At Least 10 Injured In Explosion In Front Of Big C Rajdamri

[rubl]

Predictable that Tony would point fingers at the government and claim they would bomb their own when no evidence has never ever been presented that they have done it sofar during this mandate period.

We do however know that 'the Red Shirt in jail hoping to become an MP' lost today...and democracy has never been the red shirts strong side.

Why do you talk such piffle? Have you only just arrived in Thailand? Have you not noticed that every time there are democratic elections, the reds win but are removed from power by unconstitutional means!

And to suggest the elitists in Thailand would not do whatever it takes to cling on to power, is naive to say the least.

Your last sentence turns onto yourself. K. Thaksin, the billionair tries to cling back to power with every means. Try to read some more articles, also older than three years.

[Seanextra]

Such a crime to set a bomb like this to deliberately injure innocent people who are such easy targets. Thailand is a beautiful country however if these problems are not soon solved it will be on the road to self destruction.

No, this will not result into self destruction, for example ... London and many other major / minor English cities had to suffer attacks like this for a long time (IRA action) with many, many fatal casulties, not to mention the huge numbers of injuries, and it did not result into self destruction.

On the contrary, London, and the other attacked English cities got moral support from right across the globe, and the same global moral support will be given to Bangkok should those attacks continue,

Perfectly correct.

Well said.

Common sense will prevail, but there is some turbulence ahead.

philw

FAIR COMMENTS But remember the IRA bombings happened in a country with fairly decent police forces with fairly elected governments ( I Could Go On) but this is happening in a 3rd world country with massive and complex issues this is a disaster just after another disaster you are correct more trouble ahead and more and more there is no easy cure and im afraid folks this is going to be a long journey maybe longer than my ass will point to ground and i hope the cheesy losers who are making money from this cant sleep at night after they have ruined their own country !

Just my View anyhow lets have a Chang and forget about it !

[Puccini]

i wonder who planted it, the government to justify the continued emergency decree, the reds or the yellows, or southern insurgents (terrorists). My money is on the fist one.

You have included just about everybody in your wondering. Let me add two more to the list: Puccini; tonywebster.

[rubl]

i wonder who planted it, the government to justify the continued emergency decree, the reds or the yellows, or southern insurgents (terrorists). My money is on the fist one.

You have included just about everybody in your wondering. Let me add two more to the list: Puccini; tonywebster.

Anything you say can and will be used against you

[TAWP]

** flame removed, TAWP note **

Have you not noticed that every time there are democratic elections, the reds win but are removed from power by unconstitutional means!

Removed your flame, as I would like to respond to your post and not have the reply removed together with your post just because you lack manner.

You claim that the reds are voted into power.

That is false, the red has never von any election.

However, TRT, Thai Rak Thai, have won two elections. Both with the help of election fraud, I would say. (And the reason some MPs later got banned.)

Later PPP was formed and while they gained 'first try' from being the biggest minority party, the following banning of some MPs for election fraud (is this democratically right, to perform election fraud?) and the by-election to re-fill the seats, PPP (or the MPs that once was) could have remaind in power. However, the other parties in the coalition got tired of them and switched to support the Democrats, the second largest minority party. How is that unconstitutional?

Edited July 25, 2010 by TAWP

[Indra]

** flame removed, TAWP note **

Have you not noticed that every time there are democratic elections, the reds win but are removed from power by unconstitutional means!

Removed your flame, as I would like to respond to your post and not have the reply removed together with your post just because you lack manner.

You claim that the reds are voted into power.

That is false, the red has never von any election.

However, TRT, Thai Rak Thai, have won two elections. Both with the help of election fraud, I would say. (And the reason some MPs later got banned.)

Later PPP was formed and while they gained 'first try' from being the biggest minority party, the following banning of some MPs for election fraud (is this democratically right, to perform election fraud?) and the by-election to re-fill the seats, PPP (or the MPs that once was) could have remaind in power. However, the other parties in the coalition got tired of them and switched to support the Democrats, the second largest minority party. How is that unconstitutional?

