19 hours ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

 

AZ had been actively pursuing approval for its COVID vaccine in the U.S. up through 2021, including running clinical trials in the country. But ran into the documented problem of very rare but serious blood clots once the AZ vaccine began widespread use in Europe.  That led the U.S. FDA to demand more detailed submissions from AZ, and in the end, AZ withdrew from submitting a formal request for emergency use authorization.

 

AstraZeneca withdraws US COVID vaccine application, shifts focus to antibody treatments

Nov 10, 2022

 

"After missing the boat for emergency use of COVID-19 vaccines, AstraZeneca has finally pulled the plug on efforts to sell its shot in the U.S. 

There was what happened in the beginning,  and then there was what came later. By the time the dust had settled the necessity was no longer there.

Platlet problems are nothing new but in this day and age any Tom,Dick or Harry can create an issue to suit the agenda.  The AZ methodology has been around for decades so wouldn't it be prudent to wait a bit before flying the flag for mRNA. If the Bullous Pemphigoid link had been immediate mRNA would have been dead in the water but with covid in the rear view mirror media interest has faded.

"Why is the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine, which was approved for use in the United Kingdom in December and in the European Union in January, not yet available in the United States? Every answer to that question leads to another query. It isn’t available because the Food and Drug Administration hasn’t given it an emergency-use approval, as it has for the Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, and Johnson & Johnson vaccines. Why not? Because AstraZeneca, the Anglo-Swedish pharmaceutical company that partnered with Oxford University researchers in developing the vaccine, hasn’t applied for F.D.A. approval.

https://www.newyorker.com/news/daily-comment/why-there-is-so-much-confusion-about-the-astrazeneca-vaccine

23 hours ago, sometimewoodworker said:

Talk to CW and ask them, this is because each office can make their own requirements 

 

However in my office you are always required to present 2 copies of all documents, there is no requirement for any to be in B&W only. Some of the second set are required to be in colour (photos), some don’t matter. NB this is for the marriage extension only. 

I have a B&W laser printer so little option, have to go to print shop for the photos.

On 2/23/2024 at 8:57 AM, jaywalker2 said:

It has never been approved for us in the US. That's just a fact. Its use was suspended in the EU because of the blood clot problem. It has since also been taken off the market in the UK.

 

The mRNA vaccines have proven both more effective and safer, according to health experts.

 

 

More disinformation

AZ never even applied for FDA approval due to insufficient production.

Some countries discontinued the use of AZ due to adverse media allegations that were never proven, the vaccine is still being produced.

One thing that has been proven, a friend of mine contracted Bullous Pemphigold as a result of the mRNA vaccine, his first 2 shots of AZ had no adverse effects.

20 hours ago, Phulublub said:

There is some confusion - probably not helped by incorrect phrases and words being used.

Exactly, when you enter the country you are granted visa status, be it exempt, tourist or one of the Non O categories.

Visa status can be extended or in some cases converted.

On 2/24/2024 at 2:01 PM, Funkymover said:

of course they have, they are charging double price , uk to thailand in summer is £1400 return , used to pay £600  - £650, before the putin war 

Individuals are free to choose which airline to use. I paid 67K baht for 2 of us UK return in May just before Christmas, friend of mine just booked and arrived from Dublin paid £650 return.

If what you are trying to imply, "they are charging double price", was true, they wouldn't get the bookings.

Bit arrogant to suggest that all Thai Airways customers are mugs.

19 hours ago, soi3eddie said:

 

BA are not currently flying into BKK as they don't have enough planes after scrapping all their B747s. They took the B777s used for BKK and used them for more profitable routes such as North America. I am told by a friend, who was a route scheduler at BA that they will likely recommence the route once new plane orders are delivered.

 

BA are part of IAG and Qatar Airways have 25% of IAG. BA still operate London to BKK via Doha using Qatar Aiways.

