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I wish we had a King like Thailand's! When the boys don't play nice, you know he will always be there for the people. And so he did it again, in what must be the politest coup in histroy...

Chok dee with the clean slate!
09/21/06 @ 01:49
Comment from: pundit
Marshall? Martial Law perhaps.
09/21/06 @ 09:13
Comment from: Steve Suphan
Noticed we had three Bangkok based bloggers - Richard Barrow, Gnarlykitty and Bkk Pundit sharing live coverage of the coup while it was happening. Nothing like that in past coups.

There really does seem to be calm on the streets. A lot of people are talking about the coup but it isn't getting to anyone's head. Most folk are still prefering to tune into soap operas and talk about the lottery or English football.

All the coverage on Thai TV is positive with lots of footage of Bangkokians giving flowers to soldiers and having their foto taken with tanks.

Quite amazing that the head of the coup is a Muslim, who would ever have believed that! Hopefully that factor will help the troubled south.

According to Thai TV, Gen Sonthi is really in charge with:
'We ask that everybody obey the orders of Gen Sonthi"
repeatedly said 10 times an hour.
09/21/06 @ 10:17
I think most Thai military coups in the history were not violent ones too... I mean except for some. :)

AF is... don't even know what to say. AF 3 is the worst I think. I'm glad that it's already gone. I'm happier watching the footage of the King and the royal family playing over and over again while the coup was going on. Amazing. :)

We're really taking it so easy. I think I might even meet up with some friends at the cafe near by. The famous Gnarly Kitz might come along too. :) Let's hope that there would only be 4 people max! hehehe. :)
09/21/06 @ 13:54
Comment from: scooby
I can't think of any other country in the world which could have a Coup without any violence, without a single shot being fired.
We love you Thailand.
Oh i wish I was a punk rocker with flowers in my hair...
09/21/06 @ 14:33
Comment from: marklatham
Thailand's national slogan should be "coups are us"
I have been in a coup situation in bangkok and it's great,national holiday and no traffic-except a few tanks.
Bloodshed is rare.
However aussie legend journo neil davis died in the 1985 coup.
I think he was shot by a tank.
09/21/06 @ 16:10
Comment from: khunlungphudu
Nice one Oakmonster. Like your style.
My view is much the same, if it don't work, bin it and start again.
With the major players on the political scene behaveing like a bunch 3 year olds with only one ball, there was surely only one answer, someone had to take away their ball!
09/21/06 @ 16:12
Comment from: Pompenkroo
I wonder how much trust we should have in a person who, only a few months ago said, and I quote, "There won't be a military coup, that's a thing of the past."

I wonder...
09/21/06 @ 18:13
Pompenkroo: Please remember the first law of politics:
Never, ever, believe anything until it has been officially denied ! 555.
09/21/06 @ 18:47
Comment from: Steve Suphan · http://www.stevesuphan.com
Pls readers and commenteers:
Thailand is now under Martial Law, so we must be very careful what we say. In fact, we aren't even...supposedly.....allowed to discuss the current political situation on the Internet. We may have to be stricter with implementing comment moderating.
09/21/06 @ 18:59
Comment from: Maria
Hey! I´m from Brazil, and watching this military coup with some "desire". Here in Brazil it was more than necessary, almost a obligation! Corruption is a disease here! Hope evertyhing be fine in Thai. Greatings from Brazil.
09/21/06 @ 19:02
Comment from: Chino1
I believed the coup is the right one, how in the world Prime Minister showed Thai citizens how to cheat tax by using tactic of his position, what if you and I don't pay tax we will be jailed or we have account off shore they will hunt us down and seize the accounts, NO NO not for the Prime Minister what a shame the rich he is the more greet he is.
09/21/06 @ 20:14
Point taken, Steve. For the record, my comment was meant as a humerous generalisation and I meant no disrespect at all to any member of Thailand's interim government.
09/21/06 @ 20:50
Comment from: oakmonster · http://www.oakmonster.com
Wow...look at all these responses. OakMonster's most popular post ever! Yey! ;-)

Thanks everyone for your comments!

And yes, also agreed with Steve and Khun Don. I'm trying to keep it light...so help me keeping it light okay? :)

KorBua: I watched 2 concerts of AF3 while I was at home, Mother's Day and the "Hip Hop" one. I already decide then that Tui was going to win because he was the only one who can hold a tune. Haha!

Scooby: I wish I had flowers in my hair too...although I'd choose to be a hippy over punk rocker. Weed over cocaine, baby. ;-) Just kidding.

Mark: Oh yes. I can picture it. Getting off the plane in Suwannabhumi: Welcome to Thailand. Have you had your coup today?

Khun Don: Touche, my friend. Touche.

Maria: I see corruption is a problem everywhere. My Taiwanese coworker discussed the same thing with me yesterday.

Again, thanks you guys for stopping by. Y'all make me feel all warm and fuzzy now. :)
09/21/06 @ 22:06
Comment from: Anonymous Outsider
Sorry to make a serious point. I don't think Thaksin was right to do what he did but I can't agree with a coup because people were going to have a choice in the election in a month's time. You have to realise that Thailand is now under a military dictatorship, and will be for at least a year until the next election (the new PM picked in 2 weeks will not be democratically elected and just a puppet for the military). Who are they to have the right to censor the news and stop people from protesting peacefully? They don't think about what people from the outside will see, other countries will think that politics in Thailand has taken many steps backward and no better than Burma. As Steve pointed out that we're not even supposed to be discussing it.... This is something that people from the outside will see as stopping freedom of expression. Again sorry to be serious but I'd just like to add my two cents.
09/21/06 @ 23:03
Hehe thanks for the shoutout P' Oakley

Coup or no coup, I don't really see the difference. The free speech rights are still going to be suppressed with or without us being under Martial Law.. In my opinion, it's not political, it's cultural and that's hard to change.

I wanna go take pictures with the tanks too. Are they still around?
09/21/06 @ 23:26
Comment from: Richard Barrow Email · http://www.richardbarrow.com
Yes, there are still plenty of tanks to go around. Some pictures for today can be seen at thaiphotoblogs.com
09/21/06 @ 23:37
Coups in Thailand appear to be the norm. I finally got the chance to call my mom (who lives in California) last night, but the first thing she wanted to talk about was what I was going to eat when I'm visiting her this weekend! And then the last 5 minutes of our conversation was about Thaksin's removal. We sure know our priorities...

I just receieved an email from my cousins in Nonthaburi and Chainat, and they say the situation is calm. I hope it remains that way.
09/22/06 @ 00:06

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