PattayaMale

Here is a good article from a Thai reporter on Thaskin and democracy. I tried to make a link to the article but did not work so here is the full article. I first met Thaksin Shinawatra during the first days after the Thai Rak Thai party won its first general election in 2001. The then prime minister and his cabinet came to the Post Building for a press visit. Thaksin entered the ground floor of the building with much pomp. The staff of Post Publishing lined up to greet him, all smiley and happy. Many had a 100 baht note in their hands, and were asking Thaksin to autograph them. He was a star. When the lift doors opened to the first floor where the boardroom was located, Thaksin came out flanked by the then editor of the Bangkok Post and the then editor of Business Post, followed by his entourage. Again, a crowd of staff gathered in front of the lift to greet the man of the hour, the saviour of Thailand. Alone, I was leaning against the rail of the balcony that overlooked the ground floor. About six metres from the lift, I took in the scene, arms spread out over the rail, just chilling nonchalantly, wearing a suit with no tie like in the picture on today’s page one. After a few seconds greeting his fans, Thaksin looked up and clocked me. He walked straight over to me from about three metres away and grabbed me by the shoulders with both his hands. Everyone else looked on with puzzlement. What’s going on? Is the new prime minister going to chastise that arrogantlooking kid for his smug pose? With a big smile, he spoke: ‘‘Are you a reporter here? You ought to be a star [a dara].’’ Well, who was I to contradict the then prime minister and most popular man in Thailand, so I muttered, ‘‘Err ... krub phom’’. Then I heard a collective sigh of relief from everyone else. Later, inside the boardroom, after over an hour of Q&A between Thaksin and his cabinet and the reporters and editors of the Bangkok Post, the meeting drew to a close, though not before Thaksin asked if there was one last question. It was then that the man who ought to be a star raised his hand to ask his first question: ‘‘Sir, what does ‘human rights’ mean to you?’’ An uncomfortable silence descended over the room. What’s this? A question that isn’t about economic policy? Foreign policy? Any policy? What’s going on? What kind of question is that? With a sage smile, Thaksin replied with a story of how once he was talking to a group of foreign dignitaries on this very topic. He said that no one was quite sure what ‘‘human rights’’ were, until he told them. ‘‘I said to them ... human rights is the right to be human,’’ Thaksin proudly announced. He then added how the foreign dignitaries were impressed with such an ‘‘original’’ and ‘‘insightful’’ answer. His cabinet were all cheering, laughing and smiling at the boss’s brilliance. Everyone else breathed a collective sigh of relief ... well, everyone except for the man who ought to be a star, instead of a starving writer with a penchant for asking goofy questions. I was nearly knocked off my seat by the forceful blow of his empty reply: ‘‘Human rights is the right to be human!’’ No kidding? Really? But old chap, I thought you had a PhD in criminology! What has Thailand just done? Elected a leader who has no clue what the foundation of democracy is? As if that’s not bad enough, being a clueless person is fine, anyone can still learn, but a clueless person who pretends to know is dangerous, isn’t he? How dangerous? Dangerous enough to order the murder of some 2,500 citizens, disregarding their right to the due process of law — dangerous enough to intimidate, manipulate and censor the public, disregarding freedom of speech. Seven years since I first met Thaksin, I would like to ask supporters of the Thaksin camp who have been screaming about him (or his nominees) being democratically elected. I would like to ask the sea of red shirts waving Thaksin banners and gathering to hear his message last night: Why do you want to be ruled by a tyrant who murdered his own people and took away our basic democratic rights? Why do you use the term ‘‘democracy’’ (United Front of Democracy against Dictatorship) to champion someone who is so contemptuous of it? Isn’t that as hypocritical as the People’s Alliance for Democracy shouting for an ‘‘appointed’’ government and prime minister, or taking the airports hostage? I take no sides. I will ridicule the ridiculous no matter the colour of their shirt. Going to the ballot box is merely a function of democracy, a function that serves democratic values such as human rights. If the democratically elected party shows disregard for democratic values, it loses the right to govern. That’s why leaders of democratic countries get impeached when they commit a crime; it doesn’t matter if they are democratically elected or not. But then again, why should the redshirt proponents of Thaksin care about such things as human rights, liberty and freedom when even the law does not care. The Constitution Court found him guilty of corruption, but is there even one of the some 2,500 murder cases being looked at by the Criminal Court? Corruption? Please, show me a politician who has never dirtied his hands, and I’ll show you a prostitute who will give a Christmas discount. Forget money matters for a moment and ask: What happened to the value of human rights in this country? Do we not realise that we cannot have democracy without human rights? In the parliamentary vote for prime minister tomorrow, if a Puea Thai nominee wins, it’s a vote for Thaksin as our ruler, which means a vote for the mastermind behind mass murder and the robber of human rights — an enemy of democracy. Then there’s Abhisit Vejjajiva. Now, this man who ought to be a star instead of a starving writer is no fan of the Democrats, but at least they haven’t committed mass murder ... yet. If he wins, can we expect him to champion human rights? But why should he when most of us seem to obsess only over corruption, which is a money matter, but pay little mind to human rights and liberty? Thailand is stuck in the perpetual black hole of democracy because we only obsess over the capitalistic side of democracy, but disregard the humanistic side of it. Which, given Thailand’s notorious materialism, our greed over fame and fortune, our hobby of banning this and censoring that, of suppressing liberty, here’s another question: Barring mass murder, how many of us are actually better than my sevenyear-long friend, Thaksin Shinawatra? So my dear friend Thaksin, you haven’t been around for a while now, stuck over there in Hong Kong, but still I miss you, After all, you thought I ought to be a star. However, looking around the streets of Thailand, there are so many more Thaksins to make friends with. And since some wise guy decided to put my picture on the front page of the newspaper (I’m a bashful boy, by the way), allow me to conclude this commentary with something that may not be anywhere near as profound as ‘‘human rights is the right to be human’’, but here it is anyway:

