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US cuts military aid to Thailand after coup
BBC World News ^ | May 23 , 2014 | BBC

Posted on 05/23/2014 7:33:32 PM PDT by LeoWindhorse

The US has suspended $3.5m (£2.1m) in military aid to Thailand and urged the country's army to restore civilian rule "immediately".

Washington also urged tourists to cancel trips and halted non-essential visits by US government officials.

The move came as former Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra spent her first night in military custody.

(Excerpt) Read more at bbc.com ...


TOPICS: News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: bangkok; coup; thailand; yingluckshinawatra
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yea right, it's safer than it's ever been , in the last few years , with all the crazies being allowed to control the streets and business districts ...and now , if you have a long planned holiday to the Land of Smiles , cancel it . I doubt that the curfew applies in Pattaya or Phuket .
1 posted on 05/23/2014 7:33:33 PM PDT by LeoWindhorse
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To: LeoWindhorse
Does this mean the Post Coup government is against the local muslim terrorists?

I only ask because EVERYTHING obama does either:

a) Weakens America/Americans
b) Distances America's allies
c) Strengthens America's enemies
d) Serves Islam
e) Harms Israel
Or some combination of the above.
I have yet to have anyone raise a single substantive counter example in several years of posting this.
2 posted on 05/23/2014 7:44:54 PM PDT by null and void (When was the last time you heard anyone say: "It's a free country"?)
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To: LeoWindhorse
A bit of Thailand-related humor:

The Disney movie "Frozen" features the oh-so-popular song "Let it go". This song has been performed in dozens of languages, most of which seem to be available on Youtube, with english translation subtitles.

The song (for those who don't know) is about a young woman who has led a very controlled life, constantly guarding her behavior; then she breaks free and behaves more like her true self. In English, one line of the song is "That perfect girl is gone".

There is a subtitle for the Thai version which blatantly says: "The good girl is worthless".

Which I think is tremendously funny (sad too) when you think about Thailand.

3 posted on 05/23/2014 7:45:42 PM PDT by ClearCase_guy (Fegelein! Fegelein! Fegelein!)
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To: ClearCase_guy

So even Disney is promoting that being bad is liberating?


4 posted on 05/23/2014 7:48:13 PM PDT by GeronL (Vote for Conservatives not for Republicans!)
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To: GeronL
She's not a bad character. It's fairly nuanced, and I think Disney did a decent job of it. I will say that the animation of the song -- in the beginning -- shows a young girl discovering who she really is, and she's full of joy and excitement and wonder. Her creativity is flowing, and she is loving life with a big smile on her face. But -- by the end of the song -- she has a sultry look, a slinky dress, and rather tousled hair. Yeah, she looks less like a young girl and more like a simple slut. I found it off-putting, out of character, not true at all to the storyline, and just lazy/sloppy animation ("hey, she's all grown up now and we don't know how to represent that in any other way ..."). More of a mis-step than propaganda.

And by the way, I really dislike Disney.

5 posted on 05/23/2014 7:54:07 PM PDT by ClearCase_guy (Fegelein! Fegelein! Fegelein!)
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To: ClearCase_guy

Misstep? It was totally on purpose


6 posted on 05/23/2014 7:57:08 PM PDT by GeronL (Vote for Conservatives not for Republicans)
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To: LeoWindhorse

Prime Minister Flank Shinawatra?


7 posted on 05/23/2014 7:59:16 PM PDT by Cvengr (Adversity in life and death is inevitable. Thru faith in Christ, stress is optional.)
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To: LeoWindhorse
Obama Cuts Aid To US Militry Veterans Before Coup


8 posted on 05/23/2014 8:00:25 PM PDT by Iron Munro (The “fourth estate”has morphed into a 5th column)
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To: LeoWindhorse
I doubt that the curfew applies in Pattaya or Phuket .

Wrong. So far the curfew does apply in Pattaya and Phuket too. It has been observed mostly nationwide. Even 7-11's are closed up by 10. Pretty shocking cause I can't recall seeing an actual 7-11 closed in Thailand. I've seen the beer coolers boxed over on holidays and elections and early voting, but never actually closed.

Still, Thai's and tourists adapt. Now everything just opens earlier.

Curfew won't last long outside of hotspots though. Pattaya, Phuket, etc, will be back to normal inside a week or less.

With reform coming before any further elections, this sounds like a complete victory for Suthep and the Yellows.

There is no danger to going to Thailand as a tourist despite all the media blather. Stay away from protests, don't take sides and get involved in their politics, use common sense as you always should, carry identification if out outside curfew hours or near police/military checkpoints, and anyone can still have a great visit.

9 posted on 05/23/2014 8:05:59 PM PDT by Longbow1969
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To: null and void

You are probably right


10 posted on 05/23/2014 8:06:01 PM PDT by GeronL (Vote for Conservatives not for Republicans)
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To: null and void
Does this mean the Post Coup government is against the local muslim terrorists?

Their is low level fighting in the southern provinces against Muslim terrorists pretty much all the time. This is a military government now which is obviously not afraid to demonstrate their power, but I think this is the one area both sides generally agree. There was fighting against Islamic insurgency under the deposed government, and there will be under this one as well. This really doesn't effect tourists or most Thai's, its really just a plague on the people of the southernmost provinces.

