FarangTalk

On a similar topic which shows other countries have woken up to Thailand's heavy media censorship.

"Censorship level: Thailand" is no joke! Check out just how tough the country's censorship is.

For years now, anime viewers in Thailand have been dealing with ironclad regulations for broadcast dubs—something that fans outside the country have also noticed.

http://kotaku.com/thailands-anime-censorship-sure-is-strict-1106256597

And the latest piece from Pavin on New Mandala highlighting the focus on Thai agencies monitoring criticism from overseas, awaiting their arrival in Thailand then imminent arrest. Just because you are not in Thailand making comments doesn't mean it may not affect you if you choose to visit Thailand in the future. Joe Gordon spings to mind. Article mentions blacklists of foreigners and eagerness to prosecute foreign critics. Worrying times indeed.

http://asiapacific.anu.edu.au/newmandala/2013/08/13/defending-the-monarchy/

"We have been talking to them [the operators of social media] a lot, but they do not want to cooperate. When they want anything, they expect to get it, but when we ask them for something, they rarely help us. They have taken a lot from Thailand but refused to cooperate with Thailand. I won't let them go if they make any mistakes," he warned.

Exactly what is it they have gotten or taken from Thailand?

Why should social media help Thai law enforcement ban or prosecute critics and opponents of the PTP, which is of course the real goal here?

It's actually to stop discussion over another major issue. The convenient ability to silence critics of the government is an added bonus.

After the 2006 coup, the Thai Ku Fah plane was made a general carrier to transport important officials and it no longer served as an exclusive plane for the PM and Cabinet. The name of the plane was changed to Bor Lor 15 and stationed at the Air Squadron 602 base. The Office of the Prime Minister's symbol was removed.

That's funny, I thought it was given to the Royal Family.

King's new aircraft arrives, with 'Air Force One' in reserve

The "Air Force One" that served then prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra is now a spare aircraft for His Majesty the King.

His Majesty's new personal aircraft is a Boeing 737-800, which left Seattle, Washington, on Sunday and landed at 11.30am yesterday, after making refuelling stops in Hawaii and Saipan.

"Air Force One", an Airbus ACJ319, carries the official name "Thai Khu Fa", from the building inside the Government House compound. The name will be removed and replaced by "Royal Thai Air Force". The plane will also be repainted in traditional livery, white on the fuselage with light and dark blue stripes from nose to tail.

A Boeing 737-400, which currently serves as the King's aircraft, will be decommissioned in three years after 13 years in operation, Air Force spokesman Group Captain Monthol Satchukorn said.

The Air Force has another Airbus, a 319-300 model, to use as His Majesty's spare plane. Both Airbuses are available for members of the immediate royal family.

The Boeing 737-800 was produced exclusively by the American manufacturer to honour His Majesty's 60th year on the throne.

Boeing was chosen as the supplier because Air Force pilots and maintenance crews are thoroughly familiar with Boeing airliners.

The new 737-800's passenger cabin will be decorated by artists from the Fine Arts Department and fitted with emergency medical equipment and a noise-reduction system.

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2007/04/21/national/national_30032343.php

Why are we congratulating the Thai Police if he was arrested in Cambodia?

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1 There are a lot of Thai Boys small in stature and thus effeminate.

2 Cosmetic Surgery is cheap here and many experienced surgeons.

3 There is a demand for them in the bars.

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Aha so you go for the theory that thai guys do this stuff to act homosexuals voluntarely just because that

they can make money on it????

 

They go with homosexual men/clients and not themselfs being homosexuals....???? Or do you hink that they really become homosexuals just because there is a demand for it...... seriously???

 

Glegolo

In Thailand I would pick money as the motivating factor every time.

Another reason for the amount of ladyboys is the sexual abuse effeminate males face when growing up. Particularly in rural areas. This is documented in Thai literature; Pira Sudham being one such example written in English.

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Three opinions.

 

1) He's lucky he wasn't shot, like the German in Chiang Mai a year ago who gave the finger to a Thai motorist.

 

2) Children lose it over such trivial things. So not surprising it's the local custom to beat or kill someone for doing it.

 

3) Well doesn't he look like a quality tourist.

 

That is all.

Probably the best assessment of the situation so far.

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Try waving your middle finger in the Singapore and you will be put in gaol.

The 2 Asian looking men might have been from another asian country. Not necessarily Thailand. They could have been Japanese

Nonsense.

