More Rallies 'as Soon As Decree Ends'

[Sheryl]

How many people believe what we saw

in Bangkok a few days ago could spread to provincial cities and towns

with the worst-case scenario being street gunfights with military

with guns smuggled over the border into Thailand

from Cambodia in recent years ?

Do you think the rural population is angry enough to do this?

Angry enough, yes. Stupid enough, no, at least not the ones out where I live.

There is a great tendency to underestimate the intelligence/common sense of the rural "masses". They may not be well educated, but they do have solid common sense and no desire to see the country descend into anarchy.

They just want their rights and a fair chance at a comfortable life. The tragedy is that they have yet to find a leader who isn't just using them. Some of them knew that before this latest debacle and I suspect even more of them know that now.

just my 2 cents.

[Koo82]

What bunch of bull Sh...t

Oh yeah luv Taxin priorities, Jail, Money then rule of laws

Oh yeah, we had an intelligent bunch who wore yellow and blocked 2 airports.

[LawnGnome]

Well of course the protests will resume. Disregarding Thaksin, who merely used the mobs as an attempt to overthrow the government for his own benefit, the underlying reasons behind the discontent of the poor agro-classes still remain. Thaksin and his TRT opened Pandora's box and showed the rural poor that they have a voice and that they could make it heard in the corridors of power. Well the box is open and there's no way they're going to get the lid back on it.

This is why the red movement could not be allowed to succeed. Once they achieve one ideal through open rebellion they'll go for another, and another, and another. Every time they want something and the government doesn't deliver out will come the rabble. This route goes down the path of mob rule, democracy becomes just another sound byte. They'll never understand that in a democracy the elected government does not always do want the majority of the peple want.

Have to agree with you Phil, The genie is out of the bottle,

and the current administration understands that.

This is not the same Democrats villified for decades by up country puyais,

to prevent political encroachment on their power bases.

The Issanese WILL be getting more say and more services, it is inevitable.

But definitely NOT through the Red Shirts.

Another mechanism that will act rationally will logically rise act as a group voice for the north.

Thaksin has ruined the possibilities the Red Shirts could have had to

lead effectively for the rural poor. They were co-opted for his purposes

and are now sadly tied to his coat-tails. and swirl down the drain.

PTP is a ghost of a coherent party,

directly, and way to closely, tied to these riots.

The height of hypocrisy is Chalerm trying to vilify the government

for putting down riots his own party members were instrumental in starting.

I will give him the brass balls of the year award for trying.

It is not a given that being anti-Thaksin and anti-Red Shirts

is automatically anti-Rural Poor.

Just not so.

As you said letting the red shirts win now would set

extraordinarily poor precedent for the future.

Which should not mean the rural poor have automatically lost any gains,

nor gain further in the near term, just not gains THROUGH the minority Red Shirts.

Its too bad none of the TV Red Shirts postings are as well thought out as Animatic's. Then they might have a fighting chance of convincing some people with their arguments. The tired "But what about the PAD" and, "Its a military conspiracy" and "the elite are reading your brainwaves with their new aluminum foil brain-wave detector" arguments are really not selling most folks...

[grandpops]

It doesn't take much effort for those in the shadows behind the red shirts to create images of men in uniform throwing bodies into trucks. In fact I'm rather surprised such images haven't been fed to the likes of Al Jazeera. Maybe they have but the media org's saw through them a little too easily. Even if they did make the bodies disappear, supposing they could in the middle of all that mayhem, there'd still be the walking wounded to tell their tales. Of course they've still ot time to produce "widows" who waved their husbands goodbye last Friday never to see them again.

So what exactly is wrong with Al Jazeera? They've got some of the best and most balanced international news out there. My wife and I were very happy with the quality of their reporting on the situation in Thailand.

Thats the rub. They are balanced.... Its the lot in power that are out of kilter.

It looks like a coup, kick out three pms who beat abhisit change constitution

It smells like a coup, Army on streets, calling shots. (look who is behind the hysteria that provoked this thread.

Army budget doubled this year, they start two battles with Cambodian troups which gov is unaware of.

Its just possible therefore that it is a coup and some of you havn't woken up and smelled it yet... you will, you will!

Trust Aj Jazeera on this one, they have more reporting depth than any of the Thai lot. Note ASTV is still pumping out its bilge day and night and the PAD are partying in Phuket this weekend.

Fair and balanced? Not thai powers of the moment.

