TTT - Topsy Turvey Thailand

The decision of the NCC to charge Chavalit and Somchai over the police crackdown of PAD protesters last year seems bizarre.

For starters, is it within the jurisdiction of the NCCC?

The constitution defines the role of the NCCC thus:

(2) to inquire into facts, summarise the case and prepare opinions in relation to a criminal proceedings of the persons holding political positions to be submitted to the Supreme Court of Justice’s Criminal Division for Persons Holding Political Positions in accordance with section 275;

(3) to inquire and decide whether a State official of high administration level or a government official holding a position of a Divisional Director or its equivalent or higher level has become unusually wealthy or has committed an offence of corruption, malfeasance in office or malfeasance in judicial office, and to take such actions against a State official or a government official of lower level who participates in the commission of such offence with the person holding the said position or the person holding political position or who commits an offence in the manner deemed appropriate by the National Counter Corruption Commission in accordance with the organic law on counter corruption;

(4) to inspect the accuracy, actual existence as well as change of assets and liabilities of the persons holding positions under section 259 and section 264 as stated in the account and supporting documents submitted in accordance with the rules and procedures prescribed by the National Counter Corruption Commission;

(5) to supervise and monitor moral and ethics of persons holding political positions;

(6) to submit an inspection report and a report on the performance of duties together with recommendations to the Council of Ministers, the House of Representatives and the Senate annually. The report shall be published in the Government Gazette and disclosed to the public;


Of course clause five could be used to cover virtually anything. Secondly, why charge Somchai? As PM, if he is to be found guilty for every mistake made by police then there's not a person in the world who would want the job of Thai PM. Finally of course, the insane amongst us might think that it is perfectly normal. indeed advisable, to have police crack down on a violent mob who have unlawfully invaded public space and refused all warnings to leave. But as Giles Unpagkorn recently said: "In Thailand, everything is topsy turvey." 

Speaking of Giles, when hearing Aphisit's response to him in the Oxford speech concerning Lese Majeste, I couldn't help but think back to the excellent and highly articulate article by David Streckfuss that appeared on BP's blog.

TiT

Hot in this morning: PM promises return to "media freedom" ( link )

Hot in this afternoon: police raid a newspaper for alleged lese majeste. ( link )

It will be interesting to see how the rest of the media react.

Things in my inbox today

Associate Professor Giles Ji Ungpakorn will fight charges of les majesty over his academic book "A Coup for the Rich"

I have been summonsed to Pathumwan police station for questioning and the new date and time is at 10.00 am on Tuesday 20th January 2009. The summons was issued as a result of a charge filed by Special Branch Police Lt Col. Pansak Sasana-anund. I have been accused of les majesty. The charge arises from my book "A Coup for the Rich", published in 2007, just after the 19^th September 2006 military coup.

I have now sold all 1000 copies of "A Coup for the Rich", but it is available to download from my blog http://wdpress.blog.co.uk/ and from the International Socialist Tendency website in the U.K. Just after publication, the book was withdrawn from sale by Chulalongkorn University bookshop and later by Thammasart University bookshop. This is a gross attack on academic freedom. I encourage people to read my book and judge for themselves whether I should face criminal charges over this book. Relevant passages can be found in Chapter 1, pages 15, 23-27 and Chapter 2. (files also attached)

My most recent academic paper on the Monarchy appears on my blog. It argues that the Monarchy is not all powerful and that political and military factions claim Royal legitimacy in order to boost their own power and interests. Their recent actions may be bringing the institution of the Monarchy into crisis because they created an image of the Monarchy being directly involved in politics. I presented a Thai version of this paper at the National Thai Political Science Conference at Chulalongkorn University in December 2008.

The Monarchy has been quoted and used by various political factions in Thailand to legitimise their actions. The most notable cases are the 19^th September 2006 military coup and the illegal protests by the yellow-shirted P.A.D., which included violent protests and the shutting down the international airports. Les Majesty charges in Thailand are notorious for being used by different political factions to attack their opponents. Many believe that this law is actually counter-productive to defending the Monarchy. This is why it is very important that political scientists attempt to analyse the real role and nature of the Thai Monarchy in an atmosphere of freedom and democracy.

I am prepared to fight any les majesty charges in order to defend academic freedom, the freedom of expression and democracy in Thailand.

Since this accusation was filed by a Special Branch officer, the present Democrat Party Government should be questioned about its role in this and many other cases. The new Prime Minister has stated that he wants to see a firm crackdown on les majesty and many recent cases have been filed by the police.

