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Is there any providable citation for the Samak Sundaravej radio-show "armored Car" bit. Where apparently he said that only person was killed rather than many. It seems biased currently. I think the entire era should be broken up into two paragraphs. And really even if the radio show bit is true, this should be shown with citations, And this should be shown and done so either in article about the massacre itself or Mr. Samak Sundaravej's article.
- A.K. ~ Wed Jul 8. 22: 42: 04 —Preceding unsigned comment added by 69.142.102.248 ( talk) 02:42, 9 July 2009 (UTC)
In the introductory paragraph, there's 1 line describing his life time of work in developing the country. Yet, there's 7 (Seven, meaning seven times more) lines giving examples of Lèse majesté charge that has been use (not including ones already describing the charge)...
What's the meaning of this? The examples alone took up almost half of the introduction!!! (I don't think that's how it got a GA status) Even more, almost all the example there are politically related. This is NOT a political article. (at the very least, please put these long examples in their relevant sections. They don't deserve this much attention,... unless it's politically motivated.)
If you agree that's someone's life time worth of work is more important than (at least not 7 times less important than) various examples of charges that other persons commit, please fix it: remove the examples (atmost 1 politically-unrelated example should be enough), and it'll be great to further explain his works. (and That means you, you who did it -.- ) Donny TH ( talk) 14:54, 30 April 2009 (UTC)
quote: "Although the King is held in great respect by many Thais, he is also protected by lèse majesté laws...."
is either bad english or a lack of understanding for thai culture and believes. it should read 'BECAUSE' and not 'although'
"Because the King is held in great respect by many Thais, he is also protected by lèse majesté laws...."
because the law does NOT protect the king (who needs no protection!) BUT protects the believes of millions of thais.....-- Scyriacus ( talk) 13:17, 29 January 2009 (UTC)
From the article "After a brief interregnum during his 60th Anniversary Celebrations, King Bhumibol was again invoked in the political stage, when Prime Minister Thaksin publically claimed that a "charismatic" individual "outside the constitution" was trying to overthrow his government. This provoked speculation by many, including several members of the royal family,[9] that Thaksin was referring to King Bhumibol. Sondhi Limthongkul calling for the public to take a stand and choose between the King and Thaksin.[9]" Since there is no absolute proof to whom Thaksin is refering to, I believe we should refrain from claiming that he was refering to the king. This paragraph should appear in Thaksin's or Sondhi's article rather than this one. underexpose 01:27, 14 July 2006 (UTC)
People editing this article need to grasp the fact that Wikipedia is not a newspaper. It does not need to include every day-to-day in-and-out of Thai politics. In this case, Thaksin did not name the King, I gather he has denied that he was refering to the King, and most people think he was refering to General Prem. Unless there are further developments, it should not be included. Adam 12:11, 14 July 2006 (UTC)
Jakrabhop cleared it up time and time again by indicating Thaksin was speaking of Pa Prem. And by logical induction, if Prem was involved, you had better believe he did not do so without thorough knowledge from above. Thaksin knew this as does almost everyone else. Considering how many members of the Privy council became involved, even to the level of one being made Prime Minister, then you should be able to add one plus one without getting anything but two.
This is a biographical article about the King, not an article about Thaksin or a chronicle of Thai politics. We already have a spin-off article on the 2005-2006 political crisis, which it sounds as though this episode is a continuation of. Unless it can be shown that Thaksin named the King, or was unambiguously referring to the King, the episode does not belong in this article. Even if he did name the King, in the context of a 60-year reign it hardly merits extensive treatment. After all, the King himself hasn't said a word about this matter so far as I know. I have already carried out radical surgery on this article once as editors were filling it too full of current news commentary, and I will do so again if this tendency reappears. Adam 13:41, 17 July 2006 (UTC)
In 2005-2006 political crisis article, it has the photograph of the woman, wearing the yellow clothes. The topics is about the king. So, it is unsuitable to put that picture, although her shirt has the passage "We will fight for our King." But the picture didn't involve with the main article about the King's biography. Worapon B. 11:58, 16 July 2006 (UTC)
Could somebody please explain why a picture of Sondhi Limthongkul (without any source info) was recently added to the article by an anonymous editor? The text accompanying the photo doesn't really say anything useful. The article does mention Sondhi, but I don't see how his photo adds any value. For now, I will assume the addition was made in good faith, but I really want to see an explanation. Patiwat 17:23, 16 July 2006 (UTC)
From the article: "The King has the constitutional prerogative to pardon criminals. The 2006 pardon of several convicted paedophiles, including an Australian rapist and child pornographer, has caused controversy." I am not an expert in Thailand's pardon procedure. However, ABC News reported that he was among 25,000 pardoned or given a reduced sentence to celebrate King's 60th anniversary. This led me to wonder if the King actually made a decision on all 25,000 of them; or there are such an officials who make a decision on who should be pardoned, under royal power. This article currently left readers with the impression that the King personally pardoned a paedophiles that stirred up a big controvercy. Could anyone clarify about how the royal pardon procedure works in Thailand? Or should we note that he was among 25,000 pardoned/reduced? underexpose 16:15, 18 July 2006 (UTC)
The article currently notes that King Ananda was killed "in what was officially described as an accidental shooting". This lacks any references, doesn't describe who the official source was, and is ambiguous as to who's accident it was. I'm not suggesting that a lot of space be devoted to this very complex and controversial topic; I'm merely suggesting that one sentence be rewritten and a reference found. Patiwat 15:26, 20 July 2006 (UTC)
It is generally accepted history, that Pridi speaking for a group of top princes and his cabinet announced that it was an accident (implying accidental suicide) the night after Ananda's death, related to his alleged stomach upset. However, that was not the conclusion of the council subsequently fromed to review the case -- they insisted he could not have killed himself, accident or whatever, leaving open the conclusion of murder (accidental fratricide could not be considered, it seems). And then of course years later three people were executed. I saw things in the 1990s from the palace which called it a "mystery" and "an accident" without explanation -- seeming to absolve those executed. I think this is too detailed but you can reference "The Devil's Discus" by Rayne Kruger. But he concludes it was deliberate suicide. Phand 04:34, 21 July 2006 (UTC)
This matter is gone into in detail by Stevenson, and I have summarised his discussion at Ananda Mahidol. Adam 06:08, 21 July 2006 (UTC)
"remain a mystery" is more grammatical. (Of course the reason it is still a mystery is the complete ban on discussion of this matter in Thailand.) Adam 05:32, 22 July 2006 (UTC)
I like what Patiwat suggests. However, "was shot" to me suggests that he was shot by somebody else. And while there is no conclussion on whether he was shot by someone else or he shot himself, I suggest saying something like "Ananda's death resulted from a gunshot injury, while in his room and under circumstances that to this day remain a mistery." or something else along these lines. Anagnorisis 06:19, 22 July 2006 (UTC)
Good call, Anagnorisis. I'll edit that to "Ananda's death resulted from a gunshot to the head, while in his bedroom and under circumstances that to this day remain a mystery". Patiwat 12:31, 22 July 2006 (UTC)
Article reads as follows: "Bhumibol acceded to the throne following the death of his brother King Ananda Mahidol on June 9, 1946. Ananda's death resulted from a gunshot to the head, while in his bedroom in the Baromphiman Palace in the Grand Palace under circumstances that to this day remain a mystery.[1][2] While he was hospitalized in Lausanne, Mom Rajawongse Sirikit frequently visited him. The last sentence seems to me to appear out of context all of a sudden. Maybe it should be in another paragraph where it is first mentioned why he was in the hospital in the first place. Anagnorisis 19:48, 22 July 2006 (UTC)
This issue was raised in the archived discussion page, and nobody ever responded to it. Some images used in the article have questionable licenses. They are 1) the coronation portraits ("Portrait bhumibol sirikit.jpg") and 2) the Thai Coat of Arms ("Thailand coa.png"). These images are not under the public domain, nor have they been released under a free license. As such, these images may be deleted at any time. Could somebody please replace these images with public domain or freely licensed versions. Patiwat 02:44, 23 July 2006 (UTC)
