I was in Thailand in December, and the political situation there is really not great at the moment.<p>The 90-year old King, whom Thais regard on the whole with a great deal of respect, is dying. He is in hospital for much of the time, there are rumours that he now barely speaks, and he is hardly seen in public at all anymore. The military is nervous about what happens when the King dies, as his son is not held in anywhere near the same high level of esteem with the public. The King's popularity stems from being seen as a 'unifying force' through many of Thailand's political crises. Fearing a constitutional crisis when he dies, they're now clamping down heavily on any dissent.<p>Which makes the atmosphere on the street a little strange. I was there on the King's birthday in December, and the whole country (people included) were decked out in yellow, the King's colour. There are icons of the King every 300 yards or so in central Bangkok (less so out in CM). While I was there someone was sentenced to several years in prison for a Facebook post about the King's dog. The laws re: insulting the monarchy have been around for a while, but are now being much more widely applied and strictly enforced.<p>It's very very hard to work out if the public affection for the King is for real, and no Thai will speak openly about their feelings. I spoke to a taxi driver on the way out of the country and said I'd been in the country for the King's birthday. His response: 'Yes.'<p>I left the country fascinated by the experience of a population living under authoritarian military rule, but really hope that for everyone's sake Thailand is able to resolve its difficulties and get back to regular elections soon.
I was in Thailand in 2012, spent a day in Bangkok hanging out with my former office assistant who had returned there to take care of family. While walking through the park there was sudden music playing from the loud speakers. Everyone stopped and stood perfectly still. My friend had gone into a public bathroom and rushed back out to make sure I was standing as well. There was an announcement from the king that lasted a few minutes. After it ended everyone resumed their walking, sitting on the grass, and exercise routines. I found it hard to imagine political intrusions like this in daily life, although it seemed akin to being at a sports event that had obligatory random national anthems in the middle of a game. Anyway it seemed indicative of a larger political climate of intrusion, but it sounds as though it's gotten exponentially worse.
There's an Arabic saying that goes<p>لا تسأل الطغاة لماذا طغوا , بل اسأل العبيد لماذا ركعوا<p>Do not ask the tyrants why they tyrannised, but ask the slaves why they knelt.
German comedian faces prison for mocking Turkish leader [1]<p>In Canada men went to jail for disagreeing with feminist. He was latter released on bail, but could not use computer and electronic devices for 4 years. Father of five is graphic designer...[2]<p>[1]
<a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2016/04/german-erdogan-insult-case/478437/" rel="nofollow">http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2016/04/ger...</a><p>[2]
<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R_v_Elliott" rel="nofollow">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R_v_Elliott</a>
Yes, first rule when you go to Thailand - don't say anything about the king.<p>It's strange when they talk about the military presence over there. I was over there for two months at the start of the year, (3rd visit in the past 2 years), and as usual didn't notice any military except for when I was close to the Burmese border (they were checking everyone for papers), and around the Kings palace.
Explanation of the title:<p>> So what did Patnaree do to get charged? According to her lawyer, the only evidence the police have produced is an exchange on Facebook between her and a political activist, in which she responded to comments the police say are defamatory with the Thai word "ja", which translates as "I see", or "ok".
Related from earlier this week:<p>Thai government plans to MITM all internet communications<p><a href="https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11801325" rel="nofollow">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11801325</a>
WTF 56 years?<p>This makes China and Saudi Arabia look almost sane.<p>First sign of weak rulers is when they make insulting them a prison term (same goes for religions).
Check out the posters threatening jail for 'like' or 'share' put up publicly around Bangkok during the beginning of this round of unrest back in 2014: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_censorship_in_Thailand#Aftermath_of_2014_coup_d.27etat" rel="nofollow">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_censorship_in_Thailan...</a>
Thailand's technically a constitutional monarchy but the royalty is much more than just a figurehead like those in Western Europe.<p>The actively interfere in elections and are on record supporting the various coups that have happened over the decades.<p>Cables leaked more recently had the King backing the army during the massacre in Thammasat University.<p>People should really read "The King Never Smiles" to get an idea of how this came to be.