timmyp

Does anyone know what time the office get a re-entry permit at the airport closes?

About 3 years ago, I was planning to get one at BKK, but was told that the office had closed for the night. I seem to remember that it closes at 22:00? I was able to get a re-entry permit, but I'm not sure how I worked that out. 

Maybe there was another after-hours office in the airport? I can't remember. 

6 hours ago, internationalism said:

on the level of conspiracy theorists fuelled by Russian "diplomacy", regurgitated by blood thirsty ultra-royalists

https://www.khaosodenglish.com/politics/2020/11/04/conspiracy-blogger-tony-cartalucci-reveals-his-identity/

Not sure how you can deny it. The NED and other organizations are backing the opposition. I sent you the NED page listing their funding. So there is no conspiracy, it's openly funding the opposition. I realize this is inconvenient for your belief that this homegrown opposition. I'll post it again in hopes that you say, "OK, I admit it, the NED is providing money to opposition groups in Thailand." But I guess you'll tell me "That's how democracy works"? I think that's how foreign interference works.

The US backing opposition groups doesn't turn out well. About you this royalist you mention in this very posting: I don't have to be an Assad loyalist to think that the U.S. was wrong to back any opposition parties in Syria, Libya, the menu of nations overthrown in South America to the detriment of the people. The NED and other so-called human-rights organizations have a history of simply forcing opposition.  Are you going to skate around the fact that the operates NED overthrows governments? 

Here are just a couple of examples:

https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/library/magazine/home/20001126mag-serbia.html
Who Really Brought Down Milosevic?

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-26468720

No need to give examples in Latin America, right?  I'll repost the WaPo article clearly stating that the NED serves to overthrow governments, cuz I think you didn't read it. Please do. 

https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/opinions/1991/09/22/innocence-abroad-the-new-world-of-spyless-coups/92bb989a-de6e-4bb8-99b9-462c76b59a16/

NED = new world of spyless coups, NED is in Thailand. But they're here for democracy, right? Hm, that's not what that WaPo article suggests...

I don't have to support the regimes in power to know that what comes after an NED-backed uprising is worse. Truly tragic for the people. I pity what will become of the people in Myanmar as the violence there grows, violence that wouldn't have gotten anywhere without foreign backing. 

>>"Meeting an ambassador by some teenage is not a proof of CIA manipulation, funding."

Direct funding by the NED is proof of foreign manipulation, organizations closely involved with the protests, such as iLaw, and other Southeast Asian organizations. 
https://www.ned.org/region/asia/thailand-2020/

I'm sure you know already, but I'll post this for other readers. The NED is a CIA cut-out. It is funded and overseen by the US Congress. This has been well-covered in mainstream press:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/opinions/1991/09/22/innocence-abroad-the-new-world-of-spyless-coups/92bb989a-de6e-4bb8-99b9-462c76b59a16/

Just to stress the headline and the point of the article: "Spyless coups"

I'm sure you are well aware of this, I'm more posting it for other readers. It seems you find this acceptable when the US does it and calls it democracy,  when it is in fact nothing more than foreign interference for the benefit of the US.

Again, the US Dems had a fit with so-called Russian interference. And then the so-called Russian involvement in promoting Brexit. But I guess this is how democracy works, foreign interference. Worked out great for the Arab Spring. Worked out great for Syria. Working out great for Myanmar? 

On 2/12/2022 at 8:12 AM, Benmart said:

Change is coming and only Thais can cause this to happen...along with external, international pressure. This unelected body hates bad pubilicity. What's important to them is image and it has nothing to do with justice.

>>along with external, international pressure.

I don't think these protests would be getting very far without external pressure, namely the NED, other CIA cut-outs etc. Oppositions and protest leaders have met with US organizations (Thanathorn hiring US lobbyists during his visit to the US, Penguin meeting with Ambassador Davies, etc.), cuz they well know that their movement wouldn't be going far without foreign funding and support. 

Foreign interference doesn't end well, and is hardly ever done for the benefit of the people of that country. 

