TallGuyJohninBKK

This is the type of misinformation nonsense that RFK Jr. is stacking the CDC's vaccines advisory panel with: The Myths Promoted by a New CDC Vaccine Advisor Dr. Robert Malone has promoted 13 provably false claims from NewsGuard’s database Jun 13, 2025 COVID Vax Can Cause Cancer, Killed 17 Million Among Hoaxes Advanced by New CDC Vaccine Advisor Robert Malone "One of the U.S. government’s new advisors on vaccine recommendations, Dr. Robert Malone, is a frequent source of vaccine misinformation, including the false claims that COVID-19 vaccines can cause cancer and increase the risk of stillbirths. Indeed, Malone has personally pushed 13 claims from NewGuard’s Misinformation Fingerprints database of provably false claims. [emphasis added] ... As noted above, NewsGuard found that Malone initiated or promoted 13 of the provably false claims on health topics in NewsGuard’s catalog of False Claims. NewsGuard left voicemails and sent emails to Malone and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services seeking comment on the claims described below, but did not receive a response. The 13 False Claims initiated or promoted by Malone are presented here in reverse chronological order: (more) [the full list of Malone's false claims is presented in the following weblink. I am prevented from posting the details of them here by the forum's rules limiting fair use quoting) https://www.newsguardrealitycheck.com/p/the-myths-promoted-by-new-cdc-vaccine-advisor-robert-malone

I don't think he's any kind of "general" anymore, in terms of holding current rank. But it does seem to be the polite custom in Thailand to keep referring to people who have retired from service, or in his case booted out, with their prior official titles...

SCB, AFAIK, just posted the other day that their prior opt-out waivers for facial recognition involving foreigners had now expired and were no longer in effect.

FATCA is a policy only pertinent to Americans, and likely is irrelevant and not applicable to most U.S. retirees in Thailand... Meaning, it would only apply to the very richest folks who would have to have hundreds of thousands of U.S. dollars kept in foreign bank accounts. Considering the Thai FDIC-type insurance on deposit accounts here is now 1 Million THB per accountholder, per banking company -- a bit over $30,000 USD -- I'd be surprised if many Americans are keeping hundreds of thousands of USD on deposit here.

It wouldn't be the first time, as the report below details the historical connections between right-wing extremists and police/government actions against protesters: Violence Against Black Lives Matter Protestors: a Review "Data from various sources suggests that police disproportionately target BLM protests for violent intervention. There is also mounting evidence of organized and vigilante right-wing violence targeting BLM protestors ... ACLED data also re-affirms the historically consistent reciprocity between the US state and right-wing militia actors. Similar to the collusive episode during the CIvil Rights era, described earlier, between Alabama state authorities and the Ku Klux Klan, there have been important interplays between the US state authorities and White right-wing militia groups like the Proud Boys. Indeed in response to Trump’s command to such extra-legal entities to “stand back, stand by” there were multiple subsequent episodes of Proud Boys initiated street-fighting during demonstrations in North Carolina, New York, California and Washington DC [20]. [emphasis added] There are also striking examples of unaffiliated or loosely affiliated White vigilantes directly responding to perceived calls to action from the state. For example, Kyle Rittenhouse, a right-wing White vigilante, killed two BLM protestors following a perceived muster call from the National Guard [19]. He viewed the presence of the National Guard as an indication to attack." [emphasis added] https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9136198/

