** Some doubting Thom-ases are already predicting the outcome of the upcoming

elections and the world's response to it.

One weary pundit envisions the following press statement from the EU which will be

released after vote counting has been completed: "In recognition of the recent

tragic history in Cambodia, the 1998 elections, although there were some irregularities,

broadly reflected the will of the people and were a positive step on the road to

full democratization."

** Hun Sen's English is getting very good with some key words added to his

vocabulary.

At the recent half-marathon in Siem Reap, the two Prime Ministers and Defense Minister

Tea Banh kicked off the event by competing amongst themselves in a ceremonial 200

meter dash. Ung Huot came in first, Hun Sen second and Tea Banh third.

After the sprint the two PMs stopped at a cafe in their natty jogging suits for a

cognac. Samdech Hun Sen reached for his smokes so he could savour his second place

finish, but one of his gorgeous daughters came up and said "Daddy, you promised

you would quit smoking."

The Second PM, looking a bit chagrinned, turned to a foreign friend and said in the

Queen's finest: "I have to find a loophole."

** Nutcases beware! Expatriate editors and publishers in the Kingdom, who

have long had a reputation for being completely off their rockers, may have to come

face-to-face with a serious reality check. Sources say that a draft prakas circulating

within the Ministry of Information includes language which would make it mandatory

for all foreign editors and publishers to obtain certificates of mental health in

order for them to be able to continue working in Cambodia.

** One foreign doctor is a bit sanguine about all the fuss over the alleged

executions after the July fighting. He says: "What's the difference between

guys getting shot in the head and those in hospitals who have to pay for an IV drip?

And when they can't pay for it, it takes three hours for them to die. At least the

guys who get shot die quickly."