A Turning Point for E3 as Game Makers Try New Tactics

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12 June 2016, 18:00

People view the Activision Blizzard Booth during the 2013 Electronic Entertainment Expo in Los Angeles. Electronic Arts and Activision are among the video game publishers angling to cut through the noise on the E3 floor by ditching their long-standing booths in favor of low-key, fan-focused events. Photo: Jae C. Hong / Associated Press

LOS ANGELES — What’s that in the sky? Is it a sign of E3’s future? Or simply another hype-generating monstrosity?

Outside the Los Angeles Convention Center, an imposing 60-foot-tall structure is being erected that may symbolize a shift happening with the Electronic Entertainment Expo, the interactive industry’s annual extravaganza expected to draw more than 50,000 invite-only attendees next week.

When completed, the temporary six-story tower sponsored by cheesy snack food brand Doritos will resemble an old-school arcade cabinet. It’ll function as both a ginormous working game and a stage for such musical acts as Wiz Khalifa and Steve Aoki. It’s one of many fan-centric offerings this year joining E3 Live , the trade show’s first-ever spin-off event open to the public.

“It’s going to add a festival-like excitement outside the building,” said Michael Gallagher, president and CEO of the Entertainment Software Association, which organizes E3. “It’s purely a product of this industry now going direct to consumers. If it’s a success, I think we’re going to learn from this and decide if it’s something we’d like to do again in the future.”

Over the past 20 years, E3 has typically served as an opportunity for retailers and reporters to convene under one roof for a glimpse at publishers’ newest software and hardware. But with the rise of social media and streaming video, publishers’ focus has steadily shifted away from the store managers and bloggers in attendance to the gamers following all the action online.

And even as E3 itself evolves, it’s also no longer the only date on the calendar for game designers to reveal what they’ve been working on. In the decades since E3 was born, a growing number of gamer-focused events have sprung up around the world, including the Penny Arcade Expo, BlizzCon and the IndieCade Festival.

“In general, E3 has become a very specific event,” said Peter Warman, CEO of interactive industry tracker Newzoo. “It’s mostly about blockbuster launches. When you consider mobile, virtual reality, e-sports and Asia, E3 no longer represents the total games business. I’m curious to see how this year’s E3 will look and how they address the changing landscape of the industry.”

The changing marketplace has prompted several E3 veterans to rethink their approach to this year’s trade show. Disney Interactive, Wargaming, Electronic Arts and Activision are among past E3 exhibitors that are either forgoing the three-day expo altogether or opting to host separate events held outside the Los Angeles Convention Center’s sprawling show floor.

“Star Wars Battlefront” and “Mass Effect” publisher Electronic Arts is trading its long-standing, ear-splitting booth at the entrance of E3’s main hall for its own fan fest across the street near E3 Live. That’s where EA will promote such sequels as the robot-filled shoot-’em-up “Titanfall 2” and World War I-set military shooter “Battlefield 1.”

Activision, which has occasionally skipped the show floor in years past, similarly decided against showing off the latest editions of “Call of Duty,” ”Skylanders” and “Destiny” at its own booth. Instead, the publisher will do so at other publishers’ outposts, behind closed doors in Convention Center meeting rooms and at its own “Call of Duty XP” event in September.

“It’s not a reflection of E3 or its reduced relevance,” said Eric Hirschberg, CEO of Activision Publishing. “I know that some other publishers have opted out of E3. We have our own reasons because of our slate this year and how we want to approach our marketing reveals that are specific to us and not specific to E3.”

Gallagher of the ESA noted that while many traditional console and PC game publishers have abandon the boisterous show floor, those spaces are being filled by mobile, virtual reality and augmented reality game makers. He said there are now 90 mobile game companies on hand over last year’s 70 exhibitors, while VR attendees have swelled from 26 to 53 exhibitors.

Despite the boost in fan outreach, E3 will be business as usual — mostly — for the industry’s three largest publishers. Microsoft and Sony have respectively planned press conferences Monday at the University of Southern California’s Galen Center and the Shrine Auditorium, as well as booths showcasing titles like “Gears of War 4” and “Horizon Zero Dawn.”

Nintendo, which stopped hosting an onstage press conference at E3 three years ago and instead streams an online video briefing, will again return to the show floor. However, the “Super Mario” publisher will be dedicating most of its floor space to a sole game: a “Legend of Zelda” adventure for its Wii U console and a yet-to-be-revealed new system.

