We have been discussing the continued rollback of civil liberties by our Asian ally, Thailand, including absurd prosecutions such as the recent arrest of a mechanic who merely “liked” a photo viewed disrespectful of the King’s dog. He appears however to be in the disgruntled one percent according to the military junta. The authoritarian government just released the type of poll that only a junta would find plausible: 99 percent of Thais are happy with the junta’s governance since it took power last year. Well, if you can’t believe a junta, who can you believe?
I love how in places like North Korea and Thailand, propagandists allow for tiny numbers of unhappy people but cannot get themselves to allow more than a handful. The survey conducted by the government-run National Statistical Organization found that 98.9 percent of respondents were satisfied, according to the government spokesman Sansern Kaewkamnerd. 98.9. Now if it were 99 percent, it simply would not be believable.
The junta said that the poll involved 3,900 people, presumably folks with the picture of army Gen. Prayuth Chan-ocha hanging in their offices.
The junta has been carrying out a campaign to boost “return happiness” to Thailand. Those not happy have been known to be sent to camps for “adjustment” and have to sign agreements not to voice opposition or criticism as a condition of their release. Thus, by junta standards, they are “happy.”
Of course, the junta will have to chip away at that 1.2 margin. North Korea has already determined that it is the second happiest place on Earth — just after China.
To help along with the happiness campaign, Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha has written a new song this week for the end of the year titled “Because You Are Thailand” with such notable lyrics as “I have only two hands and breathe alone. There may not be enough power to make a dream come true. But if we join hands and breathe together, the day we hope for is not far away.”
Not quite as catchy as some other happy places like Duloc:
For one, this is about Thailand not America, although I realize most Americans think it is Taiwan and failed to realize we fought a war from here just over the border in Lao during the American War on Vietnam. I have a good friend back in the states directly involved in cross border opps, and one of my neighbors is still married to the Thai lady he met here during that period. That poll is a laughing stock and it should have read 99% are not happy with the military dictatorship. Like most Americans most of you have no idea about the nature of Thailand and never will. Dear leader has no intention of relinquishing power or allowing democratic elections (they were a sham). He is certainly, as are many, waiting for the “event of which we cannot speak”, the King’s death. The King is a good man and has done a lot for the people of Thailand. Unfortunately Thailand, like America, is sliding backwards and falling behind most of its neighbors. “Where does the name “Bangcock” come from? Is that a sexual reference?” It is Bangkok. if that is supposed to be a joke it is piss poor. Yes there is and always has been plenty of sex in Thailand. And the proper name is Krung Thep – City of Angels. Not too sure there are many “angels” around there…lol.
Yeah. How about that?
“The Republican Party – the Party of Lincoln.”
Lincoln, the man who shredded the Constitution and killed a million Americans.
The Republican Party– the Party of Lincoln.
Oh yeah,
And Lincoln had a constitutional basis to invade the legally seceded, foreign country of the Confederate
States of America without a declaration of war after secession, not insurrection or rebellion. Sorry, Abe.
And “election officials” in the U.S. declared Kennedy the winner over Nixon.
And Speaker Pelosi declared Obama eligible for the presidency when he is irrefutably NOT a “natural born
citizen” as Rubio and Cruz are not.
And the haughty Justices of the Supreme Court cavalierly commingled the definitions of “state” and “federal”
to “legislate from the bench.”
And “Sanctuary Cities,” wherein criminal municipal officials defy federal authority and nullify the Constitution
and usurp power, are constitutional.
And affirmative action in the Land of the Free is constitutional.
And the slaughter of Benghazi occurred because of an “anti-Muslim” video.
And the very I’ll-take-the-fifth, charges-corruptly-dismissed Lois Lerner, on behalf of her beloved fearless
leader, Obama, abused the power of government against the People.
And Obamacare is constitutional, just ask that eminently honorable John Roberts who claimed it was, as
Congress vigorously denied it was a tax.
And foreign citizens, “property” and illegal alien invaders have STANDING.
And the right to private property means the government may confiscate and order the specific “Fair-Housing”
disposition of any and all private property by decree.
And the American People, with an entire Bill of Rights, in addition to numerous natural or God-given rights,
have no right to discriminate under “Anti-Discrimination” law (I wonder if that’s unconstitutional).
And the following principles of communism prevail in America over the Preamble, Constitution and
Bill of Rights:
Central Planning
Control of the Means of Production
Social Engineering
Redistribution of Wealth
Considering America’s rampant, lawlessness and “multicultural” balkanization, this Thai Junta’s got nothing
on the U.S.
Three cheers for the American “dictatorship of the proletariat.”
Some people are so thick that it needs to be stated, and stated, and stated…… When it filters through the delusions, then we can get on to the next phase(s). Until then it is regurgitation versus regurgitation.
Once again, Merry Christmas and all the best over the holidays; that includes all the best to all fairy tales.
issacbasonkavichi; Correct me if I’m wrong but so far what I’m getting from you comes direct from a ‘Progressive’ script. I’ve yet to hear you deviate from it. I have friends who are big NPR fans and on any socio-political-environmental subject you could just record the response of one and play it back for all the others. Saves a lot of time.
