And now there's going to be a shortage of popcorn, right at U.S. election time
Well, that went fast, eh? Friday again. And have I got some great weekend reading for y'all.
HMTQ BIRTHDAY
Today is Birthday 43 for Thailand's Queen Suthida and all Thai media are full of it.
THAILAND POLITICS
Absolutely no surprises here:
Thailand's junta-controlled voted 278 to 192 (2 abstained) to pass the draft 2023 fiscal budget bill worth 3.185 trillion baht in its first reading around 1 am this morning.its first reading around 1 am on Friday.
TECHNOLOGY
Taiwan has restricted CPUs shipped to Russia and Belarus to speeds of 25MHz. (Tom's Hardware)
Or 5 GFLOPs, whichever comes first. I don't think there are any chips running at 25MHz that exceed 5 GFLOPs, but I could be wrong.
To put it another way:
No more Taiwan-made CPUs, microcontrollers for Russia and Belarus.
Bummer for Russia, since just about all microcontrollers are Made in Taiwan.
Much more is explained at
https://www.tomshardware.com/news/taiwan-restricts-exports-of-25mhz-cpus-to-russia
You did not know that...
25MHz is 0.000000025 petahertz.
You write that as if it's a bad thing:
As disruptions in China continue, Apple will start making iPads in Vietnam
Lockdowns in China have Apple taking new measures to meet potential demand.
https://tinyurl.com/mrykku6d
That said, Apple is doing an incredible job of totally ignoring Thailand.
THOSE SNEAKY CANADIANS
Tim Hortons coffee app broke law by constantly recording users' movements
Canada says company misled users while collecting "vast amounts of location data."
https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2022/06/tim-hortons-coffee-app-broke-law-by-constantly-recording-users-movements/
You write that like it's a bad thing.
"Everything is gone": Russian business hit hard by tech sanctions
Export controls and sanctions have plunged Russia into a technological crisis.
https://bityl.co/CVBy
The Bureaucrats' Dream of Forcing Everyone Everywhere to Use Bitcoin (foe efficient taxation) Takes a Hit
The cost and technical difficulty of mining Bitcoin is rising even faster than the value of Bitcoin is falling.
or
Cryptapocalypse Commences
https://bit.ly/3GHxOMr
10 million tourists this year? It's possible.
 Thailand expects to receive 7 to 10 million foreign tourists this year following an easing of COVID-19 restrictions, tourism minister Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn told parliament.
THAILAND CORONAVIRUS
Good news of a sort today. The number of confirmed new cases of Covid hit a 2022 low. The daily death toll rose slightly.
CHINA COMMUNISM
Chairman Mao's Great Chinese Famine of 1959-1961 killed millions and caused the country's population to shrink. (https://bit.ly/3GHkLuo)
And now, under President4Life Xi, it's happening again.
Here's the bottom line but there's much more at the link:
China's total population grew by a post-famine low of just 0.34 in 1,000 last year.
Projections prepared by a team at the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences have it falling this year – for the first time post-famine – by 0.49 in a thousand.
https://theconversation.com/chinas-population-is-about-to-shrink-for-the-first-time-since-the-great-famine-struck-60-years-ago-heres-what-it-means-for-the-
The U.S. taxman, aka Internal Revenue Service or IRS confirmed on Thursday that the New York population exodux has caused a shortfall of $19.5 billion-with-a-B.
 As the Mysterious Gypsy Lady Foretold: GET WOKE, GO BROKE
Skynet Smiles:
But did the U.S. Army have to steal the idea and even the name from China?
 The Army is testing out 'wolfpacks' of swarming drones.
https://www.popsci.com/technology/army-tests-drone-swarms/
 REAL PHOTO, NO CGI
https://www.skyfilabs.com/project-ideas/drone-swarm
That is NOT what the Bangkok and Singapore night-life crowds say about Yaa-K.
 Why ketamine is a speedster antidepressant.
https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-06-ketamine-speedster-antidepressant.html
TAIWAN CHINA GUNS
Law-abiding Asians and friends with a hankering to learn gun safety and how to shoot and who to shoot have a reliable place - Taipei of Taiwan.
 "More and more people are coming to take part," said Max Chiang, chief executive of Polar Light, which is based in a suburb of Taipei.