“E3 absolutely remains a relevant event,” said Reggie Fils-Aime, president of Nintendo of America. “We were the first to recognize a few years ago that we could touch millions of consumers online versus the few hundred that sit down for a live conference. We believe we’ve helped to make E3 a more vibrant and a cultural touchstone for consumers around the world.”

Whether it’s inside or outside the convention center, everyone at E3 next week will likely agree on one thing: It’s more fun to be there in person.

Story: Derrik J. Lang

TransFolk to Discuss Female Porn Star Turned Dude

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Chayanit Itthipongmaetee, Staff Reporter

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12 June 2016, 16:32

Buck Angel at repose in an undated picture. Photo: Buck Angel / Facebook

BANGKOK — A documentary on an American porn star-turned-transman will screen next month followed by a talk from Bangkok-based transmen.

Directed by Dan Hunt and shot over six years, “Mr. Angel” (2013) tells the tale of 54-year-old Buck Angel, formerly known as Susan, an adult film star and producer who describes himself as “The Man with a Pussy.”

In his younger days, Buck struggled with drug and alcohol addiction and multiple suicide attempts before undergoing hormonal therapy and breast reduction surgery at 28.

The 70-minute documentary film won a Telly Award for social issues and was showed at the Atlanta LGBT and London Lesbian and Gay film festivals, among other places.

Thai transmen of the FTM Bangkok community will hold a discussion in Thai after the film.

Admission is free. The film will be screened in English with Thai subtitles at 2pm on July 19 at Let’s Say Cafe, a coffee shop on Soi Ratchawithi 3, a few minutes walk from BTS Victory Monument’s exit No. 4.

Yellow & Red Seen in Orange Folds of Dhammakaya Scandal

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Pravit Rojanaphruk, Senior Staff Writer

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12 June 2016, 15:53

Novices light candles as they join thousands of monks in chanting to celebrate Makha Bucha day at Wat Dhammakaya on Feb. 25, 2013. Photo: Rungroj Yongrit / EPA

BANGKOK — In recent weeks, Redshirt Noppakow Kongsuwan watched people hurl abuse at the influential Dhammakaya Buddhist sect for what they see as its alignment with the pre-coup political order.

A staunch Redshirt who has followed the order for 18 of his 25 years, Noppakow thought of not speaking out and tried separating religion from politics, but he couldn’t keep things to himself as the invective piled up against the order and its powerful abbot, now a fugitive from justice.

“Those with bias try to link the [embezzlement charge] issue to politics. Such attempts have been around for a long time though. In reality, the temple is a place for everyone because anyone could come and meditate,” said Noppakow, who is best known today as one of the Facebook 8 charged with sedition for running a page satirizing the junta’s chief.

To many junta supporters, the sect – particularly abbot Dhammachayo – doesn’t just stand for all that is corrupt within Buddhism, but it an extension of the political narrative for its links to fugitive former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

More than another scandal involving monks and money laundering, the Dhammakaya drama has become a proxy war for those backing the junta which deposed his sister’s government and has tried to dismantle his legacy 10 years after Thaksin himself was deposed in a coup.

'We are willing to die for our abbot,' read one of the banners hung May 27 at Wat Dhammakaya — ‘We are willing to die for our abbot,’ read one of the banners hung May 27 at Wat Dhammakaya

Social media has been flooded with pro- and anti-Dhammakaya messages for weeks. Almost without exception, they defend Dhammakaya if they are for Thaksin or against the junta, and they attack the sect if they oppose Thaksin or support military rule.

Dhammachayo, 72, is accused by the Department of Special Investigation of receiving funds stolen from a credit union whose former chairman is now serving a prison term for massive embezzlement.

With Dhammachayo rejecting legal summons to appear and hear embezzlement charges stemming from envelopes of stolen money sent to him by the convicted head of the now shuttered Khlongchan Credit Union, pro-junta newspapers such as Thai Post have upped their ante.

Recently, the newspaper has repeatedly suggested the sect is part of the “Thaksin Order” of society and a threat to Thailand. Its Tuesday front page dubbed Dhammakaya worshipers “followers of the flying saucer,” a reference to the main meditation area’s resemblance to a golden UFO.

Excavators block entrance to Wat Dhammakaya on May 27.

Its Thursday editorial cast doubt on the junta’s resolve to do more after the deadline for the abbot to hear charges lapsed May 26 with him still cloistered within his sprawling temple compound north of Bangkok, which can accommodate half a million worshipers. The sect, known for its mass ordinations, has 18 branches abroad plus Dhamma and meditation programs broadcast around the clock globally.

