<p>&nbsp;So we&rsquo;ve all had a smug smirk about the purported link between suppressing sexual urges and playing football advanced by NIETS. NIETS is one of these outfits whose name slowly drifts into absurdity. OK, it is National; but it gives the word Institute something of a bad name; it has clear difficulties understanding what might be Educational; its competence in Testing is a joke; and the Service it provides appears to be counterproductive.</p>

<p>&nbsp;The accepted reaction among BBC newsreaders to the Greek sovereign debt crisis seems to be that of exasperated parents faced with a stroppy six-year-old. They are clearly bored to tears with an endlessly repeated tale of austerity measures, riots, stalled negotiations and bail-outs. And back to the top and start again.</p>

<p>Another victim of state violence in 2010, Mr. Thanuthat Assawasirimankong, aka &ldquo;Uncle Kim&rdquo;, passed away yesterday after almost two years of pains and immovability. He died of the excessive use of force by the Abhisit government that has led to many unnecessary deaths. He had just recovered from cancer and was celebrating this good news with his family when the shooting happened.</p>

<p>Accusing America&rsquo;s single-most important ally in Southeast Asia of unwarranted interference in the affairs of the United States may sound a bit strong. And especially so in this age of official apologies and expressions of regret at offending those with whom we Americans maintain diplomatic relations.</p>

<p>The 2011 floods that ravaged one-quarter of Thailand have not, surprisingly, adversely affected overall rice production. That should be good news for the government. Since rice has become one of the most politicized commodities, keeping rice farmers happy has also become a policy priority. But the Yingluck administration is facing a rough road ahead with its flagship rice mortgage scheme, partially because of the programme&rsquo;s popularity but also because it is not likely to be sustainable given short-term market conditions.</p>

<p>On 17 February 2012, Thailand&rsquo;s Deputy Prime Minister General Yuthasak Sasiprapa offered two observations, both ill-founded, unfounded and confounded. Despite an international body stating Thailand was a great place to launder money, the general says &ldquo;Ain&rsquo;t so!&rdquo; As well, despite Sukumvit Soi 71 being littered with bomb debris and shadows of cleaned-away blood, he also insists that there is no concrete evidence that the Valentine&rsquo;s Day Iranian bomber attacks were acts of terror.</p>

<p>&nbsp;The scene: an upstairs room in a non-descript house on a side soi in suburban Bangkok. The date: Valentine&rsquo;s Day 2012. A training session is in process.</p>

<p>Thai authorities should &quot;vigorously pursue perpetrators of hate speech directed at Nitirat and other peaceful critics,&quot; say Amnesty International (AI). </p>

<p>A shadowy figure identified only by the acronym HG has been behind all the political turmoil in Thailand, including unconstitutional statements from the military, dubious court verdicts and anything that Deputy Prime Minister Chalerm Yubamrung might say or do. This was all a plot to create mass insanity in the country so that he could continue writing satirical articles about Thailand.</p>

<p>&nbsp;Much has been made of the decision announced by Dr. Somkit Lertpaithoon, Rector of Thammasat University, on his FaceBook page that the Nitirat group was banned from using university premises for their campaign to amend Article 112 of the Criminal Code (the l&egrave;se majest&eacute; law). As with other contentious decisions in Thai politics the rationale given for the decision is perhaps deliberately opaque.</p>

<p>(* Juvenal, Satires. &lsquo;But who will guard the guardians themselves?&rsquo;. Alternative Georgian translation: &lsquo;But what protection will the protection get?&rsquo;</p> <p>The government, military and right-wing groups have been taken aback by the generally negative reaction to Article 112 bis, recently enacted by parliament.</p>

<p>It is true that the majority of Thai people love the monarchy. But there may be some sectors that do not love the monarchy. This is understandable and not out of the ordinary. We should be able to accept the divergent feelings of people in society.</p>