Army's Martial law in Thailand surprise to gov't

Wisdom Quarterly; CNN

BANGKOK, Thailand (CNN) - The Thai army declared martial law throughout the country Tuesday in a surprise move that an aide to the embattled Prime Minister said the government didn't know about beforehand.

 

"They took this action unilaterally. The government is having a special meeting regarding this. We have to watch and see if the army chief honors his declaration of impartiality," the aide said, describing the situation as "half a coup d'etat."

 

Lt. Gen. Nipat Thonglek told CNN the move was not a coup.

 

"The Army aims to maintain peace, order and public safety for all groups and all parties," a ticker running on the army's television channel said. "People are urged not to panic, and can carry on their business as usual. Declaring martial law is not a coup d'etat."

 

Martial law went into effect at 3:00 am on Tuesday, the ticker said. More + VIDEO

"I Love Congress!" (comic)

Pat Mapcherson, CC Liu, Pfc. Sandoval, Seven, Wisdom Quarterly; PasadenaWeekly.com

Ruggedly handsome, Nazi appearing, cigarette smoking Republican Boehner (Reuters)

Thanks, Tea Party! "This Modern World" (Tom Tomorrow/thismodernworld.com)

V.P. Joe Biden, Pres. B.S. Obama, and John Boehner squirming at the state of the union

You, sir, are my inspiration!

Republican Speaker of the House of Representatives John Boehner (rhymes with "owner," or is that "stainer"?) has good reason to love Congress. Why is the US government shut down? It is because Obama and Boehner, titular heads of the party (yes, just the ONE, with two nearly identical wings and occasionally different talking points), want it that way? What does it mean that it is shut down? It is the perfect opportunity to implement any plan except, perhaps, the single-payer option for universal healthcare coverage most Americans want, which is what other civilized post-industrial societies like Canada and England enjoy. But this has nothing to do with petty bickering, health insurance, or personalities. That is the distraction, the "spectacle" of our system of symbolic politics. There is no viable "third party" and the party in power (Powers That Be) makes sure of that. The wagons circle anytime any other party -- Green, Independent, Libertarian, and so on -- starts gaining the slightest bit of traction. Am I a republocrat? Are you a demolican? Tweedledee, Tweedledum, aren't we all just American'ts for our worldwide empire?

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Don't worry, Barry and I have a plan! It's as much his doing as mine. You'll see, you'll see.