OSLO, Norway — Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos has won the Nobel Peace Prize.
The Norwegian Nobel Committee awarded Santos “for his resolute efforts to bring the country’s more than 50-year-long civil war to an end.”
Colombia’s Juan Manuel Santos Wins Nobel Peace Prize
Internet Observes Joshua Wong Deportation With Savory Memes
BANGKOK — Hong Kong’s Umbrella Movement and its associated memes may have sailed past Thailand back in 2014, but its teenage leader was briefly the center of attention on social media this week, thanks to his deportation on arrival at Suvarnabhumi Airport.
Nineteen-year-old activist Joshua Wong was invited by student activists to speak at Chulalongkorn University on Thursday to mark the 40th anniversary of a much-forgotten crackdown that killed dozens of students in 1976.
No Umbrellas, Criticism of China Allowed At Oct. 6 Memorial
Thai immigration police intercepted him late Tuesday night and had deported him by Thursday afternoon – reportedly at Beijing’s behest. The move sparked outcry among many Thai activists who took to social media to deride the junta’s obsequiousness.
Where there’s controversy, there are memes, of course, and they started appearing almost as soon as the news hit the web.
The predominant theme related to Wong and another skinny teenager with glasses and idealism: Netiwit Chotiphatphaisal, the Chulalongkorn student activist who invited him.
In the best tradition of memes within memes is this from Lok Wan Nee magazine, whose cover portrayed Wong in a traditional bathing cloth in a muddy road full of potholes, another recent obsession on social media.
Who doesn’t like memes? Junta chairman Prayuth Chan-ocha, apparently. Last week he slammed the trend, saying photos of a bathing protest to get roads fixed might have “embarrassed” Thailand.
Lok Wan Nee’s cover suggests the junta’s treatment of Wong was more harmful to Thailand’s reputation than some ladies taking a mudbath. “Are you embarrassed now?” the cover reads.
The joke here, about the junta arresting the wrong person, wasn’t far from reality. At least one news agency confused Netiwit for Wong.
“Wong” in Thai netizen lingo means to be lonely or isolated. In homage to Hong Kong filmmaker Wong Kar Wai’s melancholy style, puns were born such as: “Wong is having a Wong experience with Thai immigration.”
Wong Kar Wai also sounds like “Wong ticks quickly,” linked above to Joshua Wong with the caption Wong Glub Wai, or “Wong goes home quickly.”
The Wong jokes didn’t stop there, with many people sharing Thai song “I Have Come a Long Way” by Michael Wong, a Hong Kong actor who enjoyed brief fame in Thailand in the 1990s.
Not everyone sympathized with inviting Wong to speak at the commemoration the Oct. 6 Massacre, an event that remains a taboo topic in Thailand 40 years on.
In this image shared by many conservatives, Netiwit invites Wong to help burn his own country.
Raid TCDC’s Resources for Free All This Month
BANGKOK — Before it packs up and leaves to its new home, one of Bangkok’s best creative resources is celebrating its last month in the Emporium shopping mall with free access to all.
November is when the Thailand Creative & Design Center, or TCDC, says goodbye to its long-time perch atop the Phrom Phong-area mall.
Before it closes its doors Oct. 30, it will waive the usual membership requirements for anyone with a national ID card or passport to explore its abundant diverse selection of books, magazines, multimedia resources and online databases that have helped fuel Bangkok’s creative community for 11 years.
Membership will still be required to borrow any materials.
After that it will close over five months before it can reopen in its new site in a historic grand post office building on Charoen Krung Road in Bang Rak district.
Until then, there will be farewell activities at the Emporium venue such as designing T-shirts with memories about TCDC. On the final day, Oct.30, there will be a goodbye party with music, movies and a garage sale.
TCDC is open from 10:30am to 9pm daily except Monday. It is located on the fifth floor of the Emporium mall, which can be entered from BTS Phrom Phong exit No. 2.
