TallGuyJohninBKK

Glad to see that the U.S. is so much a safer place because it's literally flooded with guns... 😞

It's telling that the same member supporting John Campbell as a legitimate source of COVID info is also giving his own unsupported summary of the research cited in the OP here.... Nowhere in the OP cited research does the study use the thread's headline language of "rewiring the immune system". It's also a non-peer reviewed study, and even more telling, try finding any credible news report on its findings, if it's supposedly some kind of news-worthy research. Here's the actual conclusion of the OP's cited study, which bears little to no resemblance to the OP's claims about it: "Conclusion Our results imply a major role for both IL-4/IL-13 as well as TNF in IgG4 class switching. These novel findings advance our understanding of IgG4 class switch dynamics, and may benefit future mRNA vaccine strategies, humoral tolerance induction, as well as treatment of IgG4 pathologies." I don't hear any COVID vaccine alarm bells going off there. And as for what to make of Campbell, this summary puts it in succinct form: "Regarded as an evidence-based source of information about COVID-19 in 2020, Campbell—who has accrued nearly three million followers on YouTube to date—has since repeatedly published YouTube videos containing false or misleading claims about COVID-19 and COVID-19 vaccines. A list of related reviews published by Health Feedback can be found here." https://healthfeedback.org/claimreview/analysis-adverse-event-variation-pfizer-covid-19-vaccine-batches-doesnt-indicate-safety-problems-contrary-john-campbell/ And more here: https://www.factcheck.org/person/john-campbell/ Misinformation peddling anti-vaxers of a feather flock together.

Re the OP's cited study from the Netherlands: COVID in Europe: Vaccine booster campaigns start as cases rise COVID-19 cases and hospitalisations are rising in Europe. Here’s a look at some of the plans for vaccination across the continent. Updated 10/10/2023 ... It comes as cases are rising in more than half of European countries, according to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), with increases in hospitalisations, ICU admissions, and deaths in some countries, though this remains limited. ... European countries recommend that vulnerable individuals at risk of developing severe COVID-19 get a booster shot, with some governments bringing up their winter vaccination campaigns amid rising cases towards the end of the summer season. ... The Netherlands has also started re-vaccinating at-risk groups against COVID-19. People who would like to get a vaccine because they live with people who are at risk for more severe forms of the disease may also receive one." (more) https://www.euronews.com/next/2023/10/03/covid-in-europe-vaccine-booster-campaigns-start-as-cases-rise

And it turns out, the second listed author of the above paper, Jessica Rose, also has quite a history of involvement in peddling COVID vaccine misinformation: Fact Check-VAERS data does not suggest COVID-19 vaccines killed 150,000 people, as analysis claims "The website credits the findings to Jessica Rose, who was a postdoctoral researcher in biology at the Israel Institute of Technology from 2016-20, according to her resume posted online (here). ... The blog article cites a paper titled: “Estimating the number of COVID vaccine deaths in America” (here), which Rose co-authored alongside Mathew Crawford, a statistician (here). Both appear to be members of a group questioning COVID-19 vaccines." ... VERDICT False. COVID-19 vaccines are safe and there is no evidence to suggest they have caused more than 150,000 deaths. The claim is based on misinterpreted data. https://www.reuters.com/article/factcheck-coronavirus-usa/fact-check-vaers-data-does-not-suggest-covid-19-vaccines-killed-150000-people-as-analysis-claims-idUSL1N2R00KP AND As 2021 shambles to a close, the misuse of VAERS by antivaxxers continues apace "So I thought I should write about Jessica Rose now, as she appears in an article from Sunday titled “What the VAERS Data Tell Us About COVID Jab Safety“. ... "this interview with Jessica Rose illustrates the various techniques used by antivaxxers like Mercola (and Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., who has had a regular weekly “update” of VAERS reporting for several months now) and thus is worth writing about again, given that Jessica Rose appears to be a rising star in the antivaccine movement and a veritable font of antivaccine disinformation..." https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/as-2021-shambles-to-a-close-the-misuse-of-vaers-by-antivaxxers-continues-apace/