It was Qatar Airways that got BA out of trouble during the strike, they loaned a/c and crews. Always helps to have friends in high places.

18 hours ago, Sheryl said:

As mentioned the manufacturer specs state 8 - 36 amps.

The manufacturer would state no such thing.

One Kilowatt is 1000 watts and at 250v would be 4 amps, power is volts times amps.

The label on the heater says 8Kw at 220V which is the nominal  voltage in Thailand. So 8000 divided by 220 would give 36.36 amps.

Water heaters, unlike cookers, are not energy regulated so current is fixed and continuous. I would doubt very much that the heater has anything to do with the lighting problem.

In recent years lighting has undergone some quite dramatic changes and not necessarily for the better. They may well be more efficient but no saving if you have to change them more regularly.

You may well have voltage fluctutions for some other reason that is causing the problem. May be worth considering changing the fitting to another type of bathroom light.

40 minutes ago, Henryford said:

 

You mean the actual visa extension stamp? I never knew that you had to apply for the new extension no later than 15 days before the old one expires.

Extension stamps are an extension of your visa status, at the end of the period granted, unless addressed, your visa status would become illegal. "Permission to stay" is a generalised term for both entry and extension stamps.

The 15 day reference applies to visa status conversion from exempt or tourist rather than visa status extension.

23 hours ago, jaywalker2 said:

Two points: all of the adverse events are extremely rare and most seem to be due to the Astra Zeneca vaccine, which was never offered in the US and is no longer offered in Europe (Are they still offering it here?)

That is garbage, problems with other vaccines are emering as time goes by.

The few problems attributed to AZ over platlets is nothing new, first seen in the 1930s and took 30 years to be attributed to heparin, a drug that is still being used. All about benefit/risk analysis.

The reason it was never offered in US was down to manufacturing logistics with the UK and EU fighting over production.

You should refrain from unsubstantiated implications.

18 hours ago, superal said:

Now I am not certain on this but the J.C. statement on frozen UK pensions was made from the opinion of the All party Parliamentary Group on Frozen British Pensions . The All Party Group consists of many different parties who all believe in the injustice of the frozen pensions for those Brits living abroad . I have read that the Vice chairman Sir Peter Bottmley raised the issue of frozen pensions to the  COE , Jeremy Hunt November 2023 . Mr Hunt promised to look into the case and reply personally on the matter . I do not recall hearing a verdict or comment from Jeremy Hunt , do you ? I cannot understand why there has not been a reform on frozen pensions , given the wide cross parliamentary party support .   

This was his words which seem quite clear to me, said in support of the APPG rather than on their behalf.

"The next Labour Government will treat all our pensioners equally"

I posted what Sir Peter Bottomly said in PMQs previously, along with Hunt's reply. One of the failings with PMQs is that by offering a written reply the answer can be hidden from the public.

The legislation regarding the uprating is embedded in the Social Security Act and that comes up before parliament every year but the government controls business in the house and will only alow debate on their proposals.

"The Social Security Benefit Uprating Regulations 2017 is a Statutory Instrument, subject to negative parliamentary procedure. This means MPs have to seek to annul it, rather than automatically having a right to vote on it. Given the shortage of parliamentary time, it is very unusual for such challenges to be debated or voted on without Official Opposition backing. Labour’s decision to support the Motion is therefore highly significant."

https://frozenbritishpensions.org/jeremy-corbyn-gives-labours-backing-pension-unfreezing/

History has shown that historical precedence is no justification for injustice.The real problem here is that unlike the WASPI campaign there is very little in the way of public support. The perception generally among the population is that those that retire abroad live in luxury. There has been more press coverage recently than ever before and that has to be a move in the right direction but every chance I will be pushing up daisies before anything gets done.

On 2/21/2024 at 8:34 PM, steph83 said:

Hi, i have a non-immigrant O visa (Thai spouse) which expire on September 2024. Problem : i have to go to my country (Belgium) on may 2024 and i plan to come back in Thailand in October 2024 so at the expiration of my visa. Do i have to apply for a new visa in my country or if i don't do it, do i have to go out for example to Vientiane to apply for a new one ? It isn't possible to do it at Thai immigration ?

