Thailand: There will be demonstrations and protests.
Good morning fellow newshawks, it's September 30, Friday, and you know what that means.
At 3 p.m. (4 a.m. in Ian-ravaged Daytona Beach) each Constitutional Court justice will read, in order, his finding of whether Prayut should be re-installed. And why.
It will take quite a long time, into the night. There will be demonstrations and protests.
Police have blocked off the Pathumwan (Siam Square) and Ratchaprasong intersections.
https://tinyurl.com/4krc5se3
Safe prediction - There will be floods
The Noru tropical storm is unleashing heavy rainstorms across virtually all of Thailand.
Flood warnings are in effect in every region - even the South.
The storm is still packing winds of 50 kph as it moves - very slowly - to the west and out of Thailand.
As of this morning, the storm killed one man in Si Sa Ket province. It blew over a tree which landed exactly on the pickup where the man was riding.
Cleanup is going to take weeks.
https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/2403211/
https://www.bangkokpost.com/business/2397825
THAILAND ECONOMY TOURISM
High hopes for 1.5m Chinese tourists
Minister thinks they could return this year
Thailand's junta's loyalist Phiphat Ratchakitprakan, serving as the token 'minister of tourism and sports' said yesterday he is super-optimistic that China will again turn on the spigot that feeds millions of tourists into Thailand.
For one thing, President4Life Xi Jinping is officially booked in for the November 19 APEC summit at Bangkok's Queen Sirikit Convention Centre (photo)."I believe," said Phiphat yesterday, "that 1.5 million Chinese travellers will visit Thailand in December."
and
"I hope China might relax travel restrictions as a gift for the host of the summit" - which is Thailand.
THAILAND CORONAVIRUS POLITICS
Masks rule to stay for public transport - and more
Thailand's junta's Department of Health ruled yesterday that everyone, everywhere must wear maks in cinemas and aboard all public transportation.
The Department called in media to make sure their updated mask order got plenty of publicity, and specified the Public Health Act and Communicable Diseases Act, which is responsible for the Emergency Decree of March, 2020.
Here's the rule, which applies to tourists, residents and all Thai citiens:
The Department still mandates that people wear face masks and
Respect social distancing rules as much as possible when using public transport or visiting the cinema, due to the density of people packed closely together
DOPE WEED CANNABIS
The most-viewed video of the past week showed junior-high schoolers smoking dope.
As a result
The ruling junta has reaffirmed its earlier reaffirmation that purchase or use of Bobo Bush by anyone under 20 is totally a uuge massive humongous NoNo.
The smoking pupils have been reprimanded.
https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/2402793/
CORONAVIRUS FAUCI CORRUPTION
It's too late to stop him. A competent law enforcement agency led by a competent executive could have prevented all of this. Now, the very best that can happen is to zero out Fauci's office and remove all eligibility for public pension. What a shame that the U.S.A. has neither.
The failure to detect what has happened probably means that it will happen again.
Documents Reveal Fauci's Staggering Pandemic-Period Profits.
Meanwhile even if action is taken after the fact, Fauci will find a way to get by.
https://www.dailywire.com/news/unmasked-documents-reveal-faucis-staggering-pandemic-period-profits
Fauci Net Worth Surged $5 million During PANDEMIC, Financial Disclosures Reveal
During the Covid pandemic, Fauci "earned" US$13 million.
From 2019-2021, he added US$5 million to his net worth. The next highest-paid public employee in the United States is the the president, who is paid US$480,000 per year.
PHOTO: Extremely wealthy 81-year-old director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Anthony Fauci.
Documents you can look at (finally):
No direct payments to Fauci from the Chinese Communist Party have been seen - yet.
THAILAND TOURISM BAHT
The Thai baht continues steadily to weaken - 37.95 per U.S. dollar as of this morning.
But the alleged so-called self-described "experts" were wrong and seemed clueless.
The number of overseas tourists hasn't increased, as the "experts" told us they would.
There is still plenty of room on the Phuket beaches, and others.
https://www.bangkokpost.com/business/2402748/
FINANCE WAR ON INFLATION
Borrowers hit as rates increase again
Central bank hikes interest by 0.25%
The Bank of Thailand yesterday raised the policy rate by 0.25 percentage points to 1%, in a bid to tame high inflation amid an uneven economic recovery.
The meeting of the central bank's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) voted unanimously for the rate hike, which is effective immediately, according to the committee's secretary Piti Disyatat.
Last month the MPC voted six to one to raise the rate for the first time in nearly four years, by 0.25 percentage points to 0.75%, to contain persistently high inflation.
The MPC said the overall growth and inflation outlook is consistent with its previous assessment.
The committee believes a gradual policy normalisation remains an appropriate course, leading to the policy rate hike of 0.25 percentage points.
https://www.bangkokpost.com/business/2402788/
Bank of Thailand 'ready to adjust' monetary tightening pace
The Bank of Thailand (BoT) is ready to adjust the pace of tightening monetary policy if needed and would be prepared to hold an off-cycle meeting if necessary
https://www.bangkokpost.com/business/2403205/
POLITICS
The latest release of the National Institute of Development Administration, better known as the Nida Poll says one thing clearly, and only one.
Thais, including voters, have no idea who should be the prime minister of the country.
