Tourists don sweaters and knitted hats to visit Suan Phum Prueksa for its winter flowers Monday morning in Nakhon Ratchasima province.
BANGKOK — Break out a light sweater and strut down the uneven sidewalk without breaking a sweat: cool weather has arrived.
Expect temperatures as low as 21C Monday through Friday, with highs of 32C as well as strong winds throughout Bangkok, state meteorologists said Monday.
To really feel the coolness, step out into the provinces for some camping weather.
Nationwide, temperatures are expected to drop an average of 4C to 6C. In the north and northeast, temperatures are expected to fall as low as 11C this until Friday. The central provinces can reach as low as 17C while the south expects lows of 20C.
Passengers wait after the lights went out at Hartfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, Sunday, Dec. 17, 2017, in Atlanta. A sudden power outage at the airport on Sunday grounded scores of flights and passengers during one of the busiest travel times of the year. (AP Photo/Branden Camp)
ATLANTA — A sudden power outage brought the world’s busiest airport to a standstill Sunday, grounding more than 1,000 flights in Atlanta just days before the start of the Christmas travel rush. Hours after the blackout began, authorities announced that electricity would be restored at the Hartfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport by midnight.
Passengers at the airport were left in the dark when the lights went out at around 1 p.m. The outage halted all outgoing flights, and arriving planes were held on the ground at their point of departure. International flights were being diverted, officials said.
Delta passenger Emilia Duca, 32, was on her way to Wisconsin from Bogota, Colombia, when she got stuck in Atlanta. She said police made passengers who were in the baggage-claim area move to a higher floor. She said restaurants and shops were closed. Vending machines weren’t working.
“A lot of people are arriving, and no one is going out. No one is saying anything official. We are stuck here,” she said. “It’s a nightmare.”
Delta, with its biggest hub operation in Atlanta, will be hardest hit. By evening, Delta had already cancelled almost 800 Sunday flights and another 250 on Monday, nearly all of them in Atlanta, according to tracking service FlightAware.com.
Robert Mann, an aviation consultant and former American Airlines executive, said it likely will be Tuesday before Delta’s operations in Atlanta return to normal, and for passengers “it could be most of the week” because there aren’t many open seats on other flights in the last week before Christmas.
A traveler sleeps on a baggage carousel at Hartfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, Sunday, Dec. 17, 2017, in Atlanta. A sudden power outage at the airport on Sunday grounded scores of flights and passengers during one of the busiest travel times of the year. (AP Photo/Branden Camp)
“Tomorrow is going to be a long and difficult day for everybody,” Mann said.
One bit of good news, according to Mann: Delta has more spare planes and available crews in Atlanta than anywhere else, which will help it to recover.
Still, when flights at Atlanta were grounded for most of one day last spring, it took Delta five days — and about 4,000 cancelled flights — before it fully recovered.
Like Sunday’s outage, that April storm hit Delta’s largest hub at a busy travel time when there weren’t many empty seats to accommodate customers from cancelled flights. At the time, CEO Ed Bastian vowed that Delta would make “significant improvements” to its system for scheduling and tracking aircraft crews to recover more quickly from disruptions.
While Delta was hit hardest by the outage, other airlines also canceled flights for the rest of Sunday. American Airlines canceled 24 departures and an equal number of arrivals, said spokesman Ross Feinstein. The airline also diverted three planes that were headed to Atlanta when the outage struck, sending them instead to Dallas, Nashville and back to Philadelphia.
The FAA said it would staff the airport control tower throughout the night so that it can handle flights once they resume. The FAA said the tower could operate normally but flights were affected because airport equipment in the terminals was not working.
According to a Georgia Power statement, a fire in an underground electrical facility may have been responsible for the outage. The cause of the fire was not known.
“No personnel or passengers were in danger at any time,” the statement said.
