HHTel

2 hours ago, BritManToo said:

Link to one court example of a pension case to back up your statement.

And please, let's not have the usual lazy (and bogus) link to a Brit claiming the dole while in Spain.

Just one case of a Brit taken to court for claiming a pension rise while outside the UK.

 

You claim 'usually result in prosecution' so there must be hundreds of publicised cases for you to choose from.

Difficult to take anyone to court if they're not in the UK.  The DWP in cases of fraud 'abroad' only have the option of financial penalty.  i.e. payback from pension.

7 hours ago, Roy Baht said:

Absolutely.  If only people would take note instead of succumbing to the hysteria. 

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-01-31/there-s-another-virus-stalking-the-u-s-and-it-s-called-the-flu

If containment is effective which so far appears to be, then we'll not see the same crisis as in China.

SARS came and went of it's own accord mainly due to effective containment.  SARS was a much more serious virus than WuFlu.  To date there is still no vaccine for SARS.

We'll see.

8 minutes ago, khunpa said:

Just for your info it got to 19 yesterday and one of the infected was a Thai taxi driver. Thailand is a HUGE risk just so you know. 

19 but only 10 ill (9 have recovered and discharged) Sort of puts it into perspective.

So far, there are no deaths outside of China and many have recovered or are recovering.

2 hours ago, Tuvoc said:

I was opted out of the earnings related portion for many many years, so my state pension when I eventually get it, about 67 I think, will be pretty small. But still very welcome, it will pay for the basic necessities and then the private pension on top. But how do you go about claiming the UK pension for the first time when you are overseas ?

https://www.gov.uk/state-pension-if-you-retire-abroad

2 hours ago, Jumbo1968 said:

£280 a year, the current State Pension is around £200 every 4 weeks depending on wether you opted out for SERPS.

Check again.  It's a lot more than 50 quid a week.  My state pension is 200 quid a week and that's frozen from 10 years ago!

1 hour ago, Guderian said:

Blimey mate, you must have been short of a few years NI contributions if your pension is that low, I feel sorry for you.

 

The increase in the state pension this year, due to be paid from April, is 3.9% under the triple lock.

 

Assuming that you're on the old, basic state pension since you're already claiming it, the 2020 increase if you have the full number of qualifying years will amount to £5/week or £260 for the full year. Not a fortune, I know, but more than peanuts.

 

People lucky enough to be under the new system will get a rise of £6.60/week, taking their annual state pension to over £9,000/year as long as they have 35 years of contributions.

I think you'll find he's talking about his increase from some time ago and not his actual pension.

1 hour ago, WaveHunter said:

I am not criticizing you personally but you have to realize that ALL of these sources you mention have no option but to base their numbers, projections, etc... on what state-sanctioned Chinese sources provide.

The same argument goes for reports of higher fatality rates. So 3% can be argued against as can the higher estimates.  Reports/opinions on both sides of the coin are based to a degree on the figures that come out of China.  Having said that, many of the reports show disbelief in the Chinese figures and base their conclusions on much higher figures than the ones given.

I think the only conclusion is that nobody knows for sure and much of what we read is speculation.

I'm only the messenger.  There are many sources outside of China that gives pretty much the same opinion.

Quote

The fatality rate for a virus — the proportion of infected people who die — is difficult to calculate in the middle of an outbreak because records on new cases and deaths are constantly being updated. With 213 deaths so far out of nearly 10,000 infections, the new coronavirus has a death rate of 2–3%. This is significantly lower than SARS, which killed around 10% of the people it infected. The known death rate for the new coronavirus is likely to decrease as mild and asymptomatic cases are identified, virologist Mark Harris at the University of Leeds, UK, told the Science Media Centre in London.

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-020-00236-9

Quote

The novel coronavirus' case fatality rate is currently estimated at around 2%, according to the WHO ^[16] on January 29, 2020. A prior estimate ^[9] had put that number at 3%, between 2% and 4%). Fatality rate can change as a virus can mutate, according to epidemiologists.

Once the province Hubei (where the epicenter Wuhan is situated) is removed from the calculation, the national (China) mortality rate drops to 0.3%. Within the Hubei province, the mortality rate is about 1% when excluding the city of Wuhan (where it is 5.5%).

https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/

Quote

These numbers taken alone suggest a case fatality rate of around 2%, very high for a respiratory virus. But the true number of infected individuals circulating in the population is not known and is likely to be much higher than 4,500. There may be 50,000 or 100,000 additional cases in Wuhan that have gone undetected, and, if this is the case, it would put the case fatality of 2019-nCoV infections in the range of 0.1% to 0.2%.

https://www.livescience.com/is-coronavirus-outbreak-as-bad-as-sars.html

There are many many more.

Many medical sources agree that the crude mortality rate of 2 - 3% will actually fall as the gap between deaths and infections widens.  It is believed that hundreds and maybe thousands of people have been infected with mild symptoms or no symptoms at all.  These figures are not included in the stats.