Can you be more specific about "election fraud"?

If you mean vote buying, I think that all parties do the same.

If you mean manipulating the voting result, then it is a true election fraud.

[Anyse]

Whomever did the bombing is not really all that important! I know many would disagree with this assertion. However, it is more important to understand that this type of activity is atypical in Thailand as it is so in America, Britain or France. The bomber in Atlanta was an "independent." I have seen none here speculate on this option for the culprit! Yet, again, even this is not essential or important. When there are internal political/social/economic frustrations in any society, the tendency to go "underground" (whether as a terrorist group, an indivdual, or member(s) of some political/social/economic entity) is quite common. There were such groups/individuals a-plenty during the Viet Nam war in the US and, when any country has some issues, there is a tendency for this to happen. Of course, everyone wants to know what happened and who did it for their own sense of security overall. However, should this one remain an "unknown" in terms of who did this, it can cause far more havoc overall nationwide (look what happened in the US when the bombing in Atlanta occurred - and this was a "lone" person with a private complaint) and how it raised the fear level everywhere). I don't want to cause any discomfort here. Who did it is so tempting to judge so as to break any cognitive dissonance or discomfort or insecurity. Maybe, instead, one should just face the insecurity and wait until later to try to understand. It took a long time to ascertain who did the bombing in Atlanta and the speculation was worse for wear in the US than the truth. Maybe, this is what all should alctually settle for in the long run and what all should do in a more "Buddhist" sense of dealing with the complicated things of the world - wait for the truth and stop speculation. I am, as I often am, reminded of T. S. Eliot's lines in "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock":

And indeed there will be time

For the yellow smoke that slides along the street,

Rubbing its back upon the window-panes;

There will be time, there will be time

To prepare a face to meet the faces that you meet;

There will be time to murder and create,

And time for all the works and days of hands

That lift and drop a question on your plate;

Time for you and time for me,

And time yet for a hundred indecisions,

And for a hundred visions and revisions,

Before the taking of a toast and tea.

This happened such a short time ago. Breathe. Relax. Slow down.

I so love Thailand and I am also saddened by this event as I am with any that may hurt Thailand's overall reputation. However, overall, I am also rather certain that Thailand wil continue to flourish and to grow as Thailand always has.

Anyse

[TAWP]

It is easy to find out who is behind the bombing...just look at who is denouncing the act. And who says nothing...

[Foggy Bottom]

My heart is bleeding for Thailand.

This is terrible news and omens very badly for the future.

Hope for speedy and full recovery for all injured.

Very sad.

philw

Amen.

Police have identified nine people injured ........ and Wirasak Saetae, 40.

Weerasak is a bus driver.

Weerasak / Wirasak Saetae - I've seen that name before in news reports, cannot remember when, where, or why, but it rings a bell (due to the family name being a very close spelling to that of an ex-girlfriend). Will have to do some digging.

[george]

Update:

One dead in Bangkok bomb blast: emergency services

BANGKOK, July 25, 2010 (AFP) - One person died and 10 others were taken for hospital treatment after a bomb blast at a bus stop in the Thai capital on Sunday, emergency services said.

The victim was a 51-year-old man who died in hospital from his wounds, an official at the Erawan emergency centre told AFP.

The explosion came hours after polls closed in a closely watched by-election in the capital pitting a leader of the "Red Shirt" anti-government movement against a member of the elite-backed ruling party.

The blast occurred at a bus stop in front of a supermarket in the same central shopping district occupied by the Red Shirts during their mass rally which ended in May with a bloody army crackdown.

