Travesty: Abhisit Vejjajiva charged with 'murder'

[opebo]

Abhisit Vejjajiva, much missed Thai Democrat prime minister who cleared the streets of Bangkok of red mobs, has been charged with 'murder' by the Red government of Thaksin.

Sickening.  One can only hope...

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

Not surprising that Thaksin's crew would trump up charges against political opponents.

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

Not surprising that Thaksin's crew would trump up charges against political opponents.

Who does he think he is?  Putin?  Chavez?

[Okay, maybe Mike Johnson is a competent parliamentarian.]

Yingluck. The Prime Minister's given name is Yingluck.

[opebo]

Yingluck. The Prime Minister's given name is Yingluck.

Who are you critiquing here?  BRTD did mention her:

...Thaksin's crew...

[politicus]

Abhisit Vejjajiva, much missed Thai Democrat prime minister who cleared the streets of Bangkok of red mobs, has been charged with 'murder' by the Red government of Thaksin!.

Sickening.  One can only hope...

I am a bit surprised you like this guy. I know he stabilized and improved the economy, but you don't seems to be the kind of person that rewards politicians for making capitalism work.
His record regarding human rights and freedom of the press was pretty bad and he can hardly be described as a leftist or champion of the little guy. His governmet was less corrupt than Thaksins, but thats not saying much.
So do you simply consider him less horrible than Thaksin & Co. or do you actually like him?

[opebo]

I am a bit surprised you like this guy. I know he stabilized and improved the economy, but you don't seems to be the kind of person that rewards politicians for making capitalism work.
His record regarding human rights and freedom of the press was pretty bad and he can hardly be described as a leftist or champion of the little guy. His governmet was less corrupt than Thaksins, but thats not saying much.
So do you simply consider him less horrible than Thaksin & Co. or do you actually like him?

He and his party (and more importantly the ancien régime which lies behind them - after all the Democrats are are but a mask with beautiful suits and Oxford English) are famously laissez-faire about the sex business and all manner of non-political personal freedoms.  In other words, they are Tradition.

Like I always say - give me one remote disinterested potentate a thousand kilometers away rather than a million little dictators right next door.

[opebo]

Not surprising that Thaksin's crew would trump up charges against political opponents.

Who does he think he is?  Putin?  Chavez?

Thank fully he's not that powerful.  As Nathin rightly points out above, he's only running the country by remote control through his sister 'Yingluck', and after all the fact that he still can't come back is testimony to the lingering countervailing power of that delicate and ancient institution.. a relic of an earlier time in the West, but still existing here.  We're probably seeing its last days upon the earth - after all its physical emblem has literally lived in a hospital for half-a-decade.

[Beet]

Lol. Between monarchist corrupt bastards and democratically elected populist corrupt bastards the latter is preferable. Sorry opie

[Okay, maybe Mike Johnson is a competent parliamentarian.]

Yingluck. The Prime Minister's given name is Yingluck.

Who are you critiquing here?  BRTD did mention her:

...Thaksin's crew...

It's hard to maintain simultaneously the belief that Yingluck lacks power of her own and the belief, which I seem to recall you've articulated in the past, that she, being a woman, is out to oppress the poor white men living in Thailand by taking away their right to buy Thai women's bodies, but on further reflection I'm sure you manage just fine.

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

I'm not saying she lacks any power of her own, just that she is unquestionably part of the group that's hard to describe as anything other than "Thaksin's crew" just because the party they run as keeps changing their name.

[Okay, maybe Mike Johnson is a competent parliamentarian.]

I'm not saying she lacks any power of her own, just that she is unquestionably part of the group that's hard to describe as anything other than "Thaksin's crew" just because the party they run as keeps changing their name.

'The Reds' doesn't work in this context?

[Kitteh]

Between monarchist corrupt bastards and democratically elected populist corrupt bastards the latter is preferable.

^This

[Antonio the Sixth]

Between monarchist corrupt bastards and democratically elected populist corrupt bastards the latter is preferable.

^This

[opebo]

Between monarchist corrupt bastards and democratically elected populist corrupt bastards the latter is preferable.

^This

Not so, naives.  Democracy is worse, as I explained quite clearly above:

Like I always say - give me one remote disinterested potentate a thousand kilometers away rather than a million little dictators right next door.

It's hard to maintain simultaneously the belief that Yingluck lacks power of her own and the belief, which I seem to recall you've articulated in the past, that she, being a woman, is out to oppress the poor white men living in Thailand by taking away their right to buy Thai women's bodies, but on further reflection I'm sure you manage just fine.

