Casino? What casino?

Was Premier Yingluck Shinawatra caught by surprise when she read reports in the press this morning that the Government Lottery Bureau will propose reviving the casino project?

She said this was the first time she heard about it. And she was prompt to say that the concept of a multi-billion-baht "entertainment complex" to be located at Kula Ronghai Prairie in the Northeast "isn't on my government's agenda."

Why then did the bureau's chief, Mr Vanchai Surakul,make that public statement to reporters without having consulted the prime minister?

Nobody knows the answer. Perhaps, he is a quick thinker, a visionary who knows what former Premier Thaksin would like to see soon. After all, that's the controversial project that was first matched when Thaksin was premier. It never took off because of strong opposition from many quarters.

Or perhaps Vanchai was talking to Thaksin? Again, nobody knows for sure. It's not likely that a bureaucract, however well-connected and innovative, would raise this issue so soon -- just a month or so after the new government took office and amidst the frenzy of trying to work out how to implement the main election promises.

Now, the casino scheme wasn't even a Pheu Thai Party's election pledge. To float this hot and risky balloon is simply asking for more trouble.

Yes, Premier Yingluck has every reason to be puzzled over this "bright" but premature idea.

Why can't Abhisit be Shadow PM?

Chai Rajawat's cartoon has his main character seeking wisdom from the "Sacred Shrine" again.

The Ghost is asked about Abhisit's decision to form a Shadow Cabinet to check up on Premier Yingluck's Cabinet.

"That's good. But Abhisit can't be the Shadow Prime Minister," declared the Know-All Ghost.

Why?

"That's because Thaksin has already taken up that post."

What about a soccer match between Yingluck Cabinet and Abhisit's Shadow Cabinet?

The red-shirt leaders say after the Thai-Cambodian soccer match in Phnom Penh yesterday, the next step would be to hold similar matches in other neighbouring countries such as Laos, Burma and probably Malaysia, to enhance good relations between the two countries.

That should prompt a more relevant question: Why not organize soccer matches in Thailand for the sake of improving relations between the conflicting parties? Obviously, that's a more urgent issue -- and if sports could bring neighbours closer together, why not use them for domestic reconciliation?

My proposal is therefore for the Yingluck Cabinet to challenge Abhisit's shadow Cabinet in a soccer match in a friendly and constructive game that could raise a good sum of money to help the flood victims.

Natural disasters have after all helped solve age-old conflicts in a number of other countries before. What about Thailand now?

The real PM? Super-coach? The party's real owner?

Thai Rath and Matichon ran a similar story reporting that Thaksin Shinawatra was on Skype joining a conference of Premier Yingluck's Cabinet yesterday at Pheu Thai Party's headquarters.

It wasn't just a "Hi!" kind of greeting. Thaksin spent about one hour, according to the reports, going into detail on what the ministers should be doing -- how they should handle the floods and what to do after the floods. He also told them to form committees to oversee the aid programmes for flood victims. He urged them to get experts to join their tasks, no matter which side they are on.

"You must be able to accomplish what you have promised to do," Thaksin said.

Of course, throughout all this, PM Yingluck was listening attentively.

It's not clear what role Thaksin was playing in that conference: The real prime minister? The party's owner? A PM's super-coach.

But then, does it really matter what you call him?

When home is just next door

The Phnom Penh Post's headline in its online edition says it all. HOme is where you can greet your supporters -- and where the home owner sides with you against those at home.

What did PM Yingluck tell her brother?

So, Premier Yingluck did get in touch with her brother Thaksin Shinawatra. Or that's why he told a group of red-shirt sympathisers who met him at a Phnom Penh hotel over the weekend.

This picture, published in Matichon daily this morning, confirmed that Thaksin had a series of meetings with his supporters from Thailand. But we have yet to see pictures showing his reported meetings with some prominent political figures from Bangkok and some well-known fugitives.

Thaksin did tell the supporters: "This morning, Prime Minister Poo (Yingluck) called me saying that she had not had enough sleep -- and that she was snowed under with work. She told me she was to be accompanied by the army chief to inspect the floods -- and that the military is offering good coopertion..."

The premier might have told Thai reporters that she wasn't aware of Thaksin's visit to Cambodia but she certainly knew how to call him on the phone.

Another meeting, another bear hug

Less than 24 hours after Thai Premier Yingluck Shinawatra left Phnom Penh following a one-day visit, her brother Thaksin flew into the Cambodian capital late last night. While Yingluck and her husband only had an official photo taken with Hun Sen and his wife, Thaksin got a big bear hug from Hun Sen to emphasize the closeness of their relationship.

While Yingluck's official visit lasted less than a day, Thaksin's unofficial stay will be much, much longer. He may stay until Sept 24 to attend the soccer match between the "Red Peace" team from Thailand (comprising mainly red-shirt members) and the Cambodian Cabinet team. If that's the case, Thaksin could well be in Cambodia for nearly 10 days, giving lectures about the world' economy and conducting other as yet undisclosed activities.

It is clear that the new foreign minister, Surapong Tovichakjaikul, won't be asking Cambodia to repatriate Thaksin back to Thailand. He said: "It's not the foreign ministry's duty to do that." That, of course, is a far cry from his predecessor, Kasit Piromya, who made it her personal mission to go hunting for Thaksin around the world.

Premier Yingluck's official stand on Thaksin's legal status remains ambivalent. Whether she agrees her with foreign minister or not isn't entirely clear either.