Finally, Thai politics starts to get interestinger
Good morning boys, girls... did I miss someone?
It is Saturday, May 7. The work week is done but the work is never done.
THAILAND POLITICS DICTATORSHIP PRAYUT
Pray goes Full Defiance
'Oust me if you can'
Prayut stands firm amid rumours of plot
The Famous Final Scene
Like most dictators of history, Prayut blamed others, in this case a plot against him.
Commenting on reports of a move to vote against him in a no-confidence debate, Gen Prayut insisted that all coalition parties have pledged allegiance to the government.
Prayut added that major coalition parties appear unworried while small coalition parties seemed to be restless.
"Let them run around and they will become exhausted. They already spoke to Gen Prawit," - leader of the coup that put him into power, but now an unpredictable political force.
Quote...Unquote
BACKGROUND
On May 22, 2014, which is [consults calculator...] just about 8 years ago, commander of the Royal Thai Army Prayut faced political and military leaders and declared himself the Thai Leader in Complete Control.
He appointed himself as 'prime minister' and as chief law-enforcement officer in complete charge of all armed forces and the entire bureaucracy.
He has faced and defeated - often by brute force and murder - numerous small- and medium sized opposition.
Today's opposition is far beyond anything he has previously swiped aside.
TRIVIA
Why do the Thai media and most foreign media refer to Prayut as "General" Prayut?
All military (and police) ranks are edicts of the Thai king, and only the king can withdraw them.
Related
Oped: Testing times for the 'brothers-in-arms'
by Chairith Yonpiam, columnist and assistant news editor, Bangkok Post.
 The political mercury is rising as the opposition bloc warms up for another challenge to 'prime minister' Prayut, this time in the form of a planned no-confidence motion.
 Thamanat Prompow, leader of a breakaway faction from the ruling Palang Pracharath Party (PPRP) and now secretary general of newly formed Setthakij Thai, has warned Gen Prayut of a nasty surprise as people in the government camp could act against him during the House debate.
 N.B.: Thamanat is a convicted, imprisoned heroin smuggler (in Australia) and now a massively powerful and ambitious politician. Prawit is his patron.)
 Recent weeks have seen the unusual endeavour of certain political factions trying to give the impression that Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwon would be an appropriate choice for the next premier, should the incumbent eventually trip up politically.
PHOTO: Ex-Thai army commander Prawit Wongsuwon made Prayut into a dictator, and now is the chief architect of the likely un-making.
https://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/opinion/2306118/
The Covid-19 outbreak that refuses to go away, refused to go away.
In the 24 hours of Friday, May 6
7,705 confirmed new cases
62 additional deaths caused by the virus
Since the start of this dreadful virus breakout two-and-a-half years ago, Thailand has recorded and suffered
4,308,319 infections, including those of Friday
28,976 deaths
https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/40015278
THAILAND CORONAVIRUS VACCINATIONS
The plan for this week was to close down a dozen of the Bangkok shooting galleries for free anti-Covid jabs.
That won't happen.
The junta's CCSA in charge of virus is keeping 11 of those spots open, for at least another three weeks.
CORONAVIRUS SPREAD
White House Correspondents' Dinner
The April 30 White House Correspondents' Dinner Is Now Officially a Super-Spreader Event
And Kamala Harris wasn't even there! Because she had the 'Vid.
Reporters and staffers from CNN, ABC News, NBC News, CBS News, Politico, and other participating news organizations have tested positive for the Covid-19 after White House Correspondents Dinner weekend, CNN reported.
The event was gleefully unmasked and gleeful. There were no vaccination checks; you didn't need one to get in.
Joe Biden, who is currently the U.S. president, attended and tried not to get coughed on.
MORE: According to CNN, ABC's Jon Karl, who shook hands with President Biden and who sat next to Kim Kardashian, has fallen ill.
SO FAR and I want to emphasise that SO FAR Joe Biden has not suffered a possible positive illness.
The Dinner attendees had written for a year:
Now All the MAGA People Will Have a Chance to Reconsider Their Anti-Vax Stances In Hell.
For the record I hope every person infected by the White House gets well quickly, and I specifically hope Ms Rona fails to get any of them.
https://edition.cnn.com/2022/05/03/media/jonathan-karl-positive-covid-white-house-correspondents-dinner/index.html
Democracy dies in hysterics
A "reporter" of the Bezos Bulletin (she writes about DOCTOR JILL Biden) wrote terrified, panicky Twitter malarkey from inside the White House Dinner super-spreader event, and now has the 'Vid and was obviously unaware there were 100% effective ways to avoid or escape her problems.
I'm so old... (Restart) Is anyone else old enough to recall when the BBC was a reliable, credible source of real, actual news, and you listened to it?
Sinkhole and quicksand
These five wild elephants (below) wandered into a sinkhole in Kanchanburi province - northwest of Bangkok, think 'Bridge on the River Kwai'.
Two calves and an adolescent were among the victims.
No one lives in the area. The perished jumbos were discovered by villagers, foraging for berries and other edibles.
https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/2306106/
PHOTO: After a national (make-up) holiday for Visakha Bucha Day on May 16, it's back to school day for students of around 35,000 schools across the country.
The junta has laid down the law: No more of that online learning stuff. It doesn't work!
Which is true.
PHILIPPINES ELECTION
Candidates and voters are set for Monday's presidential election, without Rodrigo "Punisher" Duterte.
So let the dirty tricks rule! No joke.
The Marcos campaign on Friday urged supporters to "protect their votes" against unspecified attempts at vote-rigging.
"We've already won!" Marcos Jr (photo below) said. "Just make sure you guard the votes on Monday -- don't sleep... we know that when we sleep, a lot of undesirable things happen."
Robredo has campaigned on a promise to clean up the Philippines' chronically corrupt politics.
Sure. A piece of cake, right? The 57-year-old lawyer, and current vice president, has attracted fevered support from progressive young Filipinos.
Commie! Commie! Commie!
Unproved allegations that party founder Jose Maria Sison, who lives in exile in the Netherlands, was advising her campaign resurfaced this week in Marcos-allied media.
https://digitpatrox.com/dirty-tricks-allegations-mar-last-days-of-philippine-election-campaign/
NOTE: 'The View' is a daily talk show on U.S. and Canadian TV.
The Gals of The View Are Pretty Sure That They Can Change The Course of History By Refusing to Have Sex With Men
I have a question:
As a punishment? Or as a reward?
This should not be permitted. Let's get behind the campaign to help that poor bear in India. Maybe a few blocks of ice would help the poor animal.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-61330046
NEWS YOU CAN USE
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/w3ct38mr
RADIO FEATURE: https://bityl.co/C62M
This (and Lay's potato chips) are actually my wife's two greatest peeves.
