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koolbreez
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BANGKOK, Thailand - A British envoy in Thailand has learned that writing a blog can open the door to some very undiplomatic exchanges - on delicate subjects such as his trips to Bangkok’s famed red-light districts.
The trouble started after Ian Proud, who heads the British Embassy’s political division, accepted an offer to become an honorary blogger this week on the Web site of The Nation, an English-language newspaper in Thailand.
The idea was proposed to him by the newspaper’s editor, Tulsathit Tuptim, a personal friend who envisioned the blog as a forum in which Proud could discuss his ”Thai experiences with British perspective and humor” before ending his four-year tenure in Bangkok next month, according to the blog’s introductory message.
What ensued could better be described as a case of a blog gone wild. Proud’s picture appeared with the blog, prompting several Web surfers to post comments saying they had seen him around town, particularly at Bangkok’s red-light districts.
As of midday Wednesday, the blog had attracted more than 3,000 viewers and about 100 postings since its start two days earlier.
”I recall going to the embassy once and that same night I was down on Cowboy and who did I bump into? Yes, it was Ian,” wrote Edwardio Shanks, referring to notorious Soi Cowboy - Cowboy Street - which is packed with go-go bars and Western men on the prowl.
Simon Peltier wrote, ”I saw him walking arm-in-arm with a girl that could only be described as ’2 dollar whore.’ I bet that girl got a visa no problem.”
Other postings claimed to be authored by the diplomat, but weren’t, Proud said in a telephone interview Wednesday, noting one in particular that said: ”Yes, I did go with prostitutes during my tenure here with the Briyish Embassy, but that does not make me a bad person.”
”My syntax is a lot better than that for a start,” Proud said, not denying familiarity with the red-light districts but insisting he did not patronize them on ”a regular basis.”
”I’m not going to complain that I’ve never been there. But at the same time, the suggestion that I’m some sort of upholder of the sex trade in Bangkok...” he trailed off. ”It’s pathetic, frankly.”
Postings were not exclusively about Proud’s wanderings through Bangkok’s nightlife. Some readers complained about the consular office’s visa section and hurled criticism at British diplomats in general, while others wished Proud well in his future endeavors or urged him to stop blogging to save his pride.
Proud had introduced himself on his blog as someone new to the blogging scene who hoped to share thoughts on his love for the country that had become home for the last four years.
”When my posting to the embassy ends next month, I don’t think I can bear to leave; this country is my home now,” he wrote in his introductory note, suggesting he had perhaps found his true calling and would stay in Thailand to become a ”professional web-blogger.”
© Copyright 2007 Associated Press.
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Thai Girls : Meet Sexy Thai Girls
Posted on: 10:14 pm on April 11, 2007
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DaffyDuck
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Checked out the blog, and it's actually a really nice guy, writing about his impressions of Thailand. Yes, I don't doubt he went to SC or Nana, or wherever, but it seems to me that the usual types of self-righteous idiots are making a big deal out of it, and are now stalking his every blog entry.
Kinda sad and pathetic - and it's unfortunate that his unfamiliarity with blogging and the internet did not prepare him for this, or made him avoid having his picture posted.
But, let's face it - what kind of world do we live in, where you have to be afraid to post your picture, and face having fingers pointed at you from self-righteous puritans? The reaction to his blog tells me more about the people commenting, than about Mr. Proud.
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Bangkok Women : Meet Sensual Bangkok Women
Posted on: 1:21 am on April 12, 2007
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usvirgin
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Quote: from quack quack on 3:13 pm on April 12, 2007
I think he's cleaned it up quite a bit, but I agree with DD on this. Who the f*** cares where you hang out as long as you are doing a good job at your place of employment?
It's a situation that many of us employed in lower profile jobs are involved in.
I'm not ashamed to hang around Soi Cowboy and, I'll bet, neither are most of you guys around here.
This whole situation is stupid, and the only problem the guy had was going out for a drink and admitting it. Most of us do that.
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Thai Girls : Meet Sexy Thai Girls
Posted on: 1:48 am on April 12, 2007
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PussyLover 69
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Report from Bangkok Post dated Saturday 14 April 2007 :-
Diplomat's blog ends on Soi Cowboy
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The British foreign ministry has commented on the case of a Bangkok-based diplomat forced to stop writing a blog in an English language newspaper's website (not the Bangkok Post) after accusations that he had been spotted in the city's red light district.
The AFP news agency said that Ian Proud, who serves as head of the British embassy's political section, had his blog posted on the website of the newspaper. The blog had already been withdrawn.
Proud, 38, has admitted to visiting the Soi Cowboy bar area that caters mostly to Westerners, but has been quoted as saying that "the suggestion that I'm some sort of upholder of the sex trade in Bangkok... It's pathetic, frankly."
"Ian has been the victim of malicious accusations about his personal behaviour. He has rejected such accusations," a foreign office spokesman said in London.
"These were personal comments made by a member of the British Embassy in Bangkok," he said. "He is a member of the diplomatic service and as such we do not comment... I believe the blog has been withdrawn."
Proud's four-year tenure in Bangkok is set to end next month.
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Bangkok Women : Meet Beautiful Thai Girls
Posted on: 10:07 pm on April 13, 2007
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