Not exactly Emmett Till but darned close
Dear Fishwrap readers. The head of our IT section has promised to work harder to keep the publication mainframe up and running. I also regret the mainframe breakdown and all of us in East Nong Bon have buckled in to achieve that goal.
This is our Tuesday-Wednes edition, and full daily publication will resume by Thursday.
—- Chief Editor, Fishwrap
The Perils of Prayut
It has been 103 months since the 4-star general, former army commander Prayut Chan-o-cha declared a midnight coup and named himself a 'prime minister of Thailand.'
Politics is closing in. Prayut has jettisoned all his ex-army buddies, and has just made himself head of the country's newest political party, UTN - United Thai Nation, better known as Ruam Thai Sang Chart.
Rumours have it that he will soon dissolve the Lower House of parliament and call a national election for May 7.
Opposition, observers say Prayut may try to hang on to his title by extra-legal means -- because his UTN is 'not ready' for an election.
https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/politics/2468775/
Prayut has recently hired political veteran Pirapan Salirathavibhaga [photo below] as a secretary and political mentor.
He said yesterday, of Prayut's chances in a fair election:
It won't be easy. It's really hard to go up against big or long-established parties
pirapan27.jpg
Thai princess warned of heart condition
PHOTO: HRH Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn [centre, in black]
Now 67, she is the youngest sister of King Maha Vajiralongkorn, and the aunt of "Princess Paht" aka Ong Pha, the king's daughter, who collapsed on December 15 and never has regained consciousness.
Heart specialists at the King Chulalongkorn Hospital in Bangkok advised her to ease back on her busy medical/social activitiesz.
https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/2469030/
Things you cannot say in Thailand
Things you must say in Thailand
ZOMG! Now you have angered Prayut, who is definitely not a dictator.
Penpad Utachsakul teaches social studies, religion and culture to 10th-grade students at Rittiyawannalai School in Sai Mai district of Bangkok.
Whoops. Please make that USED TO TEACH. She is done.
Prayut ordered his 'minister of education' Trinuch Thienthong to set up a large committee to investigate the outrage.
Prem died in May, 2019 at 99 years old.
PHOTO: Bangkok junior-high students forced to attend an exhibition entitled 'Prem the Great Iconic Statesman'.
https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/2469309/
ITEM: As of Fishwrap press time this morning, it remained unclear if Ms. Penpad's students or progressive anti-junta political groups would protest.
Ung-ing's our girl
TOURISTS TRAVEL FOREIGN ARRIVALS
Thailand's junta's Immigration Bureau worked on Christmas, like all government agencies, and reported late in the afternoon:
From January 1 to December 22, Thailand admitted 11 million tourist/visitors.
5.72 million through Suvarnabhumi airport
1.45 million via Phuket International Airport
904,717 through Don Mueang International Airport pf Bangkok
Top land checkpoints that welcomed tourists this year were:
670,400 via Sadao district, Songkhla province
328,957 over the Friendship Bridge from Laos at Nong Khai.
Others arrived by yacht or road, particularly at Sadao district of Songkhla province in the deep South, and most of them were Malaysians.
Arrivals in Thailand by nationality;
Malaysia: 1.81 million
India: 923,768
Laos: 796,220
Cambodia 562,060
The foreign arrivals during 2022 totaled about one-fifth, 20% of the number of tourist arrivals before the coronavirus lockdowns began in early 2020.
The junta's never-pessimistic, sometimes factual Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) estimated on Christmas Day that tourist/foreign arrivals in 2023 may reach 80% of the 2019 foreign arrivals of 40 million.
Thailand's alleged 'prime minister' Prayut dispatched his official spokesperson Anucha Burapachaisri to state, officially:
Premier Prayut has stressed the importance of restoring both international and domestic tourism in Thailand, together with spreading revenue to locals and communities.
