<p>The recent televised debates between three of the red shirt leaders and a government team led by the Prime Minister have been widely hailed as a step forward in Thai political debate.</p>

<p>An understanding should have been made among the red shirts beforehand that this is not &lsquo;the last battle&rsquo;, and the goal should have been to sound out their opponents. &nbsp; The red shirts should be aware of the fact that their force, which has just been rebuilt after the devastating defeat during Songkran last year, is not yet strong enough to finish the war once and for all.</p>

<p>The ongoing red shirt demonstrations have started using the words &lsquo;ammat&rsquo; and &lsquo;phrai&rsquo;, previously found in the history books or obscure sociological theorizing. Their re-emergence has caused a great deal of confusion among Thais, as can be seen by Prachatai&rsquo;s bulging inbox.</p>

<p>It is generally recognized that the Thai media upholds the strictest standards of responsible journalism and this has been well attested in the coverage of the red shirt rally that continues today.</p>

<p>(14 March 2010)&nbsp;It is hard to know what is going on in a town like Bangkok. Like everyone else, I was curious what was really going on with the Red Shirt rally. The tourism authority is saying everything is fine, but you should stay away from Sanam Luang, Khao San Road, and even Victory Monument. If you don&rsquo;t mind knowing the news a day after it happens, then the Bangkok Post and Nation are great.&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p> <p>On 12 March, the red shirts began their rally at 6 spots around Bangkok. &nbsp;They chose to perform major rituals at two places which have significant political implications for their struggle; the Laksi Circle and the King Taksin Monument.</p>

<p>Working on the well-tested principle that a good scorer always beats a good player, the Burmese military government has started drafting the laws governing the elections scheduled for later this year. In fact, they may have drafted the laws long ago and they are just getting round to letting information about them dribble out</p>

<p>Thai authorities have much to fear these days. Wayward grenades, throngs of red-shirts, multi-million Baht acquisitions of bogus military equipment - and that&rsquo;s just from this weekend&rsquo;s paper. But have no fear, Thailand&rsquo;s stewards are hard at work defending us from the most serious of strategic threats: the 69 year old sister of His Holiness, the 14th Dalai Lama.</p>

<p>Amid the cheers over the seizure of Thaksin&rsquo;s assets, Somchai Preechasilpakul of <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Midnight</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">University</st1:placetype></st1:place> points to the need to make all political elites accountable, not merely a particular group of politicians.</p>

<p>The Thai military insist on using the discredited empty plastic box and laminated cardboard sold to them as the GT200 bomb and drugs detection device for nigh on a million a pop. Their argument is that they currently have no alternative equipment and so have to use the GT200 because it is &lsquo;better than nothing&rsquo;. Or at least until the government gives them additional budget to buy replacement devices, which, they warn, will be much more expensive.</p>

<p>There has been much speculation as to why the Thai military insist on using the GT200 pseudo-bomb-detector, when the Ministry of Science and Technology has run a test that proved it is ineffective. The device has since been disassembled to reveal that it is no more than an empty plastic box and a telescopic car aerial, and its &lsquo;pre-programmed cards&rsquo; are un-programmable bits of laminated paper.</p>

<p><strong>Tale Number One: Germany, just over 100 years ago.</strong></p> <p>Wilhelm von Osten, a mathematics teacher and amateur horse trainer, owned a horse called Hans. And he combined his two jobs by training his horse in mathematics. And very successfully.</p>