Boxing Cat: Shanghai Beer Lands at Ekkamai Bar in December

By

Chayanit Itthipongmaetee, Staff Reporter

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22 November 2016, 12:21

Photo: Boxing Cat Brewery Shanghai / Facebook

BANGKOK — It’s time for Bangkok’s hopheads to expand their beer repertoire with a quality craft beer arriving to Ekkamai from Shanghai next month.

For the first time, Chinese microbrewery Boxing Cat will drop their drink exclusively at one Bangkok bar to top-up local beer culture.

The Boxing Cat lineup features 16 drool-worthy beers such as Sucker Punch Pale Ale, Standing 8 German Pilsner, TKO India Pale Ale, Mao Mat Lemongrass Lager and Xixi Goji Ale (made with Chinese goji berries).

Want to try them all? Four-by-100-milliliter flights will be provided. Chinese-inspired bar snacks will be provided by Chef Dan Bark.

Admission is free. Brewmaster Michael Jordan (not the NBA legend) and co-founder Lee Tseng will be present at the bar.

Boxing Cat Tap Takeover and Meet the Brewer takes place Dec. 15 at Mikkeller Bangkok. The Danish beer bar is located in Soi Ekkamai 10 and can be reached by motorbike from BTS Ekkamai.

Pattaya Hotel With Pool Built Into Gulf Ordered Closed

By

Chayanit Itthipongmaetee, Staff Reporter

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22 November 2016, 11:56

Photo: Golden Cliff House Boutique Hotel Pattaya / Facebook

PATTAYA — A Pattaya hotel with a swimming pool that jut into the sea was ordered shut down Monday for encroachment.

Local officials gave the Golden Cliff House Hotel in South Pattaya 45 days to demolish its 26-by-30-meter swimming pool built into the gulf, saying it violated maritime law. The hotel was also ordered closed.

Owners of the small, luxury hotel located on Soi Phra Tamnak 5 violated the Navigation in Thai Waters Act, which prohibits structures from encroaching into public canals, lakes, waterways and other bodies of water, according to deputy Pattaya chief Chatnatpong Sriwiset.

Owner Watthanan Yimlamai told officers that the hotel opened in January 2015 and has more than 45 rooms.

Cambodia Opposition Ends Boycott of Parliament

By

Associated Press

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22 November 2016, 11:27

U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Daniel R. Russel, left, shakes hands with Cambodia's main opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party's Deputy President Kem Sokha, right, in October during the arrival at party headquarters for meeting, in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Photo: Heng Sinith / Associated Press

PHNOM PENH — Cambodia’s opposition party has ended a six-month boycott of the parliament, saying it wants to ensure the national budget for 2017 is debated properly in the house.

The Cambodia National Rescue Party had stopped attending parliamentary sessions after its members were stripped of their parliamentary immunity and confronted with lawsuits by Prime Minister Hun Sen’s government. The opposition and human rights groups say the cases against the opposition are politically motivated, mounted to harass them.

Eng Chhai Eang, a senior opposition lawmaker, said ahead of the National Assembly session on Tuesday that the party’s position remains unchanged but it wants a political truce with the ruling party.

Hun Sen attended the session but opposition leader Sam Rainsy didn’t — he is in self-imposed exile to escape a defamation conviction.

Gay Rights Supporters Win Victory to Keep UN LGBT Expert

By

Associated Press

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22 November 2016, 10:41

Vitit Muntarbhorn, a Chulalongkorn University law professor, was appointed in September by the U.N. Human Rights Council to be the first independent expert on protection against violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. Photo: Associated Press

UNITED NATIONS — Supporters of gay rights won a victory at the United Nations Monday when an African attempt to suspend the first U.N. independent expert charged with investigating violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity failed.

African nations had urged the General Assembly’s human rights committee to delay implementation of a resolution adopted by the U.N. Human Rights Council in Geneva to determine “the legal basis” for the expert’s mandate. They also sought to suspend the expert, Vitit Muntarbhorn of Thailand, who was appointed on Sept. 30 and has started his work.

Latin American and Caribbean nations, who supported the appointment of the expert, introduced an amendment to get rid of the paragraph in the African-backed resolution calling for a delay in implementing the Human Rights Council resolution and suspension of the expert’s activities.

That amendment was adopted by a vote of 84-77 with 12 abstentions by the assembly’s human rights committee – a move that was welcomed by LGBT supporters.

