Showing posts with label video. Show all posts
Showing posts with label video. Show all posts
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Saturday, January 29, 2011
Prosecutors: more victims of accused monk possible
Miya Shay
HOUSTON (KTRK) -- As a monk at a local temple is on the run, wanted for sexually assaulting a teen, we're talking to the girl whose accusations made him a wanted man.
At Wat Angkorchum Cambodian Buddhist Temple, Monk Vuthy Meas goes about his daily routine unsure of exactly why the temple's abbot, Venh Por, hastily returned to Cambodia.
"We built this temple in just three years," he tells us, before describing Venh Por as a decent man.
But prosecutors believe the monk fled to avoid facing charges of sexually assaulting this sixteen-year-old girl.
"I know what he was doing to me, and I guess I feel upset," the teenage girl said.
The teenager said she wanted to speak out after watching other members of the temple defend the monk in public. She says it all began when she, at 15, would accompany her mother to the temple.
"He come in, he touch my boob, and I said why'd you touch my boob?" the girl recalled.
Over the past year, the sexual encounters continued, until she made an outcry at school. Initially, even her own parents didn't believe her.
"They don't believe me. They believe the monk because everybody believed the monk," she said.
But the investigation continued, charges were filed, and Venh Por apparently fled.
The 16-year-old may not be the only victim. We spoke on the phone with another teenage girl who said the monk tried to kiss her on the neck.
Prosecutors say they even though the monk is reportedly out of the country, they will continue to search out other victims.
"When I say anything, it's not a lie. It's true," the girl said.
The 16-year-old says she hopes prosecutors can find Venh Por and eventually bring him to justice.
At the temple, his photo is still on the wall, and members say they still support Venh Port the monk.
Friday, January 28, 2011
Egyptian military deploys in Cairo under curfew
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| An Egyptian protester throws stones towards a line of riot police in Cairo on Friday. (Victoria Hazou / AP) |
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| A female activist shouts at anti-riot policemen who blocked the way to a journalists' syndicate in downtown Cairo on Jan. 26. (Ben Curtis / AP) |
Ruling party HQ ablaze; protesters climb on tanks in Suez; Nobel Prize winner under house arrest
2011-01-28
NBC, msnbc.com and news services NBC, msnbc.com and news services
CAIRO — Shots were heard in central Cairo on Friday after military units moved in to quell an "open revolt" against President Hosni Mubarak's 30-year rule by tens of thousands of protesters.
Demonstrators were trying to storm the foreign ministry and the state TV building in Cairo, The Associated Press reported. Violent clashes were also reported near the Egyptian parliament.
Television images showed several buildings in Cairo, including the headquarters of the ruling party, ablaze. Flames also threatened the Egyptian National Museum.
Friday saw demonstrations across the country, which continued despite a 13-hour military curfew which began at 6 p.m. local time (11 a.m. ET). It initially covered the cities of Cairo, Suez and Alexandria, but was later extended to cover all cities. Demonstrators stayed on the streets in defiance of security forces, some mounting armored cars, cheering and waving flags.
The Al-Jazeera TV network said at least one person was killed, while Reuters reported at least five deaths. Neither could not be immediately verified.
Some 870 protesters were wounded, medical sources said, more than doubling their previous estimate. Medical officials told Reuters 450 protesters were treated on the streets and not taken to hospital, while 420 others were hospitalized.
Nobel Peace laureate Mohamed ElBaradei was put under house arrest after he joined a march earlier in the day. He and scores of protesters were forced to seek refuge in a mosque after police used water cannons and tear gas.
There were also reports that protesters had taken control of central areas of Suez and Alexandria.
Egypt's national carrier said it had also suspended its flights from Cairo for 12 hours. European airlines also modified their schedules for flights to and from Egypt, cancelling some services, due to the curfew.
'Deep concern'
The U.S. State Department said that the situation was of "deep concern," adding that "reform is vital." Secretary of State Hillary Clinton appealed for the government to allow peaceful protests and for the people on the streets to "refrain from violence."
The U.S. also warned citizens to avoid non-essential travel to Egypt and urged Americans in the country to stay put.
Shortly after the curfew began, BBC News reported that tanks had moved in to Suez and Cairo.
NBC News' Richard Engel said people were in "open revolt" on the streets of Cairo.
Engel said many people were praying in the streets, "daring" the police to move against them and enforce the curfew.
After the army moved in, Engel said the troops appeared to be taking "almost no action to stop these protests, to enforce this curfew."
"A scene that could become iconic of the day is unfolding right below me. There's an army APC, an armored personnel carrier. Instead of firing on the protesters or pushing them back, it has been surrounded by protesters … one person is standing on top of it, waving an Egyptian flag," he told msnbc TV.
Engel said the demonstrators did not want to confront the army and realized the Tunisian government had fallen when its army refused to stop the protests.
