Sunday April 12:  The Red Shirt / Thaksin demonstrations have expanded to Bangkok & Chiang Mai

• Red Shirts have blockaded streets near Victory Monument causing huge traffic congestion.  There are several hospitals in this area & TV is reporting nurses & doctors & critical medical supplies unable to get through the blockades.

• TV also reports the Red Shirts are blocking the Tae Pae Gate in Chiang Mai..

• This is Songkran Weekend & there are some upset Thai.  More worried about the traditional festivities than the closing of the airport by the Yellow shirts or disrupting the ASEAN Summit by the Reds.

• A new group the Blue Shirts (REALLY) are protesting the protests .. in some cases violently protesting the Reds.

• The Plaid Shirts are neutral! (not really .. but I will be searching my storage room for old & faded Madras shirts)
• The go-go girls must be apolitical .. the no shirts.
• & white shirts = students

• Coup ousted PM Thaksin is urging his sponsored Red Shirts to continue with civil disobedience.

• Thaksin's extended family is reported to in a secure Singapore location.

In Thailand Anarchy, Chaos, Fiasco & Democracy same same.

 

• TV is showing the reds seizing buses & using them to block critical intersections..  How long before the airport is targeted.

• Sunday PM:  We went to the Villa Market Sukhumvit Soi 49 for Sonkran stuff (flour & water guns) .. the wife & her brother are insisting on their traditional Sonkran water gun event! .. I suggested red shirt & yellow shirt teams but was ignored.

• On Sukhumvit, in Villa & on Thong Lor you'd never know there was anything unusual going on except water guns spraying everything that passes by  ..

Sunday night 10PM:  The Nation reports the reds have now commandeered 2 LNG tank trucks .. 1 Din Daeng & 1 Victory Monument.

 

2009: The (reputed) Thai CIA Torture Compound ( Black Ops Site) is back in the news

• March, 2009:  The US CIA reports to US Congress that 92 "torture tapes" held in Thailand were destroyed.

• March 4, 2009: The Bangkok post reports that suspected al-Qaeda operatives were flown to Thailand for the purpose of  advanced interrogation, including "waterboarding"

  • In 2003 there were reports of Sadam being held & interviewed in Thailand.

  • in June 2003, Thai officials insisted that the US had shut down the advanced interrogation facility. The two terrorists admittedly held in Thailand were moved elsewhere.

• March 4, 2009: Thai Army commander, Gen Anupong Paochinda, has responded by stating that there are (currently, 2009)  no secret interrogation centers at the Udon Thani Air Base.  Earlier reports had the 'advanced interrogation site to be at Bang Dung not the Udon Thani Air Base!    DOH!

• Udon Thani Air Base comprises .001% of Thailand.  The General made no mention of US torture chambers in the other 99.999% of Thailand.

The US rewarded Thailand / Thaksin

•  .. "torture for freedom" cooperation placed the Thai-US free trade agreement ahead of other (more moral) trading partners ..

• the US rewarded "torture for freedom" with with favored trading partner  status.

• It can be argued that Thailand's loyalty & cooperation with the US was a major component in Thailand's prosperity during the past 5 years.

PAD Wins!    Thaksin's PPP declared Illegal by Thai Court

December 15, 2008: Democrat Abhisit Vejjajiva Elected PM.  235 - 198 for a solid Democrat majority coalition .. Thaksin / TRK / PPP / Pheua Thai / corruption voted Out ... Thank You, PAD! December 22:  The new cabinet has been installed & it includes Pornthiwa Nakasai, coalition partner Phum Jai Party, whose resume includes being Mamasan of the upscale "fishbowl soapy massage parlor" Poseidon & Ranongrak Suwanchawee whose resume includes being a Registered Nurse.

• PPP's PM Somchai is Thaksin's brother-in-law.

• 1st Thaksin's TRK party was ruled illegal, TRK reformed as the PPP, then PPP was declared illegal & reformed as Pheua Thai ..

