Thailand announces first step to Complete Digital Transformation
Good morning to all and especially Fishwrap readers at this moment of yet another holiday weekend.
The Fishwrap has just wrapped up (no pun intended) the Bulldog Edition for Saturday, December 7, and here it is.
"Dear," a woman called to her husband in another room. "Do you ever get a shooting pain in your stomach, like someone's sticking a pin into a voodoo doll of you?"
Her husband, after thinking about it, replies, "No."
A minute later: "How about now?"
The threat of terrorism against Israelis in Southeast Asia has intensified, especially in Thailand.
-- National Security Council, Israel
Well, it wouldn't be the first time.
The only real industry that Thailand has, is rising again.
Caution: It's not 2012 again; not yet. But exports of Thai rice -- ordinary 5% broken as well as khao hom mali aka jasmine looks likely to finally top more than 10 million tonnes this year, for the first time since the gang of military dictators took over in 2014 and worked to destroy the economy.
Arada Fuangtong (photo below) is director-general of the Department of Foreign Trade -- in charge of compiling official stats like this -- and at least for one day she's the bearer of the Good News.
There are unfortunate turns and twists to this story, which add up to, "This Might Be For Just This One Year" but things look good. Example:
The biggest foreign buyers of Thai rice in order:
Indonesia 1.2 million tonnes
Iraq, grateful that Thais fought against al-Qaeda in their country: .95 million tonnes
South Africa 0.72 million tonnes
United States (USA) 0.7 million tonnes
Philippines half a million tonnes
THAILAND DOMESTIC ECONOMY
Thai Prime Minister Paethongtarn aka Ung-Ing to announce policy-for-performers.
The PM has been all about claiming great events in the future, and then disappointing with news that actually all she has done is to appoint a committee.
But come Tuesday, and Thaksin's daughter promises to announce real authentic new measures to combat the nation's continuously spiraling household debt.
Is this real or just another one of those 'Everyone Is Going To Get 10,000 Thai Baht' election promises by the remnants of the Thaksin Thai Rak Thai (Thais Love Thais) political machine.
In five (5) days, we should know.
Here's a heckuva hint for your weekend pondering:
Ung Ing (photo) will not actually announce these new measures.
Those will be by the men who engineered the ruling Pheu Thai (For Thais) takeover of the formerly independent (national) Bank of Thailand.
Even favoured Thai media will require special passes to attend the press conference.
A tiny few titbits leaked to Fishwrap in the past two days:
Prime Minister Paethongtarn will receive a one-page Powerpoint printout listing the simplest part of 'her' new policy because girls simply can't understand this stuff.
The New Anti-Debt Policy will not be funded by taxpayers. It will include
Yet another brand-new debt restructuring programme under total government supervision. (This would, if true, be 100 percent in-line with PM Paethongtarn's wild and crazy uninformed, unexplained promise of 'Complete Digital Transformation of the entire Thailand', which by definition must be completely controlled at every level by government or its appointed overseers (see China).
Approved (English-translation 'loyalist' Thai banks will be allowed to reduce payments to the Financial Institutions Development Fund (FIDF), from the current 0.46% to 0.23% of deposits. Other banks unapproved, hard cheese.
All operating financial institutions in Thailand will donate to the funding of this 'New Policy.' Or else.
Straight Out Of Korea, the first online-offline Art Experience.
Open all day, but closing this evening at Floor 8, IconSiam mall. Be there or be Philistine.
Thailand is not exactly a world-leading art centre but this is special.
Many photos of it all at https://www.nationthailand.com/life/art-culture/40043909
Thai Queen Suthida: From hockey to sailing
Her Majesty had a quick-and-dirty (and secret) crash education in forecasting and navigating -- and then took the helm to bring the very large sailing yacht Vayu to victory at the Phuket King's Cup Regatta against 514 competitors in 158 sailing vessels large and small.
The Queen's sailing win reminds Thais of that December 16, 1967, when (the late) King Rama IX and eldest daughter Princess Ubolratana sailed to a gold medal at the Fourth South East Asia Peninsular Games (SEAP) on Pattaya Bay.
