Think Before Believing in Social Media: Prayuth

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17 March 2018, 18:06

Junta chairman Prayuth Chan-ocha gives an "I love you" handsign to reporters Dec. 13 in Kalasin province

BANGKOK — Junta leader Gen. Prayuth Chan-ocha urged the public on Friday to be critical while consuming news and information from social media.

Speaking during his nation-wide address, he said the public must be critical when consuming news and information from social media and when talking to others. He said the public should think after listening or reading and ask questions before restating or concluding what they heard.

“I would like to plead everyone to maintain the best environment and the best foreign views toward Thailand as we move toward elections. We can see that today, [foreign governments] pay attention to national development, politics and democracy which is moving ahead. I give moral support to businesses, look after the people and human rights,” Prayuth said.

With the majority of mainstream media in the country exercising a level of self-censorship since the May 2014 military coup, social media has become the most used space to publish content critical of the junta.

Prayuth said to consult “experts” when in doubt about the accuracy of news, adding that the public should avoid believing information that causes public division.

The junta leader urged the public to “reduce confusion, chaos, distortion, attacks and anything untruthful so the country can move forward into becoming a quality democracy.”

Tourism Income to Grow by 18% for Songkran: TAT

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Pravit Rojanaphruk, Senior Staff Writer

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17 March 2018, 17:39

Travelers arrive last year to Bangkok's Mo Chit bus and van terminal from Songkran holidays.

BANGKOK — Authorities project tourism income to grow by almost a fifth during the Songkran holiday.

The TAT on Friday released a projection stating Songkran, which marks the traditional Thai New Year, will see an 18 percent growth in tourism income.

The tourism authority said both Thai and foreign tourists are expected to spend nearly 20 billion baht between April 12 to April 16 this year, with the amount of Thai tourists expected to rise by about 3 million people – a 12 percent increase from last year. Foreign tourists will see more than half a million additional arrivals in comparison to 2017, a growth of 13 percent.

The TAT said the projected growth is due to longer holidays announced by the government, tax rebates for tourists, better confidence in the economy and growth in domestic flights.

From the total projected income of 19.8 billion, 10.4 billion is expected to come from Thai tourists compared to the 9.7 billion from foreign tourists.

Among the countries that registered higher plane ticket bookings to Thailand during Songkran were France, Taiwan, South Korea, Russia, Australia, India, the United States and Japan.

Our Inadequate Way of Dealing With Bangkok’s Air Pollution

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Pravit Rojanaphruk, Senior Staff Writer

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17 March 2018, 16:56

Lacking a better response to the growing air pollution, some Bangkokians have resorted to dealing with the issue individually.

Options include purchasing and wearing professional-grade breathing masks, installing pricey air-purifying machines, avoiding prolonged outdoor exposure in more congested and polluted parts of town, moving to less-polluted parts of the city or better still – for those truly desperate – migrating to another, less-polluted city in Thailand.

Any of the above measures are individual responses to the growing problem of small dust particles – particularly those invisible to the naked eye.

Read: Inaction on Bangkok Pollution Risks Toxic Future For All

Every cool and dry season, Bangkokians hear warnings from the Pollution Control Department about dangerous air quality and are instructed to avoid prolonged outdoor exposure.

Such warnings are issued every now and then during the dry season, despite the government lacking in fully equipped air pollution measuring tools.

Currently, only six – less than half – of the 13 air pollution-measuring stations in Bangkok are equipped with machines capable of properly measuring the concentration of these dust particles – known as PM 2.5 – small enough to penetrate the thoracic region of human respiratory system.

A full set of measuring machines for all stations is not expected for another three years, according the department.

That leaves us with the question. How exactly can we know how bad and dangerous the air we breathe is?

I’m not immune to scary news – and was advised by a colleague to install a mobile application called AirVisual – and the day I read the warnings about Bangkok’s dangerous air quality on Tuesday, I checked the application.

On that day, the app described the air quality at the office – not far from Lat Phrao area – as “unhealthy.”

Yet I am not sure if I can fully trust its accuracy.

