Good evening,

Well, after three months. PM Abhisit can start to feel the boot on the other foot, so to speak, as 158 MPs have signed a motion to impeach him. There are seven charges: “…his involvement in requesting royal intervention in appointing a prime minister; siding with the People's Alliance for Democracy; his undemocratic rise to power; being a mastermind of the PAD and appointing PAD members as ministers and their advisers; intending to conceal donations made to the Democrat party; making a false report about the membership of a party member to a provincial election commission; and asking Finance Minister Korn Chatikavanij to cooperate with a mobile service provider in sending text  messages to its customers after he was elected prime minister.” It is a mixed bag of charges and most of them appear to be self-evidently true. However, it is likely that any judges or adjudicators of this process will have sufficient discretion as to determine whether to proceed on any charges, whether charges actually exist, what should be done and so on and so forth. It is quite common in Asia for legal systems to rely upon the reverence offered the judge (who must self-evident be a virtuous person otherwise s/he would not have been made a judge) rather than the letter of the law, especially when the law is written in terms that appear to western people to be indistinct and vague. We will see how it all pans out, probably much sound and fury signifying not very much.

After the sinking of the tourist boat yesterday, one body has been recovered, four more located but are trapped 70 metres below the surface of the sea and two more are still missing. 

Here’s what Alistair Darling should be watching: former president of the Bangkok Bank of Commerce Krirk-kiat Jalichandra, who has already received 130 years of prison time and fines of US$472 million (this is not a misprint) for his lending record, has been given another 20 years of chokey and more fines – it does not really matter how much since it must be impossible for him to pay any more. Avoid, my friends, if at all possible, getting into trouble in Thailand.

Back tomorrow.

2-2 against a team 12 points from safety and sinking fast? At home? 4-6 on aggregate. Sigh.