Covid hit investors' pockets
Gidday all, on this quite attractive and balmy Sunday morning in downtown Nong Bon, Bang Na - 26 Canadian degrees with just a hint of a breeze..
This is meant, mostly but not entirely, as a respite from news of the "civilized" world.
Funny.
NOT funny-haha. Funny OMG!
It's exactly the same people who can't find an ambassador for Thailand.
For 535 Days
And Counting...
Click to embiggen.
Please be respectful, the entire sprawling city of Bangkok and all 15 million residents are in shock and ahh since this announcement on Friday.
Man U without Cristiano will face Liverpool in a clash of the Reds at Rajamangala National Stadium on Tuesday.
Man U arrived in Bangkok yesterday.
https://www.bangkokpost.com/sports/2342922/
BRING ON LIVERPOOL
ManU pose for a photo
In Canadian terms, Manchester United without Cristiano Ronaldo is as interesting as the Oilers without Connor McDavid.
Manager Erik ten Hag, centre, poses with football promoter Vinij Lertratanachai, right, players and staff of Manchester United. The team will face Liverpool on Tuesday evening at the Rajamangala National Stadium in Bangkok.
Of course it was. It has only been in effect for 27 months.
State of emergency extended by 60 days
https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/2342432/
PHOTO: On the right, the exchange rates, opening prices for Monday.
THAILAND TOURISM DUAL-PRICING
Some newspaper readers comment:
Re: "Thailand plans to charge foreigners more than Thais for hotel rooms":
https://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/postbag/2342827/
JAPAN U.S.A. CHINA TAIWAN
Well-informed Yalie and ex-adviser to then-prime minister Shinzo Abe asks it out loud:
Is Taiwan going to be the next Ukraine?
Russia's brutal war on Ukraine is, most observers agree, an assault on democracy, sovereignty and human rights. For the United States and its NATO allies, the Kremlin's aggression demands a powerful response, including unprecedented economic sanctions against Russia and huge amounts of military aid to Ukraine.
https://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/opinion/2342772/
THAILAND EDUCATION EDITORIAL
Stateless students need legal status
Thailand is rapidly ageing. Every child in the country, regardless of nationality, needs access to care and education to help meet the country's economic challenges ahead. It is a huge mistake for officialdom to deny stateless children an education and care just because they are non-Thais. This bigotry must end.
Within 20 years, Thailand's elderly population will have jumped from 12 million (today) to 20.5 million. Thailand needs a young workforce to support them. Given the country's low birth rate, the government cannot ignore stateless children.
Despite the government's [i.e. junta's] Education for All policy, many stateless children still have not received proper support and protection. It must find out why and remove the hindrances immediately.
https://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/opinion/2343082/
R.I.P.
Bruce Katz, the man who invented 'the shoe that's made for walkin' and a national fad of walking for fitness, fell and died at his home in California, at 75.
https://footwearnews.com/2022/influencers/power-players/bruce-katz-rockport-founder-obituary-1203307175/
On this day in 1932, the Dow Jones Industrial Average hit its lowest point in the Depression. (Spoiler alert: Thing didn't get better all that quickly.)
https://www.loc.gov/item/today-in-history/july-08/
Online fraud
The telecom regulator sets a daily fine of 1 million baht for any mobile phone operator that fails to comply with regulations against the use of multiple SIM cards for call scamming.
https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/2341607/
Bad, sad news for the massively rich of Thai society.
Reported by FORBES
Downturn hits tycoon pockets
Amid a slow economic recovery, the collective wealth of tycoons on the 2022 Forbes list of Thailand's 50 richest fell nearly 6% to US$151 billion from a year ago.
The top three ultra-wealthy on the list remain unchanged.
Dhanin Chearavanont and his brothers are still No.1 despite shedding $3.7 billion, the biggest decline in dollar terms, to $26.5 billion.
Red Bull sales surged during the pandemic like a bull at the Madrid Plaza de Toros. And who gained from that? Bangkok's Yoovidhya family, which gained US$1.9 billion more to help protect their fugtive killer-son Vorayuth, nickname "Boss".
The complete list of overly wealthy can be found at www.forbes.com/thailand as well as in the July issue of Forbes Asia and the August issue of Forbes Thailand.
Sri Lanka used to be one of my favourite parachute landing zones and workplaces. Now? It was inevitable.
Sri Lanka has fully collapsed and the Prime Minister declares nation bankrupt.
Here is the important part:
This will be repeated by numerous other countries in the coming months because of food and energy inflation.
