Youtube

[A_Traveller]

The video which is causing {apparently} the block is the one uploaded and id'd in the FT article. It is not the Thaksin video.

Regards

[andy1308]

YouTube is pretty good when it comes to removing offensive material, but it's too late because the damage in terms of media coverage, has already been done. Blocking access to one video is fine, but blocking access to a whole site is just way beyond what is considered acceptable by the rest of the world.

And as has been said in earlier posts, this news on top of everything else is just showing Thailand in an especially bad light.

[jayjayjayjay]

looks like video is blocked by MODS already..

Absolutly not.

The tool you are using has problem to display flash, that's all.

Just checked from a PC in Europe : the video is still there.

And no, there is no comments.

But maybe, there is a confusion about the video.

Is it " Thaksin tells it all about Prem's" that we are talking about. Or another one ?

Tnks cclub75, was not sure, could have been secure-tunnel transfer system also.

[bangkokrick]

YouTube is pretty good when it comes to removing offensive material, but it's too late because the damage in terms of media coverage, has already been done. Blocking access to one video is fine, but blocking access to a whole site is just way beyond what is considered acceptable by the rest of the world.

And as has been said in earlier posts, this news on top of everything else is just showing Thailand in an especially bad light.

The clip is still showing on Youtube as i have just watched it. This is the most offensive video clip that i have ever seen and it should be removed immediately. Its an absolute insult to all Thais Worldwide and i for one will be boycotting Youtube until this debacle is removed.

I clicked 'Flag as inappropriate' button and i hope that Anyone else viewing this clip will do the same.

[Collie]

Not sure how they are blocking but I can ping the site no problem and if I try to browse to it I still get the Youtube logo on the browser tab but no further. On TT&T in Krabi.

Just so glad I have the government to protect my innocence.......

Yes its all in very poor taste and will be removed.......but the whole mess with site blocking just makes Thailand look daft....

[sriracha john]

YouTube is pretty good when it comes to removing offensive material, but it's too late because the damage in terms of media coverage, has already been done. Blocking access to one video is fine, but blocking access to a whole site is just way beyond what is considered acceptable by the rest of the world.

And as has been said in earlier posts, this news on top of everything else is just showing Thailand in an especially bad light.

Are they good? The video was put up days ago and immediately drew negative remarks and requests from viewers to get it pulled off.

I'm not all that well versed in the matter, but what degree of technological savviness is necessary to block a single video... and while it may be a "bull in a china store" type of response to block the whole site, perhaps that reflects the limit of Thailand's finesse in such matters.

I think if the news is presented in a manner to the outside world that Thailand loves His Majesty the King... and is rightfully offended when he's mocked, it's not showing itself in a bad light.

[Hobox]

Tracing route to www.youtube.com [208.65.153.251]

over a maximum of 30 hops:

1 1 ms <1 ms <1 ms 208.65.153.251

2 1 ms 1 ms 1 ms 192.168.1.1

3 33 ms 33 ms 31 ms 10.122.84.253

4 * 32 ms 31 ms 10.122.84.254

5 45 ms 45 ms 43 ms 10.121.20.1

6 52 ms 43 ms 43 ms 192.168.10.10

7 44 ms 43 ms 43 ms 58.147.0.50

8 44 ms 43 ms 43 ms 58.147.0.46

9 202.47.254.161 reports: Destination host unreachable.

Trace complete.

Same thing still. MaxNet, Phuket

[cclub75]

Okay, I apologize.

It's not the video about Thaksin and Prem.

It's another one, from user "Paddidda". I just watched it (from Europe). And indeed, it's very, highly offensive.

[andy1308]

YouTube is pretty good when it comes to removing offensive material, but it's too late because the damage in terms of media coverage, has already been done. Blocking access to one video is fine, but blocking access to a whole site is just way beyond what is considered acceptable by the rest of the world.

And as has been said in earlier posts, this news on top of everything else is just showing Thailand in an especially bad light.

Are they good? The video was put up days ago and immediately drew negative remarks and requests from viewers to get it pulled off.

I'm not all that well versed in the matter, but what degree of technological savviness is necessary to block a single video... and while it may be a "bull in a china store" type of response to block the whole site, perhaps that reflects the limit of Thailand's finesse in such matters.

I think if the news is presented in a manner to the outside world that Thailand loves His Majesty the King... and is rightfully offended when he's mocked, it's not showing itself in a bad light.

