<p><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">MPs the world over, as we all know, are terribly overworked and underpaid servants of their constituents, constantly striving for the betterment of their voters and the nation as a whole, with no thought of personal gain or glory.&nbsp;And nowhere more so than in the Mother of Parliaments at Westminster.</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">Electoral Commissioner Sodsri Sattayatham has revealed that at an attempt to register a socialist party in Thailand has been foiled by the vigilance of the EC.&nbsp;She said a &ldquo;socialist&rdquo; party could be defined as a &ldquo;communist&rdquo; party, and the commission ruled that the name may violate democracy.</span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p> <p><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">Conventional wisdom has it that one of the besetting failings of Thai democracy has been the failure to develop strong political parties.&nbsp;<br /> </span></span></p>

<p>&nbsp;The Nation, 21 April 2009:<br /> The government will launch a publicity campaign at home and abroad to counter the propaganda of the red shirts, PM&rsquo;s Office Minister Satit Wongnongtoey said on Tuesday.&nbsp;&ldquo;The media war will be designed to counter the smear campaign of the red shirts and explain the true situation to the international community,&rdquo; he said.</p>

<p>Instant charges have been laid against the UDD leadership (whereas the PAD leaders have suffered months of torment waiting to know what they will be chargedwith) and some of them are being held without bail (whereas the PAD leaders have the worry of having to walk about in public places not knowing what dangers lurk out there).&nbsp;</p>

<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: &quot;Tahoma&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;;">First, a disclaimer. Our young, good-looking, English-educated Prime Minister has a Masters Degree in economics from Oxford, whereas your columnist, er, &hellip; well, I&rsquo;m English-educated.<span> <br /> </span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size: 10pt">An unconfirmed April 1^st report in Matichon says that foreigners in Thailand must seek prior permission from the Ministry of Culture if they intend to post material on a website while they are in Thailand.<span>&nbsp; </span>This new regulation also covers contributions to an internet forum or blog.</span></p>

<p><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: &quot;Tahoma&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">HIV/AIDS organizations around the world have reacted with predictable outrage and incredulity at the Pope&rsquo;s latest comments on the use of condoms as a way of preventing HIV infections.</span></p>

<p><font face="tahoma,arial,helvetica,sans-serif" size="2">The endlessly repeated question put by the media to the captains of industry, business leaders and government economic ministers is &lsquo;When will the current global economic crisis end?&rsquo;</font><font face="tahoma,arial,helvetica,sans-serif" size="2"> <br /></font></p>

<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="tahoma,arial,helvetica,sans-serif" size="2"><span style="font-size: 10pt">Another year passes.<span> </span></span></font><font face="tahoma,arial,helvetica,sans-serif" size="2"><span style="font-size: 10pt">5 years on and Somchai Neelapaichit remains disappeared.<span> </span>Another round of commemorations and calls for resolution, for justice, for an end to impunity.<span> </span>This law should be changed; this treaty should be ratified; these gross errors and defects in the investigation process should be put right.</span></font></p>

<p><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: &quot;Tahoma&quot;,&quot;sans-serif&quot;">A decision by the Administrative Court that found that the Ministry of Industry acted &lsquo;unlawfully&rsquo; has sent shivers down the backs of a number of other Ministries.</span></p>

<p><span style="font-size: 10pt">An inadvertent slip by a middle-ranking member of the new Obama administration may throw the US economy into a tailspin.</span></p>