TallGuyJohninBKK

Wow! That's a big and important step...assuming they mean it. And I hope it HURTS those involved right where it would hurt the most, in their bank accounts.

The "most" reference in the CDC policy means that about 30% of the U.S. still lives in areas where COVID cases and hospitalizations are so high that face mask wear is recommended to continue. And, the areas where face mask wear is recommended to be voluntary have low case and hospitalization rates. The CDC's policy revision wasn't any kind of repudiation of face mask wear during the COVID pandemic, but rather, a recognition that in at least much of the U.S., COVID cases, hospitalizations and deaths are falling substantially -- unlike in Thailand where all three of those things are still rising.

Fake news reports circulating that one-time American actor Steven Seagal, now Russian citizen and Putin buddy, is fighting with Russian forces in Ukraine. Controversial podcaster comic Joe Rogan shares the fake news, and gets more than 240,000 likes. Huh??? I wonder from whom? Fact Check: Claims Steven Seagal Joined Russian Forces Invading Ukraine "Some commentators are also referencing reports that the 69-year-old actor was last known to be living in Moscow, reportedly to escape U.S. tax authorities. The Facts There is no evidence that claims about Steven Seagal's participation in the Russian invasion of Ukraine are grounded in fact. While it is true that the actor is a known Kremlin sympathizer and a friend of both Russian President Putin and Belarussian leader Alexander Lukashenka (with whom he famously shared a carrot in 2016, as seen in a viral video), the reports of his supposed involvement in the military operations are false." https://www.newsweek.com/steven-seagal-joined-russian-forces-invading-ukraine-fact-check-1683155 "The actor has been banned from traveling to Ukraine since 2017 due to his ties with the Kremlin. Despite speculation that Seagal, who is a special envoy in the U.S. for Russia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, has been based in Moscow in recent years, the actor's current whereabouts could not be independently confirmed by Newsweek."

IOC Calls for Worldwide Ban on All Russian, Belarusian Athletes The International Olympic Committee (IOC) on Monday recommended that all Russian and Belarusian athletes be temporarily barred from competition. In a statement, the IOC made a recommendation regarding "the dilemma the Olympic Movement is currently facing" due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The committee previously told organizations to cancel Russian events. "In order to protect the integrity of global sports competitions and for the safety of all the participants, the IOC EB recommends that International Sports Federations and sports event organizers not invite or allow the participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes and officials in international competitions," the organization wrote. (more) https://www.newsweek.com/ioc-calls-worldwide-ban-all-russian-belarusian-athletes-1683215

Two top Russian billionaires speak out against war Oleg Deripaska and Ukrainian-born Mikhail Fridman call for peace, as activities come under threat from sanctions Russian billionaires Mikhail Fridman and Oleg Deripaska have become two of the country’s first leading businesspeople to speak out against Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Fridman, who is one of Russia’s richest men, controls private equity firm LetterOne and was a founder of Alfa Bank, Russia’s largest private bank. In a letter to his employees he called for an end to the “bloodshed”. ... (more) https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/feb/27/two-top-russian-billionaires-speak-out-against-invasion-of-ukraine