It seems to me that recent edits make the Political Conflict's section very long. Though I agree that many information within the section merits to be included in this article, however, I believe that it contain too many little detail. I think we should weight the importance of many issue throughout his life and spread it out. underexpose 21:11, 25 July 2006 (UTC)
Congratulations! Your article passed and is now listed as a good article. It is very interesting, neutral in tone and well-referenced. My only suggestion for improvement is to work on the style of the article. Thai culture is unfamiliar to many and a little more explaination and spacing out or moving to footnotes Thai phrases would help a lot. -- CTSWyneken (talk) 01:52, 1 August 2006 (UTC)
Some remaining things that trouble me (shouldn't block the FA review): Patiwat 04:18, 14 August 2006 (UTC)
The article seems a bit short to me for FAC -especially in the case of the biography of someone who has been King of a country 60 years. In other words, I would like it to both expand and go deeper. Though I like the thought of it becoming FA. Anagnorisis 05:24, 14 August 2006 (UTC)
Now that user:Silence has joined the editing team, I am sure the article will improve a lot in matters of style. He is very good and experienced copyeditor that has helped many FAC along the path to FA status. Anagnorisis 19:03, 15 August 2006 (UTC)
I don't think the section name "Political conflicts" reflects what the section is really about: the King's role in Thai politics over the decades. The word "conflicts" seems to imply that the section is about the King's conflicts with politicians or his involvment in the conflicts of politicians. This might have been true a lot of the time, but isn't neccesarily a neutral name for the section. I'd suggest changing it to "Role in Thai politics". Any thoughts? Patiwat 21:53, 16 August 2006 (UTC)
Agree. Anagnorisis 23:55, 16 August 2006 (UTC)
Over the past couple of days, there are appears to have been a rash of large scale edits and reverts, and some accusations of sockpuppetry. Could we all please chill out and use this Discussion page to air out any differences in opinion? The main issues being reverted seem to deal with style (whether to use "King Bhumibol" or "Bhumibol" in the article body), and the wholesale deletion of several sections, including the King's role in politics, the King's constitutional powers, the King's wealth, and a few other issues. Lets just talk about these issues explicitely rather than trying to infer rationalles from the edit history. Patiwat 03:55, 17 August 2006 (UTC)
Tuleeprabaht was blocked for contiuously breaking the 3RR. Now another incarnation is making the same edits. Perhaps this page will need to be semi-protected until the vandals tire down. Anagnorisis 08:55, 17 August 2006 (UTC)
A large part of the disagreement seems to be whether to refer to the King as "Bhumibol" or "King Bhumibol". The article uses both, as well as "The King". The Manual of Style notes the controversy surrounding the issue. Most articles are inconsistent, using all three forms (e.g., Victoria of the United Kingdom). I have absolutely no personal preference for any one of these for the article, but I'd prefer if we were consistent. Patiwat 15:52, 17 August 2006 (UTC)
Yes, articles must be stable to be FAs. But that means void of edit wars and the like; it doesn't mean the article cannot keep improving along the way. What I mean is that we should not refrain from improving the article by adding information that is agreed should be included as a result of the exchanges between editors in the discussion pages and that occur while the article is reviewed as FAC. Cheers. Anagnorisis 20:57, 17 August 2006 (UTC)
There seem to be enormous edit version since the falling of the current caretaker government popularity "Thaksin Shinawatra". By my rough estimate, over 500+ versions have been edited (and majority by ‘Patiwat’) since the December 2005 version. When compare with the December 2005 version, the current version seems to be very much politically motivated. The most frequent contributor is user name 'Patiwat' which makes me wondering whether Patiwat is under the falling regime payroll or try to insert some of his political idea to defame the King? Giving the fact that the last Thai election is only one party election which was totally undemocratic way and it seems to be the same opinion with the King that the last Thai election was unjustified and need to be invalid. I guess it's true that the King has a lot of influence in Thai politics. However, these special influences have saved Thai fragile democracy from political turmoil and slowly nurture the Thai democracy system in the past long record. When I checked the info on the user 'Patiwat' the most frequent contributor to this article (from Dec 2005 - current), Patiwat's statements stated that "No, I don't love Thaksin. In fact, I have more valid reasons for hating him than most Thai people. But I love democracy more than I hate Thaksin. And I have nothing but scorn for an elite that belittles the plight of the poor. I'd rather have a corrupt democracy over an efficient aristocracy any day." I think for the sake of the validity of Wikepedia, I'd appreciate it very much if the user'Patiwat' could state his motive to edit this particular article daily. Plus, is there any financial support for the current caretaker government of doing so. I could imagine that one would do daily edit, multiple times a day without paid. This really makes you wonder how bias is this current version of this article from political motive. And is Wikepedia the right venue for anyone to take over and express their own polical view point? Why not write your own blog instead. Thanks, Jim Thompson (ex-expat)
Nobody needs to justify to anyone why one makes edits in Wikipedia. Thus, I strongly suggest to Patiwat that he ignores requests for him his motives for doing what he does. Given that we are to assume good faith, we should do so until we see vandalic behavior. Even if some (many are) politically motivated, things would tend to find a balance due to the presence of other editors that would push for a NPOV. Jim, if you disagree with specific edits made by Patiwat, discuss them here. Discuss the specifics related to the article; not Patiwat himself. This is about the article, not about specific editors. Also, remember this is not a forum. Cheers. Anagnorisis 05:22, 18 August 2006 (UTC)
The Cambodian embassy riot incident doesn't seem to go so well with the "Royal powers" section. It concerns his popularity, not his royal powers. But I'm not sure where it should go. Any suggestions? Patiwat 02:50, 19 August 2006 (UTC)
The article mentions his literary works, but not his translations of "Intrepid" and "Tito". Should this be added as well? Patiwat 22:29, 19 August 2006 (UTC)
Sure. Anagnorisis 22:56, 19 August 2006 (UTC)
Hmm. I'm pretty sure when the private life section began, it was there. Wonder why it was taken out. Suredeath 05:51, 21 August 2006 (UTC)
.... thinking more about the pictures .... I do not know, but I am not convinced about having the picture of the protester with the yellow shirt. I do not see much relevance between that picture and a biographic article about the king. The picture shows an indistinctive girl wearing a yellow shirt. She could be anyone among thpusands. What information to the reader conveys that picture? It is just one more person going to a political march against the prime minister. I see it as a stretch to tie that picture to the life of the king. I would remove it. Anagnorisis 05:59, 24 August 2006 (UTC)
The 1938 photo is only good news if it's free of copyright. Is Maharaj Devraj the copyright holder? I have lots of photos of the Royal Family in various sources, but virtually all published material is copyright. Also the recent AP photo of the King cannot possibly be public domain. Adam 04:34, 25 August 2006 (UTC)
The editors of this article seem to have very detailed knowledge and superfluous efforts at writing and updating on the King. Why don't you guys compile the right eye incident along with the spinal surgery into a section called, "Health", which I'm sure you could insert a few extra affronts about the King in the process. But for the recent spinal microsurgery at Siriraj hospital it baffled me that you guys didn't denounce him for having caused the traffic congestion around the Phran Nok area during the period of his hospitalization (the denouning part should immediately follows whatever fact was being portrayed, like the rest of your styling). Oh, almost forgetting, yet another fact: the King likes to eat shark fin soup. It was blatantly mentioned in a local Thai magazine, but I have yet to cite the source, however, don't forget to link it with Green Peace and Friends of the Earth entries as well. Oh, and one more fact that you guys seem to have blatantly missed out for this excellent article: Up until recent years, it was a customary practice for the King and members of his immediate family to collect petty cash donations directly from bystanders: The King would go hastily from one person to the next, fetching 10 Baht, 20 Baht, and (some) 100 Baht bank notes from hands of poor bystanders waiting to greet him outside the function halls. Finally, I can't believe that you guys missed out on this one: you mentioned about the rain making project initiated by the King, if you're a little bit of a scientist, you would have known that the process has been subjected to criticisms by environmentalists, as it sometimes, is considered as "Stealing Moisture" from neighboring countries, don't forget to add this one too. I'm sure that this will help to portray more facts and information about the King, making this article even more complete, detailed, updated, and accurate, which will make it even more valid of a candidate as a featured article. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 203.113.13.3 ( talk • contribs) .
