Hope I am not breaking any forum rules by posting this , but I thought it was such a good article, it should be read by as many people as possible, Its from The Bangkok Posts recent Database supplement ..

A depressing year covering Thailand's troubled ICT sector

DON SAMBANDARAKSA

Four years. That is how long I have been writing for the Bangkok Post in one form or another. I wish I could write of the joy and happiness of events of the past year, but the simple fact is that being exposed to the truth day in, day out has hardened or even saddened me. And I see little joy in the Thai ICT industry.
Long before the September coup, the industry I have come to know and love was in a mess. Lack of leadership meant that Thailand was falling behind by staying still and the few highlights were of a consumer oriented nature. What is there to be happy about? Our successes were at best mediocre, at worst a sad and tragic show of how we, as a nation, are good at consuming and buying rather than creating. As for our mistakes, do I have to mention how Thailand has recently turned its back on the entire web 2.0 revolution - and many have said that it is a revolution no less significant than the industrial revolution - just because we do not want to watch certain videos?
On a side note, the tor web site (tor.eff.org) is blocked - a block that many consider illegal. Tor is an application, a protocol and platform to help people in repressive regimes (I wonder where?) communicate anonymously without fear of state persecution. Tor itself does not contain any material critical of the monarchy, nor does it contain pornography, yet the thought police have felt that it is too dangerous for the public to know about. If we, as a people, accept this, then what next? How about burning newspaper columnists who complain about a lack of free speech on a fiery stake.
As my friend "Ice-cream man" once put it, the problem is that the world is changing, but the powers that be are wasting time trying to write a new rulebook in minute detail that will maintain the balance of power as it was yesteryear. That is a line of logic doomed to failure. Railroads, ships, aeroplanes and space travel (well, satellites today and space travel one day) all shifted the balance of power and created millionaires and bankruptcies. Believing that we can embrace 3G, WiMax, Web 2.0 or SaaS without upsetting the status quo is foolish or at best naive.
Ah yes, friends. Can a journalist have friends without having to fear being used or being accused of having a conflict of interest? The past 12 months have suggested not.
One of my friends in MinTrue (the ICT Ministry) recently got married and up until one week before the wedding, she was nagging me to be her wedding photographer. Then I published some articles in the Bangkok Post Perspective section that could potentially land her bosses in jail (if only someone had read it). So she drops me a note that I am no longer welcome at her wedding.
Other old friends also keep popping up asking me to interview their bosses. As for new friends, I have plenty who want me to interview them (or their bosses). Worse, journalists do not befriend one another. I have learned they are under strict orders to get an exclusive piece, hence trust and friendliness is at a minimum.
I look at Bangkok and look at what people hold dear and worry about the future. Bangkok, or rather Krung Thep, means city of angels. But when I go into town, all I see is greed and envy.
This hit me in early February when I went to Nectec for the 20th anniversary issue of Database. I arrived at the Ministry of Science and Technology at around 5pm and had a (very) late lunch in the MoST cafeteria (I often end up skipping lunch with my hectic schedule). What struck me was that the vendor, who was starting to close her shop, was visibly happy to serve another customer and earn another 30 or 40 baht.
Contrast that with the previous meal I had at a posh restaurant for some press conference at the Emporium. The people serving me there were not happy. They wanted to go home. They wanted to work less. They wanted money.
One meal was free (for me, not for my multinational zillion-dollar host), the other cost me 30 or 40 baht of my hard earned cash. Yet it was the cheaper meal that I remember as it was a virtuous circle. The money went to that vendor who would have a bit more money and hope for a better future. As for the other meal, it was simply an injection into a vicious circle of greed and consumerism.
The latest Adobe Creative Suite may be nice, but it would mean I would have to work (and not eat) for months to be able to afford a copy. Adobe's regional person said it well - we sell tools to help people make a profit.
Look at Singapore, Hong Kong, even Beijing or San Francisco, and it is clear how having more is never enough. Only by giving, by sharing can one be happy.
Happy. Other than the happy food vendor at the MoST, I remember happy academics at AIT. These mad scientists do not care about copyright or patents, all they care about is pushing the envelope of mankind's understanding just because they can. I remember the happy floor sweeper at ICT Expo who was invited to do some weaving at my favourite Canadian-Australian's booth. Why is someone who can weave beautiful tapestries sweeping the floor at an IT show? ICT Expo should be about empowering these people to stay at home, and make a living while preserving their way of life, not creating jobs as floor sweepers in Bangkok.
Life would be so much easier if I pretended not to know how easy it is to use the island-wide free Wi-Fi in Singapore or how fast the latest Motorola HSDPA phones (super 3G) can connect to the Internet. Perhaps I should be happy with my 56K dial-up and 256K ADSL, which works only when the phone lines are dry. Perhaps I should give up and be content living in a fool's paradise and start reporting on new telephone and gadget launches rather than the boring and depressing industry.
Why am I risking life and limb reporting on corruption in smart ID card reader projects or satellite contracts while at the same time having to turn down freelance jobs for fear of conflict of interest? I do so because it has evolved into a duty, a responsibility.
One of my favourite monks, the abbot of the Rattanagiri monastery in Belsay, near Newcastle, told me that when each of us is born, we are born a certain way. A hand is good at holding, but useless for running. By that same logic, an eye is good for seeing, but would be useless for holding or feeling.
He told me that I could therefore accept my fate as being an eye and then be the best eye I can be, or I can pretend to be something I am not, and in doing so, be a very bad whatever it is I try to be.
Perhaps that is my destiny, to see the world as it is and to preach the values of freedom (free speech, not free beer) and hope that someone, somewhere will be moved by the words that I type. In fact, that reminds me of why I started writing in Database in the first place - to help people understand the free software movement and the difference between free speech and free beer. Maybe I should refocus on that rather than dwell in the melancholy of capitalism.
Apologies, dear readers, for such a depressing anniversary piece. Let us hope that more good news that actually effects people across the country will grace the pages of Database in my fifth year.

