New buzz: Can we tie Thaksin to Golden Triangle drug smuggling?
Good morning kids of all persuasions to the Saturday Number 150 of the Rona attacks.
South Korea whomped Portugal and their next assignment is to Beat Brazil.
Coming up next week is another 4-day holiday weekend.
Airports of Thailand says you can park for free in the long-term lot at Suvarnabhumi.
Thailand's ruling junta kicked up the latest public issue by at least two notches.
Illegal land-and-house buying by alleged Chinese mafia don is directly tied to Thaksin, his Shinawatra family, and the main anti-junta political party, Pheu Thai [PTP, 'For Thais].
Long Story Short:
Police raided 11 locations in the Greater Bangkok Area (GBA) and found "luxury houses" that were built by a company in which people named "Shinawatra" hold shares.
It's the latest development of a police "investigation" trying to prove that Thai-Chinese Chaiyanat "Tuhao" Kornchayanant is the "Mister Big" of the Golden Triangle heroin-methamphetamine racket.
"Police sources" had told selected Bangkok-based newsmen that they believe three out of 50 'gorgeous houses' in eastern Bangkok's Soi LaSalle were financed by drug money and by Shinawatra-linked persons.
The leading police investigator is Surachate "Big Joke" Hakparn, who told Bangkok media he needs more access to the finances of Chaiyanat "Tuhao".
https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/2451819/
Breaking... They are. And have for 200 years, or so.
Thailand investigates whether foreigners are using proxies to buy land
This, too, is part of the headline-grabbing surrender of the alleged [but not accused] drug-mafia triad chief Chainat "Tuhao" Kornchayanan.
Police on Friday asked the Criminal Court for warrants to raid, search and possibly seize at least 50 suburban houses in Bangkok and nearby provinces.
A deputy director of Thailand's Department of Lands stated publicly:
Officials have also been asked to publicise that Thais who own land in a foreigner's stead are breaking the Land Code and Criminal Code by making a false statement.
Penalties for foreigners found using proxies to own land in Thailand include jail, fines, and having the land seized and sold by junta-appointed officials.
PHOTO:
Anyone who owns residential projects in foreigners' stead will face punishment in line with the law.
-- Panitavadee Prachnakorn, Deputy Director-General, Department of Lands
https://www.nationthailand.com/thailand/general/40022679
THAILAND ECONOMY HOUSEHOLD DEBT
Between July 1 and September 30, Thai household borrowers racked up one trillion baht of debt and have refused to pay back.
Legal borrowing, unpaid: 1,900,000,000 baht exactly.
The National Credit Bureau (NCB) reckoned on Friday it's not going to stop.
CEO Surapol Opasatien:
By the end of September, NPLs ('non-performing loans' (in economists' jibber-jabber) caused by the fallout of the coronavirus pandemic totalled 400 billion baht in real money - or US$11.5 million, 15.5 loonies.
https://tinyurl.com/mvesphfm
THAILAND CORONAVIRUS MUTATION
The XBC - worst coronavirus mutation since the last variant
Top scientists and trained doctors of the Thai junta's medical wing made a discovery on Friday.
The coronavirus mutates. Like every virus, ever. And now...
The Department of Medical Services (DMS) is conducting research to determine how many vaccine shots are needed to effectively fight off XBC Deltacron, a hybrid of the Delta and Omicron BA.2 variants. [Jump to the last line.]
Doctor Supakit Sirilak, DMS director-general, said the strain is being cultivated in a lab so it can be used to test the efficacy of Covid-19 vaccines.
The study is expected to take "a while" to complete.
Related
First XBC Deltacron Thai case recovers
The new hybrid has not yet shown any signs of causing severe symptoms, but it appears to be highly transmissible.
https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/2450372/
The junta's designated 'prime minister' of Thailand explained to Thai news reporters that he takes every assigned political task seriously.
Prayut Chan-o-cha, who declared himself premier eight years and six months ago, explained:
Politics is a serious job that requires righteousness, honesty, transparency, and practicality.
The news vultures were more interested in Prayut's political planning for the future.
"I am still deciding -- Wait a little longer," he said.
"Take it easy. There's plenty of time."
At present, the ruling junta is semi-committed to holding a nationwide election for parliament in May.
BTS-Skytrain fare hike in the spotlight
Bangkok City Hall, aka Bangkok Metropolitan Administration, is the last chance to delay or cancel a one-baht rise in all fares on all routes of the Skytrain, better known as BTS.
The city's deputy govenor Deputy Governor Wisanu Subsompon said on Friday that City Hall had sent a “cooperation-seeking letter” to Bangkok Mass Transit System Plc to reconsider raising all fares on January 1.
https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/2451872/
That is a double hard "Yes".
Has China begun a retreat from zero-COVID -- and is it too late?
But be very, very wary. Not a single time since the formation of the Communist Party of China in the French Concession of Shanghai on July 23, 1921, repeat
Not one time has the CCP changed policy or even acknowledged public opposition. And they have killed many, many thousands to keep it that way.
