StoneSoup

I remember back in 2008, when the Yellow Shirt mobs 1) Seized the airport; 2) Invaded the Royal Cliff resort in Pattaya to shut down an international conference; and 3) Barricaded roads for a day or two - including Sukhumvit at Prakhanong BTS Station - and basically, nothing happened to the protesters. At the time, I remember shaking my head, and saying "Idiot government - by not aggressively prosecuting this, you are basically guaranteeing the emergence of "mob rule" as a primary method of exerting political influence in Thailand." And - sure enough - the other side went mainstream with mob rule in 2010 - culminating in the "burn the city down" finale in May 2010. Again, not much happened to discourage the tactic. While not effectively achieving its immediate objective, the mob ultimately got the election it wanted. Mob rule was thus legitimized as a fundamental and routine method of exerting political influence - which bring us to the 2014 incarnation of that practice. The trend seems to be toward ever-larger mobs. Everyone seems to be hoping for the investiture of their ideal vision of a "benevolent dictator". Well, that seems like a reasonable, high-probability outcome .....NOT. One week from tonight - next Sunday night - I wonder what this week will look like i hindsight. Cheers! SS

Check out this video - talk about having balls of steel: https://www.facebook...&type=2

Spanky's is not at all an S&M place. The tubes are just flexible foam. The girls will often hit customers with them - if you prompt them a bit. Unless they really try hard to hurt you, it doesn't even sting - it just makes a lot of noise. They do periodically have "shows" - girl or girl, foam, but no "pussy shoots darts" or any of that stuff. I have seen them bring a guy on stage, lie him down on a bench they bring up, and partially undress him - and then rub themselves on him. But - all in pretty good-natured style. The owner, Marc, tries hard to recruit and motivate his staff to HAVE FUN while they are performing - smile, and joke around. But - if he's not around, it often doesn't happen. Cheers! SS

And the Redshirts are planning to bring their multitudes down from the north on 13 January, to show support for the government, by seeking to keep Bangkok open. What could possibly go wrong ........... It certainly looks like a setup for the Thai Army to step in and take things over, to prevent bloodshed. At the rate he is going, Khun Suthep may soon be keeping Seh Deng company, wherever he is .... Cheers, SS

Gobble - you have a way with words. You get my first "attaboy" for 2014.

Shit happens. "The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy." - Martin Luther King, Jr. Cheers! SS The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy. Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/m/martinluth109228.html#gGsIRR8G4BDcdfUQ.99 The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy. Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/m/martinluth109228.html#gGsIRR8G4BDcdfUQ.99 The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy. Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/m/martinluth109228.html#gGsIRR8G4BDcdfUQ.99 The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy. Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/m/martinluth109228.html#gGsIRR8G4BDcdfUQ.99

The main problem is that even as they are saying "We fully support democracy, we just insist that the swamp of corruption be drained, before we hold an election", what they really mean is "we must prevent a fair and democratic election at all costs, because if there is a fair election, the rural lower class faction will always win at least a plurality." No matter how you dress that position up, it is still an untenable position in the modern world. The various opposition parties need to play the game by the rules - and appeal to a large enough portion of the electorate to form a coalition majority. A smart political team should be able to leverage the discontent arising from the large number of rice farmers that have not been paid for their mortgaged rice, and hammer out a thin win. Cheers! SS

I couldn't get this to display as a video, but it is worth a click: http://www.wimp.com/christmassplits/ Happy Holidays! Cheers, SS

OK, I feel a bit hesitant to cast dispersions upon a recently departed gent who can't defend himself - but ..... I'm not so sure that Nelson Mandela's saintliness was not substantially fabricated by a white western media that felt guilty. To whit: “I salute the South African Communist Party for its sterling contribution to the struggle for democracy.â€

http://youtu.be/7x1iRyDumiE

Tiny terrier mates with much larger Rottweiler: http://www.dailymail...-new-breed.html Remember: It's not the size of the dog in the fight .... it's the size of the fight in the dog." Cheers! SS

A holiday tune - very well performed:

It's not about the size of the tookay in the fight - it's about the size of the fight in the tookay!!!!!

Huumlaar - I agree with you that it's risky to fight back in an ambush, but I won't fault someone that stands up for him- or herself. "It's not about the size of the dog in the fight - it's about the size of the fight in the dog". Famously: "The Great last Act of Defiance" http://image.spreadshirt.net/image-server/v1/compositions/9004685/views/1,width=280,height=280,appearanceId=1.png/last-great-act-of-defiance-3_design.png

Feel good video of the day: http://youtu.be/czuPvzFCpSQ The really lets him have it. 'Good on 'er. Cheers! SS

Well, looking at this overhead video clip of the anti-government mob at the Democracy monument this afternoon, I would have to say that the Red Shirts might want to think twice about trying to intimidate this crowd: You can watch live at: http://www.blueskychannel.tv/ Cheers! SS

It was Songkran, and I showed up wearing something else. That something else was very wet. One customer decided to buy out the stock of tropical shirts being hawked by a passing vendor - and that customer suggested that anybody not wearing a suitable shirt should grab one from his new pile. So - I grabbed one that almost fit me. It made sense at the time. The "lady in red" had taken up lodging with me - 2003-2004 - at a place on Suk Soi 8. Cheers! SS

Should Old Acquaintance be forgot .... Bangkok style: I'm in there, near the end. Anyone else .......? Most of the photos are from Sunday afternoon beer calls, 2001-2003. Cheers! SS

According to the article, it seems like the "jumper" was not expecting the crowd to "part" and leave him to impact the floor unobstructed. 'Makes you wonder again how he stoned he was, to think that audience members would choose to sacrifice themselves, to absorb his impact from 12 meters up. It appears that he will not be making that same mistake again.....

OK, this is not even remotely comparable to the contortionist writhing of the Ross Sisters, but this (if it is not CGI or other subterfuge) is a fairly impressive effort by a wealthy 53 year old guy:

I could feel my bones shattering, just watching.

OK, this one is really "outside the box" - but, give it a chance - the guy actually has an amazing voice:

Because things could always be a lot worse ... like, for instance, the way things work in Venezuela: http://youtu.be/1nV_Pgyn_xQ

http://www.dailymail...nce-jailed.html Security guard beat delegate to death at medical conference after she complained about how many times he'd checked her security pass Clive Carter repeatedly smashed delegate Khanokporn Satjawat over the head with fire extinguisher "Clive Carter repeatedly smashed Khanokporn Satjawat over the head with the appliance in a rage after she complained about him repeatedly checking her security pass. The pharmaceutical manager’s body was found on November 12 last year at an HIV medical conference in Glasgow’s Clyde Auditorium, part of the SECC complex. Every bone on the left side of her face and neck was broken and her skull had been shattered into pieces." "The court heard he snapped after Miss Satjawat questioned him over repeatedly being asked to show her conference ID pass. He picked up a fire extinguisher, followed her into the ladies’ toilets and bludgeoned her to death. The 6ft 5in security guard admitted killing the tiny Thai delegate, who weighed only six and a half stone, but claimed he had no memory of the incident. Carter, 35, is said to have been obsessed with fire extinguishers and had an image of one on his computer He earlier told the trial the words ‘die, just die’ were in his head as he argued with Miss Satjawat. But after attacking her in the toilets, he went into the staff room and calmly ate the sandwiches he had for his lunch."

Yeah, right...... 'Sort of like the "Hawaiian Good Luck Signs" flashed in North Korea by the crewmen of the USS Pueblo: