Dragons breathe down PM's neck

There was quite a mob of reporters and photographers, and not for the Lion Dance. Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, did not disappoint, arriving all dressed in red – which might be the colour of her ideology but not a prominent one in her wardrobe.
Ambassador Guan’s wife was similarly in an outfit with red motifs, the better to ensure prosperity in the Year of the Dragon just beginning.
With Yingluck’s arrival, the crowd swelled again, because the lady packs quite an entourage, above and beyond her security detail. Swept along in the premier’s wake were Foreign Minister Surapong Towichukchaikul, Culture Minister Sukumol Kunplome and all their top-ranking understudies. Suddenly the reporters were outnumbered.
Some will observe that Thailand is keen to kowtow to China lately, but the PM spent most of her time chatting with the artists visiting from Yunnan. And anyway, it’s her entourage that’s doing the kowtowing, with a Cabinet shake-up set to reopen the doors to the treasure house.

Blair rejects son
Dictators who share the quaint habit of launching family dynasties might heed Tony Blair. Speaking to Nation editor-in-chief Suthichai Yoon this week, the former British PM said it’s wrong to cling to power too long, and even worse to bequeath it to your son.
“That does not work!” Blair insisted, citing instances in the Middle East where he said the mentality must change if the rulers don’t wish to end up like Gadhafi.
Blair met Gadhafi six times and gave him credit for reforming to a certain extent, such as scrapping his chemical-weapons arsenal.
And the bad side? “I’m afraid he was not prepared to change the system of his government, and he ended up killing his own people.”
That sort of talk explains why the Nation Channel has never caught on in Syria or North Korea.