Reuters Is Garbage, Pro-red Shirt Propaganda

[ding]

Source: Reuters, by Jason Szep; Editing by Jerry Norton

(the vast majority of column inches are like this)

BANGKOK (Reuters) – Tens of thousands of protesters converged in Bangkok on Sunday to give Thailand's military-backed government an ultimatum: either call elections or face crippling demonstrations across the capital in coming days.

"This government angers me. I never cared much about politics until a few years ago when it becomes so clear they are trying to hold onto power at the expense of people like us," said Teerachai Sukpitak, a farmer from northeast Leoi province.

The protesters chafe at what they say is an "unelected elite" preventing allies of twice-elected Thaksin from returning to power through a vote. Adding to their anger, Thailand's top court seized $1.4 billion of his assets last month, saying it was accrued through abuse of power.

"We are here to ask for justice and for rule of law to be applied to all," one protest leader, Weng Torirajkan, told cheering supporters. "The government cannot do it because it's too busy serving the elite."

Yahoo! -Reuters

(And here is the the balance, the total Yellow Shirt side is one line. It makes them look like whiners)

His critics accuse him of authoritarianism, corruption and undermining the monarchy.

[whiterussian]

Might have to do with the concept of "military-backed government", even though these days a "police-backed government" is effectively the same.

Ah well, the world had to live with Mr Bush and co for years, I guess everybody should just ... wait ... and hope Abhisit doesn't declare a holy war on Japan.

on a side note: damning human rights violations in the USA from the P.L.A ! LoL

Welcome to the new cold war!

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/chin..._13208219_9.htm

American children suffer from hunger and cold. A report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture showed that 16.7 million children, or one fourth of the U.S. total, had not enough food in 2008 (The Washington Post, USA Today, November 17, 2009). The food relief institution Feeding America said in a report that more than 3.5 million children under the age of five face hunger or malnutrition. This figure accounts for 17 percent of American children aged five and under. In 11 states, more than 20 percent of young children were at risk for hunger.

Edited March 14, 2010 by whiterussian

[garyh]

Your point is?

The present government was not elected, elections should be held, at least then it will be a democratically elected government.

[Curt1591]

Your point is?

The present government was not elected, elections should be held, at least then it will be a democratically elected government.

But, if they hold elections, those "stupid voters" will vote wrong again and the PAD will have to take to the streets!

[londonthai]

foreign reporting, from the large, reputable agencies, usually is not biased and it's refreshing to have some different opinions from the different perspectives.

don't see the reason why routers or any foreign correspondents would be biased and do pro-red or pro-anything propaganda - they have access to information, which sometimes is censored by the ruling elite in thailand, and are free to express their views without prison sanction

[anotherpeter]

I see it has being an unbiased article (at least what was in your post).

The portion you posted is stating the why people are protesting. And agree with their reasons or not, THAT IS why they are protesting.

The article is probably not designed to give a full history of the last 10 years. It's just pointing out that people are protesting and why they are protesting.

[Moonrakers]

Your point is?

The present government was not elected, elections should be held, at least then it will be a democratically elected government.

Stop this

The present government was elected. People can say otherwise all they want and it won't change that FACT.

[anotherpeter]

Your point is?

The present government was not elected, elections should be held, at least then it will be a democratically elected government.

Is Abhisit an elected MP? Are all the other members of the Democrat party and the smaller parties elected MPS?

The PPP party formed a coalition government with some smaller parties. The PPP party was banned. All the PPP MPs moved to the various smaller parties, mostly to the Peau Thai party. The Peau Thai party could not form a coalition with the smaller parties. The Democrats were able to form a coalition government with the smaller parties.

They Democrates are all elected MPs. So, as elected MPs, they were able to form a government. That makes them the elected government.

[WinnieTheKhwai]

LOL, this is just priceless!!! People get their eyes on unbiased news from respected internatioinal sources like Reuters, BBC and CNN, so without the daily spin that the local English language dailies add into the mix, and then it's actually perceived as biased!!

Hint: unbiased sources were out there all along, if you stick with the likes of The Nation long enough, eventually you'll start believing the stuff they dream up..

[Ulysses G.]

Indubitably

Edited March 14, 2010 by Ulysses G.

[ding]

A hard measure of slant is the column inches devoted to one side, and not the other. This article is very uneven. Second, the writer uses 'man on the street' statements to give voice to the side he wants to project. This was called 'catapult the propaganda' by Bush.

The article fails to mention Thaksin's conviction, corruption, etc. This is a HUGE omission.

The article does not inform about what sparked this "protest" - the seizure of Mr T's funds.

The article doesn't explain that "protesters" are getting paid to protest.

If someone thinks this is fair and balanced, you are certainly susceptible to propaganda, though likely very smart and generally have conservative leanings by now. You likely have good memory and great knowledge, but are blinded by over confidence and not open to new information.

