RichardL

11 hours ago, PeeJayEm said:

Agree in principle - but even in UK which is probably one of the furthest into the process you describe, it is going to be a long time before Corona can be tested most like any other virus. Hospitalisation and death rates here are still one order of magnitude higher than flu.

It's been reported that they are on par with a "bad flu" season now, which is still bad, but we never took these measure during bad flu seasons before.

5 hours ago, BritManToo said:

It won't matter because COVID will never subside.

No hordes will be coming for the next 3-5 years.

Mass International tourism is gone, maybe forever.

 COVID will never go away, but the risk from covid is already subsiding. The mortality rate has dropped from about 12 in 1000 to about 2. 

1 hour ago, Geoffggi said:

A little unfair to record this as a death from Omicron, it was probably a contributing factor but the lady was not actually in peak physical condition from the description given.

If it's a contributing factor it will normally be recorded on the death certificate, whatever the illness. It doesn't mean she died specifically OF Omicron, of course, but it would also be unfair to say it wasn't an Omicron death, just because she had other illnesses. 

2 hours ago, ozimoron said:

Tell me how white people suffer disadvantage from racism. I'm not interested in hurt feelings from name calling, I'm interested in real consequences at a systemic level.

White schoolkids (especially male) are now the least likely (per capita) demographic to go to university in the UK. They tick no diversity boxes, so don't get any special help. They also have the lowest social mobility.

Only 1 in 3 go on to university, compared to nearly half for black students.

https://www.ethnicity-facts-figures.service.gov.uk/education-skills-and-training/higher-education/entry-rates-into-higher-education/latest

Actual direct discrimination can happen. A friend of mine's husband is Indian (as is she) and an IT manager. He will only hire Indian workers, partly because as an Indian, he feels it's his duty to help other Indians, and partly because he doesn't think non-Indians would fit in the the culture of an Indian team. That's completely illegal here, but his company (quite a large one) will never complain.

7 hours ago, ozimoron said:

The first time I went to the Philippines was in 1994. It was not long after the American military had abandoned the Clark AFB in 1991. I had an Australian friend who was friends with Denis Rodman's father and who had a bar in an area called Lakandula. This was across a park adjacent the main bar area alongside which the main entrance to the base ran. In this area was a number of black owned bars congregated and the area in general was home to many black ex servicemen. There had been many more. I got the impression there had been a distinctly segregated community where back personnel had lived and congregated away from the white community. I know this proves nothing but it's at least equivalent to your weak anecdotal evidence that segregation was rejected.

Weak evidence? This is common knowledge. It's just that people in the USA like to assume attitudes in their country are universal. There was no racial segregation in society. There were no 'back of the bus' laws, no 'whites only' signs, no segregated sports leagues, non-whites weren't barred from going through the front door of buildings etc etc. Now, part of this may well have been due to the very low numbers of black people in the UK, but it's still true that the UK didn't have racial segregation like the USA did.   

6 hours ago, RichardColeman said:

and the highest rate of testing per person in the developed world too - over 6 per person - truly amazing we are the highest infections when we test the most. Daft as saying there's more potatoes in my 10kg bag than your 1Kg bag of spuds !

Also England, unlike most countries in the world, has been fully opened up for nearly four months now. Infections have risen, but serious infections are still at manageable levels.

The kind of tourists who stay for 2-3 months are backpackers, who don't typically have the cash to pay luxury hotel prices for two weeks at the start of a trip.

In a covid-free world, I'd have almost certainly been in Thailand right now. As it is, I'm hoping next year will be OK.

3 minutes ago, 473geo said:

As an example UK is running an agricultural trade deficit of around 10% why would they want to pay a 'membership fee', which is the real issue you appear to ignore, when UK can raise tarrifs against EU imported goods in a non free trade environment, thus encouraging UK purchase of UK produce.

If as many of you predict the a slump in the GBP occurs then a reciprocal tarrif from the EU would carry little effect on the pricing of UK goods in Europe.

I believe it's not so simple, as under WTO terms you have to apply tariffs equally. Reciprocal tariffs would also be harmful to a country that imports so much. It's not just a case of "buying British" instead, as manufacturing often relies on imported raw materials that can't be sourced here.

12 minutes ago, RJRS1301 said:

Did you read the last reference report, that was done on SARS so I doubt your expertise on this, sorry.

SARS is a corona and they have studied it and other corona for over a decade. Yes this one is different one, but many similarities to guide them 

 

What's more, SARS-CoV-2 RNA was found on "a variety of surfaces" in cabins of both symptomatic and asymptomatic people who were infected with COVID-19 on the Diamond Princess cruise ship, up to 17 days after the passengers disembarked, according to a new analysis from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). However, this was before disinfection procedures took place and "data cannot be used to determine whether transmission occurred from contaminated surfaces," according to the analysis. In other words, it's not clear if the viral particles on these surfaces could have infected people.

https://www.livescience.com/how-long-coronavirus-last-surfaces.html

 

Jury still out, but I would prefer personally eer on the side of caution

In the countries where there are still few enough cases for them to be documented, it does seem that virtually everybody who gets it is a known contact of a previously infected person, and has spent time with them. Hardly anybody doesn't seem to know how or where they got it, which makes transmission from surfaces seem less likely. That's not to say it doesn't happen, and people are right to be cautious, but it might mean we ought to be stressing social distancing far more than face masks and cleaning. 

