Poor Thais

I have nothing but sympathy for the people of this supposedly peaceful, predominantly Buddhist kingdom

First they (the Bangkok elite) cannot tolerate a good Prime Minister (Thaksin) who cares for the poor so much so that they instigate the army and support a coup d'etat. OK he may have mixed business with politics, but that must surely be a case of the pot calling the kettle black for I can't imagine a Thai politician who's in politics with the sole purpose of serving his/her fellow countrymen. There's always a hidden agenda somewhere and this normally starts from a hunger for power and recognition, evolving into business propositions from people around them, and inevitably leading to some form of corruption, collusion or cronyism.

In the so called affluent Western world, this is not dissimilar to the work of lobbyists, and politicians laying the ground for campaign funds at the next election - its not called corruption or cronyism. Look at what happened to Bush and Cheney and their relationship with oil giants. Here in the East, it's called corruption and cronyism, plus nepotism in the words of the Indonesians.

"One man one vote" is just not good enough for the urban elite in Bangkok and surrounds. Farmers are deemed "children of a lesser God" and don't deserve to have the equal vote that the "intellect and elite" have

So why did the security apparatus and the army in Thailand let these PAD bandits and bullies run amok to the extent of isolating Bangkok from the outside world and inconveniencing tourists by closing their airport? Doesn't this smell of collaboration? Doesn't this suggest that some "high power" up there is tacitly supporting the bullies and bandits who wear yellow purportedly in support of the King. This high power is so powerful, for otherwise the PAD movement would not have rendered the army and police ineffective. How should the monarch feel when bandits and bullies further their crimes under the auspices of loyalty to the monarch?

They asked for Prime Minister Samak to resign when they occupied government house in Bangkok. Samak resigned but they didn't disperse from government house. Now they want replacement Prime Minister Somchai to resign and the government to step down. Who's going to govern if the government steps down? They, the PAD who's holding the country at ransom even though the government is a democratically elected one?

When I was in Bangkok during the Thaksin era, a lot of the established business people dislike Thaksin openly. The cushy contracts and relationships they had with the "old school" politicians suddenly disappeared in the face of billionaire Thaksin and his business empire. It's not unlike the Suharto kids in Indonesia - before the children grew up, business deals were spread out "quite equally" among Suharto loyalists under a "somewhat successful" patronage system; but when the children grew up and entered the business world, the best deals were snatched up by the Cendana family leaving the "bones" for the others.

How can Thais get out of this quagmire.

Maybe they need a strong Prime Minister like Thaksin to come back and resolve this once and for all - through negotiations and diplomacy. Thaksin must have learnt his mistakes by now - maybe he isolated the powerful elites so badly that they have but one aim and that is to put him out of power. The person who's so instrumental in reshaping the country and giving the rural folks a breathe of fresh air may have moved too fast for the urban folks to accept. I'm quite sure that a smart person like Thaksin will not make the same mistakes, IF given a second chance.

If only Indonesia has the same strong willed and committed leader in next year's elections. Rural Indonesians, perhaps even all Indonesians will be able to breathe the same fresh air Thaksin provided to the rural Thais - corrupt officials who pilfer from education and welfare funds for the poor excluded, of course.

Strange world in difficult times

This is indeed where are now. Failing banks; falling markets; felled regimes... Where is mankind headed, I wonder?

The good news.
We have a new US President who has to tackle the current crisis.
World commodity prices has fallen so inflationary pressures will not come from scarce commodities at least in the next 18 to 24 months.
All countries are coming together to get us out of this quagmire.
China is doing something to "jump shock" their economy.
we can all

The BAD BAD news
Recession, recession, recession
No signs that confidence is rebuilding in credit markets.
Putin and Russia has not said what it plans to do to get his country and the world back on track.
Europe is united yet divided still.
Pirates off Somalia are creating havoc to shipping, and hence stifling trade and raising costs/inflation.


Tell me more ....