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Here is our regular roundup of some of the most interesting posts in Thailand’s blogsphere. This time with misunderstandings between Thais and foreigners, Thailand’s obsession about war against Burma, Jatukham amulets and Flavor Flav. Matt is taking issue with the attitude of some Thais towards foreigners, telling them to go home if they complain about anything Thai. His comment has been sparked by some comments of this kind on the Bangkokrecorder forum as well as a blogpost by Thailand Jumped the Shark commenting on the same attitude. Matt writes: “It’s as if we are not allowed to form opinions that don’t praise Thailand. What is this prehistoric attitude? Surely you cannot see every single thing about your surroundings in a positive light, but that does not equate to hating the country, as some Thais would suggest.”
Louis T. Wollweber, a guest contributor, at New Mandala meanwhile wonders where the Thai obsession with films about wars with Burma comes from, as there have been plenty of wars with other nations in Thailand’s history. “Today it seems that nothing stirs the national soul more than fighting against the perpetually evil Burmese. Interestingly, these films have all been made at a time when, on the political level, Thailand has come to terms with its western neighbour. Is it just on thepopular level that enemy-bashing is still in full swing”  Steve Sunphan from Thaiblogs translates some of the sensational headline stories from the Thai Rath newspaper about supposed Jatukham amulet miracles. In case you don’t know what Jatuhkam is, it’s the big ass amulets so many people in Thailand now carry around their necks, kinda reminds me of Flavor Flav of Public Enemy wearing a clock around his neck. What I think is most interesting in this blog is the following point: “In March of this year, the Thai Rath earned 4,518,000 baht from Jatukham advertisements. Source: Nielsen Media Research.
A great Satire comes from the Siam Sentinel, writing about how Thailand forms an alliance with Malaysia, Indonesia, Pakistan, Iran, Libya, Syria, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia to oppose Western freedoms. He reports how the group convenes in Pattaya: “Having been entertained and wooed by their Thai counterparts, the ambassadors were more than happy to welcome Thailand into their alliance, the Irritable Group of Nations Organized Rigidly Against Natural Creative Expression (IGNORANCE). The group, founded by Libya in 2006 has a long history of opposing freedom of speech and expression around the world.” Note: Subdomains at blogspot are still blocked by some Thai Internet Service Providers, these blog are however accessible through proxy servers.
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