Cambodian Opposition Skips Parliamentary Session, Cites Danger
PHNOM PENH — Cambodia’s opposition party unexpectedly failed to attend the reopening of parliament on Friday, setting back hopes of a political truce with the government of Prime Minister Hun Sen.
Cambodia National Rescue Party members felt they were under threat of physical intimidation, spokesman Yim Sovann said, recalling that some of its lawmakers had previously been beaten up by a pro-government mob.
A spokesman for the ruling Cambodian People’s Party denied that any threat existed, describing the opposition action as a political trick.
The opposition had earlier said it would rejoin the parliamentary session after some conciliatory gestures by both sides.
The party stopped attending parliamentary sessions about four months ago after ruling party lawmakers stripped some opposition lawmakers of their legal immunity. The opposition says lawsuits have been used to unfairly harass its members.
Critics say Hun Sen is manipulating the courts to weaken the opposition’s chances in next year’s local polls and the 2018 general election. The opposition made an unexpectedly strong showing in the 2013 general election, which it claimed it was cheated out of winning.
At a news conference, Yim Sovann said the opposition believed that the government was trying to link it to a planned protest in Australia against Prime Minister Hun Sen’s oldest son, Hun Manet. He denied any link but said he feared that the government would seek some sort of retaliation against the party.
“We are not boycotting, but we are looking to see if the political environment is good, then we will join; but if not we retain our right not to attend,” he said. By claiming the party was not boycotting, he appeared to leave room for compromise.
Sok Eysan, a spokesman for the Cambodian People’s Party, said the opposition’s move was a tactic to force the release of its jailed members. Several opposition lawmakers have been jailed on charges that are widely considered to be politically motivated. The party president is in self-imposed exile and the acting party leader has taken refuge in the party headquarters, both to avoid prison terms.
Prime Minister Hun Sen insists the jailed lawmakers are not victims of a political vendetta, but rather were prosecuted for breaking the law.
“A fully functional parliament which represents the people’s will is a key pillar of democracy. Of course, this also requires an environment which allows lawmakers to fulfill their roles independently without fear of physical or legal retaliation, which has not been the case for the opposition in recent times,” commented Chak Sopheap, executive Director of Cambodian Center for Human Rights. “The recent thawing of political relations, in this sense, is a very positive step which we warmly welcome.”
Police Say Tak Manhunt Unrelated to Erawan Shrine Bombing
TAK — Police on Friday dismissed reports they were hunting for a suspect related to last year’s bombing of the Erawan shrine in a northwestern border province.
Authorities on Thursday were searching for a man they said was linked to human trafficking in Tak province, a search which left them empty-handed, except for three illegal immigrants.
Police, immigration officers and military raided the building of the Hayat Trading Co. in Tak’s Mae Sot district, which sits along the border with Myanmar, in search of a man identified only as Ali.
Police said he was a person of interest in connection to trafficking and arranging fake passports for Uighur migrants. An officer on Friday dismissed information widely reported in Thai-language media that one of the Burmese migrants arrested was connected to the shrine bombing that killed 20 people in August 2015.
Thailand has been a transit point for Uighur migrants escaping western China, where they complain of persecution by the state and Han Chinese. Beijing routinely describes them as terrorists. It was the Thailand’s decision to deport more than 100 Uighurs in July 2015 under pressure from Beijing.
Many security experts believe the Erawan bombing was an act of retaliation.
Two Uighur men are currently on trial in a military court for the attack, but the investigation was dropped with more than a dozen other suspects unaccounted for.
Col. Jamrang Soodjai of Mae Sot police said the man was sought for an unspecified crime involving national security and might be captured without judicial review.
“There is not yet a warrant for him,” Jamrang said. “But he is involved in a crime threatening national security, so if we are able to find him, he might be taken into custody using the junta’s special power.”
Since the 2014 coup, the junta has used the absolute power it granted itself under its interim charter to take any measures unsupported by conventional law.
Jamrang said Thursday’s raid only led to the arrest of three Burmese migrants in the country illegally.
