“Many people, however, would have to learn to base their political opinions and decisions on proven facts, rather than on here-says, biased instigations, unfounded rumors and false accusations …”

Well said that woman! As a first step, stop reading The Nation.

Stupidity has definitely consumed PM Abhisit’s government … What a bunch of censorious morons.

(BD: You’re doing great here!)

1. Unless my comment isn’t there any more Dan can link this. But as I recall it now, when challenged on whether I supported the reds going into Chula, I actually said that I abhor the militarization of hospitals. Of course, when people are shooting grenades out of the windows of hospitals things can get out of hand. Knowing the repuation of Chula hospital staff, and being aware that the hospital was already being pinpointed as the likely location of the grenadiers, I could see then, and with lots of new evidence available I certainly see now, why the red invasion was provoked. That doesn’t imply that I condoned it nor indeed does it imply that I condone the demonstration itself (which I see as a massive and premeditated provocation on the part of the red leaders to create another famous Thai massacre). But I do have a lot of sympathy for the socially excluded in Thailand and recognise that the reds have a real point when they talk about Priviledge and Ammart.

2. I suppose I could just quote the statements of representatives of the government including the PM as my sources for the comment that a large segment of the population is alienated. But again saying this doesn’t mean to imply that the country is unifying behind the reds. I don’t actually see how you could draw a conclusion like that unless you were living on the other side of the planet the Vongthip is on.

3. I think the government does take the potential of the red argument seriously though. The computer crimes act, emergency controls and even the CRES summons for Facebook comments are some of the evidence that I would refer you to in support of this assertion. But the authorities have a problem. The red press seems to be well distributed and it doesn’t take much looking to find plenty of examples of Red literature despite 7-11 censorship of military men and their views.

While it’s relatively easy to censor the airwaves, and you can use scare tactics and the computer crimes act to censor the net, the old fashioned print media is very hard to control, particularly in Thailand where there are more printers than I would have imagined. (As a one-time local newspaper editor, and under Thaky too, I was quite astonished when I first arrived to discover the scale and variety of the print media in Thailand.) It’s not going to easy to stop the reds writing up their side and, whereas you can debate the validity of my comments here, it’s more difficult to rebut magazines. I would also say “newspapers” but one interesting aspect of newspaper publishing in Thailand is the manner in which a newspaper licence is awarded. Let’s just say that it’s unlikely that a newspaper unsympathetic to the government would be licenced, regardless of the government … Moreover the owners of newspapers face exhaustive checks (including by the intelligence services I was informed) and a convoluted process of official approval that involves representatives from ministeries who would normally not be thought to have much interest in the news business. Losing your newspaper licence is also possible with all the concomitant possibilities for encouraging self-censorship that this implies. Little wonder then that the sensible way to run a newspaper business is with accumulated losses. The closure of a title would then hit hard at certain business interests who normally have to be catered to by the authorities. But I digress. The point is that so long as the censorship does not get too heavy handed and so far (based on past performances in Thailand) it’s being done with a reasonably delicate touch, albeit with some embarrassing use of the lèse majesté law to gag otherwise irreproachable sources like Prachatai (still in Dan’s blogroll I see). The foreign press, often over simplifying, under malign influences or simply misinformed are much harder to control but you can see that isn’t stopping people trying …

4. In any case all the endless talk of unity by the government is possibly an indication that a large section of the country is already quite alienated along with an even larger element of the population. I am not just talking about the reds. Have the events in the south escaped your attention?

5. My own personal explanation for the vitriolic tone of my first comment is as follows.

I just got back from a business trip to Singapore today actually and, as the afternoon was really rather warm I decided to stay in and catch up. I saw something. A special police truck, windows blacked out, drove into the temple grounds accross the street. Inside the grounds are a number of white ambulance minivans. About twenty minutes later several ambulance minivans drove out of the temple led by a police pick up truck and disappeared down the street heading in the direction of the demonstration. I don’t know what is going on the temple or why the police vehicles and the ambulances are stationed there. But this is something new to this street and this temple and given what else is happening in this capital my ire was aroused. I confess that feeling of pure anger and disgust probably animated my response to the letter and its writer.