Some protesters chanted slogans calling for the army to support them, complaining of police violence.
"Where is the army? Come and see what the police is doing to us. We want the army. We want the army," the protesters in one area of central Cairo shouted.
However, Egyptian state television said the military would work in tandem with the police to get people off the streets.
"According to what some provinces witnessed in terms of riots, lawlessness, looting, destruction, attack and burning of public and private property including attacks on banks and hotels, President Hosni Mubarak decreed a curfew as a military ruler," a state TV announcer said.
The protests began when groups of thousands of protesters gathered at at least six venues in Cairo, a city of about 18 million people, and then marched toward major squares and crossed Nile bridges.
"I can't believe our own police, our own government would keep beating up on us like this," said Cairo protester Ahmad Salah, 26. "I've been here for hours and gassed and keep going forward, and they keep gassing us, and I will keep going forward. This is a cowardly government and it has to fall. We're going to make sure of it."
At several confrontation points, police used rubber bullets, batons, water cannons and tear gas against the stone-throwing demonstrators.
ElBaradei, who took to the streets Friday for the first time since his return to Egypt on Thursday, was walking with one group when clashes broke out with police.
They used batons to beat some of his supporters, who surrounded ElBaradei to protect him.
He and protesters were soaked with water cannons and eventually were forced to take refuge in a mosque, where they were trapped by riot police.
Inside the mosque, ElBaradei was prevented from leaving by tear gas. The canisters set several cars ablaze outside and several people fainted and suffered burns.
"We are the ones who will bring change," said 21-year-old Ahmed Sharif, one of scores who were with ElBaradei. "If we do nothing, things will get worse. Change must come," he screamed through a surgical mask he wore to ward off the tear gas.
'Oppression is growing'
Abeer Ahmed, a 31-year-old woman who showed up for ElBaradei with her toddler, said she has a law degree but makes a living cleaning homes.
"Nothing good is left in the country," she said. "Oppression is growing."
ElBaradei later attempted to march again with supporters chanting "peaceful, peaceful."
Hours later, it emerged he was under house arrest. Police stationed outside his suburban Cairo home told him he could not leave the building. It was unclear how he got there.
Speaking to Reuters, one witness described blood streaming from people with head wounds and others collapsing to the ground. Other witnesses gave similar descriptions.
Al-Jazeera also said opposition politician Ayman Nour, who ran in the 2005 presidential election, was hurt. Citing his son, the station said the politician was in intensive care after being hit on the head by a rock.
In Suez, Al-Jazeera reported at least five tanks moved in after the crowd chased away police from the central area of the city.
Dozens of protesters climbed onto the tanks, a Reuters witness said, and tried to talk to the soldiers. One tank had about 25 protesters on it, the witness said.
The troops tried to wave them off and residents also told Reuters that soldiers had opened fire. It was not immediately possible to confirm their reports.
Earlier in Suez, the body of a protester was carried through the streets. "They have killed my brother," one of the demonstrators shouted.
There was also a report that protesters had overcome the police in the Mediterranean port city of Alexandria.
The Guardian newspaper quoted Peter Bouckaert, of Human Rights Watch, as saying: "The police have now given up fighting the protesters. The police and protesters are now talking, with protesters bringing water and vinegar (for tear gas) to the police.
"Now walking down to downtown Alexandria, the whole road is packed as far as we can see, people shouting slogans against Mubarak and his son Gamal ... asking others to join them," he added. "It is a very festive atmosphere. Women in veils, old men, children, I even saw a blind man being led. And there are no police anywhere."
'I want a better future'
There were smaller protests in Assiut, which is located south of Cairo, and al-Arish in the Sinai peninsula.
Regional television stations were reporting clashes between thousands of demonstrators and police in Alexandria and Minya, which is south of Cairo.
"It's time for this government to change," said Amal Ahmed, a 22-year-old protester. "I want a better future for me and my family when I get married."
Friday's protest were by far the largest and most violent since they began Tuesday.
Demonstrators are demanding 82-year-old Mubarak's ouster and venting their rage at years of government neglect of rampant poverty, unemployment and rising food prices.
The protesters have said they are emboldened by the uprising in Tunisia, another north African Arab nation.
Egypt is Washington's closest Arab ally, but Mubarak may be losing U.S. support.
An Obama administration official said Friday the U.S. will review its $1.5 billion in aid to the nation.
The official spoke on condition of anonymity because of the delicacy of the situation. U.S. officials are now increasing calls on Mubarak to respond with restraint and reverse steps taken to cut off the protesters' ability to communicate.
The Egyptian authorities appeared to have disrupted social networking sites, used as an organizing tool by protesters, throughout the week.
Those disruptions escalated Friday, when Internet and cell phone services, at least in Cairo, appeared to be largely cut off.