Of course, who would ever say they shouldn't be accepting medical advice from RFK Jr as Donald Trump's U.S. HHS secretary? HE!!!, for one. RFK Jr. says people shouldn't take his medical advice when asked about vaccines at hearing "When asked hypothetically if he would vaccinate his children today for measles during a House hearing Wednesday, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said "probably," but added he doesn't think people should be taking medical advice from him. [emphasis added] "My opinions about vaccines are irrelevant," he said in response to the question from Democratic Rep. Mark Pocan of Wisconsin during the House Appropriations Committee hearing. "I don't want to seem like I'm being evasive, but I don't think people should be taking medical advice from me." [emphasis added] When pressed, he repeated he didn't want to give advice to other people." (more) https://www.cbsnews.com/news/rfk-jr-medical-advice-vaccine-question-hearing/ So, don't listen to medical advice from RFK Jr. And his opinions about vaccines are "irrelevant." But then, somehow, he's qualified or capable of being the one person to unilaterally appoint a bunch of anti-vaxers, vaccine skeptics and COVID minimizers to head the CDC advisory panel that helps set U.S. vaccine policy??? Instead of the normal and past pattern of having non-partisan career experts in the CDC consider, vet and recommend panel members. YEESH!!!

The politician with no medical expertise who's now mis-directing U.S. vaccine policy. Where's his brain now??? Health issues, memory loss, mental fog, mercury poisoning!!! Kennedy seems to be saying he's recovered from all of the above. But I'd say his history and track record of public actions & comments suggest he's still a few cards short of a full hand. NYT: RFK Jr. says worm ‘got into my brain and ate a portion of it’ May 8, 2024 (CNN) — Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. experienced a series of health issues in recent years, including an abnormality that he said was caused by a worm that entered his brain and then died, The New York Times reported on Wednesday. [emphasis added] In 2010, Kennedy, now 70, experienced severe memory loss and mental fog, he said in a deposition two years later. According to the Times, he consulted top neurologists familiar with the medical history of his uncle, the late Sen. Ted Kennedy, who had died of brain cancer in 2009. A New York doctor, after reviewing a scan of his brain, told him that his health issues could be “caused by a worm that got into my brain and ate a portion of it and then died,” Kennedy said in the 2012 deposition, which concerned a divorce from his second wife, Mary Richardson Kennedy. Robert Kennedy said at the time that his earning power had been negatively affected by the cognitive issues, the Times reported. [emphasis added] Around the same time, the Times said, he suffered from mercury poisoning, which can lead to neurological issues such as loss of peripheral vision, muscle weakness and issues with movement, hearing and speech, as well as memory loss. Kennedy told the paper he has recovered from the memory loss and brain fogginess and that the parasite did not require treatment. [emphasis added] (more) https://www.cnn.com/2024/05/08/politics/rfk-jr-mercury-poisoning-brain-parasite

They have a large shop at CentralWorld mall in BKK... I saw it open there lately... but haven't seen what's going on there, if anything, this week, as per your post.

RFK Jr. taps allies and COVID vaccine critics among picks for CDC advisory panel. Here's who's on the list. ... Kennedy's picks circumvented the usual CDC process for selecting members of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, known as ACIP. In previous administrations, career agency officials — not political leaders — vetted potential experts before forwarding them to the department for the secretary's approval. ... The picks announced by Kennedy include some close allies of the secretary and his inner circle. Several have a history of criticizing vaccine recommendations or questioning their safety. "The speed with which these members were selected, and the lack of transparency in the process, does not help to restore public confidence and trust, and contributes to confusion and uncertainty," Dr. Jason Goldman, president of the American College of Physicians, said in a statement. (more) https://www.cbsnews.com/news/rfk-jr-cdc-vaccine-advisory-panel-names/

Kennedy Announces Eight New Members of C.D.C. Vaccine Advisory Panel The health secretary promised not to pick “anti-vaxxers.” But some public health leaders accused him of breaking his word. "Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Wednesday named eight doctors and researchers, including four who have spoken out against vaccination in some way, to replace roughly half the members he fired from an expert panel that advises the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. ... In a post on X late Tuesday night, a day after he removed the panel members, Mr. Kennedy promised he would not appoint “ideological anti-vaxxers.” After the new list was announced, infectious disease and vaccine experts immediately accused the health secretary of breaking his word. ... Richard H. Hughes IV, who teaches vaccine law at George Washington University Law School...said three of the new members are “legitimate physicians” who have “no discernible expertise” in immunology or vaccines. But he characterized the remaining four as “Covid-19 deniers, skeptics and outright anti-vaccine individuals.” (more) https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/11/us/politics/rfk-jr-cdc-vaccine-panel.html

