That explains the inordinate MSM focus on protests as well as the stick-to-it coverage.
Also see: If At First You Don't Succeed, Thai, Thai Again
Must have needed about six months to go operational, 'eh?
And what was the trigger?
"Thai Supreme Court seizes $1.4b from ex-premier’s assets" by Seth Mydans and Thomas Fuller, New York Times | February 27, 2010
BANGKOK - The case resonates in Thailand beyond the assets of one man, part of a long-running and sporadically violent confrontation that has divided the country.
So who wants to conquer it, 'eh?
Cui Bono?
It has pitted the nation’s rural and urban poor, who support Thaksin, against the established ruling class, whose control of the political system he challenged during his six years as prime minister....
Really?
"Former Left-Right Alliance against Globalization and America
by Thongchai Winichakul
28 July 2008
Article
Almost all Thai rightists I interviewed for my recent research perceived that the threats to Thailand today are capitalism and America. Even lifelong anti-communist ‘Phor’, an alias used for this research, who has tenaciously held the idea of national security being under threat from two strands of communism, sees that Thailand has to be cautious of the CIA interfering and agitating groups of Thai people to the point of being a threat to security. Of course, they were well aware that the threats from capitalism and America are not one and the same as the communist threat.
The rightists’ discourse of capitalist threat obviously differs from the leftists’ Maoist anti-capitalist discourse of 30 years ago. These rightists speak pretty much the same anti-neo-liberalism and anti-globalization language which Thai intellectuals and activists have adopted since after Oct 6, 1976.
Although all the interviews were done years after the 1997 economic crisis, the pain caused by the capitalist crisis was still alive in their memories. Their discourse on the cause of the crisis turned out to be nationalist and against ‘farang’ or western capitalism, pointing to western capitalist giants led by the US bullying emergent smaller capitalist nations. For the ease of digestion and propagation, it was made a story of conspiracy among a handful of global political and financial figures, often including George Soros in particular. The ‘Washington Consensus’ was understood simply as a plot by western capitalist neo-conservatives to destroy smaller states. With the calamity besetting Thai nationalist capital which had eagerly embraced globalization over a decade earlier, globalization has become undesirable. Their discourse against western capitalism was therefore not of a socialist bent, but was outright nationalist, against those ugly farangs abusing decent Thais.
Most of the interviews were done during the years of Thaksin administration which was seen as representing the evil western capitalism, subsequently labelled as ‘vicious or immoral capital’. The exasperation against Thaksin and globalization and the global anti-American sentiment fed into one another. Among the rightists I interviewed then, only one person liked the Thaksin government, and the rest were suspicious of Thaksin because he was pushing the agenda of globalization.
--MORE--"Why must the Amerikan MSM LIE ABOUT EVERY STINKING THING?
The paradox of Thaksin’s political movement - that a billionaire has inspired large swaths of poor, disaffected voters with populist policies such as inexpensive health care and financial assistance - was on display yesterday at the headquarters of the main opposition party....
How come you can't get that, America?
And are you loving the never-ending lies about Thailand?
--more --"
Must have pissed somebody off, huh?
"Thai protesters seek new elections; 100,000 rally for restoration of democracy" by Thanyarat Doksone, Associated Press | March 15, 2010
BANGKOK — As many as 100,000 people demonstrated peacefully against Thailand’s government at a party-like rally yesterday, but the capital was being kept on edge by their threat to continue protesting until Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva calls new elections.
Oh, an APPROVED PROTEST by the AGENDA-PUSHING PAPER!
You can tell just by the tone.
Loud pop music and rural delicacies such as spicy papaya salad competed with fiery rhetoric for the attention of the crowd, many of whom had come from provinces in the countryside. The festive tone was aided by hundreds of new arrivals coming from boats festooned with red banners on the Chao Phraya River.
Please keep all this in mind for later, dear readers.
The so-called Red Shirts — comprising followers of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra and their allies — rallied along a boulevard that is a traditional venue for political protests.
Might as well have CIA printed on them.
The protesters, formally grouped as the United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship, have been flexible in their tactics and deadlines, but are demanding Abhisit dissolve Parliament and call new elections, which they believe will restore their political allies to power.
They believe Abhisit took office illegitimately with the connivance of the military and other parts of the traditional ruling class who were alarmed by Thaksin’s popularity, particularly among the poor. Thaksin, who became prime minister in 2001 and whose party easily won two elections, was ousted by a 2006 military coup for alleged corruption and abuse of power.
More rigged elections?