Trust or no trust, I have begun to feel irritated in my nose and throat and frankly, I do not know if I am merely imagining the sensations as a result of reading about the news on the local media or whether this is a real condition.

It takes no imagination or hallucinations to recognize that many people are still confused, if not illiterate, when it comes to understanding the magnitude of air pollution in Bangkok and how to read the air quality index.

We need to make people literate about the air pollution index as much as we expect that anyone to know 40C is extremely hot weather.

The mass media should also start to seriously consider making detailed reports about the air quality index and make it an integral part of its daily weather report. Standardized, concise and easily understandable indexes and information are needed on a daily basis – not just for Bangkok, but other big cities at risk such as Chiang Mai.

The problem of how to handle air-pollution in Bangkok is a clear example of not only how vulnerable we are, but how a collective effort in solving – if not mitigating – the severity of the problem is almost completely lacking.

There exists absolutely no control over the endlessly growing number of motor vehicles in Bangkok. Very little or no control exists on the number of high-rise building permitted to be built in Bangkok. More cars and more tall buildings – which act as walls trapping small dust particles, and attract even more cars – mean more severe air pollution.

Bangkok’s air pollution is a classic case of a complex problems that requires not just recognition, long-term planning, but collaboration and political will to tackle.

For the meantime, Bangkokians can continue to find their own individual way to cope with the problem the best they can – hallucination or not.

Masks On: Bangkok’s Mystery ‘Fog’ is Heavy Smog

Bangkok’s Air More Toxic Than You Think: Greenpeace

Smog Airpocalypse Worsens Over Bangkok

Cleaner Cars, Aggressive Steps Needed to Clear Bangkok’s Air

Senators Want CIA to Lift Veil on Nominee’s Thai Black Site Past

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Associated Press

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17 March 2018, 12:09

Trump CIA — This March 21, 2017, photo provided by the CIA, shows CIA Deputy Director Gina Haspel. Haspel, who joined the CIA in 1985, has been chief of station at CIA outposts abroad. President Donald Trump tweeted March 13, 2018, that he would nominate CIA Director Mike Pompeo to be the new secretary of state and that he would nominate Haspel to replace him. She has extensive overseas experience, including several stints as chief of station at outposts abroad.(CIA via AP)

WASHINGTON — Gina Haspel’s long spy career is so shrouded in mystery that senators want documents declassified so they can decide if her role at a CIA black site should prevent her from directing the agency.

It’s a deep dive into Haspel’s past that reflects key questions about her future: Would she support President Donald Trump if he tried to reinstate waterboarding and, in his words, “a lot worse”? Is Haspel the right person to lead the CIA at a time of escalating Russian aggression and ongoing extremist threats?

Haspel’s upcoming confirmation hearing will be laser-focused on the time she spent supervising a secret prison in Thailand. The CIA won’t say when in 2002 Haspel was there, but at various times that year interrogators at the site sought to make terror suspects talk by slamming them against walls, keeping them from sleeping, holding them in coffin-sized boxes and forcing water down their throats – a technique called waterboarding.

Haspel also is accused of drafting a memo calling for the destruction of 92 videotapes of interrogation sessions. Their destruction in 2005 prompted a lengthy Justice Department investigation that ended without charges.

“We should not be asked to confirm a nominee whose background cannot be publicly discussed and who cannot then be held accountable for her actions,” said Sen. Martin Heinrich, who joined other Democrats on the Senate intelligence committee in asking the CIA to declassify more details about Haspel. “The American public deserves to know who its leaders are.”

Court filings, declassified documents and books written by those involved in the CIA’s now-defunct interrogation program suggest Haspel didn’t arrive at the secret prison in Thailand until after one detainee, Abu Zubaydah, was waterboarded 83 times in August 2002. But they indicate she arrived before another detainee, Abd al Rahim al-Nashiri, was waterboarded at least three times in November 2002.

Details about the two detainees’ treatment were disclosed in a 2014 Senate report. It said the prison was shut down in December 2002.

Even if Haspel was at the prison site for just a few months, Steven Watt, an American Civil Liberties Union attorney, said she was deeply involved in the interrogation program. For much of its existence, Haspel was deputy director of the CIA’s counterterrorism center that ran the program using “enhanced interrogation techniques.”

