Ah, when you said "here," you meant in Thailand, NOT in this thread forum. I was thinking small! LOL
My brother and his wife, engineer-expats in Beijing, can't access blogs so I understand how that (government clamping down on an electronic revolution? ) can be the case where you are too. Oh well. The pistol shrimp cools his claw and awaits you the next time you happen to find yourself online in another country
Lu-Ann G. Fuentes rambles on at http://layas.blogspot.com
"Today isn't any other day, you know." - Lewis Carroll
Actually, they don't block many sites. Other than porn sites (whch they want to prevent youth from accessing) it is only notably YouTube. What happened was that somebody posted a demeaning clip on the subject of Thailand's beloved King, which is illegal. YouTube refused to withdraw it, and so the site was blocked. We can get everything else.
Thais quite sincerely love their King. Since Thai currency carries his portrait, we even have to be respectful of how we handle cash. For example, you cannot stuff a bill in your shoe for safe keeping, and if you visit a strip joint, you cannot stick the bills in the girl's undies.
I really hate governments in general! That sounds like it sucks, but I can't say things are better here in the US. We have a president that can't even speak properly and the only reason he is in office is because his father was.
Ace,
Having lived in foreign countries for half of my life, and most of them in very "controlling" Asian countries, you are no where near conceiving the restrictions with which the general population lives. (I could tell many stories of the censorship, etc., that existed) To call out all governments, is simply to surrender to anarchy, not an option in any one's book!!! Be careful what you condemn, the replacement is usually far worse! Our lives are lived with compromise and conformity, for there is no such thing as true freedom!!
Boy, did we take a hard turn away from the topic!!!
Our President is in office because on 2 occasions he received more electoral votes than any one else running, It had nothing to do with his father who was only elected once and he wasn't very popular after his term. In any case........I was in Phuket and later Bangkok recently and besides the spectacular diving around Phuket, I was amazed at the Temples and palaces in Bangkok. I particularly liked the Laying down Budda and the Golden Budda temples. But the other thing that struck me were the banners and flags every where of the King. Our guide told us the same thing. that the Thais very much respect and love the King. I look forward to returning to Thailand soon.....even If I can't watch YouTube!
Hey "Salty" Dog--When you do return to Thailand, let me know and I can help you plan. Next time you come there will be a new seated Buddha on top of a summit here on Phuket. From there you can see all around the southern part of the island. The reclining Buddha in Bangkok--did you put the little coins in the buckets against the wall behind him for making merit?