ibjoe

This previously common belief likely came from the fact that you cannot get chickenpox twice. People conflated "immunity to catching chickenpox again" with "immunity to the virus altogether," not realizing the virus was simply hiding and waiting to reactivate as shingles. Proof that chickenpox and shingles were caused by the same virus wasn't established until the 1950s. While childhood chickenpox is the cause of adult shingles, regularly being around kids with chickenpox helped prevent it for many years due to boosting immune system. Now we have a vaccine for that.

I though Thai routinely vaccinated children? My Thai stepdaughter had all hers on time. Vaccines are the single most successful medical invention in human history, no other medical invention has saved more lives and reduced suffering, including antibiotics. Unfortunately there is a strong anti-vaccine movement these days, based on social media and ignorance.

March 2023 I applied for CR1 visa for my wife, and CR2 visa for her minor child. We chose CR1 (marriage) visa instead of K1 (fiancé) visa because it allows faster path to USA citizenship, essentially they get their Green Cards (Permanent Resident) upon arrival, and can take the citizen test in 2+ years. We used an agency (TSL in Bangkok), it was necessary for us, as the process was long and complicated, I couldn't have done it on my own. It took almost a year for our applications to be approved by USCIS (US Customs and Immigration Service) and sent to US NVC (National Visa Center) for processing. It took a few more months for the interviews, prior to which they both had to undergo health and background checks. The first interview was cancelled because while my wife recovered from TB a long time ago, her chest x-rays showed scarring, she had to undergo another several weeks of additional testing. Finally in August 2024 they completed their interviews, were approved, and got their CR1/CR2 visas. We immediately flew to USA to begin our life together here. Since then they have been model citizens, contributing to community and economy. Soon this year we need to apply for 10 year green cards before the 2 year green cards expire, after which they are eligible to take USA citizen test. I feel sorry for anyone trying to bring their spouse / family to USA from Thailand now, and concerned for my own family's status in this new USA administration promoting fear and loathing about and to new immigrants to our country. While we would like to visit Thailand, and technically it shouldn't be an issue, we don't want to take the chance of not being allowed back into our country, we will stay home for now.

This is an unjust election, organized against the will of the people. It is the military pretending to swap uniforms for civilian clothes and keep their power. The United Nations, European Union, and various human rights organizations have condemned these elections as a sham, noting that major opposition parties like the NLD have been dissolved and their leaders remain imprisoned. A sad day when the Myanmar military unjustly took control of the civilian elected government for their personal gain. The 2021 Myanmar coup began on February 1, 2021, when the military (Tatmadaw) seized control from the democratically elected government led by the National League for Democracy (NLD). Nearly five years later, as of late December 2025, the military remains in power under Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, though its control is fragmented by an ongoing civil war. On February 1, 2021 - the day the new parliament was to be sworn in - the military detained State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi, President Win Myint, and other top NLD officials. The military claimed widespread fraud in the November 2020 general election, in which the NLD won a landslide victory. These claims were categorically rejected by the Union Election Commission and independent observers. The ruling military junta is only for themselves, oppressing the Myanmar population. They should be put down.

I like https://somafm.com/ Eclectic music of many genres.. Listener supported (I send them $20/month, better deal than SiriusXM IMO)..

555 Ha Ha Ha like LOL (Laughing Out Loud). Because 5 in Thai is pronounced Hah My favorite.

https://www.anxiousgeneration.com/book

There is a good book about this: https://www.anxiousgeneration.com/book . My adopted Thai child is addicted to her devices. We have strict rules about when she can use them, but she still gets in many hours a day. Some of it is good fun on games and other apps with other children, but I worry about predators. We periodically review Social Media Safety rules.

There is no honor in killing, only shame. No respect for murderers.

Sex workers should have legalization and social support: rights and respect for sex workers. But that won't happen, there is too much resistance from the people exploiting the workers i.e. operators who want to keep their profits high, paid / bribed politicians / law enforcement, customers who want to keep prices low, and social conservatives. As long as the "world's oldest profession" trade remains illegal, workers will be exploited and trafficked. Sex work should be legal, regulated, and licensed, with oversight by social workers to ensure all workers are doing it by choice and not coercion.

The post title is wrong. It should be "Will Kamala Denounce the Anti-Genocide Protestors?". I don't condone the attack on Israel, but I understand the motivation. The Israels have been oppressing the Palestinians for decades, treating them like the Nazis treated the Jews, and nobody should be treated like that.

I forgot to note: I told the bank all the funds were originally transferred to them from my USA bank, in Baht. That seemed to be a requirement for me to transfer the funds back to USA.

I transferred about ฿800,000 to my USA bank account from my Krungthai account using wire transfer. I just gave them my USA bank routing number and account number. We visited Krungthai main branch in Bangkok. It took a couple of hours, filling out papers, etc. I apparently had to change account type, close old account and open new one, but it was transparent, same account number, etc. They charged ฿1000 fee for the transfer. This was the same USA account I had been using to transfer money TO my Krungthai account, using wire transfers, on regular basis. My bank never charged transfer fee to send, though Krungthai charged a small fee to receive; but my USA bank did charge a $15 fee to receive this transfer. The transfer to USD was quick, about 2 days. The transfers to Krungthai were slower, typically 3 to 5 days.

Had to read through the posts a bit to figure out that Thai wife got visitor visa to UK.. (could have been to another country e.g. AU, US, NZ, etc., or maybe even Thailand, heading wasn't clear). Thank you for your report.

I have one CC on a USA bank I use for all my international travel as it offers significant perks, like no foreign transaction fees, etc. It's been defrauded three times. I have my bank's app which I set to immediately notify me of any charge on that card. The first time hundreds of dollars for various things overnight (my phone on do not disturb, so I didn't get the notices). I called the bank immediately, they canceled the card, credited my account for the fraud charges, and sent me a new card. Which took a long time for me to get because my friend had to forward it to me in Thailand. The second time was surprising because I had only bought a few reputable travel things online, but was quickly alerted by my bank app, and again the bank quickly credited my account and sent me a new card. Then I learned that I can lock my card with the app. Now I keep that card locked all the time, and only open it to make a purchase after which I immediately lock it again. The third time I got some notifications from the app of small (less than a dollar) unauthorized transactions, which I realize are "test" transactions that scammers do to verify it before hitting it big time. They didn't go through because my card was locked. I told the bank, they immediately sent me a replacement card. Now I realize my card WILL be scammed occasionally, and my defense is to keep it locked. It's a slight inconvenience every time at Lotus, 7-11, online travel companies, etc. to unlock it during each use, but is a small price to pay to avoid getting scammed, again.