debcmai

......................"where the usual suspects post increasingly "imaginative" polemic or unrelenting adoration"......................................

And this from one of the worst red propagandists ever to post on TV, (under various noms-de-plume)

I foresee a forum where the nasty, condescending red lovers are too frightened to post. Cannot wait !

I hope I'm not the only one to find this comment very chilling.

chilling indeed

OK I am going to ask about this again. A controlled destruction...with such a loud explosion? Would that not mean it was a bomb? Sorry for being stupid about this, but it woke me up as I was falling asleep it was so loud. Does anyone know more?

I only skimmed the cm108.com postings but it looks as though it was a backpack that was "suspiciously" left by the Suthep Road/Canal Road intersection. There was apparently no positive cause to suspect it was a bomb or anything like that but the authorities wanted to play it safe so they blew it up. And maybe having such a big explosion carried the extra bonus of keeping people jumpy and fearful?

Well...if it were NOT an explosive...then they really went out of their way to destroy it with their own explosive...it was a pretty loud boom...woke me right up...felt it through the windows that face the canal road....sheesh....

shame on them scaring a middle ages farangi lady like that....but, honestly...i was much more worried about them...all of them...praying for Chiang Mai...praying for Thailand.

OK I am going to ask about this again. A controlled destruction...with such a loud explosion? Would that not mean it was a bomb? Sorry for being stupid about this, but it woke me up as I was falling asleep it was so loud. Does anyone know more?

I only skimmed the cm108.com postings but it looks as though it was a backpack that was "suspiciously" left by the Suthep Road/Canal Road intersection. There was apparently no positive cause to suspect it was a bomb or anything like that but the authorities wanted to play it safe so they blew it up. And maybe having such a big explosion carried the extra bonus of keeping people jumpy and fearful?

Well...if it were NOT an explosive...then they really went out of their way to destroy it with their own explosive...it was a pretty loud boom...woke me right up...felt it through the windows that face the canal road....sheesh....

Anyone around around dalad ton payom? Reports of a disturbance (explosion).

Seems it was the controlled destruction of a suspicious package, per cm108.com

I heard it from Nong Hor, near the new convention center on the canal road. Said to my wife I thought it sounded more like an explosion than fireworks. Then I thought I was maybe just getting jumpy.

I heard this too....was wondering if folks would be talking about it this morning. So is it confirmed that is what it was? And, yes, I am getting jumpy, too.

OK I am going to ask about this again. A controlled destruction...with such a loud explosion? Would that not mean it was a bomb? Sorry for being stupid about this, but it woke me up as I was falling asleep it was so loud. Does anyone know more?

Anyone around around dalad ton payom? Reports of a disturbance (explosion).

Seems it was the controlled destruction of a suspicious package, per cm108.com

I heard it from Nong Hor, near the new convention center on the canal road. Said to my wife I thought it sounded more like an explosion than fireworks. Then I thought I was maybe just getting jumpy.

I heard this too....was wondering if folks would be talking about it this morning. So is it confirmed that is what it was? And, yes, I am getting jumpy, too.

Just saw in the news that the new PM is open to having talks with the protesters...he says he wants to avoid civil war...and that there is no need. He did say the talks have to be realistic...Suthep and gang might have a problem with that....

all i know is i took a walk through the city streets today around 5 pm...and the air...literally stunk......as if all the dust particles in the air were holding onto smells of garbage, fish, etc, sewage..well. you get it. it was awful I could not wait to get back indoors!

there is a great one behind the night bazaar, in the area across from Puntip Plaza....really big and really great food....don't know the name but if you ask around they will direct you to the soi. They have their own parking lot, as well.

ahhh....here i thought he could have meant thai soldiers....home from the south, maybe and cutting loose? hmmmm...

Why are you assumimg it is a red-shirt problem?

It could be anyone doing anything

No one mentioned red shirts...I think you are the first one to bring them up. Just saw something on the thai news and 3 members are reporting knowledge of 3 differnt places. One of the reasons I read TV is to clarify my information I have already heard... and my understanding spoken Thai is only at about 70 per cent on a good day.

Now those are 3 locations you all are mentioning: Wat Pra Singh, Warorot Market, and Walking Street...the only one I heard on the Thai news this am was the Wararot one. Were there really 2 others, as well? Not a big thing, but as Gonzo said...not good news either. If there were 3, not one, that is really not nice to hear.

I believe the big international media like CNN and BBC were just as bad as local Chiang Mai news. BBC guy was interviewing Thai army colonel, who said there were 40,000 people in protest area but only 3,000 protesters at the time. Next thing, only 2 minutes later, same BBC guy announces there are 40,000 protesters fighting with army. Then Bloomberg channel says that state of emergency declared in 15 of the 37 provinces of Thailand. Then Thaksin's lawyer comes on and starts talking about his client, but pronounces th in Thaksin like thank you. I would not want lawyer defending me that cannot say my name right. But that one not the news channel fault, just the lawyer.

