Just a single point of view and it contains ==> nothing really new for those who are aware of the daily politics <== but when I shared this with my Thai relatives I realized that they did not know that Thailands internal politics are moving more and more into an international focus.

So, I do not at all wish to make this wonderful site to be too much a forum for political exchange, and I hesitated 4 weeks to add this article from the printed december version of "The Economist" in here, especially as my "sweet-wife" does not at all share my opinion about Mr. President .... but on the other hand: ... every day I see the TF-column "Headlines in Thailand" .... so I just add this without any personal comment ...

P.s.: In nearly all subjects I used to highly agree with "The Economist" but as I completely accept a remark from Khun Robert (Loburt) that sometimes they proved wrong - so again: this is the Economist lines and Rempler is just the transfer station:

==> The oracle of Lumpini park <==

Dec 14th 2005 - BANGKOK From "The Economist"'s print edition

A talk-show host takes to the soap-box and embarrasses the prime minister

EVERY Friday for the past six weeks, tens of thousands of people have gathered in Bangkok's Lumpini park to listen to criticism of Thaksin Shinawatra, Thailand's prime minister. The rallies began as a substitute for the weekly talk show that the organiser, Sondhi Limthongkul, had hosted on a government-run television station until its cancellation in September. Each week, Mr Sondhi has, in the flesh, unveiled fresh allegations of official corruption and misconduct, while the prime minister has retaliated with a series of libel suits. Mr Sondhi, who is also a newspaper magnate, now says he will settle for nothing less than the removal of the government. While that seems unlikely, the exchange illustrates how dramatically Mr Thaksin's political fortunes have ebbed since his landslide election victory in February.

The feud had been heading for a showdown at Mr Sondhi's most recent rally, on December 9th, for which he had vowed to assemble half a million protesters. But a few days beforehand, Thailand's revered King Bhumibol publicly chided Mr Thaksin for refusing to listen to criticism. The prime minister promptly withdrew all his lawsuits, thereby defusing Mr Sondhi's most potent charge, that Mr Thaksin does not show proper respect for the monarchy. Only a fraction of the 500,000 Mr Sondhi had hoped for showed up.

Nonetheless, the saga has proved embarrassing for Mr Thaksin, and not simply because of the king's rebuke. Despite the government's denials, Mr Sondhi's claims?that it ferried guests to Mr Thaksin's sister's birthday party on an air-force plane, padded the purchase price of luggage scanners for Bangkok's new airport, and usurped the prerogatives of the country's Buddhist patriarch, to name a few?have received wide coverage. Last month, Mr Thaksin's Thai Rak Thai party lost two by-elections, giving the opposition enough seats to table censure motions against ministers. It is already planning some related to Mr Sondhi's allegations. What with a recent court ruling that put the government's privatisation programme in jeopardy, street protests by disgruntled teachers and an insurgency in Muslim areas of southern Thailand, Mr Thaksin looks distinctly embattled.

The government still commands 375 of the 500 seats in parliament. It remains popular in the countryside, thanks in large part to Mr Thaksin's generous rural-development schemes. It also dominates the media: the only television station outside its control belongs to Mr Thaksin's family, Thailand's richest. Although breathless rumours of an impending coup have begun to circulate in Bangkok, there is little sign of discontent among the army or police. Mr Thaksin, after all, has been careful to promote friends and relatives to the top ranks.

But it is this concentration of power in Mr Thaksin's hands, argues Thitinan Pongsudhirak of Chulalongkorn University, that has helped galvanise opposition among middle-class Bangkok residents. Mr Sondhi's audiences, at any rate, seem excited just to hear someone stand up to the prime minister. Mr Thaksin, in response, seems uncharacteristically stuck for words. He will not speak to the media, he says, until Mercury moves into a more auspicious orbit next month.

[end of quote]

So you made it down here - thanks, this justifies my effort of typing it in

:-)

I do hope that all of you might have a wonderful day

cheer cheer.

@ zammo: really interesting and worth 13 minutes listening, - BBC is nearly always a reliable source and shuffles in fair comments.

@Jan: What means "cheer cheer" in Supanburi and in Korat ? Same as in Khrung Theb ??? ;-) :-)

My mom goes there every Friday and some other ppl i know of, but still not enough power to do anything tho... Last night was a hectic one as you may know that some got arrested for intrude to the parliament.. sigh...

"I do not at all wish to make this wonderful site to be too much a forum for political exchange"

by all means continue to do so... there is a small but avid audience for this sort of thing. not everyone wants to read every day about the minutiae of this member or that member's member, and those winky-obsessed types take a break now and then and read this stuff.

ah screw em all---post more of this sort of thing for ME PERSONALLY

in spite of my willingness to post opinions on things i know nothing about i rarely comment on thai politics coz i just dont know enough, but i enjoy reading stuff like this and find it especially interesting now that i live here in the city of 'angles'

saw the marchers last night from the btw walking bridge at chit lom. looked like a lot of ppl.