TallGuyJohninBKK

And then there's these kinds of complications, particularly in some segments of the Thai plastic surgery industry: "A campaigning Thai lawyer, on Tuesday, shone a light on the dark recesses of cheap and dangerous plastic surgery in Bangkok, known to be a world-beating centre for cosmetic procedures at low prices but which, in the last decade, has faced disturbing questions about the regulation of smaller clinics where several fatal cases have been reported in respect of relatively minor procedures. The case in question is one of a doctor previously jailed for the death of a patient who has reopened up and is the subject of harrowing and substantiated claims from two Thai women who brought their story before reporters on Tuesday."

False claims recirculate on harmful DNA in Covid-19 vaccines 04 October 2023 "Scientists have repeatedly refuted the claim that Covid-19 vaccines can alter a person's genome, but social media posts suggest DNA contamination in the injections could lead to harmful effects such as cancer. This is false; there is no evidence of significant amounts of genetic material in the shots -- and even if there were, experts say they could not alter cells." https://factcheck.afp.com/doc.afp.com.33WW3U6

Nov. 9, 2023 "Judges on a federal appeals court panel wrestled with whether management at a Texas pharmacy created a hostile work environment by berating and insulting a worker with asthma who asked to wear a mask to protect against Covid-19. ... The dispute centers on a recorded exchange at the beginning of the pandemic in 2020 between pharmacy technician trainee David Calzada, who had asked for and been denied permission to wear a mask, and two managers. One supervisor repeatedly threatened to fire Calzada, calling him a “disrespectful, stupid little kid” and saying he was acting in a way that gets kids “locked in their rooms for a while or even spanked.” https://news.bloomberglaw.com/daily-labor-report/nature-of-covid-mask-request-response-is-focus-of-court-debate Texas... yeesh! As the article recounts, the case is being brought by the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. And the article noted that the agency is seeking to revive its disability discrimination lawsuit against the pharmacy company after it prevailed in the lower court. At issue is whether a single incident, such as the one above that led to the subject employee quitting, as opposed to a pattern of discriminating behavior, can trigger a valid finding of having created a hostile work environment.

Artificial intelligence can forecast the behavior of viruses and quickly make vaccines to thwart them. "COVID was the first global, society-altering pandemic in more than a century. It disrupted economies, reshaped politics, changed behaviors, and claimed around seven million lives. But now, artificial intelligence (AI) breakthroughs are raising hopes that humanity may never be brought to its knees by an infectious disease ever again. ... To showcase EVEscape’s potential, scientists provided it with the original genome sequence of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which was available months before the pathogen officially launched the COVID pandemic. Lo and behold, EVEscape predicted nearly all the mutations that would come to dominate during the pandemic, including many of the variants that became household names (Omicron, Beta, etc.)." ... As EVEscape stands guard watching for future pandemics, AI is also increasingly being utilized to drastically speed up the vaccine discovery process." https://bigthink.com/health/harvard-ai-model-covid-last-pandemic/

I think the part that a fair-minded opening post would/should have included were the details about "anonymous" and "voluntary." But somehow, those details managed to be ignored.

A Google or Bing web search would be your friend on this... Reuters, CNN, The Hill, ABC, CBS, News Nation, Becker's Hospital Review, and more.

What has it got to do with health? Try reading the CDC's own announcement as linked above: "TGS has proven to be a nimble and scalable resource for public health officials in the United States–quickly adapting to a changing pandemic in real time and addressing gaps in global surveillance; especially, when testing and sequencing information are limited. For example, TGS provided early detection of the SARS-CoV-2 variant BA.2.86 entering the United States within days of its global identification. As the infected traveler had originated travel in Japan, this finding also informed the public health community that the new variant had also spread to Asia."

That applies only to direct quoting, and not to the summarizing of details in your own words, which you liberally did above, and often do, choosing what to include and what to omit. Also, worth noting, I'm not sure how the CDC, in Red Phoenix's conspiratorial tones, "quietly" released a statement on this, considering that they issued a public news release on the program and posted it to their website, leading to dozens of news reports on the topic in the past few days. That's hardly "quiet."

