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Jonathan Fairfield
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Those Who Would Remake Myanmar Find That Words Fail ThemBy THOMAS FULLERYANGON, Myanmar — It’s the dawn of democracy in Myanmar. If only the Burmese had their own word for it.As this former dictatorship opens to the world, language is a stumbling block.For half a century, Myanmar was so cut off from the outside world that people were jailed for owning an unauthorized fax machine.As the rest of the world was hurtling into the information age, the strict censorship of publications, limited access to global media and creaking connections to the Internet stunted the evolution of the Burmese language, leaving it without many words that are elsewhere deemed essential parts of the modern political and technical vocabulary.Today, as Myanmar embraces change, many foreign words are being imported wholesale, but their meanings are getting lost in translation.
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The Lost Muslims of Myanmar - Bloomberg ViewThe refugee disaster that recently gripped Southeast Asia has waned, as countries in the region have taken in thousands of the migrants who had been abandoned at sea by smugglers.But the crisis can be expected to return when the monsoon season ends and Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar's coastal Rakhine state once again try to flee persecution by the Buddhist majority.Governments need to work quickly to stem another exodus.After all, the refugee problem in Southeast Asia lends itself to resolution -- unlike the one in the Middle East, where brutal civil wars show no signs of ebbing. Waves of Rohingya migrants have fled Myanmar twice before, in the 1970s and 1990s, only to return, albeit under less-than-ideal circumstances. The goal now must be to create conditions under which they can thrive at home.While the Burmese government bears primary responsibility for this task, the challenge transcends Myanmar. More than half of the migrants rescued in May were Bangladeshi Muslims fleeing poverty.
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As polls loom, Myanmar remembers independence hero on Martyr's DayYANGON | BY TIM MCLAUGHLIN AND HNIN YADANA ZAWThe Myanmar public got a glimpse into one of the country's darkest moments on Sunday as visitors were given rare access to the compound where Aung San, the country's independence hero and father of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, was killed.Aung San has remained a powerful force in Myanmar's politics in the 68 years since his death. His image has been used not only by his daughter but also her political rivals to give themselves legitimacy and gain popular support among a public that still largely reveres the fallen leader.As Myanmar heads toward a crucial election on Nov. 8, his image is poised to become a campaign tool among hopeful politicians.Security officers watched on Sunday as hundreds of visitors, some wearing black ribbons and carrying flowers, scrambled up staircases at the Secretariat building in Myanmar's largest city of Yangon and held their phones through broken windows to take pictures of the compound's sprawling courtyard.For most it was their first time inside the building that had been off limits to the public for decades.
-- Reuters 2015-07-20
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Myanmar's strongman gives rare BBC interviewBy Jonah FisherBBC News, Nay Pyi TawIs Senior General Min Aung Hlaing the most powerful man in Myanmar?Quite possibly.The commander-in-chief has control over how and where the army wages war, coupled with far reaching political powers.In accordance with the military drafted constitution the 59-year-old has the right to appoints key ministers, choose a quarter of the MPs in the parliament and - as events last month showed - the ability to block any attempt to erode that power.Getting an interview with him was not easy. For decades the Burmese army has regarded the foreign media, and the BBC in particular as an enemy of the state, too close to the pro-democracy movement.But there have now been four years of reforms and we've opened a bureau in Yangon. So, in hope rather than expectation we sent our letter off.The first response came back a month later. We'd fallen at the first hurdle having foolishly used the phrase "Burmese" rather than "Myanmar" army.Having remedied that there then followed a series of increasingly bizarre meetings.Read more: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-33587800
-- BBC 2015-07-20
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Email spam rate hits a twelve year lowEver since the advent of email, the most annoying thing about it is undoubtedly spam. These days, I receive more spam mail than ever before, and it seems to be getting worse. We’ve all had it – emails with adult links in, Russian dating sites, and African princes sending chain mails asking for money. It’s an unavoidable fact of using the Internet, unfortunately.