I get tired as well of the regurgitation.
But maybe things are better now than were about 10 years ago when Thai *police* were carrying out an average of thirty summary executions per day of alleged drug dealers. This was during those rare periods when Thailand was a “democracy” instead of a military dictatorship. Search for NYT story: “A Wave of Drug Killings Is Linked to Thai Police.” But if you want some real horror stories check out other US allies like Saudi, UAE and Qatar.
Whose human rights abuses get pushed to the fore is a product of the application of Lenin’s formulation of “Who, whom?”:
http://www.returnofkings.com/76104/how-the-christmas-truce-of-1914-shows-the-world-has-become-less-civil
“We are engaged in a culture war where the patrimony of Western culture is being reduced to free trade and sexual license.
Our cultural elites tell us that we are allies with certain groups that are identified as the good guys: feminists, degenerate celebrities, pushers of pedophile acceptance, Saudi princes who force their non-Muslim staff to strip naked, countries that support the Islamic State, and Islamic “refugees” who rape the women of their host nation.
Meanwhile, we are told that our enemies, the bad guys, are Christians, political candidates who want to have borders, masculine men, gun owners, supporters of patriarchy, secular Arab leaders who protect their minority Christian populations, and a certain Russian leader.”
Concushions seem to be a topic of discussion regarding football. Money is more important than all the lame brains created. We need to spend more government money on chess instead of propping up football. Look what the state and local governments are doing in Saint Louis to keep the Rams there. Jeso. All in the name of lame brains.
Canadians have a severe inferiority complex regarding football. They play a minor league version in Canada, w/ the goal of all players to get to the Major League, the NFL in the USA!
You are held by the ‘short hairs’ with dictatorial governments such as exist in Thailand and by oligarchies such as Americans enjoy. One is more subtle, you know woven in there with football, big screens, etc.
For HSKIPROB. Here is why your statement on infrastructure is misleading. Karl Marx would have no trouble today calling publicly and privately owned infrastructure a “means of production” regardless of the economic system in which that infrastructure exists. All means of production must be maintained in good operating order to prevent production from coming to a grinding halt. Publicly owned means of production must be publicly funded. Such funding is not a devious government racket as you seem to suggest. It is necessary even in the better society which you want.
Karl Marx was wrong in so so many ways Dieter. Infrastructure spending is a politically derived guess at what society needs as an alleged operating platform. Most often it is a huge misallocation of resources. It’s why we have ended up with a $600,400,000,000 annual defense budget and a $3,200,000,000,000. total annual government budget. We spend more on defense than the top 11 countries combined so other countries are able to defend themselves at least at 1/10 the costs. It is not that any one social policy is going to ruin you society, its the accumulation. Once you allow private property rights to be usurped under one justification, it then obviously opens the door to other usurpations which then eventually bankrupts your society. Not only does it bankrupt us economically, it also does it ethically, as the above poll suggests. WMDs as a justification for the evasion of Iraq is another great example?
Long way from being a junta, but whenever Pres. Obama starts with “Most folks…”, you know that we are going to be lied to.
My disappointment is not that we are lied to, but that the partisan press does does not call out the liars (eg The New York Times).
Don’t you just love the government and their lame stream media puppets. How is it that it is basically the same in every country? When ever you have a strong central authoritarian government, the nonsense that is spewed by their lips and pens is generally absurd to any rational thinker.
Can you name any country that has not eventually been overthrown by their own military once the rule of law becomes a tool for injustice and corruption by their ruling oligarchy. Of course the military and it’s industrial complex is a part of the problem that helps to destroy the rule of law in the first place so society goes from bad to worse.
Our own civil war was marred with persecution, prosecutions and even killing of anti-war protesters in both Ohio and New York. Lincoln even shut down numerous “northern” newspapers who were opposed to the war. He, Lincoln even put out an arrest warrant for a Supreme Court Judge who had issued a writ of habeas corpus that overruled Lincoln’s Executive Order prohibiting it’s use. The local law enforcement would not enforce the warrant so he was not arrested. It just goes to show you how political power corrupts people. It think that it is that they must do so many underhanded things to get into power, they begin to realize that the system will protect them if they are able to justify their actions and the justification(s) are often just as absurd as this Thai poll.
All Governments end up becoming confiscatory cartels with a build in protection racket for the thieves. With Lincoln it all started with his Republicans drastically increasing the export tariffs on the goods produced by the southern farmers. Their meme (justification) was to help foster railroad expansion. We call this infrastructure spending today. The average person of course accepts this as a valid rational for the taxes paid/stolen by/from society. They do not understand that government is an expense and that you do not stimulate an economic recovery by increasing expenses even with five rounds of QE. With the latest enactment, it is another $1.2 trillion in deficit spending which will surely cause inflation some time in the future. All the while only continuing the status quo rather then fixing the underlying problems.
Sounds like some of the statements made by the NRA, Tobacco, Coal, Most Republicans, Donald Trump, etc.
What is a “Junta”? Where does the name “Bangcock” come from? Is that a sexual reference?