Coss

but made herself culture minister so she could keep her desk for now... meanwhile, Dad's case... he's looking healthy, not at all sick....

Criminal Court to begin witness hearings in Thaksin lèse majesté case The Criminal Court will begin hearing prosecution witnesses in the lèse majesté case against former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra on Monday, with sessions scheduled to run over three consecutive days from July 1–3. Public prosecutors have charged Thaksin under Section 112 of the Criminal Code and the 2007 Computer Crime Act. The charges stem from an interview he gave to South Korean media in 2015, in which he allegedly made remarks deemed offensive to the monarchy. Thaksin has denied all allegations and is currently out on bail. The court has scheduled full-day hearings from 9am to 4.30pm over the three days. Thaksin is required to attend the hearings in person each day... LINK POLL

I got my scuba ticket at age 14 and I grew up watching Ron and Valery Taylor's groundbreaking underwater films, Saltwater Crocodiles, Dugongs, Great White Sharks etc etc (they consulted and filmed for Jaws). This docco is a bit of a mish mash but very good for vision of stuff you will have never seen before and likely won't again, underwater scenes, islanders, whales, even volcanic stuff. recommended.

developments: Protesters rally in Bangkok to demand Thai prime minister's resignation over leaked Cambodia call. LINK &c. &c. &c. 20,000 by police estimates

and then June 27 ----- Cambodia’s influential ex-premier Hun Sen on Friday accused Thailand’s prime minister of insulting the Thai king, as tensions between the neighbouring countries intensified. He said Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra’s comments about her military commander — who she labelled an “opponent” — in a leaked phone call with the veteran leader over a border dispute were “an insult to the king”. “An insult to a regional commander is an insult to the Thai king because it is only the king who issued a royal decree to appoint him,” Hun Sen said in a livestream on his official Facebook page. The daughter of controversial ex-premier Thaksin Shinawatra — who goes on trial for lese-majeste next week — faces being sacked as prime minister as the phone call scandal has triggered calls for her to step down and her government to teeter....... LINK ----- BANGKOK - Thailand's foreign ministry said on Friday it was taken aback by an unprecedented public attack on the Thai premier and her family by Cambodia's influential former leader, but stressed the need for diplomacy to resolve an escalating bilateral dispute. In a televised address that lasted more than three hours, veteran Cambodian politician Hun Sen rebuked Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra for her handling of a festering border row between the neighbours. Hun Sen, who led Cambodia for nearly four decades until stepping down in 2023, also took aim at Paetongtarn's father, divisive billionaire former premier Thaksin Shinawatra, until recently his close ally. "It surprised us, and it's quite extraordinary in terms of diplomatic norms," foreign ministry spokesman Nikorndej Balankura told Reuters. "Thailand has opened a lot of doors, and I insist that these doors remain open even after what happened this morning." Hun Sen, who is now president of Cambodia's senate but still holds enormous clout, accused Paetongtarn of looking down at him and his son, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet. On Thaksin, who faces an impending court case over the legitimacy of a hospital stay that allowed him to skip prison time, Hun Sen said the former Thai leader faked his illness. "Thaksin was not sick," he said. "He pretended to be sick." Paetongtarn, 38, has come under enormous domestic pressure following the leak of the audio of June 15 phone call between her and Hun Sen, in which she appeared overtly deferential to him and also criticised a Thai military commander..... LINK

I won't post it here, because 'merica. Another good reason to not travel to the USA https://www.newsweek.com/jd-vance-bald-baby-face-meme-shown-irish-parliament-2091049 That photo will be trouble for you, if it's on for phone on arrival...

