""put a crimp in the fun""' ???
Come on, they are trying to reduce crime, prostitution, aids, tax evasion,
and improve the countries image,,, what happened, these facts fly over your
head ?
"""is sure to put scores of
restaurants, ballrooms, massage parlors and other entertainment places
out of business.'""
The only ones that will go out of business or their margins reduced to a
more level income are those who illegally operate anyway. How many stay open
even longer, do not report much of their incomes and are flat out sleazy.
"""There are those, indeed, who warn of a creeping dictatorship as the
popular and powerful prime minister moves systematically to bring the
country into his grip.'""
Ya, those who have never had a days education in their life, live from day
to day and have no concept of the future. Come on, give the head a shake for
this statement, dictatorship? I would say a majority elected leader myself,
who is gaining popularity. I know Carlos will say that Tuuk loves Bush,
loves Thaksin, well come on there carlos, your just being childish there,
your leader Thaksin was elected, by popular vote, so you must be that noisy
minority that I keep talking about. You must be. And from what I hear there
is a very very small crowd who is crying about Thaksin's goodness he is
doing for your country.
""""There is a very troubling hint of a yearning to gradually turn
Thailand into a police state," wrote Pravit Rojanaphruk, a political
commentator, in the English-language daily The Nation last week."""
Come on here also, you gotta give the head a shake for this one.
"""Students are reveling without a limit," he said. "Dancing is not
dirty, but how they behave matters. They must not have . in lifts or
toilets. That's pathetic.""''
Good points, everyone in the world knows you can go to Thailand, get . in
any toilet, elevator, anywhere, and then again with another whore. For a few
bucks, come on, you people cannot get in the way of this positive and
proactive long term good plan, if you do, you want to see Thailand go down.
Or your not Thai.
"""Early last year, the police raided movie theaters in a shopping mall
and ordered them to close at midnight, citing an old martial law
curfew that was still on the books."""
Come on, how many decent theaters stay open past midnight? O,,, those sleazy
ones that show the gay movies, and the crowd is full of gay men who blow
each other,,,, ya real respectable. Now why wouldn't you people want those
places gone ? I wouldn't want one of those sleazy gay movie theaters in my
home town. Aids, Aids, Aids.
"""Thaksin's six-year-old government has been systematically rolling back
those reforms, weakening safeguards against corruption and electoral
fraud, muzzling government critics and using economic pressure to
stifle the press"""
Ya gotta give the author here a head shake,,, not too smart is he,,or she,,
especially about economics.
The rest of the article I imagine is the same bull as the beginning. There
doesn't seem to be any logic, any long term though, just complaining about a
progressive and fiscally responsible leader. Just jabs at a leader who is
actually making change and cleaning up the country. So if all the Thais want
Thaksin to continue cleaning up the country, then why are you non thais even
wasting your time here. You just want to keep the Thai people down, keep the
women so cheap so you can get your . thrills for very cheap and over and
over again, your the sick ones. Your using the Thai people, insulting them.
Thaksin is putting some dignity back into the country and by starting and
improving relations with GWB and the summit, you surely will benefit.
Let the losers cry
.
"OrangeMan" wrote in message
news:63be83e9.0402271050.6e590b37@posting.google.com...
> Closing early in Thailand
> Seth Mydans/NYT
> Midnight's the limit for clubs and bars
>
> BANGKOK Imagine a city where bars, nightclubs and even movie theaters
> shut down early, where young people are off the streets by curfew,
> where universities stage surprise drug tests and where a woman cannot
> enter a restaurant without a male escort.
> .
> That would not be the racy, all-night Bangkok that people like to call
> "fun city."
> .
> But it is Bangkok - and the rest of Thailand - as imagined by powerful
> government reformers who have already begun to put a crimp in the fun.
> .
> Nearly three years ago, they began what they call a "social order"
> campaign, enforcing a 2 a.m. closing time that nobody had ever
> bothered about and raiding nightspots and testing customers for drugs.
> .
