My quote was a long winded way of saying “the cake is a lie”, which I admit is a pretty bad joke.
Hey, a Portal reference is always appropriate.
Well, I considered making a poll on this in IMHO; however, the posts that would appear in such a thread would no doubt be egregiously pitesque, so I’ll just put it in this thread.
It’s been intimated to me that this thread, if I don’t drop it, may pose a “very real threat to the SDMB being blocked in Thailand”. Mind you, I did not start this thread. However, I have made it quite clear that I have no respect for Thailand’s current so-called government and even less respect for Thailand’s monarchy. I’ve also shown that the current government, like every other military junta Thailand has had, also has zero respect for the monarchy. What the current government is doing, of course, is using a ridiculous law (which is funny, in a way, since the junta certainly has proven it has no problem with rounding up people and punishing them absent laws providing for such) to give themselves some kind of legitimacy.
I do not live in Thailand and have no plans of going there until the junta is gone and, more importantly, that stupid law that punishes people for speaking their mind is gone.
Here’s the poll part.
What would you do if you believed the Thai junta would block the SDMB since there’s at least one poster here condemning both or either the Thai junta and/or the Thai monarchy?
[ol][li]Suggest that/those poster/posters refuse to be silenced because of what the junta running the country may possibly do since that/those poster/posters does/do not live in Thailand and free speech is a right.[/li][li]Suggest that/those poster/posters stop because the junta and the monarchy are offended and God knows we can’t offend some king somewhere.[/li][li]Tell everyone you know in Thailand to use a VPN so they can access the SDMB if it does, in fact, get blocked in Thailand.[/li][li]Respond with “4” because you live in Thailand.[/li]Respond with “5” because you don’t live in Thailand and don’t care about the site possibly getting blocked there.[/ol]
Details??
I would hope all posters here would suggest no one changes his or her posting habits based on what the Thai government might or might not do wrt access to this MB.
I post from Thailand but will abstain on the question.
SDMB is a major source of intelligent conversation for me.
On the other hand, I wonder if being cut off from it would be a blessing in disguise — SDMB is a major drain on my time … and emotions. :eek:
As I read this article comparing strongmen’s wars on drugs around the world, I thought … hmmm, this reminds me of someone. Sure enough, the the article mentioned
This P.M., who was elected and re-elected, allegedly held a contest among provincial governors: whoever had the most extra-judicial killings in his province got a paid vacation in Europe. Do those defending “democracy” want this guy back?
Saddam Hussein was “elected” President of Iraq by “voters,” but no one would defend that as “democracy.” I’m not suggesting that Thailand’s elections are as corrupt as Iraqs were but … Heavens! Can’t you people perceive shades of gray? If you understand that Saddam’s elections were a sham, why can’t you understand that the elections in many 3rd-world countries are only corrupt imitations of Western democracy; in such environments it is ignorant to treat rigged ballot-boxes as a be-all and end-all.
And the bastards running the country and pretending the king is a king strike again. What’s the offense the woman in the latest case has committed? Nothing. Not a blame thing. Her offense seems to be that she’s married to a foreigner, said foreigner living outside of Thailand, and said foreigner criticizes the current government and even dares to discuss the succession to the so-called throne. Some might say, “Hey, they didn’t charge her with any crime”. But those who say that will be as blinded as those who support the junta. The woman’s passport was collected. Nah, that’s not done out of any special love of the people of the country.
Thailand does not have a ruling king. The country has a military junta which is abusing the populace under the pretense that the king is a real king. It’s truly sad that the populace buys into that and thus gives the junta such an excuse.
Hmm, now that the “frail, old” king has passed, do you suppose the junta will stop harassing people like Mrs. Bunluesilp? Perhaps they’ll ask those people for some advice on how to move the nation forward. Nah, my guess is they’ll just put another fake king on the throne and screw over the citizenry.
And I was right. 150 years for telling the truth. Good job, generals! Jerks. Seriously, what is there to respect about any SOB who is placed on a throne and permits the lèse-majesté law to be used to cow the entire country? Again: Thailand needs to give up having a monarchy. Why? Look at the monarchy they have.