Bangkok Post

Grandfather

Grandfather, a great article, thanks for posting it

Here is another on the same topic

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Cyber clampdown ripped by foreign watchdog

Human Rights Watch has joined local and international netizens in criticising the interim government's censorship of the Internet, saying the move has undermined free political debate and delayed the return to democracy.

By Achara Ashayagachat

The New York-based Human Rights Watch yesterday issued a statement critical of the Thai authorities who have been active in silencing cyber critics and dissidents, in stark contradiction of Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont's pledges to create an atmosphere conducive to democratisation and political reform.

"A major complaint about Thaksin [Shinawatra] was his muzzling of the media and willingness to limit free speech," said Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch. "The military-backed government promised a quick return to democracy, but it's now attacking freedom of expression and political pluralism in ways that Thaksin never dared."

Censorship of the Internet, which currently is being carried out by the Ministry of Information and Communications Technology and the Royal Thai Police, in collaboration with the Communications Authority of Thailand (CAT) and the Telecommunications Authority, has blocked many political websites and blogs.

Wrangling over the blocking of YouTube due to content on the site related to His Majesty the King has also raised global concerns about the future of freedom of expression and the Internet in Thailand.

"The military and government are clearly worried that Thaksin may return to power and are engaging in censorship to stop this," said Mr Adams.

"But instead of resorting to draconian restrictions on free speech, the Thai authorities need to realise that their promised return to democracy requires opening the political process."

The NGO also criticised the bill on computer-related offences, which was tabled last November and quickly passed earlier this month.

Human Rights Watch cited particular concern over broad powers given to ICT officials to intercept and seize computer data, and seek court warrants to block the dissemination of information on the Internet.

Lawyers, Internet and media professionals and bloggers fear that in a tense political environment, these provisions could easily be misused by the authorities against political opponents and critics of military rule.

Canada-based Article 19 and Bangkok-based Freedom Against Censorship Thailand (Fact) have also called for amendment of the bill for fear that the harsh penalties stipulated could be abused and the law might be interpreted by people with no computer experience or legal expertise.

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Earlier version of this story:

By (dpa)

New York-based Human Rights Watch says the military-backed government has undermined Thailand's free political debate with its unprecedented crackdown on Internet critics.

Since the Sept 19 military coup that ousted former premier Thaksin Shinawatra, Thai authorities have launched a censorship campaign of the Internet that has blocked half a dozen websites deemed critical of the current government, said the human rights group in a statement out of New York.

"A major complaint about Thaksin was his muzzling of the media and willingness to limit free speech," said Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch. "The military-backed government promised a quick return to democracy, but it's now attacking freedom of expression and political pluralism in ways that Thaksin never dared."

Censorship of the Internet is now being carried out by the Ministry of Information and Communications Technology (MICT) and the Royal Thai Police, in collaboration with the Communications Authority of Thailand (CAT) and the Telecommunication Authority (TOT), which provide Thailand's international internet gateways.

Since the coup, the government has blocked at least five websites on charges of threatening national security, disrupting public order, or being obscene, including the September 19 Network (http://www.19sep.net and http://www.19sep.org), the pro-Thaksin PTV television (http://www.ptvthai.com), the online broadcast of Saturday Voice (http://www.saturdaylive.org and saturdayvoice.no-ip.info) and the online broadcast of FM 87.75 Taxi Community Radio (http://www.shinawatradio.com).

While these websites can still be accessed from abroad, local internet surfers in Thailand will get an "Access Denied" message, and the MICT's logo saying that access to such websites has been blocked due to "inappropriate content."

"The ministry has requested Google Thailand (http://www.google.co.th) and Google.com to block access to its cached web pages in Thailand by which blocked pages can be accessed, as well as to block by keyword search," added HRW.

The group did not mention Thailand's recent blockage of Google's YouTube.com website after it aired clips that ridiculed Thai King Bhumibol Adulyadej, the country's revered monarch who turns 80 this year.

The site was blocked under the country's lese majeste law that makes any criticism of the royal family a crime.

It also did not mention the more recent blocking of the entire Blogspot.com site by some Internet providers acting on the MICT's "request".

Thailand, under the current government, has also passed a law to criminalise the generation, possession, storage, dissemination of and access to prohibited information on the Internet and a Bill on Computer-Related Offenses that empowers the MICT minister to intercept and seize computer data, and seek court warrants to block the dissemination of information on the Internet if such information is considered as a threat to national security.

The two laws, which have yet to be passed, include stiff penalties such as a maximum of five-years imprisonment and fines up to 100,000 baht ($2,700).

"Freedom of expression, including offering opinions on the Internet, is an essential basis of any functioning democracy," said Adams. "Blocking critical websites resembles the behaviour of China and Vietnam. Is this the company that Thailand's leaders want to keep?"

Bangkok Post