More o' the same.
Enjoy lads and ladies.
My maid can damn well tell you it was 6 minutes maximum. Besides that nobody watches channel 5 Lakorn which is the only thing on . Every channel including all of True.Originally Posted by Albert Shagnastier
"It's," Senor Gente? Har-har, or more appropriately in your case, Haw-Haw. Spending too much time online these days are we, old thing?
Yes, the Thai military are famous for their lack of corruption (airships, subs, mine detectors) and high standards; just ask the Rohingya. May your fantasies continue to come true- maybe a Tak Bai-esque event involving the Euro-lumpen in Pattaya, those who are so unlike you, of course.
“You can lead a horticulture but you can’t make her think.” Dorothy Parker
The man is a renowned hothead famous for his outbursts and short-temper.
Hardly someone suitable for such power and responsibility.
This needs a cool-headed, astute, reasonable person to manage. He is none of these things. Re-read the Bangkok Post piece where he makes mention of not having "absolute power" previously. Such a comment makes me extremely anxious.
The army is utterly corrupt and has just as many "mafia" style individuals in it as the police here....No one gets to the top, in the police or the army, without having been involved in some dubious practices.
Anyway, 2010 should inform even the dullest mind of how things are with the army here. And should also inform most of exactly what kind of person is now in charge.
"Slavery is the daughter of darkness; an ignorant people is the blind instrument of its own destruction; ambition and intrigue take advantage of the credulity and inexperience of men who have no political, economic or civil knowledge. They mistake pure illusion for reality, license for freedom, treason for patriotism, vengeance for justice."-Simón Bolívar
http://asiancorrespondent.com/122874...and-coup-live/
8.55pm: Meanwhile in the Northeastern city of Khon Kaen, via our friends at The Isaan Record:Silent Anti-Coup protests in Khon Kaen by student activists #protests #ThaiCoup #Thailand #Coup2014 pic.twitter.com/H5ahL0jkGc8.25pm: Naew Na reports that Yingluck is being moved to a military base in Saraburi and intended to be held for three days. 7.50pm: Meanwhile, the whereabouts of former prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra and her inner circle are still unknown. Bangkok Post’s military correspondent Wassana Nanuam tweets that she and other family member are being detained by the military but unsure where:
— The Isaan Record (@isaanrecord) May 23, 2014
Deep Blue Sea @WassanaNanuam Follow
แหล่งข่าว ยืนยันว่า อดีตนายกฯ ยิ่งลักษณ์ โดยทหารควบคุมตัว ไว้แล้วพรัอมแกนนำสายชินวัตร กปปส.ที่มารายงานตัววันนี้ทั้งหมด ยังไม่รู้สถานที่
Jonathan Head @pakhead Follow
Prayuth playing hardball with the Shinawatras. Homes in Chiang Mai searched. Yingluck et al locked up. Maybe to pressure Thaksin to give in.
Looks like Yingluck and her circle hv now been separated and taken to different military camps around the country.
Was it enough - or has she started twitching again?Originally Posted by aging one
Originally Posted by StrontiumDog
More o' the same.
List of coups d'état and coup attempts by country - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Pesek makes some excellent points here (not the same as the Pesek article posted in a separate thread on markets, btw):
Why This Thai Coup Matters More - Bloomberg View
Thaksin Shinawatra is living proof that leaders get the popularity thing all wrong. From Barack Obama to Indonesia's Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, they try governing well, articulating a vision and inspiring -- and their approval ratings plummet.
Thailand’s Thaksin tried a different approach. From 2001 to 2006, the tycoon broke laws, lined his pockets, neutered courts and was even accused of crimes against humanity in a war against drugs, then fled overseas in 2008 to avoid prison. Yet nearly eight years after being ousted as prime minister, he couldn’t be more popular among his "Red Shirt" supporters from the country's poorer northeast. And that's what makes this latest Thai coup arguably more dangerous than 12 earlier military takeovers in the past eight decades.
Never mind that no one outside the army chiefs who grabbed power Thursday can explain why a coup was even necessary. In 2008, the Red Shirts who rallied around Thaksin were a ragtag bunch. Today, they’re organized, politically aware, better financed and raring for a fight. They’ve spent recent years building political networks and mobilizing supporters -- efforts that put a Thaksin avatar in the prime minister’s office in 2011, his sister Yingluck Shinawatra (she was ousted on May 7 by the courts, and today was summoned to meet with coup leaders).
Even though several Red Shirt leaders have been rounded up and arrested, their political machine is already churning into action. As Thitinan Pongsudhirak of Bangkok’s Chulalongkorn University told Bloomberg News: “The opposition and resistance to the coup will likely be strong. This time the looming confrontation and clashes are going to be severe and violent.”
Why does Thaksin still inspire such loyalty after all this time? My take is that rural Thais have a surreally romanticized view of his populist “Thaksinomics” program. Thaksin effectively bribed communities around the nation with waves of public largess -- cash, subsidies, moratoriums on debt payments and other goodies. Who doesn’t love a leader who comes to town tossing treats around? But the money just provided a sugar high and did little to create balanced and sustainable growth -- which is what Thaksin's followers really need. The handouts were a giant smokescreen to distract supporters while Thaksin weakened governing institutions in Bangkok to enrich himself and his cronies.