> To almost everyone's surprise, the politically popular campaign has
> persisted despite the resistance of powerful businessmen and the
> complaints of Western tourists.
> .
> Now the screws are beginning to tighten.
> .
> On March 1, most nightclubs, bars and discos will have their closing
> times moved back to midnight, one of the most stringent curfews in
> Asia. After March 29, under another new regulation, all youngsters
> under 18 will have to be off the streets by 10 p.m. unless they are
> with their parents.
> .
> This month, the Interior Ministry announced a 100-fold increase in
> license fees that, if put into effect, is sure to put scores of
> restaurants, ballrooms, massage parlors and other entertainment places
> out of business.
> .
> With Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra intimidating the press; packing
> the courts, the police and the military; and all but eliminating
> political opposition, and with social order added to the mix, Thailand
> could begin to be a somewhat different place.
> .
> There are those, indeed, who warn of a creeping dictatorship as the
> popular and powerful prime minister moves systematically to bring the
> country into his grip.
> .
> "There is a very troubling hint of a yearning to gradually turn
> Thailand into a police state," wrote Pravit Rojanaphruk, a political
> commentator, in the English-language daily The Nation last week.
> .
> Government officials are not shy about saying pretty much the same
> thing.
> .
> "I want my children to grow up in a polite, peaceful and orderly
> society," said Purachai Piemsomboon, a former interior minister who
> instituted the crackdown, in a television interview last year.
> .
> As soon as it was started, Thailand's campaign was widely popular,
> with polls showing that 70 percent of the public backed it. For the
> moment, Purachai has become the most popular politician in the
> country.
> .
> "Students are reveling without a limit," he said. "Dancing is not
> dirty, but how they behave matters. They must not have . in lifts or
> toilets. That's pathetic."
> .
> This is a time of wrenching change in Thailand as traditional social
> and family structures give way to the modern world. Purachai was
> voicing the fears of many people who see their country, and their
> children, running out of control.
> .
> On the other hand, there are critics who say Purachai and his fellow
> reformers have gotten a bit out of control themselves.
> .
> At one point, a police district in Bangkok, resurrecting a
> long-forgotten law, ordered entertainment places to turn away any
> women who tried to enter without a male escort.
> .
> Early last year, the police raided movie theaters in a shopping mall
> and ordered them to close at midnight, citing an old martial law
> curfew that was still on the books.
> .
> "Although the law was established 30 years ago, it is still practical,
> especially for today's generation, who face too many temptations,"
> said Somchai Petprasert, a police colonel working as an adviser to the
> Education Ministry.
> .
> It has only been a little more than a decade since Thailand was ruled
> by generals, and the rights and freedoms of its democracy are still
> fragile. It was only at the end of 1997 that these were codified in a
> new Constitution.
> .
> Thaksin's six-year-old government has been systematically rolling back
> those reforms, weakening safeguards against corruption and electoral
> fraud, muzzling government critics and using economic pressure to
> stifle the press.
> .
> Public morals and social behavior may prove to be a greater challenge,
> though.
> .
> "We are helping them keep their virginity," explained Nikhom
> Jarumanee, an Education Ministry official, when an experimental curfew
> was tried on Valentine's Day two years ago.
> .
> Plenty of people here think this is balderdash.
> .
> The Bangkok Post, an English-language daily, summed up the mood in a
> sarcastic headline last week: "Lock Up the Young, This Is Thailand."
> .
> The New York Times
>
> < < Back to Start of Article Midnight's the limit for clubs and bars
>
> BANGKOK Imagine a city where bars, nightclubs and even movie theaters
> shut down early, where young people are off the streets by curfew,
> where universities stage surprise drug tests and where a woman cannot
> enter a restaurant without a male escort.
> .
> That would not be the racy, all-night Bangkok that people like to call
> "fun city."
> .
> But it is Bangkok - and the rest of Thailand - as imagined by powerful
> government reformers who have already begun to put a crimp in the fun.
> .