• December 11, 2008: Thaksin's Pheua Thai is offering 55,000,000 Thb ($1,570,000 or EU 1,170,000) to each defector from PPP to join the Pheua Thai coalition.

  • Thb 5m to change party, Thb 25m when their change is approved & a final Thb 25m when they vote for the Pheua Thai PM candidate.

  • The election for the new PM is tentatively scheduled for Monday Dec. 15.  The caretaker PM, Chaovarat Chanweerakul, has threatened to dissolve the House of Parliament which the new (2008) constitution apparently allows him to do.

• December 12: King Rama IX has issued a Royal Decree calling for an extraordinary session of Parliament to choose a new PM.  Rama IX based his decision on the facts that the PM has been vacated by Judicial order & 1/3 of the members of Parliament signed a petition requesting his Royal Decree.

  • Friday December 12: Pheua Thai has about 200 votes & 219 are required for a majority.

  • If Pheua Thai is successful in purchasing enough votes PAD is ready to resume demonstrations .. which will probably get violent this time.  Thb 55,000,000 is a huge amount of cash for a politician from rural Issan to refuse!

• Where is the 100s of THB 1,000,000s coming from?

  • Thaksin is one of the richest men on the planet.  Thaksin is fighting asset seizure involving Thb 76,000,000,000. (billion) .. ($2.2B  .. EU1.6B .. 8.4B Shekels .. 60B Rubles ..196B Yen ..  no matter the currency Thaksin stands to lose a lot.)

    • Thaksin has already been found guilty in 1 case & sentenced to prison in absentia .. a few years in Bangkok's Bang Kwang is not a pretty picture.

    • A few billion Thb to buy a favorable government (& judiciary) is a good investment at this point.

  • Thaksin's wife, Potjaman AKA Poki-mom, was convicted in the summer of 2008 of tax evasion involving Thb 546,000,000.  She fled Thailand while out on bail .. she returned to Thailand without arrest December 6, 2008.

  • Thaksin's daughter hold the most stock in the Thai stock market of any individual.  Her stock is valued at Thb 19,000,000,000.  She just purchased a home in Hong Kong valued at Thb 186,000,000 (us$5.3m)

  • The second largest stock holder in Thailand is Pokimom's brother with holdings of Thb 19,000,000000. .. Thaksin's son is the 4th largest holder of Thai stock at Thb 12,000,000,000.

• Nov 20, '08:  The UK revoked Thaksin's Visa for his criminal acts.

  • "Do you know how many countries there are in the world? There are 197. And only 17 have an extradition treaty with Thailand," Thaksin smirks "Better still, only 10 of those treaties are active. So, don't you worry about me, I still have many places to stay..."

November 12, 2008:  Thaksin divorces Poki-mom, his wife of 32 years .. no immediate reaction from Thaksin's Mai Noi Ka Lydia.

Ousted & exiled PM Thaksin, aka square head, is a funny guy. Thaksin owns the Manchester City Professional Football Team (England & not Man United) . Thaksin is trying to make British professional football players bow to him .. bow Thai style!

Thaksin has been in exiled since the September 19, 2006.  Military Coup D' Etat  & has convicted in absentia of multiple criminal offenses in 2008.

In Thailand it is very important to respect the customs, wishes and traditions of the Thai people.

• Harry Nicolaides is an Australian author of a book VERISIMILITUDE ~excerpts~  (50 copies were printed and seven sold) has been jailed for 5 months for lèse-majesté. ..  "my cell is 12 meters long and just over four meters wide, holding 50 or 60 prisoners"

  • The book contains 103 words that references rumors about the “romantic entanglements and intrigues” of the family of the Thai king, Bhumibol Adulyadej, and particularly his son, Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn

  • Feb.21, 2009:  Mr. Nicolaides was granted a pardon by King Rama IX & has returned to Australia.

