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asiacurious

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Posts posted by asiacurious

  1. 2 hours ago, connda said:

    The roles of embassies are to project power and influence in the countries in which they resided.  Expats are but an afterthought and are basically made to pay for any services rendered.

    I don't expect my country to provide vaccines for their overseas expats as they'd consider it to be none of their business. 

     

    I generally agree with your first paragraph, except that I would have no problem paying for any administrative costs for the vaccine (e.g. the cost of a doctor brought in to give the shot).  However the vaccine itself I've already paid for through my tax dollars.

     

    As to the 2nd paragraph, governments (like the US) are actively pushing people to get vaccinated.   It is in the national interest for every citizen to be vaccinated, regardless of where those citizens reside.  Happy, healthy citizens living abroad represent their nation with every interaction they have with someone from their host country.  (Whether they want to or not!)

     

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  2. *Deleted post edited out*

     

    Alas.... Getting out of dodge requires flying on planes where there will likely be infected individuals.  Not necessarily on the flight out of Thailand but on connecting flights.  And of course, there's the issue of getting back IN to dodge.

     

    If an Embassy has vaccinated all staff working at the embassy (which I would hope would include Thais, not simply nationals of that that embassy) then they clearly have a way of transporting and administering vaccines.

     

     

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  3. 4 hours ago, Sundown said:

    Tragic news but...I wonder if before 2020 30 years old people never died? Just asking..

     

    59 minutes ago, Danderman123 said:

    You sound like the defense attorney for a murderer:

     

    "You Honor, I know that it appears that my client killed the victim, but, in reality, everyone dies, so what's the big deal?"

     

    Sounds more like a defendant who insists on defending himself.

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  4. 44 minutes ago, Jingthing said:

    As far as Americans are concerned, I think it's clear that vaccinating non-embassy related Americans abroad BEFORE Thailand gets it together would be a political powder keg and definitely ain't gonna happen. I also don't see much hope even it becomes clear that we're being badly shafted AFTER Thailand gets it together. They can always just say -- YANKEE GO HOME. 

     

    Unfortunately, I think you're probably right.

  5. 5 minutes ago, Pib said:

    Yeap....I'm now up to three financial/bank related accounts (i.e., like bank accts) where GV use to work for 2FA but doesn't anymore....and this change occurred over the last 18 months or so where VOIP-based numbers like GV, TextNow, MagicJack, etc., no longer work to receive 2FA tokens from certain organizations/accounts.

     

    That sounds more like it's a financial/bank institution issue than a GV/TextNow/MagicJack problem.

     

    Thank you for that https://2fa.directory/ link!  Very useful. 

  6. 47 minutes ago, taxout said:

    We've been through this before here too many times already: GV is simply not reliable when it comes to 2FA. Indeed just this week I couldn't get an SMS on GV I needed while talking with CS, even though when logging in to the website I was getting SMSs no problem.

     

    Don't waste your time on GV for 2FA. It'll fail just when you need it.


    GV has been 100% reliable for me (as in, I've always gotten messages that were expected).

     

    To clarify... the app sometimes doesn't notify you of a 2FA SMS but if you log in to  https://voice.google.com/ you can see it?

  7. I'll add this (emphasis added):

     

    Quote

    The State Department will not be vaccinating all of its citizens abroad, though, and has told citizens to either secure vaccines in the country they live or travel home for a vaccine. They have also warned citizens against the use of vaccines from China and Russia as they have not provided “transparent, peer-reviewed scientific evidence of their safety and efficacy."

     

    Source: https://www.devex.com/news/how-embassies-are-tackling-covid-19-vaccinations-99505

     

     

    However, I think that could change over time and depending on the circumstances.  For example, if the Thai government came out with a firm policy that said vaccines were for Thai nationals only, and countries were free to offer vaccines to their own citizens.

     

    I recall the US Embassy kept insisting that they would absolutely NOT issue Covid Extensions letters that Thai Immigration started to require months back....  Until they did start issuing letters.