A traveler waits in dark at Hartfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, Sunday, Dec. 17, 2017, in Atlanta. A sudden power outage at the airport on Sunday grounded scores of flights and passengers during one of the busiest travel times of the year. (AP Photo/Branden Camp)
No areas outside of the airport were affected by the power loss. The utility said that there are “many redundant systems in place” to ensure the power supply to the airport and that such outages at the airport “are very rare.”
That wasn’t enough to comfort Jeff Smith, 46, of Pittsburgh, who ended up stuck in a plane on the tarmac for three hours after it landed.
“This is the worst experience I’ve ever had at an airport,” he said.
Sara Melillo, who was traveling to Pittsburgh from Kenya, where she lives with her husband, Greg Presto, to spend Christmas with his family were stuck on the tarmac for six hours. The couple had made stops in Nairobi and Amsterdam and landed shortly after the lights went out in Atlanta.
She said the pilot didn’t have a lot of information for the travelers but the plane had air conditioning and attendants offered water and juice a few times. She described the Delta terminal as “big chaos” with not enough customer service for the hundreds of people trying to find a flight to their next destination and a place to sleep for the night.
With her new boarding pass handwritten and her bags still stuck on a plane, Melillo was hopeful that she and her husband would be able to get a flight in the morning to Pittsburgh, she said as she waited for an Uber to take them to a hotel.
By evening, power had been restored to at least one concourse. On its Twitter page Sunday night the airport tweeted, “Power on Concourse F is back ON! We are working with great urgency w/ @GeorgiaPower to restore power throughout rest of airport.” Airport workers were distributing bottled water, and Dunkin’ Donuts was giving out doughnuts.
Officer Lisa Bender of the Atlanta Police Department said officers were at the airport to help with crowd control and managing traffic around the airport.
Passengers wait after the lights went out at Hartfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, Sunday, Dec. 17, 2017, in Atlanta. A sudden power outage at the airport on Sunday grounded scores of flights and passengers during one of the busiest travel times of the year. (AP Photo/Branden Camp)
Delta Air Lines, which has its hub at the airport, said about 900 mainline and connection flights were cancelled, and 48 flights were diverted. Delta temporarily embargoed unaccompanied minors from traveling Monday.
At Southwest Airlines, about 70 Atlanta departures out of 120 scheduled for Sunday were cancelled, an airline spokesman said in an email. United Airlines and JetBlue Airways were among carriers reporting delays or cancellations.
Mozell Smith, 58, of Atlanta arrived at the airport hours after the electricity went off. He was headed to Las Vegas with a sister and a friend.
“This is terrible. I wish someone would’ve given us a heads-up before we got to the airport,” he said. “I wish there would have been better communication.”
American Airlines reported only a handful of diversions and cancellations because the carrier does not use Atlanta as a hub, airline spokeswoman Alexis Aran Coello.
Hartsfield-Jackson, which serves 104 million passengers a year, is the world’s busiest airport, a distinction it has held since 1998.
The airport serves an average of 275,000 passengers daily, according to its website. Nearly 2,500 planes arrive and depart each day.
SYDNEY — A South Korean-born Sydney man was charged Sunday with acting as an economic agent for North Korea in Australia by allegedly attempting to broker sales worth tens of millions of dollars for Pyongyang that included components used in ballistic missiles.
The Australian Federal Police said 59-year-old naturalized Australian Chan Han Choi used encrypted communication to broker sales and discuss the supply of weapons of mass destruction. His actions contravened both United Nations and Australian sanctions against North Korea, police said.
Police said the man was acting to generate income for Pyongyang by arranging the sale of computer software used for guiding ballistic missiles as well as expertise from North Korea to other “international entities.” Police didn’t elaborate.
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said he had been briefed by AFP Commissioner Andrew Colvin on the “very, very serious matter” and warned anyone thinking of assisting North Korea that “the AFP will find you.”
“North Korea is a dangerous, reckless, criminal regime threatening the peace of the region,” Turnbull said. “It supports itself by breaching U.N. sanctions, not simply by selling commodities like coal and other goods, but also by selling weapons, by selling drugs, by engaging in cybercrime.”
