A Bill Gates Foundation supermarket in the Netherlands that focuses on new-age foods burns to the ground
Ah it's another pleasant Tuesday morning, 29 Canadian degrees out there and it looks like a day of sunshine.
But 'Don Tony' Blinken finally decided to get serious.
U.S. Secretary of State slams ASEAN for lack of pressure on Myanmar
[ASSOCIATED PRESS]
Speaking at a news conference in Bangkok, Blinken said it was "unfortunate" that repression in Myanmar was continuing nearly 18 months after the military takeover. And, he said he was disappointed that Myanmar's neighbors weren't applying pressure for it to end.
 "I think it's unfortunately safe to say that we've seen no positive movement," Blinken told reporters. "On the contrary, we continue to see the repression of the Burmese people who continue to see violence perpetrated by the regime."
PHOTO: Blinken is on an official visit to Thailand and appointed 'prime minister' Prayut (right, above) but his criticism was for all of ASEAN.
https://bityl.co/DB3P
https://www.khaosodenglish.com/news/international/2022/07/11/blinken-hits-at-asean-for-lack-of-pressure-on-myanmar/
Thailand starts a five-day national holiday on Wednesday, and the junta hopes to see more masking and isolation.
The Public Health Ministry issued a prediction:
 Covid cases will rise following the long public holiday, the return of mass gatherings and the reopening of entertainment venues.
Said the overly wealthy junta loyalist and 'public health minister' Anutin Charnvirakul:
 "Even if parties are thrown, pubs and bars open and crowds gather, people should continue to keep their guard up and the situation will be under control.
 "We emphasise the need to prevent severe cases."
Sounds like Sri Lanka knows What Time It Is.
Sri Lanka Drives Its Incompetent, Corrupt Rulers From Their Homes, Occupying Them
Angry protesters who stormed the official residences of Sri Lanka's President and Prime Minister succeeded in forcing them to resign on the weekend as the country lurches further into crisis. etc etc etc....
https://www.cnn.com/2022/07/11/asia/sri-lanka-crisis-whats-next-explainer-intl-hnk/index.html
Fun to watch.
A Bill Gates Foundation supermarket in the Netherlands that focuses on new-age foods like plant protein meat has spontaneously caught fire in the middle of the night.
"Spontaneously" is pure gold.
Worth a peek
Germany is rationing hot water and turning off the lights to reduce natural gas consumption
It isn't just hot water that's being rationed. In addition to shorter shower times, officials are asking city councils nationwide to turn off traffic lights at night, stop illuminating historic buildings, and go easy on using air conditioners.
https://fortune.com/2022/07/08/energy-rationing-germany-no-hot-water-turning-off-lights/
"asking" 5555 LOLGF
Yep. It's 2022, baby!
I once had a co-worker whose doctor had temporarily imposed on him a meatless diet due to some medical condition.
 When I saw him eating a chicken sandwich one day I asked if he was done with the vegetarian diet. He responded, "No, I've just decided that chicken is a vegetable."
Tragedy at Jomtien
Today is the 25th anniversary of the Royal Jomtien Resort Hotel fire that killed more than 90 people, many of them tourists.
The newspaper Pattaya News has combed its files and written an anniversary story.
https://bityl.co/DBMq
Soccer is on the schedule for this evening, and the Royal Thai Traffic Police are on the case.
Police advise motorists to avoid 4 routes around Rajamangala National Stadium, as fans rush for last-minute bargain tickets for tonight's Liverpool-Manchester United exhibition.
PHOTO: Soccer fans scramble for last-minute - and maybe cheaper - game tickets.
https://www.matichon.co.th/news-monitor/news_3448147
China renews 'zero Covid' attempts
China has locked down its new colony of Macau, claiming 'too much coronavirus.'
It is the first casino lockdown in more than two years, overriding a previous deal between the industry and the Macau government that only those found with infections would need to close temporarily.
Beijing also has issued a sharp warning to its other new colony, Hong Kong. Communist officials announced they will soon require all residents to join a smartphone app that will report their health and location.
PHOTO: City locked down, casinos closed, residents lined up for yet another Covid test - that is Macau 2022.
https://bityl.co/DBPg
China talks toughly
Beijing suddenly warned all Asian nations to 'avoid being used as chess pieces by the big powers'.
 [REUTERS] Speaking at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) secretariat in Jakarta, foreign minister Wang Yi, speaking through a translator, said many countries in the region were under pressure to take sides.
 "We should insulate this region from geopolitical calculations... from being used as chess pieces from major power rivalry and from coercion," he said, adding: "The future of our region should be in our own hands."
PHOTO: Indonesia's President Joko Widodo (right) shakes hands with China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi at the Merdeka Palace in Jakarta on Monday.
https://www.bangkokpost.com/world/2343972/
And things inside China are not going at all well.
