May in Bangkok, Part III
Between Part II and Part IV
May 15-21, 2004
I have to drive to Ayutthaya today to pick up Watcharee ... so, I'll be out of the house for most of the day.
Covering for me will be ('kidnapped', of course) the Last Supper Gang and the Supperettes:
From today's Bangkok Post:
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) -- Malaysia has deployed hundreds of troops and built new outposts to boost security along its border with Thailand's restive south, the national news agency has reported.
Four battalions comprising 1,600 soldiers have been assigned to "patrol the border to check the activities of elements who could threaten the security of both countries," Army Chief Gen. Azumi Mohamed was quoted as saying by Bernama news agency.
Thailand's Muslim-dominated south has seen dozens of clashes between suspected Islamic separatists and government security forces in the past few months. Muslims complain of discrimination by the Buddhist majority.
Assaults on Thai military outposts in three provinces on April 28 left 107 militants and five security personnel dead.
Mostly Muslim Malaysia has voiced concern that the violence could spill across its border.
Sunday, May 16, 2004 Posted: 1:32 AM EDT (0532 GMT) Reuters
PS: The location of the Best ICCA pre- and post- AGM events ever:
Exactly three thousand days ago, on February 29, 1996, THOCBDC (*) went on the 'air'.
Day @ 1: (earliest known archived page: Late 1996)
Day 500: July 13, 1997
Day 1000: November 25, 1998
Day 1500: April 8, 2000
Day 2000: August 21, 2001
Day 2500: January 3, 2003
Day 3000: May 17, 2004: Here!
(*) The House Of Corkscrew Balloon Dot Com.
PS: As of today (our 3000th), WaybackMachineTM ... the Internet Archive ... has indexed 38,528 pages from THOCBDC. Along the way it has also archived about 12 billion pages from lesser sites.
Searched for all pages on http://corkscrew-balloon.com/ - Results 1 - 10 of about 38528
Is this building in our future?
Normally THOCBDC tries to keep the kids in its own sandbox, but my friend, Rande, has created a web site showcasing some of his travel photos. It is definitely worth the visit:
It comes quickly ... it gets dark ... and then it goes away.
Our first anniversary dinner (last night) (*):
(*) Today I was very busy....that explains the 'leftovers'.
Last night we drove out toward the airport to have dinner at Watcharee's cousin's new restaurant. He ("Go") and his wife ("Noi") opened it just a few months ago.
You will probably remember them from our second trip to Hua Hin for elephant polo in September 2002. Even before that you saw them at the 'elephant round-up' in Surin about 4 years ago.
PS: Gee, doesn't the "clenched fists" bit apply to most Americans who live in cities?
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The FBI is warning state and local partners to be on the alert for suicide bombers.
The bureau says there is no hard intelligence warning of any plans by terrorists to launch suicide attacks in the United States, but wants those on the front lines in the war on terror to be aware of such a threat.
In its weekly bulletin distributed to 18,000 agencies, the FBI says to look out for people wearing bulky jackets on warm days, smelling of chemicals, or even individuals whose fists are tightly clenched.
The bulletin also says suicide bombers may disguise themselves in stolen police uniforms or even as pregnant women.
The FBI has warned before of possible suicide bombings, but officials tell CNN extremist rhetoric following reports of abuse at Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison, as well as concern over several special events coming up in the United States, have renewed concern. Those special events include the official opening of the World War II memorial in Washington, the July Fourth holiday and the Democratic and Republican conventions.
Officials say suicide bombers are often impossible to detect. There is usually no advance intelligence and so-called soft targets such as shopping malls are nearly impossible to protect from such an attack.
PPS: Tonight Watcharee, myself, Pom and Golf had dinner across the street at The Shangri-La Hotel ... we were planning something for tomorrow.
Check back in about 24 hours ... or even less.
Next: Part IV