“The temple has been transformed into a den of goons,” Editor Plew Seengern wrote in his Tuesday column.

Thaksin opponents, such as Buddhist scholar Sulak Sivaraksa, are also impatient with junta leader Gen. Prayuth Chan-ocha’s lack of “leadership”on the case.

“Thaksin is clearly on the side of Dhammakaya. The political dimension is definitely there,” Sulak said.

The authorities have said a raid on the heavily guarded temple, where disciples have said they would die to protect Dhammachayo, could turn into a bloodbath. Sulak called on the junta to use its “just, dictatorial powers” immediately.

The growing conflict has led human rights lawyer Sarawut Pratoonraj to describe it as a proxy war.

Hundreds of monks lined up outside the Khlong Luang Police Station in northern metro Bangkok on May 26 where the sect's abbot had said he would turn himself in. — Hundreds of monks lined up outside the Khlong Luang Police Station in northern metro Bangkok on May 26 where the sect’s abbot had said he would turn himself in.

“It’s becoming a problem,” said Sarawut, a Catholic. “Dhammakaya is representative of the Redshirts over the years, and Thaksin supports Dhammakaya. That’s why there’s an operation to destroy Dhammakaya.”

Tales of what is wrong with Dhammakaya spread on social media range from excessive pressure on disciples and worshipers to donate all money possible to allegations Dhammachayo has boasted of meeting and conversing with the Buddha.

Sarawut said he has heard of the latter claims.

“It is a severe violation for Buddhists,” he said.

Sarawut compares the sect’s appetite for donations to the U.S. Church of Latter Day Saints, while others have drawn parallels with the Scientology movement for its spirituality-light populism and sci-fi, cultish trappings.

The net result, Sarawut said, is the very thing wrong with Thai political culture: Both sides defending their positions without budging or considering any merit to the other.

Noppakow, the online dissident, said the public is free to doubt Dhammakaya and its abbot, but should not mix it up with the secular political divide.

“I don’t think this is fair,” he said. Although many Redshirts are followers, he said, there are others he knows who definitely don’t support Thaksin or the Redshirt movement.

“It’s like we have a common understanding that once we enter the temple, we leave color-coded politics outside,” he said, arguing that the sect, founded in 1970s, predated the decade-old political divide. “It’s pointless (to argue) if you already have bias, however.”

Multi-Hued Robes

Today, Dhammakaya draws on the Bangkok middle class for its power base, including many influential politicians, businesspeople and law enforcement officials.

Soraj Hongladarom, a philosophy professor at Chulalongkorn University, said a good number of Dhammakaya followers lecture at his university, considered a bastion for political conservatism and the establishment.

“There’re a substantial number of Yellowshirts who worship at the Dhammakaya Temple, and some are lecturers here. They don’t know how to react now,” said Soraj, who is also director of the college’s Center for Ethics of Sciences and Technology.

The order has always had many wealthy and well-educated followers drawn from the establishment who don’t support Thaksin, he said. But now they’re lying low as the conflict heats up.

“Now the establishment has alienated them [by prosecuting the sect] although they always regarded themselves as part of the establishment. The situation is a mess. The dust is all over the place,” Siroj said.

Correction: An earlier version of this story incorrectly identified Dhammakhaya abbot Dhammachayo as the order’s founder. He was in fact a disciple to founder Phramongkolthepmuni.

Florida Police Seek Motive for Murder of ‘The Voice’ Singer

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Associated Press

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12 June 2016, 14:29

Christina Grimmie performs as the opener for Rachel Platten in Atlanta on March 2. Photo: Katie Darby / Invision / Associated Press

ORLANDO, Florida — Christina Grimmie was a vivacious, outgoing singer whose career was born on social media and propelled toward the big time by television. She didn’t consider herself a famous person, not like the judges on “The Voice,” where she competed, but she had a following that was as enthusiastic about her music as she was.

Kevin Loibl wasn’t like her. While she was a YouTube star, he seemed to be a shadow of Grimmie’s online presence. He left little trace online.

Orlando Police shows Kevin James Loibl in an undated photo released by Orlando Police.

The two apparently had no personal connection to one another until Friday night when police said Loibl traveled 100 miles from his home in St. Petersburg to an Orlando concert venue. There, he shot Grimmie as she was signing autographs for fans after performing. He then fatally shot himself after being tackled by Grimmie’s brother, Marcus.

