Please show a little respect. Are you saying that a Yesbel Laureate Ph.D. economist who graduated from LSE and is famous around the world for having had a hand in the design of the AIG Hedge Fund and Derivatives Strategy is mistaken in his analysis!?

What are your so-called “qualifications” …

I would say that by far the largest commercial sex industry in the world in sheer volume and numbers is in India where it exists mainly to serve the indiginous population plus Muslim visitors from the various Islamic Arab states and Iran. The second largest by sheer volume and numbers is probably China. The third largest is probably Brazil.

In terms of actual percentages of the population involved, I would guess there are many African countries with much higher percentages than Thailand, and a much more brutalized treatment of the commercial sex workers themselves.

In terms of Southeast Asia, all the SE countries have a large commercial sex sector, even Burma and Vietnam, even squeaky clean Singapore and Muslim Malaysia and Indonesia.

In terms of the most callous and brutal area of this business, it is undoubtedly at the bottom and the most desperate levels that the rawest trafficking and worst mistreatment is most prevalent, the little sex villages full of trafficked minors in Cambodia being probably the most horrendous example.

In the overall world situation, the Ratchada district in Bangkok and especially, the hi-end entertainment complexes, (where there is probably very little if any direct trafficking involved, and there is considerable personal freedom in terms of choice of establishment and the option to choose another means to earn money), is no where near being the worst of the worst and is, in fact, not totally dissimilar from the U.S. gigantic entertainment district called Las Vegas.

That having been said, yes, I agree that it is very curious and hard to comprehend how a person whose family is one of the major players in Ratchada and who personally managed one of the largest Ratchada establishments, could be so publicly appointed to a high position in a national government and be put forward by a relatively large country economically to represent it in its commercial dealings with other countries.

But then on the other hand, an even larger player in the Ratchada district recently received quite a few votes in his run for the governorship of Bangkok and is presently a Member of the Thai parliament in good standing.

I’ve never heard of industrial scale sex slavery receiving police and government approval in a Western country. Large brothels in places like Germany, Holland or Spain are common enough and are the destination of trafficking gangs from further east. But there are at least some protections in place for sex workers and public policies of observation and intervention. I’m sure that the toleration of these dirty businesses is something necessary and inevitable but I am equally sure that the appointment of a public figure like the minister of commerce with a background in such an activity would be impossible. I feel reasonably certain that kind of appointment would result in an immediate outcry in any of these countries that have policies of toleration. That’s where Thailand is so different. I can’t think of anywhere that has a lower standard of ethical behavior in public office than this country. It’s not a trivial issue to condone, support and encourage human trafficking by appointing an officially sanctioned public figure who is involved in this business.

Politicians in many countries have frighteningly low standards. If there is a democratic process then these degenerates know that there are limits to what they can or cannot do in office. When they go beyond a certain point there is a public outcry. I don’t blame the politicians. Their worst excesses can be limited though. What’s absolutely disgraceful here is the degenerate attitudes and indifference of the people who support the political party that feels free to do this. If, as seems to be the case, the supporters of the Democrat party and its PAD allies are the the people with the privileges and education and resources to know better then I have no hope at all for Thailand. Beyond the protection of their own privileges these people don’t seem to care. No wonder a deeply flawed figure like the deposed prime minister can continue to enjoy widespread support. With the government openly involved in dirty businesses, and the Isoc’s power to behave brutally newly enhanced by their enthusiastic Democrat allies, Thaksin and the red shirts must seem like the only hope of political recognition decent people really have. I feel the bile rising in my throat again …

Cannot but agree with you Jaded. But then again, what’s more or less played out in the open along Ratchada and such is not inexistent in other cities around the world. On the contrary, I doubt there is less more or less open human slavery in major Western cities.

Thailand at least manages to humanize (read: trivialize) the whole misery, as fatalistic this may sound.

BangkokDan

Frankly it makes me want to puke.

The desperately sad thing about this is that most Democrat Party supporting middle class Thais that I know simply don’t see anything wrong, or every disturbing about having a commerce minister with a background in an industry that exists as an unnatural breeding ground for sex slavery, human trafficing or whatever else you like to call it. But it’s not just the poverty stricken, trafficked prostitutes that don’t merit any mercy or consideration. It’s anyone outside of that golden circle of privilege centered in Bangkok. The Poseidon minister is a perfectly logical reflection of the disgusting attitudes that prevail amongst large numbers of the middle class who support this government. The prime minister is a perfect medium through which to channel this indifference. Witness his performance on CNN when presented with evidence of the mass murder of Burmese refugees by the Thai military. He’s part of a generation of Thai politicians who have learned to be plausibly pleasant in difficult situations while remaining indifferent to any kind of moral and ethical standard. As you pointed out, the Buddhist rationalizations that accompany this rhetoric suggest that this will not change any time soon …