World
Florida is ready to host Olympics if Tokyo draws back

If Tokyo backs out of hosting the Olympics, Florida might step in. The 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo was postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic and rescheduled for this July. With a fairly unpredictable future, Tokyo could back out of its plan to host the Olympics. Florida’s chief financial officer says the Sunshine State is ready.
The CFO, Jimmy Patronis, sent a letter to the head of the International Olympic Committee saying he encourages him to consider relocating the games to Florida.
In a letter, he pointed out strong points of Florida that make it a good site for the games, including the state’s vaccination roll-out, reopening of businesses, and ongoing sports events hosted in the state during the pandemic. Tampa, Florida is also set to host the 55th Super Bowl on February 7.
“Whatever precautions are required let’s figure it out and get it done.”
Although businesses are open and sports events still going on, Florida is rated as the third state with the highest number of Covid-19 cases with a total of 1,658,169 reported cases and 25,446 coronavirus-related deaths since the start of the pandemic.
“With media reports of leaders in Japan ‘privately’ concluding that they are too concerned about the pandemic for the 2021 Olympics to take place, there is still time to deploy a site selection team to Florida.”
But those planning the Tokyo games say they’re sticking with the plan to host the Olympics from July 23 until August 8. Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga also says he’s keeping to the plan.
“I am determined to realise a safe and secure Tokyo Games as proof that mankind will have overcome the virus.”
SOURCE:AFP
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Events
Phuket Monopoly game creators need your help with token designs

Phuket is set to get its own version of the popular game MONOPOLY and its creators want your help with ideas for the specialised tokens. ‘MONOPOLY: Phuket Edition’ was announced last month which will see the street art on the board game replaced with that of famous places around Thailand’s famous tourist destination. Such art will include beaches, hotels, shops, markets and other popular attractions.
Jennifer Lau from Winning Moves UK, is producing the game under official license from Monopoly brand owners, Hasbro. Lau says the tokens will feature a holiday theme. The token’s departure from the original theme of wheelbarrows, boots, iron, and thimbles as well as popular sports cars and hats.
“We have had a wealth of emails and suggestions coming in for Phuket, so thank you for each and every single one of them! We are taking them all into consideration whilst putting together the design of the game.”
“We wanted to change the tokens so that they would be more suitable for an island like Phuket, where so many people like to go on holiday to.”
“There will be six themed tokens that replace the original and we want to hear your suggestions for what these tokens should be!”
Bangkok has already been featured in the Monopoly game as it came out for purchase back in 2018.
SOURCE: The Phuket News
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Events
Thai police officer gets slap down after trying to marry mistress

A Thai policeman is making headlines after getting a slap down from his own mother after he attempted to marry his mistress. The man went as far as scheduling a wedding, with monks present to bless the union, but his mom and real wife of 16 years, along with their kids, aged 5 and 15, crashed the party.
Nipapan Peuchpen, his legal wife, brought her marriage license to the nuptuals that took place in Chai Nat province, arguing that her husband had no right to marry another woman.
“This is our marriage license. I don’t know how they can go through with this.”
The policeman told his wife that the monks were already here, and that she wasn’t a guest and to go home. Then the man’s mother showed up and slapped him in the head. According to Khaosod English, the mother issued a statement to Amarin TV.
“I always taught him to not mess around with adultery. I warned him so many times. Now he has to reap what he sowed. At first, I understood that being adulterous to some extent was normal for men. But I didn’t think he would go this far.”
“I want this to be a lesson to all women! If you know a man already has a family, don’t be a homewrecker. I don’t understand why the bride got married to him, knowing that he was already married.”
Nipapan and her lawyer filed a legal complaint to the Chai Nai Juvenile and Family Court against the policeman’s girlfriend, asking for compensation for trying to marry her husband when he was already married.
Thailand has always been a culture where adultery has somewhat been tolerated, as many Thai men have lovers on the side, called a Mia Noi. But, legally, only 1 marriage can be registered at a time.
SOURCE: Khaosod English
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Events
Australians wake up to Facebook news blackout

Facebook is under fire as Australians accuse the social media giant of censoring news along with emergency services in an apparent blackout. This morning, residents logged in, saying they weren’t able to post links to news articles or view the Facebook pages of any news outlets worldwide.
The move that has essentially blocked Australia from being in the loop, comes after its government proposed laws that would make social media outlets pay for news content to be shared onto their sites. But Facebook’s retaliation efforts also created chaos as fire, meteorological and health services nationwide began to experience problems with their pages, even during several public emergencies.
In response to the angry backlash, a Facebook spokesperson said official government pages shouldn’t have been affected by the announcement this morning, and that the company would fix any pages that were inadvertently impacted.
Human Rights Watch Australia director Elaine Pearson, however, is concerned as she says the block has also impacted Indigenous community pages, charities, and even Facebook’s own page. Pearson described the move as an “alarming and dangerous turn of events.”
“Facebook is severely restricting and censoring the flow of information to Australians. Cutting off access to vital information to an entire country in the dead of the night is unconscionable.”
Despite being unable to access news organisations’ pages on the site, misinformation pages and fact-checking pages are still within reach, prompting many to call into question the role that journalists play in news gathering. The big question that critics have is how media organisations that employ qualified journalists, who go through a fact-checking process, are being blocked from the site, yet misinformation campaign pages and well-known conspiracy pages are allowed to be displayed.
Facebook’s manager for Australia and New Zealand, William Easton, says the proposed law, however, “fundamentally misunderstands the relationship between our platform and publishers who use it to share news content.”
Easton says Facebook could either try to comply with a law that ignores the reality of such a relationship, or stop allowing news content on its services in Australia.
“With a heavy heart, we are choosing the latter.”
Easton says the numbers don’t add up and favor news publishers heavily as they reap hundreds of millions of dollars of revenue by having Facebook disseminate their stories. He points to the proposed law as penalizing the social media platform for content that it “did not take or ask for.”
On the contrary, Australia’s watchdog for competition has revealed consistently that the breakdown for every $100 spent on online advertising deprives media outlets of revenue that is needed to support journalism. Google captures $53 of the $100, while Facebook captures $28. The rest is divided amongst others.
Australia isn’t alone in the push to even out the playing field, as other countries are mulling such moves to make tech platforms share revenues with news media outlets. But the choice to block the news before a decision is made by the courts could set a dangerous precedent.
The legislation put forth by the Australian government has already passed the House of Representatives in recent days, and is now on its way to being considered by the Senate.
SOURCE: Bangkok Post
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Ian
Thursday, January 28, 2021 at 6:27 am
Florida had 8000 new case yesterday, don’t be daft. They are not hosting anything apart from medical emergencies
Jesus Monroe
Friday, January 29, 2021 at 11:24 am
No need to worry, Florida the capital of retirees and alzheimer’s will forget they even mentioned that……..
James Pate
Saturday, February 13, 2021 at 5:29 am
A mega (MAGA?) super spreader event in Covid-ridden, crime-infested hell-hole! Yeah, right. I see an ocean of empty stadium seats.