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Reading this thread, it’s easy to conclude that most posters find it difficult to accept that a nation of this wealth and history of achievement—over a relatively short span of time—could have possibly produced a megalomaniac like our out-bound president. He did it by persuading people that he and only he understood the reasons for whatever troubled them and he and only he could remedy them. Even Trump was surprised that it was so easy. For four long years the country was put through a grinder of his, and his Senate cohorts’, efforts to remake government to fit their image. The more outrageous he became, the more it seemed to work. He continues to this day to push the envelope even in the face of abject defeat. Trump isn’t the first person in the world to stumble on this formula for the acquisition of power. The Fuhrer pounced on it in Germany in the 1930’s and he, too, was a bit shocked how simple it was once you got the knack of it. Other leaders around the world today have followed a similar track to power. And although there are still many in Trump world who hang on his every word, slowly but perceptively there are definite signs that people have had enough. It is no where more evident than in the state of Georgia where Republican office holders and key GOP appointees feel increasingly free to speak out against him and his lies. For those who aren’t following what’s happening in Georgia, there’s a runoff election next month to determine the winners of two critical seats in the Senate. Should Democrats win both (a long shot for sure), control of the upper chamber would shift away from Republican hands. Many believe (and I’m one of them) that the Senate is a more valuable prize than the presidency. Yes, the presidency has broad executive powers but the Senate can out maneuver the White House with its budgetary authority and its power of “advise and consent” to cabinet positions and other key appointments. None are more critical in the grand scheme of things than who sits on the Supreme Court. Returning to the topic of freedom of expression, I look at it this way. When I ask myself what rights I personally hold dear as a US citizen I always come up back to two. First is the right to say what I think without fear from the government. Second, it’s freedom from illegal search and seizure: to be secure in my home. If someone has those than others freedoms flow from them. Trump did, and is still doing, as much as possible to whittle away at those two concepts. I want to believe that more and more Americans will come to recognize this as time passes. Perhaps I’m optimistic but I have to hold on to that aspiration. Many different posters have contributed to this thread and all have expressed their opinions in a respectful way. That also gives me hope.

If you think self-censorship is excessively complicated, consider the alternative. Who would be the arbiter of another person's speech? You and I may not like what others say, but do we have to right to stifle them? That is truly crazy. Once you start down that road, the Thought Police and 1984 aren't far behind. China dismissed elected officials in Hong Kong because they were deemed "disloyal" based on their speech. You don't have to look far to find other nations doing the same thing. How could you possibly come up with a list of banned speech topics? Would hearing be held, votes taken to see what makes the cut? Your wish to eliminate what you consider falsehoods and undesirable speech is surely well intentioned. Creating a process, however, to produce the desired results is wholly unworkable in any democracy, anywhere.

The problem is that it's not possible to pose severe restrictions on the media without also restricting the speech of everyone. Once the internet replaced the mail, the telephone and radio as the way people learned about what was happening and communicated with one another, it marked a sea change from which there's no turning back. The same internet that allows us to share information about our favorite bars,restaurants and massage shops is the same vehicle that makes it possible for disinformation to flourish. Some voluntarily policing by Facebook and Twitter has had some limited effect around the edges but technology will always allow for restrictions to be circumnavigated. In the end it's the end user who'll decide what he or she chooses to believe. They are the ultimate censors. Attempts to deny them access to the both the good and bad is destined to failure. There's no magic bullet but those governments that provide all citizens equal access to a liberal education will produce information consumers prepared to make informed decisions.

