CharlieH

You can get these in Pattaya and on Lazada occasionally from "Food variety"

Seems to me youd be happier in the Philippines.

Better to ask in the Chiang Mai forum....MOVED

What's your favorite snack here in Thaikand ? What am I missing that I need to try ? Potatoes chips/crisps, choc bars what ? I think most people like a snack sometimes or maybe watching a movie etc, so what's yours ?

By Barbara Plett Usher, State Dept correspondent and Anthony Zurcher, North America correspondent BBC News The US has a new diplomatic objective in the Gaza War - to convince Israel to scale back its military operations in coming weeks. This is a crucial test of the Biden administration, and whether it succeeds could help determine the next phase of the war - as well as the president's own political fortunes back home. In public, the American effort to shape and restrain Israel's war has taken the form of advice rather than pressure. US officials - from Mr Biden to Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin - have continually affirmed what they present as Israel's right to self-defence, and declared that a military operation which stops short of removing Hamas from power would only guarantee more attacks. As the conflict wore on, they've also become more outspoken about the need to protect civilians, warning that not doing so would land Israel with a "strategic defeat." Much of the world sees this approach as failing to temper a relentless bombing campaign that ranks among the most deadly and destructive this century. US officials insist their strategy has been the most effective way for the administration to influence an Israel traumatised by the unprecedented Hamas attack and disinclined to hold back. Yet American policy since that day has fractured Joe Biden's Democratic Party, lost him crucial support among young and Arab Americans and left the US looking isolated on the world stage. So far, President Biden's approach has achieved tangible, if limited, results. Persistent and painstaking diplomacy cleared a path to allowing some humanitarian aid into Gaza early on in the war, and helped broker a seven-day ceasefire to encourage hostage releases and the delivery of more assistance to desperate civilians. The Americans have certainly been very hands on. A steady stream of senior officials to the region has meant there's been someone in the room much of the time, having the difficult conversations face to face. "These trips are important because we have constant issues that we're dealing with together with the Israelis," said a US official. Each of Mr Blinken's three visits to the region has been a whirlwind of activity and he's been keen to highlight continued American efforts to free the hostages, increase humanitarian aid and ensure the conflict does not expand to consume the entire Middle East. Progress on protecting civilians has been hard to see. This week the death toll in Gaza reached 20,000, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry. The Hamas raid on southern Israel on 7 October killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and saw about 240 taken hostage. FULL ARTICLE

The Supreme Court's decision not to rule quickly on whether Donald Trump can be prosecuted on election-subversion charges may help delay his trial, according to ex-prosecutors. But they told the BBC this strategy of filing repeated challenges will only put off the inevitable and could even backfire on the former president in terms of timing for his White House campaign next year. On Friday the justices declined to rule on whether Mr Trump has immunity from prosecution in the case, turning down special counsel Jack Smith's request to take up the matter in an expedited manner. The Supreme Court offered no explanation, saying only that Mr Smith's petition "was denied". The special counsel's office has not yet commented on the decision, which is seen as a major setback to his case against Mr Trump. It is unclear, however, how long the trial might be delayed, or whether it might be pushed back beyond the 2024 election. Mr Trump is currently the Republican frontrunner for a rematch against President Joe Biden next November. The special counsel indicted the ex-president in August for allegedly conspiring to overturn the results of the last election in the lead-up to the US Capitol riot on 6 January 2021. Friday's ruling means that the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit will have to hear the case first. But eventually, it is likely the Supreme Court will have to make a ruling anyway. Mr Smith had argued that the appeals process could delay the start of the trial, which is due to begin on 4 March. For now, the judge in the case, Tanya Chutkan, has paused proceedings while Mr Trump's legal team appeals. He has repeatedly argued he has immunity from prosecution because he was acting in an official capacity at the time of the riot. Gene Rossi, a former federal prosecutor with decades of experience at the US justice department, told the BBC the decision is a "huge setback for Jack Smith on the scheduling front". Supreme Court will not fast-track Trump immunity case Judge rejects Trump immunity claim in election case "However, his request for expedited review was a noble attempt to move this trial along," he added. "Mr Trump, whose immunity appeal is not strong, will not face the 6 January music for multiple months." FULL STORY

What you are loooking for, and may have more success in finding is "Shiatzu" masssage, thats deep tissue massage.

