So, a quick look at the news this morning (Bali time) 

- France health minister says he expect the spread of the virus to become uncontrollable after N.Y. because people will socialize during that period

- France's health minister says they will maybe need to call for a stricter  curfew in some areas.  Curfew to start at 6.00 pm. He beats what the German did during WW2..

- From The Guardian (but same in other media) : Bloody French ...😁😁😁😂😂😂😂. Anyway so much for the miracle solution by "mass vacinatio.".

"Only four in 10 people in France plan to get Covid vaccine

Just four in 10 people in France want to have a vaccination against Covid-19, a poll showed Tuesday, as concern also grows over the slow start to the country’s immunisation campaign.

According to the poll by Ipsos Global Advisor in partnership with the World Economic Forum, just 40% of French people want to have the vaccine.

This puts it behind even other laggards like Russia on 43% and South Africa on 53%, let alone those countries where eagerness to have the vaccine is high such as China on 80% and Britain on 77%.

Fear of side-effects is the reason most often given for not wanting the vaccine, according to the poll.

In the United States, where a mass vaccination campaign has now begun in earnest, 69% of people now want the vaccine, a rise on October."

- WHO officially warns us "You haven't seen anything yet, the next one will be worse". Good to see the experts being optimistic !

https://www.theguardian.com/world/video/2020/dec/29/who-warns-covid-19-pandemic-is-not-necessarily-the-big-one-video

But I dont give a hoot about all that...Worst is my.portfolio is down 3,8 % last night 😥😥😥😥 and I have a dentist appointment this afternoon...

Anyway, breakfast and morning swim ! No need to panic !

3 hours ago, coxyhog said:

I really am amazed that some of you guys are not in government as you obviously know far more about this pandemic than do our elected representatives & their scientific & medical advisors😂

3 hours ago, Nightcrawler said:

I was just thinking the same 

2 hours ago, galenkia said:

We couldn't have done any worse considering what a fucking shambles those cunts have made of it. 

9 months in and they are going backwards. 

25 minutes ago, roomark said:

Get some new advisors because the ones that are running it are a joke and can never make their mind up from one minute to the next WTF they are going to do .

 

 

Well, globally them "advisers" and "scientist" haven't impressed me yet.

Maybe somebody should send all of them a few books concerning :

- The art of management

- basic 101 about communication

More panic and fear mongering....

Exacrly how government officials should handle a crisis ...

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.bbc.com/news/amp/uk-55475240

Covid: UK faces 'catastrophe' without tougher action, warns scientist

"Decisive" national action is needed to tackle the spread of Covid and prevent a "catastrophe" in the new year, a scientist advising the government says.

Now wait till some smartass scientific "discovers" that the virus can be spread by food packaging, or by the parcels you have received through Amazon, DHL or from AliBaba through Chinapost... and that has gone throough many, many hands...

Read my lips, it's just a matter of time !  There was already questions about it concerning frozen food...

2 hours ago, fforest said:

(The whole thing is completely out of control)....I Disagree 100%.....I would say things are going exactly to plan.....If the PTB were not happy with things, it all would change overnight.....

 

 

That's indeed another way to look at it !

1 hour ago, Washedup said:

Medics plead with Britons to stay at home this NYE..good luck with that..think it'll be Thailand in 2022 at this rate 

Some already suggested to wear masks at home, as it the place where the virus spreads the easiest way....

1 hour ago, roobob said:

Gee these lockdowns have proved successful...not....how long have they been going on now.

cheers

 

Just what I said before. Since March..... 9 months.  

But no, let's try another 6 months ?

1st class developed countries are showing in their media that they can't control the virus, media is completely out of control and how more scary the headlines the better, governments only answer is lockdown, open, lockdown more, instore a curfew and that kind of shit. And throw billions of $ at it.

We have great banners on our media's or government websites proudly announcing the numbers of deaths etc...

Now put yourself in the position of somebody who rules a "developing" country....

When he sees this stuff what impression gives that to him ? Hell those smart Westerners who since years have been telling us they know everything better, they have the best doctors, the best technology, etc..... Look where there are, with all their science, experts, and money they can't control this thing and obviously have gone in panic mode.

NHS staff posting Twitters that they are outgunned ...

So give me now ONE good reason why they would let even ONE citizen of those "developed" countries enter THEIR country ?

And mediatiatizing heavily stories like the Brits doing a runner in Switzerland (even I do agree with them when you know the full story) is not going to help !

The whole thing is completely out of control, and the "leaders" we have are just pouring more oil on the fire every week.

1 minute ago, roomark said:

Read all her threads Spicey

She trying to get info out there and is genuine Google info on her.

Like I said I'm sick of all the bullshit on BOTH sides . 

She is someone who is actually working inside the hospital..

 

Just done that mate....

And on her Linkedin as well....

A bit young IMO

17 minutes ago, roomark said:

Interesting few threads on twitter..

Good to get some actual info out with boots on the ground so to speak.

