"Foreign Journalist" "Attacked" (Again) is Well Known Pro-Thaksin Propagandist

Image: Nostitz is a notorious pro-Thaksin propagandist, not a journalist.

May 8, 2014 (Tony Cartalucci - ATN) - Once again, self-proclaimed "journalist" Nick Nostitz claims to have been attacked by anti-regime protesters, the second such incident he has been found in the middle of. It should be noted that such incidents are extremely rare, and in over 180 days of ongoing, peaceful protests, Nick Nostitz is the only "foreign journalist" to claim abuse at the hands of anti-regime protesters.
The Foreign Correspondents' Club of Thailand claimed regarding the incident that:

The latest incident occurred on Wednesday 7 May outside the Constitutional Court during coverage of a crucial verdict against the former prime minister, Yingluck Shinawatra. It was the second attack in six months on German photojournalist Nick Nostitz, and again involved guards attached to the People's Democratic Reform Committee (PDRC). 

While the FCCT attempts to portray such incidents as a regular occurence, they failed to cite one other example, aside from Nick Nostitz' first incident in November, 2013. That Nick Nostitz is once again in the center of such an incident should come as no surprise. He in fact, is not actually a journalist, but admittedly pro-regime and engages in editorial commentary, not journalism. 

This is admitted even by his own colleges, including Pravit Rojanaphruk of Thailand's "The Nation" English newspaper. Pravit in an article titled, "View from the red shore," which praised and promoted one of Nostitz' books, admits Nostitz is "sympathetic" to the red shirts - red shirts being the title given to supporters of deposed Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, whose sister, Yingluck Shinawatra was until now, sitting in for him as Thailand's Prime Minster (for more background information, see here).

The FCCT which rushed to Nostitz' defense, is likewise not in any way an impartial organization, with its board of directors a representation of corporate-financier media interests active across Asia Pacific, from Australia's ABC, AFP, Associated Press, PricewaterhouseCoopers, and GlobalPost, and its activities in Thailand in particular, a veiled assault on its ancient institutions through conferences attacking Section 112 of Thailand's Constitution.

That foreign corporate media interests are attacking Thailand's Constitution to the benefit of deposed Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra should come as no surprise. Thaksin Shinawatra is the beneficiary of an extensive Western corporate lobbying campaign stretching back as far as 2006 and continuing until today. The goal is to establish a proxy government headed by Thaksin Shinawatra, which would then open Thailand up to Wall Street and London at the expense of Thailand's sovereignty and economic stability.

Nostitz is regularly featured on, and affiliated with, US State Department-funded Prachatai, so often that he has a whole category dedicated to his name. He is also associated with Australia's National University's "New Mandala" blog maintained by crypto-lobbyist Andrew Walker. The blog itself is a clearinghouse for corporate subsidized talking points regarding Southeast Asia and is tied to the corporate-financier funded Lowy Institute. Some "contributing writers" even include Thaksin Shinawatra's hired lobbyist, Robert Amsterdam. That Nostitz' biased slant is featured side-by-side with corporate lobbyists working directly for Thaksin Shinawtra lay to rest any debate over whether or not he is a "journalist." He most certainly is not.

Looking for Trouble

Current protests against the proxy government of Wall Street-backed Thaksin Shinawatra have lasted months and have now grown to unprecedented proportions with at times, hundreds of thousands of protesters taking to the streets. Until now, and with so many people on the streets, there have been no incidents (aside from pro-regime militants attacking the unarmed protesters). Readers must ask themselves what the chances are that this is only the second incident of unprovoked violence by the protesters - and both incidents just so happened to involve a compromised, dishonest pro-government propagandist, masquerading as a "journalist" and attempting to move among protesters he openly opposes? 

The chances are slim. What is more likely is that Nostitz and his affiliates intended to tarnish the protests and hinder their momentum by creating a minor incident and leveraging their foreign supporters' pull in the international press to blow the incident out of proportion.

The likes of Nostitz and all that he orbits with around Thaksin Shinwatra and his foreign backers, must be watched with vigilance. When these characters use poor judgement and approach anti-regime protests, protest leaders must ensure professional security personal are able to escort them away from the potential trouble they seek to create as quickly as possible. They must also be quick to present their side of the story, in both Thai and more importantly, in English, before Nostitz' powerful employers propagate their narrative first.

Wall Street's geopolitical aspirations have seen a series of stunning setbacks from Egypt and Syria, to Malaysia, and now in the streets of Bangkok where their once unassailable proxy, Thaksin Shinawatra, faces an irreversible existential threat. What measures they are willing to take to salvage their crumbling holdings remains to be seen, but they should not be underestimated.

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