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Dozens of popular apps vulnerable to password hack
It was revealed today that some popular iOS and Android apps from Walmart, ESPN, Slack and SoundCloud are vulnerable to password cracking, according to AppBugs. The security company discovered that dozens of the most popular smartphone apps allow you to make any number of login attempts without any restriction. That means hackers can repeatedly guess the passwords and possibly gain access to your accounts.
Read more: http://tech.thaivisa.com/popular-apps-password-hack/12527/ -
Cambodia tycoon arrested amid outrage over attack of actressSOPHENG CHEANG, Associated PressPHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) — A Cambodian real estate magnate whose violent assault of a female TV star was captured on video was arrested Saturday, authorities said, in a case that has sparked national outrage.Sok Bun was charged with intent to commit violence and will be held at a Phnom Penh prison pending trial, said Gen. Sok Khemrin, chief of the Interior Ministry's penal division. The charge carries a penalty of up to five years in prison.The July 2 attack against actress and former TV host Ek Socheata, better known as Sasa, has prompted a national conversation about justice in the Southeast Asian country, where the wealthy often act with impunity and buy their way out of trouble.Sok Bun, 37, left the country after the video began circulating on the Internet last week. Police had said they believed he fled to Singapore, and Interpol issued a Red Notice, which is the equivalent of an international arrest warrant.He returned to Cambodia on Saturday, two days after Prime Minister Hun Sen called the attack "intolerable" and ordered him to return home and turn himself in.Sok Bun was met by police Saturday morning at Phnom Penh International Airport and escorted to the Municipal Court, where he was questioned for several hours before being charged. He was then driven to a prison on the capital's outskirts, said Sok Khemrin.Sok Bun is seen in the video repeatedly punching and kicking Sasa in the head in an assault that lasts about a minute, as his bodyguard points a pistol at the actress' head.Sasa, 28, has said she was protecting a friend from the drunken advances of Sok Bun, when he flew into a violent rage. The attack occurred at a Japanese restaurant in Phnom Penh and was captured by the restaurant's security cameras — and then obtained by Sasa, who posted the video online.Sok Bun issued statements last week through his lawyer to say he "deeply regrets what happened." He offered to pay Sasa $100,000 in compensation, which she declined, saying she wants to see him in court.
-- (c) Associated Press 2015-07-19
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Canadian expat attacked by knife wielding maniac in Bangkok
Victim Blake Sibbit fears crazed attacker could walk free
BANGKOK:-- A Canadian expat was forced to flee for his life after a man brandishing a large kitchen knife carried out an unprovoked attack outside a coffee shop in the Ekkamai district of Bangkok.
The terrifying incident took place last Wednesday (July 15) as Bangkok resident Blake Sibbitt was enjoying a coffee with his mother at the Coffee Club in Ekkamai.
Blake, who runs a real estate business, told Thaivisa.com via Facebook about the ordeal which left him in total fear for his life and needing medical treatment at the scene.
“It was completely unprovoked. My mother and I were catching up on the business day (we run a real estate company together), when a Thai guy walked up from the sidewalk, speaking to me in Thai that I didn't understand.
He grabbed my right arm with his left hand (me just curiously looking at him with the "what's happening?"/"I don't understand what you're saying" look) and with his right hand pulled a large kitchen knife out of his back pocket and immediately tried to plunge it into me.
I dodged the first stab by standing up quickly. He pulled back and tried again while at the same time I tried to grab his hand with the knife and caught the blade across my thumb and palm, taking some chunks out of me but not sinking in. He then pulled back and jabbed again as my mom and I ran towards Ekkamai.Judee, my mother took refuge at the front door of the Coffee Club, I turned up Ekkamai with him still chasing me with the knife in his hand."
Blake went onto explain how he yelled "get away, he has a knife" to a crowd of people waiting at a nearby bus stop.
“The crowd cleared when they saw him. The manager of the Coffee Club yelled at me to come inside. My mom was still standing in front of the door screaming, trying to draw attention.
We both went inside and a bunch of staff held the door closed while the guy with the knife tried to break the door with the knife and push his way in”, Blake added.
Unable to do so, Blake says the attacker walked around to the windows and stabbed at them with the knife. He then saw another foreigner sitting by a window and walked over and punched that window.