Whatever legitimate grievances these protestors may have against the current gov, those protests are pushed and manipulated external organizations (NED, USAID, Human Rights Watch, etc.) that most definitely don't have the Thai people's best interests in mind. It's the same pattern that has played out so many times Latin American coups, the current mess in Ukraine, etc. The Arab Spring.... That external and international pressure you mention is foreign interreference. It's against the UN charter, and no country should stand for it. People in the UK had a fit when they thought Russia had a hand in influencing opinion towards Brexit, in the US when the Dems thought Russia helped Trump win. 

Let's not support this external, international pressure. Let Thai people do this on their own before another undesirable political party is pushed into power by external, international forces. 

6 hours ago, Farangus said:

There is something strange in the photo... I advise you to just visit Big C and buy a fillet of crocodile tail for 135 baht (frozen food department).  I like meat from the tail of a crocodile, it is considered the most valuable.  And when I cook it, it smells delicious!  By the way, I don’t understand why everyone is talking about the similarity of a crocodile and a chicken.  It's more like lean pork.  In fact, I'm squeamish enough to handle raw chicken or pork without gloves.  But crocodile meat is pleasant to the touch even raw!  And one more thing: unlike pigs and chickens, crocodiles never get sick.  They have something like their own antibiotic in their blood.  Therefore, it is tasty, healthy and safe.

Whoa! I didn't even know that it's available at Big C! Many thanks for the tip

I've had it before, but always wondered about what I could do with it if I were cooking it. I'm going to order a few kilos from Shopee right now and explore. 

https://shopee.co.th/-ลดเลย!!-30-เพียงใส่โค้ด-JULINC30-เนื้อจระเข้-เนื้อลำตัว-ขนาด1kg.-i.2188071.3060570533

https://shopee.co.th/product/177410297/9914148902

Jesus, please open this thing already... it's been going on for years like this. In two months, within the next few months, this summer, early next year, soon at the end of year... can't imagine success with the economic fallout from covid economic decisions, though

If the attempt to overthrow the government grows stronger, then we will see far more refugees fleeing Myanmar. As now-violent uprising continues, the various ethnic groups in Myanmar will turn against each other, and we will see a massive increase in refugees. 

Whatever you may think of Saddam Hussein, is Iraq better off now? Whatever you think of Gaddafi, is Libya better off? Same question for Assad in Syria. Looking at the migrant crisis that followed the fall of those regimes, are the people of Europe happy with the results?  Myanmar faces the same chaos that continues to rage in the Middle East, and what we are seeing with the flow of refugees from Myanmar described in this article is only a tiny part of what will follow.

2 hours ago, BritManToo said:

Single person boats with the paddlers wearing a mask.

Whom did they think they would infect?

I just assumed they were masked up in order to prevent the nasty water from splashing into their mouths. 

On 10/14/2021 at 6:24 PM, MarcelV said:

The Songkhla - Yala border has been closed due to the latest Covid numbers. You will not be able to enter the province of Yala.

The border is not closed.

I traveled there over the weekend of 23-24 October. I had to pass through 4 military checkpoints, guys with AK47s. All 4 passengers in the van with me had to show proof of vaccination, but the soldiers hardly checked. Requirements are at the time of this email: at least a single dose of AZ, or two jabs of Sinovac or Sinopharm. 

Down in Betong (Yala), open-air restaurants were operating normally, but many were shutdown. 

>>Have you asked at your local hospital?

What insightful advice! Great posts like this make this website so helpful. 

I want to fly from Bangkok to Hat Yai ASAP. Does anyone know how I get the ATK/PCR test done for flying domestically?

As of last Friday, flights now require double vaccination or a ATK/PCR test within 72 hours.  My second AZ vaccination isn't scheduled until mid November, so I want to get the ATK done so that I can fly. I will need one done in Bangkok, then another test in Betong (Yala) for my trip back. 

I plan to fly to Hat Yai, and then drive to Betong (Yala). I want to know what the requirements are for the ATK/PCR test so that I can arrange to have it done in Betong for my flight back to Bangkok. 

It would be great if the self-kits were allowed, and I could just do it at the airport, but I imagine that isn't possible? I have a couple of ATK self-tests, one of the brands recognized by the Thai gov.

I couldn't find the info that I need on the Nok, AirAsia, or Lion websites. Please let me know if you have any leads on going about doing this.

I jog past that park about 3 times/week. It's really coming along. It's going to be a beautiful area when it's finished. 