And in case anyone needed any additional reminding, also according to the CDC, more than 1,200 people in the U.S. are continuing to die from COVID each and every week even now: https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#trends_weeklydeaths_select_00 Note: the lower gray colored figures with lower totals at the far right of the graph are colored that way because the data for those weeks is considered incomplete and partial because of lag time in death causes reporting -- and NOT because it means COVID death numbers lately are dramatically dropping.

Before any of the usual cast of characters arrive to perhaps rail on this, it's worth mentioning some details that Red Phoenix didn't include in his summary of the program above: From the above announcement: "As of September 2023, TGS has enrolled more than 360,000 air travelers. Participation in the program is voluntary and anonymous. The program covers flights from more than 135 countries from all World Health Organization regions." And also as Reuters reports, the expanded program will involve 7 international airports in the U.S. and will be just temporary in the coming months during the peak respiratory virus season. "The program includes seven participating international airports across the country - Los Angeles, New York's John F. Kennedy, San Francisco, Boston Logan, Washington Dulles, Seattle and Newark." ... "The pilot expansion, which will last for several months, comes ahead of the U.S. winter months when respiratory-disease causing viruses usually circulate more heavily. CDC has warned that it expects hospitalizations from COVID-19, RSV infections and flu this year to be similar to last year's numbers, higher than the pre-pandemic levels." https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/us-cdc-expand-surveillance-travelers-respiratory-viruses-2023-11-06/

So let me get this straight -- they're cracking down on themselves? Who's going to be left to run the government after they're all suppressed???

Yes... the unnamed doctor was supposedly jailed in 2021. "presented two victims of a plastic surgeon operating in the Huai Khwang area of Bangkok who was previously the subject of a police investigation after a death occurred at his surgery of a patient admitted for a liposuction procedure. The doctor was subsequently jailed for the incident in 2021, served his time, and was then released but appears to have been able to resume his practice. "The doctor was subsequently jailed for the incident in 2021, served his time, and was then released but appears to have been able to resume his practice." The named doctor was one who had a British woman patient die on him in 2014: "However, several fly-by-night operators, particularly in Bangkok, have given the trade a bad name, leading to negative international press coverage, such as that concerning the SP Clinic, which was at the centre of a controversy in October 2014 when police arrested Dr Sompop Sansiri after the death of a 24-year-old British woman, Joy Williams, who had been a patient at his clinic and died subsequently under anaesthetic." The named doctor and his case was 2014. The unnamed doctor and his most recent cases were 2021 involving the other death at that time, and then the past two years with these two women and their news conference. Different doctors, different patient death cases years apart. If it was all the same doctor, the article would not have begun talking about the newest case with the following reference: "On Tuesday, lawyer Ronnarong Kaewphet presented two of the latest victims of another well-known plastic surgeon." "another" as in, in addition to / separate from the prior 2014 one we've just told you about.

Try again... that reference is to the prior different doctor and case from 2014-2015 -- not the doctor involved here. The article recites a bunch of stuff about the old case involving the prior doctor who IS named in the article... and then moves to the current case.... saying: "On Tuesday, lawyer Ronnarong Kaewphet presented two of the latest victims of another well-known plastic surgeon. This fly-by-night operator fell foul of the law and served time in prison." Admittedly, as if often the case, the Examiner article is somewhat confusingly written with back and forth references that make it hard to follow, especially for the casual/quick read.

And as is typical in such matters here in Thailand, the OP news article here doesn't ever name the doctor or the clinic that these two women claim was responsible for disfiguring them. And beyond that, while we have a news conference on the subject by their lawyer, there's not a whiff of any info in the article on these women's ordeals that it has thus far resulted in any interest or action by the Medical Council of Thailand or the country's Consumer Protection police. It's sad and deplorable on so many levels, including that quacks like the "doctor" involved here are allowed to treat patients in Thailand, especially when according to the article, the same doctor had been jailed in 2021 following the death of one of his liposuction patients, served his time, and was then released to resume practicing, ultimately on the two women in this latest case. And then there's the different past doctor who was named in the article, regarding his prosecution and jailing for a prior case from back in 2014 in which his farang female patient died while under anaesthesia at a clinic that wasn't properly licensed to perform the procedure that was done. Yeesh!!!

