Thailand bans film about transgender father

Thailand bans 'immoral' transgender film
Thailand's National Film Board has rejected a movie about a Transgender father struggling to raise two Children, a ban that the director says highlights the conservative side of Thai society despite its freewheeling reputation. The board ruled this week that the film, "Insects in the Backyard," cannot not be shown in Thailand because it is immoral and pornographic. Director Tanwarin Sukkhapisit told The Associated Press on Friday that the scenes deemed offensive by the board were crucial to the ...

Thai arrest for child sex suspect
A suspected British paedophile has been arrested in Thailand after more than a decade on the run. Charles Taylor, 66, who is accused of abusing Children as young as 18 months old, is now in detention in Bangkok. He was first arrested at his UK home in Leicestershire in 1998 and charged with 35 counts of Child Abuse and selling Pornography before fleeing to Thailand. Thai police say they suspect Mr Taylor continued to profit from the abuse of Children during his time in Thailand. They say that ...

Thailand asks China to extend panda's stay
BANGKOK, Dec. 23 (UPI) -- Thai officials say they've asked China to allow a Giant Panda cub, a celebrity at a northern Thailand zoo, to stay for two more years. Zoological Park Organization chief Sophon Damnui and the Natural Resources and Environment Minister Suwit Khunkitti say they've been working to extend the contract signed with China to keep the cub Lhinping at the Chiang Mai Zoo for another two years, the Bangkok Post reported Thursday. The cub was born in May 2009 to Lin Hui and Xuang X...

Teen's nude pictures expose tough guys of Australian sport
She is only 17 years old and cannot be named, but she is holding one of Australia's most popular football teams to ransom. Two nude photographs of star footballers have already gone viral; now the girl is threatening to publish more, apparently undeterred by a court order and death threats. Posted on the teenager's Facebook page, the photos show Nick Riewoldt, captain of Melbourne-based St Kilda, and two of his team-mates, Nick Dal Santo and Zac Dawson. She says she took them in a Melbourne hote...

With Conservatives Like These, Who Needs Liberals?
This article was originally published at Salon.com on August 30, 1999. By signing on to the war on Hollywood, the right has embraced another bad idea from the left. “If liberals can get away with it, it must be all right,” is the latest conservative substitute for an original idea. At first, it was sexual McCarthyism. For years the left pushed political agendas into the private sphere, while conservatives looked on in paralytic awe. Soon, Supreme Court nominees had to be careful w...

Todd Pitman appointed AP bureau chief in Bangkok
NEW YORK - West Africa Bureau Chief Todd Pitman will become chief of bureau in Bangkok for The Associated Press, responsible for directing coverage of Thailand, Myanmar, Cambodia and Laos, an area of booming economic activity but showing strains of political unrest. The appointment was announced Thursday by Senior Managing Editor John Daniszewski, who oversees international news and photos. "Todd Pitman brings wide-ranging experience to this post acquired in an impressive career as a corre...

Laos announces new prime minister
Laos has announced it has a new Prime Minister after the surprise Resignation of Bouasone Bouphavanh. Mr Bouasone, 56, who had spent more than four years in office, is replaced by Thongsing Thammavong, of the Communist-dominated National Assembly. Mr Bouasone cited "family issues" but analysts say the reason for his Resignation was more likely the product of internal factional re-alignments. Laos is due to hold a General Election early in the new year. A government spokesman said Mr Bo...

Jordan Bans Teaching about Holocaust
Jordan authorities banned a text book on the Holocaust from a Jordanian Private School, while Jordanian deputy Prime Minister and Education Minister Dr. Khalid Karaki ordered the establishment of a commission of inquiry that will "examine and write a report about the implications of the incident." Ynetnews, the English language site of Israeli paper Yediot Ahronot, reported that the "sensational affair" had been uncovered by local newspaper Al-Dustour and had stirred anger in the largely Palest...

