Hate Mobs Thrive In Asia'S Booming Social Media

[george]

Hate mobs thrive in Asia's booming social media

by Rachel O'Brien

BANGKOK, January 14, 2011 (AFP) - A teenager involved in a car crash that killed nine people in Thailand deserves "no happiness forever", according to just one of more than 300,000 Facebook users who support a page set up to condemn her.

"Only your death is worthwhile for what you have done," said an angry post on the site. "Are you still a human?" asked another. One of the members of the cyber hate campaign threatened to rape the youngster if he saw her.

The 16-year-old girl, from a wealthy Thai family, faces charges of reckless driving resulting in death and driving without a licence, after her car crashed with a public minibus on a Bangkok tollway last month.

Soon afterwards a photo emerged that appeared to show the girl leaning on a roadside barrier, calmly using a BlackBerry smartphone, having escaped serious injury.

She was quickly accused in Internet forums of idly chatting to friends as victims lay dying nearby, which her family denied.

Her photos and contact details were posted online and she reportedly received death threats.

While the exact circumstances of the crash are unclear, the outrage unleashed on Facebook, Twitter and other websites has highlighted the murky phenomenon of cyber "hate mobs" on popular social networking sites.

Behind this trend is what is known as "Internet disinhibition", said Adrian Skinner, a clinical psychologist in Britain who has researched behavioural differences on the web.

"It's now well established that some people can behave in a much less inhibited way on the Internet, and the primary reason is that they feel there's no return, no comeback," he told AFP.

He explained this "lowered sense of responsibility" was coupled with the fact that writing online involved much less effort than taking to the streets in a revenge-seeking crowd -- a more likely option in the pre-Internet age.

"A mob can form much more easily because of electronic communication," he said. "It's much easier for this phenomenon of an 'e-mob' to grow."

Membership of Facebook in Thailand more than doubled last year and now stands at about 7.4 million -- 11 percent of the population -- according to Socialbakers, which compiles data about the site.

The boom was fuelled by fierce debate over the kingdom's political crisis, which triggered deadly opposition protests in Bangkok in April and May last year.

"These tools allow us to express our feelings, ideas and thoughts easily," said Supinya Klangnarong, coordinator of the cyber campaign group Thai Netizen network, who thinks evolution of Internet usage is happening "too quickly".

"Expressing ourselves is good but we need to know the boundary of expression and how to use social media positively," she said. "We need a standard to control what is creative expression and what is intimidation."

The issue is not unique to Thailand, however, with numerous examples of Internet hate campaigns emerging across Asia, which was named by Facebook in September as the fastest-growing region for new subscribers to the site.

In China, where traditional media is heavily censored, the web has become a key way for people to air their views and vent their anger, with many using Facebook and Twitter through proxy servers because they are officially blocked.

There are scores of cases of people -- celebrities, officials or ordinary citizens -- who have been at the receiving end of disapproval or anger on the Internet, particularly where corruption or abuse of power are concerned.

In one of the most famous recent examples, Zhang Ziyi, a Chinese movie star, received a barrage of online criticism after it was revealed she had only given part of a promised donation to victims of the huge 2008 Sichuan earthquake.

The incident took a toll on the actress, known for her roles in "Memoirs of a Geisha" and "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon", and she apologised in a teary interview. The entire one million yuan (152,000 dollars) was eventually paid.

The Internet has now become such a medium for people's wrath in China that it has triggered the so-called "human flesh search" phenomenon, where netizens hunt down and reveal the identities of perceived offenders.

Their targets have included young women who crushed rabbits to death in graphic videos posted on the web.

In South Korea, netizens have come up against the law for what Korean President Lee Myung-Bak has described as "improper Internet witch-hunting".

His comments were sparked by the case of popular hip-hop singer Tablo, who faced a fierce web campaign from November 2009 when bloggers cast doubt about his educational background.

Police launched a criminal probe, concluding that Tablo's academic credentials were authentic, and referred 14 bloggers to prosecutors on libel charges.

The case highlighted "the tyranny of the cyber mob that gets a high from spreading ungrounded rumours," a major South Korean newspaper, the JoongAng Daily, said in an editorial in October.

"The situation shows a dark shadow that arches over the Internet age."

-- (c) Copyright AFP 2011-01-14

[waza]

I hate this sort of stuff,these people should be hung drawn and quartered. WOW, I feel so disinhibited.

