Showing 1 - 9 of 9
Is 'White Prison' making Bang Khwang a darker place?
Spectrum, Ezra Kyrill Erker, Published on 17/03/2013
» Bang Khwang Central Prison is undergoing a transformation under an initiative aimed at ridding the notorious "Bangkok Hilton" and eight other facilities of drugs and other contraband. The "White Prison" policy came into effect last May under new director Vasant Singkaselit. Under the policy, visitors have been banned from bringing food, clothes or other items for prisoners; even books are banned. Prisoners are allowed to meet visitors once a day for 45 minutes, up to two visits a week, while visitors can only seen one inmate per day. Inmate workshops have been cancelled, punishments have become harsher and access to help in case of medical or fire emergencies has been limited.
From Cold War to the 'Tor Chor Dor'
Spectrum, Ezra Kyrill Erker, Published on 10/02/2013
» At the height of the nuclear arms race during the Cold War, US military strategists theorised that if tensions escalated, controlled nuclear strikes against the Soviets could force them to back down.
The knock-on effect for Bangkok's knock-offs
Spectrum, Ezra Kyrill Erker, Published on 20/01/2013
» Last week, a man came to tell Jasmine, a vendor in the Nana area, that the Department of Special Investigation would be conducting a raid. He took the unusual step of telling her not only to temporarily close down, but to move all of her counterfeit goods back home for two days.
Development rush could doom Yangon's architectural treasures
Spectrum, Ezra Kyrill Erker, Published on 07/10/2012
» For local investors they are unwieldy behemoths occupying prime real estate. For the nostalgic they remain noble vestiges of an era almost forgotten, when the city, then called Rangoon, was the most cosmopolitan in the region. For tourists they are one of Asia's most concentrated collections of colonial buildings and grand sights in themselves, unartificially preserved in time. For nationalists they can be an unwanted reminder of less independent times, when the subjugated people were answerable to the caprices of colonial authorities.
As seen through the lens of an insider
Spectrum, Ezra Kyrill Erker, Published on 16/09/2012
» Over the course of 25 years covering Myanmar and Southeast Asia as a photojournalist, Thierry Falise has come under fire from Lao militia, been hit by shrapnel covering riots in Bangkok and come face to face with a diminutive follower of the 10-year-old twins commanding God's Army who would stand on a chair to beat his wife.
For-profit business model sees citizens reap dividends
Spectrum, Ezra Kyrill Erker, Published on 03/06/2012
» In Yangon an organisation, FXB Myanmar, gives vocational training and business opportunities to HIV-positive workers and women rescued from the Thai sex industry. A manufacturer of affordable foot pumps for irrigation, Proximity Designs, has a network of distribution channels to upcountry farmers that NGOs and government organisations envy. BusinessKind-Myanmar sells low-cost mosquito netting in malarial and dengue fever regions, and half of its work force is also HIV-positive. Myanmar Business Executives provides low-interest microcredit and networking outlets to needy individuals and organisations.
For African footballers, the grass is greener in Thailand
Spectrum, Ezra Kyrill Erker, Published on 15/04/2012
» The Thai Premier League _ boosted by increasing sponsorship, popular support and financial backing from politicians and corporate millionaire chairmen _ is on the rise. TPL champions Buriram United defeated the top teams of the Japanese and Chinese leagues in its first two Asian Champions League matches last month, an achievement unimaginable a few years ago.
Supporters knocked for a loop by MMA ban
Spectrum, Ezra Kyrill Erker, Published on 08/04/2012
» Less than a week before muay Thai's application to the IOC and World Games, and a few days after Spectrum reported on a high-profile local mixed martial arts (MMA) competition, MMA was banned in Thailand by the Sports Authority of Thailand (SAT) on the grounds that it was hurting the image of muay Thai. MMA is a discipline fought in an octagonal cage using any number of fighting and grappling techniques. To hone stand-up combat techniques, many international competitors train in muay Thai, and for years MMA fighters have been coming to train in the Kingdom.
These guys oughta be locked up! Cage fighting hits town
Spectrum, Ezra Kyrill Erker, Published on 25/03/2012
» In last weekend's main event, Arnaud ''The Game'' Lepont was losing, staggering on unsteady legs as his opponent landed kick after blow and at one point had him in a choke hold. Krysztof ''Haja'' Hajtalowicz, a Polish master of Brazilian jiu-jitsu, had a 10cm height advantage and far greater reach. A blow to the face had split the Frenchman's lower lip, and blood poured from his mouth.