> Nearly three years ago, they began what they call a "social order"
> campaign, enforcing a 2 a.m. closing time that nobody had ever
> bothered about and raiding nightspots and testing customers for drugs.
> .
> To almost everyone's surprise, the politically popular campaign has
> persisted despite the resistance of powerful businessmen and the
> complaints of Western tourists.
> .
> Now the screws are beginning to tighten.
> .
> On March 1, most nightclubs, bars and discos will have their closing
> times moved back to midnight, one of the most stringent curfews in
> Asia. After March 29, under another new regulation, all youngsters
> under 18 will have to be off the streets by 10 p.m. unless they are
> with their parents.
> .
> This month, the Interior Ministry announced a 100-fold increase in
> license fees that, if put into effect, is sure to put scores of
> restaurants, ballrooms, massage parlors and other entertainment places
> out of business.
> .
> With Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra intimidating the press; packing
> the courts, the police and the military; and all but eliminating
> political opposition, and with social order added to the mix, Thailand
> could begin to be a somewhat different place.
> .
> There are those, indeed, who warn of a creeping dictatorship as the
> popular and powerful prime minister moves systematically to bring the
> country into his grip.
> .
> "There is a very troubling hint of a yearning to gradually turn
> Thailand into a police state," wrote Pravit Rojanaphruk, a political
> commentator, in the English-language daily The Nation last week.
> .
> Government officials are not shy about saying pretty much the same
> thing.
> .
> "I want my children to grow up in a polite, peaceful and orderly
> society," said Purachai Piemsomboon, a former interior minister who
> instituted the crackdown, in a television interview last year.
> .
> As soon as it was started, Thailand's campaign was widely popular,
> with polls showing that 70 percent of the public backed it. For the
> moment, Purachai has become the most popular politician in the
> country.
> .
> "Students are reveling without a limit," he said. "Dancing is not
> dirty, but how they behave matters. They must not have . in lifts or
> toilets. That's pathetic."
> .
> This is a time of wrenching change in Thailand as traditional social
> and family structures give way to the modern world. Purachai was
> voicing the fears of many people who see their country, and their
> children, running out of control.
> .
> On the other hand, there are critics who say Purachai and his fellow
> reformers have gotten a bit out of control themselves.
> .
> At one point, a police district in Bangkok, resurrecting a
> long-forgotten law, ordered entertainment places to turn away any
> women who tried to enter without a male escort.
> .
> Early last year, the police raided movie theaters in a shopping mall
> and ordered them to close at midnight, citing an old martial law
> curfew that was still on the books.
> .
> "Although the law was established 30 years ago, it is still practical,
> especially for today's generation, who face too many temptations,"
> said Somchai Petprasert, a police colonel working as an adviser to the
> Education Ministry.
> .
> It has only been a little more than a decade since Thailand was ruled
> by generals, and the rights and freedoms of its democracy are still
> fragile. It was only at the end of 1997 that these were codified in a
> new Constitution.
> .
> Thaksin's six-year-old government has been systematically rolling back
> those reforms, weakening safeguards against corruption and electoral
> fraud, muzzling government critics and using economic pressure to
> stifle the press.
> .
> Public morals and social behavior may prove to be a greater challenge,
> though.
> .
> "We are helping them keep their virginity," explained Nikhom
> Jarumanee, an Education Ministry official, when an experimental curfew
> was tried on Valentine's Day two years ago.
> .
> Plenty of people here think this is balderdash.
> .
> The Bangkok Post, an English-language daily, summed up the mood in a
> sarcastic headline last week: "Lock Up the Young, This Is Thailand."
> .
> The New York Times Midnight's the limit for clubs and bars
>
> BANGKOK Imagine a city where bars, nightclubs and even movie theaters
> shut down early, where young people are off the streets by curfew,
> where universities stage surprise drug tests and where a woman cannot
> enter a restaurant without a male escort.
> .
> That would not be the racy, all-night Bangkok that people like to call
> "fun city."
> .
