The Chinese coronavirus: You must pay
All right, hello class, you boys in the back there, quiet down. It is Thursday, third day of the third month, and we have items to learn!
For the fourth time in two weeks, the ruling Thailand junta plants a story (probably true but still developing) in the media that says it will soon start charging victims of the Chinese Covid-19 coronavirus.
 It is going to get complicated. Which is the point of the "Covid review" promised by Thailand's junta-designated 'prime minister' Prayut and the up-and-coming wealthy health minister Anutin Charnvirakul.
 Anutin has stated "I am ready" to take over the job as prime minister.
 On Wednesday, as part of the programme to make patients pay for Covid-19 treatment, this was Anutin's main point:
 "It is not right for people who do not need to be hospitalised to scramble for beds reserved for those who require more intensive care.
 "When we know how to control the pandemic and treat people appropriately, we should manage hospital resources to ensure their optimal use so people who need hospital care can access it straight away."
TRIVIA NOTE:
Since the first case of SARS-COV2 Covid-19 in December of 2020, all treatment of the disease from diagnosis to inoculation, has been free of charge.
The rich part is where Anutin says,
 When we know how to control the pandemic
 The first known case of the Covid-19 novel coronavirus in Thailand was on January 13, 2020. That was
 780 Days ago, or
 2 years, 1 month, 18 days ago
And the military-controlled junta has no idea how to control Covid-19.
But then there's this...
Biden wants to host a special meeting of ASEAN-minus-Myanmar in 25 days.
The two-day, March 28-29 sit-down is billed this way by Biden's spokespeople"
 It is an opportunity to demonstrate the U.S. commitment to the bloc and a chance to mark 45 years of U.S.-ASEAN relations.
FOOTNOTE: ASEAN began with five member-nations in August of 1967, in Bangkok.
https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory/biden-host-asean-leaders-washington-summit-march-83157598
The disease that won't stop, didn't.
Chinese Covid-19 coronavirus on Wednesday:
22,197 new cases, up 2,000 from Monday.
Of the local Covid-19 infections, 21,610 were confirmed at hospitals and 248 via mass testing.
There were 45 new fatalities and we'll run down that sad news:
Victims were aged from 28 to 98 years. Twenty-four caught the virus from acquaintances and 15 live in outbreak areas.
The Greater Bangkok Area (GBA) had 7 deaths
Other provinces in the Central region reported 8 deaths:
 two in Chon Buri and Pattaya
 one each in Chanthaburi, Ayutthaya, Ratchaburi, Prachuap Khiri Khan, Prachin Buri and Suphan Buri.
There were 8 fatalities from the Chinese Covid-19 coronavirus in the Northeast:
 two each in Buri Ram, Si Sa Ket and Amnat Charoen
 one each in Nakhon Ratchasima (Korat) and Ubon Ratchathani.
The South reported 14 more deaths:
 four in Phuket, two each in Krabi and Chumphon and one each in Phatthalung, Surat Thani, Pattani, Nakhon Si Thammarat, Narathiwat and Songkhla.
The North reported 8 new fatalities:
 three in Chiang Rai, two in Phrae and one each in Chiang Mai, Tak and Sukhothai.
PHOTO: The stadium at the Thai-Japanese youth centre in Bangkok's Din Daeng district was ready on Tuesday for use as as a community isolation centre, with 100 cardboard beds available for Covid-19 patients.
https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/2272551/
RUSSIA UKRAINE THAI EVACUATION
Fleeing for their lives
Thais recount terror tales after bombs started to fall
A well-done story on how Thais got out of Ukraine and (finally!) back to Thailand.
https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/2272851/
Summer (aka the hot season) has arrived, and so has the worst smog.
Air pollution hotspots rise in North with forest fires
The air quality in the North and Northeast is deteriorating to levels that may pose a risk to people's health due to an increase in forest fires in Thailand.
