<p>The British government is a great believer in targets. This is, they think, the way to get improvements in services. You set targets for people and you put the fear in them. If they don&#39;t meet your targets, then they&#39;re in trouble. Incentives, that&#39;s the game. </p>

<p><span>The re-enlistment of Duang Yoobamrung to the Royal Thai Army is only the latest in an interesting line of government appointments.<span> <br /></span></span></p>

<p>The Shadow Boxing column by Korn Chatikavanij in the Bangkok Post of 8 April contains the statement that &lsquo;the best way of ensuring there will be no shortage [of rice] is to trust in the market mechanism&rsquo;.</span></p>

<p>My first moral dilemma with upright patriotism occurred after watching John Schlesinger&#39;s <em>Far From the Madding Crowd</em> at the old Ceilidh on Lothian Road. You see, for most films, you knew who was playing who, or you didn&#39;t care, so who needed to watch a film through to the bitter end? As soon as the credits started rolling, you were on your feet, grabbing your coat, your unfinished popcorn and the arm of whoever you had come with, in a determined dash in the dark to make the exit before the credits ended and the National Anthem was played.</p>

<p><span>Two days ago the British government played a cruel hoax on its people.<span>&nbsp; </span>And it&rsquo;s over two weeks too late to be an April Fool prank.</span></p>

<p><span>Applications are urgently invited for 12 positions in Olympic Flame Security operations during the visit of the Flame to Bangkok.<span>&nbsp; </span>This is a short-term appointment (one day).<span> <br /></span></span></p>

<p>There was a nature documentary clip on the BBC last Tuesday.&nbsp; The Beeb are good at these - sumptuous music, breathtaking shots that must have cost the camera crew hours and hours of patient shivering, seasoned narrator (in this case ex-Monty Python Terry Jones).&nbsp; And a mind-boggling story - the discovery of a flock of penguins that have learned to fly and who migrate to South America to swap the Antarctic winter for the warmth of the Amazon rainforest.&nbsp; </p>

<p><span>Human rights activists are expressing fears about the new government&rsquo;s plans to revive the War on Drugs that the Thaksin administration waged in 2003.<span> <br /></span></span></p>

<p>There are growing fears in government and business circles of a debilitating trade war between Thailand and the United States over intellectual property protection. The possibility that Thailand will be placed on the &lsquo;Priority Country List&#39;, with dire consequences for its exports to the US, has prompted a search for a scapegoat.</p>

<p>Have you noticed that Thai politicians will often try to wriggle out of a difficult situation by using a rhetorical question? You are aware that a rhetorical question is a question that only looks like a question, aren&#39;t you? And if it&#39;s not a real question, how could anyone give an answer to it?</p>

<p>I think I got it wrong.&nbsp;When Samak claimed that there was only one casualty on October 6 1976 (and he was left-wing, or &lsquo;communist&#39; in Samak&#39;s view, so serve him right), and that the Tak Bai corpses occurred when people standing in the backs of trucks fell over dead as a result of Ramadan fasting, we had a choice.&nbsp;</p>

<p>I think I got this all wrong. I thought we just had a bunch of incompetents running the place. Understandable, in a way. I mean, when over a hundred of your first choices are banned from public office for five years, you&#39;re bound to see some really ropey substitutes take to the field. </p>