Friday/Saturday UNEXPECTED turn of events: The banking system, including all debit cards, are currently down in The Great White North. No one can make payments for anything. And the absolute total complete genius Warren Buffet just lost 6 billion U.S. dollars because he trusted (and recommended) his good buddies at Three Arrows Capital.
UPDATE
PM Ranil Wickremesinghe resigns amid hostile protests.
https://nypost.com/2022/07/09/sri-lanka-pm-ranil-wickremesinghe-resigns-amid-hostile-protests/
• Sri Lanka Begging Russia and India for Fuel
• A Nation Wrecked by Green Agricultural Policies.
• Sri Lanka facing imminent threat of starvation
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/apr/06/sri-lanka-facing-imminent-threat-of-starvation-senior-politician-warns
Includes UPDATE: https://www.bangkokpost.com/world/2342927/
Related
Invading Lankan 'protesters' swim in Sri Lanka president's pool
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-62105698
Horrors: The Toronto Star newspaper was forced to apologize.
https://www.bangkokpost.com/world/2342937/
SUNDAY READ
If we don't do it now, we'll never have a chance to do it.
Determining Objective Information versus Indoctrination.
https://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2022/07/determining_objective_information_versus_indoctrination.html
Prediction of Next Week. Get your money down!
Will Biden be able to stop himself from going in for a Patented Sniff on gymnast Simone Biles?
Not fair: Asking Sunisa Lee for her opinion.
SUNDAY READ
If your kid is in school, how can you know whether he's getting objective information or the indoctrination narrative?
https://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2022/07/determining_objective_information_versus_indoctrination.html
There are still people alive who remember
The Summer of '72 (Revisited)
George McGovern was a veteran of 35 flying missions in World War II. After that conflict, McGovern opposed President Truman’s “aggressive anti-Soviet policy,” which he considered “dangerous.” McGovern became an enthusiastic supporter of Henry Wallace, whose Progressive Party was a front for the Communist Party.
... In his first Senate run that year, Joe Biden sounded a lot like McGovern.
And much more:
https://amgreatness.com/2022/07/08/summer-of-72/
Can NPR stoop any lower?
Probably.
Interesting
Thailand provides no such insurance for any immigrants, legal or not. And Thailand makes them pay, bigly.
California Will Be First State to Give Health Insurance to Undocumented Immigrants.
https://legalinsurrection.com/2022/07/california-will-be-first-state-to-give-health-insurance-to-undocumented-immigrants/
TECHNOLOGY
The HP Pavilion 14 Plus looks like a solid laptop. (Thurott.com)
Starting around $700 (U.S. dollars) with the top configuration at $1300, it's not a bargain item but it's not overpriced. It's available with 10, 12, and 14 core CPUs (Intel Alder Lake, so they all have 8 low-power cores), and RTX 2050 graphics in one model.
https://www.thurrott.com/hardware/269811/hp-pavilion-plus-14-first-impressions
Good to know
Hunter Biden, the 'smartest man' that Joe Biden knows, is in a sensory deprivation area during yet another detox effort.
Hunter Biden, 52, sends texts so that friends will understand his feelings for his Stepmom.
Hunter Biden calls "Doctor" Jill a cvnt in texts.
Hunter Biden called his step-mom Jill Biden a "vindictive moron" and "entitled c--t" in text messages after she urged him to go to rehab to kick his drug habit.
"So go f--k yourself Jill let's all agree I don't like you anymore than you like me."
https://tinyurl.com/yu3fvde5
Yeah, no one suspected this.
Cassidy Hutchinson is lying.
The Secret Service insists she is lying. So. What? Choose your sides?
The head of the SS detail wasn't even in 'the Beast' (actually an SUV); he was in his office.
And so on and so on...
https://bityl.co/D9T6
GLOBAL WARMING
EU votes to ban the sale of gasoline powered cars by 2035? [NBC News]
• EU Carbon Pricing Plan Has Special Exemption For Yachts [The Blaze]
• Corporate jets to escape EU's 'green' aviation fuel tax [Irish Times]
Inspired by Ukraine, civilians study urban warfare in Taiwan
https://www.bangkokpost.com/world/2341567/
Thailand's SN77 drug gang wrapped up
The alleged female leader of a major drug-smuggling and distribution network and her drug felon boyfriend were arrested and assets worth more than 100 million baht seized from her home in Nonthaburi, a northern suburb of Bangkok.