"It is often said that Thais are not a very sarcastic people. They don't even do much irony."

Thai people are super sarcastic, and hilarious at it. I generally only hear these "Thais-don't-get-sarcasm" comments from old farang who speak zero Thai, and are disappointed that the surrounding Thai people don't get their bad jokes.

Thai people are geniuses with satire and sarcasm. Anyone who hasn't figured this out yet needs to start hanging out with some different people. 

5 hours ago, Danderman123 said:

Are you vaccinated?

So I gotta virtue signal here? Gotta know whether I'm a loony anti-vaxer or not? Or that I deserved to get long covid cuz I'm not vaccinated? 

Yes, I am vaccinated, although I have natural immunity (having caught covid before vaccines were around). Natural immunity has been shown to be more robust than the vaccines, so I don't need to be vaccinated, but I did it to avoid conflict at my work.

I am young and healthy, and don't fear any issues from the vaccine, so I went ahead and got it as soon as it was available to me. That said, the religion and mentally behind people pushing these vaccines, and the way that the unvaccinated are perceived is outrageous, the unvaccinated have become the way that the extreme right spoke of vermin immigrants destroying their society, the way that the Christian right expressed distain for godless heathens who have sex and do drugs. 

5 hours ago, Danderman123 said:

 

I stopped reading your post after just a couple of really incorrect assertions.

This is truly a sad response. I posted a mainstream article for you, I hope you take a look. The religion of covid is so completely out of hand, and your response is a great example, that you come on this website and ignore things that disagree with you. I guess you only read comments that support your paradigm. I encourage you to grow. 

5 hours ago, Danderman123 said:

First of all, the extreme Wuhan lockdown completely contained the virus, so you are wrong.

 

 

I know you think that you got me there, but: As I was saying in my post: It is probably because it wasn't prevalent there, but was already prevalent in the U.S.

It had clearly reached 1% of the U.S. population by early December, which means it simply had to have been circulating for several weeks prior to that. That is based on antibody findings in blood donations from the red cross. I don't know why this doesn't get more attention, it's a mainstream media report. 

Covid in U.S. earlier by August due to blood donations
https://www.npr.org/sections/coronavirus-live-updates/2020/12/01/940395651/coronavirus-was-in-u-s-weeks-earlier-than-previously-known-study-says

Please consider how many people would have had to be infected in the U.S. in order to have 1% of the blood donations positive for covid antibodies by early December. Millions. 

I would guess this is why lockdowns couldn't stop it in the U.S., it had spread beyond the point of being controlled by a lockdown by the time lockdowns were attempted. Probably, it wasn't that widespread in Wuhan.

40 minutes ago, Virt said:

In the start we didn't have the vaccines to help us through this pandemic, so it made sense to do lockdowns to prevent spreading.

It sucked big time , but i rather have a lockdown for a period of time instead of having more people infected , which again would lead to more people developing symptoms after dealing with covid 19.

 

There is no doubt that lockdowns has it negative effects, but it also has its positive effects.

 

Hopefully the vaccines now has provided us with a tool, that can prevent total lockdowns in the future, but only time will tell.

I have not seen the positive effects of lockdown.

In principle, it makes sense: People don't move around, then they can't spread disease. So I didn't question it early on. 

The U.S. has states with lockdowns, and those without it. If you look at the spread of covid in each state, it is not clear at all, not one tiny bit when the lockdown began. The virus seemed to spread regardless of lockdowns or no lockdowns.

This link had a "covid quiz" that lets you look at graph of covid spread by each state in the U.S., and asks if you can identify when lockdowns went into effect, when mask mandates went into effect, etc. Try it out, but I'll tell you now, you won't be able to identify when such measures were implemented, but it had zero effect on the spread in the U.S.

https://www.covidchartsquiz.com/

Now, the explanation for this could be: 

1) people didn't really follow the lockdown (and therefore lockdowns don't work unless you bolt people indoors)

2) the lockdown has to be complete and not partial (in which case, none of the lockdowns implemented here in Thailand did anything to fight covid, and therefore, we should stop locking down)

3) the virus was already so prevalent that no amount of lockdown at that point was going to do anything (in which case, we should give up lockdowns completely)

I think #3 is probably most likely, but I have no idea. No matter how you cut it, these lockdowns have only been harmful. Man, at least Japan and Sweden kept kids in school... 