The UN General Assembly is holding a rare emergency meeting on Monday to discuss the Russian invasion of Ukraine. There's been a lot of chatter in the past week about whether Russia could be either A] removed from its status as a permanent member of the UN Security Council, or B] kicked out of the UN altogether. From what I can read on the topic, there's NO established mechanism under UN rules to remove a permanent member of the Security Council, so that seems very unlikely. And similarly, the UN rules do allow a country to be expelled from the UN, but only by a recommendation from the Security Council. And, since Russia will continue to hold a veto vote on the Security Council, the latter isn't going to happen either. In a happenstance of fate, Russia has been presiding over the Security Council for the past month including during today's session, a role that rotates monthly among the 15 members. There is a somewhat obscure legal argument, being advocated by Ukraine, that former USSR should have lost its permanent seat on the Security Council when the USSR dissolved, when what actually happened at the time was the Russian Federation was allowed to retain the USSR's seat as a successor entity. "The Ukrainian ambassador to the UN, Sergiy Kyslytsya... asked Guterres to distribute to the security council the legal memos written by UN legal counsel dated 19 December 1991 that the Russian Federation be permitted to join the security council as the successor to the Soviet Union. Ukraine claims the constituent republics of the USSR declared in 1991 that the Soviet Union ceased to exist, and with it should have gone the legal right of any of those entities, including Russia, to sit on the council. No decision to permit Russia to the security council was ever put to the General Assembly. The UN charter was never amended after the USSR broke up. It still references the Soviet Union, and not Russia, as one of the permanent members of the UN security council." https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/feb/25/putin-facing-efforts-isolate-diplomatically-ukraine But as far as I can tell, were there to be any vote attempting to change or revoke Russia's status, Russia would still have its current Security Council veto vote to prevent the matter from being recommended out of the Security Council. So, more than likely, nothing.

Cancellations, revocations and repudiations: Russia becomes persona non grata in sport The Russian invasion of Ukraine drew more punitive measures across the sporting world on Saturday, a day after Russia was stripped of hosting the Champions League final, which was moved to Paris from Saint Petersburg. https://www.france24.com/en/video/20220227-russia-becomes-persona-non-grata-in-sport

Thai PBS on Monday posted a good recap by Reuters of the latest developments: Ukraine ceasefire talks begin KYIV/MOSCOW (Reuters) – Ceasefire talks between Russian and Ukrainian officials began on the Belarusian border on Monday as Russia faced deepening economic isolation four days after invading Ukraine. Russian forces seized two small cities in southeastern Ukraine and the area around a nuclear power plant, the Interfax news agency said. But they ran into stiff resistance elsewhere as the biggest assault on a European state since World War Two failed to make as much ground as some had expected. (more) https://www.thaipbsworld.com/ukraine-ceasefire-talks-begin/

Russia's economy is poised to plunge into recession, warns JPMorgan ... "Russia's central bank reserves have effectively been frozen amid the decision, says Deutsche Bank strategist Jim Reid. The country had about $630 billion of foreign reserves, a majority of which likely resides directly with G10 banks and central banks, points out Reid." "The Russian ruble crashed more than 20% Monday as the country's citizens reportedly began to line up at ATM machines to withdraw cash. Russia's central bank responded by raising a pivotal interest rate to 20% from 9.5%. The Bank of Russia has also moved to limit foreign sales of securities by brokers, reports The Wall Street Journal. (more) https://finance.yahoo.com/news/russia-economy-poised-to-plunge-into-recession-warns-jp-morgan-120344770.html

The stock markets are down again this morning more than 1% over invasion jitters... But a whole bunch of defense contractor stocks I track are all hitting new 52 week highs or even all-time highs today. Russia is good for defense stocks! ???? https://finance.yahoo.com/

"Governments aren't the only ones wounding Russia's economy as a move to divest from the country takes hold among corporations. British oil major BP, the biggest foreign investor in Russia, is selling its 20% stake in Rosneft (at a cost of up to $25B) after coming under fire from the U.K. government. ... Norway's Equinor (NYSE:EQNR) is following suit, exiting its joint ventures in Russia and stopping new investments there.... In fact, Norway's government has even ordered its $1.3T oil fund, the world's largest sovereign wealth fund, to ditch its $3B in Russian investments. Joining the campaign to isolate the country, UPS (NYSE:UPS) and FedEx (NYSE:FDX), two of the world's largest logistics companies, have suspended shipments to Russia. Dell Technologies (NYSE:DELL) has also banned sales to the country due to new export controls that covered computers. Meanwhile... Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) is facing growing pressure to cut off Russians' access to the App Store." https://seekingalpha.com/news/3806718-equinor-ups-and-fedex-join-drive-in-divesting-from-russia

I've never heard of this 3DS deal before reading it here in this thread. And I'm pretty sure I've never had any contact or info from any of my U.S. card issuers regarding it... Re Lazada and their list of demands, did they also want you to name your first born child after their CEO? (yeesh!!!!)

