BANGKOK — Where to find out quickly where to rewatch ‘90s hit “Friends,” the newest episode of “Doctor Who” or catch up on the Thai craze for “13 Reasons Why?”
Entering the confusing landscape of service providers offering different rosters of content comes one engine to search them all: JustWatch, which launches this week in Thailand.
In recent years, Thailand’s on-demand streaming offerings have rapidly expanded to include California-based giant Netflix, Iflix, Hooq, Hollywood HDTV, Doonee and Primetime TV.
JustWatch is a search engine to find who has what – users still have to join or buy the content once they’ve found it. JustWatch can help find specific shows easily with filters for release date, price, genre and rating.
However its database appears to be incomplete. For example, “The Help” is available on Hollywood HDTV and “Kill Bill” is on Primetime TV, but they don’t show up in the search results.
JustWatch Thailand says it is in beta form. It can presently search Netflix, Iflix, Hooq, Apple iTunes, Google Play Movies, GuideDoc and Mubi. It is available in English but not Thai.
Ekachai Hongkangwan in an undated photo. Photo: Ekachai Hongkangwan
BANGKOK — Police arrested a man Tuesday morning in front of the Government House on his way to petition junta leader Prayuth Chan-ocha over the missing 1932 revolution plaque, a colleague of his said.
Ekachai Hongkangwan was reportedly surrounded by police and arrested at about 9:20am and taken to an undisclosed location, according to his colleague, who is president of the For Friends Association, a nonprofit which assists people accused of lese majeste.
“[Ekachai wants] answers from those responsible in the government and clarity on the matter for the people,” Pirayat said. “The military may take him in for talks, warn him and make him agree with them [not to make further moves]. But what wrong did he committed to be taken?”
Arnon Nampa, a human rights lawyer, said Ekachai had told him he would likely be taken to the Lat Phrao police station if arrested.
Ekachai, a former convict jailed three years for defaming the monarchy, had vowed Monday to deliver the petition demanding Prayuth locate the recent replacement of the historical marker in the nearby Royal Plaza.
The original plaque, dedicated to the bloodless revolt which ended absolute monarchy and ushered in parliamentary democracy, was removed earlier this month and replaced by a similar brass peg bearing royalist inscriptions.
Ekachai vowed Monday to demand Prayuth determine who owned the new plaque, and failing that, said it should be removed.
Authorities had warned Ekachai against carrying out his petition, a warning he ignored, saying he was unafraid of being arrested.
United Airlines CEO Oscar Munoz delivers remarks last June in New York. Photo: Richard Drew / Associated Press
CHICAGO — The physician who was dragged off a United Airlines flight in Chicago this month was verbally and physically abusive, and flailing his arms before he lost his balance and struck his mouth on an armrest, according to the aviation officer who pulled the man out of his seat.
The Chicago Department of Aviation on Monday released the officer’s report of the incident, in response to a Freedom of Information Act request by The Associated Press. The report reveals for the first time the officer’s version of what happened aboard the plane at O’Hare International Airport on April 9.
The incident – which was videotaped by other passengers and widely shared online – became an international embarrassment for both the airlines and the city’s aviation department.
The report also includes the name of the officer, James Long, who authorities initially declined to identify.
In the report, Long said he boarded the United Express flight after being called in response to a disturbance involving two people regarding a refusal to leave the aircraft. United has said four passengers had been ordered off the airplane to make room for four employees to fly to Louisville, Kentucky.
Long said he approached Dr. David Dao to ask the 69-year-old physician to get off the plane. Long said Dao refused and “folded his arms tightly.” Long said he reached out to “hold” Dao and was able to pull him away from his window seat on the aircraft and move toward the aisle.
“But suddenly the subject started flailing and fighting,” Long wrote.
Dao then knocked Long’s hand off his arm, causing the struggling Dao to fall and strike his mouth on an arm rest on the other side of the aisle, according to the report. Long said he then dragged Dao because Dao refused to stand up.
Long said he wrote the report and gave his version of events only because he faced losing his job.
The video taken by a passenger shows lots of screaming coming from behind the seats, then Dao being dragged by his arms down the aisle of the plane as the other passengers react with horror.
In a separate report released Monday, labeled a “Hospitalization Case Report,” the Chicago Police Department said Dao was observed striking his face against an armrest as aviation officers “attempted to escort” him from the flight.
