More money for censorship.

by **trubrit** » December 15, 2011, 6:44 am

Just when we were all hoping things were getting better over censorship in Thailand the government announces an extra 400million will be spent on tapping into web sites to find , what they consider to be LM .
http://www.bangkokpost.com/breakingnews ... se-majeste

by **jackspratt** » December 15, 2011, 6:35 pm

The LM laws really do keep Thailand from ever attaining credibility as a democratic state - despite all the other flaws that exist in the political system.

It is particularly peculiar when you consider the bloke they are supposed to "protect" has openly questioned them himself.

Maybe there rigid enforcement has more to do with the first-in-line, and his mum. :-k

by **Khun Paul** » December 16, 2011, 7:41 am

While I have been reading the latest in the cpourt cases regarding this matter, it strikes me that unlike the Uk, this country does not seem to have a Royal press officer, who on odd occasions in the Uk would come out with a comment which shows the Royal family is aware and not happy with any particular situation. here without that spokesperson it seems that the Roayl family are kept out of the fray ( rightly so 0 but that politicians / police or even the Armed forces seem to champion the right to free speech or should I say the right to stifle free speech . To what end one may ask, I would suggest for their own advancement . it certainly is not the betterment of the Thai people nor for addressing the lack of Human rights in this country. the latest case regarding an old man who it was alleged texted nefarious messages is a point in question. the evidence was purely circumstantial and not proven but he was still guilty which means you are guilty unless proven innocent which is counter to Thai justice laws, but then This Is Thailand and their standing in the world is slipping at an alarming rate but they are like the proverbial ostrich head in the sand attitude.

by **trubrit** » December 16, 2011, 10:03 am

I rather liked the four generals being interviewed on TV about the condemnation of the recent sentencing this morning . Faced with criticism from the UN, USA and the EU they said"They don't understand Thailand" :lol:

Literally the Whole world doesn't understand Thailand . How right they were . :-"

by **Khun Paul** » December 16, 2011, 11:10 am

Note the question was asked to four generals, do they then need a quorum to make a decision, judging by their complete farce in the Preah Veihear Temple case and the seemingly inability to police a small fracas in the South, their answers are in tune with what many people think. The powers that be are out of touch with reality, in fact they I am sure they think that anyone who is not the class of whatever year are complete imbeciles and do not even begin to understand the complexities of Thai life. Yeah really...........the only complex thing i ever see, is how they manage to even think....oops sorry, that's for the Bangkok elite, anyone else go forth and multiply and they do that at regular intervals.

by **parrot** » December 16, 2011, 1:10 pm

The powers that be have gotten mostly a free lunch from the international community over the past 10 years.....a few grunts and groans over the coup, the Pattaya ASEAN incident, the fighting in Bangkok, the Tak Bai incident, a fair dose of internet censorship already, the airport takeover.......but I don't detect any longterm damage to Thailand's reputation as a 'generally free' country. Tourists still come, industries continue to set up base here, American military still play their annual games.....all seems pretty lovey dovey.
I get the feeling that the military/government is preparing for the inevitable change of leadership at the top.....and the less people feel free to talk about it (either good or bad), the more they can control the outcome. Of all the problems in Thailand (reds versus yellows, corruption, crime, drugs etc) I worry most about whether the outcome of the change in leadership will be a smooth one. There's a lot at stake.....money, prestige, jobs.....I'm sure they don't want the commoner to weigh in on the outcome. JMHO

by **trubrit** » December 16, 2011, 1:16 pm

parrot wrote:The powers that be have gotten mostly a free lunch from the international community over the past 10 years.....a few grunts and groans over the coup, the Pattaya ASEAN incident, the fighting in Bangkok, the Tak Bai incident, a fair dose of internet censorship already, the airport takeover.......but I don't detect any longterm damage to Thailand's reputation as a 'generally free' country. Tourists still come, industries continue to set up base here, American military still play their annual games.....all seems pretty lovey dovey.
I get the feeling that the military/government is preparing for the inevitable change of leadership at the top.....and the less people feel free to talk about it (either good or bad), the more they can control the outcome. Of all the problems in Thailand (reds versus yellows, corruption, crime, drugs etc) I worry most about whether the outcome of the change in leadership will be a smooth one. There's a lot at stake.....money, prestige, jobs.....I'm sure they don't want the commoner to weigh in on the outcome. JMHO

Just about sums it up John. Mothers day should be rather interesting in the future :lol:

by **JimboPSM** » December 16, 2011, 7:33 pm

Looking at this from another perspective, the world has seen a very considerable change in the last year with the Arab Spring - the powers that be in some countries have been rather quicker to recognise this fact than those in some others.

Governments (both military and civil) in many countries that believed they had an absolute grip on power are still struggling to come to grips with the fact that their hold on power is rather more tenuous than they had previously believed.

Even the military dinosaurs next door in Burma have recognised that there is an inevitability which they cannot prevent and have started making moves before they become another Tunisia, Egypt, Libya etc.

Defending the indefensible has been shown to have limits (although the “powers that be” in some countries are slower than others to recognise this).

What has happened with the Arab Spring should also be a major wakeup call for “mature” democracies where money and power have been increasingly corrupting the democratic process; indeed it can be argued that a large proportion of the fiscal deficits suffered in some countries can be laid at the door of the adverse impact on government revenues and government expenditures of institutionalised corruption.

by **trubrit** » December 22, 2011, 6:30 am

Now I see where the money is going . A committee of top generals with 10 sub committees comprising very high ranking police officers are going to monitor the net 24/7 and any offenders can find themselves in court the next day not the months normally taken to produce evidence.Oh boy, is big brother watching :-"

http://www.bangkokpost.com/breakingnews ... sites-24-7

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