Jingthing

That's a good thing to hope for (less dangerous) but at this point there is no evidence whatsoever that that is true. So yes, wait and see.

Hey there. Welcome to normal Thailand pandemic version. Masks? Just strap it on like the tomboys do. You won't be sorry. https://www.khaosodenglish.com/news/crimecourtscalamity/2021/11/23/govt-threatens-to-fine-foreigners-who-dont-wear-facemask/ GOV’T THREATENS TO FINE FOREIGNERS WHO DON’T WEAR FACEMASK

Maybe later.

Correct.

There will be much more Pfizer.

The Thai government currently does not include people with 2 AZ jabs in their booster eligibility criteria. So definitely NOT required! Hopefully this group which includes me will soon get access. But unknown as yet.

If the conflict involved the Phillipines or Vietnam those are Asean like Thailand.

The larger question is how would Thailand react if an actual military conflict develops between China and the US over a flashpoint like Taiwan. Also impact on western expats especially Americans.

When you login to myssa you have the option of logging in the old way IF you opened your account before Sept. 18 2021. I did. In my case they do require a code sent to my email address which of course is no problem. If opened after that date, you must use the new scheme. No idea if there will be a time limit on the grandfathering for older accounts.

Look there are two major powers in the world NOW. Neither is saintly but overall which is the less horrible?

Easier said than done, unfortunately Ideally there should be a large amount of continuity on foreign policy when a U.S. president is elected. But that went down the drain with the last potus who positioned himself as a lover of authoritarian dictatorships and a hater of foreign policy cooperation with long standing and natural closest friends as in western Europe. Given that he could soon take power again even by coup, of course the world is correct to back away from trust of the U.S. The U.S. is indeed a backsliding democracy at real risk of permanently losing it entirely. But Thailand already slid. Thus no invite.

There is that dark history sure especially related to the cold war, anti communism. But I'm not seeing that recently. Like when a Latin American country votes in a leftist populist the U.S isn't in general pushing coups. You could mention Venezuela but they're not a democracy.

The U.S. has very good relations with countries that didn't get invited to a democracy conference. Such as Thailand and Singapore. Being a democracy is not necessary for there to be good relations.

So you want the US to lie about the government here? Do you think Thai people are all stupid? While I agree that the U.S. has perception problems as you describe and they are the result of own goals like the previous illiberal isolationist pro authoritarian president but lying won't help repair damage.

They can invite Cloud Cuckooland.

Sure thing. Whether a country is a democracy or not is definitely all politics. Obviously there is no such thing as a perfect democracy. The host country the U.S.A. is certainly not that and indeed is in danger of falling off the cliff in that regard. But there are levels. For example Russia can't be considered a democracy just because they hold elections.

Extremely unlikely.

No surprise. Would they even want to come to such a conference?

Yes it's very annoying. I did a chat with Lazada and asked if they could give me a credit voucher for the refund. I think they might have asked for my passport pic to verify that though. Not sure if they would do that every time. So they did give me the voucher credit. But be careful, it's one time use only. So if you're buying a 1000 baht item and your voucher is 2000 if you use the voucher, you just spent 2000.

Meaning PIH and BPH are private FOR PROFIT hospitals and they ain't just whistling Dixie about that.

Correct but my impression is that position themselves as somewhat less expensive then BPH.

Well it shows preserving democracy is a constant struggle and once lost very difficult to restore.

Obviously it would have been absurd to invite Thailand. But inviting the nation of Taiwan is going to get Xi's panda panties in a twist. Good on Biden.

That's usually good advice. If he buys something he likes and never sells and lives here for many decades, then it would work out financially. But otherwise, as a general rule, buying property here is very risky because just because you own it, doesn't mean you always be allowed to live in it.

I think it's more than enough to afford to live a very solid Thai middle class level life in Thailand without working. Obviously the money would need to be invested semi-ambitiously. I retired here at age 48 with MUCH less than that, did buy a condo for cash of course, and because of investments my net worth is almost double from then. The OP can buy an ELITE CARD. He should get the best health insurance that he can with a view towards future onerous immigration changes. I would argue his money is safer with passive investments than to get involved starting a business here but if he still WANTS to work, that's different. If he wants to live a super decadent lifestyle like a luxury condo in the best Bangkok locations, five star restaurants daily, luxury cars, frequent international travel, constant mongering, etc. then of course 20 M wouldn't be nearly enough!