I notice it has already achieved FA status. Congratulations to those editors who have worked hard on this article. Patiwat and Rlevse come to mind first, but congratulations to all. Anagnorisis 18:20, 6 September 2006 (UTC)
The king's official powers are defined by the Constitution of Thailand. However, the monarchy's constitutional powers were anything but static. The powers have fluctuated wildly depending on how palace-friendly and democracy-friendly the ruling government was, from the heights of the 1949 Constitution, which gave the King nearly complete control over the legislature, to the lows of the 1932 Temporary Charter, which made the monarch just a figure-head, to the ambiguity of the 1957 Charter, which gave Sarit absolute power, but made him an instrument of the throne. Your thoughts on Constitution of Thailand and suggestions on how some elements might contribute to Bhumibol Adulyadej would be most appreciated. Patiwat 05:02, 10 September 2006 (UTC)
From my perspective, current Wikipedia articles on Thailand's royal family reflect only current events and fail utterly to explain their role in contending with communism, fascism, elitism, racism and the more rapacious sort of capitalism, especially when contrasted with surrounding countries and Thailand's own past. A recent version of the opening paragraph of the article on King Bhumibol commented on his name at birth as "reflecting the fact that his mother was a commoner." No where is it mentioned that Their Majesties address the people of Thailand in common language, so plainly spoken that even I can understand it, rather than the artificial royal language in use since King Ramathibodi I. The second paragraph said, "Bhumibol was brought back to Thailand in 1928, after Prince Mahidol finished his medical study at Harvard University,” without a hint that the 'medical study' was in keeping with a family tradition of service to the nation. In mentioning the young Bhumibol's own studies scattered over the next 3 paragraphs, it said he "major[ed] in French literature, Latin, and Greek…, was studying science…, [and] switched over his field of study to Law and Political Science, to prepare him more effectively for his new position as ruler." Scattered as they are, these observations obscure the fact a “ruler”, who as constitutional figurehead was not destined to rule, was getting a very republican education, indeed. Several versions of the article have stated, “Bhumibol is immensely popular in Thailand, and is revered as a semi-divine figure by many Thais. Critics, mostly outside Thailand, attribute this status to the suppression of criticism of the monarchy.” Plus the image label, “Many public images of Bhumibol, such as this one outside the Danish Embassy, show him as many years younger than his current age, contributing to his cult-like status,” as if something rotten in Denmark were contributing to a conspiracy. This displays utter ignorance of the fact that veneration of a monarch is NOT “cult-like” but an actual, veritable cult due to the very nature of monarchy. This article and others on the royal family should, IMO, make it clear just how they have used their cultic status to advance interests of common people. King Ramathibodi had goods reasons to adopt a cult venerating his person as divine, but the present royal family, not just the King, have reversed this to give the king a common touch. Since there are obviously some of His Majesty’s family contributing as editors, I wish one of them would come up with an image of the king with a drop of sweat about to drip from his nose. This is one of the most popular pictures of the king ever made, and I have seen it enlarged to the point where the drop of sweat was the size of a VW bug. Lee 06:12, 15 September 2006 (UTC)PawYiLee
Lee:
Could these image taken recently be useful? One clearly show how modern Thailand (mcDo) is merged with traditional Monarchy
Although the article mentions King Bhumibol's complete ceremonial name, it does not elaborate at all on it. Since I don't speak a word of Thai I'm curious - what is the meaning of this long name? Do these words designate a function (similar to the "keeper of the faith, head of the Commonwealth" etc.. of Queen Elizabeth II for example) or are they honorary names - such as names of ancient Kings? Or something yet different? 128.2.229.114 17:41, 20 September 2006 (UTC)
Am I correct that this is quoted in many media as meaning that the political situation at that time was a mess? The way I read his statement is that asking the king to intervene in politics is a mess. Does anyone have more information regarding this. Maybe the complete original statement in Thai? Thai people maybe? Any information about his actual words about the current coup? It is said he supports the coup, but I'd like some more info, his actual words,? He announced on tv, a speach, what? How did the "Associated Press" get this statement from him?
Songkhla is spelled wrong in the article...it's spelled without the "h".
I'm adding back some long-standing content that seems to have been removed during the recent vandalism wars. Patiwat 21:18, 21 September 2006 (UTC)
Add syllable division marks (look like periods/full stops) between each syllable in the two names.
Also is a space character within the brackets (used here to indicate two different words) officially allowed in IPA -- or should the first and last names appear in separate brackets?
— Preceding unsigned comment added by 75.6.235.68 ( talk) 06:47, 25 September 2006 (UTC)
Please add this section somewhere in the article.
Note that this is my layman's understanding of the situation. Regarding my paragraph 2 especially, anyone who is an expert on issues of religious and royal Thai spelling and pronunciation, please correct if needed.
SECTION TITLE: Transliteration of the Monarch's Name
The strikingly unphonetic transliteration of the monarch's name found most typically in use, Bhumibol Adulyadej, is due to a complex phenomenon. The Thai writing system derives originally from the ancient Brahmi script used to write Sanskrit, and therefore Thai letters can, in the abstract, be viewed as also having the pronunciation of their Sanskrit equivalents.
While the monarch's name is always pronounced in its Thai form, the Sanskrit-derived transliteration Bhumibol Adulyadej is favored as a type of respectful formalism.
Using the official transliteration system of the Thai government, the Royal Thai General System of Transcription, the monarch's name would be rendered as Phumiphon Adunyaded -- much more comprehensible to the English speaker, except for the use of "ph" to represent an aspirated P (IPA [pʰ]) and not a fricative (IPA [f]) as in English.
Shouldn't there be any mentioning about the incidents during the night of September 19 (the day of the coup) with regards to the King? I've heard that the King had been in many dangerous situations in his life including a time when a bomb planted by Souther insurgents went off near his podium some decades ago. The Manager group have reported that on the night of September 19 was a time of grave danger for the King: It was the war--a race--between Mr. Thaksin's side and the King's side. News had it that Mr. Thaksin's side under the leadership of Gen. Ruaengroj Mahasaranond was planning to mobilise the troop in order to declare a state of emergency and also surround the palace in the process. It was said that they would then physically force the King to abdicate the throne in order to change the ruling system into a republic and hence assign Mr. Thaksin as the first President. If what Manager speculates is true, I would like to know why Mr. Thaksin would like to do that? Does he have a personal problem with the King or something? But I have heard that Mr. Thaksin hasn't been very nice to the King--not approving budget for new royal airplane, blocking budgets for royally initiated projects etc.-- 125.24.237.150 21:05, 29 September 2006 (UTC)Innocent Onlooker.
