WORDPRESS BLOCKED IN THAILAND

Last night when trying to access my main blog at Baan Jochim Phuket, I was greeted by the page above. This translates as:

Sorry. TOT Plc., as an organization of Thai people, has restrained the access to this website as it contains content, text, and/or picture that is unappropriated which affects the mind of Thai people all over the country and cannot be accepted.

Apparently my internet service provider, the government-owned TOT, is blocking all blogs on the Wordpress domain in the latest example of Thai censorship of the media. According to articles on FACT- Freedom Against Censorship Thailand and Global Voices Advocacy, this block has been in effect since 22 August. As with all things that TOT has a hand in (i.e., frequent downtime once they finally connect your service -- it took a couple of months from the time we placed the order to the time they installed the line and connected our ADSL despite us living less than half-a-kilometer from the service center), this blockage seems very haphazard. Until last night, I'd had no problems accessing various Wordpress blogs and they're all coming up fine this morning.

Still, the blatant censorship practiced by the Thai government gets extremely tiring. Readers may remember that I began this particular blog as a result of the Thai Ministry of Information and Communication Technology's ban of the Blogger domain and my inability to access my longtime blog, Goodnight Phuket. We finally just got the ban against YouTube lifted but we always have to wonder what will be next...

Additional articles about the TOT blockage of Wordpress:
DBTB Protests Against the Wordpress.com Blockage in Thailand
Wordpress Blocked in Thailand as Well
wordpress.com Blocked in Thailand

BLOGSPOT UNBLOCKED

The Thai Ministry of Communication Information and Technology has lifted their country-wide blocking of the Blogspot domain.  This is good news for Thai-based Internet users and blog-writers as we can once again view hundreds of thousands of blogs that are hosted by the Blogger service.

Aside from occasional cross-posts with my other blog, Baan Jochim Phuket, GOODNIGHT PHUKET's primary focus will now be my family life with occasional travel/tourist/local info.

Baan Jochim Phuket will deal primarily with the politics, religion, customs, etc. of my adopted country of Thailand with various news clips, other blog posts that I find interesting, as well as my original writings.  I urge you to check both sites regularly (or subscribe to the RSS feeds).

New content on my Wordpress-hosted blog includes a primer on Thai culture and customs, news items about violence in the south and an increase in protests as the new national constitution is drafted as well as a user's guide for Thailand's ubiquitous squat toilets.  I've also included a page listing the holidays and festivals in Thailand for 2007 (although I still need to complete the section on regional special days).  Please check it out when you have time...

My next post on GOODNIGHT PHUKET will detail a weekend trip we made to Ton Sai Waterfall in Tambon Thalang that included a stop-off at Bangrong Pier in search of gibbons.  I also plan to write a report on our school's Wai Kru ("Honor the Teacher Day") which will occur on Thursday.  Watch for both to appear soon...

MORE THAI CENSORSHIP

Well, at least I can still post to it even if I can't view my own blog in my own country.  In yet another overreaction, Thailand's Ministry of Information and Communication Technology has ordered internet service providers here to block all blogs hosted by Blogger domain.  Apparently, a few blogs on what is certainly world's most popular blog-hosting domain were deemed offensive to Thailand.  In a repeat of the TouTube ban, many honest and respectful users in Thailand are being prevented from accessing a significant number of blogs because a few feel they need to say things against our government or royalty.

Unfortunately, I think we'll be seeing much more of this in the coming months.  Thailand has a long history of media censorship.  The 2006 ranking of press freedom conducted by Reporters Without Borders lists Thailand at 122 out of 168 (we dropped from 59 in 2004 to 107 in 2005).  Currently, Thailand is without a constitution (the 1997 version having been revoked during last September's coup) and the ruling military junta (AKA Council for National Security) has been placing all sorts of human rights restrictions on the media and internet.

One organization set up to provide information about this issue is Freedom Against Censorship Thailand (FACT).  Luckily, their blog is hosted by the Wordpress domain so we can still access it here...for now.