Inflation hits Thailand
Good morning kids, it's 26 Canadian degrees with a very pleasant breeze this Saturday morning June 11 in downtown Nong Bon.
Marijuana Good!
Thailand's ruling junta announced it has one (1) million fledgling marijuana bushes.
It will give them away, at the rate of two plants per family, until the supply runs out.
And
A group of paediatricians popped up to oppose the giveaway because young people are vulnerable to the effects of cannabis.
https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/2323858/
DRUGS TRAFFICKING SMUGGLING
SONGKHLA: Anti-drugs police arrested a mule and 390 kilogrammes of crystal methamphetamine (aka ice) on Friday.
 Police stopped and searched the pickup at a permanent checkpoint on the Petchkasem Highway. They found 10 sacks of crystal meth hidden under plastic bags of cucumbers. The seized drugs, weighing 390kg, had a street value of 78 million baht.
 The mule said he was paid 30,000 baht(about US$900) to carry ice from Ratchaburi province, west of Bangkok, to Tak Bai district of Narathiwat in the deep South.
 That's the route used by folks intending to smuggle their meth (and heroin) out of Thailand by sea.
PHOTO: Police inspect 390 kilogrammes of crystal methamphetamine aka ice found under bags of cucumbers in the bed of a pickup, in southern Songkhla province. The arrested pickup driver is at right.
https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/2323862/
Inflation hits Thailand
The Thailand Industry Sentiment Index (TISI) fell to a seven-month low of 84.3 points in May amid economic uncertainties ranging from rising inflation to political conflicts overseas, says the Federation of Thai Industries (FTI).
The inflation rate hike and prolonged global oil price surge, driven by the Russia-Ukraine war, come as consumer purchasing power remains weak.
These factors have dampened confidence in the business sector.
Chairman of the Federation of Thai Industries says:
"As the war continues, China's lockdown measures remain a worry and a new geopolitical conflict between Iran and Israel erupts, the world is surrounded by uncertainties while it has yet to fully recover from the impact of Covid-19."
https://www.bangkokpost.com/business/2323398/
THAILAND ECONOMY LOAN JAPAN
Japan to lend Thailand 13 billion baht
Thailand's junta and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (Jica) claimed the money will bolster the nation's Covid-19 emergency response.
Possibly. The amount of the loan, by coincidence, is exactly what the junta has budgeted to buy one submarine from China, and also a mini-squadron of F-35 stealth fighter jets from the United States.
 Under the agreement, the loan is to be repaid within 15 years - plus a four-year grace period - with the annual interest set at 0.01%.
 Thailand agreed to make two payments each year, on May 20 and Nov. 20, with the first payment due on May 20, 2026, and the last one in May 2037.
https://bityl.co/CdnI
Partly related
The Japanese embassy in Bangkok reopened its visa section on Friday.
https://www.bangkokpost.com/travel/2323850/
Good-bye American Si Racha Sauce - for a while.
As all Americans and most Thais know, the U.S.A. has an entirely different "Sriracha" sauce than Sri Racha, and it has made its refugee inventor and promoter David Tran far beyond "rich".
 But Tran announced on Friday that he can't get the chillies for the sauce, and he's shutting down production for at least three months.
 [NOTE: The biggest difference between Tran's sauce and "real" Si Racha sauce from, well, Si Racha, is that Trah's 'Huy Fong Sriracha' uses only jalapeño from North America, while real Si Racha uses chillies from Si Racha.)
 Summary: "Currently, due to weather conditions affecting the quality of chili peppers, we now face a more severe shortage of chili," Tran's Huy Fong Foods said. A drought is affecting Mexico, from which the company sources its chili peppers.
PHOTO: An Asian supermarket in the United States, displays "Sriracha hot sauce".
https://www.nbcnews.com/business/consumer/sriracha-hot-sauce-chili-pepper-shortage-rcna32742
Related
As soon as news of the Huy Fong disaster spread on Friday, investors headed for the Stock Exchange and their brokers.
Thai sauce maker shares rise after news of Sriracha sauce shortage in US
Exotic Food Plc (known as XO on the Stock Exchange of Thailand), a maker and supplier of Thai seasoning sauces, saw its stock rise more than 5 per cent on Friday, of the Huy Fong problem.
 XO shares rose 5.33 per cent from its prior closing to 15.80 baht by midday, the highest in nearly a month. The company exports Thai sauces and ingredients to more than 60 countries across the globe - including the U.S.A. and Canada.
 Founded in 1999, XO currently sells 200 products under its trademark, ranging from chilli sauce to coconut milk. The company's headquarters are at Wireless Road in Bangkok.
 By HUGE coincidence, Exotic is holding a three-day Summer Fancy Food Show at the Jacob Javits Convention Center in New York City, right now.
https://www.exoticfoodthailand.com/products/
https://www.thaienquirer.com/40814/thai-sauce-maker-shares-rise-after-news-of-sriracha-sauce-shortage-in-us/
CORONAVIRUS THAILAND
All the bad Covid-19 news from Friday:
2,836 new cases
24 deaths
24,556 active cases
673 serious cases
3,518 recovered
THAILAND PRIVACY CRIME PHOTOS
Thailand's alleged 'ministry of digital economy and society (aka MoDES)' warned on Friday against posting pictures on the internet - especially crime pics.
A new Personal Data Protection Act (PDPA) now in effect bars taking and posting photographs without the specific permisserion of the subject. The junta loyalist and minister Chaiwut Thanakamanusorn pointed out that a lot of crime photos involve dead, even mutilated people who are unable to give their permission.
He said:
 It's perfectly legal to photograph or video criminal acts, because they might be useful to police.
