Jet Gorgon

Excerpt from Al Jazeera website report on the BKK bombings:

The police have not yet said who had set off the bombs and no group has so far claimed responsibility.

Members of Thailand's Muslim minority are fighting a campaign for a separate Islamic state.

In recent months they have killed several Buddhist teachers, monks and bystanders in mainly Muslim areas of southern Thailand.

More than 1,400 people have been killed in the conflict since fighting began in January 2004.

Yikes. Any thoughts for how to bring peace without killing off a whole culture, tribe, nation?

Sorry, dear. I have a 2-bd, 2-bth house with garden in Bangrak for 8,000. Your price is unrealistic to the maxola.

Has HRH King Bumiphol issued any statements? I am sure this horror is the last thing he wants or needs.

Anyone know how the survivors are doing? Prayers to all the victims.

Seven bombs in as many minutes; I would never have thought it would be just one group! Guess they are stumped or stalling for time.

No alms giving? That is a travesty of Thai culture.

"The person in charge of that operation was General Sondthi, the very person who, along with 'others' orchestrated the coup. There is more to this country than meets the eye."

Thanks for the heads up, mbkudu. I didn't know that. You are right. What a tangled web they weave.

"Thaksin carries out only his political work," the lawyer said. "He doesn't do such things. If he wants to spark any movement, he won't use violence."

Ya, I remember when he ordered the army down to Yala and Pattani to restore order last year. No violence, killings and torture there, right? People stacked in trucks like pigs off to the slaughter, if I remember correctly.

From Intl Herald Tribune 31/12/06

BANGKOK, Thailand: A series of coordinated bomb attacks stunned the Thai capital as it prepared to ring in 2007, killing two people and canceling festivities for thousands of revelers. Investigators spent New Year's Day trying to determine who was behind the attack.

The nine bombs that exploded across Bangkok on New Year's Eve and early Monday also wounded 34 people — at least six of them foreigners.

The bombings capped a year of unrest in Thailand, including a military coup three months ago and an increasingly violent Muslim insurgency in the south.

There was no claim of responsibility. National deputy police chief Gen. Ajirawit Suphanaphesat said Muslim separatist insurgents were probably not behind the attacks.

The foreigners known hurt were two Serbians, two Britons, a Hungarian and a U.S. citizen, said Suchila La-oan, a staff member of the Police General Hospital, where they were sent.

The bombings triggered a major security lockdown in the Thai capital, but no chaos. An investigation has been launched.

The three bombs that exploded just after midnight Monday were in a phone booth, a hotel, and near a canal bridge in a downtown area thick with heavily touristed hotels and shopping malls.

They went off near the planned venue for Bangkok's main New Year countdown party, canceled hours earlier after the six initial blasts throughout the city.

"Due to several bomb explosions in Bangkok and for the sake of peace and "Due to several bomb explosions in Bangkok and for the sake of peace and security, I would ask all of you to return to your homes now," Bangkok Mayor Apirak Kosayothin had told some 5,000 revelers at the downtown Central World Plaza shopping mall. The crowd dispersed quickly but calmly.

Hotels stepped up security, searching cars and canceling expensive New Year's Eve dinners.

"I heard a loud explosion and I thought it was fireworks. I ran there and saw a bleeding woman at the bus stop," said Somrak Manphothong, a receptionist at the Saxophone bar along a busy traffic circle near the Victory Monument, the scene of one bombing.

"Another guy was lying on the floor, covered with blood, and his wife was shaking his body," Somrak said.

At another site near a vegetable market in the Klong Toey slum, a pool of blood and egg yolks covered the roadside beside an overturned motorcycle.

The main public celebration was also called off in Thailand's northern hub city of Chiang Mai, though no incidents were reported there.

But New Year festivities continued in parts of Bangkok, with hundreds of foreign tourists still partying into the night in the famous Patpong Road red light district.

Fireworks lit up the sky at midnight in both Bangkok and Chiang Mai, with many people still gathered in the streets.

Police and army troops with assault rifles guarded some entertainment venues, mass transit stations and traffic circles. Roadblocks were set up on some streets.

Several foreign embassies responded to the bombing by issuing updated travel advisories, warning that the threat of terrorism was high and advising their citizens not to travel within Bangkok and to avoid mass gatherings.

"There is a possibility of further attacks in coming days," said a travel advisory from the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

The six earlier bombs wounded 14 people seriously, while the rest were treated and released from hospitals, said Health Minister Mongkol Na Songkhla.

The bombings came in the middle of a long holiday weekend during the peak tourist season in Bangkok, a city known for its easygoing, party-hearty spirit.

"No, I'm not scared. I'm from England. There are bomb scares all the time," said Keith Waters, who nevertheless expressed disappointment since he had been looking forward to ringing in his first New Year with his Thai wife.

The city has rarely experienced deadly bombings, although several small explosives were set off during recent political turmoil in an apparent attempt to create a sense of instability, not to cause casualties.

In September, a group of generals ousted Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra in a bloodless coup, and the military installed Surayud Chulanont as interim prime minister until elections set for October 2007.

Thaksin still has widespread support, and a number of arson attacks in provincial areas have been blamed on his followers.

"There are two potential suspects: Muslim insurgents and Thaksin's residual power. I tend to think it's residual power. I suspect the previous regime," said Thitinan Pongsudhirak, a political scientist at Chulalongkorn University.

"The coup was not done right," he said. "If there had to be a coup, they had to put away Thaksin and his cronies."

