Zeb

Police in Canada have charged a man with speeding and dangerous driving after he was found asleep at the wheel of his self-driving car as it travelled at 150km/h down a highway in the province of Alberta. Announcing the charges on Thursday, the Royal Canadian Mounted police said that on 9 July they received a complaint that a Model S Tesla vehicle was speeding on the highway near the town of Ponoka. “The car appeared to be self-driving, traveling over 140km/h, with both front seats completely reclined and both occupants appearing to be asleep,” the RCMP said in a statement. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/sep/17/canada-tesla-driver-alberta-highway-speeding

I'm sure they will be lined up to go into quarantine, NOT!

Just a pity we are not there to benefit from the improving rates.

Some Thai Embassy's have advised people not to book air tickets until they have the OK from the embassy that they will allowed into the country. A copy of this was posted elsewhere a while ago. Might be an idea to check with the Thai Embassy first ??

Kristina Keneally @KKeneally Can @ScottMorrisonMP even lie straight in bed? Is there anything #ScottyFromMarketing won’t spin? Within hours of his “announcement” of a vaccine deal with AstraZeneca – the company issues a statement saying THERE IS NO DEAL. ...

No I don't 'trust" draught beer in GoGos. I've always stuck to bottled beer.

Its all about getting a safe effective vaccine and even though this normally takes years, it remains the best hope for all of us getting back to out normal lives including International travel. Its all I want for Christmas. This Christmas.

Really sad to see Soi 7 like that - even though it had been on a decline for some years. Hope that somehow some venues get back running at some stage.

A British / Aussie expression ? You push the pedals to make it go.

vaccine...vaccine...vaccine

The Emirates Virus Insurance cover is worth a look when things start to open up for general travel https://www.emirates.com/au/english/help/covid19-cover/

Any Pics of BR Flooding ?

Nick Dean gives a YouTube rundown on Bars anticipating opening on Wednesday 1st June. The formal announcement of the approval to do so is apparently scheduled to be made at 3pm Monday in Pattaya. Nick says he will do an update Monday once the RULES are announced and he will summarise which Bars are opening with updated info. So looks like *Game On* ! The first portion of the YouTube clip is about drone flying - also worth a look.

Another forum shows an advisory from Thai authorities telling people not to book flights without prior entry approval from the Thai Embassy in their own Countries. Those allowed in will have to pay for their own mandatory 14 day day quarantine in Thailand. General Tourist entry into Thailand is still some time off.

The 8.6 Million people who caught it, including the 455,000 (and counting) who so far have died terrible deaths drowning in their own body fluids ?

Bad news if the follow through with this - Thailand Aims to Turn Away From Mass Tourism and Target the Wealthy Thailand’s tourism-revival strategy is to target big spenders seeking privacy and social distancing in the Covid-19 era, rather than try to attract a large number of visitors. The pandemic provides an opportunity to reset the sector, which had become reliant on Chinese groups and backpackers. Once the country’s borders are reopened and so-called travel bubbles are agreed upon, marketing efforts will be geared toward wealthier individuals who want holidays with minimal risks, Tourism Minister Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn said in an interview. The government will initially allow a small number of arrivals, such as some business executives and medical tourists. It is also working with the travel industry to identify and invite individuals in target demographics, which will probably include previous visitors to luxury resorts in the islands of Phuket, Samui, Phangan and Phi Phi, the minister said. Phuket is “a prototype” because it has all the needed facilities. People may be required to pass Covid-19 screenings before traveling and upon arriving, choose a single resort island and remain for a minimum period of time. Thailand had no foreign tourists in April after closing borders The “high-end visitors” will be able to travel freely while they’re on the island and be allowed to leave for home or other destinations in Thailand once the minimum 14 days have passed. The country plans to court such visitors, possibly during the winter months of November-February when European and American travelers seek out warmer climates, Phiphat said. “One person can easily spend as much as five by staying at the finest hotels,” he said, adding that full and free travel should become a “thing of the past.” Thailand isn’t the only country grappling with the question of how and when to reopen for visitors. Across Southeast Asia -- one of the most tourism-reliant regions in the world -- hotels and travel businesses are slowly kicking into gear as countries that have succeeded in flattening their virus curves ease lockdown restrictions. Thailand’s first few travel-bubble pacts, with nations such as Japan and Australia, probably won’t be ready until at least August, Phiphat said. Thailand also is mulling a program to allow visitors from specific Chinese cities and provinces, he said. Thailand’s borders are currently locked to all but essential travel through June 30. Most restrictions on domestic travel were lifted this month. The goal is for Thailand to have 10 million foreign arrivals this year -- one-quarter of the 2019 tally -- Phiphat said. Total tourism revenue is forecast at 1.23 trillion baht ($39.6 billion) this year, down 59% from last year. The tourism sector will account for about 6% of gross domestic product in 2020, down from 18% last year, Phiphat said. The dearth of travelers is one reason Thailand’s economy is forecast to contract as much as 6% this year. The government is rolling out stimulus worth 15% of GDP, according to World Bank estimates. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-06-19/thailand-aims-to-turn-away-from-mass-tourism-target-the-wealthy?srnd=premium-asia I hope this is just a brain fart - but its not going in the "right" direction. Their Country all all that - Still ?

