All Activity

The Duke [2020] In 1961, Kempton Bunton, a 60 year old taxi driver, steals Goya's portrait of the Duke of Wellington from the National Gallery in London. Old school style British comedy drama based on a true story with two established lead actors on form, highly entertaining.

I met a mate here in NZ yesterday, whilst at the local mall, he'd just had his 1st shot of Pfizer. He was muttering about untested RNA vaccines and he's been known for favourably considering the views of the antivaxxers. I didn't have time to disabuse him. Given that he's a profligate drinker, like a chain-smoker but with ethanol, I'm not sure the virus or the vaccines will have time to get him, it'll be the sips from the hip flasks, every second step and minute, that get him.

Night Of The Kings [2020] A young man is sent to a prison in Ivory Coast in the middle of the forest ruled by its inmates. With the red moon rising, he is designated by the inmate leader to be the new "Roman" and must tell a story to the other prisoners until dawn. Stylish French made prison drama full of theatrics and compelling viewing.

People travelling into the kingdom these days must either have a very very good reson or a tendency towards masochism. Apart from the known current obstacles there is always a fair chance for further local restrictions. And on arrival back home in your beloved home country another 14 days might appear on the menue. Coming back from Portugal 3 weeks ago our government had just declared it a high risk country involving 14 days quarantine, vaccinated or not. Travelling by car I would of course have given them a proper story but by plane no good.

Quarantine for the next 14 days, is not something I would care to deal with upon arrival into Thailand. Looks like it will be next year by the time things should get somewhat normal, or not 😐

Nepalese are one of the larger groups of International Students to Australia which probably explains why acquiring a visa is a little more relaxed. They are also in general very hard workers with fair to reasonable English skills. Demolition company I use regularly are 100% Nepalese. Many are students who after paying for their tuition and living expenses are able to send home more money to their families than they could initially earn in Nepal. The smarter ones in Australia set up businesses and provide sponsorship arrangements.

The Protocol Division of the Royal Thai Armed Forces is being probed and criticised for seeking a special allocation of Moderna vaccine for its personnel and their families. Deputy spokesman Maj Gen Teerapong Pattamasingh Na Ayuthaya said late on Thursday night that an investigation was underway into the decision by protocol chief Col Yutthasak Promtha to make a special request for a supply of the vaccine against Covid-19. The probe came after a letter dated July 19 and signed by Col Yutthasak was leaked and published on social media. https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/gen

Well one good thing, you've had it now. When the virus mutates, yet further and further again, to Zeta, Theta, Lamda, whatever, you'll prolly be immune-ish.

...but the phone wasn't charged, and there were brown envelopes to collect....

That's entirely possible. The only reason we know I had COVID-19 is that, after a few days of what looked for all the world like an asthma exacerbation that was a bit more recalcitrant than usual (but nowhere near the worst I've seen, even in the last few years), I picked up an entirely-unrelated opportunistic bronchitis and coughed up a mouthful of green slime. I've been under standing orders for decades: when that happens, see the doctor and get antibiotics started, before the bronchitis gets a chance to put me in the hospital. (It has happened.) So I went in. The doctor ordered

The National Vaccine Institute (NVI) has apologised for slow Covid-19 vaccine procurement and says it is prepared to hold talks to join the Covax global vaccine sharing scheme. The apology came after the government weathered heavy criticism over its failure to procure enough vaccines as infection numbers continued to soar, with a record 13,002 new cases reported on Wednesday. Speaking at the Public Health Ministry, NVI director Nakorn Premsri said the agency tried to contact vaccine manufacturers in August last year and place advance orders even though the vaccines were in research t

I'd love to, but I'm in NZ and have had the 1st dose of Pfizer, 2nd coming in a cupla weeks. I've had no symptoms, NZ has been lucky with - currently no community cases, very few, when there were community cases, and all our current cases are in quarantine facilities, caught at the airport on the way in. Mind you I've been having all sorts of stuff cut out of my body, in multiple visits to the hospitals, due to malignant Melanoma, so with all of that and the lovely drugs, I'm not sure I'd notice Covid...