GLOBAL WARMING ENERGY UPDATE
U.S.A. President Biden sold 950,000 barrels of oil, about a million barrels, from the U.S. strategic petroleum reserve this week, to China.
By Uuge coincidence, the Chinese firm he sold it to is a company in which son Hunter Biden owns a huge stake.
The sale was to Unipec, the trading arm of the China Petrochemical Corporation. That company, which is commonly known as Sinopec, is wholly owned by the Chinese government.
Counting his sale to China, Biden has drained the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve to its lowest level in 40 years
https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/oil-us-reserves-head-overseas-gasoline-prices-stay-high-2022-07-05/
Horrified or Disgusted?
Hotels slam dual pricing
Hoteliers have expressed concerns about the government's plan to set dual pricing for foreign tourists and locals.
https://www.bangkokpost.com/business/2341872/
And the baht continues to sink
Industry cowers as baht dips again
The Federation of Thai Industries warns against further currency depreciation to B37/dollar, claiming it would make life more miserable for businesses and households.
https://www.bangkokpost.com/business/2341937/
Oh good lord... When even XiNN believes and broadcasts the story that the entire Biden White House is incapable of handling urgent-moment demands...
'Rudderless, aimless, hopeless' says a CNN broadcast covering the current state of the Biden White House.
https://www.cnn.com/2022/07/05/politics/democrats-frustrated-biden-lack-of-urgency-supreme-court-setbacks/index.html
https://bityl.co/D6aF
Also
After weeks of considering the Supreme Court leak on overturning the Roe v. Wade decision, the Biden White House and leaders of the Democratic Party have no idea on how to proceed.
Again, quoting Reuters
According to customs data, China spent $19 billion on Russia oil, gas and coal earlier this year. That's double the amount they spent over the same period last year.
India spent $5 billion on Russian oil. That's up five times what they spent a year ago. So, the U.S. just made Russia a ton of money.
That's why the ruble is so strong as the dollar is getting weaker.
QUOTE
America is so lucky.
Under President Biden, America is stronger economically than we have been in history.
-- Karine Jean-Pierre, White House spokeslady for U.S. President Biden.
ENGLAND SPORTS
Rybakina fights back to take Wimbledon title
Elena Rybakina became the first player from Kazakhstan to win a Grand Slam title by beating Tunisian third seed Ons Jabeur in a gripping Wimbledon final.
https://www.bbc.com/sport/tennis/62101697
WEEKEND READS
By "doctors" PBS refers to the coming battle, post-pandemic, between the confident, up-and-coming Johns Hopkins and the hapless, shamed U.S. C.D.C. It's not about doctors at all:
POLITICS. THE REASON IS POLITICS. Why doctors are calling gun violence in the U.S. an epidemic.
Violence isn't a disease, it's a behaviour. They only call it a disease as a matter of control.
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/why-doctors-are-calling-gun-violence-in-the-u-s-an-epidemic
Yes, well, the point is NOT to end it.
Lingering Covid-19 Restrictions Are Costly Hazards: Travelers and families find that some officials just can't let go of pandemic powers.
https://reason.com/2022/06/06/lingering-covid-19-restrictions-are-costly-hazards/
Really, nothing has changed from the times that 20 million Vietnamese believed they could count on U.S. aid, help and sympathy, except when Biden said, "Stop! Right There!" Not gonna happen.
Fifty YEARS later, Biden Tells You It's Raining While... You Know... On Your Boots.
https://bit.ly/3awYFyG
TECHNOLOGY
Repairability and upgrade on Dell's new XPS 13 are kind of crap. (Tom's Hardware)
Not only has soldered RAM, but a soldered SSD. Two USB-C ports and that's it. No options to expand or upgrade at all.
https://www.tomshardware.com/news/dell-xps-13-9315-repair-no-headphone-jack
Bottom of the budget SSD market: The Teamgroup AX2 offers 2TB of SSD in a 2.5" SATA package for $130. (AnandTech)
Not sure I'd recommend that particular model, though; warranty replacement seems iffy.
https://www.anandtech.com/show/17446/at-deals-teamgroup-ax2-2-tb-ssd-lowers-to-130-at-amazon
Top of the budget SSD market: The Sabrent Rocket 4 Plus offers 1TB of SSD in an M.2 NVMe package for $130. (Serve the Home)
Twice as expensive per gigabyte, but twelve times faster.
https://www.servethehome.com/sabrent-rocket-4-plus-1tb-m-2-nvme-ssd-review-this-is-fast/
