CRES Lifts Ban On Material Satirising Thailand's Political Elite

[mca]

And the exact point of posting Hinke's picture was..........?

( Genuine question )

Edited November 27, 2010 by mca

[LaoPo]

Am personally very curious about this so called "mass censorship". Obviously laws prevent revealing what sites these are, but the numbers can be mentioned - Can you give me some idea of the figures involved and whether the majority of sites are in Thai or English?

freedom,

CJ Hinke

Coordinator

Freedom Against Censorship Thailand FACT)

Party on, dude.

CJ Hinke (center in black T-shirt) lamenting over the Deputy Prime Minister not returning his phone calls.

.

Childish comment since you have no clue why this party is having a good time.

Are you saying that Mr. Hinke is not allowed to relax himself anymore with friends in his private life?

Are you saying at the same time that you agree with the CRES's stupid action of lifting a ban for something which isn't there (anymore) or even worse, are you agreeing with the lack of freedom -Satirising Political Elite- in the streets and on the Internet in Thailand?

LaoPo

[Buchholz]

Am personally very curious about this so called "mass censorship". Obviously laws prevent revealing what sites these are, but the numbers can be mentioned - Can you give me some idea of the figures involved and whether the majority of sites are in Thai or English?

freedom,

CJ Hinke

Coordinator

Freedom Against Censorship Thailand FACT)

Party on, dude.

CJ Hinke (center in black T-shirt) lamenting over the Deputy Prime Minister not returning his phone calls.

.

Childish comment since you have no clue why this party is having a good time.

Are you saying that Mr. Hinke is not allowed to relax himself anymore with friends in his private life?

Are you saying at the same time that you agree with the CRES's stupid action of lifting a ban for something which isn't there (anymore) or even worse, are you agreeing with the lack of freedom -Satirising Political Elite- in the streets and on the Internet in Thailand?

LaoPo

"Party on, dude" is a friendly term. My comment under Mr. Hinke's photo was satirizing.

Mr. Hinke has every right to relax.

I am saying that it's good the CRES took Abhisit's advice to review their policy and that they rescinded it.

As I posted, I didn't see his blog is blocked, so I'm not agreeing with claims of "lack of freedom"...albeit I am aware that different ISP's sometimes have different results. All I can speak of is that his blog isn't blocked at all on my ISP.

The political elite are subject to satirizing. The PM recognizes that and that's why he told CRES to review their policy.

Arresting the flip flop seller was a mistake and shouldn't have happened.

p.s. sorry if you want to get into one of your long, drawn-out interactions, I'll have to take a raincheck as I'm heading out myself to "relax."

Edited November 27, 2010 by Buchholz

[LaoPo]

"Party on, dude" is a friendly term. My comment under Mr. Hinke's photo was satirizing.

Mr. Hinke has every right to relax.

Good to hear that, but I wasn't the only one misunderstanding your post.....

LaoPo

[jayboy]

And the exact point of posting Hinke's picture was..........?

( Genuine question )

It is as I said earlier exceedingly creepy.The moment I posted the FACT letter, John, in the absence of reasoned arguments was scurrying around the internet to find a way of besmirching the people involved (and failing).

[whybother]

And the exact point of posting Hinke's picture was..........?

( Genuine question )

It is as I said earlier exceedingly creepy.The moment I posted the FACT letter, John, in the absence of reasoned arguments was scurrying around the internet to find a way of besmirching the people involved (and failing).

How exactly was it creepy? It may have been pointless (but maybe funny) in relation to the reason it was brought up, but creepy?? Saying that is just as pointless (or creepy) as Buchholz's post.

[Insight]

Am personally very curious about this so called "mass censorship". Obviously laws prevent revealing what sites these are, but the numbers can be mentioned - Can you give me some idea of the figures involved and whether the majority of sites are in Thai or English?

I attach a copy of a letter dated 10th November sent by the Coordinator of Freedom against Censorship Thailand (FACT) to the PM.I hope this gives you a flavour of the censorship activity.

