Enzian

I'm currently in the US and my non-O rolls over in late December. I'm considering no longer having LOS as my base, so do the following: come back early December, renew in Bangkok on the basis that the over 800,000 equivalent (FCD account) has been in the bank since last year's extension, buy one or two re-entry permits, leave in Feb. after sending the $s back to the US, visit once or twice before late 2022, then turn to tourist visas or visa-exempt entries from then on. If I completely change my mind I know an agent I trust who can, for a fee, reset things in Dec. '22. This is based on the fact that in 4 years I've never known Chaeng Wattana to check my balance between renewals. Any problem?

Let's hope for the sake of the local business people that they don't take it seriously and pump money into getting prepared for those 100,000.

None of what any of these government people say has any relation to reality or to anything upcoming in the future, it's all just to get through the day at hand. It's like when in a primitive society you ask a local Is this the way to such-and-such a site, and they say Yes, or It's that way, when they have no clue; they just got themselves through the immediate situation. There is no idea of truth.

Seems he doesn't explain what he and the rest were doing all during the second half of last year. And if they are all completely transparent then are the government books in this matter completely open to the public? Does someone know? The chance that there were no kickbacks from the Chinese actors is about zero.

What IS considered "the Din Daeng intersection"? I lived around Din Dang for two years and I'm not sure. Is it where Asoke coming from the south meets Din Daeng Road from the west and Ram IX Road from the east? Right before the Ram IX metro station on Ratchadaphisek Road continuing north?

It's great they are being released, but it's into a society where, without connections, they will have a hard time finding honest work. Are they given a stipend to get by for a while? They may end up not eating much better than in the joint.

The statement that the PM is "directly in charge of the RTP" is not technically or functionally true, to my understanding of the structure. The military and the RTP in the history of the country have always been separate and competing institutions. Of course Prayut is in a sense now government and not military, but that doesn't change anything. And of course he has influence, but then to do anything he would have to start thinking outside the cultural box, which doesn't seem his strong point.

When we hear that officers are having their money turned down in attempts to buy their promotions in the normal fashion, then I'll believe something is starting to happen.

This government is going Full China. But with thanks to Cato the Elder, China delenda est.

Because if there is still a 5% or 10% chance of catching even a very mild case of COVID, at 81 it still sounds like Russian roulette. There is a lot in the news about people catching the virus after vaccination. But I admit another part of me believes we all have to catch it eventually and except for the possibility of giving it to someone I care about I might just follow that thought.

Am I missing something or is even going to "legit" massage at this time just a refined form of Russian roulette? The woman who was living with me for a full year till I decamped to CA in July is a long time shop friend, and even in the lulls between waves she did not want to go into her old shop even when the manager begged her (she's been the back-up manager), because there was always at least one stupid woman there who was careless who she was around and would not wear a mask. And bringing it home would be a problem for her mild ATM (me). I've now had one AZ and two Pfizer, and though massage in LOS has always been a main attraction, I think even if the numbers were to drop, I don't think I will be able to bring myself to start that again for a very long time--if I can or want to come back.

One point of view is that the problem goes back to last year when the AZ production lab in Thailand was being set up. There may have been production problems encountered, major ones perhaps, and at the same time the people in power were likely ordered to ignore those problems. Then we get to the present when the facility is producing but during the period of optimism agreements were made to share. My argument is that there is almost no further reason to discuss this because the nature of Thai society is that we will never be allowed to know these details, at least for decades. We can't even discuss them. So we might as well shut up, which is what the system tells us, because it is absurd to reason in a system non-transparent. But as for the present and future, what I said before: declare force majeure and let the chips fall. But we will never even know who has power to make that decision.