Tiny Asian island-nation vows to continue to fund Thailand.
G-o-o-o-o-o-d morning all (including Vietnam). Don't be confused; it used to be Wednesday but now it is Thursday, April 28.
THAILAND TOURISM CORONAVIRUS
Thailand's ruling junta has announced it intends to abolish its silly "Thailand Pass" visa-and-quarantine programme pretty soon now.
Which probably means June 1 unless there's Yet Another Policy Flip Flop.
The Thailand Pass went from silly to hopeless in two months.
You can still apply, in fact, but you'd be better without.
PHOTO: One of the chief reasons for abolishing Thailand Pass is the few visitors who actually use it.
THAILAND POLITICS CORRUPTION
Thailand's 'out of the blue' appointment
Thailand's foreign ministry appointed the first "special envoy on Myanmar".
She is U.S.-convicted political lobbyist Pornpimol "Pauline" Kanchanalak, now 72, one of the most interesting figures of America's late 20th century politics.
Long story short: Pauline purchased time and influence of then-president Clinton and his wife, usually on behalf of the Thai government and of course, herself.
She and her equally suspicious mother fled the United States in December, 1996, with prison sentences already hanging over their heads.
PHOTO: Among a dozen self-promoted jobs, Pauline was the Washington correspondent of the 'Bangkok Post' in the 1980s and '90s.
https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/2300734/
https://bityl.co/BynL
https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/appellate-courts/F3/192/1037/594125/
Even though the useless F.B.I. botched her case, accidentally or on purpose, several years of outside investigation, including by the U.S. Congress revealed that Pornpimol purchased the Clinton couple and others on behalf of then-Thai prime minister Chuan Leekpai and a particularly shady group, Ban Chang International, elite, super-rich Thai businessmen who, to this day, threaten to sue and "deal with" anyone who names them. The unusual plan was for a United States-Thailand Business Council, which was simply a slush fund to bribe Americans.
Say this for Pauline: She always lands on her feet and she always has bags of money. Her duties as "special envoy" are totally unclear.
The U.S. Justice Department (link below) still has pending criminal charges against Pauline, her mother and her sister-in-law Duangnet "Georgie" Kronenberg.
Thailand's coup-maker and junta boss, the corrupt ex-army four-star general Prawit Wongsuwan (front and centre below) looks determined to remove ex-friend Prayut as the face of the 8-year-old dictatorship.
Prawit told the media on Tuesday that the junta-loyal Palang Pracharath (People's State Power) is actively seeking Prayut replacements.
Prawit was identified recently by al Jazeera as the boss of at least a decade of murderous human trafficking.
PHOTO: Prawit, officially designated as deputy prime minister and leader of the Palang Pracharath Party speaks to reporters at Government House on Tuesday.
https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/politics/2300662/
MYANMAR DICTATORSHIP SUU KYI
She's done
Burma's ruling Tatmadaw dictatorship began a planned series of trials to keep the country's former elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi locked up until she dies.
 A Tatmadaw-influenced court sentenced Suu Kyi, 76 years old, to five years in prison, supposedly because she accepted a bribe of $600,000 cash, plus gold bars.
 She still faces a raft of other criminal charges, including violating the official secrets act, corruption and electoral fraud, and could be jailed for more than 100 years if convicted on all counts.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-04-27/aung-san-suu-kyi-court-ruling-five-years-prison/101012764
THAILAND ECONOMY STAGFLATION
Thailand's ruling junta has received its first ultimatum from citizens, and specifically the trucking industry:
 "If the government refuses to subsidise diesel fuel (which it will as of Saturday) we'll hike the cost of all freight runs by 20 per cent."
 So now the ruling junta is stuck hard between the rock and hard place:
 It has ordered price controls on all markets of all kinds, to stop any price rises, but
 It is useless against rising diesel prices of all varieties.
PHOTO: Representatives of the Land Transport Federation of Thailand gather at Government House's complaint centre on Wednesday to demand the government continue to cap the diesel price at 30 baht per litre for a year instead of ending it this weekend.
https://www.bangkokpost.com/business/2301330/
Japan vows to expand Thai expenditure
Thailand held a little-noticed "road show" in Tokyo and Kanagawa to try to get some of that yennish gelt.
Japan's minister of economy, trade and industry Koichi Hagiuda and chief cabinet secretary Hirokazu Matsuno told the Thai road-show chief, deputy prime minister Supattanapong Punmeechaow to stop fretting.
Japanese investments from the Top 10 companies will not only continue in the next few years, but will increase - starting immediately.
PHOTO: Mr Supattanapong, left, met Mr Matsuno on April 21 in Tokyo.
https://www.bangkokpost.com/business/2300970/
Just 2 years 1 month 9 days to slow the spread.
