Turkish Man Caught For Bangkok Bombing

(Breaking News article direct from the AFP on 30 August 2015.)

Thai police on Saturday charged a foreign man over last week's deadly Bangkok bombing, the first arrest connected to an attack that has rattled the junta-run kingdom and damaged its tourist-haven reputation.

The man was arrested after a morning raid on an apartment in Nong Chok district on the eastern outskirts of the capital by security forces who allegedly found him with bomb-making equipment linked to the 17 August blast, which killed 20 people and wounded scores more.

A senior military official told AFP he believed the suspect was a "Turkish national" but Thai police have not yet confirmed his nationality. "We believe that the suspect was involved with the bombing" at the Erawan shrine, national police spokesman Prawut Thavornsiri said on a live televised broadcast Saturday evening.

He added that the foreign man was also involved in a blast the day after that bombing near a popular tourist pier, which sent people scurrying but caused no injuries. The suspect, now in military custody, has been charged with the "illegal possession of bomb-making materials" and was found with multiple passports, Prawut said in the broadcast.

How Do Asset Bubbles Cause Recessions?

(An informative article direct from the INVESTOPEDIA on 28 August 2015.)

Asset bubbles shoulder blame for some of the most devastating recessions ever faced by the United States. The stock market bubble of the 1920s, the dot-com bubble of the 1990s and the real estate bubble of the 2000s were asset bubbles followed by sharp economic downturns.

Asset bubbles are especially devastating for individuals and businesses who invest too late, meaning shortly before the bubble bursts. This unfortunate timing erodes net worth and causes businesses to fail, touching off a cascade effect of higher unemployment, lower productivity and financial panic.

HOW ASSET BUBBLES WORK

An asset bubble occurs when the price of an asset, such as stocks, bonds, real estate or commodities, rises at a rapid pace without underlying fundamentals, such as equally fast-rising demand, to justify the price spike.

Shwe Mann Surrenders To The Army (For Now)?

(Motokazu Matsui’s article direct from the NIKKEI ASIAN REVIEW on 27 August 2015.)

YANGON -- Military makes clear who is in charge in Myanmar. For those who had any doubt, the recent dismissal of the head of Myanmar's ruling party has made it clear that the military remains firmly in control of the country, even after four years on the path to democracy.

Shwe Mann, the former leader of the Union Solidarity and Development Party, had been trying to revise the constitution to curtail the army's political influence, a move that did not sit well with the USDP's main faction or the military. His abrupt dismal was announced Aug. 13.

The former party leader, who still retains his position as speaker of the lower house, appeared at the parliament building in Naypyitaw on Aug. 18 to address the local press. Looking as if he had made peace with what had transpired a week earlier, Shwe Mann stepped up to the podium and slowly read out a prepared statement.

Pizza Hut, McDonalds, and KFC All Reject Halal Meat

(Breaking News article direct from the BARE NAKED ISLAM on 24 August 2015.)

Fast food chains McDonald’s, Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC), and Pizza Hut have all REJECTED a demand from an Islamic Imam to have Islam-approved meat served in their chains.

In Hong Kong, Mufti Muhammad Arshad contacted these popular, global chains demanding they use “halal meat” to please Muslims. He said it would be a “shrewed business move,” too.

Halal is an Arabic word that means “permissible.” Halal meat comes from an animal slaughtered according to Islamic law. That means Allah’s (God’s) name must be pronounced during slaughter, the instrument used must be very sharp (the animal must be slit at the throat), the animal must not be unconscious, and it must be hung upside down and allowed to bleed dry.

3 Americans Prevented Massacre On Paris-Bound Train

(Adam Nossiteraug,s article direct from the NEW YORK TIMES on 22 August 2015.)

PARIS — A Shot, a Glimpse of an AK-47, and U.S. Servicemen Pounced on Gunman on Train to France. It was 5:45 p.m., a normal Friday afternoon on the sleek high-speed train that takes high-level European diplomats, businesspeople, tourists and ordinary citizens between Amsterdam, Brussels and Paris.

Less than an hour away from Paris, a French passenger got up from his seat to use the toilets at the back of the carriage. Suddenly, in front of him rose a slightly built man. Across the man’s chest, in a sling, was an automatic rifle of the kind favored by jihadists the world over: an AK-47. The passenger threw himself on the man. The gun went off, once, twice, several times. Glass shattered. A bullet hit a passenger.

