48 minutes ago, champers said:

 

As previously mentioned, their Jaffa Cakes were addictive and will be sorely missed by me.

Ha!  Another jaffa cakes fan!  And here I thought I was the only one!

As an American, I had never even heard the term "jaffa cake" until I wandered into M&S CentralWorld that day some months back.....

6 hours ago, Celsius said:

I loved their Jaffa cakes and they would often be on sale at 50% off.

WOW!  I was shopping for a gift some months back, and ended up buying a package of those that I in the end kept for myself.  Soft cookie-like confection with orange flavoring and chocolate coating...  So good!!!!

And ya, I think part of the reason I bought those was, at the time of my visit and shopping, they were indeed priced at about 50% off the list price! 

I would have gone back to buy more after tasting the first batch at home... except.... they were gonna send my blood sugar levels soaring!!!   🙂

But Malone is hardly alone. RFK Jr. and the anti-vax group he founded, Children's Health Defense, have an even LONGER list of documented false claims that have been researched by fact-checking group NewsGuard, as follows:

Provably False Claims

NewsGuard has identified 106 different false claims promoted by Kennedy.

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

5 hours ago, hotchilli said:

General ?????

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...

6 hours ago, NanLaew said:

It is quite strange that SCB chose to not implement the facial recognition feature in their app for everyone, like most other banks were instructed to do by the government.

 

My friend has personal and business accounts with SCB and was hamstrung by this 50,000 baht limitation, especially on that latter account. He visited a branch and asked how he could get around this. They called 'head office' and the person he spoke with said he could get a waiver on his account as long as he "fully understood it was less secure, and he should think hard about it."

 

He waited half-a-second and told them he was willing to assume the risk. Since he's had no restrictions placed on subsequent transactions, he assumes that they flagged his account in their system as being 'compliant'. 

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.

10 hours ago, sandyf said:

Banks world wide are changing their ways and have been for some years. Some changes seem to bother some more than others.

Getting hot under the collar over transfer limitations seem a bit petty compared to things like FATCA and CRS.

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.

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.

May 8, 2024

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/

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.

...

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.

12 hours ago, Red Phoenix said:

> The committee has been plagued with persistent conflicts of interest and has become little more than a rubber stamp for any vaccine.

It has never recommended against a vaccine—even those later withdrawn for safety reasons.

It has failed to scrutinize vaccine products given to babies and pregnant women.

To make matters worse, the groups that inform ACIP meet behind closed doors, violating the legal and ethical principle of transparency crucial to maintaining public trust.

 

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.

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]

...