Neither report details Dao’s injuries, but at a news conference days after the incident, Dao’s attorney said the doctor suffered a broken nose and a concussion, and lost two front teeth.
Long said he was able to remove Dao from the airplane. Long said that once off the plane and in the walkway back to the gate, Dao said he was a diabetic, but then got up off the floor and ran back onto the aircraft. Long alleges Dao, while running back to the plane, said they’d have to kill him.
Long and two other aviation officers were subsequently placed on leave by the aviation department.
The report jibes with comments that United CEO Oscar Munoz made in the aftermath of the incident, in which he called Dao belligerent. Munoz later offered a more emphatic mea culpa, saying: “No one should ever be mistreated this way.” The aviation department has also profusely apologized and vowed an investigation
Dao’s attorney, Thomas Demetrio, told NBC’s “Today” show on Monday that he intended to file a lawsuit.
The aviation department also released its use of force policy, which was sent to all officers after the incident. It says aviation security personnel should use force only when “reasonably necessary to defend a human life, effect an arrest or control a person,” and that the force used “shall only be that which is necessary to overcome the resistance being offered by an offender and to effect lawful objectives.”
A pro-democracy activist on June 24, 2016, lays down flowers about the 1932 revolution plaque at the Royal Plaza in Bangkok
BANGKOK — A man once jailed for defaming the monarchy said he will petition junta leader Prayuth Chan-ocha on Tuesday to find out who replaced a plaque representing democracy with one bearing royalist inscriptions.
Despite being asked by the authorities to back off, Ekachai Hongkangwan said he will give Prayuth seven days to identify the owner of the new plaque. If no answer is forthcoming, he said it should be removed and kept elsewhere if none is found.
“I am not afraid. They may take me in for attitude adjustment for two or three days, but that’s fine. I have been in prison before,” he said.
Last week, two activists were taken away by the military and detained for questioning for hours after they tried demanding that Prayuth search for the lost plaque, which marked the revolution ending absolute monarchy in 1932.
Authorities have been mostly silent on the issue and discouraged people from making it an issue. Deputy national police chief Srivara Ransibrahmanakul said police could not investigate the public plaque’s disappearance unless an “owner” stepped forward to make a claim.
The 42-year-old Ekachai – who in 2013 was jailed nearly three years for distributing copies of a news program critical of the monarchy produced by the Australian Broadcasting Corp. and now assists lese majeste suspects and convicts – said eight police officers from Lat Phrao police visited him at his home at about 4:30pm today asking him not to go ahead tomorrow.
“They asked me if it’s possible that I not go. I said I had already announced it [on Facebook] so I can’t backtrack,” Ekachai said. Asked again if he’s not afraid, the man replied, “I told you, if they want to take me in, so be it. It’s not serious.”
BANGKOK — An Australian artist will share the moments he’s captured living in Bangkok this week.
Playing with light and colors to Scenes of daily life and, Nick Prideaux will showcase his collection of free-form fantasy-like photos which took the last three years in three continents – Europe, Australia and Asia – under the name Selected Ambience.
The event will be his first show in Bangkok.
“The inspiration is purely documentarian, traveling and living abroad for the past few years has left me with a sense of urgency to capture what I see around me before it is lost to the memory,” said Prideaux. “Selected Ambience is a way to remember, a reminder that this time existed and my life was not lived in a state of a somnambulant.”
The open reception starts at 6:30pm on Thursday at Project 198 Gallery. The exhibition will continue until May 14.
The gallery is located in Chinatown’s Soi Nana and can be reached on foot from MRT Hua Lamphong.
“Condom and Earth.” Photo: Angki Purbandono / Courtesy.
BANGKOK — Confined in a prison, an Indonesian photographer extended his creativity by creating images from computer scanners to reflect life behind bars.
Now free, Angki Purbandono will travel from Yogyakarta, Indonesia, for the Saturday launch of his Bangkok exhibition “Grey Area,” featuring items made using a unique technique he calls “scanography.”
While imprisoned on a drug conviction from 2012 to 2013, Angki’s work flourished with support of the warden to portray lives and relations in prison using a scanner as his lens instead of a prohibited camera.
His work has been praised as surprising and unexpected signs of his unrestricted creativity. Angki will be present at the opening to talk about his work.