[LawnGnome]

It doesn't take much effort for those in the shadows behind the red shirts to create images of men in uniform throwing bodies into trucks. In fact I'm rather surprised such images haven't been fed to the likes of Al Jazeera. Maybe they have but the media org's saw through them a little too easily. Even if they did make the bodies disappear, supposing they could in the middle of all that mayhem, there'd still be the walking wounded to tell their tales. Of course they've still ot time to produce "widows" who waved their husbands goodbye last Friday never to see them again.

So what exactly is wrong with Al Jazeera? They've got some of the best and most balanced international news out there. My wife and I were very happy with the quality of their reporting on the situation in Thailand.

Thats the rub. They are balanced.... Its the lot in power that are out of kilter.

It looks like a coup, kick out three pms who beat abhisit change constitution

It smells like a coup, Army on streets, calling shots. (look who is behind the hysteria that provoked this thread.

Army budget doubled this year, they start two battles with Cambodian troups which gov is unaware of.

Its just possible therefore that it is a coup and some of you havn't woken up and smelled it yet... you will, you will!

Trust Aj Jazeera on this one, they have more reporting depth than any of the Thai lot. Note ASTV is still pumping out its bilge day and night and the PAD are partying in Phuket this weekend.

Fair and balanced? Not thai powers of the moment.

Sigh. Don't you have kids on your lawn to yell at?

[grandpops]

It doesn't take much effort for those in the shadows behind the red shirts to create images of men in uniform throwing bodies into trucks. In fact I'm rather surprised such images haven't been fed to the likes of Al Jazeera. Maybe they have but the media org's saw through them a little too easily. Even if they did make the bodies disappear, supposing they could in the middle of all that mayhem, there'd still be the walking wounded to tell their tales. Of course they've still ot time to produce "widows" who waved their husbands goodbye last Friday never to see them again.

So what exactly is wrong with Al Jazeera? They've got some of the best and most balanced international news out there. My wife and I were very happy with the quality of their reporting on the situation in Thailand.

Thats the rub. They are balanced.... Its the lot in power that are out of kilter.

It looks like a coup, kick out three pms who beat abhisit change constitution

It smells like a coup, Army on streets, calling shots. (look who is behind the hysteria that provoked this thread.

Army budget doubled this year, they start two battles with Cambodian troups which gov is unaware of.

Its just possible therefore that it is a coup and some of you havn't woken up and smelled it yet... you will, you will!

Trust Aj Jazeera on this one, they have more reporting depth than any of the Thai lot. Note ASTV is still pumping out its bilge day and night and the PAD are partying in Phuket this weekend.

Fair and balanced? Not thai powers of the moment.

Sigh. Don't you have kids on your lawn to yell at?

No, They are all away playing at star trek, calling each other childish names and saying they live in such places as The Moon, Jupiter, oh and Cybertron. Kids eh!

All major outlets are supporting this coup by stealth and noting the lack of response during the PAD rally by the Army. Other than, that is, to ensure the Police didn't break up their seige of government house. A recent post of yours seeks to gloss over these key points by calling them Tired.. They are facts, not arguments and will not ever be tired.

Perhaps the sentences of the Red leaders should be around 5 percent of those of The PAD leaders taking into account the length of their seige of Gov House.

Edited April 16, 2009 by grandpops

[ozzydom]

Don't think that AKA-47 is difficult to get in Cambodia or Myanmar.....

Well we do know Thaksin spent a lot of time in Cambodia and

had powerful connections there.

I just sense something big has changed with some rural people-

they see it as their elected leader having been victimised from office of PM

replaced with a a suave young English speaking PM they cannot begin relate to.

And yet when they try to use the same tactics as the yellow shirts to object to this

-they have come off substantially worse. This is why I just think

this is going to fester like a sore and maybe Jakrapob Penkair

sees himslef as a viable alternative ?

I must have missed something, the red shirts tactics were nothing like the yellow shirt "sit-in" I stand correcting but I dont recall the yellows blocking streets with burning hi-jacked buses etc, from what I recall re the airport occupation ,they just had so many people assemble peacefully at the airport that the authority deemed that it could not operate and ordered a suspension of operations.

Personally I find any sort of action from either faction distasteful when it causes injury ,inconvenience and long term damage to the Thai social fabric and its future prospects.

For those posters who keep harping on about difference in the treatment of the reds and yellows by the authorities, you remind me of the little boy who used to complain to his Mum that sis had taken a bigger lick of the ice-cream than him.

