Monday, January 19, 2009

A Short Rant Concerning His Royal Majesty Bhumibol Adulyadej

I've talked before about problems of internet censorship, and I've mentioned in passing Thailand's rules against insulting the king. Australian journalist Harry Nicolaides was just sentenced for three years in jail in Thailand for insulting King Bhumibol Adulyadej. Nicolaides was living in Thailand, and his apparent offense occurred in a book he wrote three years ago.

This sort of censorship is par for the course in Thailand. But what makes this case noteworthy is that CNN and other news sources are unwilling to even report what Nicolaides said. According to CNN, "CNN has chosen not to repeat the allegations made by Nicolaides because it could result in CNN staff being prosecuted in Thailand."

So now Thailand's idiocy is ruining news coverage in other countries. As long as King Bhumibol Adulyadej continues to condone this sort of nonsense , he deserves the same level of respect accorded anyone else who jails those who speak their minds.

So let me make this as clear as I can. In the spirit of Cohen v. California: Fuck Bhumibol Adulyadej.

Note: This post has gone through substantial editing.

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