6. As someone who wrote in newspapers under Thaksin I was thoroughly intimidated. There are indexes out there of press freedom. I don’t normally take any notice of them but if they are remotely objective and simply quantifying legal events I suspect that Thailand must be getting worse not better. But whatever these indexes may be said to indicate its going to hard to argue against your comments as you don’t seem to be willing to entertain that is might be possible to hold a different view.

When I first came to Thailand, a friend and now foreign-based colleague asked me why I bothered writing at all when I didn’t have a hope of telling the real story. I explained how important real information is in a country like this and how I had developed several strategies to get what information I could into print. He remarked, and I have to admit he was right, that I sounded quite pitiful (then and now). But you are mistaken if you think Thaksin represented anything other than the interests of various parts of that kleptocracy that continues to rule its various fiefdoms in Thailand today. The English newspapers in particular now have absolutely pitiful records when it comes to telling the story here. Often Thai newspaper will carry stories well-researched into scandals that never reach the English local press. That’s not because people can’t read Thai … Censorship, largely self-censorship is the fundamental principle of the English-language press of Thailand. This is a lesson I quickly learned. If you threaten anyone’s ricebowl you are playing with fire …

Ironically, that’s the sad truth about both the red and yellow shirt leadership. They won’t threaten anyone’s ricebowl if their own is treated with respect. The basis for a reasonable compromise is simply to share out the rice a little bit more generously.

7. It’s been entertaining writing this and responding to your criticism. I now see it’s 7.55 pm and time to go. And thanks Dan for letting me blog a bit inside your blog!

“With a large segment of the population now alienated” … You are saying the country is unifying behind the reds. Oh dear.

Don’t know what planet you’re living on, but just the thought that the officially sanctioned media may speak with the voice of not the minority must be terrifying to you. It has been said again and again, journalists under Thaksin were less free. Period. Full stop. End of discussion.

BTW, even Bangkok Pundit has some constructive words for The Nation, at least for a latest work by Tulsathit.

What is wrong with all you haters. You think good honest hard-working people are braindead just because they’re not running around with guns in the name of liberty? Oh dear, you’re way too emotional Jaded. And I’m terrified of your anti-status quo. Go sleep it off, your ideological hangover.

I like to read your thoughts, your elaborate style of writing is a pleasure. Sadly you’re outing yourself as completely out of touch with what’s going on.

At a certain point all credibility is lost with the very people that this vapid commentary is supposed to convince. On the popular level I suspect that the officially sanctioned media is now in the process of losing the sympathy of its core audience. Those outlets not financially supported by the military or other parts of the government are having serious difficulties making money and this lack of interest in their attempts to dumb down the situation is telling. With a large segment of the population now alienated, no matter how overwhelming the official media approved story is, the only people who are now being lulled into apathy are the unapologetic supporters of this reactionary version of what they see as the status quo.

I see this this lady as engaging in an embarrassingly public act of intellectual masturbation which may give her and her devotees some pleasure. It’s difficult to see how it will attract any new admirers.

But thinking about it I believe that my metaphor is ill chosen. A more apt analogy would be the role of the prostitution in farang frequented bars. Of course not all farang go to bars and not all farang end up marrying Thais with a bargirl past. But there is no doubt that a large number of expats are seduced over to the dark side and sooner or later they inevitably discover the emptiness and unreality of bar people. This woman offers similar sort of inducements with her attempts to stimulate her audience. And like in the sub-culture of the bars, the self-delusion of the punter is what sustains the illusion. Her distortions of reality are a little like the widely available cosmetic enhancements that feature prominently with Thai bargirls and ladyboys. The problem for their potential customers is that on some level they always know it’s been bought and paid for … and therefore even if the punter is attracted, they always know that they can never really feel secure.

In both the bar and in Vongthip’s strange world, fantasy can only be sustained by ignoring reality and preventing any kind of critical thinking …