> But it is Bangkok - and the rest of Thailand - as imagined by powerful
> government reformers who have already begun to put a crimp in the fun.
> .
> Nearly three years ago, they began what they call a "social order"
> campaign, enforcing a 2 a.m. closing time that nobody had ever
> bothered about and raiding nightspots and testing customers for drugs.
> .
> To almost everyone's surprise, the politically popular campaign has
> persisted despite the resistance of powerful businessmen and the
> complaints of Western tourists.
> .
> Now the screws are beginning to tighten.
> .
> On March 1, most nightclubs, bars and discos will have their closing
> times moved back to midnight, one of the most stringent curfews in
> Asia. After March 29, under another new regulation, all youngsters
> under 18 will have to be off the streets by 10 p.m. unless they are
> with their parents.
> .
> This month, the Interior Ministry announced a 100-fold increase in
> license fees that, if put into effect, is sure to put scores of
> restaurants, ballrooms, massage parlors and other entertainment places
> out of business.
> .
> With Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra intimidating the press; packing
> the courts, the police and the military; and all but eliminating
> political opposition, and with social order added to the mix, Thailand
> could begin to be a somewhat different place.
> .
> There are those, indeed, who warn of a creeping dictatorship as the
> popular and powerful prime minister moves systematically to bring the
> country into his grip.
> .
> "There is a very troubling hint of a yearning to gradually turn
> Thailand into a police state," wrote Pravit Rojanaphruk, a political
> commentator, in the English-language daily The Nation last week.
> .
> Government officials are not shy about saying pretty much the same
> thing.
> .
> "I want my children to grow up in a polite, peaceful and orderly
> society," said Purachai Piemsomboon, a former interior minister who
> instituted the crackdown, in a television interview last year.
> .
> As soon as it was started, Thailand's campaign was widely popular,
> with polls showing that 70 percent of the public backed it. For the
> moment, Purachai has become the most popular politician in the
> country.
> .
> "Students are reveling without a limit," he said. "Dancing is not
> dirty, but how they behave matters. They must not have . in lifts or
> toilets. That's pathetic."
> .
> This is a time of wrenching change in Thailand as traditional social
> and family structures give way to the modern world. Purachai was
> voicing the fears of many people who see their country, and their
> children, running out of control.
> .
> On the other hand, there are critics who say Purachai and his fellow
> reformers have gotten a bit out of control themselves.
> .
> At one point, a police district in Bangkok, resurrecting a
> long-forgotten law, ordered entertainment places to turn away any
> women who tried to enter without a male escort.
> .
> Early last year, the police raided movie theaters in a shopping mall
> and ordered them to close at midnight, citing an old martial law
> curfew that was still on the books.
> .
> "Although the law was established 30 years ago, it is still practical,
> especially for today's generation, who face too many temptations,"
> said Somchai Petprasert, a police colonel working as an adviser to the
> Education Ministry.
> .
> It has only been a little more than a decade since Thailand was ruled
> by generals, and the rights and freedoms of its democracy are still
> fragile. It was only at the end of 1997 that these were codified in a
> new Constitution.
> .
> Thaksin's six-year-old government has been systematically rolling back
> those reforms, weakening safeguards against corruption and electoral
> fraud, muzzling government critics and using economic pressure to
> stifle the press.
> .
> Public morals and social behavior may prove to be a greater challenge,
> though.
> .
> "We are helping them keep their virginity," explained Nikhom
> Jarumanee, an Education Ministry official, when an experimental curfew
> was tried on Valentine's Day two years ago.
> .
> Plenty of people here think this is balderdash.
> .
> The Bangkok Post, an English-language daily, summed up the mood in a
> sarcastic headline last week: "Lock Up the Young, This Is Thailand."
> .
> The New York Times Midnight's the limit for clubs and bars
>
> BANGKOK Imagine a city where bars, nightclubs and even movie theaters
> shut down early, where young people are off the streets by curfew,
> where universities stage surprise drug tests and where a woman cannot
> enter a restaurant without a male escort.
