Elon has arrived! Tesla launches in Thailand
Good morning kids. Please settle down, at least for a few minutes.
Thursday is here and gone. It's Friday throughout the world, December 9, 2022.
You have just about two weeks to scout the stores for the Christmas present you want for your sweetie.
DRUGS NARCOTICS SMUGGLING GOLDEN TRIANGLE
15 dead after gunfight with drug smugglers in Fang district, near the Burmese border
It was the heaviest -- and most deadly -- Golden Triangle battle in 50 years, when heroin druglords raised private armies to battle Thai forces - and each other.
The bloodfest began when a Thai army anti-drug patrol spotted a group of about 20 men walking through the forest.
Yesterday morning, a battlefield sweep turned up the bodies of 15 smugglers and  29 bags of ice -- crystal meth.
Thai narcs speculated yesterday that the smuggling convoy was the work of a certain Akha, named Beleh and based in Tachilek town on the border with Chiang Rai.
Luckily there was not a single Thai casualty.
Photo courtesy 5th Cavalry Regiment Task Force and Pha Muang Task Force
THE WORST PRISONER TRADE IN THE HISTORY OF PRISONER EXCHANGES. And there have been quite a few.
 But hand it to Putin. He offered this deal to Biden months ago: Take it or leave it. And Biden finally assumed the fetal position and begged Vlad not to kick him too hard.
 WNBA's Brittney Griner released by Russia in 1-for-1 prisoner swap for "The Merchant of Death" and arms dealer Viktor Bout.
 To secure Griner's release, the president ordered Bout to be freed and returned to Russia.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-63905112
NOTE
 This is what Vlad proposed and then refused to budge - months ago.
 "Lord of War" Bout was arrested at the semi-luxurious Novotel Siam Square by Royal Thai Police in early 2008 during a simplistic sting engineered by U.S. DEA agents.
 Bout made no statement at his arrest but then mounted a furious 2-year appeal against Thailand -- and lost. His entire appeal including a propaganda campaign was financed entirely by Russia and by the Russian embassy in Bangkok.
Comment: Snark occurred.
Closely related
Will she now be glad to hear the U.S. national anthem?
 Before being caught, jailed and sent to a Siberian work camp, Brittany Griner was the leading voice calling for the WNBA to disrespect the U.S. national anthem.
It's a toss-up, certainly, but the main issue gripping all Thai media and TV talk shows is an allegation that a particular Chinese-Thai man [currently incarcerated in solitary without charges or even access to a court] is the biggest Mister Big in the history of drug smuggling who has been illegally buying Thai property and homes and bribing Immigration Bureau bigwigs to obtain visas for his criminal friends to come and live in Thailand.
It is a big deal. But maybe it's not really a big deal. Because yesterday
The Royal Thai Police swore and crossed its heart and hoped to die that it would investigate all the allegations about the Royal Thai Police and take action if any criminals are found.
National police chief and four-star General Damrongsak Kittiprapas went even further:
 If any officers are found guilty, they will face legal action.
 The police must be transparent and be open to scrutiny.
Thailand can take a deep breath of relief.
https://www.bangkokpost.com/learning/advanced/2455760/
GLOBAL WARMING TESLA THAILAND
Tesla Launches in Thailand, Vying To Compete With China EVs
Tesla said the vehicles will have the latest satellite navigation systems and other features such as over-the-air software updates.
https://www.khaosodenglish.com/news/business/2022/12/08/tesla-launches-in-thailand-vying-to-compete-with-china-evs/
5 takeaways from the first three episodes of 'Harry & Meghan'
https://www.semafor.com/article/12/08/2022/5-takeaways-from-the-first-three-episodes-of-harry-meghan
The Guardian:
 I watched the first three episodes of 'Harry and Meghan' and I almost threw up.
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2022/dec/08/prince-harry-royals-meghan-racial-attacks-duke-duchess-sussex-netflix
OUTBREAK CORONAVIRUS THAILAND
Kingdom sees uptick in Rona cases
An increasing number of Covid-19 patients have been reported in  Bangkok  and  other  tourist destinations since the Omicron subvariant BA.2.75 has become dominant in Thailand.
 According to the Department of Disease Control (DDC), the number of inpatients, patients with critical conditions and fatalities in Bangkok and its five adjacent provinces and tourist provinces in the East and the South is on the rise again.
 The  growing  number  of patients was preceded by social gatherings among Thai and international tourists across the country.
THAILAND ECONOMY TOURISM
Pre-holiday analysis
Thai Enquirer: Thailand sees better than expected tourist arrivals in November, but spending remains subdued
The better-than-expected arrivals for November (Bangkok-Suvarnabhumi airport, below) prompted economists to adjust their full-year 2022 arrival targets with hopes that the number of tourists will likely increase in 2023, after China opens its doors to allow Chinese citizens to travel again.
https://tinyurl.com/3usswpra
OPINION: Growing Anxiety About the Rise of China in Thailand
https://www.khaosodenglish.com/opinion/2022/12/04/opinion-growing-anxiety-about-the-rise-of-china-in-thailand/
Related
Thai consumer confidence up for sixth month in a row, hitting 20-month high in November
https://bityl.co/G5Q3
Golly, why would the Chinese president4life visit Saudi Arabia?