Does it provide a range of extensions/ add ons etc - eg You Tube downloader etc ?

Just 7.3% of Stockholm had Covid-19 antibodies by end of April, study shows Official findings add to concerns about Sweden’s laissez-faire strategy towards the pandemic Fri 22 May 2020 03.51 Just 7.3% of Stockholm’s inhabitants had developed Covid-19 antibodies by the end of April, according to a study, raising concerns that the country’s light-touch approach to the coronavirus may not be helping it build up broad immunity. The research by Sweden’s public health agency comes as Finland warned it would be risky to welcome Swedish tourists after figures suggested the country’s death rate per capita was the highest in Europe over the seven days to 19 May. Sweden’s state epidemiologist, Anders Tegnell, said the antibodies figure was “a bit lower than we’d thought”, but added that it reflected the situation some weeks ago and he believed that by now “a little more than 20%” of the capital’s population had probably contracted the virus. However, the public health agency had previously said it expected about 25% to have been infected by 1 May and Tom Britton, a maths professor who helped develop its forecasting model, said the figure from the study was surprising. “It means either the calculations made by the agency and myself are quite wrong, which is possible, but if that’s the case it’s surprising they are so wrong,” he told the newspaper Dagens Nyheter. “Or more people have been infected than developed antibodies.” Björn Olsen, a professor of infectious medicine at Uppsala University, said herd immunity was a “dangerous and unrealistic” approach. “I think herd immunity is a long way off, if we ever reach it,” he told Reuters after the release of the antibody findings. Tegnell has denied herd immunity is a goal in itself, saying Sweden aims instead to slow the spread of the virus enough for health services to cope. But he has also said countries that imposed strict lockdowns could be more vulnerable to a second wave of infections because a smaller percentage of their populations would be immune. In April, officials estimated one third of Stockholm residents would have developed antibodies to the coronavirus by early May, subsequently suggesting that the capital could reach herd immunity of between 40% and 60% by the middle of June. Relying on citizens to act responsibly, Sweden has closed schools for the over-16s and banned gatherings of more than 50, but asked – rather than ordered – people to avoid non-essential travel, to work from home and stay at home if they are elderly or ill. Shops, restaurants and gyms have remained open. Polls show a large majority of Swedes support and are generally complying with their government’s more relaxed, less coercive strategy, which stands in stark contrast to the strict mandatory lockdowns imposed by many EU countries. Google records suggest trips to shops and cafes by residents of the Stockholm area are down 20%-40%, while passenger numbers on public transport have fallen by 30%-40%. But the approach has been heavily criticised by some Swedish academics as the number of coronavirus deaths in the country has risen, far exceeding those of its Nordic neighbours. While the overall coronavirus death rate per million is greater in Italy (535), Spain (597) or the UK (538), Sweden’s (376) is far in advance of Norway’s (44), Denmark’s (96) and Finland’s (55) – countries with similar welfare systems and demographics, but which imposed strict lockdowns. According to the scientific online publication Ourworldindata.com, Covid-19 deaths in Sweden were the highest in Europe per capita in a rolling seven-day average between 12 and 19 May. The country’s 6.25 deaths per million inhabitants a day was just above the UK’s 5.75. The government’s decision to avoid a strict lockdown is thought unlikely to spare the Swedish economy. Although retail and entertainment spending has not collapsed quite as dramatically as elsewhere, analysts say the country will probably not reap any long-term economic benefit. The European commission has said it expects Sweden’s gross domestic product to contract by more than 6% this year, on a par with much of the continent, while the country’s central bank has estimated an even sharper fall of 7%-10%, with unemployment forecast to rise to as much as 10.4%. The World Health Organization has warned against pinning hopes on herd immunity as a means of containing the coronavirus, saying last week that studies had found antibodies in only 1%-10% of the global population. Critics such as Olsen say Sweden has done “too little, too late” and note that the government’s laissez-faire approach has been catastrophic for older people, with roughly half the country’s 3,831 deaths so far occurring in care homes. Tegnell’s predecessor as chief epidemiologist, Annika Linde, told Dagens Nyheter this week that the country’s strategy towards care homes had been “completely insufficient. The problems were underestimated. It was a clear misjudgment.” The government has admitted serious failings in care homes and this month announced a big increase in funding for the sector, but remains adamant that the country’s relatively high number of deaths per capita is not a consequence of its decision not to impose a lockdown. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/may/21/just-7-per-cent-of-stockholm-had-covid-19-antibodies-by-end-of-april-study-sweden-coronavirus