Not surprisingly, a non-peer reviewed paper published by an obscure researcher who's affiliated with a notorious Canadian anti-vaxer group previously cited for spreading COVID vaccine misinformation. A Canadian academic named David Speicher, with no meaningful record of published, peer-reviewed COVID vaccine research, is listed as the primary author. So what is David Speicher's affiliation with this Canadian anti-vax group? https://www.canadiancovidcarealliance.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/23MY3_Case-against-C19-vaccine-requirements.pdf So Speicher is affiliated with the Canadian Covid Care Alliance, the Canadian branch of a series of country-based anti-vax activist entities with documented histories of peddling COVID vaccine misinformation. Such as: Video repeats false claims about safety of Pfizer's Covid-19 vaccine "A video produced by a group claiming to represent Canadian doctors and health care professionals alleges that the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine is dangerous. But the video repeats several previously debunked assertions about the safety of the shot, experts say the benefits outweigh the risks of rare side effects... "The Pfizer Inoculations For COVID-19 - More Harm Than Good," says the title of a video released by the Canadian Covid Care Alliance (CCCA). https://factcheck.afp.com/http%3A%2F%2Fdoc.afp.com%2F9VJ3DA-1 and more.... "The Canadian Covid Care Alliance presentation also makes a range of assertions based on Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine clinical trial report (here), including that the vaccinated group had “an increase in illness and deaths”. However, the “illness” detailed includes all adverse events including local reactions such as arm pain, and systemic events such as fatigue. Few participants had serious adverse events or adverse events that led to withdrawal from the trial, the study says." https://www.reuters.com/article/factcheck-coronavirus-vaccines/fact-check-covid-19-vaccines-considered-safe-for-children-idUSL1N2TM0QL And the Canadian group is affiliated with a notorious U.S. anti-vax misinformation group called the Front Line COVID-19 Critical Care Alliance. https://covid19criticalcare.com/about-the-flccc/ And their record: Front Line Covid-19 Critical Care Alliance (FLCCC) PSEUDOSCIENCE "Overall, we rate the Front Line Covid-19 Critical Care Alliance as a strong pseudoscience website based on the promotion of unproven alternative medicines that falsely mislead people to reject the Covid-19 vaccine and several failed fact checks." https://mediabiasfactcheck.com/front-line-covid-19-critical-care-alliance-flccc-bias/ Add up all of the above, and you most likely get a bunch of anti-vax activist rubbish.

Anybody with any recent updates on their actual 90-day report processing times for online submissions to BKK CW.... I submitted my latest one today online on the first available day for online filing given my upcoming due date. Now it's just the eternal question of how long I'm gonna have to wait before I receive their reply.... 😞

I tend to ignore the stations that have no current information, and save and bookmark the stations in areas of interest to me that do have comprehensive, up-to-date readings. The chart at the very top of each page tells the viewer the recency of the data:

The aqicn.org website aggregates air quality reading from numerous sources, both government and private. On any given page/source of theirs, if you scroll down a bit, you'll find a note of who/what is responsible for that particular sensor... such as the following for the main Bangkok one: "Air Quality Data provided by the Division of Air Quality Data, Air Quality and Noise Management Bureau, Pollution Control Department. (aqmthai.com) " https://aqicn.org/city/bangkok/ And if you scroll down a bit further than that, you'll see a section of historical readings by year from that particular monitoring station. If the entries are blank or missing, you'll know that station is (or isn't) recording comprehensive data.

In short, there have been quite a few studies over the years that have looked at the composition (and thus identified sources) of air pollution in Thailand and in Bangkok, in particular... The findings have been quite varied leading to some predictable confusion and variation in conclusions, but a lot of that is related to at what times of the year any particular sampling is done (wet vs. dry season). This past graphic from The Nation gives a pretty good and straightforward summary of what the Thai Pollution Control Department's own past research has shown, as follows: Predictably, the PCD found that during the wet/rainy seasons when agricultural burning isn't occurring so much, diesel vehicle emissions slightly exceed biomass burning as the largest single air pollution source in Bangkok, whereas during the dry (worst pollution) season when widespread agricultural burning occurs nationwide, biomass burning significantly exceeds vehicles emissions as the largest source.

Ahh...the infamous source... "I read somewhere" so often used here. Industrial pollution and vehicle pollution are definitely part of the picture when it comes to smog in BKK.... But for the fall to spring period when the pollution levels are the highest in BKK and elsewhere around the country, it's the added seasonal impact of agricultural burning -- both in Thailand and in adjoining countries -- that put things over the top and into seriously unhealthy conditions.

So she's hanging out with Russian expats here... That shouldn't be much of a surprise!

In Windows 11, go into the main Settings menu, then Apps, then Default Apps... In that last screen is the ability to tell Windows what specific programs the user wants to use by default for all kinds of different purposes. And once a default app/program is selected there, opening any associated file types in the future will automatically launch that default program. So you can always get exactly the browser you want, exactly the email program you want, exactly the photo editor-viewer you want, etc etc.