Grimmie died several hours later early Saturday. Millions of people, far more than those who loved her for her music, were shocked and saddened by her death.

“She was doing a meet-and-greet, just signing autographs and selling merchandise. This white male approached her and opened fire, striking her,” Orlando Police Chief John Mina said Saturday at a news conference. “There is no indication that he knew her. We’re looking into that to try to find a motive for the crime.”

Grimmie, 22, isn’t the only person in the entertainment industry to have been killed by a stranger. Preceding her were John Lennon, designer Gianni Versace and 1980s sitcom star Rebecca Shaeffer.

“Christina was a natural, gifted talent that comes along so rarely,” wrote singer Adam Levine, who was Grimmie’s mentor on “The Voice.” ”She was taken from us too soon.”

Grimmie was most widely known from those TV appearances two years ago, when she rocked listeners with her renditions of songs including “Wrecking Ball” and “Can’t Help Falling in Love,” and finished third.

“The Voice” paid tribute Saturday to Grimmie on its official Twitter page: “There are no words. We lost a beautiful soul with an amazing voice.”

Grimmie first gained attention seven years ago when she posted online a video of herself playing piano and singing “Don’t Wanna Be Torn” by Miley Cyrus as television alter ego Hannah Montana.

In 2011, Entertainment Weekly crowned her “the veritable queen of YouTube musicians,” already with nearly 1 million subscribers (she has 3.2 million now), an EP of original songs (titled “Find Me”), a single (“Advice”) that was getting airplay on Radio Disney, and an opening spot touring with Selena Gomez.

Her growing success sparked Grimmie’s move to Los Angeles, far from her hometown of Marlton, New Jersey, a small community some 20 miles from Philadelphia. She was intent on finding success on her own terms, writing songs that expressed her interests, “not just dancing and getting drunk and blah-blah-blah,” as she told Entertainment Weekly. “I wanted to write with feeling and emotion.”

“She just had a really powerful voice. She was incredibly talented and she sang from her heart,” said 17-year-old Kaitlin Martin, a fan, who was waiting outside Orlando’s The Plaza Live concert venue Friday night when she heard loud “pops” coming from inside.

“We thought at first they were balloons … but then security started running all over the place yelling at people to get out because someone has a gun and someone is shooting. Everyone is just running all over the place,” said Martin, who traveled to see to the concert from Brunswick, Georgia. “It was chaos.”

Detectives were searching Loibl’s cellphone and social media accounts looking for clues as to a motive, Mina said, but they weren’t aware the suspect had stalked Grimmie.

At Loibl’s home, in St. Petersburg, someone left a note on the front door, expressing the “deepest sorrow” for the loss “to the family, friends & fans of the very talented, loving Christina Grimmie.” The note said there would be no other comment. No one answered the door to the one-story house that had a rusted, metal animal trap in the yard.

Unarmed security guards at The Plaza Live had checked bags and purses for contraband, Mina said, but there were no metal detectors or pat-downs of people as they entered the concert.

Loibl was armed with two handguns, two loaded magazines and a hunting knife, he said.

Police officers credited the singer’s brother with preventing the gunman from hurting others by tackling him. Around 120 others were present at the time.

“Very heroic actions by Marcus Grimmie to jump in and it definitely could have prevented further loss of life,” said Mina.

All events at The Plaza Live have been suspended until further notice, a spokeswoman said. “We appreciate everyone’s understanding and support during this traumatic time,” said a statement on its website.

Loibl had made travel arrangements to come to Orlando alone, as well as travel arrangements to go back home, but he didn’t have a car, Mina said. The police chief wouldn’t elaborate further.

“It does appear that he came here to commit this crime,” Mina said.

Story: Mike Schneider, Frazier Moore

US GOP Waits For ‘Disciplined’ Trump to Emerge

By

Associated Press

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11 June 2016, 15:08

Donald Trump gestures last June during a rally in Richmond, Virginia. Photo: Steve Helber / Associated Press

NEW YORK — Weary Republicans are looking for assurances that Donald Trump can maintain the discipline needed to stay on message as he prepares for a bruising general election run-up against Hillary Clinton.

Trump’s conciliatory, teleprompter-guided victory speech Tuesday appeared to stave off— at least for the time being — a near-revolt over his racially divisive attacks against the American-born judge of Mexican heritage hearing the case against his now-defunct Trump University.

