Showing 1 - 10 of 11
Safety last
News, Alan Dawson, Published on 15/07/2018
» The government can't prevent boys from being naughty any more than it can prevent squalls in an open sea. However, the government could have prevented two of the most deadly events to have captivated local and global attention recently.
How Bangkok came close to the big one
News, Alan Dawson, Published on 18/06/2017
» In late 2011 the chatter about terrorist attacks in Thailand reached their highest volume ever, or since. The bare bones of the plot are well known but recent arrests in America have exposed many more details.
The Fakebook Diaries
News, Alan Dawson, Published on 01/01/2017
» Around 15 million or so people noticed last Tuesday that there was no bomb or large explosion anywhere in Bangkok. None of those people worked for Facebook, which is OK, but after the "explosion", people who work for Facebook insisted there was, actually, an explosion.
A question of interpretation
News, Alan Dawson, Published on 20/11/2016
» After 15 months of extremely iffy police work and very interesting prosecution strategy, the two button men of the Erawan Shrine atrocity got their destined opportunity to turn their trial into political theatre.
The big issue: Unravelling another bomb plot
Oped, Alan Dawson, Published on 21/08/2016
» The top commanders of the security forces and their multiple junta supervisors marked the first anniversary of the Erawan Shrine killings with a re-enactment of the investigation of that 2015 atrocity, using the Mother's Day attacks in the South as the example.
The big issue: The terrorists who didn’t
Alan Dawson, Published on 27/03/2016
» The suicide bombs at Belgium brought heightened alert to Bangkok’s airports and embassies, while police on overtime patrolled tourist-friendly areas of the country, just in case.
The big issue: The week in terrorism
Alan Dawson, Published on 29/11/2015
» Around the world and around the country, we were all Belgians. Brussels lowered the national terror alert on Friday from “imminent” to “serious and credible”. (Fact check: True. Reality check: Who could make it up?) One day it was “be very afraid” and a mere day later it had dropped to “be afraid”.
The Big Issue: Ghost of the South
Alan Dawson, Published on 08/11/2015
» When yet another wave of bombs exploded in Yala 10 days ago and knocked out most of the electricity in the province, military authorities announced quickly that they know who was behind the terrorism.
The big issue: The first man
Alan Dawson, Published on 27/09/2015
» There are three days left for Somyot Poompunmuang to catch the Erawan Shrine bomber before he is no longer police chief. It would be a terrific, matching bookend to the one he got in his first week on the job, when he solved the Koh Tao murders.
The big issue: How to make a terrorist
Alan Dawson, Published on 06/09/2015
» Thailand and international terrorism have a history that goes way back. The current calls for security forces to get serious about threats to the country are only echoes of the past 40-plus years.