The man with the gun kept going down the carriage, holding his AK-47 and a Luger pistol. In a pocket was a sharp blade capable of inflicting grievous harm. He had at least nine cartridges of ammunition, enough for serious carnage.

Ex-General Shwe Mann Is Fighting Back The Army!

(Breaking news article direct from the STRAIT TIMES SINGAPORE on 22 August 2015.)

YANGON (REUTERS) - Myanmar's ruling party on Saturday appealed for unity, saying its ousted party chief would stay 'faithful', after a parliamentary vote exposed a rift in the ruling bloc, amid the biggest political shake up since the end of military rule.

President Thein Sein last week sacked his ambitious rival Shwe Mann before party headquarters were sealed off with police trucks in the middle of the night, sparking worries about Myanmar's first free elections in 25 years set for Nov8.

The November election, seen as a crucial test of the country's reforms, is expected to be won by opposition leader Aung Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy, but she is banned from becoming president under the military-drafted constitution.

Senior-General Min Aung Hlaing’s RFA Interview

(Nancy Shwe’s Interview article direct from the RFA on 21 August 2015.)

In an interview on the 20 August with Nancy Shwe, director of RFA’s Myanmar Service, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, Commander in Chief of the Myanmar Armed Forces, said former junta chief Than Shwe advises his former army colleagues on military affairs but exerts no influence on the country’s politics.

He also denied that the Tatmadaw [Myanmar’s armed services]  played any role in the ouster last week of  ruling party chairman Shwe Mann.

Following is the RFA’s translated script of that Interview titled “Retiree Than Shwe Exerts 'No Influence Whatsoever' on Myanmar Politics.”

RFA:  Is former Myanmar junta chief Gen. Than Shwe still involved in Myanmar’s affairs?

MIN AUNG HLAING:  I would say this is impossible.  He’s living peacefully by himself in retirement. I sometimes go to see him to pay my respects on religious occasions, but I do this because he’s the father of the Tatmadaw.  He gives advice on the betterment of the Tatmadaw, but he won’t say “do this” or “do that.” He often stresses the need for us to maintain unity and to work for the country.

Donald Trump: Next President of United States?

(Philip Bump’s article direct from the WASHINGTON POST on 16 August 2015.)

DES MOINES, Iowa -- Shortly after Donald Trump's helicopter touched down in Des Moines on Saturday, a reporter asked him a question about his policies. Trump told her to watch Sunday's "Meet the Press," when he would present a "very comprehensive" plan for immigration. That would be followed in a few days by a policy on taxes ("Who knows the system better than me?") and then others, one after the next.

Good, the reporter said, because "a lot of voters are saying that they really want to see your policies now." For which Trump had a remarkable response. "Well, I think the press is more eager to see it than the voters, to be honest," he said. "I think the voters like me, they understand me, they know I'm going to do the job."

Trump added: "You know, when you put out policy, like a 14-point plan? A lot of times in the first hour of negotiation, that 14-point plan goes astray, but you may end up with a better deal. That's the way it works. That's the way really life works. When I do a deal, I don't say, 'Oh, here's 14 points.' I got out and do it. I don't sit down and talk about 14 points."

"But I know the press wants it," he continued. "I don't think the people care. I think they trust me. I think they know I'm going to make good deals for them." There's an enormous amount of insight in that statement, about both Trump and about politics.

Muslim Bomb In Bangkok Killed At Least 20 Tourists

(Breaking news article direct from the CNN on 17 August 2015.)

Bangkok, Thailand (CNN): A bomb explosion that appeared to target a popular Hindu shrine in central Bangkok killed at least 20 people Monday and wounded 123 more, authorities said. Twelve victims died at the scene, and the others died later at area hospitals, officials said.

Maj. Gen. Witoon Nitiwarangkul, the surgeon general at Police General Hospital, said early Tuesday that at least 20 people had been killed; the death has mounted slowly over a few hours. Police spokesman Lt. Gen. Prawut Thavornsiri also detailed the increased number of injured.

Foreigners are among the casualties, said Maj Gen. Weerachon Sukhontapatipak, a Thai government spokesman. He had no specifics, but national police Chief Somyot Pumpanmuang said on state TV that Chinese tourists who had traveled to Thailand from the Philippines had been killed.