RFK Jr. names some vaccine critics to key CDC committee after ousting entire panel ... "Retsef Levi – a professor of operations management at the MIT Sloan School of Management who has also served as faculty director of the school’s food supply chain analytics and sensing initiative. ... Meanwhile, Levi slammed mRNA vaccines in a post on X in 2023, which was still pinned to the top of his account Wednesday afternoon. “The evidence is mounting and indisputable that MRNA vaccines cause serious harm including death, especially among young people,” Levi wrote. “We have to stop giving them immediately!” (more) https://www.cnbc.com/2025/06/11/rfk-jr-malone-cdc-vaccine-committee.html

RFK Jr. names new slate of vaccine advisers after purging CDC panel ... The new members are Dr. Joseph R. Hibbeln, Martin Kulldorff, Retsef Levi, Dr. Robert Malone, Dr. Cody Meissner, Dr. Michael A. Ross, Dr. James Pagano and Vicky Pebsworth. "Public health advocates are wary. "Kennedy did not pick people with strong, current expertise in vaccines," says Dorit Reiss, a professor at UC Law, San Francisco, who studies vaccine policy. "It tells me that Kennedy is setting up a committee that would be skeptical of vaccines, and possibly willing to implement an anti-vaccine agenda." Kennedy's new selections have varied backgrounds, though many rose to prominence during the COVID-19 pandemic, when they criticized government policies on school closures and lockdowns, and the mRNA vaccines. For example, Kulldorff, an epidemiologist and biostatistician, helped write the Great Barrington Declaration with Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, then a Stanford University professor who is now director of the National Institutes of Health. That open letter questioned lockdowns and other public health measures early in the COVID-19 pandemic. Kulldorff declined to comment when reached by NPR." (more) https://www.npr.org/sections/shots-health-news/2025/06/11/nx-s1-5430870/cdc-vaccine-experts-rfk-jr

NEW YORK — U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Wednesday named eight new vaccine policy advisers to replace the panel that he abruptly dismissed earlier this week. They include a scientist who researched mRNA vaccine technology and became a conservative darling for his criticisms of COVID-19 vaccines, a leading critic of pandemic-era lockdowns, and a professor of operations management. ... The new appointees include Vicky Pebsworth, a regional director for the National Association of Catholic Nurses, who has been listed as a board member and volunteer director for the National Vaccine Information Center, a group that is widely considered to be a leading source of vaccine misinformation. Another is Dr. Robert Malone, the former mRNA researcher who emerged as a close adviser to Kennedy during the measles outbreak. Malone, who runs a wellness institute and a popular blog, rose to prominence during the COVID-19 pandemic as he relayed conspiracy theories around the outbreak and the vaccines that followed. He has appeared on podcasts and other conservative news outlets where he’s promoted unproven and alternative treatments for measles and COVID-19. (more) Washington Post https://archive.ph/LG0ZV

RFK Jr’s ‘clean sweep’ of CDC vaccine panel experts will erode public trust ... "Dr Tom Frieden, president and CEO of the public health non-profit Resolve to Save Lives and a former CDC director, said in a statement on X that Kennedy’s decision to remove the “seventeen dedicated doctors, pediatricians, scientists, and parents who served on [ACIP]” is “a dangerous and unprecedented action that makes our families less safe”. [emphasis added] “ACIP has long been a model for the world of transparent, fact-based guidance with rigorous reviews of vaccine safety and effectiveness,” Frieden said. “Make no mistake: politicizing the ACIP as Secretary Kennedy is doing will undermine public trust under the guise of improving it.” [emphasis added] Frieden’s comments were echoed by scientists, doctors and public health leaders, many of whom questioned Kennedy’s own conflicts of interest. Before becoming secretary, Kennedy led arguably the world’s most influential anti-vaccine advocacy group and was paid by personal injury law firms for referring alleged victims of vaccine injuries." (more) https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jun/10/rfk-jr-cdc-vaccine-panel

