This is "Live Firing Zone"...Get out!

For the first time, we see this sign posted by the military around Rajprarob area, north of the main protest site at Rajprasong Intersection. It's supposed to send a clear message: Soldiers will shoot with live bullets, for self-defence. Reporters and others have been told to leave the area or else their personal safety cannot be guaranteed.

Watch Seh Daeng interview seconds before he was shot

Seh Deng -- Maj Gen Kattiya Swasdiphol -- was interviewed by a small group of foreign reporters when a bullet struck his head. This video was shot by @pattmessenger

Sukhumbhand's definition of a 'failed state' and 'failed govt'

M.R. Sukhumbhand Baripatra, governor of Bangkok and a senior member of the ruling Democrat Party, has challenged anyone who says Thailand is now a "failed state."

He told Matichon in an interview: "There is apparently a misunderstanding when you say Thailand is a failed state. All the mechanisms of a normal state are still with us. If anything, we may have a failed government which hasn't been able to manage things the way it should have...."

The Bangkok governor was acting as the government's enjoy in holding a few sessions of talks with Red Shirt leader Nattawut Saikeau. But after a few rounds of unannounced negotiations, the premier instructed him to call a halt to the talks with the protest leaders.

"Why did the PM ask me to be the emissary in this case? Don't forget I was a diplomat before," M.R. Sukhumbhand said.

His personal ties with the premier have had their ups and downs. But don't ask him what were the ups and which were the downs. Don't forget he was once a diplomat.

Have you seen Abhisit doing this before?

Very few people have seen PM Abhisit Vejjajiva in this playful pose. Perhaps, under the current political stressful mood, that's exactly what the prime minister needs to do: forget the red leaders' ambivalence and get the other groups behind him.

But that's easier said than done. By proposing his 5-point "national reconciliation" plan leading to a Nov 14 election, Abhisit has effectively alienated ths yellows and the pinks and the "multi-colours." And he knows it. "The more they loved me, the more upset they were when they thought I was betraying them," he told an interviewer in a televised interview yesterday.

Now that the red shirts have refused to respond with a definite timeline for ending the protest at Rajpraong Intersection, the PM has set May 15 as the deadline to "take it or leave it."

But then Abhisit knows that he can't just rely on the yellow and the multi-colours. Now, he needs to earn the trust of "the rest of the country" so that he doesn't fall victim to any new pressure.

He will have to go back to his playful gesture to overcome the prevailing stalling game.

Red shirts, Yellow shirts at least agree on one point

Believe it or not, the red shirts and yellow shirts have somehow agreed on at least one thing now: PM Abhisit Vejjajiva must go!

But Time magazine, in its latest Asian edition, takes a different position: Abhisit, who only three weeks ago, was weak and fumbling, now appears "a statesman in this conflict."

And they are all talking about the same thing: Abhisit's "road map" that will lead to a Nov 14 general election if his five-point "national reconciliation" proposals are accepted by all concerned.

The red shirts have conditionally accepted the proposed new election date, seeking a confirmation from the premier as to the exact date of the House dissolution.

The yellow shirts came out with a strongly-worded statement condemning Abhisit for "colluding with the traitors" and perhaps even working behind-the-scenes with former Premier Thaksin Shinawatra, who was supposed to be his arch-enemy.

But Time magazine's analysis had a different take: Abhisit, with this new move, has demonstrated his restrait and leadership. The article urges the red shirts to accept the road map.

But then, that was before the yellow shirts came up with its highly controversial position paper asking the PM to quit!

Are these faces of compromise?

Don't you think they look a bit too serious for a group of people announcing their readiness to accept a compromise with PM Abhisit Vejjajiva?

Well, this was exactly how they look when the red shirt leaders declared on stage just now that they would accept Abhisit's five-point "national reconciliation" proposal including the plan to call a new election on Nov 14. But they quickly added that they wouldn't call off the protest at Rajprasong Intersection just yet -- not until the premier specifies when the House would be dissolved.

That, to say the least, is somewhat strange. All they need to do is to do a bit of counting back to find out when the PM plans to dissolve the House. Under the constitution, an election could be held within 45 days after the House is dissolved -- but no later than 60 days.

Some sympathisers say they simply want some face-saving measure. Others say the red-shirt leaders have to convince the extremists (both right and left) to agree to take a common stand: Declare victory (now that the PM has conceded to their demand for a new election) and call off the protest.

But the premier also warned that if the reds refuse to join his proposed reconciliation "road map," he will continue with the tough plan to disperse the protest and that he won't soften his position.

No doubt, several groups of people who have opposed House dissolution have criticized the PM for "handing the country to the Reds" by agreeing to the new election.

Abhisit said on Monday night when he delivered his televised "road map" that he realized that some groups of people would disagree with his proposal.

"But in any political settlement, no single party could expect to win all its demands. All parties would have to sacrifice something to get the nation back on its feet again," he said.

The next few days will be crucial to see whether the reds will disperse to allow the PM to justify his reconciliation with the protesters.

Thaksin tells Nation reporter: You are not talking to a ghost

Thaksin Shinawatra says he is alive and well. "And you are not talking to a ghost," the former premier told a Nation reporter who finally got him on the telephone line last night.

Rumours about his "death" have spread far and wide in the local press for a few weeks. Now, Thaksin insists he isn't only breathing, he expects to be back in Thailand towards the end of the year.

Read the full story here: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/home/2010/05/03/politics/With-red-shirts-on-back-foot-Thaksin-re-emerges-30128446.html