Total Eclipse of the Heart with Honest Lyrics

It’s Bonnie Tyler’s 1983 hit “Total Eclipse of the Heart” but with lyrics that describe what’s going on in the video. It's so gay, it's over the top, not to mention the pedophilia aspect.

Laura Ling and Euna Lee Detained in North Korea

SFist has details on the upcoming trial of Ling and Lee in North Korea, with TV appearances and information on their Facebook page, plus links.

Journalists Detained in North Korea Go on Trial Thursday, Lisa Ling to Speak Out This Week

CurrentTV journalists Laura Ling and Euna Lee, who were detained for illegally crossing the North Korean border and accused of "hostile acts," are set to go on trial on Thursday. If convicted, they could spend up to ten years in a North Korean boot camp. Al Gore, a partner at Current, has been working closely with the State Department to get the women released, and the Swedish Mission at the United Nations has been serving as an intermediary.

Although it's been advised that the less said publicly the better for fear of antagonizing Pyongyang, Ling and Lee's families have decided to speak out next week. On Monday, Lisa Ling will be appearing on the 7 a.m. block of The Today Show (NBC), on the Larry King show (CNN) at 6 p.m. PST (9 p.m., EST), and on Anderson Cooper on Wednesday.

Ling and Lee are being kept separately in either a government guest house or a hotel outside of Pyongyang and have been allowed to make limited phone calls, which can be interpreted as a good sign that they're not being physically abused. Lisa Ling also received a letter from Laura on May 15, which can be read on the Facebook page that Ling and Lee's families have set up.

The families are asking people to sign their petition, which will be going to the United Nations. There will also be vigils in various cities across the country on Wednesday evening, including San Francisco, at the steps of City Hall from 6 to 8 p.m.

Cambodian Fortune Tellers in Pattaya

Pattaya is always a good source for bizarre stories, especially when they involve local prostitutes and fortune tellers from Cambodia. Pattaya Daily News has the story.

THREE PATTAYA BAR GIRLS VICTIMS OF CAMBODIAN FORTUNE TELLER SCAM

On 12th May 2009 three Thai ladies claimed they had been poisoned and robbed by a female fortune teller whom they had invited back to their Pattaya apartment, in a similar fashion to a previous case reported by PDN on 9th February 2009.

As soon as Police Lieutenant Colonel Was received a report of the incident at 9.00 pm a police and rescue team rushed to room no. 11, on the third floor of Wanpen Apartment, located in Soi Gor Pai, Moo. 10, Nongprue, Banglamung.

There, the police found two ladies lying on the bed and one in the toilet. Miss Junsri Rakmitr [23] from Surin, the room owner, together with Miss Oil and Miss Porn [alias], all employees of a bar in Soi 7, Central Pattaya, were all unconscious. Two of them had been hit on the forehead with a hard object.

Police found paraphernalia connected with a religious ritual including a tray with incense, candles, flowers and a small amount of money, placed on the bed headboard. On the Buddha shelf, there was a golden baby image and three cups of a beverage which had been consumed. The room was in disarray as if someone had carried out a search.

Initially, the rescue team gave the three ladies first aid. When Miss Junsri, the room owner, woke up in a confused state, she told police that at 4.00 am, on the same day, she and her two friends were on their way home when they met a woman aged around 45 – 50, who claimed to be a Cambodian fortune teller. As the woman began to tell their fortune, they started to show interest and the woman said, if they wanted to have good luck, they would have to carry out a ritual with her in their room.

Their interest became stronger when the woman promised if they decided to go through the ritual, they would be able to find foreign husbands like many other ladies she had helped before.

Back at their room, as part of the ritual, they had to drink a cup of dark coffee each and not too long after that they felt very sleepy. They woke up again on the next day and found out that they had been robbed. The Cambodian fortune teller had made off with their property consisting of 3 mobile phones and 3 wallets containing tens of thousands of baht.

They asked for help from neighbours to report the incident to the police. They had never seen the robber before and had no idea what her name was.

The Sulphur Workers of Mt. Ijen in East Java

Foreign Policy has a photographic essay on the sulphur workers at Mt. Ijen at the far eastern coast of Java. Travelers can also visit and observe the action, but taking a bus from Bali to the western crossing and then going south instead of the usual northern route toward Surabaya. Once in Banyuwangi, find a guesthouse and then a local guide to take you up the slopes of Ijen, then hike to the summit to watch the workers arrive with their blocks of sulphur.

Fake Disneyland in China

They copy everything else, so why not a copy of Disneyland in China? Apparently, Disney has filed a lawsuit, but the characters of Mickey, Tigger, and even Hello Kitty continue to parade around the grounds.

In May 2007, the park was exposed by international media for having made unauthorized use of Japanese and American cartoon characters.[1] According to a report originally broadcast on Fuji TV's FNN News, the park features a castle that resembles Disney's trademark Sleeping Beauty Castle and a structure that looks like Epcot's Spaceship Earth. The park also features a host of costumed characters that look amazingly similar to not only Disney's trademark characters, but also Shrek, Hello Kitty, Doraemon, Bugs Bunny and a number of other trademarked characters.

Park officials denied any wrongdoing. When asked by the FNN News reporter if the characters are related to Disney, the theme park's general manager Liu Jingwang said that their characters are based on Grimm's Fairy Tales.

According to a May 10, 2007 Associated Press report, the park deputy general manager Yin Zhiqiang said that the park's lawyers are in negotiation with The Walt Disney Company. Disney declined to comment directly on this matter.[1]

Wikipedia -- Beijing Shijingshan Amusement Park

Bangkok Meals Near Chulalongkorn University

The Horizons section of the Bangkok Post often features stories about eating around Bangkok, including this recent article centered on the foodstalls and foodcourts near Chulalongkorn University. It's a splendid summary of the offerings with special perks such as embedded video, two panoramic views of the uberclean foodcourts, and a map to help you get oriented. A really fine and useful package for locals and visitors alike. Bangkok Post Horizons - Chow Down Central is well worth the click.

Nestled in the shadows of the Kingdom's oldest university, these three interconnected areas are bound to offer something to satisfy one's appetite practically 24 hours a day. One might even go so far - or be so flippant - as to suggest that graduating from the prestigious halls of Chulalongkorn might be a simpler task than emerging from this neighbourhood, which stretches from Rama I Road all the way to Rama IV, with an empty stomach!

And probably the best way to choose a good place to eat here is simply to take a look at your watch.

The Evening News

Declining viewership of the evening news has brought some big changes.

The Quickest Way to Defuse a Car Bomb in Iraq

EMBED-Tank Rolls Over Car Bomb - Watch more free videos

Run over it with a tank.

Miss Tiffany Universe 2009 in Pattaya

As you can see, the annual Tiffany Universe contest is much more than just pretty girls prancing around the stage; it's a full on Hollywood production.

Sorrawee “Nong Jazz” Nattee, a 20-year-old student from Ratchapat Suansunanta University, was crowned Miss Tiffany’s Universe 2009. Nong Jazz collected cash, a car and other prizes worth more than one million baht as the judges’ choice in the transvestite beauty contest.

On May 15 at the Tiffany Show Theatre in Pattaya, the 12th annual contest for the most beautiful women “of the second category” (transvestite) was a glittering show, attended by stars, actors, actresses, and the mass media. The event, broadcast live on Channel 7, was organized by Tiffany’s in cooperation with the Tourism Authority of Thailand Central Region 3 and Pattaya City.

In the final round of the competition, 30 beautiful contestants were pared down to 10, and then to three finalists. The end of each selection round saw a Tiffany Show performance. The judges as always had the difficult task of choosing.

Pattaya Mail

Silkworms Entomb Rotterdam Car

Talk about parking hazards. Daily Mail has the details.

Under a giant silk cocoon created by an army of caterpillars, the shape of a Honda is just about visible. The car was mistaken as food by spindle ermine larvae, which had already begun to strip a nearby tree of its leaves. Spindle ermines weave silk webs to protect themselves from birds and wasps, allowing them to gorge on leaves for six weeks before transforming into butterflies.

Cheese Rolling in England

Space Hippies Episode on Star Trek

Takes you right back to 1968. But then Spock always had musical aspirations.

Bangkok Bugle Photography

Fine photo of Bangkok buildings by Bangkok Bugle at his photography website Bangkok Taxi. Did he really take this photo from the backseat of a Bangkok cab?