[tgeezer]

I don't find the internet anonomous whatsoever, I feel now that people are actually going to read this so that I have to be careful with grammar and spelling just for starters, then opinions are even more circumscribed. I am over 65 years old, I wonder if it is an age thing or just different personalities. (pause there to look-up circumscribe) .

[Samuian]

Whoever feels satisfaction from this sort of cyber attack needs help or might be hopelessly lost already...

The sheer numbers tell us something about the way part of the society is going to, from which part of society the "virtual Blueberry, iPhone and Facebook Socialites" come from...?

Mobbying and Bullying shows immaturity, insecurity, infantility, naivity and a deep rooted profile neurosis accompied by fear, very low selfesteem and a remarkable low in creativity.

[waza]

I don't find the internet anonomous whatsoever, I feel now that people are actually going to read this so that I have to be careful with grammar and spelling just for starters, then opinions are even more circumscribed. I am over 65 years old, I wonder if it is an age thing or just different personalities. (pause there to look-up circumscribe) .

What does circumscribe mean? .

Edited January 14, 2011 by waza

[Beetlejuice]

Two points to make here.

First, it`s not the girl’s fault, the blame and responsibility lays with the parents.

I know of 2 farangs that live near in my area who let their under aged children drive cars. One a girl aged 14 and another a girl aged 14. I once asked the Dad, why do you let your 14 year old daughter drive his car. He replied, oh, she is a good driver; I have no problems with that.

These parents are irresponsible and not taking into consideration of other peoples lives. They should be prosecuted regardless if the child has been involved in an accident or not.

Second, anyone who publishes their details and information about they’re personal lives on social networking sites are idiots, pure and simple. They have brought on whatever abuse received on the Internet because they become addicted to social networking sites. The solution is simple, don’t use them.

[rubl]

On a lighter tone, fortunately here at TV we have a nice bunch of mods who (try to) keep our cyberworld clean. Not an easy job. I couldn't do it, my boiling point is a bit too low.

[rubl]

On a lighter tone, fortunately here at TV we have a nice bunch of mods who (try to) keep our cyberworld clean. Not an easy job. I couldn't do it, my boiling point is a bit too low.

For those who don't like moderation, sorry it has become really necessary. Also other forums / blogs have found out:

"Dear Readers,

Due to an increase in offensive and profane comments, Khmerization has decided to moderate all comments. Comments containing offensive language, profanities and racist connotations will not be published."

[thailandbluegrass]

Ok well now there has only been 8 replies to this so far and I just want to point out now how many “Lashing” words I have found so far. The following are as follows:

1. I hate this sort of stuff,these people should be hung drawn and quartered. = (4)

2. Whoever feels satisfaction from this sort of cyber attack needs help or might be hopelessly lost already. Mobbying and Bullying shows immaturity, insecurity, infantility, naivity and a deep rooted profile neurosis accompied by fear, very low selfesteem and a remarkable low in creativity. = (9)

3. These parents are irresponsible and not taking into consideration of other peoples lives. They should be prosecuted regardless if the child has been involved in an accident or not. Second, anyone who publishes their details and information about they’re personal lives on social networking sites are idiots, pure and simple. = (3)

Total in only 3 posts = 16

Gee I wonder if anyone on TV could be accused of "i-mobbing" ?

[tgeezer]

I don't find the internet anonomous whatsoever, I feel now that people are actually going to read this so that I have to be careful with grammar and spelling just for starters, then opinions are even more circumscribed. I am over 65 years old, I wonder if it is an age thing or just different personalities. (pause there to look-up circumscribe) .

What does circumscribe mean? .

It is not the correction of God's mistake, if that is what you think

[rkidlad]

Ok well now there has only been 8 replies to this so far and I just want to point out now how many "Lashing" words I have found so far. The following are as follows:

1. I hate this sort of stuff,these people should be hung drawn and quartered. = (4)

2. Whoever feels satisfaction from this sort of cyber attack needs help or might be hopelessly lost already. Mobbying and Bullying shows immaturity, insecurity, infantility, naivity and a deep rooted profile neurosis accompied by fear, very low selfesteem and a remarkable low in creativity. = (9)

3. These parents are irresponsible and not taking into consideration of other peoples lives. They should be prosecuted regardless if the child has been involved in an accident or not. Second, anyone who publishes their details and information about they're personal lives on social networking sites are idiots, pure and simple. = (3)

Total in only 3 posts = 16

Gee I wonder if anyone on TV could be accused of "i-mobbing" ?

I think number 1 is supposed to be sarcastic you d***!

