Until the company issues a fix, the only workaround is to skip or uninstall it.

Microsoft says the April security updates for Windows may break your VPN. (Oops!) “Windows devices might face VPN connection failures after installing the April 2024 security update (KB5036893) or the April 2024 non-security preview update,” the company wrote in a status update. It’s working on a fix.

Bleeping Computer first reported the issue, which affects Windows 11, Windows 10 and Windows Server 2008 and later. User reports on Reddit are mixed, with some commenters saying their VPNs still work after installing the update and others claiming their encrypted connections were indeed borked.

“We are working on a resolution and will provide an update in an upcoming release,” Microsoft wrote.

...

At least one Redditor claims that uninstalling and reinstalling their VPN app fixed the problem for them, so it may be worth trying that before moving on to more drastic measures.

https://www.engadget.com/microsofts-latest-windows-security-updates-might-break-your-vpn-202050679.html

You're temporarily going back to the U.S. for some reason.  For a short visit, you can stay in a reasonably priced hotel/motel. But what if you don't have any family/relatives in the U.S. anymore and need to stay two-weeks or a month or more?  Then what?

Nightly hotel-motel rates these days still can be very expensive, especially in the bigger cities near international airports. But you're not going to be staying so long that you likely can rent a furnished apartment month-to-month. So what to do?

Last time I checked, the alternative accommodation sites like VRBO and AirBNB seemed to have higher nightly rates in the U.S. than many of the reasonably priced hotels-motels, because those two services are often offering entire homes as opposed to a modest hotel room.

So, what to do for a two-week to two-month stay back in the States with no family/relatives to mooch on?

Last year it was announced that T-Mobile would acquire Mint Mobile and, now, that deal has officially closed. Here’s what that means for you.

In a press release today, T-Mobile officially welcomes Mint Mobile and Ultra Mobile to “Team T-Mobile” after the deal to buy the two companies was officially approved by the FCC last week. T-Mobile explains in a post that the acquisition “locks in” connectivity for Mint and Ultra “for the long-term.”

...

But the key question here is, does this change anything for existing Mint Mobile customers? In the short term at least, no.

T-Mobile is reiterating its promise – “commitmint” – to continue offering Mint’s $15/month pricing option. This price is available when pre-purchasing multiple months of service and is among the most affordable options for cellular service in the United States. There’s no promise, though, on how long this offer will continue to be available.

(more)

https://9to5google.com/2024/05/01/t-mobile-mint-mobile-offiicially-owns/

Things have been getting better, particularly when it comes to COVID deaths. But hardly done yet.

Per the U.S. CDC:

"The decline in deaths associated with COVID-19 is even more dramatic than the drop in hospitalizations. In 2021, over 450,000 deaths among Americans were associated with COVID-19, while in 2023, that number fell to roughly 75,000. This represents an 83% decrease since early in the pandemic.

That said, the number of COVID-19-related deaths is still substantial, impacting families across the country. Based on preliminary data, COVID-19 still ranks as the 10th most common cause of death in the U.S. for 2023, a drop from 3rd in 2020 and 2021 and 4th in 2022. [emphasis added]"

https://www.cdc.gov/ncird/whats-new/changing-threat-covid-19.html

7 minutes ago, stoner said:

in particular the young children. who we kept home and totally stunted their growth among other things. this is the group who were least susceptible and have now been hit the hardest.

the group that was hit the hardest was the 7 million who officially died from COVID, with the real figure likely to be several times that high into the high 20 millions.  There's no recovering once you're dead.

https://archive.ph/qaYDw

6 minutes ago, BKKBike09 said:

 

 

The economic toll of the COVID-19 pandemic in the U.S. will reach $14 trillion by the end of 2023, our team of economists, public policy researchers and other experts have estimated.

https://fortune.com/well/2023/05/16/how-much-did-covid-19-pandemic-coronavirus-cost-economy-14-trillion/

 

Yes, they looked at traditional economic measurements, but didn't cover all the involved factors/costs:

"Putting a price tag on all the pain, suffering and upheaval Americans and people around the world have experienced because of COVID-19 is, of course, hard to do. More than 1.1 million people have died as a result of COVID-19 in the U.S., and many more have been hospitalized or lost loved ones.

...

What is not known

We modeled only the pandemic’s standard economic effects. We didn’t estimate the vast array of economic costs tied to COVID-19, such as lost years of work after an early death or a severe case of long-COVID-19.

