Thai Protesters Defy State Of Emergency

[philw]

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post Today, 2010-04-08 18:15:04

Post #54

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Posts: 8,434

Joined: 2003-02-11

Member No.: 327

Poll: Nearly half want Red Shirts to end protest now

BANGKOK (TNA) -- Nearly half of those polled in an opinion poll released Thursday-- 49.2 per cent-- wanted Thailand's anti-government Red Shirts to end their nearly one-month-long demonstration immediately and return home.

The poll conducted among 1,156 residents in Bangkok and nearby provinces between April 4 and 5 by Dhurakij Pundit University in reference to the red-shirted demonstrations found that 22.8 per cent of respondents wanted the movement to temporarily suspend the rally and resume political activities later after the traditional Thai New Year Songkran festival.

Nearly one in five-- 17.7 per cent-- said the ‘Red Shirt’ United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD) should prolong its protest.

Regarding the real objectives of the UDD-led mass rally, over one-third-- 39 per cent-- thought the Red Shirts intended to help fugitive former premier Thaksin Shinawatra.

One-third-- 32.6 per cent --believed that that the demonstrators were demanding democracy, about one in six, or 14.4 per cent, commented that the red-shirted supporters did not know clearly what they wanted to call for.

Nearly sixty-one per cent-- 60.6 per cent-- did not think that dissolving Parliament would help solve the current social conflicts, while 71.1 per cent believed that the demonstration failed to resolve the ongoing problems.

In addition, almost two-thirds or 64.2 per cent believed that the UDD demonstration would finally fail to achieve its aim against 35.8 per cent of respondents who believed otherwise.

Over forty per cent-- 41.8 per cent-- of respondents were 'bored' with the red-clad protest -- with about one-third describing themselves as sick and tired of it, one in four-- 24.6 per cent-- wanted the Reds to stop their anti-government protest.

About one in six-- 16.9 per cent-- were urging the Reds to be patient and continue their political fight.

Regarding Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva’s performance in handling with the intensified protest, only 18.5 per cent rated the premier’s performance as excellent, while nearly half or 47.9 per cent evaluated his performance as fairly well.

One-third -- 33.5 per cent -- were dissatisfied with the premier’s performance, saying he was almost unable to solve the problem."

Straight from the horses mouth, as it were................

"Nearly half want Red Shirts to end protest now"

What do we conclude about the other nearly more than half ??

ph

Sorry , I forgot that subtlety is frequently overlooked here.

Per webfact himself, over 50% of those polled support the red shrits ( typo curtesy The Nation...........)

[BigC]

If history is our teacher then violence is inevitable. The red shirt leaders are too invested in this now to lose face and face jail. Despite the peaceful cover that previously existed, the leaders have no doubt resolved to use violence if needed. No coupe in history is truly bloodless or achieved without the very real threat of violence. It is a shame but civil war is coming, and if it does the government is far outnumbered and I do not see the military full of young rural boys killing their neighbors. I suspect the vast number of rank and file are red shirts at heart. Generals do not fight or win wars! I never understood why the Thais are so proud of never being colonized given that civil war seems to be a way of life in this country and is a shameful state of affairs for a so-called democracy . They don't need any outsiders to destroy their country - they do a good enough job themselves. Look for tourism to dry up like an Isaan rice field in a drought if this silliness continues. Already really bad press here in the US and people I speak to think I'm crazy to even consider going to Thailand with what is going on. I'm starting to agree with them.

COOL DOWN

We are in Thailand, nobody want blood (except a few fools).

But gambling is Asian and when you play Poker.... you have to bluff...

So everything has to be relativised. Yes, there are some issues, but Thai people Red and Yellows are civilised and polite people.

Keep your Cultural benchmarks in USA, come in Thailand in this wonderful Country (Do not bring your Girl Friend... plenty of charming and beautiful resources here)

About ThaiVisa forum, a website animated by a bunch of old (except me) fencers, using their keyboard instead of a sword (less dangerous) and some old Vietnam veterans...Not a real representativity of Thailand

Do not miss the opportunity to come here, it will be your life's mistake.