[Beetlejuice]

Ok well now there has only been 8 replies to this so far and I just want to point out now how many "Lashing" words I have found so far. The following are as follows:

1. I hate this sort of stuff,these people should be hung drawn and quartered. = (4)

2. Whoever feels satisfaction from this sort of cyber attack needs help or might be hopelessly lost already. Mobbying and Bullying shows immaturity, insecurity, infantility, naivity and a deep rooted profile neurosis accompied by fear, very low selfesteem and a remarkable low in creativity. = (9)

3. These parents are irresponsible and not taking into consideration of other peoples lives. They should be prosecuted regardless if the child has been involved in an accident or not. Second, anyone who publishes their details and information about they're personal lives on social networking sites are idiots, pure and simple. = (3)

Total in only 3 posts = 16

Gee I wonder if anyone on TV could be accused of "i-mobbing" ?

And what's wrong with saying that parents should be responsible for their children's actions? For example if I owned a gun, let my 13-year-old son have use of it and he accidentally shots someone, who is at fault, my son or me?

And who should be prosecuted for allowing a child of mine to use a weapon, a gun or a vehicle can both become weapons if in the wrong hands.

And do you believe that publishing personal details about one's self in the public domain is a sensible thing to do?

Sorry, but I cannot see your logic how you can describe my comments as lashing.

Perhaps you are one of those trendy parents who believe that your child always knows best and can be totally responsible handling a situation the same as an experienced adult?

Over to you, Squire

Edited January 14, 2011 by Beetlejuice

[elshaheen]

Well, that is Thai mentality. When something bad happens they say, "It's not my problem." Then go and tell their story in their social groups.

[Nisa]

Cyber Lynch Mobs are not a phenomenon isolated to Asia. It has been going on in the west for a long time and is now largely ignored unless the incident brings about a suicide or some other "if it bleeds.." news story. It is no different than cyber bullying in terms of the people taking part. In many cases the attacks are fueled by lies and despite the lies being shown to be lies the cyber lynching doesn't subside until the folks have felt they have unleashed enough of their inner rage on the target of the victim. If you look at a childhood bully and the mentality of these people there really isn't much difference accept these online people need the anonymity of the internet as well as the approval of the rest of the mob.

In my opinion it is in some ways along the same types of people who ask an atheist why they don't kill people or do whatever they want if they don't believe in heaven and hell. These Cyber Bullies have no moral character of their own coupled with the fact they have a lot of hatred and resentment in them.

Edited January 14, 2011 by Nisa

[Wallaby]

I don't find the internet anonomous whatsoever, I feel now that people are actually going to read this so that I have to be careful with grammar and spelling just for starters, then opinions are even more circumscribed. I am over 65 years old, I wonder if it is an age thing or just different personalities. (pause there to look-up circumscribe) .

Should you have looked up anonymous? Just winding you up.

[thailandbluegrass]

Ok well now there has only been 8 replies to this so far and I just want to point out now how many "Lashing" words I have found so far. The following are as follows:

1. I hate this sort of stuff,these people should be hung drawn and quartered. = (4)

2. Whoever feels satisfaction from this sort of cyber attack needs help or might be hopelessly lost already. Mobbying and Bullying shows immaturity, insecurity, infantility, naivity and a deep rooted profile neurosis accompied by fear, very low selfesteem and a remarkable low in creativity. = (9)

3. These parents are irresponsible and not taking into consideration of other peoples lives. They should be prosecuted regardless if the child has been involved in an accident or not. Second, anyone who publishes their details and information about they're personal lives on social networking sites are idiots, pure and simple. = (3)

Total in only 3 posts = 16

Gee I wonder if anyone on TV could be accused of "i-mobbing" ?

And what's wrong with saying that parents should be responsible for their children's actions? For example if I owned a gun, let my 13-year-old son have use of it and he accidentally shots someone, who is at fault, my son or me?

And who should be prosecuted for allowing a child of mine to use a weapon, a gun or a vehicle can both become weapons if in the wrong hands.

And do you believe that publishing personal details about one's self in the public domain is a sensible thing to do?

Sorry, but I cannot see your logic how you can describe my comments as lashing.

Perhaps you are one of those trendy parents who believe that your child always knows best and can be totally responsible handling a situation the same as an experienced adult?

Over to you, Squire

Just kidding Mr Beetle. You have a great valid point. and to rkidlad I know the first post was sarcasm.

Just funny being a long time reader of TV and then seeing this article made me think of all the nasty "cyber-hangings" I have seen here and if not for the Mods would have become worse. I am definetly one of the cyber-mobs in the past but am trying to be better.