[kaiwatnok]

What I am hearing from red-shirts that I know is that they are going to rally again. All of them are telling me they 'saw' bodies of their dead red-shirted comrades being loaded into army trucks.

I do not believe they saw it but they seem to believe it happened. They are low on details about where & when it was and most of the people I know were at Sanam Luang which is not where the major scuffles were. Perhaps on their big screen...

Bizarrely - they all say the same thing "I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes" (although in Thai). The people I spoke to don't know each other, yet they all used that same line.

When I asked why there are no pictures of such from phone cams or international media, they talk about how the images have been suppressed. When asked how Thailand could suppress phone cam images uploaded to the internet or how they would influence CNN, Sky or BBC, they draw a blank.

Whoever is feeding them the story (if that is what it is), has indeed crafted a good tale to anger the reds & potentially bring more people on their side as they learn of these so-called deaths at the hands of the army.

One of the saddest things about the last 2 years or so, has been the fact that the leaders on both sides of this farce assume (and perhaps correctly in the majority of cases) that everyone is stupid.... and totally gullible.

Just as Thaksin fooled all of the rural people into thinking he is some kind of saint. more recently, he told them he was running out of money (so created the M150 style thaksin drink)...and numerous other porkies.

the reds, and the government are now spreading propoghanda which is often poorly thought out at best... stories of deaths covered up by the army....... Army only using paper bullets ? (The M16 does not fire paper bullets...and there are dozens of people walking around with live round spent cartridges as souvenirs.....not blanks.)......

both sides are guilty of assuming that the public is stupid.... it is sad that Thailand does not have a third, less arrogant and more humble option. Someone who could take the country forward, starting by radically changing the education system. encouraging people to think for themselves, ask questions, and form opinions.... too much parrot fashion teaching in schools breeds a nation of people who never think outside the box... people who believe their leaders all too easily.

[LawnGnome]

What I am hearing from red-shirts that I know is that they are going to rally again. All of them are telling me they 'saw' bodies of their dead red-shirted comrades being loaded into army trucks.

I do not believe they saw it but they seem to believe it happened. They are low on details about where & when it was and most of the people I know were at Sanam Luang which is not where the major scuffles were. Perhaps on their big screen...

Bizarrely - they all say the same thing "I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes" (although in Thai). The people I spoke to don't know each other, yet they all used that same line.

When I asked why there are no pictures of such from phone cams or international media, they talk about how the images have been suppressed. When asked how Thailand could suppress phone cam images uploaded to the internet or how they would influence CNN, Sky or BBC, they draw a blank.

Whoever is feeding them the story (if that is what it is), has indeed crafted a good tale to anger the reds & potentially bring more people on their side as they learn of these so-called deaths at the hands of the army.

One of the saddest things about the last 2 years or so, has been the fact that the leaders on both sides of this farce assume (and perhaps correctly in the majority of cases) that everyone is stupid.... and totally gullible.

Just as Thaksin fooled all of the rural people into thinking he is some kind of saint. more recently, he told them he was running out of money (so created the M150 style thaksin drink)...and numerous other porkies.

the reds, and the government are now spreading propoghanda which is often poorly thought out at best... stories of deaths covered up by the army....... Army only using paper bullets ? (The M16 does not fire paper bullets...and there are dozens of people walking around with live round spent cartridges as souvenirs.....not blanks.)......

both sides are guilty of assuming that the public is stupid.... it is sad that Thailand does not have a third, less arrogant and more humble option. Someone who could take the country forward, starting by radically changing the education system. encouraging people to think for themselves, ask questions, and form opinions.... too much parrot fashion teaching in schools breeds a nation of people who never think outside the box... people who believe their leaders all too easily.

The army and government have been quite candid about the use of live ammo in certain circumstances, and the use of blank in others. The only ones that seem to be saying that the government has somehow denied this, is you...

Curious.

If you are implying that there were more people killed then reported, lets see some evidence. Should be simple enough.

[321niti123]

How many people believe what we saw

in Bangkok a few days ago could spread to provincial cities and towns

with the worst-case scenario being street gunfights with military

with guns smuggled over the border into Thailand

from Cambodia in recent years ?

Do you think the rural population is angry enough to do this?

they aren't stupid enough to do this sort of stuff in their own neighbourhoods because they have to live there. They didn't have any problem being funded to come into the cities and run riot, because they get to go home and not live there.

