The land of free people

[frequent]

"According to George Cœdès, the word Thai (ไทย) means "free man" in the Thai language" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thailand

Not any more, so it seems. ThaiPBS reports (http://englishnews.thaipbs.or.th/thailand-drops-world-press-freedom-index-year/) that Thailand now ranks 142 out of 180 for press freedom, a further fall from last year (136)

[latintopxxx]

What has this asanine comment got to do with gay Thailand?? Or is it just verbal diarrhoea?!? All press is biased one way or another....maybe they need to be slapped into line.

[frequent]

What has this asanine comment got to do with gay Thailand?? Or is it just verbal diarrhoea?!? All press is biased one way or another....maybe they need to be slapped into line.

There is no Forum rule that states that threads must be gay orientated. Take the popular sport of scottish guy bashing over independence for Scotland as only one of many examples

[latintopxxx]

Ok. True. A gazillions apologies. Precedent has been set.

[frequent]

Ok. True. A gazillions apologies. Precedent has been set.

I think the precedent has already been followed by you over the years:
http://sawatdeenetwork.com/v4/showthread.php?16694-Russians-cutting-back
http://sawatdeenetwork.com/v4/showthread.php?10131-budget-airlines-cheap-lights-Bangkok-Shanghai

[scottish-guy]

I have to agree with Poxxxy on the "free press" issue - where there is institutionalised, inherent, and endemic bias then there is nothing "free" about it.

The term is usually taken to mean that the press is free to operate without Government control.

However, when (as in the UK) the vast majority of "the press" slavishly follow the Government line and supress almost anything that is not in the interest of the Government, with the remainder supporting the UK state/Establishment (if not the current Govt) in all circumstances, then one has to wonder if the term "free press" has any real meaning at all.

Personally, I hardly believe a word that I read in any newspapers to the extent that I (and millions of others) no longer even bother to read one these days.

Plus, toilet tissue is so cheap these days the one good reason to actually buy the likes of The Daily Telegraph has vanished.

[latintopxxx]

Geez I gotta start drinking heavily again. Scary Scott and me on the same page. But seriously I tend to flick between CNN, BBC, aljazera, fox to get varying view points.

[arsenal]

I thought this thread might be about Scotland where they freely chose to remain part of The UK a couple of years ago. But I was wrong.

[Nirish guy]

.....Tick tock tick tock......:-)

[arsenal]

He won't. Will he? Nah. He won't.

[frequent]

I have to agree with Poxxxy on the "free press" issue - where there is institutionalised, inherent, and endemic bias then there is nothing "free" about it.

Rubbish. They have freely chosen to institutionalise their bias, and more importantly they are free (ie. freedom of the press) to express their bias without fear of any government deciding what they may or may not publish. You are confusing having an opinion with expressing an opinion without constraints from others such as governments. The press is not objective, just as there's no such thing as "objective news". Even the language the press uses to report an event shapes the perception of those who read it. Nevertheless they should be free to state how they see things. If you think "the press" is in thrall to one or other vested interest you have the right to choose a news outlet that you believe better represents your world view - the same way you do with politics - where equally a freedom of expression applies

Perhaps you should reflect on Jim Hacker's comments in Yes, Prime Minister (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0751828/quotes) - still relevant today:

Don't tell me about the Press. I know *exactly* who reads the papers. The Daily Mirror is read by the people who think they run the country. The Guardian is read by people who think they *ought* to run the country. The Times is read by the people who actually *do* run the country. The Daily Mail is read by the wives of the people who run the country. The Financial Times is read by people who *own* the country. The Morning Star is read by people who think the country ought to be run by *another* country. The Daily Telegraph is read by the people who think it is.

[arsenal]

I have to agree with Freaky on this. The media (newspapers) in The UK is mostly on the right but that's their choice. They're companies looking to make money and so naturally the right is where they'll be.

[Oliver]

"Mostly on the right"?You have to go online to read a perspective that's to the left of the repulsive Blairite Labour Right.....Canary, for example. Predictably, I've been a Guardian reader for decades but nowadays it is unrecognisable from its left-of-centre days and I've lost patience. The only newspaper on the Left is the Morning Star and I've never met anyone who reads it....have you? When you add the pro- establishment BBC (that is , right-wing) to the mixture, you will see that we are being squeezed-out of the public domain.

[latintopxxx]

BBC is right wing???? R U nuts...its the most lefty commie tree hugging sandal wearing vegan organization...

[arsenal]

Actually I think the BBC is simply anti government whoever is in power. That's just as it should be.

[latintopxxx]

Arsenal.....that makes no sense at all.... but then yeah nah.....look where it's coming from.

[arsenal]

Ask someone who speaks English to explain it to you.

[scottish-guy]

The BBC is simply pro-establishment as you'd expect from a state broadcaster - the only surprise is that the majority still don't see the BBC for what is

[Smiles]

" ... Predictably, I've been a Guardian reader for decades but nowadays it is unrecognisable from its left-of-centre days and I've lost patience. The only newspaper on the Left is the Morning Star and I've never met anyone who reads it....have you? When you add the pro- establishment BBC (that is , right-wing) to the mixture, you will see that we are being squeezed-out of the public domain ... "
You find it "unrecognizable" because it is not "your' Left ... which is to say not a bloodthirsty Stalinist/Mao Tse Tung fascist-type 'left' which, if you had your druthers (thank christ you don't) would be this world's only system, i.e. a proletarian dictatorship ... i.e. a system which has never been successful and which has always left millions of dead bodies in the streets, most of which were the proletariat themselves.

Thanks to high heaven that people like Oliver and their wretched screwball personalities, are but a minor blip in this world's move forward. If he would be in charge we would all be up against the brick wall and it's obligatory firing squad.

[arsenal]

The left have always tied themselves up in knots. They hate capitalism but want the state to spend spend spend. They hate Britain's historical past while reaping the benefits of it. They demand the west sorts out the problems of the World while marching against it when it does. They complain about global warming and then they complain about wind farmsi. They complain about 'globalisation' then demand fair trade agreements. The expect jobs for all but loath the companies that provide them. Glad I'm not on the left. It must be exhausting.

[arsenal]

Not quite sure why this thread was moved. After all it began with a piece about Thailand. A good way to stop members posting is to move things about. Just my opinion.