US actor Vin Diesel's former personal assistant is suing the Fast & Furious star, accusing him of sexual assault during the 2010 filming of Fast Five. A lawyer for the actor, real name Mark Sinclair, said his client "denies this claim in its entirety". Asta Jonasson claims in the lawsuit that the actor pinned her to a wall as he performed a sex act on himself. She is further suing for wrongful termination, claiming his company fired her hours after the alleged attack. Ms Jonasson's lawsuit, which was filed in Los Angeles on Thursday, alleges that the sexual battery took place in Atlanta's St Regis hotel during the filming of Fast Five. She says in the lawsuit that Mr Sinclair, 56, physically overpowered her in his hotel suite and "ignored Ms Jonasson's clear statements of non-consent" as he groped her. The lawsuit alleges that after she "screamed and ran towards the nearby bathroom", the film star "pinned her against the wall with his body" and performed a sex act on himself. "Mere hours" after the incident, the lawsuit says that she was contacted by the actor's sister Samantha Vincent - who runs his production company One Race Films - and was fired. She is also suing the actor's sister and his production company. Ms Vincent did not immediately respond to a request for comment. "It was clear to her that she was being fired because she was no longer useful - Vin Diesel had used her to fulfil his sexual desires," the suit alleges. It adds: "Ms Jonasson felt helpless, her self esteem was demolished, and she questioned her own skills and whether a successful career would require her to trade her body for advancement." The former assistant also claims that another executive from the company propositioned her in the same hotel a few days before the incident with Mr Sinclair. In addition to sexual battery, her lawsuit includes claims of gender discrimination, illegal retaliation, emotional distress and wrongful termination. Bryan Freedman, a lawyer for Mr Sinclair, said in a written statement to CNN on Thursday: "Vin Diesel categorically denies this claim in its entirety. "This is the first he has ever heard about this more than 13 year old claim made by a purportedly 9 day employee." FULL STORY

Chinese authorities are investigating a hospital over an incident where a surgeon allegedly punched the patient he was operating on at the time. It was captured in a clip that went viral on Chinese social media this week, sparking outrage online. The hospital's parent group, Aier China, has suspended the surgeon and dismissed the CEO of the hospital where the incident took place in 2019. The BBC has contacted Aier China for comment. The video appears to show the surgeon punching a patient in the head at least three times while operating on their eyes. Aier China, which operates a chain of eye hospitals, said the incident took place during an operation in its hospital in Guigang, a southwestern Chinese city. The patient was an 82-year-old woman and "during the surgery, due to local anaesthesia, the patient had intolerance". She moved her head and eyeballs multiple times, according to their statement. As the patient could only speak a local dialect and did not appear to respond to the doctor's warnings in Mandarin, the surgeon "treated the patient roughly in an emergency situation". Local authorities say the patient sustained bruises on her forehead. After the surgery, the hospital's management apologised and paid 500 yuan ($70, £55) as compensation, according to the patient's son who spoke to local media outlets. He also said his mother is now blind in her left eye, though it is not clear whether it was due to the incident. Aier China said the hospital failed to report the incident to headquarters. On Thursday it announced the dismissal of the Guiyang hospital CEO and the suspension of the surgeon - who is also the hospital dean - over "serious violations of the group's regulations", which included other unspecified offences. Though the incident took place in December 2019, it only came to the public's attention this week after a prominent Chinese doctor, Ai Fen, shared CCTV footage of the surgery. Dr Ai, who was among a group of doctors who alerted the public to the initial Wuhan Covid outbreak, had posted the clip on her Weibo account where she has more than two million followers. Dr Ai has been embroiled in legal disputes with Aier China since 2021 when she went for an operation at one of their hospitals . She has claimed she nearly became blind in one eye due to that operation, but Aier China has denied the allegation. FULL STORY

15. You will not discriminate or post slurs, degrading or overly negative comments on the basis of race, gender, age, religion, ethnicity, nationality, disability, medical history, marriage, civil partnership, pregnancy, maternity, paternity, gender identity, sexual orientation or any other irrelevant factor.

If anyone fancies trying it ?........

Take a small bottle of skin moisturiser cream with you and just tell them "use this please" something like "Vaseline intensive care" moisturiser. It makes it easy for them and moisturises and softens the feet,

Reported Troll remark removed.

Posts in contravention of community and Topic guidelines have been removed and ALL the conversation/exchanges that followed. PLEASE adhere to the guidance and rules or everything after the issue gets wiped out. Its frustrating for members and a PIA for Moderators to clean up.

You'll probably find the debit card problem resolved for the same reason.

I did mine myself, the only reason being I wasnt happy with the responses I got from an "agent" and didnt want to leave my passport with them for potentially 4 wks or more and trusting Thai postage etc back to me. However, lets look at the cost of doing it myself as I live along way from Bangkok. Early start by Bus to Bangkok return ticket 600bt. You cant travel down and get in to VFS the same day, time wont permit. So its a night in a Hotel and in to VFS next day, then you can if you time it right, get out of VFS across Bangkok and back on a Bus that day but its stressful and takes careful planning. Its far easier to spend another night in the Hotel and return home the next day, So, Bus travel - 600 bt, Hotel 3,000, food etc 1000bt you can say 5,000 all together and 3 days, Then repeat most of that to go collect it, except its a bit quicker and if timed right, can be done with 1 night hotel. It still brings the total to over 7000 bt plus passport fee. If you can use an agent and pay them, it makes more financial sense and certainly less hassle/stress and definitely. less time.

Reported off topic posts removed.

Some Thais dont like it because they can no longer talk about you in front of you.

Multiple posts contravening community guidelines removed.

Meaning many schools (not all) will not accept people for Teaching positions without one.