I would ask the same question a different way: I don't begrudge anyone who's sick the notion of seeking out the best medical care that they can obtain anywhere. But you kind of have to wonder, with all that the Thai officialdom regularly trumpets about the quality of medical care in Thailand, including quite a bit of specialized stuff relating to cancer, why Chuwit felt the need to go abroad and potentially end up passing away outside his home country? Ahh, as some have suggested above, perhaps it's not the difference in foreign vs domestic cancer treatment, but possibly instead the difference in PALLIATIVE care that can be obtained abroad -- an area where Thailand is not any kind of leader.

On the subject of politicians with COVID, let's also not forget that former US President Trump also was hospitalized with COVID, and was far sicker from it than the public was told at the time, just the same as occurred with Johnson. Trump was sicker from Covid than the public was told at the time, report says Feb 11 2021 "Former President Donald Trump was more seriously sick from the coronavirus in October than the public was told at the time. Trump, after contracting Covid-19, had “extremely depressed blood oxygen levels at one point and a lung problem associated with pneumonia caused by the coronavirus,” The New York Times reported. His condition was so poor, the Times reported, that “officials believed he would be put on a ventilator” before he was taken from the White House to Walter Reed National Military Center, the newspaper said." https://www.cnbc.com/2021/02/11/covid-trump-was-sicker-from-coronavirus-than-first-said.html

November 7, 2023 "The population benefit of COVID-19 vaccination via direct and indirect effects was substantial in Tokyo in early 2022 during Omicron, with an estimated 65% reduction in the number of SARS-CoV-2 infections, according to a new model that compared risks between unvaccinated and vaccinated individuals. The study is published in BMC Infectious Diseases and used data from the sixth wave of COVID-19 cases seen in Tokyo caused by the BA.1 and BA.2 Omicron subvariants from January to May 2022. ... Estimated 8.5 million infections indirectly prevented The investigators calculated that mass vaccination campaigns directly prevented 640,000 COVID-19 cases during the sixth wave, and indirectly prevented as many as 8.5 million infections." (more) https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/covid-19/study-suggests-mass-vaccination-programs-cut-covid-cases-japan-65 Conclusions "The primary series and booster vaccination programs prevented many SARS-CoV-2 transmission and contributed to a 65% reduction in infections during the epidemic wave dominated by Omicron BA.1 and BA.2 in Tokyo. Measuring the impact of COVID-19 vaccination can provide valuable information to guide public health policy and improve our understanding of population-level protection. It is critical to achieve high vaccination coverage to benefit from its valuable direct and indirect effects." https://bmcinfectdis.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12879-023-08748-1

Wow... and it seems Johnson also had his moment channeling Donald Trump's "disinfectant" rant on COVID! Boris Johnson asked scientists if hair dryer could kill Covid, says ex-aide "Boris Johnson asked government scientists whether people could kill Covid by using a "special hair dryer" up their nose, his former aide has claimed. Dominic Cummings said the former prime minister shared a video of a man using such a device with his top advisers Sir Patrick Vallance and Sir Chris Whitty. He then asked the medical experts what they thought about the clip, he added. (more) https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-67287003

The gift that keeps on giving: COVID inquiry: Boris Johnson's veteran aide confirms ex-PM said 'let the bodies pile high' Mr Johnson denied making the remarks on numerous occasions - both on television and in the House of Commons. 7 November 2023 "Boris Johnson said he would rather 'let the bodies pile high' than impose another lockdown in September 2020, according to one of his most veteran aides." https://news.sky.com/video/covid-inquiry-boris-johnsons-veteran-aide-confirms-ex-pm-said-let-the-bodies-pile-high-13002839

Just a recap on COVID deaths in the UK -- 230,000+ and still growing: https://coronavirus.data.gov.uk/details/deaths Also, about 340 new COVID deaths per week in in the UK even now, as per the above chart. In the U.S., the weekly COVID deaths number continues to be above 1,000 per week: https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#trends_weeklydeaths_select_00

