Hidden in plain sight
It was perhaps the most real-time documented Coup d’état in history. Hundreds of ex-pats were posting on a popular internet forum what was going on outside there window, and the server was swamped. The one thing that was noticed was the Thai People were all for the military intervention, and fear was replaced with sighs of relief and celebration in the coming days. Continue reading Post ID 15871
As the Red Shirts continued to evolve they became more bold and violent. They changed from simply protecting their own turf to actively attacking others who were trying to show their political views that were against corruption. Their first targets were the Yellow Shirt Protests that started mid 2008. For lack of a better general description, the Red Shirts became enforcers of corruption. Continue reading Post ID 15871
When the Red Shirts first appeared, they were fairy mainstream along one of Thailand’s political ideologies. But in the past year or so they have been drifting to the more radical to enforce their ideology and not let it ebb and flow in a democratic way with other ideologies. Continue reading Post ID 15871
It was not that long ago that the people of rural northeast Thailand felt that the political happenings in Bangkok were worlds away and really made no difference in their simple but poor lifestyle. That was then, but now those simple but poor Thai people have learned the hard way of what happens when you embrace highly corrupt politicians as saviors. Continue reading Post ID 15871
Things were quiet and the people of Thailand welcomed the September 2006 Coup with open arms. That quiet lasted about 90 days and then bombs started going off in and around Bangkok. It first was implied to be terrorist related, but after careful examination it was established the bombings were political. Continue reading Post ID 15871
Let it not be said that some of the efforts of Thaksin’s proxy Government to attack anti-Thaksin protesters are without humor. The attacking methods they are using are backfiring one after the other making the Government look incompetent and at the same time providing more evidential support why they need to be removed from office. Continue reading Post ID 15871
It is fairly clear to any casual onlooker that the Thai Government is in trouble. The behaviors seen are consistent with other Governments just before they collapsed. The behaviors include blatant and obvious lies and what appears to be fighting over scraps in an effort to hold on to it’s last bit of dignity. Continue reading Post ID 15871
Saying Thailand’s education system is very far below par is an understatement. It is the root cause of the political problems that have been plaguing Thailand for many years. But to say the Thai education system is the first domino in the line would be wrong. Thai political problems are both the end result and the cause, and that is the first domino in the line. Continue reading Post ID 15871
Looking at the size of pro and Anti Thaksin mobs tells a lot about how people feel. When you start to consider all the factors like people being paid to attend pro Thaksin rallies with some of them being Cambodian just to pump up the size and psychological impact, you start to see much of this as being a mind game. Continue reading Post ID 15871
In what appears to be a repeat of 2005 when then Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra huge amounts of corruption was just to big to hide, the Thaksin supported rice pledging scheme appears to be a repeat of that unpleasant discovery. If that is the case, then the pieces of the puzzle seem to be pointing to the end of the pro Thaksin Government. Continue reading Post ID 15871
Seeing that no matter where you seem to look now in Thailand, the reality of a forced reconciliation plan is Dead on Arrival. The hopes of both sides that the plan would force the other side to change has hit a reality check. Continue reading Post ID 15871
When it comes to things you should not do in order to keep the peace, leave it to the pro Thaksin government to dive head first into doing the wrong thing. But when you are dealing with someone who is clearly psychotic and the only goal is to get back all that was taken, and pick up raping and pillaging the country where they left off, you have a formula that is not what the doctor ordered. Continue reading Post ID 15871
The People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD) had significant strength when going after Thaksin Shinawatra. They successfully achieved their goals with leverage to spare. But now it seems that when a new target is in their sights, the number of supporters dwindles. Continue reading Post ID 15871
Being passionate about one political position or the other in Thailand seems to be the new norm. However it seems all sides are wandering far from the truth to push their own agenda, and this is a recipe that will ultimately lead to disaster. Just ask any company that cooked their books and now is a former company. The truth will sooner or later catch up and the outcome will not be good. Continue reading Post ID 15871