Thai Rath Cartoons and Translations

Siam Report is providing a great service by posting political cartoons from Thai Rath with English translation.

Abu Dhabi Tower Gate Hotel

Not to be left in the dust of Dubai, Abu Dhabi is constructing an amazing leaning hotel, now about 50 percent completed.

Capital Gate climbing in Abu Dhabi

A symbol of engineering prowess, the Capital Gate tower hotel is starting to take form in Abu Dhabi. Designed as the most inclined tower in the world, the 35 storey, gravity-defying feature tower will lean westward 18 degrees, 4 times as far as the Leaning Tower of Pisa which currently leans 3.97 degrees.

Designed by RMJM, the tower relies on a diagrid exoskeleton constructed on top of a 7-foot-deep concrete base to hold the structure in place. 490 piles that have been drilled 100 feet underground will hold the structure still accommodating the gravitational, wind and seismic pressures caused by the lean of the building.

The halfway point is marked by the construction of a tea lounge and swimming pool suspended 263 feet above the ground on the 17th and 18th floors, above a gigantic internal atrium and halfway up the 35-story, 525-foot tall tower. Tony Archibold, RMJM Project Director, added: “Passing the half-way point in development is a great success and we are now entering a critical period in Capital Gate’s development. While we are facing some of our toughest architectural challenges, it is also the beginning of the most exciting stage as the structure takes shape.”

“When complete, Capital Gate will be a modern day icon for Abu Dhabi, recognizable throughout the world. Capital Gate is not about being the biggest or the tallest, it is about advanced technical ingenuity and aesthetic splendor,” said Simon Horgan, ADNEC Group CEO. “This is one of the most challenging buildings under construction in the world at the moment but due to the partnership between ADNEC, RMJM and all contractors on the project, ground breaking solutions are being designed on a daily basis.”

World Architecture News

Northbound Magazine Issue 2

Fans of northern Luzon might enjoy this pdf file of the 2nd issue of Northbound, though the horrible pdf format means you can only look at the photos and can't read the tiny, tiny text. Perhaps the regular html text is found somewhere on their website?

NorthBound Magazine in PDF

White House Easter Egg Hunt on Acid

Somebody please tell me that acid was dropped in the White House water supply. There is no other explanation for the surrealism of this clip.

Jerusalem Syndrome

Christian nutcases visiting Jerusalem sometimes flip out and go nuts under Biblical inspiration. Sounds somewhat like the swimming incident in Rangoon, where a Missouri Mormon swam across Inya Lake to warn Aung San Suu Kyi that she was under threat of assassination, and oh, could I take a videotaped interview? She should have thrown his sorry, crazy ass back in the lake and called security. Now she faces a bogus trial intended to keep her under house arrest another five years.

Sexual Slavery Tolerated in Singapore

I have no problem with voluntary prostitution; if a woman wants to rent out her body for financial gain, who am I to judge? When pimps get involved, then I get angry, since the situation has crossed from voluntary to slavery. But it mostly pisses me off when girls are abducted, forced into performing sex acts, under the watchful eye of officials and governments. You'd hardly find a more shocking example than in moralistic Singapore, as noted today in the opinion section of The Bangkok Post.

In the jargon of those who fight against human trafficking, Thailand is a "source, transit and destination" country for those tricked or forced, or both, into slavery.

Singapore, however, is a "destination" country for victims. That's logical: there is much more trafficking within poor countries and much more trafficking to richer nations.

Most human trafficking involves women and most of it concerns sex. A recent report by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime estimated that 79% of human trafficking worldwide was for sexual exploitation. And most of the people in charge of the trafficking are women.

In this manner, a Thai woman a little while ago went to Singapore. She thought she would work in a restaurant. Instead, she found herself working above the restaurant, locked up and forced against her will to provide sex to customers, as many as 10 a night. She cannot leave; nor can the dozens of Thai women locked up with her.

In Bangkok, this young woman worked as a bar girl. She was paid for sex but at least she had some ability to choose when and with whom. In Singapore, she is being raped, repeatedly.

Kidnapping, imprisonment and rape are crimes, no matter what the standing of the victim. She has no idea where she is but wherever it is, she and her sister sex slaves are under guard.

But she was able to get a message out to an American friend before her mobile phone went dead. Her case is now being investigated by the Thai authorities.

Thailand at least has systems for helping trafficking victims, both domestically and internationally and they are rated well by the US State Department, which reports each year on human trafficking.

Singapore's approach is less benign.

If prostitution is the oldest profession, sexual slavery would be one of the oldest crimes. In areas of Bangkok, and places like Pattaya, commercial sex is part of the drive-by scenery. In some cases (such as Eastern European women in Pattaya) sex trafficking is involved.

But in Singapore, it seems, the brothel owners imprison their sex slaves.

This does not match the Singapore brand. Singapore is a modern, cosmopolitan country. It is clean, tidy and efficient. Its people are well-educated and multi-lingual. But it also tolerates sexual slavery.

The US State Department said in its 2008 report on human trafficking: "Singapore is a destination country for women and girls trafficked for the purpose of labour and commercial sexual exploitation. Some women from India, Thailand, the Philippines and the People's Republic of China who travel to Singapore voluntarily for prostitution or work are subsequently deceived or coerced into sexual servitude."

Singapore is also a country governed by the rule of law. The report noted that Singapore had strict laws against sex trafficking, including imprisonment, fines and caning. Yet somehow the rule of law does not extend to sexual servitude.

The US State Department noted that Singapore's Ministry of Home Affairs received and investigated 28 reports of human trafficking in 2007-2008. "One case remains under investigation," it said. "...the others were closed due to lack of substantiating evidence."

That may suggest that Singapore does not have a serious problem with human trafficking. But one way of making sure a dirty problem stays under the carpet is to fail to collect the information.

Singapore has thousands of foreign prostitutes but are they sellers or victims? The Singapore government is making sure it does not have to answer that question.

"In 2007 the police arrested 5,402 foreign women for prostitution, who were generally incarcerated, then deported," the State Department said. "The number of trafficking victims among this group is unknown; however, government measures to proactively identify potential trafficking victims among this vulnerable population, if any, appear to have been limited."

This approach had two effects.

First, victims of trafficking, the State Department pointed out, were penalised for acts committed because they were sex slaves. Second, no one will know the scope of the trafficking problem because the government has no statistics. No information means, publicly, no problem.

Perhaps Singapore will investigate the case of the Thai women imprisoned in a lock-up brothel. Or perhaps not. The UN report on human trafficking, in the final sentence of its small chapter on Singapore, said: "No victims of trafficking in persons were identified or sheltered by State authorities."

Thailand Cracks Down on Donut Thieves

We all know that you are supposed to pay for all food items at 7-11 before you consume them, but sometimes hunger takes over and you eat the donuts before you reach the cashier. Don't try this in Thailand, where the police will be called, you will be hauled off to jail, and only the payment of $5000 to the police will speed up the date of your hearing. Remember, this is Thailand.

What else can Thailand possibly do to screw up their tourism profile?

The Telegraph reports on the latest stupid trick coming from the Land of Smiles.

A SYDNEY school teacher is the latest Australian tourist to reveal he was locked up in Thailand - after being accused of stealing a doughnut.

His story comes as mother-of-four Annice Smoel returned from the hot destination to be reunited with her daughters after spending four nights in jail accused of stealing a beer mat, and two other Australians have found themselves before UK courts for their behaviour on flights.

Sean Kearney told The Daily Telegraph yesterday he was lining up at a 7-Eleven store in Bangkok with two bottles of water and some doughnuts when he was taken by police for eating the doughnuts before he reached the counter about January 20 this year.

Mr Kearney said the store attendant phoned the police, who arrested him when he reached the counter with the empty doughnut packet. Mr Kearney, who teaches at Waverley College in Sydney's east, couldn't believe what was happening. "Within 30 seconds police turned up and they were at the register and at the door," he said.

"I told them that I had money to pay but they wouldn't listen."

Mr Kearney said he then tried to run from the officers, who later caught him and locked him up for 22 hours before his release. They alleged he stole the doughnuts and water, worth 40 baht ($1.47). "I told them I didn't steal anything but they didn't believe me," he said. "They wouldn't talk money with me until I apologised. It was like a respect thing.

"I was told if I paid police $5000 I could get an earlier court date and be released from jail. "Once I gave them the money I got my passports back and was allowed to leave."