NOTE -- After posting this I realized that article was published last March. Since it contained some information I was unaware of, I'm leaving it up because others may appreciate the information when the country reopens to tourism. From Vietnam News HÀ NỘI — Việt Nam’s immigration laws will undergo a radical shake-up this summer in an effort to widen the doors for tourists while protecting the country from foreign criminals and illegal workers. Speaking exclusively to Việt Nam News, Lieutenant Colonel Nguyễn Văn Minh from the Department of Immigration said major changes would include temporary permits for tourists, visa exemptions and changes to visa statuses. “Starting July 1, visitors entering Việt Nam will be granted a temporary residence stamp upon arrival with the duration of stay matching their visas,” said Minh. This will lessen the burden for foreigners who have visas valid for over 12 months because under current laws, they need to apply for a permit extension even though their visas are still valid. But visitors here on a tourist visa will need to do more paperwork if they want to stay longer than 30 days. “For tourist visas which are valid for more than 30 days, tourists are only given a 30-day temporary residence stamp,” Minh said. Foreign tourists can still get three-month visas, but they need their passports stamped every 30 days, which will cost US$10 (VNĐ230,000) each time. “Tourists can apply for an extension once or multiple times, but the maximum stay is 90 days. After this period, they must leave the country and if they want to return to Việt Nam, they will have to apply for a visa again,” Minh said. The new regulation is aimed at preventing crime and illegal workers. “There are foreigners who have taken advantage of the three-month tourist visa to engage in activities that violate Vietnamese laws, such as high-tech crime and working illegally,” Minh added. He also advised tourists to apply for electronic visas instead of the traditional paper ones as “it was a much easier and quicker". Currently, electronic visas are available for citizens of 80 countries. The new laws will also address concerns of many citizens from the 13 countries under Việt Nam’s unilateral visa waiver programme, especially South Koreans and Japanese, according to Minh. “A regulation requiring people from these countries entering Việt Nam without a visa to wait for at least 30 days to be able to come back will be removed. They will be able to come back anytime,” Minh said. Another major change is for the first time, eligible foreigners are now allowed to change their visa status without leaving the country. “They include foreign investors or representatives of foreign organisations that invest in Việt Nam and their families, and foreign workers who receive job offers in Việt Nam or enter the country on e-visas as long as they have a work permit or confirmation they are exempt from a work permit,” Minh said. To prevent the misuse of current rules, the new laws also regulate that foreign investors with capital of less than VNĐ3 billion (US$130,000) can only obtain a one-year visa while those investing from VNĐ100 billion can get a 10-year temporary permit. At the moment, all certified foreign investors can obtain a five-year visa regardless of their investment. All the changes are part of the amendments to the Law on Entry, Exit, Transit and Residence of Foreigners, approved by the National Assembly late November last year. The thirteen countries eligible for Việt Nam’s unilateral visa waiver programme are: Belarus, Denmark, Japan, Norway, Italy, Finland, France, Russia, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Germany, UK. — VNS View tourist visa video https://vietnamnews.vn/society/652929/visa-policies-for-foreigners-undergo-major-changes.html

From Bangkok Post / Opinion Is this the end for reckless populism? By Gwynne Dyer There is nothing wrong to participate in a sex party of any kind," said a source in the European Parliament. "However, such kinds of meetings with many people are illegal under the coronavirus laws." To be specific, 25 naked men attending a loud party above a gay bar in central Brussels is clearly against Belgium's coronavirus laws, which allow no more than four people to meet indoors, so somebody called the police. At least three of those arrested were Members of the European Parliament (MEPs). It was particularly unfortunate for Jozsef Szajer. He's a senior founding member of Hungary's ruling Fidesz party, an ultra-nationalist, populist, authoritarian grouping that defends "family values" and condemns homosexuality, but he was arrested while fleeing that orgy (with ecstasy pills in his backpack). Yet it's hard to feel much sympathy for him. Mr Szajer was a leading anti-gay agitator in Fidesz, and boasts that he personally drafted the changes to the Hungarian constitution that defined marriage as being between a man and a woman. He has now resigned as the leader of the Hungarian delegation to the European Parliament, and will doubtless have to quit Fidesz too. There was another scandal in Hungary last week, in which Szilard Demeter, a senior cultural official linked to Fidesz, wrote an opinion piece for a pro-government outlet comparing Budapest-born American billionaire George Soros, a Jew who fled the Holocaust, to Adolf Hitler. Mr Demeter also called the European Union "George Soros's gas chamber", and claimed that Hungary and Poland, the two Eastern European EU members with extreme right populist governments, are "the new Jews" of Europe. It's utterly unhinged -- and yet it sounds vaguely familiar. The unbridled arrogance, the self-pity, the shameless, hysterical exaggeration are all hallmarks of the new breed of "illiberal" populists -- and when they think they are losing, they always up the ante. I'm thinking, of course, of Donald Trump's recent electoral defeat and his subsequent behaviour. Could that extraordinary recklessness be a communicable disease? Could it somehow be spreading to Mr Trump's acolytes overseas as well? Well, consider Poland. The Catholic, ultra-conservative Law and Justice Party (PiS) has been in power in Poland since 2015, elected by the same older, less well educated, non-urban, deeply religious coalition that backs populist take-overs elsewhere. And as in other populist-ruled countries, there has been a steady erosion both in human rights and in respect for democratic norms. The PiS was re-elected just last year, and its leader, 71-year-old Jarosław Kaczynski, was widely supposed to have his finger on Poland's pulse. But it all fell apart when a PiS-appointed court declared in late October that abortions would not be permitted even in cases of severe foetal abnormality where the child would die immediately after birth. Poland already had tight restrictions on abortion rights, but this turned out to be the last straw. Millions of young people, and especially young women, filled the streets of Poland's cities in the biggest anti-government demonstrations since the fall of Communism in 1989. The demos continued every day until a new lockdown was declared, and the PiS has now backed down, postponing the publication of the court's decision indefinitely. But something has definitely changed in Poland: support for Mr Kaczynski has now plunged. Then there's President Jair Bolsonaro, or "Tropical Trump", whose favoured candidates were thrashed in all Brazil's big cities in local elections last month, and the United Kingdom's Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who is now trailing the opposition leader in the polls for the first time. It's just straws in the wind at this stage, but the defeat of Mr Trump, the populist standard-bearer, is creating a sense in other populist-ruled countries that the juggernaut has stalled. The effect hasn't reached Asia yet -- Prime Minister Narendra Modi in India and President Rodrigo Duterte in the Philippines are still riding very high in the polls -- but the main thing the populists had going for them was momentum, and in Western countries it seems to be dropping off. Was there really a "coat-tail effect"? Hard to say. After all, both the PiS in Poland and Fidesz in Hungary came to power before Mr Trump was elected in late 2016. But populist leaders across the West seem to believe that somehow or other their fates are tied to Mr Trump's. It shows in the growing recklessness of their behaviour, and in the frequency of their failures. Does this mean they are all destined to vanish in his wake? Probably not, but that would be nice.