 Some of those who came to the shooting range this year had not handled guns before, he said, adding that numbers had "tripled or quadrupled" since the start of the Ukraine conflict, which Moscow calls a "special military operation".
 ..."The Ukraine-Russia war has made the threat from across the Strait (in West Taiwean) real," said the 34-year-old clad in bullet belt and goggles, referring to the waterway between Taiwan and China.
 "It made us think how we should prepare ourselves if that happens in Taiwan."
 PHOTO: Trainees practice target shooting with their airsoft guns during an airsoft gun shooting lesson at the shooting range in New Taipei City.
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/asia/more-seek-gun-training-taiwan-ukraine-war-drives-home-china-threat-2721051
THE UNSTOPPABLE PANIC
'EXPERTS'
Experts warn of continued monkeypox spread as hundreds of cases found worldwide
"At the moment, we are not concerned of a global pandemic."
https://arstechnica.com/science/2022/05/monkeypox-unlikely-to-become-a-pandemic-but-spread-may-not-be-contained/
WARNING ACHTUNG
U.S.A. SEVERE HEALTH WARNINGDo Not Eat Strawberries
from Walmart or Trader Joe's. They will probably give you hepatitis A,
Or Kroger, ALDI, Safeway, H-E-B, Sprouts Farmers Market, Weis Markets, and WinCo Foods.
PHOTO: FDA says: 'Throw them away'.
https://www.eatthis.com/news-grocery-store-strawberries-hepatitis-a-outbreak/
LAOS UXO
https://www.insider.com/laos-unexploded-bombs-village-xiengkhouang-vietnam-war-photos-2022-4
TAIWAN WEST TAIWAN JACKET
The Department of 'China Is Angry' reports more details of the reaction by Taiwanese at Tom Cruises' bomber jacket in 'Top Gun:Maverick'.
The flick is not expected to be released in China,
PHOTO: The full view of the flash without any interfering blondes is on the right.
Related
America has lost her Top Gun spirit
And no well-intentioned sequel can pretend otherwise
https://spectatorworld.com/book-and-art/america-has-lost-her-top-gun-spirit/
CHINA XINJIANG GENOCIDE
In a couple of weeks, June 21 at the latest, the U.S.A. will announce a ban on the import of all goods made in China's Xinjiang province.
https://tinyurl.com/45h24nun
SINGAPORE CORONAVIRUS MASKS
It's Not Just Thailand
Mask-Up edicts are the rule all around ASEAN.
In Singapore, this boutique owner and clothing designer (below) was arrested and taken to court for the crime of unmasking while making a promotion for her store.
Niki Han Jiayi, 34, had little choice, so she pleaded guilty, and handed over S$3,000 as her fine - US$2,200 or 75,000 baht in real money.
https://bityl.co/CUVN
BANGKOK MASKS
Out of the blue on Thursday, the brand new governor of Bangkok said he wanted to end all mask mandates in the city.
 Chardchart Sittipunt does not have the power to order such a step, so he vowed to take the issue to the next meeting of the junta's Covid-regulatory committee, aka CCSA.
 Chadchart himself has been the very model of a Covid rules follower, and is seldom seen maskless.
https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/40016232
UKRAINE RUSSIA WAR TAIWAN
♪ ♫ ♫♪♪ Always Look On The Bright Side...
China-owned World Health Organization aka WHO says Covid-19 is getting worse in North Korea
Even WHO doubts Kim Jong-Un's 'medical experts'
North Korean state media has claimed the Covid wave has abated, after daily numbers of people with fever topped 390,000 about two weeks ago.
Not even WHO believes that hooey.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/jun/02/north-koreas-covid-outbreak-likely-getting-worse-who-says
Speed it up there, old-timer
Medical experts say your walking speed could indicate dementia
 It may not seem like a big deal initially, but there have been a number of studies done to pinpoint which may be a sign of a loss of cognitive functioning.
https://tinyurl.com/2p9f66v6
TECHNOLOGY
Google is Combining Meet and Duo into One Video
 The thinking here is that it's loads of fun to confuse your customers and users.
https://www.theverge.com/2022/6/1/23149832/google-meet-duo-combination-voice-video
Chinese hackers have discovered a new zero-day vulnerability in Microsoft Office.