I agree totally with that, but I doubt very much it will be. The headlines will be (and already are) 'Thailand censors YouTube' and not 'Thailand blocks video because it is deemed highly offensive to His Majesty'.

If an official request had been made then, in my past experiences, YouTube are very quick to act. I don't know how many negative comments it takes from users, but they do take notice of official complaints made by affected parties. I am confident that one phone call from someone in the Thai Government to YouTube asking for this video to be removed would have solved the problem in minutes.

[roblin]

hope i get dont get banned for this.

/Edit: nope cos i'm in a good mood today.. but those kinds of comments/questions could get you kicked - cheers, Wolfie!

[MaiPenLai]

I enjoy watching You Tube like many other people. And I will still be able to, as many of you are. No discussion about " how"

This is an interesting event because before the offending post/upload to You Tube there were hundreds of vids from people that were about their love and devotion to the King and that was just fine.

Now that one person decided to post/upload something objectionable, none of those vids will be viewed from within Thailand ( easily ).

I respect my host countries right to block the web site. Nothing to complain about. I am choosing to live here.

It is an object lesson in not being able to have it both ways and throwing the good majority out with the bad minority.

It is also a reflection of where Thailand is currently and comparatively to other countries.

Randomly choosing the U.S.A....... There are hundreds of single and compilation vids of " Dubya " the U. S. President making a fool of himself and I have not checked but I am sure the vids in support of him would be in the minority.

Let me make it clear I am not comparing the U.S. President and the Thai King. That would be absurd. The Thai king is a dignified man deserving of the love and support of his people.

I am more pointing out that an infant country in relative terms (U.S.) seems to have a different take on the censorship issue than a country that enjoys a very long history. China fits here to but for different reasons.

It will be interesting to see how this plays out.

[kayo]

sample conversation>

Minister: "Can we block this page from the internet?"

Lackey: "Yes sir, in theory it can be done but..."

Minister: "But what?!"

Lackey: "Well, sir, most of our skilled engineers work in Singapore or abroad."

Minister: "So you don't know how to block this page?"

Lackey: "Erm... Yes sir."

Minister: "Right, well, pull the entire site then."

[CobraSnakeNecktie]

I enjoy watching You Tube like many other people. And I will still be able to, as many of you are. No discussion about " how"

This is an interesting event because before the offending post/upload to You Tube there were hundreds of vids from people that were about their love and devotion to the King and that was just fine.

Now that one person decided to post/upload something objectionable, none of those vids will be viewed from within Thailand ( easily ).

I respect my host countries right to block the web site. Nothing to complain about. I am choosing to live here.

It is an object lesson in not being able to have it both ways and throwing the good majority out with the bad minority.

It is also a reflection of where Thailand is currently and comparatively to other countries.

Randomly choosing the U.S.A....... There are hundreds of single and compilation vids of " Dubya " the U. S. President making a fool of himself and I have not checked but I am sure the vids in support of him would be in the minority.

Let me make it clear I am not comparing the U.S. President and the Thai King. That would be absurd. The Thai king is a dignified man deserving of the love and support of his people.

I am more pointing out that an infant country in relative terms (U.S.) seems to have a different take on the censorship issue than a country that enjoys a very long history. China fits here to but for different reasons.

It will be interesting to see how this plays out.

slight critique. The US is about the 4th oldest govt in existence today with its constitution being adopted ~230 years ago. When Thailand gets a new constitution after yet another military coup then its a NEW government and the clock starts from scratch.

[MaiPenLai]

I enjoy watching You Tube like many other people. And I will still be able to, as many of you are. No discussion about " how"

This is an interesting event because before the offending post/upload to You Tube there were hundreds of vids from people that were about their love and devotion to the King and that was just fine.

Now that one person decided to post/upload something objectionable, none of those vids will be viewed from within Thailand ( easily ).

I respect my host countries right to block the web site. Nothing to complain about. I am choosing to live here.

It is an object lesson in not being able to have it both ways and throwing the good majority out with the bad minority.

It is also a reflection of where Thailand is currently and comparatively to other countries.

Randomly choosing the U.S.A....... There are hundreds of single and compilation vids of " Dubya " the U. S. President making a fool of himself and I have not checked but I am sure the vids in support of him would be in the minority.

Let me make it clear I am not comparing the U.S. President and the Thai King. That would be absurd. The Thai king is a dignified man deserving of the love and support of his people.