Statement by the American Public Health Association: Trump administration attempts coup of the Advisory Committees on Immunization Practices "The Trump administration's action to "retire" all members of ACIP and install a new slate, instead of allowing people to finish their term, is a coup. Today’s ACIP members are some of the most qualified individuals to evaluate vaccines. They possess deep understanding of science and were vetted for conflicts of interest prior to appointment. Removing all ACIP members at once is not how democracies work and it’s not good for the health of the nation. RFK says he wants to restore trust and transparency. This action immediately raises concern over the ability of any slate of committee members appointed by the Trump administration to be viewed as impartial to RFK's views on any decision, and therefore their actions will be suspect and likely mistrusted." [emphasis added] https://www.apha.org/news-and-media/news-releases/apha-news-releases/trump-coup-of-acip

Statement by the American Medical Association: AMA statement on Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices “For generations, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) has been a trusted national source of science-and data-driven advice and guidance on the use of vaccines to prevent and control disease. Physicians, parents, community leaders and public health officials rely on them for clinical guidance, public health information, and knowledge. Today’s action to remove the 17 sitting members of ACIP undermines that trust and upends a transparent process that has saved countless lives. With an ongoing measles outbreak and routine child vaccination rates declining, this move will further fuel the spread of vaccine-preventable illnesses.” [emphasis added] https://www.ama-assn.org/press-center/ama-press-releases/ama-statement-advisory-committee-immunization-practices

The American medical and public health communities are speaking out loud and strong against the anti-vax nonsense being put forward by RFK Jr.: Response by the American Academy of Pediatrics: AAP Statement on Changes to Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices “The American Academy of Pediatrics is deeply troubled and alarmed by Secretary Kennedy’s mass firing of all 17 experts on the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices. This unprecedented action, against the backdrop of contradictory announcements from the Administration in recent days about vaccines, will cause even more confusion and uncertainty for families. “We are witnessing an escalating effort by the Administration to silence independent medical expertise and stoke distrust in lifesaving vaccines. Creating confusion around proven vaccines endangers families' health and contributes to the spread of preventable diseases. This move undermines the trust pediatricians have built over decades with our patients and leaves us without critical scientific expertise we rely on. [emphasis added] Children and families must be able to access the immunizations they need to stay healthy. Our vaccine infrastructure must include this critical step of nonpartisan, expert review and discussion of the science and clinical recommendations for individual vaccines. Families and children will be the ones to pay the price for this decision.” https://www.aap.org/en/news-room/news-releases/aap/2025/aap-statement-on-changes-to-advisory-committee-on-immunization-practices/

The Disinformation Dozen Why platforms must act on twelve leading online anti-vaxxers March 24, 2021 "Just twelve anti-vaxxers are responsible for almost two-thirds of anti‑vaccine content circulating on social media platforms. This new analysis of content posted or shared to social media over 812,000 times between February and March uncovers how a tiny group of determined anti-vaxxers is responsible for a tidal wave of disinformation—and shows how platforms can fix it by enforcing their standards." https://counterhate.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/210324-The-Disinformation-Dozen.pdf The Center for Countering Digital Hate is a not-for-profit NGO that seeks to disrupt the architecture of online hate and misinformation. In short, if RFK is talking or writing about vaccines, the chances are pretty good that much of what he's laying out is misinformation, misleading, mischaracterized and sometimes even made-up nonsense. He may now have the title of U.S. HHS secretary thanks to Donald Trump, but that hasn't changed his core persona as a vaccines misinformation spreader. When it comes to vaccines, he's simply NOT to be believed, period.

