Thai Immig chief booted for gambling, bribery

Life is like toilet paper. You're either on a roll or taking s*** from someone.
  

It takes anywhere from three to five days to freeze 300-pound blocks, and then we cut them down by hand and distribute them all over Southern California. It's very time-consuming, labour-intensive, and also dangerous.
-- An answer to the vital question: Why does a bag of six ice cubes cost U.S. $32 in El Lay -- 1,200 baht in real money. Or 44 loonies. [https://www.eater.com/24144307/erewhon-penny-pound-ice-tiktok-explained]

Thailand's ubiquitous, second-ranking Royal Thai Police chief is in trouble, deep. Again.
Big Joke awaits another miracle
By concentrating RTP raids and arrests on big-time scam operators, many of them directly connected with Beijing ansd the CCP, Surachate has dug a deep hole for himself.
Outwardly, at least, Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, the government and the ruling Pheu Thai Party under Thaksin aren't lifting a finger to help the publicity-loving policeman.
https://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/opinion/2783635/

REMINDER (repeat) Joke is not a haha-555 nickname; in Thai the word means 'rice porridge' and he got the nick while a toddler in the deep South province of Songkhla. And because, to make a long-ish story longer, his policeman father's 'favourite playing card' was the joker.
Related Thai police graft highlights bigger issues
https://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/opinion/2782340/

Sitting on a cobra, one of those creatures you do not invite to share your muesli-and-banana
Last Monday morning breakfast was abruptly interrupted when my dog on his daily sniffing patrol came charging into the living room and began barking agitatedly at the sofa on which I was sitting.
 He knows the house rules for indoors... strictly no yelping. So this blatant breach of barking etiquette had me a little concerned.
Suddenly there was a movement under the sofa, and it was definitely not a mouse. No, I jumped back in some alarm and shouted "ngoo hao!" (cobra). Now that's something you don't need at breakfast or any other time for that matter.
I took up a defensive position behind a fan, offering words of encouragement to Noi like "look out!" and "run for it!"
https://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/opinion/2783324/

The dog received a well-deserved treat for acting above and beyond the call of duty.

Crutch also notes for many of us
the death of humourist and incredibly friendly Songkhla beach resident James Eckardt, at 77 at his hometown of Newburg, in up-state New York.
 Jim, an American who lived in Thailand for many years, was a gifted writer with that rare ability to make readers laugh out loud.
Indeed.
His best-known books were Waylaid by the Bimbos; The Year of Living Stupidly; and Thai Jinks.

HISTORY
Monday last was the 235th anniversary of the mutiny on the Bounty, when mutinous acting-Lieutenant Fletcher Christian put tyrannical Captain Bligh into a dinghy and pushed him off into the South Pacific near Pitcairn.

THAILAND TOURISM FOREIGNERS

Welcome to Thailand! That'll be 8 dollars please. Yes, including the baby.
There is yet another campaign, at least the fourth in the past 10 years, to impose a 300-baht charge on every arriving foreigner as the cost of merely setting foot in Thailand -- about 8 bucks American, 11.25 loonies.
Just one reason by the Tourism Council of Thailand (TCT) -- They can afford it, so make them pay.
It was initially a brainstorm of the military dictatorship of General Prayut and has not improved, since.

fwiw Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin doesn't like the idea.
"The 300-baht fee would definitely not impact the market," said
Wuthichai Luangamornlert, chief executive of Siam Park City Group, operator of Siam Amazing Park

Thailand's unrelenting battle against Bangkok sidewalk vendors and street food
The latest enforcers: Bangkok City Hall

For a couple of years, the city had 'allowed' sidewalk vendors and street-food kiosks along Lang Suan Road in central Bangkok. But on Tuesday City Hall evicted every seller. Some are trying to set up on nearby sois; others declared they were leaving Bangkok for good.
https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/2784705/

ENTERTAINMENT SPORTS HOCKEY
EDMONTON: Canada's best NHL team the Oilers, led by the world's best hockey player Connor McDavid, defeated and eliminated the L.A. Kings 4-3 in a Game 5 nail-biter at the Rogers Centre.
Zach Hyman (PHOTO) scored the winner at 19:07 of the third period in the rivals' match-up at Edmonton. The Oilers, Gretzy's old team multiple Stanley Cup winner, are a strong contender to win this season's Cup in June.

Oilers will next play Vancouver Canucks.
Trivia Hyman is a Toronto Jew, of whom pro hockey has few.

High-ranking immig chief suspected of very-profitable corruption

Police Lieutenant Colonel Pitsinee Watanajuenroj has been booted out of her Samut Prakan Immigration Bureau building near Suvarnabhumi airport at remote southeast Bangkok into an inactive post. She'll be paid but she also will be investigated.
She faces two major charges posted by high-profile lawyer Sittha Biabungkerd:
• taking bribes for promotion from junior police men.
• investing in an illegal gambling business -- a moveable casino -- with the wife of a police general.

Samut Prakan province is currently well-known as the main site of illegal gambling in the Bangkok vicinity.