The leaders of Asia are coming down with a collective case of ego-mania. Well, that's not true, they've probably always been ego-maniacs, but they suddenly seem to think its ok to impose their egos on the rest of us. After all the problems now with Thaksin sueing people, it seems Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen may ask for Thaksin's help in oppressing Cambodian journalists.

I tell you what, if I have to hear one more Prime Minister refer to activists as "troublemakers", I might scream. Someone needs to give these guys a clue. Communications technology is a lot more advanced than it was in the heyday of Asian dictators 30 years ago. They can't presume to tell other countries that these are 'internal affairs' or that these are isolated incidents or individuals causing trouble. We are well aware that people are collectively protesting the lawsuits and restrictions on free speech. It is not the US or the UN telling them to respect people's rights, it is their own people.

They also seem to be suffering under the delusion that outsiders defending the rights of the people as enshrined in their constitutions is 'meddling in internal affairs', but their neighbor's cooperation in the oppression of citizens outside their borders is not.

Wise up, guys. The media isn't going anywhere, and every effort you make to suppress or frighten it, only serves to make you look petty and whingey. Suck it up, you're leaders of democratic nations, if you want respect, then act respectable.