Category: Misc.

I’ll be posting more about Thailand, naturally, in the days to come. But I’m signing off now for a few days to get some rest. More soon, friends. Thanks, as ever, for reading.

Here’s the story of the day (you won’t believe it until you read it), as covered by the NYT. And here’s a TIME essay called “Thailand’s Broken Democracy.” The latter contains this memorable passage:

In the facile political taxonomy we use to categorize nations, Thailand is considered a democracy. Yet the country remains, if not a banana republic, a juicy, messy mango republic

(Both of these items, naturally, have been added to TopicThailand.com.)

Things continue to be quiet here in Bangkok today, with the Songkran new year holiday in full effect.

Many red shirt protesters have reportedly abandoned what was once their main protest site, Phan Fah bridge near Rajadamnoen Ave., in order to consolidate their numbers at the Rajaprasong intersection.

As we wait to see what comes next, here are three items worth reading:

1. NYT: “Government Distances Itself From Thai Monarchy Comments.”
2. Reuters: “Q+A-What is going on in Thailand?“
3. Op-ed from Pasuk Phongpaichit and Chris Baker in the WSJ: “Thailand Runs Out of Room for Compromise“

I probably won’t be posting much tomorrow (Thurs.), unless there’s big news. Consult BP’s blog ((A particularly interesting post is this one, about the the army chief’s comments about dissolving the House.)) and my list of Thailand Twitterers for ongoing updates.