Extortion in Phuket

And yet another hellish tourist experience from lovely Phuket. The Age provides a decent summary, though most of information seems cribbed from Land of Trails, the official blog of the two university students who were obviously extorted in Phuket. Phuket Post also just regurgitates the original story as posted on the blog, so I'll quote some of their post.

We left the house we were renting in Phuket to have dinner with some friends. At midnight our landlord called to tell us our house was on fire. We rushed back to find everything we owned a smoking ruin. We lost everything, including passports.

During the police investigation the cause, I was interrogated twice and my partner once. After a few weeks, we were informed that the cause had been determined: accidental electrical fire, probably as a result of the air conditioning unit.

Regardless of the first, we had already been planning to leave the county – we had bought our tickets and put in our 2 months notices at work – so we asked them if we were cleared to leave. They said we were, and without any problems we were stamped out of the country.

A month after we left and unbeknownst to us, the original investigator on the case was transferred and the new investigator changed his conclusion, blaming the fire on a lit cigarette and holding us responsible. Though we had given all of our contact information and the police station was just a short drive up the road from my partner’s previous employer, no effort was made to contact us – no phone call, email, written notification in 21 months.

On April 9, along with our friend and my partner’s sister, we arrived in Bangkok for a two-week holiday. When our passports were scanned into the system at immigration a flashing red light went off above our heads and we were taken aside by immigration officers. After twenty minutes or so an officer informed us that we were wanted in Phuket. Of course we asked for details but apparently there was not a single immigration officer who spoke decent English. Eventually an officer called his girlfriend and she told us via his mobile that we were being detained in connection with the house fire and for fleeing the country.

Our passports were taken immediately and we were detained in an office while the immigration police called Phuket to find out more information. We were informed that we would have to be escorted to Phuket and that we would have to pay for the plane ticket for the officer to escort us, which cost 7,000 Baht. That was to be the smallest expense of the whole affair.

Upon our arrival in Phuket we were met by Phuket Provincial police officers in plain clothes and taken directly to Phuket Town Police Station. There we were once again not provided with a translator and not given any means of securing our own. In broken English we were told that we were being charged as criminals; though we were not told specifically what we were being charged with.

After witnessing conversations between several officers, none of which gave us any information, police told us they would have to “control us”, meaning lock us up in a holding cell and set bail at 100,000 Baht each.

At that moment we demanded to speak to the US Embassy. They told us that we were welcome to call the embassy on our phone, which, having been arrested within half an hour of arriving, we didn’t have. They refused to allow us to use their phone to make any phone calls. We were alone.

Demanding again to call the embassy, they said they would call for us. The officer quickly spoke to the duty officer in Thai then hung up – we were not allowed to speak to our embassy. After that we were put into jail cells. I was being held with two other cellmates while my partner was being held alone. The cells were dirty, hot and disgusting – infested with bugs and feces spread on the wall.

After an hour we managed to get the attention of the guard and with great difficulty we were able to make him understand that we wanted to make bail. About two hours later, a lawyer appeared, claiming he had been sent by the US Embassy. The lawyer said he would bail us out and charge us 20,000 Baht for his 10% service fee. Once we were released, we were to transfer 220,000 Baht to him immediately.

Luckily, we were bailed Friday, the day before Songkran, the Thai New Year, which meant that the entire legal system would be shut down for 5 days, leaving us in jail.

Since no effort was made by the Thai authorities to make the situation clear to us we were forced to fall back on our own resources to figure out what was going on. We found out that the charges against us were originating from our former landlord so we arranged to meet with him on the Friday, 17 April, one week after we had been detained. We also arranged a translator, who had worked with a friend of ours.

During that meeting he claimed he didn’t want anything from us. Confused but relieved we agreed to go to the police station so that the situation could be cleared up. However, once we were all at the station, the landlord reversed his position. He demanded that we pay him 1.5 million baht to cover the cost of repairing the house. Despite the fact that he is very successful and well-to-do business owner and my partner and I are just students, he was adamant that we pay.

After hours of attempts to negotiate and plead our desperation and lack of money, we were only able to get him to agree to 1.3 million Baht, or 37,000 US Dollars. Until we paid this, we would not be given our passports.

During this meeting we also found out that our first lawyer had been trying to rob us. His first falsehood was that he had been sent by the embassy. Though the US Embassy told us that they do not send lawyers; they only send a list. The second lie that he told us was that we would only get our 200,000 Baht in bail back if we fought the case in court and won. When we told the police that they laughed in our faces. The only thing the police needed for us to be bailed was a signature from a lawyer. But who contacted the lawyer in the first place? The police.

.
See the link above to the blog for the conclusion.

Tough Times in Korea

Economic times are tough around the world, but at least this begger in Korea had the sense to employ the help of his dog and cat. The begging dog I can understand, but I never realized that cats beg by laying on their backs and spreading their legs. Throw that cat some doggie meat!

Tattoo Suggestion for Females Traveling to China

Western female travelers heading to China in search of the perfect tattoo might enjoy the calligraphy above, which means "Love Lasts Forever." Nice sentiment and a very simple tattoo that takes little time and doesn't cost too much. A memorable souvenir of your visit to China.

Japanese Creations: Lego Yamato and Bizarre Beetle Robot Car

You'd think a nation this creative could work their way out of the current recession. But then their last recession lasted an astonishing 10 years before it backed off. Short break, then on to the current crisis.

Color Photos of Old China

Rare color photos of pre-revolution China at Secret China.

Thaksin Raps

Some clever Thai has created a YouTube video of poor Thaksin attempting to speak English, then moves on to the Thaksin Rap. Funny stuff. Highly recommended.

Komodo Dragon Kills with Venom, not Mouth Bacteria

Well folks, I was wrong about the Komodo Dragon in Indonesia, as well was Bill Dalton in his Indonesia Handbook, and damn near everybody else who believed the big baby killed with bad bacteria in his mouth. Al Jazerra has the details.

The Komodo dragon, the world's largest lizard, has a snake-like venom in its bite which sends victims into shock and stops their blood from clotting, Australian research has shown.

It has been previously believed by scientists that bacteria in the carnivorous lizard's mouth helped kill its prey.

But researchers using magnetic resonance imagery uncovered venom glands containing a shock-inducing poison which is said to increase blood flow and decrease blood pressure.

Bryan Fry, the lead researcher from the University of Melbourne, said on Tuesday that computer imaging showed it used a "grip and rip" pulling manoeuvre to tear deep wounds, similar to a shark.

Fry surgically removed a venom gland from a terminally ill Komodo at Singapore Zoo for the study, and said it contained a toxic poison which would induce strong stomach cramps, hypothermia and a drop in blood pressure.

The SF Chronicle via AP has some background on recent attacks by Komodos on the local villagers. Plus funny comments, including a reminder that publisher Phil Bronstein was once bitten on his footsie when he got too close to one of the animals.

Komodo dragons have shark-like teeth and poisonous venom that can kill a person within hours of a bite. Yet villagers who have lived for generations alongside the world's largest lizard were not afraid — until the dragons started to attack.

The stories spread quickly across this smattering of tropical islands in southeastern Indonesia, the only place the endangered reptiles can still be found in the wild: Two people were killed since 2007 — a young boy and a fisherman — and others were badly wounded after being charged unprovoked.

Komodo dragon attacks are still rare, experts note. But fear is swirling through the fishing villages, along with questions on how best to live with the dragons in the future.

Main, a 46-year-old park ranger, who like many Indonesians goes by a single name, was doing paperwork when a dragon slithered up the stairs of his wooden hut in Komodo National Park and went for his ankles dangling beneath the desk. When the ranger tried to pry open the beast's powerful jaws, it locked its teeth into his hand.

"I thought I wouldn't survive... I've spent half my life working with Komodos and have never seen anything like it," said Main, pointing to his jagged gashes, sewn up with 55 stitches and still swollen three months later. "Luckily, my friends heard my screams and got me to hospital in time."

Komodos, which are popular at zoos in the United States to Europe, grow to be 10 feet (3 meters) long and 150 pounds (70 kilograms). All of the estimated 2,500 left in the wild can be found within the 700-square-mile (1,810-square-kilometer) Komodo National Park, mostly on its two largest islands, Komodo and Rinca. The lizards on neighboring Padar were wiped out in the 1980s when hunters killed their main prey, deer.