As he kicked off his general election campaign Friday, a thorny question has arisen: How does the party keep Trump in check?

“A primary campaign against 16 opponents is very different and combative in a different way than a general election against a well-organized, well-funded Clinton machine,” said Rep. Chris Collins, who has been helping to coordinate Trump’soutreach to Congress.

Collins said he understood there would be lingering questions about Trump after the distracting episode, but said the speech was part of what he sees as a “total pivot” by the candidate.

“Mr. Trump is a very smart guy and wants to win,” he said after a weekly gathering with Trump staff on Thursday. “I’m convinced we’ll see a very disciplined GOP nominee moving forward.”

The judge episode arguably marked the biggest crisis of Trump’s campaign to date, and sparked a series of phone calls from concerned Republicans, including House Speaker Paul Ryan, pressing the gravity of the situation.

“I explained exactly what I thought about that comment. I said it publicly and I said it privately,” Ryan said in an interview that aired on “Good Morning America” Friday.

“I don’t know what’s in his heart,” he added. “But I do think, hope and believe that he’s going to improve the tenor of the campaign, the tone of the campaign, the kind of campaign that he’s going to run.”

It remains to be seen, however, how deeply Trump has internalized the message. Since launching his campaign, Trump has pushed back against calls by some of his closest aides and family members to adopt a more “presidential tone.” His fiery language and penchant for controversy has earned him endless free media attention and energized voters during the primaries, helping him secure victory.

“You think I’m going to change? I’m not changing,” he boomed at a press conference recently.

Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski dismissed the idea of an intervention, and downplayed the significance of the victory speech, noting that Trump has used teleprompters on multiple occasions to deliver specific remarks.

“From time to time, he’ll use it. But’s a function of the audience and what he wants to say. I can guarantee you this: In Richmond tonight, it will not be a teleprompter speech,” he said.

Indeed, Trump was already showing signs that general election Trump will sound a lot like primary Trump.

He tweeted “Pocahontas is at it again!” Friday morning, using his favored nickname for Sen. Elizabeth Warren, who officially endorsed Clinton Thursday evening and met with her Friday. At a rally later in Richmond, Virginia, he evoked the nickname yet again, saying “Pocahontas is not too happy!” That prompted some in the crowd to break out into Indian war cries.

Trump — indeed, not using a teleprompter — delivered a speech that sounded like the ones from his rallies during the primaries, delivering familiar riffs about the Mexican border wall, claiming he was “the least racist person you’ll see” and suggesting that Clinton “hates” President Barack Obama.

Speaking in a 12,000-person-capacity arena that was only about one-third full, he also mused that he might hold a “Winners Night” at the Republican convention next month, during which various sports heroes would appear.

To try to keep Trump, who is notoriously resistant to advice, on track, some on his team are turning more to his grown children — Eric, Don Jr. and Ivanka, as well as Ivanka’s husband, Jared Kushner — in the hope that they can exert influence. In addition to giving them more public roles, some campaign aides have been pushing for them to travel more with the candidate, according to a person familiar with the efforts, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak about private discussions.

The goal is to try to keep Trump on message, while asserting more control over Lewandowski, who is a constant presence by Trump’s side. Lewandowski led Trump to victory in the primary with the motto “Let Trump be Trump,” and has long resisted suggestions that Trump needs to change his tone.

Lewandowski pushed back against the notion that Republicans are looking for Trump to tone down his rhetoric and stressed the candidate is not going to change.

“I don’t know if they’re saying we need to rein him in. They are not used to a presidential candidate who speaks from the heart and talks the way the American public speaks. They are used to politicians who are all talk and not action. That’s not Mr. Trump,” Lewandowski told The Associated Press, adding, “His messaging is not going to change going forward.”

Still, supporters say they’re confident that Trump is growing into his new role.

“I think Donald is learning how to be a candidate,” said John Catsimatidis, a major New York donor, as he left a closed-door gathering with Trump on Thursday. “I think he’s getting better and better at it.”

Others, however, remain doubtful.

“You know, I think everybody can change. The question is does he have the self-discipline and some control over his ego to be able to say ‘I’m wrong’ every now and then?” said former Sen. Tom Coburn of Oklahoma on “Morning Joe” Thursday. “And I haven’t seen that.”