I dropped my last remaining relationship with Cap 1 (credit cards) during the past year, after 20+ years of multiple relationships with them. I'd explain why, except it would take an hour, and would have me and you pulling out our remaining hair before it was done. Suffice to say, in recent years, their customer service has gone to ##%%$## (foreign-based mentally retarded morons)!

FWIW, Thailand has its own more relaxed/less strict air quality scale for PM2.5 air pollution than the U.S./international version. Thailand doesn't consider PM2.5 air pollution to begin to cause health impacts (the orange color coding) until the readings get to 51 microns and above. (Their lower yellow level is called "moderate"). http://air4thai.pcd.go.th/webV2/aqi_info.php The same orange coding on the U.S./international scale for PM2.5 pollution, listed as unhealthy for sensitive individuals, begins at only 36 microns. https://www.airnow.gov/aqi/aqi-calculator-concentration/ Thailand's self-declared health threshold of 51 microns of PM2.5 (101 on its AQI scale) translates on the U.S./international scale to an AQI of 139, which is on the high end of the U.S./intl "unhealthy for sensitive groups" category.

The article above was measuring PM2.5 in MICRONS. The general public measurement is more often in AQI, which is a totally different scale. The TH government agencies typically report PM2.5 smog in micron numbers. The values below are both for AQI: Here's a site that allows you to convert back and forth between micron readings and AQI values for PM2.5: https://www.airnow.gov/aqi/aqi-calculator/ 68 microns of PM2.5 gets you an AQI reading of 157, which is well into the red/unhealthy scale:

Amazing how declaring bankruptcy to "restructure" (evade? delay?) past debts can improve a company's finances! ????

My wife's largish company in Bangkok, which has had its staff working from home for months now, recently advised that its office workers should continue working from home for the time being. No back to the office yet. That's not hard to understand, considering that Omicron likely is running rampant in the country, COVID patients under care and the portion seriously ill keeps rising every day, and the now-rising BA2 variant of Omicron is said to be even more contagious than the original Omicron variant. Why tempt fate? https://ddc.moph.go.th/covid19-dashboard/?dashboard=main

Thailand on Monday reported its lowest daily tally of new COVID cases of the past five days at 22,311, reflecting the new case count from weekend day Sunday. The latest report dropped the country's new case count, at least for one day, below the daily peak of last fall's Delta COVID wave. Daily COVID deaths, meanwhile, remained at 42 for a second straight day, the highest level of the year, and tallies continued increasing for total COVID patients under care (213,645) and two other key indicators -- serious COVID cases hospitalized (980) and COVID patients requiring intubation to breathe (280), with all three numbers setting new record highs for the year. https://ddc.moph.go.th/covid19-dashboard/?dashboard=main For some added context, during the peak of the Delta wave last fall, Thailand's daily COVID case count topped out at 23,418, but the COVID numbers of serious hospital cases and intubated patients peaked above 5,600 and 1,100 respectively, and daily deaths topped 300 for a brief period.

My thoughts exactly when I saw those stats being reported. The will/motivation to win means a lot, and that certainly favors the Ukrainians. But it's still a big difference to offset.