At least 119 men were detained and interrogated as part of the program, said Watt, who represented two detainees and the family of another in a 2015 lawsuit against a pair of CIA-hired psychologists.

It’s unknown if Haspel ever was or currently is a gung-ho proponent of brutal methods, or if she was only implementing orders from CIA headquarters.

Several colleagues and former intelligence officials have come to her defense.

Mike Morell, who was an acting director of the CIA, worked closely with Haspel from 2006 until he retired in 2013. Morell has described her as a “warm and engaging” colleague with a “self-deprecating” sense of humor. She’s a “simply exceptional” person who gets things done in a “quiet, yet effective way” and is “calm under fire.”

“The media is also likely to refer to a moment in her career when she drafted a cable instructing a field station to destroy videotapes of CIA interrogations of senior al-Qaida operatives,” Morell wrote when Haspel became deputy CIA director last year. “She did so at the request of her direct supervisor and believing that it was lawful to do so. I personally led an accountability exercise that cleared Haspel of any wrongdoing in the case.”

While some of assignments have come under political fire, “in each case she was following the lawful orders of the president,” Morell said. “And, in each case, she carried out her responsibilities within the bounds of the law and with excellent judgment. Any criticism of her in this regard is unfair.”

Psychologist James Mitchell, an architect of the CIA program who worked at the same black site, said Haspel won’t filter the intelligence she distributes to Trump through a political lens to please him or jockey for political reward.

“We’d be shooting ourselves in the foot if she’s not confirmed,” he told Fox News. “She’s got deep institutional knowledge. She has worked more than 30 years in the agency. She’s earned the right to be there. She can go to work on Day One.”

Former CIA spokesman Bill Harlow, who helped Mitchell write a book, said the focus on interrogation obscures the CIA director’s wide-ranging portfolio. Instead of re-litigating the past, he said Haspel should be asked about Russia, China and cyber threats and how to improve intelligence collection on America’s adversaries.

Ret. Air Force Col. Steven Kleinman, a longtime interrogator with lengthy experience during the first Gulf War, isn’t sure. He said he doesn’t know Haspel’s personal views about the harsh interrogations, but said there’s no indication she ever tried to halt them.

“That question has to be asked by the Senate: ‘Did you at any time suggest that it be stopped because it’s ineffective, immoral or illegal?'” Kleinman said. “I think we all deserve an answer to that.”

Story: Deb Riechmann

Muralists Paint ‘The Last Kill’ For Thai Wildlife

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Chayanit Itthipongmaetee, Staff Reporter

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16 March 2018, 21:11

BANGKOK — A boy in hunting gear points a megaphone toward a terrified black cat in a monk’s habit.

Those are two of the nine characters painted onto a vet clinic by different artists Friday as part of a distributed movement to demand justice for a black tiger poached in a wildlife sanctuary last month.

Ten muralists collaborated on the 15-meter-by-3-meter wall for their topical rendition of da Vinci’s “The Last Supper.” Called “The Last Kill,” it’s meant to evoke sacrifice and martyrdom in the case of a black panther they hope will be the last slain, the lead artist said.

“I cannot do anything more than express myself through art,” Panda Dew said. “For this work, I’m trying to say that I want [this case] to be the final murder, the final bribery.”

Read: Panther Protest Kept Alive as Property Owners Offer Space

In early February, the Italian-Thai Development CEO Premchai Karnasuta and three other men were found with hunting gear and animal carcasses at a wildlife sanctuary. Premchai and the others have been charged with attempted bribery, poaching, illegal possession of firearms and ivory. Premchai is presently free on bail.

Friday’s mural owes credit to campaign to pair artists with owners of private property to give them a place where their work would be safe from being painted over by the authorities.

“The Last Kill” was painted by 10 muralists: October29, Jecks Bkk, Fuckhead, Panda Dew, Chakit, Bonus Tmc, Bows, Santi, Mad13 and Gustone.

The animal hospital said it plans to leave it up indefinitely.

