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Thai government says it will lift ban on (censored) YouTube
splashcastmedia.com — The Bangkok Post is reporting that the Thai government will lift its ban on YouTube this week as national elections approach. The Information and Communication Technology minister says that Google has offered to remove content guilty of the crime of lese majeste, or “violating majesty.”
webtech- 462 diggs
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- marshallk, on 10/11/2007, -1/+6Bangkok Post story at http://www.bangkokpost.com/breaking_news/breakingnews.php?id=119696 but link above has clear summary, more info and relevant videos.
- zetra005, on 10/11/2007, -1/+0see http://hotshadow.com/Thai_government_says.aspx
- gagan97, on 10/11/2007, -1/+2Today Thai PM in our country(India) i think he got some brain as he landed here :d...
- mustacheo, on 10/11/2007, -5/+2Wish you would also get a brain.
- Ouze, on 10/11/2007, -1/+9Once more kowtowing to and empowering oppression.
Don't be evil, indeed.- Ouze, on 10/11/2007, -3/+1whoops, double post, please bury me. Ironically the first comment was the second submitted - wacky.
- Ouze, on 10/11/2007, -3/+2Yet again Google kowtows to a government, and again empowers oppression and stifles freedom.
Don't be evil, indeed. - directsun, on 10/11/2007, -0/+9Google gave in? =( wth, I thought their argument was that there were tons of parodies featuring our leader and that's what freedom of speech is...
- StormyAaron, on 10/11/2007, -2/+7We all know that Freedom of Speech is a bunch of BS, Censorship FTW! < /scarcism>
- jackmaninov, on 10/11/2007, -1/+6This story is good news, especially:
In response to this growing global debate, Google representatives are reportedly asking the US Trade Representative to treat censorship as a barrier to trade, presumably using sanctions or other pressure to move governments to cease demanding censorship of online communication. - digduality2, on 10/11/2007, -7/+6time to make some more youtube vids of the monkey king
- fucknut, on 10/11/2007, -6/+1and we give a ***** because.................?
- waltermelon, on 10/11/2007, -0/+0why would you even post if you didn't care?
- Gadren, on 10/11/2007, -4/+3Such a shame... why on earth should Google give in to such an outdated and foolish law like lese majeste? The monkey king of Thailand needs to get a grip and stop being a crybaby.
- f4st4word, on 10/11/2007, -1/+3The King of Thailand was not being a "crybaby" about this, and had nothing to do with the outrage that ensued after the youtube video emerged. In fact, His Majesty has gone on record as saying that he believes that the lese majeste law should be repealed.
- waltermelon, on 10/11/2007, -2/+1so why hasn't it been repealed yet? why does youtube have to suffer because thailand can't get their ***** straight?
- waltermelon, on 10/11/2007, -1/+2actually the king doesn't sound like a bad guy. I repeal my comment.
- f4st4word, on 10/11/2007, -1/+3The King of Thailand was not being a "crybaby" about this, and had nothing to do with the outrage that ensued after the youtube video emerged. In fact, His Majesty has gone on record as saying that he believes that the lese majeste law should be repealed.
- starquake, on 10/11/2007, -0/+7I thought the original title read "Thai government says it will lift ban on ***** YouTube"
- thaindian, on 10/11/2007, -0/+2The YouTube block in Thailand would make a lot more sense once you read this writeup about the guy who is the 'official censure of the Thai military' :-
http://facthai.wordpress.com/2007/06/12/the-telecom-minister-who-doesnt-use-e-mail-iht/ - jouissance, on 10/11/2007, -2/+2Uncensored Bangkok videos? That's something even the American version of Youtube doesn't even allow...
- gabrielg01, on 10/11/2007, -4/+2Everyone get on YouTube and post some nasty comments on this pretentious *****, who calls himself king of Thailand.
- TonyKay, on 10/11/2007, -1/+5Sorry but what exactly do you know about the King of Thailand. He does A LOT of ***** good for the country and helps the people get through hard times. He never put him self in a position where he can not be touched, it was the people of Thailand. He is a good guy, not a god as some thais make him out to be but DEFINITELY NOT an *****.