From The Nation Thailand to launch nationwide Covid-19 vaccination in May Thailand’s Covid-19 vaccination programme will begin in May 2021, according to the Department of Disease Control (DDC)’s action plan revealed on Thursday. The country last week signed a Bt6-billion deal to buy 26 million doses of the AstraZeneca/Oxford vaccine to immunise 13 million people. The vaccine will first have to pass safety and quality checks applied by the Thai Food and Drug Administration and Department of Medical Sciences under the Public Health Ministry, said DDC director-general Opas Karnkawinpong.Secondly, the DDC will prepare vaccination centres at more than 10,000 subdistrict health promotion hospitals nationwide to reach communities quickly and prevent crowding in large hospitals. A cold-chain transport system to maintain vaccine quality is now being prepared, and officials are being trained for the mass vaccination programme. The first to be called for registration will be medical staff, young children, the elderly, and vulnerable groups. Local health authorities will then summon registered participants for vaccination at health promotion hospitals or mobile health units.

There are three actions that would have to occur in order for votes to be tabulated with 24 hours of the close of polling places: 1. The deadline for mail-in ballots would have to be set at least 14 days prior to election day to allow sufficient time to process and count ballots. 2. A federal law is needed to require states to begin counting ballots as they are received. Currently, it is a state-by-state decision. Some states do not permit counting until election day. 3. Walk-in and drop-off voting needs to be permitted over an extended period beginning at least 21 days prior to election day. Currently decisions about this are made on a state-by-state basis. Elimination of the Electoral College system would be a great improvement but that's a bridge too far with the current make up of congress. As for the state of democracy in the US, the mighty effort to combat Trump--and his allies--attempts to subvert the will of the electorate demonstrated just how precious (and costly) freedom can be. Many republican election officials came forward to defend the validity of the vote that spelled defeat for their party's leader in several key states. The information age, and the potential for misinformation it can generate, is perhaps the greatest threat to democracy everywhere.

From Coconuts Bangkok What’s the most romantic way to celebrate life and surviving 2020? Certainly it’s cuddling in bed in a theater with dozens of strangers watching a movie? That’s exactly what Thailands’ No. 2 theater owner SF Cinema and a bedding company will debut tomorrow at SF World Cinema with the opening of “The Bed Cinema.” SF Cinema World’s former theater No. 13 has been renovated with 40 beds, a 4k digital projector and Dolby 7.1 surround sound. Tickets are available at three levels of reclined luxury: a twin bed (for single self-cuddlers at THB900-THB1,000), a queen (two people for THB1,800-THB2,000) and a king (four very familiar folks for THB3,600-THB4,000). Each bed is equipped with an electric, adjustable Omazz bed and bedding. The Bed Cinema by Omazz opens tomorrow at SF World Cinema located atop the CentralWorld shopping mall. Tickets can be purchased online or at the cinema kiosk.

We both have long memories. It was on my very first trip that I observed this same scene. Tarntawan Place had sent a car to the airport and the driver got into the left traffic lane on Rama 4 in preparation for the turn onto Surawong. Traffic was very heavy as we crept along and I was wondering what all these cute young guys were doing on that block. After quickly showering and unpacking a few things, I walked back up Surawong to Rama 4. Although I had no idea where or what I was doing (other than engaging my hunting instincts), the smiles came quick and easy. The third or fourth guy took the few steps towards me, touched my arm and said, "we go your hotel." He informed me of the financial expectation (500) and that he was university student. I later learned that many of the others on that strip were also students or day workers supplementing their income. That was my brief but excellent introduction to Bangkok.

A bus?