“We charged them for illegally entering the country,” he said.
Although media outlets such as ThaiPBS and Manager reported a Burmese suspect was brought to Bangkok for questioning in connection to the deadly shrine bombing, Maj. Soraj Witchayawisut of immigration police said that was untrue.
Hawaii Trip: Thai Airways Wants Internet Prosecuted Over Leaked Passenger List
BANGKOK — Police on Friday were deliberating a request from Thai Airways to prosecute those on social media who spread what was purported to be a leaked passenger list of the government’s now-controversial trip to Hawaii last week.
Without saying whether the list was real, airline lawyer Pramuk Wilaiwong asked police Thursday to file charges against Facebook pages that shared the document under the Computer Crime Act, a draconian law that bans any online material deemed damaging to the reputation of an individual or organization.
Govt Defends 21M Baht Flight to Hawaii
“We are still deliberating whether it qualifies under the Computer Crime Act,” Col. Olan Sukkasem of the Technology Crime Suppression Division said Friday.
Junta deputy chairman Prawit Wongsuwan and his entourage visited Honolulu Sept. 29 through Oct. 1 for an event described as “ASEAN-US Defense Informal Meeting.” It later emerged that their Thai Airways flight cost taxpayers 20.9 million baht, of which 600,000 baht was spent on in-flight dining alone.
The government has also refused to disclose who was traveling with Gen. Prawit. However, an anti-junta Facebook page called “Stop Hypocrisy in Thailand” on Sunday published what it said was the passenger list, which included two businessmen unrelated to defense affairs and a TV reporter rumored to be romantically involved with Prawit.
The reporter has insisted she was in Thailand at the time.
Khaosod English filed a request Wednesday under the freedom of information law requesting the Defense Ministry disclose the names of Prawit’s entourage. As of Friday, officials said they’re still deliberating the request.
Pramuk, who represents state-owned Thai Airways, did not answer reporters’ questions when he visited the tech crime unit Thursday to seek prosecution of those behind pages which shared the list.
Col. Olan, the officer in charge of the investigation, would not say whether Pramuk confirmed the list was authentic.
“I cannot disclose that detail,” the police colonel said.
A defense spokesman suggested in a Wednesday interview that making the passenger list public could affect national security.
“Steps must be taken in accordance with protocols,” said Maj. Gen. Kongcheep Tantravanich, who was on the Hawaii flight. “Is [disclosing the list] appropriate or not? If it affects national security or affects any agency, then we will not disclose it.”
He did not explain how.
Debris Found on Mauritius Confirmed to be From MH370
KUALA LUMPUR — A piece of an aircraft wing found on the Indian Ocean island of Mauritius has been identified as belonging to missing Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, Malaysian and Australian officials said Friday.
The piece of wing flap was found in May and subsequently analyzed by experts at the Australian Transport Safety Bureau, which is heading up the search for the plane in a remote stretch of ocean off Australia’s west coast. Investigators used a part number found on the debris to link it to the missing Boeing 777, the agency said in a statement. Malaysian Transport Minister Liow Tiong Lai also confirmed the identification.
Several pieces of wreckage from the plane have washed ashore on coastlines around the Indian Ocean since the aircraft vanished with 239 people on board during a flight from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, to Beijing on March 8, 2014.
So far, none of the debris has helped narrow down the precise location of the main underwater wreckage. Investigators need to find that in order to locate the flight data recorders that could help explain why the plane veered so far off-course.
Search crews are expected to finish their sweep of the 120,000 square kilometer (46,000 square mile) search zone in the Indian Ocean by December.
Oceanographers have been analyzing wing flaps found in Tanzania and on the French island of La Reunion to see if they might be able to identify a potential new search area through drift modeling. But any new search would require more funding; Malaysia, Australia and China said in July that the $160 million hunt will be suspended once the current stretch of ocean is exhausted unless new evidence emerges that would pinpoint a specific location of the aircraft.
