spidermike007

Everything should be re-opened immediately. June 1st, at the latest. Everything. All shops, all bars, every enterprise in the nation. This thing is under control, and the risk now, is not being able to ramp up the economy again, in any reasonable period of time, and having millions of people out of work, for extended periods of time. Let the people get back to work. The threat is over. The army needs to end their power trip, and consider the well being of the economy and the people. Open up every business. At least the ones who have not been crippled, and are able to re-open. Tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of businesses may never be able to re-open, after this insane experiment in economic shutdown is over. It is an experiment for the rich and for government workers on a full salary! Will take some time to see how this all shakes out, but it is my opinion that the economic fallout from the inane economic shutdown, is going to be 200 times worse than Covid itself, and the recovery "ramp up" will be long and excruciating. Far longer than they say. It will not just bounce back. In the history of the world, as far as we know, there has never been a deliberate worldwide economic shutdown. It is light years beyond dumb.

The "slowdown" will last well into 2021, for certain. And some industries may never come back, or will be a pale shadow of their former selves. No doubt homelessness will skyrocket in the US. Tourism in Thailand will never recover to even close to it's former levels, and that leaves millions out of work. Not only here, but worldwide. What about concerts? Will people be willing to hang out with crowds of 20,000, at a cost of hundreds of dollars for a crappy seat? Same with sports. Will people be willing to go into a stadium or an arena with 20,000 to 100,000 people close together, and pay crazy money for a seat? Movie theaters? Cruise ships? Will the hordes just start descending on restaurants again, and pay inane prices for a gourmet meal? The list goes on, and on and on. And in the end, hundreds millions worldwide could end up far poorer than they were before. And tens of millions could end up starving to death, compared to perhaps 100,000 or so total deaths worldwide from Covid. OK. The rich stay safe and financially secure. And the rest of us? And those of us who are self employed, without fortunes in the bank? 

And tourism is not returning to Thailand anytime soon. If you think about it, the group that comprised perhaps 60% of all arrivals (lower to middle income Chinese and Indians) are the ones who have been hardest hit by this idiotic worldwide economic shutdown. Tourism in Thailand will never recover to even close to it's former levels, and that leaves millions out of work. Most countries will still be required to have Covid letters, as the virus is still raging in many countries. And some countries will not issue that letter (impossible to get in the US). Plus, will the mandatory health insurance still be required? Will the policies require a pandemic exception? Will it be even stricter than before? And just what are people returning to? Presently, Koh Samui looks like bombed out version of it's former self, with hundreds of businesses shuttered or gone forever. There are so many unanswered questions, it boggles the mind. One thing is for certain. Thailand will be feeling the effects of this for a very, very long time. So will the rest of the world. 

Everything should be re-opened immediately. Everything. All shops, all bars, every enterprise in the nation. This thing is under control, and the risk now, is not being able to ramp up the economy again, in any reasonable period of time, and having millions of people out of work, for extended periods of time. Let the people get back to work. The threat is over. The army needs to end their power trip, and consider the well being of the economy and the people. June 1st. Open up every business. At least the ones who have not been crippled, and are able to re-open. Tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of businesses may never be able to re-open, after this insane experiment in economic shutdown is over. It is an experiment for the rich and for government workers on a full salary! 

7 hours ago, honcho said:

theyve earned my trust by standing up to the exporters of the wuhan virus !

Wow. If all it takes is making a few nasty statements, to gain your trust, after decades of massive worldwide deceptions, assassination attempts, betrayals, and bloodbaths, can I sell you a bridge? It is a lovel 2,766 meter suspension bridge, that earns $234,000 per day in tolls. I can offer it to you for only $800,000. Three days income. Sound ok? Can I send my bank info. Or, do you actually want details? 

It would appear nearly all the new cases are being brought in from overseas or across the border and immediately being quarantined. How are they determining this? Are they being tested? A simple temperature check? Or?

5 minutes ago, Pilotman said:

is laying bricks for a living the only notable skill to have?  I have never laid a brick, but still had a reasonable successful and fulfilling career? Was I remiss in not telling my kids to take a brick laying course before University? ????

Apparently, if we cannot lay bricks, we ain’t worth nuttin!

3 hours ago, BritManToo said:

This is me .......... took Thailand 1 year to teach me better.

 

But unlike the OP there's nothing I would care about any family/friends/employers knowing.

I'm in Thailand, what do they think I'm doing? 

When people ask, (and they have their usual suspicions) I tell them I am a student of archeology. That the area I am most passionate about is Sukhothai and Ayutthayan portico designs on temples. There are hundreds of well preserved temples to study! Particularly interested in temples from the late 13th century to the late 16th century. 

They give me this look. Really? Wow. I had no idea. How unique. I never knew. Fascinating. Tell me more!

What percentage of ex-pats who have families here have permanent resident status? And what restrictions will they face, upon their return?

What can one even say? If a relationship is not working out, what real men do is discuss things, and try to deal with the issues. And if it cannot be fixed, or if it is beyond repair, or you are not making each other a better version of each other, you move on. He is fairly young, and had a whole life in front of him. Not anymore. He has done the unthinkable. He has basically self revoked the right to consume oxygen. In my book, if it is proven that he did commit this act, he should be put away for decades. I am sure he will make alot of good friends in prison. I hear they really take a liking to guys who abuse their wives. It is likely in his new prison home, he will be able to find fights that are far more fair. 