The article on Malietoa Tanumafili II of Samoa indicates he is the longest serving head of state in the world. Is there something I am missing that would make King Bhumibol the longest? Malietoa Tanumafili II is also listed as #1 in List of longest reigning current monarchs. -- Mishalak 20:19, 2 November 2006 (UTC)
If I am not mistaken, it has already over a month since the latest episode of heavy vandalism by unregistered users. Shouldn't we give it a try and have the semi-protection removed and see how it goes? Anagnorisis 04:37, 17 November 2006 (UTC)
I have added a short section on lèse majesté, as it has been applied to King Bhumibol. I have often been asked questions about this, and was a bit surprised to see that no mention in the article of lèse majesté in formal modern use with the current King. I've used several examples that I believe are illustrative: lèse majesté as censorship (Sulak Sivaraksa), lèse majesté to prevent misunderstands among foreigners (the French guy), and lèse majesté as a political tool (Thaksin/Sondhi). Patiwat 12:24, 12 December 2006 (UTC)
The Bangkok Post notes that the King pledged, "I will reign with righteousness for the benefit and happiness of the Siamese people," implying a personal statement. See here and here. However, the article claims that that was an Oath of Succession, implying a more formal and mandatory nature. So what exactly was it? Patiwat 17:28, 6 January 2007 (UTC)
A recent editor has added numerous images to the article. None of the images have copyright or source information, and they are probably copyrighted images. A large amount of nonsense text has also been added to the article (e.g., "The ceremony celebrated the King's birthday anniversary of Thai king begins in regnal of His majesty King Mongkut (Rama 4) since a king is stilling ordain have idea that when calculate day with using sun is standard When straight with the birthday will do make merits because he recall that olding until comes to a full year and don't die be luck abounds onely should is glad should make merits which , advantage old the self and others and restraint one's mind to carelessness location because..."). This is vandalism. The editor has been warned. Please be vigilant for further vandalism. Patiwat 09:26, 9 January 2007 (UTC)
at least on my side, using VLC to play the ogg file, the pronunciation guide to the name is incomplete (missing the first part of the name). Please verify. Janechii 10:01, 19 January 2007 (UTC)
Some helpful people on th.wikipedia figured out that the palace gave a CC 2.5 blanket license to all photographs of the King and royal family that palace staff has ever taken. So basically, every photograph of the King taken in the palace, as well as most non-palace photographs of him can be used freely. This is neat. I've added a few to the article. I think they have much more historical interest than just random photos of monuments and posters of him. Patiwat 20:24, 27 February 2007 (UTC)
Maybe this is the innopropriate place to ask this question, but why is the Thai King so highly valued? reading the book "The King Never Smiles", You really do wonder why he is so highy accredited, when he doesn't seem to do much at all. Stevo D 04:15, 21 March 2007 (UTC)
The fact that he's probably Thailand's greatest philanthropist might be a start... The King Never Smiles goes for pure politics I think. Suredeath 11:09, 23 March 2007 (UTC)
I see the word "king" is written with a capital K ("King") alot of times in this article but I think it is written with a lowercase k. Shall I change this? CheesePlease NL 09:28, 5 April 2007 (UTC)
It seems that the fair use AP photograph of the King is being deleted by an editor. I have therefore replaced the AP photograph with a cropped version of a 1999 public domain photograph. I wish I had a more recent photograph. Patiwat 23:51, 12 April 2007 (UTC)
I shortened and moved the YouTube controversy to Lèse majesté section for several reasons.
-- Melanochromis 18:42, 13 April 2007 (UTC)
I agree that the YouTube controversy fits nicely in the Lèse majesté section. Some media reporting may be hyped to certain extend but I do believe there are merits and encyclopedic values to keep this. After all, the youtube shutdown was done in the name of the king because of the Lèse majesté law. Just my 2 cents. – Kempton "Ideas are the currency of the future." - a quote by Kevin Roberts 18:50, 14 April 2007 (UTC)
Apparently the Bureau of the Royal Household allows use according to CC By-NC-ND 2.5, which Wikipedia does not accept. Also, the Copyright Act of B.E. 2537 states that governmental documents (specifically, ระเบียบ ข้อบังคับ ประกาศ คำสั่ง คำชี้แจง และหนังสือโต้ตอบของกระทรวง ทบวง กรม หรือหน่วยงานอื่นใดของรัฐหรือของท้องถิ่น and คำพิพากษา คำสั่ง คำวินิจฉัย และรายงานของทางราชการ) are ineligible for copyright. This likely does not include photographs and such works which do not constitute part of said documents. Paul_012 ( talk) 20:46, 19 April 2007 (UTC)
Ref 66 doesn't seem to show up. Please look into it. Thanks -- Jutiphan | Talk - 21:04, 21 May 2007 (UTC)
There's been a comment on List of people who have been considered deities about this person, and I don't see it clearly in this article, is this man considered by people to be a deity, something really really close to a deity, or what? I don't have this page on my watchlist, so if anyone wants to reply, it might be best to respond on the talk page of the list, i've been sorting out a few other people who've been named as well. Homestarmy 16:20, 6 June 2007 (UTC)
Although this article does mention Bhumibol Adulyadej's accomplishments in music, if fails to mention his instrument! According to a book I have, "Bhumibol Adulyadej...plays saxophone in his own jazz combo" (The Art of Money, David Standish, pg. 38). Is this info correct, and if so, should it be implemented? -- MosheA 03:18, 17 July 2007 (UTC)
Page has been protected due to a few week long edit war over above image. Discuss it here first rather than warring over the image's inclusion. Also see Wikipedia:Suspected sock puppets/CenturyRain, Administrators's noticeboard, and Wikipedia:Requests for checkuser/Case/FlamingSpear. Rlevse 20:03, 31 July 2007 (UTC)
Yellow is associated with Monday on the Thai solar calendar. Anyone may wear yellow on Mondays, and anyone born on a Monday may adopt yellow as their color. The best-known personage associated with this colour is the current king, Bhumibol Adulyadej. Ever since the political crisis of 2005-2006, during the events of the 2006 Thai coup d'état, in honor of the 60th anniversary of his accession to the throne and continuing until his 80th birthday celebration on December 5, 2007, Thailand has been a veritable sea of Yellow as the people of Thailand show support for their king. Pawyilee 09:44, 1 August 2007 (UTC)
Royal standards have a background of saffron (color) because it is a sacred. Buddhist monks in the Theravada tradition typically wear saffron robes. Theravada temple flags are saffron and resemble King Bhumpol's, execpt for the design at the centre -- for practical purposes saffron is indistinguishable from yellow. Quite different the design of King Bhumipol's personal flag is that of the Thai King's royal standard. Thai royal standards should remain the same for future kings and queens of Thailand, though their personal flags should continue to be monograms on their birthday colours; we'll just have to wait and see. Pawyilee ( talk) 09:44, 3 July 2009 (UTC)
The article currently contains the word honorary spelled as honourary in the following part:
Bhumibol, who serves as head of The National Scout Organization of Thailand, was presented the Bronze Wolf award on 20 June 2006, World Organization of the Scout Movement's highest award, for his support and development of Scouting in Thailand by Carl XVI Gustav, King of Sweden and Honourary President of the World Scout Foundation. The presentation took place at Chitralada Palace in Thailand and was witnessed by Chairman of the World Scout Committee Herman Hui.[54]
um drums 19:45, 9 August 2007 (UTC)
Can we get a screen shot of the youtube clip? Or maybe the paint vandalism in the Lèse majesté section? Seems a little drab for a section about images. JeffBurdges 13:58, 20 September 2007 (UTC)
"Adulyadej" is not His family name. Members of the Royal Family of Thailand have no family name. Adulyadej is a part of His name: Bhumibol Adulyadej (ภูมิพลอดุลยเดช, pronounced as Phum-mi-phon-a-dun-ya-det); and for full name (one may call "ceremonial name") is as shown in the article, or as follows:
Facts:
Therefore:
The name of the king's proposed theory is literally translated as "Self-Sufficiency Philosophy". However, literally translation, word by word, would never be a good translation. The King's proposal cannot be classified as an economic philosophy since it lacks the total explanation regard the proper arrangement of resources in a given economic system. For example, capitalism, socialism, and communism are all REAL economic philosophies. The King's proposal can only be a theory waitting to be proved of its usefulness. A political sciencetist, Keven Hewison, call this: Localism in Thailand. In addition, the article in Wikipededia itself calls this theory as Localism in Thailand. It is important to call and classified it correctly for the purpose of avoiding any confusion among foreigners and Thais. Any objection? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Historianscholar ( talk • contribs) 10:41, 20 May 2008 (UTC)
Why are we theorizing? The newspapers call it self-sufficiency economics, even the UN calls it self-sufficiency economics. Right or wrong, that's what we should use in Wikipedia. Patiwat ( talk) 03:33, 27 June 2008 (UTC)
it says december 5, 1927...so should he NOT be 81? it SAYS 80 but i'm not idiot and i did the math and its 81 soo....can someone see what's up with this? Duhhitsminerva ( talk) 06:22, 7 July 2008 (UTC)
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Archive 1 | Archive 2 | Archive 3 | Archive 4 |
Is there any providable citation for the Samak Sundaravej radio-show "armored Car" bit. Where apparently he said that only person was killed rather than many. It seems biased currently. I think the entire era should be broken up into two paragraphs. And really even if the radio show bit is true, this should be shown with citations, And this should be shown and done so either in article about the massacre itself or Mr. Samak Sundaravej's article.
