Thirty-five Dead In Worsening Bangkok Violence

[dayverne]

A couple of weeks back while everybody was waxing vitriolic about the intrusion on their little cabbage patch by bugs wearing red shirts, I did point out that those bugs and their sympathisers amount to a little over 65% of the Thai population and that excludes the Monks.

The unfortunate decision of the self appointed elite to pursue a military solution after dabbling briefly with the only sensible option (for them that is) of establishing some form of government of national unity, is tantamount to offering Thaksin and the protestors the moral high ground.

How long are the protestors going to remain unarmed and unprotected while the military play hide and seek with live rounds? How long will it be before the insurgency becomes ten times or a hundred times larger than at present? At the moment it is hardly under control.

It is really annoying that the "string pullers" behind the regime are so insensitive they have failed to read the runes. Don't they realise what they have done? The best thing for Abhisit right now is to do a runner and leave these people to their fate. I am sure he has been forced kicking and screaming into this untenable situation as his previous record has been remarkably unsullied.

The most amusing comment so far concerns rejection of UN arbitration out of hand. Why??? Sorry, say that again!

[deepskyfreak]

Women, kids and the elderly are aksed to leave rally by 3pm. Vehicle to take them home provided. Well, I hope they are welcomed outside the rally site not just by soldiers alone but nurses, psychologists and a couple of monks to give them a feeling of being treated well in Thai society. Some of them might have been in there for weeks, listening to radical speeches and seeing hate, shootings, fire and murder fro both sides. It won't be easy for many to coe back to regular life.

I feel sad for them. But I have no mercy for their rogue, bloodthirsty leaders and their fellow protesters who now turn to be looters.

[MacWalen]

Edited May 17, 2010 by macwalen

[roadking96cube]

I can agree with the stop killing of innocent people. The bystanders, the soldiers that are given orders and are doing their jobs, and anyone else that is not involved with trying escalate the situation. The children that are their by no choice of their own, are innocent, the police should be considered innocent as so should the army. So if that's the case, it's OK to kill the non-innocent. And I agree with the monks, stop killing the innocent, and start killing only the trouble makers out there. Yesterday on the news they showed a group of men, young and old "playing" with gasoline bombs, or Molotov cocktails. Funny thing, not one "worked", they merely broke in the street, they weren't being thrown at anyone in particular, even lobbing them a few meters just to get one to ingite! Pathetic. I guess good clean innocent fun to be had by a group of men. So stop killing the innocent, and start killing the obvious ones that are not. How can you tell the difference? The non-innocent are not going home.

How beautifully succiinct, and accurate, my felicitations Daniielle

Does anyone know which part of Nana has been sealed off? ie from which Soi as I was planning a drinkie excursion there later on today seeing as I now have a holiday last night nana closed 1.15 somebody mentioned a bomb going off at soi 1, sukumivit is sealed off soi 4 and 3 right across the road. All traffic from On Nut way coming down sukumivit to soi4 then doing a u-turn and going back

[ALLSEEINGEYE]

All the poor innocent protestors??? They declare war on the Government, try to impose their will on the rest of the country (us that democracy???). They are using old women and children as human shields, they are every bit as bad as the Taliban and that lot. I am sure if you ask the Taliban they will say they are fighting for the majority of the population too.

[blazes]

I assume that both parties can reach a compromise. I would suggest that the coup takers are rounded up and receive a mandatory 20 year prison term. That would calm down the people. The genius strategist that figured out that taking out Seh Daeng would be a good idea can always become a PM, after all Chvalit became also a PM after making immense strategic errors in a clash with laos.

What amazes me is not the rage of the people, they have been taken for granted too long, it is the utmost stupidity within the Abhisit government notably Suthep. Suthep has shown that he is unsuitable for the position that he holds. Blunder after blunder he has made. This government like to refer every time to the English system. But they forget to mention that in England, the army does not meddle in the choice that elected representatives make and d not force them to go against the wishes of the people and join another party. Those politicians wanting to change alliances will resign and people can elet a new representative.

The Amy is never used in controlling or dispersing a crown. No snipers either. The comment that Abhisit made in his explanation to the UN makes it even more shocking. He says that reds dressed as police and army has mingled with the army and is doing the killing. Wow.... Interesting to know that the Army and the police do not recognize outsiders. That might explain why the army cannot win and misbehave in the South.

