Good morning,

The junta-appointed ICT ‘Minister’ Sittichai Pookaiyaudorn has resigned after it was revealed that he holds shares in excess of the amount permitted by the law (http://www.bangkokpost.com/News/21Sep2007_news01.php). Two other ministers have also offered to resign, following revelations that they too have broken what would be the law – they are Interior ‘Minister’ Aree Wongarya and Deputy commerce ‘Minister’ Oranuj Osathananda (http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2007/09/21/headlines/headlines_30049712.php). I write ‘would be the law’ but apparently these three will not be dragged off in chains because the 1997 Constitution, which would apply, was cancelled by the junta at the time of the military coup last year. However, according to some reports, this cancelling appears to apply to everyone apart from democratically-elected Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who is being pursued for some supposed infringements of laws which do not seem to apply to anyone else. Based on newspaper reports, the latest scandal to affect the junta comes in the wake of the massive salaries chiefs of the military awarded themselves ‘for doing two jobs,’ the appointment of senior army generals on large government corporations for which they do not appear to be particularly suited, the tripling of the military budget within a year without very much to show for it and the continued imposition of martial law on many parts of the country. MCOT, the government information service, strangely has nothing on this story. General Sonthi Boonyaratkalin, leader of the junta, is to join the cabinet at the end of the month when he resigns from leadership of the army (http://www.bangkokpost.com/News/21Sep2007_news02.php). Can the rumours be true that the army intends to maintain power after the election, if and when it is ever held?

Some 8,000 Hmong refugees are to be forcibly repatriated to Laos despite numerous warnings from human rights groups that they face persecution there (http://www.bangkokpost.com/topstories/topstories.php?id=121873). The plight of the Hmongs, who fought for the American CIA during the war in Vietnam, is well-known. The Thai-Lao border region remains under martial law.

And on the brighter side …. not a lot today, to be honest. There is a train derailment, four or possibly five killed in a ‘shooting spree’ in Chantaburi, more warnings of heavy rains and floods in up to twenty provinces and nothing very encouraging. The Burmese monks are continuing their protests against their own military junta (http://www.bangkokpost.com/breaking_news/breakingnews.php?id=121871).

My review of Cormac McCarthy’s All the Pretty Horses has been published at Bookideas (http://www.bookideas.com/reviews/index.cfm?fuseaction=displayReview&id=3936).

Back on Monday. This is a Singapore weekend.