In response to a clip making fun of the country's national anthem and includes obscene edited pictures of our King, the Ministry of Information & Communications Technology has decided to temporarily block all access to the website from inside the country. This follows after a period of one week of trying to contact the submitter of the video, YouTube, and the American Embassy regarding the offensive video with no response.
Which also means I'll be a bit bored for quite a while.
Which also means I'll be a bit bored for quite a while.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AgJ6o-3UlPo
Man, I can see why they are pissed....she's not even on pitch....
My in-depth research into this issue consists of reading the first couple of paragraphs of Wikipedia's Censorship in Thailand article, but I think they tell us everything we need to know:
"Freedom of speech in Thailand was guaranteed in the articles 39, 40, 41 in the 1997 Constitution.
According to those articles, censorship may be imposed to preserve national security, maintain public order, preserve the rights of others, protect public morals, and prevent criticism of the royal family and insults to Buddhism. In addition, criticism of the King is banned by the Constitution."
Wow, that's some great freedom you've got over there.
I heard that the ban is really related to clips from a CNN interview that features Thailand’s ex-Prime Minister Thaksin. Thaksin was ousted by the Thai military and the regime isn’t happy about him getting media exposure.
I love Thailand, some of the nicest - happiest people on earth. I think Lertard's sentiments are pretty widely held. There are pictures of the king everywhere.
But maybe that's an interesting point. Why call me stupid? Did I offend you with our stupidity, provoking you to insult me? Americans cherish their freedom and rightly so, which is why this situation must make you laugh in disgust. But that's the thing, our cultural values are different. Which is why we weren't happy with the video, like you weren't happy with me.
The political situation's here a rollercoaster. If you want to know anything about it, don't read the media. People often blame the media manipulation on Thaksin's government, but the real people controlling the media are the ones behind the coup. It's complicated, our country's dropping into a great downfall.
As for the political cat remark, if you look at the King's recent political activities during the past 10-15 years, I don't think he'll be claiming any credit for anything. We're a blind nation, so we want to believe our King is different. When he steps down, the country'll be plunged into deeper turmoil, especially if the Crown Prince steps up.
Now, guys, I'm not trying to convince you or argue you about anything. I'm just showing you how a backwards, third-world developing country thinks and operates. Cultural Diversity. It ain't pretty. In fact, like in my case, it can be pretty sad for you to look at. Wait 'till you see the rest of us crazy Asians.
(by the way, gwaan, I doubt that's the reason this time around. If they wanted to do it because of political reasons, they'll just do it without giving any reason at all. And they've done it before. They called Thaksin a dictator, well, now we're being commanded by army generals.)