10th November 2010

The Hon. Abhisit Vejjajiva

Prime Minister

Government House

Bangkok BY HAND

Mr. Prime Minister:

According to your government’s official media releases from April 15 to today, 283,610 websites are blocked by your government.

Our website Freedom Against Censorship Thailand (FACT) has been blocked since May 9, more than six months. We host no illegal or even uncivil content.

It is ironic that an anti-censorship website should itself be censored by government.

What does a citizen do to get their website unblocked? I have been in contact with your ICT minister, your deputy prime minister will not return my calls and the military authorities at your CRES and CAPO are simply unreachable by the ordinary citizen.

Mr. Prime Minister, what about Chiranuch Premchaiporn, facing 60-years in prison under the Computer Crimes Act for statements she did not herself pose?

We wish to continue discussion of these issues with you and see our website unblocked now.

freedom,

CJ Hinke

Coordinator

Freedom Against Censorship Thailand FACT)

Brilliant. Any chance of some figures?

Reason I ask is I remember all to well the censorship campaign of the Thaksin era; encountering that animi-style cyber-wotsit character when browsing what I would consider harmless work-related sites was an almost daily occurrence.

I've seen the CRES notice a sum-total of three times since the clampdown - on one YouTube video, attempting to browse Wikileaks (ridiculously easily circumvented) and now attempting to access the FACT site. Yet apparently the number of websites blocked is in the tens or hundreds or thousands...? An exact figure or authoritative source of sites blocked would be much appreciated.

/edit - just reread - 283,610 websites? That's a fairly significant figure. Again, the original govt sources indicating this would be appreciated.

Edited November 27, 2010 by Insight

[jayboy]

And the exact point of posting Hinke's picture was..........?

( Genuine question )

It is as I said earlier exceedingly creepy.The moment I posted the FACT letter, John, in the absence of reasoned arguments was scurrying around the internet to find a way of besmirching the people involved (and failing).

How exactly was it creepy? It may have been pointless (but maybe funny) in relation to the reason it was brought up, but creepy?? Saying that is just as pointless (or creepy) as Buchholz's post.

If you don't understand why not, I could never explain it to you.

[jayboy]

I've seen the CRES notice a sum-total of three times since the clampdown - on one YouTube video, attempting to browse Wikileaks (ridiculously easily circumvented) and now attempting to access the FACT site. Yet apparently the number of websites blocked is in the tens or hundreds or thousands...? An exact figure or authoritative source of sites blocked would be much appreciated.

I agree the blocking is easily circumvented.I also note after months of blocking the FACT web site is now accessible.Thai students at universities throughout the country are more than a match for the MICT plods.In terms of the number of sites blocked , please do your own research.

[Insight]

I've seen the CRES notice a sum-total of three times since the clampdown - on one YouTube video, attempting to browse Wikileaks (ridiculously easily circumvented) and now attempting to access the FACT site. Yet apparently the number of websites blocked is in the tens or hundreds or thousands...? An exact figure or authoritative source of sites blocked would be much appreciated.

I agree the blocking is easily circumvented.I also note after months of blocking the FACT web site is now accessible.Thai students at universities throughout the country are more than a match for the MICT plods.In terms of the number of sites blocked , please do your own research.

Well IMO the figure of 283,610 websites sounds at the least something has been lost in translation somewhere...

[whybother]

And the exact point of posting Hinke's picture was..........?

( Genuine question )

It is as I said earlier exceedingly creepy.The moment I posted the FACT letter, John, in the absence of reasoned arguments was scurrying around the internet to find a way of besmirching the people involved (and failing).

How exactly was it creepy? It may have been pointless (but maybe funny) in relation to the reason it was brought up, but creepy?? Saying that is just as pointless (or creepy) as Buchholz's post.

If you don't understand why not, I could never explain it to you.

If I understood, you wouldn't need to explain it, and if I don't understand you could never explain it.