The Red Shirts set a deadline of noon today for Abhisit to heed their call, or face disruptive street protests. They said they would go this morning to an infantry base on Bangkok’s outskirts to confront Abhisit, who has taken the precaution of sheltering there.
Abhisit indicated yesterday that for now, he had no plans to dissolve Parliament.
Thaksin spoke to the rally by video link last night, urging the crowd to continue their struggle peacefully, and emphasizing that he considered the so-called ammart, or elite, the enemy. Thaksin himself is a billionaire businessman who fled Thailand in 2008 ahead of being convicted for a conflict of interest violation and sentenced to two years in jail.
Oh, so this is an INTERNAL BATTLE of ELITES in Thailand, huh?
How do you like the FOOLEYS, 'murkn?!
“The people who caused the problems in the country these days are the ruling elites,’’ declared Thaksin, speaking from an undisclosed location outside of Thailand.
Funny. We have the same problem in AmeriKa.
I propose the same solution:
So this guy is the Dick Cheney of Thailand, huh?
Coming to you from England.
“To solve problems related to democracy, equality and justice — the ruling elites won’t be able to do that because they don’t have the conscience. The people will have to do it.’’
I DO AGREE with all of that!
Now bend over, scum.
He accused his opponents of keeping Thailand in a state of underdevelopment and suggested that if he returned to power, he would redistribute wealth, stop flooding in Bangkok, and keep Thailand economically competitive with its neighbors.
Other speakers employed crude personal invective, especially against Prem Tinsulanonda, 89, a former prime minister who is the top adviser to King Bhumibol Adulyadej. The demonstrators blame Prem for orchestrating the 2006 military coup that toppled Thaksin.
The protest had been billed as a “million man march,’’ though organizers had said they hoped for a turnout of 400,000-600,000. Protest leader Natthawut Saikua said he believed more than a half million people turned up, while estimates from the police and other government agencies ranged from 50,000 to 150,000.
Who knows what to believe then, 'eh?
Over-counts and under-counts.
There had been widespread worries ahead of the protest about possible violence, and a force of 50,000 soldiers, police, and other security personnel was mobilized in the capital area. The Red Shirts’ last major protest in Bangkok April 2009 deteriorated into rioting that left two people dead, more than 120 people injured and buses burned on major thoroughfares before the army quashed the unrest.
“We are being vigilant. We are still concerned about the third hand that might instigate troubles,’’ Panithan Wattanayakorn, a government spokesman, said last night. “But the Red Shirts are adamant about keeping their rally peaceful, and so far they have been peaceful. Everything has been done step by step. Every side is cautious.’’
--more--"
BANGKOK — Antigovernment protesters started donating their own blood today as part of a plan to splatter the Thai government headquarters in a symbolic sacrifice to press their demands for new elections.
Oh, now THAT is MORBID and SICK!!!
Hundreds of demonstrators formed long lines to have their blood drawn by nurses, a day after their leaders vowed to collect 1 million cubic centimeters of blood — the equivalent of 1,000 standard soft drink bottles
(or about 264 gallons according to the printed paper on my desk. Why the change, MSM? Doesn't sound so bad when it is a soda bottle, huh?)
— to spill at Government House by tonight, a tactic slammed by the Red Cross as wasteful and potentially unhygienic.
Yeah, the Red Cross is RIGHT! What a WASTE!!!
People NEED BLOOD in this world to LIVE!
As many as 100,000 “Red Shirt’’ protesters converged Sunday on Bangkok to demand that Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva agree to dissolve parliament by midday yesterday. Abhisit refused and blanketed the capital in security, but said his government was open to listening to what else the protesters have to say.
I don't think they want to be heard. They just want to push their agenda.
Weng Tojirakarn, a protest leader and doctor, said the blood plan would test Abhisit’s conscience. “Now that people have agreed to sacrifice their blood like this, how can he not make a sacrifice by dissolving the parliament,’’ Weng asked.
The Red Shirts include supporters of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra and other activists who oppose the 2006 military coup that ousted him for alleged corruption and abuse of power. They believe Abhisit came to power illegitimately with the connivance of the military and other parts of the traditional ruling class who were alarmed by Thaksin’s popularity.
Tired of the distortions and deceptions yet, readers?
Yesterday, thousands of protesters departed from their encampment in downtown Bangkok to besiege an army base on the edge of the capital where Abhisit has partly been based during the protests. He also is believed to have departed the base several times by helicopter.
Really PUSHING the ENVELOPE, aren't they-- as if they WANT to PROVOKE the military, cui bono?
