<p>&nbsp;<i>[The scene: The gate of the Embassy of Nicaragua in a quiet soi in a leafy suburb of Bangkok. It is 2 am.]</i>&nbsp; Who eez there?</p> <div>&nbsp;</div>

<p>Thank you, thank you please, if I can just call to order this joint meeting of the Committee to Promote the Confidence and Image of Thailand, the Steering Committee of Volunteers to Protect Justice, the Protect the Institution &ndash; Calm-Peace-Solidarity Campaign Committee, the Management Committee of the <a href="http://www.ilovethailand.org/">www.ilovethailand.org</a> website, and the Moderation Society High Command.</p>

<p>It has been a difficult couple of weeks for the national security watchdogs in the Ministry of Interior. First they attempted to stop a stateless 12-year-old paper folder from attending a paper plane competition in Japan. </p>

<p><div>A funny thing was said when the BBC reported the verdict in the trial of the &lsquo;plane bombers&rsquo; at Woolwich Crown Court.</div> </p>

<p>The UN, bless &rsquo;em, has come to the conclusion that drafting international human rights agreements for countries to sign is all well and good. But the countries most likely to sign are the ones whose citizens are least likely to need their protection.</p>

<p>I remember seeing Scottish compassion at a Hearts game against Rangers.</p>

<p>Bangkok Pundit has spotted that Thai politicians have learned that they can safely denigrate their opponents by use of the hypothetical &lsquo;if&rsquo;. He quotes Deputy Prime Minister in Charge of Difficult Situations Suthep Thaugsuban:</p>

<p>In an unprecedented public statement, the Office of His Majesty&rsquo;s Principal Private Secretary yesterday called for a temporary moratorium on petitions to the Office.&nbsp;&lsquo;We ask this as a mark of respect on the occasion of His Majesty&rsquo;s birthday,&rsquo; said an exhausted Office spokesperson, who asked to remain anonymous.</p>

<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>