TallGuyJohninBKK

I can't speak to Canada, specifically. But, if you look at the CDC info right now regarding the U.S., it says levels of "respiratory illnesses" are low, in general, meaning flu, RSV, etc. In the very next sentence, though, they go on to add that levels of COVID are HIGH! Also, the U.S. has always had higher and more serious levels of COVID illness than Canada, AFAIK. It also could be your image is a generic hospital flyer on masking policy that was posted and has remained since who knows when. Current respiratory illness info postings from the U.S. CDC, by way of example: https://www.cdc.gov/respiratory-viruses/data/index.html

What to Know About the KP.3.1.1 Variant of COVID-19 August 23, 2024 "Chances are, at least one person you know—and probably many people you know—have caught COVID-19 this summer. Ever since the “FLiRT” variants emerged this spring, the U.S. has been hit with one new variant after another, leading to a seemingly never-ending wave of cases. The amount of virus in wastewater has steadily risen since May and levels are now “very high,” in part because there’s yet another new variant on the scene: KP.3.1.1. KP.3.1.1 was to blame for more than a third of new COVID-19 cases in the U.S. during the two weeks ending Aug. 17, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) data show. And that’s a lot of cases: about one in 34 people in the U.S. currently has COVID-19, independent data scientist and infectious-disease modeler Jay Weiland tells TIME. CDC data also show that lots of people are testing positive and that hospital visits and deaths related to COVID-19 are on the rise. ... “I think we’re at the peak of this summer wave,” he says. KP.3.1.1’s ascent might prolong the surge a bit, but Weiland thinks it’s unlikely to lead to a major second spike given how much immunity there currently is in the population. The exception may be among kids who are returning to school while COVID-19 is still spreading widely. There may be a noticeable uptick in cases within that age group, Weiland says. (more) TIME https://time.com/7014374/new-covid-19-variant-kp311/ https://twitter.com/JPWeiland/status/1827075333553607121

Rick, which location in the building is the exit 4 you're referring to? The one facing toward Soi 7 with the big planters area on the exterior to the right?

U.S. weekly COVID deaths reached a partial tally of 763 through early August, up from a low of 302 in early June, meaning U.S. COVID deaths now have more than doubled over the past two months. The rate of sampled hospitalizations due to COVID also increased through early August. But two other publicly reported COVID indicators plateaued in the latest update through mid-August, with the rates of sampled emergency department COVID visits and COVID testing positivity both remaining flat, albeit the latter at a very high 18% rate. From the CDC: CDC COVID update for August 23, 2024: "Many areas of the country are continuing to experience increases in COVID-19 activity, though other areas are experiencing declines in COVID-19 activity following increases this summer. COVID-19 test positivity, emergency department visits, and rates of COVID-19–associated hospitalizations remain elevated, particularly among adults 65+ and children under 2 years. Surges like this are known to occur throughout the year, including during the summer months." https://www.cdc.gov/respiratory-viruses/data-research/dashboard/snapshot.html https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#datatracker-home * the three gray columns above indicate totals for those recent weeks remain partial. https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#trends_weeklydeaths_select_00 With the absence of any comprehensive COVID infection testing and reporting program in the U.S. and reduced reporting of COVID hospitalization data, public health officials increasingly have turned to wastewater monitoring of COVID viral content as a primary forward-looking indicator of COVID activity and trends in the country, as follows: "Wastewater (sewage) can be tested to detect traces of infectious diseases circulating in a community, even if people don’t have symptoms. You can use these data as an early warning that levels of infections may be increasing or decreasing in your community." https://www.cdc.gov/nwss/rv/COVID19-nationaltrend.html https://www.cdc.gov/nwss/rv/COVID19-currentlevels.html

Here's the charts from the latest UKHSA weekly COVID update for England as of Aug. 22: My text summary - Although new weekly COVID deaths rose for the second straight week back to the 200 level by the first week of August, two other publicly reported COVID indicators for England showed improvement / declines in the latest weekly update. Those included declines in new weekly COVID cases (not an especially reliable indicator these days), and a fourth consecutive weekly decline in the positivity rate for COVID tests (7-day rolling average), which dropped from 13.2% previously to 11.4% in the latest weekly report. In comparison, the positivity rate had peaked at almost 16% in mid-July. There was no updated data for COVID new hospital admissions since the last weekly report. https://ukhsa-dashboard.data.gov.uk/ https://ukhsa-dashboard.data.gov.uk/topics/covid-19#deaths Weekly COVID deaths from the recent low in May: Weekly data for deaths with COVID-19 on the death certificate in England Up to and including 9 August 2024 (some recent prior week figures have been revised vs prior weekly reports): Date -- Amount 9 Aug 2024 -- 200 2 Aug 2024 -- 193 26 Jul 2024 -- 174 19 Jul 2024 -- 212 12 Jul 2024 -- 205 5 Jul 2024 -- 165 28 Jun 2024 -- 186 21 Jun 2024 -- 149 14 Jun 2024 -- 158 7 Jun 2024 -- 146 31 May 2024 -- 113 24 May 2024 -- 147 17 May 2024 -- 168 10 May 2024 -- 93 https://ukhsa-dashboard.data.gov.uk/ https://ukhsa-dashboard.data.gov.uk/ https://ukhsa-dashboard.data.gov.uk/topics/covid-19#testing

