No sales of alcohol today - in Bangkok and in Pattaya
Prayut overwhelmed by his unceasing success
G-O-O-O-O-O-O-O-D MORNING WORLD! It's Sunday May 22 and we'll keep the noise down
Election Day dawns
In Bangkok and Pattaya, a Sunday election is under way for governor and mayor.
But as one of the Bangkok newspapers put it this morning:
The colourful election campaign advertisements and speeches by some high-profile candidates could have misled people into thinking they were in the middle of a general election.
Thailand's junta "allowed" a nationwide vote for parliament four years ago, but the last truly free-and-fair election in Thailand was in 2011 - when citizens overwhelmingly voted for the world's most attractive prime minister, Thaksin's little sister Yingluck.
PHOTO: Seven of the 21 candidates in the election for Bangkok governor.
https://www.khaosodenglish.com/opinion/2022/05/15/opinion-as-bangkokians-gear-up-to-elect-their-own-governor-after-9-years-people-in-the-provinces-continue-to-wait-after-a-century/
BANGKOK ELECTION ANALYSIS
Despite big promises in a hard-fought campaign, voters simply want a governor who can fix their problems
Just a reminder about today and about ALL election days in Thailand.
Violators face up to six months in prison, a fine of up to 10,000 baht, or both.
AUSTRALIA ELECTION
Scott Morrison gives up; prime minister no more
Straight from Australian ABC:
Labor wins government
YES! Australia spells the name of this political party "L-A-B-O-R" with no You. And it pours on the platitudes.
Newly elected prime minister Anthony Albanese says his team will work every day to bring Australians together, saying he will lead a government "worthy of the people of Australia".
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-05-21/federal-election-live-blog-scott-morrison-anthony-albanese/101085640
Please refer to Thailand as "the country where new cases and deaths by Covid-19 are falling" and you will make a junta proud and happy.
As one Saturday newspaper newspaper headlined: Covid figures steady.
Here are the initial 'Vid stats for Saturday.
Thailand's ruling junta has ordered all Moms and kiddies to report for half-a-dose of Modern anti-coronavirus vaccine.
And don't try to leave town before July.
"Recipients in this age group will receive two jabs of Moderna at 50 micrograms each at an interval of 28 days," said Sunaina Kitkasetpaisal, general manager of vaccine importer ZP Therapeutics Zuellig Pharma Thailand.
True story. Shots ordered for an entire generation by a medicine importer. Reminiscent of "When the inmates..."
https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/40015784
There is always a chance
That things will get a lot worse.
Wuhan's renowned Bat Lady exploits Fauci's generous gift
This is true Gain Of Function.
https://thenationalpulse.com/2022/05/19/wuhan-lab-journal-publishes-gain-of-function-research/
The latest edition of the lab's journal, Virologica Sinica, appears to contain a similar style of research with the H7N9 virus in chickens and mice.
The publication's Editor-in-Chief is Wuhan's infamous "bat lady," Shi Zhengli, who is the lab's premier bat coronavirus researcher and a recipient of funds from Anthony Fauci through Peter Daszak's EcoHealth Alliance.
THAILAND POLITICS JUNTA PRAYUT
Whenever I see a news story, local or international, on any subject including Global Warming, the first thing I need to know is what Prayut thinks of it.
https://www.thailandnews.co/2022/05/
Thailand's designated 'prime minister' celebrated 8 years in power, with a speech.
"I have led Thailand through one crisis after another."
https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/politics/2312726/
DRUGS TRAFFICKING KETAMINE
The always alert DHL
10kg of US-bound ketamine (ya-K) seized in Chiang Rai
Police have arrested a Hmong man in Chiang Rai and seized 30 kilogrammmes of ketamine after he reportedly tried to send 10kg of the drug to the United States.
Pithak Khaengkaeng, 34, was apprehended after staff of the logistics company DHL in Chang Phuek district of Chiang Mai alerted police that they had received a suspicious parcel destined for the US.
https://www.thailandnews.co/2022/05/10kg-of-us-bound-ketamine-seized-in-chiang-rai/
SINGAPORE to the leader of Asia's and Al Qaeda's 'Jemaah Islamiyah' in Indonesia:
GET OUT!
STAY OUT!
The Lion City customs agents intercepted terrorist leader Abdul Somad Batubara (who has several other aliases) when he stepped off a ferry from Batam.
"Somad has been known to preach extremist and segregationist teachings, which are unacceptable in Singapore's multi-racial and multi-religious society," said a statement by Singapore's Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA).
"Somad has preached that suicide bombings are legitimate in the context of the Israel-Palestine conflict, and are considered 'martyrdom' operations."
That's about the nicest thing anyone has ever said about the Jemaah Islamiyah founder. He and six companions were escorted away from Singapore.
He has 6.5 followers on Instagram.
https://www.bangkokpost.com/world/2311914/
https://www.mha.gov.sg/mediaroom/press-releases/mha-statement-in-response-to-media-queries-on-abdul-somad-batubara/
U.S. Defense Secretary General Lloyd Austin will visit Thailand 'next month'. No date given.
https://www.thailandnews.co/2022/05/u-s-defense-secretary-to-visit-thailand-in-june/
ANALYSIS
Prayut doubles as both 'prime minister' and 'defence minister' in Thailand's junta lineup.
He has literally met but not talked seriously with Austin.
Austin will try to keep all statements and actions in Thailand bland and non-specific.
Prayut will try to steer the American to the issue of a Thai purchase of F-35 jet fighters, which would have the secondary purpose of further sidelining his former friend and coup author ex-general Prawit Wongsuwan.
RUSSIA UKRAINE WAR APEC
If the Russians won't leave, then we will...
Delegates from five countries, including the US and Japan, walk out in protest over Russian minister's presence at the Asia-Pacific trade ministers' meeting in Bangkok.
https://www.bangkokpost.com/world/2313598/
The U.S.A. is not the only country stuck with student-loan defaults.
Sunday newspaper editorial
The Student Loan Fund (SLF) should stop its fierce pursuit of those who cannot repay their debts in time.
... The crux of the problem, says the study, is not the borrowers' lack of financial discipline but the fund's rigid and unsympathetic structure of repayment and the high interest rates that turn millions of borrowers into defaulters.
For example, graduates are allowed an interest-free grace period of only two years. After that, they are required to pay an annual installment at a high interest rate that increases every year.
In short, Thai banks and the government are Loan Sharks.
Japan's health minister: Masks not needed outdoors
If You Keep Quiet
The Japanese government announced Friday evening that wearing masks outdoors is unnecessary.
Unless one is engaged in a conversation.
https://www.nationthailand.com/international/40015778
And some of the public transportation in Shanghai is operating again.
Zhang Wei, the city's vice-mayor, said four of the city's metro lines-Lines 3, 6, 10 and 16－and 273 bus routes that form a network covering the urban areas.
IN ORDER TO RIDE, commuters must show
a negative nucleic acid test result from within 48 hours - and QR codes and smart inspection devices will check.
PHOTO: At least there are no traffic jams.
https://global.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202205/20/WS6286ef2ea310fd2b29e5dea6.html
The U.S. Department of Agriulture is reporting
Water- and wind-driven erosion affect a large portion of cropland
Which seems a tad inexact. But anyhow, there's a spiffy chart and basic facts at
Strangely, there is no mention of global warming.
https://www.ers.usda.gov/publications/pub-details/?pubid=103838
AFGHANISTAN WOMEN
This will not end well. For the women.
Afghan women TV presenters defy Taliban
Taliban's new order to completely cover faces while on air not being observed at major stations
"Our female colleagues are concerned that if they cover their faces, the next thing they will be told is to stop working," said Abid Ehsas, head of news at Shamshad TV.
https://www.bangkokpost.com/world/2313638/
Third try lucky
Boeing's Starliner (aka Starliner MAX because of its failuers) docked at the International Space Station for the first time.
Aboard was Rosie the Rocketeer, a mannequin that will gather important data from sensors.
No humans dared ride the MAX.
WITH VIDEO
https://www.space.com/boeing-starliner-docking-international-space-station
SUNDAY READ
Short and quite sweet:
This is a book review, with plenty of comments/analysis.
The Dumbest Generation Grows Up Is One Smart Book
https://www.nationalreview.com/corner/the-dumbest-generation-grows-up-is-one-smart-book/
Early on, The Dumbest Generation Grows Up presents the surprising case of greying Herbert Marcuse, the intellectual father of 1960s radicalism in general - and woke intolerance in particular - facing down an audience of leftist students enraged at his rejection of identity politics and his advocacy for the great books. IN 1969. The book ends in an encounter with Malcolm X, whose nearly miraculous self-education under the most desperate of circumstances was, Bauerlein shows, the ultimate antithesis of woke education today. In between, we learn that Steve Jobs and his fellow tech geniuses were wary from the start of their creations' effects on the young.
There is no such thing (I'm pretty sure) as reasonable conversation about this subject: Palestinians, terror and the retaliatory BDS.
But this piece from the Jewish News Syndicate is worth a read:
Let's talk about the 'nakba' and who's really responsible for Palestinian suffering
https://www.jns.org/opinion/lets-talk-about-the-nakba-and-whos-really-responsible-for-palestinian-suffering/
America's NBC 'News' Has a Scoop: Hunter Biden Made $11 Million From 2013 to 2018, Largely From Overseas "Business Partners"
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/national-security/analysis-hunter-bidens-hard-drive-shows-firm-took-11-million-2013-2018-rcna29462
The "Chinese businessman" that NBC "News" still refuses to name is Jack Ma. So this is has several implications for Thailand.
Roger Crutchley's Sunday column is particularly amusing today.