More than 1,000 hotspots have been detected nationwide with 110 and 92, respectively,  found  in  the  northern provinces of Chiang Mai and Lampang.
The air quality in the North and North-east is deteriorating to levels that may pose a risk to people's health due to an increase in forest fires in Thailand.
THAILAND ECONOMY NEUTRAL
One of the thousands of reasons that Thailand cannot and will not remain "neutral" about the Russian invasion of Ukraine: Thailand depends on the auto industry, Thailand exports autos by the hundreds of thousands, Thailand depends on a complicated aupply line to build and sell the autos.
 Oh, right! And the military dictators in charge are demanding a massive upgrade of auto assembly.
 Russia-Ukraine War Adding to Supply Problems, Auto Industry Reinventing Itself
 https://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2022/02/russia-ukraine-war-adding-to-supply-problems-auto-industry-reinventing-itself/
RUSSIA UKRAINE
https://www.bangkokpost.com/world/2272807/
https://www.bangkokpost.com/world/2272819/
Click above.
A must-read, by the Ukrainian ambassador to Thailand.
The crimes of the Russian invasion must be publicized
... None of their key goals was achieved by Russia.
https://www.thaienquirer.com/38073/the-crimes-of-the-russian-invasion-must-be-publicized-ukraines-highest-ranking-diplomat-in-thailand/
And so on, and so on...
 Prove it wrong. Reminds me of when the totally brain-dead Leonid Brezhnev started a completely unwinnable war with his invasion of Afghanistan in 1979. Oh, how Russia suffered!
 The fact is, Vladimir Putin has already lost simply because he didn't win.
 Putin is committed, and is committing Russia and all its people, to a long, grinding, bloody slog that is going to have severe economic impacts.
 Just replacing ammunition, gear, people, is going to have a severe impact. Add to it the growing official and unofficial sanctions? The Russian people are going to feel this one, in ways they never have before.
https://www.laughingwolf.net/2022/03/01/vladimir-and-the-ukraine/
Indeed.
And from the perpetually interesting and analytical StrategyPage:
 Russian Oligarchs Must Choose Between Their Money And Putin
https://strategypage.com/on_point/20220302151226.aspx
To be honest... (is it all right to be honest)?
There is going to be money made from this war, and Thailand wants a place at the trough.
 Reuters: Russia to widen trade, economic ties with Asia after Western sanctions
https://bityl.co/B9l0
STATEMENT on the Russia-Ukraine dust-up by
 Suriya Chindawongse, Permanent Representative of Thailand to the United Nations (for the past three months)
 at the 11th Emergency Special Session of the U.N. General Assembly, March 1, 2022 (Junta-approved Photo via Facebook).
Cruise missile hits Ukraine's Kharkiv city council building
https://www.bangkokpost.com/world/2272791/
Against the war. But mostly, against the Russkies.
Around 60 Ukrainian tourists in Phuket rallied briefly on Bangla road in front to Patong police station in Kathu district on Wednesday in protest against the Russian invasion of their homeland.
PHOTO: As usual, the Ukrainian protesters wrote most of their signs in English, for the media.
https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/2272743/
It was never, ever about fighting disease. It was always about power and money. And did you notice President Joe didn't invite Rich Old Don Tony Fauci to his spectacular Tuesday night speech?
https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/wellness/story/debate-kids-face-masks-heightens-covid-19-cases-82655823
Also, Worse News from the United States.
Svelte world champ 'Mink' taunts the men
 Nutcharut 'Mink' Wongharuthai won the world women's championship of snooker last month in a heart-stopping victory over Belgian veteran Wendy Jane.
 Promoters now rate the pride of Saraburi as one of the best in the world, and she's eager to take on all contenders, gender be damned.
It just didn't work out.
Hulk Hogan Announces Divorce From Jennifer McDaniel After 11 Years of Marriage
https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/hulk-hogan-announces-divorce-jennifer-222600037.html
Say one thing for the Chinese Communist Party.
They never tried to hide this.