We also didn’t assess the costs due to the many ways that the disease has affected the physical and mental health of the U.S. population or the learning loss experienced by students."

And the bottom line is -- the more people who were vaccinated, the fewer COVID deaths that occurred, and that lessened the costs to society in a multitude of ways.

That's all the public detail the MoPH provides... And they had ceased proving any age data on local COVID deaths until just recently, when they finally resumed specifying the general age ranges again.

If you're not satisfied and want more details, you need to take it up with the Thai MoPH.

12 minutes ago, peter zwart said:

BS, men will never know. Why??? Because you dont know and can not know what would have happened if all those people did not took the jab. 

There have been a lot of different studies done by a lot of different researchers around the world on the impact of COVID vaccines during the pandemic, and they all have come to the same/similar conclusions:

COVID vaccines saved 20M lives in 1st year, scientists say

https://apnews.com/article/covid-science-health-england-54d29ae3af5c700f15d704c14ee224b5

Report: COVID-19 vaccines saved US $1.15 trillion, 3 million lives

https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/covid-19/report-covid-19-vaccines-saved-us-115-trillion-3-million-lives

COVID-19 vaccinations have saved more than 1.4 million lives in the WHO European Region, a new study finds

https://www.who.int/europe/news/item/16-01-2024-covid-19-vaccinations-have-saved-more-than-1.4-million-lives-in-the-who-european-region--a-new-study-finds

12 minutes ago, stoner said:

 

it's good that deaths have basically flatlined then. 12 from covid in a month is peanuts compared to what it was before. it is also irrelevant in thai death stats now as there are far greater chances of dying from so many other things in life and in thailand.

As usual, you selectively chose to ignore other important details of the same report, as sourced in the link posted above:

"The Ministry of Public Health also reported the total number of current COVID hospitalizations rated in serious condition climbed to 501, a 28% increase over the prior week and a tally that appears to be Thailand's highest in almost a year and a half.

The number of currently hospitalized COVID patients requiring intubation / ventilation to breathe also rose to 187, up 26% from the prior week, and the highest number in that category since mid-June 2023."

And actually, no, official COVID deaths in Thailand haven't "flatlined".  The 12 reported for the most recent week was the highest weekly number since July 2023. At the beginning of 2024, the weekly COVID deaths count reported here were running 7-8 per week.

2 hours ago, Caldera said:

Seriously, they released this warning for Bangkok today? It was raining all day long yesterday (where was the warning?) and it's been nothing but sunshine today. 

Ditto on that here for me in central BKK today....

Guess the TMD ought to change their motto to: "Day Late and Dollar Short!"   😄

3 hours ago, tomazbodner said:

 

World's worst security guard...

That doesn't look like the uniforms worn by BTS station security staff.

It looks more like the uniforms worn by the male ticket counter staff.

9 minutes ago, ikke1959 said:

They need to come to Thailand as today in the news that Covid will raise because of the opening of the schools again

COVID cases/hospitalizations in Thailand have been rising steadily for the past two months since mid-March.

https://aseannow.com/topic/1326140-hospitalizations-climb-in-thailands-spring-2024-covid-surge/?do=findComment&comment=18893219

6 minutes ago, Yellowtail said:

This is one of the vaccines subsidized under the Trump administration's operation "Warp Speed", yes? 

Yes, AZ was supported by Warp Speed in the U.S.  But the vaccine never received approval for use there.

July 2020:

"The vaccine candidate, currently in human trials, is one of the candidates funded and supported by the US Operation Warp Speed (OWS) programme."

https://www.pharmaceutical-technology.com/news/emergent-astrazeneca-deal/

AstraZeneca withdraws Covid-19 vaccine worldwide, citing surplus of newer vaccines

Pharmaceutical company says newer shots led to decline in demand for AstraZeneca vaccine, which is no longer being manufactured or supplied

AstraZeneca has begun the worldwide withdrawal of its Covid-19 vaccine due to a “surplus of available updated vaccines” that target new variants of the virus.

The announcement follows the pharmaceutical company in March voluntarily withdrawing its European Union marketing authorisation, which is the approval to market a medicine in member states.

...

In a statement, AstraZeneca said the decision was made because there is now a variety of newer vaccines available that have been adapted to target Covid-19 variants. This had led to a decline in demand for the AstraZeneca vaccine, which is no longer being manufactured or supplied.

