|
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wz02ziF-Eec The beautiful song "Because You Are Thailand" by Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha. thailand is a southeast asian "constitutional monarchy," the new king, Rama X, Maha Vajiralongkorn, is beloved by all. everyone likes him. if you post bad thing about him you get arrested. thats how you know hes good.  if you share these pictures online you will be arrested! thailand has a long and unique modern history, being one of the few countries in asia to not be directly colonized by european pederasts (until modern tourism). instead it retained its own homegrown aristocratic pederasts, who with imperial japanese and then american aid were able to hold onto power while many of thailands neighbors fell to the horrors of communism, leaving thailand with a vastly higher gini coefficient and a king everyone really likes & who definitely does not hold nude birthday parties for his dog. long story short, after repeated military coups and canceled elections, in one of the first real democratic elections in thai history in 2001 Thaksin Shinawatra (currently citizen of Montenegro) was elected prime minister via his party, the Thai Rak Thai Party, or Thais Love Thais Party. he was a corrupt billionaire, former cop (aka the mafia in thailand) turned telecommunications mogul, but was also the first politician in thai history to offer significant welfare programs to the poor. for this, he and his party earned the loyalty of most of the impoverished rural north, and the undying hatred of the royalist relatively wealthy thais in bangkok & the south. turns out the thai elites didnt like that, and through their proxy, the military, overthrew him in a coup d'etat 2006, and then when his sister Yingluck Shinawatra was elected in the next election by even wider margins, did the same in 2014. during this period there were a bunch of protests, riots, and occasional terrorism by the yellow shirts (anti-thaksin, rich elitist southerns) and red shirts (pro-thaksin, generally northern rural poor) trying to get the upper hand, but eventually the military rolled tanks through and pacified everyone and everything (the yellow shirts won). since then, thaksin has remained in gilded exile in dubai while thailand has been run by a bumbling military junta of generals lead by this dude, thaksin's former commander-in-chief: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bpMdnpbaWMQ in the time since 2014 they have managed to maintain control, mostly because the former king who was actually liked by most thais (because of cia psyops in the 70s) died and that gave them the excuse to delay elections for years and years. in this period the government passed through an extremely undemocratic constitution that ultimately leaves power in the military's hands. but still, there will be elections in February, and even if the elected party has no real power, the results will be meaningful because it'll probably spur on years of red shirt/yellow shirt drama. anyways here are the parties:  Pheu Thai Party (For Thais Party), the heirs of Thaksin's Thai Rak Thai Party (Thais Love Thais Party). Basically a populist center-left party. Legally has nothing to do with thaksin, but they are definitely run by thaksin. when they win they will be overthrown by the military in a couple of years. polling: about 30-40%.  Prachathipat (The Democrat Party), basically the party of the thai old aristocracy & bourgeoisie. a "center right" party that mainly exists to maintain the status quo for the wealthy elite. happily cooperated with previous military juntas, and the current party leader was previously installed as Prime Minister by the military after the 2006 coup. the equivalent of the American Democratic Party. polling: about 20%  Phalang Pracharat Party (People's State Power Party) is a pro-military and pro-prayuth chanocha party. a right wing vehicle for chanocha to continue his bumbling dictatorship. if the elections arent rigged for them, going to get owned probably. current polling: ranges from 20% to 5% in the latest poll lmao https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xJVQO_DOMd4 Phak Anakhot Mai (New Future Party), a new party created by another billionaire, Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit, who inherited thailands largest auto-parts manufacturer. also hes hot and suave. his party is basically a progressive left movement, and has successfully surged from nothing to one of the main players. its main planks are reducing inequality and reducing the military's power. if they were to actually win they would be immediately owned by a coup. polling: between 15-25% anyways apologies if this is illegible for some reason i decided to write it up after getting drunk with the familiy on christmas. the election is on february 24th. Sheng-Ji Yang has issued a correction as of 08:11 on Dec 26, 2018 |
#
?
Dec 26, 2018 07:20
|
|
|
|
| # ? Apr 26, 2024 09:05 |
|
|
does the military have a formally enshrined position within the new constitution? or are they more of a turkey-esque sword of damocles
|
|
#
?
Dec 26, 2018 07:35
|
|
|
Welcome to Thailand! It has been [ 5 ] days since our last coup
|
|
#
?
Dec 26, 2018 07:40
|
|
|
Fuligin posted:does the military have a formally enshrined position within the new constitution? or are they more of a turkey-esque sword of damocles the military appoints the entire upper house senate, the constitutional court (which has always been reactionary and was used heavily against thaksin and his sister) has been given even more powers, and the king can issue royal edicts without approval of the elected government.
|
|
#
?
Dec 26, 2018 07:44
|
|
|
Ty for explaining the coups
|
|
#
?
Dec 26, 2018 11:25
|
|
|
i'm voting for the "look out for numero uno party"
|
|
#
?
Dec 26, 2018 11:44
|
|
|
lese majeb!!ste finally people will please clap
|
|
#
?
Dec 26, 2018 14:53
|
|
|
Sheng-Ji Yang posted:
which is also, in fact, called the DEMOCRAT party
|
|
#
?
