I have been reminded that it is four years to the day since the Indian Ocean tsunami event.
I have also been pointed at the following Amateur video of the tsunami hitting Phuket in Thailand
The video is over 7 minutes long and is a compilation of footage from several people.
I lost friends to the tsunami, and [...]

Thailand’s Authorities threaten tsunami aid workers with 3 years jail.
Foreigners told to get work permits or face prison.
By Garry Harbottle-Johnson

THAILAND: 8 Feb 2005 – Just two days after Thai Rak Thai was returned to power in the general election, Sayan Chuaiyjan, Head of Phuket Provincial Employment Service has announced that foreign tsunami-aid workers must obtain Thai Work Permits, or face a maximum penalty of three years in jail, a 30,000 Baht fine, or both.

Enforcement will begin in March with no exceptions.

Admitting authorities didn’t enforce the law rigidly immediately after the tsunami, “because everyone wanted to help”, he added, “But now that the situation is returning to normal, we will have to start taking it more seriously.”

This announcement, coming immediately after the general election, has been criticised as timed to avoid losing votes for Thai Rak Thai in the tsunami affected southern provinces.

The primary content of this post is taken from a discussion board thread I started on eBid on 3 Jan 2005. I’ve condensed it here and moved all the linked articles and other sites’ forum threads to a table of links at the bottom of the post. I open this blog-post with my [...]