Lacessit

Average American IQ is 98-100. It's too early to tell what dismantling the federal education system in America will do to that average. Two facts that give pause: 50% of Americans still believe in angels. In terms of wealth inequality, three men in America control more money than the bottom 150 million Americans.

What enforcement? In 15 years here, I have yet to see a patrol car on the side of the road writing a ticket for any motorists. Sitting at checkpoints checking registrations is not going to improve road safety.

Americans drive on the other side of the road.

Congratulations, you've just joined the band of statistical illiterates for whom a sample of one supports a global hypothesis.

IQ is a product of genetic inheritance, education, and socioeconomic status of the parents, to name just a few of the influences. There's really no point to talking about the average IQ of Thais, it is predetermined by wealth inequality, and an education system that emphasizes obedience and avoids stimulation. IMO the results for any racial or national group would be the same if the same conditions applied, so we can stop getting up ourselves about how much smarter we are.

My mechanic told me to watch out for Beemers, Volvos and Mercs. Apparently they are mostly owned and driven by Chinese, who he rates as worse drivers than Thais. Stretches the imagination, I know.

I don't want to come back. I want to be reborn as a pure mentality, like Arthur C Clarke's novel.

Thai probate of a will is usually 6 months. My GF is the executor of my Thai will, my son the will in Australia. There is enough money in a joint account to last my GF for 2-3 years, while probate is done on the 800K and another account.

I used the term "less frequent". That's not denying there have been cases in CM and CR. It does have me wondering if I should be vaccinated, although my contact with dogs is limited to one.

I don't need you to believe anything. But if you believe what the police say in Thailand, I may have a spare bridge or two in Australia to sell you.

I was wondering the same about you.

They don't have brothel signs. They have euphemisms such as celebrity massage, gentlemen's club, Sayuri complex, paradise spa etc. If you go into one of them and there are women sitting behind glass in what is called a fishbowl, it's almost certain it is a brothel.

It's common knowledge one of the biggest brothels in Chiang Mai is owned by a senior policeman.

The other option is they will prescribe a diuretic. Worked very well with me.

90% of the rabies cases in Thailand come from dogs. North-east Thailand plus central and southern Thailand are the areas where rabies is endemic. Less frequent in north-western Thailand. It's why I steer clear of soi dogs.

Or you might just be backward.

Disagree. I had to insert myself into the vaccination system. Foreigners were not getting vaccinated otherwise. Masks were mandatory only in places like shopping malls. Otherwise, nobody cared. Swimming pool was closed for two months, I played golf throughout. Contrast that with Victoria, Australia. Not allowed to move more than a 5 km radius from the home. On and off closures of golf courses for two years. No gatherings of more than 10 people. Masks mandatory anywhere outside the home. Total "circuit breaker" lockdowns every so often. The profiteering on RAT kits was so bad I was posting bulk quantities of them back to friends in Australia. What cost $2 here was being flogged for $20 -$50 on Gumtree and eBay. You simply don't realise we got off very lightly here.

No. I could go back to Australia, but I would be bored sh!tless in a month or two. When I am in Oz, I am spending more than i get by way of pension and investment income. In Thailand I am not. During COVID, I was actually locked out of returning to my own country. I realized it did not matter, and Thailand was a better place to be in all the hysteria.

You are half right - bubonic plague is a bacterium, yersinia pestis. Basking in ignorance as a badge of honour appears to be the fall-back position of many people who are on the left-hand side of the IQ distribution.

mRNA was first discovered in the 1960's, and its potential as a vaccine platform was realized early on. In 2023, Kariko and Weismann were awarded the Nobel Prize in medicine for their seminal work of 2005 in nucleoside base modifications which enabled the development of COVID vaccines. Perhaps you should send your complaints into the Nobel Committee, and pursue them in the International court of Justice. Their work saved millions of lives. How many lives have you saved?

Bubonic plague and Spanish flu were both global pandemics. Goodness, I nearly forgot COVID. Thanks for proving once again you are the most ignorant poster ever on ASEAN.

It would be a race between the spread of the disease, and how quickly researchers could develop a vaccine. It took 66 days between the release of the viral genome sequence and injecting a human with a mRNA COVID vaccine. The turnaround was unprecedented. Instead of being hailed as one hell of a scientific life-saving breakthrough, it is now the subject of endless carping by illiterates.

There's science, and there's belief. Science is not easy, and difficult to explain. Belief is easy, no explanation needed. South Korea has one of the highest levels of scientists and engineers in the world. It also has one of the most vibrant economies. When the COVID pandemic hit in 2019, South Korea responded aggressively with a 96% vaccine uptake rate, plus other measures. The benefits showed in one of the lowest death rates of any country. In contrast, politics vs science in the USA probably resulted in a couple of hundred thousand unnecessary deaths. South Korea's uptake rate of booster shots has been considerably lower. They have probably figured out the weaker strains which succeeded the delta version are not too much to be concerned about. I can't say I disagree with that point of view, unless it is the most vulnerable cohort. Having said that, the South Korea experience vis-a-vis America illustrates the difference education can make in determining public health outcomes.

There there Lewie. Just import a cold pork pie and a warm beer, and your taste buds can vegetate just as if you were in old Blighty.

You have edema. See a cardiologist.