And more on BoJo's bout with COVID: I'm guessing in the end, he probably wished he hadn't suggested doing his COVID TV stunt, considering that his bout with COVID almost killed him: U.K.'s Boris Johnson says doctors prepared to announce his death as he fought COVID-19 Johnson said he was "in denial" and he initially brushed off the seriousness of the situation when he tested positive for the virus in late March. May 3, 2020 "LONDON — U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson has revealed that doctors prepared to announce his death as he battled coronavirus, ending up in intensive care, last month. Johnson said that he was given “litres and litres of oxygen” to keep him alive as he recounted his life-or-death experience with the virus. “It was a tough old moment, I won’t deny it,” the prime minister, who only days ago announced the birth of his son with partner Carrie Symonds, said in an emotional interview to Britain’s The Sun on Sunday newspaper." https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/u-k-s-boris-johnson-says-doctors-prepared-announce-his-n1198871

From the U.S.: Politicians Have Died of COVID-19 September 9, 2020 A meme circulating on Facebook falsely claims, “Not one politician has died from the virus.” Actually, at least five current or former politicians across the country have died due to COVID-19." ... Perhaps the most widely covered death of a politician came in late July, though, when former presidential candidate Herman Cain died from complications due to COVID-19 on July 30." https://www.factcheck.org/2020/09/politicians-have-died-of-covid-19/ AND Colin Powell, first Black US secretary of state, dies of Covid-19 complications amid cancer battle https://www.cnn.com/2021/10/18/politics/colin-powell-dies/index.html Texas councilman who spurned vaccines, masks dies after Covid-19 hospitalization https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/texas-councilman-who-spurned-vaccines-masks-dies-after-covid-19-n1276219 After California politician dies of COVID, a battle breaks out on her husband's Facebook page Orange County Deputy District Attorney Kelly Ernby, a vocal opponent of COVID-19 vaccine mandates, has died at age 46 after contracting COVID-19. https://www.sfgate.com/california-politics/article/California-Kelly-Ernby-COVID-vaccine-mandate-death-16749684.php I could go on.... but the answer is pretty clear...

As it turned out, Johnson ended up being hospitalized with COVID back in 2020, even without having to do a television stunt to get there. Boris Johnson admitted to hospital with COVID-19 British prime minister in hospital for tests as a ‘precautionary step,’ according to a Downing Street spokesperson. April 5, 2020 "LONDON — U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson was admitted to hospital for tests on Sunday night, 10 days after testing positive for coronavirus. In a statement, a Downing Street spokeswoman said it was a precautionary move and had been taken "on the advice of his doctor." “This is a precautionary step, as the prime minister continues to have persistent symptoms of coronavirus 10 days after testing positive for the virus," the spokesperson said." (more) https://www.politico.eu/article/boris-johnson-admitted-to-hospital-with-covid-19/

Boris Johnson asked to be injected with COVID virus on TV to calm public, inquiry hears Former aide to the prime minister says comments were ‘made in the heat of the moment.’ ... "Lister, now a Conservative member of the House of Lords, said the comments came “at a time when COVID was not seen as being the serious disease it subsequently became,” and described it as an “unfortunate comment.” ... It’s the second time such a claim has been made about Johnson. Dominic Cummings — Johnson’s former top adviser who quit amid a row with the then-Conservative leader — told a parliamentary committee in 2021 that No. 10 Downing Street officials had been concerned Johnson would tell cabinet colleagues “this is swine flu, don’t worry about it and I’m going to get (Chief Medical Officer) Chris Whitty to inject me live on TV with coronavirus.” (more) https://www.politico.eu/article/boris-johnson-asked-to-be-injected-with-covid-on-tv-to-calm-public-inquiry-hears/

"Boris Johnson "wanted to be injected with Covid-19 on television" to calm public fears, an ex-aide has said. The claim - by Lord Lister - came in a witness statement to the Covid inquiry. ... He also confirmed his former boss had said letting "the bodies pile high" was preferable to another lockdown." (more) https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-67347456