Bangkok Pundit has a short overview of efforts to block blogspot.com and, in particular, some of its subdomains. Pundit sensibly advises:
…for future reference learn how to use a proxy because in the current environment who knows what websites we will be able to visit.
12 responses so far ↓
1 Jon Fernquest // May 24, 2007 at 11:33 am
I’ve already experienced this sort of censor idiocy firsthand when the Thai university (not) I worked at blanket blocked all Geocities sites which blocked my own personal site of teaching material I had accumjulated over several years working in South Korea as well several other useful teaching sites. Of course, it’s impossible to get it unblocked because of the arrogant paternalist big daddy knows best attitude the IT officials at the university took. In another astoundingly ridiculous project of mind control they had us draw little outlines on our desk around stapler, scissors, etc, so we could remember where to put them and have tidy little (empty) minds. All decoration in work area banned also. The overseeing committee would come around and take threatening little digital photos to keep people in line. The university supposedly inherited this idea from Japanese automobile factories where was called the five Cs. By the way, all of this has nothing to do with being Thai or not Thai, the first argument some use to stifle all thought and debate. The arrogant IT and HR personnel at this university consistently took a haughty (ying) “better than thou” attitude towards the staff at the local government labour office also, who thoroughly resented it, supposedly because they worked at a university that had a royal name. Yet another case of people not doing honour to HMK in their deeds and actions. Truly despicable.
2 Tosakan // May 24, 2007 at 8:46 pm
A few months ago I called Thailand a quasi-fascist state.
I was mocked.
But some of the pedants here think, just because Thailand doesn’t resemble the same models of Italy and Germany in the 30’s, then somehow it isn’t fascism.
OK. Maybe the current Thai political system isn’t fascism in the 1930’s sense of the word. But it is something sinister. It is not good. It is not democratic. It doesn’t support political freedom.
There is a concerted effort made by the palace, the aristocrats, the nativist capitalists, and other elites to disenfranchise the masses and keep them in a state of poverty and ignorance–and we are told to goose step to this “natural order” in the name of Nation, Religion, and Monarchy.
If people don’t get this, they have their heads rammed far up their asses.
We live under a military dictatorship that has restricted political rights in more ways than Thaksin ever did. This has been documented by many international human rights groups.
For the most part, the Thai press and academia have rolled over.
There are a few brave groups who have stood up to this junta, but they are written off as Thaksinistas or troublemakers.
Many anti-coup groups have been shut down this week. In Chiang Mai, some activists were taken to a military camp for “questioning.”
Quite frankly, I am troubled how lightly some here take the current situation, as if it something academic and not real.
What is more real, the map or the territory?
Some of you choose to disassociate and see Thailand as a map even though you are living right in the middle of the territory.
I don’t get it. This is not an academic game.
Here is the reality: There is no constitution. There is no rule of law. The government is capriciously censoring websites without court orders. People are prevented from traveling to political rallies. The junta has secret slush funds for its own rallies and its own propaganda purposes.
But hey, let us all get together in December and slap each other on the back and congratulate each other for this new order that has been created in honor of the king.
The absurdity of what is happening never ceases to amaze me.
3 Thai Chat // May 24, 2007 at 9:49 pm
In Thailand it’s not question of fascism: it’s just a big mess !
And some people are using this mess to keep their power…
4 jeru // May 24, 2007 at 10:53 pm
Those brown shirted (or is it yellow shirted) army thugs still chasing you Tosakan in your nightmares?
What you see Tosakan is an excellent example of bungling junta generals shooting themselves with their silly tactics that neither impress, initimidate much less terrorize.
Has the junta declared a Thai Master Race yet? Have they pointed at an outsider enemy other than Thaksin? And if Thaksin who is supposed to be the junta’s public enemy no. 1 had still NOT been shot, much less jailed, or fined, how can you Tosakan be so terrorized by these generals who cannot even shoot straight?
5 Jon Fernquest // May 25, 2007 at 2:32 am
Thai Chat: “In Thailand it’s not question of fascism: it’s just a big mess !”
Chaos or a mess, or a diversion that blocks something else more sinister going on behind the curtain?
Isn’t this mess just a big diversion that allows powerful people to bully, lie, cheat, kill, and get away with it? While much of the general public just covers eyes and ears and pretends it isn’t happening, or the media does it for them, or makes some complicated explanation about Thai culture, that you have to accept, or you’ll bad.
It really shook my faith in Buddhism when during the Thaksin era you’d open up the newspaper and see a pile of dead bodies at Tak Bai or a monk being a cheer leader for the drug war, kill, kill, kill, while thinking investigative journalists used their enlightened brains and revealed that people with power were using the death lists for a bloody-litte-democratic public opinion-boosting extra-judicial killing-show to pander to popular “democratic” sentiments, reminiscent of Mussolini’s black shirts. Thank goodness Thailand now has Yellow Shirts, but the elderly university administrators who lied, cheated, and stole money from me are still there, living their lies, as are many others like them, I would say.