Press Conference: Tues 13th Jan, 12.30, Chulalongkorn University, Faculty of Political Science building 2 .

--
Giles Ji Ungpakorn
Faculty of Political Science
Chulalongkorn University
Bangkok 10330, Thailand
+66-(0)813469481
UK mobile:+44-(0)7817034432
http://www.pcpthai.org/
http://wdpress.blog.co.uk/
see YOUTUBE videos by Giles53
_______________________________________________________________________

128 Academics, intellectuals and members of parliament from around the world call for charges against Giles Ji Ungpakorn to be dropped

128 academics from U.K, Canada, France, South Africa, Ireland, Australia, South Korea, Greece and the U.S.A., including those from Oxford University and SOAS London University, have signed an open letter calling for charges of lese majeste, made against Giles Ji Ungpakorn, to be dropped. Among those signing are also famous writers such as Susan George and China Miéville. The list also includes members of parliament from New Zealand and Britain.

A seperate petition in Thai and English, for the scrapping of all les majeste cases is being circulated and discussions are taking place among communities and citizens' groups throughout Thailand.

We wish to express our deep concern at the decision of the Thai Police Special Branch to prosecute Associate Professor Giles Ji Ungpakorn,of the Political Science Faculty at Chulalongkorn University, with lèse majesté – that is, with insulting King Bhumibol. Mr Ungpakorn is a well-known commentator on Thai politics, widely quoted in the international media. The charge arises from his book A Coup for the Rich, published in 2007. In that book he criticized the coup of 19 September 2006, in which the military seized political power in Thailand. Mr Ungpakorn argued that the army, along with the rest of the Thai establishment, used the monarchy to legitimize its political interventions. This is the kind of analysis that political scientists make as a matter of course, but various bookshops withdrew A Coup for the Rich from circulation, forcing Mr Ungpakorn to make it available on the Internet.

Now his academic freedom and basic citizenship rights have come under much more serious attack with this prosecution. Lèse majesté has fallen into disuse in most of the world as a relic of the pre-democratic past. Thailand is an exception. The Economist commented on 14 August 2008: 'The king said in 2005 that he could be criticised and was not afraid of this. But those posing as his majesty's protectors conveniently forget his words. So, despite their democratic institutions, Thais are not free to debate matters regarding their head of state, including appropriate limits on criticizing him.'

Lèse majesté carries a maximum sentence of 15 years, and MPs from the government party headed by Abhisit Vejjajiva, which came to office thanks to the connivance of the army, want to increase this to 25 years. The prosecution of Mr Ungpakorn therefore represents the most fundamental attack on freedom of speech. We demand that the charges against him are unconditionally withdrawn.