Though poaching is illegal, the sheer size of the park — and a shortage of rangers — makes it almost impossible to patrol, said Heru Rudiharto, a biologist and reptile expert. Villagers say the dragons are hungry and more aggressive toward humans because their food is being poached, though park officials are quick to disagree.

The giant lizards have always been dangerous, said Rudiharto. However tame they may appear, lounging beneath trees and gazing at the sea from white-sand beaches, they are fast, strong and deadly.

The animals are believed to have descended from a larger lizard on Indonesia's main island Java or Australia around 30,000 years ago. They can reach speeds of up to 18 miles (nearly 30 kilometers) per hour, their legs winding around their low, square shoulders like egg beaters.

More great stories from the SF Chron about Komodo Dragons here. Yes, the great Komodo Dragon attack on Phil Bronstein is included in this Chron search.

Suicide Jumper Pushed off Bridge in China

China Smack provides new information about the incident which shocked the world, including possible motivations of the seriously disturbed man who pushed the suicide jumper off a bridge. Photos above show the pusher saluting the crowd, the suicide jumper hitting a steel beam on the way down, and the initial confrontation on the bridge in Guangzhao.

BBC Asia-Pacific News provides the background.

A man threatening to commit suicide by jumping from a Chinese bridge was approached by a passer-by who shoved him over the edge, local media say. Lai Jiansheng, 66, said he was fed up with the desperate man's "selfish activity" which caused huge traffic jams in Guangzhou, southern China.

Chen Fuchao fell 26ft (8m) on to an air cushion and is recovering in hospital, the official Xinhua news agency said. Xinhua said Mr Lai was "taken away by police", but gave no further details.

The drama unfolded when Mr Chen climbed on to Haizhu Bridge in Guangzhou on Thursday and threatened to jump. He told police he wanted to kill himself because he was 2m yuan ($293,000 or £184,000) in debt following a failed construction project, the China Daily reported.

Traffic around the bridge was stopped for five hours while officers tried to coax Mr Chen to safety. Retired soldier Mr Lai at first volunteered to try to talk Mr Chen down but was turned away by police, Xinhua said. Mr Lai is said to have then broken through the police cordon, climbed to where Mr Chen sat, greeted him with a handshake - and then pushed him off the edge. Pictures in the China Daily show him saluting to the crowd after Mr Chen fell on to the partially filled emergency air cushion.

"I pushed him off because jumpers like Chen are very selfish," the newspaper quoted Mr Lai as saying. Their action violates a lot of public interests. They do not really dare to kill themselves. Instead, they just want to raise the relevant government authorities' attention to their appeals."

Mr Chen is said to have suffered spine and elbow injuries and is recovering in a Guangzhou hospital.

The bridge has gained a macabre reputation, attracting at least 12 would-be suicide jumpers since the start of April, according to the China Daily report. None of the 12 has jumped, although each has held up traffic for several hours, it said.

The quick incident was filmed by a local TV station, then, of course, posted on YouTube:

Political Murders in the Philippines

Bulatlat (verb to investigate) is a very liberal or leftist website that covers all the heavy issues coming from the Philippines, a very good site if you're looking this kind of news. One of the more unique angles is that many of the stories are covered via slide shows or movies, which breaks up the monotony of just still images and text. They recently covered an event in Germany that points out some shocking statistics about political killings in the Philippines since the election of Arroyo in 2001.

What would be your guess about the number of recent political murders in the Philippines? 59? 116? 212? Guess again, then read the press release published on Bulatlat.

Buffeted by heavy rain and gusty winds, more than 200 visitors of the German Kirchentag took about seven hours until they were able to light one candle for each of the 1015 victims of political killings in the Philippines.

“Though it is not new to us, we are shocked by the number of victims the candles reveal,” said Hannah Wolf, spokesperson of the German-Philippine initiative “Sumabay Tayo! Walking Together – for Justice. “In fact sheets the numbers seem so abstract. The candles are the first to give an idea of about how many individuals were actually killed, how many more are left to mourn, are traumatized and hungry for justice. To no one of these 1015 victims has justice been served. It is horrific.”

The protest called attention to the murders of more than 1000 persons who have been summarily executed since 2001 under the administration of Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. Organizers had earlier planned to light 1,009 candles but raised the number as they received reports of six more deaths. Among them were deaths in the central Philippine islands of Panay and Negros. The action was part of the Kirchentag, the biennial German Protestant Church gathering,[1] which was held from 20 to 24 May. Based on the Kirchentag theme “Mortal, where are you? (Genesis 3:9),” the initiative “Sumabay Tayo!“ called especially on Christians to act according to their faith and to stand for justice.

Bulatlat

Crown Prince Flies Commercial Plane

That's the Crown Prince of Thailand and the commercial plane he recently flew after the required 1000 hours of inflight training led by notorious commercial jet pilot John Travolta. The curious thing about this photo is that other crew members have had their legs amputated below the knees. I don't known why the CP would order such action, but the CP might have difficulty finding fresh staff for his next flight. Hey! How about those legless beggers on Sukumvit?

Jack Daniels Interview from Bali

Anyone involved with Bali tourism probably knows about the dapperly dressed gentleman above, Mr. Jack Daniels, who co-owns Bali Discovery Tours and publishes the highly useful, weekly, Bali Update. I've mentioned Jack several times before, and haven't met him yet, but he's probably among the most informed Westerners in the world on the current status of tourism in Bali.

Bali News Interview with Jack Daniels

The Smoel Arrest in Phuket

During my recent computer problems, I missed a few interesting stories coming out of Thailand, including this one about a Ms. Smoel from Australia who allegedly attempted to steal a "bar mat" from the Aussie Bar on Soi Bangla in Phuket. She was arrested, threatened with five years in prison for her crime, kept in jail for four days. Then some cooler heads up in Bangkok intervened, and Ms. Smoel was given a small fine, released and she's now back in Australia, reunited with her four children.

The above photos include Ms. Smoel, a sample of a "beer mat" (which sells for some $50!), and the Aussie Bar on Soi Bangla in Phuket. Anyone who has been to Phuket has certainly walked past that centrally located bar in the heart of Patong.

Thai 360 Forum has an informative discussion about the event, from those who believe the entire affair is yet another embarrassment to Thailand, to the habitual right-wing nutcases who haunt most of the Thai forums.

Modem Problems

Sorry for the lack of posts lately, but I've been having some serious problems with my modem, which shuts off and turns back on at unpredictable times. I called ATT Broadband today and it's working again, but who knows?

Westerners Murdered in Thailand

CDNN provides a list of recently murdered foreigners in Thailand. Visit the website for hotlinks to stories.

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PHUKET, Thailand (8 May 2009) — A Swiss woman was found dead on a beach in Krabi where she may have been strangled and robbed. Edith Jungen, believed to be in her 30s, was found in shallow water on Noppharat Beach in Tambon Ao Nang in Krabi's Muang district.

According to unconfirmed reports, Jungen was found with the strap of her handbag tied around her neck as if she had been strangled to death. Police said the victim checked in to the Andaman Sunset Hotel on Tuesday and checked out a day later. Her body was found near the hotel. Witnesses told police Jungen had been upset and feared that she would be attacked.

Tourist murders

While the mainstream media continues to promote Thailand as a holiday paradise, violence against tourists, especially women, has increased sharply in recent years.

In March, a British tourist was murdered on his sailboat.

Last January police arrested a local Thai man for the murder of a German woman who was killed during a full moon party on a beach in southern Thailand.

In 2007, two young female tourists were murdered on the beach in Pattaya.

In January 2006, two Thai men were convicted of raping and killing 21-year-old British tourist Katherine Horton on Koh Samui.

The next day, a Swedish woman who was visiting Thailand with her husband and children, was also raped on Koh Samui.

Phuket Deaths and the Thai Legal System

Phuket Wan wants to know why mysterious deaths and accidents are rarely investigated in Thailand, such as the One Two Go airline crash last year, the scuba boat disaster and few months ago, and now the deaths of two young travelers last week. Cover up, incompetence, or the need to protect the tourism industry? I'd say, probably a combo of all three.

WE ARE no closer to knowing what killed two young tourists in strange circumstances on Phi Phi, and we hope the answer comes soon.

One important aspect that springs from the Laleena Guesthouse tragedy is the need for people to know precisely what took place, as soon as possible. In some quarters within the tourism industry in Thailand (and elsewhere) the first reaction probably still is to keep the truth from the public.

