Thailand and the Red Shirts
- Thread starter hyperion
- Start date
- Status
Japan is super awesome, you'll have a blast
btw, Thaksin blows. That guy preys on the morons and poor of Thailand.
stay safe fo sho - I recommend wearing white, any other color is not safe
btw, Thaksin blows. That guy preys on the morons and poor of Thailand.
stay safe fo sho - I recommend wearing white, any other color is not safe
Time for some WICKEDFIRE WORLD EVENTS EDUCATION
This is what I understand has happened in Thailand, Justin can probably correct me on any of this which may be factually incorrect:
Thakshin Shinawatra, despite being enormously rich, was as enormously popular among the poor in Thailand for implementing a universal health care system, cutting the poverty rate in half in 4 years, gave 1% student loans for poor students and was relatively anti-monarchy, which from what I hear is political suicide in Thailand.
He was overthrown in 2006 and the current leader, Abhisit Vejjajiva, who has basically not made good on his populist promises when he was in opposition and has increased the draconian laws prohibiting criticizing the Thai monarchy.
From what I understand, this has made him hugely unpopular.
The Asia-Pacific summit was supposed to be on this week, and the protests have resulted in it being canclled. Protesters are trying to out Abhisit Vejjajiva. The army has been called in, but so far they have not fired on protesters.
The problem for Abhisit is that he took over Thailand last November, after the yellow shirts held those protests at the Bangkok airport. So basically, Abhisit took power after protests that were just as illegal as this one, so he'll look like a huge hypocrite for going after the red shirts this time.
Thakshin, who is in exile, has praised the protests, so we'll see what happens with all of this...
This is what I understand has happened in Thailand, Justin can probably correct me on any of this which may be factually incorrect:
Thakshin Shinawatra, despite being enormously rich, was as enormously popular among the poor in Thailand for implementing a universal health care system, cutting the poverty rate in half in 4 years, gave 1% student loans for poor students and was relatively anti-monarchy, which from what I hear is political suicide in Thailand.
He was overthrown in 2006 and the current leader, Abhisit Vejjajiva, who has basically not made good on his populist promises when he was in opposition and has increased the draconian laws prohibiting criticizing the Thai monarchy.
From what I understand, this has made him hugely unpopular.
The Asia-Pacific summit was supposed to be on this week, and the protests have resulted in it being canclled. Protesters are trying to out Abhisit Vejjajiva. The army has been called in, but so far they have not fired on protesters.
The problem for Abhisit is that he took over Thailand last November, after the yellow shirts held those protests at the Bangkok airport. So basically, Abhisit took power after protests that were just as illegal as this one, so he'll look like a huge hypocrite for going after the red shirts this time.
Thakshin, who is in exile, has praised the protests, so we'll see what happens with all of this...
You're gonna have wicked culture clash when you go to Japan. It is a little noneventful. Chiba is nice though, close enough to Tokyo to go there but not right in the middle of it. There is nice festivals and fireworks shows there. Might as well do some of the tourist things while you're there.
I was just in Thailand a few months ago (most of the time in Bangkok) and there was no sign of hostility then. It's crazy how fast things turn violent.
WhatupG said:
Well, there you have it. Keep those links safe.
------
On a serious note: Good luck, hyperion.
Because of the chaos and the airport thing last year, the country expects to lose about $5.6B in tourist revenue, plus about 200,000 jobs lost.
that country is about to get a whole lot cheaper, and it's already dirt cheap.
In a few months, if this dies down, Thailand is going to be a great place to hole up and bank
that country is about to get a whole lot cheaper, and it's already dirt cheap.
In a few months, if this dies down, Thailand is going to be a great place to hole up and bank
- Status