it seems this has been going on for centuries

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Fighting over it and fighting on it....

Thai and Cambodian soldiers exchanged fire in a two-hour border clash on Friday that killed two Cambodian soldiers and a Thai villager, the latest in an ancient feud over land surrounding a 900-year-old Hindu temple.

The fatalities were the first in the militarized border area since a Thai soldier was shot dead a year ago and could rekindle diplomatic tensions between the Southeast Asian neighbors over the 11th-century Preah Vihear temple.

Some things never change.

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love, 99
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thursday stew

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I think I'm just gonna pile up links and comments in this post today, so if yer reading off a feed, you will need to click in betimes if you want to keep up with any of it.

Dodd leaves it up to the Treasury Secretary....

Max Keiser on institutionalized lying....

Bigger blowout....

Turkey horning in on our action again....

Exterminating protest....

We're shocked, shocked....

Senate doesn't want your credit card interest rates lowered....

Wikileaks grounded....

Let's all move to Gitmo....

Whip them with a wilted lettuce leaf....

Relentless extreme capitalism....

Still only what not murdered journalists can report....

Get used to life imitating heist movies....

Yes, well, now that the passport's been yanked, it could get sticky....

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Oh, oh, excuse me, but, er, howz that hopey changey thing working out for you?
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Scientists' customary grasp of the dirt obvious....

Let's all move to Brazil....

No, really....

Another Clinton trainwreck impending....

Oh, well, they GOT their cloture today....

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Oh, oh, oh, excuse me again, but, er, really, howz this hopey changey thing working out for you?

I agree with the Republican Senator there. Howard Dean is on the cusp of selling out... actually, more like hanging over the lip of the cusp by a thread....
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No, really, we're STUCK with this crap....

And probably worse than the even more awful we've so recently gotten....

Pretty soon I can stop aching for a real bathtub....

A good bookmark for safely following news re Wikileaks....

Quit Facebook, you jackass....

Wanna visit from the SS?

He's improving, but I'd still rather he read me books....

They're even threatening fascist media....

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Hint: That last link may be the most terrifying of all of them we've seen so far today. Think about it.

Pardon me while I go out in search of my delinquent coffee shipment. I mean, you probably agree I need a little more of THAT today....
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Fucking lazy ass UPS fucker keeps delivering my coffee to the POST OFFICE instead of my house. They have this little arrangement where the PO takes his deliveries off his hands when he's run late.... EXCEPT he's only not "run late" twice in the year I've been getting my coffee. ONCE he even left my coffee at the PO and delivered another kind of package to my house on the same day, and LIED about where my coffee was. Lazy shit. I oughta call Peet's and tell them to just MAIL it if they can't make UPS deliver.

Assholes EVERYWHERE.
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The AP interviewed a shitload of sniveling Bangkok capitalists today, but I ain't gonna link it because, until they get their heads out of their asses, I don't feel like showing any outward signs of sympathy for their greedy asses, even if they ARE sentient beings.
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Exceptionally 99-like fashion statement....

Jane doing understatement?

If he were born later, Syd might've become a hacker instead of a rocker....

Maybe I should have held this post over until tomorrow so I coulda called it FASCIST FRIDAY....

Fifty times better president than ours....

An interesting person has died....

But the very first human-created life form has been born....

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Coincidence?
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If we don’t stand up now then the world envisioned by Zbigniew Brzezinski may come to pass....

No, no, RIGHT now....

PRESIDENT GENGHIS P. YOO PLANS TO ADDRESS THE FINANCIAL CRASH WITH WWIII....

No, really....

We are threatening war over attempted medicine....

WE'RE BEING LIED INTO WAR AGAIN — QUIT BITCHING ABOUT REPUBLICANS....

Our closing society is almost slammed shut....

For jazz-loving murderating fuck haters....

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I don't mean to be rude, but if you just hang back and don't follow these links, and the links in the links, you are a TOTAL asshole. SEEEEEERIOUS shit is coming down, fastly and furiously, and you better be ON it... or we're toast.
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I am sorry if you are trying to comment and nothing is happening. It seems some people are having trouble getting a comment up on Blogger today. It's not just here, and it's not every time. If you have something BIG to say, maybe you should copy the comment before you post it, just in case it doesn't actually post. Sorry, but I am helpless against this noise.
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Now perhaps you will join me watching Blind Spot....

