Cardiff University "defended messages referring to academics as an ”ignorant fuckface” and a call to kneecap them as legitimate expressions of free speech, even after one of the signatories had his car window smashed."
These violent threats were a direct result of staff writing a letter asking for a review of Cardiff Uni's Stonewall membership, pointing out that affiliation with Stonewall exposes dissenters to harassment.
O/T - a hoax email was sent out from my daughter's school on Sunday night saying that the school would be closed for two days. The school managed to send out another email clarifying that this was not the case, and that they were looking into how this happened. They've just sent another email with, attached, a letter setting out a further explanation of the incident. Except what's actually attached is not a letter but the database containing all parents' email addresses. I'm agog to see what the next instalment will be.
Ohshit. That is bad.
The next thing will almost certainly be the resignations of the data controller and whoever sent the email.
Then a very heavy fine from the ICO.
Quite possibly followed by an OFSTED inspection which will not go well, because that's a disastrous safeguarding breach.
Fecking hell, that's awful.
Seems like a massive overreaction if it is just email addresses. Its a bad mistake sure, but what is the real danger of parents having each others email addresses? If its a big issue for anyone, it takes 5 mins to set up a new one anyway.
Ummmm...you do know how many people use email addresses as usernames for various websites? Which makes it much easier to hack them? Or spam them?
I have actually lost count of the number of pointless, boring time wasting lectures Inset days I have had where it has been drummed into me I must not email multiple parents for GDPR reasons. The office must do it using clearly defined protocols of which BCC is a massive part.
Email addresses of parents must also be deleted when there is not further need for them e.g. when children have left plus a few months.
People already get loads of spam. Not quite sure why parent x will decide to spam parent y, but if it happens it is still trivial, person y will get dozens of spam emails each week regardless.
Of course it is a silly and bad mistake but not something that needs two people to resign and the whole school to be marked down. Things happen.
Well, for a start, someone could use the list of parents' email addresses to send a hoax mail saying the school is shut, which is of course where we came in.
So, at work it was trailed by the government they were going to target Kremlin allied Russians/Brits in the UK via the financial services system.
What was announced today is so minimal and ineffective the government may as well of not bothered.
For this is alone Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak need to quit or be removed.
Boris described this as a barrage. To keep the analogy going this looks more like a warning shot but a barrage gives him more options when (as it seems inevitable) the next escalation comes. Bit odd he seemed to think that Abramovitch was already sanctioned. Maybe 20 points deducted from Chelsea would do the trick?
The Nord 2 suspension is by far the most material sanction to date, for all our criticism of Germany's mealy mouth to date.
Yup, the Germans dropped an A bomb, we fired an empty water pistol.
Nord Stream 1 is still operational and Germany will continue to be the biggest purchaser of Russian gas.
If they turn that off as well then William, it hurts in UK as well doesn’t it?
It hurts the UK and Germany equally: because both of us would be bidding for spot LNG cargoes.
And to where in Germany, would these cargoes be delivered? They haven’t yet built the import facility.
Ah. That’s interesting.
Possibly Poland - Poland has LNG facilities and a natural gas pipeline network connecting to Germany.
IIRC they were offering to sell on gas from Norway (via a Baltic pipeline) if Nord Stream 2 didn't go ahead.
Just had Ipsos Mori cold calling on the phone, wanting to ask me questions about topical issues in the news. So I settle down enthusiastically, ready to share my views, when he says “it’ll take about 25 minutes, is that OK?”. Somewhat less enthusiastic, I say OK, and he sounds relieved and says I’m the first person on his shift who has agreed so far.
Anyhow once we start going through the demographic questions it turns out that I’m not in the age range he’s looking for, so I never get to hear the questions.
But with them admitting so many refusals from people unwilling to sit and give up half an hour on the phone, I find it hard to believe that there isn’t some significant bias arising from those few willing to say yes?
Yes, I'm sure it's a factor, especially with phone interviews (not quite rare, I think?), but which way does it affect?
I remember at a Labour conference taking a IPSOS-MORI poll during a break. It went on and on. and just as he got to "Do you think Ed Miliband is doing well or badly?" I was passed by...Ed Miliband. "Ed Miliband is doing REALLY WELL", I boomed. We slippery-poll climbers stop at nothing.
Some people on Twitter are suggesting that the UK’a sanctions are so weak that Putin must have kompromat on Johnson.
I think that’s paranoiac.
The truth is simply that Johnson isn’t very good at the whole governing thing.
It's not paranoid, just silly. It implies Putin could know something about Johnson that's worse than what we already all know about him, which seems highly improbable.
Oh, I don't know. What if they had convincing kompromat showing that Boris voted Remain?