Phuketwan has been told more than once that an article should not be written '' because if this gets out, it will damage the tourism industry.'' Well, that just isn't so. What's far more damaging is when people are not told the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but.

The best philosophy for authorities everywhere these days is to come up with answers as soon as possible, and to act to make sure that the mishap is not repeated. It has to be said, though, that on recent experience, there are still authorities at all levels who seem to ascribe to the misguided ''Tell Them Nothing'' theory. This applies often in small communities of the Phi Phi kind, where the instinct seems to be to say nothing for the collective good of the local industry.

We are not suggesting this is the case in Phi Phi right now, only that the cover-up still seems to be viewed as a satisfactory solution by some similar communities. As a matter of course, an almost constant stream of comments and emails comes our way, suggesting that Phuketwan is in league with the devil and bent on destroying tourism.

We are not. We want Phuket and the Andaman region to prosper, but we are sure prosperity will only come with the gradual adoption of international standards of safety and security for residents and visitors. That's why we paid such close attention to the discovery of deadly box jellyfish in the region, and were pleasantly surprised to see the local reaction. Instead of trying to pretend there was no potential problem, hoping the box jellyfish would simply go away, Phuket's marine biologists raised the issue publicly. In doing so, they won local government support for a coastal warning system. Along the way, the broader issue of water safety was raised, and prevention of drownings now seems to be being looked at in a much more practical way. The box jellyfish are being thoroughly researched, too.

Other issues, though, still need public explanations. The latest mysterious deaths on Phi Phi require answers quickly. Delay will lead to a decline in public confidence and a turn-off in tourism.

The strange point is that only people in those two rooms were affected, side by side, at a guesthouse where, according to all accounts, everything is kept scrupulously clean.

The Bangkok epidemiologist who did some on-site tests found nothing, or so he told us. He later told Phuketwan, however, that he was no longer able to comment, and that any response would have to come from his superior in Bangkok. When we called, the superior was not available.

While there may be a logical explanation for this, we can't help being reminded of other instances where the shining light of public disclosure has yet to penetrate.

Just two months ago, a dive boat sank off Phuket's west coast, and six tourists and the Thai cook drowned. Although the mishap raised some profound questions about the safety of everyone who travels on boats in the Andaman region, it is our impression that very few answers will ever be forthcoming. Why was there no weather warning? Why did the boat sink without a May Day call? Why did rescuers fail to send up a helicopter that would have found survivors rapidly? Was this boat, almost brand new, built to withstand Phuket's wildest weather? Eight weeks on, the insurance money has been paid to the dive company and a lone Phuket City policeman is continuing the investigation, along with his other duties.

In many parts of the world, there would have been an immediate public inquiry by a judge or a coroner, and all the important questions would have been asked and answered by now. The dive industry should be back with confidence, but it won't be until the safety of passengers can be assured.

Then we come to the big one, the crash of a One Two Go holiday flight at Phuket airport on September 16, 2007. Ninety people, many of them tourists, died. Forty survived. It seems hard to believe, but the full official account of what took place has yet to be released. It has been in the hands of the authorities in Bangkok for months now. Whenever we check, bureaucrats are ''still working on the final wording.'' Occasionally, responsibility for the report changes, from one department to another.

This crash took place at an airport, not in the jungle or at sea. The pieces were all there, along with the black boxes. There should be no delay. Meanwhile, survivors and the relatives of those who died are simply left to wonder, even though it is generally suspected that pilot error and bad weather played significant roles.

Would it be good to get that report out in public so the airline and the public can digest the information and move on? Yes, we think it would.

Will there still be unanswered questions and uncertainty for some time to come, following seven deaths, about safety on the seas in bad weather off Phuket? Yes, we think so.

Will the authorities tell us all as rapidly as they can about what caused the so-far unexplained deaths of the two tourists on Phi Phi? We hope so.

Another interview with Jill's boyfriend here. He is originally from the Bay Area, but now lives in Seattle.

An American Death on Ko Phi Phi

The article in Phuket Wan doesn't say much about the mysterious deaths of two young travelers in Phuket, who stayed at the same guesthouse, but the comments are spot on. First, a word from the fiancee of the Seattle girl.

I was Jills fiancee. For a doctor to say that she was drinking was ridiculous. Jill had been Ill since the afternoon. How could she have told nurse anything. She was unconcious by the time I got her to the hospital. This article makes me irate. There is a water treatment plant right next to the guesthouse. How coincidental for 3 people to have the same symptoms, 2 die and 1 in ICU. We stayed right next door to the Norwegian girls. There is a chemical that killed two girls and almost one more. I cant even begin to believe that this doctor would lie about jills case. Let me repeat. Jill had no alcohol that night. It had nothing to do with a hangover. I can not believe that anyone would make up such a lie.

Posted by ryan kells on Wednesday May 6, 2009 at 22:33

I think the bungalow is called leleena and the couple Ryan Kells and Jill St. Onge stayed in Room 4. The Norweigans were both girls. And it was Jill who first died while Ryan who also suffered a similar case survived. 24 hours or maybe earlier, a norwegian girl died.

Posted by D on Wednesday May 6, 2009 at 23:21

You might want to hold off on the drinking and drug references until you know more. Also, this article is poorly written.

Posted by Scumwatch.org on Thursday May 7, 2009 at 01:24

The facts of the 27 year old American, Jill St. Onge's death are documented here:
http://www.jillstonge.blogspot.com/

Posted by Anonymous on Thursday May 7, 2009 at 02:08

I am appalled at the manner in which the women, two of them dead, are essentially blamed for participating in their own demise by the doctor suggesting (and the reporter reporting) that alcohol was a common thread and that the women had been drinking. In addition to this being false (as per Jill's fiancee, who commented), it is inflammatory and a clear effort to steer attention away from the location and environment in which these people were made ill.

Posted by JP on Thursday May 7, 2009 at 05:48

The regular full moon parties on Phi Phi are notorious for drugs. And Phuket Wan is notorious for gratuitous sensationalism. Please, can we just stick to the story at hand?

Posted by matt on Thursday May 7, 2009 at 07:06

Mmmm, tourists drinking fruit juice and alcohol a common denominator? C'mon Thailand you can do better than that. So, if possibly there's a water plant emitting dangerous substances at a tourist destination, the Thai response is,
"Quick , look over there!"

Posted by Kim Elroy on Thursday May 7, 2009 at 08:53

"A spokeswoman for Sea Angel ferries, one of several companies that ply between Phuket and Phi Phi, said today that tourist arrival and departure numbers were normal." Nice to know that the most important factor - tourism isn't affected, YET.

Posted by MediaWatch on Thursday May 7, 2009 at 09:12

The guesthouse where they stayed was Laleena Guesthouse, see here: http://phi-phi.com/phiphi-forum/article.php?f=4&t=7317. To note, so far it is not conclusive that staying at this particular hotel was not just a coincidence, as police mentioned that they also ate at the same place.

Posted by jts on Thursday May 7, 2009 at 10:14

My heart goes out to the families of the victims in these cases. The bias and assumptions of the scientific community in this article are repulsive.

Posted by mlc on Friday May 8, 2009 at 09:29

"Anonymous", on May 7th stating that "The facts of the 27 year old American, Jill St. Onge's death are documented [on a blog]" is incorrect. Anything posted on it is not necessarily a fact. Rather, it is an opinion. Just because one writes something does not make it a fact. Blogs are notorious for presenting opinion, thoughts and hearsay as "fact". Far too many people are jumping far too quickly to far too many conclusions. The trend of opinion (from reading the above views) appears to be that the Thai authorities are colluding to cover something up and to blame people, suggesting - Lord help us - another Phuket/Thailand "conspiracy theory" giving people with too much time on their hands a reason to opine on subjects about which they know precisely b*gger all. Have opinions, but don't consider them fact.

Posted by Colin Pearson on Friday May 8, 2009 at 15:30

This article is offensive and factually inaccurate. I can't believe the editors allowed this to get published, it is irresponsible.

Posted by tk on Saturday May 9, 2009 at 04:11

The account from the Thai maid is here.