Someone mentioned Northern Ireland. Good, that's a start. Where shall we begin? Winston Churchill sent troops in to Merthyr Tydfil in 1911 (when he was Home Secretary) to break up a miners' strike.

Tony Blair and Dubya march into Iraq uninvited.

In 1905, troops fired on innocent Russians who were advancing on the Winter Palace in what was later called Leningrad.

The point is: history shows that violence will ALWAYS beget violence. These Thai deaths of the last two months will not be forgotten. A price for them will eventually have to be paid. Maybe not today or tomorrow, but eventually the country will implode. Look at Eastern Europe in 1989 (especially Romania).

The Reds are right....a third party is now needed to help sort out the mess that the ruling class has brought upon itself.

[debcmai]

All the poor innocent protestors??? They declare war on the Government, try to impose their will on the rest of the country (us that democracy???). They are using old women and children as human shields, they are every bit as bad as the Taliban and that lot. I am sure if you ask the Taliban they will say they are fighting for the majority of the population too.

Where did you get this photo? After all, the BBC and CNN reporters, all on the ground, have said they have never seen the red shirts with guns??

I hate to say it, and I will ask my son who is a photo shop expert...but these guns do look a bit photo shopped in...

asking again, where did you get this photo?? what is the source?

[cyberia]

Women, kids and the elderly are aksed to leave rally by 3pm. Vehicle to take them home provided. Well, I hope they are welcomed outside the rally site not just by soldiers alone but nurses, psychologists and a couple of monks to give them a feeling of being treated well in Thai society. Some of them might have been in there for weeks, listening to radical speeches and seeing hate, shootings, fire and murder fro both sides. It won't be easy for many to coe back to regular life.

I feel sad for them. But I have no mercy for their rogue, bloodthirsty leaders and their fellow protesters who now turn to be looters.

it may come as surprise to you but they don't need your mercy.

what they need is being heard and validated.

I recently had a chat with a mid-aged thai woman who works at a Gov office in BKK.

cannot remember the exact question I asked but her response I remember well.

She said we are 80% red here. 

Go figure.

Edited May 17, 2010 by cyberia

[landofthefree]

I can agree with the stop killing of innocent people. The bystanders, the soldiers that are given orders and are doing their jobs, and anyone else that is not involved with trying escalate the situation. The children that are their by no choice of their own, are innocent, the police should be considered innocent as so should the army. So if that's the case, it's OK to kill the non-innocent. And I agree with the monks, stop killing the innocent, and start killing only the trouble makers out there. Yesterday on the news they showed a group of men, young and old "playing" with gasoline bombs, or Molotov cocktails. Funny thing, not one "worked", they merely broke in the street, they weren't being thrown at anyone in particular, even lobbing them a few meters just to get one to ingite! Pathetic. I guess good clean innocent fun to be had by a group of men. So stop killing the innocent, and start killing the obvious ones that are not. How can you tell the difference? The non-innocent are not going home.

How beautifully succiinct, and accurate, my felicitations Daniielle

Does anyone know which part of Nana has been sealed off? ie from which Soi as I was planning a drinkie excursion there later on today seeing as I now have a holiday last night nana closed 1.15 somebody mentioned a bomb going off at soi 1, sukumivit is sealed off soi 4 and 3 right across the road. All traffic from On Nut way coming down sukumivit to soi4 then doing a u-turn and going back

Thanks very much for that information I think they have sealed it off there as they are going to move in from the other side of the protest site and would expect protesters to run away in the direction of Nana kind of a relief that they are thinking ahead, anyway phew! as my favourite bar is in Soi 7/1 outside of the zone I will remember to wear my flak jacket when out!Cheers again

[Phil Conners]

What I don't understand is the burning of tyres. Don't they know what it does to the environment? They're hurting themselves as much as the other side.

Also, why don't the military simply block the trucks with the tyres when they arrive. It's not like they're being smuggled in, lots of footage showing them driving in quite openly with the tyres in pickups and on motorbikes.

[MacWalen]

Thats why real photographers take pictures using raw format, you cannot photoshop raw files but you can do miracles with jpg

[pornsasi]

One can ask oneself what is the magnitude of the sense of injustice as perceived by the protesters

who have a lot of followers in Isaan , that they are willing to die for their cause ?