Is Germany beginning to regret closing down their nuclear power stations? 65% of their gas supplies come from Russia.
And is our own governing party now prepared to admit its folly in allowing 70% of the UK's (already very limited) strategic gas storage capacity to be closed down only 5 years ago?
Cardiff University "defended messages referring to academics as an ”ignorant fuckface” and a call to kneecap them as legitimate expressions of free speech, even after one of the signatories had his car window smashed."
These violent threats were a direct result of staff writing a letter asking for a review of Cardiff Uni's Stonewall membership, pointing out that affiliation with Stonewall exposes dissenters to harassment.
If the academics didn’t have ‘wrongthink’ they wouldnt have forced the peaceful TRA’s to carry out such acts. They’d be able to harmoniously co-exist as long as they have the right views.
Some people on Twitter are suggesting that the UK’a sanctions are so weak that Putin must have kompromat on Johnson.
I think that’s paranoiac.
The truth is simply that Johnson isn’t very good at the whole governing thing.
It's hard to tell the difference between someone doing the wrong thing under pressure and someone who can easily do the wrong thing with no pressure applied at all.
Some people on Twitter are suggesting that the UK’a sanctions are so weak that Putin must have kompromat on Johnson.
I think that’s paranoiac.
The truth is simply that Johnson isn’t very good at the whole governing thing.
It's not paranoid, just silly. It implies Putin could know something about Johnson that's worse than what we already all know about him, which seems highly improbable.
Oh, I don't know. What if they had convincing kompromat showing that Boris voted Remain?
How would that surprise anyone?
In fact, to be honest I would be more shocked to find he voted leave.
Funnily enough, that is the last major restriction to go. It's been widely ignored on buses here in north London for weeks now, but remains the rule across the network and is more widely complied with on the Tube.
So that's it – no more restrictions in England, that I can think of.
Interesting how it cuts across party lines, though. Labour-leaning young Londoners have already thrown caution to the winds while the Govt. struggles to catch up. Meanwhile, out here in the sticks, frit old Tories cling obstinately to their face masks and still cross the street to avoid each other. Hard to guess how this might affect voting intention or approval polls.
Some people on Twitter are suggesting that the UK’a sanctions are so weak that Putin must have kompromat on Johnson.
I think that’s paranoiac.
The truth is simply that Johnson isn’t very good at the whole governing thing.
It's hard to tell the difference between someone doing the wrong thing under pressure and someone who can easily do the wrong thing with no pressure applied at all.
I don't think it's kompromat, but he clearly has a problem with political links.
The thread header dispenses with the usual QTWAIN and instead has a STWAIN: Statement To Which the Answer Is NO!
"He’s got to hope this doesn’t lead to more cases" - No.
Cases don't matter anymore. When are people going to stop obsessing over cases?
Why do you think the polls are so negative about Freedom Day 2 though? PB last night was very much the other way, saying No, Mike, not a mistake.
1. There is a strong authoritarian streak in British society that approves of people being bossed about 2. Not entirely uncoincidentally, the population also contains a vast number of old people
Polling on COVID measures tends to be "more restrictions are always awesome".
This is not necessarily connected with whether the measures are a good idea or not.
Nor is connected to the long term polling effect, if the measures are eased and it is a success.
There’s a sizeable minority who would keep restrictions indefinitely.
They all seem to follow Cristina Pagel on Twitter. If you want to take the pulse of the Covid terrified, that’s the place to go.
Funnily enough, that is the last major restriction to go. It's been widely ignored on buses here in north London for weeks now, but remains the rule across the network and is more widely complied with on the Tube.
So that's it – no more restrictions in England, that I can think of.
Interesting how it cuts across party lines, though. Labour-leaning young Londoners have already thrown caution to the winds while the Govt. struggles to catch up. Meanwhile, out here in the sticks, frit old Tories cling obstinately to their face masks and still cross the street to avoid each other. Hard to guess how this might affect voting intention or approval polls.
A care home I am visiting in Norfolk in a couple of days still has masks and LFTs for all visitors, although I can't imagine they will keep that up for much longer.
Some people on Twitter are suggesting that the UK’a sanctions are so weak that Putin must have kompromat on Johnson.
I think that’s paranoiac.
The truth is simply that Johnson isn’t very good at the whole governing thing.
The truth is simply that Twitter is full of people who would twist anything to criticise Johnson.
Well yes, and there are people out there who haven't a good word to say for Adolf Eichmann. In both cases, why dress up legitimate reasons to hate someone, as mere pretexts for hating them?
Just had Ipsos Mori cold calling on the phone, wanting to ask me questions about topical issues in the news. So I settle down enthusiastically, ready to share my views, when he says “it’ll take about 25 minutes, is that OK?”. Somewhat less enthusiastic, I say OK, and he sounds relieved and says I’m the first person on his shift who has agreed so far.