Dozens of pastors across the Bible Belt have succumbed to coronavirus after churches and televangelists played down the pandemic and actively encouraged churchgoers to flout self-distancing guidelines. As many as 30 church leaders from the nation’s largest African American Pentecostal denomination have now been confirmed to have died in the outbreak, as members defied public health warnings to avoid large gatherings to prevent transmitting the virus. Deaths across the US in areas where the Church of God in Christ has a presence have reportedly stemmed from funerals and other meetings among clergy and other church staff held during the pandemic. The tragedy among one of the largest black Pentecostal groups follows a message of defiance from many American churches, particularly conservative Christian groups, to ignore state and local government mandates against group gatherings, with police increasingly called in to enforce the bans and hold preachers accountable. The virus has had a wildly disproportionate impact among black congregations, many of which have relied on group worship. Yet despite the climbing death toll, many US church leaders throughout the Bible Belt have not only continued to hold services but have urged worshippers to continue paying tithes — including recent stimulus checks — to support their mission. Bishop Gerald Glenn, founder and leader since 1995 of the New Deliverance Evangelistic Church in Chesterfield, Virginia, was the first black chaplain of the town’s police. He had vowed to continue preaching “unless I’m in jail or the hospital” before his death from coronavirus earlier this month. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/bible-belt-us-coronavirus-pandemic-pastors-church-a9481226.html

John Sandford - Masked Prey (Lucas Davenport #30)

Ryan Struyk‏Verified account @ryanstruyk Reported US coronavirus cases: 8 weeks ago: 64 cases 7 weeks ago: 332 cases 6 weeks ago: 2,204 cases 5 weeks ago: 18,763 cases 4 weeks ago: 101,242 cases 3 weeks ago: 277,953 cases 2 weeks ago: 501,301 cases 1 weeks ago: 701,475 cases Right now: 890,524 cases Reported US coronavirus deaths: 8 weeks ago: 0 deaths 7 weeks ago: 17 deaths 6 weeks ago: 49 deaths 5 weeks ago: 249 deaths 4 weeks ago: 1,588 deaths 3 weeks ago: 7,152 deaths 2 weeks ago: 18,758 deaths 1 week ago: 37,054 deaths Right now: 51,017 deaths Reported US coronavirus cases: Feb. 24: 53 cases Mar. 24: 52,976 cases Apr. 24: 890,524 cases Reported US coronavirus deaths: Feb. 24: 0 deaths Mar. 24: 704 deaths Apr. 24: 51,017 deaths

@katelinthicum · 9h The coronavirus has upended the fentanyl trade, cutting into the profits of Mexican traffickers and driving up street drug prices across the US. The reason why? Most of the chemicals used to make fentanyl came from one place: Wuhan, China.