The ordeal only ended when a group of motorcycle taxi drivers and security guards apprehended the man, putting him in handcuffs until the police arrived.
The first of the emergency services on the scene were some medics who cleaned and dressed Blake’s injured hand.
Shortly after, officers from Thonglor Police Station arrived and took the attacker into custody.
Blake also went to the police station along with four witnesses: a Thai gentleman and his wife, a member of staff from the Coffee Club and Blake’s mother.
Once at the police station, Blake thought it would be a formality that the crazed knifeman would be charged for carrying out the attack.
Attacker to walk free?
However, after submitting his report to the police, Blake claims that one officer told him “there’s not enough evidence”.
This was despite having four witness reports, the weapon and the attacker in custody.
Blake later managed to obtain CCTV footage (below) of the incident and passed it onto the police the following day. Blake was also told he would need to submit a criminal medical report detailing his injuries.
He then went to a nearby Bangkok hospital to get a tetanus shot and have wound rebandaged.
However, Blake’s quest for justice was further delayed as the hospital allegedly told him that they could only provide him the document he requires on Sunday (July 19) as that is when the doctor who writes the reports will be on duty.
Frustrated, Blake returned to the police station to be told that his attacker was due in court on Friday (July 17) where the police were filing a request for a 6 day holding pending trial, which can be re-filed over and over for upto 30 days.
Blake also revealed that although police were unable to tell him the exact amount, they estimated that his attacker’s bail would be set somewhere in the region of 30,000 THB.
Speaking yesterday (Friday), despite being the victim of an attempted murder, Blake said he had received no further information regarding his case.
Concerned that his attacker may soon be released back onto the streets of Bangkok, Blake understandably wants to raise awareness about his ordeal and told Thaivisa.com that he doesn’t want a potential story “Crazed Knifeman Released Due to Not Enough Evidence” to become a reality.
All images for this story were supplied by Blake Sibbit.
-- 2015-07-18 -
Cambodian property tycoon arrested over alleged assault of female TV hostPhnom Penh Municipal Court - A team of police officers escorted business tycoon Sok Bun to Municipal Court Saturday morning, immediately after his arrival by plane from Singapore.
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Google shareholders revel in record 1-day windfall of $65.1BSAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Google’s stock roared out of a long slumber Friday to produce the biggest shareholder windfall in U.S. history as investors rewarded the Internet company for promising to curb its spending on risky projects.Read more: http://tech.thaivisa.com/google-shareholders-revel-in-record-1-day-windfall-of-65-1b/12519/
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Shareholders approve Samsung deal paving way for successionSEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Shareholders approved Friday a highly contested deal that strengthens the Samsung family’s grip on the world’s largest smartphone maker, sparking criticism that South Korea lacks sufficient protections for foreign investors and small shareholders.Read more: http://tech.thaivisa.com/shareholders-approve-samsung-deal-paving-way-for-succession/12521/
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C.D.L. Gala Night with Beach Fashion Show all to benefit Rescue Paws
HOT Magazine is thrilled to announce our C.D.L. Gala Night with Beach Fashion Show all to benefit Rescue Paws, a non-profit organization that feeds, sterilizes and looks after homeless and helpless street dogs in and around Hua Hin.
The event will be held at the Hua Hin Hilton Hotel's ballroom and will include a buffet dinner with free flow beer and wine, live music, beautiful models parading the latest beach fashions and great prizes to win via a raffle and auction.
This is a Black Tie event and prizes will be awarded for the Best Dressed Man and Woman. The evening will be heavily covered in the August issue of HOT Magazine as well as on our website and Facebook page.
Tickets are limited and just 1,200 baht. Reservations can be made by emailing [email protected]. Please let us know your name, telephone number and number of guest you are reserving for.
For those wanting to continue the party there will be an after party at the Saxophone Lounge until late with HOT specials to keep you going.
