Curfew may be lifted in Bangkok and elsewhere Friday night

[kimamey]

Against all odds Thailand recovers quickly from all recent catastrophes and setbacks. SARS, bird flu, political unrest, a tsunami, coup d’état 2006, airport takeovers, 100 people murdered in the capital during the political violence of 2010, and a crazed madman whipping the masses into a frenzy this year which ultimately resulted in the military stepping in.

Re the "crazed madman" bit, the Economist recently made the interesting point that one of the most destructive consequences of his actions will be the effect on the Democrat Party itself.

Their top echelons, including their 'Eton and Oxford' leader, are, it is claimed, essentially asking, "How did it come to this? Why did we let it happen?"

Due to the actions of one of their own they will almost certainly never again hold power through free and fair elections. The party's choices are either to act as placemen in an appointed assembly or try and re-invent themselves and start again. Their decades old legacy has been destroyed on the streets in a mere six months by one of their former top leaders. True irony.

I've always said that a coup would probably be a bad thing for the Dems because it would alienate so many people. Abhisit certainly wasn't following Suthep towards the end and they disagreed on the best way forward.

I may be wrong though if this carries on the way it has as it looks like there's going to be a long delay before elections and maybe some meaningful reforms. If they are smart they may not suffer as much as they would have done if they had just been seen to be put in power by the army. I think Abhisit will see this but it the hard-liners who prefer Suthep's confrontational style that may hold them back.

[kimamey]

This is baffling why they would lift curfew for soccer. Watching soccer is like watching paint dry.

At leat the US Open golf is on

It's called football.

And calling football boring while praising golf is hilarious. Watching golf is like watching paint after it has dried.

No it isn't. Football includes a number of rather more challenging activities; eg Rugby or Aussie Rules.

The kick-about game played in the World Cup is Association Football or 'soccer' for short.

I have played three forms of football in my life. Football, rugby union and Gaelic football. They are all football and always will be. The s word is not the name of the game I follow. It is football, always has been football and always will be football. I can cope with other forms of the game being called football by those who follow it and see no reason why the game I follow is not given the same courtesy.

It's called football by all the associations that run it. FIFA, FA, UEFA. As you say it depends on which type you play or follow.

Anyway this 'watching paint dry', is that a spectator sport since you're 'watching' or is 'watching' the participation. Also where can I 'watch' or 'participate'. It sounds like it might be the next big thing and there are obviously some experts here.