An Australian "writer" (I use the term advisedly, since only seven of the fifty printed copies of his novel ever sold), has been pardoned, after having been imprisoned in Thailand for a passage in his book that apparently "dishonored" the royal family. In related news, a a Swiss man, also imprisoned in Thailand (not for committing literature, but for defacing images of the monarch), has been pardoned, as well.
As ODS (Obama Deification Syndrome) becomes more prevalent in the U.S., perhaps we'll be seeing some of the same kind of thing.
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The number of people who think they can carry on in other people's countries the way they carry on in their own used to surprise me.
ReplyDeleteTW: inkdri: the amount of time it takes an Australian writer to realize he's screwed up...
Odd how people seem so oblivious to the fact that the world is a dangerous place.
ReplyDeleteEven odder how they seem to think they can crap in someone else's living room without consequences.
ReplyDeleteI think we should adopt inkdri as a specific unit of time specially for politicians, in ANY country!
ReplyDeletePaco, you & Andrea & Swampie & Saint & Kae have made me crazy. I now have a blog here at Blogger. GAH!
ReplyDeletehttp://prairiecat-kc.blogspot.com/
One of these days I might learn how to hyperlink...but don't be on it!
KC: Welcome to the wonderful world of blogdom! If I can be of any service, ma'am, let me know.
ReplyDeleteThe tearful Mr Nicolaides plans to write a second book, this time about the perils of Thailand jails.
ReplyDeleteAgreed, Paco. The world is a dangerous place, especially for naive Australians. I think it was Singapore where the locally-produced crew briefing sheet warned us about the perils of "transvetities" (sic) infesting the bars.
The Bangkok briefing warned us that the crime of lese majeste still attracted strong penalties in Thailand.
The movie, The King and I was banned in Thailand because it was considered to be offensive to the King.
Obviously Mr Nicolaides had managed to live to age 41 without hearing about any of this.
Skeeter: As Richard points out, people do, indeed, need to be mindful that when they visit other countries, they need to mind their manners. I'm not sure how much of this kind of thing is a result of inadequate education or human stupidity - probably both.
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