I’m surprised I haven’t been inundated with email from people warning me to be careful now that Thailand is a hot-bed of terrorists.

In case you haven’t been following the news, Hambali, the alleged leader of Jemaah Islamiyah, was captured in Autthaya, about an hour from Bangkok, and was allegedly planning to blow lots of stuff up during the upcoming APEC summit, which President Bush himself will be attending.

Well, the streets are hardly crawling with suicide bombers. Indeed, everything appears to be normal. At least until you read the newspapers. The government is going crazing getting ready for the summit, and is cracking down left and right. For instance, a three-month war on “lewdness” has been instigated against the nightspots most popular with tourists. But what about all the money these tourists spend in pursuit of the aforementioned “lewdness?” Deputy Interior Minister Pracha Maleenont had a strange comment on these tourists:

“We do not want them here. They spend little money and look down on Thai women and Thai people.”

I’m guessing that a rich sex tourist spends a ton of money. And since when do Thais care if farangs look down on Thai women and Thai people? There is no corresponding crackdown on massage parlors that the Thai men frequent, who look down on Thai women more than farang men.

A slightly more alarming aspect is the sweeping new anti-terrorism powers granted to the police. As is the case with these sorts of laws, they erode civil rights. Usually, that’s bad enough, but these laws weren’t even passed by Parliament. Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra issued them by decree, saying there wasn’t time to pass the laws through normal channels. Disturbingly, there wasn’t much of a public outcry. Perhaps Thaksin wants to return Thailand to its dictatorial past?

Due to Thaksin’s cooperation with the US in terrorism matters, he is very popular with George W. Never mind his repression of civil liberties during his three-month war on drugs, where thousands of suspects were summarily executed by police. Or his upcoming war on “dark influence,” which critics say he is using to remove his opponents from the government.

Thaksin (pronounced “toxin,” perhaps appropriately) also does not like foreigners. After all, his party is called “Thai Rak Thai,” or “Thais Love Thais.” He has just raised visa fees by 300%, and now with the upcoming summit, has an excuse to crack down on immigrants. Keeping terrorists out is fine, but I’m worried this may make my life more difficult when it comes time to get a new tourist visa in three months.

The final, and perhaps greatest threat to me is the fact that I am a news junkie. This is exacerbated by Bangkok’s poor English-language bookstores. Unlike KL and Singapore’s huge Borders, Bangkok’s Bookazines’ are tiny. And half the books are on Thailand. I would kill for a decent sci-fi book.

Since I can’t find a good novel, my only recourse is news. I buy a newspaper nearly every day, and a Newsweek and Economist every week. To my horror, I read the following story in the Bangkok post, which I’m reproducing here, since it’s so surreal.

So, if you haven’t heard from me for awhile, I’ve probably been locked up in a Bangkok jail. Please send help.