Political un-rest and rally

[BaaBaa.]

I don't understand all the hate for "Mark" if it wasn't for all the outside influences, I think the man himself would/could have been a good PM.

[Big Boy]

Mark? Who is Mark?

[BaaBaa.]

Mark? Who is Mark?

Abhisit!

[Big Boy]

I must be a bit thick tonight - I don't see the connection.

Forget my shortcomings, I'm sure it'll come to me eventually please.

[BaaBaa.]

Blood bath and coup is the way it's going

Trade, tourism and property sales are doomed

The villagers are waiting and geared up to go when the word comes

Why is the Bht still strong????

Richard,

This is not the first time that you've told us that you're village has been mobilised (I've counted at least 3 times). I'm curious, but:

- Who will give the word to advance?

- What type of weapons do they have? Unless they're stupid, they must be going up against a trained/fully armed army with more than just pitch forks.

- How are they going to get to the battle unseen?

- Assuming they have been armed by Thaksin, how are the logisticians going to keep them supplied with bullets and food?

- Do they have a forward operating base, or does the supply chain have to stretch back to the village.

Or are they just going as a rabble to provide the cannon fodder required for the bloodbath?

I'm interested in your reply to this Richard incase you missed it.

[BaaBaa.]

The cleanup. STICKMAN BKK

[caller]

I thought this an interesting article from the Guardian by a Thai (national) scholar currently based at Stanford(?) University in America. Also worth trawling through the usual comments in response to the very last and a link to an interesting article from the Wall Street Journal.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/ma ... ts-abhisit

[PeteC]

I'll never stop preaching the need for Thailand to gut and rebuild from scratch their education system, or that the upper classes need to see the light and begin to incorporate the rural poor into the decision making process. However, over this past week I've lost a lot of sympathy and consideration for your average Red Shirt.

The rank and file have been used and manipulated and they still don't realize it. The SOB Thaksin has set the organization up like a corporation. Here's a breakdown as I see it concerning the main Bangkok activities. There are mini versions of this all over the country as we've seen.

At the top you have Thaksin. Beneath that we have directors who handled the cash and overall management. We've seen their names and names of their companies on the recent asset freeze list. Many ex-Generals and high class people on that list.

Beneath that you have about 8-10 leaders, some of whom are specialized in keeping the rank and file content and tuned in by their 'best friend' and 'big brother' approach, and some of whom manage and direct the gangsters and keep the flames of violence raging.

Beneath that you have a large band of trained thugs, gangsters and enforcers who were and still are responsible for the activities we've seen, as well as putting together that stockpile of weapons, bombs and bomb making equipment SJ mentioned that was discovered yesterday. They are also responsible for ID card confiscation and member intimidation to keep people in line.

Beneath that you have the rank and file without whom there would be no organization. These people must be kept happy, but how do you do that and maintain it?

The most basic approach is to pay them a salary higher than another company would, and that's been done. Thaksin endeared himself to them while PM with his rural programs and is now simply carrying on with his benevolent approach. This is where the competition failed miserably (the government) in allowing Thaksin Inc., to do what he did as PM and then the current government didn't follow through and has continuously lost support.

However, with salary there also must be a carrot concerning advancement in the future to keep people happy. This is where things become unclear at present. If Thaksin returned to power, what would he do to keep the masses happy? He perhaps could care less and do a Pol Pot, as his friend Hun Sen is an expert in that area. He could sack all the upper and middle management of every corporation here and replace them with up-country folk....no...the country would collapse.

What I think he would do is put the entire rural north and northeast on the dole permanently by raising taxes everywhere else. This would keep them happy and in his back pocket come election time or time for another demonstration. We all know people who love to get something for nothing so that plan could be a winner. Thaksin and his cronies would continue to get richer.

Those folks who are smarter wouldn't be happy with that and would want something more in terms of jobs, industry, opportunity etc. He could probably give them that as well, and this is the area where the current government needs to wake up immediately and put programs in place to show these people they have a sustainable future and a voice in the country. They have to tell the Yellow Shirts to shut up and proceed to wrestle loyalty back from Thaksin or we'll have violence endlessly in the future. There is no quick fix for education. It will take a generation or two before any new programs bear fruit.

All those people sitting, praying and listening to speeches in Bangkok I don't look upon with disdain, but with pity. They're hoping and praying for a better life but don't realize they're being used at the same time by a man who deep inside couldn't care less. If on Wednesday the leaders decided to do a Jim Jones-Guyana routine and hand out paper cups with grape juice, I think by the time the soldiers got there they would have found a few thousand lifeless bodies. That's how deep I think their despair really is and how strong manipulation of them has been. The Government has an opportunity and as already said they need to act NOW or the evil empire wins. Pete

[BaaBaa.]

Good post Pete.......................until the dole part.

[STEVE G]

I thought this an interesting article from the Guardian by a Thai (national) scholar currently based at Stanford(?) University in America. Also worth trawling through the usual comments in response to the very last and a link to an interesting article from the Wall Street Journal.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/ma ... ts-abhisit

I couldn't get that WSJ link to work from the comments page; was the article in question 'Sacrifices in Bangkok'?

[PeteC]

Some good photos and maps so I post the link only. Pete

http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/local/1 ... ion-mourns

[margaretcarnes]

Good post Pete.......................until the dole part.

Yes I know what you mean BaaBaa - but Thai people certainly deserve a more structured programme of education and welfare IMO, and it doesn't have to be quite as extreme as it is in parts of the West. But at the end of the day they need a much more structured approach to farming as well - which is the main occupation of the rural poor. Somehow someone must be able to strike a workeable balance which ensures a gradual improvement in conditions, while maintaining the basic class status quo. It could take a very long time.