Oh yes , forgot , they all want to die for Thaksin , so am told by posters here .

or 500 bahts per day , i heard that one too

It would be comical to hear it again... if not so tragic .

[johnmcc6]

How sad that so many lovely Thai citizens are in this situation. The frustrations of the people on both sides of the argument must be great indeed. I only hope reason on both sides prevail before more are hurt in this terrible time for all. We can all, regardless of our personal opinions pray this situation is resolved before more damage is done to such a beautiful culture and country are meted out to such a wonderful nation.

A post and all responses to that post have been deleted.

[anon467367354]

A couple of weeks back while everybody was waxing vitriolic about the intrusion on their little cabbage patch by bugs wearing red shirts, I did point out that those bugs and their sympathisers amount to a little over 65% of the Thai population and that excludes the Monks.

The unfortunate decision of the self appointed elite to pursue a military solution after dabbling briefly with the only sensible option (for them that is) of establishing some form of government of national unity, is tantamount to offering Thaksin and the protestors the moral high ground.

How long are the protestors going to remain unarmed and unprotected while the military play hide and seek with live rounds? How long will it be before the insurgency becomes ten times or a hundred times larger than at present? At the moment it is hardly under control.

It is really annoying that the "string pullers" behind the regime are so insensitive they have failed to read the runes. Don't they realise what they have done? The best thing for Abhisit right now is to do a runner and leave these people to their fate. I am sure he has been forced kicking and screaming into this untenable situation as his previous record has been remarkably unsullied.

The most amusing comment so far concerns rejection of UN arbitration out of hand. Why??? Sorry, say that again!

Answer from the bold and underlined above: they are not unarmed nor unprotected, nor is the military playing hide and seek. LOL! As to "how long"? until they go home. pray for rain. Your analogy to Bangkok being a cabbage patch and the reds as "bugs" could be demeaning, but in this case and point defines pest. 65% of the population, I don't think so, but then again in all fairness I don't have the stats. I would like to see the actual facts on that, please post a link, thanks

[ALLSEEINGEYE]

A couple of weeks back while everybody was waxing vitriolic about the intrusion on their little cabbage patch by bugs wearing red shirts, I did point out that those bugs and their sympathisers amount to a little over 65% of the Thai population and that excludes the Monks.

The unfortunate decision of the self appointed elite to pursue a military solution after dabbling briefly with the only sensible option (for them that is) of establishing some form of government of national unity, is tantamount to offering Thaksin and the protestors the moral high ground.

How long are the protestors going to remain unarmed and unprotected while the military play hide and seek with live rounds? How long will it be before the insurgency becomes ten times or a hundred times larger than at present? At the moment it is hardly under control.

It is really annoying that the "string pullers" behind the regime are so insensitive they have failed to read the runes. Don't they realise what they have done? The best thing for Abhisit right now is to do a runner and leave these people to their fate. I am sure he has been forced kicking and screaming into this untenable situation as his previous record has been remarkably unsullied.

The most amusing comment so far concerns rejection of UN arbitration out of hand. Why??? Sorry, say that again!

What a joke, where did you pull 65% out od?? Let me guess it is where the sun doesn't shine. Reminds me of back in the day when the Quebec French thought they were so hard done by and were even using terrorist tactics to get their way. They claimed that 100% of the French society in Quebec wanted to separate from Canada. Well after several refferendums they failed to achieve anything close to a majority vote. They only way they can get 60% of the rural north to vote for the reds cause is to pay them to vote that way!!!

[pornsasi]

One can ask himself what is the magnitude of the sense of injustice as perceived by the protesters

who have a lot of followers in Isaan , that they are willing to die for their cause ?

Oh yes , forgot , they all want to die for Thaksin , so am told by posters here .

or 500 bahts per day , i heard that one too

It would be comical to hear it again... if not so tragic .

Sir, I've cleaned up your English a little bit (not completely but a little bit.) and rephrased your question for you. "One can ask "oneself", "What is the magnitude of the sense of injustice felt by the wealthy Ruling Class Elites and the Military, who have a lot of followers in Bangkok, are they willing to die for their cause?" How do you like the sound of that? Can you explain something to me? What is the difference if you have a lot of followers in Issan or Bangkok? The question is rhetorical but I ask it just to point out your prejudice and bias. However, I do think you underestimate the degree and the extent of support for the protesters. It extends well beyond Isaan, sunny boy.