Great question GB.............I have a feeling Geezer may have a picture of him. Just a guess!

Even though I have been coming to Thailand for many years before retiring here, I never had gone to Kho Samui. When I first checked for flights the only flights I found even going to Bangkok Air website was from Bangkok. A friend said they had flights from Utapao so I did a Google search and found the right Bangkok Air link. (I was looking for promotions on their site. When I did not, Utapao was listed). Since I was going to drive to Utapao, I tried to find a map. I went to Utapao web site and could not find one.Not finding one I called Bangkok Air. I asked if there was one on their website or could they tell me how to get there from Pattaya. I was surprised that they were not able to help. A Google Map search did find work. Once getting to the airport everything worked very efficiently. The Bangkok Air staff was very helpful. The only concern I had is that while sitting in the departure area after going through security, I heard one guy tell security he forgot his man purse on the seat before entering the security screening. They let him back through but when he came back they did not scan the bag he brought through. Another interesting thing, The army guard that was inside the secure area found an issue of Spice. He stood there looking at it, then rolled it up and took it in to the toilet area. We finally were taken to the turbo prop plane and off we went. They gave us a sandwich and juice once we took off and 40 minutes later we landed at the most beautiful Koh Samui airport. For me Utapao is a good alternative instead of having to drive from Pattaya to Bangkok.

Also in the Bangkok Post was an article that said Thaskin was getting another 30 days to appeal his conviction. I think Taskin is loosing his grip on power, but not completely. If the government wanted to, I guess it could block the call. Is it not surprising that a guy gets convicted and jumps bail but is still able to campaign? Jumping bail must carry some prison time as a separate crime. His ego must be incredible. I mean having 3000 "drug dealers" killed........no trial or appeal for them..........

I think the set of laws are the same. Just like staying at the Royal Cliff. Price is the same but not all can afford it. Unless you are a Thai MP....

The difference of the US dollar to the Baht had a big fall yesterday of almost .5 baht. I keep reading that the Thai economy is on the brink...as is the US, but I am surprised that in just a few days the dollar is worth one less baht

Los Angeles Times If this link does not work, cut and paste http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commen...0,7501175.story

Michael O'Brien (Googie) sent me a message letting me know that John who was Googie's business partner in Topman passed away last night at the hospital. I have no other details at this time. I am on my way to Koh Samui so maybe one of John's friends would be able to post the details of the funeral rites.