Pet and Aquatic Animal Hospital co-owner and veterinarian Chaowasit Panyamahasup said he was motivated to join the campaign after similar panther murals were whitewashed. He felt the authorities are biased toward protecting the suspected poachers.

Chaowasit doesn’t want the public to be shy, saying all are welcome to visit the venue and see the work – even if they don’t have a sick pet.

“If you are nearby, come and take a selfie with the graffiti,” Chaowasit said. “So people won’t forget about this like any other scandalous case.”

The Pet and Aquatic Animal Hospital is located in Soi Lat Phrao 71.

Chase Tails When Furries Convene in Bangkok

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Thabo Thusi, Contributor

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16 March 2018, 16:40

BANGKOK — “Let your bestial instinct run wild within our mystical tribal gathering,” bids the invitation to a furry convention coming to town.

Though easily dismissed as people who pretend to be animals to have sex with other people pretending to be animals, furries in Thailand will be treated to a host of activities including trading art and toys next weekend when the Thaitails convention returns to Bangkok.

World of Furries V2 invites fursuiters and fellow anthropomorphic fans to step out of the real world to stretch their claws, get wild and have lots of furry fun.

Anthropomorphic events are a broad classifier for cosplaying any kind of creature that can have human characteristics – though foxes and thundercats seem especially popular.

Furries get together at conventions to show off their creativity, pose in their costumes and, presumably, have sex with each other.

Thaitails will welcome Singaporean artist Cheetahpaws as its guest of honor. He’ll show his works and join in on all the fun.

Among the activities will be the spaces for professionals and amateurs to sell their wares and show off their art. Artists and publishers will offer various items for sale ranging from illustrations to stuffed toys.

Organizers say part of the proceeds will go to the Wildlife Friends Foundation Thailand, which rescues, shelters and rehabilitates abused wildlife.

Tickets start at 380 baht and can be booked in advance online, where more information including the full schedule can be found.

Thaitails runs 8pm to 11pm on March 24 at the Bazaar Hotel on Ratchadapisek Road in the Chatuchak district. The hotel is about a five-minute walk MRT Lat Phrao. Alternatively you can take a taxi to the location.

Clarification: Sexual activity is not a part of Thaitails 2018.

Embassy Room Unveils International Culinary Flair

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Khaosod English

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16 March 2018, 16:25

This is a sponsored message. Khaosod English is not responsible for its content.

BANGKOK — The Embassy Room is offering a wide selection of international dishes in a “home-inspired dining experience.”

Prepared fresh and live in an open kitchen theatre, mains are presented in generous portions. Those who appreciate simple and refined dishes crafted from quality ingredients will enjoy and experience dining as with friends and family at the family dining table for mom’s cooking. Moreover, a beautiful selection of unlimited appetizers and desserts are available for lunch as well as a variety of desserts and cheeses for dinner.

Opening its doors wider, Embassy Room is now an even more attractive prospect for business and social luncheons and dinners. Diners can either indulge in a main course together with unlimited, freshly prepared creations from The Pantry or just dine alone on a light lunch. As guests serve themselves at the appetizer line stacked with salads, antipasti and seafood dishes, their main course are prepared in full view at Embassy Room’s open kitchen theatre.

“You feel how you do when you invite friends into your home, or gather the family for a sociable home-inspired serve yourself spread,” explains Chef Franck. “You can help yourself to nice selections of appetizers and desserts, and select a special main course, all of which we create according to the best ingredients available on the day and how they inspire our chefs.

The main courses include: Charred Spanish octopus; Classic croque-monsieur; Fettuccine al tartufo; Mussel marinières; Atlantic salmon/ratatouille; Tuna steak/feta cheese; Wood-fired oven-roasted sea bass; wood-fired, oven-roasted baby chicken; stir-fried sweet and sour chicken; braised New Zealand lamb shank; Berkshire pork chop/pumpkin; Dover sole/beurre meunière; Côte de Bœuf from a wood-fired oven.

The appetizer and dessert buffet in The Pantry is 990 baht. Get it with one main course for 1,450 baht. Mains are priced at 520 baht to 1,550 baht. All come with coffee or tea.