FDA green-lights season's updated mRNA COVID vaccines Amid rising US COVID-19 cases, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced its approval of the updated 2024-25 monovalent (single-strain) mRNA COVID-19 vaccines for people aged 12 and older and granted emergency use authorization for those aged 6 months to 11 years. The updated vaccines are called 2024-2025 Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine and Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine (2024-2025 Formula) for those aged 6 months through 11 years and Comirnaty (made by Pfizer/BioNTech) and Spikevax (by Moderna) for those 12 years and older. Updated vaccine dose strongly encouraged The vaccine, intended as a single dose for those 5 years and older previously vaccinated at least 2 months earlier, is adapted to the currently circulating Omicron KP.2 strain of the JN.1 SARS-CoV-2 lineage to better protect against hospitalization and death. (more) https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/covid-19/fda-green-lights-seasons-updated-mrna-covid-vaccines

With the summer Covid wave still rising in the U.S., experts say the timing for getting vaccinated is important Aug. 22, 2024 The Food and Drug Administration on Thursday approved the new Covid vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna. It’s the third time the vaccines have been updated to match circulating strains since the original series. The shots should be available within days. The agency hasn't yet approved a third vaccine, from drugmaker Novavax. The timing of the new vaccines — last year's rollout was in mid-September — is significant, since most of the U.S. is still caught in the summer wave of Covid illness. As of Monday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported, the number of people testing positive for Covid keeps rising and emergency room visits for Covid have been increasing since mid-May. Hospitalizations are rising, too. (more) https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/new-covid-vaccine-what-know-when-available-timing-rcna167121

I'm assuming you're a U.S. citizen? And what, you nominally had a U.S.-based RJ account, but somewhere along the line informed Raymond James that you are/were living in Thailand instead of in the U.S.? Or, they in the past were formally handling brokerage accounts for Thailand residents, and now have decided not to anymore?

Thanks for clarifying on the above details... I saw the Imm. stamp image you posted above. Indeed, never seen that particular stamp notation before, that I can recall.... But obviously it's a premade stamp, so they must have found some regular recurring use for it.... 😞

Anyone have any recent experience with trying to use the online 90-day reporting system (in my case for BKK) on the weekends (Sat. and Sun.)? In the past, it seemed the online reporting system used to be regularly UNavailable during weekends... But I haven't tried it lately. Any updates on that?

I've requested and received the annual statements via email from both BKKB and Krungsri.... In both cases, they arrived the same day as requested, usually within hours. However, I have no experience and thus can't say whether any given Immigration office would accept that version of an annual statement in the same way they would a formally stamped one a person pays for and receives directly from a branch.

At BKK CW, there are some activities that might trigger a request for an updated TM30.... Such as... --if you actually changed your residennce or did some transaction at a different Immigration office. --if you traveled internationally and returned with a new visa or without a re-entry permit --if you got a new passport with a new passport number? Any of those kinds of situations apply in your circumstance?

I've been doing annual retirement extensions based on the same original visa at BKK CW for years with a corresponding annual re-entry permit. I've only ever done one TM30 in 2019, and have had numerous international trips since that time, and have never yet been asked for a new/updated TM30. But again, that's only pertaining to BKK CW... Other offices, YMMV,

Yep, that was one other correction I was going to add to the OP's check list above... As you said, BKK CW allows the bank deposit verification letter to be up to 7 days prior to your Immigration visit... The deposit verification letter does NOT have to be dated/issued the day of your visit. However, that notwithstanding, you still have to update your bank passbook on the day of your Immigration visit prior to meeting with the IO, and I believe, have the photocopies of your bank book activity for the prior year include that latest update you do on the day of your visit. It's OK if the bank letter and the bank passbook balances don't match (so long as they're both 800K or above). But I like to avoid that mismatch by doing a 100 baht deposit AFTER I get my bank letter prior, and then doing a 100 baht withdrawal at the ATM in BKK CW on the morning of my visit, to bring the account balance back to the same amount as the deposit letter. PS - Also re the OP's documents checklist above,.... At least in my case, BKK CW has always been fine with just the bank deposit verification letter AND my own photocopies of my bank passbook face page and transaction activity for the past year. They almost never have asked me to ALSO provide a formal, stamped 12-month bank transaction statement issued by the bank. The one exception to that was a couple years ago when my bank issued me a new passbook, and because of the way they handled it, there was a time gap between the last transaction date in the old book and the first transaction in the new book. In that case, the officer asked for a formal bank statement. I think they'll do that if when checking your bank passbook, there are any gaps or other issues, such as with printing snafus, that don't allow them to see regular, recurring balance updates.

