Pattaya-Revealed.com - View Single Post - 2 very different opinions

Jake · 01-28-2014, 02:19 PM

Jake Needham is an American author based in South East Asia. The following is his take on current affairs, taken from his Letter from Asia

Friends and neighbors,

A few years ago, I published a Jack Shepherd novel called A WORLD OF TROUBLE. It was about Thailand and its female prime minister being dragged to the brink of a civil war by marauding street mobs trying to damage the country badly enough to cause the government to collapse.

Today, A WORLD OF TROUBLE is coming true. It's happening right now, right outside my windows in the streets of Bangkok

As many of you know, political protests of one kind or another have racked Thailand for months now. The government moved to defuse tensions by calling an election, but that wasn't good enough for the mobs in the streets.

They demanded that the election be cancelled because...well, the government would almost certainly win and they would almost certainly lose. Instead, they issued an ultimatum that they would disrupt the functioning of the country until a group of "good people" was appointed to take over the government and the rules of the election process were changed to make it certain that...well, they would win and the government would lose.

The government, to its credit, didn't yield to the mobs, and the first day of early voting in the election was last Sunday.

The mobs blocked polling places, bullied voters, and harassed people whose only crime was wanting to cast their vote in the election. The picture below was taken outside a polling place in Bangkok on Sunday. That is hard, I know, for many of you to believe, but nevertheless it is true. It becomes increasingly difficult to avoid the obvious parallels between the mobs in the streets of Bangkok and the fascist brownshirts who stalked Italy in the 1930's bullying and threatening people until they had forced out the government and seized power for themselves.

Up until now, the mobs had been pretty benign and the overall atmosphere has been more like a scattering of street fairs than a political movement.

The leaders of the mob have loudly proclaimed that millions of people are in the streets of Bangkok opposing the election, and a few pathetic make-believe journalists -- probably trying to get laid -- have repeated those claims in the international media. The truth is that the mob numbers in the thousands, not the millions, and their blockades of the major intersections in Bangkok have been more of a nuisance than a disruption.

The sourest note has come form the intemperate, sometimes downright racist rants that the mob leaders toss out from the demonstration stages when they want to throw a little red meat to the crowd. The squads of bodyguards made up of local thugs that these same leaders have deployed, allegedly to keep order at the protest sites, haven't helped either. Many of these so-called guards are pretty nasty looking characters...

Police have been banned from the protest areas by the mob leaders and the cops have quietly accepted their banishment from large parts of Bangkok they are supposed to be policing. It was the replacement of the police by this private army that contributed the most to an underlying sense of unease here last week. We seemed to be only a short step from something very ugly.

Then, on Sunday, the mob and their guards took that step, and the ugliness was on display for all the world to see.

Welcome to the Land of Smiles.

The main voting day is next Sunday.

Stay tuned...

Mr Needham then goes on to say

At about 10:30am on Sunday morning, February 2 -- election day in Thailand -- I have a long-standing engagement to speak to the Pattaya City Expat Club at their regular weekly meeting. It's held at the Tavern By the Sea, which is at the Amari Orchid Hotel on Beach Road in Pattaya.

That's a hundred miles from Bangkok, so I don't mind the scheduling one bit. I'm going to talk about writing A WORLD OF TROUBLE and why it wasn't very hard even back then to see how easily it could come true.

The club is expecting a turnout of about 150, but guests are still welcome regardless. If you're in the neighborhood, drop in and say hello, and I'll be more than happy to sign any books that you might want to bring along.

Stay cool.

Please visit www.JakeNeedham.com
to learn more about
Jake Needham's international crime novels:
THE KING OF MACAU
THE UMBRELLA MAN
A WORLD OF TROUBLE
THE AMBASSADOR'S WIFE
KILLING PLATO
LAUNDRY MAN
THE BIG MANGO

01-28-2014, 02:19 PM	#2
Jake Advanced Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Posts: 1,682 Shouts: 1103 Thanks: 8,749 Rep Power:	2 Very different opinions - Number Two Jake Needham is an American author based in South East Asia. The following is his take on current affairs, taken from his Letter from Asia Friends and neighbors, A few years ago, I published a Jack Shepherd novel called A WORLD OF TROUBLE. It was about Thailand and its female prime minister being dragged to the brink of a civil war by marauding street mobs trying to damage the country badly enough to cause the government to collapse. Today, A WORLD OF TROUBLE is coming true. It's happening right now, right outside my windows in the streets of Bangkok As many of you know, political protests of one kind or another have racked Thailand for months now. The government moved to defuse tensions by calling an election, but that wasn't good enough for the mobs in the streets. They demanded that the election be cancelled because...well, the government would almost certainly win and they would almost certainly lose. Instead, they issued an ultimatum that they would disrupt the functioning of the country until a group of "good people" was appointed to take over the government and the rules of the election process were changed to make it certain that...well, they would win and the government would lose. The government, to its credit, didn't yield to the mobs, and the first day of early voting in the election was last Sunday. The mobs blocked polling places, bullied voters, and harassed people whose only crime was wanting to cast their vote in the election. The picture below was taken outside a polling place in Bangkok on Sunday. That is hard, I know, for many of you to believe, but nevertheless it is true. It becomes increasingly difficult to avoid the obvious parallels between the mobs in the streets of Bangkok and the fascist brownshirts who stalked Italy in the 1930's bullying and threatening people until they had forced out the government and seized power for themselves. Up until now, the mobs had been pretty benign and the overall atmosphere has been more like a scattering of street fairs than a political movement. The leaders of the mob have loudly proclaimed that millions of people are in the streets of Bangkok opposing the election, and a few pathetic make-believe journalists -- probably trying to get laid -- have repeated those claims in the international media. The truth is that the mob numbers in the thousands, not the millions, and their blockades of the major intersections in Bangkok have been more of a nuisance than a disruption. The sourest note has come form the intemperate, sometimes downright racist rants that the mob leaders toss out from the demonstration stages when they want to throw a little red meat to the crowd. The squads of bodyguards made up of local thugs that these same leaders have deployed, allegedly to keep order at the protest sites, haven't helped either. Many of these so-called guards are pretty nasty looking characters... Police have been banned from the protest areas by the mob leaders and the cops have quietly accepted their banishment from large parts of Bangkok they are supposed to be policing. It was the replacement of the police by this private army that contributed the most to an underlying sense of unease here last week. We seemed to be only a short step from something very ugly. Then, on Sunday, the mob and their guards took that step, and the ugliness was on display for all the world to see. Welcome to the Land of Smiles. The main voting day is next Sunday. Stay tuned... Mr Needham then goes on to say At about 10:30am on Sunday morning, February 2 -- election day in Thailand -- I have a long-standing engagement to speak to the Pattaya City Expat Club at their regular weekly meeting. It's held at the Tavern By the Sea, which is at the Amari Orchid Hotel on Beach Road in Pattaya. That's a hundred miles from Bangkok, so I don't mind the scheduling one bit. I'm going to talk about writing A WORLD OF TROUBLE and why it wasn't very hard even back then to see how easily it could come true. The club is expecting a turnout of about 150, but guests are still welcome regardless. If you're in the neighborhood, drop in and say hello, and I'll be more than happy to sign any books that you might want to bring along. Stay cool. Please visit www.JakeNeedham.com to learn more about Jake Needham's international crime novels: THE KING OF MACAU THE UMBRELLA MAN A WORLD OF TROUBLE THE AMBASSADOR'S WIFE KILLING PLATO LAUNDRY MAN THE BIG MANGO __________________ " I have this problem with my ageing I no longer can ignore, A tame and toothless tabby can't produce a lion's roar "