The reception starts at 4pm on Saturday and the exhibition will run through July 26 at the Bangkok University Gallery on Kluai Nam Thai Road. It’s a short ride by motorbike from BTS Ekkamai.
“Out of the Box Display.” Photo: Angki Purbandono / Courtesy.“Out of the Box Display.” Photo: Angki Purbandono / Courtesy.
Soldiers on June 23 walk around Phitsanulok city center urging people to vote in the Aug. 7 referendum.
CHIANG MAI — A 63-year-old man arrested last year for campaigning against the junta-backed constitution was cleared of any wrongdoing by the court on Monday.
In what’s described as the first court ruling in charges related to the 2016 referendum, a court in Chiang Mai said Samart Kwanchai was legally exercising his rights when he handed out leaflets urging people to reject the charter in August. Dozens of other activists remain on trial on allegation of violating the law in their campaigns.
“He said he’s happy, because he has always insisted he didn’t do anything wrong,” Noppon Artsamart of Thai Lawyers for Human Rights said by telephone. “He maintained that his pamphlets did not break the laws. He feels he has finally received justice, to a degree.”
Samart was arrested July 23, less than two weeks before the vote, in which the charter was approved by a comfortable margin. He was charged with violating the referendum law for handing out leaflets telling people to reject the charter draft.
“Down With Dictatorship! Long Live Democracy! Vote No on Aug. 7,” was written in the leaflets along with an image of the three-finger salute, an anti-junta gesture many activists adopted from the Hunger Games films.
One of the leaflets distributed by Samart (Photo by Manager Online)
A referendum law passed several months earlier banned a number of vaguely defined actions, such as using “rude language” or “misleading people” into voting either way. It carried a maximum penalty of 10 years in jail.
But on Monday the court said Samart’s leaflets did not fit wrongdoing described by the law because they were merely “abstract concepts,” Noppon said.
“The court said it did not constitute an offense,” he said.
BANGKOK — Don’t let the Monday blues get you down as it’s only three more days until Thursgay. Yeah, you read it right.
Bangkok’s LGBT-friendly party organizer Go Grrrls this week is bringing queer pop-up party Thursgayto town with their signature fun music, dance, food, drinks and more.
Disco, queer-pop and oldskool hip-hop sounds will be brought to the scene by DJ Maehappyair, Dookie and Cleo P. Promotional drinks will be available all night.
Admission is free. The event starts at 6pm on Thursday at Jubei Modern Japanese, which can be reached by foot from BTS Phloen Chit.
Attendees queue to buy T-shirts and merch from Thailand 420 organizer Highland in April in Bangkok.
Top: Attendees queue to buy T-shirts and merch from Thailand 420 organizer Highland on Saturday in Bangkok.
BANGKOK — Nantachai Techasrivichien said it was about a year ago when he was diagnosed with acute anxiety. Soon the radio disc jockey found therapy in making things grow. At his home, he grows plants for luck and feels a unique thrill in watching their progress. About six months ago he started a new business, importing grow bags from the U.S. state of Oklahoma for sale over Facebook.
On Saturday, Nantachai was among a couple dozen vendors comprising Thailand’s infant cannabis industry at Thailand 420, where one could almost get a contact high from optimism that, although there is a long way to go, a weed renaissance is underway and decriminalization is more than a pipe dream.
“Last year, we had 200 police come,” said Rattapon “Guide” Sanrak, founder of advocacy group and festival organizer Highland. “This year? Four.”
It may seem paradoxical, but Rattapon sees progress under the military regime. Last year, there was the former justice minister and junta member declaring the War on Drugs a failure.
This year, he says officials have been receptive to their outreach and education campaign, and legislation is in the works to allow hemp to be grown for industrial purposes in the northern provinces of Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, Nan, Tak, Phetchabun and Mae Hong Son.
That was the consensus of the entrepreneurs – most said they’d launched their business in the past year – and those attending the packed event atop Fortune Town on Ratchadapisek Road.
They believe Thailand will drift the same direction as the West, where the War on Drugs has been eased or called off: First is growing plants for their inherent practical applications. Next is winning support for medical uses. Then, they believe, much as elsewhere, it’s a matter of time for attitudes to change.
Nantachai Techasrivichien of Smart Pots Thailand, at left, shows off one of his aeration containers.