"I heard a loud explosion and I thought it was fireworks. I ran there and saw a bleeding woman at the bus stop," said Somrak Manphothong, a receptionist at the Saxophone bar along a busy traffic circle near the Victory Monument, the scene of one bombing.

"Another guy was lying on the floor, covered with blood, and his wife was shaking his body," Somrak said.

At another site near a vegetable market in the Klong Toey slum, a pool of blood and egg yolks covered the roadside beside an overturned motorcycle.

The main public celebration was also called off in Thailand's northern hub city of Chiang Mai, though no incidents were reported there.

But New Year festivities continued in parts of Bangkok, with hundreds of foreign tourists still partying into the night in the famous Patpong Road red light district.

Fireworks lit up the sky at midnight in both Bangkok and Chiang Mai, with many people still gathered in the streets.

Police and army troops with assault rifles guarded some entertainment venues, mass transit stations and traffic circles. Roadblocks were set up on some streets.

Several foreign embassies responded to the bombing by issuing updated travel advisories, warning that the threat of terrorism was high and advising their citizens not to travel within Bangkok and to avoid mass gatherings.

"There is a possibility of further attacks in coming days," said a travel advisory from the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

The six earlier bombs wounded 14 people seriously, while the rest were treated and released from hospitals, said Health Minister Mongkol Na Songkhla.

The bombings came in the middle of a long holiday weekend during the peak tourist season in Bangkok, a city known for its easygoing, party-hearty spirit.

"No, I'm not scared. I'm from England. There are bomb scares all the time," said Keith Waters, who nevertheless expressed disappointment since he had been looking forward to ringing in his first New Year with his Thai wife.

The city has rarely experienced deadly bombings, although several small explosives were set off during recent political turmoil in an apparent attempt to create a sense of instability, not to cause casualties.

In September, a group of generals ousted Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra in a bloodless coup, and the military installed Surayud Chulanont as interim prime minister until elections set for October 2007.

Thaksin still has widespread support, and a number of arson attacks in provincial areas have been blamed on his followers.

"There are two potential suspects: Muslim insurgents and Thaksin's residual power. I tend to think it's residual power. I suspect the previous regime," said Thitinan Pongsudhirak, a political scientist at Chulalongkorn University.

"The coup was not done right," he said. "If there had to be a coup, they had to put away Thaksin and his cronies."

Thaksin's lawyer, Noppadol Patama, was quoted on the Matichon newspaper's Web site as saying that Thaksin was in China, and not involved in the bombings.

"Thaksin carries out only his political work," the lawyer said. "He doesn't do such things. If he wants to spark any movement, he won't use violence."

Bombings and shootings occur almost daily in Thailand's three southernmost provinces of Yala, Narathiwat and Pattani, where an Islamic insurgency that flared in January 2004 has killed more than 1,900 people.

The insurgents have carried out numerous attacks in the south, but are not known to have launched any in Bangkok.

I can see the police out in full force to collect smoking fines, just like they did when they initiated the "no littering" law.

I smoke, but I live in a mostly outdoor environment and never smoke in air-con, buses, etc. I live next to restaurant workers who have started to burn up a mountain of rancid oil every morning to prepare their food. It is gross.

I do hate smokers who throw their butts everywhere, especially on the beach. Take a bag to collect the butts and drop it in a bin!

Lorry and vehicle exhaust fumes seem worse to me, as does the smoke that wafts up from Indonesia every year when they burn off all their fields. That is all-pervasive.

Hi, and Merry Christmas everyone.

I am back in the States, telecommuting for a US company. Hope to return to Thailand early 2007. Just past the 50 mark, so any suggestions for what kind of visa I should go for? Or any complications with taxes on my foreign salary?

Thanks kindly for any advice.

Thank you for keeping us posted on the latest news and issues.

A very merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you and your team.

No night boats that I know, but a fisherman might take you. Ask at Cactus or one of the other bars.

Hi, Mr Riley. On your way up north, look around Khao Sok Nat'l Park. Rainforest, waterfalls and streams for fishing. Lots of birds and wildlife. Probably within 2 hours to Surat Thani for shopping. Also close to Ranong for visa runs if you need, and Sophon's Hideaway restaurant for fab food.

Find a neighbour/friend with a truck and hire a couple of kids to load. Figure out what to pay for besides petrol; a couple hundred for the kids is usually ok.

Hi, Iremark!

Can you be more specific about location, price, amenities you want?

Thanks for the input and the twist on timeshare sharks, y'all.

Trolling, Khun Cobra? Just fishing for responses from fellow farangs.

I thought the line "It's easy to quit smoking..." was "It's easy to quit drinking. I've done it many times." WC Fields

apathy and meditation. selective political medicine? support Gdubbleya then, gentle pilgrims to paradise? or hillary or obama?

With the influx of farang on Samui searching for cheaper, warmer and less-infiltrated farang paradises, how to cope with the jerk monsters? Does the racial/cultural divide seem to explode here in the heat? Italians screaming at Brits, Brits shouting at Yanks, nasties fighting in clubs...Is Samui a free zone for zenophobia and verbal and physical abuse? How do you cope?

Jet away...........

Just pretend your a deaf Mute..

With the influx of farang on Samui searching for cheaper, warmer and less-infiltrated farang paradises, how to cope with the jerk monsters? Does the racial/cultural divide seem to explode here in the heat? Italians screaming at Brits, Brits shouting at Yanks, nasties fighting in clubs...Is Samui a free zone for zenophobia and verbal and physical abuse? How do you cope?