What a bunch of nonsense doo-doo from one of the biggest health misinformation purveyors in the world.... No, not RP, although he's trying, but RFK Jr. As for the false nonsense claims raised above: Is there really a conflict of interest issue? "In RFK Jr.’s op-ed, he stated that the ACIP committee members all have serious conflicts of interest that impact their vaccine decision-making. However, the data he cites is 15-25 years old and is missing critical context. For example, he specifically cites a 2009 report. However, he failed to give the true context of this report. The report focused on all 17 CDC advisory committees, not just ACIP. The report did NOT find serious conflicts of interest. Instead, it showed that many forms (97%) had errors and omissions due to form errors, such as putting information in the wrong sections, or failing to initial and date in the correct places." AND "The evidence directly contradicts Kennedy’s claims. Recent independent investigations into ACIP members since Kennedy began making these accusations have found no substantial conflicts or disclosure errors. The statement also failed to acknowledge that there already is a public conflict of interest policy that all ACIP members must adhere to– in fact, it is one of the most stringent in government." In short, as usual, RFK Jr. is hawking made-up or misleading B.S. to justify his attempt to replace scientific expertise with political ideology. ------------------------------------------ As for RFK Jr.'s claims that the ACIP group is a rubber stamp for vaccines and has never recommended against a vaccine, that's wrong also... And it also fails to recognize that vaccines only get to ACIP for consideration AFTER they've already had clinical trials and been vetted and approved [or not] by the sister agency Food and Drug Administration, meaning vaccine candidates with issues/problems typically are going to be washed out before they ever get to the ACIP. But that aside, responding to Kennedy's claim, once again misinformation nonsense: "The committee has recommended against vaccines or given very restricted recommendations. For example, they recommended against the live attenuated influenza vaccine (nasal spray) in the 2016-2017 vaccine season, even though orders had already been placed, due to concerns that it was not effective enough. They narrowed their recommendation for the Janssen (Johnson & Johnson) COVID-19 vaccine, advising preferential use of other vaccines after reports of rare blood clotting side effects. They also restricted the dengue virus vaccine to those of a certain age, in specific locations, with documented prior infection." The above quotes from the blog Unbiased Science: https://theunbiasedscipod.substack.com/p/the-acip-purge-science-vs-ideology So once again, Kennedy is living "down" to his past recognition as one of the "Disinformation Dozen" -- one of the worst, most prolific spreaders of vaccine misinformation in the U.S. And he's now continuing in that role, sadly, as the U.S. HHS secretary appointed by Donald Trump.

Viewpoint: RFK's reckless firing of CDC vaccine advisors not supported by evidence Vaccine Integrity Project Staff and Advisors ... Part of a troubling pattern "Kennedy's rationale, laid out in a Wall Street Journal opinion piece, was based on a series of inaccuracies, calling the ACIP "little more than a rubber stamp for any vaccine," and made accusations with little actual evidence, claiming it is "plagued by persistent conflicts of interest." ... As standard protocol, members must declare conflicts at the start of every meeting and must recuse themselves from matters in which a conflict could influence their actions. The only "proof" Kennedy offered on conflicts of interest were oversight reports on investigated activities from at least 18 years ago. Yesterday's announcement follows a pattern for Kennedy and the agency that he oversees: With no transparency, the little evidence provided in support of policy changes is selective, and data are retrofitted to support decisions that dovetail with Kennedy’s personal views." (more) https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/covid-19/viewpoint-rfks-reckless-firing-cdc-vaccine-advisors-not-supported-evidence

RFK Jr. guts the U.S. vaccine policy committee The system is becoming unrecognizable "In an unprecedented and deeply alarming move, Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has removed every single member of the nation’s vaccine policy committee—the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP)—and announced plans to handpick their replacements. In other words, someone with an established track record of ignoring reality made the unilateral, ideological decision to gut one of the most trusted and effective pillars of America’s vaccine infrastructure. A system that helped eliminate smallpox, drastically reduce childhood diseases, safeguard schools, expand insurance coverage, and save millions of lives. A system that empowered 90% of Americans to protect their children and families confidently. [emphasis added] ... The Secretary of Health (a man named one of the Disinformation Dozen by the Center for Countering Digital Hate) now controls the levers of federal vaccine policy and is pulling them fast based on his decades of false beliefs about vaccines." (more) https://yourlocalepidemiologist.substack.com/p/rfk-jr-guts-the-us-vaccine-policy Your Local Epidemiologist (YLE) is founded and operated by Dr. Katelyn Jetelina, MPH PhD. YLE is a public health newsletter that reaches over 380,000 people in more than 132 countries, with one goal: to translate the ever-evolving public health science so that people are well-equipped to make evidence-based decisions.