It's wild how Media (internet) can either make or break a person in real and in these days of Internet, Video recorders, Mobile phones with cams and video etc etc we have to be careful these days where we walk, what we do, what we say and how and who we say it to.

Like the old saying goes; "When you do something good, noone remembers but when you do something bad, noone forgets".

[RKASA]

For a public persona it can be a problem and laws are already there to protect them - in the case of say the girl. It is not so much a big deal even if the post count is high because the end result is they all just end up in the archives and forgotten when the next target appears. The law will take care of her problem everyone else is just venting.

[jayjay0]

Ok well now there has only been 8 replies to this so far and I just want to point out now how many "Lashing" words I have found so far. The following are as follows:

1. I hate this sort of stuff,these people should be hung drawn and quartered. = (4)

2. Whoever feels satisfaction from this sort of cyber attack needs help or might be hopelessly lost already. Mobbying and Bullying shows immaturity, insecurity, infantility, naivity and a deep rooted profile neurosis accompied by fear, very low selfesteem and a remarkable low in creativity. = (9)

3. These parents are irresponsible and not taking into consideration of other peoples lives. They should be prosecuted regardless if the child has been involved in an accident or not. Second, anyone who publishes their details and information about they're personal lives on social networking sites are idiots, pure and simple. = (3)

Total in only 3 posts = 16

Gee I wonder if anyone on TV could be accused of "i-mobbing" ?

And what's wrong with saying that parents should be responsible for their children's actions? For example if I owned a gun, let my 13-year-old son have use of it and he accidentally shots someone, who is at fault, my son or me?

And who should be prosecuted for allowing a child of mine to use a weapon, a gun or a vehicle can both become weapons if in the wrong hands.

And do you believe that publishing personal details about one's self in the public domain is a sensible thing to do?

Sorry, but I cannot see your logic how you can describe my comments as lashing.

Perhaps you are one of those trendy parents who believe that your child always knows best and can be totally responsible handling a situation the same as an experienced adult?

Over to you, Squire

For what it's worth he said lashing words not lashing comments.

To get back to the OP It would seem the whole thing was a horrendous event.

But let us not go adding to it until we get some facts.

Yes she was on the phone but she might have been calling for help. So far it would seem not every one is willing to find out. Just assume and post away.

One other thing people might not know.

I have had personal experience with shock.

When My 18 boy drowned in a car wreck I was 300 kilo's away. My room mate took the call and passed it on to me as gently as she could. I still went into shock and proceeded to operate for the next hour as if it was not a big deal. As the shock wore off I was able to react in a logical way.

Is horrendous a lashing word.

[asiawatcher]

If any of you have ever been subject to 'hate' (Libel) on the internet, which I have, there is absolutely nothing you can do about it. I spent a lot of money in courts and had a court order to have a website taken down then the asshol_e behind it just put a 'whois' protection on his next site and started again. These social networks can really be a problem but the administrators should be able to understand hate and defaming by libel and remove the perps but that would be a full time job in itself! It's here to stay so we best get used to it.

[bangon04]

Two points to make here.

First,

Second, anyone who publishes their details and information about they're personal lives on social networking sites are idiots, pure and simple. They have brought on whatever abuse received on the Internet because they become addicted to social networking sites. The solution is simple, don't use them.

If it were a foreigner or an average Sombat who committed a crime, the Royal Thai Police would line them up at a press conference, bring in a few senior police officers to claim the victory over crime, arrange for a "witness" to stand dramatically pointing a prominent finger at the accused, and probably beat a confession out of them for good measure.

In this case it is a rich kid from an aristocratic family, and suddenly the name, photo and further details are suppressed??? Giver me a break. I am not at all a fan of Thai trial by TV, but let's have one rule for everyone. (I seem to have heard that befre somewhere...)

The reason we know the name, face and details is because of social twittering etc. The cyberworld is filling the vacuum left by the lack of free press. i would prefer a free and even-handed press, but it's not gonna happen anytime soon.

Just occasionally the "haves" can be shamed into som form of justce by public opinion. What is the alternative?

[RKASA]

Two points to make here.

First,

Second, anyone who publishes their details and information about they're personal lives on social networking sites are idiots, pure and simple. They have brought on whatever abuse received on the Internet because they become addicted to social networking sites. The solution is simple, don't use them.

If it were a foreigner or an average Sombat who committed a crime, the Royal Thai Police would line them up at a press conference, bring in a few senior police officers to claim the victory over crime, arrange for a "witness" to stand dramatically pointing a prominent finger at the accused, and probably beat a confession out of them for good measure.

