Pssst! Thaksin, can you explain that astrology thing to me one more time....

One of the Mandarin's colleagues, himself a student of the inscrutable East, pointed out this item:

Thai leader grants no interviews, citing bad planetary alignment

Monday, November 21, 2005

BANGKOK, Thailand (AP) -- Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra has said he will not answer reporters' questions until next year because the alignment of the planets is not in his favor. "Right now Mercury ... is in a corner perfectly aligned with my star. Mercury is no good, so if it's not good, I am going to request not to speak. I'll just wait until next year to talk," Thaksin told reporters Sunday after returning to Bangkok from a trip to South Korea and China. He added that Mercury moves slowly and will not steer clear of his star until next year.

The Mandarin can hear Scott McClellan now: "I think I have made it clear over and over that on the advice of his Court Astrologer, the President will not speak in public as long as the unfavorable alignment of Mercury continues, which he expects will be at least until Patrick Fitzgerald winds up his investigation into the Plame leak case."

Oh, Grasshopper, you have so much to learn from the mysterious Orient. Perhaps you can check with Kim Jong-il next to learn from him the ancient secret of attaining 100% approval ratings.

The Mandarin is considering a Freedom of Information Act request to determine what Dick Cheney's personal star is so we can arrange for Mercury to shut him up for a year or two as well.

Original photo caption: U.S. President George W. Bush (R) speaks to Thailand's Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra before the start of the second session of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Pusan, south Korea November 19, 2005. Pacific Rim leaders end a two-day summit on Saturday and are expected to call for stronger efforts to break an impasse on opening up markets and more measures to beat the threat of bird flu. (Yonhap)