I am more pointing out that an infant country in relative terms (U.S.) seems to have a different take on the censorship issue than a country that enjoys a very long history. China fits here to but for different reasons.

It will be interesting to see how this plays out.

slight critique. The US is about the 4th oldest govt in existence today with its constitution being adopted ~230 years ago. When Thailand gets a new constitution after yet another military coup then its a NEW government and the clock starts from scratch.

I am in complete agreement.

But I would add that in certain situations Thailand has jumped several steps, mainly due to being a bit far behind (opinion, not fact, re:far behind). I wish for the Thai peoples sake this arena would be one where they could advance quickly. I know that is dreaming as this will be a slow and painful process.

Edited April 4, 2007 by MaiPenLai

[Hobox]

Because of all attention I bet this video will be spread on many sites in the next couple of hours. Wonder how the guys in charge are gonna tackle that.

More press and apparent refusal of them to remove the video.

http://uk.reuters.com/article/internetNews...K17066320070404

Edited April 4, 2007 by Hobox

[sriracha john]

If an official request had been made then, in my past experiences, YouTube are very quick to act. I don't know how many negative comments it takes from users, but they do take notice of official complaints made by affected parties. I am confident that one phone call from someone in the Thai Government to YouTube asking for this video to be removed would have solved the problem in minutes.

Perhaps it's some new policy then for YouTube.. because the video has 16,000 views and so many negative comments about it they had to shut it the comment section off... and 500 plus user profile comments with dozens and dozens of them pleading to take the video off.... all to no avail as it is still playing.

As they are a business, I suppose all the interest and attention it's drawing is worth offending a foreign King.

The dollar seems to be winning out... and deceny and respect losing out

Edited April 4, 2007 by sriracha john

[cclub75]

Perhaps it's some new policy then for YouTube.. because the video has 16,000 views and so many negative comments about it they had to shut it the comment section off... and 500 plus user profile comments with dozens and dozens of them pleading to take the video off....

The comments were... offensive too !

Thais seem to have a passion for the word "fxxxx you".

Anyway, the whole thing is turning bad :

-worldwide publicity

-public exposure of some (at least for the outside world) very "specific" thai laws...

-Plus a fury from the thai authorities (which we can understand)

-a normal reaction from YouTube (business, and lese majeste crime is not something accepted outside Thailand, freedom of speech etc...)

-a gridlock ("When they decide to withdraw the clip, we will withdraw the ban" said the minister).

-and you can be sure now... that some lunatics, or people with politic aim, have learned a very efficient way to set disorder. They are going to make some copycats of this video... and put it everywhere.

Nobody is winning. And surely not the Thais.

Edited April 4, 2007 by cclub75

[Hobox]

The story is spreading like a wildfire now among the world press.

Kind of interesting to follow, check here as the number of stories just increase all the time. http://news.google.co.th/news?hl=en&ne...4&as_maxm=4

[QualityTouristNumberOne]

I enjoy watching You Tube like many other people. And I will still be able to, as many of you are. No discussion about " how"

This is an interesting event because before the offending post/upload to You Tube there were hundreds of vids from people that were about their love and devotion to the King and that was just fine.

Now that one person decided to post/upload something objectionable, none of those vids will be viewed from within Thailand ( easily ).

I respect my host countries right to block the web site. Nothing to complain about. I am choosing to live here.

It is an object lesson in not being able to have it both ways and throwing the good majority out with the bad minority.

It is also a reflection of where Thailand is currently and comparatively to other countries.

Randomly choosing the U.S.A....... There are hundreds of single and compilation vids of " Dubya " the U. S. President making a fool of himself and I have not checked but I am sure the vids in support of him would be in the minority.

Let me make it clear I am not comparing the U.S. President and the Thai King. That would be absurd. The Thai king is a dignified man deserving of the love and support of his people.

I am more pointing out that an infant country in relative terms (U.S.) seems to have a different take on the censorship issue than a country that enjoys a very long history. China fits here to but for different reasons.

It will be interesting to see how this plays out.

Read my mind...

I was just thinking of all the incredibly offensive material that has been circulating for many many years about the British royal family,hel_l,remember "Spitting Image"?,

but the English seem to be able to love their monarchy while retaining a sense of humour about it...hmm,I cant see a stand up comic in Thailand referencing the Monarchy AT ALL...quick route to a painful death at the hands of the audience...Oh well,I guess every country and culture is a bit touchy about SOMETHING.

[CobraSnakeNecktie]

If an o

As they are a business, I suppose all the interest and attention it's drawing is worth offending a foreign King.