Anyhow once we start going through the demographic questions it turns out that I’m not in the age range he’s looking for, so I never get to hear the questions.
But with them admitting so many refusals from people unwilling to sit and give up half an hour on the phone, I find it hard to believe that there isn’t some significant bias arising from those few willing to say yes?
This is why I am not averse to a voodoo poll with a high response rate. I'd rather one question answered by 100,000 than 30 questions answered by astroturfers and the desperately hard-up in order to generate a lot of subsidiaries and subsamples no-one trusts anyway.
On the polling in the header, all that can be read into it is that the British give lazy fascistic answers on anything involving banning things, compelling other people to be ridiculous and the use of mandatory torture on other people who park cars in your space etc.
Loads of people who have never tested, never isolated and done exactly as they like for two years will give ultra cautious answers about what other people should do. Ignore it all.
Boris is gambling on getting it about right really, and for myself I think he is right in his decision here. Not that he deserves to survive but that's for other reasons.
Some people on Twitter are suggesting that the UK’a sanctions are so weak that Putin must have kompromat on Johnson.
I think that’s paranoiac.
The truth is simply that Johnson isn’t very good at the whole governing thing.
The truth is simply that Twitter is full of people who would twist anything to criticise Johnson.
Well yes, and there are people out there who haven't a good word to say for Adolf Eichmann. In both cases, why dress up legitimate reasons to hate someone, as mere pretexts for hating them?
Fun, but of course people do sometimes ignore valid reasons for criticisms and go with weak or non existent ones. It's actually really weird that when there are lots of really good reasons for something some people will still go for a bad one.
Some people on Twitter are suggesting that the UK’a sanctions are so weak that Putin must have kompromat on Johnson.
I think that’s paranoiac.
The truth is simply that Johnson isn’t very good at the whole governing thing.
Paranoiac it might be but it shows the depths that this Prime Minister has dragged his office that it can even be considered. He's a devious liar and everyone knows it
Some people on Twitter are suggesting that the UK’a sanctions are so weak that Putin must have kompromat on Johnson.
I think that’s paranoiac.
The truth is simply that Johnson isn’t very good at the whole governing thing.
The truth is simply that Twitter is full of people who would twist anything to criticise Johnson.
Well yes, and there are people out there who haven't a good word to say for Adolf Eichmann. In both cases, why dress up legitimate reasons to hate someone, as mere pretexts for hating them?
Have you ever read Jung Chang's biography of Mao?
Now there's somebody who *really* couldn't find a good word to say about her subject.
Was thinking earlier on the subject of "Why now" for the Ukraine thing.
I wonder if one issue is that once the world LNG export trade gets back to where it was pre-COVID, prices will crash. At the moment Russia has enough money to fund the adventure... Pre COVID process were very low compared to their production costs.
Once the American stuff is back in full swing, Putin can look forward to prices hammering into the ground again.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has issued an order to halt the process of certifying the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline. Well. Welcome to the brave new world where Europeans are very soon going to pay €2.000 for 1.000 cubic meters of natural gas! 1:19 PM · Feb 22, 2022"
The thread header dispenses with the usual QTWAIN and instead has a STWAIN: Statement To Which the Answer Is NO!
"He’s got to hope this doesn’t lead to more cases" - No.
Cases don't matter anymore. When are people going to stop obsessing over cases?
Why do you think the polls are so negative about Freedom Day 2 though? PB last night was very much the other way, saying No, Mike, not a mistake.
1. There is a strong authoritarian streak in British society that approves of people being bossed about 2. Not entirely uncoincidentally, the population also contains a vast number of old people
Polling on COVID measures tends to be "more restrictions are always awesome".
This is not necessarily connected with whether the measures are a good idea or not.
Nor is connected to the long term polling effect, if the measures are eased and it is a success.
There’s a sizeable minority who would keep restrictions indefinitely.
They all seem to follow Cristina Pagel on Twitter. If you want to take the pulse of the Covid terrified, that’s the place to go.
I’ve blocked her and Gurdasani. Never interacted with them but they are the sort of people who seem to love being in the public eye and don’t seem to want this to end.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has issued an order to halt the process of certifying the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline. Well. Welcome to the brave new world where Europeans are very soon going to pay €2.000 for 1.000 cubic meters of natural gas! 1:19 PM · Feb 22, 2022"
Funnily enough, that is the last major restriction to go. It's been widely ignored on buses here in north London for weeks now, but remains the rule across the network and is more widely complied with on the Tube.
So that's it – no more restrictions in England, that I can think of.