Join us for a really fun night for a really good cause, helping Man's Best Friend.HOT Magazine 2015-07-18
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Myanmar Villagers Stand United Against Coal PlantAfter a 10 hour overnight drive from Yangon, we finally arrive in Andin Village. It is starting to rain, turning the red dirt roads into mud, but we can't miss the large "No Coal" sign in Burmese, English, and Mon.Read more: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/841391-myanmar-villagers-stand-united-against-coal-plant/
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In Myanmar, Popular Brand-Name Garment Factories Aim To Defeat A 40-Cent Hourly Minimum WageBy Cole StanglerFactories in Myanmar that supply major Western clothing companies are fighting a government proposal to set the country’s first-ever minimum wage at roughly $3.25 a day.
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Citi and StanChart set to advise Myanmar on first credit ratingBy Lawrence WhiteHONG KONG, July 17 (Reuters) - Citigroup Inc and Standard Chartered Plc are set to advise Myanmar on its first credit rating, according to people with direct knowledge of the matter, paving the way for the country to issue its maiden international bond.
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In Myanmar, Garment Factories That Source Popular Brand-Name Clothing Retailers Aim To Defeat A 40-Cent Hourly Minimum WageBy Cole StanglerFactories in Myanmar that supply major Western clothing companies are fighting a government proposal to set the country’s first-ever minimum wage at roughly $3.25 a day.At the same time, the brands themselves -- Gap Inc. and H&M Hennes & Mauritz AB among others -- have declined to say where they stand on the proposed rate, which amounts to 40 cents an hour.The ongoing debate, pitting the government against a burgeoning export-driven garment-manufacturing sector, sheds light on the spectacular competitive pressures that define the global apparel industry. It also exposes a clear divide between the views of on-the-ground suppliers and the public assurances of brands they serve.In the last few years, top Western clothing retailers such as Gap, H&M, Marks and Spencer Group PLC and Primark Stores Ltd. have signed contracts with more than a dozen garment factories in Myanmar, the former British colony also known as Burma. The country emerged from decades of military dictatorship in 2011 and major U.S. and European sanctions shortly thereafter. It now offers some of the cheapest labor costs on the planet combined with easy access to Asian markets -- both attractive features for corporations looking to source low-cost, ready-made garments for export.
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Myanmar Villagers Stand United Against Coal PlantAfter a 10 hour overnight drive from Yangon, we finally arrive in Andin Village. It is starting to rain, turning the red dirt roads into mud, but we can't miss the large "No Coal" sign in Burmese, English, and Mon.Last May, the now empty football field hosted the latest in a series of protests against a proposed 1,280 MW coal-fired power plant from a Thailand-based Japanese company, Toyo-Thai Corporation (TTCL).The proposal also includes a massive new deep sea port to bring in coal from Indonesia and Australia to fuel the boilers.Nearly every house in the village has a "No Coal" sticker in the three languages-distributed as part of a survey of local opinions about the project. Out of 1300 households, we are told only one refused to place a sticker on their home.The rest display their opposition on their homes, cars and motorbikes.
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Citi and StanChart set to advise Myanmar on first credit ratingBy Lawrence WhiteHONG KONG, July 17 (Reuters) - Citigroup Inc and Standard Chartered Plc are set to advise Myanmar on its first credit rating, according to people with direct knowledge of the matter, paving the way for the country to issue its maiden international bond.After decades of isolation from international capital markets under military rule, Myanmar faces a widening current account deficit that could be bridged by borrowing once it has a credit rating from agencies such as Fitch, Moody's or Standard & Poor's.None of the big three agencies have currently assigned Myanmar a rating, which professional investors use as a benchmark of a country's ability to repay debt."Getting a credit rating is of the first importance for Myanmar, helping it to clean up its public finances," said Sean Turnell, a professor at Macquarie University in Sydney who has advised the U.S. Congress on Myanmar's economy."It's also important symbolically, sending the signal the country is...not the land of caprice it was so often in the past."
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Data leak reveals how much Thailand spends on hackingData leaked following the cyber attack on The Hacking Team has revealed that Thailand has used the services of the company.