From Bloomberg / Bangkok Post Rusty pilots making flying errors is next aviation headache On Sept 15, an Indonesian flight carrying 307 passengers and 11 crew to the northern city of Medan momentarily veered off the runway after landing, sparking an investigation by the country’s transport safety regulator. It found the pilot had flown less than three hours in the previous 90 days. The first officer hadn’t flown at all since Feb 1. The incident underlines an emerging risk from the coronavirus pandemic: pilots aren’t getting enough opportunity to fly because airlines have grounded planes and scaled back operations due to a slump in demand for air travel. In its preliminary report, Indonesia’s National Transportation Safety Committee said the pandemic has made it harder to maintain pilot proficiency and flying experience. The Lion Air aircraft involved was an Airbus SE A330, one of 10 in the carrier’s fleet. Because Lion Air doesn’t have a simulator for the A330, its pilots are trained at third-party facilities in Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore. Covid-19 travel restrictions have made those harder to access. “Regular flying keeps your mind in the cockpit,” said Mohan Ranganathan, an aviation safety consultant who was an adviser to India’s Directorate General of Civil Aviation. “Being away from flying for such a long time brings in some complacency. Add loss of income, uncertainty about jobs or the future of the airline, that brings in additional stress. With an increase in stress levels, proficiency drops.” Analytics company Cirium says almost a third of the world’s passenger jets remain in storage -- parked in the centre of Australia and the US’s Mojave Desert. While there’s been a recovery in domestic travel in larger markets such as China, international traffic is way off pre-pandemic levels because of border restrictions and mandatory quarantine, a big deterrent to travellers. Thousands of pilots have been laid off or furloughed, and those still in work are flying a lot less because there’s so little demand. =========================================================== From The Nation AOT revising Suvarnabhumi’s Bt44bn northern expansion plan The 44 billion baht northern expansion of Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi airport is being revised, to meet “new normal” requirements, according to Airports of Thailand. AOT president, Nitinai Sirismatthakarn, says the process will take 1 or 2 months to complete. Nation Thailand reports that the airport’s new northern terminal will have the capacity to handle 30 million passengers a year, with Nitinai remaining optimistic about a return to normal figures next year. He says the availability of effective Covid-19 vaccines should fuel a return to normality, with passenger traffic at Suvarnabhumi eventually reaching pre-Covid numbers of 65 million in 2023. He adds that the Satellite Terminal 1 should be completed in 2022, with plans also being drawn up to extend the airport’s existing terminal east and west. The Satellite Terminal 1 is expected to increase the airport’s capacity by an additional 15 million passengers a year. =============================================================== From The Nation Cabinet gives green light to new 120kph speed limit Tuesday’s Cabinet meeting approved a Transport Ministry draft for new speed limits on Thai roads. The draft ministerial regulation raises the speed limit on highways from 90 kilometres per hour to 120kph (76 mph) – but only for cars. A limit of 90kph has been set for trucks weighing more than 2.2 tonnes and buses with room for more than 15 passengers. Minivans and buses with capacity for 7-15 passengers are limited to 100kph (62 mph). A 65kph limit applies to cars towing another vehicle, small four-wheelers, and three-wheelersMeanwhile motorcycles have an 80kph (50mph)speed limit, though big bikes of 35kW or more have a 100kph ceiling. School buses are limited to 80kph. The speed limits will apply on national and rural highways of four lanes separated by a barrier and without U-turn points.

From Bloomberg News QAnon’s days as a solely U.S. phenomenon are over. The conspiracy theory’s foothold in Japan -- home to one of its most active networks outside the U.S. -- demonstrates how the movement can be made palatable in a range of countries as it gains popularity from Europe to Brazil. Research by social media analytics firm Graphika Inc. shows the Japan-based QAnon community is among the most developed international chapters, with distinct terminology, influencers, and behaviors -- such as idolizing Michael Flynn, a former U.S. national security adviser in the Trump administration. “What we’re seeing now is an adaptation of U.S. QAnon taking root in European countries, whereas in Japan and Brazil, it does seem to be slightly more independent and self-sustaining as an ideology,” said Melanie Smith, head of analysis at Graphika. She attributes the increasing prominence of QAnon to the U.S. election and the pandemic. This internationalization presents an uphill battle for social media companies already facing increased pressure from governments to combat disinformation on their platforms in English, let alone myriad other languages. President Donald Trump’s refusal to concede the election to Joe Biden has prompted many of his supporters to say without proof that the election was stolen. Lawsuits filed by the Trump campaign and its GOP allies have failed in Pennsylvania, Michigan, Georgia, Nevada and Arizona as the legal team has failed to produce any evidence of widespread fraud that would change the results. However Trump supporters’ accusations continue, potentially giving fresh life to conspiracy theories such as QAnon after the president leaves office. Japan’s community is perhaps most notable for its reverence of Flynn. He only served in the Trump administration for 24 days and resigned after acknowledging he had misled Vice President Mike Pence over communications with the Russian ambassador; he later pleaded guilty to lying to federal agents about their conversation and was pardoned by Trump last week. The Japanese group even styles itself QArmyJapanFlynn after the former general who popularized “digital soldiers,” a term many Q supporters use to describe themselves. Flynn follows several Japanese QAnon accounts, including @okabaeri9111 -- the Twitter linchpin of the community. The handle run by Eri Okabayashi has more than 80,000 followers, and says it is both the founder of QArmyJapanFlynn and sole official translator of Q content into Japanese. The most popular video translation of Q content on an associated Youtube account had more than 200,000 views before it was removed for violating the site’s content policy. By comparison, two Brazilian accounts Graphika described as “highly followed” in its August report had 54,400 followers and 16,800 followers at that time. The U.K. Facebook groups highlighted in the report had 10,000 to 11,000 members. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-11-29/qanon-s-rise-in-japan-shows-conspiracy-theory-s-global-spread

