Good afternoon,

Police have swooped, apparently, on a company targeting migrant workers to become part of their direct sales operation and arrested more than 100 such workers, most of whom are Burmese. The workers had paid 1200 baht each to receive the training and access to the goods that there were then about to sell, largely as a second income.

The Air Force, meanwhile, is deploying its two German-made Alpha Jet fighters in an effort to increase the rain over the many drought-affected parts of the country. The jets are flown to a height of 20,000 feet and then shot silver iodide bullets into the clouds, which then cooperate by kindly sending forth soothing rain on the land below or so, at least, is the theory. Last year, the air force made 618 flights in weather modifying mode and used up 900 tonnes of chemicals. This year’s effort began this week – it was raining in Bangkok this morning but I would imagine that drawing direct correlations would be problematic.

“He’s not an arms dealer, he’s just a naughty boy,” half claimed wife of Victor Bout, the allegedly well-known arms dealer, Alla Bout (All About? Surely not). Mrs Bout also seems to have made some suggestion that Thailand’s possible extradition of her husband to the USA, where he is wanted for various suspected crimes, would lead to dire consequences for Russian-Thai relations. Of course, in the film (allegedly), she left him or at least turned evidence against him. Not sure what that means about the real life-fiction nexus.

Back tomorrow.

I never doubted him for a moment and I’ll prosecute anyone who claims otherwise, proof or not.