New Year Countdown at Khao San Road cancelled
All businesses along the tourist- and pot smoking-friendly Bangkok street said they intend to remain open Saturday night-Sunday morning, but NOT to celebrate.
The official reason for cancellation:
Covid-19 and security fears and the state of health of HRH Princess Bajrakitiyabha "Ong Pah" Narendira Debyavati, the Princess Rajasarini Siribajra have created 'a fragile mood'.
However, Sanga Ruangwattanakul, president of the Khao San Business Association, said that what tourists and local people alike should to is to bring their cameras to Khao San Road on Saturday evening and "take selfies with the giant balloons along Khao San Road, and watch live broadcasts of parties and countdowns from around the world."
While shops and entertainment venues in the popular backpacker district will be open as usual, there will no festive decorations like before.
Thai princess warned of heart condition
PHOTO: HRH Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn [centre, in black]
She is the youngest sister of King Maha Vajiralongkorn, and the aunt of "Princess Paht" aka Ong Pha, the king's daughter, who collapsed on December 15 and never has regained consciousness.
Doctors yesterday advised the 67-year-old royal to dial back her social activitiees.
https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/2469030/
sirindhorn27
Things you cannot say in Thailand
Things you must say in Thailand
ZOMG! Now you have angered Prayut, who is definitely not a dictator.
Penpad Utachsakul teaches social studies, religion and culture to 10th-grade students at Rittiyawannalai School in Sai Mai district of Bangkok.
Whoops. Please make that USED TO TEACH. She is done.
PHOTO: Bangkok junior-high students forced to attend
https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/2469309/pm-orders-probe-of-teachers-prem-claims?utm_campaign=Article&utm_source=article_suggestion&utm_medium=most_recent&utm_content=suggestion-article.......
CHRISTMAS DELAYED
SONG OF SONGS: Turn up to "11"
CLAIM: There is no better Christmas song than the Celtic Wexford Carol* by Yo-Yo Ma and Alison Krauss, from their album Songs of Joy & Peace.
CONCLUSION: After multiple investigations by more than two dozen teams of Experts the claim is: VERIFIED TRUE.
*Irish: Carúl Loch Garman, Carúl Inis Córthaidh
CLAIM 2: If it weren't for Dolly Parton, Alison Krauss would be the best singer of our generations.
Discuss.
Once again, the highest-high-tech of the North American Aerospace Defense Command aka NORAD fails to stop even ONE illegal alien from sneakiing into the U.S.A. and Canada.
https://www.noradsanta.org/en/map
On the other hand...
The decades-old NORAD Santa Tracker is a Christmas Gift to children and parents alike.
https://tinyurl.com/4ncrc4sn
REMINDER: There ate four (4) shopping days until New Year's Eve.
HUSBANDS: There are 362 days to shop for Christmas.
CORONAVIRUS REDUX
INDIA: Every arrival from Thailand must show proof of a negative test for Covid-19.
Rule also applies to travellers from China, Japan and South Korea
Q: Does that include all children?
A: Yes.
PHOTO: Indian health worker swabs an arriving passenger at a Covid test site at Anna International Airport, Chennai.
https://www.bangkokpost.com/world/2468137/
India-Chennai.jpg
CORONAVIRUS CHINA
Covid Infections in Zhejiang province are currently at one (1) millionw-with-an-"M"
Every day.
Across China, there are 2 and a half million new Covid cases.
Every day.
Times of India: https://bit.ly/3FVvIZp
Also: https://tinyurl.com/38f3m793
GLOBAL WARMING
BUFFALO (above, an often snowbound city in 'upstate New York' state of America):
THEY'RE FREEZING IN THEIR CARS: Buffalo hit by 'most devastating storm' in city's history, where "storm" means blizzard, snow, sleet, freezing rain etc. and absolutely no share of 'global' warming.
The state governor Kathy "Karen" Hochul dispatched fifty (!) 50 National Guard soldiers to help out.
That number seems ... insufficient.