STA cops $14m fine as travel agents struggle with virus backlash Updated Apr 24, 2020 – 4.31pm, first published at 1.33pm STA Travel has been hit with a massive $14 million fine for making false advertising claims about extra fees, in a product the travel outfit was paying bonuses to staff to push. Melbourne-based STA Travel, which started in 1971 and is now part of the Zurich-based Diethelm Keller, will also have to pay $200,000 in legal costs to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission as part of a Federal Court ruling. "Consumers were misled into purchasing the MultiFLEX Pass on the representation that they would not have to pay anything further for date changes to their flights, when, in fact, STA often charged consumers hundreds of dollars for changing their flights," ACCC commissioner Sarah Court said on Friday. The order comes amid anger from customers over difficulties contacting travel agents, fees associated with cancelling some plans, changes to refund policies and long delays in refunds during the COVID-19 pandemic. Sector giant Flight Centre changed some policies on Friday following complaints, but ACCC chairman Rod Sims said the regulator was still not satisfied with its moves on cancellation fees. Travel outfit Intrepid, after ACCC discussions, agreed to honour refund-policies that had been active when customers earlier booked journeys, before it recently changed terms and conditions and offered credit instead. Mr Sims said the STA action marked a large fine under previous penalty regimes. “The essence of consumer law is don’t mislead consumers,” he told AFR Weekend. “With STA, it’s very much a representation by a significant company that was just wrong.” The ACCC had initially sued STA in March last year, allegingthat the 50-store travel outfit had generated almost $12 million in revenue from selling the passes since 2011 and had charged an extra $1 million in fees and commissions for customers making date changes. On Friday, the competition watchdog said that in 12 per cent of cases, "STA Travel charged MultiFLEX Pass customers to make a change to a flight although the airline itself had not charged STA Travel anything at all for the change". The court ordered that consumer law was contravened in brochure wording such as: "Travelling should be about having the freedoms and flexibility to change your plans, which is why you can now make easy prepaid date changes to your flights without ever paying airline or admin fees." https://www.afr.com/companies/tourism/sta-cops-14m-fine-as-travel-agents-adjust-to-virus-backlash-20200424-p54my6

The moment Norman Swan's world stopped The doctor-turned-journalist has fielded brickbats and bouquets as Australia's most prominent coronavirus commentator, but a question from an eight-year-old pulled him up short. "I was doing talkback on Melbourne radio, and this little guy named Huck asked me something that really drew me up short," he says. "He wanted to know if everyone in his family was going to die. The whole world stops for you when an eight-year-old asks you that question However, the flattening of the Australian case curve has made him a supporter of getting Australian kids back to school some time next term. "If 80 per cent of Australians keep complying with the current social distancing rules – 70 per cent is not enough – we could be down to complete eradication by mid-May," he says. "Of course if there's a flare-up before then, all bets should be off." Swan also welcomes Australia's expansion of testing eligibility to anyone with a cough or sniffle. But even if Australia achieves eradication, he says Australia won't be able to re-open its borders until a vaccine, or at least a treatment which stops hospitalised COVID-19 patients from needing a ventilator, is found. "We never got rid of HIV but we have great treatments for it, we never got rid of bacterial infections but we've got antibiotics. So a good treatment can get us out of this https://www.afr.com/life-and-luxury/health-and-wellness/the-moment-norman-swan-s-world-stopped-20200421-p54lp6