So hold your applause for the White Paper Revolution for a short while, so we can determine just what is going on.
But their President4Life Xi Jinping is considering just what to do, and how to do it.
Beijing writer and political-science expert Wu Qiang warned in a column for The New York Times that the communists have lost the people, and they won't get them back with just a momentary rollback of lockdowns.
So how about a Tiananmen-style massacre of hundreds of thousands of the malcontents? Will that get them back?
Or is it too late for that, too?
https://hotair.com/ed-morrissey/2022/12/01/tipping-point-has-china-begun-a-retreat-from-zero-covid-and-is-it-too-late-n514866
And now do Thailand!
https://hotair.com/ed-morrissey/2022/12/01/tipping-point-has-china-begun-a-retreat-from-zero-covid-and-is-it-too-late-n514866
WEEKEND READ - TAKE IT SLOWLY
CHINA BLANK PAPER PROTESTS: 'It's The First Time I've Seen This in China.'
COMMENT: These are very brave people
EXCERPT
Sliding through the tight crowd at the vigil on Urumqi Road, I discovered a small memorial: candles lit on the ground and wreaths of flowers laid in tribute to the victims of the fire. Some messages were also written on signs: “We don't forget: Guiyang, Urumqi, Henan, Xi'an." These were the places where people had died during confinement. They hadn't been able to get medical care; in one case, there had been a bus accident on the way to a quarantine center. Their deaths, their suffering, was now melding into everyone's anger. It was becoming a cause.
The people at the vigil were mostly in their twenties or thirties. They felt walled off from the rest of the world, literally and otherwise. They chanted: “Health code, fuck you!” They sang the Chinese national anthem, and a revolutionary song that begins “Arise! Ye who refuse to be slaves!” In April, during the Shanghai lockdown, those words were censored on Weibo, China's Twitter. The revolutionary was now, apparently, counterrevolutionary, or too revolutionary.
A Uyghur man in his thirties told me: "No freedom here." He was from Urumqi and has relatives who lived in the building where the tragedy took place. "The building was locked down. They [his relatives] survived," he said, referring to his extended family, “but they were terrified. I'm a man, I'm not used to crying, but for the last three days I've been crying all day." He added: "You know, for us Uyghurs, it didn't just start with the lockdown. We've been suffering for years in Xinjiang.”
Gradually, the crowd became more daring. They demanded freedom of expression, and freedom of the press. They yelled: "We don't forget 6/4," which was a reference to the last time students challenged the government and demanded democracy, on Tiananmen Square, on June 4, 1989. The party crushed Tiananmen with tanks and machine guns.
And wouldn't hesitate to do so again - these are very brave people.
Tweet of the Week
No close competitor.
Analysis: Confirmed
Kanye West's appearance on 'Alex Jones' show exposes broken man.
https://redstate.com/brandon_morse/2022/12/01/kanye-wests-appearance-on-alex-jones-exposes-a-broken-man-n667419
SPORTS CITY STREETS AUSTRALIA
Always ahead of the world in their love of sports, Australia invents and plays the news one: Plonkerdump.
Rules have not been codified (yet) but the sport works like this:
Points will be awarded on a scale of how many vehicles are able to pass relative to how many stupid climate protesters have been removed.
One point may be awarded, for example, if vehicular progress is achieved after four or more protesters are dragged away by understandably hostile motorists or onlookers:
[The reporter is the irrepressible Tim Blair of The Telegraph.]
The sport is spreading rapidly, to England, Italy...
https://bityl.co/Fyj9
On YouTube:
SPORTS SOCCER WORLD CUP QATAR
Ignoring teams already sent home, Thailand is interested in two matches in the Group of 16. Reminder, these are all knockout games - lose once and go home.
South Korea squeaked through to the Final 16 with a 90th-minute 2-1 victory over Portugal.
Thailand times:
Netherlands vs USA, 2200 today.
England vs Senegal, 0200 Monday.
PHOTO: South Korea's Hwang Hee-chan celebrates scoring the winning goal.
https://www.thesun.co.uk/sport/20616460/south-korea-portugal-live-result-score-reaction/
Hwang's post-game interview
Going into the round of 16 was our goal and now we have higher goals and we will do our best to achieve those goals.
No-one knows the world of football, especially now, and since we have a chance to beat Brazil we will do our best and prepare our best game.
I am thankful the coach will be able to be with us on the bench for the next game.
TECHNOLOGY
Still waiting for additional details.
A U.S.A. 'widespread outage' shuts down the 988 mental health hotline.
The new and spiffy hotline is intended to help anyone experiencing a mental health emergency.
If their mental health is not too far gone, people in America can reach a mental health counselor by texting "988" heading to 988lifeline.org and opening a chat.
https://bityl.co/FzQ7
Holiday gift ideas.
You're welcome.