1. Dr. Geoff Abbott, Newcastle University

2. Professor Gilbert Achcar, School of Oriental and African Studies, London

3. Dr Talat Ahmed, Goldsmiths, University of London

4. Dr Kieran Allen, University Collhe Dublin

5. Dr Sam Ashman, University of East London

6. Dr Miryam Aouragh, University of Oxford/University of Amsterdam

7. Hans Baer, University of Melbourne
8. Professor Abigail Bakan, Queen's University, Canada

9. Chris Bambery, Editor, Socialist Worker

10. Colin Barker, Manchester Metropolitan University (Emeritus)

11. Dr John Baxter, Open University

12. Dr Tom Behan, University of Kent

13. Professor Jacques Bidet, University of Paris 10 – Nanterre (Emeritus)

14. Dr Sue Blackwell, University of Birmingham

15. Professor Luc Boltanski, École des hautes études en sciences sociales

16. Professor Patrick Bond, University of KwaZulu-Natal

17. Helen Bowman, Manchester Metropolitan University

18. Pat Brady, Council for Academic Freedom and Academic Standards

19. Professor Dennis Brutus, University of KwaZulu-Natal

20. Professor Alex Callinicos, King's College London

21. Dr David Camfield, University of Manitoba

22. Mark Campbell, London Metropolitan University, National Executive Committee, Universities and College Union

23. Dr Steve Cannon, University of Sunderland

24. Joe Carolan, Editor, Socialist Aotearoa, New Zealand

25. Agger Carsten, Denmark

26. Jim Casey, Vice President, Fire Brigade Employees Union, New South Wales

27. Dr. John Charlton

30. Professor Simon Clarke, University of Warwick

31. Paul Coates, President, University of Melbourne Graduate Student Association

32. Dr Alejandro Colas, Birkbeck College University of London

33. Petros Constantinou,,Campaign GENOA 2001 Greece

34. Adrian Cousins, UNITE rep, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine

35. James Cussens, University of York

36. Bernice Daly, National Executive Committee, Universities and College Union

37. Neil Davidson, University of Strathclyde

38. Dr Jonathan Davies, University of Warwick

40. Dr Andy Durgan, Barcelona University

41. James Eaden, Chesterfield College, National Executive Committee, Universities and College Union

42. Manfred Ecker, Vienna

43. Professor James Fairhead, University of Sussex
44. Dr Sue Ferguson, Wilfrid Laurier University

45. John Fernandes

46. George Galloway MP

47. Panos Garganas, National Technical University of Athens

48. Susan George

49. Lindsey German, Convenor, Stop the War Coalition (pc)

50. Professor Mike Gonzalez, University of Glasgow (Emeritus)

51. Dr Peter Goodwin, University of Westminster

52. Sarah Gregson, Vice President Academic, National Tertiary Education Union, University of New South Wales

53. Dr Phil Griffiths, University of Southern Queensland

54. Sylvia Hale, Member of Parliament, New South Wales

55. Professor Nigel Harris, University College London (Emeritus)

56. Professor Barbara Harriss-White, Queen Elizabeth House, Oxford

57. Marion Hersh, University of Glasgow

58. Tom Hickey, University of Brighton, National Executive Committee, Universities and College Union

59. Brian Ingham, Richmond-upon-Thames College, National Executive Committee, Universities and College Union

60. Feyzi Ismail, School of Oriental and African Studies, London

61. Nick James, University of Leicester and UCU NEC

62. Professor Seongjin Jeong, Gyeongsang National University, South Korea

63. John Kaye, Member of Parliament, New South Wales

64. Paul Kellogg, Trent University, Peterborough, Canada

65. Dr Anna Laerke, Open University

66. Jens Laerke, United Nations, Nairobi

67. Councillor Michael Lavalette, Liverpool Hope University

68. Maeve Landman, National Executive Committee, Universities and College UnionMelanie 69. Lazarow, Secretary, National Tertiary Education Union, University of Melbourne