In this case it is a rich kid from an aristocratic family, and suddenly the name, photo and further details are suppressed??? Giver me a break. I am not at all a fan of Thai trial by TV, but let's have one rule for everyone. (I seem to have heard that befre somewhere...)

The reason we know the name, face and details is because of social twittering etc. The cyberworld is filling the vacuum left by the lack of free press. i would prefer a free and even-handed press, but it's not gonna happen anytime soon.

Just occasionally the "haves" can be shamed into som form of justce by public opinion. What is the alternative?

Become a have?:jap:

[Nisa]

The reason we know the name, face and details is because of social twittering etc. The cyberworld is filling the vacuum left by the lack of free press. i would prefer a free and even-handed press, but it's not gonna happen anytime soon.

Actually her name came out in the press first which by the way was illegal because she was a minor. Had she not had a prominent last name then the name would not have been published.

Edited January 14, 2011 by Nisa

[bangon04]

The reason we know the name, face and details is because of social twittering etc. The cyberworld is filling the vacuum left by the lack of free press. i would prefer a free and even-handed press, but it's not gonna happen anytime soon.

Actually her name came out in the press first which by the way was illegal because she was a minor. Had she not had a prominent last name then the name would not have been published.

I remember it a different way: the Nation had at least 3 goes (and failed) at confirming the age of the driver of the Honda, although it gave the specific details of the Honda's number plate in the initial story, but then went very quiet - presumably they found out who owned the number plate. I can imagine a lot of "pressure" was applied.

Thai language websites broke the story and the name. I agree this is part of the press, but they were reacting to the internat chatter, not leading. And the famous photo of the girl texting to her friends from the scene..... where did that come from?

[TAWP]

The reason we know the name, face and details is because of social twittering etc. The cyberworld is filling the vacuum left by the lack of free press. i would prefer a free and even-handed press, but it's not gonna happen anytime soon.

Actually her name came out in the press first which by the way was illegal because she was a minor. Had she not had a prominent last name then the name would not have been published.

I remember it a different way: the Nation had at least 3 goes (and failed) at confirming the age of the driver of the Honda, although it gave the specific details of the Honda's number plate in the initial story, but then went very quiet - presumably they found out who owned the number plate. I can imagine a lot of "pressure" was applied.

Thai language websites broke the story and the name. I agree this is part of the press, but they were reacting to the internat chatter, not leading. And the famous photo of the girl texting to her friends from the scene..... where did that come from?

Way before any Nation-reporting with different ages was at hand the name was already put 'out there' via several sources, several linked to the red movement. Both websites and tweeters published the name as soon as someone with an agenda originally found it and forwarded it.

[Nisa]

The reason we know the name, face and details is because of social twittering etc. The cyberworld is filling the vacuum left by the lack of free press. i would prefer a free and even-handed press, but it's not gonna happen anytime soon.

Actually her name came out in the press first which by the way was illegal because she was a minor. Had she not had a prominent last name then the name would not have been published.

I remember it a different way: the Nation had at least 3 goes (and failed) at confirming the age of the driver of the Honda, although it gave the specific details of the Honda's number plate in the initial story, but then went very quiet - presumably they found out who owned the number plate. I can imagine a lot of "pressure" was applied.

Thai language websites broke the story and the name. I agree this is part of the press, but they were reacting to the internat chatter, not leading. And the famous photo of the girl texting to her friends from the scene..... where did that come from?

Way before any Nation-reporting with different ages was at hand the name was already put 'out there' via several sources, several linked to the red movement. Both websites and tweeters published the name as soon as someone with an agenda originally found it and forwarded it.

I believe the Bangkok Post had her name out there with their original story. I am not even sure if The Nation ever printed her name but I do know at some point the at least stopped..

[Phatcharanan]

Mobbying and Bullying shows immaturity, insecurity, infantility, naivity and a deep rooted profile neurosis accompied by fear, very low selfesteem and a remarkable low in creativity.

When using such words at least try to spell correctly.

naivety

self esteem or self-esteem

Gosh I feel so inhibited away from the net.

Edited January 14, 2011 by Phatcharanan

[Johpa]

On a lighter tone, fortunately here at TV we have a nice bunch of mods who (try to) keep our cyberworld clean. Not an easy job. I couldn't do it, my boiling point is a bit too low.

