Bangkok goes chaotic; Editorial makes right opinion about Blumenthal

All of these stories are reported by The New York Times.
A crackdown on anti government protesters launched by the Thai military on Wednesday degenerated into riots, firebombing attacks, looting and street battles after militants allied with the protest movement resisted the army’s onslaught with grenades and assault weapons. Most of the leaders of the so-called red shirt movement surrendered, but other protesters rampaged across Bangkok, setting fire to almost 30 buildings, the government said, including country’s stock exchange, a massive shopping mall, two banks, a movie theater and a television station. The government warned of further acts of violence into the night and threatened to shoot looters and arsonists. But the crackdown did not appear to have become the large-scale bloodbath that many had feared. By dusk the government said six people — including an Italian news photographer — had been killed and 58 injured, some critically. There were also reports from emergency medical personnel that at least six more bodies of people killed in clashes lay in a Buddhist temple in the combat zone. Still, central Bangkok, the heart of one of Asia’s most cosmopolitan cities, became a militarized zone, with well-armed troops lining many streets and armored personnel carriers barreling down deserted avenues. The government ordered a curfew for Wednesday night, the subway system remained shut, and embassies told their citizens living across this sprawling metropolis of about 15 million people to stay indoors. The leaders of the red shirts, who had roared into Bangkok on March 12 demanding fresh elections and calling for what they said was true democracy for the country, surrendered to the police on Wednesday afternoon to face charges of terrorism. The surrender of the protest leaders and the dispersal of the crowd are victories for the embattled government of Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva. But the crackdown did little to heal the country’s deep divisions and may have exacerbated the resentment felt by the rural and urban poor, who formed the core of the protest movement. Rioting in the country’s populous hinterland Wednesday when the crackdown began underlined those divisions and forced the government to declare a curfew in 24 of the country’s 76 provinces on Wednesday. The crackdown began Wednesday morning when armored military vehicles that had massed in the predawn hours outside the protester’s encampment rammed through barricades constructed with tires, bamboo poles and razor wire. After weeks of back-channel negotiations with the protesters, many of whom are followers of Thaksin Shinawatra, the prime minister ousted in a 2006 military coup, the government had lost its patience. Infantry accompanied the armored vehicles into the protest zone, taking control of major roads as well as entering the city’s Lumpini Park, normally a rare oasis of green and tranquility in Bangkok. On Wednesday a grenade landed in one of the park’s lakes, soldiers said. As troops approached anxiety spread through the protest zone, which was located in one the wealthiest neighborhoods in Bangkok and home to many corporate headquarters, high-end shopping malls, luxury hotels and high-rise apartment buildings. Thai news outlets reported that one of the more militant protest leaders, Arisman Pongruengrong, who is also a popular singer, fled the protest zone in disguise. Mr. Arisman made headlines last month when he evaded arrest by climbing from a window as the police raided the hotel where he was staying. He was captured Wednesday evening by the police and taken to a military base outside of Bangkok. Around noon, seven protest leaders announced they would hand themselves in.
The fact that there is fighting and violence in such a peaceful country makes me very sad. As much as I am happy about people that care about their political rights and thoughts about their government, it should not have come to this. This has been going on for about two months now and I think the government has had enough of it. The government and military officials have made several attempts to make peace with the protesters but most of them still haven't budged. Too many people have been killed, even a general who was shot and killed last week. This has become such a crazy world and no one should feel safe. Stories like this is the reason why all Americans like myself should feel fortunate of what we have. We should cherish all of the opportunities we get and then run with it.
There are few sins less forgivable in American politics than claiming unearned military valor. Richard Blumenthal, the attorney general of Connecticut, may consider his false claim to have served in Vietnam to be “a few misplaced words,” as he put it on Tuesday, but, in fact, this deception seems to have been part of a larger pattern of misleading voters. As Raymond Hernandez reported in The Times on Tuesday, Mr. Blumenthal, a Democratic candidate for the United States Senate, said on at least one occasion in 2008 that he had served in Vietnam, and he failed to correct journalistic profiles over the years that included the claim. He was actually a member of the Marine Corps Reserve who never served overseas. In an unsatisfying news conference on Tuesday, Mr. Blumenthal said he had meant to say that he served “during” the Vietnam War, not “in” Vietnam. He was surrounded by veterans who said he had repeatedly used that construction over the years. But even that phrase seems intended to suggest to inattentive voters that he had a greater link to the war than he actually did. There is nothing wrong with having received multiple military deferments during the Vietnam period, as Mr. Blumenthal did, and neither those deferments nor the details of his service in the reserve have any bearing on his fitness to become a senator. But his embellishments do. Mr. Blumenthal, who has an exemplary record as attorney general, has only a few months to demonstrate that they are an aberration and not a disqualifying character trait.
People like Richard Blumenthal are why politicians disgust me. How do you "misplace words" about serving in the Vietnam War? Serving during and serving in Vietnam is a big difference. Those were very sad and brutal times in American history in the 20th century. While millions of American soldiers lost their lives fighting for their country, this guy kept being deferred from serving. It's probably because he's lazy and incompetent and the generals knew that it wouldn't be a good idea to have him serve with other soldiers who actually care about their country. I'm glad that Blumenthal supports Vietnam War veterans and also acknowledges of what they have been through since the conclusion of the war, but don't act like you are a hero because you served during those times. This is no world citizen trusts their government because all of the people involved are two-faced.