At last a clue in which side to support in Thailand

Chitpas Bhirombhakdi, whose family owns the Boon Rawd Brewery, said rural areas did not                                                                                                                understand democracy

Beer is the answer.  The presumptive future of the oldest brewery in Thailand, maker of the potent Singha Gold has taken the position that the country can not handle democracy. That is an interesting argument in itself. Nations without strong institutions may find democracy is easily played by plahyers. So it just becomes a dictatorship with varying depths of democracy veneer. One could argue especially in Anglo Saxon countries there is no democracy only a very thick veneer. One could also argue a country like Singapore is a case study in how a thin veneer of democracy works magnificently. However in Thailand the thin veneer approach would most certainly be worn as a dictatorship. The US and Japan could play a progressive role by reading the riot act to the yellow shirts, but at this point its very hard to determine that yellow shirts are not worn by their favorite team.