"Ukraine is doing its best to repel the Russian attack by training civilians to fight. Support from the US and other NATO members has also bolstered national defenses. But few believe Ukraine is a match for its much larger neighbor. Taking active and reserve troops together, Kyiv can draw on more than 1 million men and women. Russia has more than three million. Ukraine has less than 2,500 tanks, compared to Russia's 13,000. And in the air, Ukraine has just 67 attack aircraft in contrast to Russia's 1,500." DW News

Anti-war protests held in cities across Russia, 2,000 people arrested MOSCOW, Feb 27 (Reuters) - Police detained more than 2,000 people at anti-war protests held in 48 cities across Russia on Sunday, a protest monitoring group said, as people defied the authorities to show their anger over Russia's invasion of Ukraine. More than 5,500 people have been detained at various anti-war protests since the invasion began on Thursday, according to the OVD-Info monitor, which has documented crackdowns on Russia's opposition for years. In Moscow, riot police often outnumbered protesters, some of whom carried hand-written placards with peace signs and anti-war slogans in Russian and Ukrainian. (more) https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/police-detain-more-than-900-people-anti-war-protests-across-russia-monitoring-2022-02-27/

"The European Union will ban Russian media outlets Russia Today and Sputnik, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Sunday. Saying that the EU will ban “Kremlin’s media machine,” von der Leyen added that “state-owned Russia Today and Sputnik, as well as their subsidiaries, will no longer be able to spread their lies to justify Putin’s war and to sow division in our union.” “We are developing tools to ban the toxic and harmful disinformation in Europe,” von der Leyen said. In the U.K., the Russia-backed RT channel is under review by media regulator Ofcom. The channel was suspended on Saturday in Australia by Foxtel. https://variety.com/2022/politics/global/european-union-ban-russian-media-outlets-russia-today-sputnik-1235191175/

Ukrainian soldiers who profanely told off Russian warship may be alive, officials say A group of Ukrainian soldiers stationed on an island military outpost who were presumed dead after a terse yet profane interaction with a Russian warship last week may still be alive, Ukrainian officials announced Sunday. The Ukrainian troops on Zmiiniy Island – also known as Snake Island – may instead have been captured by Russian military forces, according to a statement from the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine. ... Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Major General Igor Konashenkov was quoted as saying the captured soldiers were signing "written vows to reject military resistance" and would soon be returned to their families. (more) https://www.npr.org/2022/02/27/1083363518/ukrainian-soldiers-who-profanely-told-off-russian-warship-may-be-alive-officials

Biden approves $350 million in military aid for Ukraine WASHINGTON, Feb 26 (Reuters) - President Joe Biden instructed the U.S. State Department to release up to an additional $350 million worth of weapons from U.S. stocks to Ukraine on Friday as it struggles to repulse a Russian invasion. In a memorandum to Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Biden directed that $350 million allocated through the Foreign Assistance Act be designated for Ukraine's defense. Ukraine has been asking for Javelin anti-tank weapons and Stinger missiles to shoot down aircraft. (more) https://www.reuters.com/world/biden-approves-350-million-military-aid-ukraine-2022-02-26/ WASHINGTON ― U.S. President Joe Biden has authorized the State Department to send another $350 million in weapons, including Javelin anti-tank weapons, to help Ukrainian forces fight back the ongoing Russian invasion. With Ukraine struggling to repel Russia’s tanks, bombers, helicopters and missiles, the new tranche would supply Ukrainian forces with anti-armor and anti-aircraft systems, ammunition for firearms and body armor, according to the State Department. "This marks the third time Biden has used his presidential drawdown authority to send emergency security assistance from U.S. stockpiles to Ukraine, and it brings the total commitment of U.S. security assistance to $1 billion for this year. (more) https://www.defensenews.com/pentagon/2022/02/26/biden-to-send-350m-in-military-aid-to-ukraine/

Russian flights will be banned from the airspace of 20 European nations LONDON — Twenty European countries have closed — or have said they will close — their airspace to Russian flights and flight operators, amid a coordinated pushback against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. About half of the countries announced the move on Sunday, ahead of an extraordinary meeting of European foreign ministers to discuss further measures to support Ukraine and punish Moscow. Other countries, including Estonia and Romania, had previously announced their intention to ban Russian flights. (more) https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/02/27/airspace-russia-flights-european-countries-ban/