-- (c) Copyright AFP 2010-07-25

[nycjoe]

The specter of fear will now be a new part of the persona of Thailand, I live in New York City in the summer and Chiang Mai in the winter, as you enter the subway stations, the police randomly check bags, there are public service announcements to be aware of suspicious bags and it becomes a way of life, the underlying paranoia. I went to help at the WTC when it fell, I have some red cross training and when I arrived at the corner of vesey and west streets at the foot of building number 1, a policeman told me that I was a civilian and to go to help at a hospital, I was on a bicycle and I pedaled 4 blocks away and heard the first building fall. I spent the remainder of the day at a hospital helping with security. We made a staging area for the ambulances to come in a park adjacent to the hospital, New York for that one day became as one. The hospital was deluged by young people who came to help or give blood, but few people arrived, as it was a stark reality of black or white, that you either made it out and were well or were caught and were dead.

These cowardly acts in Thailand come from the greed of not just the former owner/leader of Thailand Thaksin Shinawatra, but the feudal society that is perpetuated by the powers that be, until the needs of the neglected masses of poor people are addressed, there will not be harmony in the land. I read a letter in a magazine that expressed the thoughts of a farmer, who worked another's land for enough rice to get by, while his beautiful daughter was in Bangkok doing what she had to do and of which he did not want to know, to send money to make the families life a bit more bearable. Thailand take care of your people, and address your corruption.

[geriatrickid]

I hope we can do without the finger pointing please. It serves no purpose. The people that plant bombs like this are selfish psychopaths. Maiming and killing people in this manner is wrong and I don't think one needs a diploma from the Braniac School of Book Learning to figure that out. Red, yellow, pink, polka dot, coloured shirts, I don't care, but normal rational people don't do this sh*t.

[Insight]

I am curious about the target. As I understand it, Big C's in general appeal to the lower economic portion of society.

Big C customers are typically middle class. Anyway this particular store is still closed after being damaged by arson following the May red-shirt protests. Big C is owned by the Central retail group whose major shareholder is a big supporter of the yellow shirts and the Democrat party.

Big C customers are "middle class" ??? Reckon you should try visit a Big C sometime soon.

[lounger]

............. the feudal society that is perpetuated by the powers that be, until the needs of the neglected masses of poor people are addressed, there will not be harmony in the land. ........

Show me one country, other than certain rich oil countries, that have legislated money to the poor. It doesnt happen. The rich get richer and the great wealth divide gettes wider. All the fancy projects carried out by governments are to aid the capitalists. The only way to raise the standards of the poor is to take money away from the rich money earning, tax payers and that never happens.

Education. The next generation needs to get ambitious, learn to work and haul themselves out of the gutter. Its the only way. Join the gravy train.

In my local karaoke a 22 year old is reading commercial law books between serving (!) customers. Not a happy solution but she will make it. Government intervention leads to a welfare system and that is not productive.

[Insight]

Does anybody else feel like they're out in force tonight?

[Foggy Bottom]

Hate to say it but this will be a regular thing IMHO. And the Thais are reactive, if it was a bag left outside near the bus stop then someone should have noticed it, but no they are not security conscious. You see it all the time, people leaving a bag whilst they go to the toilet or go the the counter at McDonalds. Time they started to be proactive.

Hope those injured do make a speedy recovery.

In my opinion, it is because opportunist crime where the "snatch" can be observed is almost non-existent in Thailand. Many's a time I've used several large bags of Tesco shopping to "reserve" a table in KFC and returned from the counter to nothing touched or missing from the table. Same same with leaving the helmet on the motorbike mirror while shopping or dining. Even done dumb things like forgetting to lock the car (in town and at home), and sometimes even forgetting to close the doors before going to bed (and that was in the middle of the city) - never had a problem arise because of it.

On the other hand, I did once have a very grubby and tatty rain cape nicked from the bike basket, but that was at night parked in a little travelled soi (and not even rainy season - LOL). I have also several times reported unattended bags to bank and post office personnel and they just shrug and smile in a mai-pen-rai manner.