The dollar seems to be winning out... and deceny and respect losing out

Enough with the Drama ;-)

Its about freedom of the press. If they start pulling content everytime Thailand, Iran, North Korea, China, USA complains then what's left? Aren't the Saudi's and most hard line Islamic countries going to find a ton of things offensive especially about Thailand. I just read today that al Qa'ida has a death warrant out on the Dalai Lama. &lt;deleted&gt;??? . PETA, Greenpeace, Vatican etc they all get offended at something.. Where does it stop? Isn't it more progressive to allow dissention and divergent opinion to be expressed? Who decides what is offensive anyway?

I can find all sorts of subjectively offensive stuff on the web and Thailand itself. Nobody is trying to ban either because people have the ability to choose what they watch as well as where they travel. Some lucky people anyway if their govt allows them.

Dalai Lama story.

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story...16-2703,00.html

[Wolfie]

In the meantime... back to the topic in hand

[MrSnrang]

I've seen it.

People are so dramatic. It's too retarded to take seriously.

[OlRedEyes]

We are all nervous about saying anything on a thread like this. Freedom of expression is an essential liberty in preventing a slide back to dictatorships.

[Hobox]

This is basically about who is going to give in first. I think we can forget YouTube for awhile in Thailand.

To bad as I haven't paid my UBC bill and have been enjoying some old "Yes, Prime Minister" shows as a substitute. Weren't really quite finished with them yet

Edited April 4, 2007 by Hobox

[LivinLOS]

Taken from

http://uk.reuters.com/article/internetNews...K17066320070404

Communications Minister Sitthichai Pookaiyaudom told Reuters he ordered a block of the entire site, www.youtube.com, from Thailand after the ministry's attempts to block the offending page last week failed.

"Since Google has rejected our repeated requests to withdraw the clip, we can't help blocking the entire site in Thailand," said Sitthichai, a telecoms professor who said he had spent most of his academic life researching eavesdropping devices.

Erm.. Why would google either accept or refuse the action of pulling a youtube vid ??

Looks like the experts are on the case..

[bkkmadness]

Google own youtube.

[LivinLOS]

Seriously tho.. Now that global media has picked up on it.. That vid will spread all over.. Thats what viral videos do.. hel_l it will be MMS'ed on cellphones any second.. What are the powers that be going to do now.. All they have done is make a mountain out of a molehill..

Secondly as others have already noted, theres always idiots out there you better believe theres gonna be copycat (much worse) vids uploading just simply to rile people and be dicks.. Get ready for the photoshopped pron clips..

So once more the Junta has boxed themselves into some kind of corner that they wont be able to win from.. Cut the Thailand net links folks, there might be something out there we dont like !! You tube seem to have said (according to links above) they wouldnt pull it, I see someone says they also told China they wouldnt pull vids either (who have more sway than Thailand) as they refuse to be the censor in these issues.. Once more they manage to engineer a lose lose position by acting like this.. Lets see which foot they shot themselves in next.

[TAWP]

I am on True and I cannot access YouTube. I would think that whatever they are trying to achieve by blocking this site they undo by all the adverse publicity they get through doing so.

I think what "they" are trying to do is worthwhile and reflects the view of millions and millions and millions of Thais.

It is hoped that YouTube can be educated in the process and perhaps even be the recipient of some of this adverse publicity in that it has to couch their tremendous power in the use of the world-wide Internet with the sensitivity that not all people want to see anything and everything and that some subjects are unsuitable to show.

They already demonstrate that knowledge to some degree in other areas in that they don't show full-on nudity, but obviously they need to learn this about other areas as well.

You sound like you like censorship.

Youtube has ZERO responsibility against some people taking offence. That is the risk anyone takes by opening their mouth - someone takes offence. it doesn't mean they should be shut up.

And you really think the government blocking the site, is something the people here would like to see? Really? You think people are going "they said something bad about us on a site, thank God they blocked the site so I cannot read it!" - while the rest of the world will still be able and in the end can be ridiculed for blocking the content in the first place.

[LivinLOS]

Google own youtube.

Ahh yes.. OK of course.. Parent company etc..

[A_Traveller]

So when this was raised a few hours ago 6000 views, now 16,000 +. Wonder how many people like me had never heard of it until the block and then viewed it. This government has no idea about 'viral' techniques nor a way to gracefully manage disent, be it childish, as in this case, or serious.

Regards