He added: “It is vitally important that all nations work relentlessly to enforce those sanctions because the more economic pressure that can be brought on North Korea, the sooner that regime will be brought to its senses.”
Despite international sanctions, cash-strapped North Korea last month test-fired its most powerful missile that may be able to target the U.S. mainland.
Choi is facing six charges related to brokering the sale of missile componentry and expertise from North Korea to other international entities, and attempting to transfer coal from North Korea to entities in Indonesia and Vietnam.
Choi didn’t appear or apply for bail in a Sydney court Sunday, and bail was formally refused.
Federal police Assistant Commissioner Neil Gaughan said the governments of Indonesia and Vietnam — or authorities in those countries — were not involved in the coal transfer attempt.
Choi is the first person charged under Australia’s Weapons of Mass Destruction Act and could face a maximum 10-year prison sentence.
Gaughan said the charges related to his alleged activity over the past year, but that allegations dated back to 2008.
Choi was arrested Saturday and charged over two transactions that were unsuccessful. “But we estimate that if these trades were successful, we’re talking tens of millions of dollars,” Gaughan told reporters.
He said investigations were continuing and that more charges could be filed against Choi.
“The AFP are saying this man was a loyal agent of North Korea, believing he was acting to serve some high patriotic purpose,” Gaughan said.
Police started investigating Choi after a tip-off from another international agency on another matter, he said.
“I know these charges sound alarming, but we are not suggesting that there are any weapons or missile componentry that came to Australian soil,” he said. “We’re alleging all of the activity occurred offshore.”
Choi’s activities also involved commodities including oil and gemstones.
“This is black market 101. It’s the same with the coal and oil and gemstones — it’s all about making money for North Korea,” he said, adding the case was “like nothing we have ever seen on Australian soil.”
“Any individual who attempts to fly in the face of sanctions cannot and will not go unnoticed in Australia,” he said.
Junta chairman and Prime Minister Gen. Prayuth Chan-ocha at the Government House in Bangkok, 14 May 2015.
The last time I was on the panel at the British Chamber of Commerce, someone asked whether I believed the military government was sincere in its bid to clean up corruption.
“Of course, they are,” I replied. “They are as sincere as any government aiming to clean up the corruption [dramatic pause] of other political factions.”
(Translation: Move aside, it’s our turn to eat the cake – allegedly, of course.)
On May 22, 2014, General Prayuth Chan-ocha sent in the tanks, overthrew the democratically elected government and became the dictator. Come May 2018, it will be four years running that Thailand has struggled under his regime. Three reasons were given for the coup d’etat. First, to protect the monarchy. Second, to put an end to street violence. Third, to clean up corruption. The first is a hyper-sensitive issue, so we shall leave it there. The second, the junta leader accomplished. The third – if we are to gauge public sentiment – seems to follow the classic Thaism of “same same but different.” Same old business dealings – different people doing the dealing.
The topic of this commentary hence is that public sentiment is key in making sure the promise of a general election next year is fulfilled. A promise that has been reneged upon at least twicealready.
Whether one is an absolute monarch, a fascist dictator or an elected leader, public sentiments are key to legitimizing one’s regime. From early on, the junta leader could claim strong support from the people, even if this group of people was in the minority.
When he took power by force, they cheered for him as if he was Miss Universe Thailand strutting across the stage to greet Steve Harvey. When officials and politicians were rounded up on corruption charges, they applauded him as if he was Toon Bodyslam running across the country, one stride at a time. The love for the junta leader was so strong that when the alleged billion baht Rajabhakti Park corruption scandal involving the army gripped the headlines, they waved dismissively.
Move along, nothing to see here – he brought peace and is cleaning up corruption.
When his brother, Gen. Preecha Chan-ocha, bestowed upon his then 25-year-old an officer’s rank of second lieutenant in the army amid cries of alleged cronyism, they shrugged. When alleged irregularities were found in General Preecha’s 79 million baht assets, as well as an undeclared mansion in Phitsanulok province, they smirked. When over 13 billion baht was approved to purchase three Chinese submarines, they grinned.