‘Ali! Ali!’ The Greatest is Laid to Rest in His Hometown

By

Associated Press

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11 June 2016, 15:07

Gerald Wayne Jacobs is consoled by strangers as he cries at the gates of Cave Hill cemetery Friday in Louisville, Kentucky. Photo: Dylan Lovan / Associated Press

LOUISVILLE, Kentucky — The Greatest was laid to rest in his hometown Friday after an all-day send-off that was a lot like Muhammad Ali himself — serious at times, but also exuberant, bracingly political, and funny.

Ali made one final journey through the city he adored via a fist-pumping funeral procession through the streets of Louisville. The burial was followed by a star-studded memorial service where the boxing great was eulogized as a brash and wildly charismatic breaker of racial barriers.

“He was a tremendous bolt of lightning, created by Mother Nature out of thin air, a fantastic combination of power and beauty,” comedian Billy Crystal said in an address that had the crowd of about 15,000 laughing at nearly every turn.

The more than three-hour memorial capped nearly a full day of mourning in Louisville for Ali, the three-time heavyweight champion of the world who died last week at 74 after a long battle with Parkinson’s disease.

An estimated 100,000 people holding signs and chanting, “Ali! Ali!” lined the streets as a hearse carrying his cherry-red casket made its way past his childhood home to Louisville’s Cave Hill Cemetery, where a private burial service was held.

“He stood up for himself and for us, even when it wasn’t popular,” said Ashia Powell, waiting to catch a glimpse of the funeral procession for the man the city once knew as Cassius Clay, before he converted to Islam and shed what he called his slave name.

The public memorial at the KFC Yum! Center was packed with celebrities, athletes and politicians, including former President Bill Clinton, Sen. Orrin Hatch, director Spike Lee, former NFL great Jim Brown, Arnold Schwarzenegger, soccer star David Beckham, Whoopi Goldberg and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

In eulogies that were sometimes laced with political barbs in this presidential campaign season, speaker after speaker paid tribute to Ali as a fearless man of principle, someone who went from being one of the most polarizing figures of the 20th century to one of the most beloved, a source of black pride and a symbol of professional excellence.

“I can just hear Muhammad say now, ‘Well, I thought I should be eulogized by at least one president,'” Clinton told the crowd.

Crystal cracked everyone up with his career-making impersonation of a boastful, fast-talking Ali — and Ali’s foil, sportscaster Howard Cosell — and rhapsodized about the fighter’s charisma, outspokenness and talent in a way that brought the crowd to its feet.

“We’ve seen still photographs of lightning at the moment of impact, ferocious in its strength, magnificent in its elegance. And at the moment of impact it lights up everything around it so you can see everything clearly,” Crystal said. “Muhammad Ali struck us in the middle of America’s darkest night.”

He added: “Ali forced us to take a look at ourselves. This brash young man thrilled us, angered us, confused us, challenged us, ultimately became a silent messenger of peace and taught us that life is best when you build bridges between people and not walls.”

Kevin Cosby, pastor of a Louisville church, told the crowd that Ali “dared to affirm the power and capacity of African-Americans” and infused them with a “sense of somebodiness.” He likened Ali to such racial trailblazers as Jesse Owens, Rosa Parks and Jackie Robinson.

“Before James Brown said, ‘I’m black and I’m proud,’ Muhammad Ali said, ‘I’m black and I’m pretty,'” Cosby said. “Blacks and pretty were an oxymoron.”

Rabbi Michael Lerner, a political activist and editor of the Jewish magazine Tikkun, brought the crowd to its feet four times with a fiery speech in which he referred to Ali’s refusal to be drafted during the Vietnam War — a stand that cost him his boxing title.

“Ali stood up to immoral war, risked fame to speak truth to power. The way to honor him is to be like him today,” Lerner said, railing against anti-Muslim bigotry, drone attacks, the gap between rich and poor, and racist policing.

Earlier in the day, Ali’s casket, draped with an Islamic tapestry, was loaded into a hearse outside a funeral home. The pallbearers included former boxers Mike Tyson and Lennox Lewis and actor Will Smith, who played Ali in the movies.

Ali’s nine children, his widow, Lonnie, two of his ex-wives and other family members accompanied the body to the cemetery on the 19-mile drive past the little pink house where he grew up and the museum that bears his name. At one point, the motorcade traveled along Muhammad Ali Boulevard.

As the long line of black limousines rolled past, fans chanted like spectators at one of his fights, pumped their fists, stood on cars, held up cellphones and signs, ran alongside the hearse and reached out to touch it. They tossed so many flowers onto the windshield that the driver had to push some of them aside to see the road.

Others fell silent and looked on reverently as the champ went by.