8 minutes ago, fforest1 said:

Unfortunately many/most conspiracies end up being truth.....  

Really? I'm struggling to think of any.

It could well be that Thailand's stats are not accurate, but what we can see around the world (especially Europe) is that Thailand doesn't seem to be any sort of factor in the spread of the disease worldwide. If it truly is in the hundreds/thousands, as many claim, that wouldn't be the case. Look at how many in europe could be traced to people who'd been to Italy, for example.

It means per year as it appears on a calendar, as said, as opposed to being allowed two crossings in a 12 month period. i.e. it mean you can only come in twice in 2018, but coming in in June and November 2018, and also February 2019 and April 2019 would also be fine, despite that being four times in a 12 month period.

Perhaps they could take the opportunity to change the name of the stadium to something befitting an English club.

as opposed to being named after an Englishman, you mean?

Rumours suggest the takeover isn't by the Red Bull guy, but are a but thin apart from that.

I does seem like people living in Thailand have a much more negative view of the place than people outside the country.

Thailand is a pretty easy country to be a tourist in, and that counts for a lot. While there might be corruption etc, I don't think it's generally viewed as something that will impact toursits at all.

Myanmar, on the other hand, is known for its oppressive regime, and doesn't have the same tourist-friendly image.

The "authentic" angle is perhaps overplayed. The only people who enjoy roughing it a backpackers, as they also like to spend as little money as possible. More affluent tourists, on the whole, aren't going to find that appealing. They might like the genuine grit on their day trips out, but will want to be able to come back to rooms with en suite, a/c, maybe a pool etc in the evenings.

The sex tourism angle must put some off Thailand - but I don't think it's that many. As long as you don't go to Pattaya, it's pretty easy to avoid. It's not as if anyone is going to stumble into a Patpong bar by mistake.

Certainly another country opening up will be a threat to Thailand, but I'd still wonder how many first time visitors to the region don't go to Thailand. I'd wager even those who go to Vietnam or Cambodia either have been to Thailand before, or combine their trip with a visit to Thailand.

one government official alleged that these animals were killed to provide elephant meat and sexual organs for consumption at wildlife "bush-meat" restaurants on Phuket, for visiting foreign tourists

It seems like a deliberately made-up claim, for whatever reason

The reason is rudimentary and common place.

It displaces the blame onto foreigners as the reason for the killing of elephants... instead of on the locals.

.

It takes two to tango, so let's not absolve the foreigners altogether. It's the same as attacking prostitutes and letting the users go free. Tourists can not use the "I didn't know" argument forever and about everything.

That's like blaming the pie shop customers for Sweeney Todd's murders.

Tourists would never suspect young elephants are being captured this way. Why would they?

You can criticise Thais, but many states in the USA don't have seatbelt laws and the residents feel safer that way. Thousands have even had airbags deactivated after scare stories about children being injured by airbags (which were the result of not wearing seatbelts or child seats being fitted incorrectly).

It's all about perceived danger. In fact I've seen western families ride around on scooters with their helmetless kids stood up at the front. They'd never do that in their homeland, but partly that's because they are not allowed to. I would bet if western driving rules were relaxed to Thai levels, you'd see a massive spike in road deaths in Europe/USA too.

People can't be relied upon to do the safe thing by choice, as often what they want to do they regard as bending the rules, rather than breaking them, and don't regard it as unsafe.

Of course if the two to a scooter rule was properly imposed, it would present something of a problem for Thai families where the scooter is the only transport they have. One of the things that struck me about Thailand is that there are no small cars anywhere. You go from scooter to Toyota Corolla, with nothing at all inbetween.

I doubt the police will want standing back because its easier for them with all seaters.

don't see that as much of an argument to be honest, most of the police's work is usually crowd control outside the ground. it works just fine in other countries so i don't see why it shouldn't work in england if correctly managed.

what's wrong with the way it is now Stevie?

Looks to me that Serie A has standing areas and what a mess.

Serie A doesn't have standing areas. It has seated areas that people stand up in, and a clueless police force who have not idea about crowd control - i.e. they have two modes: a) do nothing and ) b charge in cracking heads.

Loads of countries have standing areas now, even in newer stadiums. Hell, you can even go up to Leo Stadium in Pathum Thani and stand on one of the highest terraces in football.

As for "what's wrong with it now?", football was just a lot more fun when there were terraces. The atmosphere was a lot better as well.

I've never got the "i prefer to sit" arguement. Nobody is saying standing will be compulsory. It just offers a choice.

It'll also improve the lot of those who prefer to sit, as they'll no longer be surrounded by people who keep standing up.