To me, the best explanation of what the former premier was up to is found in “What’s the Matter With Kansas?,” which historian Thomas Frank published in 2004 at the height of the Thaksin era. The book explores how conservative leaders in the U.S. and elsewhere trick lower-middle class citizens to vote against their economic interests. Sure, Thaksin’s cash handouts seemed like a godsend. But by making Thailand his own, he singlehandedly wrecked the nation’s democracy, competitiveness and global reputation.
If Thailand had an effective political opposition, one would think they'd be able to expose the hollowness of Thaksin's programs in an election. [*Emboldening mine- rob; might be interesting to hear thoughts on why the Democrats are unable- or unwilling, imo- to do so] Instead, by intervening yet again, the Thai military is perceived to be doing the bidding of the Bangkok elite, the royalist "Yellow Shirts." Rather than puncturing Thaksin's aura, the generals have simply burnished it further. If they now throw his sister into jail, she'll become yet another martyr for the Red Shirts.
With no exit strategy visible for the generals, this coup could easily prove to be an unmitigated disaster, even a prelude to full-blown civil war. The odds of a credible election that heals Thailand’s wounds over the next few years are in the single digits right now. Yet there is no other means of establishing a stable government that both the international community and the Red Shirts will accept. The 0.6 percent drop in gross domestic product in the three months through March is only the beginning of economic fallout to come.
Asian markets are largely ignoring this week’s events in Bangkok, figuring we’ve seen this before. They’re being complacent. Thursday’s coup demonstrates a debilitating level of political dysfunction that’s gradually pulling Thailand in the direction of Egypt and Tunisia, not South Korea. Rather than end Thailand’s political nightmare, this coup could drive the country toward whole new levels of chaos.
To contact the writer of this article: William Pesek at [email protected]
To contact the editor responsible for this article: Nisid Hajari at [email protected]
The big point in case is that there was no shooting. It seems to have been lost on you.
I'm pretty sure those folks know they are potentially endangering their life and risk being arrested but they protest anyway. I expect there to be much more of them hitting the streets in the days to come, especially as the week-end is coming.
This refusal to meekly submit to an illegitimate junta's authority is actually fantastic. It's a much, much more effective weapon than guns to undermine the effort of the generals to gain an authority that they have no legitimacy to exercise. And note that until now, the power takeover has not got any form of blessing from the palace.
It seems to me that Prayuth's position is not as strong as some make it to be.
this must be the fastest thread to reach 25 pages in the history of TD
TO the Army;
Job well done.
Now , what your next move?
naah.....the last coup thread was better.Originally Posted by Phuketrichard
it can only be complacency, and deluding themselves into feeling somehow protected.might be interesting to hear thoughts on why the Democrats are unable- or unwilling, imo- to do so
thats an interesting read, but i tend to think he exaggerates the risk of civil war.
the general will surely have taken all those points into account whilst planning this coup and the subsequent reforms and have some plan for placating and "re-educating the natives" in order to gradually bring them on-side.
life is painOriginally Posted by taxexile
Yes and yes, to which I would add, I think they just can't bear the thought of pandering to the hired help. I don't think Isaaners on the whole believe that Thaksin really cares about improving their position, but at least he is willing to give the brown people a reacharound. The yellows would still rather beat the serf than throw him a bone.[/QUOTE]
Maybe. Civil war depends on defection from the army- enough of that and the MIB and border cops join in. Thais don't strike me as generally willing to lay down their lives for principles and ideas, and at this point the fight would be too uneven. Of course, that's using a definition of "civil war" denoting battlefield conflict. If certain cities in the N-NE were to decide to reject orders from Bangkok things could develop differently, but again, that would mean at the least economic sacrifice on the part of the, ahem, civic leaders.
If by "placating and re-educating the natives" you mean terrorizing and beating into submission anyone who doesn't go along with Ocha-chan's aims then yes, I'm sure there is a plan and it isn't going to be subtle.
Ah and what has been lost on you was that there was no shooting.
That's because being assaulted by a youth with a ipad camera looking for brave selfies for his social network doesn't merit a lethal response.
It just makes the army look reasonable.
If they want to link arms and march towards the line.
If they stand in front of a tank and defy it to change direction.
Then that takes balls.
Yes, Tiananmen-style resistance where you risk sacrificing yourself for your beliefs. Not risk-free, pouff-style 'Facebook' selfie resistance.
Who among you are willing to leave the Leo and fight for your freedom?Originally Posted by The Ghost Of The Moog
Anti-coup demonstrators need a crack suicide squad, that what you're saying? Obviously Tiananmen worked out really well for the demonstrators in China. As much as you'd obviously enjoy seeing "Unis" or whatever the fuck you called them get shot it wouldn't make a lot of sense as a tactic. This is a military that is fine with gunning down nurses in temples, so you might just get lucky and have your bloodlust at least partly sated soon enough.
ive no doubt that small scale street demos, student type stuff, will be put down, but with boots rather than bullets. heavy duty armed dissidents will not be treated so lightly though.If by "placating and re-educating the natives" you mean terrorizing and beating into submission anyone who doesn't go along with Ocha-chan's aims then yes, I'm sure there is a plan and it isn't going to be subtle.
as for the masses, i would think bones will be thrown before blows, could well be meaty bones at that.
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