yet another who failed maths :mid:Quote:
Originally Posted by StrontiumDog
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yet another who failed maths :mid:Quote:
Originally Posted by StrontiumDog
I read this the other way, so I reckon he is about right...Quote:
Originally Posted by StrontiumDog
silly me :(
TH will be along soon to tell us it's an error in translation.
For me, he should be locked up and done for treason for making such comments...
can't they find some laws to ban PT just before the election ? would be a nice strategy,
I remember being on a thai aircraft carrier back sometime in 2004/5; the CEO of the boat was explaining to be that thailand's armed forces were a professional force and that coups were a thing of the past...... but then he also told me that officers didn't buy their ranks.Quote:
Originally Posted by StrontiumDog
Me thinks this chap might be just as reliable
- "There is nobody who wants to stage a coup. I can assure that the military will not." 28 February 2006[66]
Two quotes from the leader of the 2006 coup. Prayuth, I'm sure, is equally honest and trustworthy
- "The army will not get involved in the political conflict. Political troubles should be resolved by politicians. Military coups are a thing of the past.", 6 March 2006,[67]
The people will need to show the army who runs the country next time. They will need to go after those who buy their positions. It will take courage especially by the lower ranks who are 'told' to do things on behalf of those who'se families have paid to be able to tell them.
http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/poli...attles-prayuth
Media spotlight rattles Prayuth
Army chief loses his cool as reporters start to dig deep
- Published: 22/01/2011 at 03:04 AM
- Newspaper section: News
Reporters have a professional responsibility to ask blunt and direct questions that effectively gauge the interviewee's ability to keep their cool.
https://teakdoor.com/images/smilies1/You_Rock_Emoticon.gif
Prayuth: Didn’t like focus on old shoes
In many parts of Asia, reporters are loath to ask the hard questions _ but army chief Prayuth Chan-ocha's patience with some reporters has run very thin over the past few weeks.
The general appeared touchy at times when he was asked to comment on the calls for disclosure of the budget used by the dissolved Centre for the Resolution of the Emergency Situation since emergency rule was lifted in Bangkok and some other provinces.
Gen Prayuth was visibly agitated again later when reporters asked for his response to the allegation that Defence Minister Prawit Wongsuwon may be to blame for the military's perceived unwillingness to offer help to the seven Thais being tried in Cambodia for trespassing on that country's territory.
Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban, to whom Gen Prayuth retains a close relationship, has advised the army chief not to show his emotions in the presence of reporters. But his advice may have fallen on deaf ears.
A source close to Gen Prayuth said the army chief felt he could not help losing his cool as the reporters were apparently picking fault with him.
The pressure from being in the limelight as a public figure is also getting to Gen Prayuth. He also is not used to being in the glare of the cameras.
His lifestyle has been the subject of media curiosity. His frustration surged when the media developed a fascination with his old shoes and shirts.
The source said Gen Prayuth is frugal. It does not follow that one must wear or use everything brand new when he is appointed army chief.
A source in the army said Gen Prayuth had passed a strict order over the dissemination of news by the army. Any information leaked from a military meeting is immediately checked to find the party who had blabbed.
The army chief has barred mobile phones and communication or recording devices being brought into meeting rooms.
He suspected some of the meeting participants may have deliberately switched on their mobile phones while the meetings were in progress to convey what had been discussed behind closed doors to reporters.
He said the newspapers published what he said at the meetings sentence for sentence, which meant someone had called the media and let them listen to the live meeting.
In the morning, Gen Prayuth has made it a routine at the army's news briefing to go through what newspapers and television has mentioned about the army.
Gen Prayuth normally watches news on Channel 3 and reads ASTV Manager newspaper, dubbed the mouthpiece of the yellow shirt People's Alliance for Democracy. The general is thought to be ``anti-red'', a reference to his stand against the ousted former premier Thaksin Shinawatra and his pro-red movement.
The army chief is also suspicious of the motive of media outlets for comparing him to his predecessor, Anupong Paojinda. Gen Prayuth has been described as a career soldier and protector of the crown, as opposed to Gen Anupong who, according to some observers, came across as being aloof while in power.
The source said Gen Prayuth had confided with his close aide that the comparison was to drive a wedge between him and Gen Anupong, with whom he is connected through a strong fraternal bond.
However, there has been noticeable improvement after a close aide reminded Gen Prayuth that losing his cool could easily hurt his leadership, the source said.
When he was asked about the CRES budget again a few days ago, the army chief said he had everything ready to answer the reporters.
He explained that the budget spent on the operation to contain political unrest last year was lower than what many had speculated.
But there remains a barrier between the army chief and the media. He still refers to the media as mun, a Thai pronoun meaning ``them'' spoken with a tone of animosity.
exactly the qualifications an Army Chief should display ......................Quote:
Originally Posted by StrontiumDog
:rofl:Quote:
Originally Posted by StrontiumDog
Nice one, Thailand.
