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19 Sep 2010 10:48

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World: In Thailand, the Red Shirts are back, albeit more peacefully

The protesters – at least 10,000 of them – were back to mark the anniversary of the bloodless coup that ousted Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

25 May 2010 09:52

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World: Thailand decides to treat old prime minister like terrorist

  • Former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra reportedly funded the Red Shirt protests. And it wasn’t a modest amount, either – over ten weeks, Thaksin reportedly gave $1.5 million to the opposition efforts each day. So now he’s wanted on terrorism charges and could face the death penalty. He hasn’t had a super-charmed life of late – the government took $1.4 billion of his assets in February after an unfavorable high-court decision. The opposition isn’t backing down, either, as they attempted to impeach current PM Abhisit Vejjajiva. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

20 May 2010 00:40

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World: How volatile is Thailand’s government, anyway? Very

  • 1946 the year King Bhumibol Adulyadej took power
  • 20 number of prime ministers the country has had since then
  • 3.2 the average number of years the prime ministers get to server
  • nine number of coups the country has had during Bhumibol’s reign source
  • » It’s a rough system of government. In 1932, absolute monarchy ended in the country. Since then, 17 constitutions have been drafted. Only two of those allowed for entirely elected (rather than appointed) parliaments. Current Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva was appointed to the job after Thaksin Shinawatra was booted from office during a corruption trial that dissolved his political party. Thaksin was protested against, too. Those protesters wore yellow.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

20 May 2010 00:24

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World: Thailand tries to pick up the pieces from a day of chaos

  • Physically we can rebuild Bangkok quickly, but I don’t know how long it will take to cure the psychological damage. We will never forget May 19 in our life time.
  • Bangkok Governor Sukhumbhand Paribatra • Regarding the chaos that surrounded the city in a major way yesterday. The chaos left buildings ablaze for hours, left many injured and forced the government to set a curfew for a third of the country. In the wake of the chaos, Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said that he would harshly punish the “terrorists” who vandalized Bangkok. Exiled former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, whose ouster started this mess in the first place, gave credit to the Red Shirts for surrendering, claiming that the end of the protests saved a lot of lives. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

28 Mar 2010 09:50

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World: Thai protests turn a civil corner, get a live-television airing

  • protesters Thailand’s red-shirt protesters, supporters of ex-Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, were able to get a debate on live TV. One key statement: “Our request is simple and direct: dissolve parliament for the people to decide again.”
  • leader Thai leader Abhisit Vejjajiva was willing to talk to protesters, but made it clear he wouldn’t bend to their demands. “I have to make a decision based on a consensus from the entire country, not just the Red-Shirts,” he said. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

26 Feb 2010 11:40

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World: Thaksin Shinawatra’s bank accounts are looking much lighter today

Why are these women so sad? Because Shinawatra, the former Thai Prime Minister, just had much of his money taken away by a court. Over $1 billion of it. source
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