Harper’s Christmas message: ‘It was Canada’s year to shine’
Prime Minister Stephen Harper sent out his annual Christmas greetings on Thursday, highlighting the year’s successes and reminding Canadians to be thankful for the blessings bestowed upon them by their Citizenship. The message was broadcast on video, and here is what Mr. Harper had to say: “And so it is Christmas. And once again, there is much to celebrate, friends, family and a year full of memories to cherish. “The Vancouver Olympics and Paralympics, where Canadian athletes w...

Transgender woman finds her way back to Christ
**ADVANCED FOR USE IN WEEKEND EDITIONS OF DEC. 24-26 AND THEREAFTER** Stephanie Mott, a transgendered woman, found her faith again at the Metropolitan Community Church in Topeka, Kan. When Steven Michael Mott was 13, his father told him that if he could swim 100 yards, he could go to the river on their Eudora farm by himself. The adolescent never worked so hard to reach a goal, and within a short time, he proved to his father he was a capable swimmer. Going to the river alone meant Steven could...

Prostitution and Pornography are not Victimless Crimes; it is Slavery
Many people consider Prostitution and Pornography Victimless Crimes.  This excuse deems both as sanctioned or permitted sex between two consenting adults.  If this is true, why are many women and Children trafficked and forced into Sexual Slavery?  Why are many Prostitutes Victims of violent physical abuse and Murder by those they work for?  Further, if porn and Prostitution are victimless crimes, why does the porn industry have an HIV AIDS problem? Those who view Prostitution and porn

Chesco family receives special gifts after a fire destroys its home
A Chester County woman was working at her son's Elementary School Thursday when a Bus Driver called to alert her that police had just blockaded her street. In two minutes, shortly past noon, Angela Cupaiuolo was at the scene of what turned out to be a fast-moving fire that destroyed the home in East Goshen Township she shared with her husband, Mark Cupaiuolo, and their two Children. Most of the family's possessions went up in flames, including Christmas gifts. But on Christmas Eve, the family wa...

Thai literary classic in English translation
One of Thailand's most famous stories of love and war has been translated into English for the first time. The Tale of Khun Chang Khun Phaen features a beautiful woman, a heroic young man - Thailand's answer to Casanova - and a richer older man. The tale is hundreds of years old, and was first recited in open-air performances to village crowds, and passed on by word-of-mouth. This first, full English translation fills two volumes and over 1,000 pages. The Tale of Khun Chang Khun Phae...

Video: Suspected paedophile arrested in Thailand
A man accused of abusing Children as young as 18 months has been arrested in Thailand after spending 12 years on the run. ...

Thai rangers killed in rebel ambush
YALA, Thailand | Thu Dec 23, 2010 12:40am EST YALA, Thailand (Reuters) - Suspected separatist Insurgents shot dead two paramilitary rangers in Thailand's restive Deep South on Thursday, police said, the latest violence in the troubled region bordering Malaysia. The attack came as Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva announced plans to start a gradual lifting of a Controversial emergency decree, in place across Yala, Narathiwat and Pattani provinces for six years. The two rangers were gunned down ...

Capsule reviews: 'True Grit' and other films
"Little Fockers" — Meet the latest in Robert De Niro and Ben Stiller's comedy franchise. Grit your teeth through the fairly short though agonizing duration of its stay. Then wave goodbye in relief as its huge cast of characters departs like the annoying in-laws they are. "Meet the Parents" was a tolerable trifle and "Meet the Fockers" was a bloated bore. But this third installment is tasteless trash, filled with abysmally unfunny gags involving vomit, enemas, erectile dysfunction and the l...

Boxing turns to silver screen for silver lining
The film about the hard-scrabble Boston-area boxer raked in more than $12 million its first full weekend, has been nominated for six Golden Globes and figures to be an Oscar darling when nominations are announced next month. Wahlberg and co-star Christian Bale even graced the cover of Sports Illustrated, which trumpeted the film as an instant classic. The sport itself only wishes it could get the same kind of publicity. While boxing remains one of the great storytelling backdrops, with its inher...

