The power hasn't been cut - I believe that means it won't be but you never know. I'm not really in danger though, there's been only one death and they were when pro-government and anti-government supporters clashed. The problems are more within Traffic and the halting of government business.
It definitely has changed. Thailand felt humiliated post-colonialism like most of the surrounding area, it was forced to give up small amounts of land on all sides to French Cambodia, French Laos, British Malaysia and British Burma. The US was of course seen as an extension of the previous colonial struggles. More of the same, another foreign power fighting over 'our' lands.
I think that the Thai military is much more independently capable now than it was before. The protesters are also no where near as numerous as the protests almost 20 years ago. The military wouldn't have much problem containing them if absoloutely neccessary. The US do have some naval ships docked down south, A Captain allowed us to go and see one a while back.
Being strongly connected to an International school, I do know a few American aid and seniorish navy workers. The US involvement is centred around protecting their own embassy-workers, they do feed information to the school (Which is a little less than 1/3 American), which feeds safety-related information to us.
The problem is more or less City vs Country as Sean has said. The previous Thai PM (Thaksin) was accused of vote buying, not outright vote buying but taking advantage of the uneducated and ultimately cheating them of their taxes. After selling his massive company tax-free it sparked massive protests, the military intervened while he was out of the country before it got worse (This would conveniently allow him to choose exile and avoid being charged). The current party is apparently more of the same, and although the man in charge isn't accused of corruption the city-people see him as proof that the system needs to be re-thought.
Recently the Thai and Cambodian people were more or less manipulated pre-election with nationalistic sentiment. Both sides 'exploded' a border dispute over an ancient archaeological site. This is a point that the educated city people can see and the uneducated countr' can't.
From what I understand though - I'm not really very integrated into Thai society - the protesters are losing a lot of the popular support they had. Most people believe that they've going too far at this point.
The protesters are also getting tired of occupying some of the areas. It apparently is starting to stink (no bathrooms) and it gets incredibly hot in Thailand mid-day. This'll probably cause more decisive actions to be taken over the next few days, more extreme actions by the protesters as they begin to go home.
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