Quote

The mortality remains relatively low. This data is inevitably crude. It does not allow for ill patients who are dying but equally we have no real handle on the true number of infections in the population. Mortality is by definition hard data so as the incidence of currently undetected and milder cases increases the true mortality rate is likely to fall.

Quote

The WHO last estimate of the crude fatality rate (CFR, 29 January), an early estimate of Mortality was 2%. The CFR in China excluding Wuhan is 1%.

This disease continues to appear to be significantly less severe than SARS at a similar point in the epidemic.

Source is one of Hong Kong's leading healthcare agencies:

https://www.otandp.com/blog/wuhan-virus-the-distinction-between-a-disease-and-an-epidemic

This concurs with many other medical experts.

9 minutes ago, Number 6 said:

As for hemp, it will never be exported unless it's made into products and competitive at market value. Once again Thailand is twenty years behind the curve. No surprise there. What nation can't grow it's own hemp? It's literally a weed.

Hemp material and products have been available in Thailand for a long time.  There are companies here that already export their handmade products around the world.  Until recently, hemp fibre had to be sourced abroad but because of new legislation, Thailand will grow hemp and produce their own fibre for product manufacture.

3 minutes ago, GroveHillWanderer said:

I'm not sure that being "more bat like" makes it more deadly. What would be the basis for that?

 

In addition, this new virus also apparently came via another animal and not directly from bats.

 

As stated in the afore-mentioned Lancet publication:

 

Hidden animal spreading coronavirus - Lancet-study

That was the same with SARS.  Originated in bats then jumped to civet cats which then jumped to humans.

7 hours ago, RotBenz8888 said:

No rare mirrors or brain failure? Wait, i see the car has rare mirrors, so it has to be brain failure. Total surprise....

I've noticed that most Thai drivers rely on their mirrors when in fact, when making a manoevre like this car, then you need to physically look over your shoulder.

A letter from one International school:

Quote

Dear Parents and Carers,

I am writing to update you regarding GIS’s response to the coronavirus outbreak. We are continuing to liaise very closely with ISAT, FOBISIA, other schools and the relevant Thai authorities, as well as monitoring announcements from the WHO, and using all this information to develop a cautious, vigilant yet pragmatic approach that is appropriate to our context.

For next week, school will continue to operate as normal, with us putting in place additional precautions relating to:

· Increased handwashing and use of hand gel;

· Additional rigorous cleaning, particularly in areas of high hand-touch such as doors/handles, desks, mice, keyboards etc;

· Careful monitoring for symptoms amongst students and staff;

· Monitoring and limiting visitors to the school;

· Sending children and staff home immediately if they display any of the symptoms associated with this disease. If your child is unwell, please do not send them to school;

· Paper masks – whilst there is little evidence that paper masks provide any real protection, as they fit poorly and filter very little, there is evidence that they actually help to spread infection when taken on and off and placed on desks, so please do not send your child to school in a paper mask;

· N95, N99 or P95 masks – if you wish your child to wear a mask to school next week, then please send them in wearing one of these higher quality masks. The best ones have a 'CV' rating - C (activated carbon) and V (valve). Such masks should be close fitting or their effectiveness is significantly reduced. If children come to school in a mask they must wear it for the whole day to avoid spreading the collected germs when it is taken on and off. (They will need to take it off for eating and drinking, when it must be stored directly in their bag, NOT placed on their desk/table which will spread germs further);

· Trips and events – we will make a decision on each trip and event planned on a case by case basis, depending on location, contact with the general public, and other pertinent factors. The staff leading affected trips and events will contact you directly should a trip be cancelled or postponed, and we apologise in advance for possible late notifications of these decisions.

As I have said previously, please try not to worry – rumours are rife and, as usual, the media is not helping the situation. Thus far, those worst affected have all been elderly, and the risk to healthy young people in this area is very small indeed. Should the situation change over the weekend, we will of course advise you further.

The most sensible advice I've seen to date.  I wonder if that came from a Thai.

Glad someone has taken on board the fact that these cheap masks can do more harm than good.  I read an article that states that these masks will become moist with use giving the perfect breeding ground for a virus. Surgical (paper) masks used in hospitals are to prevent the spread of germs from the wearer and are used once then disposed of.

It would appear that people wearing such masks are actually increasing the danger.
 

2 hours ago, LivinLOS said:

Another way of looking at is there are, according to the johns hopkins data set (at time of posting) 143 'recovered'... So 143 recovered out of almost 10,000 infected. 

The infections may be higher bringing the mortality rate down.  Many have recovered from WuFlu after having only mild symptoms and have not reported for treatment and therefore not counted.

Maybe they'll start checking everyone for antibodies to identify how many have recovered.  Of course, I'm joking.

Just to say, because of the varying degrees of infection, we don't really know the actual figures.

How many of the posts so far are about the legalisation of hemp, which is what this thread is about.  In spite of the wrong use of the word marijuana in context.

This is about hemp, a type of marijuana, which won't give anyone a 'high'.