Kevin Smith to screen horror film
PARK CITY, Utah, Dec. 24 (UPI) -- Director Kevin Smith says he will screen his first-ever horror film at Utah's Sundance Film Festival in January. "Red State," Smith's departure from comedy and satire, stars Michael Parks, John Goodman and Melissa Leo as people who run afoul of religious zealots in the Midwest, the New York Daily News reported. Adding to the aura of Smith as provocateur, the movie references the Ku Klux Klan in its one-sheet, which shows a figure covered in a white sheet standin...

Jafar Panahi's reward for bringing cinematic glory to Iran? Jail | Hamid Dabashi
Jafar Panahi has been found Guilty of colluding in gathering and making Propaganda against the Iranian regime, sentenced to six years in Prison and banned from making films for 20 years. Photograph: Str/EPA A spectre is haunting the Islamic Republic of Iran - the spectre of freedom. All the powers of the old guard have entered a holy alliance to exorcise it: the ayatollahs and their warlords, Ahmadinejad and Khamenei, hanging judges and paramilitary vigilantes. To try to exorcise that ...

Bluster and blushes
The talking is done for another year - no more inquisitions, no more interjections - after all, 'tis the season of goodwill. And so, full of the Christmas Spirit, it is time to recall the highlights of a remarkable HARDtalk year. A year which saw me playing cricket with Child Soldiers in Sri Lanka, striding down a Red Carpet with the President of Venezuela and blushing a delicate shade of beetroot in the presence of a couple of my musical heroines. At HARDtalk we pride ourselves on delivering i...

Newspaper review
The fall-out of Vince Cable's comments to undercover reporters that he had declared war on Rupert Murdoch continues to interest the papers. The Financial Times says the story has sharply reduced the business secretary's sphere of influence. The Daily Mail says Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt - who will now rule on Mr Murdoch's bid to take full control of BskyB - is himself compromised. And the Guardian says the decision is too important to be left to Mr Hunt. Bondage Several pap...

We Are the Party of Family Values (Among Other Things)
Have you people noticed that you have a site being populated by seven responders? Why waste the bandwidth on this? Just get a chat room at your favorite arts and crafts site and be done with it. From reading this, all I gather is that the people are stupid. Don't waste any time responding. I stumbled across your "site" by accident. And, no, it didn't provide me anything as far as Propaganda images as I had hoped. What's sad is after reading what you people have to say I've now decided ...

Man gets 10 years' probation for sex with 13-year-old girl
A Theresa man was sentenced Wednesday in Jefferson County Court to 10 years' Probation for having sexual contact with a 13-year-old girl. Karl L. Finley,23, of 36563 Schell Road, will also have to register with the state as a Level 1 Sex Offender for a Nov. 6 Guilty Plea to second-degree attempted Rape. He admitted that he had Sexual Intercourse with a 13-year-old girl in February in the town of Antwerp. In other court activity Wednesday: Reynaldo N. Orridge,30, Brooklyn, was sentenced to ...

The truth lies trapped in a web of intrigue
A murky situation ... Julian Assange outside a police station this week in Britain, where he is on bail. Photo: Reuters This sexual and political drama has more mysteries than any thriller, writes Guy Rundle in London. Whatever prompted Naomi Wolf to defend Julian Assange by penning a satirical article for The Huffington Post titled ''Julian Assange Captured by World's Dating Police'', one assumes she is now regretting it. Ditto Michael Moore's ex cathedra statements on whether the sex crime al...

Anyone feel sorry for Julian Assange, hands up
The lawyer for that nice Julian Assange fellow claims his rights are being trampled. For example, secret details of the confidential Police Report alleging Rape against him have been mischievously leaked. Yes leaked! The man’s right to Privacy and confidentiality has been callously ignored, in an apparent attempt to embarrass him, or garner some cheap publicity off the media attention. Is Mr. Assange just being treated to some of his own medicine, or is this a legitimate case of unjustifie...