Oh, the utter irony in this. Twitter was likely largely responsible for getting this incompetent man elected. And now, they put a warning on a tweet that is totally fake news, for the first time ever, and the unhinged man loses his small mind. Twitter should start doing this will ALL of his posts, since he rarely tweets anything that is "fact based". This man has the most peculiar relationship with truth, I have ever witnessed. Remember, "truth is not truth". Wonder how this is going to play out. He cannot afford to alienate Twitter. And Twitter likely needs him, with his 80 million "devotee followers". Yet, Twitter holds the upper hand, for sure. Trump is not much of a poker player. He is far too emotional, and far too fragile, with his ultra thin skin, and incredibly delicate ego. Will be fascinated to see how far either side is willing to push this. The fact checks are a very good idea, and people deserve that. 

In terms of "shutting down social media", he would have better luck installing a new Politburo in China, or replacing Kim! It is fascinating to watch a pathological man, who is spectacularly unstable, and does not have any filter, nor a diplomatic bone in his body, rant on and on. 

Why have his approval ratings continued to nosedive? Usually, when a leader is taking the right course of action during a crisis, the approval ratings tend to soar. In this case?

To that end, it is important for any dominant leader to demonstrate empathy, humility and, most importantly, that his or her actions have been governed by the need of the hour—to help others rather than to promote his or her own cause. Our findings show that people are willing to pardon the negative actions of even a dominant leader if she or he comes across as caring and empathetic—demonstrated attributes of a prestige-based leader. Modi and Xi, despite harboring classic authoritarian leader traits, have done exactly that.

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/why-trumps-popularity-surge-faded-so-quickly/

Approval ratings for the federal government have slipped as the pandemic has stretched on, from 40% approval one month ago to 31% now. State governments continue to get higher marks from the public, though support there is slipping as well. About half of Americans — 51% — say they approve of the job being done by their states, down from 63% in April.

Trump’s troubles do not end here. Continuing a trend first evident in the 2018 midterm elections, he is losing ground among white working-class women, who supported him by a 27-point margin in 2016. Because opinion among college-educated voters has hardened against the president since he took office, he needs strong majority support among the entire white working class to prevail.

https://www.brookings.edu/blog/fixgov/2020/05/08/new-polling-data-show-trump-faltering-in-key-swing-states-heres-why/

13 hours ago, EricTh said:

All these scare-mongering are without any proofs. I live in a village and nobody here has been infected. I don't know anybody in my town who are infected either.

 

I do not know anyone in all of Thailand that has been infected. I have a friend who is a surgical nurse in a  major hospital, and she tells me they have done thousands of tests, and not one has come back positive. There is alot going on with Covid, that totally defies the narrative. This is definitely not the Zombie Apocalypse.

Open the economy now. End the lockdown now. 

16 hours ago, GAZZPA said:

Making way for the transition into a high end tourist destination. Maldives, here we come. ????

Never going to happen. A total pipe dream, on the part of the authorities. They cannot think clearly enough, nor do they have the perspective to know why the wealthy shun the place. One 8 hour session with a foreign travel expert, and they would have all the information they needed. But, since the rest of the world does not know anything, they would never do something really productive, like that. Plus you have guys like Pipat running tourism, so no talent, or progressive policies, whatsoever. There are a dozen good reasons why over the past 10-15 years, there are less and less wealthy tourists coming to Thailand. I have outlined them before, so no need to bore you with the details. Thailand has shot itself in the foot, when it comes to wealthy, or even affluent tourists. It is a low to lower middle income tourist market. They are stuck with China and India primarily. A small number of Americans and Europeans will come, but they represent the minority for sure. 

19 hours ago, ftpjtm said:

Then why are schools closed, beaches closed, no alchohol allowed to be served at restaurants, islands closed, a state of emergency extended, interprovincal travel restricted, and why do a litany of other regulations remain in place which deny Thais to earn a  living?

 

It seems from the government figures that the ban on foreign arrivals is all that's needed. 

 

Let Thais get back to work!

Either they are being super paranoid, super careful, or simply clinging to the power and do not want to let it go. I fully agree about letting the people get back to work. A friend of mine who lives on Samui, said it is like a ghost town. Most Thais have abandoned their shops, and fled the island, since there are few foreigners there at this time. Most restaurants are either closed, or empty. Millions could end up without jobs, for a long time to come. The longer this inane shutdown lasts, the harder the recovery will be. Thailand is likely looking at negative 8-15% growth this year. International tourism is not returning anytime soon. The group that Thailand targets, was the hardest hit group by this shutdown. 

17 hours ago, JCP108 said:

Yeah. I'm concerned that there are different ideas about what it means to be super careful. 

 

Do you restrict people from places with highest number of infections, or highest number as a percentage of their population? That would make a big difference. For example, if half the people in the country of Aruba were infected, that would still be only 50k in raw number. So, comparatively speaking, the U.S. (say, with current moment figures) with about 2 million cases would look like a better candidate for banning. But, in that scenario, Aruba has a 50% infection rate and the U.S. less than 1%. As a ratio to the population, the U.S. would be much, much safer than Aruba. There's also the point that in big countries, cases are centered in some areas and mostly lacking in others. In the U.S. a large percentage of the cases are in just 3 or 4 states. To really be careful, people from states with a high percentage of cases to the state population would make more sense. 

 

Also, what about countries whose reported numbers are just not valid due to either inadequate testing or dishonesty? 

 

Hopefully there is a reasonable and careful policy but one that is not too restrictive. And, being from the U.S. and missing my daughter quite a lot, I hope that whatever the case, travel between here and there is possible. I agree that those certificates are going to remain impossible to get because they are stupid and however dysfunctional the medical system is there, I've worked with many doctors in my career and can't think of one that would quickly produce a fake certificate like that just so someone can travel. Too many rules against malpractice there for that to happen much. 

I was discussing this with a friend last night, and he suggested that certain countries will emerge, as centers for Covid free letters. Makes alot of sense. Mexico, Norway, who knows? A $200 letter, and as Americans we can travel freely. Just because we are from the US, does not mean we need the health letter from the US.