The Ides of March are always unpleasant, so who's next?
Gidday all ladies, gents and others. It's a pleasant Tuesday, this March 15, but darned hot.
As of this morning, it is completely and absolutely necessary that you move as fast as you can to the nearest inoculation centre for your FOURTH vaccination.
The strange thing is that no medical authority and no political leader on Earth will explain what is "fully vaccinated".
But Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla says you must.
So go get that fourth shot today. Walk-in vaccinations are available at the Bang Sue Central Station and temporary Covid-19 centre, no appointments necessary.
That said, yes, it's complicated.
For example, Bourla said it was possible that COVID-19 boosters could become a yearly occurrence, much like the flu shot. So that's something to look forward to.
https://www.axios.com/pfizer-ceo-fourth-covid-shot-93498679-4063-4545-902f-5e9ac250494d.html
R.I.P.
Helluva woman, helluva story.
 'Candy Bomber' of Berlin blockade, Gail Halvorsen, dies at 101.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/obituaries/2022/02/18/berlin-airlift-candy-bomber-gail-halvorsen/
Thailand's junta has given permission for the cities of Bangkok and Pattaya to hold elections on Sunday, May 22.
Bangkokians will elect a new governor, and some city councillors. In Pattaya, the election is for mayor.
The junta's Election Commission said it would require three days to count the votes and declare winners, which is a CYA statement.
In Bangkok, former transport minister Chadchart Sittipunt has a comfortable lead over other prospective candidates for governor.
In Pattaya, Mayor Sonthaya Kunplome claims he is ready for another run, to ensure that his family remains in control of the city.
https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/politics/2279047/
For those of short memory...
Thailand's junta will lead all citizens, visitors and tourists to celebrate and jollify the second anniversary of Chinese Covid-19 lockdowns and assorted anti-social decrees on Saturday.
 It seems possible that many people in Thailand will manage to withhold their applause for the leadership of the junta and military dictators since March 19, 2020.
 Because as of this morning in Thailand:
One day of new cases of Chinese Covid-19: 23,508 (total 3,184,825)
One day of deaths from Chinese Covid-19: 69 (total 23,712)
 So this is a good question:
 What Have Two Years of 'Two Weeks to Slow the Spread' Taught Us?
https://reason.com/volokh/2022/03/12/university-adjunct-prof-fired-for-labeling-flyers-about-microaggressions-as-garbage/
EDITORIAL: https://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/opinion/2278319/
These are the Worst of the Worst-hit provinces on Monday.
Singapore (228,656 cases in just two weeks, 9,701 on Monday) is so depressed and frustrated that the government encouraged a special TV programme to demonstrate how to make "Hainan chicken-rice (better known as khao-min-kai) at home.
https://bityl.co/BJWh
Not a surprise
Most of the foreign oil companies have pulled out of Myanmar to protest the Tatmadaw's coup.
But the Myanmar army can count, absolutely, on military-ruled Thailand.
PTTEP to operate Myanmar gas field after TotalEnergies exit
https://www.bangkokpost.com/business/2279079/
But  things never get better under a military dictatorship.
Already, residents of Yangon (aka Rangoon), the counry's biggest city, have to line up in the hope of getting water.
Also, the lights don't work very well.
https://www.bangkokpost.com/world/2279067/
Britain (formerly Great) issues desparate call for tourists
As of Friday, there will be no more banned countries, mandatory Covid tests or vaxxport checking.
And the so-called "locator form" to secretly track every foreigner will be history.
That's a promise by transport minister Grant Shapps.
"All remaining Covid travel measures, including the Passenger Locator Form and tests for all arrivals, will be stood down for travel to the UK from 4am on 18 March," Shapps said in a tweet.
"These changes are possible due to our vaccine rollout and mean greater freedom in time for Easter."
PHOTO: Worker on the right was hired to go about and sanitise signs at Heathrow, but he'll be pink-slipped by Friday.
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/world/britain-ditch-last-covid-19-travel-measures-friday-minister-2564146
Also Vietnam
Today's "tourism industry" was built on the straps of the backpackers' gear.
And as of this week, Vietnam is open for tourists again - after 2 years in solitary.
Just like its neighbours including Thailand, don't expect things to be the same.
But your online visa application will probably be approved, and communist leaders think they can attract 5 million foreigners by Christmas.
https://www.laprensalatina.com/vietnam-reopens-borders-to-tourism-after-2-years-amid-uncertainty/
Related, and from the horse's mouth:
HCM City readies to welcome foreign tourists
https://en.vietnamplus.vn/hcm-city-readies-to-welcome-foreign-tourists/223396.vnp
China still baffled by the novel virus it invented:
China locked down the entire 17 million citizens and residents of Shenzhen.
China Records Nearly 3,400 Daily Virus Cases In Worst Outbreak In 2 Years
https://www.voanews.com/a/china-records-nearly-3-400-daily-virus-cases-in-worst-outbreak-in-2-years-/6482750.html
https://bityl.co/BJWM
NOTHING TO SEE HERE, MOVE ALONG:
 Panic Selling Grips Chinese Stocks in Biggest Plunge Since 2008.