Anyone with any updates on this? I'd presume that by now 7-8 months later, they've managed to open an entry-exit for the Pink Line Govt Complex Station on the CW Soi 7 side of the road.... 😞

BTW, another member posted the following in a related thread in late 2023... any one with an update on the following:

The Pink Line wasn't open when I last went to BKK CW last fall. But I have my annual trip coming up soon, and am planning to use the following all-rail method -- BTS Sukhumvit Line to its Wat Phra Sri Mahathat station, then walk a couple minutes nearby to the Pink Line's Wat Phra Sri Mahathat Station, and then onward on the Pink Line to its EN-named Government Complex Station (which the Thai speaking BTS staff only seemed to recognize by the corresponding Thai term "Soon Ratchigan." I couldn't find any clear answer online, but in a phone call tonight with BTS Customer Service in Thai, they indicated that I also could use my BTS Rabbit top-up card to pay for the extra travel on the Pink Line... But they said my Thai wife can NOT use her BTS monthly trips prepaid card on the Pink Line, for some unexplained reason. Given that the Pink Line seemed to be an MRTA developed project, I had instead thought I could use my MRT Plus top-up card on the Pink Line, but thus far, haven't been able to find any info on that one way or the other. There seems to be a relative dearth of EN language info re the fares situation for the Pink Line, at least that I could find. Google Maps below showing the connection between the Wat Phra Sri Mahathat stations of the BTS Sukhumvit and MRT Pink lines.

Rick, can you clarify, just what shuttle is the one you're showing above? (Never seen one like this before...) and where does it pick up and drop off passengers re BKK CW and the Pink Line? Thanks!

Republicans always used to complain about Joe Biden re this, particularly in later years... But in this case, it's some of Trump's own family members who are making this and other arguments why he should NOT be elected president. IMHO, that's a pretty telling sign... not that those are the only ones! Now look at who the OLD bumbling, stumbling man is in the 2024 presidential race!

Fred Trump has endorsed Kamala Harris for president August 20, 2024 Donald Trump is showing signs that correspond with his family history of dementia, according to Fred Trump III, the former president’s nephew. The “warnings signs” are evident, Fred Trump III said during an interview on The Dean Obeidallah show on Friday, accusing the former president of spewing “craziness” and failing to stick to the script during campaign appearances. “I know what I saw in my grandfather. I know what I saw in Donald’s older sister, my Aunt Maryanne,” Fred Trump said. “I just, I know the warning signs from both of my grandfathers,” he added. “Donald’s cousin, John Walters had dementia. It runs in the family. I’m not happy about it.” (more) https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-nephew-fred-dementia-family-b2598666.html And a couple of rather apt reader comments re the above Independent news report on their website: --"That's a big warning sign when Trumps own family are publicly trying to stop him being President." --"The next stop for Trump: Sitting on his bed wearing a diaper, hasn't showered for weeks, mumbling something about a stolen election, stuffing down Big Mac's, throwing catsup packets at the wall while watching a looped video of the J6 insurrection." 🙂

Better talk to Riclag about that.... He's the one who first posted it above.

Interesting New Lines Institute article linked above...that starts out with the following introductory comment: 'Though far-right actors are the primary threat to the U.S. homeland (50 states and territories)..." And then goes on to further elaborate: Describing and Assessing the Violent Threat "In the 1970s and 1980s, far-left violent extremists were the primary terrorist threat confronting the United States. Currently, among domestic-focused actors, they are secondary in scale and scope to violent far-right extremists. For example, far-right extremists are known to stockpile large caches of firearms, ammunition, explosives, and other weapons and regularly engage in attacks with the intent of inflicting mass casualties, such as mass shootings. These behaviors have not been commensurately observed among violent far-left actors..." And: "The general historical and contemporary trend of violent far-leftist targeting has been directed at property. To the extent that far-left violence is directed at people, it is mostly and intentionally non-fatal. This is due to operational and ideological preferences that favor inflicting economic damage (e.g., ending capitalism) and bringing attention to specific issues rather than harming civilians (though an exception to this trend is fatal attacks targeting police officers). Yet, as these authors have noted in previous assessments, there are also signs of possible growing intent to kill non-police civilians, suggesting internal constraints against generating fatalities are eroding." https://newlinesinstitute.org/nonstate-actors/operating-under-the-radar-violent-left-wing-extremism-is-becoming-more-dangerous/