Move along, nothing to see here – he brought peace and is cleaning up corruption.
When he berated a fisherman for asking him tough questions, or when he and Deputy Prime Minister Gen. Prawit Wongsuwan glossed over the not-so-mysterious death of first-year cadet Pakapong Tanyakan. When Gen.l Prawit unwittingly showed off a huge diamond ring and Richard Mille watch reportedly worth between 4 and 10 million baht. When the junta leader told the media and the public to “take it easy” on Gen. Prawit and his fancy accessories. When the public saw leaked receipts from luxury “work trips” abroad enjoyed by the junta government. When, day after day, we see the dictator fuming and scolding anyone and everyone who disagrees with or questions him.
There are still die-hard supporters of the junta, no doubt.
But many of those who had previously cheered the tanks are wavering and shaking their heads in disappointment. Here we have a classic case of early infatuation blinding the eyes and fogging the mind. After over three years – and it shouldn’t have taken this long – many supporters of the junta government are beginning to see things for what they are, and it’s an ungainly sight. In fact, many are now fuming with expletives and exasperations.
Read the commentaries. Listen to the people. Scroll through social media to assess the mood of the Thais. The phrase, “I used to support him, but…” is more commonly expressed.
Add to that a stagnating economy in which poor and middle class are struggling while the richest families grow richer, and the overall public sentiment seems to be “General, it’s time to move on.” Public pressure: Don’t ever underestimate its power.
But presently this sentiment is still very much in the undercurrent. People aren’t exactly yelling it out loud and in unison. As such, the junta leader can still rule under the façade of a mandate, backed by convenient public relations photo ops with the much-adored Miss Universe Thailand Maria Lyn Ehren and the well-loved Toon Body Slam. It’s politically expedient to be associated with the people’s heroes.
Hence, the promise of a general election comes next year is still up in the air. Nothing is set in stone. Especially if a bomb goes off here and there to provide a scenario where democracy would again be postponed for security under a military regime. Therefore, it’s very important for the Thai people to make a stand. We can even be polite about it.
“Thank you for all you have done, General, but it’s time to move on.”
Strong public pressure goes a long way toward ensuring that, come next year, there will be a general election. But the people must voice it out loud and also must make the stance peaceably. This is because any possible threat to peace and security is a convenient excuse for the junta leader to postpone the election.
So loudly and peacefully, start the movement, make the hashtag, send the meme and slap on the bumper sticker: “General, it’s time to move on.”
FILE - This file image provided by Disney shows, from left, Chadwick Boseman as Panther, Paul Bettany as Vision, Robert Downey Jr. as Iron Man, Scarlett Johansson as Natasha Romanoff, and Don Cheadle as War Machine in a scene from "Marvel's Captain America: Civil War." Disney’s announcement Thursday, Dec. 14, 2017, that it’s buying most of movie goliath Fox for $52.4 billion in stock brings these once disparate franchises together. The combined company will account for more than a third of theatrical revenues in the U.S. and Canada. (Disney Marvel via AP, File)
MENLO PARK, California — The coming union of the Disney and Fox media empires is set to create a new nirvana for fanboys and -girls, one that reunites superheroes and sci-fi characters long separated by an energy barrier of corporate legalism.
Take, for instance, the fractured world of Marvel superheroes. For years, the X-Men (Wolverine, Storm, Professor X and the crew) and the Fantastic Four (Thing, Invisible Woman, et al) have battled bad dudes from the studios of 20th Century Fox. Meanwhile Iron Man, Black Widow and other Avengers vanquished villains in another corner of the galaxy run by Disney. Almost ne’er the twain did meet — though that could soon change.
In a related fashion, rights to the various “Star Wars” films have been scattered all over a galaxy far, far away; those will soon be unified under a powerful Galactic Emp– er, well, Magic Kingdom.
