Meridian007

What about non-violent dispersal techniques? Use of an LRAD or other sonic device could make it unbearable there, and they would have to leave. (Actually, that wiki states that an LRAD has been used in Bangkok before, so the technology is here)

Sorry, I don't want to scare anyone! I wouldn't be too worried about what we write on here, even if Thaksin got back into power, I doubt this forum would be a focus of his concerns. I'm more worried about the corporations and governments of the West. That's one of the reasons I like living here, the "nanny state" mentality is in its infancy here, even if some of our other freedoms are restricted.

I just want people to think about what they are doing with their personal info. Better safe than sorry!

Now, now, we can't have that, foreigners have been banned from attending the rallies. Also, don't doubt that the "Red Militia" (Khattiya's thugs) have weapons that they won't mind using on some rowdy foreigners. All we are regulated to here is complaining on web boards.

That being said, I know that there are many foreigners who get drunk in Khao San, and go looking for a fight, if you see some, you might as well steer them towards Ratchadamnoen! Let them rub testosterone with their counterparts one street over.

Just keep it out of Khao San, Songkran is one of the few times that Khao San is actually amusing!

^ This is true, If you want first-hand proof, take a walk around Phan-Fa. I have done this a few times now, and most topics on stage are about bringing Thaksin back, and how it was unfair and illegal that he was removed from his position of "Dear Leader". If you don't understand that this is all about Thaksin, then you don't follow the news from red sources, you don't understand Thai, or both.

Verbal clash between red shirts, pink shirts occur at Lumpini Park

BANGKOK: -- Five companies of police were deployed to the Lumpini Park to prevent possible clashes between the red-shirt and pink-shirt people Friday afternoon.

The pink-shirt people, who are against the red-shirt movement's call for House dissolution, gathered at the park at 1 pm.

By 1:18 pm, red-shirt people vehicles drove past the park heading to the US embassy.

When two more groups of red-shirt people drove past the park, some pink-shirt people ran out to the road to boo the red-shirt people.

The pink-shirt people carried banners, saying "Please stop it! We want to live our normal life".

Both sides then shouted at each other and police had to calm them down.

-- The Nation 2010-04-02

I wonder if the red shirts will keep it peaceful if the peace protesters show up again tomorrow?

Quite an interesting day for the reds, march by Lumpini and trade insults with a small amount of the silent majority who are tired of being silent, move on to the US embassy to both criticize them for their involvement in monitoring Thaksin, and to ask for their support because of the unfair control put upon them last year when they weren't allowed to kill more than two people, burn buses, and threaten to blow up part of Din Daeng.

Then the convenient "finding" and "arresting" of a boy who supposedly threw firecrackers during the red rally, and confessed to all of these other actions that he was coerced into doing by the government, even though he had no fireworks on him when he was caught. (Huh? How was he caught then? Did he just walk up to them and say "Hey, I did all this stuff, arrest me!") Therefore by extension, the grenade attacks cannot have been done by red shirts, it must all be a government plot! Wow, what will tomorrow bring?

-----------Edit, I just saw mazeltov's post after I posted mine.

Yes, there was a lot of money spent by the dems, but if you had seen the advertising machine that Thaksin ran, (and still runs, those tv stations don't pay for themselves, and really, this "protest" is just more advertising by Thaksin), you would see that the amount spent by the dems has been minuscule in comparison.

Are you sure that you want to call other posters "commie" when you only have two choices to define the current protests, (which you seem to support)? It is either a campaign for Thaksin to get his (stolen) money back that the courts took away, (not their stated goal, but an obvious one, nonetheless), or you listen to their neo-communist charges against the "elite" who make their money by changing the rules so that the lower classes don't receive their proportional share. By controlling the means of production, the "elites" also control the worker's share of the profits, and hold these profits for themselves. I think that is the major complaint of the rice farmers that are protesting here, but that doesn't sound like support for rampant capitalism, does it?

This is why the red's talk of sincerity is laughable. They have a corporate, cronyist, (elite), leadership who cons the poor rural population with dreams of neo-communist equality.

^ I agree with you, Google used to abide by their "do no evil" stricture in the front hall of their head office, but I'm not so sure anymore. That is why I suggested creating a fake gmail account only for things like Facebook. They might cull data about your interests and opinions, but they can't, (hopefully), trace it to you personally.

To all the others, thanks! It's good to know that I'm not the only one who is paranoid about losing my privacy! :D

cognitive biases. tunnel vision

just like at this board focussed on Thaksin and don't recognise anything else.

Sorry, but no. I'm just reporting what I saw. What did you see? (Or were you even here?) Or perhaps I didn't really see it? Yes, it was the military dressed up as Thaksin supporters!

------------Edit because I saw this:

are you a commie or are you naive or both? trolling people?

WOW! Tunnel vision, huh?

Sunderland's link is really good, it gives you many channel options. MOB tv (555!) also has live traffic cameras on different areas, that they swap every few minutes. I've seen Lumpini, Ratchadamnoen Nok, and most recently, Phitsanulok on it.

