elef Posted April 6, 2007 Report Share Posted April 6, 2007 Bangkok Post Today Link YouTube incident becomes Internet crusade By BangkokPost.com A new video slideshow attacking His Majesty the King indicates that the dispute, fanned into worldwide front-page headlines by a Thai government ban on YouTube, may have only just begun. YouTube and Google wiped out the last remnants of the offensive video slideshow which was uploaded last Sunday to demean the monarch. The offensive slideshow video of His Majesty the King that triggered the government ban on YouTube disappeared from the video-sharing website on Thursday afternoon, and the anonymous user who posted it was banned. Some time early this morning Thailand time, the last remaining photo of the video in YouTube's search engine archive of the original video had disappeared from view. But within an hour of the disappearance of the first video and its uploader, a subscriber using the name "thaifreespeech" and claiming improbably to live in Iceland had placed an all new video on YouTube, containing even more offensive images of His Majesty the King than the original. "Thaifreespeech" also added an attack on Thai lese majeste laws and asked rhetorically if "US people in the US (should) respect Thai traditions and rule of law". In an hour, the number of views of the video rocketed from 122 to 7,856 and going up. Comments in the same hour early this morning Thailand time rose from nine to 160. As before, most commenters attacked the video, often in rude terms. The ban on YouTube by Information and Communication Technology Minister Sitthichai Pookaiyaudom now seems to have touched off a firestorm of web-based retaliation that could see rapid escalation of offensive references to the monarchy on the Internet. As of this morning, there was no record on YouTube that either the original video, or the anonymous user "paddidda" who uploaded it, ever had existed. Both have been completely whitewashed. There were many text references and descriptions of the video on Google, which owns YouTube. But Google Images shows no part of the video, and Google Video - a separate, but aligned service with YouTube - had a record of the video but no image. The YouTube whitewash was the minimum demand of Mr Sitthichai to give the order to restore direct access to YouTube by Thai Internet users. The new video, and the likelihood that many will follow, on YouTube and on dozens of other video services, raises the stakes hugely. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elef Posted April 6, 2007 Author Report Share Posted April 6, 2007 The Nation Today Link LESE MAJESTE YouTube ban to remain in effect for now Blockage of popular video website won't end until still image is removed: minister The blockage im-posed on the YouTube website in Thailand will continue until a particular still image from a contentious video clip regarded as lese-majeste is also removed from the website, Information and Com-munications Technology (ICT) Minister Sitthichai Pookaiyaudom said yesterday. He said the earlier removal of the 44-second film clip containing the content from the US-based website was not enough. "We also want that picture removed before we unblock YouTube," he added. The ministry earlier said it would impose the blockade indefinitely until other measures were adopted or YouTube decided to remove the lese-majeste video clip without conditions. Next Monday, police and the ministry will work out issues to deal with such a case in the future. Sitthichai said he was "dismayed" and complained bitterly when Google Inc, which owns YouTube, refused to remove the content, citing that it still kept material mocking US President George W Bush far more harshly than what was deemed inappropriate against His Majesty the King. Sitthichai added that YouTube insisted it would still keep the clip. "YouTube said it thought there was not enough reason to remove the clip after viewing the video and making its judgement on the content," he added. He described the posting as "unacceptable" to all Thais. "Thailand is a small country and has no negotiating power to get the content removed from YouTube. What we can do now is block the YouTube service locally, until the clip is removed," he added. During the ICT Ministry-ordered blockade, any Internet service provider in Thailand found to be hosting websites containing content that insults His Majesty or the Royal Family or still leaves access to YouTube open to local users will have its operating licences revoked immediately. The clip was later removed, not long after the blockade of YouTube began in Thailand on Tuesday night. A message on the YouTube page where the clip was used said the 44-second video clip in Flash format was removed by the user - self-described as a US-based, 30-year old with the user name "Paddidda". After posting the clip not long after March 25, when he or she registered to use the service, the user never logged into the page until yesterday evening, when the clip was removed, said a note posted yesterday on the YouTube page in question. Associated Press explained how the content in the video clip violated lese-majeste law. The number of visitors accessing the YouTube page reached 66,553, before the clip was pulled. In an e-mail statement on Wednesday night, YouTube spokeswoman Julie Supan said the company was "disappointed" its site had been blocked. The Nation, Associated Press ------------------------- During the ICT Ministry-ordered blockade, any Internet service provider in Thailand found to be hosting websites containing content that insults His Majesty or the Royal Family or still leaves access to YouTube open to local users will have its operating licences revoked immediately. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FAT_AUSSIE Posted April 6, 2007 Report Share Posted April 6, 2007 I don't know which video I just watched but there was reference to the recent imprisonment of Oliver Rudolf, the Sweede who defaced an image of the king in Chiang Mai and recieved 10 years. Maybe the reason for these recent attacks on Les Majesty and HM. FA... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elef Posted April 6, 2007 Author Report Share Posted April 6, 2007 Swiss this time but for sure there're swedish assholes too.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flashermac Posted April 6, 2007 Report Share Posted April 6, 2007 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elef Posted April 6, 2007 Author Report Share Posted April 6, 2007 If you believe I'm an asshole you're free to speak! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elef Posted April 6, 2007 Author Report Share Posted April 6, 2007 The Nation Today Link Thailand outraged over new YouTube King videos Thailand on Friday expressed outrage at the posting of new videos mocking the country's revered king on the video-sharing website YouTube, pledging to maintain a ban on the site. The military-installed government banned YouTube this week after it failed to block the first video deemed insulting to King Bhumibol Adulyadej, regarded by many Thais as semi-divine. One of the new clips showed pictures of the king that had been digitally altered to make him resemble a monkey, and carried messages saying Thailand's leaders are "evil and hate free speech". Another used an expletive to denounce the king and the government. "This group of people has found another outlet, taking another action that is considered very offensive to the king," said communications ministry spokesman Vissanu Meeyoo. "Thailand doesn't want to take this kind of action. We are just doing it temporarily," he said of the ban imposed on Tuesday. The original video appeared to have been withdrawn by its creator, with a notice on the site saying it had been "removed by the user". But more clips, posted by users with different screen names from the original video creator, surfaced on Friday. The site was accessed in Bangkok via a foreign server. Like the first video, one of the new postings showed images of the king's face covered with graffiti or juxtaposed with images of feet, considered deeply offensive here. Another titled "discussing the king" showed a young man saying vaguely: "You'd think, from such a flamboyantly gay man, he'd be more tolerant." The controversy over the videos has generated heated debate in online discussion forums. "It's not that we hate free speech. What you are doing is not free speech. It's an act of discrimination against our culture and country," one YouTube user said. Another responded to the videos by posting a Thai commercial that showed people around the country discussing why they revere the king. But most responded with vitriol, accusing the creator of the clips of racism or defamation in often vulgar terms. The decision, however, to block the entire site has drew sharp criticism from media freedom groups, who said it highlighted a growing trend for the military government to censor political expression on the Internet. "It's another example of how silly and ineffective censorship really is," said CJ Hinke, coordinator of the group Freedom Against Censorship Thailand. His group, which lobbies for an end to online censorship, says Thailand's government has blocked a total of 45,000 websites. About 85 per cent of them are believed to be pornographic, but Hinke said the government also bans political websites, including discussions of the insurgency in Thailand's south. Since the military seized power in a September coup, it has also blocked political websites linked to ousted premier Thaksin Shinawatra, other media rights groups say. Thai officials planned to meet later Friday with an association of Internet users to discuss ways of policing the Internet, the communications ministry spokesman said. "We need cooperation from Internet users to monitor these groups," he added. A spokeswoman for YouTube said in remarks e-mailed to AFP before the new videos were posted that the company was "disappointed" with Thailand's ban of the site. "We have asked the government to lift the block, and we look forward to the resumption of service to our Thai users," spokeswoman Julie Supan said. Thailand's king, almost universally adored by Thais, is the world's longest-reigning monarch, and one of the few who is still protected by tough laws that prohibit any insult against the royal family. The ban came a week after Thailand jailed a Swiss man for 10 years for insulting the king by vandalising his portraits during a drunken spree. Agence France-Presse Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thalenoi Posted April 6, 2007 Report Share Posted April 6, 2007 reminds me of the muslim storm after that danish paper published some cartoons involving Alah: burn Danish embassies and kill the infidels.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elef Posted April 6, 2007 Author Report Share Posted April 6, 2007 The Nation Today Link Thai YouTube ban worries watchdog Global media watchdog Reporters Without Borders said Friday it was concerned by Thailand's decision to block the video-sharing website YouTube over clips mocking the nation's king. The popular website has been blocked in Thailand since Wednesday after the government failed to suppress a video deemed insulting to King Bhumibol Adulyadej, regarded by many Thais as semi-divine. Since then more videos have cropped up on the site mocking the king but also taking aim at Thailand's strict lese majeste law, which authorities rigorously enforce against anyone deemed to have insulted the monarch. "The Thai government claims that it censors only pornographic websites or those that 'insult' the monarchy, but in fact it also blocks online publications that criticise last September's coup and websites linked to southern Thailand's separatist groups," Reporters Without Borders (RSF) said. "We wonder about the legal basis for this censorship, initiated by the government and implemented with diligence by the police," it said. "The closure or blockage of an online publication is a serious decision that should require a court order." The watchdog also praised YouTube and its parent company Google for refusing to comply with the government's requests to remove the video. But the group also accused Google of double standards because of its Chinese-language site, which is censored according to the wishes of China's propaganda chiefs. "We support their refusal to censor themselves in Thailand but we ask them to harmonise their international policy on censorship," the group said. "Is it logical to censor pro-democracy websites in China because it is a vital market, and at the same time to oppose the removal of a few videos making fun of the king?" Major Internet companies including Google announced in January that they were teaming up with rights groups like RSF to develop ways of protecting civil liberties online. Agence France-Presse Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rodin Posted April 6, 2007 Report Share Posted April 6, 2007 Well if you search for the original version it has gone but there is what I guess is a copy posted by someone else on there now with the original's username as a tag. This (new?) user posting this clip claims to be a country that is "the number one in the last freedom of press index" So could be any of these 1 Denmark 0,50 - Finland 0,50 - Iceland 0,50 - Ireland 0,50 - Netherlands 0,50 - Norway 0,50 - Slovakia 0,50 [color:red]- Switzerland 0,50[/color] http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=11715 hmmmm. Yes there are some racist comments from farangs but also death threats from Thais. A silly video or locking a very silly man up for ten years for graffiti??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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