The new dinner menu is takes strong inspiration from contemporary European a la carte starters and main courses, followed by a curated cheese and dessert selection from The Pantry.

Starters include: Burrata cheese, cherry tomato, basil; Smoked salmon, horseradish, dill, lemon; Charred Spanish octopus, cos lettuce, tzatziki; Hokkaido scallops, black pudding, caramelized apple; Canadian lobster bisque, dill cream, pak choi; King fish ceviche, yuzu dressing, spring onion, fried shallots; Beef carpaccio, rocket salad, parmesan cheese, capers.

Main Courses range: Fettuccine al tartufo, truffle cream, Parmesan cheese; Mussel marinières, French fries; Atlantic salmon, ratatouille, quinoa with lemon confit; Tuna steak, Thai asparagus, cherry tomato, feta cheese; Wood-fired oven-roasted whole seabass, chili dressing, jasmine rice; Wood-fired oven-roasted baby chicken, roasted vegetables, rosemary jus; Tiger prawn al ajilio risotto, tomato, taggiasche olive, basil; Miso marinated black cod fish, pak choi; Dover sole, beurre meuniere; Stir fried sweet & sour chicken, cashew nuts, capsicum; Braised New Zealand lamb shank, pomme purée, olive jus; Berkshire pork chop, pumpkin, pickled onion; Côte de bœuf from the Wood-fired oven, gratin dauphinoise; 410 per 100g; Black Angus beef tenderloin, gratin dauphinoise, green peppercorn sauce.

<span data-mce-type="bookmark" style="display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;" class="mce_SELRES_start"></span><span data-mce-type="bookmark" style="display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;" class="mce_SELRES_start"></span>Starters, mains and cheese and dessert sideboards from The Pantry start at 450 baht.

As part of the launch, the hotel is hosting its “SHARINGISCARING” social media campaign. Receive a 30 percent discount for lunch or dinner by liking the official Facebook page, posting a photo of your dining experience and tagging two friends you’d recommend Embassy Room to.

For reservations please call +66 2 011 7430 or email [email protected].

About Hyatt Hotels Corp.

Hyatt Hotels Corporation, headquartered in Chicago, is a leading global hospitality company with a portfolio of 13 premier brands. As of March 31, 2017, the Company’s portfolio included 708 properties in 56 countries. The Company’s purpose to care for people so they can be their best informs its business decisions and growth strategy and is intended to create value for shareholders, build relationships with guests and attract the best colleagues in the industry. The Company’s subsidiaries develop, own, operate, manage, franchise, license or provide services to hotels, resorts, branded residences and vacation ownership properties, including under the Park Hyatt®, Miraval®, Grand Hyatt®, Hyatt Regency®, Hyatt®, Andaz®, Hyatt Centric®, The Unbound Collection by Hyatt™, Hyatt Place®, Hyatt House®, Hyatt Ziva™, Hyatt Zilara™ and Hyatt Residence Club® brand names and have locations on six continents. For more information, please visit hyatt.com.About Park Hyatt [Property Name] hotel– Hotel Boilerplate

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Park Hyatt hotels provide discerning, affluent business and leisure guests with elegant and luxurious accommodation and offers them highly attentive personal service in an intimate environment. Located in several of the world’s premier destinations, each Park Hyatt hotel is custom designed to combine sophistication with a distinctive regional character. Park Hyatt hotels feature well-appointed guestrooms, meeting and special event space for groups, critically acclaimed art, food and beverage programs, and signature restaurants featuring award-winning chefs.

Bangkok’s Doggos and Kittehs Vaccinated For Rabies (Photos)

By

Asaree Thaitrakulpanich, Staff Reporter

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16 March 2018, 15:20

A man holds a kitten while another sits on his shoulder Friday at the Small Animal Hospital at Chulalongkorn University.

BANGKOK — On the same day a rabies epidemic claimed its first human victim this year, people brought their animal companions in for free vaccinations at a downtown hospital.