I see articles from Thailand and see that they are unbalanced from the Yellow side. I see what propaganda has done to my beloved home country and it's dam_n sad. Look what has happened. Hate to see the same BS spread about Thailand by the same interests.

[ding]

UPDATE:

Yahoo! has dropped the Reuters story and is now running an AP story.

The Reuters authors knew that westerners don't know Thailand from Taiwan and knew that omitting key background on one side would create sympathy for the Reds. Garbage, or worse. It's common practice to provide the audience with some basic background, especially when the audience is known to be unfamiliar.

[bifftastic]

and Reuters supports the reds because.......???

[Spee]

Might have to do with the concept of "military-backed government", even though these days a "police-backed government" is effectively the same.

Ah well, the world had to live with Mr Bush and co for years, I guess everybody should just ... wait ... and hope Abhisit doesn't declare a holy war on Japan.

on a side note: damning human rights violations in the USA from the P.L.A ! LoL

Welcome to the new cold war!

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/chin..._13208219_9.htm

American children suffer from hunger and cold. A report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture showed that 16.7 million children, or one fourth of the U.S. total, had not enough food in 2008 (The Washington Post, USA Today, November 17, 2009). The food relief institution Feeding America said in a report that more than 3.5 million children under the age of five face hunger or malnutrition. This figure accounts for 17 percent of American children aged five and under. In 11 states, more than 20 percent of young children were at risk for hunger.

Thank you for this nonsensical off topic load of crapola.

[simcity]

Your point is?

The present government was not elected, elections should be held, at least then it will be a democratically elected government.

But, if they hold elections, those "stupid voters" will vote wrong again and the PAD will have to take to the streets!

Yes, they are no end stories to this dilemma, my solution, fire every political figures, bring a proxy from china / Singapore / Malaysia and clean the system.

In 6 years Thailand will have a chance, honesty & eliminated the corruption !

I just wake up, i was dreaming ......

[ding]

and Reuters supports the reds because.......???

They promote corporatism worldwide. See; USA

You really think this article is even pretending to be balanced? Seriously?

[Ulysses G.]

If someone thinks this is fair and balanced, you are certainly susceptible to propaganda

If it was a completely negative pack of lies about the redshirts, the same old posters would be praising it to the skies and refering to it as factual at every opportunity. It certainly balances their never-ending stream of screwy, deceitful posts.

Edited March 15, 2010 by Ulysses G.

[WeeGB]

Your point is?

The present government was not elected, elections should be held, at least then it will be a democratically elected government.

But, if they hold elections, those "stupid voters" will vote wrong again and the PAD will have to take to the streets!

I for one, would love to see how many yellow shirt supporters would gather in somewhere like Chiang Mai,for instance, if this was the case. And who would pay them to go there. Suspect the numbers would be insignificantly small, in the hundreds, not thousands.

Edited March 15, 2010 by WeeGB

[britmaveric]

Great Article and it speaks the truth. The current PM should resign and call for elections as he stated he would.

[elcent]

Never heard of "Is it Real or Reuters?"

[eggomaniac]

Your point is?

The present government was not elected, elections should be held, at least then it will be a democratically elected government.

But, if they hold elections, those "stupid voters" will vote wrong again and the PAD will have to take to the streets!

lol (:+P good one... actually Sondhi has another plan, has threatened if elections don't go his way all of the rich Thais are going to withdraw money and destroy the Thai economy.. he said the airport take over was only a small example of what he can do..<< I'm not making that up, you can Google it... He is easily as corrupt as Thaksin ever was

[WeeGB]

LOL, this is just priceless!!! People get their eyes on unbiased news from respected internatioinal sources like Reuters, BBC and CNN, so without the daily spin that the local English language dailies add into the mix, and then it's actually perceived as biased!!

Hint: unbiased sources were out there all along, if you stick with the likes of The Nation long enough, eventually you'll start believing the stuff they dream up..

Or learn that the best thing to do with this "newspaper", is to recycle it, before reading.

Personally I wouldn't wrap my fish supper in it, the anti-red vitriol would spoil the flavour!

Perhaps the publishers should contemplate printing it on softer paper, with tear lines, then it may serve some purpose.

[parryhandy]

LOL, this is just priceless!!! People get their eyes on unbiased news from respected internatioinal sources like Reuters, BBC and CNN, so without the daily spin that the local English language dailies add into the mix, and then it's actually perceived as biased!!

Hint: unbiased sources were out there all along, if you stick with the likes of The Nation long enough, eventually you'll start believing the stuff they dream up..

No such thing as respected international source these days thats why Taskin has spent millions over the years with yank pr firms, they are all in it for money and agenda pedalling.

If I want up to date news and info the LAST place I would look is the mainstream news, its like reading news from some alternative universe its that bad.

