TallGuyJohninBKK

I saw a bit of that on the way out of LAX last time...but not in the threatening way you describe above... After completing airline counter check-in but before getting to the TSA passenger and luggage screening area, they were indeed having all passengers walk thru an inbetween area where... Yes.... everyone was asked to walk in twos just once down a rectangular room area and there were a couple of handlers with dogs walking back and forth... but not coming especially close to the passengers with the dogs, and neither the handlers nor the dogs were acting in any way threatening or menacing.... Whenever I see those German shepherds or similar on patrol at the airports, I'm always inclined to want to stop and pet them... But, given their duty and role, I always manage to resist that urge.... Though to be fair, I am a dog person...

On my trip back to LAX in May, there were no passport scanning machines of any kind in the international arrivals hall there, AFAICT and I did ask... But when I finally got up to the Customs and Border Patrol desks, the officers there were holding little tethered cameras and taking everyone's photo once you walked up. Then on the way back, at the boarding gate for my return flight, the boarding gates had incorporated automatic face scanners... So instead of handing your boarding pass to an airline agent to scan and check, the machine just scanned my face as I walked up, and then somehow beeped me thru.

Two separate appointments for different services for the same person via the Immigration online system for the same day? My comment on that above was not based on my personal experience with their system, but rather, what I'm pretty sure has been reported here in the past....

One limitation of the appointments system at BKK CW as best as I understand it is the following -- which bears on people who commonly are applying for BOTH the new extension AND the new reentry permit on the same day. As best as I understand it, their online appointments system will only allow a person to book ONE appointment for a given day... So AFAIK, if you choose to book a retirement extension appointment for tomorrow, you can NOT book a separate reentry permit appointment for the same day... So, unless I'm missing something, that kinda means you have to choose which of the two services is likely to be the most in need of having a pre-booked appointment.... And lately, I'd say that definitely and to much surprise would be the re-entry permit process.

Indeed!

Thanks for your very detailed report and a good / accurate listing of the copies / documents that BKK CW typically requires. On the subject of your reentry permit processing (describing many people waiting and frustrated, but you getting thru quickly, perhaps because of age): When I was last there back in August and went to apply for my reentry permit as a guy in his 60s, I ended up having to wait FIVE hours from the 10 a.m. time I started the process (after getting my retirement extension earlier) until about 3 p.m. in the afternoon, including their one hour closure for lunch break. IMHO, there's a good reason the people waiting in the reentry permit section likely were "quite frustrated." It never used to be like that in prior years at BKK CW regarding the reentry permits section, not at least in my memory. Something has changed, dunno if they reduced staff or got a new boss who implemented new procedures or what.... But in the past, it used to be just the opposite.... There sometimes would be long waits in the Retirement extension section, both to first be seen and then thereafter to finally get your stamped passport back. And the re-entry permit process, especially during the pandemic years, was really quick to the point that they even dropped their queue tickets system there for a while, and you could just walk up and hand in your paperwork on the fly.

I flew back to LAX earlier this year for the first time in several years.... The last time I was there back in 2019, they had just installed a bunch of automated passport reading terminals for processing arriving international passengers, and I found those worked OK... Flash forward to my trip earlier this year... Arrived LAX and looking around, all the machines are GONE, and the passenger queue waiting to be checked at the Border Patrol counters, even for U.S. citizens, is a mile long.... Asked one of the staff nearby what happened to the former machines, and was told they were removed due to being deemed COVID risks!!! Really.....no joke.

I like the "deposit 20K in the slot" option better! Or, the IOs are all on lunch break or napping at the time, and the baddie just hops over the gate.... Thai style!

One thing I haven't seen explained here is what happens with the new automated exit control machines if they actually identify a "baddie" trying to leave the country??? Presumably the gate won't open to let the person proceed... But then what: --the floor below opens to a downward chute that deposits the person into the airport's Immigration lower level detention facilities.... --Or, a nearby team of Thai SWAT officers armed with sniper rifles rush into action to subdue the "baddie". --Or, the machine has a money slot to insert 20 1,000 baht bills, in which case, the "baddie" is allowed to go on their way!!!

