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mfd101
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Posts posted by mfd101
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You would think that one's self-respect would encourage one to pluck numbers that might arguably bear some relation to real-world possibilities ... But no.
Meantime, all the pandemic news worldwide is getting worse, not better. Fears that the latest variants are not merely more infectious but more deadly too, and that the first round of vaccinations may be less effective than thought. Those fears may not turn out to be well-founded, but they are not entirely baseless for the moment.
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Given the low numbers of vaccines so far ordered from UK & China, I imagine the Thai-invented one will be considered perfectly suitable for the remaining 50 or 60 million peasants in about 2 or 3 years time. No point in worrying about such people before then. Good government is about priorities.
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The problem with 'truth' is of course not confined to the PM or his government, or even to the whole phalanx of feudals & authoritarians who run & own the country.
Thai culture generally has a problem with concepts of truth (precision, accuracy ... ) preferring the ease of complexity, approximation and - above all - appearances. Hierarchical societies are founded on status, and status loves appearances.
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I wonder how many death sentences in Thailand have actually been carried out over the last, say, 30 years ...
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In my house their role in life is to climb the internal walls slowly till they get to or towards the ceiling, then they die and wait for me to remove them.
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Almost certainly the same will apply - perfectly sensibly - for expats of every other country. No embassy anywhere in the world is going to play doctors 'n nurses for its expats. Get used to it!
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What they seem not to understand, or want to confront, is that there's a pretty good chance that the tourist industry here - and perhaps everywhere - will NEVER return to what it was. Covid & its successors are likely to reduce international travel permanently, and not just for tourism.
What a half-competent government would have been doing for the last several months is considering seriously their policy options for rebuilding the Thai economy based on manufacturing and digital capabilities. But No No, that would involve change, energy and education for the masses. No can.
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Every 'worker' here at every level just does what his boss says to do. Noone thinks for themselves. Noone asks questions.
Questions are a threat to status. Discussion can lead to disputes and thus to anger and thus to violence.
Best just to do your job exactly as the boss says ...
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Statistics management skills are improving by the day.
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At least the crew won't be spreading the plague around other ports of the Indian and Pacific Oceans.
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In large peasant families, the question of 'self-isolation at home' raises some questions, I should think.
My own immediate Khmer peasant family consists of some 31 members apart from my partner & me. All but 3 of them live on the one tiny farm or within 100m of it. Except (now) when I visit, they don't wear masks.
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Certainly, if you're not sick when you go in, you will be by the time you come out.
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Meantime you could always try reading a book. Can be very improving.
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As I have noted on another site, and depending on your lifestyle choices, as the Thais around you get vaccinated, your need to be vaccinated will steadily diminish.
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At last, the Ship of State is abandoning the sinking rat.
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Xi Jinping will be wondering whether now is the right moment to make his move on Taiwan. I just hope that US forces in the Pacific are on full alert.
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5 minutes ago, cmarshall said:
It's only good if they prosecute Trump. If Biden/Garland give him a pass, then they have failed in their duty to protect the Constitution.
What is actually needed or possible for charges of treason or sedition or some such for a sitting or soon to be ex-President? I suspect not much.
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1 hour ago, Bangyai said:Authoritarian regimes around the world must be loving this.
Yes, the only people (with a brain) laughing today will be Putin, Xi Jinping & Kim Jong-Un.
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Of course, if everyone around you (within spitting distance, so to speak) has been vaccinated, then your own need to be vaccinated will diminish.
Which is to say that many - though not all - of us falangs will be able to wait patiently, if we don't want to pay through the nose (so to speak) ...
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3 hours ago, Caldera said:
Good that different countries try different approaches, ultimately we will know what works best.
Assuming every country maintains full & accurate statistics on the same bases ...
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LLELP: Land of Low & Ever Lower Productivity
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Everywhere in the world, symbolism is important in national life, culture & politics.
The difficulty arises when people substitute symbolism for practical action. Which also happens everywhere in the world.
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59 minutes ago, ExpatOilWorker said:
Rising iron ore prices, Australia’s success in containing the novel coronavirus, global optimism with the advent of successful vaccines, and positive surprises around its economic recovery have fueled the Australian dollar’s rally.
Yes, all of that. And, as I understand it [but I don't really understand the technicalities], Oz government bond buying by major international banks - consequent on huge Oz government stimulus spending - is also starting to drive up the Oz $. This will have negative consequences as interest rates start to rise in a year or 2, with further Oz dollar risings then, and huge repayments of debt still to follow at higher interest rates ... Being the Oz Treasurer over the next few years will be an interesting experience for Freudenberg, assuming he lasts.
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17 minutes ago, Moonlover said:
You have now.
Well, that begins to look like progress for Thailand. There will be multiple devils in multiple details over the next many months. It will be fascinating to watch matters evolve here, and eventually (rather late in the piece I suspect) participate.
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Armed Forces.
in Family and Children
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I'm not sure about enlisting, but there is much to be said for poor boys here in Thailand doing their 2 years conscription. For those who have never been outside the village, have no education & no knowledge of the outside world, the Army shows them a whole new world of experience and helps them to mature. The fact that the Army's role in Thailand is scarcely to be praised is not relevant to that.
My b/f had the gumption to leave the village here in Surin at age 18 and head to BKK for life's experiences. But he still learned a lot from his time in the Army - Western mealtime etiquette, how to serve petits fours to the very highest in the land, how to look after the colonel's dog, what a big smile can achieve, and how to climb over the barrack walls in BKK to find food & earn some funds in the small hours ... I have no doubt that, by the time I came along to, ahem, assist with his early departure from conscription, he had benefited mightily from his experiences.