wwest5829

2 hours ago, chilli42 said:

I am missing something.  Why is there a need to do a lowered accuracy home test?  If you have symptoms of Covid then get a proper test (such as it is) …. or be responsible and self isolate.  If you have Covid, it’s not like they can do anything for you. Are they expecting people to home test if they don’t have symptoms?

I confess that not having any symptoms, I would like to know if I have been previously exposed and being asymptomatic I have built up immunity? Just posing a thought/question.

On 7/23/2021 at 10:10 AM, BritManToo said:

It's odd reading these posts because I've never had a noise problem anywhere I lived (12 years, 6 residences). The odd barking dog for a night or two, but that's about it.

I think part of dealing with this is also in the mind of the beholder. Why I say this is that we have been in our current rental house for two years and plan on remains but ... We soon found out our neighbor raises roosters so every morning we literally wake up with the chickens ... but, well not a problem for us. Much preferable to barking dogs at all hours, I'm thinking ...

5 minutes ago, Mr Meeseeks said:

That's probably because they don't want to get brown skin.

Ha! yes, well when working in the fields. When Mother and child were not visiting, no problem with the bikini in the pool and dressing sexy when we went out to eat in Pattaya.

2 hours ago, Mr Meeseeks said:

You'll hate Thai conservative and puritanical values even more then. Thailand is a deeply conservative society even moreso than the West.

 

Trafficking and force is a huge part of the sex-for-sale industry which is why it is so big here. 

 

They are very good at hiding it from naïve foreigners though, it's almost an art.

Thanks but I have found, the world over that the most conservative areas are in the rural areas. The big cities, including Bangkok … not so much. What we see is the warning in the rural areas that the big cities are a corrupting liberalizing influence. We also see many among the young flocking to the cities, one for jobs and equally important, to escape the rural areas where everyone knows what you did and with whom every night of the week. As I say, I have been resident in Thailand over a decade and had done my reading before coming. I found it a great study to see my bar girl friend, when her Mother and baby came down from Isaan to wear conservative clothing, even when in the sea. A study in contrasts but not limited to Thailand. No, I have found less hypocrisy here than in the Bible Belt with its highest use of porn in the US.

On 7/21/2021 at 11:50 AM, placeholder said:

Thanks but I did specify in addition to the main office on the Lamphun Rd.

I usually pay PEA at the office at Central festival (3rd Floor) but they now also have an office at Promenada (2nd Floor) that I used last time.

7 hours ago, Wuvu2 said:

Wait a second -  on Biden's first international trip he promised to gift 500 million does worldwide with 80 million delivered by the end of JUNE 2021  (7Million of the June allotment designated for South East Asia).  Those were never delivered right?  How many PR stunts in a row can the US pull without delivering any vaccines?

 

And of course - where the heck is MY vaccine. I'm American, paid taxes, over 60, and getting nothing but total BS from my Embassy.  

Your analysis is astounding ... due to its lack of critical thinking.

53 minutes ago, digger70 said:

Are there any proven benefits from cannabis for health. 

 

There's a Big argument about the Benefits. 

All you have to know is that they say IT MAY HELP FOR PAIN RELIEVE and Other problems ,BUT it has Never been Proven 100% that it Really works. 

Same with all the vitamins and stuff they push for a fortune ,All they say  is               IT MAY WORK /HELP,Never proven anything.

Vitamins? Tell it to the “limey” sailors.

On 7/12/2021 at 9:39 PM, Denim said:

Yes.

 

Whatever happens the sensation of boredom is absent and the beneficiary is perfectly content with his lot, taking a somewhat Buddhist detachment from events.

Or depression?

On 7/12/2021 at 10:09 PM, Meat Pie 47 said:

yes there are proven benefits I just watched the other day on TV a young kid who had epilepsy

got cured from medical cannabis

Well, if not “cured”, at least symptoms have been shown to be reduced …

5 hours ago, VocalNeal said:

It still amazes me that people think that Embassies are an overseas extension of their home country's welfare state. 