Another version from the fiancee of the dead American:

my name is Ryan, I was Jill's fiancee. We were staying at a guesthouse called laleena. I have to think that Jill died of a poison substance. We got our room about 11 in the morning. It was our first room with A/C in about a month of traveling through Asia. So we decided to just hang out in the room all day and catch up on some needed sleep. I am not a great sleeper, Jill on the other hand was awesome she could sleep anytime, anywhere. Aroun 1 o clock I was antsy so I went to go use the internet. I was gone about an hour. I went back to the room hung out with Jill for about an hour. We were both hungry so I decided I would go get us some food, so we could enjoy the A/C. I was gone about 45 minutes. I came beack we ate our food and hung out for another hour or 2. We then decided to go out walking around. Jill started saying she wasnt feeling that well (probably the burger) but being the trooper she was, we stayed out for a few hours. Ate some dinner , watched the sunset. Around midnight Jill said she was still feeling ill. She wanted to go lie down, but told me to stay out for a bit, cause we were hanging out with some new friends. I went back to the room at about 2 am, to find jill in some real pain. She started vomiting not too long after. I layed down in bed with her to try to comfort her. Probably 2 hours later, I started feelin very ill. I started vomiting. feeling dizzy. This is when I realized Jill was not doing well at all. She started turning blue. I ran outside grabbed a utility cart, briught it back, picked Jill up and put her in it. I ran all the way to the hospital. They started doing CPR to no avail.

I found out later that there is a water treatment plant right behind the guesthouse. I feel that jill was poisoned by a chemical from that plant. She spent about 5 more hours in the room than I did. She was just breathing in the fumes for so long. The only reason I did not get deathly ill, is that I kept getting these short breaks from the air in the room.

The next day, a woman from Norway died right in the room next door, her traveling companion was admitted to the ICU. All thrree of them had the exact same symptoms. That seems like a hell of a coincidence. I just want people to know to be careful of the Laleena guesthouse. Whatever is there it killed 2 people and put one in intensive care, in 2 days. That doesnt sound like food poisoning, and I doubt two A/C units started pumping in gas on the same day. There has to be something in the air from that water treatment plant..

And the report from the Bangkok Post:

KRABI - Two foreign tourists have died mysteriously and two others are seriously ill from unknown causes after holidaying on Phi Phi Island, the Phuket Gazette reported on its website on Thursday. The report speculation surrounds the circumstances of the deaths and the authorities had yet to make any official statements.

Press Attache at the US embassy in Bangkok, Michael Turner, told the Gazette that US citizen Jill St. Onge, 26, died on May 2, shortly after being taken to hospital by her boyfriend Ryan Kells, who also fell ill. Both tourists were vomiting severely before Miss St. Onge’s admission to hospital, the Gazette report said.

Her family have set up a blog website to publicise the story. Writing on that site, Mr Kells said he suspected the air conditioning in their hotel room was responsible for making them ill and believes he survived because he had spent less time in the room than Miss St. Onge.

The same room was rented to two Norwegian women the following day. Both developed the same symptoms. The Norwegian Ambassador to Thailand, Merete Brattested, confirmed that Julie Michelle Bergheim, 22, died on May 4 in Bangkok Hospital Phuket, the Gazette reported. Her friend was recovering at Bangkok Phuket Hospital.

Koh Phi Phi hospital director Dr Buncha Khakong said the cause of both deaths was being investigated by the Department of Disease Control in Bangkok. “I guessed something they consumed caused them to die but I cannot say clearly until we receive the lab results,” he said.

The hotel rented out the same death rooms the following day? The mind boggles. Finally, a video from the brother of Jill here.

My sister along with a Norwegian woman have died while staying in a beach cabin in Koh Phi Phi Don, Thailand. The deaths were fast and are being linked to poisoning.

My sister died on May 2nd (our time) while staying in her room. The place they stayed at rented the room out the next day to the two Norwegians. One of them died and the other is in Phuket in an ICU.

We set up a blog to post any info we get because my sister was loved by hundreds up and down the west coast and information is coming in slow. The link is http://jillstonge.blogspot.com

The only write up on these deaths I can find on the Internet was found using a Google Blog search. Here is the link to the article.
http://www.andamantimes.com/news/22-year-old-tourist-dies-at-phi-phi/

My sisters fiance is in Bangkok now with his family waiting for the autopsy and cremation to bring her back. I'm so Sorry Ryan.

Rob
robb1049@gmail.com

Turns out Jill has her own blog where she posted about her travels around SE Asia.

koh phi phi

hey hey! We're in koh phi phi right now. It's off the west coast of Thailand about a 2 hour boat ride from krabi. So amazing.

We got to krabi last week sometime, just drinking eating and living so cheaply and having a blast. Food, drink, good books, sun and warm waters... What else do ya need?have just been wondering why we don't live here. I've met a lot of teachers here, and after talking to them, I wonder how such an opportunity can exist, and why havn't I taken it. Ryan has also felt the calling, although his is to be a tuk tuk driver. Don't know if I've explained before but a tuk tuk is a scooter with a carriage attached for hauling people and stuff. A real perk to the job is you can hang a hammock up in it and sleep, if you feel like a nap. Seriously it's an untapped market to be an English speaking tuk tuk driver!

Well daydreaming aside we have a liitle under 2 weeks left.. Boo. Don't really know how I'm gonna be able to go grocery shopping and stuff without bartering! "2 dollars for a loaf of bread?! I give you 30cents, last price" and then when I walk away and they don't follow, I'll realize I'm home. So there's that, also speaking broken English with a mix of Thai and balinese, for the last two months, will be different too. Please feel free to correct my poor grammer when I get back.

We're on this island till Saturday, staying in a liitle straw lean-to, that has everything you need. From here we're going to Phuket. And then back to Bangkok to head home. I'll post a blog when I get to Bangkok to let y'all know the situation there. Sounds like it's melloed out. So do t worry(: love love!

Jill's Blog Blue Marble Trotter, Final Post

A memorial post by a friend of Jill here.

I had to force myself to sit down at the computer tonight to compose this blog, so I apologize in advance for what will probably be a rambler. For knitting readers, the only relation this will have is perhaps a loose theoretical concept of the unexpected ways in which the fabric of our lives knit together and often unravel. Other than that, I got nothing for you at this time.

In journalism, they say that you gotta start with the facts, so here's the best I can do with that: My long time friend, Jill St. Onge, died suddenly and tragically this past Saturday while on the last leg of a three month journey throughout South East Asia with her fiance Ryan Kells. The details of how she died are chronicled in a blog that her brothers have set up here so I will not go into further details on that.

It's the why of her death that we can't seem to get to the root of, partly due to the distance, foreign government's cover-up attitudes, diplomatic bullshit, and who knows what other mysterious factors. The St. Onges and the Kells are doing their best to get to word out with as much media coverage as possible in an effort to get some actual answers and to prevent future deaths (the day after Jill died, two other tourist staying in the bungalow next to them became ill with similar symptoms, one of whom died).

This all feels so surreal. I can't really even think of how to string together words to express my sorrow and love for this crazy and wonderful person. I've been friends with Jill since we were 12 (so that's like, what, three, four years? I'm bad with numbers) and we have joked over the years that when we're old and have outlived our partners we'll be the crazy ladies of the neighborhood sitting out on the porch together sippin' brews. I guess now I'll be going solo in my rocker.

We have had that kind of friendship in which time and distance never meant much of anything. Whether it had been one day or one year since we last saw each other, when we came back together it was like no time was lost at all. Hell, she's knew the stuff that great friendships are made of. I love that girl to no end and I'm struggle to come to terms with the fact that this is one distance that I won't be able to cross. I'm learning what a broken heart feels like.

I've often thought of Jill as one of those crystals that hang in a sunny window, taking the light and reflecting it in new and unexpected ways throughout the room. Jill does exactly that - shining a new radiance on everything and everyone that she comes in contact with. I know in my life she did wonders, teaching me how to let go and not feel like I always have to be in control, to enjoy the moments in life as they come without over-planning for the future. Life happens and for Jill that's no understatement.

With Jill there is always a sense of adventure. As kids exploring in the hills in her back yard, teens sneaking off to check out the "haunted" abandoned boys school, taking hour long road trips to check out some ska/punk band that we've never heard of, driving, just driving anywhere to see where we'll end up, moving cross country on a lark... there was no end to her sense of curiosity. The thing I learned with every Jill adventure, be it big or small, was that it's the journey, not the destination that counts. When she said that she was taking a three month vacation backpacking through South East Asia with just a loose itinerary and some money in her pocket, I wasn't surprised. With Jill, you learn to expected the unexpected.