With two-thirds of Egypt's 79 million people under the age of 30 and with many frustrated by largely toothless opposition parties, many of Egypt's youth have turned to the digital sphere as one of the few channels available to express their anger.
The attempts to sever the protesters lines of communication did not prevent tens of thousands from flooding the streets.
Thursday, January 27, 2011
The lemming mentality
28 January 2011
Opinion by KI-Media
Association with KI-Media is anathema
Yesterday, an anonymous reader pointed us to an article posted in a Khmer blog discussing about Cambodian leaders ordering the installation of a sign that offended Thailand, as well as their subsequent order to remove and smash that sign following Thailand’s demand.
Finding this “public” article quite interesting and since its author did not mention anything about NOT reproducing his article, we decided to reproduce it integrally on KI-Media with the proper credit given to its author. Apparently, the article was picked by a high ranking ruling party official who did not like the tone of that article at all, so the official decided to comment on it on his Facebook wall.
That comment spooked the article’s author who demanded that KI-Media removed his article from our website – which we gladly complied – and he went to pledge his allegiance to the government and all institutions that be in Cambodia. While we understand the author’s concerns for his own safety, what happened puzzled us immensely.
A movement to ban KI-Media from any free blogging host?
It turned out that, yesterday, KI-Media completed our mirror on Wordpress.com – a free blog host similar to the one we currently use (blogspot.com). Coincidentally, Wordpress is also the same host used by the author we described above.
It so happened also that last week, somebody in the Cambodian government ordered several ISPs in Cambodia to block all websites hosted by blogspot.com, most likely in a mistaken attempt to block KI-Media from being accessible in Cambodia. Unfortunately, blogspot is used by quite a larger number of Cambodians and its blocking caused a major public outcry. Subsequently, Cambodian government officials had to backtrack and deny that any blocking took place. An ISP executive went on to deny the blocking by his company even when his employees clearly stated otherwise to the press.
While some ISPs have lifted the blocking on blogspot, a few still refuse to do so as we speak. In view of this situation, we decided to revisit our blog on Wordpress which we have registered 4 or 5 years ago in order to make use of it as a mirror to our regular blog.
Upon learning about our mirror on Wordpress, in his message of allegiance to the government and his agreement to block KI-Media by the government, the author whom we described above even went on to suggest that all bloggers should issue a declaration to chase KI-Media out of Wordpress – for the wellbeing of these bloggers.
While we perfectly understand his concerns for his personal safety, what puzzle us are the following facts:
- Why this author fail to remove his article that ticked off a government official?
- The author believed that KI-Media posted his “integral” article for our own political gain. Now, as far as we know, we are not seeking any political seat or position in Cambodia, so how could KI-Media make any political gain?
- Why is this author entitled to make any criticism on the ineptitude of government officials while others, like KI-Media, are not allowed to?
- Why is this author supporting the suppression of freedom of expression (read Internet blocking) for others than himself?
- Why is he entitled to be the only one to use free blogging host?
- Why did he turn his outrage on government Internet blocking against KI-Media, a victim of this blocking? Isn’t that tantamount to being angry with the oxen and starting to beat the innocent cart?
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Monday, January 24, 2011
Cambodian prince visits Buddhist temple in Chesterfield County
Cambodian Prince Norodom Yuvaneath, wearing a gray sweatshirt with "USA" emblazoned across the front, smiled politely as dozens of people asked him to pose for pictures.
He didn't shy from the attention and often encouraged more people, with a wave of his hand, to squeeze together for the snapshots.
In conversation, he offers jokes one minute and philosophical insight the next.
The prince, who was a special guest at the Quan Am Phat Dien Buddhist temple in Chesterfield County on Sunday morning, is the son of former Cambodian King Norodom Sihanouk and the half brother of current King Norodom Sihamoni.
Despite the royal lineage, Norodom Yuvaneath says he is happy living in America — he has lived in Connecticut since 1980, after a military coup sent his family into exile 10 years earlier — and remarked that he doesn't want to become Cambodia's king.
The prince, now retired, worked for many years making medical supplies; he last returned to his homeland in 2008.
Accompanied by his wife, Norodom Yin Tea, the prince visited longtime friend Master Tea Ky Heng, who founded the Quan Am Phat Dien temple and meditation center off Jessup Road three years ago.
Before the morning service, Heng offered the prince a seat in a wooden chair that would have put him above the monks sitting on cushions on the floor. The prince declined. "I respect the monk," he said. "I don't sit higher than him."
Through a translator, he also offered his views about his time in the United States:
•What are your thoughts about being in America?
America is beautiful. Everyone is happy and honest.
•What message do you hope to share here?
The kingdom of Cambodia thinks of other countries as friends. The Cambodian people are peaceful and friendly.
•Have you seen a change in America?
The younger generation seems to work well together to make the country better. There is a sense of hope, unity and pride in nationalism.