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carnage in bankok today

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Thai troops went postal on the protesters. Many, many dead. Journalists killed and injured. They shot up a Buddhist Temple. I did love looking at Bangkok's fanciest shopping mall in smoking ruins... but running around and shooting anyone and everyone is not what I call a national security measure. I'm going to give this guy a break and say I think that grin is the kind you get when you are SO upset you become hysterical. It happened to me once. Nobody could understand why I was laughing uncontrollably after accidentally breaking an ancient vase. I doubled over. I rolled on the floor. I was pounding on things. I was doing EVERYTHING possible to stop laughing, but it went on for about fifteen minutes before I regained some control of my muscles. So I'm going to try to understand this guy as being gripped with a horror so profound he only looks cheerful there behind his wall.
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music

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Protesters seize troops in Thailand
AL JAZEERA | WEDNESDAY, APRIL 21, 2010 | 17:49 MECCA TIME, 14:49 GMT

Anti-government protesters in Thailand have seized a train carrying about 70 soldiers and military equipment northeast of the capital, Bangkok.

The troops were travelling through the Khon Kaen area, a stronghold of the so-called red shirt protesters, when they were seized on Wednesday.

Hundreds of red shirts stopped the 18-car train from leaving a station 450km from Bangkok.

Al Jazeera's Wayne Hay, reporting from Bangkok, said negotiations between police and red shirts are under way to allow the train to continue after it was stopped.

"The red shirts say that those soldiers were heading to Bangkok as reinforcement for a potential crackdown on their protests which have been running for five months now," he said.

"The army though says these soldiers were in fact heading towards the troubled southern provinces of Thailand as part of a regular rotation of soldiers."

Protesters warned

Earlier on Wednesday, the Thai army said that it would use force to disperse anti-government protesters occupying Bangkok's main shopping district.

Action would be taken "considering the safety and lives of the people, and only when there is reason to do so, including for self-defence and in extreme cases", the government's Centre for the Resolution of the Emergency Situation said.

The warning came after red-shirt leaders announced they would not march to the city's Silom financial district but instead stay at their main protest camp "indefinitely".

Abhisit Vejjajiva, the prime minister, said on Wednesday that he is ready to negotiate with protesters but only when they agree to abide by the law.

Panitan Wattanyagorn, a government spokesman, said an attempt to negotiate is being hindered by illegal demonstrations in Bangkok.

For their part, the red shirts say they are willing to hold talks through a third party to avert bloody clashes with troops.

Speaking to Reuters news agency on Wednesday, two of the protest leaders said they would consider offers of dialogue, but not from the government.

"We believe a crackdown is coming before April 25 and we need to make a compromise," Kwanchai Praina, one leader, said.

"I will propose in a meeting later today that we consider house dissolution in three months."

However, Jatuporn Prompan, a core red-shirt leader, was quoted by the AFP news agency as saying that talks were "out of the question.

Base reinforced

The red shirts have been reinforcing defences at their base, and prepared homemade weapons including hundreds of sharpened bamboo poles and broken up pavement slabs.

An attempt by security forces to disperse the red shirts on April 10 erupted into the worst political violence Thailand has seen in almost two decades, leaving 25 people dead and more than 800 wounded.

The red shirts have been camped out on the streets of Bangkok since March 12, with the standoff causing widespread disruption, closing shopping malls, hotels and causing millions of dollars in losses for Thailand's vital tourism industry.

The unrest has taken a toll on the city's patience. Some residents on Tuesday evening tried to chase red-shirt protesters out of their camps.

Shouting "Kill them, kill them", several residents scuffled with a man believed to be a red shirt protester.

The red shirts consist mainly of poor rural workers pro-democracy activists who opposed the military coup that ousted the then prime minister, Thaksin Shinawatra, in 2006. They want parliament dissolved immediately and new elections called.

