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It was all over 6 o’clock news on Channel 3 today.

Not sure of the sequence, but there was footage of some pushing and shoving inside the hospital compound, past the gates, then there was footage of a line of monks, still inside, and a line of female police facing them but with a respectable distance. Red shirts were right behind the monks.

There’s no mistake how it looked like in that presentation – reds are using monks as human shields, police brought out girls to stop them as men can’t obstruct monks but monks can’t touch women.

Even if that was “one sided government propaganda”, who could possibly think that in the commotion the police put their female officers on the frontline and it was reds scrambling to find some monks to stop their advance?

Even in that wild scenario monks were still used as human shields.

Thailand – LOS – Land of Scofflaws. some of the unmentionable break it with impunity. The elite can follow any rule of law. The uniformed ones can’t follow any rule of law. The police are too busy being criminals. The orange brigade can’t figure whether they are playboys or not. The army are too busy protecting their narco-business. And the ordinary population still haven’t figured out how not to die like lemmings from acting BF stupid on two and four wheels. This is one remarkably dumb country!

Enrico Damanche, whilst satire is amusing to some, it is nevertheless the lowest and most mean of human dealings.

The full quote from The Birds is: “с╜С╧Ас╜╕ ╬│с╜░╧Б ╬╗╧М╬│╧Й╬╜ с╜Б ╬╜╬┐с┐ж╧В ╧Д╬╡ ╬╝╬╡╧Д╬╡╧Й╧Б╬п╬╢╬╡╧Д╬▒╬╣ с╝Р╧А╬▒╬п╧Б╬╡╧Д╬▒╬п ╧Дс╛╜ с╝Д╬╜╬╕╧Б╧Й╧А╬┐╧В. ╬┐с╜Х╧Д╧Й ╬║╬▒╬п ╧Гс╛╜ с╝Р╬│с╜╝ с╝А╬╜╬▒╧А╧Д╬╡╧Б╧О╧Г╬▒╧В ╬▓╬┐╧Н╬╗╬┐╬╝╬▒╬╣ ╧З╧Б╬╖╧Г╧Д╬┐с┐Ц╧В ╬╗╧М╬│╬┐╬╣╧В ╧Д╧Б╬н╧И╬▒╬╣ ╧А╧Бс╜╕╧В с╝Ф╧Б╬│╬┐╬╜ ╬╜╧М╬╝╬╣╬╝╬┐╬╜ (Words give wings to the mind and make a man soar to heaven. Thus I hope that my wise words will give you wings to fly to some less degrading trade) .”

My thoughts exactly. You could become a red-shirt politician and educate the plebs.

Fri Apr 9 19:59:04 ICT 2010

The People’s Channel is back on TV.

direct TOT
  prachatai.com – “blocked by ICT”
  prachatai.org – OK
  prachatai.net – “The connection to the server was reset while the page was loading”
  uddthailand.com – off the air

proxied
  prachatai.com – “Drupal : Site off line Can’t connect to local MySQL server”
  prachatai.org – OK
  prachatai.net – OK, but slooow
  uddthailand.com – off the air

By “off the air” for uddthailand.com I mean that there is no video at the site. The site is up.

The TV is the big deal. Not everyone has an internet connection and fewer people use proxies… but everyone on earth seems to have a damned TV, or two.

From Bkk Post:
Thaicom yields to UDD demand
Published: 9/04/2010 at 05:34 PM
Online news: Breakingnews

The People Channel, the mouthpiece of the United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship, resumed its broadcast late Friday afternoon after talks between UDD leaders and Thaicom executives, according to television reports.

Representing the UDD in the talks were Jatuporn Prompan and Nathawut Saikua and Puea Thai MPs Karun Hosakul and Chuchart Harnsawat. Also present during talks were Pol Lt-Gen Krisda Pankongchuen, the Region 1 Provincial Police chief, and soldiers.

Yosvaris Chuklom, better known as comedian Jeng Dokjik, a UDD leader wanted under an arrest warrant, announced on the stage on the top of a truck that the Thaicom executives had yielded to the demand and that PTV would resume its broadcast soon.

He also declared the red shirts would head back to Phan Fa bridge and Ratchaprasong and told the soldiers at the station to return to the barracks as well.

The red-shirts were returning to their rally sites, the reports said.

On my blog I posted what I heard on the radio, it was about 3PM, though, not five, and I didn’t hear the dude speaking Thai, maybe it was someone else.

It is quite probable that the rumours about Thaksin’s health crisis are just wishful thinking by those opposed to him but I wonder what would happen to the red shirt movement and Pheua Thai, if the rumours turned out to be true and he were terminally ill. He would no doubt achieve instant beatification amongst the reds who seem unlikely to just fade away but what would happen to the focus of the movement and its funding?

It’s hard to tell much from a photograph but the picture of his puffed up face did seem somewhat suggestive of some one that has been subjected to high doses of steroids for a prolonged period in a bid to offset the effects of aggressive chemo therapy. President Pompidou’s face puffed up like that in the last few months of his life when he was being treated for rapid onset lymphoma. But there again it could just turn out to be bad photograph in Thaksin’s case.

Consensus is not something born out of your intellectual efforts, consensus is what other people agree on, regardless of what you think or know is right.

By now it’s clear to everyone, including the reds themselves, that their insurgency cannot be contained without the use of force.

Abhisit might decide it’s better to capitulate or he might find that the army is ignoring his orders, but that’s being incapable to use force, not being unwilling to, due to some “consensus” formed between a couple of posters on New Mandala.

There was a farang speaking on stage at Rajprasong yesterday about 5pm, in both Thai and English, but the PA (or he) was so bad that I couldn’t understand a word. Could anybody else? Whether they could or not, loads of people cheered and clapped every time he paused, which is par for the course at this extraordinary gathering.

People,

would be great if we can get more comment on here re-Burma instead of people grand standing and tub thumping about how good they are/have been. Who cares. Burma and the troubles there are what is important, not your egos. The elections are coming up this year, any comments on that?

Dave