[PeteC]

A piece of history gone. Pete

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/home/20 ... 29892.html

A farewell to Siam Theatre
By Parinyaporn Pajee
The Nation
Published on May 21, 2010

Hundreds of comments and eulogies have been written and posted at Pantip.com and on Facebook since last night's arson attack on Siam Theatre, as film fans and Bangkok residents share their memories and sadness at the burning of one of Bangkok's oldest cinemas.

Siam Theatre was one of only a few standalone cinemas in town. It was much more than just a theatre, holding many memories for film lovers since opening its doors 44 years ago.

"The first film screened at Siam Theatre was "Battle of the Bulge" aka "Rot Thung Prajan Ban". I went to see it 44 years ago and sat in the front row as that's where the cheapest seats were - a ticket cost just Bt7," says well known architect Yodyium Theptaranon on Facebook.

"I remember the fun I had watching 'Jurassic Park' with my gang," writes "Don't care never die."

"I never knew how much the theatre meant to me until yesterday. I cried. Hope the place will be back soon, I'll wait for you," says "Ranmachan."

"Siam and Lido theatres are the venues where I can watch movies alone and not feel lonely. I trust the staff in their yellow suits who take care of us very well. My tears fell when I watched the news and I thought of the staff and the uncle in yellow. I am sure they feel sad like us," says "Sao Na sasi" at Chalermthai.

"Even though I've only watched movies at Lido and Scala, I think the atmosphere is the same. Siam Theatre is a symbol, a meeting place. It's a place where there are a lot of memories. I cried when watching the news. Can you get anything by burning these places except more conflict?" writes "kokoro_kim".

The 800-seat Siam theatre opened on December 15, 1966 with the film "Battle of the Bulge" ("Rot Thung Prajan Ban") starring Henry Fonda and Robert Shaw. It was the first place in Thailand to boast an escalator.

The nearby Lido Theatre opened two years later on June 27, 1968, premiering with the Western "Guns for San Sebastian" ("Suek Sebastian") starring Anthony Quinn. The 1,000 seat Scala theatre opened the following year, on December 31, 1969.

Originally to be called Chula, the name was changed to Siam following strong opposition from critics who felt it inappropriate to give a cinema the same name as a monarch.

The three cinemas under the APEX chain have been popular for decades.

While Scala is where Hollywood blockbusters are generally screened, Siam has long been the theatre of choice for Thai films, among them MC Chatreechalerm Yukol's "Khon Liang Chang" ("The Elephant Keeper") and the acclaimed film noir by Manop Udomdej, "Kaloke Bang Tai Chai Kaloke Na Tai Korn" ("The Dumb Die Fast, The Smart Die Slow").

Following a fire at Lido cinema in 1993 and its reconstruction and remodelling as a three theatre multiplex, the Apex chain has adapted to current trends, showing both blockbusters and alternative movies, including festival winners, Asian films and Thai independent films. The advantages include longer screening periods, warm and welcoming staff and cheaper tickets.

Siam Theatre and the surrounding area were up for demolition next year by the landowner Chulalongkorn University. According to the master plan, it will be replaced be a modern shopping complex.

[buksida]

I'll never stop preaching the need for Thailand to gut and rebuild from scratch their education system, or that the upper classes need to see the light and begin to incorporate the rural poor into the decision making process. However, over this past week I've lost a lot of sympathy and consideration for your average Red Shirt.

Excellent post Pete, thoroughly agree. TRT did squat for education in 8 years, there is an obvious reason for this and it is exactly what you're hinting at. If the reds truly want a better life they should fight for a system that educates their children and gives them better opportunities, not for a man that offers them short-term handouts. By aligning themselves with Thaksin their argument is pure hypocrisy, he has got seriously rich off the backs of manipulated masses and they're still dirt poor - go figure. Granted, the Democrats are no better and couldn't give a hoot about them either.

[PeteC]

Ironic justice? Perhaps the total will come to about 46 Billion? Thank you Mr. Thaksin. Pete

BANGKOK VIOLENCE
Billions readied for economic restoration
By The Nation
Published on May 21, 2010

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/home/20 ... 29872.html

The Finance Ministry is prepared to spend billions of baht on emergency measures to restore the violence-battered economy, as it is clear that the financial damage will shave off the perspective gross domestic product by 0.5 percentage point.

Finance Minister Korn Chatikavanij said yesterday that short-term remedial measures would soon be tabled for the Cabinet's consideration, which could entail cash giveaways and tax incentives.

"It's not conclusive yet how much money is needed, but initially it is estimated to be billions of baht. This is aimed at restoring the economy and ease troubles of individuals and business operators. The impact has spreaded out to those living and doing business outside the Rajprasong area," he said.

He noted that the soft loan package, proposed to help tourism operators, may be insufficient as the GDP growth rate is chopped by 0.5 percentage point after the violence. The measures will cover all economic sectors and individuals who lose jobs or earn less income due to the violence. He hoped that once public buses and train services resume and there is no more violence, the economic restoration process could be carried out in a smoother manner.

Korn vowed to apply Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva's roadmap in addressing social and economic inequalities in a concrete way. He also stressed that it is necessary to win consensus from all parties in solving the problems - public sector, the business sector, politicians and individuals. He noted that the economy cannot show progress under unstable political condition.

Departing to Japan yesterday for an Asia-Pacific seminar on behalf of the prime minister, Korn said he would update all participants of Thailand's political and economic conditions.