Prayut does that whole I'm-in-charge dictator thing
LISA LALISA BLACKPINK
Lisa, Jennie, Jisoo and Rosé –
Well... yeah. There was no close runner-up. Says rapper Jennie:
We put in a lot of work so we could look like superwomen. We're very normal girls, at the end of the day.
https://time.com/entertainer-of-the-year-2022-blackpink/
https://bityl.co/G3M5
Seeking election issues
Thailand's next national parliamentary election is at least six month away.
Thaksin's youngest daughter and de facto leader of the challenging Pheu Thai Party says: The issue is the economy, stupid.
Paetongtarn "Aung Ing" Shinawatra announced her 10-point plan "to revitalize the country."
Point One: The minimum wage, currently a bit over 300 baht per day, must immediately rise to 600 baht. That will not win much support from the ruling elite.
https://www.matichon.co.th/politics/news_3711312
Immediately... right out of the box.
Prayut: Hold my lemonade. He vowed he will fight the good fight against such political promises as raising wages.
Ung-Ing and Pheu Thai now are tied to her promise to raise minimum daily wages
from around 300 to 600 baht per day, and
setting a minimum salary for every worker with a bachelor's degree to 25,000 baht in real money, or 973 loonies.
"That may be too ambitious", said Prayut. Plus
Prayut said that setting a new minimum daily wage of 600 baht is probably illegal.
Only the junta-controlled and shadowy tripartite committee has the right to order wage hikes.
Prayut: 'I'm not going anywhere'
Prayut went much further than just swiping at Pheu Thai.
After a meeting of his "government" he told newshawks that all he wants is two more years in the token role of 'prime minister'.
But he intends to retain total control.
If I am able to stay on as prime minister,I will do so only until 2025.
I will do my best and then find a suitable and acceptable successor.
Sort of like a king, then.
PHOTO: Prayut, masked, leaving Government House after another exhausting day. Inset: Paetongtarn "Ung-ing" Shinawatra, head of the Pheu Thai Party 'family' and currently Prayut's chief political opponent.
prayut-paet07.jpg
THAILAND ECONOMY
Junta's 'New Year gifts' may be costly.
Prayut said he must jet off to Brussels next week, but when he comes back he'll be working on the traditional lists of 'gifts for the people' for New Year's Eve (in 25 days).
The list is secret but probably includes a renewal of the Shop Dee Mee Kuen (shop and get a tax break) and Rao Tiew Duay Kan (We Travel Together) tourism promotion.
The failure of Prayut's government to attract a lot of foreign tourists leaves the junta reliant on domestic tourists.
More bombing in Thailand's deep South
The separatist attack in lower Sadao district of Songkhla province killed three railway worksrs and injured seven.
Chief suspect, once again, is the Malaysia-based Barisan Revolusi Nasional, National Revolutionary Front, aka BRN.
Yesterday's 6 a.m. explosion came just three days after another bomb blew a train and locomotive off the southern tracks.
https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/2454115/
Work under way to restore sabotaged rail tracks in Songkhla Province
https://www.thaipbsworld.com/work-under-way-to-restore-sabotaged-rail-tracks-in-songkhla-province/
AS EXPECTED
The annual heavy rains and floods are hitting the South region of Thailand.
PHOTO: Channel 3 reports the house evacuations under way in Phattalung. More to come.
Related: Heavy rain causes flooding in Nakhon Si Thammarat
https://www.thaipbsworld.com/heavy-rain-causes-flooding-in-nakhon-si-thammarat/
SPORTS SOCCER WORLD CUP
Still to play to qualify for the Final Eight (quarter-finals)
Tonight:
Spain vs Morocco
Just a couple of hours ago Ronaldo-rich Portugal whipped Switzerland.
Friday
Croatia vs Brazil
Netherlands vs Argentina
Saturday, 2 a.m. Thailanda time
England vs. France
CORONAVIRUS CORRUPTION
Big if confirmed
BREAKING: We Now Have the Full Transcript of Fauci's Deposition in Social-Media Collusion Case.