A somewhat disjointed Bangkok Post article that starts out discussing gay rights in the Trump administration and prospects in the Biden administration quickly morphs into a discussion of current gay cinema. Found a takeaway about gay male films that my be of interest. Nadao Bangkok's I Told Sunset About You, a romantic drama series that centers on the relationship between two high school boys. The five-episode series has completed its run and can now be binge-watched in one go on Line TV. What was initially perceived as the studio's attempt to hop on the popular Boys' Love bandwagon impressively turned out to be much more. At times sensual, at times heartbreaking, Sunset was a well-rounded, coming-of-age drama with good writing, and beautiful cinematography to match. The story dives into the struggle of defining and exploring one's identity and sexual orientation. The performance of two lead actors, Putthipong Assaratanakul and Krit Amnuaydechkorn, were also praised. Following a successful run, it was announced that a sequel is in the making and will follow the two protagonists as they go on to study at universities. This is set to be released in March 2021. https://www.bangkokpost.com/life/social-and-lifestyle/2027507/light-flickers-in-us-fades-in-thailand

From Bangkok Post Twitter suspends royalist account linked to influence campaign Twitter has suspended a pro-royalist account linked to the palace that a Reuters analysis found was connected to thousands of others created in recent weeks spreading posts in favour of His Majesty the King and the monarchy. The Reuters review found tens of thousands of tweets that an expert said appeared to be from accounts amplifying royalist messaging in a push to counter a months-long protest movement that has swelled from opposing the government to breaking a longstanding taboo by challenging the monarchy. Internal army training documents reviewed by Reuters showed evidence of a coordinated information campaign designed to spread favourable information and discredit opponents. The pro-monarchy @jitarsa_school account was suspended after Reuters sought comment on Wednesday from Twitter on the recent royalist campaign on the social media platform, where protesters have long had a strong presence. Created in September, the @jitarsa_school account had more than 48,000 followers before its suspension. "The account in question was suspended for violating our rules on spam and platform manipulation," a Twitter representative said on Sunday. She said the suspension was in line with the company's policies and not a result of the Reuters request for comment.

From The Thaiger Ron Howard to direct cave rescue feature film ‘Thirteen Lives’ in Australia The Australian Government is putting up A$13 million to Imagine Entertainment and film giant MGM to shoot a live-action feature film called Thirteen Lives, based on the Chiang Rai Tham Luang cave rescue story. The film will be shot in Queensland, Australia in the hinterland areas behind the Gold Coast. The film will be directed by Ron Howard (A Beautiful Mind, Apollo 13, The Da Vince Code, Cocoon, Solo: A Star Wars Story, Splash, Frost/Nixon), and start filming in March 2021. The state’s Gold Coast hinterland will double for Thailand with a similar hot, humid climate. The Australian Minister for Communications, Cyber Safety and the Arts, Paul Fletcher MP, says the production ishould inject more than A$96 million into the Australian economy, “directly creating around 435 jobs for cast and crew”.

From The Nation No end in sight as both sides refuse to shift their stance Thai politics has arrived at a dead end as neither side shows any sign of stepping away from the tug-of-war they have been playing for nearly five months. Analysts say the dispute between the powers-that-be and the anti-establishment movement will be prolonged, with no reconciliation in sight. Some don’t rule out the possibility of a coup as the last resort, though others predict that Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha will stay in power until his term ends in 2023. The anti-establishment movement has been rallying since July, demanding that Prayut and his government step down, the junta-endorsed Constitution be rewritten and the monarchy reformed. They are escalating their protests to a point of no return and “shattering the ceiling” by challenging the monarchy, observers say. Analysts have proposed non-violent routes out of the conflict, such as peace talks, but each side has refused because the stakes are too high for both. Moves to set up a reconciliation committee are also likely to fail, as protesters have boycotted the panel. Many observers now warn of possible clashes and violence if the student-led protesters refuse to lower their demands, especially their call for monarchy reforms. There is also concern that if things get out of control, the government will impose martial law or even be ousted by the Army. Yuthaporn Issarachai, a political scientist from Sukhothai Thammathirat Open University, says the escalation of protests brings an increasing likelihood of violent clashes and bloodshed. The potential for serious violence was seen soon after protesters began dispersing on Wednesday (November 25), when two men were shot and critically wounded, though the shooting’s connection to the rally remains unclear. The rally for monarchy reform was being held outside the headquarters of Siam Commercial Bank (SCB) in Bangkok’s Chatuchak district. His Majesty the King is the major shareholder in the bank. A week earlier, more than 50 demonstrators sustained injuries, including six with gunshot wounds, during a rally outside Parliament on November 17, when police directed water cannon and tear gas at protesters and skirmishes broke out between royalists and pro-democracy protesters – the first major clash between the two rival sides. Yuthaporn fears that clashes and the PM’s vow to enforce “all pertaining laws” may lead to a “severe” state of emergency, followed by martial law and finally a military coup. He said a coup would be a last resort if clashes between royalists and anti-establishment protesters cause massive injuries and even deaths. The pundit believes a military takeover is a real possibility, given Thailand does not have an established democracy and the Army’s structure leaves the door open for a putsch. However, it would only make things worse, he added. “Staging a coup may be the last resort [to solve the stalemate], but it won’t end the political crisis. Instead it will intensify the situation, as protesters have made it clear they won’t accept a coup or national unity government,” Yuthaporn said.

