<p>1. 52 unmarried Malaysian couples were arrested by Malaysia&rsquo;s Islamic morality police in hotel rooms in Selangor and charged with khalwat (close proximity). The police scheduled the raid for 1 January because they knew such celebrations would be going on. Perhaps this year, couples will have crossed the border into Thailand where such shenanigans go unpunished.</p>

<p>So you think you know the news? The following quiz on world events over the past year is carefully designed to deflate any such pretensions. As in previous years, this competition is not open to employees of Prachatai (so that they do not suffer the ignominy of exposing their ignorance). Questions are given in chronological order of the events they refer to, as if that helps.</p>

<p>Harrison George wishes to apologize for the irregular appearance of this column over the past few weeks. This has been caused by an unwise decision to visit foreign (and frozen) parts and the ensuing problem of frostbite attacking the extremities (hands, feet, nose, occipital lobe, etc.).</p>

<p>&nbsp;The collapse of the two cases against the Democrats on procedural technicalities has caused some consternation among police and judicial officials. There is growing concern that future prosecutions may be jeopardized by the failure to follow due process in the strictest possible manner.</p>

<p>&nbsp;While the world&rsquo;s attention has been focussed on the steady outpouring of secret and confidential US State Department cables from the Wikileaks website, Prachatai has come across a similar treasure trove from the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs.</p>

<p>Chaos has been caused by the latest pronouncement by the Centre for the Resolution of Emergency Situation (CRES) (Legislative Branch) banning the &lsquo;possession or distribution of any goods, clothing, or other materials which bear pictures, illustrations or anything that will instigate unrest or cause disunity among the public.&rsquo;</p>

<p>&nbsp;Welcome everyone to this latest Media Training Session for Foreign Ministry Officials. If I could quickly recap, in previous sessions we have dealt with selecting members of the media with whom it would be useful to develop connections, or &lsquo;Who to Woo&rsquo; [quiet chuckle]. And then what clothing is appropriate for photo ops, or &lsquo;Dress for the Press&rsquo; [self-satisfied smile].</p> <p>So today we move on to what to say to the media and we are going to use as a model the interview given by His Excellency the Minister to the Bangkok Post at the APEC meeting.</p>

<p>&nbsp;14 January 2011</p> <p>The uploading on to YouTube of the 17th set of videos from the &lsquo;ohmygod3009&rsquo; source has followed the pattern set by previous clips over the past 4 months which purport to show corruption or improper behaviour inside the Constitutional Court.</p>

<p>&nbsp;So we have pictures and videos, that may or may not be legit, purporting to show:</p> <p>(a) interference in the workings of the judiciary by the Privy Council;</p> <p>(b) highly questionable discussions between a Constitutional Court official and an MP on the legal team of the ruling Democrat Party on a pending case that could lead to the dissolution of the party and banning from politics of, among others, the Prime Minister;</p> <p>(c) discussions among judges about how to avoid giving a verdict against the government and how to avoid criticisms of double standards if they do;</p>

<p>Here we go again. Not content with telling us what we can and cannot do (I thought we had a government to do that) Army Commander-in-Chief Gen Prayuth Chan-ocha takes time from his undoubtedly busy schedule to explain Thai society for us.</p>

<p>The decision of the Administrative Court in the case of Khunying Jaruvan Maintaka seems to put a conclusive end to a remarkable tenure as Auditor-General. Or perhaps not.</p>

<p>National jubilation as stranded pedestrians are reunited with their families after 69-day ordeal.</p> <p>Thailand erupted in an outburst of collective joy yesterday when the last of 33 pedestrians was safely escorted across Sukhumwit Road in an operation that proceeded with astonishing efficiency. There had been fears that the rescue would take much longer, leaving the &lsquo;klum sam-sip sam&rsquo; in a never-ending traffic limbo with their relatives and friends waiting anxiously on the far side of the street.</p>