THE MOUSE THAT ATE THE FOX
Disney’s announcement Thursday that it’s buying most of movie goliath Fox for $52.4 billion in stock brings these once disparate franchises together, possibly for as-yet unplanned intergalactic dust-ups. Add the “Avatar” franchise to the blockbuster mix, and the company that launched Mickey Mouse will be an unavoidable presence at the box office and online if the deal goes through.
The combined company will account for more than a third of theatrical revenues in the U.S. and Canada, an $11 billion business last year, not to mention a huge chunk of the global theater-going pie, according to Daniel Ives, chief strategy officer at market research firm GBH Insights.
That would make the Disney juggernaut a more powerful theatrical force to be reckoned with than ever before. Online, Disney has announced plans to launch its own streaming service in 2019, after pulling titles like “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story” and Disney’s “Moana” from Netflix’s streaming platform to move onto its own. After Fox’s deal to send its movies to HBO ends reportedly in 2022, its films will also move to the Disney streaming platforms.
“Creating a direct-to-consumer relationship is vital to the future of our media businesses and it’s our highest priority,” Disney CEO Bob Iger told investors in a Thursday conference call detailing the Fox deal.
ONE BIG HAPPY DEATH STAR
Those old enough to remember the blaring 20th Century Fox opening to the original “Star Wars” (Episode IV) may no longer have to search far, far, away to find the other titles. The original was made and distributed by Fox, but it was a quirk of the series.
Episodes V, VI, I, II, and III were owned by Lucasfilm (bought by Disney in 2012) and distributed by Fox. You can only stream those first six movies endlessly if you buy them and register them through the not-terribly-popular UltraViolet system backed by several studios. (You can also rent them digitally.) “The Force Awakens” — Episode VII — is available to streaming subscribers, though only if you have Starz.
The Force may finally put these titles in one place.
Buying Fox will also give Disney a majority stake in streaming platform Hulu. The addition of Fox’s regional sports TV networks and National Geographic video programming in the deal could let the new service bundle hugely popular movie and TV franchises, local sports broadcast rights, and distribution platforms into one live online video empire.
That would recreate online what the U.S. Supreme Court broke apart in the 1940s. That’s when the court forced Hollywood studios to divest ownership of theater chains to keep content producers from controlling every step along the way to the consumer.
“This moves Disney from an afterthought in streaming to a legitimate contender,” Ives said.
SCRAPPY REBELS
At the same time, tech companies — particularly Netflix, Amazon, Facebook, Google, and Apple — are making big investments in video streaming. Hollywood-centered entertainment companies have struggled as people drop traditional TV packages, shifting the nexus of power in entertainment from the Hollywood Hills toward Silicon Valley and Seattle.
That marketplace dynamic could help pave the way for regulators to clear the deal, aimed to close within the next 12 to 18 months.
“These guys are up against Facebook and Google, not Warner Bros. and MGM,” said Mike Kelly, the former Weather Channel CEO who is now CEO of investment and advisory firm Kelly Newman Ventures. “If you look at it that way, I don’t think the government would have that big of an issue with it.”
Iger said he anticipates a “significant amount of regulatory scrutiny both in the United States and internationally” because of the deal’s size, but he said authorities should quickly approve it because it makes sense for consumers.
He said Disney’s current thinking is to split its streaming services into three different brands, such as a Disney-labeled family service that would fold in NatGeo, Marvel, Pixar and Lucasfilm; an ESPN-led sports service; and an adult-oriented service that would incorporate Hulu and some of Fox’s TV shows.
Disney also aims to expand the global audience of its cast of characters as it pulls in Fox’s London-based pay-TV broadcaster Sky, which has a pan-European audience, and Mumbai-based Star India.
OH, THAT LONELY WEB-SLINGER
But there’s one part of the comic book world that will escapes Disney’s sizable web: Spider-Man, whose rights Marvel partially farmed out to Sony.
Although Sony and Disney cut a deal to include Spidey in Avengers tales starting with “Captain America: Civil War” last year, Sony continues to develop its own alternate reality with movies like the animated “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-verse” as well as spin-offs “Venom” and “Silver & Black” starting in 2018.