Next time I suspect red shirts go to poor areas like Din Daeng flats (or Chonburi) with lots of rural turned city folk proud of their homes, they might suffer a whole lot more.

No doubt the movement will continue, but they lost most of their potential support; I'd guess they will reappear as the 'next colour after red' shirts.

THey will gontinue for sure but they have lost a lot of support after the fall of the asean summit and the chaos in bangkok, now most bangkokians wont want anything to do with the reds, and if there are anymore colored shirts the neutrals would certainly run out of colors to wear. [might as well go out naked]

[321niti123]

You know if thaksin had stayed quiet for a few more years and came back no one would care if he went to jail or not, but now that he started this much chaos and his supporters have killed a few and injured a lot more i dont think he will be able to come back to thailand ever again

[KireB]

What I am hearing from red-shirts that I know is that they are going to rally again. All of them are telling me they 'saw' bodies of their dead red-shirted comrades being loaded into army trucks.

I do not believe they saw it but they seem to believe it happened. They are low on details about where & when it was and most of the people I know were at Sanam Luang which is not where the major scuffles were. Perhaps on their big screen...

Bizarrely - they all say the same thing "I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes" (although in Thai). The people I spoke to don't know each other, yet they all used that same line.

When I asked why there are no pictures of such from phone cams or international media, they talk about how the images have been suppressed. When asked how Thailand could suppress phone cam images uploaded to the internet or how they would influence CNN, Sky or BBC, they draw a blank.

Whoever is feeding them the story (if that is what it is), has indeed crafted a good tale to anger the reds & potentially bring more people on their side as they learn of these so-called deaths at the hands of the army.

Sure and the next thing that will happen is that they'll buy amulets to protect themselves against the spirits they saw! Pictures please!

[Tokay]

Thats the rub. They are balanced.... Its the lot in power that are out of kilter.

It looks like a coup, kick out three pms who beat abhisit change constitution

It smells like a coup, Army on streets, calling shots. (look who is behind the hysteria that provoked this thread.

Army budget doubled this year, they start two battles with Cambodian troups which gov is unaware of.

Its just possible therefore that it is a coup and some of you havn't woken up and smelled it yet... you will, you will!

Trust Aj Jazeera on this one, they have more reporting depth than any of the Thai lot. Note ASTV is still pumping out its bilge day and night and the PAD are partying in Phuket this weekend.

I do believe Al Jazeera is balanced but oddly I can no longer get Al Jazeera on my Sophon network.

[Plus]

Reds have isolated themselves from the rest of the society and subjected their mighty Isanese brains to constant propaganda and brainwashing, they don't listen to anyone else.

As a result, Red leaders can honestly claim that they don't need to pay them anymore, they are ready to die for the "cause".

Red followers themselves got their special value structure implanted in them. Urban/farmers divide, evil elites, fight for democracy - it all seems real to them, while the rest of the country can't make heads or tails out of it.

"Prem was behind the coup" revelation was a groundbreaking bombshell for reds, for the rest of the country it wasn't even a yawn - you guys tried to trash his house two years ago already, have you forgotten yourselves?

"Rural people will demand voice and power" - great, you have the largest party in parliament already, you elected them, they represent you, why don't you go and demand they do their jobs and protect your interests? How else do you want to express your demands? By burning Bangkok? Are you nuts?

"We will not accept elections under 2007 consitution" - wasn't a problem when PPP formed the government, why start now? Because your guys have lost?

"We demand consitutional reform" - yeah, you are invited to participate but instead you descend into violence. How does that help?

Sorry, guys, but your cause has no credibility whatsoever, even if we to ignore your obvious Thaksin/TRT connection which you can't shake no matter how much you try.

You've got to come up with a new agenda, this one sucks.

[madi]

How about a fair election with UN help.

The winners will be the reds.

Face it.

The Yellow is not the majority in Thailand.

Why anyone would attack the reds for their behavior and then ignore the fact that the yellows are backed by a group responsible for over 20 coups in Thailand is comical.

if you are a Thai and a big Yellow backer, you had better run for your life if their is a violent revolution and your yellows lose.

[animatic]

If you removed the vote buying and propaganda for an election, it's a toss up.

Only the hardcore Reds won't be willing to change a vote to the side that

butters their bread best in times of peace.

[h90]

How about a fair election with UN help.

The winners will be the reds.

Face it.

The Yellow is not the majority in Thailand.