The crippling and even murderous Covid-19 virus won't leave Thailand.
The sad statistics from the 24 hours of Wednesday:
New, verified cases: 14,887 PLUS 12,748 pending cases from antigen tests.
125 deaths, aged from 1 to 100 years old, and including one British citizen.
https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/2301150/
Why is Everything Pandemic happening in China, again?
And speaking of Doing the Panic thing... What would a pandemic be without some of that Bird Flu mixed in?
 China detects first human case of H3N8 bird flu
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/asia/china-detects-first-human-case-h3n8-bird-flu-2650161
What would we do without experts?
 Outbreak of Hepatitis in Children Caused by Lockdowns That Weakened Immunity
https://summit.news/2022/04/26/outbreak-of-hepatitis-in-children-caused-by-lockdowns-that-weakened-immunity/
plus
 Chinese Covid Outbreak in Beijing Results in Panic Buying, Citywide Testing
https://legalinsurrection.com/2022/04/covid-outbreak-in-beijing-results-in-panic-buying-citywide-testing/
The only thing we really know about the U.S.A. president-in-waiting:
She's on Paxlovid:
 Is Kamala Harris Sicker with Covid Than the White House Will Admit?
https://pjmedia.com/vodkapundit/2022/04/27/is-kamala-harris-sicker-with-covid-than-the-white-house-will-admit-n1593358
Dear Thai Junta...
How come Malaysian health and tourism is so much smarter than you?
Malaysia scraps Covid tests for travellers, outdoor mask mandate
New Straits Times:
https://www.nst.com.my/news/nation/2022/04/792291/khairy-face-masks-no-longer-mandatory-outdoors-may-1-nsttv
And also Cambodia.
https://english.cambodiadaily.com/news/cambodia-lifts-mask-mandate-in-open-public-places-177675/
For two seconds in the movie Uncharted and the Ozzie TV drama Pine Gap, the Chinese Communist Party's 'Nine-Dash Lines' map which purports to prove that China and the CCP own approximately most of the South China Sea.
 Vietnam, and then the Philippines, has closed and censored both.
 Netflix appears to have removed both shows from its schedule in both countries.
 The pretty-bad Sony flick Uncharted stars Mark Wahlberg and Tom Holland in a story about looking for lost treasure - specifically the sunken boat of Ferdinand Magellan.
 It's based on the popular PlayStation-exclusive game series of the same name.
 The Pine Gap TV series invents dramatic episode, as Aussie and American intelligence agencies battle to keep the joint intelligence facility up and running.
 Sony is the best-known suck-up to Beijing propaganda.
Trailer:
Biebs is Bangkok-bound.
Canada's most popular person named "Justin" will perform on November 6 at the outdoor Rajamangala National Stadium.
Tickets go on sale on Friday, with each ducat in the front-row standing room in the "Ghost" pit selling for just 16,500 baht in real money - U.S.$400, or 617 loonies.
PHOTO: Official seating and ticket prices by Thaiticket Major.
https://www.bangkokpost.com/life/arts-and-entertainment/2301322/
GLOBAL WARMING
I'm not saying this is a worthwhile charitable donation, but it's a worthwhile charitable donation.
Buy Part of a Shot-Down Russian Jet, Help Ukraine Shoot Down Another Russian Jet.
Drones for Ukraine has a unique fundraising tool: Donate $1,000 or more to their effort to procure modern drones to defend against the Russian invasion, get a genuine piece of aircraft skin from a downed Russian jet fighter.
https://bityl.co/Byoj
For the past couple of weeks, small groups of idiotic American idiots have tried to cancel Steve Martin.
They should try something easier. Cancel the North Star, then cancel the Full Moon Party... you know, start with the east stuff and work their way up the Ladder of Difficulty.
In 1978, the United States and Canada went nutzo-crazy over a touring exhibit of some of the artefacts from the tomb of King Tutankamen, alias King Tut.
Up-and-coming comedy start hosted Saturday Night Live. He performed a mostly silly parody of the "King Tut Fever" that gripped North America, with a song called... oh, damn, what was it called?.... Oh right, it was called King Tut.
I recommend two lines from that song to the stone-cold petrified fearful ruling junta of Thailand:
He gave his life for tourism.
Now, if I'd known
They'd line up just to see you,
I'd trade in all my money
And bought me a museum. (King Tut)
The entire skit is preserved on YouTube.
Yes, it's the hot season. Quite warm.
For example: I recorded ther outdoors temperatures at 5 p.m. in Saskatoon Saskatchewan and Bangkok, a town in Thailand, and
there was a difference of 35 Canadian degrees, with Saskatoon the less hot of the two..