American writer, photographer, and activist, best known for being part of the body positive movement, Jes Baker, delivers a speech during a day against fat phobia in Paris, France, Friday, Dec. 15, 2017. Paris, the seat of global luxury industries and one of the world's most image-conscious cities, is looking at its contradictions in the mirror with rising obesity levels and is launching a campaign against an often disregarded kind of discrimination: sizeism. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)
PARIS — France gave the world butter croissants and foie gras, yet it has often been a place where being overweight was seen as almost sinful.
Now, after taking a hard look at the contradictions in the mirror, its capital has launched a campaign to counter sizeism, an often disregarded kind of discrimination in the image-conscious city known for luxury fashion brands and tiny waists.
Paris anti-discrimination chief Helene Bidard began the initiative after falling victim to weight-related insults and noticing how bias against French people who are overweight went unnoticed, never mind unpunished.
“We see fat people as ugly and even stupid, lacking hygiene and in bad health,” Bidard said.
As part of its annual week devoted to raising awareness about discrimination, Paris on Friday unveiled its “Fatphobia, stop! Taking action together” campaign with a plus-size fashion show and panels featuring bloggers from the “body positive” movement. Fifty thousand leaflets with legal advice and helpline numbers are set to be distributed at sports centers, night clubs, swimming pools and bistros.
The effort, which is aimed at countering both casual and institutionalized discrimination, comes amid rising obesity rates in France. The National Institute of Health and Medical Research reported that nearly 16 percent of the adult population was obese last year, compared to 6 percent in 1980. But thinness ideals persist.
“There’s this French paradox where you’re supposed to eat foie gras, but you’re not supposed to get fat,” said curvy French blogger Daria Marx.
Marx said that while a 2011 French law prohibits job discrimination based on physical appearance, employers often get around it by prioritizing job applications that contain candidates’ photos.
Calling it “discrimination,” she cited research that concluded that fat people are 15 times less likely to be called back for interviews if they include their photos.
Doctors also can deny in vitro fertilization to women who are deemed overweight.
To challenge the images of small-sized beauty propagated by fashion houses such Paris-based Chanel, Louis Vuitton and Dior, organizers of Friday’s event put on a big-is-beautiful runway show with plus-size clothes specially made by designers such as Ewa Minge.
“In France, it’s very difficult (to buy clothes.) I only shop on the internet” or shops in London, Marx said.
French luxury giants recently woke up to the potential dangers of encouraging excessive thinness. Since Oct 1, French fashion conglomerates LVMH and Kering stopped hiring excessively thin models and now require models to provide medical certificates to prove they are healthy before they can work. The companies said they hoped to set a new global standard for the fashion industry.
The move garnered praise at Paris Fashion Week, including during the show for the collection by Stella McCartney, whose house is owned by Kering.
“The community in fashion needs to look after these young women … whether that be their emotional health, their mental health or their physical health,” McCartney told The Associated Press.
The French law initially included a minimum body mass index requirement, but it was removed after lawmakers deemed the doctor’s certificate an adequate safeguard.
Though discrimination against fat people is a real documented problem in France— a book about growing up fat in France entitled “You’re Not Born Fat” became an unexpected sensation — some remain skeptical.
“There is no problem of sizeism in Paris,” image consultant Emery Dolige said. “Does eating well make you fat? No. On the contrary. Our American friends often demonstrate that.”
An image of a foot on the face of fugitive former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra in a tweet accusing the author of this column of being on his payroll by @JOUI7SyNmDeFxi0.
The sentencing of an anti-junta electrician who planted a pipe bomb at an army-run hospital was proof of how explosive our political hatred has become.
Wattana Pumares, 62, was sentenced by the criminal court to 27 years in prison on Dec. 6 for crimes including attempted murder for planting a bomb that injured dozens. Those injured committed no crime. Their only “crime” was being in a waiting room at Phramongkutklao Hospital in Bangkok, which is run by the same army today’s ruling junta emerged from.
