The Lunacy of it All

Lately the heat is getting to a lot of people, not the heat of summer but the political heat. 

The Army or more rightly stated an Army Chief is once again meddling in politics.  He's decided to become Thailand's Great Inquisitor, the upholder of the Monarchy the only one who will be righteous to a fault.   Problem is that's not his job.  His job is to be the protector of the Thai people from outside forces, nothing more nothing less.  To start dictating, and yes I used that word on purpose, to the populous on who should be charged with sedition  or LM for clapping and  cheering at a pep rally is well, incomprehensible from a man in such a high position.  What's he going to do next, decree who can and can't clap and cheer at a football match?  It's outright dumb.  In any other country on earth the head of the military making statements and acting in this manner would be unemployed.   To me it looks like he's just trying to sway the outcome of the election by pointing fingers at the opposition and the opposition is rightly pointing back this time.

Then we have the matter of the three young girls vs the Cultural ministry.  The girls danced topless on a car and the Ministry had a hemorrhoid.  Problem is the Ministry had pictures of 3 nude Thai women on their web page when all this started.  Being Songkran it's hard to get a web page changed fast.  Oops.  Who really cares if three young women took off their tops and danced around a bit, not me.  Maybe the Cultural Minister never took off his cloths on a hot summer day when he was a kid and went skinny dipping.  Too bad, because he missed one of the true joys of hot weather and childhood.  Maybe that's why they are such a stuffy lot.   While I'm on the subject, traditionally women in Siam did walk around topless and just maybe the cultural ministry should suck up some of that ancient culture they feel needs protecting by visiting a museum or two and looking at the art.  The same art they HAD depicted on their web page.

Now a bit of a rant on the Bangkok Post.  

There is one thing that bothers me about every second article in the paper.  They use the word source too freely.  In journalistic terms you want to protect your source so you will have it again when needed but at the same time you have to do your own leg work to write a story.  Often "the Source" is some low key person a secretary, a janitor or a tidbit heard over lunch from another table.  Sometimes "the Source" is someone disgruntled about a situation or someone that can advance their own position by lessening someone else's.  AND THEN sometimes "the Source" is just the journalist's way of stating his own opinion without actually putting his head in a noose.  Come on Bangkok Post reporters, do some work, ask some questions, state your own opinion and quit hiding behind, "The Source". 

I have no idea who moderates the Bangkok Post comments section but this is what I feel.  If you are going to allow comments then get moderators who are neutral.  To constantly allow anti red comments without any censorship some of which are quite provocative while at the same time censoring most comments that are either pro red or anti government is not moderation, it's Censorship.  One would think that all media outlets in Thailand would be sensitive to censorship but apparently at the Post it is alive and well used in their comments section continuously.

It's not just me that feel this way I've talked to a few other commenter's and they often are censored when the replies to their comments are let go often times being quite radical.

I'll just add that they even sent me an email if I continued to comment against Abhisit my account would be terminated.  At least they are showing the true intent of their publication.

Now a comment on the election, if it ever is even called.   With all the panic by the Army about the UDD and with all the lop sided articles in the media favoring the Democrats even after the Democrats have changed the ground rules in regards to the make up of the house to favor themselves, one has to wonder if panic has set in.   The EC today has decided to allow EU election observers for the next election.  There must be some major panic in the ranks on that one.  The Democrats and Suthep in particular do not want observers that could well tell the world community in no uncertain terns that the election was not fee and fair if the Democrats manage to win the most seats.  The incredible worst case scenario for the Democrats is that the PTP win a majority and the EU election observers declare that everything was 100% above board or that the PTP won even with interference from groups against them.   Lets wait and see what transpires but it's going to get interesting.  Very interesting indeed.