 It is totally illegal to post those pics or videos online.
THAI will fly pilgrims to the Haj
After two years on the ground, Thai Airways International (THAI) has resumed flights to Saudi Arabia for Thai Muslims on their way to the Haj. The first flight left yesterday.
The airline will operate nine round-trip flights departing from Suvarnabhumi, Narathiwat and Hat Yai airports to Jeddah and Medina.
Departing flights were set for June 10-13 and June 29-July 3 with return flights from July 18-21 and August 8-12.
 A total of 2,508 pilgrims will use the service.
The actual Haj will run from July 7-July 12.
THAILAND TOURISM
A large gaggle of Thailand tourist operators wheedled an agreement out of the junta's Tourism Authority on Friday to request:
an exemption of all visa fees for all foreigners who are required to procure a visa to enter Thailand.
an extension in the stay permitted by non-visa foreigners from 30 to 45 days.
IMPORTANT: These are requests and not yet approved.
https://www.bangkokpost.com/business/2324058/
TAIWAN WEST TAIWAN WAR
Okay but tbf they have already hesitated for 73 years.
China will 'not hesitate to start war' over Taiwan
[AFP] SINGAPORE: Beijing will "not hesitate to start a war" if Taiwan declares independence, China's defence minister warned his US counterpart Friday.
The warning from Wei Fenghe came as he held his first face-to-face meeting with US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue security summit in Singapore.
Wei warned Austin that "if anyone dares to split Taiwan from China, the Chinese army will definitely not hesitate to start a war no matter the cost",
https://www.bangkokpost.com/world/2323883/
Hard to argue
European Union: China deserves new sanctions over Xinjiang
European Union (EU) lawmakers pushed to bolster sanctions against Chinese officials involved in alleged human rights violations in the western region of Xinjiang.
 The European Parliament adopted a non-binding resolution condemning systematic repression of the Uyghur community in China, including through mass deportation, family separation, religious restrictions, and the extensive use of surveillance.
 It called for a ban on importing goods made with forced labour.
https://www.bangkokpost.com/world/2323758/
U.S.A.: You do NOT need a Covid-19 test to enter the U.S.
Effective Monday.
 No one flying to the United States requires a pre-flight test foir Covid-19.
 This was a demand of airline executives and the U.S. Travel Association - and the White House gave in.
 PHOTO: Los Angeles International Airport Terminal. What will this lady do, with no job?
 Quick, interesting read:
https://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2022/06/10/CDC-COVID-19-testing-ends/9101654875513/
Missing teacher found slain, weighted body dumped in pond
PHETCHABURI: Police arrested a 38-year-old soldier and charged him with murdering a teacher and then trying to dispose of her body in a pond.
 Sgt Maj 1st Class Surin Pramnoi, of Kaeng Krachan special warfare camp, admitted to having strangled Wanida Omthet.
 He asked and demanded that she give him money. When she refused, he strangled and stabbed her multiple times.
 Her family reported Wanida missing two weeks ago.
PHOTO: Is he sorry, or is he sorry he got caught. Soldier-killer "apologises to the body" of the women he murdered (inset).
https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/2323730/
THAILAND CORRUPTION
 The Thailand junta's 'deputy interior minister' said Friday there is no way he will resign just because courts have found him guilty of corruption and malfeasance.
 Niphon Bunyamanee was convicted by the Supreme Administrative Court on Wednesday. He also was found guilty by the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) over an incident in 2013, involving 52 million baht, a little more than a million and a half U.S. dollars plus interest.
TECHNOLOGY
Stand by; this is the future.
Apple Is Working on a 15-inch MacBook Air for 2023 and New 12-inch Notebook
Under the headline "ENTERTAINMENT", the website LifeHacker has details on 'How to Host An Orgy'.
Firat, sheets of plastic and plenty of vegetable oil. Nah, kidding.
https://lifehacker.com/how-to-host-an-orgy-1849029735
The New MacBook Is 'the First True Laptop of the Smartphone Era'. Well, okay, But it doesn't even have 5G, wuwt?
https://www.lifewire.com/why-the-new-macbook-is-the-first-true-laptop-of-the-smartphone-era-5324852
Is Reddit Down... Or Is It Just You?
Spoiler: You'll have to work to find out.
https://www.lifewire.com/is-reddit-down-5272354
Dell has launched a revamped XPS 13, and ditches the earphone.https://www.techradar.com/news/dells-adds-alder-lake-cpu-to-xps-13-but-ditches-the-earphone-jack
If you want to use China's Baidu for some reason, well, you can. And you'll get three (3) TB of free storage. But the extra 2TB is only valid for six months.
https://www.techradar.com/news/chinas-answer-to-google-is-offering-2tb-cloud-storage-for-free-but-theres-a-catch
AMD Is On Track To Become a Top 3 Fabless Chip Designer
Which is good for AMD but it would be more useful if they made some.
https://www.tomshardware.com/news/amd-is-on-track-to-become-a-top-3-fabless-chip-designer
Waiter, there's a fireman in my chocolate mousse.
 Two employees at a Mars food processing plant in Pennsylvania needed to be rescued after they fell into a tank of chocolate on Thursday.
PHOTO: Craig R. Stivik and Patrick Kilcannon of the Hershey, Pennsylvaina, Fire Department. Said Kilcannon: "I don't like the word 'hero'."
https://nypost.com/2022/06/09/2-workers-fall-into-chocolate-tank-at-mars-plant-in-pennsylvania/reports.
Gosh, gee, what could the world possibly do about such a problem? We're doomed, I guess. This is Not Fake News From Scientists:
There are too many pink salmon in the Pacific
https://www.popsci.com/environment/too-much-salmon/