Top Thai police generals in an 'internal disagreement'
There are a mere three days left to make and rehearse the perfect hoax for April Fool's Day.
17 Ramadan Dien Bien Phu VietnamFajr 0453 Sunrise 0607 Maghrib/Iftar1821
Today is the eve of the end of Week 210 of the coronavirus panic and shutdown --Â
 Thursday, 28 March
Crutch writes of the flight from Sulawesi to Jakarta where both pilots fell asleep.
Sounds like an endorsement of autopilot.
On a sweltering day in 1970 Crutch rode the Korat-to-Khon Kaen bus where the bus boy had a stick and an actual duty.
 After about 10 minutes I discovered to my alarm that the bus boy used the stick to prod the driver in the ribs when he started to doze off. This was happening at increasingly frequent intervals and with 10-wheeled trucks and buses thundering towards us (no dual carriageway in those days) it was quite unnerving.
https://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/opinion/2763818/
And if you are in Bangkok
Friday evening from 5:30 until Whoknows
Crutch and two other English authors will sign their books, with a free beer for every tome sold.
At O'Shea's Irish Pub, Sukhumvit Soi 33/1.
Just Recallin'...
Follow the Science. Listen to experts!
Precisely four years ago today
In Thailand, the military dictatorship ordered the population to wear masks, especially children and all school employees.
Asked about this, the Great American Expert Scientist Doctor Anthony Fauci
invented a brand new, never-seen-before narrative-explanation
 Masking works for individuals but not populations, but I don't have any data on that. https://t.ly/2r20o
Straight Outta America
Six in 10 Democrats* believe Covid-19 pandemic isn’t over
https://unherd.com/newsroom/six-in-10-democrats-believe-covid-19-pandemic-isnt-over/
*Supporters of the Democratic Party, i.e. Biden, Obama, etc
The Terrible Suspense of the Julian Assange Extradition. Or Not.
The U.K. High Court has told U.S. authorities -- justice and others, that they will definitely not extradite the Wikileaks founder until Washington promises in writing
• to give him a trial using American freedom of speech First Amendment rules, and,
• not to sentence him to death (because the formerly 'Great' Britain and Australia do not have capital punishment).
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-68662881
The Americans have three weeks to comply. Or else.
The Or Else is
that the U.K. High Court will hear another appeal by Assange against extradition to the United States. Which will (for a certainty) take quite a long time.
Assange's lawyers describe the U.S. demand for extradition and a trial in America as "state retaliation" -- i.e. the American government is pissed at Assange, nothing more.
THAILAND POLICE FEUD
Give the prime minister a clap for the way he's handling the brouhaha between the country's two top policemen.
Royal Thai Police four-star General Torsak Sukvimol (left in photo), and his chief deputy General Surachate "Big Joke" Hakparn are both currently serving the nation from two of those 'inactive posts'.
Their row is seen as an internal affair within the RTP.
 It is no secret that both were archrivals, as they vied fiercely for the position of RTP chief last September.
https://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/opinion/2763233/
Related OPED EDITORIAL
Handling a police feud. Bangkok Post: https://t.ly/sR5Ce
A war of words between the two had turned ugly and was corroding public trust; that is, if there was any left in the Royal Thai Police (RTP) force to lose.
Summary and Background
Thailand's national police chief and his deputy are suspended amid rumours of a power strugglr
https://www.khaosodenglish.com/news/2024/03/20/thailands-national-police-chief-and-his-deputy-are-suspended-amid-rumors-of-a-power-struggle/
SPORTS HOCKEY STANLEY CUP
Don't Cry For Me, Toronto
The current 'most likely' Stanley Cup playoff match-up
Tuesday, 23 April: Leafs vs Bruins. Again.
China is Not Welcome Here: https://t.ly/1sDpo
Bangkok and Huai Khwang district police shut down at least 12 'Chinese hot pot' restaurants suspected of being owned and operated by Chinese businessmen and Thai 'front-men' financiers.
The investigation found many owners operating restaurants in Thailand without a permit.
Prachachat Turakij spoke with Praphruk Hankijjakul, a member of the Bangkok Metropolitan Council who represents Huai Khwang District about the current economic climate of businesses in the neighborhood and why many Chinese restaurants are shuttered. Â
 "Business in the area has slowed. The road is notably quieter, mainly I think due to the closures of Chinese restaurants following the inspections," he said.
Business is crashing.
 Foreign tourists and local people used to flock to visit to the Ganesh shrine at the corner of the Huai Khwang intersection. They crossed the road to the neighborhood and stopped at restaurants to enjoy foods and drinks.
 These days, the area is nearly empty.
PHOTO: Chao Tian Men Hot Pot Restaurant -- last week busy, now completely closed.
Six people are missing and presumed dead.
With VIDEO of the collapse.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-68670567
USA POLITICS
Trump's friends, foreign and domestic are s--t scared that he might get elected. Again.
This is the running mate (for vice-president) of U.S. Third Party presidential candidate RFK Jr.
 Nicole Shanahan, 38 and ex-wife of Google founder Sergey Brin, is a sharp Silicon Valley lawyer and philanthropist.
 She has zero political experience.
Good background piece: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-68621617
A comfortable seat, perhaps even a sofa. A kitten as warm companion, or puppy; we'll not judge you. And articles worthy of consideration.
ECLIPSE APRIL 8 AIRLINERS
U.S. FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) issues a warning about how the April 8 solar eclipse will 'disrupt' air travel
Aircraft should be prepared for potential airborne holding, reroutes, and/or Expect Departure Clearance Times (EDCTs) that may be issued for all domestic IFR arrivals and departures. Traffic Management Initiatives (TMIs) are possible. In order to assist FBOs with staging aircraft and to ease ramp congestion, aircraft departing airports along the eclipse path are strongly encouraged to coordinate their departure times as early as possible.
https://www.faa.gov/air_traffic/publications/domesticnotices/dom24008_gen.html
But here's the story
With the world's attention on Gaza, ISIS is making global comeback?
Or at least attempting to.
And with the death toll at 133 and climbing, it's the worst terrorist attack since 9/11.
https://www.newsweek.com/gaza-attention-isis-global-comeback-1882346
also AS EXPECTED
except...
Fentanyl is flooding into Britain
There is a good story here pointing out just how slowly this attractive 'artificial heroin' has spread. For example, Thailand: Totally meth, no fentanyl.
https://unherd.com/newsroom/americas-opioid-crisis-is-coming-to-britain/
Also worth reading
Why do men dominate chess? By Carole Hooven at Quillette
https://quillette.com/2024/03/22/why-do-men-dominate-chess/
Debate: Should the U.S. Ban TikTok?
What, if anything, should we do about TikTok?
 Is the forced sale of the fastest-growing social media platform in the world a commonsense step to protect America from the influence of the Chinese Communist Party? Or is legislation that would mandate the app's sale or ban a threat to free speech?
Also VIDEO:
GC: TikTok has been a bad-faith actor. They've been lying, they’ve been obstructing. They’re not being honest about what’s been happening in China and the fact that their parent company has been involved in serious human rights abuses in China. They've been spreading propaganda. We can't have that in a democracy.
WK: Oh yes, we can. In fact, we need that. In fact, the competition between different sorts of propaganda is exactly what Americans, with their free speech rights and their free press rights, are allowed to scrutinise and need to scrutinise.
This is super-credible.
Poll: 71% of Palestinians Support October 7 Massacre, Majority Wants Hamas Returned to Power in Gaza.
Legal Insurrection: https://shorturl.at/CKMZ6
Today's Fishwrap has been brought to you by Urology Humour.