Couple’s Bloody Feud Leaves Woman Dead in Khlong Toei Market
BANGKOK — Police don’t know whose blood was used to write “love you,” but there it was on the wall, not far from where they found Nanksan Sorimipra’s body lying face down Thursday evening.
A Burmese couple’s dispute in the capital’s Khlong Toei district ended with a blade out and both stabbed, leaving her dead and him seriously wounded.
Saibi Bikhmad, 32 was rushed to Lertsin Hospital with a large knife wound to his stomach at 5pm. That led to the discovery of Sorimipra, who was found already dead in their rented room on the third floor of a shophouse in the Khlong Toei Market on Rama IV Road.
There were wounds on both of her hands, and from her armpits leading to her stomach. A long fruit paring knife was found next to her body.
Lt. Col. Wanchart Prabngooleum said Bikhmad and Sorimipra, who worked as a grocer, were romantically involved, but he was not sure if they were married.
Bikhmad, who worked as a laborer in the market for a chicken butcher, reportedly abused Sorimipra regularly.
Five days ago, police said, the couple had separated. On Thursday, Bikhmad came to attempt to reconcile with Sorimipra, which is when their discord escalated into violent altercation.
Lt. Col. Yunyong Suwansa-ard said Bikhmad claimed Sorimipra attacked him first, so he stabbed her back.
Bikhmad will likely be charged with homicide, Yunyong said.
Asian Animal Cafes Go From Mere Cats to Meerkats
BANGKOK — Cat cafes where customers sip lattes while petting resident kitties are just opening their doors around the U.S. and Europe. But in Asia, where the first one opened more than a decade ago, the concept has moved well beyond felines.
At Tokyo’s Snake Center, visitors pay 1,100 yen (about $11) for a cup of coffee and a slithery friend to wind around their arm; a plate of curry bread snacks or a really big snake costs extra.
At We Are The Furballs (WTF) in Singapore, Mochi and her puppy pals yap at ankles and occupy guests’ laps for peaceful dognaps.
And at Little Zoo Cafe in Bangkok, meerkats, raccoons and little foxes with the softest ears imaginable can be cuddled near plates of crepes and French fries.
Some sell the animals, or offer them for adoption. Others invite customers to bring their pets, or just offer encounters with creatures – from penguins to hedgehogs.
“I wanted there to be a place where people can come learn about the animals,” said Wachiraporn Arampibulphol, who opened an exotic animal cafe in Bangkok a year ago after visiting an owl cafe in Tokyo.
Snuggling Jelly, a blond fox, Wachiraporn said she used to import chinchillas, meerkats and other exotic pets, but worried that owners bought them impulsively and then abused them or let them collapse and die in Thailand’s heat.
She said customers at her Little Zoo Cafe get a reality check when they’re so close to the animals; she’s only sold a half dozen this year.
“When you see pictures and photos of these animals, you see their cuteness,” she said. “But people don’t think about what the animal would smell like or how actually raising one would be.”
Indeed, a musky odor floated above two red foxes – Mocha and Cappuccino – as they boisterously wrestled and skittered around customers’ legs.
Nearby, Nuttida Chaloembun, 23, from Bangkok, watched a waitress grapple with Cracker, a 25-pound raccoon, who chattered and swatted her away with little hand-like paws.
“It’s fat and really adorable but it won’t let me touch it,” laughed Nuttida.
Shirley Chaifong came to the Little Zoo Cafe all the way from Malaysia after seeing photos of meerkats on Instagram. But it was the tail-wagging corgi, an uncommon breed in Asia, she fell for.
“It’s a great way to see the animals,” she said, her hands running through his fur.
After a cat cafe opened in the San Francisco Bay Area in 2014 the concept quickly spread to more than 20 American cities, from New York to Los Angeles, and many more are planned. They’re also popular in Europe, with recent openings in Netherlands, Finland and Italy.