Today I went to the calendar on this site and noticed that it seems under used. Also I wish more owners would post upcoming events. But since neither of these wishes will come true, I was wondering if a thread could be started and pinned for posters to post events for the holiday season. Some of us may visit only a few bars and not learn what is going on at other places. Well I'll give it a try. OUD's Cafe and Bar in Sunee Plaza located across from the old Topman now named Cocktail, will be having a gift exchange on New Year's Eve for anyone interested. If you bring a wrapped gift (about 300 baht) you can participate in the gift exchange. I was told they will be providing finger food and even if you don't want to do the gift exchange stop in and have some of the finger food provided

Police have arrested four foreigners, including two British nationals, one German and a US citizen in a crackdown on sexual abuse of minors in Pattaya beach resort, police said Thursday. "There are foreign nationals and networks facilitating sexual abuse of minors in Thailand so we needed to crack down on the crime," said police Major-General Chaiwat Kaetworachai, commander of Thailand's Prevention of Crimes Against Women and Children police division. Chaiwat said the Pattaya clean-up, conducted from November 17 to Thursday, had been assisted by tip-offs from the UK-based Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (CEOPC). Netted in the crackdown were two British nationals, Malcolm Henry Payne and Robert Alexander Horsman, German national Fritz Dieter Blattner and US national Robert Roy Lond, who all face charges of sexually abusing minors or abduction of minors. Also arrested was Thai national Saeng Kaetdee on procurement charges. All five were brought to Bangkok Thursday to face charges and court cases.//DPA The Nation Who is the CEOPC?

I have signed up several times to receive alerts from the US Embassy. I never get any! I must be doing something wrong. Would you be able to do a step by step report as others might be in the same position?

I know this topic has been debated too many times all ready but what I saw today is really sad. While eating at Continental by Soi Bokow (Goggie's has closed again for new staff...my favorite) I watched as this Farang walked about 20 steps and was so out of breathe he had to sit down and had a smoke. Another 20 steps and the same thing. The girl by his side kept wiping his brow as he tried each time to catch his breath. She would say, "you still too tired?" Finally another girl showed up with his suitcase on a motor taxi. Both girls helped this man of maybe 50 up a few steps at a time to his room. Now I am making some assumptions here but it seemed to me that the farang has a breathing problem which smoking is not helping. I thought that many of his friends must have tried to get him to quit, but this addiction must be so hard to beat. I am overweight and have had to have stints inserted to keep my arteries open. Maybe food is an addiction, maybe it is hereditary. So not being perfect it is a little hard to preach to the smoking crowd....but being reminded of all those we have lost here in Pattaya as a result of smoking...........I hope they find the strength and desire to quit so they don't become like the farang I saw today.

TAT had been under pressure for 3 years for "under preforming". Maybe this gives them a win no matter what really happens. If the numbers are low they can blame it on the government turmoil. If numbers are good they can go patting them selves on the back. The problem is now they may not look to see if there are other reason which are more under their control that would help increase numbers. Things like hotel, entertainment and in country flight prices. I am going to Samui from Pattaya for 3 days and my flight price per kilometer flown is very high at over 250 US per person. The room at the resort we will stay at is over $350 us a night (true the room is free for us because we won 2 nights in a contest. Breakfast is 600 baht ($25) per person (we won't eat there). Thailand use to be a very inexpensive place. Yes there still are some bargains but these same bargain prices can be found in many western countries. Most tourists in this economy are looking for interesting places to go as well as affordability. I went to the Thaiair website to see what prices were like 14 days out from LAX. 6 days were sold out. The first available date for regular ECONOMY was $2463 US. On EVA air I could fly out but could not return until a later date because the return was sold out. Price was $1546 regular economy. Just a few years ago I could fly deluxe (economy premium) for under $800. So I think too much is being pushed about the airport closures if flights are full and sold out.

I have just had a look at my iGoogle page which lists news from different sources. Reading it I thought back to the airport closures and demonstrations in a small part of Bangkok. This gave me a better perspective, a larger view. Here is what I read: Protests in Greece continues (with pictures of battles and flames) Brazil protests 9000 disappearances in 2 years Drug cartel deaths climb in Mexico True no one closed the airports in those countries, but it has been very deadly. So the question is, when we take a more global view, which countries tourism will suffer more over the next 3 months? I had a friend arrive from the US yesterday and he said his flight was full.