I'm sick of bullshit on both sides of the fence .

It's turning into a long old winter here in the U.K

 

"Hello, I run a network for over 46K doctors."

WTH does that mean ? 

Had a look on the Twitters, a bit of dramatization that sure will not help or improve the situation....

And she has been at it since February. A quick Google search is enough

NHS England » Dr Samantha Batt-Rawden

1 hour ago, fforest said:

Hey were back to Feb 2020 and the new year is not here yet...

 

INDONESIAN GOVERNMENT BANS FOREIGN FLIGHTS TO START NEW YEAR

https://thebalisun.com/indonesian-government-bans-foreign-flights-to-start-new-year/

 

 

Was just going to post that.

All foreign flights banned, not that there were many....

As I said, not much hope before several months, minimum 6.

Now sorry, but the UK Minister of Health declaring "the virus is out of control" sure didn't help....

If everybody continues to add his little touch of panic and paranoia, this "new world" is gonna take deeper and deeper roots and will become the default rule.

Same as the anti terrorist measure after 9/11

Same as condom has become default after the HIV paranoia

Good I am old ....

This evening Macron and his health Minister will appear on TV with "plans for the future". Both already speaking about 3rd wave, so I can see where this is going....🙄🙄🙄🙄

1 hour ago, Esco said:

This 89% is a staggering percentage not to be brushed over, and let's not forget these 3 "lifestyle diseases" often accompany each other. 

Correct.

2 hours ago, Thai Spice said:

HKG did that around 10% ago. 

Result : Besides the local consumption of wine having gone up, HKG has become a major distribution hub for wine to Asia, has several famous wine cellars, and regularly host international wine tasting event.

French wine in HK is around 15 to 20% more expensive then in France. Very reasonable.

 

Oops, 10 year ago...

1 hour ago, Esco said:

They could start by taking away the ridiculously high taxes on imports eg alcohol, but the powers that be won't let them. 

 

HKG did that around 10% ago. 

Result : Besides the local consumption of wine having gone up, HKG has become a major distribution hub for wine to Asia, has several famous wine cellars, and regularly host international wine tasting event.

French wine in HK is around 15 to 20% more expensive then in France. Very reasonable.

Reading the nearly daily alarming news bulletin about the NHS being overstretched, at the limit etc, I tried to compare the number of hospitalizations / situation between UK and France, as we don't hear those "near panic" cries from our public hospital system.

From today's Guardian :

NHS England said it now has more Covid-19 patients in hospital than at the peak of the first wave – 20,426 as of 8am on Monday, surpassing April’s high of 18,946 on 12 April. Health officials in Wales and Scotland have also said they fear becoming overwhelmed.

Or another one :

'Resilience is running out': NHS workers brace for another Covid surge | Coronavirus | The Guardian

Now compare with  France's number.

- Number of Covid hospitalizations (Metropolitan France + overseas departments). Numbers are a bit higher 25k vs 20k

- Number of people in reanimation / Intensive Care / Continuous monitoring

I took 2 different sources, and they match. 2.700 people in Rea / IC / CM

Note the explanation of the counting (sr/sio/sc), which may be different than NHS ?

 "Since the beginning of hospital monitoring via SI-VIC, the definition of admission to reanimation applies to hospitalized patients developing a severe form and admitted to reanimation (SR), intensive care unit (SI) or continuous monitoring unit (SC), without specifying the type of service."

Another thing is from what I heard / read, people are only really critical cases  are put in reanimation (under oxygen), as doctors agree that this is a very "heavy" treatment and that even for those who come out of it "healed" there are nearly always long term sequels.

- Occupation rate of Reanimation / ICU / continuous monitoring  is 52% :

NOTE :

- 63% are 65 +

- median age is 68 (74 for those who die)

- 89% present at least one comorbidity. 46% for obesity, 45% for hyper blood tension, 31% for diabetes. 

I tried to find some similar charts / data on the NHS website but couldn't find anything. Only info I got is from papers and news sites. 

If anybody knows where I can find it ?

OK, back to my stock market charts now ......

25 minutes ago, Esco said:

Good calculation. 

The 186K aren't necessarily excess deaths though. More data would be required to determine they wouldn't otherwise have been part of the 100%, and you'd need to compare average number of deaths of the last 10 years to see whether the past years' flu seasons have been exceptionally "mild" like they were in many European countries, which sort of created a "backlog". 

Agreed, but as I said, just a napkin calculation without digging deeper.

I follow a little more deeply France, UK and Belgium situations as for those three, detailed numbers are available on government websites with previous years numbers and the data behind the charts downloadable in Excel format.

But hey, it's not like I am spending hours and hours on it every week ....

Just keeping the brain spinning a bit ! 