The more I read about this guy, the more I worry....
He seems to be precisely the kind of person you don't want in such a responsible and powerful role....
My understanding of such a person, as in the qualities required for such a position, would include;
The ability to remain cool, calm and collected when others about him are stressed out. However, he seems to be the one who is easily pushed over the edge....poor leadership skills perhaps....if the boss is prone to losing it, it suggests poorly thought out direction and a reflex like response to events (but we've seen that already...).
An emotional detachment, but he seems to be highly emotional and prone of fits of pique. His emotions appear to be ready to boil over at the slightest of provocation.
A psychological detachment, allowing an unbiased and reasoned/considered decision to be made when required....he seems to be very biased/blinkered.
Perhaps the fabled "meteoric" rise he experienced didn't allow him time to receive all the necessary training.
He's behaving exactly as he's supposed to. You mentioned earlier that the only way somebody could rise in this "meteoric" fashion must be money, that's very wide of the mark in this case. Prayuth and the other "Eastern Tigers" are an ideological grouping dedicated to supporting and imposing a particular vision of how the state should be. Prayuth has proven himself loyal, reliable, and willing to go to any lengths to support that ideological vision and has been suitably rewarded for that. As i mentioned in my first post on this thread you just have to look at the full names of the divisions controlled by the Eastern Tigers to see exactly who and what they're working for. I also mentioned several times over the last few years exactly what Prayuth would do once he became CinC. He hasn't come out of nowhere, nor has his rise been particularly meteoric, he's been around, and in high positions, for quite a long time.Quote:
Originally Posted by StrontiumDog
Quote:
Originally Posted by StrontiumDog
Not much more needs to be said really - right here is the heart of the nation's problems, but it's only a matter of time...Quote:
Originally Posted by DrB0b
He's there to prepare for the abolition of democracy and the imposition of a military backed government appointed, not elected. They're getting ready for the upcoming turbulent years and will ensure the amart-sakdina system is secure from all challengers, especially those who would want to see a particpatory democracy with functioning transparent institutions.
They'll fight to (your) death over that.
^ but, they will lose...
^
Eventually - but my money is on "later not sooner"
I don't agree. With the changeover, and the way a certain madam is now perceived by the nation, the trouble will come very quickly. Remember also that many army groups have been upset by the current mob, so may well change their tune to become the 'saviors' of the nation...
Yes, an important point. We have a habit of talking about "the Army" as though it was a monolithic institution. We always have to keep in mind that the Thai military, like so many other Thai institutions, is a group of cliques fighting (and occasionaly co-operating when there's a mutual advantage) each other, and other non-military cliques, for dominance.Quote:
Originally Posted by Bettyboo
It's central to an understanding of how the Thai state works to know that there are three major groups who both vie for dominance and co-operate with each other for dominance. These three groups are hinted at by one of the most common Thai State slogans (a slogan shared, for some reason, with Cambodia). Within those groups there are sub-cliques who also compete and co-operate with each other. Which of these groups is the most powerful at any one time changes over the year but fundamentally power and its benefits are shared within these three groups and this is what has passed for stability in Thailand over the last several decades. These groups, whose battle for power is fairly public, rely on yet another group for their legitimacy.
For a non-Thai insight into what's happening, and has been happening for some considerable time, within the Thai state a google search for the phrase "working towards the fuhrer" will pay dividends. Obviously that phrase doesn't refer to Thailand but the processes and systems it describes bear a very close resemblance to how the Thai process works.
Well you're both describing the scenario we have all deliberated many times before about a potential civil war. That would need a left-wing element of the military to push forward, or at least a greedy but disenfranchised clique with no ideological baggage to putsch.
Guess we'll see - but I don't share your enthusiasm that there is a Che faction waiting to rescue the peasants from the unholy tripartite alliance of amart-sakdina-military. Hope I'm wrong though!
:)
If you're including me in that "both" then civil war is not the scenario I'm describing at all. It's a possibilty, of course, but the scenario I described here is the ongoing unstable stability enjoyed by competitors who have come to a "gentleman's" agreement on not going so far in their rivalry as to actually do anything to upset the sources of their wealth and power. A bandit's alliance, if you will, which has been the fundamental structure of the Thai state since at least the 1960's. Bandits who will not tolerate upstart bandits who threaten their system or operate outside of that system.Quote:
Originally Posted by Tom Sawyer
It's true they have an unwritten and possibly unspoken agreement. None of their numbers goes to prison and none is killed by other factions. It's very much a mafiosa style system here.
The Amart through its corrupt court system can control the issue about prison, but it's harder to predict whether they will cross the line and start killing each other.
