[thailand] i don't see why the king stays silent

This Thaksin Shinawatra business inThailand is old really and it's also odd. Do you remember the King was going to intervene; he did have a chat with the PM but there's something about the tradition of the King staying above politics which prevented him from removing Shinawatra and yet he must be able to see what's happening to his country. When we were in Thailand, we once saw total gridlock for twenty minutes where two intercity arteries joined and we were informed it was just the King going home for the evening. We asked about this and no Thai voice expressed even the slightest annoyance at it. He has immense power and one word would see the crisis ended.