 

Should not amaze you. With a little critical thinking you might be able to comprehend some things about the USA. We Americans are required to pay annual income tax on worldwide income. The USA has some laws they declare are enforceable globally. US military retirees have earned global healthcare coverage while civilian retirees are told there is no healthcare coverage outside USA physical territory.

20 minutes ago, DrPhibes said:

SCUBA, the best gift you could give.  Both my teens are Advanced Open Water certified.  Teaches a few things, self-confidence, panic only creates additional "problems", what constitutes real risk.  Rewards is being an astronaut but, instead of nothing, the environment is full of life!  Also in CM.  Just got back from Samui with a week on Koh Tao for the diving.  PM me if interested more on diving and such.

Ha! As a retired educator, I am all about giving the Stepdaughter a taste of different experiences. Took them to Sout Korea so they could experience the cold, snow, food, touch of skiing. Ha! I am creating desire for more. She immediately said she wanted to go back for diving. Being older than dirt … I began SCUBA in the 1960s in the Southern New Jersey sand quarries. Before the certification requirements. For me, it would be like going back to the beginning. Last time I had the equipment on was in 1979 getting certified in Florida. Astronauts? Born too early, but appreciating the majority of our world being under the water that is a given … magic!

19 minutes ago, rbkk said:

Some might say the West are hoarding vaccines far in excess of their populations and are rightfully being shamed into helping others.

Some say a lot of things. Not everything said holds the same weight nor is supported by the historical documentation. As an A,Eric an, I ought to be aware of this, afterall my country has a man claiming to have won an election that he lost by around 7 million votes.

2 minutes ago, rbkk said:

75% of the donation is through COVAX.  25%......."will be sent directly to countries experiencing surges, including Canada, Mexico, India and South Korea."

Thailand is experiencing a surge; it could have been sent directly, particularly as Thailand is not signed up to COVAX and therefore isn't the "donation" (Through COVAX) therefore a loan to be repaid in kind? I'm sure I read that vaccines need to be returned to COVAX when able to.

Your source and date. Thailand certainly is experiencing a surge, as is the US. I am an American Expat, out priced in my own country for retirement and am very aware of my country’s shortcomings, however … I also recognize when something is done consistent with the ideals of helping others.

4 hours ago, John Drake said:

Blame the disappeared Pfizer on the US. The US apparently put no verifiable restrictions on its donation, which very well might fall down into the vortex.

Cute but as the US donated vaccine was reported to be donated through the World Health Organization, putting the blame on the US is misplaced.

On 7/11/2021 at 11:08 PM, Jingthing said:

I guess the stereotype is usually true that people tend to get more conservative as they age. In the case of my surprise I assume his commitment to communism is sincere and intellectually based. 

Yes, most seem to get more conservative with aging. Few of us unapologetic, Bob Dylan type rebels still hoping for progress toward the ideals.

1 hour ago, tifino said:

pity you may have left your Return a little too late... read the other day that there are US Education institutions burning/trashing their US History books entirely, in favour of the new abnormal curriculims 

Left my return? Retired to Thailand in 2011 as Professor Emeritus. Happy to be here. As to US burning/trashing US History books? Hmm, I would, and I would hope any other thinking person would need creditable sources.

56 minutes ago, Catoni said:

Good.  I’m happy to see you are a retired professor of History. Therefore you know that what I stated is true. 
   Happy to discuss with another person who loves History. One of my courses in college was The History of Modern Communism, (that’s how I ended up doing a paper on Trotsky)  although I have studied much History in general, I have a much greater interest in Ancient Classical History.  Greek, Roman, and Persian history I find fascinating. 
    Can I ask… have you read Herodotus’s “The Histories” and Livy’s “Ab Urbe Condita” and Dio Cassius’s “History of Rome” ?  
    