- A.K. ~ Wed Jul 8. 22: 42: 04 —Preceding unsigned comment added by 69.142.102.248 ( talk) 02:42, 9 July 2009 (UTC)
In the introductory paragraph, there's 1 line describing his life time of work in developing the country. Yet, there's 7 (Seven, meaning seven times more) lines giving examples of Lèse majesté charge that has been use (not including ones already describing the charge)...
What's the meaning of this? The examples alone took up almost half of the introduction!!! (I don't think that's how it got a GA status) Even more, almost all the example there are politically related. This is NOT a political article. (at the very least, please put these long examples in their relevant sections. They don't deserve this much attention,... unless it's politically motivated.)
If you agree that's someone's life time worth of work is more important than (at least not 7 times less important than) various examples of charges that other persons commit, please fix it: remove the examples (atmost 1 politically-unrelated example should be enough), and it'll be great to further explain his works. (and That means you, you who did it -.- ) Donny TH ( talk) 14:54, 30 April 2009 (UTC)
quote: "Although the King is held in great respect by many Thais, he is also protected by lèse majesté laws...."
is either bad english or a lack of understanding for thai culture and believes. it should read 'BECAUSE' and not 'although'
"Because the King is held in great respect by many Thais, he is also protected by lèse majesté laws...."
because the law does NOT protect the king (who needs no protection!) BUT protects the believes of millions of thais.....-- Scyriacus ( talk) 13:17, 29 January 2009 (UTC)
From the article "After a brief interregnum during his 60th Anniversary Celebrations, King Bhumibol was again invoked in the political stage, when Prime Minister Thaksin publically claimed that a "charismatic" individual "outside the constitution" was trying to overthrow his government. This provoked speculation by many, including several members of the royal family,[9] that Thaksin was referring to King Bhumibol. Sondhi Limthongkul calling for the public to take a stand and choose between the King and Thaksin.[9]" Since there is no absolute proof to whom Thaksin is refering to, I believe we should refrain from claiming that he was refering to the king. This paragraph should appear in Thaksin's or Sondhi's article rather than this one. underexpose 01:27, 14 July 2006 (UTC)
People editing this article need to grasp the fact that Wikipedia is not a newspaper. It does not need to include every day-to-day in-and-out of Thai politics. In this case, Thaksin did not name the King, I gather he has denied that he was refering to the King, and most people think he was refering to General Prem. Unless there are further developments, it should not be included. Adam 12:11, 14 July 2006 (UTC)
Jakrabhop cleared it up time and time again by indicating Thaksin was speaking of Pa Prem. And by logical induction, if Prem was involved, you had better believe he did not do so without thorough knowledge from above. Thaksin knew this as does almost everyone else. Considering how many members of the Privy council became involved, even to the level of one being made Prime Minister, then you should be able to add one plus one without getting anything but two.
This is a biographical article about the King, not an article about Thaksin or a chronicle of Thai politics. We already have a spin-off article on the 2005-2006 political crisis, which it sounds as though this episode is a continuation of. Unless it can be shown that Thaksin named the King, or was unambiguously referring to the King, the episode does not belong in this article. Even if he did name the King, in the context of a 60-year reign it hardly merits extensive treatment. After all, the King himself hasn't said a word about this matter so far as I know. I have already carried out radical surgery on this article once as editors were filling it too full of current news commentary, and I will do so again if this tendency reappears. Adam 13:41, 17 July 2006 (UTC)
In 2005-2006 political crisis article, it has the photograph of the woman, wearing the yellow clothes. The topics is about the king. So, it is unsuitable to put that picture, although her shirt has the passage "We will fight for our King." But the picture didn't involve with the main article about the King's biography. Worapon B. 11:58, 16 July 2006 (UTC)
Could somebody please explain why a picture of Sondhi Limthongkul (without any source info) was recently added to the article by an anonymous editor? The text accompanying the photo doesn't really say anything useful. The article does mention Sondhi, but I don't see how his photo adds any value. For now, I will assume the addition was made in good faith, but I really want to see an explanation. Patiwat 17:23, 16 July 2006 (UTC)
From the article: "The King has the constitutional prerogative to pardon criminals. The 2006 pardon of several convicted paedophiles, including an Australian rapist and child pornographer, has caused controversy." I am not an expert in Thailand's pardon procedure. However, ABC News reported that he was among 25,000 pardoned or given a reduced sentence to celebrate King's 60th anniversary. This led me to wonder if the King actually made a decision on all 25,000 of them; or there are such an officials who make a decision on who should be pardoned, under royal power. This article currently left readers with the impression that the King personally pardoned a paedophiles that stirred up a big controvercy. Could anyone clarify about how the royal pardon procedure works in Thailand? Or should we note that he was among 25,000 pardoned/reduced? underexpose 16:15, 18 July 2006 (UTC)
The article currently notes that King Ananda was killed "in what was officially described as an accidental shooting". This lacks any references, doesn't describe who the official source was, and is ambiguous as to who's accident it was. I'm not suggesting that a lot of space be devoted to this very complex and controversial topic; I'm merely suggesting that one sentence be rewritten and a reference found. Patiwat 15:26, 20 July 2006 (UTC)
It is generally accepted history, that Pridi speaking for a group of top princes and his cabinet announced that it was an accident (implying accidental suicide) the night after Ananda's death, related to his alleged stomach upset. However, that was not the conclusion of the council subsequently fromed to review the case -- they insisted he could not have killed himself, accident or whatever, leaving open the conclusion of murder (accidental fratricide could not be considered, it seems). And then of course years later three people were executed. I saw things in the 1990s from the palace which called it a "mystery" and "an accident" without explanation -- seeming to absolve those executed. I think this is too detailed but you can reference "The Devil's Discus" by Rayne Kruger. But he concludes it was deliberate suicide. Phand 04:34, 21 July 2006 (UTC)
This matter is gone into in detail by Stevenson, and I have summarised his discussion at Ananda Mahidol. Adam 06:08, 21 July 2006 (UTC)
"remain a mystery" is more grammatical. (Of course the reason it is still a mystery is the complete ban on discussion of this matter in Thailand.) Adam 05:32, 22 July 2006 (UTC)
I like what Patiwat suggests. However, "was shot" to me suggests that he was shot by somebody else. And while there is no conclussion on whether he was shot by someone else or he shot himself, I suggest saying something like "Ananda's death resulted from a gunshot injury, while in his room and under circumstances that to this day remain a mistery." or something else along these lines. Anagnorisis 06:19, 22 July 2006 (UTC)
Good call, Anagnorisis. I'll edit that to "Ananda's death resulted from a gunshot to the head, while in his bedroom and under circumstances that to this day remain a mystery". Patiwat 12:31, 22 July 2006 (UTC)
Article reads as follows: "Bhumibol acceded to the throne following the death of his brother King Ananda Mahidol on June 9, 1946. Ananda's death resulted from a gunshot to the head, while in his bedroom in the Baromphiman Palace in the Grand Palace under circumstances that to this day remain a mystery.[1][2] While he was hospitalized in Lausanne, Mom Rajawongse Sirikit frequently visited him. The last sentence seems to me to appear out of context all of a sudden. Maybe it should be in another paragraph where it is first mentioned why he was in the hospital in the first place. Anagnorisis 19:48, 22 July 2006 (UTC)
This issue was raised in the archived discussion page, and nobody ever responded to it. Some images used in the article have questionable licenses. They are 1) the coronation portraits ("Portrait bhumibol sirikit.jpg") and 2) the Thai Coat of Arms ("Thailand coa.png"). These images are not under the public domain, nor have they been released under a free license. As such, these images may be deleted at any time. Could somebody please replace these images with public domain or freely licensed versions. Patiwat 02:44, 23 July 2006 (UTC)
It seems to me that recent edits make the Political Conflict's section very long. Though I agree that many information within the section merits to be included in this article, however, I believe that it contain too many little detail. I think we should weight the importance of many issue throughout his life and spread it out. underexpose 21:11, 25 July 2006 (UTC)
