Free Republic

On Wednesday, Thailand’s House of Representatives voted 400-10 in favor of same-sex “marriage.” Only 10 lawmakers voted against the bill. Two abstained and three didn’t vote. The country’s Senate “rarely rejects any legislation that passes the lower house,” the Associated Press noted. Once it passes the Senate, it then must be approved by the majority-Buddhist country’s king. In addition to redefining marriage, the bill “extends all rights and protections contained in the Civil and Commercial Code to LGBTI+ persons,” the pro-LGBT group “Fortify Rights” said in a press release. The group’s lobbying to add the “gender-neutral language of ‘parent’ addition...

The Hamas terrorist organization officially announced this morning that Ahmed Ghandour, the commander of Hamas' military wing in northern Gaza, was eliminated by the IDF. The terrorist organization also stated that the body Ayman Siam, the head of its rocket firing array, had been found and that senior Hamas leaders Wael Rajab and Raafat Salman had also been eliminated. The IDF had previously stated that it had been targeting Ghandour and Siam, but no confirmation of their elimination had been made. It is unclear when the Hamas leaders were killed and whether they were killed in airstrikes or by IDF...

A diamond is forever but what happens if you throw a parrot into the mix? On Tuesday (June 22), Frosty, a pet parrot in Bangkok, Thailand, raided its owner's jewellery box and appeared to be enamoured of what it had found inside. A diamond necklace caught the bird's eye and that spelt trouble — Frosty decided to gobble the sparkly jewels up for breakfast. By lunchtime, the eight-month-old sun parakeet looked weak and had lost its appetite. Noticing something was off, the bird's owner quickly brought it to the nearby Animal Space Hospital for an X-ray. Chances are she (and...

The sinister surprise attack against the naval base at Pearl Harbor by the Japanese Imperial Military is recognized by historians as one of the most successful sneak attacks in military history. While many Americans initially thought the Empire of Japan intended to attack the United States mainland – Californians along the coastal areas felt especially vulnerable – the real targets were in Southeast Asia: Hong Kong, Siam, Malaya, Thailand, and the Philippines, as the first of many. The attack upon the naval base at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, shocked America and the world. While Americans were still reeling,...

JANUARY 15, 2009...22:58 "IDF Targets Senior Hamas Leader, Summary of Today’s Events, 15 Jan 2009, 22:10 IST" SNIPPET: "January 15th, 2009 IDF Targets Senior Hamas Leader Said Siam Summary of Today’s Aerial Attacks In a joint IDF and ISA operation in Gaza City early Thursday evening, the IAF targeted a building in which the following senior Hamas operatives were residing – Said Siam, Ia’ad Siam and Salah Abu-Sharah. The forces reported a direct hit."

Hamas's interior minister, Said Siam, was killed along with his brother Iad and another senior Hamas man in an IAF strike on a house in the Jabaliya neighborhood in Gaza City, Israeli defense officials told The Jerusalem Post. Siam was the Hamas political echelon's liaison with the group's military wing, and was responsible for the various security apparatuses in the Strip, including the police and the naval force. Siam was considered a radical and was in contact with Hamas's political leadership in Damascus. Salah Abu Shrakh, the head of the Hamas general security service, was also killed in the air...

At least 54 people were tonight killed in a fire in a nightclub in Bangkok. More than 100 others were injured in the blaze, which broke out during an event for New Year's Eve at the Santika club - a venue popular with both locals and foreigners. “We were all dancing and suddenly there was a big flame that came out of the front of the stage and everybody was running away,” said one woman who had been in the club. A witness, Andrew Jones, said survivors leaving the club told him the fire broke out on the stage after...

Repatriating a centuries-old crown from the United States would only be possible by buying it from the Philadelphia Museum, which says it was obtained legitimately at an auction, a senior official said Thursday. Fine Arts Department director-general, Arak Sanghitkul said that as the museum reportedly bought the crown at an auction in 1972, the country must buy back the crown, if it can be proved that it originally came from Thailand. Arak said that, although the museum’s brochure states that the ancient crown comes from Wat Ratburana in Ayutthaya, negotiations to regain the crown are complicated, as there are many...