Is this China asserting power with aggression against weakened US not unlike Russia?

+Charles van Dijk Do you really believe $3.5 million will have any effect on the Department of Education's $69 billion 2014 budget?

3.5 million dang !…we gave 5 billion to neo Nazis & the place is on fire! .yea, I be like that mofo needs to up his mordida! still think ya control the bad guys? They own ya, always did! Quit paying & see what really happens..USA is over the barrel all over the world! With a dollar collapse, ya better have more than looks to pay! I think they take ass as currency..lol..don't be hating, the USA dollar is a dirty currency involved in human trafficking & dope! ya pay up, just watch

$3.5 million…. Lol… What can you buy for that… Rofl…..

It is true I am unhappy this even and the action of US I agree because Thailand there are 17th army coup.

+C.E. SCHLINK The less tax you pay, the more foreign aid you give the less infrastructure you have. It is not rocket science.  Have a nice day. 😉

I think the problem is the King of Siam . the
Army would not act without his approval .
You can't really touch him because he's a God .
Perhaps if you stopped praying to him , it might
work .

+Ekchart Pullarp Take some history lessons, you trolling twit.  He should go the same way as your bunch of fascist freeloaders in buckingham palace

+Ekchart Pullarp How very unfortunate for the British people. I got news for you majority of 5th Generation of Australians are descendants of the indigenous people and early settlers. The convicts were a minority in spite of the popular hearsay in the UK. Lecturing true history has never been one of the strengths of Britain's academic institutions.

+Ekchart Pullarp Always have been very good in having a patronising attitude as holier than you in other words. I have spent 10 years in South East Asia and I am conversational in 2 of their languages. You don't impress me at all, so far I see only the usual parrot talk.

+Ekchart Pullarp Yes good riddance, sooner this place becomes a republic the better. Elizabeth was so so. Charlie and his Rottweiler you can keep.

+Ekchart Pullarp Always welcome, people can say what they like. I don't have anything against royals as people, I am against the institution. 

Here is a report released just a few hours ago regarding the Shinawatra's ongoing designs for Governing Thailand and the Thai People.  No wonder the Military took action so quickly:

"Thailand's former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra has revealed plans to set up a government in exile, in a direct challenge to the legitimacy of the military, following confirmation of a coup to remove the government led by his presumed proxy and sister Yingluck Shinawatra.

Peter Lloyd analysis:

The declaration of a government in exile by Thaksin Shinawatra is the first significant political response by the Thaksin-aligned Red Shirt forces since Thursday's coup.

It appears to indicate a willingness to risk a major escalation in the long-running crisis. Pay close attention to the response of Thailand’s new strongman, General Prayuth Chan-ochab at today's news conference. 

The General is an ardent defender of the monarchy and adversary of Thaksin after playing a key role in the 2006 coup that toppled Thaksin Shinawatra.

The General’s rise to Army Chief came after Thaksin's sister Yingluck rose to power as her brother's proxy.

Thaksin's power play could be a part of a strategy to rattle the General and the monarchy and draw armed supporters from the shadows.

A government in exile need do no more than exist to achieve its main purpose and that is to present to the world the stark choice facing Thailand; a return to a business as usual old order under the monarchy, or a new settlement that enshrines the rights of the poor.

The armed forces fear a violent reaction on the street soon but they are just as mindful that they lack the skills and perhaps even the will required to govern for long. History tells it that there is a window of opportunity. 

"There's a script they will be following to one degree or another," said Duncan McCargo, professor of political science. "They know that the longer they stay in power the more trouble they are going to get into."

Professor McCargo is doubtful that the return to business as usual will satisfy the non-Bangkok Thai electorate which has been disenfranchised by a succession of coups against legitimate governments.

"Reform means dismantling the informal caste system, reducing psychological dependence on the monarchy and growing an appreciation for the capacity of the rural population to contribute to their democracy," he said.
The decision was relayed by Mr Thaksin's legal adviser, Robert Amsterdam, and revealed exclusively by the ABC.  

The announcement comes amid reports that coup leader General Prayuth Chan-ocha will remain at the head of a junta beyond his scheduled retirement in September, according to the Bangkok Post.

General Prayuth has assumed the powers to act as prime minister; except Section 2, which acknowledges that the king is the head of state.

On Saturday night the military junta disbanded the country's Senate and placed all law-making responsibility in the hands of General Prayuth.

"The Senate is dismissed. Responsibility for any laws needing the approval of the parliament or Senate will instead be assumed by the leader of the (junta)," said an announcement on national television.

The military tightened its grip on Friday by banning more than 150 prominent figures from leaving the country, and threatening to arrest politicians who disobey its orders.

Former prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra was among those who reported to the military junta.

It is understood Ms Yingluck and several former ministers now being detained plan to join the protester-led government.

A source in Ms Yingluck's Puea Thai party told AFP that the former prime minister's exact whereabouts were unknown.

"It is confirmed that she was detained by the military since she reported to the junta yesterday," the source, who was present when Ms Yingluck answered a call to report to the army on Friday, said.

"We are unsure of her whereabouts because the military confiscated her mobile phones and those of her aides."

Military officials say Ms Yingluck will not be held for longer than a week and have made assurances that she will be looked after.

"We provide them good facilities, perhaps even better than the facilities that I or everyone here [has] at the moment," a Thai military official said on Saturday. "Please do not worry."

Number of nations offer to host exiled government: lawyer

Mr Thaksin is negotiating with a number of states which Mr Amsterdam says have made offers to host the government in exile.

Proximity would imply a neighbour state like Cambodia could house the former leaders, but it could invite military retaliation and sanctions from an angry and humiliated Thailand.

It is unclear whether any Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) state would risk breaching the association's bedrock doctrine of non-interference to provide a political safe haven for Thaksin and Ms Yingluck.

It could bring down the political order and harmony of ASEAN, a dull but effective piece of architecture that has assisted socio-economic and political development in the region for decades.

Mr Amsterdam says so far there is no identifiable host state but it is believed by pro-government Red Shirts that there are a number of nations set to offer a safe place.

It is understood that the Shinawatra-led Red Shirts protest movement was anxious to make the government in exile decision public ahead of a widely anticipated statement from the Palace giving direct or veiled support of the monarchy to the military take-over. There has been no official statement as yet."

http://www.abc.net.au/
by Peter Lloyd