Background: Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt and Louisiana AG Jeff Landry deposed Anthony Fauci last month in the states' case accusing the Biden administration of "colluding with social media companies to censor speech" related to the Covid-19 pandemic.
https://bityl.co/G2QY
In a Twitter thread, Schmitt noted that know-nothing Fauci blurted out, "I don't recall" 174 times during the deposition, "including when asked about emails that he sent, interviews that he gave, and other important information."
The Full But Redacted Fauci Transcript on Scribd
https://www.scribd.com/document/612496997/Full-Redacted-Fauci-Transcript#from_embed
446 pages - free for download - PDF or Text - 724KB
Far away and Related
New Zealand [population about 5 million] announces public inquiry into Covid-19 response.
Will tar and feathers be involved?
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern:
Are you looking at me? Are you... looking... at me? Why are you looking at me?
I said from the outset that there would be an appropriate time to review our response, to learn from it, and with the emergency over and our primary focus on our strong economic recovery, that time is now.
The Rona infected about 40% of Kiwis and killed 2,235 of them.
upi/msn
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/new-zealand-announces-public-inquiry-into-covid-19-response/ar-AA14U009
RIP CANCER KIRSTIE
Popular and Emmy-winning actress and fun person Kirstie Alley, dead at 71.
She was diagnosed with cancer, and died in a short time.
People gave her hell for letting herself go in the last few years when she looked a bit whaleish.
https://people.com/tv/kirstie-alley-dead/
IRAN WOMEN HIJAB WOMEN
Iran says hijab law is under review
Status of murderous state 'morality police' remains unclear
But one thing is as clear as it was 42 years ago:
A woman outside her home without a hijab still risks a list of 'enforcement' ranging from fines to prison to being beaten to death.
The Islamic Republic government on Sunday ordered the demolition and razing of the family home of Etnaz Rekabi - who is in big-big trouble for climbing in South Korea after her hijab accidentally fell off.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-63847173
Meanwhile, in ASEAN
Indonesia has passed the region's newest and harshest morality law.
No sexual relations except by a husband-and-wife, i.e. otherwise it's adultery
No sex before marriage, none. (Teen-agers in mourning)
No cohabitation, none.
These restrictions apply to foreigners - tourists or residents, doesn't matter.
These are now criminal acts, punishable by prison time.
If you have been planning a dirty weekend in Lombok, revise your plans.
After years of showing the knee to China, a Thai 'government; report on the slow takeover of all police stations and law enforcement policies.
'This is very dangerous". Ya think?
https://bityl.co/G2fm
AVENATTI LAWYER EMBEZZLE CRIMINAL
He was also ordered to pay $7 million in restitution.
CNN's creepy porn lawyer Avenatti pleaded guilty in June to stealing money from clients, including one who is a paraplegic, and one count of obstructing collection of federal payroll taxes from his coffee business.
The Rest Of The Story (thank you, Paul Harvey) is that CNN promoted this man in the strange belief he should be president of the United States.
The one certain thing about this story is that CNN at no time "disgraced" this creep porn lawyer, but actually encouraged him.
Still... President Creepy Porn Lawyer has a ring to it, eh?
https://edition.cnn.com/2022/12/05/politics/michael-avenatti-prison-sentence-client-embezzlement/index.html
https://abcnews.go.com/US/disgraced-lawyer-michael-avenatti-onetime-opponent-donald-trump/story?id=94509483
There's no better or more accurate or more informative headline for one of Asia's most important stories - not to mention the technology business.
Foxconn's revenue slumped
The electronics maker's revenue fell 11% in November, compared with the year before.
Two major problems combined: A Covid outbreak and worker unrest at Foxconn's flagship (and gigantic) Zhengzhou iPhone factory.
For public consumption, Foxconn headquarters PR team in Tucheng district, Taiwan says the company reckons it will be back to smooth-and-normal operations by next month.
