10 April 2009

People Power in Thailand?

It wasn't that long ago that mobs seized an airport in Bangkok demanding that the country's president resign because, if I remember right, he was considered too close to the hated media mogul and former ruler Thaksin Shinawatra. Now it's the Red Shirts' turn to make a noise. Back in the 1920s and 1930s any group named for the color of their shirts was likely to be fascist. But the Red Shirts don't have the same kind of militaristic look. They're supporters of Thaksin who want the country's current government to step down. They've been protesting for a few days so far, and while they've been reported to be peaceful, they've created enough of an annoyance to force the cancellation of an Asian summit conference that was to be held in Thailand. What follows from this is anybody's guess, but here's another episode of people around the world getting out into the street to make a difference.


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