Quote

Here is what we know for sure: While more than 100 people have died in this outbreak so far, seasonal flu kills between 250,000 and 650,000 people annually. For most people, “you’re probably more likely to be catching flu than you are to be getting coronavirus,” said Devi Sridhar, chair in global public health at the University of Edinburgh.

Quote

“The majority of fatal cases are elderly and/or have a chronic disease that would increase their susceptibility to infectious diseases,” Columbia University epidemiologist W. Ian Lipkin told the NYT.

But that doesn’t mean that otherwise healthy people can rest easy in the face of the growing viral outbreak.

The majority are in high risk groups, but not all.  Although it still seems that if you're a normally healthy individual, there is little to worry about.

It'll be a few weeks before we know for sure.

I noticed today in Hua Hin that many motorcyclists and their passengers wearing masks which are next to useless, but nobody was wearing a helmet!!!

TIT

22 minutes ago, englishoak said:

we are over the entire 2 years of SARS

SARS didn't last anywhere near that length.  Most reports put it at 5 - 6 months with the longest report nearing 9 months.

SARS was much more virulent with a much higher mortality than the present coronavirus as far as we know currently.

1 hour ago, bartender100 said:

Already far out performing SARS which peaked at 8,000 cases, no one in any country is safe till we know more about it, as the Chinese travel worldwide these days

 

But humans are very clever, a cure will be found

A cure for SARS was never found.  It vanished as quickly as it appeared and can never come back.

8 minutes ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

 

Yesterday's DDC report said they had 102 cases with lab results pending...

Actually the latest death toll to come out of China is 132 with 6,152 cases confirmed.

Of course any info coming out of China is suspect.

1 hour ago, Ian Pazgon said:

The news reported in this topic is specifically for HEMP. Farmers can grow 1 rai of Hemp which is used for clothing, paper, or other environmentally friendly uses.

Good use of the edit function.

Of course you could have just said "I was wrong.  My mistake."

22 minutes ago, Ian Pazgon said:

The news reported in this topic is specifically for Medical Grade Cannabis Only. Below are more details in regards to applying for the license to grow. This information is directly from the Thai FDA and Ministry of Health. I work in this industry and my clinic has already been granted the license to grow, manufacture, and distribute Medical Grade Cannabis as of January 2020 (Origene Clinic, Pattaya).

 

1. Purpose for Cultivation

Farmers must inform the Thai FDA and the Ministry of Health of the reason they plan to grow Medical Grade Cannabis. Reasons for growing include: Research, Medical Use, Import, or Export. Farmers must also report on the number of plants they intend to grow.

 

2. Chemical Analysis of Land & Soil

Farmland used for growing Medical Grade Cannabis must be free from pesticides and heavy metals. The Thai FDA and the Ministry of Health will assess the land and take random samples for chemical analysis.

 

3. Background Check

Farmers applying for licenses to grow Medical Grade Cannabis will be audited by the Office Of The Narcotics Control Board (ONCB). History of drug abuse or criminal activity will disqualify farmers from being licensed.

 

4. Production Ability

Farmers must propose a plan for harvesting, which includes suitable areas to process and store Medical Grade Cannabis after cultivation.

 

NOTE: Once farmers have been licensed, they will continuously work with the Thai FDA and Ministry of Health in regards to cultivation and harvesting Medical Grade Cannabis for Thailand. The government will control and audit all farmers to deter them from selling Medical Grade Cannabis under-the-table or contaminating crops with pesticides in the future.

 

Ian Pazgon

General Manager

Wrong.  You are talking of a different directive than the one discussed here.

The law in the headline, regardless of the use of the word CANNABIS is about the growing of HEMP which is a different variety of CANNABIS.  

Medical cannabis would not be used in cosmetics!

Check out the below link which gives a preview of the regulation being discussed here.  It matches exactly what is reported in  the OP.

http://www.khaosodenglish.com/news/crimecourtscalamity/2019/12/31/govt-plows-ahead-with-new-law-allowing-farmers-to-grow-1-rai-of-hemp/

Quote

The law, which is under review by a legal authority, would grant farmers a quota of 1 rai (around half an acre) per household for commercial and industrial production of hemp-based medicine, food and cosmetics, for both domestic consumption and exports.

Quote

A New Year present in the making for Thai farmers is a new public health ministry regulation that would permit private cultivation of hemp.

The law, which is under review by a legal authority, would grant farmers a quota of 1 rai (around half an acre) per household for commercial and industrial production of hemp-based medicine, food and cosmetics, for both domestic consumption and exports.

The measure clearly acknowledges potential positive benefits on the lives of farmers and their crucial contribution to the Thai economy. It is even a higher priority over its cannabis counterpart in the regulatory process; the hemp law is now on the way from the Ministry of Public Health to the Council of State for scrutiny before being presented to the Cabinet for a final approval.

http://www.khaosodenglish.com/news/crimecourtscalamity/2019/12/31/govt-plows-ahead-with-new-law-allowing-farmers-to-grow-1-rai-of-hemp/

Nobody's going to get high on hemp.