“I’ve been crying all week,” said Mike Stallings, of Louisville, who brought his two young sons to bid farewell to the sports legend who grew up as Cassius Clay. “As big as he was he never looked down on people. He always mingled among the crowds.”

Ali chose the cemetery as his final resting place a decade ago. Its 130,000 graves represent a who’s who of Kentucky, including Kentucky Fried Chicken founder Colonel Harland Sanders. Family spokesman Bob Gunnell said he will have a simple headstone, inscribed only “Ali,” in keeping with Islamic tradition.

Ali himself decided years ago that his funeral would be open to ordinary fans, not just VIPs. As a result, thousands of free tickets to the memorial were made available and were snatched up within an hour.

President Barack Obama was unable to make the trip because of daughter Malia’s high school graduation. But White House adviser Valerie Jarrett read a letter from the president at the service in which Obama said Ali helped give him the audacity to think he could one day be president.

“Muhammad Ali was America. Brash. Defiant. Pioneering. Never tired. Always game to test the odds. He was our most basic freedoms: religion, speech, spirit,” Obama said.

Rumors that Donald Trump would attend were quashed Friday morning when Gunnell said the Republican presidential candidate called Ali’s widow to say he was unable to make it.

Around Louisville, a sightseeing company offered tours of Ali’s path through the city. Businesses printed his quotes across their billboards. City buses flashed “Ali — The Greatest” in orange lights. And a downtown bridge will be illuminated the rest of the week in red and gold: red for his boxing gloves, gold for his 1960 Olympic medal.

“I just wanted to show respect to the champ,” said Martin Dixon, who drove from Warren, Ohio, to watch the funeral procession from Ali’s boyhood home. “He inspired the world. He shook up the world.”

Story: Jenna Fryer, Claire Galofaro, Bruce Schreiner

Line to Launch IPO on NYSE and in Tokyo

By

Associated Press

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11 June 2016, 13:39

SEOUL — Line Corp., the Japan-based operator of the namesake messaging app huge in Thailand and Asia, will list its shares in New York and Tokyo next month, as the iconic Asian mobile messenger app seeks to expand globally.

Naver, the South Korean Internet company that wholly owns Line, said Friday that the move would help the mobile messenger to better compete against global companies backed by big brand and capital. The proceeds from the initial public offering will be used for acquiring new companies and other expansion strategies.

Though not as widely known in Europe and the U.S., since it was founded in 2011 Line messenger has fueled a boom in mobile messaging in Asia, especially outside China.

With 215 million active global users, the Line app is hugely popular in Japan, Taiwan, Thailand and Indonesia, where many users regularly buy cute digital stickers and merchandised dolls. The messenger app pioneered the trend where smartphone users communicate with each other by exchanging stickers instead of typing text messages. They also use the mobile messenger app to search for music and jobs.

But Line faces competition from Facebook, which has its own messenger and is gaining popularity in Asia. In Japan, the number of Line’s active users is larger than that of Facebook and Twitter, but the number of Line users otherwise has been dropping.

The Asian mobile messenger’s debut in the stock markets reflects that growing competition.

Line’s rival Kakao went public in 2014 by combining with a South Korean web portal service. Line had delayed its IPO plan, a move that market watchers attributed to uncertainty in stock markets and slow global growth.

The company will list its shares on July 14 in New York city and on July 15 in Tokyo.

Story: Youkyung Lee

Suspected Elite School Pedophile Now Denies Abusing Underage Boys

By

Chayanit Itthipongmaetee, Staff Reporter

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11 June 2016, 13:15

Saroj Meepai is escorted by officers Saturday morning at the Central Investigation Bureau

BANGKOK — After being arrested last night for uploading child pornography, a science teacher now says he never had sexual intercourse with underage boys.

Saroj Meepai, a former science teacher at the elite, all-boys Suankularb Wittayalai School, told reporters Saturday morning that his Twitter account, filled with explicit images of anal intercourse with what was described as classroom students, was shared by many people with the “same interests.”

“We shared an account and password. This is very normal, I didn’t think it would cause any trouble,” Saroj said at the Central Investigation Bureau in Bangkok.

On Thursday, after announcing his suspension, the school said Saroj had admitted to having sex with students – just not his students at the nation’s oldest high school where many of the most powerful have been educated.

Today Saroj said that although he can be seen in some of the graphic images, none of the boys he was having sex with were underage.

“I swear I’ve never had anal intercourse with the students in the school,” said the 33-year-old teacher.

