<p>So hats off to iLaw for giving Thais the chance to say what laws they want, and what they want scrapped. And are we surprised that in the first flush of enthusiasm, much of the discussion concerns the l&egrave;se majest&eacute; and cybercrime laws?</p>

<p>The arrest last month of the board of the Foreign Correspondents Club of Thailand on a charge of l&egrave;se majest&eacute; continues to have repercussions.</p>

<p>&nbsp;Chaovarat Chanweerakul, Minister of Interior and proxy leader of the Bhum Jai Thai party while the real leader idles his way through 5 years of political exile, gave 2000 baht to an old woman in Sakon Nakhon earlier this month.&nbsp;And landed himself in hot water.</p>

<p>The Mass Media Photographers Association of Thailand has given its award for Best Photo of the Year to a photograph taken by Thai Rath&rsquo;s crime reporter Prasith Niwesthong during the Songkran violence.</p>

<p><div>One aspect of the Tak Bai inquest that I ignored last week concerned the judges who gave the verdict.&nbsp;Press reports described them as &lsquo;youthful&rsquo;.</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>You see, in many judicial systems, getting to be a judge takes a while.&nbsp;Normally you first have to prove your worth as a lawyer and then, in riper years, with a proven reputation for mature judgement, you may ascend to the bench.</div> <div>&nbsp;</div>

<p><span><span>The verdict in the inquest on the Tak Bai case has set new standards of Thai jurisprudence.</span></span></p> <p><span><span>A quick recap for those who only listen to what the government want them to hear. </span></span></p>

<p>I&rsquo;m not quite sure why he should choose the week when the North Koreans stuck two fingers up against the rest of the world (one finger for an underground nuclear test, the second finger for firing more missiles). But PAD leader Phipob Thongchai has decided to borrow part of the policy of the new green PAD party from Pyongyang, of all places.</p> <p>Phipob says he wants to adopt the idea that every citizen has a plot of land to make a living from.</p>

<p><span><span>Many farangs have figured out that the patron-client system is one of the more important pieces of glue that holds Thai society together. Unfortunately, this valuable insight is spoiled by a misunderstanding of how exactly this glue adheres.</span></span></p>

<p><span><span>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><span>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><span>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>