rainman

Can we say now that the fat lady has sung yet in regard to the red siege of Bangkok? It appears the reds have lost, and that is a done deal. Too premature?

I would say you're premature, yes:

TNN reported at 5:20 pm that troops at the Makkhawan Bridge have retreated to the Government House and the 1st Army Region.

A field reporter reported live by phone that protesters started blockades around the rally site, using vehicles.

Seizing Chiang Mai city hall is a genius move. They can oust all the reds that work there. Maybe they can riot and burn their own homes down while they're at it.

You really don't understand politics, do you?

Don't worry, the government won't care what happens in Chiang Mai or Khon Kaen. They have always only been concerned about Bangkok, not the rest of the country, so losing Chiang Mai and other cities won't matter to them.

hmmm when confronted by the things that the government has actually done (and made sustainable!) you resort to this ....

Oh yeah, so the government has now given proper and equal healthcare to its poor rural citizens? They can now walk into Bumrungrad to get treatment like the middle/upper class in Bangkok can? And the old people get proper pensions, so that they won't have to live off 100 Baht per month? And they increase the daily minimum wages of currently around 170 Baht (as low as 150 in some places)? Don't you think these people deserve more than 4500 Baht per month? (That's if they work Saturday and Sunday, too. No holiday).

You're disgusting.

What country in the world can you walk into a hospital like Bumrungrad and get free treatment? It even costs the middle and upper class a fortune.

None of these problems can be fixed overnight. They are problems that all western countries still have, and they can't even fix them.

Sure things can be improved, but it's going to take time, and it won't be done by protesting on the streets.

Did I say free treatment? I don't think so. But the people in the North and North-East aren't given the equal job opportunities so that they can make the money to afford this kind of treatment. They can't be fixed overnight, you're right. But there hasn't even been an attempt to fix the problem.

What about the old poor people? How long does it take to give them a proper pension? The army gets billions and billions in budgets to spend on bomb detectors that don't work and Zeppelin balloon toys, but they don't give a proper pension to their own senior citizens.

I won't be hopping on the motorcycle or company van to go find out!

Nobody would expect that from you anyways, don't worry.

Don't worry, the government won't care what happens in Chiang Mai or Khon Kaen. They have always only been concerned about Bangkok, not the rest of the country, so losing Chiang Mai and other cities won't matter to them.

THE NATION: At 4:18 pm, Thai PBS reported troops were retreating from Makkhawan Rangsan Bridge to the area in front of Education Ministry.

THE NATION: Situation reportedly tensing up in Chiang Mai where reds surround provincial hall.

Bangkokpost: Red threatens to seize Khon Kaen city hall

Last infos....

It would not be surprising for the reds to attempt a regional seizure of power and declare a government in the north.

It would seemingly maintain their initiative after what is now going to be an inevitable failure in Bangkok.

As predicted.

Wouldn't that make everybody happy? After all, the government only seems to care about Bangkok. What happens in the rest of Thailand doesn't concern them. So, I guess, let them have Bangkok.

Download anchor free or similar and watch rachaprasong live at uddthailand.com. For all these news updates that make it sound like the govt. is taking control, they red shirts are still on stage and there are still a good 70,000 people listening. Really want to see how they break up 70,000 people.

70,000 ???

There are more people there than have been at most of their rallies (except the first day?).

Anyone close to the scene that can verify these (inflated?) figures?

There are never 70,000 there during the hot sunny afternoon. But at night, numbers do get close to that. So while the army has managed to clear out most of the areas this afternoon, it will be an entirely different story tonight.

At 4:18 pm, Thai PBS reported that troops were retreating from the Makkhawan Rangsan Bridge to the area in front of the Kurusapa Hall of the Education Ministry.

The station explained that the wind blew the tear gas back to troops, causing them to be unable to maintain position at the Makkhawan Bridge.

Could someone PLEASE explain to the army that you don't shoot gas AGAINST the wind?

Thaksin is the problem.

The red shirts should go home and GET INVOLVED in *politics*, not mob rule.

The people in Isaan should look at the corruption in their own back yards before they come to Bangkok to blame people here.

They should look at the corruption of their leaders, and after they have dealt with that, then they can come to Bangkok and complain about the corruption here.

How about increasing minimum wages for the poor? In Europe we spend more per day than these people make per month. That will help reduce corruption. Poor people take money and bribes because they don't have another way of making more money. How about giving them free health insurance so that they can visit good hospitals as well? They can't afford Bumrungrad. How about giving the old people an actual pension? They get no money when they're old.

Jatuporn - it is very easy to derail a BTS. If you kill protesters, all the BTS will derail.

about 2 hours ago via #Padtweet

"Padtweet"? As in "PAD Tweet"?

That doesn't mean anything. It's a news article posted by The Nation, might as well be something someone wrote at Fox News or the Disney Channel. Where's the actual statement that the red shirt leaders made? If you can't back it up with credible evidence, don't post it. Simple as that.

So, even though there is not enough evidence for you (I agree, just seeing it in the Nation doesn't make it evidence - but a previous poster put forward other support), you still try and avoid at least a simple statement along the lines of "If he said it ....".

