Thai baht is sinking again, and there's no rescue in sight
I dreamt that I was Chinese but when I woke up, I was disoriented.
Harlan's one of the poorest counties in the United States. I love the people of Kentucky. It's the 49th-ranked state in everything, God bless Mississippi.
-- Al Snow, owner, Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW)Louisville, Kentucky
Former deputy of national police Surachate Hakparn, best known to the public as Big Joke' has been fired but he promises his departure will be colourful and explosive.
For starters, he says, he's going to sue Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin for signing his dismissal papers. 'The Polce Commission' (directly under Srettha's office) 'did not treat me fairly.' And the lawsuit he claimed to be preparing will include all 11 other members of the Police Commission including the prime minister.
Background story, for now: Surachate was "directly involved" in money laundering when he was assigned to investigate an alleged criminal ring, the BNK Master gambling network.
The Police Merit Systems Protection Board is currently reviewing Royal Thai Police General Surachate's complaint at the Administrative Court.
https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/2818884/
THAILAND ECONOMY
Economists report that the value of the Thai baht [against foreign currencies, particularly the U.S. dollar] is falling and will continue to weaken indefinitely.
The baht has softened by 7.7% this year. It is currently selling at the rate of about 37 baht per dollar.
https://www.bangkokpost.com/business/general/2819074/
USA POLITICS TRUMP BIDEN
One American newspaper, Many debate headlines
There are those who insist that Biden has a fail-safe component, named Kamala Harris.
The Guardian https://t.ly/DX6i8
Calls for Biden to stand aside grow after shaky debate performance
He looked and sounded weak and he didn’t do the essential thing he had to do, which is to calm the very concerns about his age that prompted his campaign to get this debate scheduled in the first place.
Politico https://t.ly/2y_p4
There's no spinning the debate result: Trump hit the jackpot
First major censorship of the U.S. election yearhttps://t.ly/nezxv
Yeah, well... CNN
The White House Correspondents' Association blasted CNN in a last-ditch attempt to expand access to the evening’s first presidential debate of 2024 to reporters outside the network.
EUROPE USA POLITICS
One hour before the debate began, The Associated Press released this 'latest poll'.
It begins... With no other disease that is currently rampant
Finland becomes the first nation on Earth to administer bird flu vaccine.https://shorturl.at/9UVRO
TECHNOLOGY
The United States Commerce Department has banned the sale of Kaspersky software in the US, because Russia. (Tech Crunch)
We are not claiming that they're wrong, merely noting that their analysis of the problem is perhaps incomplete.
https://techcrunch.com/2024/06/20/us-bans-kaspersky-software-security-risk-russia/
Is there life out there? (thefp)
There's a planet, 120 light years (a long distance) from Earth where there might -- just might -- be life.
Western Digital has announced a 4TB model of its Blue SN5000 SSDs. (AnandTech)
One catch. Two catches. Three:
1. It's QLC where the smaller sizes in that range are TLC, so it's potentially slower and has lower endurance per GB.
2. It's DRAMless, which is not a good combination with QLC flash.
3. At the MSRP, the SN850X is not much more expensive and much faster.
Details galore at this link:https://www.anandtech.com/show/21454/western-digital-rolls-out-updated-wd-blue-ssd-sn5000-4tb
A $99 OCuLink GPU dock from laptops and mini-PCs from Minisforum. (Tom's Hardware)
You didn't need a power supply, right? Or a case?
https://www.tomshardware.com/peripherals/docking-stations-hubs/minisforum-deg1-egpu-dock-launched-at-dollar99-open-air-device-supports-up-to-rtx-4090-and-oculink-connections
Writing a video game like it's 1987. (GitHub)
Not a very sophisticated video game -- it's Minesweeper rather than Minecraft -- but it's 300k and runs on modern systems.
https://gaultier.github.io/blog/write_a_video_game_from_scratch_like_1987.html
Was Legalizing Weed a Mistake? A Debate with two leading advocates both for and against the legalization of marijuana: has decriminalization worked? Or should it be reconsidered with more sober eyes?
By Bari Weiss
From the Comments
Do we need more stupid people driving, walking the streets, raising families, voting?
USA POLITICS (addendum)
Welcome to the Trump Veepstakes!
Trumpland is dangerous. Who will be willing to risk financial ruin, humiliation, or jail time to be the presumptive nominee’s running mate?
By Peter Savodnik, senior editor, The Free Press
Totally trivia Hardly interesting
Forms for the Thai Immigration Bureau have three choices per person: Mr. Mrs. Miss.
If this upsets you, there are airports serving dozens of flights daily leaving for foreign nations.
I Will [badword elided] Piledrive You If You Mention AI Again https://t.ly/FO-vG
A splendid read by a master programmer and data scientist, with numerous thoughts worth pondering.
Intro: The recent innovations in the AI space, most notably those such as GPT-4, obviously have far-reaching implications for society, ranging from the utopian eliminating of drudgery, to the dystopian damage to the livelihood of artists in a capitalist society, to existential threats to humanity itself.
ENTERTAINMENT MOVIES
A truly sad Thai movie: How to Make Millions Before Grandma Dies
Worth a weekend read and a movie watch. Critic's quote:
The strength of this movie lies in the storytelling and how it draws the audience into the story, allowing them to compare the story in the film with their own personal lives
The plot involves an unemployed young man who finds out that Grandma hasStager4 cancer. So sad. Too bad. But our "hero"only isconcerned that he will inherit Grandma's house.
The movie explores the tensions that arise in a family before the impending death of one head of the household, and the gender biases that persist. In one memorable line, Chew says,
Sons inherit the house, daughters inherit cancer.
https://www.bangkokpost.com/life/arts-and-entertainment/2816181/
The film will be screened at the New York Asian Film Festival at Lincoln Center in July. Entry fee US$50 -- 1,850 baht in real money.
If you ever have wet a line you'll appreciate this 10-minute supercut video.
Believe It Or Else!
Why Canadians are afraid to go into the water.
Sounds loopy but it's true.