They believe Abhisit's government is illegitimate because it came to power through a parliamentary vote after disputed court rulings ousted two elected, pro-Thaksin administrations.
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piling up linkage — today's avalanche from the fourth reich

[click image, Peter B Collins Show, Dahr Jamail in second half, mp3, 85 minutes]

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Doing a lot of running around today... this gorgeous, sunny day. I'm going to try to just pile up some links under my favorite realistic-looking plutocrat... cranking out all these images just so being fairly time-consuming and there being so much to squeeze into this day. So you guys might want to check this post more than once....

Very sensible people....

More very sensible people....

Well, maybe, but we probably did....

No, really, we want our way there....

Murderating fucks....

And get off it about this being a freak accident....

Read it and weep....

Do NOT listen to yer bank about this stuff! They are NOT on your side.

Don't act so surprised....

Or beat them over their heads with your monitors....

Nobody believes them anyway....

Hope they're listening to Norman and not Code Pink....

Oh, and that bullcrap yesterday about not nuking people?

Not so much....

I'm shocked, shocked, I tell you....

Fascist Maddow ignoring Democratic perfidy and that ACORN is not defunct to sensationalize you to sleep....

I'm NOT whistling Dixie....

Obama is an ASSASSIN....

Don't forget to check the pole ice levels....

STOP BEING A PARTISAN PUTZ AND STAND UP TO SAVE THE WORLD!

You really want to at least grab the second half of that Peter B podcast, because not only do they dissect the video Wikileaks released of our troops slaughtering obviously innocent people, but Dahr puts the crap we keep getting from Juan Cole about things Middle East in PERSPECTIVE. Ever since Cole came out with that complete fabrication position on the reëlection of Ahmadinejad, I have noticed a distinctly fascist-in-denial cast to his stuff in general. I don't trust him anymore, and the very end of this podcast nails it on one of the good reasons why none of us should.
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propaganda tangling badly

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Maybe the Russians are trying to make something politically convenient out of this, or maybe al Jazeera's trying to keep this from getting out of hand too quickly, or maybe cargo flights just regularly have so many conflicting nationalities in flight manifests and crews and destinations....
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georgian opposition taking off the gloves

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I admire them for pressing their points. Really, all over the world people don't take crap from their government lying down. Even in Burma and Tibet where the oppression is so lethal, huge protests form up. I'm sure it's no fun to be enduring the chaos in the streets in Thailand or in Georgia, but they're not just laying back and taking it. They are fighting for their futures. They are participating in their governments more than we do, even where they don't get a vote to be stolen.

i know you are, but what am i?

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What a mess.

And who are we supposed to believe in this debacle? How on earth can one discern given the outrageous lies of omission and commission by our media? Would a college course even help substantively? In this information age, the capabilities for disinformation and infinite misleading words are bounded only by the number of people participating.

oh, the hell, watch the video!

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"Pirates", my grandmother's knickers. "Men", pfeh. They were hardly teenagers, and they were Burmese, not Thai. How in the world are they supposed to resist your cushioned white asses, who wouldn't come to help them even as they were marching in a hail of bullets to die in the streets so you'd know they needed you, bobbing in the shimmering waters off their starving coast? How? No matter how "nice" you are! How?

You make the world hell for so many others, this is the hell you get back.

this is getting hard to follow

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...but I think the conservatives are trying to stage a comeback on the heels of the successful bid by the more liberal airport demonstrators of a couple weeks ago.... Don't hold me to it.

Face it, you've been brought up to feel these people are somehow inferior, or quaint. Well, they ain't couch potatoes and they damn well go after what they think is right. Maybe we don't like the chaos and instability of the heavy turnover in political leaders, but, even though skunks rush in on the heels of most upheaval, it's also, clearly, clearly now, the only way to install the good ones....

thailand's new prime minister

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Bip bam....

bad time to be too old

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betel nuts, betel nuts

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Settle down.

yippeeeeee!

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Another question that begs an answer is: Who is in charge of Thailand now?

The leader of the country is not even in the capital, but is instead operating from Chiangmai.

According to a Bangkok-based journalist, the anti-government protesters held a meeting with the police over the weekend and they even agreed to have joint patrols. Obviously no authority wants to take any action against the protesters.

