<p>It is with great sadness that this column announces the death this week in Thailand of Khun Pracha Thipatai.&nbsp; Coming so soon after that of Nelson Mandela in South Africa, it is natural and informative to draw comparisons between the two lives.</p> <p></p>

<p>While critics and apologists alike sift through the pronunciamentos of Suthep Thaugsuban, founder, leader, ideologue and sole spokesperson of the Civil Movement for Democracy, in a desperate search for something that is both practical and constitutional, there is one demand of his that deserves study.</p>

<p>It seems they have belatedly recognized that their message wasn’t getting across to a foreign audience.&nbsp; Talk of overthrowing a democratically elected government in order to create a democratic form of government wasn’t exactly the clearest of messages.&nbsp; So the newly mis-named Civil Movement for Democracy has decided to use one of its great strengths – the superior education of its supporters.</p> <p></p>

<p>The Constitutional Court ruling that it is unconstitutional to amend the Constitution is proof of the sacrosanct nature of the document, so unutterably perfect that no change could possibly be an improvement.&nbsp; Perhaps it is time to go back and review how this flawless piece of work came about.</p> <p></p>

<p>The flames of anti-government protests have been further fanned with a ruling by the International Court of Alphabetical Justice (often called the World Letters Court) that the Thai letters ‘kho khuat’ and ‘kho khon’ are unnecessary, redundant, superfluous and supernumerary.&nbsp; While not going so far as to order the Thai authorities to abolish the letters, the verdict has enraged linguistic nationalists who blame the government for the situation.</p> <p></p>

<p>A police proposal to expunge longstanding traffic tickets has turned into a major controversy that threatens to overthrow the government.&nbsp; Some commentators have even gone as far as predicting a military coup.</p> <p></p>

<p>The Snowden files have revealed that the US National Security Agency has been secretly monitoring the phone conversations of 35 world leaders.&nbsp; So far only one has been identified – the German Chancellor Angela Merkel.&nbsp; Intense media speculation surrounds the identity of the remaining 34.</p> <p>While Germany has been incandescent over this incident, and most national leaders are hoping not to appear on any such list, in Thailand the reaction has been somewhat different.&nbsp;</p>

<p>The murder of Jakkrit Panichatikum highlights a number of features about Thai society that might puzzle foreigners.&nbsp; Let me explain these.</p> <p>The plan vanilla facts are that a champion sports sharpshooter was shot dead in what looks like a professional hit in the Bangkok suburbs while driving to the home of his estranged wife and family.&nbsp; A Kawasaki Ninja motorcycle approached his Porsche and the pillion passenger opened fire.&nbsp; He died on the way to hospital, and none of the bullets hit his passenger, a maid.&nbsp;</p> <p></p>

<p>Beware!&nbsp; The ASEAN Economic Community, or AEC, will be upon us in 2015.&nbsp; And if Thailand doesn’t hurry up and get ready, it will lose out, and will be overwhelmed by those economic powerhouses who do these things so much better and more efficiently than Thailand, like, er, Lao. &nbsp;Or Myanmar.</p>

<p>The BBC’s presentation of the recent report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) caused something of a flap.&nbsp; The report finds a 97% expert consensus on the idea that global climate change is occurring, that it is largely caused by human activity, and if that activity does not change rapidly in quantity and direction, the outcome will be catastrophic.&nbsp;</p> <p></p>

<p>The views on the commercial sex trade attributed to Pol Col Napanwut Liamsanguan have provoked the predictable condemnation from all those misguided social activists, academics and other assorted lunatics who insist on basing their opinions on a rational analysis of the data rather than the Police Colonel’s unsubstantiated prejudice.</p> <p></p>

<p>‘The European Union has requested full protection on its investments in Thailand in exchange for extending favours to Thai businesses under the proposed Thai-EU Free Trade Agreement (FTA).’ (Bangkok Post, 21 September 2013)</p> <p>Something doesn’t add up here.</p> <p></p>