The man, a retired electrical engineer, said it was a “symbolic protest.”
One would need to be naive at best to entertain Wattana’s claim this was a symbolic act against the junta which staged the 2014 coup. He hid a bomb in a waiting room wall vase on May 22, the third anniversary of the 2014 coup. The room chosen was named after deputy junta leader and former army chief Gen. Prawit Wongsuwan.
Wattana succumbed to political hatred.
He may be an extreme example, but overall, many Thais of different stripes have, in the past decade, succumb to the same political hatred.
It is easy and tempting to fight the military junta with hate, to despise and want to destroy them. Hate is a destructive and infectious force that destroys those who hate as well. It’s easy to hate the junta. It’s a lot harder to fight the junta with love for liberty, democracy and human rights.
One of the barometers that can gauge political hatred is political jargon. Addressing those on the other side of the political spectrum through derogatory words and dehumanizing speech has become rather common on all sides.
For those who hate Thaksin and Yingluck Shinawatra, their supporters are despised as either corrupt or foolish, red water buffaloes, or kwai daeng, who are beyond redemption.
The word “despise” has found its way to the other side as well. In the anti-junta camp, a popular motto successfully disseminated in recent months by people including activist Nuttaa Mahattana is “despise dictatorship,” or rangkiat phadetkarn, in Thai. To despise may not be equivalent to hate just yet – but it’s getting there.
While I could never condone such negative and destructive feelings, I can feel some empathy.
The junta criminalizes anyone arrested for opposing them peacefully, when it is they who broke the law by staging their coup and granting themselves immunity from law. The same law they rewrite at will and preach should be obeyed while accepting their illegitimate rule.
Similar to the hospital bomber’s victims, many detained or charged by the junta and its military regime also committed no crimes. Wednesday saw Pheu Thai party spokeswoman Sunisa Lertphakwat accused of sedition and violating the Computer Crime Act for criticizing the military government online.
Same as others before her, their only “crime” was exercising freedom of expression in a society where fighting for basic civil rights and political freedom has become a crime against the military state.
It’s simplistic for anyone – myself included – to simply call on all sides to cease the political hatred.
Army mascot ‘Nong Kiew Koy’ menaces/cheers a young boy.
The junta last month made a gesture by introducing a new military mascot aimed at promoting national reconciliation called Little Sister Pinky Promise, or Nong Kiew Koy. Needless to say some found it insincere – even creepy.
Creepy for her somewhat sinister appearance, and insincere because there can be no reconciliation without justice and fairness for all.
People are tired of hearing the junta tell them to obey the law when it holds absolute power and places itself above the same law. Through Article 44 of the now defunct 2014 provisional military constitution, any order of junta leader Gen. Prayuth Chan-ocha is in fact the law of Juntaland, overriding the executive, legislative and judicial branches.
Given repeated false promises the junta has made over the past three and a half years about when elections will take place, it’s no wonder many of those who oppose military rule expect more lies and repression.
These are tragic, fertile grounds for the hatred which is festering in Thailand and steering it down a self-destructive path.
BANGKOK — Anti-junta activists stage a protest in Bangkok downtown Friday evening to call upon the junta’s rubber stamp parliament to convene a non-confidence debate against its own masters.
Saying the military regime has consistently mismanaged the country and oppressed its citizens since seizing power three years ago, campaigner Sirawith Seritiwat urged the interim parliament to start doing its job in scrutinizing the government.
He stated his demand in front of several dozens of his supporters on BTS National Stadium skywalk this evening, a rare protest under the regime that has banned all forms of public dissent.
Anti-junta protest at BTS National Stadium skywalkStory: https://www.khaosodenglish.com/politics/2017/12/14/activists-plan-anti-junta-rally-friday-wont-notify-police
Sirawith, aka Ja New, said he will petition the National Legislative Assembly on Dec. 22 to launch the motion. If he does not hear back from them by Jan. 14, the activist said he and the people “would take the matter into their own hand.”