• Lèse-majesté charges against a BBC reporter who stated at a conference on the 2006 coup,   "The King is 79 years old and in uncertain health. His son, the Crown Prince, does not enjoy the same affection that his father does, and many Thais feel he cannot fill his father's shoes. These concerns are well-known in Bangkok; less so in the countryside" ... this statement was translated to ‘the Crown Prince does not have the same happiness and affection as His Majesty the King does' & the phrase ‘he cannot fill his father's shoes' was interpreted in his Thai translation as meaning ‘he cannot succeed to [his father's] throne'.

  • Charges were filed on April 8 against Jonathan Head and committee members of the Foreign Correspondents Club of Thailand (FCCT), alleging that they had committed the offence at a seminar entitled ‘Coup, Capital and Crown' on December 13, 2007.

• 2009: There are currently 32 new cases of Lèse-majesté under investigation.  The penalty is 15 years.

Bottom Line:  Be very careful & 100% respectful in any statement made regarding the Thai Royal Family .. out of context, poor translation & / or misinterpretation can result in horrendous consequences!

Yellow Shirts worn by PAD protesters represent loyalty to King Rama IX Rama IX is the planet's longest reigning monarch .. since 1946. Rama IX is the planet's richest monarch. Rama IX was too ill to give his expected birthday eve speech on December 4.  The King turned 81 on December 5. Thailand has a strictly enforced law against lèse-majesté (offending the monarchy) which outlaws even the mildest discussion / criticism / humor concerning the King.  Dozens of westerners have been jailed for not showing proper respect to the king. January 2009: Thailand has blocked access in Thailand to over 2000 web sites that are less than respectful of the monarchy. One of the first things I learned after moving to Thailand was the level of regard & love the Thai people have for the King. Protecttheking.net set up to ensure no one can disparage Rama IX The 2006 Military Coup D' Etat was the 15 coup during Rama IX's 62 year reign.

Twice courts have declared partys associated with Thaksin to be illegal & twice now they have simply renamed them selves. The Democrat Party supported by PAD contends that it has garnered a majority coalition. If the Democrats lose the PM election in Parliament expect PAD to again protest. Venus, Jupiter & the moon align over Bangkok December 2. 350,000 tourists stranded   Somchai forced to step down & remain out of politics for 5 years! All partys associated with the PPP, Thaksin, Somchai coalition ordered to disband. PAD demonstrations against Thaksin preceded the September 19, 2006.  Military Coup D' Etat  .. & The Thai Army is now calling for new elections. Reports of Thaksin's PPP offering Viagra for votes!   "stand up for PPP"

 

Yahoo Thailand News Stories     Google Thailand News Stories A summary of Thailand News Articles Not The Nation .. A Humorous View of Thai News & Thai Personalities.  LOL funny!

Lonely Planet Thailand Travel Forum Thai Government: Tourism Authority (TAT) News Voice of America Thailand New York Times Thailand Section:  A library of NY Times Thailand Stories.

Thailand Hotels .. beach huts from 200Thb .. island villas 50,000Thb .. 60 Hotels with free WiFi

The Thai political situation boiled down to as few words as possible ..

• Thailand is a parliamentary democratic system + is a constitutional monarchy.  Voters cast their ballot for a party not a PM.  In parliamentary democracy parties build coalitions to select the PM.

  • The above simplified synopsis of parliamentary democracy is covered by text books in the library.

• The current PM represents the PPP a replacement for the outlawed Thai Rak Thai party of ousted PM Thaksin.

  • Thaksin was exiled by the September 19, 2006.  Military Coup D' Etat  & convicted in absentia of multiple criminal offenses in 2008.  Thaksin  is making daily statements for Somchai to use force against PAD.

  • Nov 20, '08:  The UK revoked Thaksin's Visa for his criminal acts.

  • "Do you know how many countries there are in the world? There are 197. And only 17 have an extradition treaty with Thailand," Thaksin smirks "Better still, only 10 of those treaties are active. So, don't you worry about me, I still have many places to stay...

  • Ousted PM Somchai is Thaksin's brother-in-law & was appointed by the majority coalition,  PPP.

• In my apartment building (& at work) most of us, expats & white collar Thai, support PAD .. ??