[Raldy]

Think I might cancel the Thai holiday I had planned for September, haven't booked anything yet. There's obviously a fair chance that tensions will flare up again and who knows if they'll block the airport or what they'll do to ruin my 2 week holiday.

Sorry to those of you in the tourism business there but i think I'll head to Cambodia instead.

[padfoot]

My heart goes out to the family of the deceased. Also for all those injured I hope you have a full recovery. As for me I will continue going to all my usual places and will not let cowardly acts such as this stop me from enjoying Bangkok.

[moe666]

Just another way to shut down a important part of town without occupation. These guys mean business and will stop at nothing to win even if that means killing Thais.

Wake up mister PM.

[TAWP]

Sorry to those of you in the tourism business there but i think I'll head to Cambodia instead.

So you will vacation right next to the next wave of bombers that flee to Cambodia?

[kuffki]

Just another way to shut down a important part of town without occupation. These guys mean business and will stop at nothing to win even if that means killing Thais.

Wake up mister PM.

And what do you propose Mister PM do?clos down the entire country or just give in to demands?

So anyone can just start bombing to get what they want

[lounger]

The red shirts need to get organised and have a political wing that causes mischief and claims responsibility, Like the IRA do in UK. The existence of an Organisation will maintain some control and allow themselves to deny activities that they have not initiated.

Who planted this bomb? The redshirt brigade should have the knowledge of their order and should be able to confirm or denounce this atrocity. That would stop outsiders creating mahem and shifting the blame.... The non players must be excluded otherwise anyone can join in and waste neighbours and create more anarchy

All these random accusations are worse than a straight forward confrontaion.

Thailand thought the tourists were coming back.............nope. Excellent timing to put off the people booking now for their next holiday...well done...................

[snaggletooth]

i wonder who planted it, the government to justify the continued emergency decree, the reds or the yellows, or southern insurgents (terrorists). My money is on the fist one.

You're over the top. The government would try to kill its own people to justify the decree which NOBODY enforces anyway. Did you miss the red shirt protest recently in the Rachaprasong area? That was a political meeting that SHOULD have been dispersed under the decree.

You know deep in your heart who did it. I've said all along that the red shirts would go underground and resort to terrorism. I had no idea Isan was palestine. Should Thailand give it back to Laos?

Edited July 25, 2010 by snaggletooth

[invex]

Yesterday in Chiang Mai:

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/home/2010/07/25/national/Big-bang-in-Chiang-Mai-30134496.html

[snaggletooth]

I hope we can do without the finger pointing please. It serves no purpose. The people that plant bombs like this are selfish psychopaths. Maiming and killing people in this manner is wrong and I don't think one needs a diploma from the Braniac School of Book Learning to figure that out. Red, yellow, pink, polka dot, coloured shirts, I don't care, but normal rational people don't do this sh*t.

Reds are not normal, rational people

Edited July 25, 2010 by snaggletooth

[kuffki]

i wonder who planted it, the government to justify the continued emergency decree, the reds or the yellows, or southern insurgents (terrorists). My money is on the fist one.

You're over the top. The government would try to kill its own people to justify the decree which NOBODY enforces anyway. Did you miss the red shirt protest recently in the Rachaprasong area? That was a political meeting.

You know deep in your hear who did it. I've said all along that the red shirts would go underground and resort to terrorism. I had no idea Isan was palestine. Should Thailand give it back to Laos?

We can only speculate who is responsible although personally i am more inclined to believe it was part of the "red" movement only because they have threatened to do just that.

At the end of the day, it really does not matter who is responsible because country as a whole will suffer the consequences and i doubt injured people will feel any better. What is scary though is that this may not be the only bomb and there could be more to come

Edited July 25, 2010 by kuffki

[granuaile]

Never saw a prostitute??? Never saw a corrupt cop?

Are you in Thailand or Dreamland?

