Thailand Protests

[Anonymous]

http://www.enews.ma/chaos-thai_i125705.html

with regards to the http://whatreallyhappened.com/ stories and comments regarding Thailand

The Thai people realized that their last election was rigged, and unlike Americans, decided to do something about it.

This is just about the stupidest thing I have heard in a while.

first off
The Red Shirts are either die hard supporters or paid agitators of Thaksin - A rich freemason who owned Thailand satellite company and was caught for corruption.

The red shirts will switch to yellow shirts just as easy causing havoc.

Most Thai's make about and live on 100 USD per month
Many of the factories are closing down and people are losing jobs.
they replace one corrupt freemason with another everytime they oust someone
The red shirts most likely have a vested interest in Shinawat via contracts or being paid by those that had contracts
There is more going on then what is reported

[stoneskull]

you're right.

it's a game.

when the whole system is corrupt, there are massive fortunes in running the government.

a lot of the protesters get paid more for protesting than for going to work.

and that amount of money to bribe and recruit is small change compared to the rewards of what has been and can be gained.

[Ognir]

Shit forgot we had someone in Thailand

So what did we miss?

[stoneskull]

it's huge right now..

after three weeks of peaceful protests by the 'red shirts',
who want an election,
due to the previously elected government being booted out and new one installed by the military,
the current administration declared a state of emergency on wednesday,
banning groups of more than 5 gathering together,
which has been ignored,
and now things are getting a little messy.

over the last few days the satellite tv station broadcast by the protesters was shut down,
and they stormed the building and got it back on, if only for a few hours,
they've briefly stormed government house,
being repelled by tear gas..
and yesterday 40 cannisters of tear gas were dropped by helicopter on them,
high pressure hoses used to repel, and now rubber bullets.

areas of the north of thailand are now seeing problems,
with government buildings being blockaded by the protesters.

i came back to australia on the day the state of emergency was declared,
and will wait it out until there's some sort of peace or compromise.
i hope it doesn't get too ugly.

there's a big chapter in thailand's history happening.
the other side of all this power game,
is that the king of thailand is very old.. 83.. and not well..
i think a lot of this has to do with controlling power when he passes away.
and when he does, who knows what will happen.

the king of thailand, the longest reigning head of state in the world
is very loved, and holds the country together.
his son, the heir, is not so loved, and actually disliked by many, due to his playboy ways in his younger years.
he won't have the respect the current king does,
and no-one is sure what will happen.

many older thai men have told me they are thinking of selling up and moving to laos.
it's all too much for them.

[Bela]

I went to school in Thailand - been there about 20 times, off and on.

They have one of these military crackdowns every 5 years or so.  There is usually an insurrection against the govt.  -- the military is called in, people end up getting shot during a protest.

There was one in the 90's that turned a hotel lobby (near a district where I usually stay) into a bloodbath.

I'm not sure what to make of it - Thailand's economy is mostly based on prostitution (sex tourism) and drugs.  "Next door" Burma is a source of cheap "Chinese white".    I would reckon a lot of the banks set up in Bangkok, including the foreign ones (like Standard Chartered) are money laundering pots for this trade.  Same as the banks in downtown Miami, who, according to the tour guide I had there, are basically there to benefit from the South American drug trade via the Carri bean.

It's really hard to say what these protests are about.  You would probably have to look at past similar protests, crackdowns, to see what the pattern is.  

There was a time when George Soros was monkeying around with Asian currencies, and they all dropped like a rock against the dollar.  That created an inflation in Thailand that most tourists wouldn't have noticed, because they would have changed their own currency and gotten a better deal for it.  I don't recall if that event triggered a protest/crackdown, but it may have.

The problem with most tourists and expats in Thailand is they are not experts by any means on Thai culture or history or politics.  Most of the male tourists, expats, spend most of their waking hours exploring Asia with their dick (sorry to get vulgar, but that's how it is).  I don't know where you could get someone who could sort this out.  Thai (like any other country's people) are sometimes not as objective about their own system.  And the mainstream media have their own agenda.

As for King - I stay completely off the topic of the King or Queen of Thailand when I'm there, because anything you say about them can be considered an insult.  One Thai professor got 3 years in jail for referring to the King as "the skipper" because he likes to go out on his yacht.  I didn't know the King was that rich (35 Billion $ in assets).  I wonder where the money traces to:

Bhumibol Adulyadej (Royal Institute: Phumiphon Adunyadet; Thai: ภูมิพลอดุลยเดช, pronounced [pʰuːmipʰon adunjadeːt] (born 5 December 1927), is the current King of Thailand. Publicly acclaimed "the Great" (Thai: มหาราช, Maharaja), he is also known as Rama IX. Having reigned since 9 June 1946, he is the world's longest-serving current head of state and the longest-reigning  monarch in Thai history.[1]  He is seen as so important by the Thai people that his ill-health has affected the financial markets.[2]

Although Bhumibol is legally a constitutional monarch, he has made several decisive interventions in Thai politics. He was credited with facilitating Thailand's transition to democracy in the 1990s, although he has supported some military regimes, including Sarit Dhanarajata's during the 1960s and the Council for National Security in 2006-2008. He has been accused of interfering in politics, although since this would be unconstitutional of him and accusers are liable to be charged with lèse majesté. During his long reign he has seen over 15 coups, 16 constitutions, and 27 changes of prime ministers.[3] He has also used his influence to stop military coups, including attempts in 1981 and 1985.