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/china-tech-rout-deepens-amid-020459021.htmlhttps://finance.yahoo.com/news/china-tech-rout-deepens-amid-020459021.html
TECHNOLOGY COLD WAR COLONIALISM ... and other things China does to us and smiles.
Including Foxconn, which makes iPhones.
In a move that experts say could affect supply chains, China has locked down tech industry hub Shenzhen. (Tom's Hardware)
https://www.tomshardware.com/news/chinas-silicon-valley-locked-down-could-affect-supply-chains
Yes! Any other questions?
Is stagflation looming in Thailand?
A variety of domestic and global developments bode ill for the Thai economy.
https://www.bangkokpost.com/business/2278727/
Here's the reason. Current events in China are not at all world-friendly
Banners, flags in Thailand's Deep South mark BRN's 62nd anniversary
 The most powerful Thai separatist group staged a propaganda extravaganza marking their founding in 1962.
 The Barisan Revolusi Nasional (BRN) has met Thai military leaders occasionally but has continued its murderous violence, and its demands for separation.
 It uses the term "Siam" in a derogatory way against the Thai leaders. "Patani" is the name that separatists want to use after they leave Thailand. Which won't happen.
https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/2278931/
Thai safecracker electrocutes himself when the alarm goes off
(You may want to adjust your definition of "dumbass" in your People's Thesaurus.]
 It happened in Buriram, where the would-be safe-cracker was found dead after the alarm went off and police rushed to the affected gas station.
 The 29-year-old thief from next-door Maha Sarakham province had live electrical wires still dangling from his dead body.
 But had his anti-coronavirus mask on, so there was that.
 PHOTO: We're not going to print the photo of his body, but this was the safe that the would-be safecracker was trying to get into.
https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/2278935/
Russians by the thousands, even by the tens of thousands, are struggling to find a route home, officials said Sunday, as international sanctions imposed over the war in Ukraine hit holidaymakers.
 They are cashless, as flightless as the dodo, as confused as Chief Bromden and as helpless as Aung San Suu Kyi.
 They don't have money, they don't have valid credit or even ATM cards, and there are no airplanes to collect their tickets back to Moscow, Vladivostok or Kamchatka.
 Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) official Chattan Kunjara Na Ayudhya said 3,100 Russians were stuck in Phuket, while more than 2,000 were in Samui, and smaller numbers were in Krabi, Phang Nga and Bangkok.
 The ministry was working on helping those who wanted to return home, he said, including "discussion on return flights which could be regular or special flights".
 Sure.
 To reword it, and make it simpler:
Russians were advised not to hold their breaths.
 Most of the Russians that are not in Phuket are in Krabi, Pattaya, Koh Samui or other such southern resorts.
https://www.bangkokpost.com/business/2278503/
https://bityl.co/BJP9
Thailand's best and best-informed columnist Kavi Chongkittavorn reviews what we already know:
Thais split over Russia-Ukraine conflict
The Russian military action against Ukraine has caused divisive debates among Thai intellectuals, diplomats and media personalities. Â
... To comprehend the current Thai position of alleged "neutrality", one needs to look back when Siam was a target for Western colonisation and how the country was able to stay independent until today.
 As such, the stand is more than skin deep. It derives from historical Siam-Russia ties.
 King Chulalongkorn visited Russia in 1897 and met with Tsar Nicholas II.
 His trip was reported on the front pages in Europe. Their meeting played an influential role in preserving Siam's independence.
Comment
All of the above is true. But there is much, much more to Prayut's facetious claim of neutrality, and most of it revolves around current Thai politics.
Said Bhummikitti Ruktaengam, president of the Phuket Tourist Association:
 "We have seen instances of difficulty in card payments by Russians in Phuket due to how Mastercard and Visa have suspended services in Russia."
 Which is a translation for another way of saying, Russian tourists and visitors in general have run out of cash, and their bank cards and credit cards don't work.
Example
 Russian tourist and mother-of-three Evgenia Gozorskaia said her family discovered their return Aeroflot tickets had been cancelled.
 "We are very nervous because the children are very small, we don't have enough money to live here," said the 41-year-old psychologist who arrived from Moscow with her husband and children - aged seven, four and two - on Feb 27.
Not that other places are treating their Russian guests and tourists any differently. On Monday:
 Europe and Canada move to close skies to Russian planes
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/world/europe-and-canada-move-close-skies-russian-planes-2523481
 How sanctions against Russia are battering the global aviation industry
https://bityl.co/BJPQ
And now, Tovarishch Putin is on the ropes and hurting.
Ow! Ooh! Hey! That hurts.