How can a professor of law and a vice president of a university get charged for running a child prostitution ring by the police, reported in Matichon, and yet have everyone at the “university” accept this, remain silent, not even talk or discuss it, blithely re-elect the president who obviously failed in oversight, in a rigged election? I’ll tell you why, because everyone believes this president (highest unelected bureaucrat possible, he tells you at every self-congratlulating meeting) to have absolute power. The Thai ajaans whisper among themselves that he “sleeps in the palace” whatever that means. That he can “crush you with one finger” whatever that means. Meanwhile, on every occasion he is having Royalty presiding at ceremonies, so people believe he is really powerful, so they ask no questions and blindly accept everything this crook force feeds them. A university?
As far as I can see the whole thing relies on an information gap (or information blocking). The people below the president won’t say anything because they are afraid of his power, that he could destroy their life, so they say nothing, so at the other end , on the Royalty side, they don’t know what this guy is doing, how much of a crook he is being, and all the bad things that he is responsible for, so because the info never gets out, he is never held accountable. And the whole university autonomy thing, information autonomy, the university that this guy rules over is the best example of why university autonomy is a bad idea, with this absolute autonomy a university can become a little Conradian heart of darkness, a controlled little information feof with one man at the top controlling all information. A Foucault’s little panopticon incarnate. Skrimp on teachers’ salaries but build a 60 million baht spa behind the uni (one teacher I talked to recently didn’t even know it exists!) and a planned golf course. Yes, what are universities for, after all.
Living a lie, I’d say.
6 Pig Latin // May 25, 2007 at 11:44 am
Jon, have you been drinking? Everyone is in a panopticon… The greatest power is silence. It’s ok.
Wear a yellow shirt or O’Brien’l get ya!
7 Taxi Driver // May 25, 2007 at 1:21 pm
Jeru it sounds like you view these generals as a bunch of good-intentioned imbeciles who are trying their best – but failing – for the country, and that they have everyone’s interest, including yours & mine & the other 70 million people, at heart.
I on the other hand think these generals are imbeciles who are trying their best for themselves, their power structures and their friends, and will only do their best for your & my interests as long as it does not conflict with theirs.
Even if you are right, Jeru, why accept imbeciles? And what avenue do you have to replace them?
8 jeru // May 26, 2007 at 2:17 am
Yes I do view General Sonthi as good-intentioned coup leader surrounded by bunglers, not all good-intentioned mind you. And I agree with you that the junta is failing miserably at their proclaimed task of restoring stability, peace and unity to the Kingdom. The junta’s hand in the May30th political parties dissolution controversy is imbecilic . . nearly as imbecilic as that suicidal taxi drver who rammed his cab to a tank.
To your question Taxi Driver “why accept the bungling generals?”. I did say I view General Sonti as good intentioned didn’t I? And I don’t have to replace them at all . . . these generals have expiration dates self-tagged on them which is sometime the end of Y2007 I believe.
All we can do is wait and watch the comedy of errors by these bungling generals, while Tosakan tremble in terror.
9 nganadeeleg // May 29, 2007 at 9:23 am
Saturday People Against Dictatorship plans an anti-coup rally and will give away Jatukam Ramathep amulets
I wonder does that constitute being paid to protest?
10 Reader // Jun 18, 2007 at 10:06 am
>> There is no constitution. There is no rule of law. The government is capriciously censoring websites without court orders. People are prevented from traveling to political rallies. The junta has secret slush funds for its own rallies and its own propaganda purposes.
Tosakon, with the exception of the first clause, this doesn’t sound much different from what was going on before. Of course, the fact that Thaksin was doing most of the above (undermining laws; censoring websites; funding rallies and propaganda) doesn’t justify the imposition of a military junta, but I think you’re being hysterical in calling the current regime “quasi-fascist”.
Mind you, on re-reading the definition of “fascism” (this from Webster’s), I can see how you feel justified in engaging in hysterics:
fascism: “a political philosophy, movement, or regime (as that of the Fascisti) that exalts nation and often race above the individual and that stands for a centralized autocratic government headed by a dictatorial leader, severe economic and social regimentation, and forcible suppression of opposition”
I suppose this definition could (very loosely) be applied to the junta, especially if you preface “fascist” with the weasel word “quasi”. However, given that fascism is a word that has very precise and terrifying historical associations, don’t you think you’re going overboard in comparing the current mob of buffoons with the murderous regimes of Hitler/Mussolini/Stalin etc? They are in different leagues.
All in all, if you were mocked when you first aired your “theory”, I feel that you richly deserved it. Furthermore, I think you’re even sillier to bring the point up again. Sorry if I sound tetchy, but I have an impacted wisdom tooth and an extreme dislike for the causal flinging about of terminology which has motivated the killing of millions of people, including members of my own family.
11 nganadeeleg // Jun 18, 2007 at 2:16 pm
I miss Fonzi (Tosakan)
12 anonymous // Jun 18, 2007 at 6:28 pm
So basically, the junta is no better than Thaksin? Then I think we should all march in the streets and demand that the King replace the government. It is, after all, his government.
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