Since many of the traffic websites seem to have lost their camera feeds over the past week or so, this is a good way to keep tabs on what is happening.

the junta invested millions of baht for anti-thaksin campaigns the dems having that bigest advertising budget a thai PM ever had - just to run media propaganda.

Wow. Were you here in 2008? Did you visit Issan at all during that time? Even in Bangkok, the posters and pick-ups with loud speakers roaming the streets were all in support of former TRT. If the junta invested millions as you say, then Thaksin must have invested billions!

Modern social media is the one thing I don't like about the progression of the internet into daily lives. I've been on the internet since 1990, (ah, the days of Gopher, Archie, and command line access), and the origin of many of the types of social networking today came from Usenet. Usenet was a great way to communicate with other people who had similar interests as you, and it was as anonymous as you wanted it to be.

Unlike some (former?) posters on here like Sean Moran, I think that privacy on the internet is of utmost importance. You are creating a somewhat permanent record of your thoughts and opinions. If they are tied directly to you, companies and governments can use this information against you for the rest of your life. You may say "I have nothing to hide", but if you make a comment in the heat of anger, under the influence of something, or even out of the enthusiasm of youth, (remember some of the things you said as a teenager?), these things could be used to decide whether you are given a job, a visa, or even cause you to be "watched" at any time after, (the only google search connection to my real name is from an anti-RIAA petition I signed in 1993).

A less sinister, but still exploitative part of this, is the buying and selling of your personal information, along with your interests, hobbies, and everything else about you that you post on the net.

To this end, I always suggest setting up accounts based on information that cannot be directly tied to you, (Gmail accounts can be made with any personal information you want, you don't have to use your real info), which can then be used to create accounts on social media websites like Facebook and Twitter. Don't use your regular email account, as it will then be connected to your daily emailing, and therefore your personal info. Never use your real name for sites like Facebook, if you want to connect with old friends, look for them manually on Facebook, (NEVER give Facebook your email password!!!), and send them a note along with the friend invite that tells them who you are. Don't post pictures of yourself on your account, or allow other to "tag" you on theirs. This might seem harsh, but makes it more difficult for larger groups to find out who you are.

You don't have journalistic or diplomatic security, (unless you are a journalist or diplomat), so you have no support once you have lost your privacy. Over the past decade, many of our personal liberties and freedoms have been damaged in the name of security. It's up to you to defend your privacy, no one else will do it.

I don't have anything to hide, but I still think that my basic personal privacy is a right that I should have as a human being. You can say I'm paranoid, but I think there has been enough proof that many larger groups have plans to re-structure the internet so that there is no privacy, and this is an example of it. If they start to require some form of digital proof of who you are, (such as, when Facebook asks for your mobile number to confirm your identity), they are forcing you to give up your privacy.

Thankfully, forums like Thaivisa don't require you confirm your real-world identity, but there are other places that are completely anonymous. For world news, (not all of it is serious anymore, which is a pity), try reddit. For a forum where you don't have to make an account to post, try 4chan. For image hosting without creating an account, try imgur. Enjoy your freedom!

I'm confused, what does insurance have to do with the party on Khao San? Are they talking about general insurance for any participants during the festival, (if so, I never knew that existed before), or is this some front for some agency to sell vacation insurance on Khao San during the festival?

I know that in the west a festival organizer must have general insurance to get clearance to hold a festival, but I never expected it would be the same here.

David and Meow's contact number is on their website, which I mentioned above. Here it is again, it's a good hangout!

They now have indoor seating as well, if you don't like the heat, or are being eaten by the mosquitoes, (they never bother with me, I guess my blood isn't sweet!)!

Enjoy!

The sad thing is that The Medical Council of Thailand is actually listening to him! TIT, but his accusations make no sense!

When blood is donated, the person who "owned" it before, no longer "owns" it. If it is used for acts like what the reds did, it becomes a public health issue. Therefore, the Mahidol Brothers Group has every right to test it, and bring a case forward to have any medical staff who participated in it, stripped of their licenses. I'm still amazed that UNICEF didn't speak out about the 11 year old boy who "participated", (parental pressure is a wonderful thing), I hope his needle was clean...

I'm a vehicle for Tri-dao Apaiwong and whatever she preaches, however on a serious note I think we let the reds do what they want now within reason, from what I can see, protesting against a peaceful democratic protest is the first signs of self destruct and lack of strategy.

Only if you make the assumption that this is government initiated. I think that the population of Bangkok is fed up with the red protest, with its lack of clear, achievable goals. They are just causing annoyance for anyone who has to get from the west end of town, to the east. If there was any sincerity in their stated goal of democracy, they would push for constitutional and judicial change now, and wait for the elections next year. As it is, they are just creating a media circus, so I can see why the people want to protest against the reds.

Here we see the "Red Democracy" in action again. In Issan, in Chiang Mai, and now Bangkok, the red shirts have displayed a mentality of "We will do whatever we want, and you must accept and allow us to do so because it is our democratic right!"

As soon as another group shows up with a different opinion, the reds will intimidate or use violence to silence this opposition. Is this the "freedom" and "democracy" that you, (red shirt/Thaksin) apologists really want to live under? Perhaps you would enjoy a trip to Myanmar, or North Korea!