The New Jersey policy included provisions for medical and religious exemptions -- though the granting of such exemptions was discretionary. COVID Vaccine Requirement for NJ Healthcare Workers "Fill out an exemption form if you do not want to get vaccinated. Exemptions may be granted for medical, religious and deeply held personal belief reasons." https://www.hpae.org/2021/08/covid-vaccine-requirement-for-nj-healthcare-workers/

One of the last times this kind of case was before the Supreme Court last year, from the various news reports, the result was a mixed decision -- a ruling striking down a federal vaccine mandate in the private sector, but upholding one for federally funded health facilities. A Look at the Supreme Court Ruling on Vaccination Mandates January 20, 2022 "The Supreme Court on Thursday struck down a Biden administration mandate that large businesses require their employees to either be vaccinated or tested once a week for the coronavirus. In a 6-3 order, the justices blocked an Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) emergency rule for businesses with more than 100 employees — one that would have impacted more than 80 million workers. The justices did, however, allow a vaccination mandate by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services for health-care workers at some 76,000 federally funded facilities to stand. (more) https://law.stanford.edu/2022/01/20/a-look-at-the-supreme-court-ruling-on-vaccination-mandates/ Supreme Court blocks Biden Covid vaccine mandate for businesses, allows health-care worker rule "The Supreme Court on Thursday blocked the Biden administration from enforcing its sweeping vaccine-or-test requirements for large private companies. But the conservative-majority court allowed a vaccine mandate to stand for medical facilities that take Medicare or Medicaid payments. The OSHA mandate required that workers at businesses with 100 or more employees get vaccinated or submit a negative Covid test weekly to enter the workplace." https://www.cnbc.com/2022/01/13/supreme-court-ruling-biden-covid-vaccine-mandates.html From what I'm reading, it seems like there's also a lot of other vaccine mandate cases / challenges still working their way through the various federal district and courts of appeal.

Some added background on the case's history in the lower courts: "U.S. District Court Judge Georgette Castner denied the preliminary injunction request on June 7, 2022, saying the plaintiffs had “failed to demonstrate likelihood of success on the merits and irreparable injury…” The judge said the state had a rational interest in protecting the health and safety of vulnerable patients and maintaining a safe environment for workers and the operation of healthcare services. The plaintiffs later appealed the federal judge’s decision to the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which ruled the lawsuit moot because by that time the governor’s vaccine mandate had been rescinded due to the waning of the pandemic and COVID-19 transmission rates." https://njbia.org/us-supreme-court-declines-to-hear-nj-covid-19-vaccine-case/

"The U.S. Supreme Court rejected to hear an appeal relating to COVID-19 vaccine requirements in the workplace, dealing a blow to vaccine skeptics across the nation. On Tuesday morning, the Supreme Court orders list showed that it was denying to hear any further arguments in the case Katie Sczesny, et al. v. Murphy, Gov. of New Jersey, et al. The case focused on four New Jersey nurses who filed a lawsuit against New Jersey's [now already rescinded] COVID-19 vaccine requirements in the workplace, citing religious freedom and health concerns. The Supreme Court did not provide any further explanation for its refusal to hear the case, but the decision allows a ruling in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit to stand. The lower court ruled that the vaccine mandate challenged by the nurses did not violate their Constitutional freedoms..." (more) https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/other/supreme-court-delivers-blow-to-vaccine-skeptics/ar-AA1jUCdl As stated in the above report, because the Supreme Court did not explain why it decided against taking up the case, there's apparently no way of knowing whether their decision was an endorsement of the prior lower court rulings upholding New Jersey's COVID vaccination policy, or perhaps instead a recognition that the issue was by now moot because New Jersey rescinded the challenged policy earlier this year. Governor Murphy Signs Executive Order Lifting COVID-19 Vaccination Requirement for Employees in Health Care Settings 06/12/2023 Order Follows Last Week’s Announcement by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Rescinding the Federal Vaccination Requirement TRENTON – Following recent changes to federal requirements regarding COVID-19 vaccines, Governor Phil Murphy today signed Executive Order (EO) No. 332 to lift the COVID-19 vaccination requirements for health care settings in New Jersey. An executive order signed on April 3, 2023 previously lifted the requirement for employees in health care settings who were not up to date on their COVID-19 vaccinations to undergo routine testing, while also lifting both the COVID-19 vaccination and testing requirements for workers in congregate settings. Today’s EO lifts the remaining requirement that health care settings maintain a policy requiring their workers to be up to date on their COVID-19 vaccinations. (more) https://www.nj.gov/governor/news/news/562023/20230612a.shtml

Thailand MoPH Weekly COVID report for Nov. 5- 11: --287 new COVID hospitalizations, down 17 from the prior week --1 new COVID death, unchanged from the prior week --67 COVID patients hospitalized in serious condition --30 COVID patients hospitalized requiring intubation to breathe. https://ddc.moph.go.th/covid19-dashboard/?dashboard=main