Even if you don't believe it happened, you still don't denounce the statement.

Dude, here it is:

I don't support derailing the skytrain, for whatever reason

Happy? I never said that I support violence. If Jatuporn or whoever said that, it's certainly wrong. But that doesn't mean that the entire concerns of the red shirt movement should be ignored. The government needs to start LISTENING to the poor rural Thais, not just ignore them and tell them to shut up and go back to their farms. These times have ended 100 or 200 years ago in Europe, and they're ending now in Thailand.

Thaksin is not the problem

You want to tell the redshirts to shut up, stop getting involved in politics and go back to their ricefields........

Its not going to happen because this feudal system needs to change and will be changed.........the mood in Isaan is that it is now or never.

But think about how great this country can be if EVERYONE can reach their full potential and not just the chosen few..........

Though I realise then the Bangkok people may not find it so easy to get their slave labour anymore

Wow, there are people out there with the IQ bigger than a peanut. Well written.

Ummm again in Parliamentary democracies governments can change without a new election. Small parties can realign and poof --- a new government. To suggest otherwise is simply a lie.

You used a plural, suggesting that changes of government without electoral approval are regular occurrences in democracies. Do you have any more examples of this than the one in Thailand in 2008?

Try Gordon Brown for one, Bib Netanyahu for another.

No new elections called when they took office.

Blair retired, Brown voted in by Mps.

Bibi's party came insecond, but the winner failed to get a coaltion with enough seats,

Netanyahu is PM of Israel with 2nd place minority party.

No newe election called... this could last till next election cycles, or fall and a new one come in.

This has happened in many countries...

A parliament is elected and and IF a party shows

enough leadership to quickly put together a new coalition

they form a government, if they fall and another can quickly do the same they can.

This can go on until either a vote of no confidence is passed calling for a new

parliament to be elected, of the ruling PM dissolves the parliament.

If neither of these options happen then an election is called.

Essentially if a coalition can claim enough MP's they can rule.

Didn't Brown just call for early elections?

I've said it before and I'll say it again:

The government needs to start addressing the concerns of the poor rural Thais.

2 years ago they had serious concerns, they were ignored.

1 year ago, they were still ignored, we had the "Black Songkran".

Now, they're still being ignored, we're having riots again.

How about the government addresses the concerns and problems of the poor rural Thais for a change?

You can clear people off the streets, but the problem won't go away. And the problem isn't Thaksin. Thaksin is a part of the engine of the red shirt movement, nothing more.

So was that statement, if it was indeed made, done before or after the army said it would bring in soldiers with the skytrain?

Skytrains' services suspended at all stations

By The Nation

BTS authority has suspended service of all skytrain stations after red shirts leaders called for the protesters to destroy all stations.

Earlier BTS suspended only four stations near the Rajaprasong rally sites; Chidlom, Ploenchit, Rajdamri and Siam. All entrances and exits were shut down.

Red shirts leaders told the cheering crowds that BTS is servants of Amataya, and urged the protesters to go and destroyed the stations.

Guards of red shirts protesters use black plastic bags to cover security cameras of skytrain stations near Rajprasong rally sites.

Thai TV reported that red shirts leaders told the protesters to gather together, saying the government will disperse them soon.

-- The Nation 2010-04-10

That doesn't mean anything. It's a news article posted by The Nation, might as well be something someone wrote at Fox News or the Disney Channel. Where's the actual statement that the red shirt leaders made? If you can't back it up with credible evidence, don't post it. Simple as that.

I am waiting for previous red supporters to post here to tell us they have changed their mind, and no longer support the reds

Are you waiting for Santa Claus to come in April, too?

So was that statement, if it was indeed made, done before or after the army said it would bring in soldiers with the skytrain?

You guys keep mentioning that Jatuporn threatened to derail the skytrain. Where is the credible source for this statement? Nobody has yet posted a source to back up this statement. A video perhaps?

Mr Mark had a hard knock yesterday. Most of us count him out. Some was still cheering him "come on Mark, show us". He stumble up on "9" still groggy. I think this show us that he is a fighter and not a coward.

Just shows that he's not at all interested with the concerns that the poor people of Thailand have. He tries to sweep the problem away with water cannons, instead of solving the problem. You can clean up the water of the running toilet as long as you want, but unless you fix the toilet, the water will keep coming back.

Yes, I would like to see the international media now take note that the red shirt movement is led by terrorists.

I would like to see you stop talking less bullsh*t and more constructive words instead.

Simply sweeping protesters off the streets won't help solve anything. They will simply regroup and come back. Abhisit needs to fix the toilet that's leaking water, not just clean up the water. It will leak again.

The moment Abhisit criticised the purchase of the empty box 'bomb detector' he was toast.

If not already then, surely when he canceled the new Zeppelin balloon toy.

Who is Tekki?

Imagine if Abhisit had either:

a) Held elections right when he became PM, to legitimize his mandate.

-or-

Accepted Thaksin's proposal to "share power", a few months ago.

He would have likely been able to serve out his full term. Instead, he chose to go "all in" with his chips.

Give him a gun and tell him to take the first shot

He's so desperate, I don't think handing him a gun right now is a good idea. Or maybe it is, I don't know.