A Froggy (French)

well lets not forget that 6000 guns and grenade went missing from amry barracks. i think this 1 could be messy. great i am in bangkok tomorrow. just in time. not!

[bulmercke]

The People Channel has been blocked. UDDThailand live stream has been blocked. Prachathai news has been blocked. Siam Report blog has been blocked. And all public television stations are under military control.

Not that any of you see a problem with any of this. Every single one of those protesters could be massacred and you would applaud it. And then a few months afterward, the historical revisionism would start again and you would deny any of it ever happened.

Kind of like Songkran last year, which the Red Shirts presumably started through their violent actions.

Well let me show you something about Songkran last year.

EDIT: Ironically enough, the picture I was trying to link you through to has actually been blocked by this very forum.

Disgraceful.

johncitizen - last April I took a taxi straight to the Urapong intersection in BKK - 9.00 AM - and spoke to several Red-Shirts who had been at Din Daeng just a few hours earlier.

Without exception they all told me - on more than one occasion - the same sickening story - that fellow Red-Shirts had been gunned down by the army just a few hours earlier.

And yet our 'illustrious" media here - both farang and Thai - reported dutifully that there had been no fatalities.

Truly sickening.

[BigC]

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post Today, 2010-04-08 18:15:04

Post #54

Admin

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Posts: 8,434

Joined: 2003-02-11

Member No.: 327

Poll: Nearly half want Red Shirts to end protest now

BANGKOK (TNA) -- Nearly half of those polled in an opinion poll released Thursday-- 49.2 per cent-- wanted Thailand's anti-government Red Shirts to end their nearly one-month-long demonstration immediately and return home.

The poll conducted among 1,156 residents in Bangkok and nearby provinces between April 4 and 5 by Dhurakij Pundit University in reference to the red-shirted demonstrations found that 22.8 per cent of respondents wanted the movement to temporarily suspend the rally and resume political activities later after the traditional Thai New Year Songkran festival.

Nearly one in five-- 17.7 per cent-- said the ‘Red Shirt’ United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD) should prolong its protest.

Regarding the real objectives of the UDD-led mass rally, over one-third-- 39 per cent-- thought the Red Shirts intended to help fugitive former premier Thaksin Shinawatra.

One-third-- 32.6 per cent --believed that that the demonstrators were demanding democracy, about one in six, or 14.4 per cent, commented that the red-shirted supporters did not know clearly what they wanted to call for.

Nearly sixty-one per cent-- 60.6 per cent-- did not think that dissolving Parliament would help solve the current social conflicts, while 71.1 per cent believed that the demonstration failed to resolve the ongoing problems.

In addition, almost two-thirds or 64.2 per cent believed that the UDD demonstration would finally fail to achieve its aim against 35.8 per cent of respondents who believed otherwise.

Over forty per cent-- 41.8 per cent-- of respondents were 'bored' with the red-clad protest -- with about one-third describing themselves as sick and tired of it, one in four-- 24.6 per cent-- wanted the Reds to stop their anti-government protest.

About one in six-- 16.9 per cent-- were urging the Reds to be patient and continue their political fight.

Regarding Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva’s performance in handling with the intensified protest, only 18.5 per cent rated the premier’s performance as excellent, while nearly half or 47.9 per cent evaluated his performance as fairly well.

One-third -- 33.5 per cent -- were dissatisfied with the premier’s performance, saying he was almost unable to solve the problem."

Straight from the horses mouth, as it were................

"Nearly half want Red Shirts to end protest now"

What do we conclude about the other nearly more than half ??

ph

Sorry , I forgot that subtlety is frequently overlooked here.

Per webfact himself, over 50% of those polled support the red shrits ( typo curtesy The Nation...........)

well that would explain why taksins part got voted back in after taksin desolved parliment. lets face it taksin was legally voted in. not 1 time but many times. this present govement should not be here. of coarse the oposite party are going to be suspcious of how the votes were calculated. welcome to the world. same happened in america and nearly all countrys in the world. no need to cry about it.