(And before any you jump in, accusing me of being PAD or something, by red shirt I mean the leadership of the reds who make the decisions and plans, including inciting mobs like we saw earlier this week forcing the military out of areas where they were merely stationed in as a precaution to control any violence similar to Black Songkran.

I am an apologist for the people who have been duped into following the red shirt movement, either by "gifts" of small money now, or the promise of larger money in the future. This is what democracy means to many of these people who only care about whether they have enough money to feed their families. While it is terrible that this and earlier governments still allow so many of their citizens to live in such abject poverty, it is worse to use the desperation of these people, (many of whom are women and children), to pay them for their use as "cannon fodder" for a greedy old man's money grabbing.)

Sorry! I just got my first deleted post. I didn't want to offend anyone, I only referenced the pictures in post 29 and post 33 (which are still here, and not nudity) to let Moonrakers know he found the correct avatar, and to say that that one and the one that Slip posted were my favourites. Sorry if I offended.

^ No, with Thai law, you can appeal with new evidence up to one month after the decision. What I'm surprised about is that the analysis that came out right after the decision also stated that Thaksin would have to be present at the appeal. I guess that isn't true?

I'll be surprised if there is actually anything resembling new evidence in those 500 pages. This is a delay tactic, Thaksin hopes to topple the government before everything is finalized.

I was wondering if he was going to show up today, and try to claim diplomatic immunity as one of Hun Sen's aides for the MRC meeting next month, (I guess it is a little early for him to try that). Regardless he might still try this as it's only a couple of weeks away.

Cool! I'll check it out!

The Department of Mental Health is clearly a tool of the elites and the coup-imposed government.

Brilliant!

The questions are unfair, what about those of us who have to engage in political discussions? I guess I get a 10 by default! (just don't tell my girlfriend about my answer to number three! )

yeh Narz - it's better to go for an after hours

Doesn't it close at 2AM? I haven't been for a while but if they stay open later, that'd be great!

The food in BC Pinklao (both the Tesco and Major locations) is okay, and I find that the service is good in both places, but I won't drink their coffee. There is something in it that disturbs my stomach, so I usually get the ice tea instead. I don't know what it is, but I'm fine with all the others in the area, (Coffee World, Starbucks, Mezzo, even Chester's!), so I think they must add something.

I agree with the poster who said that home-made coffee is better. Right now I'm having a French roast with some VanHouten cocoa mixed in, delicious! I'm thinking of bringing my espresso machine back here, I'd much prefer it, (I have a French press here).

Does the law really stipulate that he must personally lodge the appeal?

No, his lawyers plan to do so today, although, as stated above, I don't think they really understand the concept of "new" evidence. It seems to be the same old tripe that he lost the case on.

Really? I thought that was a stipulation of the court, that appeals of new evidence must be presented in person by the accused.

I figured that we'd see them lead one of the little grannies with a Thaksin face mask into court, and apologize that "he" can't speak because of his well advertised sore throat!

I've always liked Neverdie's as well, I was glad when he decided to change back to it. There is someone on here with an avatar of a beautiful Asian woman, (Korean? Japanese? I can't remember), flipping her hair back, and winking. That one always gets me, and I end up getting distracted by it when I'm trying to read that member's posts!

Pheu Thai Files Complaint against Govt with UN

The opposition Pheu Thai Party has filed a complaint against the government's strict security and the military presence at Parliament with the UN.

Meanwhile, police have opened Rajvithi Road to traffic.

from the updates thread ---- I would rewrite this in the following manner ----

"Thaksin's Nominee party ---PTP has completely lost track of Thaksin's own words at the height of his ~war on drugs~ when Thaksin said "the UN is not my Father" ---Having lost track of that the PTP went crying to the UN when Parliament House was actually placed under gaurd from the outside to prevent the Red shirts (another Thaksin nominee group - but this time paid protesters) from disrupting the work of Parliament."

Gotta get a laugh in about the irony of it all!

Typical. What part of the UN? Are they going to stand up in the assembly the next time it meets in September, and cry crocodile tears like Thanusak Lek-uthai did today? Are they going to bring it up with the security council? (Oh ya, they aren't part of the current 10 Non-permanent members, guess they could get Nigeria to talk for them ) Are they going to start an ICJ case like Thaksin said he would? (Oh ya, it's only jurisdiction is in state-state matters, individuals or groups within a state can't bring cases forward )

They keep yelling "UN!" now. I guess they,(and by extension Thaksin), have changed their minds about paternity -- "I'm gonna tell dad!"

Even if this was brought to the UN Human Rights Commission, the red leaders will just be told that the troops aren't imposing any kind of pressure on issues in the house, they are only there to protect some members who are at risk from Pheu Thai's red-shirt mob. The military is merely doing its job.

I think we have all experienced a trait here where no one can ever admit that they were wrong. This is damaging the reds, but at least they are beginning to see it. If they can just swallow their inflated pride and egos, and truly cut the strings to Thaksin, things will get better for them.

He needs to be utterly denounced, and the true nature of his his greed and how it has damaged the very people who are suffering for him in the streets, needs to be shown to the people by the red leadership. Then things can progress forward.