Question of the Week: Due 4/10/2009

[The Question of the Week is due on Friday, 4/10/2009 by 5:00 PM. It should be at least 250 words in length. Include two research links that lend support to your answer. ]

Background: The country of Thailand opened up a web site to report those who criticize the king.Here is one article: http://royalnews.wordpress.com/2009/02/06/thai-government-launches-website-to-protect-king/. Here's a link to the BBC report: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7871748.stm.

Since the Yale University Press has criticized the Thai King, it is now one of the web sites banned in Thailand. Here's a link to the article: http://www.yaledailynews.com/articles/view/16412?badlink=1

Question(s): In the USA, the First Amendment guarantees freedom of speech. Do you think the US government would ever do what is being done in Thailand? Why do you think the Thai government really wants to block web sites? Should the UN or some other world organization withhold monetary aid to Thailand for blocking free speech web sites? Since it is against the law in Thailand for a web site to criticize the king, do you think a Thai citizen in the USA should be prosecuted for violating the law? Do you think a U.S. citizen in the USA should be prosecuted for violating the law? What are the implications of controlling the flow of information on the Internet into or out of a country?