[lannarebirth]

The People Channel has been blocked. UDDThailand live stream has been blocked. Prachathai news has been blocked. Siam Report blog has been blocked. And all public television stations are under military control.

Not that any of you see a problem with any of this. Every single one of those protesters could be massacred and you would applaud it. And then a few months afterward, the historical revisionism would start again and you would deny any of it ever happened.

Kind of like Songkran last year, which the Red Shirts presumably started through their violent actions.

Well let me show you something about Songkran last year.

EDIT: Ironically enough, the picture I was trying to link you through to has actually been blocked by this very forum.

Disgraceful.

johncitizen - last April I took a taxi straight to the Urapong intersection in BKK - 9.00 AM - and spoke to several Red-Shirts who had been at Din Daeng just a few hours earlier.

Without exception they all told me - on more than one occasion - the same sickening story - that fellow Red-Shirts had been gunned down by the army just a few hours earlier.

And yet our 'illustrious" media here - both farang and Thai - reported dutifully that there had been no fatalities.

Truly sickening.

You have posted this story before and because TIT, whichever view one holds we have to admit to ourselves at least, that anything's possible. That said, where is the list of these dead or missing persons? Wouldn't they be someone's husband or son or uncle? Where are their greiving families seeking justice? The media, the public, with a camera in every phone, didn't get one shot? It's hard to credit, but I don't doubt that's what you were told.

[philw]

If history is our teacher then violence is inevitable. The red shirt leaders are too invested in this now to lose face and face jail. Despite the peaceful cover that previously existed, the leaders have no doubt resolved to use violence if needed. No coupe in history is truly bloodless or achieved without the very real threat of violence. It is a shame but civil war is coming, and if it does the government is far outnumbered and I do not see the military full of young rural boys killing their neighbors. I suspect the vast number of rank and file are red shirts at heart. Generals do not fight or win wars! I never understood why the Thais are so proud of never being colonized given that civil war seems to be a way of life in this country and is a shameful state of affairs for a so-called democracy . They don't need any outsiders to destroy their country - they do a good enough job themselves. Look for tourism to dry up like an Isaan rice field in a drought if this silliness continues. Already really bad press here in the US and people I speak to think I'm crazy to even consider going to Thailand with what is going on. I'm starting to agree with them.

COOL DOWN

We are in Thailand, nobody want blood (except a few fools).

But gambling is Asian and when you play Poker.... you have to bluff...

So everything has to be relativised. Yes, there are some issues, but Thai people Red and Yellows are civilised and polite people.

Keep your Cultural benchmarks in USA, come in Thailand in this wonderful Country (Do not bring your Girl Friend... plenty of charming and beautiful resources here)

About ThaiVisa forum, a website animated by a bunch of old (except me) fencers, using their keyboard instead of a sword (less dangerous) and some old Vietnam veterans...Not a real representativity of Thailand

Do not miss the opportunity to come here, it will be your life's mistake.

A Froggy (French)

well lets not forget that 6000 guns and grenade went missing from amry barracks. i think this 1 could be messy. great i am in bangkok tomorrow. just in time. not!

Robbed by soldiers for sale in the south, on the admission of the top brass.

Not a problem in relation to the current political difficulty.

Be brave, you won't get shot.

ph

[bulmercke]

From Thai Television:

Thai Police now hunt for 7 red-shirt leaders

7 leaders gone!

More as we have it

That is convenient!! Has anyone ever been arrested for anything the yellow or red protesters did, other than the bloke who threw <deleted> over a wall???

The Red Shirts have seized the Parliament during 20 minutes, What about the Yellow shirts seizing the same Parliament during months? Both set of Leaders should be arrested simultaneously.

Excellent point Jerrytheyoung.

PAD oocupy Government House for weeks - virtually no criminal repercussions.

DAAD occupy Parliament for about thirty minutes - state of emergency declared and arrest warrants in every direction.

Double standards or what?

[bulmercke]

The People Channel has been blocked. UDDThailand live stream has been blocked. Prachathai news has been blocked. Siam Report blog has been blocked. And all public television stations are under military control.

