Hey JimmyRopes

[Oakman]

Any chance the king will speak out publicly?

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[JimmyRopes]

Oakman wrote:

Any chance the king will speak out publicly?

No I don't think the king will speak out publically but he will have a major influence over what happens. He does a lot of behind the scenes diplomacy and has quite a lot of power. The military or anyone else will not oppose him. In fact if you speak out against him it is a criminal offense. Even a disparaging remark can land you in court and possibly in prison if found guilty. I don’t want to elaborate on a public forum but the king has a lot of power. Much more than monarchs have in the West. Democratic monarchies are not the same all over the world.

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[Oakman]

JimmyRopes wrote:

but the king has a lot of power

Yep. I have some idea. And by keeping a low profile, he gets to keep his power and his lifestyle.

Jon Smith & Wesson: The original point and click interface

[JimmyRopes]

Oakman wrote:

Yep. I have some idea. And by keeping a low profile, he gets to keep his power and his lifestyle.

He is a very popular king. Some kings are more popular than others. He is destine to be one of the great Thai Kings. Along with pictures of him (Rama 9) and the Queen we also have a picture of King Chulalongkorn (Rama 5) in our house. He was the King that opened up Thailand [Siam] to the west. He is memorialized in “The King and I” but the Thais despise that portrayal of him. Apparently it is historically inaccurate. I think Rama 9 will be immortalized just as Rama 5 is because he is so loved and has been instrumental in transforming Thailand into a modern state rivaled in SE Asia only by Malaysia. Both Thailand and Malaysia have modern and not so modern portions of their population but I think Thailand will progress further because it is a Buddhist country and there is no religious opposition to modernizing, with the exception of the 3 border [Malaysia] proveniences of Yala, Patini and Narathaiwat. That is where there are active separatists who want to break away from Thailand and make them a Sultanate as they were 100 years ago when Siam took them over.

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[JimmyRopes]

Thailand on 'most dangerous' list for travellers[^] The latest edition of the list puts Thailand as the seventh most-dangerous spot for travellers behind Iraq, Afghanistan, Chechnya, South Africa, Somalia and Sudan. Thailand is said to be more dangerous than Colombia and Haiti at the moment. I don't think it is dangerous but with both the major airports closed I doubt if there will be any new arrivals for a while.

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[Oakman]

Back before I switched careers, I directed The King and I - it's a fairy tale, but a nice one and everybody feels bad when Chulalonghorn dies. Even if they don't like it, it probably helped a lot of westerners feel positive about Thailand.

JimmyRopes wrote:

That is where there are active separatists who want to break away from Thailand and make them a Sultanate as they were 100 years ago when Siam took them over

Yeah, that's kind of how Stan feels about Indiana.

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[Oakman]

JimmyRopes wrote:

Thailand as the seventh most-dangerous spot for travellers behind Iraq, Afghanistan, Chechnya, South Africa, Somalia and Sudan.

But it has much more attractive women. ;)

Jon Smith & Wesson: The original point and click interface

[JimmyRopes]

Oakman wrote:

But it has much more attractive women.

Danger is a sexual stimulant. Do you remember that far back? And yes Thai ladies are beautiful.

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[JimmyRopes]

Richard A. Abbott wrote:

The Army doesn't want to get involved.

Having just come out of a military government they will not get involved until they are ordered to take over again. If the last coup is any indication they will rule for a year and then call a general election.

Richard A. Abbott wrote:

An a grenade has gone off at a Thai government house used by protesters

Actually that was the second granade to go off in Government House. Things have to break soon.

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[Paul Conrad]

Oakman wrote:

I directed The King and I

Have a link to it?

"The clue train passed his station without stopping." - John Simmons / outlaw programmer "Real programmers just throw a bunch of 1s and 0s at the computer to see what sticks" - Pete O'Hanlon "Not only do you continue to babble nonsense, you can't even correctly remember the nonsense you babbled just minutes ago." - Rob Graham

[Oakman]

JimmyRopes wrote:

Danger is a sexual stimulant.

Oh yeah.

JimmyRopes wrote:

Do you remember that far back?

Oh yeah.

JimmyRopes wrote:

Thai ladies are beautiful

Oh yeah.

Jon Smith & Wesson: The original point and click interface

[Oakman]

Paul Conrad wrote:

Have a link to it?

My production? Lord, no. As I remember, it got mediocre reviews and died a relatively quick death. But there are pics online of the original Gertrude Lawrence/Yul Brynner orginal as well as the Deborah Kerr/Brynner movie version.

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