Pacific Rim Gets.... Interesting

Silent Disapproval Robot · May 30, 2014, 05:24:55 PM

Nope, I'm a pasty white (Scottish and Icelandic ancestry, it doesn't get whiter) devil from the mountains of British Columbia. I worked in Thailand for a year and visited quite often prior to that when I was working in Japan. For each of the countries I worked in, I spent a fair amount of time reading up on the history and the culture prior to going and more while there. I find it interesting purely from an intellectual curiosity perspective. It also helps one gain a better understanding of whatever ancient pile of rubble one happens to be looking at. It also somewhat demystifies why the locals do some of the things they do, say some of the things they say, and act the way they sometimes act. Plus some of the locals seem to appreciate the fact that you've taken an interest in their culture and history, so that helps.

I also had a lot of free time on my hands during the evenings when the curfew was in place, everything was closed and the cable was off. I'd read some of the posts on the links I provided earlier and then find something I didn't know about before. Curiosity would kick in and I'd go off and read about that for a bit.

Gusington · May 30, 2014, 08:42:45 PM

Cable off?? INCONCEIVABLE.

GDS_Starfury · May 30, 2014, 08:45:20 PM

that has got to be the most interesting post I've read in forever SDR.

JasonPratt · May 30, 2014, 09:00:46 PM

Quote from: GDS_Starfury on May 30, 2014, 08:45:20 PM
that has got to be the most interesting post I've read in forever SDR.

Ditto!

Silent Disapproval Robot · May 30, 2014, 09:41:34 PM

Just found this video about Thailand during the Vietnam War and found it quite interesting.

endfire79 · May 31, 2014, 01:57:37 AM

Cool stuff, always keep exploring SDR.

It's a an interesting region, and tragic at the same time.

Buddy I went back to Southeast Asia with was a vietnamese refugee that was a kid back in the late 70's, living off the coasts of thailand a few years after Saigon fell (they had to leave as his dad was a South Vietnamese Colonel who got shot in the head by Viet Cong; things weren't exactly comfortable after the Communist takeover, with the mother looking after 6 kids. There were Thai pirates that almost messed up the rest of the family while they lived on the beaches for a year or two, waiting for money from one of the brothers in Canada via the Red Cross. It's pretty amazing they survived the whole thing. We checked out his old house in Da Nang, and the near the beach in Thailand. Makes you wonder how tough life can really be.

Peace

Gusington · May 31, 2014, 10:54:34 AM

In junior high school I was good friends with a Vietnamese girl who was part of a refugee family, her name was Linh Nguyen. She was very 'Americanized' and had a great sense of humor and being 13-14 I of course fell in love with her. Her parents would never let us date though because I was not Vietnamese.

BanzaiCat · May 31, 2014, 12:40:59 PM

Was she taller than you, Gus?

Silent Disapproval Robot · May 31, 2014, 12:48:23 PM

After re-reading my previous post, I realized that there was some other stuff that was dancing around in my mind that I wanted to get down but didn't.

After Thaksin was found guilty of various crimes in a Thai court in 2008, the Thai government asked for him to be extradited and returned to Thailand. He spent his time bouncing around between Dubai and Cambodia mainly but would also spend time in London, New York, and Tokyo. The Thais weren't happy that the west refused to extradite him. They also asked that his accounts be frozen but that never happened either. The UK was only too happy to let him come in and buy the Manchester United soccer team. The willingness of the West to look the other way as far as Thaksin was concerned didn't sit well with the Yellow shirts. Didn't amount to much at the time as they were voted out soon afterwards but I think it planted some seeds of doubt.

The first few days after the coup was announced were somewhat tense as no-one was really quite sure just how in control of things the military was. The officers were solidly behind the coup and mostly supported the yellows but there was some question regarding the willingness of the enlisted to carry out the coup. A lot of them were from Red strongholds in the north and northeast and it could be assumed that for many, their sympathies were with the Red shirts. In fact, the Thais jokingly referred to regiments from these areas as the Watermelon Army, green on the outside but red inside. These regiments had mostly been deployed in the far south, fighting in a long running, low intensity conflict with Muslim separatists but there were more than a few called out to enforce the coup. People were worried that some might defect and a shooting war could start. It wasn't a groundless fear as some senators from Red Shirt areas were caught using their government issued cars to smuggle military weapons and explosives to radicals in the northern provinces.