As for the many pictures of men penetrating younger men in student uniforms, Saroj said it was just roleplay to get attention and play on social media.

He was arrested Friday evening, hours after the school said he had been suspended during a course of an investigation that might see his pay docked or his termination from the school. Police and school officials said families and victims would have to step forward for any legal action to proceed.

Today, the chief of Technology Crime Suppression Division, made it clear a criminal matter is proceeding. Saroj’s three mobile phones have been confiscated and will be investigated by officers, Maj. Gen. Supaset Chokchai said.

Saroj is charged under the Computer Crime Act for importing and sharing obscene materials. He’ll be sent to a criminal court without bail, Supaset said.

Attacking One Another Probably Not Best Way for Dissidents to Fight Junta

By

Pravit Rojanaphruk, Senior Staff Writer

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11 June 2016, 12:47

Referendum boycott advocate Jittra Cotchadet, at right, sits with human rights lawyer and Vote No-er Arnon Nampa in a photo taken earlier this month. Photo: Jittra Cotchadet / Facebook

Even among those who profess to be for democracy, disagreeing without insult is difficult.

Those planning to boycott the August charter referendum have been accused by fellow anti-juntanites and Vote No-ers of being paid junta shills or armchair democracy warriors.

In return, those vowing to vote in the negative to register their disapproval of both the controversial draft charter and its junta patrons have been derided as “backup dancers to the military regime.”

All say they’re for democracy. All say they’re against the junta. Now there’s bad blood between some simply because they can’t agree on the best way to register their opposition.

Forget about the ultra-nationalist junta-supporters who brand anyone engaging with foreign states and embassies a traitor. The fact that some of those who claim to be for democracy can’t respectfully agree to disagree without vilifying the others says a lot about how far many Thais have to go before being able to handle and tolerate differing opinions.

The latest debacle among the pro-democracy opposition shows some are not immune to the malaise affecting the junta’s faithful. As the verbal rumble worsened over the past 10 days, exiled anti-junta academic Pavin Chachavalpongpun, who wishes he could return to Thailand to vote no without being arrested, called Tuesday for a truce. Via Facebook, Pavin urged both sides to stop insulting one another.

“Deriding one another: This is useless,” Pavin wrote.

The pettiness and narrow-mindedness of the catfight aside, the emotional debate as to what to do with the draft charter reflects the fact that sometimes there are no perfect solutions. The argument also begs the question of when realism gives way to nihilism.

Those vowing to vote No say doing so is the only realistic option to register people’s opposition to not just the charter draft but the military dictatorship which sponsored it.

The problem is that two months before the poll, the junta still hasn’t told the public what will happen if the charter goes down Aug. 7. That means the situation could get worse. But those voting No seek to undermine the junta’s legitimacy and believe overwhelming rejection of the charter would serve as de facto rejection of military rule.

Those insisting on boycotting the plebiscite say it’s the only morally defensible position. They want nothing to do with an illegitimate regime and its processes and therefore argue that participating in the vote is tantamount to accepting its authority.

The problem with the latter group’s thinking is that it’s mostly symbolic and unlikely to produce a measurable effect. Its supporters are likely to be subsumed into the larger contingent of those who simply don’t vote, unless they are public figures, risk publicly declaring themselves abstainers, or take to the streets Aug. 7 in a display of defiance, as suggested by junta critic Wad Rawee.

Jittra Cotchadet, a prominent labor activist and advocate for boycotting the referendum, said the invective and nastiness has been blown out of proportion.

The damage has been done, however.

In politics as in life, there are no perfect solutions. Less-than-perfect options with a perfect willingness to embrace situational complexity may be the best we can hope for. And you don’t need to hate those who share the same objective but disagree on how to get there.

11 Teachers Die in Fiery NGV Van Wreck

By

Chayanit Itthipongmaetee, Staff Reporter

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11 June 2016, 11:31

CHONBURI — Eleven teachers were killed and four seriously injured Friday night when a van crashed into a concrete barrier and burst into flames on the Chonburi-Bangkok motorway in Chonburi city.

The van, carrying 14 teachers and the driver from Bangkok’s Koom Klao Scholar School, was traveling back from a seminar in Rayong province when the NGV-powered vehicle hit the barrier at around 9pm.

Police are investigating the cause of the accident; however, they suspect the van got a flat tire and lost control, Lt. Col. Supakit Ko-ngam of the regional highway police said.

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