“According to independent estimates, over 6.5 million lives were saved in the first year of use alone and over 3bn doses were supplied globally,” the statement said.

(more)

https://www.theguardian.com/business/article/2024/may/08/astrazeneca-withdraws-covid-19-vaccine-worldwide-citing-surplus-of-newer-vaccines

The vaccine — called Vaxzevria and developed in partnership with the University of Oxford — has been one of the main Covid-19 vaccines worldwide, with more than 3 billion doses supplied since the first was administered in the United Kingdom on January 4, 2021.

...

In a notice on its website, the European Medicines Agency also announced the withdrawal, which means that Vaxzevria is no longer authorized to be marketed or sold in European Union countries.

AstraZeneca said it would work with regulators in other countries to “align on a clear path forward,” including withdrawing marketing authorizations for the vaccine where no future commercial demand is expected.

(more)

https://www.cnn.com/2024/05/08/business/astrazeneca-covid-vaccine-withdrawal/index.html

No rain in central BKK this afternoon.

But shortly before 3 pm, the official temperature reading says a chilly [ 😝 ]  97F degrees...

Which, I'm not complaining about at this point, given that the typical afternoon readings in BKK in past weeks have been at 100F or above.

On 5/6/2024 at 1:13 PM, TheFishman1 said:

It’s not surprising the police in Thailand involved and kidnapping corruption and probably murder TIT

Just another day in the life...  These things, we come to know and expect. 😞

7 minutes ago, Yellowtail said:

Just raise taxes, problem solved

I'm sure they'd be happy to take your money. When you gonna pay up?  🙂

FWIW, there have been some recent proposals that would raise taxes on the wealthiest Americans to help fund the SS gap. I believe those would target incomes over $400K per year. But not surprisingly, one particular political party doesn't seem too keen on that plan.

From the OP article:

"Congressional Democrats have proposed higher taxes on the wealthy to support Social Security. Congressional Republicans have balked at that, instead calling for reducing the benefit formula and raising the retirement age for younger workers."

I've used two services lately:

Planet Express based in Southern California and has their website by that name, a service that I liked and used for a long time, but ceased using a year ago when they had a long string of having my economy shipping packages go astray. They do also offer a full range of shipping methods, and a person could probably avoid the non-delivery risk by opting for delivery via FedEx or DHL. But the shipping rate's gonna be more expensive, and Thai Customs on this end likely will add on VAT and potentially a Customs duty charge as well.

Though to set up a NEW account with Planet Express, a person would have to go thru the process of filling out and submitting USPS mail forwarding documentation to PE in order for them to activate your account. That's a standard USPS requirement.

More recently, I've been using a service called WeShippingUSA, which is run by Thais and operates via Facebook. They only have two options:

1. ocean shipping that takes about 3 months and has a flat rate of 300b per kilo, no extra charges except for local EMS mail delivery to your home here, or

2. air freight handling, which takes about 2 weeks and has a flat rate of 800b per kilo, no extra charges except for local EMS mail delivery to your home here.

(No extra charges meaning no added risk for VAT or Customs duty. Their fee is all-inclusive.)

In both options with WeShippingUSA, thru dozens of orders, thus far, they have a perfect delivery record for my stuff, though occasionally they run a couple days behind schedule for their ultimate delivery times here. Payment is via Thai bank transfer to their account here.

Another option, if you have family or similar back in the U.S., would be to have the purchased phone delivered to them, and they could re-mail it to you here in Thailand using one of several USPS International mail options, which could be insured. The package would then be delivered here via ThaiPost.

And in either case for Planet Express or WeShippingUSA, they would be able to handle the shipping of a newly purchased mobile phone, so long as the lithium battery is packed inside the phone, and not separate outside.

Congress has less than a decade to fix Social Security before the popular program runs short of cash, threatening a sharp cut in benefits for nearly 60 million retirees and family members, according to a government report released Monday.

The report from Social Security trustees predicts the retirement program's trust fund will be exhausted in November of 2033. At that point, benefits would automatically be cut by 21%, unless lawmakers adopt changes before then.

There's some good news in the new forecast. Thanks to higher-than-expected worker productivity and a decline in expected disabilities, Social Security isn't burning through cash as fast as trustees predicted a year ago.

(more)

https://www.npr.org/2024/05/06/1249406440/social-security-medicare-congress-fix-boomers-benefits