In case you’re not watching: Thai protestors issued the strongest challenge to the monarchy in decades : The demonstration at Thammasat proposes monarchy reform | Prachatai English prachatai.com/english/node/8… This is a direct and risk-fraught challenge to King Vajiralongkorn, a brutal and corrupt man who presided over his kingdom from Germany, the army and security services his arms of control

Prem Tinsulanonda was the primary protector of the monarchy of King Bhumibol beginning in the late 1970s. He also was the anchor of the US-Thai relationship through the 1980s. nyti.ms/2JFxm6J In a deeply corrupt military he was personally quite clean. But his 8 years as a prime minister who never stood for election solidified the political & business role of the military which Thais continue to fight to this day. He institutionalized the ultra-conservative elite

A few comments on Saudi Arabia's (KSA) royal family rule & reporting on King Salman, Crown Pinrce Mohhamad bin Salman (MBS), If you read dramatic reporting in @washingtonpost and @nytimes you get the idea that MBS is a big change in many ways. Not true, at all. In economics, social & politics, in military & geopolitics, & in treatment of dissidents, K. Salman and MBS are extensions of previous reign of King Abdullah. Main difference: they forced Abdullah's family & allied royals from power and installed their own family and allies.