70. Dr Elizabeth Lawrence, National Executive Committee, Universities and College Union

71. Professor Michael Lebowitz, San Francisco University

72. Craig Lewis, National Executive Committee, Universities and College Union

73. Dr Nancy Lindisfarne, School of Oriental and African Studies, London (Emeritus)

74. Professor Domenico Losurdo, University of Urbino

75. Dr Steve Ludlam, University of Sheffield

76. Alan Maass, SocialistWorker.org, USA

77. Professor David McNally, York University, Toronto

78. Judith McVey, Coursework Education Officer, University of Melbourne Graduate
Student Association

79. Georges Menahem, University of Paris-13/Dalhousie University, Canada

80. China Miéville

81. Laura Miles, Bradford College

82. Dr Sally Mitchison, Consultant Psychiatrist

83. Professor Colin Mooers, Ryerson University

84. Dr Carlo Morelli, University of Dundee

85. Dr Tim Morris

86. Pablo Mukherjee, University of Warwick

87. Antony Nanson, Bath Spa University

88. Dr Jonathan Neale, Bath Spa University

89. Jakob Nerup, National Board, Red-Green Alliance, Canada

90. Professor Alan Norrie, King's College London

91. Allison O'Toole, Joint Queer Officer, University of Melbourne Graduate
Student Association

92. Dr George Paizis, University College London

93. Jamie Parker, Mayor of Leichhardt, New South Wales

94. Dr John Parrington, Worcester College Oxford

95. Dr Diana Paton, University of Newcastle

96. David Pejoski, Joint Queer Officer, University of Melbourne Graduate Student
Association

97. Professor Malcolm Povey, University of Leeds, National Executive Committee, Universities and College Union

98. Dr Nat Queen, University of Birmingham

99. Maloti Ray, Research officer, University of Melbourne Graduate Student
Association

100. Lee Rhiannon, Member of Parliament, New South Wales

101. Dr. Elaheh Rostami-Povey, School of Oriental and African Studies, London

102. Professor Alfredo Saad Filho, School of Oriental and African Studies, London

103. Dr Alison Sealey, University of Birmingham

104. Dr Alan Sears, Ryerson University, Toronto

105. Dr Claude Serfat, Université de Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines

106. Anwar Shah, International Student Officer, University of Melbourne Graduate
Student Association

107. Yiannis Sifakakis, Stop the War Coalition Greece

108. Sasha Simic, USDAW Shop Steward, Central Books (pc)

109. Professor Beverley Skeggs, Goldsmiths, University of London

110. Socialist Party of Malaysia (PSM)

111. Professor Colin Sparks, University of Westminster

112. Maria Styllou, editor, Socialism from Below (Greece)

113. Dr. Viren Swami, University of Westminster

114. J.G. Taylor, Leeds Metropolitan University

115. Jennifer Toomey, University of Newcastle

116. Dr Alberto Toscano, Goldsmiths, University of London

117. Charles-André Udry, Editions Page deux, Switzerland

118. Universities and College Union, Branch Committee, University of Dundee

119. Turkan Uzun, Antikapitalist, Turkey

120. Professor Kees van der Pijl, University of Sussex

121. Vegard Velle, member of national executive committee, Red Party, Norway

122. Sean Vernell, City & Islington College, National Executive Committee, Universities and College Union

123. Christine Vié, Manchester Metropolitan University

124. Dr. Max Wallis, Cardiff University

125. Dr Vron Ware, Open University

126. Tony Williams, Activities Officer, University of Melbourne Graduate Student
Association

127. Dr Jim Wolfreys, King's College London

128. David Streckfuss, Khon Kaen University THAILAND

_________________________________________________________________________

Please sign this open letter and ask others to sign (there is a Thai version going round)

Stop the use of "lese majesty" in Thailand. Defend freedom of speech

We, the undersigned, oppose the use of lese majeste in Thailand in order to prevent freedom of speech and academic freedom. We demand that the government cease all proceedings in lese majeste cases.

The 19^th September 2006 military coup in Thailand claimed "Royal legitimacy" in order to hide the authoritarian intentions of the military junta. Lese Majeste charges have not been used to protect "Thai Democracy under a Constitutional Monarchy" as claimed. The charges are used against people who criticised the coup and disagree with the present destruction of democracy. They are used to create a climate of fear and censorship.

One obvious case is that of Associate Professor Giles Ji Ungpakorn, from the Faculty of Political Science, Chulalongkorn University. He is facing Lese Majeste charges for writing a book "A Coup for the Rich", which criticised the 2006 military coup. (Read the book at http://wdpress.blog.co.uk/). Others who have been accused of Lese Majeste are former government minister Jakrapop Penkae, who asked a question at the Foreign Correspondent's Club in Bangkok, about exactly what kind of Monarchy we have in Thailand. There is also the case of Chotisak Oonsung, a young student who failed to stand for the King's anthem in the cinema. Apart from this there are the cases of Da Topedo and Boonyeun Prasertying. In addition to those who opposed the coup, the BBC correspondent Jonathan Head, an Australia writer names Harry Nicolaides, social critic Sulak Sivaraksa are also facing charges. The latest person to be thrown into jail and refused bail is Suwicha Takor, who is charged with Lese Majeste for surfing the internet. The Thai Minister of Justice has called for a blanket ban on reporting these cases in the Thai media. The main stream Thai media are obliging. Thus we are seeing a medieval style witch hunt taking place in Thailand with "secret" trials in the courts. The Justice Ministry is also refusing to publish figures of lese majeste cases.

We call for the abolition of les majeste laws in Thailand and the defence of freedom and democracy.

Signed.....

Please send your full name to : Giles.LesseMajeste@gmail.com , ji.ungpakorn@gmail.com

Lese majeste

Before any movie in any Thai cinema, the national anthem is played and people stand up.

I remember reading about a case last year when a Thai man and his friend did not stand up for the national anthem. In the past they had had popcorn thrown at them and received abuse. While this time he man was actually physically attacked. He quite rightly threatened legal action.

Can you guess what his assailant threatened to do? You guessed it, lese majeste. And that's exactly what happened.

Chotisak Oonsoong received formal charges today. Please read more about the case here and - if you wish - sign the petition here.

Lese Majeste

Following on from the news that Jakrapob Penkair would be investigated for Lese Majeste for comments made at the FCCT in mid 2007 is the news that BBC's Jonathon Head would be investigated for possible Lese Majese for comments made during the "Coup, Capital, Crown" presentation, also at the FCCT last year.

It must be stressed that this is only at the complaint stage, not a formal charge.

