I lived in Thailand for long enough to learn that the politics of the country is absolutely mad. I don’t find much time to blog about what’s happening in Thailand because I’m not there at the moment and I don’t have much to add to the discussion. There are more than enough Thailand blogs offering commentary and analysis.

Every now and then I check up on what the latest from the country is and it seems to be more like a sitcom each I time I look. With every development since the coup, the situation has become more farcical. But that’s just the way it is in Thailand.

In January last year I wrote a blog post about Thaksin quitting politics. There was a big song and dance about Thailand’s former PM retiring from politics for good. He’d had enough and just couldn’t stand it anymore.

As well as divorcing his wife, Thaksin is now returning to politics. Jatuporn Promphan from PPP was quoted in the Nation saying, “Khun Thaksin will announce on December 14 that he will return to politic [sic] to fight to defend his name. He will no longer stand still. He decided to come out to fight as he did not want to be attacked and cornered any more.”

So the man is back and it’s going to be a fight to the death. Apparently – and this is perhaps the most baffling part of the story – Thaksin divorced his wife because he is returning to politics. But, get this, “their divorce does not mean that they are no longer in love”.

Thailand is the world’s biggest sitcom.

I'm thinking about consistency here. On July 3, Thaksin had his request to travel to the UK and China denied. He was out on bail and had not been charged. Pojaman, on the other hand, has been sentenced to three years in jail for tax evasion.

Thaksin and Pojaman are due in court on September 16 to give evidence in the Ratchadaphisek case. I was under the impression that Thaksin was still barred from leaving Thailand (what has changed?), but The Nation reoprts that "there is renewed interest over whether the pair, particularly Pojaman, will return for the case". Thaksin, of course, left Thailand last Thursday to head to Japan.

One month after he was denied permission to leave the country, Thaksin has been allowed to fly out of Bangkok at a time when rumors of political asylum were spreading like wildfire.

Have they let him out because they know he isn't coming back?

The Supreme Court has just blocked Thaksin's request to visit China and the UK.

Is this justifiable given that he has not been found guilty in a court of law of any of the charges brought against him ?

Pastrygate has been sharing the limelight with the censure debate. The whole debacle raises many issues and is one of the oddest stories of the year so far. Three of Thaksin’s lawyers were jailed on Wednesday for six months for trying to give a court official 2 million baht contained in a “pastry” box. The alleged bribe attempt happened on the same day that Thaksin and his wife were due in court on charges of violating graft laws.

Firstly, since when did 2-million-baht bribes start being dished out in pastry boxes? It’s absurd. You would have thought that three of Thaksin’s lawyers, who are presumably three of the most well-paid, well-educated lawyers in Thailand, would be smarter than that.

Furthermore, why would they just give 2 million baht to a court official? Where is the logic in a random gift such as this?

One of the lawyers initially came up with the lame excuse that a driver had mistakenly taken an identical box containing chocolates, leaving the hapless lawyers with the box of money. The lawyers said that the chocolates, not the money, were intended for the court official, which is still rather strange.

That ludicrous story was quickly dropped. The lawyer admitted that the money belonged to him. I guess the hole in this story is proving one way or another to whom the money belonged. The 2 million baht was reportedly given back to the lawyer after he gave it to the court official.

Thaksin, of course, has tried to distance himself from this story. While I am certain that Thaksin, his wife and his lawyers are smart enough that there is no way Thaksin could be linked to this case, you would have thought that they were smart enough for this not to happen in the first place. After years of corruption in Thailand, it’s odd for such a case to suddenly come to light.

The key, as I see it, is determining exactly where the 2 million came from. Bank accounts need to be scrutinized to get to the bottom of the matter. It’s a lot of money and it must be traceable. Thaksin can deny any knowledge of the bribery money, but if there were a way to link him to it, then the case is thrown wide open.

Perhaps most interesting is the speed with which the three lawyers have been sentenced. Two of the lawyers are in prison already while the third is AWOL. The timing of this whole incident is bizarre.

This title is obviously a joke, but the way things at Man City look at the moment, they may as well employ a bunch of clowns to play for them next season. The whole situation has turned from Man City potentially becoming the next Real Madrid or Chelsea, to the team looking like the jokes of the footballing world.

After hitting the dizzying heights of fourth place in the Premier League, Man City dropped down the table and ended up in ninth, ending the season with an 8-1 mauling at the hands of Middlesbrough.

Speculation about Sven’s future has been a hot topic recently, with fans and pundits alike voicing their disapproval of any intentions to give the Swede the boot.

Then, on Friday, the rumour doing the rounds was that Thaksin had gone insane and put the entire Man City squad up for sale. Even if it’s untrue, the morale of players, coaching staff and fans alike is taking a severe pummeling. Ninth-place teams don’t lose 8-1 on the final day of the season.

If Man City were to start next season with an entire new squad and a new manager, you’d have to wonder what is going through Thaksin’s head.

Man City’s little tour of Thailand saw the squad greeted at the airport by about eight fans. It was only when Thaksin made an appearance and stole the limelight that locals started taking an interest. On the front page of the Daily Xpress today there is a priceless picture of Sven and Thaksin looking at each other.

Apparently, Thaksin then said, “I acknowledge that Eriksson did well in his first year with the club. He managed to haul the team from 14th place last year to ninth this season.” (Nation)

What is going on? Man City are a joke now.