Maybe you don't understand, so you can't explain it.

Maybe you can give it a try, both to see if you can explain it, and to see if I can understand.

[Crushdepth]

The authority had prohibited distribution of political material such as rubber sandals with Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva's face on them, as such items might create divisions in society. Security officials had the authority to confiscate such items.

Red or yellow, love Thaksin or hate him. This is stupid, stupid @#$@#%#% stupid. The people who made this decision are a waste of food and oxygen and have no business in government. Please hurry up and die so that the rest of us may address some real issues.

Thank you.

[TAWP]

The authority had prohibited distribution of political material such as rubber sandals with Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva's face on them, as such items might create divisions in society. Security officials had the authority to confiscate such items.

Red or yellow, love Thaksin or hate him. This is stupid, stupid @#$@#%#% stupid. The people who made this decision are a waste of food and oxygen and have no business in government. Please hurry up and die so that the rest of us may address some real issues.

Thank you.

Back home we have a saying; "Too stupid to be allowed to live."

[SergeiY]

I've seen the CRES notice a sum-total of three times since the clampdown - on one YouTube video, attempting to browse Wikileaks (ridiculously easily circumvented) and now attempting to access the FACT site. Yet apparently the number of websites blocked is in the tens or hundreds or thousands...? An exact figure or authoritative source of sites blocked would be much appreciated.

I agree the blocking is easily circumvented.I also note after months of blocking the FACT web site is now accessible.Thai students at universities throughout the country are more than a match for the MICT plods.In terms of the number of sites blocked , please do your own research.

I can only get at the start page of facthai.wordpress.com/, if i wanna browse there any further i get redirected to the CAPO/CRES announcement that "an access to such information has been temporarily ceased"

According to FACT they got the number from various govt media releases. And i remember some MICT announcement in the past were they proud tell of their work and how much websites they could ban/block during the last month or week.

Report improper websites - July 31, 2010

The billboard: All together creating an online world for a qualified learning society - If you find an improper website, call 1212

http://www.2bangkok.com/blocked.shtml

edited to add PS

PS He,he. I just noticed something funny. Can anyone spot what went wrong with the Abhisit photo in that billboard?

Edited November 27, 2010 by SergeiY

[LaoPo]

PS He,he. I just noticed something funny. Can anyone spot what went wrong with the Abhisit photo in that billboard?

........he dialed the wrong number and is now calling with Thaksin ?

LaoPo

[SergeiY]

........he dialed the wrong number and is now calling with Thaksin ?

LaoPo

Very funny answer, ...

... but this is not what i mean. Look again, it can be seen and i not mean 'wrong' on an abstract or meta level.

[Siam Simon]

If you don't understand why not, I could never explain it to you.

If I understood, you wouldn't need to explain it, and if I don't understand you could never explain it.

Maybe you don't understand, so you can't explain it.

Maybe you can give it a try, both to see if you can explain it, and to see if I can understand.

Jayboy is understandably bored, so I'll do it for him: It's in post 35 that you chose to ignore.

[Buchholz]

And the exact point of posting Hinke's picture was..........?

( Genuine question )

It is as I said earlier exceedingly creepy.The moment I posted the FACT letter, John, in the absence of reasoned arguments was scurrying around the internet to find a way of besmirching the people involved (and failing).

Funny what Jay considers as "scurrying around" was nothing more than about 8 seconds of googling.

The besmirching of the blogger is done by himself and his empty claims that his blog is being blocked when I've been accessing it all year. His self-aggrandizement of somehow feeling important enough that the Deputy Prime Minister should call him personally and fix his internet connection problem was a bit much as well.

Just another misinformation attempt by Jay that fails.

Edited November 28, 2010 by Buchholz

[Buchholz]

I've seen the CRES notice a sum-total of three times since the clampdown - on one YouTube video, attempting to browse Wikileaks (ridiculously easily circumvented) and now attempting to access the FACT site. Yet apparently the number of websites blocked is in the tens or hundreds or thousands...? An exact figure or authoritative source of sites blocked would be much appreciated.

