Trenton42

After detaining 11 of their leaders yesterday, no news of protesters today.

IMO, pretty far. There are a lot of dynamics at work here. The government's days were numbered anyway. There's a reason the Acting Caretaker Prime Minister didn't submit his name to the crown for approval, and it was probably just a matter of days until the Senate removed him and the few remaining cabinet members from office. And that's not even considering all the court cases presently working their way through the system. One alone (immunity debacle) could see over 300 MPs impeached, and if convicted banned from office for 5 years; don't know if it also includes criminal and civil penalties. For Prayuth it may have come down to what's best; letting the government work on reforms and rewriting the constitution with PTP dragging their feet and suffering frequent deadly attacks from the Reds, or get rid of the trouble makers so people can live in peace, and get started on the hard work of reforms with the backing of the crown. As we're learning more about the Reds, it looks like Prayuth did the right thing. Most westerners think coups are a bad thing, and in most countries they are. But in Thailand most coups have turned out to be good for the country. Too soon to know how this coup will turn out, but Prayuth's actions seem to be measured, and I think that is a good thing.

Personally, I'm not worried. And if friends or family were planning a visit, I wouldn't warn them to stay away. In fact, a friend is arriving next week Wednesday, and I expect he'll enjoy his stay. It's true a curfew is currently in force, but with many venues opening earlier, a lot of fun can be had before 10 PM. If something happens and the scene changes drastically, I'll post it here.

BBC & CNN still not broadcasting on True dish. Red Shirts shut down bus/minivan service at Victory Monument this afternoon. Seems BTS has a new strategy for dealing with Red mobs; as the mob nears the station, BTS shuts it down. It was funny to see the demonstrations today; more journalists than protesters! Military nabbed 11 leaders of the Red demonstrations held today and last weekend. Looks like the military also got 2 of the shits responsible for killing the children in Trat.

Hey Snick, having just reread the thread, I think we've got our wires crossed. What I tried to say in the first post is that in Thailand, impeachment may include the removal of Yingluck from office, as well as criminal or civil penalties. And you may be right about the criminal court getting involved, but I haven't been following that side of things.

The NACC is an investigative body; it can indict but not convict. If you're from the States, it's exactly like a Grand Jury only different. In this case, think of it as the NACC forwarded the Articles of Impeachment to the Senate. The only question is whether she will be convicted or not. For example; Bill Clinton was impeached, but he was not convicted. Impeachment is the actual trial in the Senate. With the rice malfeasance impeachment case alone there are a number of penalties hanging over Yingluck's head including restitution, political ban, and prison. IIRC, the Senate can assess all three. You may be right about the criminal court; don't know as I haven't followed that part. The Senate will pursue the case if only to assess penalties. It's not a moot point because she is no longer in office (if that is what you were thinking). The 180-day expiration date of the amnesty bill should be here about now, if it hasn't passed already. Thus that bill is truly dead.

Thaksin likes to use his relatives (as well as maids and drivers) as proxies. A report just last week from the Govt Audit Office said that the total cost of the rice scheme to date was 878 billion THB and that the LOSS was estimated at 500 Billion THB. Under the constitution (which has been suspended) if convicted of malfeasance, Yingluck could be compelled to pay damages. That case was headed to the Senate, but now that the Senate has been disbanded, there's a chance it might be picked up by the court martial. And there's little reason to believe the court martial would be lenient. And that's just one case. More are going through the pipeline. If I had my way, they would also be investigating the flood. Still believe that a was man-made disaster in an attempt to wash Bangkok away.

About 200 people staged a protest against the military takeover at Ratchaprasong shopping district this morning. The protesters, who called themselves Red Sunday group, gathered in front of McDonald outlet and shouted abuses at a group of army troops dispatched to contain the protest. Meanwhile Mr Sombat Booonngarm-anong, editor of Lai Chud magazine and a supporter of the United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship, posted a message in his Facebook page threatening to launch a protest campaign, “Eat Mc to Protest against Coup”, every Sunday at McDonald outlet against the coup. He urges supporters of his campaign to wear red and to gather in front of designated McDonald outlets to conduct any conceivable activities such as eating or exercising.

Doesn't look possible at the moment. Military still making progress. Detainees must be singing as the military are asking more people to report. Really, the curfew isn't that bad; it gives more time between the sheets with your BF!

General Prayuth announced anyone who violates the coup orders will stand before a court martial. The 150 or so that are currently being detained (including Yingluck) could be in a more difficult spot than they could have ever imagined.

Thaksin's son just arrested.

General Prayuth has just disbanded the Senate. Wasn't expecting that.

I haven't heard that curfew hours have changed. CNA have been getting the time zones mixed up, and maybe that contributed to what you heard.

DL is good enough.

AOT recommends that foreigners carry their passports at all times. Gotta admit I don't, but have a Thai ID. Considering it's the military doing the asking now, it's probably not a bad idea.

True stations were just on for about 20 minutes, but they've just started playing patriotic videos on all premium channels. Thai free stations are back on except PBS. The military is frosted at PBS for continuing to broadcast on their website after being told to shut down. A lot of political stuff happened today; military looking for a lot of people. Democrat reform team was released from detention, but PDRC, PTP, & UDD reform teams are still being detained. Military called in close to 200 people, mostly PTP & UDD, but some PDRC also. Yingluck turned herself in around noon and is still being detained.

Just skimmed the headlines this morning, and didn't see any reports of skirmishes. Someone I consider credible said he saw on TV, military firing into the air when they took the UDD stage. That's the only gunfire I've heard of so far. There are other dubious rumors floating around, but have not been confirmed by the credible farang twitterers.

Maybe that's what she expects, but no word from the military yet. The military is still pursuing a few situations. One should think the curfew depends how long they take to iron out.

The military has just announced that if social media messages inciting unrest continues, they will shut down service. Considering how business relies on the Internet, it's hard to believe that's what they meant. But there you have it. If military issues clarification will post it.

Logistics make it tough. But will do if I get the chance.

The queues for minivans at Victory Monument were crazy. There were rumors on Thai social media that the military was going to shut down the Internet; however, the military has broadcast a crawl on all stations saying there are no plans to do so.

Don't worry. It's still all about fun right up until the curfew.

Take a girl ST just before 10 and she can't leave!

Tomorrow, Soi Cowboy will be operating under lockdown rules: bars can open at 2PM and will close when they're told to. NEP is in a different precinct, so NEP times may be different. But one shouldn't think they'll raise the curfew tomorrow; I think it's going to be in effect for at least a few days. Lots of things going on, and military is busy.

Soi 4 closed.