From The Nation Quarantine stays can now be booked on Agoda The Public Health Ministry is joining forces with online hotel booking platform Agoda to help Thais and foreigners book their stay at an alternative state quarantine facility. The Public Health Ministry is joining forces with online hotel booking platform Agoda to help Thais and foreigners book their stay at an alternative state quarantine facility. Under the new link up, people wanting to return to Thailand can conveniently look for and book quarantine packages that are suitable to their needs. This cuts down on time required for booking a hotel room under the Public Health Ministry’s regulations. The platform works in 39 languages, with 24/7 support and customer care provided in 21 tongues, including English and Chinese, as well as a quick and easy payment process. Dr Tares said 113 ASQ-certified hotels are now able to generate more than Bt1.2 billion in revenue for the country. The number of hotels providing alternative quarantine stays has expanded from 37 to 100, and are expected to attract at least 30,000 tourists and generate more than Bt1 billion in revenue.

From the BBC Culture / Books Section Yukio Mishima: The strange tale of Japan’s infamous novelist This photograph – taken a few days before his death – shows Mishima with his loyal cadets (Credit: Getty Images) By Thomas Graham Standing on a balcony, as if on stage, the small, immaculate figure appeals to the army assembled below. The figure is Yukio Mishima, real name Kimitake Hiraoka. He was Japan’s most famous living novelist when, on 25 November 1970, he went to an army base in Tokyo, kidnapped the commander, had him assemble the garrison, then tried to start a coup. He railed against the US-backed state and constitution, berated the soldiers for their submissiveness and challenged them to return the Emperor to his pre-war position as living god and national leader. The audience, at first politely quiet, or just stunned into silence, soon drowned him out with jeers. Mishima stepped back inside and said: “I don’t think they heard me.” Then he knelt down and killed himself by seppuku, the Samurai’s ritual suicide. Mishima’s death shocked the Japanese public. He was a literary celebrity, a macho and provocative but also rather ridiculous character, perhaps akin to Norman Mailer in the US, or Michel Houellebecq in today’s France. But what had seemed to be posturing had suddenly become very real. It was the morning of the opening of the 64th session of the Diet, Japan’s parliament, and the Emperor himself was present. The prime minister’s speech on the government agenda for the coming year was somewhat overshadowed. No one had died by seppuku since the last days of World War Two. In 1949, Mishima arrived on Japan’s literary scene with Confessions of a Mask, a kind of autobiography, thinly veiled as a novel, that made him famous in his early twenties. It tells the story of a delicate, sensitive boy who is all but held captive by his grandmother. She is ill and he is made to nurse her. Rather than playing outside with other boys, he is confined with her for years in the sickly-sweet smelling darkness of her bedroom. The boy’s mind develops in that room. Fantasy and reality are never quite separated; fantasy, the stronger twin, grows dominant. By the time the grandmother dies and the boy emerges, he has developed a fixation with roleplaying, with life as theatre. He cannot resist layering fantasies over life around him. Men and boys, especially muscular, straightforward ones, are assigned roles in his vivid, often violent daydreams. Meanwhile he obsesses over his own deviance and appearing normal. He learns how to play his own role: “The reluctant masquerade had begun.” Confessions of a Mask continues up to the end of the boy’s adolescence, detailing the entwined evolution of his internal and external lives and his homosexual awakening. In many ways, it is the key to understanding Mishima’s later life and works. It reveals the roots of the aesthetic sensibility, so tied to his sexuality, which proved to be Mishima’s steering obsession. The narrator writes that he “sensuously accepted the creed of death that was popular during the war”, when conscription and self-sacrifice seemed certain and imminent, and indeed Mishima was forever fixated on the idea that beauty is most beautiful when it is transient – and above all on the cusp of destruction. This creed mingles with admiration for the male form, a form the frail narrator lacks, to produce fantasies of brave warriors and their bloody demises. This private world of “Night and Blood and Death” was filled with the “most sophisticated of cruelties and the most exquisite of crimes”, all recounted with a cool detachment. Continues with photos https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20201124-yukio-mishima-the-strange-tale-of-japans-infamous-novelist