LINK Senate president Hun Sen has sent a blunt message to the man who he once described as his “Godbrother” – former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra – accused Thaksin of betraying him and warning that he will expose his treasonous actions, including betraying the Thai monarchy. However, he noted that he would wait to see Bangkok’s reaction first. “I’d rather let others betray me first; I don’t betray others first. Now that I’ve been betrayed, I feel I must reveal what the Thaksin family did to betray their nation. This is a warning: You should teach your children, and they should understand their father and others, he said, as he spoke to displaced Cambodian citizens in Preah Vihear province on June 26. He explained that he plans to discuss the ups and downs of Cambodia-Thailand relations more deeply tomorrow, June 27, in order for both Cambodian and Thai citizens, who he said all desire peace, to understand the nature of the relationship. “I never imagined that a family I helped would rise to become prime minister and cause such issues. One moment they claim to have power, the next they say they don’t. Tomorrow, I will talk about this,” he said, referring to Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra, the daughter of Thaksin. He also directed pointed comments at Thaksin. “If you act arrogantly, I will expose everything you told me, including your insults to your king. Discipline your children. You have a child as prime minister, and I have a child as prime minister. But don’t mistake me for someone you can cross. I owe Thailand nothing,” he said. He indicated that Thaksin’s family owe him a debt of gratitude, which he does not seek to collect. What he wants is a relationship of equals, without interference. Hun Sen and Thaksin’s families once shared a close bond. Both Thaksin and his sister Yingluck Shinawatra, also a former Thai prime minister, have stayed at Hun Sen’s home. The Senate president shard his hopes that a new Thai prime minister will resolve the current issues with Cambodia, as he is unsure who currently holds the authority to negotiate effectively. “Right now, we don’t know who to negotiate with or who holds real power. Is it the military, a political party, someone behind the party or the prime minister? We don’t know who has true authority. We understand that only when a new prime minister takes office might there be willingness to resolve these issues,” he said. “Cambodia doesn’t see Thailand as an enemy. We only see a small group of extremists, some military and some politicians. We will work with Thailand, whether it’s the yellow shirts, red shirts or any other group,” he added. Niem Chheng The Phnom Penh Post Asia News Network

There's some argument to give Trump a Nobel gong and allow him to take credit for any positive international developments of recent years... In the interests of balance, I LINK to such an article. ----- IMHO this idea is parabled with the following: 10 men are pushing a cart up a hill containing their families and valuables, with the reigns held by an orange buffoon. The objective is to get the cart to the top safely. This should take 1 day. The buffoon insists that 5 of the men dance around the cart blowing trumpets, waving flags and adoring, said orange man. This will now take 2 days or longer, due to 5 men being sub-optimal for the task of pushing the cart. It looks like the 5 pushing men, will achieve the task in near enough 1 day, because of extraordinary efforts. The buffoon insist that the dancing men give him a prize. -----

In my youth, I was an avid enthusiast, and now I'm old enough to see, that widespread use would result in a significant portion of the population growing up with no education, ambition and aforethought. "Everyone can be high functioning whilst stoned" - no - few can do it. That argument is made to me frequently by a chap I know, that is a meth user but holds his head up in society.

Attribution

Imagine Clint Eastwood: The question you have to ask yourself is: "Do I want a Nobel Peace Prize, more than I want to piss off Vlad..."

NATO countries bowed to Trump’s defence demands. It’ll cost them 19,800 fighter jets.. LINK On the one hand, lick, lick, suck, suck, here have some big money.... On the other hand if you're gonna a have a defence force, it makes sense to have interoperability with one's allies and to steer away from Vlad &c. What Trump has done is to inadvertently cast himself, as the world's best carnival barker, so the world now don't have to credit him with anything more than bluster and sales, some of which the world wants. Whilst NATO has found away to work with Trump, such a gorgeous fella, such big hands..... I think there might be a long game here, to alter the predicament in Ukraine, and to set Vlad back on his heels (more so than at present). It also appears that Trump is taking on most of the role of Press Secretary, I wonder why? As I am not a representative of any country or Middle Earth , I speak from a position of very very small. ...with a defence force with 8 pretty ordinary ships, 48 very ordinary planes (no combat) and 6,500 blokes in the army (depending on how many came back after the weekend).

Yes a lethal weapon... I shoulda attributed my post above LINK

...and this is Donald's pick to lead DHS’ Center for Prevention Programs and Partnerships, putting him in charge of overseeing the government’s main hub for terrorism prevention. 22 yrs old “One year out of college with no evident national security experience whatsoever,”. “Before volunteering for the Trump campaign, his LinkedIn page reportedly explains that his work experience includes ‘lawn care work around my neighborhood.’ Also, working part time as a clerk at an H-E-B supermarket. ... “He also apparently once had an internship at The Heritage Foundation. ... And, according to a recent ProPublica profile of this young man ... ‘the bulk of [his] leadership experience comes from having served as secretary-general of a Model United Nations club.’” At school.... Think of Trump’s baffling pick this way: “A lawn boy and Model U.N. kid has been appointed to lead counterterrorism.” but the eyebrow.... wiki 55555 55555 555555