Wars that the government shouldn’t have started, scandals in office, and now a ban on Vegemite? I didn’t think there could be more ways to despise the government. (via Billy The Blogging Poet)
Update: Phew… the U.S. denies Vegemite ban.
I thought I had seen all of the censoring games until I arrived in Thailand. As I flipped through TV channels the other day I saw a fuzzy blur on the screen. A bit confused I focused in on it. Turns out that the woman in the show was smoking a cigarette and they had blurred out that part of her hand.
It’s just as stupid as censoring a woman’s nipples in the U.S. I could see the smoke pouring out of the top of the blur, and her hand motions, so I knew what it was. If you’re going to show 95% of it then show the rest and not make it a big deal. When you hide something you empower the mystery and imply what’s behind the censorship is bad. Don’t censor these things and they become normal - and normal doesn’t get a second thought. On the other hand, I guess the “censor guys” need something to do.
I’m sure you’ve all been wondering if I’ll be heading to Thailand on Thursday, and the answer is yes. All of our sources say things are fine and the media seems to agree. It’s always exciting to visit an area hot in the news, especially one with tanks nearby.
Guess that’s not the only worry since Thailand is one of the hardest hit areas of the H5N1 Bird Flu virus. They’ve had 25 human cases and 17 fatalities since 2004. Good thing I’m a vegetarian… and I usually don’t kiss birds.
As long as I don’t stand in front of any tanks, or mingle with livestock, I should be enjoying the smell of beautiful Vanda Miss Joaquim (Singapore’s national flower) the week after Bangkok.
Remember, I have greater odds of having a fatal walk across the street than anything bad happening on this trip.