They are exploiting the heck out of it, so maybe it would be best if you left Office on the shelf for a few days.
https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/new-windows-search-zero-day-added-to-microsoft-protocol-nightmare/
Gee, ya think?
Covid cult damaged kids
https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/news/articles/the-covid-cult-did-lasting-damage-to-our-kids
What the World Needs Now...
TikTok confirmed that it's testing a new "Clear Mode" feature for users to watch videos without on-screen distractions such as captions and comment buttons.
The feature aims to streamline the scrolling experience for TikTok users.
https://techcrunch.com/2022/05/31/tiktok-testing-clear-mode-distraction-free-scrolling-experience/
U.S. orders for workplace robots rose by a record amount in the first quarter of the year.
 Experts attributed the rise to the pandemic, worker shortages, rising wages, and advancing technologies, among other reasons.
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/us-robot-orders-surge-40-061445829.html
Companies are finding it difficult and expensive to recruit top engineers.
 Tech giants are paying large sums of money to keep their best employees.
Geolocation technology firm TomTom said it will eliminate 500 positions in its maps unit, or 10% of its global workforce, as it integrates more automation into its mapmaking.
 The Amsterdam-based company, previously known for its satellite car navigation, specializes in detailed maps, navigation software, and real-time traffic information.
https://www.reuters.com/technology/mapmaker-tomtom-cut-10-jobs-due-improved-automation-2022-06-01/
Lone Member of Parliament has a complaint
Democrat Party MP Rangsima Rodrasamee (Samut Songkhram) wants to know who turned off the TV-radio broadcasts of the current budget debate.
And she wants them back on, Right now, including the main parliament room, plus meetings of sub-committees discussing the 3-trillion-baht bill writting by, and for, the ruling junta.
Current complaints during the debate centre on claims that the Prayut regime can't generate income.
Thailand is not broke, and Prayut isn't falling - yet. But Ms Rangsina (photo below, in parliament) wants more, and immediate, information.
Let's make one thing perfectly clear
The junta's rules, laws, edicts, decisions (etc) change daily, at least in details.
But as of today and into the current, known future, everyone in Thailand will wear a mark. No exceptions considered.
PHOTO: Everyone is permitted to ride the BTS (Skytrain) but above-the-neck clothing is non-negotiable.
https://www.bangkokpost.com/learning/easy/2308782/
America's paper of record:
Powerful: Military To Allow Troops To Replace Camo With Colors Of Their Gender Identity Flag.
https://bityl.co/CUSu
No, no, no, no, NO!
https://bityl.co/CUTS
WEEKEND READ
China: End Of An Era
This is a terrific analysis of where Russia, and particularly China stand as of this moment.
 China has, since the 1990s modernized and expanded its armed forces to the point where, on paper, China has stronger ground, air and naval forces than Russia
But that is barely the beginning.
https://strategypage.com/qnd/china/articles/20220525.aspx
Extremely related
by David Brown, formerly of the U.S. Embassy Saigon:
 Putin's Ukraine adventure has rendered Hanoi's previous reliance on Russia for weapons systems and training precarious.
 A few days before Biden's foray to East Asia, RAND analyst Derek Grossman argued that "Taiwan isn't the Ukraine of the Indo-Pacific. Try Vietnam Instead".
http://www.rand.org/blog/2022/03/taiwan-isnt-the-ukraine-of-the-indo-pacific-try-vietnam.html
When U.S. SEALs raided and double-tapped Osama bin Laden, they also seized hundreds of thusands of pages and documents of the al-Qaeda founder and HTICC. Attempts to gather and examine and read about this treasure trove are paltry - and constantly stonewalled and interfered by the C.I.A. and other enemies of free speech.
Author Nelly Ahoud has done the first attempt. This review calls her book imperfect, but this review of her The Bin Laden Papers: How the Abbottabad Raid Revealed the Truth about Al-Qaeda, Its Leader and His Family is a pretty decent effort.
https://tinyurl.com/2b7a5wbr
How things change
There is a new TV series on The CW network of the U.S.A., called 'Tom Swift'.
The summary description for the show begins (and I am not making this up)...
 Follow the adventures of billionaire inventor Tom Swift...