The Small Animal Hospital at Chulalongkorn University’s Faculty of Veterinary Science, resounded with anxious meows and barks Friday morning as owners brought in their pets for free rabies shots.

Read: Deaths from Rabies Rise to 14 in 2017: Officials

Earlier today down south in Prachuap Khiri Khan province, a 61-year-old man died after an infected cat bit him. Rabies killed 14 people died last year in 13 provinces.

Under the law, cats and dogs must be vaccinated for rabies. People who fail to do so risk being fined 3,000 baht or jailed three months.

The free vaccinations will continue until March 23 and the hospital has enough vaccines for around 200 animals per day. Visitors are first come, first serve from 8am to 3pm on weekdays and from 8am to 11am on weekends.

“Today we got 80 pets vaccinated here,” hospital director Srireepong Kiertkrittikhoon said, adding that he hopes more people bring in their animals. “There is rabies in Bangkok, but only in certain areas, especially those close to Samut Prakan. We are trying to contain the rabies in those areas so they don’t spread their range.”

Srireepong urged those who suspect they have been infected to seek medical aid immediately.
Others have taken up the cause as the rabies epidemic has spread to dozens of provinces nationwide.

Jumkud Hassachai, 57, a volunteer for the livestock development in Trang province, took out his motorcycle to give free rabies shots to local animals. Jumkud said he’s done the same for about six years and vaccinated hundreds of dogs and cats in his area.

คณลงขรถฉดวคซนฟรหลงพบโรคสนขบาระบาด 3 — Jumkud Hassachai, 57, injects a cat Thursday in Trang.

คณลงขรถฉดวคซนฟรหลงพบโรคสนขบาระบาด 1 — Jumkud Hassachai, 57, holds a box of rabies vaccines.

New Law Requires Rabies Shots for All Cats

Thailand Heat Soon to Crush Souls at 40C

By

Asaree Thaitrakulpanich, Staff Reporter

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16 March 2018, 14:33

Summer silver trumpet flowers bloom Friday in Korat.

BANGKOK — Summer is here in full force, and it’s now time to consider an aircon staycation at least until the water guns come out in a month’s time.

All of Thailand will experience peak heat of 40C next week, state meteorologists announced Friday, a normal trend for mid-March.

The hottest Bangkok will get is between 34C and 40C. Nationwide, the hottest days will be Tuesday through Thursday.

The northern provinces are warned to be ready for summer storms. A high-pressure system moving in from China, coupled with the existing weather conditions, will result in high humidity, rainfall and even more heat.

In Roi Et province on Friday, reports said that storms that began Wednesday have damaged about 70 residences.

174799 — Damaged houses on Friday in Roi Et.

Thailand Slips in UN ‘Happiness Index’

By

Pravit Rojanaphruk, Senior Staff Writer

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16 March 2018, 14:29

Thailand’s smiles have drooped slightly, according to the latest edition of a UN happiness index published Wednesday.

The kingdom slipped 14 spots to rank No. 46 among 156 countries surveyed for the “World Happiness Report,” which the UN describes as “a landmark survey of the state of Global Happiness.”

The report measures a variety of factors to rank 156 nations by their happiness levels and 117 countries by the happiness of their immigrant populations. The report, which did not assess the happiness of Thailand’s foreign-born residents, is being released ahead of Tuesday’s celebration of the UN’s International Day of Happiness.

Finland proved happiest in the report, which noted that the top 10 positions have been held by the same countries for two years now. Canada, New Zealand, Sweden, Australia, the Netherlands and Iceland are among the other top nations.

The report measures not just income and per capita GDP, but also life expectancy, social support, trust, generosity and corruption.

“All the top countries tend to have high values for all six of the key variables that have been found to support well-being: income, healthy life expectancy, social support, freedom, trust and generosity,” the report said.

Worldwide, Thailand came in just after Kuwait and before Italy.

In ASEAN, Singapore edge out Thailand to rank No. 34 while southern neighbor Malaysia was right behind at 35.

Elsewhere, the United States ranked No. 18 while the United Kingdom came in a nearly as happy No. 19. The least happy country, according to the report? Unfortunately for the Burundians, it’s Burundi.

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