Two cops tried to shake down Howie's and the Shanghai Bar last week. They told staff

at the bars that an order had been given to close all bars on that block of Street

51. When the cops were asked if they had a signed letter from the local Sangkat chief

as proof of the decision, they demonstrated their proficiency in wearing goofy smiles

and walked off.

** KHMER INTELLIGENCE wins the knucklehead-of-the-month award. They posted on their

email service the following item on April 25.

"German adviser to Cambodian politician (2). Kem Sokha, the president of the

Cambodian Center for Human Rights (CCHR), remains voluntarily ambiguous about his

intention to launch a political party in the near future. He is closely following

the advice of his guru Wilfried Hermann, a German expert from the Friedrich Naumann

Stiftung (FNS) which is one of CCHR's financial supporters. Hermann, a former Wehrmarcht

(sic) officer, has advised Kem Sokha to cultivate 'unpredictability' in his political

strategy and public relations. 'Unpredictability' is a point elaborated in Clausewitz's

war strategy book. But for someone who aspires to be a nation's political leader

and needs to win the trust of the people, unpredictability may also mean duplicity

and unreliability."

They issued a correction and apology on April 28 for using the word "Wehrmarcht"

which refers to Nazi Germany's military.

Perhaps the unpredictability of KHMER INTELLIGENCE also means duplicity and unreliability?

** Howie says his bar is for sale. He's had enough and has decided to move on to

a new frontier.

** Terrorism specialist Rohan Gunaratna, a native of Sri Lanka and author of the

bestseller Inside Al Qaeda: Global Network of Terror, has been in town all week.

Just having a look-see.

** Cambodia specialist Milton Osborne, a native of Australia and author of Sihanouk:

Prince of Light, Prince of Darkness, is in town. He's the guy with the broken arm.

** General Elections will take place in Singapore tomorrow, May 6. A recent survey

of cab drivers and activists there revealed the following:

1) "The opposition is stupid. If they worked together, maybe they could win

some more seats."

2) "Nothing will change because Singapore is an OMO (one man operation)."

3) "We have free speech for nine days once every five years, but watch out,

you can get sued after the elections."

4) "I'll vote for the PAP. End of story."