Not that any of you see a problem with any of this. Every single one of those protesters could be massacred and you would applaud it. And then a few months afterward, the historical revisionism would start again and you would deny any of it ever happened.

Kind of like Songkran last year, which the Red Shirts presumably started through their violent actions.

Well let me show you something about Songkran last year.

EDIT: Ironically enough, the picture I was trying to link you through to has actually been blocked by this very forum.

Disgraceful.

johncitizen - last April I took a taxi straight to the Urapong intersection in BKK - 9.00 AM - and spoke to several Red-Shirts who had been at Din Daeng just a few hours earlier.

Without exception they all told me - on more than one occasion - the same sickening story - that fellow Red-Shirts had been gunned down by the army just a few hours earlier.

And yet our 'illustrious" media here - both farang and Thai - reported dutifully that there had been no fatalities.

Truly sickening.

You have posted this story before and because TIT, whichever view one holds we have to admit to ourselves at least, that anything's possible. That said, where is the list of these dead or missing persons? Wouldn't they be someone's husband or son or uncle? Where are their greiving families seeking justice? The media, the public, with a camera in every phone, didn't get one shot? It's hard to credit, but I don't doubt that's what you were told.

lannarebirth - yes - I have posted this story before - but only once before. And it needs to be repeated. The truth needs to get out. Full marks for noticing this - and I sincerely don't mean to sound patronising to you by saying this.

Let's get real. Do you honestly think the government would have issued a list of the dead and missing from the sorry events of that night? And their grieving families would have been too intimidated and scared to do anything - that's assuming they had the inclination in the first place.

Incidentally - TNN had a live feed at the time (4.00 AM) of some of the bodies being loaded into the back of military trucks. You can find the footage on youtube.

You can PM and I'll send you the link if you like. I can't say more.

[philw]

From Thai Television:

Thai Police now hunt for 7 red-shirt leaders

7 leaders gone!

More as we have it

That is convenient!! Has anyone ever been arrested for anything the yellow or red protesters did, other than the bloke who threw <deleted> over a wall???

The Red Shirts have seized the Parliament during 20 minutes, What about the Yellow shirts seizing the same Parliament during months? Both set of Leaders should be arrested simultaneously.

Excellent point Jerrytheyoung.

PAD oocupy Government House for weeks - virtually no criminal repercussions.

DAAD occupy Parliament for about thirty minutes - state of emergency declared and arrest warrants in every direction.

Double standards or what?

Double standards.

No other interpretation is possible.

Where did you get that great pic of Yoko ???

Phil

[philw]

You're so bloody boring.

100+ pages of the same gibberish repeating every few posts...

Did you read them all ???

Have a good rest, it might help, what with the hot weather and all........

ph

[bulmercke]

From Thai Television:

Thai Police now hunt for 7 red-shirt leaders

7 leaders gone!

More as we have it

That is convenient!! Has anyone ever been arrested for anything the yellow or red protesters did, other than the bloke who threw <deleted> over a wall???

The Red Shirts have seized the Parliament during 20 minutes, What about the Yellow shirts seizing the same Parliament during months? Both set of Leaders should be arrested simultaneously.

Excellent point Jerrytheyoung.

PAD oocupy Government House for weeks - virtually no criminal repercussions.

DAAD occupy Parliament for about thirty minutes - state of emergency declared and arrest warrants in every direction.

Double standards or what?

Double standards.

No other interpretation is possible.

Where did you get that great pic of Yoko ???

Phil

It's not Yoko - it's the missus!

Phil - Ramkhamhaeng 1996-1998?

[leekman]

im watching them now on uddthailand.com. they seem to be proper enjoying there bit selfs. hope they get there goals.

[philw]

That is convenient!! Has anyone ever been arrested for anything the yellow or red protesters did, other than the bloke who threw <deleted> over a wall???

The Red Shirts have seized the Parliament during 20 minutes, What about the Yellow shirts seizing the same Parliament during months? Both set of Leaders should be arrested simultaneously.

