I think I'd better go. Yes, I think you'd better had.
So, I don't know if any of you are following the recent Thai coup (or in the Spanish, golpe de estado), and not to badmouth the caliber of people who would be likely to stumble across this in their friend pages, but I'm willing to guess you haven't been following it.
To that end, I am going to give you a short recap, with my paraphrases. It's my fucking online journal, I'll do what I want. If you have no interest in coups which brought us such geniuses as Castro and Mao and wheat babies or Thailand which brought us cheap liposuction, delicious food, gorgeous landscapes, and sex tourism, then do skip the rest of this. If either of those things or especially those things together pique your interest then I'm that much more glad of it.
Well, there's been some unrest there for some time. Students and the usual rabble protesting things like government corruption and rampant nepotism and whatnot. So the millitary decided to step in, have a junta, and do a bit of a coup. IN THE MOST POLITE WAY EVER. No really. It was like,
"Look, we're terribly sorry to be getting in the way and mucking everything up, but we thought it was time. Please, don't mind the barricades and the recinding of the constitution, do go on with your lives and cooperate and we'll be out of your way that much sooner."
And everyone was like
"Awfully decent of them, awfully decent. Bout time some chaps stepped in and took a stand."
And so they "detained" certain higher ups in the government and installed temporary leaders from all branches of the millitary (by the way, one of their big reasons for doing this is that they allege that the current government has insulted the king on numerous occasions. And they just can't stand for that, can they?) Perhaps at this juncture, you're wondering how the Prime Minister, Thaksin Shinawatra, responded to this. Well he was out of town at the time (namely, in New York City for the opening of the UN General Assembly, as if it really matters what the UN says or does anymore and then in London), and his response went something like this:
"Well, I really wasn't expecting this, I must say. I left with a job, now I'm unemployed. But they gave me a chance and if they don't want me to do the job, then I guess they'll have to pick someone else."
To which the junta replied along the lines of:
"He's free to come back, really, it's not like he's a criminal, we won't bother him."
At this point the internationally community was like,
"Well, what a fracas. BUT CAN WE STILL GO FOR SEX TOURISM?? IS IT SAFE???" Oh and democracy! What about the Thai democracy!?"
To which the auspicious government of Thailand responded,
"Why yes, Thailand is still perfectly safe for sex tourism and cheap liposuction. And yes yes, we'll have elections within a year, we promise. We just have to get the whole dashed thing back on its feet."
"Oh, well then. Do carry on." (except for I think Australia, Australia didn't approve)
Yea I know. Most polite coup ever. We can all learn a lesson from Thailand? They've come so far from turning over refugee Cambodians to the Khemer Rouge. Circle of life, I suppose.
To that end, I am going to give you a short recap, with my paraphrases. It's my fucking online journal, I'll do what I want. If you have no interest in coups which brought us such geniuses as Castro and Mao and wheat babies or Thailand which brought us cheap liposuction, delicious food, gorgeous landscapes, and sex tourism, then do skip the rest of this. If either of those things or especially those things together pique your interest then I'm that much more glad of it.
Well, there's been some unrest there for some time. Students and the usual rabble protesting things like government corruption and rampant nepotism and whatnot. So the millitary decided to step in, have a junta, and do a bit of a coup. IN THE MOST POLITE WAY EVER. No really. It was like,
"Look, we're terribly sorry to be getting in the way and mucking everything up, but we thought it was time. Please, don't mind the barricades and the recinding of the constitution, do go on with your lives and cooperate and we'll be out of your way that much sooner."
And everyone was like
"Awfully decent of them, awfully decent. Bout time some chaps stepped in and took a stand."
And so they "detained" certain higher ups in the government and installed temporary leaders from all branches of the millitary (by the way, one of their big reasons for doing this is that they allege that the current government has insulted the king on numerous occasions. And they just can't stand for that, can they?) Perhaps at this juncture, you're wondering how the Prime Minister, Thaksin Shinawatra, responded to this. Well he was out of town at the time (namely, in New York City for the opening of the UN General Assembly, as if it really matters what the UN says or does anymore and then in London), and his response went something like this:
"Well, I really wasn't expecting this, I must say. I left with a job, now I'm unemployed. But they gave me a chance and if they don't want me to do the job, then I guess they'll have to pick someone else."
To which the junta replied along the lines of:
"He's free to come back, really, it's not like he's a criminal, we won't bother him."
At this point the internationally community was like,
"Well, what a fracas. BUT CAN WE STILL GO FOR SEX TOURISM?? IS IT SAFE???" Oh and democracy! What about the Thai democracy!?"
To which the auspicious government of Thailand responded,
"Why yes, Thailand is still perfectly safe for sex tourism and cheap liposuction. And yes yes, we'll have elections within a year, we promise. We just have to get the whole dashed thing back on its feet."
"Oh, well then. Do carry on." (except for I think Australia, Australia didn't approve)
Yea I know. Most polite coup ever. We can all learn a lesson from Thailand? They've come so far from turning over refugee Cambodians to the Khemer Rouge. Circle of life, I suppose.