The newspaper we cannot name, with Thai reporters, said that the numbers were 15,000 - 100,000 daily....more in the evenings with the locals coming along...right up till the shooting started. That report was in the Sunday paper before the shootings.

Ok, I did know it was the holiday. Just thought it was a bit late...thought the fireworks would have been much earlier. Still, it is good to know that is what it was...thanks, guys.

I am just off the Hang Dong road near Big C...just heard 2 pretty loud booms...anybody know what it was?

Thanks...i see this thread was allowed to open again!! Thankyou so much!

Very concerning read:

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/...article1578808/

Seems to be a number of cobbled together bits of stories to come up with a bit of sensationalist journalism giving the impression that CM is a hotbed of red revolutionaries which it is certainly not. As always there will be a few rediots but the huge majority have been disgusted at recent events.

As usual with the media good news is bad for news for them- they need bad news to sell their product so if it's not there manufacture it with a bit of cut and paste.

Just my 2 sense.

Simply be aware and be safe!

Truthfully, I think we are perfectly safe...it's the Thais I am worried about...

according to the (far less sensationalist) globe and mail article there's a mass rally planned for saturday with 20,000 people expected. they also suggest a guerrilla campaign against the government and the military is underway here. that's a bummer, man. that's a bummer.

"The colour red....is still in vogue in Chiang Mai..."

has the author visited chiang mai recently? i've spent hours riding around town the past few days. red flags and

streamers on cars and buildings have all but disappeared.

"...the gathering, which she predicted would draw 20,000 people from Chiang Mai and the surrounding provinces..."

another prediction, like the million-man march?

"...gathered Sunday under a red flag on at least one street corner, in defiance of the country’s state-of-emergency laws...."

how many gathered? two? three? in defiance of non-enforced laws?

doing it again...making little of them. the same was said before the Bangkok build up and now we know they were able to get large crowds ( the newspaper we dare not name said upwards of 100,000 in the evenings rigtht up to the crack down) with staying power...only dwindled once the govt began firing on them.

I think you are not every where in Chiang Mai. The people I talk to, in the shops, are still very sympathetic...

you may be right...but I think there is a strong possiblitiy this is all not going away easily this time. people got lulled to sleep by the easy coup in 2006...i think they will not go down quietly this time and we would do well to take it seriously.

Very concerning read:

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/...article1578808/

I like this sentence:

"I am sad that the government can order the shooting of civilians. But at the same time, the people and the world now know what kind of cruel government is in power in Thailand," said 35-year-old Noi Jupp.

With all the info you could read or watch it must be clear that the troops behaved with remarkable restrain. Of course there are deaths (on both sides), but far less than any really 'cruel' government would manage to rake up. The myth of 'bare-handed, innocent, lovable protesters' will not die in Isan for a long time. Propaganda of UDD leaders on PTV have done their damage.

From a taxpayer who generously payed bus-tickets to get these misguided people safely home.

The minute they defied the order to disperse (IE: broke the law) they stopped being civilians an became criminals. I am not even going to start in about when they burned, blew up and otherwise terrorized the city and country (although the majority of that happened after the crackdown, but still.

Refusal to disperse does NOT make one a terrorist. burning buildings, which happened after the crackdown...is....but simply refusing to dispurse does not. It is called protest. Free society. Understand?

Can't say I'm surprised by this latest development. How long before it's all out war?

How many people are protesting for the reds?

100,000 on their best day (when it WAS peaceful).

10,000 on most days after April 10 (after people saw the 'black shirts' and grenades used by the reds)

3,000 on their last day.

100's causing havoc around Bangkok.

100's causing havoc in the provinces of the red strong holds.

Of a country of 65,000,000 people, these are all VERY small numbers.

Now it is just lawless thugs causing havoc.

Actually the large English newspaper we are not allowed to quote says that their numbers on the low side daily were 15,000 and in the evenings would swell...OFTEN to 100,000. I had a feeling we were not being told the large numbers to make it seem like they had little or no support. I have said this before...having lived and worked in the provinces for 11 years...the reds have huge support...large numbers...the repeated mistake is to think otherwise.

someone on the other thread reported seeing fire and smoke from the area of Hang Dong....anyone verify?

wow. just wow. what a truly great idea. good job, Greg, just the right tone.

Any more about the fire toward Hang Dong? I live near Big C, and my dog went a bit crazy about an hour ago...but I just thought he was being his normal psycho self...however, he did sound a big more insistent and aggressive than usual. ( he is small and usually sweet...sounded angry and upset and insisted on being let out to look around.

Curfew times are 21:00 (9 PM) to 5:00 (5 PM)

Where is your proof comming from? I read write and speak Thai but didn't see or hear that on the Governments live broadcast.

It is completely true...all the Thais know it already...but the CRES is saying the same thing