REUTERS: https://tinyurl.com/mtbavhx9
Important Consequences for Thailand Economy
Commentary: Team Biden is using the IRS to attack the gig economy (IRS is the U.S. federal tax collector)
https://nypost.com/2022/12/05/team-biden-is-using-the-irs-to-attack-the-gig-economy/
INTERSECTONALITY MUSK TWITTER TITANIA
Elon Musk: worse than Hitler
In which Titania tries to keep things in perspective
Only a fascist would seek to impose free speech on humanity.
https://thecritic.co.uk/issues/december-january-2023/elon-musk-worse-than-hitler/
It was the Independent that really grasped the full gravity of this moment.
Its headline read — "RIP Twitter, 2006-2022: Dead at the Hands of Elon Musk".
It is a testament to the cool-headed stoicism of left-wing journalists that they have managed not to overreact.
MEDIA DUMBASS TIMES
THEY LIE. And they're stupid. And they are not reliable.
The New York Times for some reason or maybe for no reason because they didn't care:
Hunter Biden' laptop was 'Stolen.' There are living people who believe Ah, you know, man, who cares, you know?
Readers of other newspapers from Bangkok to Bangor are fully aware it wasn't stolen. Ever.
It is supposedly a newspaper, but so, so often it is not.
Some people say The New York Times started to go down when it defended Stalin and claimed there was no Holodomor, no sirree, not at all. Others say that was just another "minor error".
And it is definitely absolutely not a "minor detail". It's bloody important. Like this, also from.the Grey Lady of Times Square.
MEDIA JERKS FACEBOOK
Azerbaijani writer/columnist says flatly that, "Facebook fails independent journalists" and I don't see any way that anyone can argue. She knows what she's talking about.
By "Facebook" she means the Zuck empire, certainly including the Meta scam.
It's a full-length newspaper column and so requires a full read. Here are excepts:
In three hack-attacks on the prominent Berlin-based Azerbaijani news site Meydan TV deleted all its Facebook content, journalists attempted to contact Facebook to recover archived posts and received A) useless automated responses and B) unclear and useless responses.
In February, Azerbaijan's government enacted a restrictive media law that makes blocking news sites much easier, thus forcing more outlets like Meydan TV, one of the first websites to be banned in 2017, to rely on social media platforms to reach audiences.
But while these platforms have become de facto extensions of independent newsrooms, the considerations that drive their decision-making remain a mystery.
When Meydan TV asked Facebook to remove a fake page that used its logo to target and harass current and former staffers in 2020, the platform refused to intervene
because
the hoax "did not violate our [Facebook's] community standards.
This does not bode well for independent media organisations using the platform. By engaging with local news producers and soliciting their feedback on the company's enforcement policies, Facebook could help protect independent journalism and promote internet freedom.
Sadly, it looks like the company has other goals in mind.
MEDIA REPETITION
Goebbels was right!
If you ask an American or an American high school teacher or an extremely pointy-headed, offensive American history perfesser what day is tomorrow, they will replay in unison.
"81st anniversary of the start of World War the Second. Which of course it isn't but it does illustrate the value of repeating the same thing over and over and over to tykes and children. They accept what you say.
It's astounding ignorance and lack of inquisitiveness. Nevertheless FDR was correct that it is day of infamy.
MEDIA FACEBOOK META ZUCKERBERG
The Zuckerberg Empire of Facebook and Meta announced yesterday that if a proposed new law passes in the United States, their empire will remove all U.S.A. news content from Facebook.
Zuck and Priscilla are sticking with the 20-year argument that by providing links to news stories, Facebook and Et Cetera actually help U.S. media.
The pending U.S. legislation, known as the Journalism Competition and Preservation Act (JCPA) was introduced in Congress by Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar and has bipartisan support.
It would give publishers and broadcasters greater powers to collectively bargain with social media companies for a larger share of ad revenue.
Does it seem that 'Cilla has been hitting that box of chocolates and instant mac-and-cheese snacks lately? Asking for a catty friend.
CANADA CIVIL RIGHTS
The best goalie in hockey crosschecks Justin Trudeau for his "unjust" firearms ban.
https://www.thestar.com/politics/federal/2022/12/05/carey-price-faces-off-against-justin-trudeau-calls-proposed-firearms-bans-unjust.html