As I said previously, prior to the coup but after Martial Law was announced, the General called leaders in from both sides and stated that he wanted them to come to some sort of agreement regarding elections and the caretaker parliament. A few hours after the meeting was called, the coup was announced and all the leaders were detained. Although Thaksin's sister and recently ousted PM Yingluck was asked to attend, she refused. Nobody was sure where she was but most rumours had her already out of the country and in Singapore.

Here's where US actions really started upsetting the Thais. While Yingluck's whereabouts were still unknown, both the US ambassador and John Kerry publicly denounced the coup. The ambassador, along with others, went even further and talked about the possibility of setting up a Thai government in exile led by Thaksin and Yingluck. Most Thais I talked with didn't like this at all. They saw it as dangerous meddling and were afraid that a government-in-exile could lead to civil war with Thailand ending up like Ukraine.

Thankfully Yingluck hadn't fled the country and she turned herself in the next day. The Army announced that she'd be held incommunicado for 3-7 days. Some were worried that this would incite the Reds to act but as the army was holding Yellow Shirt leaders as well, most saw it as fair. This didn't last long though. Mr. Suthep was one of the Yellow Shirts who was detained at the original meeting. Even though he was still up on murder charges, the army let him and 24 of his associates go after he posted a 600,000 baht bail (~$20,000 USD). People were once again worried that this would incite the Reds, especially as how the King still hadn't said anything regarding the coup.

In previous coups, the royal family would give their assent to the coup makers almost immediately but it took 3 days (I think) before the King publicly came out in support of the General. People found this delay curious as previous coup makers had cited the need to protect the monarchy as one of the reasons for launching the coup. This was especially true in the coups against Thaksin (found guilty of lese mageste). More curious was the fact that even though Royal assent to the coup was given, the king didn't make an appearance at the ceremony.

I'm not sure why the king is reluctant to be seen supporting the general. I guess it's because there are rumours that the king was the one who initially instigated the coup but I don't know. The Thais do love the King but he's not long for the world. I think he's 89 or 90. The next in line for the throne is his son Maha, the playboy prince. He is not liked at all by the populace, even though they'd never say it out loud. He's close with Thaksin and basically seems to be a narcissistic, spoiled brat. He's had several wives including a British-Thai actress who he divorced and then whose child he had abducted. The latest wife was his maid. He also has a pet poodle named Fu-Fu who he made a captain in the Air Force. Anyway, I think the Yellows and the King are worried about this twit taking the throne and would much rather see his sister become queen as she seems to be the good one of the kids.

Gusington · May 31, 2014, 01:08:46 PM

^You're getting all this down in the screenplay right?

And no Linh Nguyen was not taller than me. But she was a sweet girl, pretty and hilarious. Sigh.

Silent Disapproval Robot · May 31, 2014, 01:22:53 PM

I know! It's fascinating. If they were to turn it into an HBO series, it'd give Game of Thrones a run for its money.

You could be Tryion and 13 year old Linh could be your Shae......no wait....that just sounds wrong.

Gusington · May 31, 2014, 03:36:32 PM

I still look 14.

BanzaiCat · May 31, 2014, 04:08:26 PM

^ He's been out combing the high schools all day!

Boggit · May 31, 2014, 11:13:06 PM

Quote from: Silent Disapproval Robot on May 31, 2014, 12:48:23 PM
The next in line for the throne is his son Maha, the playboy prince. He is not liked at all by the populace, even though they'd never say it out loud. He's close with Thaksin and basically seems to be a narcissistic, spoiled brat. He's had several wives including a British-Thai actress who he divorced and then whose child he had abducted. The latest wife was his maid. He also has a pet poodle named Fu-Fu who he made a captain in the Air Force. Anyway, I think the Yellows and the King are worried about this twit taking the throne and would much rather see his sister become queen as she seems to be the good one of the kids.

And his "Heroes" are Caligula, and Nero???