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  8. 22 minutes ago, taxout said:

    The real problem with mobile-based 2FA is that it makes loss of your phone an utter disaster, especially if outside the U.S.

     

    For SMS 2FA you can always access Google Voice via a web browser.  You can also set GV to forward text messages to an email address.

     

    There are a lot of options when it comes to mobile 2FA apps.  Authy is a good option (it can replace Google Authenticator and other similar apps).  And Authy also has Windows/Mac/Linux apps.  https://authy.com/blog/why-is-the-authy-2fa-app-free-for-users/

  9. 1 hour ago, Brierley said:

    Have you seen how much the UK Embassy charges just to witness a signature? Can you imagine how much they would charge to vaccinate you against covid? Jeeze, whatever were you thinking.

     

    Vaccinating your citizens against a deadly virus during a global pandemic could be considered to be several orders of magnitude more important than witnessing a signature, no?

     

    Not saying embassies would necessarily see it that way as I think the optics (eg "privileged farang") can create a barrier to their providing vaccines to expats... at least until the Thai government starts mass vaccinations of Thais.

  10. On 4/24/2021 at 1:51 AM, NanLaew said:

    Due to the recent LinkedIn data scrape my PayPal and some other internet subs have been compromised so I am re-securing account logins and passwords. I gave up my US AT&T mobile number last Fall as the $80/month wasn't worth it but I never followed up on the alternatives in time.

     

    As a quick fix, I tried to set up a Google Voice line but that needed a US number for a verification code.

     

    I then secured a Skype number, all good but that wasn't accepted as a number for verifying a new Google Voice number setup.

     

    The Skype number has been accepted for primary contact for Bank of America and authorization codes were received OK but it doesn't appear to work with the bank's optional 'safepass' system (an extra level of security for certain transactions). I will need to see if it works for PayPal and the others I need to change.

     

    In the meantime, my buddy in the US is going to get a 'second line' on his T-Mobile account and after setting it up the same as his one, will send the SIM over here and we'll split the monthly bill. He and others have used their T-Mobile SIM's over here with basic global roaming and sms enabled (no data packages) and it wasn't an expensive add-on like bloody AT&T's was. Once I get that SIM over here, I will set up the Google Voice account. Covering all bases and if it all works, I can drop the Skype one since it costs money.


     

     

    You can also have your friend get that SIM card and pop it into his phone.  You can then set up GV on your phone with the activation code sent to his phone.  You just need to coordinate so he can tell you that code.

     

    Once you've got GV activated on your Google account you can remove the US SIM card from the account and then cancel the extra line.

  11. I was talking with a friend living in Japan about the possibility of expats getting vaccinations at their embassies.  He seemed to think it would happen - eventually.  I personally don't think it will because the optics of it are pretty bad.  I would guess that that diplomats and citizens working at embassies (and their family members) have already been (or will be) vaccinated.  But for regular expats there would just be too many issues.

     

    Of course, if Thailand really is going to put foreign nationals at the back of the line for getting vaccines, rather than prioritize based on age/risk group, then an argument could be made in favor of embassies providing vaccinations as a "service" for their citizens and to help Thailand focus on vaccinating Thai nationals.

     

    In some countries (USA for example) it seems there will soon be more vaccinations available than people who want them, while here in Thailand there are lots of people who want them but can't get them.

     

    What do you think?  Would it be a good idea for countries to offer their citizens vaccinations at their embassies?  What would the diplomatic implications of doing this be?  Could it even happen?

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  12. 34 minutes ago, DogNo1 said:

    The online appointment certainly speeded up my processing time!

     

    It does speed things up, though it also means anyone/everyone on planet earth can see your private data like name, passport number, date of birth....  They don't just fail to use an SSL certificate (needed for HTTPS).  They also have left all the data publicly accessible to anyone/everyone who wants to poke around to get it.

     

    It isn't that hard to make the site just a wee bit more secure, but apparently they don't care.  :annoyed:

  13.  

    On 1/21/2021 at 8:11 PM, homeseeker said:

    I did my extension last week at CW.

     

    OP: I realize you are motivated by helfulness so well done, but you are making a mountain out of a molehill!