Current president of the United States catches some ZZZ's to allow the black folks to do their work.
As of this morning, Joseph Biden is unsure whether Angola is a city or a country. Or something...
President of Angola shows respect for bumbling and doddering old foreign man by making sure his visitor doesn't fall over.
A comfortable chair, perhaps even a sofa or (why not?) an old rocking chair can be perfect for reading. A kitty as warm companion, or puppy; at Fishwrap we'll not judge you. And you'll need articles worthy of consideration.
There are more than 7,000 living human languages, including about one dozen that matter, if that.
Most should have been extinct before even you wrinkled oldies were born.
Take Taiwanese.
[Founding Editor's Note: Taiwan is the only place on Earth where my favourite DIL and the only place which harbours three (3) grandsons, of whom all speak Taiwanese, but also several other understandable languages. Thank you.]
The American essayist doesn't mention whether Thai should be destroyed -- or whether it is sort-of kind-of useful for 70 million people. No mention at all.
KOREA WOW! THAT WAS CLOSE
'Tis the Season To Have Treason
Yoon Suk Yeol, born 18 December 1960, highly trained expert lawyer (it says) and incredibly horrible politician and president.
Background
South Korea's President Yoon reverses martial law after lawmakers defy him
PHOTO
South Korean president faces impeachment vote as defence minister offers to resign
How significant is martial law?
Martial law is temporary rule by military authorities in a time of emergency, when civil authorities are deemed unable to function.
The last time that martial law was declared in South Korea was in 1979, when the long-term military dictator Park Chung-hee was assassinated -- please adjust your Irony Machine to " 11" -- during a coup. But never since.
Apart from, arguably, Taiwan, South Korea has endured and sometimes enjoyed a Rocky Road flavoured menu from absolute dictatorship to freedom.
So, on Tuesday Yoon pulled that martial-law trigger, sounding actually idiotic in his address to the nation that stated,
"I'm trying here to save (South) Korea from anti-state forces."
NOTE, kindly, that Fishwrap will not publish nor intentionally link any articles on this subject from Reuters or America, because they all are shit.
Do you know who else knew nothing absolutely nothing about this attempted coup in the government of a close and valued ally, where "absolutely" is an absolute word?...
Yes? You, third row, blue top, dark pants?
[Indescernible answer, speaker takes seat again.]
Yeah! Yes! Exactly correct, the entire apparatus of the trained and expert United States government and its alleged security National Council and the entire "central intelligence" apparatus and of course the president of the United States Joseph Biden and every member of every council paid to do nothing except to inform the president of important world geopolitical developments including very-well paid United States government Who live in Korea and Japan and are individually given quite large dollops of cash to only do their jobs.
It is correct to say they were useless.
If It's True, Is It Still A Conspiracy Theory?
THE UNITED STATES: The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) skipped hurricane relief of entire neighbourhoods if they sported three or more Trump signs.
FEMA Head Confirms: https://t.ly/GyBcG
Update: United States President Biden decrees $1 billion in aid for storm victims -- in Africa. Call it a nice, round 1.4 billion loonies.
THE KEFFIYAH CLASSES
Brilliant Brendan O'Neill at Spiked:
The Genocide Lie
Accusing Israel of carrying out a new Holocaust is factually wrong and morally repulsive.
Not to brag but Fishwrap staff, volunteers and families have been present and eyewitnesses to genocide.
Right next doors in Burma (by "Lady" Aung San Suu Kyi) and by the tiniest band of genocidal Cambodians imaginable, Pol Pot and his three-million murders by his Khmer Rouge.
Anyhows...
It is notable, at least at Fishwrap HQ at Nong Bon that all global discussion of [so-called] genocide takes place within the borders of the United States.
Well okay... a little bit in England, thanks to The Guardian. And Greta the Grate, who actually wears a keffiyah!
Even the very highest "estimates" of Gaza deaths which come only from Hamas propagandists -- even these have spoken never about genocide.