Her power comes entirely from her brother, brother.  As does her social conservatism - which is a direct pandering to the people (who always love authoritarianism and hate to see anyone have any fun, in any country).

[The Mikado]

Lol. Between monarchist corrupt bastards and democratically elected populist corrupt bastards the latter is preferable. Sorry opie

It's really kind of unfair to argue with opebo on this point because even if he did agree with you he can't exactly say so, Thai law being what it is.

[Okay, maybe Mike Johnson is a competent parliamentarian.]

It's hard to maintain simultaneously the belief that Yingluck lacks power of her own and the belief, which I seem to recall you've articulated in the past, that she, being a woman, is out to oppress the poor white men living in Thailand by taking away their right to buy Thai women's bodies, but on further reflection I'm sure you manage just fine.

Her power comes entirely from her brother, brother.  As does her social conservatism - which is a direct pandering to the people (who always love authoritarianism and hate to see anyone have any fun, in any country).

I think both Shinawatra siblings are, for all their other faults, smart enough to know that one can find ways make one's own fun if buying access to people's bodies ceases to be an option.

[opebo]

Lol. Between monarchist corrupt bastards and democratically elected populist corrupt bastards the latter is preferable. Sorry opie

It's really kind of unfair to argue with opebo on this point because even if he did agree with you he can't exactly say so, Thai law being what it is.

You dare mention this, a moderator? Straight to the Irony Thingie.

[opebo]

Her power comes entirely from her brother, brother.  As does her social conservatism - which is a direct pandering to the people (who always love authoritarianism and hate to see anyone have any fun, in any country).

I think both Shinawatra siblings are, for all their other faults, smart enough to know that one can find ways make one's own fun if buying access to people's bodies ceases to be an option.

Good lord man, if you think any such laws apply to rich people, you're more naive than I thought!

[Okay, maybe Mike Johnson is a competent parliamentarian.]

Her power comes entirely from her brother, brother.  As does her social conservatism - which is a direct pandering to the people (who always love authoritarianism and hate to see anyone have any fun, in any country).

I think both Shinawatra siblings are, for all their other faults, smart enough to know that one can find ways make one's own fun if buying access to people's bodies ceases to be an option.

Good lord man, if you think any such laws apply to rich people, you're more naive than I thought!

Of course they don't apply to rich people. That's the problem and that's always been the problem, a principle with which I'm sure you can agree even if we will never see eye to eye on the particular issue under discussion.

[opebo]

I think both Shinawatra siblings are, for all their other faults, smart enough to know that one can find ways make one's own fun if buying access to people's bodies ceases to be an option.

Good lord man, if you think any such laws apply to rich people, you're more naive than I thought!

Of course they don't apply to rich people. That's the problem and that's always been the problem, a principle with which I'm sure you can agree even if we will never see eye to eye on the particular issue under discussion.

No, the problem is the existence of such laws, Nathan, not the fact that some people find a way around them.

[Okay, maybe Mike Johnson is a competent parliamentarian.]

I think both Shinawatra siblings are, for all their other faults, smart enough to know that one can find ways make one's own fun if buying access to people's bodies ceases to be an option.

Good lord man, if you think any such laws apply to rich people, you're more naive than I thought!

Of course they don't apply to rich people. That's the problem and that's always been the problem, a principle with which I'm sure you can agree even if we will never see eye to eye on the particular issue under discussion.

No, the problem is the existence of such laws, Nathan, not the fact that some people find a way around them.

True. Ideally laws against selling sex should be considerably more forgiving, and laws against buying it commensurately sterner, than what I'm given to understand most countries actually have.

The worst approach, which is unsurprisingly the one you appear to prefer due to your own concupiscent selfishness (or selfish concupiscence, it's all the same), is the one taken by the countries in blue on this map. The ones in green often have more sensible approaches than the ones in red, of course, but some variant of the principle behind red would of course be ideal.

I also love how Nevada's laws are so twisted it has to be parsed by county.

[CountryRoads]

Horrible news

[Antonio the Sixth]

The worst approach, which is unsurprisingly the one you appear to prefer due to your own concupiscent selfishness (or selfish concupiscence, it's all the same), is the one taken by the countries in blue on this map.

What's wrong with banning organized (ie, exploited) prostitution?

[Kitteh]

Between monarchist corrupt bastards and democratically elected populist corrupt bastards the latter is preferable.

^This

Not so, naives.  Democracy is worse for rich white foreign men, as I explained quite clearly above:

FTFY