Thai PM Gives Tough Questions the Buzzer

The button-pushing Thaksin sounded the alarm when a Thai newspaperman asked why the government had failed to seek parliamentary consent before introducing an emergency decree in the volatile southern provinces, where a Muslim insurgency has taken hold.

But other questions elicited a sweeter response: when a female reporter asked about government plans to offset rising oil prices, Thaksin‘s gadget emitted a pleasant tone and displayed an "O," signaling his approval.

But some journalists failed to see the humor.

"They have the right to ask those kinds of questions," he said.

It wasn‘t clear whether Thaksin planned to keep using the buzzer.

http://www.leadingthecharge.com/stories/news-0063921.html

SIGN of the times ... Thailand's Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra raises signs during his first weekly news conference at the government house in Bangkok. Thaksin, noted for his bristly relations with the media and sensitivity to criticism, has promised to meet the media every Thursday to field questions. Thaksin raises the sign marked X when he considers questions from the media inappropriate, and marked O when he considers the question a good one. Picture: Chor Sokunthea/REUTERS

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