I know a lot of the gay web masters are out there - what's going on is it really news worthy or just a routine thing?
BBC News - As it happened: Thailand coup
BBC News - As it happened: Thailand coup
Thailand coup
- Thread starter goldmercury
- Start date
I'd say it's pretty serious this time around. We have a country wide 10pm - 5am curfew imposed by the military until further notice. All TV & radio in the country has been cut, except for broadcasts from the army. There's rumors floating that internet will get cut shortly, but that remains to be seen.
All that aside, generally coups like this aren't a big deal here, but I think this one has the chance to turn ugly. The two main political factions are just so polarized, I have a difficult time seeing how they'll come to a peaceful resolution. I'm guessing it'll be quite calm for the next good month or two, and then you'll begin seeing some unrest. How the military puts down those pockets of unrest will be a telling story.
I'm planning to move to Uruguay soon, so as long as they can hold the bloodshed off until I'm outta here, I don't give a fuck.
All that aside, generally coups like this aren't a big deal here, but I think this one has the chance to turn ugly. The two main political factions are just so polarized, I have a difficult time seeing how they'll come to a peaceful resolution. I'm guessing it'll be quite calm for the next good month or two, and then you'll begin seeing some unrest. How the military puts down those pockets of unrest will be a telling story.
I'm planning to move to Uruguay soon, so as long as they can hold the bloodshed off until I'm outta here, I don't give a fuck.
What region? Looking at returning to chiang mai next year provided the country doesn't go down in flames.
Feeling pretty lucky over here in Kansas. 
It really is too polarized to keep going on the way it has; not to mention the King is just too old and infirm for that stabilizing force to remain in place for much longer.
Matt, is there any sign of the military leaning towards the red or the yellow? Have they stayed perfectly impartial so far?
It really is too polarized to keep going on the way it has; not to mention the King is just too old and infirm for that stabilizing force to remain in place for much longer.
Matt, is there any sign of the military leaning towards the red or the yellow? Have they stayed perfectly impartial so far?
Feeling pretty lucky over here in Kansas.
Didn't tornado season just start?
Kidding aside, you raise valid questions.
They've been VERY careful to be impartial, and it's apparent. They know full well if they show favor to either side, it's almost guaranteed civil war, so it's safe to assume the military will remain 100% impartial.
Again, telling tale will be how the military deals with the upcoming unrest. Are they going to use a scalpel or sledgehammer, type of thing? Just today the military rolled up to the protest sites in BKK with tanks, hummers, APCs, and buses and told all the protesters, "get the fuck on the buses, you're going home". Just because those people went home doesn't mean they're calling it quits though. They'll regroup, devise new plans, and be out again in short order.
NE Thailand unfortunately, but yeah, Chiang Mai is a great city! If you're someone who stays for months at a time on tourist VISAs, you may want to think twice, as immigration recently decided to crackdown on that, and are being completed cunts. And apparently, their cuntiness level will increase on Aug 12th. For example:
http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic...ity-mounts-as-tourist-visa-abuse-is-targeted/
If anything, this should scare the shit out of you. Granted, the military declared martial law a few days ago so had some time to mobilize and prepare, but do you have any idea how quickly this happened? And if Thailand is capable of mobilizing this quickly and efficiently against the domestic population, just imagine what type of preparations the US govt has in place.
Earlier today the main Army General called leaders of both sides to a meeting. They were unable to come to a resolution, so the General got pissed off and said, "fuck you guys, you're all under arrest, and I'm now in control of the country, thank you very much!". Then boom, leaders of both parties under military detention, TV & radio cut off to all 63 million residents, 10pm curfew installed, and come say 11pm the entire country is a ghost town.
Just reading other forums, the whole country is a ghost town -- tourist areas, bars, 7/11's, gas stations, etc. Only military out, and they're running around taking over local police stations, etc. If they can move this quickly in Thailand, just think what preparations the US military has in place to quell any domestic unrest.
LOL. Are you for real? There is a reason I pay a "premium" not to live in a developing country. And coups left and right is one of them.
Let's see, when was the last time we had a military coup and curfew throughout the US? Oh that's right, never.
Not sure it's a fair comparison when the US has more than 1 gun per citizen owned privately, compared with thailand's 15 guns per hundred citizens...
I miss Thailand occasionally.. But right now I'm glad to be back in the land of coke and hookers.
You are failing to allow for the massive power of culture and precedence.
How many coups has Thailand had in the last 100 years? 11? They seem to happen at least once a decade, sometimes twice. Hence there is a precedence for them, people come to expect them and the Thai Generals have had a lot of practice at them, hence how quickly they did it.
How many coups have there been in the United States? In their case precedence massively acts against one happening in the future. They've got zero practice at this - look at the muddle they got into after 9/11 when they tried to put their protocol into action and Cheney was giving orders he shouldn't have been and poor old Dubya was left circling in the sky for hours on end. That's the difference between theory and practice.
The American cultural precedence against this type of stuff is so strong that they even treated their Japanese citizens better than the Canadians did theirs during WW2. The Japanese-Canadians were all interned and their businesses and property seized and sold (to the tune of $2.5 billion). The Americans were interned, but their assets were only frozen and returned to them together with reparations, and in places like Hawaii, the local legislatures successfully prevented the majority of Japanese-Americans being interned at all.
That's the difference between how cultural precedence works for and against in each case.
Thailand is a big old mess because the Thais go along with all these coups. They seem to pride themselves on carrying on and pretending it's all not happening, which is a form of collusion in itself. Anywhere else there'd be uproar and lawsuits flying.
The odds of getting murdered in your Premium Safe Developed Country is pretty fuckin high. Like, you're 50 percent more likely to get murdered in the US than in the non-premium, cheap ass, developing country of Turkey.
So it's great that you're paying a premium for a better chance for getting killed. Awesome.