I have seen it on the news. What's happening?.

The usual. Corrupt politicians, power-hungry individuals, and stupid citizens that think violence is the answer.

There are still many in rural areas that support Thaksin despite corruption, authoritarianism, demagogy, and press-muffling.

Damn, people are stupid.

On the good side, the meeting I'm supposed to attend in Thailand was just cancelled --and so was my flight. Yay!

I was over there last year during some of the unrest and never noticed anything. I wasn't in Bangkok much although I did take the kids to Wat Phra Keo and the Grand Palace. We spent our time in the Northeast with my wife's family in their small rice farming village. You are right that a lot of the rural people still support Thaksin. Thailand seems to have a sharp divide between the city and rural people, more pronounced than many places I have been.

Xian97 wrote:

You are right that a lot of the rural people still support Thaksin.

Frankly, it is almost like in Indonesia where some rural people still support Suharto. We have our fair share of stupid people as well.

Xian97 wrote:

Thailand seems to have a sharp divide between the city and rural people, more pronounced than many places I have been.

Why?

I would say because the middle class is just emerging. When I was working there in the mid 90s there wasn't much of a middle class. It was the haves and the have-nots, the rich and the poor. It had improved some when I was there last year, but still a pretty distinct divide. Most of the more well off live in the cities, the countryside is the sustenance farmers (of which my wife's family can be counted).

Other countries I have lived in such as Costa Rica had their rich and poor, but there was also a blue collar working class more so than Thailand.

phew good thing some of my friends just got out of thailand in time