Protesters beseeched soldiers from outside the gates of the 11th Infantry Regiment, but withdrew after their noon deadline passed without even seeing the prime minister. Soldiers played songs composed by the Thai king in a bid to keep things calm.
Yes, because the ARMY KNOWS that it is the fish in the water and doesn't need bad world press.
Abhisit told a nationwide television audience that his government’s goal is not to “remain entrenched’’ but that it would not step down in response to the protesters. “The government must listen to the demonstrators. Although the demand can’t be met by noon, we are willing to hear what they say,’’ he said.
Charnvit Kasetsiri, a Thai historian, said the government has not come out ahead in the episode. “The fact that the prime minister has to resort to staying at the military base and nobody is aware of his whereabouts now indicates that the situation isn’t looking good,’’ he said. “The Red Shirts’ plan to pour blood is both symbolic and dynamic. They won’t back down that easily.’’
Unless the CIA tells them to or they fail, in which case they will be abandoned.
Two soldiers were wounded yesterday by four grenades that exploded inside the compound of the 1st Infantry Regiment, known as the King’s Own Bodyguard, army spokesman Colonel Sansern Kaewkamnerd said. He did not blame Red Shirt demonstrators, who were not in the area, but said there has been intelligence that some elements had been planning such attacks.
What do you know? For once a government wasn't running a false flag.
Oh, right, that is what CIA assets do.
After withdrawing from the 11th Infantry base, protest organizers announced they were asking each demonstrator to donate between two and 20 teaspoons — 10 to 100 cubic centimeters — of blood. Their initial goal would be to collect 264 gallons, which would require donations from between 10,000 and 100,000 people — roughly the protest crowd’s peak size.
Yeah, it never gets to be any more than that because that is all the support the globalists have there.
Dr. Ubonwon Charoonruangrit, a senior official of the Thai Red Cross Society, worried about the risks of untrained people drawing blood. She added that the collected blood “can save many lives.’’
Yeah, but who cares? This is symbolic!
I mean, it is not like they are DYING for the cause, is it? Just dumping a pail of blood on Parliament steps.
Hey, that might not be such a BAD IDEA, Americans!
Some 100,000 Red Shirt protesters have been camped out along a boulevard in of Bangkok, though their number had visibly fallen yesterday.
Uh-oh.
A force of more than 50,000 security personnel has been mobilized in the capital.
For a second straight day, Thaksin spoke to the demonstrators by video, urging them to continue their struggle in a nonviolent fashion.So no more grenade-rolling, 'kay?
--more--"
And the P.R. prick must have backfired.
Back down to a brief today, dear readers:
BANGKOK — Thai protesters seeking a change of government turned to shock tactics yesterday, pouring gallons of their own blood into a glistening puddle at the gate of the prime minister’s office.
Rather than into the veins of people who really needed it, huh?
The dramatic gesture, repeated in front of the headquarters of Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiava’s Democrat Party, grabbed attention but put the “Red Shirt’’ protest movement no closer to its goal of forcing new elections.
More than 100,000 demonstrators from all over the country gathered in Bangkok on Sunday, vowing to keep up their protest until victory.
Since waning, right, MSM?
But Abhisit has rejected their demands to dissolve Parliament, saying only that he will listen to the protesters’ point of view and leaving the situation in a stalemate.
Reporters asked one of the protest leaders what the next move would be, and Veera Musikapong replied, “I want to know that myself.’’ He said the group maps strategy day by day.
Translation: He is waiting for CIA instruction.
The protesters constitute supporters of former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted by a 2006 military coup for alleged corruption, and prodemocracy activists who opposed the army takeover. They believe Abhisit came to power illegitimately with the connivance of the military and other parts of the traditional ruling class who were alarmed by Thaksin’s popularity, particularly among the poor.
Patch and paste paragraph, 'eh, AP? That's how lies take hold and are spread.
Thailand has been in political turmoil since early 2006, when anti-Thaksin demonstrations began.
What?
In 2008, when Thaksin’s political allies came back to power for a year, his “Yellow Shirt’’ opponents occupied the prime minister’s office compound for three months and seized Bangkok’s two airports for a week.
Yeah, the REAL PEOPLE'S PROTEST!!
Yesterday, thousands of Red Shirts formed long lines to have their blood drawn by nurses, a day after their leaders vowed to collect at least 264 gallons to spill at Government House, the prime minister’s office.
--more--"
Also see: CIA Caught Sabotaging Korean Peace
Thailand Drives AmeriKan Gran Torino to Vietnam
Related: The Boston Globe's Invisible Ink: Thailand's Three-Legged Elephant