I started this thread in defense of Rama IX. The country is still wearing black; many wear shirts saying “I was born during the reign of Rama IX.” Heck! Even I was born during the reign of Rama IX and I’m no spring-chicken! I will not predict the future, but note that as one observes portraits in homes and offices and on highways, one sees a lot more pictures of the rightly venerated Rama IX than of his successor.
From your own source:
Again, for the umpteenth time, the lèse-majesté laws have been used by the government to prosecute enemies of the government-of-the-day. They often have little to do with the constitutional monarch.
That jackass was also scum. As I, along with many others, have said over many years, that jackass was also scum. He permitted the revolving door junta that is trampling on people’s rights. And the new fake king is just that: fake king.
And the government is going to go against the junta? Yeah, right. The “government-of-the-day” has even punished a woman for simply being related to a dissenter and another for not “thumbs downing” an online post critical of the monarchy.
They have everything to do with the monarchy as it is those laws which the junta is using to stifle dissent and which the monarch is complicit in.
35 freaking years?! Quit pretending the Thai monarchy is good for the country.
I don’t pretend to have expertise on Thai political affairs or history, but I visited a few times and traveled throughout the country a bit about a decade ago. And trying to avoid looking ignorance I did read up a little on the culture and recent history. My general impression is that the King was indeed a highly respected institutional figurehead and I didn’t get the sense that people were forced into respecting him. The institution itself seems to have been hyper-politicized over the years by corrupt politicians, and as Monty pointed out, more so the military. In many ways, the institution of Thailand’s royal family reminds me a lot of Japan’s Emperor throughout much of that country’s history, a figurehead that is revered as a cultural icon but who’s real power and influence doesn’t go beyond what militarists will tolerate.
Thailand has gone through an endless series of coups. I agree that there is a painfully smug tendency among cultural relativists to assume that just because a non-Western countries doesn’t have a democracy that it cannot ever succeed in building one or that it shouldn’t attempt to build one in the first place. At the same time, however, as Americans are now just beginning to see with their own government, democracies are a lot more fragile than people realize. They are hard to establish and easy to tear down. They require a commitment not only to the principles of democracy and liberty but also to building institutions that preserve these principles. I do agree with those who point out that you have to have a cultural commitment to democracy in order for it to have any hope of succeeding beyond a few years.
What I saw in my admittedly very brief encounter with the culture was a culture that does want more freedom and liberty, particularly the younger Thais who might have more exposure to global ideas, but at the same time, there were very real concerns about their own government’s endless corruption and its utter lack of competence. I’ve seen it time and time again as I’ve traveled around the world: people value democracy only insofar as they have stability, security, and their basic needs met. Take those things away, and they will accept life under a junta even if they might desire more in the long run. This, by the way, is one thing that the United States got so terribly wrong in its assessment of life under Saddam Hussein, and just take one good look at that smouldering mess now.
Bumping because of this stupidity in which the current king grants someone the title of consort and then just shy of three months later “stripped [her] of all military ranks, decorations and royal titles”. Oh, and if anyone else did anything–or simply was accused of such–that was described as “not giving honour to the king” or “disrespectful to his majesty’s grace”, they would rot in a shithole of a Thai prison.
My point about Thailand’s useless royals is obvious and will remain obvious except to oblivious morons.
I’ve always found it strange that anyone would defend any type of monarchy anywhere in the world, whether they are figureheads or not.
Can I really help create an international incident just by posting in this thread? I feel so…powerful!
I have to say, though, those are some great euphemisms for refusing to give the king a blowjob.
Aye they are:
“The cookies are baked as flat circles. After they are removed from the oven, slips of paper are folded inside while the cookies are still warm and flexible. As the fortune cookies cool, they harden into shape.”
Especially the last one!
Damned if you’re not right! I’m used to the home-made variety which are, in fact, pancakes. Oh, well. Thanks for educating me. 
Did a quick skim of this thread. Do I really get to be the first person to point out the time the current king promoted his poodle to “the rank of air chief marshal in the Royal Thai Air Force”?