Report and VIDEO
https://www.msn.com/en-us/weather/topstories/national-guard-deployed-to-wny/ar-AA15D7QV
Scientifically speaking, by real weather scientists
Fierce blizzard leaves 24 dead in Buffalo by Sunday; more flights cancelled
The number of victims continues to rise
AccuWeather
Deadly lake-effect blizzard buries Buffalo in nearly 4 feet of snow
The massive amounts of snow have caused major travel problems throughout the city and resulted in at least seven fatalities.
"Four feet" is away more than one metre.
with more VIDEO
https://www.accuweather.com/en/winter-weather/deadly-lake-effect-blizzard-buries-buffalo-in-nearly-4-feet-of-snow/1429773
As of early this morning...
Thailand has literally thousands of military, militia, police, first responders and walk-in volunteers on the beaches, shorelines and water to help with the search for the missing and any related equipment from the sinking of HTMS Sukhothai.
You'd think the governor of New York State and several federal agencies could do better, but you'd be so very, very wrong.
Photo courtesy Royal Thai Navy. The sunken HTMS Sukhothai, caught on sonar, is at the bottom of the Gulf of Thailand, 20 nautical miles off the coast of Prachuap Khiri Khan, i.e. Hua Hin.
The ship is 40 metres below the surface. [131 American feet]
The Royal Thai Police have set up a field-forensic unit onshore a Bang Saphan. On Sunday, the team identified one of the Sukhothai crew, found floating in the sea.
REMEMBER TSUNAMI
Yesterday, Boxing Day, was the 18 anniversary that the deadliest tsunami in recorded history struch Thailand and a dozen other countries -- At least 265,000 dead.
America's Newspaper of Record:
Oh No! Zelensky Shoots His Eye Out With The Rocket Launcher He Got For Christmas.
https://bit.ly/3hOoWwk
WATCH YOUR LANGUAGE
There are children and aunties reading this:
Oxford English Dictionary, an authority of sorts, says we use 171,146 words daily in speech and writing. That's not counting 47,156 "obsolete" words we still use, time-to-timr.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-44569277
So this is an unexpected New Year's treat.
CNN has a rare, excellent headline:
2022's hottest words were peculiar and depressing, which ... makes sense
Merriam-Webster: gaslighting
Oxford Languages: goblin mode
Collins Dictionary: permacrisis
Macquarie Dictionary (Speaking Strine): teal
And so on and so one et cetera et cetera...
https://edition.cnn.com/2022/12/06/us/word-of-the-year-2022-dictionary-oxford-merriam-webster-cec/index.html
TECHNOLOGY
Fishwrap editorial staff agree with Kevin Downey Jr. on this:
Why You Need to Start Paying Attention to the 'Twitter Files'
https://bit.ly/3vi2tuG
The latest sad-sack episode:
The United States government pressured Twitter and other social media platforms to elevate certain content and suppress other content about Covid-19.
https://t.co/CHt0s7ZqfQ
SPORTS THAILAND SOCCER
Now that the World Cup is over...
The Sports Authority of Thailand has promised that all remaining matches of the Thailand War Elephants in the the Asean football championship will be broadcast on free-TV throughout the country.
Thailand whipped Brunei 5-0 last Tuesday in the opening match for both teams. It was blacked out on TV, brining a major protest from fans.
Thailand next plays the Philippines this evening at Thammasat Stadium, north of Bangkok. Channel 9 will broadcast the game. Thailand is the defending champion of the annual tournament.
https://www.bangkokpost.com/sports/2468247/
The Cultural Evolution: Lynch the Bastard!
Yep. This is where we are. Not exactly Emmett Till but darned close.
French Woman Has Sex With Illegal African Migrant in Train Station Toilet, Falsely Claims Rape by Phantom White Man
https://bit.ly/3jv9cyF
I'm sure there are plenty of people on the Malvinas who just think, "Ah, we've got plenty of penguins."