The BBC are not a minor play on the global stage and it would be interesting to see how they respond if the complaint is taken further.

Fight for freedom

For anyone who cares about freedom of speech - especially Thais - I would plead with them to sign the petition discussed below.
From my friends at facthai.wordpress.com

THAILAND: Petition for lecturer accused of insulting monarchy
Asian Human Rights Commission: July 23, 2007

FACT supporters, please sign! http://www.petitiononline.com/4bs2007/petition.html

(Hong Kong, July 23, 2007) An online petition has been launched in support of a Thai lecturer who has been accused of insulting the monarchy through the questions asked in a university examination paper.

Boonsong Chaisinghanon, who teaches philosophy at Silpakorn University, has been asked by its administration to hand copies of his examination papers over to the police “to be used in the preparation of evidence for lèse majesté charges”.

Students had also reportedly been told to hand over their notes from the course, Thai Civilization, without being told how they would be used.

According to the Bangkok-based Prachatai news service, Boonsong has refused to give the papers and has protested that answer papers of students should not have already been sent to the investigators without first consulting him.

The questions over which he is being investigated include, “Do you think the monarchy is necessary for Thai society…? How should it be adapted to a democratic system?” and “How should we combat the culture of militarism and feudalism in Thai society?”

The online petition, launched by members of the Midnight University group, calls the investigation of Boonsong “an unprecedented… threat to academic freedom”.

“Such an action also indicates that attempts to use lèse majesté charge as a tool to impede freedom of expression among Thai people still exist, and now they have encroached into the academic realm,” it reads.

Under the penal code of Thailand, causing insult to the monarchy is a criminal offence carrying a penalty of three to 15 years in jail.

The full text of the petition is given below. It can be signed online at:
http://www.petitiononline.com/4bs2007/petition.html

Basil Fernando, executive director of the Asian Human Rights Commission, expressed his support for the embattled lecturer.

“It appears from this that a good teacher who was simply provoking his students to ask sensible and important questions about their society and form of government has been slapped over the head with an archaic law by persons with exactly the sort of feudal thinking that he was questioning in his classes,” Fernando said.

“It bodes ill for Thailand at a bad time for the country, when there are strenuous efforts to roll back all sorts of modern thinking and institutions in favour of those that serve only the interests of its elite,” he observed.

The head of the Hong-Kong based regional rights group was the 202nd person to add his name to the petition on Monday.

“We are encouraged by Assistant Professor Boonsong’s determination to not be bullied and strongly support calls to end this pointless criminal investigation,” Fernando wrote.

“There are, besides, many other things that the police in Thailand could and should be investigating,” he remarked.

Further details on the case can be found on the Prachatai website: http://www.prachatai.com/english/news.php?id=115

---

ONLINE PETITION: PLEASE SUPPORT ASST. PROF. BOONSONG CHAISINGHANON, AND OPPOSE THE THREAT TO ACADEMIC FREEDOM

Dear Friends of Thailand,

Asst. Prof. Boonsong Chaisinghanon, a philosophy lecturer of the Faculty of Arts, Silpakorn University is reported to have received a letter from Asst. Prof. Maneepin Promsudhirak, Acting Dean of the Faculty, requesting the answer sheets and score details in Thai Civilization courses that Asst. Prof. Boonsong teaches. The letter reads;

“A request has been made by investigating officers of Muang District Provincial Police Station, Nakhon Pathom, for the answer sheets and scores given to students who sat the examinations for the Thai Civilization courses from the years of 2005 until the present. The documents will be used in the preparation of evidence for lèse majesté charges. Please send the said materials to the Faculty by 20 July 2007 for onward submission to the investigating officers.”

We the undersigned deem the move made by the investigating officers and the university administration an unprecedented gravest threat to academic freedom. Such an action also indicates that attempts to use lèse majesté charge as a tool to impede freedom of expression among Thai people still exist, and now they have encroached into the academic realm.

We the undersigned would like to send our moral support to Asst. Prof. Boonsong Chaisinghanon and demand that all attempts to severe academic freedom be immediately halted.

# # #

About AHRC: The Asian Human Rights Commission is a regional non-governmental organisation monitoring and lobbying human rights issues in Asia. The Hong Kong-based group was founded in 1984.

Thailand Vs Google youtube

If there is a Thai equivalent to the old adage "There's no rest for the wicked", then Thailand's ruling junta must be asking themselves just how bad their karma is right now.

