"US warns of terror threat in Bangkok" Associated Press, January 14, 2012
BANGKOK - Thai police were questioning a Lebanese man with alleged links to Hezbollah militants as the US Embassy and Israel warned yesterday of a “real and credible’’ terrorist threat against Americans and Israelis in Bangkok. Police said a bombing had been planned and another suspect was at large.
The US Embassy urged Americans to keep a low profile in public and to exercise caution in areas where Western tourists gather.
The warning comes during heightened tension over US and Israeli responses to the prospect that Iran is developing nuclear weapons. Lebanon-based Hezbollah, which has been accused of carrying out terrorist attacks in the Middle East since the 1980s, is anti-Israel and widely considered to act as a proxy for Iran.
“At first we were told the Palestinians were behind it, but it turned out to be the Hezbollah,’’ he told the Associated Press. In other interviews, he said Israel had provided the warning.
Then it can be THROWN IN the GARBAGE and NOTED for the NEXT FALSE FLAG ATTACK! Sorry, but WE ARE NO LONGER FOOLED nor AMUSED!
Chalerm said police detained a Lebanese suspect with alleged links to Hezbollah on Thursday.
Thai authorities had been “following two Lebanese men and called in one of them . . . for questioning,’’ Chalerm said. “Technically the two men have not committed any crimes under the Thai law, so we could only use the immigration law to keep this one suspect in custody,’’ he said....
Metropolitan Police spokesman Piya Utayo said the description came from the man being questioned, who was being held at “a safe location.’’ The man, whose name was not given, was alleged to have told police the pair arrived before New Year’s Day and planned a bombing.
Was that before or after the torture?
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And the propaganda pushers keep dumping:
"US warns of threat as bomb material is seized; Thai officials say Bangkok wasn’t probable target" by Thanyarat Doksone | Associated Press, January 17, 2012
BANGKOK - A foreign suspect with alleged links to Hezbollah militants led Thai police yesterday to a warehouse filled with materials commonly used to make bombs, as Thailand and the United States disagreed over whether Bangkok was the target of a terror plot.
Police seized more than 8,800 pounds of urea fertilizer and several gallons of liquid ammonium nitrate at the warehouse in Samut Sakhon, on the western outskirts of Bangkok, according to police and media reports.
The US Embassy had issued an “emergency message’’ Friday warning of a possible terror threat against Americans in Bangkok, and Israel warned its citizens as well. A dozen other embassies have since urged their citizens to exercise caution.
Thai authorities were caught off guard by the US announcement, hastily revealing they had detained a Swedish national of Lebanese origin with alleged links to pro-Iranian Hezbollah militants and that intelligence indicated a plot could be carried out between Jan. 13 and 15. The defense minister said the news was not released earlier to avoid panic that could hurt Thailand’s tourism industry, one of the country’s biggest revenue earners.
Damage control continued yesterday, with the prime minister calling for calm.
“I’d like to tell people not to panic. The situation is under control. There is no problem,’’ Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra told reporters, adding that security was increased and intelligence agencies were closely following the situation. “We can assure the safety of the [Thai] people and foreign tourists.’’
Details of the alleged plot remained hazy because of conflicting accounts from Thai officials, some of whom said that Thailand appeared to have been a staging ground but not the target of any attack. “I think Thailand is likely a transit point for other regions of the world,’’ the national police chief, General Prewpan Dhamapong, told reporters after the raid. “It is unlikely that they would have staged terror attacks in Thailand.’’
The US Embassy stood by its warning and said it was still in effect....
Man, look at the huge pile of sh....
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"Elephants face new poaching threat" Associated Press, January 27, 2012
BANGKOK - Thailand’s revered national symbol, the elephant, may face a new threat of extinction: being poached not just for their tusks, but for their meat.
Two wild elephants were found slaughtered last month in a national park in western Thailand, alerting authorities to the new practice of consuming elephant meat.
“The poachers took away the elephants’ sex organs and trunks . . . for human consumption,’’ said Damrong Phidet, director-general of Thailand’s wildlife agency. Some meat was to be consumed without cooking, like “elephant sashimi,’’ he said.
Damrong said the elephant meat was ordered by restaurants in Phuket, a popular travel destination in the country’s south.
Poaching elephants is banned, and trafficking or possessing poached animal parts also is illegal. Elephant tusks are sought in the illegal ivory trade.
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FLASHBACK:
"Zoo, elephants trumpet new arrival" by Associated Press | February 17, 2010
The San Diego Zoo’s newest elephant was born Sunday. (Ken Bohn/San Diego Zoo via Associated Press)
Yeah, so do I!
SAN DIEGO - The San Diego Zoo got a big gift for Valentine’s Day - a baby elephant.
The zoo’s Wild Animal Park says the male African elephant was born around 2 a.m. Sunday.
Park spokeswoman Yadira Galindo said visitors camping at the zoo were awakened by elephants trumpeting - a common behavior when a calf is born. The females of the herd circled the 224-pound calf to protect it.
What WONDERFUL and MAJESTIC CREATURES!!!!
Oooh, water in the eyes.
Galindo said the calf was doing well yesterday.
The calf hasn’t been named yet. His mother is a 20-year-old called Ndlulamitsi, which means “taller than trees.’’ His father is Mabhulane.
The calf is the sixth born into a herd that was imported from Swaziland in 2003.
Pump out as many as you can!!!
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Why am I so affected by a "dumb beast," readers?
Related: ORIGINAL Elephant Painting
When you take a look at the magnificent creatures and watch the video, you realize elephants are very special creatures.
I watched an Animal Planet show on them, and they remember where their herd mates die.
In fact, one died during their journey on the show, and the other elephants had a devil of a time getting the mother to move along.
It was heart-breaking to see the mother elephant wailing, not want to leave her dead calf!
The narrator even pointed out that the elephants were SHOWING EMOTIONS!!!!
And now they are SELF-AWARE ENOUGH to PAINT!!!!
