A new report says that dogs can sniff out prostate cancer with almost 98 percent accuracy. The report also finds that cats can sniff it out with 100 percent accuracy, but they prefer to watch you die. (Conan O'Brien)
THAILAND POLITICS The progressive Move Forward Party (MFP) is headed for a court fight PHOTO: Almost-prime minister Pita "Tim" Limjaroenrat (left) and official leader of the party Chaithawat Tulathon. Pita, in particular, spent the weekend making the MFP's case that the constitutional cours does not have the authority to disband the progressives. Pita said he and the party's legal affairs team had studied the constitution and found no section that empowered the court to disband a party or revoke its political rights.
The Constitutional Court has the final say in the case. It has warned both the MFP and the Election Commission (ECT) to refrain from mouthing off -- but has not threatened to issue a gag order -- yet.
TOURISM THAILAND CHINA Why are fewer Chinese coming to Thailand than before the Covid lockdowns. It's complicated, but...
A recovery in Chinese overseas travel from the novel-coronavirus pandemic is fading as rising costs and difficulties in securing visas. Which sounds like a copout since no visa is required to visit Thailand. https://www.bangkokpost.com/business/general/2812326/
ASEAN THAILAND CAMBODIA Hun Sen is Cambodia's de facto foreign minister. Did you mean: Judging by the last few months, Hun Sen, the former prime minister turned Senate president, appears to be pulling the strings. At least he's not the main mouthpiece. PHOTO: Hun Sen with good friend Thaksin Shinawatra in Bangkok in February. https://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/opinion/2810799/
GLOBAL WARMING PILGRIMAGE At least 14 Jordanian died of sunstroke in the intense heat at the Haj in Saudi Arabia. The Saudi ministry of health urged all pilgrims to use umbrellas. t.ly/QauKc
It's another Euro football* tournament and therefore a full-scale, all-out campaign in Thailand against all that gambling by youngsters. The Thai government has issued statements of caution that crooks are pretending to be bookies, but actually just take your money and run. (Betting favourite England squeezed out a 1-0 win over Serbia yesterday.) *English translation: soccer
Totally Predictable England fans involved in incident* before Serbia game at Gelsenkirchen. Videos on social media showed tables, chairs and bottles thrown in the German city before riot police arrived. *English translation: violent hooliganism https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/articles/cd117ry8gj7o
Meanwhile... Police in Hamburg city shot a man armed who rushed them, armed with a pickaxe and a petrol bomb.
The best Sunday columnist in East Asia (all languages) asks Are tourists ready for Thai ghosts? The latest inspiration from the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) is to promote "Ghost Tourism" to spice up the experiences of visitors who may be a little weary of bars, beaches and the usual bunkum. One wonders if the unsuspecting tourists are ready for the more blood-curdling Thai ghosts which can be quite unpleasant. For a start there's the unfriendly one-legged, three-toed hairy forest vampire... and a lot more at https://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/opinion/2811655/ PHOTO: "As tall as a palm tree", Phii Pret literally eats only, erm, poo.
CHINA TRAVEL RAILWAY
Al-l-l a-board! This Chinese high-speed sleeper train is now on track and running between Hong Kong-Kowloon and Beijing -- every day except weekends. Travel time is 12 and a half hours -- half of what it was previously. Deluxe and 'tourist-class' berths available for sleepy-heads. https://www.nationthailand.com/news/world/40038859
Ironic, because at a mega-bucks rally in El Lay (US$28 million pledged) President Biden froze up and had to be led off stage by Obama. [https://shorturl.at/NyjBy]
The two presidents had just sat through a 45-minute appearance with a TV comedian. Â As the men stood for applause, Biden's gaze seemed to become fixed on the crowd for a full 10 seconds until former president Obama took his wrist and led him offstage. Depressive video at: https://x.com/chrissgardner/status/1802239454314410096 Â As the men stood for applause, Biden's gaze seemed to become fixed on the crowd for a full 10 seconds until former president Obama took his wrist and led him offstage.
TECHNOLOGY The U.S. federal government to become efficient? Time will tell. (cbsnews) Effective immediately... U.S. citizens can apply for a new passport. Online. That is, some U.S. citizens. There are rules. Lots and lots of rules. Example: If you're an expat living in Thailand, you can not apply for a new passport online. You can get IN line and wait your turn. State Department announcement https://www.cbsnews.com/news/passport-renewal-online-application-process-travel-cbs-news-explains/
Voyager 1 is communicating again. (The Register) The probe launched in 1977 and completed its primary mission - flybys of Jupiter and Saturn - in 1980, and since then it has been travelling deeper into space just chilling (literally) and enjoying the view. Only four of the original eleven instruments on board are still operational, but that's enough for it to return interesting data for a little longer. https://www.theregister.com/2024/06/14/voyager_1_restored/
Who knew (hint: not Fishwrap) that the more-than-somewhat nerdy IFTTT would evolve so far/fast? Now it's promoting its own AI Grammar Assistant in several versions. And not one of them is free. IFTTT is from the very old learn-to-code instruction If This Then That. https://ifttt.com/ai_grammar_assistant
Tuxedo Computers has shown off a prototype of its new laptop based on the Qualcomm X Elite chip that powers Microsoft's new Copilot Plus laptops. (Beta News) Tuxedo's version comes without Copilot Plus, though, because it runs Linux by default rather than Windows. It includes 32GB of RAM, a 2560x1600 14" display covering 100% sRGB colour, USB4, and one M.2 slot. https://betanews.com/2024/06/10/linux-windows-11-copilot-pcs-tuxedo-snapdragon-x-elite-arm-notebook/
Western Digital has announced its 2 terabit flash memory chips, the world's first chips at that capacity. (WCCFTech) These stack the memory cells 218 layers deep. We take this for granted now, but not so long ago flash memory was facing disaster: Manufacturers couldn't make memory cells any smaller without making them too unreliable for use. https://wccftech.com/western-digital-worlds-first-2tb-3d-qlc-nand-flash/
The iPad should fold in half. (The Verge) It does. You just need to make the effort. Official Fishwrap Disclaimer: Laugh while you can, monkey boy!