    Dear oh dear:

    Have a nice day!

     

     

     

    I agree.  I didn't need all the extra stuff the OP wrote about.  I also didn't need a copy of my lease, so one less thing than they asked of you.

     

    (I HAVE ATTACHED THE EXTRA FORMS THEY REQUIRED TO THIS POST)

     

    To clarify, these are the exact things I was required to submit in addition to the TM7 application form:

    • Copy of passport (photo page, prior Non-O visa stamp page, TM6 card front and back)
    • Copy of bank passbook (copied at copy shop in basement of CW building after depositing 100 baht in my account on the day of my extension application)
    • Bank letter (generated by the bank in basement of CW building on the day of my extension application)
    • Map showing where I live (quick map drawn by hand)

     

    I was also given the following forms to fill out (see attachments):

    • Statement (no other name than that, though there is something written in Thai in the upper right - this is quite the confusing form)
    • Criteria for Consideration of Granting an Alien's Extension of Stay in the Kingdom Attachment to the Order of the Royal Thai Police no 548/2562 dated September 27, 2019 (this is basically a list of requirements that they make you look at and sign on the bottom)
    • The standard "Acknowledgment of Penalties for a Visa Overstay" that everyone gets now.
    • The standard "Acknowledgement of Terms and Conditions for Permit of Temporary Stay in the Kingdom of Thailand (STM.2)" that everyone gets now.

     

    The attachments of the forms to this post aren't really of submission quality, but I DO suggest you familiarize yourself with that first one, the nameless "Statement" as it's a little confusing!  You basically put your own name and information down multiple times on the same form.

     

     

    Statement.jpg   Criteria.jpg

     

    Acknowledgment Overstay.jpg  stm.2.jpg

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  14. 4 hours ago, Patjqm said:

    Apparently there are no covid deads, if low or mild symptoms, herd immunity could be reached by natural infection..

     

    3 hours ago, Jeffr2 said:

    that's been proven false.  Sweden admits herd immunity can't be achieved naturally.

     

    1 hour ago, Patjqm said:

     

    Your original statement that "herd immunity could be reached by natural infection" and followed up with your rebuttal ("Not according to this article....") to Jeffr2's assertion that what you wrote is false, may leave an impression that you've cited an article that backs up your claim.  

     

    I clicked the link and read the article and it does not back you up.  It does not prove herd immunity works.  Rather, the article discusses two conflicting approaches to public health policy.  One approach (which you appear to support) is to use "focused protection" until herd immunity can be reached naturally.  The other approach, which you failed to mention and is also supported by thousands of experts, "described focused protection as 'a dangerous fallacy unsupported by scientific evidence' and warned that 'uncontrolled transmission in younger people risks significant morbidity and mortality across the whole population'. (emphasis added)

     

    The article you linked to concludes in this way....

     

    Kuldorff and colleagues reckon a focused protection approach would lead to herd immunity some time between 3 and 6 months, after which the vulnerable could return to normal life. Walensky retorts that the herd immunity point has not been established, nor is it clear how stable this immunity would be.  [SNIP] “I am not willing to stand behind a policy that leads to 10 or 15 times more deaths”, said Walensky. She would prefer to wait for herd immunity to be conferred by a vaccine. Most experts believe the earliest this could happen would be the second half of 2021. The debate over what to do in the interim looks set to continue.

  15. 10 hours ago, Bender Rodriguez said:

    after 10 months of no magical infection in thailand, don't you think we might just all be positive ???

     

    Since far fewer than 100% of those tested are positive, I'd say that's a big... Nope!

     

    10 hours ago, ftpjtm said:

    So the solution is to forbid the distribution of the Pfizer vaccine in Thailand?

     

    Apparently it can't be given to Thai front line workers because the Thai government wants them to wait for their less effective domestic alternative. 

     

    Nope.  Didn't say that at all.  If the Pfizer vaccine can be secured, it should be distributed to front line workers first.  But the fact is the storage and distribution requirements make it very impractical for widespread use Thailand.

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