Why anyone would attack the reds for their behavior and then ignore the fact that the yellows are backed by a group responsible for over 20 coups in Thailand is comical.

if you are a Thai and a big Yellow backer, you had better run for your life if their is a violent revolution and your yellows lose.

The last election they had approx the same amount of votes as the democrats with vote buying, why should their support be more without vote buying?

[hammered]

This new one by Crispin is worth a read. About the power sruggle rather than any other spin:

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Southeast_Asia/KD17Ae02.html

[TAWP]

How about a fair election with UN help.

The winners will be the reds.

Face it.

The Yellow is not the majority in Thailand.

Why anyone would attack the reds for their behavior and then ignore the fact that the yellows are backed by a group responsible for over 20 coups in Thailand is comical.

if you are a Thai and a big Yellow backer, you had better run for your life if their is a violent revolution and your yellows lose.

Last election would say that you are incorrect.

Keep telling yourself that the Red will win. 'Over the dead body of most of the population', I say. Neither group has any majority support and neither should have.

[Juily14redux]

Reds have isolated themselves from the rest of the society and subjected their mighty Isanese brains to constant propaganda and brainwashing, they don't listen to anyone else.

As a result, Red leaders can honestly claim that they don't need to pay them anymore, they are ready to die for the "cause".

Red followers themselves got their special value structure implanted in them. Urban/farmers divide, evil elites, fight for democracy - it all seems real to them, while the rest of the country can't make heads or tails out of it.

"Prem was behind the coup" revelation was a groundbreaking bombshell for reds, for the rest of the country it wasn't even a yawn - you guys tried to trash his house two years ago already, have you forgotten yourselves?

"Rural people will demand voice and power" - great, you have the largest party in parliament already, you elected them, they represent you, why don't you go and demand they do their jobs and protect your interests? How else do you want to express your demands? By burning Bangkok? Are you nuts?

"We will not accept elections under 2007 consitution" - wasn't a problem when PPP formed the government, why start now? Because your guys have lost?

"We demand consitutional reform" - yeah, you are invited to participate but instead you descend into violence. How does that help?

Sorry, guys, but your cause has no credibility whatsoever, even if we to ignore your obvious Thaksin/TRT connection which you can't shake no matter how much you try.

You've got to come up with a new agenda, this one sucks.

Another futile display of wishful thinking.

You can spin this as much as you want, but history will soon confirm that the Thai anachronism is ending .

[bungy007]

How many people believe what we saw

in Bangkok a few days ago could spread to provincial cities and towns

with the worst-case scenario being street gunfights with military

with guns smuggled over the border into Thailand

from Cambodia in recent years ?

Do you think the rural population is angry enough to do this?

they aren't stupid enough to do this sort of stuff in their own neighbourhoods because they have to live there. They didn't have any problem being funded to come into the cities and run riot, because they get to go home and not live there.

Next time I suspect red shirts go to poor areas like Din Daeng flats (or Chonburi) with lots of rural turned city folk proud of their homes, they might suffer a whole lot more.

No doubt the movement will continue, but they lost most of their potential support; I'd guess they will reappear as the 'next colour after red' shirts.

Agreed. Pattaya can't really be counted as Chonburi as it is full of western/non-thai tourists and hotel staff from around the country. If they ever made a move into the real Chonburi they probably wouldn't get to leave so easily as the last election saw every post taken by Democrats!

[bungy007]

I do not believe they saw it but they seem to believe it happened. They are low on details about where & when it was and most of the people I know were at Sanam Luang which is not where the major scuffles were. Perhaps on their big screen...

Bizarrely - they all say the same thing "I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes" (although in Thai). The people I spoke to don't know each other, yet they all used that same line.

When I asked why there are no pictures of such from phone cams or international media, they talk about how the images have been suppressed. When asked how Thailand could suppress phone cam images uploaded to the internet or how they would influence CNN, Sky or BBC, they draw a blank.

Whoever is feeding them the story (if that is what it is), has indeed crafted a good tale to anger the reds & potentially bring more people on their side as they learn of these so-called deaths at the hands of the army.

It doesn't take much effort for those in the shadows behind the red shirts to create images of men in uniform throwing bodies into trucks. In fact I'm rather surprised such images haven't been fed to the likes of Al Jazeera. Maybe they have but the media org's saw through them a little too easily. Even if they did make the bodies disappear, supposing they could in the middle of all that mayhem, there'd still be the walking wounded to tell their tales. Of course they've still ot time to produce "widows" who waved their husbands goodbye last Friday never to see them again.