From Bangkok Post Thais to get 1st Covid shots by mid-2021 Thai people will get their first jabs of the Covid-19 vaccine developed by AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford by mid-2021 at the earliest, said Dr Nakhon Premsri, director of the National Vaccine Institute (NVI). The vaccine developed by AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford will be produced locally at the manufacturing plant of Siam Bioscience Group, located in Pathum Thani. The Thai government is working with AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford to jointly produce the vaccine at a pharmaceutical manufacturing plant of Siam Bioscience Group near Bangkok. Siam Bioscience Group was selected by the UK-based pharmaceutical firm as its regional partner to produce the vaccine for the Southeast Asian region. The vaccine-makers announced that while the vaccine showed an average of 70% effectiveness, the level jumped to 90% depending on dosage. With the raw materials directly shipped from the company, the vaccine will be produced made-to-order by the Department of Disease Control (DDC). The department says that it requires two million doses per month from the plant, which can, at full capacity, produce 15 million doses per month. Dr Opas Kankawinphong, acting director of the DDC, said that the government would spend 3.7 billion baht to prepare for the vaccine's transportation and storage, and its monitoring system as well as on a far-reaching campaign to raise public awareness about how to get the vaccine. He said the Covid-19 vaccine will be the most extensive vaccination programme ever in Thailand. "Giving 26 million doses of vaccine to over 13 million people is unprecedented in Thailand. The largest we ever provided were five million doses of a flu vaccine. So we need to make everything work, especially when it comes to creating awareness among the public," he said.

From The Nation The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) has tested seven electric boats on Monday before they go into service from Friday. These e-boats will run along Bangkok’s Phadung Krung Kasem Canal in line with the project of improving the capital’s water transportation systeThese boats, run completely by power generated from solar cells installed on the roof, will be monitored by the authorities via the pre-installed GPS system. The new boats can seat 30 passengers and has space for one wheelchair. Canal boats run along the Phadung Krung Kasem Canal from 6am to 7pm on weekdays and 8am to 7pm on weekends. The 9.9-metre long and 2.9-metre wide boats can run at a maximum speed of 17 kilometres per hour, compared to the 15kmph speed of ordinary canal boats.

From Bloomberg News / Bangkok Post Covid passports seen as key to resuming international travel Global airline lobby IATA is working on a mobile app that will help travellers demonstrate their coronavirus-free status, joining a push to introduce so-called Covid passports to speed up the revival of international travel. The Travel Pass will display test results together with proof of inoculation, as well as listing national entry rules and details on the nearest labs, according to the International Air Transport Association. The app will also link to an electronic copy of the holder’s passport to prove their identity. A test programme will begin with British Airways parent IAG SA this year before arriving on Apple Inc devices in the first quarter of 2021 and Android from April, IATA said. Travellers will be able to share their status with border authorities or present a QR code for scanning. “We need to have global rules and standards” on measures like rapid testing and vaccination so there can be a “step forward” for the industry, Pieter Elbers, the head of the Dutch arm of Air France-KLM, said in a Bloomberg TV interview Tuesday. The health advances “will definitely help to restore confidence in travel.” Qantas Airways Ltd said a Covid-19 vaccination will be a necessity for its international passengers when approved and distributed. Chief Executive Officer Alan Joyce told Channel 9 in Australia he has discussed the idea with other airlines, and it’s likely to become a pre-boarding requirement around the world. “It’s going to be a common theme across the board,” Joyce said. Travel Pass will be free to travellers and governments, with airlines paying a small fee per passenger to use the service. It will be based on the existing IATA Timatic system long used to verify documents. The app will use block-chain technology and won’t store data, Murray Hayden said. The industry group has had positive discussions with one government around using the software and expects other nations to get on board, he said. Though IATA’s plan remains in development, the CommonPass app developed by the World Economic Forum and non-profit Commons Project Foundation has been tested on flights between London and New York, while the AOKpass from travel security firm International SOS is in use between Abu Dhabi and Pakistan. Both are in the running for the pending travel bubble between Hong Kong and Singapore, according to the companies. United Airlines, which is conducting the US-UK. trials, said Monday it would extend Covid-19 testing to flights from Houston to destinations in Latin America and the Caribbean. Passengers can take a self-collected, mail-in test, allowing them to start their vacation or meetings immediately on arrival.

