<p>It&rsquo;s one thing for these ridiculous populist policies to spend government money on all and sundry, whether they deserve decent health care or not.&nbsp; But it&rsquo;s quite another when they start telling private businesses to start shelling out and, horror of horrors, propose a whopping increase in the minimum wage.</p> <p>Let&rsquo;s just get a few things straight about this minimum wage.&nbsp; </p>

<p>According to the recent ruling of the Constitutional Court in relation to the case of Daranee Charnchoengsilpakul, the answer to this question is yes. While further information about the ruling and its implications will unfold over the next few days and weeks, a few preliminary observations are in order. </p>

<p>The Thai government won a landmark ruling this week at the International Tribunal for Compensation and Arbitration at The Hague, in a long-running case filed by Somchai Khoyuthitham, Wanida Songmathrathan and 63,537,248 other Thais.</p>

<p>With the overwhelming win of the Pheu Thai Party in the July 3 elections and as Yingluck Shinawatra is headed to become the first ever female Prime Minister in Thailand, it is eerie to see the parallels between the recent developments in Thailand&rsquo;s political history centered around the figure of Thaksin Shinawatra and the period of the late General Juan Domingo Peron&rsquo;s influence in Argentina, particularly during the 1960&rsquo;s and 70&rsquo;s.</p>

<p>You wouldn&rsquo;t perhaps guess this from looking at the streets of Bangkok, but Thailand does have traffic rules. The rather bemused Dutch gentleman who I recently assisted at Lumpini Police Station where he arrived carrying a traffic ticket, was not convinced.</p>

<p>OK, I&rsquo;ve called this special editorial meeting so that we can all make sure this newspaper doesn&rsquo;t go the same way as the News of the World and &hellip;</p> <p>Excuse me, sir, but who is that?</p> <p>Ah, glad you asked.&nbsp; Let me introduce, er, Tu. &nbsp;</p> <p>(The meeting turns to look at a dishevelled bespectacled figure crouched over an i-Pad.) &nbsp;</p>

<p><em>The article was first printed in Senathipat (Vol. 59, No. 3, September-December 2010), an academic journal published by the Centre of Doctrine and Strategic Development, Army Training Command, and written by an army officer under the pen name Chief Khuang, a Chulachomklao Royal Military Academy Cadet Class 32 (Infantry Regiment).</em></p>

<p>The scene is the campaign headquarters of A Certain Party.&nbsp; With just days to go to the election, they are heading for defeat even by their own polls.&nbsp; Things haven&rsquo;t been going their way.</p>

<p>I wonder if anyone in this country can claim they are totally innocent and purely committed to peace. For me, the Democrat Party rally crowd on 23 June is an example of this.</p> <p>Out of the four speakers on the stage in front of Central World, Suthep Thaugsuban, the Democrat Party Secretary-General who also happens to be the country&rsquo;s Deputy Prime Minister, seemed to have the most interesting information to share (although I&rsquo;m not sure about its authenticity).&nbsp; </p>

<p>Hate speech used to be a compound noun meaning, according to Wikipedia, &ldquo;Hate speech is, outside the law, any communication that disparages a person or a group on the basis of some characteristic such as race, gender, ethnicity, nationality, religion, sexual orientation, or other characteristic In law, hate speech is any speech, gesture or conduct, writing, or display which is forbidden because it may incite violence or prejudicial action against or by a protected individual or group, or because it disparages or intimidates a protected individual or group.</p>

<p>&nbsp;Some ideas are too good to let go.</p> <p>Col Saksit Phuklan, who has graciously condescended to turn himself in only 10 days after the incident (if indeed he was involved in the first place), has denied deliberately driving his car at Maj Hathaiporn Imwitthaya, putting her into a coma. He didn&rsquo;t even accidentally hit her. It was the victim who inflicted her injuries on herself by throwing herself at his car, he says, defying eyewitness accounts and the CCTV footage. So what blame can be attached to him?</p>

<p>The Crown Property Bureau (CPB) released its 2010 Annual Report (downloadable <a href="http://www.crownproperty.or.th/th/main.php">here</a>). The report&rsquo;s postscript particularly challenges the report by Forbes magazine which claims His Majesty the King of Thailand is the richest monarch in the world. It is well known that Forbes&rsquo;s asset appraisal includes &ldquo;crown property&rdquo; under the charge of the CPB. In essence, the postscript of the report says:</p>