Jolie's refugee comment stirs debate in Thailand

by: Associated Press

Thailand's government may still be miffed at Angelina Jolie for speaking out on behalf of impoverished boat people, but the actress has prompted soul-searching among some in the Southeast Asian country.

For a second day, Thai officials rebuked the globe-trotting leading lady for calling on the country to respect the rights of the Rohingya, a Muslim minority people fleeing nearby Myanmar's military dictatorship.

"It was not her role to comment on the matter," Thai Foreign Ministry spokesman Tharit Charungvat said Thursday. Jolie was in Thailand last week as a United Nations goodwill ambassador, touring a northern camp for other refugees from Myanmar.

Thai authorities have been accused of routinely abusing Rohingya refugees, including towing more than 1,000 out to open sea and leaving them to die in boats with no engines late last year. Some drifted to the shores of India and Indonesia weeks later, but survivors said hundreds others died. Thailand has denied any abuse, but says the boat people are economic migrants, not refugees.

Local newspapers seized on the controversy — but not all took the side of the government.

"Instead of blaming Jolie ... why don't we start talking about the root cause of the problem?" an editorial in the English-language The Nation asked, calling on the government to re-examine its policies based on "humanitarian principles."

Thai academic Pavin Chachavalpongpun, writing in the Bangkok Post, even said that a "particular brand of Thai-ness has successfully impeded society's responsibility to nurture human rights."

Jolie — who has visited refugees in many hotspots including Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Sudan — did not directly criticize Thailand's actions. Her offending comment merely expressed hope through a U.N. statement that authorities would respect the rights of Rohingya and all refugees.

Still, her star power has helped highlight the long-overlooked plight of the Rohingya, a stateless minority who live mostly in Myanmar but are not recognized as citizens by its military rulers.

Myanmar's consul-general to Hong Kong defended the junta's policy this week by telling the South China Morning Post this that the Royingya are "ugly as ogres" whose "dark brown" skin is in contrast with the "fair and soft" ethnic Burmese majority.

Abdul: Police ID Body as Former Idol Contestant

by: US Magazine

Police have identified the woman found dead outside American Idol judge Paula Abdul's house as season 5 contestant Paula Goodspeed, whose performance of "Proud Mary" was mocked by judges (see video below).

Goodspeed, 30 -- who was infatuated with Abdul and admitted she made "life-sized drawings of Paula" during her 2006 audition -- died of an apparent drug overdose in an apparent suicide, the Associated Press reports. No official cause of death has been determined.

Goodspeed's body was found in her car -- which featured a license plate "ABL LV" and had a photo of Abdul hanging from the rear view mirror -- outside the judge's Los Angeles home Tuesday night around 6 p.m.

Abdul -- who was working on Idol all day -- was not home at the time. She returned late in the evening after the scene had cleared.

I am deeply saddened and shocked about what transpired yesterday," she tells Usmagazine.com in a statement. "My heart and prayers go out to her family.

Her rep tells Entertainment Tonight that the woman had been an extreme fan and had "issues." They knew about her for "several years," her rep adds.

Angelina Jolie Causes Stir After Saying She Fell In Love With Brad Pitt On 'Mr. & Mrs. Smith' Set

by: Access Hollywood

Angelina Jolie has created quite a stir after the actress told the NY Times she and partner Brad Pitt fell in love on the set of "Mr. & Mrs. Smith."

During a discussion over which of her films she lets the couple's children see, Jolie told the NY Times, so far it's just "Kung-Fu Panda," but she noted she looked forward to the day when the kids can watch 2005's "Mr. & Mrs. Smith."

VIEW THE PHOTOS: Brad Pitt

"Not a lot of people get to see a movie where their parents fell in love," Jolie said in article running in the Arts & Leisure section of the paper this Sunday

The quote, however, caused eyebrows to raise, as the movie actually began filming while Pitt was still married to Jennifer Aniston.

VIEW THE PHOTOS: Angelina Jolie

Though Jolie's latest remarks have drawn attention, in the past the actress hinted she grew close to Pitt on the set, but they just remained "very, very good friends," until after his divorce from Aniston in 2005.

"And then we just continued to take time," Jolie told People in 2006. "We remained very, very good friends - with this realization - for a long time...And then life developed in a way where we could be together, where it felt like something we would do, we should do."

The reach of Jolie's words and past photographs on the Internet though, are these days a concern for the mother of six. In particular, she worries her eldest child, son Maddox, 7, will use the Web to "look up my name and see some kind of sexy pictures or read a story about himself that isn't true," she told the NY Times. "There's a lot we're going to have to explain to them about how public their family is."

VIEW THE PHOTOS: Top Ten Most Expensive Baby Photos

But the actress may not have to worry about Maddox's Internet moves too much as she'll be able to monitor him regularly due to her shortened 2008 film schedule. Jolie told the paper she has just a few projects in the works as she focuses on family.

In fact, before selecting potential projects, Jolie takes into consideration "who's in school at that time? How can I be sure I don't do too many long hours? Can the three youngest be on the set every day?" she said.

"As long as I can still be with my family, it's fun," she added. "But I only want to do that, and I'm not looking for anything else."

In the NY Times interview, the actress also expanded on her plans, which she revealed on the "Today" show earlier this week, to increase the Jolie-Pitt family size.

"I know we seem crazy, just bringing them in one after the other, but we do plan," Jolie said. "We make sure one is absorbed completely into the family before we add another. There are moments when we look at everyone around the dinner table, and it's just crazy, but our family is the greatest thing we've done in our lives."