The caretaker Cabinet Tuesday approved Friday January 2 as an extra New Year holiday, a government spokeswoman said. Wirinthira Nathongborcharas, a deputy spokeswoman, said the Cabinet would like to boost tourism with the long New Year holidays from December 31 to January 2. The Nation Question: How does this boost tourism? I can't believe it will bring more tourist here at this late date and I don't think most tourist care about this being a public holiday. Remember it was just a few months ago that the interior or health minister wanted to BAN alcohol during this festive season. If the idea is to boost local Thai tourism, I would think they will spend the budget money they have if it was a 5 day or a 3 day holiday.

Thanks for the links. I had no idea Koh Samui was so big. One thing I could not find is the distance from Bo Phut to Chaweng. I was planning on get a motorbike and someone said it would take over 30 minutes to go from Bo Phut to Chaweng. I am not sure this is true because the person who told me has never been there. Can anyone help? I have Googled and looked at the links but can't find distances.

I was hoping I would be able to buy 36 baht for 1 US dollar but see that the baht peaked at 35.8 and is now heading down. Since it is almost Christmas, I need every satang to buy what my Thai friend is hoping for.

Rainwalker did something like this on a BMW motorcycle (not a bicycle) in Canada and the USA. Each day he did a little writing I think he called it "On the Road". I hope GT will have the energy to give us updates. In my mind I would like to do this, but in my reality, I am happy someone else is doing it and lets us know how it goes. What is the name of the group that you are doing this with?

I am sure he is spending millions of baht trying to convince those not to desert him. In fact I just read that he is making all sorts of promises including paying for their next election, cash payments, etc. IF the former MP's can resist this blatant pay off, then I believe there may be hope.

I noticed that GB posted the post about those that have posted over 100 posts at 12:51AM. Talk about dedication!! I know he says he likes doing this and I am sure he does. But even though he doesn't always agree with me nor I with him, I think he deserves some type of award>

To get GT off the hook.....it was me George. I like you but I thought if you saw me you would ask me if I was coming to the meet and greet. I am flattered that someone thought I was GT, even though I don't look a bit like him....lucky for him. Next time George I will not hide. I will just walk by ignoring you...... :P :P

Today I went with my Thai friend to see Ong-Bak 2. The first thing I was amazed at is that the theater was almost full for a 12:15 showing on a Monday. The movie has a lot of action and very good English translation. There is not much dialog so it is very easy to follow the story line. It was realistic since they did not seem to use much computer generated scenes. Looking for something to do, take a Thai friend to see it. You both will like it

My Thai friend and I went to Central Festival Pattaya (Big C) to by a pair of shoes at the Nike store. We were the only 2 people in the store at the time. There were 3 employees in back by the cash register. We each tried on a display shoe and needed a different. We were in plain view of the employees as I saw them look at us when we entered. None of them came forward to help as they seemed more interested in their cell phones. I stood up from where I was sitting trying on the shoe and waved it in the air. One looked up but went back playing with his mobile phone. So I called out, "Can anyone help me?". One of the employees started to walk towards me still on his phone. When he got to me I said. "I need a bigger size." He lowered his mobile but I could tell he still had someone on the line. So I smiled and said,"Ready to help?" Which my Thai friend translated for him. He put the phone back to his ear and said something and hung up. And then helped us find what we wanted. When I walked to the cashier to pay. The two remaining employees were still using their phones (maybe for games). I had my money out to pay and said, "How much?". They both looked at each other in a way that seemed to say to each other, "you help him." I repeated, "How much?" and went on to say with a smile, "You like your mobile phone too much." They smiled back as though caught............ It seems that many places except restaurants, the employees do not understand that they have been hired to service customers. The small shops where the owners are usually the staff know it very well. But in larger stores in the malls, they seem to think they have been hired to talk with each other or use their mobile phones. Why is this? Or am I the only one that has noticed this?

It appears that the DAAD thinks the army has made the parties that defected from the PPP defect. They are calling it a coup in disguise. When the courts disbanded the parties they called it a judicial coup. No matter what they call it, will it be the end of Thaskin?

I asked my Thai friend about this and he gave me some good insight. First, he said maybe the Taxi driver was not going to go back to his taxi stand and second he asked why the Farang was so "Keenow", cheap. The price is 40 baht. He also asked my if Taxi drivers in my country give a discount. I said no, taxis are metered. He smiled as though he won.