Congratulations! Your article passed and is now listed as a good article. It is very interesting, neutral in tone and well-referenced. My only suggestion for improvement is to work on the style of the article. Thai culture is unfamiliar to many and a little more explaination and spacing out or moving to footnotes Thai phrases would help a lot. -- CTSWyneken (talk) 01:52, 1 August 2006 (UTC)
Some remaining things that trouble me (shouldn't block the FA review): Patiwat 04:18, 14 August 2006 (UTC)
The article seems a bit short to me for FAC -especially in the case of the biography of someone who has been King of a country 60 years. In other words, I would like it to both expand and go deeper. Though I like the thought of it becoming FA. Anagnorisis 05:24, 14 August 2006 (UTC)
Now that user:Silence has joined the editing team, I am sure the article will improve a lot in matters of style. He is very good and experienced copyeditor that has helped many FAC along the path to FA status. Anagnorisis 19:03, 15 August 2006 (UTC)
I don't think the section name "Political conflicts" reflects what the section is really about: the King's role in Thai politics over the decades. The word "conflicts" seems to imply that the section is about the King's conflicts with politicians or his involvment in the conflicts of politicians. This might have been true a lot of the time, but isn't neccesarily a neutral name for the section. I'd suggest changing it to "Role in Thai politics". Any thoughts? Patiwat 21:53, 16 August 2006 (UTC)
Agree. Anagnorisis 23:55, 16 August 2006 (UTC)
Over the past couple of days, there are appears to have been a rash of large scale edits and reverts, and some accusations of sockpuppetry. Could we all please chill out and use this Discussion page to air out any differences in opinion? The main issues being reverted seem to deal with style (whether to use "King Bhumibol" or "Bhumibol" in the article body), and the wholesale deletion of several sections, including the King's role in politics, the King's constitutional powers, the King's wealth, and a few other issues. Lets just talk about these issues explicitely rather than trying to infer rationalles from the edit history. Patiwat 03:55, 17 August 2006 (UTC)
Tuleeprabaht was blocked for contiuously breaking the 3RR. Now another incarnation is making the same edits. Perhaps this page will need to be semi-protected until the vandals tire down. Anagnorisis 08:55, 17 August 2006 (UTC)
A large part of the disagreement seems to be whether to refer to the King as "Bhumibol" or "King Bhumibol". The article uses both, as well as "The King". The Manual of Style notes the controversy surrounding the issue. Most articles are inconsistent, using all three forms (e.g., Victoria of the United Kingdom). I have absolutely no personal preference for any one of these for the article, but I'd prefer if we were consistent. Patiwat 15:52, 17 August 2006 (UTC)
Yes, articles must be stable to be FAs. But that means void of edit wars and the like; it doesn't mean the article cannot keep improving along the way. What I mean is that we should not refrain from improving the article by adding information that is agreed should be included as a result of the exchanges between editors in the discussion pages and that occur while the article is reviewed as FAC. Cheers. Anagnorisis 20:57, 17 August 2006 (UTC)
There seem to be enormous edit version since the falling of the current caretaker government popularity "Thaksin Shinawatra". By my rough estimate, over 500+ versions have been edited (and majority by ‘Patiwat’) since the December 2005 version. When compare with the December 2005 version, the current version seems to be very much politically motivated. The most frequent contributor is user name 'Patiwat' which makes me wondering whether Patiwat is under the falling regime payroll or try to insert some of his political idea to defame the King? Giving the fact that the last Thai election is only one party election which was totally undemocratic way and it seems to be the same opinion with the King that the last Thai election was unjustified and need to be invalid. I guess it's true that the King has a lot of influence in Thai politics. However, these special influences have saved Thai fragile democracy from political turmoil and slowly nurture the Thai democracy system in the past long record. When I checked the info on the user 'Patiwat' the most frequent contributor to this article (from Dec 2005 - current), Patiwat's statements stated that "No, I don't love Thaksin. In fact, I have more valid reasons for hating him than most Thai people. But I love democracy more than I hate Thaksin. And I have nothing but scorn for an elite that belittles the plight of the poor. I'd rather have a corrupt democracy over an efficient aristocracy any day." I think for the sake of the validity of Wikepedia, I'd appreciate it very much if the user'Patiwat' could state his motive to edit this particular article daily. Plus, is there any financial support for the current caretaker government of doing so. I could imagine that one would do daily edit, multiple times a day without paid. This really makes you wonder how bias is this current version of this article from political motive. And is Wikepedia the right venue for anyone to take over and express their own polical view point? Why not write your own blog instead. Thanks, Jim Thompson (ex-expat)
Nobody needs to justify to anyone why one makes edits in Wikipedia. Thus, I strongly suggest to Patiwat that he ignores requests for him his motives for doing what he does. Given that we are to assume good faith, we should do so until we see vandalic behavior. Even if some (many are) politically motivated, things would tend to find a balance due to the presence of other editors that would push for a NPOV. Jim, if you disagree with specific edits made by Patiwat, discuss them here. Discuss the specifics related to the article; not Patiwat himself. This is about the article, not about specific editors. Also, remember this is not a forum. Cheers. Anagnorisis 05:22, 18 August 2006 (UTC)
The Cambodian embassy riot incident doesn't seem to go so well with the "Royal powers" section. It concerns his popularity, not his royal powers. But I'm not sure where it should go. Any suggestions? Patiwat 02:50, 19 August 2006 (UTC)
The article mentions his literary works, but not his translations of "Intrepid" and "Tito". Should this be added as well? Patiwat 22:29, 19 August 2006 (UTC)
Sure. Anagnorisis 22:56, 19 August 2006 (UTC)
Hmm. I'm pretty sure when the private life section began, it was there. Wonder why it was taken out. Suredeath 05:51, 21 August 2006 (UTC)
.... thinking more about the pictures .... I do not know, but I am not convinced about having the picture of the protester with the yellow shirt. I do not see much relevance between that picture and a biographic article about the king. The picture shows an indistinctive girl wearing a yellow shirt. She could be anyone among thpusands. What information to the reader conveys that picture? It is just one more person going to a political march against the prime minister. I see it as a stretch to tie that picture to the life of the king. I would remove it. Anagnorisis 05:59, 24 August 2006 (UTC)
The 1938 photo is only good news if it's free of copyright. Is Maharaj Devraj the copyright holder? I have lots of photos of the Royal Family in various sources, but virtually all published material is copyright. Also the recent AP photo of the King cannot possibly be public domain. Adam 04:34, 25 August 2006 (UTC)
The editors of this article seem to have very detailed knowledge and superfluous efforts at writing and updating on the King. Why don't you guys compile the right eye incident along with the spinal surgery into a section called, "Health", which I'm sure you could insert a few extra affronts about the King in the process. But for the recent spinal microsurgery at Siriraj hospital it baffled me that you guys didn't denounce him for having caused the traffic congestion around the Phran Nok area during the period of his hospitalization (the denouning part should immediately follows whatever fact was being portrayed, like the rest of your styling). Oh, almost forgetting, yet another fact: the King likes to eat shark fin soup. It was blatantly mentioned in a local Thai magazine, but I have yet to cite the source, however, don't forget to link it with Green Peace and Friends of the Earth entries as well. Oh, and one more fact that you guys seem to have blatantly missed out for this excellent article: Up until recent years, it was a customary practice for the King and members of his immediate family to collect petty cash donations directly from bystanders: The King would go hastily from one person to the next, fetching 10 Baht, 20 Baht, and (some) 100 Baht bank notes from hands of poor bystanders waiting to greet him outside the function halls. Finally, I can't believe that you guys missed out on this one: you mentioned about the rain making project initiated by the King, if you're a little bit of a scientist, you would have known that the process has been subjected to criticisms by environmentalists, as it sometimes, is considered as "Stealing Moisture" from neighboring countries, don't forget to add this one too. I'm sure that this will help to portray more facts and information about the King, making this article even more complete, detailed, updated, and accurate, which will make it even more valid of a candidate as a featured article. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 203.113.13.3 ( talk • contribs) .