The Cat Flower Cafe in Taipei, Taiwan, took credit as the first-ever cat cafe when it opened in 1998, although some aficionados say cats meandered through a Viennese cafe almost a century earlier. The real boom began in 2005 in Japan, where few apartments allow pets. There are now more than 100 cat cafes listed in Japan, 50 in Tokyo alone. But new goat-, rabbit- and bird-themed eateries now offer competition.
American and European cat cafes have stringent health and safety regulations that sometimes ban actually petting animals, or require cats to remain well separated from food. Most are affiliated with local humane societies or rescue shelters.
In many Asian countries, where there are fewer hygiene rules in restaurants and pets can be bought in street markets, animal rights activists say the cafes are cruel.
“These animals often become despondent and develop neurotic and self-destructive behavior,” said Jason Baker at People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals’ international campaigns office. “I don’t know why anyone would want to eat a meal surrounded by animals who are imprisoned in cages and pens that are tiny fractions of the size of their homes in the wild.”
But cafe owners say they’re trying to help the animals by allowing people to safely and compassionately interact.
Tokyo Snake Center cafe manager Hisamitsu Kaneko said visitors can gain new appreciation of their oft-maligned reptiles.
“People have biases, or preconceptions about snakes, that they’re disgusting or scary,” said Kaneko, whose customers choose from about 60 snakes. “I think there are no animals as beautiful.”
At Bangkok’s TrueLove @ Neverland cafe, more than a dozen imported and bred huskies were panting – if calm – as they lounged for an hour outside on a humid 35-degree C (95-degree F) day, chewing ice cubes and carrots while visitors marveled at their thick fur.
At the end of a one-hour dog encounter, customers peeled off plastic foot covers, sanitized their hands, checked their husky-selfies and climbed into waiting tuk-tuk rickshaws. Barking and yipping, the dogs dashed en masse into their air-conditioned quarters to rest up and eat before their next human visitors.
Story: Martha Mendoza, Natnicha Chuwiruch
Go Minimal, Techy Tonight With UK’s ‘Commix’ at Live RCA
All this gloomy weather has slowed traffic and gotten everyone in a shitty mood. I don’t blame y’all, it’s not like we can escape on an-all expense paid trip to Hawaii. Hopefully this column can be a lighthouse guiding you through the darkness of Bangkok’s flooded streets this weekend.
This week it shines toward Live RCA, where Bangkok’s Phatfunk crew are bringing out Commix, a U.K. production team known in the scene as masters of deep, minimal, techy sound.
Originally from Cambridge, England, Commix formed in 2002 when members Guy Brewer, Conrad Whittle and George Levings met at a Pokemon competition. They earned props from tracks put out by LTJ Bukem’s Good Looking Records and Fabio’s imprint Creative Source.
It was in 2007 that Whittle left and Commix as a duo dropped their groundbreaking, monolithic “Call to Mind” on Goldie’s Mighty Metalheadz imprint. The album was acclaimed for the duo’s ability to combine the contrasting tones of soul, techno and hip-hop.
“I think it was the perfect album for that period of Drum ‘n Bass. Sounds have changed now but it’s definitely a tough one to beat,” Phatfunk’s DJ Delorean said.
In contrast their 2012 follow-up “Dusted” received mixed reviews, as many claimed it did not to live up to their first release.
After a four-year hiatus Commix, now fronted by original member George Levings is back in the scene with two new releases and another album in the works.
George said he took a long break to “explore new ways of making music.”
“My philosophy has changed so much since I started writing music in 2000,” he said. “My musical knowledge is much better now, and I have many years experience of performing my music in clubs which has had a big influence on how my music sounds.”
Find out what that means tonight at Live RCA. George said to expect a mix of older and newer dnb, from his own concoctions to those of his favorite contemporaries.
“I also still enjoy playing the tracks that made me love Drum ‘n Bass, like Dillinja and Jonny L.,” he said. “I never plan my set, so I will see where the audience takes me!”
Door is 350 baht. Chase away the grey sky blues at the open bar from 9pm to 11pm.
Until next time, Dub be good to you.