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And does anyone believe that this guy would have got away with it in the Fatherland?

 

No, I doubt it. Try the same thing in some parts of New York, or in areas of south London, such as Brixton for example. He would never had been able to walk away to tell the tale.

Fortunately those areas are not major tourist destinations.

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The German waved his middle finger at the two men. Seeing this, they turned around, came back and proceeded to give him a robust lesson in minding his manners, using their fists and feet.

 

These guys almost ran over the German and his wife. Pot and kettle come to mind. And it sounds like the writer of this article is quite pleased with the outcome.

It certainly does read that way and interestingly the author is Thai.

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It was illegal because a government that was democratically elected was kicked out by the military in 2006. It's likely these protestors (yes some of them violent) attempted to get the government they wanted back in.

Bakseeda, just because you (and a minority of voters) don't like a political party does not justify a military coup.

Check your Thai history. There was no elected government in power when the coup occurred in 2006.

What the red shirts tried to do in 2010 was force a democratically elected government to step down.

The Abhisit government was never democratically elected. It came to power as a result of the coup, and the following judicial coup.

Abhisit was elected by his peers after brokering a deal with one of the most corrupt factions previously allied to Thaksin.

When an election was called, the Democrats promptly were removed of stewardship by a mandate of the people.

The Democrat government was never democratically elected nor did it ever have a mandate from the people.

So an alliance with Thaksin makes a government democratically elected, but when that alliance changes, the government formed is no longer democratically elected? Sufficient democratically elected MPs form a government, but not the government YOU want, so it loses all legitimacy - you've been listening to too much red propaganda.

Repeating casual lies do not make them any more believable.

How can they be democratically elected when the government the people chose is removed by a coup and then the courts?

It's quite simple but you are obsessed with Thaksin so you're never going to allow yourself to come to terms with it.

In any civilised country if the protesters were getting out of hand the police would come in and arrested them, not send in the army to shoot the protesters. The army is paid by the public to defend the country from invading forces.

What do they do in "civilised" countries when armed protesters set up fuel soaked barricades encircling a business/shopping district?

In a so-called 'civilised' country the airport takeover would never have been allowed nor many of the other actions of the yellow shirts, thus never setting the precedent for the red shirts to protest in such a manner after the coup.

Of course the divisive figures behind the yellow shirt movement and the coup, would not be in a position of such influence in a 'civilised' country, certainly not over the military and its actions, as the government of such a 'civilised' country, elected by the people, controls the armed forces.

Thanks Nick for your post. Informed and informative.

Some people might consider this to be a method to prod the military into action.

I don't know where the military would draw the line re Thailand going down the drain.

This dictat serves PTP only. It does not benefit Thailand, IMO. Thailand is likely to be hurt more by being seen as a totalitarian state, than by the international community witnessing criticism of the government.

Are you saying it wouldn't be seen as a totalitarian regime if the Army mounted a coup and installed a junta?

Posts calling for and supporting military coups show an almost complete ignorance of Thai history and politics.

Quite frightening they come from people with a so-called 'Western Education'.

Some of the commission's explanations of the tragic incident are beyond belief. In a televised broadcast last week in Bangkok, Amara claimed that the Red-Shirt protesters indeed provoked the government; and possibly that they deserved to be retaliated against in such a way.

Some posts here following the same agenda and unable to assess the situation without bias, much like Amara herself.

Of course it must be remembered that Amara only holds these positions because of who she is connected to in the Democrat Party, and that includes her post as Dean of Chulalongkorn University.

That she was not removed from her position on the NHRC by the Yingluck administration despite being politically biased towards the Democrats should be taken into consideration here too.

Like being savaged by a poodle.

Unfortunately at this point what you say is true.

It is truly a shame that a country with such wonderful people and so much potential should have to suffer under the hands of a self appointed tyrant.

My money says that one of the first things he does when he gets back is cut back on education. The dumber the better for him.

The "wonderful people" have chosen, and continue to choose, the populist parties of the Thaksin clan.

Nothing self appointed about it, and no great mystery about it either.

The real suffering of the rural majority happened under the Democrat Party with their policies of 'Bitter Medicine' in the 90's, which is why they remain consistently in the opposition today.