And please explain all this gibberish about "wanting to die for Thaksin for 500 (that would be Baht, not Bahts per day.) You think it would be funny to hear this statement again, if it weren't so tragic? What is your point sir? Do you have a point?

Besides correcting typos , what is the purpose of your reply ?

I also think you misunderstood my post , that was sarcastic

towards those that try to explain the protest by Thaksin or

500 baht .

I am sure you know the meaning of "sarcastic" .

Basically we are of the same opinion .

[hotrod4098]

500 a day is a lot of money for some of the reds...they would be doing nothing in there village except drink thai whisky....this is a free lunch for them....

getting money for the farmer season,thats nearly here when the rain breaks..

reds are always paid for voting...so this is a bonus for them

[dobadoy]

One can ask himself what is the magnitude of the sense of injustice as perceived by the protesters

who have a lot of followers in Isaan , that they are willing to die for their cause ?

Oh yes , forgot , they all want to die for Thaksin , so am told by posters here .

or 500 bahts per day , i heard that one too

It would be comical to hear it again... if not so tragic .

Could you then explain what it is the 'protesters' want? Since the gov't already gave in to their demands to dissolve the house AND the main red leaders (sometimes called 'first tier leaders') ALREADY AGREED to the gov'ts plan, the question remains:

WHY DON'T THEY GO HOME AND PREPARE FOR THE ELECTION?

WHAT IS IT THAT THEY ARE NOW DEMANDING?

(apart from an excuste to use all those Molotoves, M79 grenades and RPGs, that is?)

[bf2002]

There is no Joseph Solution, unless you count something made up by some crazy Canadian on a few web boards....eggomaniac may be that same nutter.

The first link on google links to a virus infected location too.

Edited May 17, 2010 by bf2002

[noel2499rk]

Some talk of peaceful ends to protest, Federico Ferra (Phd Harvad) professor of political science Uni of Singapore and author of Unhinged Thailand one of the few books written about current crisis offers his prespective.

Federico Ferrara

On Sunday 16th May 2010, @KhiKwai said:

reply

Many people are wondering/speculating about the way a liberal-democratic Western government would be responding to a situation like the one presently unfolding on the streets of Bangkok.

To get a perspective on this issue, the most extreme example I can think of is the Los Angeles riots in 1992.

This example is "extreme" because the LA rioters were far more unruly and violent than the Red Shirts have been over the past two months. During the LA riots, looting and torching of buildings was widespread (we have seen very little of this in Bangkok). So were armed attacks by mobs on civilians (mostly white and Korean) as well as gun fights between shopkeepers and mobs of assailants (again, very little of this has been seen here). Finally, the Red Shirts have engaged in very little property destruction (Central World would not have survived the first hour of the LA Riots); most of it has been incidental to fighting against the army's advance.

How did the American government react to the LA Riots? The short answer is "nothing like the Thai government has in this instance." See this time-line of the events for an overview: http://www.lafire.com/famous_fires/920429_...oursofChaos.htm. Plenty of other information, video, etc is widely available on the internet.

After the LAPD proved unable to deal with the situation, the state government mobilized about 4000 National Guard troops, while the federal government sent in about the same number of army troops shortly thereafter. Order was re-established in just a couple of days, but in large part thanks to crowd control techniques as opposed to shooting indiscriminately on the protesters.

The final toll of the riots, which lasted 6 days, was officially 54 deaths. However, it is noteworthy that the overwhelming majority of the people killed were killed by the demonstrators themselves (some voluntarily, some accidentally in fires/stampedes, etc.). There were some shootings carried out by the army/police in somewhat suspicious circumstances, but the army/police were not responsible for more than a handful of deaths.

It might be worth reflecting on why the American government was able to bring a much worse situation under control so quickly and without massacring dozens of people. Besides the issue of professionalism, I think that the answer has to do with the legitimacy of the government. Most established democracies enjoy what is known as "power without force" --- that is, they can maintain order with relatively little violence. Thailand's government is more of a case of "force without power" --- that is, it isn't able to control its citizenry in spite of a massive show of force.

Either way, the bottom line is that if you think that any Western government would have acted the same way the Thai government is acting today, you should think again.

