Voranai another good article

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buksida
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Re: Voranai another good article

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Spot on.
Real reform starts with the mind, and that means education, nurtured from a young age. There are brilliant Thais out there, but they are brilliant not because of the education system, but in spite of it.

Today is the consequence of yesterday. If there's any glaring horror that could be observed from the past eight years of political struggle it is the ignorance displayed by both sides of the divide, from leaders to supporters.
No Thai government has attempted to reform the education system, partly because an educated population can't be bought or paid off so easily.
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STEVE G
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Re: Voranai another good article

Post by STEVE G »

I don't suppose an educated population would be all that impressed with Suthep's Royalist based neo-feudalism either.
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buksida
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Re: Voranai another good article

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STEVE G wrote:I don't suppose an educated population would be all that impressed with Suthep's Royalist based neo-feudalism either.
True, and is anyone with half an education likely to vote for a family that has embezzled billions from the state? That is without a fat brown envelope for the village headman to dish out at election time!
Who is the happier man, he who has braved the storm of life and lived or he who has stayed securely on shore and merely existed? - Hunter S Thompson
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Re: Voranai another good article

Post by Bristolian »

Another classic that is spot on
http://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/opin ... i-vanijaka

Respect my right to vote

Thailand is a dysfunctional, corrupt democracy, this I agree. That you demand aloud for good governance and a better democracy, this I also agree. The Pheu Thai Party under the will and whim of Thaksin Shinawatra is a threat to democratic progress, this I agree as well.

In fact, the Democrat Party under the will and whim of SuthepThaugsuban is also a threat to democratic progress, I write this even if you disagree. That’s the beauty of democracy; we don’t have to agree.

But if you want a better democracy, then you’d better well behave like you deserve it, by respecting my right to vote.

If you accuse the Pheu Thai Party of behaving unconstitutionally, then you’d better well behave constitutionally by respecting my right to vote, as is guaranteed by the constitution.

If you accuse the red -hirts of behaving like undemocratic thugs, then you’d better well behave like democratic citizens come Sunday, rather than denying me my right through a physical barrier, intimidation or violence as undemocratic thugs would.

You may say that you must blockade the voting booths because of the rampant vote buying in Thai elections. I agree, in my opinion there is rampant vote buying in Thai elections. But opinion and fact is not the

But come Sunday, if you are going to prevent me from casting my vote, you’d better have evidence that I – and other ordinary citizens who will vote on that day – have sold our votes.

The point is, I respect your right. Would you respect mine and others’?

A better democracy is built by the attitudes and actions of individual citizens, combined into a collective culture. It is our behaviour that will decide whether we can achieve it or not.
"'The two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why." - Mark Twain
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Re: Voranai another good article

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I don't respect people who vote in rigged elections for corrupt politicians. Sorry.
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Re: Voranai another good article

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m_right wrote:I don't respect people who vote in rigged elections for corrupt politicians. Sorry.
If your criteria for voting is that there are no corrupt poiticians, I assume that you must be a new voter :laugh: :cheers:
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Re: Voranai another good article

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^^ And I assume you've never voted in the U.S. if you apply that rule... :P
My brain is like an Internet browser; 12 tabs are open and 5 of them are not responding, there's a GIF playing in an endless loop,... and where is that annoying music coming from?
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Re: Voranai another good article

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hhfarang wrote:^^ And I assume you've never voted in the U.S. if you apply that rule... :P
You got it.
I started to refuse to vote a long time ago. I was tempted with Obama but fortunately I can proudly say I didn't fall into the trap. He is the perfect example of why I stopped in the first place.
I actually considered running for a city council position about 30 years ago. I wanted to replace the corrupt incumbent. I consulted with a company that had run or participated in a number of campaigns national and local. Even met a future secretary of defense who was at that time a congressman. I had a friend who was chief of staff for the mayor and knew a judge and assistant district attorney. After talking to all of them and what the first steps I needed to take were I realized it was not the world I wanted to be a part of.
Another time a councilman almost begged me to replace him. He wanted to quit but didn't want the wrong kind of person to take his position. No question about being elected. That was a given. That time it wasn't a moral or ethical decision to decline. I just didn't want the headaches and frustrations of working in that system. He really tried to do a good job and make a difference but couldn't take it anymore.
Those aren't the reasons I don't vote but sure contribute to why. In the U.S. where I came from national elections are just a circus to entertain, distract people and delude them into thinking it is a democracy.
"Religion is What Keeps the Poor from Murdering the Rich" -- Napoleon Bonaparte
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Re: Voranai another good article

Post by johnnyk »

In the continuing Thai soap opera there are no good actors. Not one.
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Re: Voranai another good article

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Does the PDRC have a reform plan?
http://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/opin ... eform-plan

"If someone were to answer that reform is to get rid of corruption and vote buying, end of answer. Then I would say that's the reason for reform, nobody would argue against it. But what exactly is the reform?

If someone were to answer that reform is to get rid of the Shinawatra family and their influences on Thai politics, then I would say that's not a reform plan, that's a revenge plan. What is the reform plan?"
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Re: Voranai another good article

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Expecting reform in three weeks is about the same as calling a snap election where there is only one horse running and half the country have boycotted it - just aint gonna work.
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Re: Voranai another good article

Post by STEVE G »

One interesting point is that if there were genuine reforms to remove all corruption and money from politics, the people funding the opposition wouldn't get any return on their considerable investment. That doesn't seem to be a very likely scenario to me.
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Re: Voranai another good article

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Right, if the reform they want actually happened there would be no politicians left in Thailand!
Who is the happier man, he who has braved the storm of life and lived or he who has stayed securely on shore and merely existed? - Hunter S Thompson
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Re: Voranai another good article

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buksida wrote:Right, if the reform they want actually happened there would be no politicians left in Thailand!
Whoopee......... Utopia.............or maybe Dystopia? :?
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Re: Voranai another good article

Post by caller »

The only reform plan that Suthep and Abhisit have, is the one that sees them returned to and retain power. It might work in the short term, as the next few weeks / months see everything unravel, but then its back to square one.

Personal opinion of course. Hope I'm wrong.
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