Red Shirts | Elephant's Leg

PIMPS, PROXIES AND PREPPIES – THE MOTLEY CREW VYING TO LEAD A NATION

June 30, 2011, 3:43 pm
Filed under: News, People, politics, Thai news, Uncategorized | Tags: Abhisit, Abhisit Vejjajiva, animals, anti-government protests, babies, Bangkok, Ben Owen-Browne, bribes, Britain, buffalo, business, Chuvit, Chuvit Kamolvisit, Chuwit, Chuwit Kamolvisit, corruption, cronyism, death, Democrat Party, Democrats, demographics, dogs, education, election, entertainment, GB, general election, Great Britain, high school, jail, lizard, massage, massage parlours, media, monkey, nepotism, Oxford, Oxford University, PAD, People Power Party, People's Alliance for Democracy, Pheu Thai, police, politics, PPP, prime minister, prison, protests, Rak Prathet Thai, red Shirt protests, Red Shirts, riots, Samak Sundaravej, Satan, sex, Somchai Wongsawat, Suthep, Suthep Thaugsuban, Thai election, Thai general election, Thai politics, Thaksin, Thaksin Shinawatra, Thaland, tourism, UDD, UK, UN, United Front for Democracy Against Dictatorship, United Kingdom, United Nations, Vote No, women, yellow shirts, Yingluck, Yingluck Shinawatra

Thailand’s general election takes place this Sunday. As a non-citizen, I can’t vote. When the election was announced, I thought that was a shame, since for the first time in my life I have an interest in politics. Back home in Britain, I did vote, but was fairly apathetic about it.But as the election and its major players started to take shape, I started to think that even if I could vote, I would no longer be able to do so with conviction. That’s not because the campaigning has been so strong that it would be hard to pick which candidate would be best. Far from it. Now, it would be more a case of choosing the lesser evil.

With that in mind, let’s take a look at the major contenders – with “con” being the operative syllable. (more…)

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THE THAI SMILE: LOST IN BANGKOK, FOUND IN KO SICHANG

June 17, 2010, 4:25 pm
Filed under: Culture, Expat life, Health, News, Nightlife, People, politics, Relationships, restaurants, Thai news, Travel | Tags: 7-Eleven, anti-government protests, antibiotics, Bangkok, beach, Beer, Benz Bungalows, Buddhism, children, Chinese, condominiums, crab, diarrhoea, dogs, English language, fast food, food, goats, Gulf of Thailand, Hat Thampang, Hat Thampang Bungalows, hospital, hotels, Hua Hin, Isaan, islands, Ko Sichang, Malee Blue, May 19, monastery, motorbikes, nighclubs, palaces, Pan & David Restaurant, Paree Hut, Pattaya, politics, rabies, Rama V, Red Shirts, restaurants, salad, seafood, shops, Sri Racha, swimming, temples, Thai culture, Thai language, Thai people, Thai politics, Thailand, Travel, tuk-tuks, whale

Ko Sichang offers Thai countryside atmosphere and attitudes by the sea

Thailand’s image needs all the help it can get right now. Last month’s dramatic footage of bomb sites and gun fights across Bangkok played out internationally and many countries have yet to lift their travel warnings to the erstwhile Land of Smiles.

For sure, confidence has been rocked, and even beyond the photos of war on the streets, the reputation of Thai people as gentle, benevolent Buddhists has been tarnished by displays of downright ugly behaviour during such fractious times.

Whether the protesters promising – and almost succeeding – to turn Bangkok into a “sea of fire”, or their opponents cheering and swearing as the death toll neared a hundred, there was precious little positive humanity on display.

(more…)

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THE AFTERMATH OF ANARCHY

May 24, 2010, 5:52 am
Filed under: News, People, politics, Thai news | Tags: airports, anti-government protests, army, arson, arsonists, Bali, Bangkok, Bangkok Post, banks, bars, Black May, civil war, class war, curfew, Daily Post, dominoes, Don Mueang, education, First World, food, hotels, Hua Hin, Isaan, looters, looting, Malaysia, malls, military, Mother Nature, newspapers, Nightlife, PAD, People's Alliance for Democracy, Philippines, protests, Ratchaprasong, Red Shirts, resorts, restaurants, salons, Scandinavia, self-harm, September 11, shopping, shops, soldiers, Songkhran, spas, Suvarnabhumi, Suvarnabhumi airport, Thai history, Thai New Year, Thai people, Thailand, Thaksin Shinawatra, Third World, tourism, UDD, United Front for Democracy Against Dictatorship, Vietnam, Wales, war, yellow shirts

: Downtown Bangkok goes up in flames, May 19. (Photo by http://www.benowenbrowne.com)

As Bangkok burned, I made good my escape. Evacuated from my workplace as Red Shirts descended on the road to my office, with their brothers bombing and torching dozens of important and iconic buildings around the city, I met my girlfriend Waew and together we headed for Hua Hin, a seaside retreat a couple of hours’ drive south.

(more…)

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BANGKOK ON THE BRINK OF CIVIL WAR?

May 18, 2010, 10:36 am
Filed under: News, politics, Thai news | Tags: Abhisit Vejjajiva, anti-government protests, army, Bangkok, Bangkok Post, barbecue, BTS, Chit Lom, civil war, commuting, dancing, democracy, Dusit Thani Hotel, elections, hotels, Khattiya Sawasdipol, military, MRT, News, newspapers, Phahon Yothin, photos, politics, Rama IV Road, Ratchaprasong, Red Shirts, Sala Daeng, Seh Daeng, Silom, singing, skytrain, soldiers, subway, taxis, terrorism, terrorists, thai elections, Thai news, Thai politics, Thailand, trains, UDD, United Front for Democracy Against Dictatorship, war

Red Shirts on Silom Road

War zone. The brink of anarchy. Bangkok burning.

Front-page headlines from the past few days in the Bangkok Post which are in no way an exaggeration.

The anti-government protests by the United Front for Democracy Against Dictatorship (UDD), or “Red Shirts”, have been going on for two months now, and friends and family back home who’ve seen dramatic news footage have enquired about my safety, to which I had always replied that “it looks much worse than it is”, and that I was completely safe so long as I stayed away from the demonstration zones.

Not anymore. (more…)

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