Bitterness expressed in bad taste

BANGKOK (AFP and the Phuket Gazette): Thailand’s opposition leader has given arch-rival Prime Minister Chuan Leekpai food for thought this New Year — seven boxes of iodised eggs, often used to ward off retardation in children. General Chavalit Yongchaiyudh said the eggs were “to nourish his brain and improve his intelligence,” according to local media reports today. “Eating the eggs will make a person smarter, and if there is anyone in this country who needs them most, it is the prime minister,” Chavalit said. The eggs are normally consumed by children here to prevent retardation as a result of iodine deficiency. Chavalit, a former prime minister, is widely accredited with responsibility for Thailand’s economic meltdown in mid-1997. Yet, during the recent no-confidence debate, he accused the Chuan government, generally acknowledged to have brought the country back from the brink, of selling out to Western interests by accepting an IMF bailout.