> .
> That would not be the racy, all-night Bangkok that people like to call
> "fun city."
> .
> But it is Bangkok - and the rest of Thailand - as imagined by powerful
> government reformers who have already begun to put a crimp in the fun.
> .
> Nearly three years ago, they began what they call a "social order"
> campaign, enforcing a 2 a.m. closing time that nobody had ever
> bothered about and raiding nightspots and testing customers for drugs.
> .
> To almost everyone's surprise, the politically popular campaign has
> persisted despite the resistance of powerful businessmen and the
> complaints of Western tourists.
> .
> Now the screws are beginning to tighten.
> .
> On March 1, most nightclubs, bars and discos will have their closing
> times moved back to midnight, one of the most stringent curfews in
> Asia. After March 29, under another new regulation, all youngsters
> under 18 will have to be off the streets by 10 p.m. unless they are
> with their parents.
> .
> This month, the Interior Ministry announced a 100-fold increase in
> license fees that, if put into effect, is sure to put scores of
> restaurants, ballrooms, massage parlors and other entertainment places
> out of business.
> .
> With Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra intimidating the press; packing
> the courts, the police and the military; and all but eliminating
> political opposition, and with social order added to the mix, Thailand
> could begin to be a somewhat different place.
> .
> There are those, indeed, who warn of a creeping dictatorship as the
> popular and powerful prime minister moves systematically to bring the
> country into his grip.
> .
> "There is a very troubling hint of a yearning to gradually turn
> Thailand into a police state," wrote Pravit Rojanaphruk, a political
> commentator, in the English-language daily The Nation last week.
> .
> Government officials are not shy about saying pretty much the same
> thing.
> .
> "I want my children to grow up in a polite, peaceful and orderly
> society," said Purachai Piemsomboon, a former interior minister who
> instituted the crackdown, in a television interview last year.
> .
> As soon as it was started, Thailand's campaign was widely popular,
> with polls showing that 70 percent of the public backed it. For the
> moment, Purachai has become the most popular politician in the
> country.
> .
> "Students are reveling without a limit," he said. "Dancing is not
> dirty, but how they behave matters. They must not have . in lifts or
> toilets. That's pathetic."
> .
> This is a time of wrenching change in Thailand as traditional social
> and family structures give way to the modern world. Purachai was
> voicing the fears of many people who see their country, and their
> children, running out of control.
> .
> On the other hand, there are critics who say Purachai and his fellow
> reformers have gotten a bit out of control themselves.
> .
> At one point, a police district in Bangkok, resurrecting a
> long-forgotten law, ordered entertainment places to turn away any
> women who tried to enter without a male escort.
> .
> Early last year, the police raided movie theaters in a shopping mall
> and ordered them to close at midnight, citing an old martial law
> curfew that was still on the books.
> .
> "Although the law was established 30 years ago, it is still practical,
> especially for today's generation, who face too many temptations,"
> said Somchai Petprasert, a police colonel working as an adviser to the
> Education Ministry.
> .
> It has only been a little more than a decade since Thailand was ruled
> by generals, and the rights and freedoms of its democracy are still
> fragile. It was only at the end of 1997 that these were codified in a
> new Constitution.
> .
> Thaksin's six-year-old government has been systematically rolling back
> those reforms, weakening safeguards against corruption and electoral
> fraud, muzzling government critics and using economic pressure to
> stifle the press.
> .
> Public morals and social behavior may prove to be a greater challenge,
> though.
> .
> "We are helping them keep their virginity," explained Nikhom
> Jarumanee, an Education Ministry official, when an experimental curfew
> was tried on Valentine's Day two years ago.
> .
> Plenty of people here think this is balderdash.
> .
> The Bangkok Post, an English-language daily, summed up the mood in a
> sarcastic headline last week: "Lock Up the Young, This Is Thailand."
> .
> The New York Times
> Copyright © 2004 the International Herald Tribune All Rights Reserved
|