I notice it has already achieved FA status. Congratulations to those editors who have worked hard on this article. Patiwat and Rlevse come to mind first, but congratulations to all. Anagnorisis 18:20, 6 September 2006 (UTC)
The king's official powers are defined by the Constitution of Thailand. However, the monarchy's constitutional powers were anything but static. The powers have fluctuated wildly depending on how palace-friendly and democracy-friendly the ruling government was, from the heights of the 1949 Constitution, which gave the King nearly complete control over the legislature, to the lows of the 1932 Temporary Charter, which made the monarch just a figure-head, to the ambiguity of the 1957 Charter, which gave Sarit absolute power, but made him an instrument of the throne. Your thoughts on Constitution of Thailand and suggestions on how some elements might contribute to Bhumibol Adulyadej would be most appreciated. Patiwat 05:02, 10 September 2006 (UTC)
From my perspective, current Wikipedia articles on Thailand's royal family reflect only current events and fail utterly to explain their role in contending with communism, fascism, elitism, racism and the more rapacious sort of capitalism, especially when contrasted with surrounding countries and Thailand's own past. A recent version of the opening paragraph of the article on King Bhumibol commented on his name at birth as "reflecting the fact that his mother was a commoner." No where is it mentioned that Their Majesties address the people of Thailand in common language, so plainly spoken that even I can understand it, rather than the artificial royal language in use since King Ramathibodi I. The second paragraph said, "Bhumibol was brought back to Thailand in 1928, after Prince Mahidol finished his medical study at Harvard University,” without a hint that the 'medical study' was in keeping with a family tradition of service to the nation. In mentioning the young Bhumibol's own studies scattered over the next 3 paragraphs, it said he "major[ed] in French literature, Latin, and Greek…, was studying science…, [and] switched over his field of study to Law and Political Science, to prepare him more effectively for his new position as ruler." Scattered as they are, these observations obscure the fact a “ruler”, who as constitutional figurehead was not destined to rule, was getting a very republican education, indeed. Several versions of the article have stated, “Bhumibol is immensely popular in Thailand, and is revered as a semi-divine figure by many Thais. Critics, mostly outside Thailand, attribute this status to the suppression of criticism of the monarchy.” Plus the image label, “Many public images of Bhumibol, such as this one outside the Danish Embassy, show him as many years younger than his current age, contributing to his cult-like status,” as if something rotten in Denmark were contributing to a conspiracy. This displays utter ignorance of the fact that veneration of a monarch is NOT “cult-like” but an actual, veritable cult due to the very nature of monarchy. This article and others on the royal family should, IMO, make it clear just how they have used their cultic status to advance interests of common people. King Ramathibodi had goods reasons to adopt a cult venerating his person as divine, but the present royal family, not just the King, have reversed this to give the king a common touch. Since there are obviously some of His Majesty’s family contributing as editors, I wish one of them would come up with an image of the king with a drop of sweat about to drip from his nose. This is one of the most popular pictures of the king ever made, and I have seen it enlarged to the point where the drop of sweat was the size of a VW bug. Lee 06:12, 15 September 2006 (UTC)PawYiLee
Lee:
Could these image taken recently be useful? One clearly show how modern Thailand (mcDo) is merged with traditional Monarchy
Although the article mentions King Bhumibol's complete ceremonial name, it does not elaborate at all on it. Since I don't speak a word of Thai I'm curious - what is the meaning of this long name? Do these words designate a function (similar to the "keeper of the faith, head of the Commonwealth" etc.. of Queen Elizabeth II for example) or are they honorary names - such as names of ancient Kings? Or something yet different? 128.2.229.114 17:41, 20 September 2006 (UTC)
Am I correct that this is quoted in many media as meaning that the political situation at that time was a mess? The way I read his statement is that asking the king to intervene in politics is a mess. Does anyone have more information regarding this. Maybe the complete original statement in Thai? Thai people maybe? Any information about his actual words about the current coup? It is said he supports the coup, but I'd like some more info, his actual words,? He announced on tv, a speach, what? How did the "Associated Press" get this statement from him?
Songkhla is spelled wrong in the article...it's spelled without the "h".
I'm adding back some long-standing content that seems to have been removed during the recent vandalism wars. Patiwat 21:18, 21 September 2006 (UTC)
Add syllable division marks (look like periods/full stops) between each syllable in the two names.
Also is a space character within the brackets (used here to indicate two different words) officially allowed in IPA -- or should the first and last names appear in separate brackets?
— Preceding unsigned comment added by 75.6.235.68 ( talk) 06:47, 25 September 2006 (UTC)
Please add this section somewhere in the article.
Note that this is my layman's understanding of the situation. Regarding my paragraph 2 especially, anyone who is an expert on issues of religious and royal Thai spelling and pronunciation, please correct if needed.
SECTION TITLE: Transliteration of the Monarch's Name
The strikingly unphonetic transliteration of the monarch's name found most typically in use, Bhumibol Adulyadej, is due to a complex phenomenon. The Thai writing system derives originally from the ancient Brahmi script used to write Sanskrit, and therefore Thai letters can, in the abstract, be viewed as also having the pronunciation of their Sanskrit equivalents.
While the monarch's name is always pronounced in its Thai form, the Sanskrit-derived transliteration Bhumibol Adulyadej is favored as a type of respectful formalism.
Using the official transliteration system of the Thai government, the Royal Thai General System of Transcription, the monarch's name would be rendered as Phumiphon Adunyaded -- much more comprehensible to the English speaker, except for the use of "ph" to represent an aspirated P (IPA [pʰ]) and not a fricative (IPA [f]) as in English.
Shouldn't there be any mentioning about the incidents during the night of September 19 (the day of the coup) with regards to the King? I've heard that the King had been in many dangerous situations in his life including a time when a bomb planted by Souther insurgents went off near his podium some decades ago. The Manager group have reported that on the night of September 19 was a time of grave danger for the King: It was the war--a race--between Mr. Thaksin's side and the King's side. News had it that Mr. Thaksin's side under the leadership of Gen. Ruaengroj Mahasaranond was planning to mobilise the troop in order to declare a state of emergency and also surround the palace in the process. It was said that they would then physically force the King to abdicate the throne in order to change the ruling system into a republic and hence assign Mr. Thaksin as the first President. If what Manager speculates is true, I would like to know why Mr. Thaksin would like to do that? Does he have a personal problem with the King or something? But I have heard that Mr. Thaksin hasn't been very nice to the King--not approving budget for new royal airplane, blocking budgets for royally initiated projects etc.-- 125.24.237.150 21:05, 29 September 2006 (UTC)Innocent Onlooker.