On paper, Somchai is the prime minister but he does not seem to be calling the shots.

holding on

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AP headlines suggest increased violence, but, pfeh, there's definitely one thing I wouldn't trust them on as far as I could hop barefoot in a meat grinder.

the perfection of determination

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...and courage we don't see here....

i'm rooting for the revolution

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And they have a great chance of winning....

NOW i'm having a happy thanksgiving!

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Published: Friday November 28, 2008 MYT 11:27:00 AM

Thailand to negotiate with airport protesters

BANGKOK, Thailand (AP) - Thailand's government backed off Friday from its threat to forcibly remove protesters occupying Bangkok's two airports in their campaign to oust the prime minister, saying police would avoid violence and attempt to negotiate.

Thousands of tourists have been left stranded since anti-government protesters occupied the main international Suvarnabhumi airport on Tuesday and the smaller Don Muang airport on Wednesday.

Both airports are now shut down and the capital completely cut off to air traffic.

On Thursday, Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat declared a state of emergency at the airports, authorizing police to take back the terminals. The order appeared to indicate that a crackdown was imminent against the members of the People's Alliance for Democracy.

But eight hours later, Government spokesman Nattawut Sai-Kau told The Associated Press that police have been instructed to get the protesters out of airports "as soon as possible'' in a "peaceful manner.''

"Firstly, the police should open negotiation with the protester. If they refuse to go, police should do whatever is necessary to open the airports on the basis of nonviolence,'' he said.

The new soft line, and the government's failure to send in security forces so far, has raised doubts about whether Somchai has the support of security forces and the army, a powerful institution that has traditionally played a key role in the country's politics.

Army commander Gen. Anupong Paochinda has so far been neutral in the political turmoil, and even suggested that Somchai call new elections, triggering speculation that a military coup could take place.The whispers were further fueled by press reports Thursday of tank movements that the military later said were only a training exercise.

In an address to the nation Thursday night to announce the emergency, Somchai said that navy and air force personnel would help the police, but was vague about any participation by the army, saying only the government would also ask the army "to help take care of the people.''

The state of emergency also empowers the government to suspend some civil liberties, including restricting the movement of people and prohibiting mass assembly.

Emergency was declared once before in the three months since the protesters seized the prime minister's office, but there was no move to take advantage of its provisions, apparently because the army was reluctant to take on the alliance, which at the time enjoyed greater popularity.

The protesters remained defiant on Friday.

"We are ready to defend ourselves against any government's operations to get us out of those places,'' Parnthep Wongpuapan, a spokesman of the People's Alliance for Democracy, told the AP.

"We are going to stay at the airports until Somchai resigns,'' he said.

Protesters at the international airport donned goggles and helmets, and first aid stations handed out surgical masks in anticipation of a police raid. The group's "guards'' were patrolling the area with slingshots and metal batons. Many also carry concealed handguns.

Speakers from a makeshift stage repeatedly yelled: "Are you scared?'' The crowd roared back: "We're not scared!''

They alliance's protest grew out of its hatred of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, a brother-in-law of Somchai. Thaksin was ousted in a bloodless military coup in September 2006 after months of protests by the alliance.

It accused Thaksin and his allies of corruption and abuse of power. Thaksin is in exile, a fugitive from a conviction for violating a conflict of interest law. The group says Somchai is merely a Thaksin puppet and should go.

However, Somchai has stood his ground, saying his departure would be a blow to democracy.

In his televised address Thursday from the northern city of Chiang Mai, Somchai accused the alliance of "holding the country hostage and the public hostage.''

Somchai has been in the pro-government stronghold since he returned from a summit in Peru on Wednesday.

The protests, which gathered pace three months ago when demonstrators overran the prime minister's offices, have paralyzed the government, battered the stock market, spooked foreign investors and dealt a serious blow to the tourism industry.

"If the government uses an emergency decree and decides to crack down on protesters, the army may decide to intervene to prevent that,'' said Panithan Wattanayagorn, a political science professor at Bangkok's Chulalongkorn University.

Until now, Somchai has not tried to forcibly oust protesters from his office compound and urged police to exercise restraint during the group's forays outside the walls. Still, at least six people have been killed thus far in political violence.

power to the people

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This is how it's done....