's not even as if most of his cunning schemes have really been at all successful. He was a dreadful PM.<br /><br />So all in all, this man can never be trusted.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com