Excellent point Jerrytheyoung.

PAD oocupy Government House for weeks - virtually no criminal repercussions.

DAAD occupy Parliament for about thirty minutes - state of emergency declared and arrest warrants in every direction.

Double standards or what?

Double standards.

No other interpretation is possible.

Where did you get that great pic of Yoko ???

Phil

It's not Yoko - it's the missus!

Phil - Ramkhamhaeng 1996-1998?

Good one and please compliment your missus............

Ramkhamhaeng not me but there are several Phil Williams's out there ( i know of 3 )

I make fishing flies and stuff.

Factory in Bangna years ago and then chiangmai.

phil

[shawndoc]

Double standards.

No other interpretation is possible.

It would only be a double standard if it was the same administration making the decisions, and it was not. And you know that.

[britmaveric]

Double standards.

No other interpretation is possible.

It would only be a double standard if it was the same administration making the decisions, and it was not. And you know that.

Same military leaders in the background pulling the strings.....

[madi]

It is comical watching things here.

We have some Thais and some Farangs hired by Thaivisa to edit and stop illegal posting here.

Fair enuff

But the posters are really funny.

We have Thais using western names who are posting pro government propaganda.

Funny things they say

They say-Reds buy votes.

Answer--So the other side does not?

They say-reds are ignorant peasants.

Answer- They are smart enough to avoid being bought off by the other side.

They say--They believe in freedom

Answer-- So have a free election.

Nothing will change unless it gets much much worse.

If you want to make some money off the coming disaster here, short the baht in the currency market.

Good luck Thai people

[yoshiwara]

It is comical watching things here.

We have some Thais and some Farangs hired by Thaivisa to edit and stop illegal posting here.

Fair enuff

But the posters are really funny.

We have Thais using western names who are posting pro government propaganda.

Funny things they say

They say-Reds buy votes.

Answer--So the other side does not?

They say-reds are ignorant peasants.

Answer- They are smart enough to avoid being bought off by the other side.

They say--They believe in freedom

Answer-- So have a free election.

Nothing will change unless it gets much much worse.

If you want to make some money off the coming disaster here, short the baht in the currency market.

Good luck Thai people

I think you are saying that you weren't paid 500 baht to make that party political broadcast on behalf of the Thaksin Must Return Party.

[Publicus]

Double standards.

No other interpretation is possible.

It would only be a double standard if it was the same administration making the decisions, and it was not. And you know that.

Same military leaders in the background pulling the strings.....

I regret sounding pessimistic but the army is going to do that indefinitely reagardless of who is in government or who is the head of state. The army is irrevocably at the center of govenment and politics, it has been so for hundreds of years and it will continue to be so without limit. Only the army itself could change that, so don't anyone wait for hel_l to freeze over either. This is a reality and fact of Thailand. It's horrible but it's also undeniable. The people can't change this and neither can the civilian elites. The army is entrenched as the final arbiter of the balance of power relationships among the elites, the allocation of control of the resources of the country, the standard of living and the quality of life of the population. Thailand hasn't any way out of this hundreds year old reality, nor will the country have a solution anytime forseeably - or if ever. I shrug my shoulders but it's because it's so obvious.

[WAERTH]

The People Channel has been blocked. UDDThailand live stream has been blocked. Prachathai news has been blocked. Siam Report blog has been blocked. And all public television stations are under military control.

Not that any of you see a problem with any of this. Every single one of those protesters could be massacred and you would applaud it. And then a few months afterward, the historical revisionism would start again and you would deny any of it ever happened.

Kind of like Songkran last year, which the Red Shirts presumably started through their violent actions.

Well let me show you something about Songkran last year.

EDIT: Ironically enough, the picture I was trying to link you through to has actually been blocked by this very forum.

Disgraceful.

johncitizen - last April I took a taxi straight to the Urapong intersection in BKK - 9.00 AM - and spoke to several Red-Shirts who had been at Din Daeng just a few hours earlier.