The amended resolution, taking note of the Human Rights Council’s report without any reference to suspending the expert, was then approved by a vote of 94-3 with 80 abstentions.

It now goes to the 193-member General Assembly for a final vote next month, when the Africans could again try to seek a delay. But the result is likely to be very similar to Monday’s vote.

The vote on the amendment – and the 23-18 vote with 6 abstentions in the Human Rights Council that established the LGBT expert – reflect deep international divisions on gay rights.

The U.N. has worked to improve the rights of the LGBT community in recent years but has repeatedly run into opposition from some member states – especially from countries in the Middle East and Africa as well as China and Russia. Many of those countries spoke against the amendment on Monday.

According to a U.N. human rights report last year, at least 76 countries retain laws used to criminalize and harass people on the basis of their sexual orientation and gender identity or expression, including laws criminalizing consensual same-sex relationships among adults.

Botswana’s U.N. Ambassador Charles Ntwaagae, who sponsored the resolution seeking the delay, reiterated Africa’s alarm that the Geneva-based Human Rights Council is delving into national matters and attempting to focus on people “on the grounds of their sexual interests and behaviors” while ignoring intolerance and discrimination on other grounds including color, race, sex or religion.

U.S. deputy ambassador Sarah Mendelson countered that the council has approved numerous resolutions on violence and discrimination against minorities and others. She warned before the vote on the amendment that having the General Assembly re-open a Human Rights Council mandate for the first time could undermine its ability to function.

Gay rights groups campaigned hard against the African resolution.

A statement endorsed by 850 organizations from 157 countries around the world highlighted the need for all countries to respect the authority of the Human Rights Council and to vote in favor of the independent expert.

Jessica Stern, executive director of the U.S.-based gay rights group OutRight Action International, said the vote confirmed that countries believe in the council. “A lot can be accomplished when forces join hands,” she added.

Story: Edith M. Lederer

Quake in Northeastern Japan Revives 2011 Tsunami Memories

By

Associated Press

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22 November 2016, 10:15

Books are scattered on the floor at a library in Iwaki, Fukushima prefecture Tuesday after a strong earthquake. Photo: Kyodo News via AP)

TOKYO — The earthquake in northeastern Japan sent people in coastal towns scrambling for higher ground after tsunami alerts were issued in two prefectures, Fukushima and Miygai. The reaction brought to mind the painful memories of the devastating quake, tsunami and nuclear disaster in March 2011 in the same area. People said it brought back those memories, but added they were relieved it was not as horrible as what had happened five and a half years ago. Below are a few of their voices:

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Katushiro Abe, 47, an official at the Ishinomaki Tourism Association in Miyagi Prefecture, was on an early shift so he was already in his office when the quake struck. But his wife and high school-age daughter had to flee their home.

Luckily, a routine is in place for the residents of the coastal area. His family jumped in their car and drove for about three minutes to the foot of a nearby hill and rushed up it. Similar tsunami alerts have been issued at least two or three times since 2011, and so he wasn’t that alarmed and his family was ready.

“The shaking wasn’t as big as in 2011, although of course we must be cautious,” he said. “We stayed in touch by email,” he added of his family.

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Kazuhiro Onuki, 68, a former librarian in Tomioka, a Fukushima town that became a no-go zone after the 2011 disaster, was staying at what he calls one of his temporary homes in Iwaki, Fukushima Prefecture, when the quake struck.

“It really shook, and there are still aftershocks. And I remembered 3/11,” he told The Associated Press by phone, using the numbers Japanese use for the March 11, 2011, disaster.

“It really came back. And it was so awful,” he said quietly.

His wife and son were in his other temporary home in Tokyo.

“I was alone, and so I was truly worried. Whether this is an aftershock from 3/11, or whether it’s a warning for what is to come, I am extremely worried,” he said.

A further reminder of what had happened in 2011, he said, were the reports of problems at the Fukushima Dai-Ni nuclear plant, near Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant, which was hit by multiple meltdowns in 2011. The latest problems were minor and were fixed quickly, but it was not reassuring for Ounki.

“I felt again that we should not have nuclear power,” said Onuki. “I am still in the state of being evacuated. And I still have not found a real home. And this reminds me of that more than ever.”

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Daisuke Kida, an Iwaki resident who works for the Iwaki Board of Education, says he rushed to work, a 30-minute drive, to make sure everyone was responding to the disaster warnings.

