The day the Internet smacked Manny Pacquiao
The Internet came alive this week as stories began to circulate about Manny Pacquiao saying gay men should be "put to death". The news was all over Twitter as fans and detractors of the Pacman voiced their disgust at the Filipino boxer's outrageous views.
It all started with a story about Pacquiao on Examiner.com, which quoted the boxer as saying things like, "God only expects man and woman to be together and to be legally married, only if they so are in love with each other." But it was this curious paragraph that delivered what many thought would be the knockout blow to Pacquiao's public image:
Pacquiao's directive for Obama calls societies to fear God and not to promote sin, inclusive of same-sex marriage and cohabitation, notwithstanding what Leviticus 20:13 has been pointing all along: “If a man lies with a man as one lies with a woman, both of them have done what is detestable. They must be put to death; their blood will be on their own heads.”
The passage was in quote marks and slap bang in the middle of the story. It looked like Pacquiao had quoted a passage from the Bible to support his views and USA Today was quick to tie up its gloves and come out swinging:
Pacquiao… invoked Old Testament, and recited Leviticus 20:13, saying: "If a man lies with a man as one lies with a woman, both of them have done what is detestable. They must be put to death; their blood will be on their own heads."
Then yesterday, Dennis Romero from LA Weekly had a pop in a blog post:
Manny Pacquiao, who lives and trains in Los Angeles, is probably in deep shit in this liberal city of brotherly love.
That's because the boxing champion said that gay men "must be put to death."
Today, the author of the Examiner article, Granville Ampong, clarified what Pacquiao said, or didn't say, as the case turned out to be:
In his article, Weir (USA Today) said "Pacquiao also invoked Old Testament, and recited Leviticus 20:13… That, Pacquiao never said nor recited, nor invoked and nor did he ever refer to such context.
Global Post journo Patrick Winn summed up the fallout:
Given that Pacquiao is an elected Philippine official, as well as a lieutenant colonel in the US-allied Philippine Army, his convictions merit more scrutiny than most wayward statements spilling out of athletes' mouths.
Also deserving of scrutiny? Overeager journalists and online echo chambers.
If Ampong's writing was sloppy. Weir's and Romero's was shambolic.
Ben Anderson at the FCCT
I'm a little bit excited. Benedict Anderson, whose work formed a large part of my postgrad studies at SOAS last year, will be speaking in Bangkok at the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Thailand (FCCT) on June 7. "Rhetoric and Dissent: Where to next for Thailand's lèse majesté law?" will likely be as rowdy and packed a house as I've ever seen at the FCCT, but I'm excited to hear what Anderson has to say.
Also speaking will be David Streckfuss, Nation journo Pravit Rojanaphruk and some guy called Andrew Marshall, whose appearance via Skype we may never hear the end of. We have Lisa Gardener to thank for putting the event together.
Be there or be square.
Ramos-Horta speaks at the FCCT
Last night, Timor-Leste's outgoing president, Jose Ramos-Horta, gave a speech at the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Thailand in Bangkok, reflecting on 10 years of the country's independence. It was a mostly older crowd, although it was by no means a packed house. Journo Simon Roughneen, who has previously reported from Timor-Leste, introduced the guest. Also in the crowd I saw Lindsay Murdoch, who used to cover Timor-Leste for the Aussie papers.
The speech itself was rather underwhelming and typical Ramos-Horta, taking potshots at the UN, the World Bank, the US and pretty much the entire international aid community. Ramos-Horta also did a good job of talking himself up and it all felt a little self-indulgent.
Here are a few quotes of note from the night:
[On the Petroleum Fund and investments] "We were advised by the Norwegians… well when the financial crisis happened in 2008, 2009. The Norwegians who claim to know everything about petroleum fund lost tens of billions of dollars, so I laugh. So now when they lecture us I say, Excuse me, tell me how much did you lose on your financial investment.' We didn't lose a cent. One of the few petroleum countries that didn't lose a cent in the financial crisis."
Talks for a while about writing a book about the tragic power of the US and then adds: "So I might do that or I might join the next government in Timor-Leste."
[On vetoing laws] "What I have done in the last five years is my own approach. I very diplomatically, rather than veto, if it's a decree law… I call the prime minister, I say, 'Listen, instead of we veto, why don't we just take it back, we don't say to anyone, no-one has to know, can you just change this?' And he appreciates that, so they improve on the law. In the case of the parliament, I have done that."
