After a week of protests, Thailand's Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej declared a state of emergency earlier today in Bangkok. Despite the fact that the decree allows authorities the ability to "bar the media from reporting news that 'causes panic,'" reporters in the country have so far been able to operate freely.

The reason? Army chief Anupong Paochinda has been unwilling to comply with the PM's ruling, hoping the situation will resolve itself peacefully.

This sounds like good news, but since Western media can't hope to understand what's happening (CNN is accused of cutting quotes), we'll refrain from judging.