More fallout from RFK Jr's latest outrage: RFK Jr. purges every vaccine adviser on CDC panel, will pick replacements ... "Bruce A. Scott, the president of the American Medical Association, said the committee for generations has been a trusted source for vaccine guidance. “Today’s action to remove the 17 sitting members of ACIP undermines that trust and upends a transparent process that has saved countless lives,” Scott said in a statement. “With an ongoing measles outbreak and routine child vaccination rates declining, this move will further fuel the spread of vaccine-preventable illnesses.” [emphasis added] ... Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), another member of the Senate health committee, said that the move to dismiss all the ACIP members “raises serious questions.” Senate Minority Leader Sen. Charles E. Schumer (D-New York) condemned their ouster. “Firing experts that have spent their entire lives protecting kids from deadly disease is not reform — it’s reckless, radical, and rooted in conspiracy, not science,” Schumer said. “Wiping out an entire panel of vaccine experts doesn’t build trust — it shatters it, and worse, it sends a chilling message: that ideology matters more than evidence, and politics more than public health.” [emphasis added] Washington Post https://archive.ph/IJJlR

So then, you DON'T actually have the bank's app working as yet on your two different mobile devices???

Ya... much more of this under RFK Jr. May 20, 2025 Silencing the CDC ... "When RFK Jr. was running for president, he said that, if elected, he would “give infectious diseases a break for about eight years.” As Secretary of HHS, this has meant 1) largely ignoring a measles outbreak that has killed two young children, the first measles deaths in children in the United States since 2003; 2) ignoring a pertussis outbreak that has exceeded 9,000 cases and is spreading twice as fast as last year; and 3) ignoring the 216 children who have died this year from influenza, the most since the swine flu pandemic of 2009. [emphasis added] Now we learn that not only is RFK Jr. largely ignoring children dying unnecessarily from vaccine-preventable diseases, he’s also prohibiting the CDC from educating the public, the press, and the medical community about a new, life-saving strategy to prevent a viral infection that was previously unpreventable. RFK Jr. ushered in his administration with the phrase “radical transparency.” Whereas, the previous administration, according to him, hadn’t been honest with the American public, his administration would be. This transparency doesn’t apparently extend to information that counters his fixed, immutable, science-resistant belief that “no vaccines are safe and effective.” If RFK Jr. really wants to Make America Healthy Again, he should step down as head of HHS." https://pauloffit.substack.com/p/silencing-the-cdc Dr. Paul Offit -- Professor of pediatrics at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, specializing in infectious diseases, vaccines, immunology, and virology, and a member of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee.

Right now is low season for COVID in the U.S. High season is typically the December to January period, with usually another spike sometime in the summer months. Thailand has a different COVID peak season based on the past several years, typically starting around Song Kran in mid April and continuing for several months. So we're right in the thick of it here in Thailand. Lately, even in its low season, the U.S. has been running more than 1,000 COVID deaths per month. That number was more than 1,000 COVID deaths per week at the start of 2025. The last full week of data for COVID deaths from the U.S. CDC was May 10 with 250 (the latest blue colored column in the chart below). The last full month including that week totaled 1,225. (The last three columns are gray colored to reflect that the data for those periods is partial/incomplete.) https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#trends_weeklydeaths_select_00 The U.S.'s recent history with COVID suggest the current downturn will reverse sometime into the mid-year or fall, followed by a bigger spike around the end of the year. Both the most recent fall 2024 and January 2025 COVID spikes in the U.S. peaked at more than 1,000 COVID deaths per week, as shown in the above CDC chart.