<p>‘The European Union has requested full protection on its investments in Thailand in exchange for extending favours to Thai businesses under the proposed Thai-EU Free Trade Agreement (FTA).’ (Bangkok Post, 21 September 2013)</p> <p>Something doesn’t add up here.</p> <p></p>

<p>The recent spike in lèse majesté cases seems likely to continue, the majority being brought by private individuals with a variety of motives.&nbsp; An accusation brought by TV talk show host Pontipa Supatnukul has, for example, triggered a chain reaction of similar accusations.</p> <p></p>

<p>Police arriving one year late at an early-morning traffic accident on Sukhumwit Road found an unusual scene.</p> <p>A car appeared to have slammed at high speed into a police motorcycle, killing the Police Sergeant Major riding it, and dragging his body for a city block.&nbsp; A trail of leaking oil led to a house on nearby Thong Lo where police found a Ferrari FF with signs of having recently being involved in a serious accident.</p> <p></p>

<p><span>The Cabinet has passed a resolution on a code of conduct for public service vehicles.&nbsp; And I am sure we all agree that such a thing is overdue, what with trains derailing by the day and minivans crashing at high speed, all the way down to more everyday problems such as having to jump from buses in the fast lane and negotiate 2 lanes of Bangkok traffic to find the safety of the pavement.&nbsp;</span></p> <p></p>

<p>One day after the British Parliament humbled Prime Minister David Cameron with a rejection of his plans to join military action against Syria, the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office issued a travel advisory.&nbsp; It warns UK citizens in Thailand and elsewhere to ‘be vigilant and avoid any protests or demonstrations’ because of ‘an increased risk of anti-western sentiment linked to the possibility of military action in Syria’.</p> <p>Acting on a tipoff, Prachatai arranged a clandestine meeting with a representative of the Bangkok Embassy about why this warning was issued.&nbsp; The representative gave the interview under conditions of anonymity and an umbrella amidst the rain-swept construction site on the Embassy grounds.</p> <p></p>

<p>The Courts of Justice are facing the quandary of a new legal tactic by defence lawyers.&nbsp; Known informally as the ‘Democrat Defence’, this strategy, it is feared, may lead to an unacceptably large proportion of not guilty verdicts in criminal cases.</p> <p>In the ‘Democrat Defence’, criminal cases are presented in a way that absolves the direct perpetrator of any responsibility for his or her actions.&nbsp; This is instead placed on some other party, often the victim.&nbsp;</p> <p></p>

<p>The long-delayed report of the National Human Rights Commission into the violence in April and May 2010 has finally been released. Ho-hum.</p> <p>While some commentators believe that the release was timed to distract public opinion from other matters like the Amnesty Bill, this seems a feeble argument. First, because of leaked drafts, its content was very much as expected.</p> <p></p>

<p>I recently had the opportunity to view a training film on gender relations in Thailand.&nbsp; Produced by a government agency, it adopted the format of a domestic drama, with acting and dialogue as dire as any Thai soap.</p> <p></p>

<p>The so-called Worst Interview Ever, though recently yanked from YouTube, can still be found with a bit of googling.&nbsp; In it, Fox News Religion Correspondent Lauren Green attempts to interview Reza Aslan about his book, <em>Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth</em> (now a best-seller largely thanks to her ineptness as an interviewer).&nbsp;</p>

<p>Acharn Thongchai <a href="http://sydney.edu.au/southeast-asia-centre/thai-studies-2014/speakers.shtml">Winichakul</a> was butchering more sacred cows this week at the opening of Thammasat University’s Southeast Asian Studies Institute, as <a href="http://prachatai.com/english/node/3649">reported on this website</a>. &nbsp;</p> <p>A parochial focus on a ‘royal nationalism’ to the neglect of neighbouring cultures and societies not only makes for some appalling history teaching in the Thai education system, he argued, but also distorts the Thais’ view of themselves vis-à-vis the rest of the world.&nbsp; From it flow such comforting fictions as this thing called Thainess, where you have to be it to get it.&nbsp; So only Thais can understand Thais and the rest of the world is automatically inferior because they can’t.</p> <p></p>

<p>I would hate anyone to think this column was kicking a man when he is down, but the administrators of Chulalongkorn University (‘we’re number one in pink’) have once again shown a tenuous grasp of what might constitute education.</p> <p></p>

<p>Nothing matches the outrage of the privileged middle class when they think they have a grievance.&nbsp;</p> <p>Can’t cash in your frequent flyer miles for the trip you fancy?&nbsp; A violation of fundamental human rights.&nbsp; No English-language soundtrack for the Thai TV broadcast of the sports programme you’ve been waiting for?&nbsp; Blatant discrimination against the linguistically challenged.&nbsp; All strings pulled and the munchkin still can’t get into the primary school of choice?&nbsp; The end of civilization as we know it.&nbsp;</p> <p></p>