Dec 26, 2018 15:06
|
|
|
Ramrod Hotshot posted:which is also, in fact, called the DEMOCRAT party Thai Bernie when
|
|
#
?
Dec 26, 2018 16:12
|
|
|
SE Asia is such a loving clusterfuck. Is there a country there that isn't currently terrible? Vietnam maybe?
|
|
#
?
Dec 26, 2018 16:17
|
|
|
Taintrunner posted:Thai Bernie when Already got elected, the military did a coup
|
|
#
?
Dec 26, 2018 16:23
|
|
|
Xelkelvos posted:SE Asia is such a loving clusterfuck. Is there a country there that isn't currently terrible? Vietnam maybe? malaysia just had elections that threw out the party that had been in power since independence. it only took the leaders directly stealing hundreds of billions of dollars straight into their bank accounts, and running a 92 year old former prime minister from the same party against them. and joko will probably be reelected in indonesia, and hes ok. but yeah otherwise se asia is either one party communist-turned-neoliberal states (vietnam, laos) or corrupt unstable autocracies (cambodia, thailand, myanmar which is still basically run by the military)
|
|
#
?
Dec 26, 2018 21:24
|
|
|
I'm rooting for the Pheu Thai Party, I hope they do some good before the military overthrows them. 
|
|
#
?
Dec 26, 2018 21:41
|
|
|
is yingluck PTP's PM candidate again?
|
|
#
?
Dec 26, 2018 21:58
|
|
|
Badger of Basra posted:is yingluck PTP's PM candidate again? no, she fled thailand last year after she was sentenced to five years in prison. she lives in the UK iirc. the current ptp leader is Sudarat Keyuraphan, she started thai rak thai with thaksin and was in his cabinet. she will most likely be the next prime minister.
|
|
#
?
Dec 26, 2018 22:06
|
|
|
what's stopping the military from just doing another coup if they don't like the results? nothing?
|
|
#
?
Dec 29, 2018 20:37
|
|
|
get that OUT of my face posted:what's stopping the military from just doing another coup if they don't like the results? nothing? the benevolence and mercy of His Majesty Rama X
|
|
#
?
Dec 29, 2018 21:56
|
|
|
get that OUT of my face posted:what's stopping the military from just doing another coup if they don't like the results? nothing? they have complete control over the senate so they dont need to bother. and if pheu thai gets uppity theyll just have the constitutional court disband the party again. that said all this seems to be inviting red shirt protests. i think theyre trying to neuter the inevitability by giving them token representation but i suspect itll backfire and youll see mass protests in bangkok within a year if the military really vetoes everything
|
|
#
?
Dec 29, 2018 22:01
|
|
|
GreyjoyBastard posted:the benevolence and mercy of His Majesty Rama X one of the funny things was that thaksin was feared to be close to vajiralongkorn (because thaksin paid him vast sums of money) and one of the suspected reasons for the coup in 2014 was to instead crown his much more popular sisters to prevent a pro-thaksin king. it appears vajiralongkorn instead made a deal with prayuth to become king as long as he avoided messing with the junta. https://www.amazon.com/Kingdom-Crisis-Asian-Arguments-ebook/dp/B00O8XURFI/ref=sr_1_2?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1546117912&sr=1-2 a pretty good book about all the game of thrones poo poo, if outdated now because it was written before bhumibol's death.
|
|
#
?
Dec 29, 2018 22:15
|
|
|
in other news the government is hinting at delaying the elections for another month lmao https://www.bangkokpost.com/news/politics/1602694/feb-24-not-carved-in-stone
|
|
#
?
Dec 29, 2018 22:26
|
|
|
Sheng-Ji Yang posted:malaysia just had elections that threw out the party that had been in power since independence. it only took the leaders directly stealing hundreds of billions of dollars straight into their bank accounts, and running a 92 year old former prime minister from the same party against them. and joko will probably be reelected in indonesia, and hes ok. Out of curiosity know anything about recent Malaysian events? I got James Scott's weapons of the weak about Malaysian peasants in the late 70s early 80s and I dont know anything about the region other than a bit about the insurgency in the 50s
|
|
#
?
Dec 29, 2018 22:31
|
|
|
thread reported for insulting the king
|
|
#
?
Dec 30, 2018 00:00
|
|
|
do u know anything about the owner of Leicester city fc who died in a helicopter crash in England? Any political involvements, could someone have been out to get him?
|
|
#
?
