Progress report | 27.10.05

Composing this new entry in Microsoft Word with 10-pt. Tahoma font, single line-spacing, and standard margins, I’m now on page 14 — and counting.

It will be done today or tomorrow. I can’t take this much longer.

Update Page count at 15, revising page 3, debating self about nationalism, project now in entirely different level, still can’t take it much longer.

Update II Okay, I’m still working on it. What’s new? Well, stumbling upon my very first post about Anand Panyarachun that I quite frankly had forgotten, I’m pleasantly surprised. While very bloggy, it contains significant information about aspects of Thai culture not easily found in Thai or English. Check it out if you haven’t already.

Update III Ladies and gentlemen, I present you “Populism and nationalism in Thailand”.

10:56 ▪ announcement

« Watch this space | Main | Why it’s taking so long »

1

post staffer 27.10.05

I hope you are still feeding yourself and sleeping, Tom.

I was about to ask in what month and year we could expect this opus, but you jumped in ahead of me with your progress report. Very thoughtful.

Still, I don’t like the teasing ”Or Can I” tag on your comments box. Sounds like we might be waiting for a while yet.

2

JW 28.10.05

I wonder if I can get Tom sidetracked. Post Staffer, how can your ‘venerable’ newspaper publish absolute rubbish like A month is too short for PM’s war on porn.

What now, a war on porn? It is not a news article, but a friggn editorial supporting the war on porn? WTF?

The prime minister’s declaration of the new war on pornography is a good start and it deserves public support. If left unsolved, this problem will escalate. If the minds of our young people are poisoned by these materials, the country’s future will be in jeopardy.

Young people will be poisoned?? Country’s future in jeopardy? Surely a bit extreme. It gets worse though.

The problem, however, cannot be solved by a month-long campaign. We have seen this kind of short-run campaigns before and they all ended up in failure. When government officials lower their guard, those intent on selling drugs and doing illegal activities will spring into action. The same is true with the proliferation of pornographic materials in Thai society.

Where do I sign for the long-term fight?

To be effective, the campaign must be carried out continuously by law enforcers. And it must be complemented by a nationwide campaign to raise public awareness about the dangers of this problem. School and religious institutions must join hands in the fight against this scourge, while the family institution must be strengthened so that our young people will not stray onto the wrong path.

I have no problem with censoring certain objectionable material, ie with persons under the age of 18 (I am trying to be careful with my terms as I don’t want to attract the weirdos with their google searches), but banning all porn is stupid. One particular problem is that by not distinguishing between the normal porn and objectionable porn you don’t create boundaries between the two.

For Example: I doubt things have changed in my 18 or so months away from Thailand, but if you walk down Silom Road you will be hassled by vendors trying to sex you porn (or the classic line at Panthip ‘You want sexy movie?’). The worst thing about all of it is that there is no distinction between normal porn and extreme hardcore stuff with children. The vendors seem to sell both, or at least that is what it seems like by the VCD covers stuffed in front of my face, on my walks down Silom Road. I have no problem getting distracted looking at some nice pictures of Japanese girls, but some of the objectionable porn is just vile.

Shouldn’t the authorities direct their intention to the paedophiles out there and seek to stamp out the objectionable porn?

3

Tom Vamvanij 28.10.05

Let there be war then.

Where do I sign up for the bunny brigade?

Freedom-loving Thai journalists, “academics”, and NGOs, any of you care to join us?

Not a chance. They’re even more sanctimoniously devout than Thaksin. It’s them, Chermsak Pinthong particularly, who were attacking the new kind of lottery and the proposal for legalized casinos as “immoral”.

PS The Bangkok Post’s stance is hardly surprising. The venerable Veera Prateepchaikul himself finds the idea of condom vending-machines in universities “a bit too much to swallow”.

4

JW 28.10.05

Me thinks Thaksin is getting some advice from Karl Rove and is playing diversion politics. You are right the sanctimonious gits won’t oppose Thaksin. I am sure his policy will be popular with the moral crusaders and will help keep support when the problems in the deep south seem to be increasing.

What I don’t get is Thaksin’s philosophy on legalizing certain things, but not others. I really can’t find a consistent pattern to his policies. Thaksin seems to be in favor of gambling* (casinos and the last two and last three numbers of the lottery), but is opposed to legalizing porn. Surely, both of these things create social problems, but do those problems go away by criminalizing them.

Not that I think the Democrats would do any better. Thaksin’s various social policies just disappoint me.

*Yes, I do know what reason for legalizing casinos is that it will prevent Thais from traveling to Myanmar, Cambodia, and Macau to gamble whereas if casinos were legalized the money would stay in Thailand.

5

Tom Vamvanij 28.10.05

JW:

Extra points to you for bringing up the diversionary tactic angle. Remember the proposed new versions of the national anthem? Let’s hope this is one such case, serves its purpose, and dies down just as quickly.

(As to be expected, the ensuing brouhaha about the national anthem totally missed the point. Surely there shouldn’t be an “official” version of the national anthem, and just as surely TV and radio stations shouldn’t be obligated to play it, in any version, at 800 and 1800 hours. Still this practice has been in place forever, and so it will remain.)

What I don’t get is Thaksin’s philosophy on legalizing certain things, but not others. I really can’t find a consistent pattern to his policies. Thaksin seems to be in favor of gambling* (casinos and the last two and last three numbers of the lottery), but is opposed to legalizing porn.

Did you just say legalizing porn? How about legalizing drugs? Those ideas aren’t just an anathemas, mind you, they’re alien. The most likely response they’ll elicit is: Huh?

But of course, Thai Rath’s and Daily New’s page-one girls aren’t considered pornographic. Nor are Matichon Weekly’s “Nude Master” (“เกจินู้ด”) column and the women’s glossies ever-more-risqué covers. And needless to say, the Thais’ negotiable prudishness doesn’t keep them from not-so-secretly selling and watching and discussing homemade hard-core footage of a public figure’s daughter and her lover.

Of course, one can keep porn illegal without doing anything about it. So far that has, rightly, been the case. (Selling and watching that private footage is still despicable, though.)

6

poststaffer 29.10.05

What does ‘very bloggy’ mean? Is it a permanent condition, or can it be treated?

7

KCUS KCID 31.10.05

Diversionary politics?

Thaksin could care less about his conservative base. In fact, I don’ think Mr. Thaksin cares at all about politics. Only the betterment of thai people socially and economically. That is why you can’t find consistent pattern.

Problems in deep south increasing?
err no!