Good afternoon,

Yet more lese majeste charges are being laid – this time against the entire board of the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Thailand. A useful right-wing idiot, Laksana Kornsilpa, has filed the charges against the board taking advantage of the fact that anyone is able to file such charges and take part in the suppression of what little free speech there is in the Kingdom. In this case, the PAD stooge is claiming the board are guilty because a DVD has been made available of the speech previously made by Jakrapob Penkair, which already attracted similar charges. Concerned citizens around the world have expressed their dismay that judges are now looking at holding court cases in camera (ostensibly to protect people from learning about what people have been said) and the disgraceful conditions in which defendants are being held. Let us hope an international campaign can bring pressure to bear on this repressive military-Abhisit regime and shame them into doing something.

Two more people have been killed by the H1N1 virus and now schools are being given license to close and people who are paid to know better are stirring up panic in a transparent effort to stop people thinking about the desperate need for political pro-democratic reform.

Two British people are advertising the horrible ordeal they have had to endure by extortionists at the Suvarnabhumi Airport – accused falsely of theft and held at a ‘cheap motel’ until they paid 8,000 pounds – well, I suppose the lesson is to get the word out as quickly as possible if something similar happens and refuse to accept the authority of criminal chancers.

Back perhaps tomorrow – I’m back to Singo tonight and tomorrow is the day of the big move, so not sure if I will have any time to post. Next week has public holidays for Monday and Tuesday (these are for a Buddhist holiday on Tuesday so probably another no drinking day) but I am due at the ICTL (www.ictlconference.com) on Tuesday to Thursday (well, Thursday will be a teaching day) so again not sure how much time I will have during that period. We shall see.

I think we should be looking at replacing Kevin Doyle with the Inter Milan first team squad.