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Data leak reveals how much Thailand spends on hackingBANGKOK:-- On July 5, a cybersecurity firm called The Hacking Team itself became the victim of a cyberattack when hackers accessed the servers of the Milan based organisation.Following the hack, more than 400GB of data relating to the company’s operations was released into the public domain.The Hacking Team, which says it provides “tools to police organisations and other government agencies that can prevent crimes or terrorism” offers a wide range of services to governments and law enforcement organisations that can be used to gain access to a particular computer, collect private data or install malware or other vulnerabilities on to a network.Data leaked following the cyber attack has revealed that Thailand, along with several other Southeast Asian countries have used the services of the Hacking Team.According to a report on the Asia Sentinel website, Thailand spent US$466,482 on the The Hacking Team’s services.Pic: Asia SentinelOther ASEAN countries were also clients of The Hacking Team, with Malaysia paying The Hacking Team US$1,861,131, whilst Singapore paid The Hacking Team US$1,209,963. Vietnam paid US$560,735.Documents leaked also claim that The Hacking Team has sold its products and services to a number of repressive regimes around the world, including the Sudanese intelligence service. This was despite the company previously denying it ever worked with any repressive regimes.However, it is important to say that despite widespread coverage in the days following the cyber attack, the authenticity of the leaked data is yet to be verified.The Guardian reports how Christian Pozzi, an employee of the The Hacking Team tweeted that the documents contained a lot of “false lies” about what the company does and the services it offers.“A lot of what the attackers are claiming regarding our company is not true. Please stop spreading false lies about the services we offer,” read a tweet from Pozzi.Pozzi Twitter feed was later hacked and the account deleted.Arguably the biggest vulnerability to be revealed following the hack was the discovery of a huge security flaw in Adobe Flash player.The flaw, which could potentially have affected more than one billion computers around the world, can be used to allow someone to take control of a computer and access any files stored locally on the device.On Tuesday, Mozilla, the company behind the Firefox web browser announced that it had blocked all versions of Adobe Flash by default following the discovery of the vulnerability.Read more: http://tech.thaivisa.com/data-leak-reveals-how-much-thailand-spends-on-hacking-its-citizens/12513/
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This Septic Isle: Backpackers, Bloodshed and the Secretive World of Koh TaoCharlie Campbell / Koh Tao and Koh SamuiKOH TAO:-- The balcony of room A5 at Ocean View Bungalows commands one of the finest vistas of Koh Tao’s sweeping Sairee Beach.
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This Septic Isle: Backpackers, Bloodshed and the Secretive World of Koh TaoCharlie Campbell / Koh Tao and Koh SamuiKOH TAO:-- The balcony of room A5 at Ocean View Bungalows commands one of the finest vistas of Koh Tao’s sweeping Sairee Beach.Traditional longtail boats, a rainbow of scarves adorning their bows, bob on the lapping water of the glistening bay. And right in the foreground, rising proudly from sliver sands, protrude a scattering of granite boulders, a furtive relic of this tranquil 21-sq-km (8 sq. mi.) island’s volcanic inception.These rocks are no strangers to explosive secrets. On Sept. 15, one of the occupants of that same room A5, Hannah Witheridge, was found bludgeoned to death in their midst alongside fellow British tourist David Miller, just a short stumble from her door. Witheridge, 23, from Great Yarmouth, a seaside town on the English east coast, had been raped and killed by blows to the head.Miller, a year older and from Jersey, one of the U.K.’s Channel Islands, had likewise suffered deep lacerations to his skull before drowning in the shallow surf.
-Time 2015-07-16
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Cambodian PM joins outrage over tycoon's attack on TV starSOPHENG CHEANG, Associated PressJOCELYN GECKER, Associated PressPHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) — Cambodia's prime minister added his voice Thursday to growing outrage over a drunken tycoon who was captured on video viciously attacking a female TV star, calling the man's actions intolerable and warning that his riches will not help him escape justice.
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Cambodia grants work permits to 25,000 foreign workersThe Ministry of Labour granted about 25,000 work permits to foreigners in the first six months of 2015, about 5,000 more than they issued during all of last year.Read more: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/841168-cambodia-grants-work-permits-to-25000-foreign-workers/
Thailand Live Monday 20 Jul 2015
in Thailand News
Posted