And more from Israel: Bivalent mRNA booster effective, ‘essential’ for older adults April 19, 2023 Key takeaways: Bivalent mRNA booster vaccine efficacy for preventing hospitalization was 72%. Bivalent mRNA booster vaccine efficacy for preventing mortality was 68%. "Bivalent messenger RNA booster vaccinations were effective for preventing COVID-19 hospitalizations and deaths in older adults, according to data presented at the European Congress of Clinical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases. ... To assess the effectiveness of a bivalent mRNA vaccine booster dose to reduce COVID-19 hospitalizations and deaths, Arbel and colleagues conducted a retrospective, population-based, cohort study in Israel between Sept. 27, 2022, and Jan. 25, 2023." (more) https://www.healio.com/news/infectious-disease/20230419/bivalent-mrna-booster-effective-essential-for-older-adults

COVID vaccines repeatedly have been shown to reduce the risks of being infected by COVID and spreading it to others, especially in the months immediately post vaccination. And equally or more importantly, also have been shown to substantially reduce the risks of serious illness, hospitalization and death from COVID among those who have been fully vaccinated (primary series plus a booster). Just because something doesn't provide 100% protection, doesn't erase the value of getting 20, 30, 50, 70 etc percent protection (reduced likelihood) of various bad outcomes. Bottom line overall -- you're somewhat less likely to catch COVID, and a whole lot less likely to get seriously ill or die from it. COVID vaccine-boosted nursing home residents at 23% to 33% lower risk of infection "A study today in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report finds that US nursing home residents who weren't up to date on recommended COVID-19 vaccines were at a 30% to 50% higher risk for infection than those who were current—or a 23% to 33% lower risk for vaccinated residents." https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/covid-19/covid-vaccine-boosted-nursing-home-residents-23-33-lower-risk-infection AND, regarding protection against severe outcomes (hospitalization or death): Effectiveness of mRNA COVID-19 vaccine booster doses against Omicron severe outcomes 07 March 2023 "Among community-dwelling adults aged ≥50 years in Ontario, VE against Omicron-associated severe outcomes increased with booster doses of monovalent mRNA COVID-19 vaccines, but protection waned over time after each dose. Third doses continued to provide strong protection (85–87%) against severe outcomes among subjects aged 50–69 years even 8 months after vaccination, but lower protection (76–79%) among those aged ≥70 years. Fourth doses restored waning of protection from third doses and continued to provide strong protection (86–89%) 4 months after vaccination for all age groups. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-023-36566-1

And more on this from Canada: Ontario requires masking for long-term care home staff amid rise in COVID-19 outbreaks Nov 10, 2023 "Masking is now required for staff in long term care homes across Ontario amid a recent rise in COVID-19 outbreaks, cases and resident hospitalizations, the provincial government says. A Nov. 2 memo from the Ministry of Long-Term Care to LTC licensees says the requirement is based on advice from Dr. Kieran Moore, chief medical officer of health. Homes were expected to implement the requirement no later than Nov. 7, it says. ... There have been 5,459 COVID-19 cases among long-term care residents, with 181 people hospitalized from Aug. 27, 2023 to Oct. 28, Public Health Ontario says in a Nov. 7 surveillance report. A total of 106 people have died." (more) https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/ontario-masking-requirement-staff-long-term-care-homes-1.7026056

November 10, 2023 With the country well into flu season, the majority of nursing home workers remain unvaccinated for the flu as well as Covid-19. ... That’s only 22.9% of health care workers that received Covid shots this year, and 47.1% for flu shots based on data collected on more than 2 million staff members across nearly 14,000 nursing homes. Health care workers in hospitals had better flu vaccination rates than those in nursing homes at 81%, the report found, but up-to-date Covid was lower at 17.2%. (more) https://skillednursingnews.com/2023/11/majority-of-nursing-home-workers-behind-on-flu-covid-vaccinations/ Influenza and Up-to-Date COVID-19 Vaccination Coverage Among Health Care Personnel — National Healthcare Safety Network, United States, 2022–23 Influenza Season "CDC and the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices recommend that health care personnel (HCP) receive an annual influenza vaccine and stay up to date with recommended COVID-19 vaccination. ... During January–June 2023, NHSN defined up-to-date COVID-19 vaccination as receipt of a bivalent COVID-19 mRNA vaccine dose or completion of a primary series within the preceding 2 months." ... Vaccination of health care personnel (HCP) is a critical strategy to minimize transmission of infection in health care settings (1,2). HCP are at high risk for work-related exposure to viruses such as influenza and SARS-CoV-2 but are less likely to transmit these infections when they are vaccinated." https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/72/wr/mm7245a5.htm

