Changian

I like the irony of the Democrats and Army making a big deal of protecting the Thaicom sites from the Reds and their evil leader Thaksin.

( Thaicom was formerly known as Shin Satellite and still is a subsidiary of Shin Corp. )

Back on Topic - What should Abhisit do . . .

He's probably wishing that the demonstrations were taking place in a seaside town like Pattaya or Hua Hin then the army could just round up the protestors, put them in engineless boats and tow them out to sea. Out of sight, out of mind - just hope too many don't wash up in Indonesia somewhere and then blab to Dan Rivers.

Right on. Keep out that evil Thaksin and his insistence on trying to clean up Bangkok's nightlife. Vote Democrat - and the bars stay open all night. Woo hoo.

But cant see it being a vote winner amongst the Bangkokian middle classes.

Dont forget the 36 websites that were blocked today on the order of the Deputy PM.

There's a scanned copy of Suthep's order to shut down 36 websites that disseminate news that may be a danger to national security online at Thaienews ( Link ) His order doesn't mention exactly what any of them did wrong - other than being Pro-Red

Ironically, on May 21 2009, Abhisit gave a speech entitled “Media Lessons: The Power of the State, the Power of Capital, and the Power of the People,” to journalists at Thammasat University Pattaya Campus. In which he stated:

“The government wants to see media freedom and will facilitate the operations of members of the media to achieve freedom of expression.”

Looks like what he forgot to mention was that freedom of expression was only allowed if you expressed the views of the government.

Yes your absolutely right. The Yellows occupied Government House and the Airport 2 years ago, so lets destroy Bangkok now.

No problem, rip the city apart. Pillage, rape, destroy and kill. It's all allright, because the yellows occupied the airport.

Because the Nazis killed 60 million people, doesnt mean you can do the same. Two wrongs dont make a right!

Someone had an extra shot of expresso this morning. Surely a contender for today's OTT post. Jing's got some competition

They were mentioning thankyou to people who have been donating funds to help the red people to buy food etc.

The list of supporters include TOT, Siam Commercial Bank, a more thai companies, foreigners from China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, USA, Australia, UK, France, Germany and many more. Read the list out for over 30 mins thanking the world to help them fight for their rights.

Very interesting given which organisation is the major shareholder in SCB.

I have a feeling not many broadcasters in Europe / USA are going to be taking it up and running the risk of pissing off the fat un-feminine female viewership.

Go for KC Grande. Much better beach, pretty quiet location just north of the busiest, most built up area, but much closer to walk to a good selection of bars, restaurants and shops than Sea View is. From Sea View it is a bit of a walk to get to the roadside area of Kai Bae where most restaurants etc are located and not as many good places to eat & drink on the beach nearby.

If you wanted to stay in the centre of Kai Bae, closer to the bars & restaurants then try The Chill or Gajapuri - two 4 star resorts on the beach in the centre of the village. The beach is still not as good as at KC Grande though.

I'm betting that you wont see any videos of the type seen on BBC new reports this evening which show the red shirts gathering in Udon Thani and explains their motives.

Likewise, I'll bet that none of the news clippings will includes the bit in today's Nation which stated that The Nation as well as most other media outlets were overwhelmingly 'Pro Yellow'

From today's The Nation:

The government, with collaboration from the mainstream media, managed to portray itself as an angel and the red-shirt group as former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra's evil lackeys - ready to use all violent means to bring their boss back to power. Visions of last April's bloodshed have been planted in the public mind many times a day to show the red-shirt group is nothing but a bloodthirsty monster

Yet, this article doesnt make Thaivisa 'News Clippings' maybe it's not 'on point' as far as the message goes.

. . . and any line up or what's on where info?

Thanks

Bangkok BAMBI have postponed their "Bring and Buy Sale" on March 13 to March 27th from 9.30-11.30am thanks to the UDD rally.

Now this is getting really heavy....

Apparently the Red shirts eat babies. ( I read it on the internet somewhere.) That's probably why BAMBI called it off. Better to be safe than to have your toddler BBQ'd by a mob.

Five bombs in Surat Thani town. Home town of the Deputy PM. Only one logical conclusion - must be the Reds. Who else would do such a thing? This news report gives more info . . .

...

Police Region 8 chief Santan Chayanont yesterday said the bombs appeared to be aimed at creating public disquiet rather than damage as well as discrediting Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban, the Surat Thani MP who is in charge of national security.

Five bombs were planted at four locations in Muang and Kanchanadit districts.

...

Earlier it was thought the bombs might have been meant to embarrass Mr Suthep by proving he could not provide security in his hometown, let alone for the nation.

An examination of the explosive components showed the devices were more sophisticated than those used in attacks in the deep South. They were obviously made by professionals.

A scientific team said most of the explosives improvised by insurgent groups in the troubled southern provinces contained metal scraps and nails to inflict maximum injury.

Parts of the circuit boards from the mobile phones used in the Surat Thani bombs were sent for comprehensive analysis by the Central Institute of Forensic Science for possible links to the insurgency.

