News Stories

[SaintessHeart]

Originally Posted by kyp275

Tbh, I feel this line from kingdom of heaven best sum up how I feel about the subject:

PROTECT THE LOLIS. TAKE THEM HOME!

Thai army takes power in coup after talks between rivals fail

(Reuters) - Thailand's army chief General Prayuth Chan-ocha seized control of the government in a coup on Thursday, two days after he declared martial law, saying the army had to restore order and push through reforms.

Prayuth made the announcement in a television broadcast after a meeting to which he had summoned the rival factions in Thailand's drawn-out political conflict, apparently with the aim of finding a solution to six months of anti-government protests.

"In order for the situation to return to normal quickly and for society to love and be at peace again ... and to reform the political, economic and social structure, the military needs to take control of power," Prayuth said.

The military later declared a 10 p.m. until 5 a.m. curfew.

Thailand is locked in a protracted power struggle between supporters of ousted former premier Thaksin Shinawatra and opponents backed by the royalist establishment that has polarized the country and battered its economy.

The Thai army has a long history of intervening in politics - there have been 18 previous successful or attempted coups since the country became a constitutional monarchy in 1932, most recently when Thaksin was deposed in 2006.

Hundreds of soldiers surrounded the meeting at Bangkok's Army Club shortly before the coup announcement and troops took away Suthep Thaugsuban, leader of the protests against the pro-Thaksin government.

Some of the other meeting participants were being held back in the venue afterwards, said a Reuters reporter waiting outside.

The army ordered rival protest camps to break up and soldiers fired into the air to disperse thousands of pro-government "red shirt" activists gathered in Bangkok's western outskirts, a spokesman for the group said.

The military detained at least one leader of the activists, said the spokesman, Thanawut Wichaidit.

A Reuters witness later said the protesters were leaving peacefully. Earlier, their leader, Jatuporn Prompan, said they would continue their rally despite the coup and the order to disperse.

The army had declared martial law on Tuesday, saying the move was necessary to prevent violence, but it rejected accusations its actions amounted to a coup.

CALL FOR COMPROMISE

In a first round of talks on Wednesday, Prayuth had called on the two sides to agree on a compromise that would have hinged around the appointment of an interim prime minister, political reforms and the timing of an election.

Wednesday's talks ended inconclusively with neither side backing down from their entrenched positions, participants said.

The army has also clamped down on the media, including partisan television channels, and warned people not to spread inflammatory material on social media.

Leaders of the ruling Puea Thai Party and the opposition Democrat Party, the Senate leader and the five-member Election Commission had joined the second round of talks on Thursday.

Acting Prime Minister Niwatthamrong Boonsongphaisan, who did not attend, told reporters before the talks that his government could not resign as its enemies were demanding as that would contravene the constitution.

"The government wants the problem solved in a democratic way which includes a government that comes from elections," he said.

Government officials were not available for comment after the coup announcement.

VIOLENT PROTESTS

Former telecommunications tycoon Thaksin has lived in self-exile since 2008 to avoid a jail term for graft, but still commands the loyalty of legions of rural and urban poor and exerts a huge influence over politics, most recently through a government run by his sister, Yingluck Shinawatra.

Yingluck was forced to step down as premier by a court two weeks ago, but her caretaker government, buffeted by six months of protests against it, had remained nominally in power despite the declaration of martial law this week.

Thailand's gross domestic product contracted 2.1 percent in January-March from the previous three months, largely because of the unrest, adding to fears it is stumbling into recession.

The protesters want to rid the country of the influence of Thaksin, who they say is a corrupt crony capitalist who commandeered Thailand's fragile democracy and used taxpayers' money to buy votes with populist giveaways.

They wanted a "neutral" interim prime minister to oversee electoral reforms before any new vote.

The government and its supporters said a general election that it would likely win was the best way forward and it had proposed polls on August 3, to be followed by reforms.

Earlier on Thursday, anti-government protest leader Suthep, a former deputy prime minister in a government run by the pro-establishment Democrat Party, told his supporters victory was imminent.

Twenty-eight people have been killed and 700 injured since this latest chapter in the power struggle between Thaksin and the royalist elite flared up late last year.

[Hiss13]

Daily Show Discovers India’s Media Might Be Worse than Ours

But then correspondent Jason Jones reported from India, and spoke with one network’s “biggest news douche.” And he quickly learned that India’s cable news actually envies U.S. news’ election graphics and attractive women and want them on their own cable news programs.

But the print media was the real shocker, where Jones literally paid a journalist to write a completely false story on him that ended up on page two of the paper. Wow.

I was originally going to put this in the Silly News thread due to the fact that it's from the Daily Show....but it's a serious matter...so...here it is.

[ganbaru]

Originally Posted by Hiss13

I was originally going to put this in the Silly News thread due to the fact that it's from the Daily Show....but it's a serious matter...so...here it is.

It's quite sad than comedians are now better at journalism than actual journalist

[risingstar3110]

Oh Thailand had military coup again? Isn't it a bit early this year? I thought they often wait till September for their annual military coup?

[Hiss13]

Originally Posted by ganbaru

It's quite sad than comedians are now better at journalism than actual journalist

It's definitely sad when the "fake" news is better journalism than "actual" journalism.

[Vallen Chaos Valiant]

Originally Posted by Hiss13

It's definitely sad when the "fake" news is better journalism than "actual" journalism.

To be precise, "funny" fake news is better journalism. Because it can only be funny if it is true.

[monster]

I admit I don't watch shows like The Daily Show anymore like I used to briefly in college, so I don't really know much about it, but I was under the impression that they based their comedic presentations on some real facts.