I feel like there is so much more I could write - pages, in fact - about my dear friend and our 16 year friendship and yet I don't have the words right now. If I could, I'd post some pictures from over the years to fill in for my lost words. As it is, I don't have a working scanner nor do I have the heart to sift through all my old photo albums.

The Official Jill Memorial Blog

Phuket Lager Beer

What is wrong with this picture? Ever seen a bird like this in Thailand? I think not. And the famous cape on the SE coast has palms, but nothing like the giants here. The beer is brewed in Bangkok, not Phuket, under San Miguel management. And I'm sure it tastes like San Mig, which tastes like Coors Light.

I hope Andaman Times got some serious change for publishing this PR flack.

The local beer brand, Phuket Beer, is expanding and will be sold in more then 20 states in the US in 2010. An American distributor has become the exclusive distributor this week and sales are brisk.

Phuket Beer was founded in 2002 as a Thai beer that reflected the spirit and lifestyle of Phuket island. Tropical Beverage Company started producing the beer in 2002 at a Bangkok brewery. Since 2005 the production is managed by the Brewing Team at the San Miguel Brewery in Thailand under supervision of Tropical Beverage Company.

Economist Article on the Thai King

I thought the article was fairly harmless, but criticism of the Thai king in any form is prohibited in Thailand. So here it is from The Economist. The comments are excellent, both pro and anti-king.

SOMETHING of a hopeful trajectory was implied in The Economist’s report on the Friday coup of 1932. As Latin American countries replaced one junta with another, and as fascists moved Japan towards tyranny, our correspondent wrote (see article): “The Siamese revolutionaries are moving in the opposite direction—from absolute monarchy towards self-government.” Seizing power with no loss of life, a group of Westernised military officers had arrested the heir to the throne and the chief of police. The king had little choice but to accept the fait accompli: power was henceforth to devolve from an absolute monarchy to a parliamentary constitution. The feudal era was over.

If the correspondent had in mind something like the Dutch monarchy off shopping on their bicycles, in Thailand that vision got hijacked on the way to the supermarket. Today King Bhumibol Adulyadej, at 81 the world’s longest-reigning monarch, has actually accrued power over the years, and remains central to Thailand’s political chaos. This helps explain one bizarre episode among many in the country’s latest crisis. At a time when large-scale bloodshed seemed possible as the army confronted anti-government “red shirt” protesters in Bangkok, Thaksin Shinawatra, the prime minister deposed in a coup in 2006, gave a television interview. His voice quaking with emotion, and doubtless recalling the king’s famous televised carpeting of an army chief and a protest leader after a massacre in Bangkok in 1992, he beseeched “his majesty” to intervene again to end the showdown.

Yet Mr Thaksin, in exile and convicted in absentia of corruption, is accused by his opponents of being a closet republican. And he has indeed come close to criticising the palace, by demanding the resignation of two of the king’s privy councillors, widely assumed to be behind the 2006 coup. When “yellow shirt” protesters laid siege to the government led by Mr Thaksin’s loyalists late last year, they did so invoking the king’s name. Yet now even Mr Thaksin felt obliged to profess again his loyalty to the king, and to pay homage to his power.

Such regal influence was far from preordained when the king came to the throne as a stripling, the American-born son of a half-Chinese commoner. He and his image were moulded by palace advisers and by successive military governments. They saw how useful it would be to have a figurehead depicted as not merely beyond reproach but very nearly divine, for the king’s blessing could then legitimise what otherwise would look awfully like any old Latin American junta, in Thailand’s case backed by business cronies and the Bangkok elite. The need helps explain why a king held supposedly in wonder by his subjects warrants one of the world’s most draconian laws against lèse-majesté. The king has been not just a figurehead for Thailand’s elites, but a source of patronage and power in his own right, with destabilising consequences, especially now his reign is in its fumbling twilight. He has long bestowed honours in exchange for donations to his good causes. The causes may benefit his beloved rural poor, but the patronage system perpetuates royal influence.

Mr Thaksin’s innovation was to use the impressively democratic constitution Thailand adopted in 1997 to invent a new politics that transformed the old system of retail, local, vote-buying into a wholesale machine that spread patronage nationwide. Policies of universal health care, microcredit and the like only strengthened the machine. Thus Mr Thaksin became the only prime minister in Thailand’s fitful democratic history to serve out his full term. But the old elite felt threatened as his autocratic leadership and popularity seemed to challenge the king’s authority.

Thai culture blends Buddhism, spirit beliefs and rampant materialism. Power and potency come in many fluid forms. But as Andrew Walker and Nicholas Farrelly of Australian National University put it, Thailand’s elite is less conceptually adroit, calculating power in zero-sum terms. The junta that ousted Mr Thaksin claimed his policies flouted the king’s notions of a “sufficiency economy”, rooted in traditional notions of harmonious village life and perfect hierarchy, which they then incorporated into a new constitution. The junta, quickly making a mess of governing, allowed an election. But convenient court rulings helped bring down two successive pro-Thaksin governments.

Abhisit’s chance

Mr Thaksin’s wealth has been impounded. And his call, at the height of the crisis, for a revolution is now viewed by many Thais as criminally irresponsible. So Mr Thaksin is on the back foot. But the monarchy may be in deeper trouble. Some red shirts this week lamented that, if King Bhumibol is against the leader they keep voting for, he must be against them too. The king is old and frail. His successor, Crown Prince Vajiralongkorn—spoilt, oft-wed and demanding—is much disliked. The monarchy’s carefully fostered image could crumble overnight.

Protecting it is partly the task of Abhisit Vejjajiva, Thailand’s present prime minister. He rode to office, unelected, thanks to the yellow shirts. Mr Abhisit says he is a reformer, who will heal divisions. He handled the red-shirt chaos with firm restraint. The king, it is said, has taken rather a shine to the 44-year-old, schooled at Eton and Oxford. Our correspondent in 1932 would have put him firmly among the “rather exotic Westernised intelligentsia” in the post-coup government. He would doubtless have relished the paradox that such an urbane, cosmopolitan figure is now the front for a regime that in essence owes its power to a feudal monarchy. Mr Abhisit lacks both influence and legitimacy. To earn both, he will need to face the voters. Indebted to the royalists who brought him to power, he is unlikely to encourage debate on the monarchy’s future. But if he did so, Thailand and perhaps the royal family itself would have reason to thank him in the long run. In its present role, the monarchy is standing between Thailand and not just political harmony, but modernity itself.

Website News: Thai Government Blocks Political Prisoners in Thailand

Not really surprising, but the Thai government which currently blocks over 5000 websites, has cracked down on Political Prisoners in Thailand, as reported today in FACT.

This afternoon it appeared that the new freedom of expression and human rights website Political Prisoners in Thailand http://thaipoliticalprisoners.wordpress.com/ had been blocked. A telltale sign was that the PPT site could be reached by VPN and proxy but not directly, returning a browser network error.

This is the real problem with Internet censorship in Thailand. The censors hide their censorship so the public never knows if a website is really blocked or not or what is really illegal content. In any case, PPT is accessible again for the moment. Were the site blocked, the cybercrime law requires a court order which is usually also kept secret from the very citizens who pay for the operations of both courts and ministry.

We thought this most probably due to PPT’s commentary and link to a pseudonymous article in the venerable (founded in 1937), leftish UK’s Tribune Magazine http://www.tribunemagazine.co.uk/ (not affiliated with the International Herald Tribune) whose editors have included George Orwell. The title of the article itself and its content are scurrilous, demeaning, damaging, derogatory, defamatory and clear lese majeste.

However, the author, of course, has a right to his opinion, however misguided, and Tribune Magazine to provide a platform for sensationalist rubbish.

Thai censors should note FACT did not link to the offending article itself but merely to its hosts. Although the point has yet to be tested in law, it would seem merely linking to illegal content is not in itself illegal under the Computer Crimes Act.

Thailand’s censorship will, once again, merely create a wide audience here from human curiosity. The content, if unacknowledged, would simply die a natural death by attrition.

To save the trouble of clicking around to find the original article, here it is. Rather simplistic, but it's just somebody's opinion about the influence of the king on the Thai political landscape, an issue better explored in last month's Economist.