14 minutes ago, Stillearly said:

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/dec/28/dozen-britons-remain-in-quarantine-in-swiss-ski-resort-verbier-covid
 

Only about a dozen British tourists out of about 420 appear to be left in the Swiss ski resort of Verbier after an undisclosed number fled a mandatory quarantine, many under cover of darkness, risking a 10,000 Swiss franc fine (£8,300) and drawing widespread condemnation on social media.

Asked about the runaway tourists, the Swiss health minister, Alain Berset, said: “We are aware of that. It’s obviously a problem. There was an order to quarantine that has not been respected.”

He added: “One shouldn’t underestimate what an impossible situation it was. We had to decide within hours what to do … That things don’t work perfectly in such a situation, that problems surface, is a reality we have to live with.”

 

While some Swiss officials were sympathetic to the British skiers who quietly escaped rather than comply with Switzerland’s new quarantine rules for citizens from the UK and South Africa, after the discovery of a new highly contagious variant of coronavirus, commentators on Twitter were less kind, focusing on the wealth and entitlement of the skiers.

It also appeared that some of the skiers may have ignored UK advice on not travelling abroad as part of the new restrictions announced before Christmas

Naah, Guardian is leftist, Remainers rag ...all lies !

More seriously, I would have done the same.

FFS, you arrive on holiday and 48h later  the country you stay in decides to retroactively put you in quarantaine ? 

Good too see they found refuge in France ! We have a long tradition of helping refugees in need .....😁😁😁😁😁

4 minutes ago, Washedup said:

Russia admits to worlds third worst covid 19 death toll..more than 186,000 Russians have died due to coronavirus..

Population 144 million (2018) 

186.000 : 144 M = 0,13 %

Annual death rate 2019 : 12,8 / 1.000 

https://knoema.com/atlas/Russian-Federation/Death-rate

12,8 : 1000 x 144 M =1.843.000 annual deaths

So, 186.000 Covid death represents approx a 10% excess death.

Just a rough, back of the enveloppe, calculation but in fact this would be way less per capita than the US, UK or France.

But I am a bit sceptical about that 186 k number. Russian data ......

Interesting article and a little lesson in economy...

https://asiatimes.com/2020/12/strong-baht-makes-thais-rethink-export-reliance/

11 hours ago, lazarus said:

Pan grilled salmon, mashed potatoes w/garlic, broccoli florets finished with oyster sauce & sesame seeds, green salad. Costco Cabernet ($8us/1.5L).

 

Eating salmon with a spoon and fork ? 

You stay Thailand too long !

Yesterday evening

Chicken with mash and gravy for me

The Miss prefers it with vegetables as well.

Vaccination tracker, pretty good.

Being published by Bloomberg, I think it is rather reliable.

https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/covid-vaccine-tracker-global-distribution/

Then again, maybe it's a leftist, libertarian, Dem or Rep shitrag ....

Who knows ? 😁😁😁😁😁😁😁

20 minutes ago, fygjam said:

GT200 and the Alpha-6...

Business opportunity.

 

 

Was thinking at the infamous GT 2000 as well 🙈🙈🙈

33 minutes ago, dcfc2007 said:

The vaccine is most definitely the route out of this. Is it perfect? No, but it's what we need to start moving society and the economy forward again.

However, there is an underlying issue. A small section of society populated by lefties, anarchists, remainiacs and anti-westerners don't want the vaccine to work, they are besides themselves with rage that the UK led by a tory government is on track to be the first large country to vaccinate its population.

The current restrictions are the far-lefts dream, millions on the payroll of the state, the NHS venerated like a God, businesses closed, air travel reduced to a trickle. It's almost as if Jeremy Corbyn and Extinction Rebellion won the UK election. 

They get to live out there fantasy world under the guise of virtue signalling bollocks about 'protecting the NHS' and other such nonsense. These people will attempt to frustrate and delay any attempts to return to normality, proper normality, none of this pseudo-scientific 'new normal' bollocks.

Hahahahahahahahahahaha...... You even included the Remainers ? Bravo ! 

But I agree with that part :

"none of this pseudo-scientific 'new normal' bollocks."

OK, bedtime now my boy ! 

Something new ? After the Covid sniffing dogs, we have now a machine ?

A bit sceptical, and I couldn't find much on the net about it ....

https://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2020/12/27/locally-made-covid-19-detector-approved-by-health-ministry.html

https://www.ugm.ac.id/en/news/20122-ugm-genose-can-detect-covid-19-less-than-2-minutes

Maybe basically a saliva / breath analyser directly linked with a software on a laptop ? 

2 hours ago, code_slayer_bkk said:

At the mini van terminal picking up a friend .. I hate these fucking masks ...

 

Naah bro, relax...a selfie with a mask is the latest fashion from what I see around me !

11 minutes ago, simon said:

Will be amazed if tourists return to LOS next year. But be warned Thailand don't leave it to long or we will find somewhere else to go especially with the exchange rate being where it is. I feel the good days in Thailand will never return. 

Plenty others destinations... although few will be open in the coming months IMO.

I know for some, Pattaya is their Nirvana...🙄🙄🙄