Originally Posted by kyp275

Tbh, I feel this line from kingdom of heaven best sum up how I feel about the subject:

That's unfortunate, but understandable. Some people shy away from certain anime shows solely based on their interactions with certain fans of those shows.

[GDB]

They do. The "Fake" in "Fake News" comes not from the news itself being fake, but from "them" being fake. That is, the broadcast is a "fake news show", rather than a "fake news" show.

[Tiberium Wolf]

They shouldn't call it fake news. They aren't inventing news but just looking from another point of view.

Good thing that the media and the rest of the world make so many silly actions. That way daily show and colbert report never runs out of material to work with.

[TinyRedLeaf]

US supports legal action to resolve China-Vietnam dispute

Washington (May 22, Thu): The White House said today it would support the use of legal action by Vietnam against China to resolve a dispute, after the deployment of a Chinese oil rig to disputed waters in the South China Sea.

Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung said his government was considering various "defence options" against China, including legal action.

White House spokesman Patrick Ventrell said: "The United States supports the use of diplomatic and other peaceful means to manage and resolve disagreements, including the use of arbitration or other international legal mechanisms."

Vietnam's plans drew an angry response from China, which insists that the rig is in its sovereign waters.

China accused Vietnam of stoking regional tensions.

REUTERS

[Ithekro]

Hasn't China been opposed to international involvement in these international disputes?

[SaintessHeart]

Originally Posted by Ithekro

Hasn't China been opposed to international involvement in these international disputes?

Those are sovereign waters. Why shouldn't they include international involvment?

If they are not happy, send their warships there. After all, it is their right to sail their ships into their waters right?

[TinyRedLeaf]

My gut feel is that international opinion on China has gone past a tipping point.

If I were in Beijing, I'd probably feel as though I'm under siege, with bombs in Xinjiang, knife slashings in Guangdong, citizens attacked in Vietnam or kidnapped from Borneo, fishermen nabbed for poaching by the Philippines, Japan mulling over the repeal of a crucial clause in its pacifist Constitution, and US making a show of "rebalancing" towards Asia.

And amid all these developments, the Chinese foreign ministry continues to talk tough, even as the president says he's committed to peaceful solutions to regional territorial disputes.

I get the impression that Chinese foreign policy is running on dangerous auto-pilot, with predictably angry knee-jerk responses to anything perceived to be remotely "anti-China", but failing at the same time to provide a consistent and coherent doctrine on how China intends to manage its "peaceful rise".

[Fireminer]

Telling that to the Vietnamese government. We couldn't even send just a frigate to there. Why? Giving China a reason to escalate everything.

Or this: http://thediplomat.com/2014/05/china...tegic-mistake/

[JokerD]

Originally Posted by TinyRedLeaf

My gut feel is that international opinion on China has gone past a tipping point.

If I were in Beijing, I'd probably feel as though I'm under siege, with bombs in Xinjiang, knife slashings in Guangdong, citizens attacked in Vietnam or kidnapped from Borneo, fishermen nabbed for poaching by the Philippines, Japan mulling over the repeal of a crucial clause in its pacifist Constitution, and US making a show of "rebalancing" towards Asia.

And amid all these developments, the Chinese foreign ministry continues to talk tough, even as the president says he's committed to peaceful solutions to regional territorial disputes.

I get the impression that Chinese foreign policy is running on dangerous auto-pilot, with predictably angry knee-jerk responses to anything perceived to be remotely "anti-China", but failing at the same time to provide a consistent and coherent doctrine on how China intends to manage its "peaceful rise".

On the other hand, it is courting developing nations (chiefly in Africa) with condition-free loans, which most of them love. That civil war in Sri Lanka also didn't end with a European or American or even UN peace treaty but with weapon brought from China or money from China loans...

So yeah, those annoyed with China would be US and China's southern neighbors and the non-han Chinese...

Europeans don't even care, since they need Chinese money to break out of it's economic funk

[TinyRedLeaf]

Originally Posted by JokerD

On the other hand, it is courting developing nations (chiefly in Africa) with condition-free loans, which most of them love. That civil war in Sri Lanka also didn't end with a European or American or even UN peace treaty but with weapon brought from China or money from China loans.

Not strictly true.

Zambian miners kill Chinese manager in pay protest (August 2012)

Two Chinese workers abducted at copper mine in Myanmar (May 19, 2014)


Increasingly, we're seeing a popular backlash against not just Chinese foreign policy but also against Chinese-run development projects overseas.

I think it's time for the Chinese to do some serious self-reflection. They're not impressing anyone by thumping their broadening chests.

If they're truly serious about pursuing a "peaceful rise", it's time that they understand that we're in the 21st century. Countries today are not going accept a rise that basically forces them to submit to Chinese suzerainty. We may not be equal powers, but we're not tribute nations either.

[Vallen Chaos Valiant]

The issue with China-Africa relations is that China is befriending the rulers of these countries, but not their civilians. So despite the entirely amicable business deals, the civilians feel short changed that their government is getting rich but with nothing trickled down to them.

This can be easily avoided if the African rulers treat their people fairly. But of course that is out of China's hands. It's just that dissatisfaction of the population over their own government can easily translate to violence handed out to Chinese workers. Workers who are innocent but would be easy targets.

[Lyocol]

CIA is behind all of this, no surprise.

[Ithekro]

I'm fairly sure the Chinese government can screw up their foreign policies on their own without any help from the CIA.

[KiraYamatoFan]

Originally Posted by Ithekro

I'm fairly sure the Chinese government can screw up their foreign policies on their own without any help from the CIA.

Even that is an understatement. The whole body of Chinese foreign politics is a massive klausterfökken (if I use Stephen Colbert's word wisely).