Per parliament regulations, one fifth of lawmakers can ask the House Speaker to launch a no-confidence debate against the prime minister and his government.
The debate consists of various lawmakers taking turn to voice their opposition to the administration. The entire procedure is broadcast live on state TV channel, and such debates often gain widespread attention.
There has been no debate of no-confidence since the military seized power in May 2014. All current lawmakers were appointed by the junta.
Although police were deployed at today’s protest, no arrest was made.
The highlights include space drama “The Spacewalker,” based on a true story, martial arts action “Sparta,” which follows a former MMA champion after his release from prison and disaster film “Icebreaker” (“Ledokol” in Russian) about a man adrift on the Antarctic ice over four months.
The festival marks the 120th anniversary of Russo-Thai diplomatic relations.
Each film will be screened in Russian with Thai and English subtitles. The schedule is available online. Admission is free. Moviegoers can pick up their tickets at the lobby.
The event takes place Wednesday through Dec. 24 at SF World Cinema CentralWorld.
It’s time to say goodbye to 2017 and welcome the new year. Bangkok’s club scene had its ups and downs, but for this one special night the whole city comes alive in good vibes to celebrate. Expect parties to go off in every neighborhood, and for those out for some club-hopping, there’s something for everyone, from hip-hop and Afro House to straight-up EDM.
Also, if you prefer after-hours grooving, this is one of the few times of the year that kind of thing is tolerated by the boys in brown. Wherever you choose to go, have fun and be safe. Here are some of my top picks for New Year’s Eve.
Start the evening getting jiggy with Thai hip-hop icon Khan at W Hotel’s ultra-chic Woobar. One of the pioneers of Thai hip-hop and producing music for supergroup Thaitanium, Khan is also a regular DJ on the club and festival circuit. This year he’s joined by Goja Galleries’ Toru and DJ Jedie from Tha Beatlounge and Redbull 3style Thailand champion DJ Whatdafrog. Expect to hear a full spectrum of hip-hop, R&B, reggae and mash-ups.
Entry is free. Free-flow packages are available from 9pm to 2am from 3000 baht to 12,000 baht.
Now if you’re looking to go huuuuuuge on NYE then start with this. TBC Bangkok Countdown 2018 is being billed as the city’s biggest countdown music festival. Besides A-list DJs such as Afrojack, Knife Party and Wiwek doing their fist-pumping and crowd-hyping antics, the two-day festival also features state of the art sound system and light shows. Get tickets online.
In the past two years, White Line has earned its place as one of the top venues for late night clubbing in Bangkok. This New Year’s Eve, the venue plans to go all out for its fans and are ready to treat guests to three floors of booty-shaking beats. Celebrations kick off with local heroes Chote, Tek Harrington and Gramaphone Children supplying house, boogie and disco. But it ain’t just DJs because performing live are the Lowdowns and Zoe Winter. The evening’s special guest will be DJ Nayla from the UK. Signed to Banoffee Pies Records, Nayla leans toward hip-hop and funk beats, but for New Year’s Eve he says he’s gonna keep the vibe eclectic and will drop everything from Afro beat to jungle. Tickets are 600 and include one drink. Doors open at 9pm.
Just when you thought Thonglor was only for hi-so hipsters, Bangkok has been blessed this year with the opening of De Commune. It was planned as a community space to give artists, designers, musicians and party promoters a place to showcase their work. Don’t expect anything fancy here because – other than a fantastic sound system – the club keeps the interior to a bare minimum. This New Year’s get ready for serious house and techno as DJs Munta Morton, Kova O’ Sarin and the gang keep the party rockin’ into the wee hours of the morning.
Tickets are 300 baht at the door, which opens at 9pm.
If you’re looking for something a bit more low-key, head on down to 12×12. A small bar located in the backstreets of Thonglor, this place has been the hangout spot for young trendy expats in the know. On Dec. 31, Jay Dubb and co. will supply a disco and house soundtrack for a night of immature hedonism and reckless abandon.
Doors open at 10pm. Entry is free before midnight – 350 baht after.