I think governments are trying to turn us against each other by directing the blame at anti-mask people, anti-vaxxers, people who are sneaking out an partying during lockdowns, etc., instead of actually addressing the bad decisions made by the government. 

I feel the need to "virtue signal" here: I am vaccinated, stayed at home, and always wear a mask, although I think none of that is addressing the problem of spread.

3 hours ago, brewsterbudgen said:

So, as no one is suggesting that children under 12 should be vaccinated why can't primary schools open now? Why do they have to wait until November?

I hope they do... it makes my head spin that people thought it was OK to keep kids out of school for so long. 

15 hours ago, riclag said:

"Require" sad!  Should be a choice ,by the parents. How many kids get  seriously sick, according to this article more kids are susceptible to sickness from  the flu as opposed to covid.

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/why-dont-kids-tend-get-sick-covid-19-180978639/

 

I agree with you here, I just want to point out that when they say "children," they are talking about over 12. Whether or not over-12 kids should be vaccinated, it's a different degree of harm and absurdity to vaccinate kids under the age of 12. The schools aren't calling for that degree of absurdity. 

4 hours ago, jacko45k said:

They are the forgotten sufferers....... very unpleasant and debilitating I hear. 

 I have "long" covid. My tongue has been numb for three months. All the time, it feels like I just gargled with mouthwash. I can't shake the feeling of being thirsty no matter how much water I drink. It sucks, it's unfortunate, but it's not that big a deal. Of course, there are some that have long C much worse than I do, but most long covid cases are like me. 

I want to say this so that we step back, and don't get overly drunk on the exciting paranoia. Long C is real, but it's not society-destroying, not like these lockdowns are. Kids without school for two years, without playing with their friends. Complete financial ruin for so many small business owners. Destroyed relationships... unkown economic impacts by never-before seen money printing. The consequences of this are absolutely more terrifying than long covid. 

38 minutes ago, DaveSamutP said:

>>Finally, some evidence to reinforce to all the people who thought the vaccinations

>>and lockdowns were not necessary -- because only less than 1% die, right? (rhetorical).

Right, less than 1%, more specifically 0.4%. I think the argument against lockdowns is because of the extensive harms on the economy, psyche of the population, and children's education, and should not be simplified to "only less than 1%". Of course that 0.4% goes way up when you're older, etc., and way down when your younger. Sorry to state the obvious, but it's to deflect people who will want to correct that point. 

These lockdowns are insane, and the craziest part of it is that more people aren't saying that. Luckily, more are waking up. The craziest part is the people who refuse to look at the data-supported risks of the disease, and specific harms from these lockdowns. 

I remember things not working out so well for those resettled in Cambodia from detention in Nauru. 

https://www.kaldorcentre.unsw.edu.au/publication/cambodia-and-refugee-protection

Better than being shot and killed? Sure seems like the participants in the war should be more responsible for the mess that they created. 

What a bizarre photo to include with this story. None of those groups are from Betong, they are all groups from the north.

10 hours ago, RichardColeman said:

Personally I think the people of Thailand would rather risk death from the disease than the loss of jobs, homes, businesses , incomes, schooling and their entire lifestyles. I know I would.

 

How can you sell lockdowns when say 50,000 people have died in car accidents as opposed to 8,000 from covid in 2 years ? 

 

Whole world needs to man up and get on with life now. World should set a date and say from this date we just get on with it

I totally agree with everything that you said, except for the people of Thailand wanting to risk the disease. The smart ones want to risk it, and the ones whose desperation has exceeded their fears.  But for so many, paranoia has set in really strongly here. They really believe that they will likely die if they catch covid.

I hope more Thai people demand for the lockdown to end. I live in Bangkok, and my building is surrounded on every side by a business that went bankrupt. A couple of months ago, a guy who lives upstairs jumped to his death. He left a note about not wanting to take handouts anymore after his restaurant failed. He jumped from the 5th floor into the parking lot... man, I would have picked another way...

Anyway, I am thinking about converting to a religion because I am financially secure and economically protected from this nightmare. I hope RichardColeman's assumption that most of the people want the lockdown to end is true or comes true pronto. The tragedy to these lockdowns is absolutely insane