Thailand MoPH Weekly COVID report for Aug. 11 - 17, 2024: For the most recent week, the MoPH update showed continuing improvements / declines in all four publicly reported COVID indicators -- COVID deaths, new COVID hospitalizations, currently hospitalized COVID patients in serious condition and those requiring ventilation to breathe. The latest weekly update also marks a clear end, after five months, to the spring 2024 COVID surge that began in mid-March. For last week: --435 new COVID hospitalizations, averaging 62 per day, down 84 / -16.2% from 519 the prior week --1 new COVID death, down 3 from 4 the prior week --295 current COVID patients hospitalized in serious condition (pneumonia symptoms), down 76 / -20.5% from 371 the prior week (dark purple) --122 current COVID patients hospitalized requiring intubation/ventilation to breathe, down 31 / -20.3% from 153 the prior week (light purple) --------------------------------------- The 435 reported new COVID hospitalizations last week marked the first time that weekly figure dropped below the 500 level that occurred at the start of spring 2024 COVID surge in mid-March. The latest weekly total also is about one-seventh of the recent weekly peak of 3,256 new hospitalizations reached in late June. Cumulative officially reported figures since the start of 2024 are COVID hospitalizations (37,095) & COVID deaths (199). The one newly reported COVID death from last week was a male between the ages of 20 and 49. https://ddc.moph.go.th/covid19-dashboard/?dashboard=main By comparison, Thailand's key weekly COVID indicators to start 2024 were 664 new COVID hospitalizations and 4 COVID deaths for the first week of the year -- meaning current levels are lower in both categories. For the comparable week last year in 2023, there were 389 new COVID hospitalizations and 9 COVID deaths. That means Thailand right now has more new COVID hospitalizations but fewer COVID deaths than one year ago.

PROJECT 2025: Unveiling the far right’s plan to demolish immigration in a second Trump term February 2024 Key takeaways The Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025 is the policy playbook for a second Trump administration, and its impacts on immigration would be far more complex and destructive than previously reported. It isn’t simply a refresh of first-term ideas, dusted off and ready to be re-implemented. Rather, it reflects a meticulously orchestrated, comprehensive plan to drive immigration levels to unprecedented lows and increase the federal government’s power to the states’ detriment. These proposals circumvent Congress and the courts and are specifically engineered to dismantle the foundations of our immigration system. ... In preparation for a 2025 presidential transition, the Mandate proposes overhauls to nearly every federal agency and includes over 175 immigration provisions. Unlike in the previous years when immigration policy changes were relatively insulated, Project 2025 elucidates how the administration would halt legal immigration, centralize power in the federal government, decimate privacy protections, and risk American security and prosperity, all in pursuit of a political obsession with immigration. ... The far-right has a political obsession with immigration. While they wield it as a rallying cry and a scapegoat, the recommendations outlined in the Mandate are incongruent with the “safety” and “security” talking points. If implemented, the Mandate would pursue the destruction of programs and laws made to promote public safety. It would disadvantage our economy as competitor nations scoop up the top talent the U.S. abandons. It would block millions of Americans from higher education and foster a society that is inherently less safe and offers fewer opportunities. The Mandate’s suggestions are theoretical for now, but as we march towards the November elections and a potential Trump second-term, the threat of their enactment is very real." (more) https://www.niskanencenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Project-2025-Unveiling-the-far-rights-plan-to-demolish-immigration-in-a-second-Trump-term-1.pdf https://mediabiasfactcheck.com/niskanen-center/

How Project 2025 Turned Into the GOP’s Biggest Political Loser It’s also become a major liability for The Heritage Foundation — and staffers at the conservative think tank know it. August 16, 2024 There’s a good reason Donald Trump and his campaign are so desperate to distance themselves from the classified-sounding “Project 2025”: The Heritage Foundation’s blueprint for a second Trump administration is politically radioactive. A Democratic operative who has seen private polling on how a number of issues could move the 2024 presidential election — like health care, the economy and immigration — told NOTUS that, improbably, no issue was benefiting Democrats more than Project 2025. And, predictably, Democrats are capitalizing on the unpopular plan. Democratic lawmakers and campaign operatives are trying to attach Trump and Republicans to Project 2025 at every opportunity, which, it turns out, hasn’t been too hard. According to Rep. Jared Huffman, the founder of the “Stop Project 2025 Task Force,” one of the reasons they’ve had such success connecting Trump to Heritage’s plan is because voters intuitively believe the former president would institute many of these proposals if he gets another chance in the White House. (more) https://www.notus.org/2024-election/how-project-2025-turned-into-the-gops-biggest-political-loser https://www.notus.org/announcements/welcome-to-notus