I agree the blocking is easily circumvented.I also note after months of blocking the FACT web site is now accessible.Thai students at universities throughout the country are more than a match for the MICT plods.In terms of the number of sites blocked , please do your own research.

I can only get at the start page of facthai.wordpress.com/, if i wanna browse there any further i get redirected to the CAPO/CRES announcement that "an access to such information has been temporarily ceased"

I get the whole website without any difficulty whatsoever. I could send you something if there is anything you needed from there?

Perhaps sign their petition?

[Robby nz]

Sorry to interupt your off topic argument but...............

Looks like yet another red ploy has backfired on them.

Instead of insulting (and pissing off) the PM by putting his face on shoes he has accepted it for what it is.... free publisity.

Yes they have made sure every red who buys them will have a picture of the PM.

They will then know who to thank when their red family menbers and friends are bailed out of jail with Govt money.

Who to thank when they go to hospital for their free medical care, when their kids get free schooling, when they line up for their flood relief payments etc etc.

Good move reds and good response PM.

Wonder what Thaksin would have done in similar circumstances, or Jataporn, he would have had someone up in court for sure.

[Thai at Heart]

If you think about what Abhisit has done by allowing this, it may well be a first for Thailand.

He has basically said that the rights of the people outweigh the sensibilities of the pooyai. And as pooyais go, he is pretty much up there at the top. He certainly didn't learn this in Thailand.

Could you name another PM in the history of the country who would have been able to see the bigger picture above his own personal feelings?

[SergeiY]

If you think about what Abhisit has done by allowing this, it may well be a first for Thailand.

He has basically said that the rights of the people outweigh the sensibilities of the pooyai. And as pooyais go, he is pretty much up there at the top. He certainly didn't learn this in Thailand.

Could you name another PM in the history of the country who would have been able to see the bigger picture above his own personal feelings?

Well i remember some previous PMs who have been subject to satire but there wasn't some CRES who declared such things illegal.

Abhisit just reacts now after many complains from various sides about the legitimacy of the emergency decree and the constitutional rights of the people.

[Thai at Heart]

If you think about what Abhisit has done by allowing this, it may well be a first for Thailand.

He has basically said that the rights of the people outweigh the sensibilities of the pooyai. And as pooyais go, he is pretty much up there at the top. He certainly didn't learn this in Thailand.

Could you name another PM in the history of the country who would have been able to see the bigger picture above his own personal feelings?

Well i remember some previous PMs who have been subject to satire but there wasn't some CRES who declared such things illegal.

Abhisit just reacts now after many complains from various sides about the legitimacy of the emergency decree and the constitutional rights of the people.

Well, that depends on your understanding of satire. Putting your face on a shoe, isn't particularly satirical, nor containing anything approaching humour. It is probably closer to downright insulting. But still not something that the CRES needs to get involved in.

I do remember an extremely funny article in the Notthenation (which I can't seem to find anymore) about the Coup leaders attempting to ban sarcasm, because it can lead to confusion.

Well, another branch has tried to ban political satire/insults.

Seems as though someone at least has retained their sense of humour.

[Buchholz]

If you think about what Abhisit has done by allowing this, it may well be a first for Thailand.

He has basically said that the rights of the people outweigh the sensibilities of the pooyai. And as pooyais go, he is pretty much up there at the top. He certainly didn't learn this in Thailand.

Could you name another PM in the history of the country who would have been able to see the bigger picture above his own personal feelings?

Well i remember some previous PMs who have been subject to satire but there wasn't some CRES who declared such things illegal.

And in the absence of a CRES, was their reaction to say that political satirizing was acceptable?