The article on Malietoa Tanumafili II of Samoa indicates he is the longest serving head of state in the world. Is there something I am missing that would make King Bhumibol the longest? Malietoa Tanumafili II is also listed as #1 in List of longest reigning current monarchs. -- Mishalak 20:19, 2 November 2006 (UTC)
If I am not mistaken, it has already over a month since the latest episode of heavy vandalism by unregistered users. Shouldn't we give it a try and have the semi-protection removed and see how it goes? Anagnorisis 04:37, 17 November 2006 (UTC)
I have added a short section on lèse majesté, as it has been applied to King Bhumibol. I have often been asked questions about this, and was a bit surprised to see that no mention in the article of lèse majesté in formal modern use with the current King. I've used several examples that I believe are illustrative: lèse majesté as censorship (Sulak Sivaraksa), lèse majesté to prevent misunderstands among foreigners (the French guy), and lèse majesté as a political tool (Thaksin/Sondhi). Patiwat 12:24, 12 December 2006 (UTC)
The Bangkok Post notes that the King pledged, "I will reign with righteousness for the benefit and happiness of the Siamese people," implying a personal statement. See here and here. However, the article claims that that was an Oath of Succession, implying a more formal and mandatory nature. So what exactly was it? Patiwat 17:28, 6 January 2007 (UTC)
A recent editor has added numerous images to the article. None of the images have copyright or source information, and they are probably copyrighted images. A large amount of nonsense text has also been added to the article (e.g., "The ceremony celebrated the King's birthday anniversary of Thai king begins in regnal of His majesty King Mongkut (Rama 4) since a king is stilling ordain have idea that when calculate day with using sun is standard When straight with the birthday will do make merits because he recall that olding until comes to a full year and don't die be luck abounds onely should is glad should make merits which , advantage old the self and others and restraint one's mind to carelessness location because..."). This is vandalism. The editor has been warned. Please be vigilant for further vandalism. Patiwat 09:26, 9 January 2007 (UTC)
at least on my side, using VLC to play the ogg file, the pronunciation guide to the name is incomplete (missing the first part of the name). Please verify. Janechii 10:01, 19 January 2007 (UTC)
Some helpful people on th.wikipedia figured out that the palace gave a CC 2.5 blanket license to all photographs of the King and royal family that palace staff has ever taken. So basically, every photograph of the King taken in the palace, as well as most non-palace photographs of him can be used freely. This is neat. I've added a few to the article. I think they have much more historical interest than just random photos of monuments and posters of him. Patiwat 20:24, 27 February 2007 (UTC)
Maybe this is the innopropriate place to ask this question, but why is the Thai King so highly valued? reading the book "The King Never Smiles", You really do wonder why he is so highy accredited, when he doesn't seem to do much at all. Stevo D 04:15, 21 March 2007 (UTC)
The fact that he's probably Thailand's greatest philanthropist might be a start... The King Never Smiles goes for pure politics I think. Suredeath 11:09, 23 March 2007 (UTC)
I see the word "king" is written with a capital K ("King") alot of times in this article but I think it is written with a lowercase k. Shall I change this? CheesePlease NL 09:28, 5 April 2007 (UTC)
It seems that the fair use AP photograph of the King is being deleted by an editor. I have therefore replaced the AP photograph with a cropped version of a 1999 public domain photograph. I wish I had a more recent photograph. Patiwat 23:51, 12 April 2007 (UTC)
I shortened and moved the YouTube controversy to Lèse majesté section for several reasons.
-- Melanochromis 18:42, 13 April 2007 (UTC)
I agree that the YouTube controversy fits nicely in the Lèse majesté section. Some media reporting may be hyped to certain extend but I do believe there are merits and encyclopedic values to keep this. After all, the youtube shutdown was done in the name of the king because of the Lèse majesté law. Just my 2 cents. – Kempton "Ideas are the currency of the future." - a quote by Kevin Roberts 18:50, 14 April 2007 (UTC)
Apparently the Bureau of the Royal Household allows use according to CC By-NC-ND 2.5, which Wikipedia does not accept. Also, the Copyright Act of B.E. 2537 states that governmental documents (specifically, ระเบียบ ข้อบังคับ ประกาศ คำสั่ง คำชี้แจง และหนังสือโต้ตอบของกระทรวง ทบวง กรม หรือหน่วยงานอื่นใดของรัฐหรือของท้องถิ่น and คำพิพากษา คำสั่ง คำวินิจฉัย และรายงานของทางราชการ) are ineligible for copyright. This likely does not include photographs and such works which do not constitute part of said documents. Paul_012 ( talk) 20:46, 19 April 2007 (UTC)
Ref 66 doesn't seem to show up. Please look into it. Thanks -- Jutiphan | Talk - 21:04, 21 May 2007 (UTC)
There's been a comment on List of people who have been considered deities about this person, and I don't see it clearly in this article, is this man considered by people to be a deity, something really really close to a deity, or what? I don't have this page on my watchlist, so if anyone wants to reply, it might be best to respond on the talk page of the list, i've been sorting out a few other people who've been named as well. Homestarmy 16:20, 6 June 2007 (UTC)
Although this article does mention Bhumibol Adulyadej's accomplishments in music, if fails to mention his instrument! According to a book I have, "Bhumibol Adulyadej...plays saxophone in his own jazz combo" (The Art of Money, David Standish, pg. 38). Is this info correct, and if so, should it be implemented? -- MosheA 03:18, 17 July 2007 (UTC)
Page has been protected due to a few week long edit war over above image. Discuss it here first rather than warring over the image's inclusion. Also see Wikipedia:Suspected sock puppets/CenturyRain, Administrators's noticeboard, and Wikipedia:Requests for checkuser/Case/FlamingSpear. Rlevse 20:03, 31 July 2007 (UTC)
Yellow is associated with Monday on the Thai solar calendar. Anyone may wear yellow on Mondays, and anyone born on a Monday may adopt yellow as their color. The best-known personage associated with this colour is the current king, Bhumibol Adulyadej. Ever since the political crisis of 2005-2006, during the events of the 2006 Thai coup d'état, in honor of the 60th anniversary of his accession to the throne and continuing until his 80th birthday celebration on December 5, 2007, Thailand has been a veritable sea of Yellow as the people of Thailand show support for their king. Pawyilee 09:44, 1 August 2007 (UTC)
Royal standards have a background of saffron (color) because it is a sacred. Buddhist monks in the Theravada tradition typically wear saffron robes. Theravada temple flags are saffron and resemble King Bhumpol's, execpt for the design at the centre -- for practical purposes saffron is indistinguishable from yellow. Quite different the design of King Bhumipol's personal flag is that of the Thai King's royal standard. Thai royal standards should remain the same for future kings and queens of Thailand, though their personal flags should continue to be monograms on their birthday colours; we'll just have to wait and see. Pawyilee ( talk) 09:44, 3 July 2009 (UTC)
The article currently contains the word honorary spelled as honourary in the following part:
Bhumibol, who serves as head of The National Scout Organization of Thailand, was presented the Bronze Wolf award on 20 June 2006, World Organization of the Scout Movement's highest award, for his support and development of Scouting in Thailand by Carl XVI Gustav, King of Sweden and Honourary President of the World Scout Foundation. The presentation took place at Chitralada Palace in Thailand and was witnessed by Chairman of the World Scout Committee Herman Hui.[54]
um drums 19:45, 9 August 2007 (UTC)
Can we get a screen shot of the youtube clip? Or maybe the paint vandalism in the Lèse majesté section? Seems a little drab for a section about images. JeffBurdges 13:58, 20 September 2007 (UTC)
"Adulyadej" is not His family name. Members of the Royal Family of Thailand have no family name. Adulyadej is a part of His name: Bhumibol Adulyadej (ภูมิพลอดุลยเดช, pronounced as Phum-mi-phon-a-dun-ya-det); and for full name (one may call "ceremonial name") is as shown in the article, or as follows:
Facts:
Therefore:
The name of the king's proposed theory is literally translated as "Self-Sufficiency Philosophy". However, literally translation, word by word, would never be a good translation. The King's proposal cannot be classified as an economic philosophy since it lacks the total explanation regard the proper arrangement of resources in a given economic system. For example, capitalism, socialism, and communism are all REAL economic philosophies. The King's proposal can only be a theory waitting to be proved of its usefulness. A political sciencetist, Keven Hewison, call this: Localism in Thailand. In addition, the article in Wikipededia itself calls this theory as Localism in Thailand. It is important to call and classified it correctly for the purpose of avoiding any confusion among foreigners and Thais. Any objection? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Historianscholar ( talk • contribs) 10:41, 20 May 2008 (UTC)
Why are we theorizing? The newspapers call it self-sufficiency economics, even the UN calls it self-sufficiency economics. Right or wrong, that's what we should use in Wikipedia. Patiwat ( talk) 03:33, 27 June 2008 (UTC)
it says december 5, 1927...so should he NOT be 81? it SAYS 80 but i'm not idiot and i did the math and its 81 soo....can someone see what's up with this? Duhhitsminerva ( talk) 06:22, 7 July 2008 (UTC)