Bhumibol is highly revered by the public and is also protected by the Constitution as "inviolable".[4] He has no right to charge anyone who insults or defames him, however, anyone can file charges for him; the penalty is three to fifteen years in jail. In his 2005 birthday speech, Bhumibol said he would not take lèse majesté seriously, and that the King can have flaws. Despite that, charges were still filed frequently, with over 100 cases of lèse majesté filed in 2007 and numerous people jailed.[5]

Reported to be the richest monarch in the world, with a estimated personal net worth of US$35 billion, Bhumibol has a controlling stake in numerous firms including Siam Cement and Siam Commercial Bank. He has used part of his massive wealth to fund royal development projects.[6] The Thai government has claimed that the assets of the Crown Property Bureau are not Bhumibol's personal wealth.[7] The exact value of the CPB's assets is not known, because it is managed independently of the Thai Government and reports only to Bhumibol.

[stoneskull]

It's really hard to say what these protests are about.  You would probably have to look at past similar protests, crackdowns, to see what the pattern is.  

this one is over the current government not being voted in by the people.
it was installed by the military.
they want an election.

[Bela]

That may have been the same reason for the others.  The last one I paid any attention to involved a Buddhist priest (or ex priest) running for some office.

[Bela]

Someone I worked with in Japan sent me this today - he took some time off from his English teaching job to go to Thailand:

While in Pattaya we  heard about the  demonstrations and the storming of Parliament,so we  decided to spend the last 2 nights at Jomtien and go to the airport from there.

If  we  were in Bangkok we  felt we would  not have  been able to get  to the airport.

Pattaya seems to have become sleazier.. if that is possible.....

Pattaya and Jomtien are full of  Russians now. Signs and menus are in Russian
and even some of the Thais  speak to you in Russian.

[Bela]

agents provocateurs in Thailand:

http://www.theepochtimes.com/n2/content/view/33260/

BANGKOK—Unknown gunmen have been blamed for much of the carnage during the clash between "red shirt" anti-government protesters and Thai military on Saturday in Bangkok's historic quarters.

Shortly after the army retreated from the carnage on Saturday night, local Thai media began reporting that elements within the anti-government protesters had used firearms, grenades, gas cylinder bombs and M79 grenade launchers against the military.

Many of Monday's local papers carried hazy images of gunmen and snipers firing automatic weapons during the vicious fighting that left 21 people dead and over 800 injured. Among the dead were five soldiers and 16 civilians—one was a Japanese cameraman, from the Reuters news agency.

In the video footage of the clash was a clip revealing a distant shooter, protected by protesters with shields, firing an AK-47 assault rifle at Thai soldiers.

A correspondent with The Economist witnessed a gunman enter a street held by the red shirts then fire a burst from an automatic weapon at the military lines.

Other reports in Western media say that they witnessed further video footage that showed both sides firing assault rifles with lethal intent.
Related Articles

    * Police and Red Shirts Clash in Thailand
    * Thai Protests Turn Violent, Ten Killed
    * Thai Military and Red Shirts Clash
    * Blood Shed in Bangkok, 21 Killed in Clashes
    * Thai PM Under Pressure Following Bloody Showdown

Speaking on national TV on Saturday night after the fighting had ceased, Prime Minister Vejjajiva said that the Thai military had strict guidelines on its rules of engagement and could only use their firearms to fire in the air or in self-defense only if their lives were in danger.

He would later blame rogue gunmen, or "terrorists," for the intense violence of the battle.

According to The Christian Science Monitor's correspondent Simon Montlake, military observers believe the soldiers walked into a trap set by what he described as "agents provocateurs" with military know-how.

"By pinning down soldiers after dark and sparking chaotic battles with unarmed protesters, the unknown gunmen ensured heavy casualties on both sides," Montlake wrote.

"Snipers targeted military ground commanders, indicating a degree of advance planning and knowledge of army movements, said Western diplomats briefed by Thai officials," he wrote.

Montlake quoted one Western diplomat in regular contact with protest leaders who say, "You can't claim to be a peaceful political movement and have an arsenal of weapons out the back if needed. You can't have it both ways."

Sean Boonpracong, a spokesman for the red shirts told Montlake that his organization has no links with rogue elements.
"Most of the reds are fighting with their bare hands or rocks or water bottles. If this was a third hand we'd like to know who it was. It definitely wasn't us," he said.

Doubts have surfaced regarding the loyalty of elements within the military to the government and accusations have been made that "watermelons"—because they are green on the outside but red on the inside—have supplied information to the anti-government leadership.

The BBC reported that Anthony Davis, an analyst with Janes Defense Weekly said, "Saturday night made it clear that there are elements within the military providing the opposition with tactical information and that on the other side of the divide there are elements with good military training and equipment."

[Anonymous]

It's really hard to say what these protests are about.  You would probably have to look at past similar protests, crackdowns, to see what the pattern is.  

this one is over the current government not being voted in by the people.
it was installed by the military.
they want an election.

lol

yeah elections make everything alright. The illusion of choice has broke down palace.

The US born King is actaully number 3 or 4 on the list of worlds largest land owners.

Imagine the con - a US citizen King of a foreign country.

Kind of reminds me of Kipling's the Man who would be king.

anyway I have met a mother who's son disappeared from that 1990's bloodbath, apparently the ended up in a cargo box at the bottom of the gulf.

[LordLindsey]

John is touching upon something that I, at this time, won't discuss but I think that he is opening-up what NEEDS to be opened-up in this entire discussion, and it has to do with those "HAVES" who have completely subjugated the vast majority, and the "HAVE-NOTS" who those "HAVES" would literally sooner see dead than have DECENT EDUCATION and real power in that horrific system of Thai "democracy."

I am telling you people directly that I intimately know of what I speak, and it breaks my heart to have heard this said to my face.

LINDSEY

[stoneskull]

that's why thaksin is so loved.

he thumbed his nose at the aristocrats and gave a helping hand to the poor.

hospitals were improved, roads, water..

many people who could never have beforehand were able to go to university and get a good job.

good to have a choice other than prostitution and crime.