I found this gesture pretty lame, but a lot of Thais here think it is a nice idea. They're pretty attached to their King, culture, national identity, etc. They think that this kind of symbolic stuff can change things.
I was actually afraid people would fight over the birds, considering there were prizes involved. I absolutely despise the current regime in Thailand - Thaksin is a sort of Thai Bush, implementing a freedom-reducing 'family values' agenda. Bush and Taksin both kill a lot of Muslims, but this does not make up for their repressive social controls.
Considering that the kings of Thailand have for centuries managed to keep their nation free from colonialist mutants like China, France, the UK, Imperial Japan, and Marxist generals, this is a small gesture of appreciation from the Thai people.
And "repressive social controls" =" no 14 year old prostitutes plying their trade on every streetcorner" Good riddance!
