The planned escalation of Red shirt protest ensures that today, once again, all eyes will be trained on the streets of Bangkok. These protests come in the wake of what Thai police are describing as a thwarted attempt to kill a Privy Councillor. There appears to be the expectation, flicking through the Thai and English language media, that Wednesday 8 April 2009, just before the Songkran holiday, is going to be a day when all bets are off. Thaksin, and his allies, have seemingly decided that a big push, perhaps even an effort to bring violence to the capital, is required. New Mandala readers following events in Bangkok should feel free to post their news or analysis here. We will endeavour to provide some more detailed coverage once the events of the day, and their implications, become clearer.