Everything posted by placnx
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Direct Thailand-US Flights Poised for Takeoff After 2015 Halt
There was a BKK-JFK flight many years ago. It took 18 hours. Maybe the fuel cost was too much, but Singapore Airlines has a flight to New York.
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90-day report must be in person after each re-entry?
In Chiang Mai I have done the TM47 by mail when returning from abroad and then done subsequent reports online successfully.
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Greta Thunberg’s Gaza Aid Voyage Sparks Controversy After Senator’s Mocking Remark
Actually the people of Gaza did not create Hamas. It arose as an offshoot of the Muslim Brotherhood to provide social services in Gaza in the 1970s. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Israeli_support_for_Hamas See "History: Origins". The Israeli government supported Hamas and pre-1988 social organization to counteract the secular PLO (divide & conquer strategy).
- Fetterman Breaks Ranks with Democrats Over Border Policy, Israel, and Party Direction
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LTR Approved-Canceling current VISA extension
Next question: There is a health insurance requirement, or alternatively a USD 100,000 sort of guarantee. Since I'm 79 years old, is this insurance obtainable? In the alternative, if anyone has done this, please explain the procedure of transfer (to BOI?) and are there certain specified investments such a Thai government bonds?
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LTR Approved-Canceling current VISA extension
Is there an office to do LTR in Chiang Mai?
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White House Defends Abrego Garcia Deportation, Calling Return "Out of the Question"
The US Supreme Court has already ruled that there must be a hearing for each individual before these bizarre deportations.
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White House Defends Abrego Garcia Deportation, Calling Return "Out of the Question"
You don't follow the news. The Supreme Court has ruled that all these deportations must be precede by a hearing where the government gives its evidence and the potential deportee can respond. While these deprtations might not be a vio;ation of the Leahy Law, the whole idea of deporting people for imprisonment without trial or sentencing in a foreign country, and the US government paying for the service, seems ripe for endless lawsuits against both El Salvador and the US.
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Gaza Bloodbath: 30+ Killed as Israel Bombs Bakeries, Hospitals & Refugee Camps"
While they have citizenship, they are deprived of various rights, such as getting building permits. Amnesty and Human Rights Watch have issued expensive reports on apartheid in the occupied territories and Israel itself. These people are the few who did not flee in 1948 in what we would today call ethnic cleansing.
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Did Moses really part the Red Sea? Experts reveal a scientific basis for Bible story
If the story of the Jews in Egypt actually happened, they could have walked over the Isthmus of Suez since the Suez Canal was not there back then. No need for miracles.
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Behind the Curtain: How Biden’s Decline Shaped Harris’s Role
I agree that Harris was/is a loser, but I blame Obama for having picked Biden. Have there been any "tell alls" on how Obama settled on Biden as his running mate?
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So I need phone service or is WiFi ok?
SIMs are not expensive in Thailand. Also, the OP should download LINE, but maybe he would have to be in the country where his SIM is based. So get a SIM here and then download LINE. It's used by people and businesses for phoning and messaging here. Maybe WhatsApp is similar, but LINE is the choice in Thailand.
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Democrats Face Backlash for Supporting Arrested Palestinian Activist Mahmoud Khalil
The Trump administration moved him to Lousiana so that any appeal of a Federal judge blocking deportation would be reviewed by the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans. It is the most reactionary appeals court in Amerika.
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Democrats Face Backlash for Supporting Arrested Palestinian Activist Mahmoud Khalil
You are conflating support for Palestinians with support for Hamas, as is Rubio et al. Khalil and the protesters are victims of this strategy. Also, mixing up antisemitism with anti-Zionism has been a strategy for around 10 years as a means of suppressing free speech of people who support self-determination for the Palestinians, but since October 2023 the campaign against free speech has been abetted by laws equating the two through the adoption of the IHRA definition of antisemitism.
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U.S. State Dept to Use AI to Revoke Visas of Foreign Students with Alleged Ties to Hamas
Another waste of taxpayers' money.
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Egypt Backs Arab Reconstruction Plan & Expresses Confidence in Trumps Peacemaking Abilities
Actually, if Jordan and/or Egypt cooperated in ethnic cleansing of the Gazans (or West Bankers), their populations would be incensed and the stability of their regimes threatened. There seem to be inaccuracies in this story. The total amount for Gaza cleanup and reconstruction is set at $53bn. This includes the construction of 400,000 dwellings. The Arab League of 22 nations unanimously adopted the Egyptian proposal. US and Israel rejected it. The plan is to seek the approval of the OIC (Organisation of Islamic Cooperation), comprising 57 members.
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Teenager Fatally Stabbed in Chiang Mai Market Brawl
Would that be the Burmese Army?
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Uyghurs Plead for Help Before Deportation: MP Reveals Letters
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dzungar_genocide This was done by a previous emperor 1755-8 during the conquest of Xinjiang.
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Donald Trump has set his sights on Afghanistan’s vast mineral reserves
Maybe this report from The Independent was from 2018, or it has been so much condensed that history appears to be current news. Hamdullah Mohib was ambassador to Washington 2015-2018, and Mattis was Secretary of Defense 2017-19. The report Afghanistan’s National Peace and Development Framework was presented at the Brussels concerence in 2016, and the last iteration of this report was in January 2021 for 2021-25: https://www.fao.org/faolex/results/details/en/c/LEX-FAOC218844/ Since the Taliban now control all of Afghanistan, the threat from IS Khorasan is not a big problem. The issue is that the Taliban government is not recognized by the UN, US, etc, so big mining companies cannot be involved. Even China gave up years ago on a project to mine copper. Here is a map of resources: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/9/24/mapping-afghanistans-untapped-natural-resources-interactive (2021) There is a railroad in Uzbekistan reaching the Afghan border, and from Pakistan the railway map shows a proposed line from the border to Kandahar in Afghanistan. So perhaps an extension to the rare earth deposits in Helmand might be possible, or processing could be done in the country.
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So, in the future I have plans to build a bamboo bungalow
If you want something serious, why not build the basic structure and floor of wood, then use bamboo for the walls. If you want to be comfortable and neighbors are not close, you could design an alternative to exterior walls, such as vertical bamboo slats or louvers. Bamboo must be properly prepared and treated, not green.
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So, in the future I have plans to build a bamboo bungalow
As the link mentions, bamboo needs to be treated to resist insects, including termites.
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Taiwan Detains Chinese Crewed Vessel Suspected of Severing Undersea Cable
In the Baltic, cable severing has been done by anchor dragging.
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Prostate problems (begnin vs malignant)
A new urine test is being developed that will reduce the need for biopsies and MRI screenings. https://news.vumc.org/2024/04/18/new-urine-test-has-higher-diagnostic-accuracy-for-prostate-cancer/ Of course, it will take longer to be available here, but its approval in the US will probably be accelerated with the Trump people taking over at FDA, etc. Also, standards for approving tests are less stringent than for drugs.
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Options for medical treatment for cancer (In thailand)
Anyway, get a second opinion from a reliable institution. I was told that I had a year to live, nothing to do about it. That was 17 years ago.
- Hamas Sinks to New Lows with Hostage Body Swap