Good morning,

Thousands of pro-democracy protestors are peacefully demonstrating against the PADemocrat government, which was installed by the army after the Silent Coup. They promise to continue to demonstrate until Quisling PM Abhisit Vejjajiva dissolves parliament (the workshy one was calling for parliament to be dissolved for weeks before a certain person who has a connection with the Seoul Olympics intervened to give him his position, after which he shut up). Secret hands are distributing leaflets claiming that people who join the demonstration will be charged with insurrection – incidentally, despite all the evidence against the fascist PAD leaders, they are still walking free (in no way related to the Seoul Olympics, obviously).

Incidentally, the red-shirted demonstrators support democracy. Some may or may not support the democratically-elected PM Thaksin Shinawatra, ousted by a military coup in 2006 and some may or may not support the democratically-elected PMs Samak Sundaravej and Somchai Wongsawan, who were banned from politics by jusges appointed during the junta period. The demonstrators are pro-democracy supporters, they are not Thaksin supporters. The lies that Thaksin has paid for demonstrators and for foreign correspondents to spread lies about Thailand and its institutions are simply lies – thoughtful people would not repeat them.

The Bangkok Post has an interesting story about some of the problems associated with economic migration in Thailand – an important reminder of why it is important to struggle to maintain the pro-poor policies first introduced in 2001 and so despised by the secret hand that has fought so hard to end them.

More of my reviews have been published at Bookideas. There is my review of Booker winner Aravind Adiga’s The White Tiger, Shoko Tendo’s Yakuza Moon: Memoirs of a Gangster’s Daughter and Alan Campbell’s Scar Night. Promising news about the special issue of City, too.

Back tomorrow.

1-1 and 1-1. Well, could be worse, I suppose.