I think living abroad contentedly or even happily takes a certain disposition and mindset -- including the willingness to break out of one's traditional routines and have new experiences, being able to adapt to changed environments and customs, and a willingness to interact with others who have different backgrounds from yourself. I'd never call people who make a different choice from the one I've made to live abroad as "stupid." But every time we make a choice to do something or not do something, there are consequences that may be good or bad in varying degrees. I think too many would-be western retirees never even consider or weigh the pros and cons of living abroad. It's an option that at least deserves informed consideration.

It's not like air pollution is constrained by urban vs rural or locations close to vs. far from roads. The pollution, once in the air, drifts wherever the prevailing winds take it, which can include distances of hundreds of kilometers.

Sakon Nakhon gets its share of bad air pollution days through the year.... This chart below is just a partial recap of earlier in 2023 (not sure why some periods are missing data), but it clearly shows a lot of bad/red pollution days earlier in the spring. https://aqicn.org/station/@375028

It's not "unseasonal" for Bangkok... If you look back at the air pollution records for Bangkok dating back to 2020, for example, you'll see that the bad air days really begin to increase typically during the month of October, and then get worse from there on... So we're actually right on schedule.

I wonder what division of the Thai police that many here are familiar with might be behind that one? 🙂

"Laos has had to make compromises, including on its own sovereignty, to appease Beijing and seek some financial forbearance, allowing Chinese security agents and police to operate in the country as Beijing extends its repression beyond its borders, according to human rights groups and Lao activists. The Laotian electrical grid is now partly controlled by China, in what analysts believe is a trade-off in lieu of debt repayments. A Chinese company provides security for the new train line." https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/interactive/2023/laos-debt-china-belt-road/

Maybe for China, but not so much for Laos: Laos debt at 'critical level' with China payments still opaque Economists say ASEAN nation obscuring true scale of crisis September 22, 2023 "Laos' public and publicly guaranteed debt stands at 123% of GDP as of 2023, according to the International Monetary Fund. More than half is owed to China, which has funded several large infrastructure projects in the country in recent years, a situation some economists have called "debt-trap diplomacy": As Laos struggles to pay, Chinese debt deferment is conducted with no transparency, obscuring the true scale of the crisis and raising fears around Beijing's growing sway over the country." https://asia.nikkei.com/Economy/Laos-debt-at-critical-level-with-China-payments-still-opaque China’s promise of prosperity brought Laos debt — and distress "Laos is also an economy in distress. Inflation rose to more than 41 percent at its peak this spring. The Laotian kip has depreciated more than 43 percent against the U.S. dollar. In a country where virtually everything is imported, the statistics translate into sacrifice: farmers who can no longer afford fertilizer, children who have dropped out of school to work and families cutting back on health care." https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/interactive/2023/laos-debt-china-belt-road/

Trying to decipher your comment above: Are you asking whether someone who's made a recent arrival into Thailand on a reentry permit and then soon after goes to BKK CW for their annual retirement extension of stay would NOT then be asked to show their most recent TM47 slip under those circumstances? If that's your underlying question, personally, I don't know the answer to that one...

Re phenylephrine: Drug retailers, makers face mounting litigation over decongestant products "CVS’s decision to pull oral medications that contain the controversial decongestant phenylephrine comes as it and several other leading OTC drugmakers and retailers face a growing number of lawsuits related to the drug’s effectiveness. ... Last month, two consumers in California filed a lawsuit in the US District Court in Sacramento against makers and retailers of phenylephrine medications alleging that the companies made millions selling products that they knew didn’t work. The plaintiffs, who are asking the court to certify their case as a class-action suit, are seeking compensation for consumers in California and throughout the US, according to The Mercury News." (more) https://seekingalpha.com/news/4022283-drug-retailers-makers-face-mounting-litigation-over-decongestant-products

Rain is only a temporary remedy for PM2.5 pollution. Here's Bangkok today: http://aqicn.org/station/@419425

Perhaps that was the point at the time....

Really... dunno what would make anyone think that Trump would have any interest in Russian women.... After all..... --Melania Trump grew up in Slovenia (then part of Yugoslavia) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melania_Trump --Ivana Marie Trump Citizenship - Czechoslovakia Czech Republic (from 1993) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ivana_Trump Seems very improbable to me... even though he does seem to have a broader Eastern European thing going... ????

Enquiring minds certainly have long wondered... what exactly might Putin have on Trump... to make the latter his fawning lackey. ‘I like that he said that’: Trump revels in praise from Putin 09/17/2023 "Trump drew criticism for sometimes siding with Putin during his presidency. At a summit in Helsinki in 2018, Trump said he believed Putin over U.S. intelligence agencies when he [Putin] said Russia had not meddled in American elections. “President Putin says it’s not Russia. I don’t see any reason why it would be,” he [Trump] said." https://www.politico.com/news/2023/09/17/donald-trump-vladimir-putin-praise-00116414