Residents have become well-rehearsed on disaster drills since 2011, said Kida, who lives with his parents. Some elementary and junior high schools by the coast were going to be closed, he said.

“There was this boom, and a shaking, a swaying to the side kept going,” he said, adding it lasted about 30 seconds.

Story: Yuri Kageyama

Return to Rice: See Farm-Born Director’s Trilogy on Rural Life and Music Free Saturday

By

Kaewta Ketbungkan, Staff Reporter

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22 November 2016, 10:00

NAKHON PATHOM — Thai farmers suffered even before the recent plunge in rice prices.

A filmmaker who grew up in a northern farming family’s award-winning trilogy of tales on that subject can be seen for free on Saturday.

Born and raised in the north, Uruphong Raksasad knows best when it comes to rice and the lives of those who cultivate it. With this knowledge and his filmmaking excellency, Uruphong has directed three docs offering unmatched insights into the real lives of rice farmers.

First off is 2005’s “Stories from the North,” composed of Uruphong’s shorts illustrating the simple life in the northern village where he grew up, from the cultivating culture to younger generations looking to leave it all behind.

“Agrarian Utopia” follows. In the 2009 film, two farming families are about to lose their land, so they have to farm the same field to survive. The doc received a Special Mention award at the Rotterdam International Film Festival.

Rounding out the trilogy is “The Songs of Rice,” in which harmonious melodies are played and sung after rice harvesting in different parts of Thailand. Before its 2015 release, the acclaimed doc won another award in 2014 from Rotterdam and recently won two awards from Thailand National Film Association.

All films are in Thai with English subtitles. Admission is free.

The screenings are at 1pm, 3pm and 5:15pm respectively on Saturday at the Thai Film Archive’s Srisalaya Community Theater. The archive is located on Phutthamonthon Sai 5 Road west of Bangkok in Nakhon Pathom. It can be reached by taxi or bus No. 515 from Victory Monument in front of Rajavithi Hospital.

Princess Leia Had Affair With Han Solo, Actress Reveals 40 Years Later

By

Associated Press

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22 November 2016, 01:37

Carrie Fisher has revealed that Princess Leia’s romance with Han Solo in “Star Wars” extended off-screen, as well.

Fisher tells People magazine that she enjoyed an “intense” affair with co-star Harrison Ford during the filming of the 1977 blockbuster.

Fisher was 19 and Ford was 33 and married at the time of what she says was a three-month affair. The actress tells People, “It was Han and Leia during the week, and Carrie and Harrison during the weekend.” She says the romance ended when shooting on the film did.

Fisher writes about the fling in her new book “The Princess Diarist,” which recounts her experiences on the “Star Wars” set. She says that she gave Ford a heads-up about the book and he received a draft.

A representative for Ford didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

Australian Charged With Violating Cambodia’s Surrogacy Ban

By

Associated Press

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21 November 2016, 19:30

PHNOM PENH — A court in Cambodia has charged an Australian woman and two local associates for providing commercial surrogacy services – a practice the country banned last month after becoming a popular global destination for would-be parents seeking women to give birth to their children.

Keo Thea, chief of Cambodia’s anti-human trafficking bureau, said Tammy Davis-Charles, 49, was too ill to come to court Monday and was charged in absentia. She and the two Cambodians were detained Friday. The charges against them concern falsifying documents and human trafficking, making them liable for up to two years in prison.

Keo Thea said Davis-Charles ran a company that paid poor Cambodian women to be surrogates. He said Davis-Charles charged her clients around $50,000 for the service, and paid the surrogate mothers $10,000 to $12,000.

The Health Ministry issued the commercial surrogacy ban in October, but there is not yet a criminal penalty for the practice. Cambodia became a popular destination for persons seeking surrogate mothers after India and Thailand in 2015 banned surrogate services for foreigners.

Davis-Charles set up shop in Cambodia after previously running a similar operation in Thailand, according to Keo Thea.

Developing countries are popular for surrogacy because costs are much lower than in nations such as the United States and Australia, where surrogate services are around $150,000.

“These surrogate mothers, they are poor women from the countryside and they were cheated by the company to serve as surrogates,” Keo Thea said, accusing the clinic run by Davis-Charles of being unconcerned about the health risks to the surrogates.

He said at least five surrogates have given birth to six children and more than 20 others are pregnant. Most of the clients were reportedly from Australia.

The Cambodia Daily reported that Cambodian officials would meet with the pregnant surrogates and representatives of the Australian Embassy to discuss how to resolve the surrogacies still in progress.