But it will anger Iran - quite a lot. So there's that.
 The Chinese foreign ministry said that Xi will attend the inaugural China-Arab States Summit in Riyadh, and meet leaders of the six nations that make up the Gulf Cooperation Council in the Saudi capital of Riyadh.
 His state visit to Saudi Arabia will end tomorrow.
[So... twice as long in Saudi as in Bangkok.]
https://www.khaosodenglish.com/news/international/2022/12/07/chinas-xi-visiting-saudi-arabia-amid-bid-to-boost-economy/
SPORTS HOCKEY
After Gretzky, who?
A project called NHL99, with an eponymous website, just kicked off an attempt to discover and list the very top players since 1967.
 The website TheAthletic.com has declared itself in charge of the project. Their list of the Best 100 will be published in February.
 TheAthletic's weird and wonderful and strange rules mean Gordie Howe and Rocket Richard won't be on the list but Toronto's current goal-hanging Auston Matthews will.
 This story lists (with videos) of players ranked Number 51 and below. Spoiler: Number 100 is goalie Marc-Andre Fleury.
https://theathletic.com/3550299/2022/12/07/nhl99-ranking-the-greatest-players-in-modern-nhl-history/
SPORTS SOCCER WORLD CUP
Very very late tomorrow night or
alternatively
very very early on Sunday morning (0200) England will battle France and sensational Kylian Mbappe for the 8th and final spot in the quarter-finals.
Nabbed in the Northeast for overstay
Cop-stopped Englishman Michael McLaughlin, 30, said yes, he should have left Thailand three months ago. But he loves the country so much he did not want to leave.
Which was a bad choice. He has been living in Si Sa Ket province of Isan since his tourist visa ran out.
His case is more pathetic than rare. Police and the Immigration Bureau as on a campaign to clear out illegal aliens, and McLaughlin will likely be deported - at his own expense.
The Pattaya News: https://tinyurl.com/n893zkbd
Alternative: https://www.thaiexaminer.com/thai-news-foreigners/2022/12/07/uk-man-arrested-in-sisaket-on-visa-overstay/
Iggy Pop turns all chicken and skeerdy-cat
 "I'm not gonna stage dive again because I'm too rickety".
The Godfather of Punk first popularised the move during his time as frontman of The Stooges, though it seems that the time has come for the 75-year-old to stop his crowd-diving antics.
Plus, he has scoliosis.
https://guitar.com/news/music-news/75-year-old-iggy-pop-stage-dive/
COMMENT: The chief editor of the Fishwrap says: "I sympathize. That's why I gave up stage-diving."
The reason that the United States maintains its corruptible 'department of agriculture' is moments like this, to provide factual, true information to people who need it for the purchase of stocking stuffers for their rug rats.
Popularity of tangerines has soared, but oranges still favored
 The tangerine citrus commodity group has soared in popularity, with per capita availability more than doubling between 2000 and 2022.
 This broad group includes tangelos, mandarins, clementines, and traditional tangerines.
https://www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/food-availability-per-capita-data-system/loss-adjusted-food-availability-documentation/
TECHNOLOGY
Nigeria has limited cash withdrawals from ATMs and banks in an attempt to force people to use digital transactions. (Coin Telegraph)
This is already a popular tactic by third world-undeveloped-underdeveloped countries nations that are determined to remain as third-world countries.
It is a developed strategy for Thailand, ready to be implemented, probably soon.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/nigeria-bans-atm-cash-withdrawals-over-225-a-week-to-force-use-of-cbdc
Iran is set to freeze the bank accounts of women who refuse to wear the hijab. (Coin Telegraph)
Do you people want bank runs? Because this is how you get bank runs.
Background: Ongoing protests have occurred in Iran since Sep. 17, when an Iranian woman named Mahsa Amini was arrested by the morality police for not wearing a hijab and died in suspicious circumstances at a hospital in Tehran.
https://cointelegraph.com/news/iran-set-to-freeze-bank-accounts-of-women-who-refuse-to-wear-a-hijab
That'll teach them. And if it doesn't teach them, well then...
 Iranian forces shooting at faces and genitals of female protesters, medics say
TSMC [of Taiwan] is planning to invest another $28 billion in its new Arizona facility to build a second fab ready to produce 3nm chips. (Tom's Hardware)
If all goes to plan, Apple will be using chips sourced in Arizona to produce iPhones in, well, India. But still an improvement.
https://www.tomshardware.com/news/tsmc-commits-to-expand-arizona-fab-40-billion-investment-and-3nm-by-2026
WEEKEND READ
Speaking of the hijab...
 The boys and girls at CTV News (Canada) have cobbled together a readable-AND-informative piece on today's Iran.
Iran says hijab law is under review, as state media dismisses claims feared morality police has been abolished
https://www.ctvnews.ca/world/iran-says-hijab-law-is-under-review-as-state-media-dismisses-claims-feared-morality-police-has-been-abolished-1.6180468
Do you remember the floods of spam e-mails of the 1980s?
Really? You do? Boy, you are getting old!