   As you know, I am sure, we have no foundation if we do not know History.  I fear it is being forgotten…..or being twisted and warped. 
 

   Many students today fail to answer basic questions on History. It’s really sad. 

I taught for 41 years, the last 27 mostly teaching the American History and Western Civ. survey courses (mostly the latter, so yes I have read the texts you cite. Ha! But not in the original languages). A very broad background. I always told my students that I know a little bit about a whole lot (although the more I learned, the more I realized how little I knew) but if they had specific questions, I would send them to a Professor specializing in that subject/area of research. Teaching the survey courses, it was my responsibility to take the research and make it understandable to my students. It has been and remains my belief that we cannot hope to understand the world around us without looking at the history. Now retired for a decade so I often need to go back to refresh. Currently, I am enjoying Seneca, “On the Shortness of Life”. Yo, at 74  …

2 hours ago, SooKee said:

Will their jump wings be different to the jump wings that every other Tom, Dick and Harry with a uniform in Thailand seems to have?

Maybe a new “ribbon”?

7 minutes ago, Catoni said:

I don’t want to get into nit picking on semantics. Leninism, Maoism, Trotskyism, (I wrote a paper on Trotsky in college) Pol Pot’s Khmer Rouge form of Marxism, Modified Marxism, et al…..  they all form from the writings of Karl Marx, …..and they all lead to death and mass graves. 
Marxism in all its many guises and under many names, has resulted in the greatest mass killings in the history of the world. And they are still killing today. 
    Killings by some multi-party democracies, also an evil act, pale in comparison. 
You would have to either have little knowledge of History, or be a Marxist to deny that fact. 

My intended point was that the PRC is not pure Marxism but an amalgamation. Even allowing a greater degree of capitalism in our times. As I also stated, I certainly am not a supporter of totalitarian government in whatever guise. I am not sure that the 20 million Russian an 6 million Jews in WWII “pale by comparison”. But I agree, we need not split hairs here, we both seem to recognize evil is done widely in history. I would condemn all, not only one extreme or another on the political continuum. For me, the solution is in the broad middle ground where the citizens needs are the goal of government. I see the people throughout history seeking alternative forms of government only when their own government is failing to meet their basic needs. Careful with your last line … sounds rather all or nothing to me. You have looked at my public profile?

15 minutes ago, Catoni said:

Difficult to believe that some people actually admire the Chinese Communist Party after all the misery it’s caused, and the danger it represents. But that’s Marxists for you. 

Steady as she goes. I certainly recognize the danger of China's economic expansion and reject its one party social control rule. But Marxists? China? Modified Marxist, Leninist, Maoist communists, at best. Many totalitarian governments have caused misery ... along with some countries claiming to be multi-party democracies of one color or another.

17 hours ago, dsmiththailand said:

I was told that by a law firm in Pattaya today, as i am looking for a law firm or agent to assist me with changing a tourist visa to a retirement visa when i arrive in Thailand next month.  I was surprise to receive that response from them as what you have said matches up with what i have previously read online.  Sounds like I need to find a new law firm to deal with asap. Thanks

I relate what I have done for the past decade for my extension of stay here in Chiang Mai. My Social Security and my retirement annual Required Minimum Distribution from retirement (403b) funds are direct deposited into my US Fidelity Account. Monthly I transfer $2200.00 USD via Wise (previously Transferwise) to my Bangkok Bank Account. Wise, in making the transfer asks the reason for the transfer. One of the choices is for longterm living costs in Thailand. This assures that the transfer goes direct (not through an intermediary bank). Bangkok Bank logs it in as an FTT transfer. When it is time to renew the EOS, Bangkok Bank supplies the required statement reflecting the monthly 65,000 baht transfers has been met. I use an agency, which is more expensive than doing it yourself but they keep up with any "nuances" in changes at immigration. As related to you local immigration offices vary in requirement enforcement.