Without exception they all told me - on more than one occasion - the same sickening story - that fellow Red-Shirts had been gunned down by the army just a few hours earlier.

And yet our 'illustrious" media here - both farang and Thai - reported dutifully that there had been no fatalities.

Truly sickening.

What is truly sickening is that people still repeat this vicious lie. I was at Din deang when the reds cleared out. Taking pictures. The only ones shooting with real bullets were the reds ..... O nearly got hit myself as I walked in the military lines while taking pictures ....

Any reds getting killed at Din Deang is a vicious lie. There where 10's of foreigners there wittnessing it. And hundreds if not thousands of Thais. It would have been extremelt difficult, nigh impossible to hide that!

W

[CLOD]

It is comical watching things here.

We have some Thais and some Farangs hired by Thaivisa to edit and stop illegal posting here.

Fair enuff

But the posters are really funny.

We have Thais using western names who are posting pro government propaganda.

Funny things they say

They say-Reds buy votes.

Answer--So the other side does not?

They say-reds are ignorant peasants.

Answer- They are smart enough to avoid being bought off by the other side.

They say--They believe in freedom

Answer-- So have a free election.

Nothing will change unless it gets much much worse.

If you want to make some money off the coming disaster here, short the baht in the currency market.

Good luck Thai people

I think you are saying that you weren't paid 500 baht to make that party political broadcast on behalf of the Thaksin Must Return Party.

Correction. The Rural Electoral Democracy Supporters Party.

Another anti "pro-democracy" apologist.

[yoshiwara]

It is comical watching things here.

We have some Thais and some Farangs hired by Thaivisa to edit and stop illegal posting here.

Fair enuff

But the posters are really funny.

We have Thais using western names who are posting pro government propaganda.

Funny things they say

They say-Reds buy votes.

Answer--So the other side does not?

They say-reds are ignorant peasants.

Answer- They are smart enough to avoid being bought off by the other side.

They say--They believe in freedom

Answer-- So have a free election.

Nothing will change unless it gets much much worse.

If you want to make some money off the coming disaster here, short the baht in the currency market.

Good luck Thai people

I think you are saying that you weren't paid 500 baht to make that party political broadcast on behalf of the Thaksin Must Return Party.

Correction. The Rural Electoral Democracy Supporters Party.

Another anti "pro-democracy" apologist.

We all want an election.

But not when Thaksin's forces can use open electoral corruption.

And only in pursuit of Thaksin turning the army into his own personal mafia.

Thaksin's apologists don't like to talk about that.

And the open cheerleaders don't even bother.

Its not in the script.

[maydagirl]

Does anybody live in sutthisan area? There was a BOOM sound n car alarms followed by power outage in that area. Around 6:00 AM. But don't hear any siren or anything. what could that be?

[siampolee]

Calm down , probably an electrical fault causing a transformer to overheat and then explode.

Bit too early in the day for riots and insurrections

[shawndoc]

Calm down , probably an electrical fault causing a transformer to overheat and then explode.

Bit too early in the day for riots and insurrections

But now's the best time. Half the protesters are asleep or have gone home and yet to come back, and the sun hasn't come out yet. Riot gear is heavy and hot, not something you want to wear while exerting yourself in the hot sun.

[KireB]

From Thai Television:

Thai Police now hunt for 7 red-shirt leaders

7 leaders gone!

More as we have it

That is convenient!! Has anyone ever been arrested for anything the yellow or red protesters did, other than the bloke who threw <deleted> over a wall???

The Red Shirts have seized the Parliament during 20 minutes, What about the Yellow shirts seizing the same Parliament during months? Both set of Leaders should be arrested simultaneously.

Excellent point Jerrytheyoung.

PAD oocupy Government House for weeks - virtually no criminal repercussions.

DAAD occupy Parliament for about thirty minutes - state of emergency declared and arrest warrants in every direction.

Double standards or what?

I wonder how long you can keep playing that trump card.

After last years Songkran Terror, it doesnt hold much value anymore!

According to your logic, I can steal, rob, be corrupt, because other groups (politicians for example) do that as well.