As if the escalating tensions between the junta and the PTV (see my previous blog) and various other anti-coup groups were not enough, eh? Protests are becoming more popular and various allegations of graft and abuse of power are doing the rounds. This being Thailand, it's very rare for anyone to actually be specific, simply because everybody has some blackmail on some one else so a typical allegation is simply "a man who recently came to power has been extorting the TV stations". Another popular allegation method is to use some silly epithet. For example: "Chinese older sister has been alluding to evade tax" and so on. The junta have made counter threats as thinly veiled as possible against protesters as well as suggesting they have all been sponsored by "ostracised politicians". All to no avail, protests continue.

It seems the old brass are not learning by error though. About one week ago, an appallingly badly made "movie" on youtube.com depicted pictures of HM The King accompanied by bad quality music slowly having some kind of lines drawn across the picture. It resembled the work of a maladjusted hermit. Had it been ignored, it would have faded away. But, in their infinite wisdom, the MICT or ICT (Ministry of Information and Computer Technology) decided to ban it.

Before we knew it the issue had mutated from a bad and vulgar but unpopular video to an international expose of insecurity, lese majeste and restrictions on freedoms in Thailand.

There was nothing new about this decision. ICT have been revelling in their self appointed role of purity guardians for a long time, and any of their staff will proudly quote the number of blocked sites as being well into the thousands. What was new this time around however was that the blocked site wasn't internal pornography or a local university website that dared to question the coup, this time the victim was a very popular international American nerd site. And of course, western nerds don't like being told what the hell to think.

After the usual tactic of denying responsibility didn't work out, the ICT accepted they had blocked the site and "demanded" youtube take down the video. Youtube initially refused but eventually succumbed -- presumably due to the drop in advertising revenue for the region -- and removed the offending "clip". However, the first frame (i.e. a still picture) remained viewable. The ICT continued the ban and again "demanded" that even the first frame go down. This time, a collectively vexed youtube issued a statement explaining they "will not assist censorship."



Having lost face, the ICT responded in the only sensible, modern and adult manner possible. Like a kid in the playground that doesn't want to admit he lost at marbles , the nation's moral thought police responded with "We were right, and to show we were right we'll ban more sites!". And indeed, the ICT made an official notice of more closures and official "warnings" to other sites. This time though, they played it safe and stuck to bullying Thai websites. The most popular Thai newspapers which print pictures of dead and mutilated bodies of woman and children on its cover almost every single day, remain non - samizdat.

The backlash against such censorship was inevitable and, in my opinion, self inflicted by the medieval level of incompetence and maladjustment by the ICT. Various other forms of disrespect to sacred Thai institutions have appeared on line and youtube have issued a statement offering to "educate" the ICT on how to block a specific video rather than an entire site. The offer appeared genuine but the stress placed on the word "educate" means a further loss of face to our juvenile minded moral guardians and , ergo, more tantrums and more censorship from Big Brother seems sure to follow.



The ICT represents a microcosm of Thailand's developmental conundrum. They want to be viewed as a modern, developed country with rich tradition, yet the rulers are neither modern nor developed. Their Jurassic beliefs that people will respond to cogency dictatorship and their embarrassing level of incompetence at communications censorship has bought nothing but problems for Siam. It smacks of insecurity and hidden agendas. What's more, it may prove to be ultimately self defeating. It seems that for the first time in a long time, Thais are actually starting to ask something to the effect of: "If people have nothing to hide, why are we not allowed to criticise them?" A good question indeed.

A bizarre cartoon and a silly reader's letter appeared in 'The Nation Thailand' today. The letter slated Google for its defence statement: "we also have videos mocking George Bush on our site". The writer stated "Effigies of Bush are burned across the world by those who revere the Thai king." I found this statement in condemnation of Google not only false, but bizarre. The writer seemed to be using the logic "If the person is already disrespected it's OK to do it on youtube, otherwise, it should be censored".

I suspect fanatics like this are the people who would most benefit from a dose of global reality and un - manufactured truth. Freedom of speech does not allow freedom to incite or encourage harm, but it most certainly does include freedom to say something we might not like.


One can only hope some good comes out of this. Some foolishly optimistic part of me hopes that the ICT will learn that not only is it wrong to tell people what to think, it's impossible. The more one is told not to peruse something, the more recalcitrant and curious they become. Sadly, the kindergarten mentality of ICT's "each time someone denies us we'll block more sites" response does not bode well. The temperature climbs.