Maybe it's because I'm disheartened from reading a lot of disappointing news both at home and abroad. In any case I find that this feel good story provided some comfort and a welcomed break. From Reuters / Bangkok Post British musician Paul Barton plays the piano for monkeys that occupy abandoned historical areas in Lop Buri province on Saturday. (Reuters photo) LOP BURI: While on tour in central Thailand, British musician Paul Barton has been mobbed by unruly audiences that tug his hair, steal his music and climb over his piano. Barton is a rock star to hundreds of hungry wild monkeys that he hopes his music can calm, at a time when Thailand's coronavirus-induced tourism hiatus means fewer visitors to feed them, and less funds for their welfare. "We need to make an effort to make sure that they eat properly. And when they eat properly, they will be calmer and will not be aggressive," said Barton, 59, a long-time Thailand resident. Barton has played at four venues in Lop Buri, a province famous for its marauding monkeys, including at an ancient Hindu temple, a hardware store and a derelict cinema. The macaques are instantly drawn as he plays Greensleeves, Beethoven's Fur Elise and Michael Nyman's Diary of Love, some sharing his stool, others climbing onto his shoulders and touching his head. Continues with video https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/2024207/pianists-velvety-tones-soothe-hungry-monkeys

From The Thaiger / Thai PBS World New Thailand Plus app for tourists will help officials track their whereabouts A new app, named Thailand Plus, for tourists has been created to help officials track their whereabouts more precisely once they have arrived in Thailand. The app was developed by Sompote Arhunai, the CEO of the Energy Absolute Company, which also developed the “Mor Chana” application. Sompote says the app will send information to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and will function similarily to a GPS. Such information will include certificate of entries, as well as screening and tracing. He says officials will know the whereabouts of tourists during their stays in case any of them are found to have contracted the virus. Such precise whereabouts will reportedly help authorities to take immediate action to prevent the spread of the virus in the areas in which the tourists visited. So far, he says 600,000 Thais have downloaded the Mor Chana app and he urges more Thais to do the same. But following the controversial app, which some say is an invasion of privacy, he says their privacy will not be compromised.

From The Nation BOT must cut policy rate close to zero to rein in baht’s appreciation The latest measures by the Bank of Thailand (BOT) designed to encourage capital outflows would have some impact on the value of the baht but they would not be effective in controlling the Thai currency's rise, said Anusorn Tamajai, a former BOT director and ex-dean of Rangsit University’s Faculty of Economics. The BOT on Friday liberalised the foreign exchange rate market, allowing residents to freely deposit funds in foreign currency deposit (FCD) accounts, raised the limit for investment in foreign securities and required investors to make bond pre-trade registration. Anusorn said these measures may not be adequate in stopping the baht from appreciating further, as foreign investors had still bought Thai bonds on Friday after the central bank had introduced the new measures. He predicted that the baht would rise beyond Bt30 to the dollar to between Bt28 and Bt29 by the end of this year or in the first quarter of next year. He suggested that the central bank introduce the yield curb control (YCC) measure in dealing with the exchange rate market. The BOT should target the yield of Thai bonds, for example set the target yield rate of the bond with 1-2 years maturity at 0.5 per cent, 3-4 years maturity at 0.75 per cent and 7-10 years maturity at 1.4 per cent.

From Chiang Rai Times / The Thaiger 60 day Tourist Visa stiff income requirement being wound back The hefty income requirement for Thailand’s Tourist Visas look like they’re being wound back following online backlash and low uptake. Previously, travellers were excited to learn they could visit a “Covid-free” Thailand, but their moods dipped after learning of the steep financial proof they needed in order to be granted under the revised Tourist Visa provisions. Now, some embassies and consulates worldwide have have dropped the stipulation on their websites that had once listed a 500,000 baht bank account balance as a requirement for obtaining the visas. Such consulates as Los Angeles now list the requirements as being US$ 700 per person and US$ 1,500. The London and Berlin embassies show no requirement on the websites which has signaled the news of a reversal. Such a change is expected to see more applicants for the visa, with Thailand set to see more tourists over the next few months, just in time for high season. The hefty income requirement for Thailand’s Tourist Visas look like they’re being wound back following online backlash and low uptake. Previously, travellers were excited to learn they could visit a “Covid-free” Thailand, but their moods dipped after learning of the steep financial proof they needed in order to be granted under the revised Tourist Visa provisions. Now, some embassies and consulates worldwide have have dropped the stipulation on their websites that had once listed a 500,000 baht bank account balance as a requirement for obtaining the visas. Such consulates as Los Angeles now list the requirements as being US$ 700 per person and US$ 1,500. The London and Berlin embassies show no requirement on the websites which has signaled the news of a reversal. Such a change is expected to see more applicants for the visa, with Thailand set to see more tourists over the next few months, just in time for high season. The income requirements are not uniform at this stage with different embassies listing different requirements around the world. However, despite the perceived reversal of the bank account required balance, tourists must still obtain a US$100,000 Covid travel insurance policy, a Certificate of Entry, and a confirmed booking at one of Thailand’s quarantine hotels. Furthermore, such a stay at an approved hotel can average 40,000 baht. There are plenty more expensive, and a few as low as 25,000 baht. In response, Thailand has been considering reducing the 14 day quarantine requirement to 10 days, citing that most Covid cases are detected within the first 5 days. That proposals will be discussed, again, this Wednesday.