Most Reds dont agree with the seizure of Thaksin's money and the jail sentecne het got beacuse of the same lame reason: ' They are all corrupt'.

With such an attitude, you'll never move forward.

Edited April 8, 2010 by KireB

[Meridian007]

THE NATION: It seems convoy moving out of Rajprasong intersection now.

Does this mean that the army can move in so the protesters can't go back there? The army could start moving them back to Phan Fa.

[anotherpeter]

THE NATION: It seems convoy moving out of Rajprasong intersection now.

Does this mean that the army can move in so the protesters can't go back there? The army could start moving them back to Phan Fa.

Might be a good plan. Let them move out. Make sure they can't get back. Start dismantling the stage and removing any remaining protestors.

[Insight]

The People Channel has been blocked. UDDThailand live stream has been blocked. Prachathai news has been blocked. Siam Report blog has been blocked. And all public television stations are under military control.

Not that any of you see a problem with any of this. Every single one of those protesters could be massacred and you would applaud it. And then a few months afterward, the historical revisionism would start again and you would deny any of it ever happened.

Kind of like Songkran last year, which the Red Shirts presumably started through their violent actions.

Well let me show you something about Songkran last year.

EDIT: Ironically enough, the picture I was trying to link you through to has actually been blocked by this very forum.

Disgraceful.

johncitizen - last April I took a taxi straight to the Urapong intersection in BKK - 9.00 AM - and spoke to several Red-Shirts who had been at Din Daeng just a few hours earlier.

Without exception they all told me - on more than one occasion - the same sickening story - that fellow Red-Shirts had been gunned down by the army just a few hours earlier.

And yet our 'illustrious" media here - both farang and Thai - reported dutifully that there had been no fatalities.

Truly sickening.

bulmercke, I know your posting history here and believe you to be credible, but there simply hasn't been any evidence what-so-ever towards what they are accusing the army of - which is incredibly surprising given the amount of witnesses at the time and the communications technology of today. How did the army pull that one off?

Banning of the websites remains questionable to me, but the shutting down of PTV I have no issues with whatsoever. Using a doctored audio clip of the PM to motivate people into an uprising? Such a violation would lead to an immediate shutdown in any developed nation.

[animatic]

Double standards.

No other interpretation is possible.

It would only be a double standard if it was the same administration making the decisions, and it was not. And you know that.

Same military leaders in the background pulling the strings.....

I regret sounding pessimistic but the army is going to do that indefinitely reagardless of who is in government or who is the head of state. The army is irrevocably at the center of govenment and politics, it has been so for hundreds of years and it will continue to be so without limit. Only the army itself could change that, so don't anyone wait for hel_l to freeze over either. This is a reality and fact of Thailand. It's horrible but it's also undeniable. The people can't change this and neither can the civilian elites. The army is entrenched as the final arbiter of the balance of power relationships among the elites, the allocation of control of the resources of the country, the standard of living and the quality of life of the population. Thailand hasn't any way out of this hundreds year old reality, nor will the country have a solution anytime forseeably - or if ever. I shrug my shoulders but it's because it's so obvious.

Since the Thai political/business classes seem to be like a dozen children fighting over a crab,

and pulling it to pieces, and then using those pieces to tease a hungry pack of feral dogs,

it's no wonder the army thinks it can't back off and just let it all happen at random.

Not to say the a big kid doesn't reach in and grab a big piece for himself,

he also tries to create some sort of order. It isn't nice to imagine that

the army will forever be the relief valve to Thai political aggressions,

but it seems it still is needed in some fashion.

When will the Thai political classes grow up enough so this isn't the case?

[clockworkorange]

Calm down , probably an electrical fault causing a transformer to overheat and then explode.

Bit too early in the day for riots and insurrections

Sounds like an electrical fault. The same thing happened near my place a while back when a squirrel climbed up a transformer insulator and caused a short circuit. The noise sounded just like a bomb had gone off and it blew all the fuses causing a power cut.

The squirrel was toasted, needless to say

Edited April 9, 2010 by clockworkorange