Some 24 percent of those polled said they do not have a strong candidate in mind. That is up from 19 per cent in June.
After that, 22 percent told the polltakers they would love to see and vote for Paetongtarn Shinawatra, smallest baby daughter of Thaksin.
Second to Paetongtham was progressive movement leader Pita Limjaroenrat.
It is noteworthy that 10 percent told the Nida polltakers that they favour Prayut - who never has stood for election
https://tinyurl.com/3k6k3e8t
Wife of Australian economist Sean Turnell begs the Myanmar Tatmadaw for his release.
File Ms. Ha Vu's trip under "leave no stone unturned..." after a secret kangaroo court trial ordered that Sean be put away for three years in the shithole Insein prison because he had worked as an adviser to Aung San Suu Kyi.
Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong says both Hun Sen and United Nations special envoy on Myanmar Noeleen Heyzer haven't helped much.
ABC Australia: https://tinyurl.com/4erv45tn
A List Of Things Not To Say To The Nice Young Singaporean Stewardess After You've Had Your San Francisco Drug Fix And The Plane Has Taken Off:
1. I have a bomb in this carry-on bag.
https://www.bangkokpost.com/world/2402335/
RIP: Rapper Coolio Dead at 59.
Gangster's Paradise was his most widely-known hit.
https://www.tmz.com/2022/09/28/coolio-dead-dies-los-angeles/?adid=social-twa
TECHNOLOGY
A dozen major investment banks have been fined a combined $2 billion by the SEC and CFTC for using instant messaging apps to dodge reporting requirements. (The Register)
Which means they made - or at least, thought they could make - a lot more than $2 billion by doing this.
https://www.theregister.com/2022/09/28/shadow_it_hedge_funds_wall_street/
The hacker who infiltrated Australia's second largest phone company and stole data on 11 million customers says oops. (Bleeping Computer)
And has withdrawn their extortion demands.
https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/optus-hacker-apologizes-and-allegedly-deletes-all-stolen-data/
Intel has announced its 13th generation Raptor Lake CPUs, available October 20. (Tom's Hardware)
Just three models initially:
13600K (6P+8E cores) at $319
13700K (8P+8E cores) at $409
13900K (8P+16E cores) at $589
https://www.tomshardware.com/news/intel-launches-raptor-lake-at-amd-24-core-i9-13900k-arrives-oct-20-for-dollar589
Intel also showed off a new 34 core workstation CPU. (WCCFTech)
Not intentionally. They showed off a wafer of CPUs, and the internet being what it is, people had figured out that this was a previously unannounced product with 34 Raptor Lake cores in a mesh arrangement connected to eight channels of DDR5 RAM within thirty seconds of the photo being made public.
https://wccftech.com/intel-34-core-raptor-lake-s-cpu-die-shown-off-hinting-at-possible-hedt-launch/
WEEKEND READING
A blast from the past. Do you still have (some of) your pewter?
Thailand's tin: Mining our real history
Good heritage conservation makes tourism sustainable because it encourages local people to support their own communities. Heritage conservation makes tourism sustainable.
Because?
Because it encourages local people to support their own communities.
by Rungsima Kullapat, PhD, a researcher at University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.
Heritage Matters is a monthly column presented by The Siam Society Under Royal Patronage to promote public awareness and discussion on sustaining the architectural and cultural heritage of Thailand and the region
PHOTO: Decommissioned tin pit in Ngao district of Ranong province in southwestern Thailand, developed in 1910.
https://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/opinion/2402663/
It's not cheerful, obviously but 'O'Neill & Perez' collaborated on this worthwhile piece for Spiked:
Death of Mainstream Comedy.
Comedians now have to navigate an ever expanding list of taboo subjects and forbidden targets. Superstar comedians like Dave Chappelle and Ricky Gervais stand accused of 'punching down' for mocking woke absurdities.
Beloved characters in The Simpsons and even the knowingly offensive Family Guy have been altered following the charge of 'cultural appropriation'.
Meanwhile, many TV sketch shows and satirical programmes seem to have given up on telling jokes entirely, swapping humour for sermonising and 'clapter' comedy.
So, is comedy doomed?
Or is there hope outside of the mainstream?
https://www.spiked-online.com/2022/09/28/the-death-of-mainstream-comedy/
At least as interesting (maybe more so) and also at Spiked, Fraser Myers writes:
The IMF needs to butt out.
To paraphrase a former US president, the nine most terrifying words in the English language are: 'I'm from the IMF, and I'm here to help.'
Indeed, last night's extraordinary intervention from the International Monetary Fund, and its unsolicited advice to the new U.K. government, is not just unhelpful - it is also a democratic outrage.
https://bit.ly/3Rkt4Qj
The specialty publication GlobalData Energy:
Renewables are the key for Thailand to overcome dependency on fossil fuel imports
Depleting natural gas reserves and rising fuel import bills have become major challenges for Thailand.
https://www.power-technology.com/comment/renewables-key-thailand/
A review of The Letters of Oscar Hammerstein II
He (1895-1960) was the most important figure behind the creation of one of the twentieth century's great art forms, the Broadway musical.
https://newcriterion.com/issues/2022/10/show-notes
Flip-flop champ
The U.S.A.