Coss, a suggestion, if you can take it. Before you get the vaccine, do the antibody test and see if you have already had and recovered from COVID-19. I will admit that it is highly unlikely, given that Thailand locked down thoroughly, and has had very few confirmed cases, but it isn't impossible. I had it in the second half of March 2020. Long before the major US wave even got started. I have been tested SEVERAL times since then, because I was showing symptoms not inconsistent, and the doctors were worried about reinfection. (On the first re-test, the ER doc was SURE it was r

Looks like the tide is turning, or is about turn in Alabamyland. US doctor reveals what she tells unvaccinated Covid patients As the United States grapples with the surging Delta variant of Covid-19, medical experts across the country are desperately trying to convince hesitant Americans to get vaccinated. That includes experts in the national spotlight, such as Anthony Fauci and CDC Director Rochelle Walensky. But doctors at the local level are also speaking out. One of them is Dr Brytney Cobia. Dr Cobia works at Grandview Medical Centre in Birmingham, Alabama, the st

Was that in Hazard County?

A surprising rendition of a flying car...

From the article ”The phone will come pre-loaded with apps apparently designed to appeal to supporters of former Celebrity Apprentice host Trump, with the official website showing the conservative Newsmax and One America News Network prominently on the phone.” At last they get his title right.

Cav, got yer Freedom Phone yet? https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/technology/2021/07/freedom-phone-maga-fans-paying-high-price-for-cheap-chinese-made-handset-with-security-concerns-report.html

Trump The former president issued a bizarre, 400-word statement yesterday, which included some extraordinary claims. Trump wrote: He only tapped Milley to serve as the chairman of the Joint Chiefs because his former Defense secretary, James Mattis, didn't like him. In other words, according to Trump, he made a mistake hiring Mattis, and then made another mistake by hiring Milley based on the opinions of his original mistake. He expected Milley to "protect" him during the Lafayette Square fiasco. He was offended by Milley's willingness to change the names of military bases

The news is not that this happened, it's "why speak of it now, at this specific point in time?" New Zealand joins US, UK, EU to condemn China for malicious cyber activity Hackers Launch Global Cyberattack on Over 150 Government Agencies. According to Microsoft, the group, referred to as "Nobelium," targeted 3,000 email accounts at various government agencies, think tanks and other organizations. . Microsoft believe... New Zealand has joined an “unprecedented” group of United States allies across the globe blaming China for cyberattacks and exposing government connections

Unsubstantiated rumors afoot that Astra Zeneca / Siam Biotech are having problems and are declaring they are only producing 9 Million doses per month now and will supply 3 Million as per the original contract. I hope this is true, it will give Anuntin a heart attack. Don’t forget Anuntin blamed Covid in Thailand on “Dirty Europeans” over a year ago, he is due his comeuppance. General Pinocchio won’t sack his Deputy Prime Minister who has a background in Construction and knows Fuck All about Public Health https://www.khaosodenglish.com/news/2020/03/13/health-minister-dirty-e

Domestic air traffic between BKK and the Phuket sandbox shall exercise a sudden death on July 21st due to something having been declared Red Zone. No good. Unless many people got their vaccination every possible plan remains pure phantasy, which includes all other countries on earth. - Wear a mask - Wash your hands - Avoid people - Do not fart noisily in public

Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul admits he received a letter from the AstraZeneca company saying it has the capacity to supply Thailand with just three million doses of its vaccine a month. However, Mr Anutin insisted he wrote back to say the country needed at least 10 million doses a month to combat surging daily infections. The company's letter was dated June 25 and Mr Anutin's reply was made five days later. In an interview with Isranews Agency, which obtained the leaked letter, Mr Anutin said he argued the country needed a much larger quantity. He advocated for at

Many a true word spoken in jest, have you read about the Thai Spece Committee, another Committee to be chaired by General Pinocchio. I m st you not