 

Thank you so much for your help mates !

 

Easiest option is just to get new visa in Belgium before you return. There is not much difference between renewing an extension or getting extension from new visa, done it twice in last couple of years.

When you go make sure you have access to docs required for new visa and a note from spouse saying she expects you back in October. You can use the funds you would have for your extension, all quite straightforward.

10 hours ago, Wongkitlo said:

I am sorry you have trouble understanding the context. It seems quite obvious. I am trying to politely say the office are dumb. It is the same extension where parents visit children. If you visit your child does immigration want pictures of the kid's bedroom, your ex-wife's saucepan, her bedroom complete with new boyfriend? I intend leaving the province in a few weeks so in reality  they can have as many photos as they like. I do not think the 60 day extension is the same as  non o married to a Thai as @DrJack54 posted. I am pretty sure the non-o wife visa requires 90 day reporting and if you changed provinces I assume  the new office would take you through the whole process again - new photos of your home, your bedroom, kitchen etc. It would not just require a tm30 report.  In my case I will change provinces for a little then head to the airport and as long as my new hotel registers a tm30 there is no problem. I have used this same  extension  before at another office with no requirements.  

I don't have any problem with context, you have gone in the wrong direction and apologise if the implication of what I said wasn't clear.

Your post was split up and only one part addressed rather than the context of the whole post. A common practice on the forum by some.

I knew what you were trying to say in the OP, I am in the neighbouring province which has 3 immigration offices, 2 are used by expats and operate quite differently.

15 hours ago, superal said:

Corbyn was ostracised from the labour party . Now that could be a reason for not adopting the pledge .

Are you trying to say the parties allow leaders to state policy they don't agree with?

Maybe time for Oliver Cromwell to make a comeback.

4 hours ago, superal said:

That was a J. Corbyn statement from 2017 . Do you think they will honour that now ? They would certainly get a lot of election votes .

Party policy should just that irrespective of who said it or how long ago. Sad situation if the leader doesn't reflect party policy.

It is an unfortunate fact of life that opposition often advocate what suits at the time, but selective memory kicks in if the opportunity to do something ever comes about.

Brexit highlighted how the frozen pension legislation can be manipulated to suit the government.

Brexit is a key driver behind the current developments. British expats in Europe are fearful that without the protection of the social security provisions of the single market, they may too end up with a frozen pension. Given its longstanding position to uprate “only where there is a legal responsibility to do so”, unless a new bilateral deal is specifically negotiated as part of the exit deal, the government would find itself in a very difficult position, potentially either having to freeze 492,000 more pensioners to be consistent, or offering unilateral uprating entitlement for European resident pensioners, and not those elsewhere. The simplest option, offering immediate comfort to worried EU resident pensioners would be to unilaterally change policy now and offer all overseas pensioners the same up-rating entitlement. Global Pension Parity has long been the aim of the ICBP’s campaign.

https://frozenbritishpensions.org/jeremy-corbyn-gives-labours-backing-pension-unfreezing/

52 minutes ago, Andrew Dwyer said:

For example if I decided to go back home with my wife after seven years here would the headline be “ Thai couple relocates to the U.K. “ ??

No, more likely it would be “ Thai couple fails to relocate in the U.K. “ 

with statements along the lines

“Honestly, there were so many times I felt regretful about this decision. It seemed like the end of the world. Wading through waist-deep government red tape just to get there, I’d look around and think, What am I doing?”

But keeping in context the first part of your post is probably right, click bait.

2 hours ago, bigt3116 said:

 

Very true, but that was not the point of his post, his post was all about the map and photos  🙂

Indeed, but context is not a strong point for many.

