Thailand

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scottdisco

rip this joint please
four_five_one said:
Richard L Parry from the Times is manning red shirt front lines, to his great credit. Michael Yon is in bed with his teddy.
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also, i think RLP might have been in the thick of it in Indonesia during the May '98 riots, to his credit.

not sure what Yon is doing, really. tbh, if he is in Thailand, you'd have thought - frankly, if only given his recent background - he'd take himself off down south, try and listen to local grievances, etc. he's literally rewritten the same story about polite troops about 20 times in the last few days, hasn't he?!

don't forget, Abhisit went to Oxford. we should probably mention that...
 
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four_five_one

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Thai troops on loudspeakers say: 15 minutes to get out or we're coming in... rumors of tanks in the vicinity too. Red shirts fight back with homemade rockets. Bet they're wishing they're an armed movement now...
 
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four_five_one

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"Here's how you win a prize for being the world's smallest man.

You send in your military to shoot innocent civilians (37 dead in Bangkok so far - 36 red shirt protesters and 1 soldier - with more than 200 injured) and then you tell people it was "terrorists dressed as soldiers" who did it.

Then, when leaders of the red shirts back down and agree to peace talks if the Thai Senate will mediate them, something they've never agreed to before, you say "Nope".

This is exactly what Abhisit Vejjajiva - the world's smallest man - said today. "Nope".

In fact, Abhisit will agree to nothing until the red shirts leave their downtown protest area (something they will never do as they don't trust Abhisit to follow through on his word). With 37 people dead, the whole city of Bangkok completely shut down, tourist numbers down to a third of what they normally are, and Thailand's economy in shatters, Abhisit will not compromise, he will not waiver in his ridiculous resolve, and he will not "Man Up". (Have you noticed how big men compromise, and little men are stubborn, stupid and, in the end, destroy everything they ever worked for - Napoleon anyone?)

So, as Bangkok continues to crumble, Abhisit Vejjajiva the only Thai prime minister to have a university degree from Oxford, England and, yet the smallest prime minister Thailand has ever had, sits and pouts. "If the game isn't under my rules, I'm not playing".

http://www.examiner.com/x-26647-Asi...s-smallest-man?cid=exrss-Asia-Travel-Examiner
 
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four_five_one

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Siam insurrection - or Siam slaughter? Chaos at the moment. Army in full flow but protesters resisting.

Have reached my twitter limit too (just at the crucial time...).
 
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four_five_one

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Michael Yon has just woken up. Repeated three times he's heard something has happening. Going to ask soldiers "how they're doing". Also "praying for Thailand".

Some great updates from Michael's hotel room... yet people are hanging on his every word. Apparently he's reporting the real truth that CNN won't reveal. Despite Dan Rivers being out there all morning...
 
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four_five_one

Infinition
Nattakorn Devakula reckons it's all bad whatever happens: "clearly this demonstrates the government have no ability to govern." But thinks elections can't be held now either... too volatile. Maybe an interim PM accepted by both sides (my suggestion)?

Army has broken down first lot of barricades into the main protest site... closing in on the center of the protests where the women and children are. Red shirt leader has just ordered all children to be removed... says he didn't think it'd come to this, doesn't know what's gone wrong. At least 3 dead (protesters) so far, and once again international media ppl have been injured. BBC's Alistair Leithead reported to have been shot at with an M-16 wielded by black shirts... Think he's OK though. Maybe first sighting of the infamous black shirts? Yet to be confirmed. Someone is firing back from red side, though, that's for sure. But still massively disproportionate.
 
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four_five_one

Infinition
One red shirt leader has escaped the stage by wearing a long haired wig. Government posted number to ring if anyone sees him. He's been spotted roaming around some bushes in the park, god knows what he's doing...

In another news Michael Yon... haha just kidding, hope no one minds me breaking the tension a bit with that joke.
 
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scottdisco

rip this joint please
i can't believe that at least 3 dozen protestors have been killed by troops at the behest of a murkily crowned govt, in the middle of the renowned world city capital of this large, economically powerful, generally stable (in terms of outright conflict; i am setting this up as a direct opposition to the two countries Yon is most associated w working in: subtle aren't i?!) country, and all Michael Yon can seem to do is witter on about the Thai military's table manners (and he's not even getting that right)
 
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four_five_one

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Reds have been dispersed btw... sporadic violence continues in Bangkok. Insurrection in provinces. Total media blackout. Central World burned to the ground... all for the sake of avoiding elections...

The people that hated the red shirts are looking at this with a smug sense of vindication, although it was almost inevitable after the leaders were arrested. Don't they know anything about mobs? I think they need to take responsibility themselves instead of continually calling others terrorists and animals. It wasn't a movement to overthrow the state, all they wanted was an election...

Wonder if Abhisit will resign to take "responsibly"? That was certainly on the cards if the crackdown went wrong. I think this amounts to the crackdown going wrong... couldn't go right, really, could it?
 
S

scottdisco

rip this joint please
jesus christ. total media blackout? Thailand of old...

four_five_one said:
The people that hated the red shirts are looking at this with a smug sense of vindication
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definitely. twisted. lot of cold, cold hearts among those Thais happy w the status quo/elite.

so a week ago the PM said he would negotiate. then all of a sudden he drops that and is happy to authorise massacre (cheerled by his technocrats and plenty of his voters, it seems).

what happened? was he in bad faith all along do you think four_five_one?
 
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four_five_one

Infinition
Hard to say if it was bad faith, but he could've pulled out of the electoral process at any time if he deemed that any of his "conditions" hadn't been met. Plus he's had a gun to his head, he couldn't have held elections now if he wanted to. Many in the military and his Democrat party didn't accept his road map, so military could've just disposed of Abhisit and installed another lackey, who could say "That was Abhisit's plan, not mine". Still think they should've took the offer and held Abhisit to his word. Other hand, what they asked the government for were fairly reasonable: an investigation into government role into April 10th killings, let up the censorship, and an exact date for house dissolution.

House should've been dissolved at least a month ago, and an interim PM acceptable to both sides should've taken over until heads had cooled and a relatively peaceful election could be held. But the government have got what they want in a way, because the red shirts come out of this looking totally discredited. Although I think red shirt leaders deserve some credit for giving up and preventing a slaughter, imo. The government probably think they've won, but as someone on twitter said earlier "For me there are no winners, just losers".
 
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four_five_one

Infinition
Al-Jazeera: "Many calling for a militarily solution are now shocked. realities of clearing the protest much different from what they imagined" no shit... Academic just been on says there's never been more political violence or widespread unrest - ever - in Thailand. hmm...

Government spokesman Panitan: "Thailand is about to return to its normal state."
 
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