11 posted on 05/23/2014 8:12:01 PM PDT by Longbow1969
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To: null and void
the military coup is for the King and is against the gangster former PM taksin, who is a Communist dictator, living in exile due to his being sentenced for corruption during his tenure and his sister the most recent PM. he is living in Dubai and wants to take over Thailand when the 87 yo in ill health King dies...using Hitler and Stalin like powers to dupe the masses at first then take over later
12 posted on 05/23/2014 8:21:21 PM PDT by ldish (Have had enough...you??????)
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To: Longbow1969

tahaan on the streets in Pattaya !? In all the coups I ever experienced I never saw that . I thought they mai sohnjai falang town ....
Sutep , the one advocating for a Khmer Rogue like reform , is the model of success for this ? My God ! what next....red flags and little red books ?


13 posted on 05/23/2014 8:24:36 PM PDT by LeoWindhorse
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To: ldish

what do you think of Sutep’s oft pronounced proposals and demands for an unelected ‘ peoples committee’ to take power organize ‘ a new government ‘ ?

reminds me of what went on up in Nepal


14 posted on 05/23/2014 8:26:54 PM PDT by LeoWindhorse
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To: LeoWindhorse

Very little military presence in Pattaya, but the boys in brown are taking their orders from the military now and were pretty strict about shutting everything down at 10. Apparently the Navy occupied the Pattaya police station searching for some police colonel allied with the Reds. Walking Street was a ghost town, and I hear you could even take a walk on beach road without being accosted by roving packs of katoys.

Suthep isn’t a communist. I heard countless speeches by him as I was stuck at the Asok intersection during the protests in January. He’s a royalist and has done his job. He effectively blocked/annulled the Feb 2 elections and drew violent reactions from the Reds which gave the excuse the military needed to step in.

I hear Yingluck is under arrest and her mobile/tablet taken away. No way for her to communicate with her brother hiding out in Dubai to find out what to do next.

Eh, it’s Thai business to work out for themselves. Mai Pen Rai.


15 posted on 05/23/2014 8:41:36 PM PDT by Longbow1969
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To: LeoWindhorse
what do you think of Sutep’s oft pronounced proposals and demands for an unelected ‘ peoples committee’ to take power organize ‘ a new government ‘ ?

Well, he, and the middle/business/southerners, are trying to come up with a way to prevent wanna-be dictators like Thaksin from buying votes via government freebies. You know, kinda like here. Thailand would be a basketcase like Venezuela if the producers, educated and middle/business/upper/royalists didn't step in to stop the Reds.

Granted though, if they held a fair election today, whatever incarnation of Thaksin's party led by his sister or whoever else he blesses would win. That just means every country isn't always ready for representative Democracy.

16 posted on 05/23/2014 8:47:29 PM PDT by Longbow1969
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To: Longbow1969

so is Sutep to be the Thai Mil’s appointed PM ?

If they want to help out Pattaya , they should conscript all
the katoeys and send them south to look for IED’s set by the PULO pigs


17 posted on 05/23/2014 8:53:09 PM PDT by LeoWindhorse
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To: Longbow1969

I thought Thailand was seen to have a Kleptocracy ....
It doesn’t matter who it is , as soon as they consolidate coalition and power , the stealing and cronyism begins .
Who is immune to this . I once thought it was taksin because he came in with big money and didn’t necessarily have a goal to make more . Goes to show : never enough....
Perhaps the Supreme Patriarch ?


18 posted on 05/23/2014 8:59:46 PM PDT by LeoWindhorse
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To: LeoWindhorse
so is Sutep to be the Thai Mil’s appointed PM ?

Nah, I believe he is still locked up to. In the interest of "fairness" the military grabbed up the leaders of both sides. I'm sure Suthep is getting right better treatment than many of the PTP party officials though.

I think Prayuth intends to remain acting PM. The Senate and judiciary are still intact as well as the lower level administrative functionaries - so I guess they will carry on with whatever the military tells them to do. There isn't much use for the constitutional court or election commission anymore, so they'll go dark (happily).

If they want to help out Pattaya , they should conscript all the katoeys and send them south to look for IED’s set by the PULO pigs

Not a bad idea. Some of those katoys are pretty rough, they could probably do some serious damage against the Islamic separatists. Get a gang of them together and they can be downright scary.

19 posted on 05/23/2014 9:04:34 PM PDT by Longbow1969
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To: LeoWindhorse

Eh, this gets into the intricacies of Thai politics that is as complicated as anything I’ve encountered. North versus South, rich versus poor, educated versus rice farmer, democracy versus monarchy, etc.

I lived in Thailand when Thaksin was elected and the problem is he was promising all sorts of socialist programs for the northern poor (who do constitute the majority). Aside from some of them flirting with communism many years back, the rural poor never felt they had anyone looking out for them. Thaksin filled that role. Unfortunately, he filled it much like Chavez did in Venezuela. Add to that that he and his family and friends are pretty corrupt (though to be fair, as you pointed out, that is par for the course).

I think the elite basically felt like Thaksin was positioning himself to, effectively, be the new King of Thailand when the current King dies. He’s like 86 and in ill health, so he won’t be lasting too much longer. I guess, in the end, that is what scared the elite and royalists most.


20 posted on 05/23/2014 9:12:28 PM PDT by Longbow1969
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