An intelligence source said the SIM card of one mobile phone that could have triggered a bomb was bought at a grocery shop in the province. After checking the phone’s call record, it was believed the bomb plot was hatched four days ago.

Must be the Reds? Actually, this report is from March 2009. There are a couple of paragraphs missing though which I took out of the original report so as not to give the game away too early.

But it shows why it's best not to jump to conclusions - even if the Pro Government new agencies do.

Turns out that these bombs almost exactly a year ago, that targeted the Deputy PMs home town, that were detonated by remote control, that police say were professionally made were set by a drug gang with no connections to the Red shirts at all and no mention of any Pro Thaksin involvement. (But there again this was before the govt & the media began it's scare tactics.)

( Link to full story)

There are houses and land for sale in Trat. But there isn't a big expat community and no large housing developments or condos so no agents catering to farangs. If you search on the Thai sites you'll find plenty of land plots for sale. Or just spend time driving around and you'll see hand written signs on trees for farmland plots for sale.

I'd say the Chantaburi area is a better place to live than Trat - seems to have everything that an expat could want - from Tesco to good beaches to International Hospital , yet at the moment doesn't have that many expat residents. There are also a growing number of expats living up in the Soi Dao area just north of Chantburi, lots of fruit farms there, rolling hills, fresh air.

Unfortunately all Thai TV channels are still working fine on my True Satellite. Hopefully the govt will shut them down soon.

The Doc from the Min of Public Health in Bangkok and a team from Rayong are on Koh Mak today meeting with local officials and also going on a jellyfish hunt to see what species are out there off the beaches. Here they are heading off - not sure if they are back yet . . .

Somchai's Noodles, the corner of Sukhumvit 33. Seh Daeng will be running anti-govt. special ops out of the corner table. Don't order the 'sen lek' that will identify you as an obvious Yellow Shirt. This info is on a need to know basis, keep it to yourself.

Must dos & must visits depend on what you enjoy doing.

The snorkelling is very good in the islands to the soputh. Day trips from 600 - 1500 baht/person. But as you'll be here at Songkran maybe best avoided as there will be lots of Thais snorkelling too

Good trekking to the top of hills overlooking White Sand Beach & Klong Prao beach - you need a guide.

The dinner on an old gondola trips in Salakkok Bay are very nice. But it is a long way to get there as it is in the south east of the island. If you are there in the daytime then there's good mangrove canoeing and the area is very quiet - no tourism except for one restaurant and you can see how the local fishermen live.

There are 4 elephant camps, the best and first on the island is Baan Kwan Chang in a valley in the north of the island. Prices at all camps are the same 500 baht for short trek, 900 baht for longer trek including bathing the elephant - includes transport from / to your hotel

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More ideas here

Even more interesting given who was photographed, at an event in Bangkok, wearing some of the Saudi jewellry that had been stolen a few years earlier.

There is a method to the madness.

If certain people are in jail during the protests next week they cant be held responsible for any violence that happens.

However, if they are freed now then it will be much easier to pin the blame on them if anything does occur. If anything does happen, who will all the Dem friendly news media outlets immediately point the finger at?

This is the second time in the past 2 years that a young child has almost died - heart stopped - due to a jellyfish attack on Koh Mak, the first was a 4 year old Australian boy. So I think it would be sensible to at least train resort staff as to what to do as the next child might not be so lucky.

After I put this story on my website a couple of days ago I had an email from the doctor at the Ministry of Public Health who in is charge of the Field Epidemiology Training Program in Thailand. So I think the govt, rather than the TAT, is interested in doing something to ensure people know what to do in the event of life threatening jellyfish stings.

So, as the Commander of ISOC is the Army C-in-C and can pretty much do what he wants under the erms of the ISA.

Would it technically be a coup if the army decided they liked these powers that were voluntarily handed to them by the government and for the sake of the country decided to prolong their stay in charge, thus postponing any elections due in the next year or so?

[snip]

he was here for a golf trip

Isn't everyone?

Psssssst. . . . . wanna buy some of the white stuff? You name it I can get it - Icing, Castor, Granulated. Demerara? Oooh, that's going to cost you, my son. How about something for the kids - Dextrose, Fructose, Glucose?

Confidence in Thailand with Prime Minister Abhisit

Co-hosted by Mr Miles Cholmondley-Warner.

MCW: Oh - hello, again. This is Miles Cholmondley-Warner issuing you an invitation to improve your confidence in Thailand.

Now, today - I'd like to present my dear friend, Mr Abhisit.

PM: Thank you for presenting me, Mr Cholmondley-Warner.

MCW: Now, Mr Abhisit has prepared for us a most informative and enjoyable lecture on improving your confidence in Thailand. So look here, Mr Abhisit - what's this lecture about?

PM: Well, it's short informal but informative talk, about how confident myself and my pals me are in Thailand.

MCW: Thank you. I see. That sounds most interesting. Well, that's enough chitter-chat from us, so let's sit back and listen.

All these news stories which helpfully guide readers into making the 'correct' assumptions. It's a real life 'Wag the Dog'.