Dec 30, 2018 02:22
|
|
|
mila kunis posted:do u know anything about the owner of Leicester city fc who died in a helicopter crash in England? Any political involvements, could someone have been out to get him? vichai was a royalist (his company is King Power lol) who got his money by sucking up to thaksin and the monarchy until they gave him a monopoly over the bkk airport duty free businesses https://www.ibtimes.co.uk/v-vichai-how-leicester-citys-thai-owner-became-billionaire-blessing-prayer-1554828 quote:Prior to founding King Power, Vichai was largely unknown in the realm of business and politics: "No one had heard of Vichai until he founded King Power. He was a middle manager, probably earning 40,000 baht ($1,128) a month," says a commercial investigator in Bangkok, who declined to be named because of Thailand's strict libel laws. after thaksin got thrown out he aligned more with the yellow shirts though, but im kinda doubtful thaksin would have him killed, or would be able to. StashAugustine posted:Out of curiosity know anything about recent Malaysian events? I got James Scott's weapons of the weak about Malaysian peasants in the late 70s early 80s and I dont know anything about the region other than a bit about the insurgency in the 50s i dont know a ton about malaysian politics other than the basics tbh. Barisan under najib razak became just hilariously, hilariously corrupt, najib directly stole billions from 1MBD, a state owned company, with the help of Goldman Sachs sold off vast portions of it to mostly chinese companies and pocketed the cash himself. i guess he thought after 60 years Barisan was untouchable. he was wrong lol
|
|
#
?
Dec 30, 2018 03:37
|
|
|
sometimes a freak private helicopter accident is just a freak private helicopter accident. lmao that a rich vain rear end in a top hat died waving his wealth around. almost makes one of the most unlikely moments in sports worth it. well, not "almost"
|
|
#
?
Dec 30, 2018 05:36
|
|
|
YouTube keeps giving me recommendations for videos of pattaya nightlife what are the candidates proposing to do about all the dastardly sexpats stinking up the place
|
|
#
?
Dec 30, 2018 14:59
|
|
|
The gently caress
|
|
#
?
Dec 30, 2018 15:23
|
|
|
I hope that whoever comes into power takes a strong position against the Islamist terrorists who are running rampant through southern Thailand.
|
|
#
?
Dec 30, 2018 16:48
|
|
|
this just in: the latest election poll results are a thai
|
|
#
?
Dec 30, 2018 17:04
|
|
|
Taintrunner posted:YouTube keeps giving me recommendations for videos of pattaya nightlife there is straight up no reason to go to pattaya unless you are a disgusting sexpat https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cpr3W-x9TUU
|
|
#
?
Dec 30, 2018 20:50
|
|
|
Thailand is a loving joke and their king is a up looking clown pervert. Arrest me cowards
|
|
#
?
Dec 30, 2018 20:52
|
|
|
but yeah the thai government mostly just ignores the sex trade, or openly profits from it. one third party is run by Chuwit Kamolvisit, another rich guy who made his money creating upscale "massage parlors" catering to the thai upper middle class in nice malls. hes mostly just an anti-corruption populist type, whose famous for election posters of him looking mad. hes kinda like a proto-duterte    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y-3q_rznyLw
|
|
#
?
Dec 30, 2018 21:04
|
|
|
It's too bad discussing the Thai royal family is a crime because geez louise the tabloids just write themselves!
|
|
#
?
Dec 30, 2018 21:05
|
|
|
Sheng-Ji Yang posted:but yeah the thai government mostly just ignores the sex trade, or openly profits from it. That guy's definitely gonna win sooner or later, right?
|
|
#
?
Dec 30, 2018 22:13
|
|
|
How do people like the new king within the law
|
|
#
?
Dec 30, 2018 22:31
|
|
|
Jose posted:How do people like the new king within the law lol http://www.zenjournalist.org/2013/11/01/%E0%B8%81%E0%B8%A5%E0%B8%B5%E0%B8%A2%E0%B8%B8%E0%B8%84-thailands-era-of-insanity-2/ quote:Once upon a time, Thailand’s royal family seemed happy. Glorified by the military dictators who ruled the country from the late 1950s until 1973, boosted by an American-funded propaganda campaign as anti-communist figureheads, and fêted abroad as a fairytale royal couple, Bhumibol and Sirikit were widely revered in Thailand. But behind the walls of Chitralada Palace, tensions were building over their troublesome son Vajiralongkorn. Taciturn, lazy and prone to violent rages, he seemed ill-suited to be a future King Rama X. Bhumibol’s relationship with his son seems to have been dysfunctional from the start and only worsened as the prince got older. But Sirikit doted on her boy. Disagreements between the king and queen, mostly over Vajiralongkorn, began to rip the royal family apart. sleeptalker posted:That guy's definitely gonna win sooner or later, right? unfortunately i think his party has mostly disappeared and hes now mostly just a media personality, unfortunately. he was arrested for a bit recently for tax dodging. but who knows hell probably be back
|
|
#
?
Dec 31, 2018 01:26
|
|
|
How is The King Never Smiles? It looks cool
|
|
#
?
Dec 31, 2018 03:25
|
|
|
Smirking_Serpent posted:How is The King Never Smiles? It looks cool absolutely the best bio of bhumibol. dont bring it with you into thailand lol
|
|
#
?
Dec 31, 2018 04:12
|
|
|
does Thailand have a formal aristocracy outside of the royals?
|
|
#
?
Dec 31, 2018 05:13
|
|
|
|
| # ? Apr 26, 2024 09:05 |
|
|
Sheng-Ji Yang posted:lol this guy's blog is really good and led me to the US wiki cable leaks back when thaksin was in power https://wikileaks.org/plusd/cables/05BANGKOK2219_a.html the cable leaks really are a good rear end treasure trove of stuff
|
|
#
?
Dec 31, 2018 05:55
|
|