What will that take?
“The media can change everything,” said 25-year-old Nivit Madarasmi, as he stood in the glow of an upright UV bag that can turn any condo into a greenhouse. “You get a celebrity posing with it, and everything can change.”
A 26-year-old woman selling plushies of marijuana buds said the direction was clear.
“It’s the government. The first steps are the government and education,” said Kao-Poon, who only gave her first name.
There was, of course, no weed at the weed fest. Instead, vendors fronted the usual smoker culture paraphernalia, hemp products and innovative growing tools.
That’s where people such as Nantachai come in, who sells his aerated grow bags and is among those improving the grow tech. He said it’s high time for cultivation to play catch-up.
“The Thai brick we have smoked. People don’t know where it came from, or whether there’s pesticides or fungus in the brick,” he said. “But nowadays, more people are starting to order seed from England and growing them to improve the genetics of the local Thai strain.”
A Thailand 420 attendee picks up some new swag.
Tarin Tongwaranan, 28, started Green Monster in Bangkok about a year ago. He described the movement as similar to people growing their own food for better health, with people learning how to better cultivate healthier plants. They have one rule – no selling.
He’s also heartened by an expanding awareness, particularly in the media.
“Mainstream media have some new ideas and views about the cannabis,” he said. That’s a good sign. We talk more about it.”
And it’s not limited to Thailand. Harish Kumar traveled from Malaysia, where he says growing hemp is legal. The author of “Human Evolution and Cannabis” was there to speak and promote his furniture and other items made of hemp.
“More people understand how medical cannabis can help neuropsychological problems like depression, anxiety and PTSD,” he said. “I’ve been following this movement since the first 420 [festival] in 2015. It’s grown a lot.”
Harish Kumar, CEO of HempTech Global Solutions, is optimistic about Cannabis production in Southeast Asia.
Kao-Poon sells bud plushies at the Green Monster booth Saturday at the Thailand 420 festival.
Looking like a prop from ‘The Fly’ or a standing wardrobe, this upright grow bag was displayed Saturday by Serene Glass and Mars Hydro.
Plush bongs and bong-toting Ted figures.Grow Laboratory shows off its wares.Security pats down visitors to the Thailand 420 festival Saturday in Bangkok.
Correction: An earlier version of this story said that Harish’s products were made from Malay hemp. In fact it is hemp imported from Thailand.
Update: It’s confirmed that Foo Fighters is coming to Bangkok on Aug. 24.
BANGKOK — Hints are piling up that American rock legend Foo Fighters is coming to Bangkok later this year.
Despite being on “indefinite hiatus” and rumors the band was breaking up, Foo Fighters announced in January its 2017 tour in America and Europe. But is there a chance they will come to Bangkok? Yes, there is.
In recent days speculation has mounted that a date will soon be announced.
A promotional photo posted Sunday night by Live in Bangkok showed lineups from Japan’s 2017 Summer Sonic Fest.
“If everything goes well, tomorrow we’ll announce another big event. One of the lineups [from the Summer Sonic Fest] will be playing in Bangkok.”
While some have guessed it could mean Canadian punk act Sum 41, rap/R&B group Black Eyed Peas or former Oasis frontman Liam Gallagher, most concertgoers and music illuminati believe it means Foo Fighters.
“Must be Foo Fighters!” wrote Facebook user Chaturaphat Chaiprasit. Nazz Sinjaroen took it to mean the lead singer was bound for Bangkok:
“Or Uncle Dave [Grohl] is coming?!”
Even Thai fans of Sum 41 believe it’s likely to be Foo Fighters.
“[We] think it’s Foo Fighters, although we really want it to be Sum 41. But we know it’s less likely,” wrote Sum 41 Thailand page.
The last time the band assembled in Bangkok was Jan. 18, 1996, when it performed along with other two acts – Sonic Youth and Beastie Boys – at Indoor Stadium Huamark.
Foo Fighters was formed in 1994 by former Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl after the death of Kurt Cobain and Nirvana’s dissolution. The alternative rock band has released eight studio albums, half of which have won have won Grammy Awards for Best Rock Album.
Thailand’s music magazine Season in 1996 covers the concert Foo Fighters performing on stage with Sonic Youth and Beastie Boys. Photo: Season Magazine / Pantip