3 hours ago, superal said:

Digressing slightly . Yesterday the labour leader Keir Starmer said that if the labour party are elected this year , they will retain the triple lock system on the UK state pension . That is a commitment which has not been promised by Jeremy Hunt , C.O.E.

New leader - new ideas.

“The next Labour Government will treat all our pensioners equally, wherever they live, and ensure that overseas pensions are levelled up not down when Britain leaves the EU.”

https://frozenbritishpensions.org/jeremy-corbyn-gives-labours-backing-pension-unfreezing/

22 minutes ago, kimamey said:

As more people move abroad,

That is not the case. Nett migration is the difference between people coming to the country and people leaving.The reduction in people leaving, less than 100K last year, makes it appear that immigration is on the increase. This has prompted recent anti immigration policy.

I  have seen more media coverage of the frozen pension in the last year than in the last 25 years and may be a contributing factor in the emigration reduction.

Removing the frozen pension could well promote emigration and reduce the immigration figure but the government is too narrow minded to see the bigger picture.

12 minutes ago, lopburi3 said:

Wise to Bangkok Bank for long term stay (or tagged account) is what gets FTT - not sure if any other banks actually use that letter combination.

FTT has never been an option for me, bank book has only ever had 2 character codes and NT (Deposit - No Book) is used.

Statements are different and over the last 20 odd years that has gone from "via Bahtnet" to "via EXIM" and now just says "INTERNATIONAL".

1 hour ago, brianthainess said:

60 or 2 months depends on your IO. And their interpretation of 2 months

Indeed

1. In the case of marriage to a Thai woman The husband, who is Foreigners must have an average annual income of not less than 40,000 baht per month or a deposit in Banks in Thailand must keep at least 400, 000 baht in the account throughout the past 2 months to use for expenses during the year. https://www.immigration.go.th/?page_id=1772

11 minutes ago, Kenny202 said:

Just found a LAN cable, no LAN socket on my notebook

You can get a USB hub with integral LAN connection.I had to get one to use with the Powerline adaptors when I changed the android box.

14 minutes ago, Kenny202 said:

These things are all well and good guys but remember my connection up until now has been excellent. None of my devices, router etc has changed. It is something just happened randomly 2 weeks ago. All of the technical stuff and tests if it doesn't get sorted can be done by True. S to me that means something has broken. I doubt all of my devices have failed at the same time. So other than that there is only the router and beyond.

You haven't been very clear on how the faults you have mentioned are connected to the router. I will assume it is a wifi connection in which case it doesn't matter how long you have had excellent service,  someone nearby can set something up that interfers with your wifi signal. If the problem is intermittant you will have extreme difficulty showing that to the service provider. Sod's law says that when the investigate they won't see a problem.

When I went back to fiber a few months back the internet connection was dropping off at random intervals and worst between 6pm and 8pm. Most service is shared and this was probably due to local traffic. My first thought was to change the wifi channel but then found out that I cannot access the router, looks like AIS screwed up when they installed it. I installed Powerline adaptors on the devices and the problem went away. Never have got around to chasing AIS on the router problem.

You could try another wifi channel, not that difficult if you can access the router.

On 2/16/2024 at 9:33 AM, OneMoreFarang said:

Thanks, that sounds like a good idea.

The ACs are new, and likely I will be able to use the same cables again even with new ACs. But in principle I like when things are service friendly. And isolation wool is certainly easier to remove compared to stiff foam. 

There wouldn't be much problem removing the foam, breaks up quite easily.

The bigger problem with the foam is getting it into the hole. The can is above the spray nozzle and upright, with aircon being close to the ceiling it can be difficult to get good access to the hole. When I did mine I sprayed on to a trowel and then filled the hole.

23 minutes ago, Muhendis said:

An address would be the house number followed by the village number followed by the name of the Amphoe.

Around here the second number is the house number, been that way for at least 60 plus years.

My wife's grandfather had about 100 rai and his house was the first on the land, 8/1.