[eggomaniac]

Your point is?

The present government was not elected, elections should be held, at least then it will be a democratically elected government.

But, if they hold elections, those "stupid voters" will vote wrong again and the PAD will have to take to the streets!

I for one, would love to see how many yellow shirt supporters would gather in somewhere like Chiang Mai,for instance, if this was the case. And who would pay them to go there. Suspect the numbers would be insignificantly small, in the hundreds, not thousands.

The Yellows are always claiming the Red movement is not a real democratic movement. There is none of the same confusion about the Yellows. Everybody clearly knows, on a scale of 1 to 10, how They rank as democratic voice!

[Cayenne]

Your point is?

The present government was not elected, elections should be held, at least then it will be a democratically elected government.

Is Abhisit an elected MP? Are all the other members of the Democrat party and the smaller parties elected MPS?

The PPP party formed a coalition government with some smaller parties. The PPP party was banned. All the PPP MPs moved to the various smaller parties, mostly to the Peau Thai party. The Peau Thai party could not form a coalition with the smaller parties. The Democrats were able to form a coalition government with the smaller parties.

They Democrates are all elected MPs. So, as elected MPs, they were able to form a government. That makes them the elected government.

No need to defend this statement. I think the legitimacy of this government has been covered many many times on numerous threads and those that claim this government is not legitimate has yet to provde any legal basis for their thinking other than to go back to square one (i.e. this government came from a coup) in which we also have to start over again with our logic.

[WeeGB]

Your point is?

The present government was not elected, elections should be held, at least then it will be a democratically elected government.

But, if they hold elections, those "stupid voters" will vote wrong again and the PAD will have to take to the streets!

I for one, would love to see how many yellow shirt supporters would gather in somewhere like Chiang Mai,for instance, if this was the case. And who would pay them to go there. Suspect the numbers would be insignificantly small, in the hundreds, not thousands.

The Yellows are always claiming the Red movement is not a real democratic movement. There is none of the same confusion about the Yellows. Everybody clearly knows, on a scale of 1 to 10, how They rank as democratic voice!

You'd rate them as high as 1 ??

[Samuian]

Your point is?

The present government was not elected, elections should be held, at least then it will be a democratically elected government.

But, if they hold elections, those "stupid voters" will vote wrong again and the PAD will have to take to the streets!

I for one, would love to see how many yellow shirt supporters would gather in somewhere like Chiang Mai,for instance, if this was the case. And who would pay them to go there. Suspect the numbers would be insignificantly small, in the hundreds, not thousands.

The Yellows are always claiming the Red movement is not a real democratic movement. There is none of the same confusion about the Yellows. Everybody clearly knows, on a scale of 1 to 10, how They rank as democratic voice!

"I for one, would love to see how many yellow shirt supporters would gather in somewhere like Chiang Mai,for instance, if this was the case. And who would pay them to go there....."

This confutes the thesis that "the reds are a democratic movement"...!

Who or which force is preventing the "yellows" to demonstrate or even only hold road shows in the north?

Who were the participants of the Pattaya ASEAN meeting break up, who instigated the Songkran riots with which goal?

What happened to yellow shirt supporters there, what happened to the father

of a radio station reporter....?

Democratic?

"Genuine eatable Democracy?"

or "genuine Thaksinonomics"?

Unless the reds let go and steer clear of their major sponsor, they can't be taken serious, nor "democratic" as they are, biased which they accuse others, including the judiciary of and are only out on the streets for MONEY and promises!

But proclaim otherwise and this makes the whole red agenda highly questionable, it's about power and who rules!

None else!

Edited March 15, 2010 by Samuian

[GAS]

Reuters has long since been discredited, at least in the US! How many recall all of the photochopped pictures from the Israel-Lebanon scuffle a few years back where they got caught red handed!

[scorecard]

I see it has being an unbiased article (at least what was in your post).

The portion you posted is stating the why people are protesting. And agree with their reasons or not, THAT IS why they are protesting.

The article is probably not designed to give a full history of the last 10 years. It's just pointing out that people are protesting and why they are protesting.

So the casual reader who has no other details takes away a 'picture' which is in fact very unbalanced.

The link on another thread to The Washington Post goes to a piece by AP, which is also quite unbalanced.

I cannot agree with the poster who says the international media agencies are usaully very balanced, that's absolutely not true.

And there's another point, quality journalism has suffered very badly through the emergance of the instant news channels (CNN and more). There main agenda is to get something on screen instantly, often no verification, no balance, just deperate to be the first with something on screen.

[Ulysses G.]

Most of the mainstream news organizations seem to be sympathetic to the red cause and have been for quite a while - It is nothing new.

Their articles seem very fair and balanced to those who feel the same way and absolute heresy to fanatical yellow farangs.