The news today from a Bangkok court that there were no armed Red Shirts or their affiliates in Wat Patum temple on May 19th 2010 and that the army, under orders from the then Abhist Vejjajiva-led Thai government, were solely responsible for the deaths of 6 civilians in the temple, should be welcomed by all those seeking a genuine process of truth, justice and reconciliation in Thailand. That it has taken three full years for the truth to begin to emerge reveals the mendacious hand Abhisit’s government played when it set up the flawed Truth For Reconciliation Committee of Thailand (TRCT), giving it almost no legal power to find that truth, refusing it the ability to subpoena witnesses.

http://robertamsterdam.com/thailand/2013/08/06/guess-which-side-in-thailand-already-has-an-amnesty/

The issues are far deeper than just one man.

I guess the Iraqis know who the real boss is.

Doesn't everyone?

Actually no. They seem to think it is the de-facto PM living in Dubai.

A good guess, but ultimately wrong.

As much as "we" like to condemn the refusal to take these refugees it is a big problem for Thailand or any other country.....The funds to handle the situation is a concern certainly...one only has to loolk at the US under invasion from the Mexican side - the cost is huge in crime, innocent lives, welfare, social programs, and education for MANY that are innocent people bolting from one situation to another. A percentage of folks from Mexico are earnest about living and contibuting to a "better" life and the blessings that come with it.

The flip side is here - the Rohingyans also seek a better life but unlike others they are Muslims' and the track record for peaceful Muslim integration and societal/religious melding/peace is abysmal....going back centuries...there is no peace to be found for anyone. The current news story/situation solidifies that. These restless people are safer here (Thailand) than they are in their own country. Sympathy goes out to them but on the larger scale it is a very complex issue. Is there ANY doubt that Thailand would be better off without the problems of the south? None. These people are not happy to co-exist - if the initial ones are; they are followed by a more radicalized edition that "educates" in the mosques, - breeding grounds......Their movement does not care how many are slaughtered - or how many 100's of years it takes - it's been going on for over 800 years for God's sake...it's a slow - determined march and ultimately the failures - such as the Rohingyans are now suffering only serve to untimately spread a deadly doctrine ..... there is no winning position - send them back = slaughter....keep them = dissention/unrest/revolt/violence/ignorance and overthrow (going on now - kill the teachers and peaceful forward planners).......how does any country win?

I was taught a long time ago - NEVER-EVER- ACCEPT or invite trouble into your livingroom - that was good advice then ..... and it's good advice now - - if it were my choice - no matter how hard or heart wrenching it would be; I would make the decision best for MY country....in this case it is now Thailand and I'm glad I do not have to make the choices......

The problem is that the South is not a Thai living room.

It is traditionally a Muslim Malay area that the Thais claim sovereignty over.

It is the Thais continual repression of the local culture, language and customs that has led us to where we are today.

I agree with the negative perspective of the Shinawatra clan and resent the disastrous impact of the populist rice subsidy. But I also think that the farmers who gave Yingluck the numbers to take over are not ignorant country bumpkins who fell for a 3 card trick.

The history of farmers in Thailand shows they have been exploited and abused (and murdered when they protested) by the social elite of large landowners for many years. The land laws are today designed for the large landowner, not for the hard working small farmers. Naturally these farmers want to vote for someone who opposes the Bangkok based hi-so elites. The elites had many years in which to develop fair agricultural and economic policies. That they did not has come back to bite them on the bum, and unfortunately has led to a situation where a megalomaniac is seen by the farmers as their best hope for the future, even if the rest of us think he is a disaster. If the Democrats want to win government, they could start with proposing some serious land reforms rather than offering their own version of rice subsidies. But as most MPs on both sides are big landowners, I won't hold my breath.

During Abhisit's short term land reform was under deliberation, things like limiting the amount of land that could be owned by a family, progressive land tax, and a land bank for poor farmers. All was scraped when PTP came to power.

With exceptions for certain families of course.

The Democrats have no supporter base in the rural communities because of their policies in the 90's which brought great hardships for a good many farmers. It's a bit late now closing the stable door when the horse bolted 15 years ago.

An honest question. Has Thaksin or his proxies ever done anything good for Thailand? There has to be something. Even a blind squirrel finds an acorn now and then.

No. I would have thought the evidence was obvious

Yet his party keeps getting elected again and again. Doesn't say much about the voters.

Or it says more about the farang expat population and their ignorance of Thai history, politics and society.

his dad is a know fugitive criminal on the run, but that does not affect the people who buy voted for him i guess

look at the PM

The mindset in Thailand is that if you have money you can do what you want.