Short: http://tl.gd/1b6c4l | Posted from Twitlonger

[Siripon]

500 a day is a lot of money for some of the reds...they would be doing nothing in there village except drink thai whisky....this is a free lunch for them....

getting money for the farmer season,thats nearly here when the rain breaks..

reds are always paid for voting...so this is a bonus for them

The hawker from my colleague's soi in Talad Plu is paid 1000 baht a day to demonstrate plus 3 free meals, much better money and more comfortable than toiling in the hot streets selling her wares.

[noname135]

A couple of weeks back while everybody was waxing vitriolic about the intrusion on their little cabbage patch by bugs wearing red shirts, I did point out that those bugs and their sympathisers amount to a little over 65% of the Thai population and that excludes the Monks.

The unfortunate decision of the self appointed elite to pursue a military solution after dabbling briefly with the only sensible option (for them that is) of establishing some form of government of national unity, is tantamount to offering Thaksin and the protestors the moral high ground.

How long are the protestors going to remain unarmed and unprotected while the military play hide and seek with live rounds? How long will it be before the insurgency becomes ten times or a hundred times larger than at present? At the moment it is hardly under control.

It is really annoying that the "string pullers" behind the regime are so insensitive they have failed to read the runes. Don't they realise what they have done? The best thing for Abhisit right now is to do a runner and leave these people to their fate. I am sure he has been forced kicking and screaming into this untenable situation as his previous record has been remarkably unsullied.

The most amusing comment so far concerns rejection of UN arbitration out of hand. Why??? Sorry, say that again!

What a joke, where did you pull 65% out od?? Let me guess it is where the sun doesn't shine. Reminds me of back in the day when the Quebec French thought they were so hard done by and were even using terrorist tactics to get their way. They claimed that 100% of the French society in Quebec wanted to separate from Canada. Well after several refferendums they failed to achieve anything close to a majority vote. They only way they can get 60% of the rural north to vote for the reds cause is to pay them to vote that way!!!

when you don't know what you are talking about, better stay quiet!

if you would ever have been in any rural area, especially in the north, then you would know, that regardless of what election it is, ALL THOSE TRYING TO BE ELCTED pay whatever much they can

to get elected - it's not good, and it's not correct, but it is thai reality !

[whybother]

All the poor innocent protestors??? They declare war on the Government, try to impose their will on the rest of the country (us that democracy???). They are using old women and children as human shields, they are every bit as bad as the Taliban and that lot. I am sure if you ask the Taliban they will say they are fighting for the majority of the population too.

Where did you get this photo? After all, the BBC and CNN reporters, all on the ground, have said they have never seen the red shirts with guns??

I hate to say it, and I will ask my son who is a photo shop expert...but these guns do look a bit photo shopped in...

asking again, where did you get this photo?? what is the source?

Do these look photoshopped?

[ALLSEEINGEYE]

A couple of weeks back while everybody was waxing vitriolic about the intrusion on their little cabbage patch by bugs wearing red shirts, I did point out that those bugs and their sympathisers amount to a little over 65% of the Thai population and that excludes the Monks.

The unfortunate decision of the self appointed elite to pursue a military solution after dabbling briefly with the only sensible option (for them that is) of establishing some form of government of national unity, is tantamount to offering Thaksin and the protestors the moral high ground.

How long are the protestors going to remain unarmed and unprotected while the military play hide and seek with live rounds? How long will it be before the insurgency becomes ten times or a hundred times larger than at present? At the moment it is hardly under control.

It is really annoying that the "string pullers" behind the regime are so insensitive they have failed to read the runes. Don't they realise what they have done? The best thing for Abhisit right now is to do a runner and leave these people to their fate. I am sure he has been forced kicking and screaming into this untenable situation as his previous record has been remarkably unsullied.

The most amusing comment so far concerns rejection of UN arbitration out of hand. Why??? Sorry, say that again!

What a joke, where did you pull 65% out od?? Let me guess it is where the sun doesn't shine. Reminds me of back in the day when the Quebec French thought they were so hard done by and were even using terrorist tactics to get their way. They claimed that 100% of the French society in Quebec wanted to separate from Canada. Well after several refferendums they failed to achieve anything close to a majority vote. They only way they can get 60% of the rural north to vote for the reds cause is to pay them to vote that way!!!

when you don't know what you are talking about, better stay quiet!

if you would ever have been in any rural area, especially in the north, then you would know, that regardless of what election it is, ALL THOSE TRYING TO BE ELCTED pay whatever much they can

to get elected - it's not good, and it's not correct, but it is thai reality !

