<p>If you saw a newspaper article written by a farmer telling the bankers of this nation how they could improve the way they do business, what would your reaction be?</p>

<p>The story goes like this.&nbsp;Two English judges went out for a bicycle ride and a few drinks at the village pub.&nbsp;They had a few more than they intended and the journey home was giggly and wobbly.&nbsp;Until PC Plod interrupted their jollies with the observation that they were riding without lights.&nbsp;Both were summoned to appear in court.</p>

<p>So the Good Leaders of ASEAN, the same people who thought it better for them to approve the ASEAN Charter before the people of ASEAN could even see it, have agreed on an ASEAN Human Rights Body.&nbsp;And like all new bodies that arrive in this world, this baby comes with no teeth.</p>

<p><div>I don&rsquo;t know how I keep getting the wrong end of stick, but I thought cramming schools were so-called on account of what they tried to do to their students&rsquo; heads.&nbsp;You know, at no little expense, cram them full of all the things they should have been crammed with for free at their regular schools.</div> </p>

<p>So hats off to iLaw for giving Thais the chance to say what laws they want, and what they want scrapped. And are we surprised that in the first flush of enthusiasm, much of the discussion concerns the l&egrave;se majest&eacute; and cybercrime laws?</p>

<p>The arrest last month of the board of the Foreign Correspondents Club of Thailand on a charge of l&egrave;se majest&eacute; continues to have repercussions.</p>

<p>&nbsp;Chaovarat Chanweerakul, Minister of Interior and proxy leader of the Bhum Jai Thai party while the real leader idles his way through 5 years of political exile, gave 2000 baht to an old woman in Sakon Nakhon earlier this month.&nbsp;And landed himself in hot water.</p>

<p>The Mass Media Photographers Association of Thailand has given its award for Best Photo of the Year to a photograph taken by Thai Rath&rsquo;s crime reporter Prasith Niwesthong during the Songkran violence.</p>

<p><div>One aspect of the Tak Bai inquest that I ignored last week concerned the judges who gave the verdict.&nbsp;Press reports described them as &lsquo;youthful&rsquo;.</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>You see, in many judicial systems, getting to be a judge takes a while.&nbsp;Normally you first have to prove your worth as a lawyer and then, in riper years, with a proven reputation for mature judgement, you may ascend to the bench.</div> <div>&nbsp;</div>

<p><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">The verdict in the inquest on the Tak Bai case has set new standards of Thai jurisprudence.</span></span></p> <p><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">A quick recap for those who only listen to what the government want them to hear. </span></span></p>

<p>I&rsquo;m not quite sure why he should choose the week when the North Koreans stuck two fingers up against the rest of the world (one finger for an underground nuclear test, the second finger for firing more missiles). But PAD leader Phipob Thongchai has decided to borrow part of the policy of the new green PAD party from Pyongyang, of all places.</p> <p>Phipob says he wants to adopt the idea that every citizen has a plot of land to make a living from.</p>

<p><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">Many farangs have figured out that the patron-client system is one of the more important pieces of glue that holds Thai society together. Unfortunately, this valuable insight is spoiled by a misunderstanding of how exactly this glue adheres.</span></span></p>