You mean Issan folk who;ve ratched up so much debt that its better to 'disappear', claim on insurrances and have the slate wiped clean - just like that hi-so couple from Petchaburi who took that option during the tsunami!

[Plus]

From Crispin's article:

"One UDD organizer told this reporter that he had "virtually written" The Economist's critical cover story about the Thai monarchy, which was banned by authorities from entering Thailand."

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Southeast_Asia/KD17Ae02.html

There have been wars here on TV about Economist being on Thaksin's payroll. At that time Sam Moon was the alleged culprit. Now there's another one, unnamed Thai journalist working with foreign media to promote his agenda, bet it's the same one mentioned by Crispin.

[hammered]

From Crispin's article:

"One UDD organizer told this reporter that he had "virtually written" The Economist's critical cover story about the Thai monarchy, which was banned by authorities from entering Thailand."

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Southeast_Asia/KD17Ae02.html

There have been wars here on TV about Economist being on Thaksin's payroll. At that time Sam Moon was the alleged culprit. Now there's another one, unnamed Thai journalist working with foreign media to promote his agenda, bet it's the same one mentioned by Crispin.

I have to admit I never believed that Thaksin had manipulated the Economist, but now maybe the most respected foreign locally based journalist on Thai politcal affairs says this, it is nolonger possible to deny.

Crispins whole piece is an eye opener and quite damning of the overseas media. Mind you in ther last few days they seem to have started calling the Thaksin meme or peaceful pro-democracy ... and all the stories of loads of dead disappeared. Worrying thing is it seemslike one segemnt of the reds wanted 1992 judging by the way they were prepared and distributed the stories even before the event.

The media manipulation by the other side is rightly condemned too.

Jakrapob started out as a propogandist and meme creator for Thaksin way back. Difficult to spin threatening to burn down a poor working class neghborhood in Bangkok into anything positive though.

[Plus]

Andrew Drummond wrote a letter to the Nation regarding this issue a while ago. I found the quote similar to what he used:

One cannot ply with pints of beer, Thank God, the English cricketeer,

But seeing what the fool will do, Undrunk, there’s no occasion to.

You cannot hope to bribe or twist, (thank God) the British journalist.

But seeing what the man will do Unbribed, there's no occasion to.

>>>

I think it's a rather apt description of foreign media coverage of any particular local issue, not just Thailand.

[hammered]

Michael Connors has also been very critical of foreign reporting of Thai politcal issues

[animatic]

I thought Crispin's piece also was even handed

and barbed towards those that deserve barbs.

One of the best pieces on Thailand I have seen in a long time.

And motivating enough to drop him a note to that effect.

[jayboy]

Andrew Drummond wrote a letter to the Nation regarding this issue a while ago. I found the quote similar to what he used:

One cannot ply with pints of beer, Thank God, the English cricketeer,

But seeing what the fool will do, Undrunk, there’s no occasion to.

You cannot hope to bribe or twist, (thank God) the British journalist.

But seeing what the man will do Unbribed, there's no occasion to.

>>>

I think it's a rather apt description of foreign media coverage of any particular local issue, not just Thailand.

Andrew Drummond? Get real!! Doesn't he specialise in Pattaya ladyboy stories?

But Crispin is a serious analyst and a class act and his piece in the Asia Times is very interesting.The background is that he did, to be fair like many, completely underestimate the red strength and organisation.He doesn't incidentally express or even imply a view one way or another on whether the UDD organiser wrote the Economist editorial.

One would have to explain how every other international media outlet takes broadly the same line.

But Plus and Hammered are both right - foreign media coverage is broadbush and simplistic.There is much to Crispin's view that what we are seeing is really a struggle between elites, rather than between democracy and elites.To quote Michael Connors who Hammered just mentioned:

"The famous Italian Marxist Antonio Gramsci has the best response: “A given socio-historical moment is never homogeneous; on the contrary, it is rich in contradictions.” The “democratic versus authoritarian” narrative that has captured international attention is as misconceived as it is overbearingly homogenous."

The current crisis is certainly rich in contradictions.

[animatic]

The current crisis is certainly rich in contradictions.

You can buy dinner for 4 if each contradiction here was worth 1 satang...

[ballpoint]

The current crisis is certainly rich in contradictions.

You can buy dinner for 4 if each contradiction here was worth 1 satang...

Yes, but which other three would you take to that dinner? And who would choose where to go, and what to eat?