November 09, 2023 "Good news for people struggling with sensory problems after a bout of COVID-19. Although mild cases of the disease often impair the ability to taste and smell, and the problem can drag on for months, a new study from Italy shows that most people return to their senses, as it were, within 3 years. "In the vast majority of cases, the loss of the sense of smell is not irreversible," said Paolo Boscolo-Rizzo, MD, a professor of medicine, surgery, and health sciences at the University of Trieste, and a co-author of the study, published as a research letter today in JAMA Otolaryngology–Head & Neck Surgery. ... A study this past June showed a strong correlation between severity of COVID-19 symptoms and impaired sense of taste and smell, and estimated that millions of Americans maintained altered senses." (more) https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/998297?form=fpf https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamaotolaryngology/article-abstract/2811861

... It may have seemed like an ideal getaway for Florida businessman Patrick Parker Walsh. Instead, he’s serving five and half years in federal prison for stealing nearly $8 million in federal COVID-19 relief funds that he used, in part, to buy Sweetheart Island. While Walsh’s private island ranks among the more unusual purchases by pandemic fraudsters, his crime was not unique. He is one of thousands of thieves who perpetrated the greatest grift in U.S. history. They potentially plundered more than $280 billion in federal COVID-19 aid; another $123 billion was wasted or misspent. The loss represents close to 10% of the $4.3 trillion the U.S. government has disbursed to mitigate the economic devastation wrought by the COVID-19 pandemic, according to an analysis by The Associated Press. (more) https://apnews.com/article/pandemic-fraud-grift-millions-private-island-a005ecfc3226f4ea501eb952c8ec1a8f

Ya, but look on the bright side... At least he wasn't nabbed by the police for doing AI photo mockups of monks in a way that brings discredit on their....uhhh....whatever it's called.

Ohhh... the irony..... :-)

As a veteran of sinus issues and sinus rinsing long before COVID came along, one caution about this: At least when it comes to the sinus rinsing aspect of this, sinus doctors don't want people to be using regular table salt because it's iodized, meaning it has iodine added. For sinus rinsing, they want people to be using NON-iodized salt... which often can be sea salt. And also for sinus rinsing, NOT tap water or distilled water, but preferably purified or boiled and then cooled water. Or commercially sold saline solution bottled products.

What VAERS Can and Can’t Do, and How Anti-Vaccination Groups Habitually Misuse Its Data June 6, 2023 ... "As early as 1997, Ellenberg explained in a journal article that the way VAERS is designed, “sensitivity takes precedence over specificity; reporting of all serious events following vaccination is encouraged, inevitably resulting in large numbers of reports that do not represent vaccine-induced problems.” ... How are regulators so confident that the increased reporting in VAERS isn’t a safety concern? Because all of the data — including from VAERS, but also from all the other systems — consistently show that the COVID-19 vaccines have a good safety record. “It’s data from multiple systems in the United States and data from other systems in other countries in Europe and in Canada and Israel, and really all over the globe,” Shimabukuro said." https://www.factcheck.org/2023/06/scicheck-what-vaers-can-and-cant-do-and-how-anti-vaccination-groups-habitually-misuse-its-data/

There's some reasons in particular why the VAERS system may be being overwhelmed with dubious reports, making it more difficult for the CDC and FDA to evaluate legitimate ones -- per Johns Hopkins: The public database of reported post-vaccination health issues is often misused to sow misinformation ... "Since the emergence of COVID-19 vaccines, however, the database has garnered more dubious notoriety. Anti-vaccination fringe groups have attempted to spin false stories using VAERS data, adding to misinformation about the safety of COVID-19 vaccinations. ... That means events that happen even years later and have no obvious connection to a vaccine, such as feelings of anger, end up reported in the system, says Talaat. ... “The COVID vaccine especially is where VAERS has gotten so misused,” Talaat says. “Eighty percent of people in this country have gotten at least one dose. Well, a lot of things have happened to 80% of people in the last two years that are unrelated to the vaccine.” (more) https://publichealth.jhu.edu/2022/what-vaers-is-and-isnt