Fear and loathing marks Thailand’s malicious monarchy
May 7, 2009
Thailand’s monarchy is an affront to democracy. James Anstruther reports on how King Bhumibol Adulyadej crushes all dissent

THE King of Thailand, Bhumibol Adulyadej, is apparently thinking about going on a state visit to India. This is unusual, as the 82-year-old monarch largely gave up on such foreign trips in the 1960s. Even before then, he only went to see allies who would be useful in the Cold War fight against the left. Thus, while he visited South Vietnam in 1959, he has never been to North Vietnam or even Thailand’s neighbours, Laos and Cambodia.

He is understood to feel that his dharma-raja, or kingly virtue, is required at home to protect his kingdom from unseemly division and tribulation – such as the political crisis that has been played out on the streets of Bangkok for the past three years. But he could be about to make an exception for India, which he previously shunned because of its left-wing politics and friendship with the Soviet Union.

It is from India that Bhumibol’s kingly virtue derives. He is regarded by his supporters as a personification of the Hindu god Narayana (an avatar of Vishnu). The Hindu tradition is overlaid on an otherwise Buddhist monarchy.

And there is much need of the king’s dharma at home. After all, there have been frequent coups since Bhumibol ascended the throne in 1946 following the death from gunshot wounds of his brother, who had been king for just three months. Bhumibol, who in common with many Thais is very keen on firearms, was in the palace at the time, but has never been publicly blamed for the shooting.

Not all of the coups since his accession have had the king’s approval. However, the most recent one, in September 2006 against Thaksin Shinawatra, the country’s only genuinely elected prime minister, most definitely did.

The king is usually described in Thailand as a constitutional monarch, but there have been 17 written constitutions since the supposed end of absolute monarchy in 1932. These constitutions usually specify a parliamentary system, but some have required a military dictatorship. But they all feature the semi-divine nature of the king and all include provisions for lèse-majesté – a ban on insulting or even criticising the monarch, his immediate family or the institution itself.

In recent years, it has never been the king himself who institutes lèse-majesté proceedings, as this can safely be left to politicians, generals or even members of the public. The accusations come in vast numbers and the police are required to investigate all such tip-offs, however petty they may seem. The minimum sentence is three years in prison. While only those cases featuring unfortunate foreigners are widely reported abroad, jail sentences for Thai citizens committing lèse-majesté are usually harsher than those for foreigners.

Bhumibol was born in the United States while his father was studying at Harvard. He spent the Second World War at school in Switzerland. To act as his latest prime minister he has turned to another foreign-born Thai, the 44-year-old Abhisit Vejjajiva, the son of a Wallsend doctor. Abhisit, who was educated at Eton and Oxford, is apparently a good friend of Boris Johnson – although it is difficult to say which of the two has more to be ashamed of here.

Thaksin, the prime minister overthrown by the last coup, was the country’s first modern politician. He actually went campaigning for votes rather than politicking in Bangkok drawing rooms. His was the only government ever to have had an absolute majority in parliament, and it brought in a series of highly popular measures to alleviate rural poverty. Thaksin set up the country’s first universal healthcare programme.

A former policeman who had become a billionaire businessman, Thaksin has a little reminiscent of Italy’s Silvio Berlusconi about him and his policies were not always well thought-through. His highly confrontational actions against Muslim separatists in four southern provinces, along with a violent and unrestrained anti-drugs campaign, led to many avoidable deaths. But he was hugely popular in the countryside, with his triumphant re-election in 2005 attracting the highest voter turnout in Thai history.

It was not his policies that led to Thaksin’s downfall. In fact, it was his very popularity that sealed his doom. As he could not be beaten at the polls, a coup was only way to get rid of him. The generals accused him of corruption and, of course, lèse-majesté. His travels around the country in search of votes were making him popular. And being popular was the role of the king, not a politician, a mere commoner and particularly not of someone with Chinese blood. This meant he wanted to overthrow the king and set up a republic – or so it was claimed.

The generals ruled by themselves for more than a year, before establishing yet another constitution and holding new elections. They banned Thaksin’s party, but its successor grouping still managed to win.

The new government was under persistent attack from far-right royalist thugs and was harried from pillar to post. Eventually, a few of its parliamentary supporters were bought off. Reports suggest that some of them might have received payments of $3 million each to switch sides. And so Abhisit, the 44-year-old Old Etonian, was appointed premier. The party he leads, the Democrats, is Thailand’s oldest, having been established in 1946 to champion the cause of Thai royalty.

Since the coup, Thaksin has been on the run from Thai prosecutors and their army backers, who have convicted him in his absence. Nominally because of that conviction, he was banned from visiting Britain after the Thais applied diplomatic pressure. What, you might ask, was the concept of political asylum invented for?

Thaksin, who now travels on a Nicaraguan diplomatic passport, has been seen in places such as Hong Kong and Dubai, from where he speaks by video-link to vast crowds of his Thai supporters, who are demanding fresh elections to choose a government with a genuinely popular mandate.

They are unlikely get these elections until the present government finds some way of preventing Thaksin’s allies from winning. Meanwhile, the supposedly pro-business Democrat regime presides over a downward economic spiral.

But the elderly king cannot last forever. Might his successor usher in a new era of calm, democracy and prosperity? That is very unlikely. Like so many of the Thai elite, the heir to the throne, the thuggish Vajiralongkorn, now aged 56, went to a fee-charging school in England – Millfield, which has “non-academic” selection criteria.

He is loathed and feared throughout Thailand – although he, too, is covered by the lèse-majesté laws. He is going to need them.

James Anstruther is a journalist who worked in Thailand until recently. This is an assumed name.

Come On Thailand! Only No. 5 on Internet Censorship.

Not surprisingly, Thailand is quickly rising in the ranks of countries which censor the internet, as noted by FACT, Freedom Against Censorship in Thailand. Here is their write up, not without some humor. In fact, censorship issues are always dry and boring, so it's good to see someone have fun with this very serious issue.

[FACT comments: For the first time, Thailand has appeared in the list of top five countries imposing Internet censorship on their citizens. This is due to the fact that Herdict reporting software is being used intensively to provide accurate monitoring. Presumably, FACTsite is somewhere on that list! It should give Thai govt with all its pretensions of democracy to fall into an elite censorship club, just behind Iran, China, Moldova, and the United States (for reasons of copyright protection).]

Friday Top 5: Most Reported Countries (Inaccessibility)
Jillian C. York
Herdict: May 8th, 2009

http://www.herdict.org/blog/2009/05/08/friday-top-5-most-reported-countries-inaccessibility/

As we now know, Internet filtering is no longer limited to the usual suspects (China, Iran, Burma); Herdict has allowed us to get wind of new filtering across the world, in places the OpenNet Initiative has never even tested. That is why this week we’re bringing you the top 5 countries reporting inaccessibility!

1. Iran comes in at #1 with 63 reports of inaccessible sites. While that’s not so surprising (after all, Iran is frequently marked by human rights groups as an “Internet enemy“), it’s interesting to note that the most reported sites are all news-related. BBC Persian, Iran Press News, and others are all trending this week.

2. China, always a high-ranking censor of the Net, is #2 on our list this week. While the inaccessibility of such sites as YouTube, Tor, and The Official Website of the Central Tibetan Administration might come as no surprise, 25 inaccessibility reports for The Huffington Post just might.

3. Moldova, for which the OpenNet Initiative found no signs of filtering in 2007, comes in third this week, with 45 reports of inaccessibility. Sites reported included Moldovan Jurnaltv (an “Internet TV” site which has been reporting on Moldova’s recent uprising), Facebook (only on some ISPs), and Unimedia, a Moldovan news site.

4. United States comes in at #4, with the top reported sites all cases of geolocational filtering (also known as reverse filtering) such as Scenta.co.uk (which limits the site to UK users) and Abc.net.au (which is accessible but prohibits users outside of Australia from viewing videos for copyright reasons). In addition to these cases, there are a number of sites such as Facebook being reported as inaccessible from workplaces or public cafes.

5. Rounding out the list at #5 is Thailand, where the most-reported sites are blogs and social media platforms, such as this Ning group, which is an organizing platform for members of Thailand’s red shirt movement.

Jillian C. York is the Project Coordinator for the OpenNet Initiative and part of the fantastic Herdict Team. She created most of the textual content on the site, so if you spot something funny, let her know! She’s also the face behind the @Herdict Twitter feed.

New Bangkok Website

Here's a new and very useful website with tons of information about Bangkok:

Durian Seed