That's my main point, Prayuth is there to be the head Don to make sure things don't get out of hand. The peasants need to get the sakdina and amart fighting among themselves - a hit here, a hit there. It then gets blamed on the other rich families and off they go - cat amongst the pidgeons..
http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/poli...eneral-smiling
Mrs Cool keeps general smiling
Army chief Prayuth Chan-ocha may be feisty at work but at home he has a ''cooling agent'' to help keep his moods in check.
https://teakdoor.com/images/smilies1/You_Rock_Emoticon.gif
Naraporn: Calming influence
Buckling under a heavy workload, the general often loses his cool when reporters confront him with questions he would rather not answer.
However, the army chief has plenty of emotional support back at home that helps him handle work stress.
His wife Naraporn, a former associate professor at Chulalongkorn University's faculty of arts, and their twin daughters tell him to leave his problems at work.
They live in quarters at the 1st Infantry Regiment on Vibhavadi Rangsit Road.
When Gen Prayuth was appointed army chief, Mrs Naraporn resigned from the university to assume a full-time role as president of the Thai Army Wives Association, which is responsible for looking after the welfare of the rank and file.
Mrs Naraporn has never been known to ask for a say in army affairs.
As the association president, she has declared that she and other association executives will be ''politics-free''.
Mrs Naraporn has embarked on a project to supplement the incomes of low-ranking officers' families. The families create hand-made products, some of which she helped design, and sell them at an army-run store in the Thewes area.
She has taken army soldiers' wives on trips to the border areas and visited officers wounded in skirmishes.
''We do our duty as the wives of army officers. That's all,'' she said, insisting she is not fodder for journalists' stories.
In her spare time, Mrs Naraporn also teaches English on a royally sponsored long-distance learning channel.
Mrs Naraporn said Gen Prayuth may look tough on the outside but at home he is a different person.
''We need to understand and support him,'' she said.
She has advice for her husband when he feels the stress of the job. ''Keep smiling and keep up your spirits,'' she said.
Fuck that's a creepy story.
Right out of Fascist Today Magazine. One should remember that it wasn't just Mussolini that met a grisly end..that's why it's best for family to stay out of the spotlight.
An army chief who dons too many hats
BURNING ISSUE
An army chief who dons too many hats
By Pravit Rojanaphruk
The Nation
Published on April 20, 2011
In most democracies, the role of the Army and its chief are rather limited. However, it's different in Thailand, where the Army chief has been busy donning too many hats lately.
Here are just some of the hats that Army chief General Prayuth Chan-ocha has put on over the past few weeks:
_ That of a top diplomat: Prayuth has been telling the Foreign Ministry what Thailand's foreign policy should be towards Cambodia in relation to the border dispute.
_ That of an election chief: On April 5, the local media reported Prayuth as saying: "There must definitely be an election. I have said that there will be." However, some members of the Election Commission are more concerned that there might be a coup.
_ That of a not-so-convincing denier of coup rumours: Prayuth can never be convincing on this subject because of the role he played in the 2006 coup that ousted Thaksin Shinawatra. How can he, who was involved in a coup then be denying the threat now?
_ That of an adviser to all Thai voters: "Vote to protect monarchy" was the instruction from Prayuth that this newspaper carried on its front page last week. He was also quoted as saying that a high turnout was the key to safeguarding the monarchy and democracy. But what if the majority of Thai voters vote for the "wrong" party? Will there be another military coup? He also believes that all Thais know who to blame for the ongoing political crisis. "Everyone knows the culprits behind the lost lives and the injuries incurred [last April and May]," he was quoted as saying. Surely, he can't be serious.
_ That of chief censor and promoter of the lese majeste law: Prayuth has ordered the Information and Communication Technology Ministry to block more websites and has told his soldiers to file lese majeste charges against red-shirt leaders for what they allegedly said during the April 10 rally. This was even before the Department of Special Investigation (DSI) and police could make a move.
These are just some of the many hats that Prayuth has enjoyed wearing recently, though one can't help but wonder if they really fit an Army chief.
How weak does a prime minister or government have to be to allow the Army chief to do jobs that do not concern him? Will the public continue to accept these powers of the Army and its chief without asking what that has to do with Thai politics and society?
State mechanisms appear useless when confronted by the powers of the Army chief, something not even the supreme commander or the defence minister can match.
If there are people who care about democracy, the separation of power, and the rule of law, they should limit the powers of the Army and its chief. There's a risk that we will start accepting an Army that has too much power, just as we've become used to the fact that the Army owns and runs two out of the six free television stations and owns some 60 per cent of the radio airwaves.
Maybe, the Army chief will want to lead the road-safety campaign next Songkran. Perhaps, somebody can also inform the Army chief that it's dangerous to drive the country when the driver is so drunk with power - power that was not given to him by the people.