Right here in Bangkok, and my experience with police and other officials has never been anything other than courteous and professional. If you would read carefully you would see that I indicated the only places I saw prostitutes was around Nana I assume there because of the farang presence (and my guess would be if I ever went to other areas catering heavily to farang such as Patpong I would see them there. But I've lived in three different areas of Bangkok (Bangplad, Lat Phrao in Chatuchak, and Minburi) and if they are there they are not so obvious. After walking down Sukhumwit to Ploenchit I was shocked, at both the open streetwalkers and the pornography openly displayed. But I don't think either the streetwalkers or the porn vendors are hawking their wares to Thai.

I am not saying they don't exist, just that they are not the norm in a typical Bangkok neighborhood, And I choose to live in typical Thai neighborhoods. But again the obvious question comes to mind, if you have such distaste for Thailand...?

[rishi]

Think I might cancel the Thai holiday I had planned for September, haven't booked anything yet. There's obviously a fair chance that tensions will flare up again and who knows if they'll block the airport or what they'll do to ruin my 2 week holiday.

Sorry to those of you in the tourism business there but i think I'll head to Cambodia instead.

No problem. You'll go through BKK and thus will count as an arrival anyway - so no problem to the Thai tourism industry.

[Foggy Bottom]

i wonder who planted it, the government to justify the continued emergency decree, the reds or the yellows, or southern insurgents (terrorists). My money is on the fist one.

You're over the top. The government would try to kill its own people to justify the decree which NOBODY enforces anyway. Did you miss the red shirt protest recently in the Rachaprasong area? That was a political meeting that SHOULD have been dispersed under the decree.

You know deep in your hear who did it. I've said all along that the red shirts would go underground and resort to terrorism. I had no idea Isan was palestine. Should Thailand give it back to Laos?

Ermmm - study your history a bit more closely - I think you mean "back to Angkor"?

The reason Isaan has strong Laotian cultureal and linguistic connections is because ( a ) what is now Laos was once part of Lan Na and heavily assimilated into Tai (no H) culture and structure, then ( b ) both Ayutthayan and post-Ayutthayan military campaigns (against Burmese occupying the northern region) brought Laotian prisoners and volunteers into Isaan to populate an under populated area (after the Khmer were driven out), plus ( c ) post-Ayutthaya, large parts of west and central Laos fell under the rule of Rattanakosin Siam following eviction of the Burmese from Lan Chang and Lan Na.

Angkor had ruled Isaan (all the way up to Vientiane and beyond, and to Chiang Rai in Lan Na) for centuries before Ayutthaya emerged, and did for a couple of centuries afterwards too.

Remember too, the main reason modern Laos has land on this side of the Mekhong is due to post-WW2 division of Indo-China by the Allies and punishment of Thailand for failing to more forcefully resist the Japanese.

All of which (for the sake of pot stirring) throws into the equation that instead of southern insurgents, maybe it was south-of-Mehkong Laotians wanting to get Thai attention to help them secede and join their Tai brethren? Maybe it was Burmese dissidents or nationalists wanting Lan Na back under Burmese rule? Who the hel_l knows right now?

Seriously - at this point, unless I've missed something, it's not known who planted the bomb, save up your angst and wait for the police to say who it was .... must be true if the police tell us who did it.

Edited July 25, 2010 by Foggy Bottom

[Jingthing]

I hope we can do without the finger pointing please. It serves no purpose. The people that plant bombs like this are selfish psychopaths. Maiming and killing people in this manner is wrong and I don't think one needs a diploma from the Braniac School of Book Learning to figure that out. Red, yellow, pink, polka dot, coloured shirts, I don't care, but normal rational people don't do this sh*t.

Reds are not normal, rational people

Violence for political aims is defined as terrorism. It is rather cowardly to do the deed and not claim it. At least the IRA and even Al Queda had the dignity to own up to their actions. Normality has nothing to do with this. True believers turn to violence, it is a part of the human situation, it is nothing new, so sadly, it is in the realm of normal human behavior. The dark side of it.

Edited July 25, 2010 by Jingthing