 Chinese Bank Run Turns Violent After Angry Crowd Storms Bank of China Branch Over Frozen Deposits.
 Yes, ZeroHedge but a good starting point.
https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/chinese-bank-run-turns-violent-after-angry-crowd-storms-bank-china-branch-over-frozen
Fortune magazine was not at all impressed with China's Lockdown-Zero-Covid strategy.
China's lockdowns to contain Omicron snarled the global economy. Lockdowns to contain subvariant BA.5 could be even worse.
https://bityl.co/DBPQ
One (big) advantage of being Putin:
You don't have to depend on China to build, fit and deliver your submarine.
'Doomsday' Submarine Armed With Nuclear Torpedoes Delivers to Russian Navy
https://news.usni.org/2022/07/08/doomsday-submarine-armed-with-nuclear-torpedoes-delivers-to-russian-navy
Killer's mom is a Moonie
South Korean Christian group has confirmed that the mother of the man who assassinated Japan's ex-premier Shinzo Abe is a member.
 The Christian group is Family Federation for World Peace and Unification, and was formerly known as the Unification Church and often called the Moonies.
 It's complicated, but Abe's assassin Tetsuya Yamagami was angry at the Unification Church, but then decided to kill Abe because in his (tiny) brain Abe had spoken approvingly of the Unification group.
 The U.S.A. branch of the Unification Church issued a statement condemning the attack on Abe, saying: "Guns have no place in our religious beliefs or practices."
Good to know. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2022/07/11/national/crime-legal/abe-assassination-unification-church/
Related: In a major diplomatic breakthrough, Taiwan’s Vice-President, Lai Ching-Te has travelled to Japan to pay his respects at Shinzo Abe’s home in Tokyo. He was seen entering the house together with Taiwan’s representative in Japan Frank Hsieh. Source (in Chinese): https://udn.com/news/story/122936/6452830#l5ghbj4yop5j2n6emh
Thai King Vajiralongkorn (Rama X) Â has sent a message to Japan, with the condolences of all Thai people because of the death of Abe.
 All flags at all government agencies and state enterprises will fly their flags at half staff today in honour of Abe.
https://www.matichon.co.th/court-news/news_3447642
Thunder storms and rough seas caused cancellation of all speedboat and ferry services to and fron Koh Samui and nearby resort islands in the Gulf of Thailand on Monday.
The governor of Surat Thani province ordered all ships not to leave districts located on the coast of the Gulf of Thailand.
https://thethaiger.com/hot-news/weather/storms-cancel-ferry-service-for-koh-samui-pha-ngan-and-tao
CORONAVIRUS MILITARY U.S.A.
Biden people and Pentagon Cargo Cult acturally believe the are "purifying" their forces by releasing 60,000 trained men and women:
 U.S. Army Boots over 60,000 National Guard and Reservists Who Remain Unvaccinated from Covid.
https://legalinsurrection.com/2022/07/u-s-army-boots-over-60000-national-guard-and-reservists-who-remain-unvaccinated-from-covid/
CORONAVIRUS THAILAND
The Climate Change of viruses
New Covid subvariants could make you sweat at night.
Thai 'medical experts' insist they are 'more severe' than previous mutations.
Quick summary:
The BA.4 and BA.5 sub-variants of Covid-19 are more severe than other sub-variants of the Omicron strain, and less affected by antibodies, according to the Department of Medical Sciences.
Most Covid cases in Bangkok are BA.4 and BA.5 infections, like imported cases.
https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/2343967/
GLOBAL WARMING
Still more dezinformatsiya from U.S. National Public Radio (NPR).
Be especially careful of Becky Hersher, who is to science reporting what the Maple Leafs are to Stanley Cup lore.
https://wattsupwiththat.com/2022/07/10/npr-spreads-misinformation-about-climate-change-and-models-again/
It's possible that the number of excellent SR-71 (Blackbird) stories is infinite.
This is a speed-check story.
 Like, that time a Blackbird called Air Traffic Control to ask for clearance to Flight Level 60 (60,000 feet), much higher than almost anything flies.
 Not knowing it was a Blackbird (they hang out at FL80+), the ATC replied testily "How are you going to get to FL 60?", to which the Blackbird pilot replied "We were planning on descending".
From The Slowest Flyby,
https://www.thesr71blackbird.com/Aircraft/Stories/sr-71-blackbird-the-slowest-flyby
TRIVIA
 COMET!: On this day in 1801, French astronomer Jean-Louis Pons sighted his first comet. By the end of his career he had discovered 37 of them - more than anyone in history using visual methods.
https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/asteroids-comets-and-meteors/comets/overview/?page=0&per_page=40&order=name+asc&search=&condition_1=102%3Aparent_id&condition_2=comet%3Abody_type%3Ailike
SCIENCE MARCHES ON
Which demands an answer to the question:
Where in the Hell were the scientists while all this was going on?Â