I would know, I'm half Thai and have spent a lot of time there. - waltermelon, on 10/11/2007, -1/+0the comments would get taken off you idiot.
- TonyKay, on 10/11/2007, -1/+5Sorry but what exactly do you know about the King of Thailand. He does A LOT of ***** good for the country and helps the people get through hard times. He never put him self in a position where he can not be touched, it was the people of Thailand. He is a good guy, not a god as some thais make him out to be but DEFINITELY NOT an *****.
- sparepost, on 10/11/2007, -3/+7Before anyone starts making judgments about King Bhumibol or the Thai government, I suggest you watch this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vnz7lwh0pCM.
Thais are very sensitive about their king. I would say that the ban on YouTube is NOT an oppression from the Thai government or the king himself (The king recently told the media that people should be allowed to criticize him so that he may improve on these criticisms). Rather, the ban was imposed to stop outcries from the Thai public. Thai people love and revere their king so much they consider him their second father. He has a godlike status in the Thai culture. His current status did not come from propaganda either. It's because of what he did in the past - going to undeveloped areas of Thailand and coming up with projects to help them,etc. - that made Thai people love him so much. (If propaganda truly works in Thailand, we would expect Thai people not only to revere the king, but the prince and other royal family members as well. That's not the case. Thai people don't think much of the current prince. He's been criticized for doing inappropriate things the same way prince Charles has been criticized for what he did in the past)- Scheissen, on 10/11/2007, -6/+2Fascist thai *****.
- sparepost, on 10/11/2007, -0/+2Sorry for the second post, but the video in the comment above didn't work. Use this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vnz7lwh0pCM - TonyKay, on 10/11/2007, -1/+2Thankyou sparepost you show that some Diggers have common sense. However the ban sucked whilst I was over in Thailand this year :p
- Error601, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1When you call blocking a web site "oppression", you just look like some clueless kid that's totally oblivious of history.
- marshallk, on 10/11/2007, -0/+2In and of itself it's not the most oppressive thing in the world by a long shot - but blocking a leading tool for public communication mitigates the ability for people to contest other, more substantial sources of oppression they face.
- astanhope, on 10/11/2007, -1/+1The current Thai government has a great deal of work to do in order to rescue its image in the wake of last year's coup. Many reasonable people nominally supported the coup after the fact because indeed Thaksin Shinawatra, the ousted PM, was a crook who was running the government like it was his own corporation. A bloodless coup that bounced Thaksin after his egregious behavior in order to set the government back on track didn't seem so terrible.
Unfortunately, the coup leaders have squandered the bulk of the good will afforded to them by the media and the intelligentsia. The good news is that they haven't set themselves up as a cruel and evil, power hungry junta. They haven't committed any acts of violence or done anything *too* draconian - but they've made some moves that one might have expected from some tin-pot dictator but never from Southeast Asia's most progressive country. Banning political parties and shutting down radio stations are ***** maneuvers that should have been beneath them.
At the same time, what is arguably the most serious problem facing the country, the silly Muslim-on-Buddhist violence in the provinces along the border with Malaysia, continues unabated. Now I don't believe in "Islamofascism" and I don't see al-Qaeda lurking in the shadows everywhere, but this low-level insurgency in Southern Thailand is a serious problem that costs an average of a school or two burned and two or three people killed every day. It's senseless, unnecessary and presumably correctable. It seems as if the interim post-coup junta is sitting on their hands watching the violence in the south happen with no apparent bright ideas for addressing it.
Yes, coup leaders - you rid the country of that jackass thief Thaksin. Good riddance. What have you done for us since?- thaindian, on 10/11/2007, -1/+1well.. the coup leaders had only one intention, to get rid of Toxin, now once that has been done (and assured) they wl step down.
There are elections due later this year. it is the new government who is responsible to do other things.
Whatever steps this government takes can easily be reversed by next government be calling it dictatorship...
Takhsin is not finished yet. More must be done so that he does never return.
- thaindian, on 10/11/2007, -1/+1well.. the coup leaders had only one intention, to get rid of Toxin, now once that has been done (and assured) they wl step down.
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