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New Cybercrime Regs Would Open Back Door to Censorship

By

Sasiwan Mokkhasen, Staff Reporter

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21 November 2016, 18:59

A blocked website shows a notice from the Ministry of Digital Economy and Society with the message, 'This website contains content and information that is deemed inappropriate. It has been censored by the Ministry of Digital Economy and Society' on Nov. 17. Photo: Associated Press

BANGKOK — An online right advocate pointed out Monday that the latest proposed changes to the Computer Crime Act and its supporting laws would provide the authorities with direct access to deleting things from the internet.

In the latest draft of the controversial act and its related regulations made public Friday, the new Ministry of Digital Economy and Society would set up a central system to manage the removal of online content. It would be connected to the systems of cooperating internet service providers so authorities could directly remove content.

The draft also authorizes the use of “any technical measures” to delete offending content or make it inaccessible.

Read: Why Thailand Should Worry About an Improved(?) Computer Crime Act

Under the original 2007 law, authorities must win court approval to ask internet service providers to remove offending content.

Framed as a national security issue, the junta has gone after content deemed offensive to the royal family, which is a criminal offense. Since the death of His Majesty King Bhumibol last month, the government has successfully shut down more than 1,000 websites.

The clause introduced into the law’s revision process was picked up and flagged by Arthit Suriyawongkul of the Thai Netizen Network, a digital rights advocacy group which has closely monitored the process.

On Wednesday is the final public hearing for input into the law. It will be held at the Parliament House, where head drafter police Maj. Gen. Chatchaval Suksomjit will listen to public comment.

Rights groups including the Thai Netizen Network, Southeast Asian Press Alliance and Internet Law Reform Dialogue, or iLaw, have organized a parallel forum for the same time, as they said the public hearing provided a small window of time for discussion. Experts will be present to help explain the complex language used in the draft.

Yingcheep Atchanont of iLaw Monday gave his first reaction, saying he was concerned that the new draft criminalized putting on a computer “false data” which damages “public services.”

That raises fears the law’s ongoing use in defamation cases could be be used to prosecute criticism of public agencies such as the police – though the wording is far from clear.

“Public service is a very broad word, it covers everything provided by the government,” he said. “It will scare people from criticizing.”

Under the new draft, authorities can seek to remove content completely legal under the law if a special committee deems it to be immoral.

Why Thailand Should Worry About an Improved(?) Computer Crime Act

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Computer Crime Act Has Issues, Google Tells Censorship Committee

Online Freedom to Slide Further, Online Activists Predict

Rumors of Rapist Near Thammasat Campus True, Police Say

By

Teeranai Charuvastra, News Chief

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21 November 2016, 18:36

A view of Chiang Rak Road near Thammasat University’s Rangsit Campus. Image: Google

BANGKOK — Police said Monday they are looking for a man who kidnapped and attempted to sexually assault a student near Thammasat University’s campus in a northern Bangkok suburb.

Stories of the incident went viral after another student wrote about it Sunday on Facebook in a post since shared more than 2,700 times. Lt. Col. Wichian Muansuwan of Khlong Luang police in Pathum Thani told reporters the assault took place on the night of Nov. 15, and police are now searching for the man.

“Police have the perpetrator’s identity, but we are in the process of summoning him for questioning,” Wichian said, without naming the suspect.

Thornthida Meathajiravej, a student who wrote about the alleged incident, said she heard that someone from her university was recently abducted at night as she was walking along on Chiang Rak Road. The student managed to escape her assailant, Thornthida said.

Setting off a wave of alarm online and in the student community there, Thornthida said she might have encountered the same alleged rapist when she was walking on the same road with her boyfriend last week. A motorist stopped to ask for directions, but he looked strange, she said. He eventually drove off.

“I felt that there was something strange, very strange,” Thornthida wrote. “I was telling my boyfriend on that day that I felt there was something about that man. He looked like he already knew the way but pretended not to.”

Wichian said the student mentioned in Thornthida’s story was walking home on Chiang Rak Road on Nov. 15 when a motorist asked her to show him directions to a certain restaurant. After she got into the car, the man tried to rape her, but she struggled until he agreed to let her go upon masturbating in the vehicle, Lt. Col. Wichian said.

Thornthida said the student was traumatized by the assault.

Many Thammasat students tagged their friends and loved ones in the thread to warn them of the potential danger.

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