Certainly the need for mods has devolved TV into a lighter tone with a focus in many sub-forums on the lighter side of life in Thailand. Even the far heavier tone New Mandala blog screens posts. It is the price of maintaining civility and interest in these types of discussion forums as the few of us who remember the demise of the old soc.culture.thai (SCT) Usenet group can attest to, why even the near demise of the entire un-moderated Usenet world for that matter. But the libel issues that originated in SCT and made it to the Queens Court in London back in 1999 have yet to be fully resolved in the various countries around the globe. The new social media networks will just add more confusion to the mix and time will tell whether they will disappear as did most of Usenet or become moderated or regulated as did many of the discussion forums such as TV in response to the intolerable high noise content of the Usenet groups. But since the social media networks are private and for profit ventures, I am sure the shareholders will tolerate a great deal of collateral damage to individuals before they face the wrath of the twitter brains in response to moderation or regulation of any kind. Some people will pay a high price indeed.

[AZBill]

We have two similar hate groups in America as well. We call them Congress and the media!

[Nisa]

The reason we know the name, face and details is because of social twittering etc. The cyberworld is filling the vacuum left by the lack of free press. i would prefer a free and even-handed press, but it's not gonna happen anytime soon.

Actually her name came out in the press first which by the way was illegal because she was a minor. Had she not had a prominent last name then the name would not have been published.

I remember it a different way: the Nation had at least 3 goes (and failed) at confirming the age of the driver of the Honda, although it gave the specific details of the Honda's number plate in the initial story, but then went very quiet - presumably they found out who owned the number plate. I can imagine a lot of "pressure" was applied.

Thai language websites broke the story and the name. I agree this is part of the press, but they were reacting to the internat chatter, not leading. And the famous photo of the girl texting to her friends from the scene..... where did that come from?

If you look the latest news coming out of the other English newspaper you will see the license plate was not in this girls name and it was not even registered to the Honda but another car and they have named that person.

I also believe The Nation ALWAYS stated the girl was 16 until the girl said in a press statement that she was 17. As we found it is normal for younger Thais to give their age as what it will be that year (2011) as opposed to what age they technically are. But all this is really moot when it comes to her name as I am fairly sure The Nation never printed her name but the other paper did from the start .. you can correct me if I am wrong on this but I am fairly sure this is the case.

The photo doesn't show her face. The pictures were taken AFTER rescue crews were already on the scene. She was trapped in the vehicle and freed by them. The police were also already on the scene and statements from her said she was using the phone to get the insurance information, from the friend who lent her the car, and contacting her parents. Both these things were requested by the police before they could let her leave and go to the hospital. So, it would not be unreasonable to believe there was some kind of reporter on the scene as they took numerous pictures.

I always thought it interesting that initially everyone condemned the girl for not helping people dying on the street near her as the purported this was immediately after the accident but never once questioned why the person taking pictures wasn't helping people ... but this is typical of reporters.

Although certainly possibly, I highly doubt the Facebook page got started before news reports of her name were released by some news outlet. She is not identifiable in this picture or any others I have scene from the accident and the car wasn't hers and it is doubtful she was known to drive the car since a friend supposedly lent it to her and this friend actually borrowed it from the owner of a garage who was repairing the friends car ... and as I mentioned, there was no way to trace the 16-year old to the licence plates since they were not in her name but in somebody else's who has now been named in the other English speaking newspaper.

I cannot read Thai but maybe somebody knows what the watermarks on the photos say.

Also note the time stamps on the photos. I believe these were cropped in the originals photos posted on Facebook that also didn't show the emergency workers in the background of the injured man on the ground. (This photo is NOW what appears on that facebook page.)

Edited January 14, 2011 by Nisa

[housepainter]

Or perhaps people can express themselves effectively, rapidly and honestly.

You can't have your cake and eat it though you would want to. That is, in America and the UK, indeed much of the first world Governments are responding to 'tweets' in order to remain informed of true public opinion. Instant honest public opinion. The same un-inhibted responses that it is implied are 'wrong' to re-act so forcefully to the spoilt brat that caused the death of the innocent.

It would be wise to acknowledge that stregth of feeling - 300k persons - and not particularly worry about her, or the family. The mother of who stated straight off the bat that they hope to avoid prosecution.

That is why people are right to be angry and call for justice.

Uninhibited? I prefer freedom of speech that the interent allows. Honesty.

Whereas it is dis-honesty that this case has written all over it.

Even the articl acknowledges that she come from a 'wealthy Thai family.' Now what does that imply when considering the Thais justice system and its punishment of the Na Ayuthaya clan?