[On justice for war crimes and the lack of an international tribunal] "Does it mean we don't want justice done? Yes we want, but it will be done in due time in due course by the Indonesians, Indonesian society, as they evolve and the democracy consolidates. In Indonesia… they are beginning to talk about the '65, "66 events in Indonesia. They will do it, but in their own time when the society feels confident about it. For us we have to take care of our victims… even if we want it today, to push for an international tribunal, I guarantee it would not happen, out of the 15 members of the [UN] Security Council, , five perm, 10 non-permanent, we might get one or two non-permanent supporting a resolution, so that's the reality."
During the Q&A, Ramos-Horta had to field some pretty fierce questioning from Shawn Crispin from Asia Times Online. Crispin was clearly agitated from the start, even more so when Ramos-Horta tried to mock him. There were some cold, hard truths in there and Crispin definitely touched a nerve, but I think the tone of it all really surprised everyone. Here's the audio so you can listen for yourself:
Interesting stuff.
Ramos-Horta really took a hit in the presidential election. Had he been more on side for the past couple of years he would probably still have had Xanana's backing, but as we know, there has been tension between Xanana and Ramos-Horta.
Was Ramos-Horta really not in it to win it? Maybe. But that isn't to say that all of this hasn't been a great blow for him. Looking back over the past two or three years, this could all have ended up very differently.
Has Ramos-Horta really lost touch with people on the ground? To an extent, I think so, yes. He is still respected, revered even, but a lot has happened in the last five years and without a real party base, Ramos-Horta has just seemed to become more and more isolated and disconnected. Remember when he threatened to resign when his travel plans were messed with? It's things like that that have stuck in my mind.
Things I've been up to in Bangkok recently
Instagram photos usually go to waste, so I thought I'd pull a few out of my account to illustrate what I've been up to in Bangkok over the past few weeks.
Safafri World in Bangkok
First up, I went to Safari World. Yes, you can go on safari in Bangkok, providing you have a car and don't mind paying 300 baht per person. I normally like zoos and safaris and whatnot, but I wasn't really bowled over by Safari World. There were lots of animals, like birds, zebras, hippos and deer, but it was a bit hot so most of them were chilling out in the shade. The lions and tigers, for example, were all asleep.
The bears, however, provided some entertainment as a group of them tried balancing on a log. Arriving mid-afternoon was probably a mistake, but even so, it was all over a little quickly. Having said that, I'd probably go again.
Bon Chon Chicken
Not much to say about Bon Chon Chicken in Thong Lor really, other than that they do awesome chicken for pretty good prices. Check it out.
Ice Cream Expo 2012
The Ice Cream Expo has been doing the rounds in Bangkok, stopping off at various Central malls around the city. We caught it at Central Ramintra over the weekend and had a lot of fun trying all the goodies. Was a fun way to kill a couple of hours. It's running until May 28, but word to the wise: avoid the sweetcorn ice lollies!
Russel Peters in Bangkok
Ah, the famous Indian-Canadian comedian Russel Peters stopped off in Bangkok to do a show. I didn't really know what to expect, but it was a packed house at the Queen Sirikit convention centre. I enjoyed the show and he was very funny, but there were times when it felt crass and a little cliche. Half the show was filled with Peters making fun of the audience's names. I get it — Asian names are funny sometimes — but we all knows this. It's not highly original.
All in all, though, I was glad I went, even at 2,500 baht a ticket. We don't get many high-calibre comedians passing through Bangkok, and given how successful this night was — largely down to the city's massive Thai-Indian community — hopefully there will be more.
How much would you pay to date a foreigner?
There are often lengthy debates among foreigners about the downsides of being an outsider in Asia, but I think I've found something that will turn the tables on the whole double-pricing debacle. Check this out:
Hong Kong Dating
Yes that's right. On Saturday, for just HK$4,800 (US$620), the native ladies of Hong Kong had a night out speed dating for two whole hours with a bunch of foreign men aged 35-48, who didn't have to pay a penny for the privilege. Clearly the Western male is a fashionable, hot commodity in Hong Kong. I was about to scoff at the idea when I saw that this company, HK Speed Dating, actually appears to be doing a roaring trade:
We have CEOs, doctors, lawyers, models, flight attendants, a multi-national client base with a great mix of individuals. Relying on the experience and insights of our consultants, we have so far successfully matched more than 3,000 people over these years.
Might Bangkok follow suit with BK Speed Dating?
