Jingthing

No.

No! Part A will be free for most. Its nuts not join A at 65 if free. I was signed up automatically for A as an open expat. For B the enrollment organization which happens to be social.security same as A wants expats to know the rules. Expats not included in benefits but big issues if you move back. Typical advice is if you're certain you won't move back then don't take B. But as we all know plans change.

Looking forward to this one when available. Meet the new boss, same as the old boss?

I'm not sure Capital One is fully expat friendly. My impression is that many people still fake US residency with them but they are not aggressive with smoking out expats. People like them because of their favorable international ATM policies. I think they recently added 2FA where you must have a US based mobile account in your name and voip and google voice not OK.

It's already mainstream medical advice that certain people such as the immune compromised should get a second booster. There is also a train of thought that the term booster is a misnomer and that only people with the third shot are fully vaccinated. The truth is this is messy and researchers continue to learn more over time so it is arguably folly to say never about anything.

Well everyone is entitled to an opinion, right?

Putting this in historical context.

The sides are not equivalent.

Yes that sort of tactic is very common. Faking US residence.

The premise of this topic is very deceptive. The investment is in getting unbanked people banked.

I can't take anyone seriously that doesn't get the reality that the U.S. is experiencing historically severe problems. That's real. To wit: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-02-15/how-much-are-home-rents-rising-prices-surge-by-record-in-hot-us-housing-market?srnd=wealth&sref=9YK1BnKg https://variety.com/2022/film/features/ken-burns-documentaries-benjamin-franklin-donald-trump-pbs-1235182021/?utm_source=digg Is it any wonder that for many or even most American expats in the world, repatriation is a LAST RESORT?

Hmmm. Do you happen to have a very large account with them?

Look at the list of qualifying organizations at SDFCU.

They are a good organization to support but you can get entry into SDFCU much cheaper. I used a US consumer organization. 5 or 10 bucks.

Yes.

The question is clear. It may be interesting to know the percentage of boosted expats compared to the percentage of boosted Thais and other regions / countries. I recently read the boosted rates in Europe are about 50 percent and in the US 27 percent. So how do the expats here size up?

Today I had a food delivery driver. Without going into detail, she was wildly incompetent, and when I eventually got my food (her fault) it was well cold. But then I saw her and talked to her for a moment. I realized she was very much not OK. Perhaps mentally limited or however people say that these days. So instead of giving her a piece of my mind, giving her a one star rating, complaining about her to the company, I just shut my pie hole. But I did NOT tip her as I generally do for even basically OK service. So I'm definitely no saint. Thinking about this afterwards, I guess I didn't want to encourage her to do a job she clearly can't do. But perhaps that was her only option, so then that makes me an unfeeling A-hole. How do you respond to pitiful people that haven't done the job for you? This isn't necessarily about food delivery service but it can be. Pick the choice close to your own truth about how you think you would respond in a similar situation.

This NOT a POLITICAL discussion topic. This is NOT the place to express pro Russian or pro Ukraine / NATO / Western feelings. This is NOT the place to make predictions about what will happen there, as in war or no war. etc. The idea of this topic is that a war in Ukraine would represent the most significant war in Europe since WW2. So what are your concerns/predictions about the impact on your life here as expats in Thailand (if any) IF this happens?

Restaurants demanding a recent Covid antigen test that is. Have you heard the local expat radio ad saying if they don't ask, you walk? In general I'm in favor of Covid mitigation measures but this I find ridiculous and the ad seriously grating and goody two shoes. What do you think? On a similar note a local restaurant is running an ad claiming they are Covid free. They can't possibly know that. https://www.pattayamail.com/latestnews/news/pattaya-restaurants-ignoring-health-tests-on-entry-388546 Pattaya “restaurants” ignoring health tests on entry BY BARRY KENYON Thai law is explicit. When you enter an eatery, whether one serving hearty meals or a booze bar offering stale nuts, you should prove you have had an antigen test within the last 72 hours or submit to one at the entrance administered by staff. In the optimistic words of the government-friendly Pattaya radio ad, “If they don’t ask, you walk.”

I just "discovered" it yesterday. I love it. Wordle: What is it, and how do you play? : NPR

I'm all for representation of LGBTQ people in all kinds of entertainment media, but when I heard the news of bisexual Superman, it occurred to me that this isn't good for the gays. Superman Bisexual: Jon Kent Comes Out - Variety Superman is an international icon. Why is he bisexual, and not just gay? If you're going to go there, why the ambiguity? Sure bisexuals exist but in homophobic societies declaring yourself as bi is a transparent hedge. I remember as a kid when Elton John came out as bi and it was a very big deal, yeah sure, he's bi, that's the ticket. What about the international backlash? It's already started in anti-gay / anti western propaganda media coming from Russia, which represents a lot of other countries that are going backwards with LGBTQ civil rights issues. Superman as bisexual is surely good for getting free publicity, but is it really good for actual LGBTQ people in most of the world? I think it's the opposite. So thanks but no thanks.

Many have heard of the various recent extreme policy changes in Xi's China, such as a crackdown on tutoring services impacting countless western English teachers. So now it's effeminate men in media. China bans 'sissy men' from TV in new crackdown - Los Angeles Times (latimes.com) No, I'm not saying that all or most effeminate men are gay or not, but this new policy is clearly extremely homophobic. China is the inevitable top power in the world. Will this kind of thing spread to other countries under China's influence? (Such as Thailand.)

I assume most Americans have been following this. Massive price spikes in real estate in the U.S. for pretty much any place that you might want to live. If you already own something even marginally decent there, you're probably happy about an unexpected windfall. But what if you don't? For most expats, the first backup is repatriation. No visa needed. But some kind of housing is needed! To underline this situation, here's the flip side of this historic price spike: Real estate investors from across the U.S. are buying homes in Peoria, Ill., sight unseen - Washington Post

Why did it take so long for this topic to happen? Can be weird and wonderful, guilty pleasures, or serious stuff too. To tell us, I suggest that you include a sample video of the channel instead of linking to the channel's summary page. More fun, no?

Look I fully realize I'm coming from Old Fogeylandia with this and that many people have made boatloads of "money" with bitcoin and treat it almost as a religion. But looking at history, how can this NOT end badly? Or maybe history is passe, huh?