Nice how you assume you are the only one that knows what he is talking about. First of all Thailand is not the only place that pays for votes, it happens in the States too. My point is that 65% of the northern rurals do not support the reds as in the last election they only received 40% of the vote even with vote buying. So to say that most of the north love the reds and this illegal action they have taken is ridiculous. My gf is from Ubon and neither she nor her family support the reds or their terrorist ways.

[whybother]

A couple of weeks back while everybody was waxing vitriolic about the intrusion on their little cabbage patch by bugs wearing red shirts, I did point out that those bugs and their sympathisers amount to a little over 65% of the Thai population and that excludes the Monks.

The unfortunate decision of the self appointed elite to pursue a military solution after dabbling briefly with the only sensible option (for them that is) of establishing some form of government of national unity, is tantamount to offering Thaksin and the protestors the moral high ground.

How long are the protestors going to remain unarmed and unprotected while the military play hide and seek with live rounds? How long will it be before the insurgency becomes ten times or a hundred times larger than at present? At the moment it is hardly under control.

It is really annoying that the "string pullers" behind the regime are so insensitive they have failed to read the runes. Don't they realise what they have done? The best thing for Abhisit right now is to do a runner and leave these people to their fate. I am sure he has been forced kicking and screaming into this untenable situation as his previous record has been remarkably unsullied.

The most amusing comment so far concerns rejection of UN arbitration out of hand. Why??? Sorry, say that again!

These bugs amount to less than 0.1% of the population. Their sympathisers amount to maybe 20% of the population at a stretch. You are assuming that all the poor sympathise with them, and that is clearly not true.

They are clearly armed (as shown in plenty of photos and videos, a couple posted above).

The red leaders have been talking about a million protestors on many occasions, and on their best day got about 100,000.

There has been very little protest outside of Bangkok, except for some thugs in the red stronghold.

I think it is the "string puller" behind the reds that has failed to read the runes, and failed to hand out enough cash.

[roisoleil]

One can ask himself what is the magnitude of the sense of injustice as perceived by the protesters

who have a lot of followers in Isaan , that they are willing to die for their cause ?

Oh yes , forgot , they all want to die for Thaksin , so am told by posters here .

or 500 bahts per day , i heard that one too

It would be comical to hear it again... if not so tragic .

Sir, I've cleaned up your English a little bit (not completely but a little bit.) and rephrased your question for you. "One can ask "oneself", "What is the magnitude of the sense of injustice felt by the wealthy Ruling Class Elites and the Military, who have a lot of followers in Bangkok, are they willing to die for their cause?" How do you like the sound of that? Can you explain something to me? What is the difference if you have a lot of followers in Issan or Bangkok? The question is rhetorical but I ask it just to point out your prejudice and bias. However, I do think you underestimate the degree and the extent of support for the protesters. It extends well beyond Isaan, sunny boy.

And please explain all this gibberish about "wanting to die for Thaksin for 500 (that would be Baht, not Bahts per day.) You think it would be funny to hear this statement again, if it weren't so tragic? What is your point sir? Do you have a point?

Despite the mangled english, the point being made is clear. The author of the post is pissed that so many people posting to this forum buy the gov't line that red-shirt protesters would honestly be willing to sacrifice their very lives for 500 baht/day or for Thaksin when in fact many red-shirts are not supporters of Thaksin's (although I've no doubt they'll take his money) and it is beyond doubt that if they are committed even unto death it isn't for the pay they have real, deep and long held grievances that they demand be addressed now.

[roykeanz]

Man, the Red Shirt agitators are really at it today!

There are almost as many airy-fairy, bombastic, and ultimately meaningless, Che Guevara style cliches here than there are molotov coktails being hurled by terrorists at civilians/ cops/ soldiers/ hotels on the streets of Bangkok!! 

They must be upset one of the "peaceful" leaders of their "peaceful" movement; the bastion of humanity (no, not an insanely violent, paranoid, rabid, corrupt, bloodthirsty, paid pawn of Thaky!)  'grenadier' Seh Daeng has officially kicked the bucket and has taken the highway to hel_l! (I wonder where his grenade-pin hat went though!!)

