Anti-government protesters with the People’s Alliance for Democracy have been sitting outside the UN building in Bangkok all week. (I think of them as a welcoming committee of sorts.) In 2006, the same group’s protests helped topple Thai PM Thaksin Shinawatra. Although newspapers — and UN security — keep warning that the protests could get violent, I can’t imagine this group of people becoming violent. So far the protest has consisted mainly of people hanging out on a grassy area where they’ve pitched tents, eating street food and taking naps.

To Coup or Not to Coup in Thailand, Asia Times, May 31, 2008