Good Morning World. It is or soon will be the third (3rd) Hump Day of the New Year 2567. Below is the Fishwrap early edition for Wednesday January 17. Â Â
Teacher: "Children, what does the chicken give you?" Student: "Meat!" Teacher: Very good! Now what does the pig give you? Student: Bacon! Teacher: Great! And what does the fat cow give you? Student: Homework!
THAILAND POLITICS ECONOMY Digital handout scheme meeting deferred
Deputy Prime Minister and Commerce Minister Phumtham Wechayachai announced on Tuesday morning that the meeting of the digital wallet policy committee had been put off pending a reaction from the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC). Â We have heard that (the NACC) will send comments to us, so we opted to wait, said Phumtham. Â Key Takeaway Prime Minister Srettha Thavisinwho also is the minister of finance, was absent for the announcement. He was the plan's chief backer during the election last May. The 10,000-baht digital wallet scheme is a flagship policy of the Pheu Thai Party, but the legality of its financing remains unclear. https://www.bangkokpost.com/business/general/2724959/
Next VSIP [Very Super Important Policy] of Srettha's on the 'Maybe Later' hotseat: his Land Bridge in the South.
Thai Energy Ministry focuses on cheap energy; various measures are lined up to control fuel, electricity prices. Energy Minister Pirapan Salirathavibhaga vows to keep energy prices, including electricity and oil, low for households and businesses throughout this year. [Now define 'LOW' which he did not] Pirapan said he has personally blocked a "request" from refineries to increase the pump price of diesel price by 0.5 baht a litre -- 12 U.S. pennies per U.S. gallon. https://www.bangkokpost.com/business/general/2723218/
THAILAND POLITICS THAKSIN No one is tired yet of hearing about Old Squarehead, who is sequestered here:
The Invisible Thaksin Is Once Again A Political Hotspot  Thaksin Shinawatra remains at the centre of political news in Thailand.  Opposition MPs, a Democrat and a progressive, reached the 14th floor of the 88-year-old Bhumibol Rajanusorn building where Thaksin is held, but "due to privacy laws", they were denied permission to visit him. The head nurse, who met them in the lift, said Thaksin is cared for by junior nurses. He has a leaky heart and rarely receives visits -- even from his relatives. After all this, the Democrat MP claimed that he encountered eight (8) Department of Corrections officers and hospital staff on the premises. Informative analysis from Khao Sod(Fresh News) https://shorturl.at/tMV35
Above: Anti-Thaksin royalists aka Yellow Shirts and aka military purchased People's Democratic Reform Committee stake out the Royal Thai Police Hospital in central Bangkok.
TAIWAN POLITICS DIPLOMACY
Republic of Nauru abandons Taiwan; will switch to mainland China
[Not that Nauru gets paid for this; how cynical of you] It reduces Taiwan's diplomatic allies to 12 around the world. https://shorturl.at/dmMX8 PHOTO: Flags in the Diplomatic Compound in Taipei. Nauru's was to be second from the right.
For the holidays, Crutch is in a reminiscent mood.
Those were the days, my friend... ... To round things off nicely was a song that invariably induces unashamed nostalgia, Mary Hopkin in 1968 singing 'Those Were the Days'. The poignant lyrics are hard to argue with:  Those were the days, my friend  We thought they'd never end and the humbling closing verse which observes  We are older, but no wiser, And much more Crutch at https://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/opinion/2723747/
Many thanks to readers who have bravely bought my new book Beyond Nowhere. The buffalo on the cover looks rather lonely so he would love a place on a friendly reader's bookshelf.
THAILAND ECONOMY BITCOIN Crypto exchange firm Binance to compete with Bitkub. Binance is finally opening its Thailand exchange to the general public eight months after it announced an expansion into the country. CoinTelegraph.com https://t.ly/df0FD
USA POLITICS PRIMARIES Let the United States Election Cheating Charges Begin! The Associated Press called Iowa for Trump, which as you know is flat-a** cheating. The U.S. state of Iowa held a pre-election 'caucus' for Republicans. Â Trump Trounced Everyone. Trump won before he even arrived. It was over before it even started. The Ron DeSantis camp is OUTRAGED! If you must... Good results tab here: https://shorturl.at/elxS8
But this summary says it all most.
Reality and Reminder  The Iowa Caucus Doesn't Pick the Winner but it Eliminates Losers.  e.g. It's Game Over for Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. (He even got beat by an Indian-American girl in the one county where Trump didn't win!!) Vivek Ramaswamy will leave the 2024 race and will endorse Trump. Hotair: https://t.ly/2agll But also satire America's Newspaper of Record: After lackluster showing, Nikki Haley orders bombing of Iowa. -- https://t.ly/eeoc3
OLD AND COLD: There are no jokes in Islam. There is no humour in Islam. There is no fun in Islam. There can be no fun and joy in whatever is serious. Islam does not allow swimming in the sea and is opposed to radio and television serials. Islam, however, allows marksmanship, horseback riding and competition. https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/9934353-allah-did-not-create-man-so-that-he-could-have The New Hotness: It's No Joke: U.S. President Joe Biden and the U.S. federal government are banning humorous electronic messages on highways. Biden's United States Federal Highway Administration (FHA) has given states two years to wash and blacken anything that seems... quirky -- obscure meanings, references to pop culture or those intended to be funny. Among those that will be disappearing at Biden's 'No Nonsense Allowed' order are messages such as 'Use Yah Blinkah' in Massachusetts; 'Visiting in-laws? Slow down, get there late,' from Ohio; “Don't drive Star Spangled Hammered,' from Pennsylvania; 'Hocus pocus, drive with focus' from New Jersey; and 'Hands on the wheel, not your meal' from Arizona.
TECHNOLOGY Question asked: Will the (next) Windows 12 be a good operating system, or shit like Microsoft Windows Vista and Microsoft DOS 4.0 that make Bill Gates a multi-billionaire resting on shit? (TheRegister) Windows 12 will have truckloads of AI, so it will probably be shit. But Bill Gates will still get his unsavoury cut. https://www.theregister.com/2023/12/23/windows_12_analysis/
USA SPORTS FOOTBALL SUPER BOWL Caution: Fishwrap cannot (yet; we're working on it) confirm whether this is wholly true but it certainly appears undeniable.