As for the violent mobs attacking civilians/soldiers/cops on the streets, shooting at innocent residents inside hotels and bombing banks /Govt buildings/anything they feel like -  of course they're being paid! With a huge bonus if they get injured. Paid more than the seated masses of human shields waving their rattlers about while being brainwashed down by the main stage! And paid far more than your average hard-working Thai earns in BKK.

Furthermore, as well as generally being dumber even than the spawn of a union involving Sarah Palin and GW Bush, these hooligans (most of whom are far from strangers to violence upcountry) are also brainwashed (proof perhaps you can brainwash the braindead!) as well as, more importantly, kept sloshed on cheap hooch and hopped up on yaabaa.

A day in the 'warzone' for these gangsters is actually not too different from a day at home in the village; just lazing around mostly and getting loaded, but throwing molotov cocktails instead of smacking the missus around! 

You go on about Education. .... Erm, apparently the so-called "Elite" are brainwashing the masses, but you're crying out for the greatest tool ever created for mass brainwashing, computers and internet?

Or maybe you're upset you don't have easy enough access to pron!!

Many schools back home also do not have computers. So what? Let kids learn in the proper traditional way and - here's a shocker! - read some good books!

And "the schools have "no English" education" (the language of the real worldwide colonisation strategem)? Erm, so what? This is Thailand, buddy. How many of the schools in Canuk-land have Thai education?! 

In any event, why aren't you castigating the real Red Shirt leader (and sponsor of the terrorism) Thacky for perceived problems with the Education system?  Square-face was, after all, a so-called "Education Minister" for a long time, plus of course had nigh autocratic powers for years, but didn't do a jot to improve the situation for the poor, educationally! Nor, for that matter, socially ... nor any way at all really!

So, I guess you're saying Thaky did nothing to amend this evil, "Elite" curriculum! Thus, de facto, Thacky was brainwashing kids with so-called 'Elite' mantras, as part of his curriculum!! 

As for the Che stuff, if the following BS was really true - "Thai people are fighting for their children's future, a chance for equality, freedom of speech, justice, a decent chance at an education." - these Red Shirt terrorists would have snapped off Abhisit's hand when he made the generous and most reasonable offer of early elections, the other week! .... Did they though? Of course f*****g  not!

Thaksin doesn't want what you're spouting on about! Meaning the so-called 'Red Shirts" don't want what you're on about, either!

Thacky wants the Government out NOW and his cronies back in power NOW, before the military reshuffle in September and the impending budget!! 

This so-called "Red Shirt" movement is an evil manipulation. A wolf in sheep's clothing. A veritable Golem.

It's as simple and obvious as that!

So it's perhaps you who should "Wake up!" buddy!!

Edited May 17, 2010 by sbk

[mommysboy]

This is a military/military backed government. Armies fight wars, if not with other countries then their own people will do. It's no surprise then that we are where we are. And this also explains why the red shirts have not been cleared, it suits those that are in control.

[melmark]

I assume that both parties can reach a compromise. I would suggest that the coup takers are rounded up and receive a mandatory 20 year prison term. That would calm down the people. The genius strategist that figured out that taking out Seh Daeng would be a good idea can always become a PM, after all Chvalit became also a PM after making immense strategic errors in a clash with laos.

What amazes me is not the rage of the people, they have been taken for granted too long, it is the utmost stupidity within the Abhisit government notably Suthep. Suthep has shown that he is unsuitable for the position that he holds. Blunder after blunder he has made. This government like to refer every time to the English system. But they forget to mention that in England, the army does not meddle in the choice that elected representatives make and d not force them to go against the wishes of the people and join another party. Those politicians wanting to change alliances will resign and people can elet a new representative.

The Amy is never used in controlling or dispersing a crown. No snipers either. The comment that Abhisit made in his explanation to the UN makes it even more shocking. He says that reds dressed as police and army has mingled with the army and is doing the killing. Wow.... Interesting to know that the Army and the police do not recognize outsiders. That might explain why the army cannot win and misbehave in the South.

Do you really beleive that every person in the army and the police force knows everybody else by sight aand can recognize infiltrators? Especially during a firefight?

[kmj]

All the poor innocent protestors??? They declare war on the Government, try to impose their will on the rest of the country (us that democracy???). They are using old women and children as human shields, they are every bit as bad as the Taliban and that lot. I am sure if you ask the Taliban they will say they are fighting for the majority of the population too.

That comparison just shows your ignorance of the Taliban... and the photo is a fake

Edited May 17, 2010 by kmj