Russia has asked China for military aid against Ukraine, US media report
https://edition.cnn.com/2022/03/13/politics/jake-sullivan-meeting-chinese-counterpart-ukraine/index.html
Tangmo dies, the media awakes
The always thoughtful newspaper columnist Atiya Achakulwisut focuses on 'The Tangmo case'.
Just about a month ago, super-attractive actress Pataratida Patcharawirapong, better known by her nickname Tangmo (Watermelon), accepted an invitation for an evening motorboat ride on the Chao Phraya River, off Bangkok.
"Something happened", as they say and by midnight, Tangmo was dead, in most sensational crime story of the pandaemic.
The case is a treasure for the murder-mystery fan. No one believes the police or the coroner or Tangmo's friends on the cruise or Tangmo's friends NOT on the cruise. But everyone believes small bits of the information and lies from each of them.
There are stories she was hit, then pushed off the outboard boat to drown. There are stories that there was no altercation whatsoever, she went to the back of the motorboat to pee, and failed to return.
As Atiya writes:
 Tangmo probe circus deepens public distrust
 ... The entertainment industry, media, forensic science, police work, rescue volunteers, so-called social media investigators down to what constitute our ideas of friendship or motherhood have been called into question as the case unfolded.
Joke of the Day for Tuesday
The 6th Grade Science Teacher, Mrs. Parks, Asked Her Class. . .
"Which human body part increases to ten times its size when stimulated?"
No one answered until little Mary stood up and said, "You should not be asking sixth-graders a question like that! I'm going to tell my parents, and they will go and tell the principal, who will then go and fire you!"
Mrs. Parks ignored her and asked the question again, "Which human body part increases to ten times its size when stimulated?"
Little Mary's mouth fell open. Then she said to those around her, "Boy, is she going to get in big trouble!"
The teacher continued to ignore her and said to the class, "Anybody?"
Finally Billy stood up, looked around nervously, and said, "The body part that increases 10 times its size when stimulated is the pupil of the eye."
Mrs. Parks said, "Very good, Billy." Then turned to Mary and continued, "As for you, young lady, I have three things to say:
One, you have a dirty mind. Two, you didn't read your homework. . .
. . .And three, one day you're going to be very, very disappointed."
TECHNOLOGY
Google, which owns and operates YouTube had forced the closure of YouTube channel Vanced - an ad-blocker.
https://www.theverge.com/2022/3/13/22975890/youtube-vanced-app-discontinued-shutting-down-legal-reasons
Credibility: True
Your phone number reveals more personal info than your name
According to a recent New York Times article, your phone number has loads of personal information attached to it. Quite often, websites and apps ask us for our phone number when logging in or creating an account.
https://news.filehippo.com/2019/08/phone-number-id-threat/
Microsoft announces when it will kill Wunderlist
Microsoft's Wunderlist to-do app has been living on borrowed time for a while now. It was back in 2017 when the software giant announced it would be phasing out the app, which strangely enough, Microsoft had only purchased in 2015.
https://news.filehippo.com/2019/12/microsoft-announces-when-it-will-kill-wunderlist/
Google launches Android Ambient Mode
When the feature is active, it will show photos, time, weather, and media info essentially turning your Chromebook into a Smart Display.
https://news.filehippo.com/2019/11/google-launches-android-ambient-mode/
Instagram unveils Reels, a TikTok clone
Is TikTok the best app in the world right now? There is an increasing amount of evidence that a lot of people at Facebook and Instagram HQ seem to think so.
https://news.filehippo.com/2019/11/instagram-unveils-reels-a-tiktok-clone/
A dark mode is coming to Google Chrome on desktop
Every app these days seems to have a new dark mode or one in development. This is due in part to the appearance a slick black background can give but also due to recent research from Google that shows darker colors use up less battery power on devices with OLED screens.
In other words: Follow the science!
Remember when anyone who got Covid was shamed for being a science-denier?
 Barack Obama tests positive for Chinese Covid-19.
 The former president said he is "feeling fine" other than having a scratchy throat.
Thoughts and Prayers.
https://www.wbir.com/article/news/health/coronavirus/barack-obama-positive-for-covid-19/507-e52d218d-e18e-4d8f-822c-0f3f39bdd1e6
Un-possible.
All influential media, 97% of all scientists, the only media of concern and Doctor Fauci have assured me that the only election issues in the entire U.S.A. are
Climate Change
Gender Pronouns
Electric Cars
 I shouldn't be hard on American media. Only around 42% admit to being liberal, with the rest identifying as Marxist.
 So who is lying about election issues?
Sure.
OKAY, GROOMER:
 As If:
Poll Claims Americans Want Elementary Schoolers Taught About 'Sexual Orientation' and 'Gender Identity.'
https://pjmedia.com/news-and-politics/athena-thorne/2022/03/14/as-if-poll-claims-americans-want-elementary-schoolers-taught-about-sexual-orientation-and-gender-identity-n1566184
U.S.A. SPORTS
Tom Brady Un-retires.
American inflation has become so bad that Brady has to go back to work.