Ukrainian men between the ages of 25 and 60 living abroad will be asked to report for military service, Defence Minister Rustem Umerov has said. He described this as an "invitation" - but seemed to suggest anyone who did not comply would be sanctioned. However, a spokesman later clarified that no call-up was being considered. President Zelensky told journalists on Tuesday that 450,000-500,000 new soldiers were needed but achieving this was a "sensitive issue". This comes as Ukraine's recent counter-offensive appears to have stalled. Kyiv has also seen setbacks in provisions of aid, with US Republicans blocking a $61bn (€55bn; £48bn) military package and Hungary stopping an EU financial deal worth €50bn ($55bn; £43bn). In an analysis of figures from EU statistics agency Eurostat in November, BBC Ukrainian found that some 768,000 Ukrainian men aged 18-64 had left the country for the EU alone since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion. The figure does not include citizens living outside the EU, or those resident anywhere abroad since before February 2022. FULL STORY

An Oklahoma judge has exonerated a man who spent 48 years in prison for a murder he didn't commit, the longest known wrongful sentence in the US. Glynn Simmons, 70, was freed in July after a district court found that crucial evidence in his case was not turned over to his defence lawyers. On Monday, a county district attorney said there was not enough evidence to warrant a new trial. In an order on Tuesday, Judge Amy Palumbo declared Mr Simmons innocent. "This court finds by clear and convincing evidence that the offence for which Mr Simmons was convicted, sentenced and imprisoned... was not committed by Mr Simmons," said Oklahoma County District Judge Palumbo in her ruling. "It's a lesson in resilience and tenacity," Mr Simmons told reporters after the decision, according to the Associated Press. "Don't let nobody tell you that it can't happen, because it really can." Convicted man freed after witness found to be blind Mr Simmons served 48 years, one month and 18 days in prison for the 1974 murder of Carolyn Sue Rogers during a liquor store robbery in an Oklahoma City suburb. He was 22 years old when he and a co-defendant, Don Roberts, were convicted and sentenced to death in 1975. The punishments were later reduced to life in prison because of US Supreme Court rulings on the death penalty. Mr Simmons had maintained his innocence, saying he was in his home state of Louisiana at the time of the murder. Mr Simmons smiled as the court declared his innocence on Tuesday. Dressed in a grey hooded sweater and fedora, a soft-spoken Mr Simmons later told reporters he had been waiting for this moment for a "long, long time". "What's been done can't be undone, but there can be accountability," he said. Asked to describe his emotional state, his lawyer Joseph Norwood told BBC News: "Obviously elation." "The thought of being confined in prison for 50 years for something you had nothing to do with has to just be one of the worst things for a person's mental state," Mr Norwood said in an interview on Thursday. But Mr Simmons was diagnosed with stage four cancer as he was being released, says the attorney. "So it was a mix of elation, gaining his freedom, gaining his name back, clearing his name," said Mr Norwood, adding that Mr Simmons was now responding well to chemotherapy and was "on the mend". "So it's been a heck of a ride." Mr Simmons is currently battling liver cancer, according to his GoFundMe, which has raised almost $200,000 (£157,000) to help support his living costs and medical treatment. A district court vacated his sentence in July after finding that prosecutors had not turned over all evidence to defence lawyers, including that a witness had identified other suspects. FULL STORY

Think you are mixing things up slightly. You cant get many Jobs in teaching without a degree. If you have the job, then the school will generally arrange the work permit.

Rudy Giuliani, a longtime associate of former President Donald Trump, has filed for bankruptcy just days after he was ordered to pay $148m (£116m) in a defamation case. He was ordered to pay the sum after a judge found he defamed two Georgia election workers over false claims they tampered with votes in 2020. The filing shows he owes millions of dollars in legal fees and unpaid taxes. A spokesman said the move should "be a surprise to no-one". In a statement, the spokesman for Mr Giuliani, Ted Goodman, said "no person could have reasonably believed that [Mr Giuliani] would be able to pay such a high punitive amount". He added that Thursday's bankruptcy filing in New York would give Mr Giuliani the "opportunity and time to pursue an appeal, while providing transparency for his finances under the supervision of the bankruptcy court". Mr Giuliani, 79, said earlier this year that he was having financial difficulties because of his increasing legal fees and expenses. Last week, an eight-person jury ordered him to pay $20m to Georgia poll workers Ruby Freeman and her daughter Wandrea "Shaye" Moss. The pair said Mr Giuliani's false claim that they tampered with votes had a traumatising impact on their lives. Ms Freeman said she would "always have to be careful" because of lingering fears she might be recognised publicly. Ms Freedom and Ms Moss were also awarded more than $16m each for emotional distress. Another payment of $75m in punitive damages was ordered to be split between them. Addressing reporters outside the court after he was ordered to pay the sum, Mr Giuliani said: "I don't regret a damn thing." On Wednesday, a judge ordered him to start paying the two women immediately and expressed concern he might not comply with the judgement. FULL STORY