[mca]

I've seen the CRES notice a sum-total of three times since the clampdown - on one YouTube video, attempting to browse Wikileaks (ridiculously easily circumvented) and now attempting to access the FACT site. Yet apparently the number of websites blocked is in the tens or hundreds or thousands...? An exact figure or authoritative source of sites blocked would be much appreciated.

I agree the blocking is easily circumvented.I also note after months of blocking the FACT web site is now accessible.Thai students at universities throughout the country are more than a match for the MICT plods.In terms of the number of sites blocked , please do your own research.

I can only get at the start page of facthai.wordpress.com/, if i wanna browse there any further i get redirected to the CAPO/CRES announcement that "an access to such information has been temporarily ceased"

I get the whole website without any difficulty whatsoever. I could send you something if there is anything you needed from there?

Perhaps sign their petition?

It's certainly blocked on my TOT connection.

Edited November 28, 2010 by mca

[Buchholz]

I agree the blocking is easily circumvented.I also note after months of blocking the FACT web site is now accessible.Thai students at universities throughout the country are more than a match for the MICT plods.In terms of the number of sites blocked , please do your own research.

I can only get at the start page of facthai.wordpress.com/, if i wanna browse there any further i get redirected to the CAPO/CRES announcement that "an access to such information has been temporarily ceased"

I get the whole website without any difficulty whatsoever. I could send you something if there is anything you needed from there?

Perhaps sign their petition?

It's certainly blocked on my TOT connection.

If TOT is blocking websites you wish to read, perhaps you may consider switching to a different Internet Service Provider.

[mca]

That's not the point. I'll use a proxy if I want to read it. The point is

The besmirching of the blogger is done by himself and his empty claims that his blog is being blocked when I've been accessing it all year.

Which isn't correct.

[Buchholz]

That's not the point. I'll use a proxy if I want to read it. The point is

The besmirching of the blogger is done by himself and his empty claims that his blog is being blocked when I've been accessing it all year.

Which isn't correct.

It's correct if someone has been using an ISP other than TOT for the past year.

.

Edited November 28, 2010 by Buchholz

[mca]

You said his claims that he's being blocked are empty. TOT is blocking him. Therefore his claims of being blocked aren't empty are they? They're true.

Edited November 28, 2010 by mca

[SergeiY]

If you think about what Abhisit has done by allowing this, it may well be a first for Thailand.

He has basically said that the rights of the people outweigh the sensibilities of the pooyai. And as pooyais go, he is pretty much up there at the top. He certainly didn't learn this in Thailand.

Could you name another PM in the history of the country who would have been able to see the bigger picture above his own personal feelings?

Well i remember some previous PMs who have been subject to satire but there wasn't some CRES who declared such things illegal.

Abhisit just reacts now after many complains from various sides about the legitimacy of the emergency decree and the constitutional rights of the people.

Well, that depends on your understanding of satire. Putting your face on a shoe, isn't particularly satirical, nor containing anything approaching humour. It is probably closer to downright insulting. But still not something that the CRES needs to get involved in.

I do remember an extremely funny article in the Notthenation (which I can't seem to find anymore) about the Coup leaders attempting to ban sarcasm, because it can lead to confusion.

Well, another branch has tried to ban political satire/insults.

Seems as though someone at least has retained their sense of humour.

I took the satire part from the headline " CRES Lifts Ban On Material Satirising Thailand's Political Elite" They have obviously a broader definition.

Anyway, its a nice show who has the power here. There aren't only these flip flop or the ban of it or the arrest of the people who sold them and so on, there are more things that are questionable constitution wise.

But okay, after many protest and objection from outside and not only the red side, but also from people like some human right dudes and professors from law school and so on Abhisit reacts, but reacts only on this flip flops, tells the CRES they should rethink about it. First CRES say pfff. A ban is a ban and than okay we lift the ban, but not because the PM told us but because something like this never happen and don't exist.

That Abhisit came forward and said 'Thats against the constitution' and 'It wasn't me, I didn't order this' was/is just a face saving step, some 'democracy' show. And it revealed who has the real power.