Interesting how it cuts across party lines, though. Labour-leaning young Londoners have already thrown caution to the winds while the Govt. struggles to catch up. Meanwhile, out here in the sticks, frit old Tories cling obstinately to their face masks and still cross the street to avoid each other. Hard to guess how this might affect voting intention or approval polls.
This "frit old Tories" stuff is just pointlessly divisive. Why shouldn't people wear masks and cross the road when they want to? Regardless of their supposed politics.
I have an uncle in a care home who I'd hoped to visit recently, but the home has been closed for all visitors for 2 weeks because of a single case. I've no doubt that he's extremely vulnerable and support the policy.
Just had Ipsos Mori cold calling on the phone, wanting to ask me questions about topical issues in the news. So I settle down enthusiastically, ready to share my views, when he says “it’ll take about 25 minutes, is that OK?”. Somewhat less enthusiastic, I say OK, and he sounds relieved and says I’m the first person on his shift who has agreed so far.
Anyhow once we start going through the demographic questions it turns out that I’m not in the age range he’s looking for, so I never get to hear the questions.
But with them admitting so many refusals from people unwilling to sit and give up half an hour on the phone, I find it hard to believe that there isn’t some significant bias arising from those few willing to say yes?
Yes, I'm sure it's a factor, especially with phone interviews (not quite rare, I think?), but which way does it affect?
I remember at a Labour conference taking a IPSOS-MORI poll during a break. It went on and on. and just as he got to "Do you think Ed Miliband is doing well or badly?" I was passed by...Ed Miliband. "Ed Miliband is doing REALLY WELL", I boomed. We slippery-poll climbers stop at nothing.
But Nick we know you lied to us throughout the 2015 election campaign, because you told us after the event that you did. Tick tock. And about the Corbyn love. And about everybody being bored about Taiwan "crying wolf" about a Chinese invasion. It's sweet that you coyly admit to being a liar, but it's a double bluff because what you actually are, is a liar. And it is neither clever nor funny.
Just had Ipsos Mori cold calling on the phone, wanting to ask me questions about topical issues in the news. So I settle down enthusiastically, ready to share my views, when he says “it’ll take about 25 minutes, is that OK?”. Somewhat less enthusiastic, I say OK, and he sounds relieved and says I’m the first person on his shift who has agreed so far.
Anyhow once we start going through the demographic questions it turns out that I’m not in the age range he’s looking for, so I never get to hear the questions.
But with them admitting so many refusals from people unwilling to sit and give up half an hour on the phone, I find it hard to believe that there isn’t some significant bias arising from those few willing to say yes?
This is why I am not averse to a voodoo poll with a high response rate. I'd rather one question answered by 100,000 than 30 questions answered by astroturfers and the desperately hard-up in order to generate a lot of subsidiaries and subsamples no-one trusts anyway.
Well voodoo push polling of the Daily Express readership is always reliable, in the sense that you can always rely on knowing the result without bothering to see it.
The thread header dispenses with the usual QTWAIN and instead has a STWAIN: Statement To Which the Answer Is NO!
"He’s got to hope this doesn’t lead to more cases" - No.
Cases don't matter anymore. When are people going to stop obsessing over cases?
Why do you think the polls are so negative about Freedom Day 2 though? PB last night was very much the other way, saying No, Mike, not a mistake.
1. There is a strong authoritarian streak in British society that approves of people being bossed about 2. Not entirely uncoincidentally, the population also contains a vast number of old people
Polling on COVID measures tends to be "more restrictions are always awesome".
This is not necessarily connected with whether the measures are a good idea or not.
Nor is connected to the long term polling effect, if the measures are eased and it is a success.
There’s a sizeable minority who would keep restrictions indefinitely.
They all seem to follow Cristina Pagel on Twitter. If you want to take the pulse of the Covid terrified, that’s the place to go.
I’ve blocked her and Gurdasani. Never interacted with them but they are the sort of people who seem to love being in the public eye and don’t seem to want this to end.
Yep, nail on head. There must be a thrill for them having all those sycophants hanging on their every anti government post. The most striking this is how many have a twitter photo wearing a mask...
Announce the end of free tests and everyone starts to stockpile.
Which chimes with the header that people think the government is moving too fast, despite what many on even as representative a platform as pb might tell you.
There are lots of immunocompromised and other vulnerable people out there, and all their families and friends will want to test before visiting.
The thread header dispenses with the usual QTWAIN and instead has a STWAIN: Statement To Which the Answer Is NO!
"He’s got to hope this doesn’t lead to more cases" - No.
Cases don't matter anymore. When are people going to stop obsessing over cases?
A lot of people have been obsessing over case rates (going back to the times when they indeed did portend calamity, of course,) for so long that they now appear incapable of stopping. It's small wonder that the Government, apparently, wants to scrap the Covid dashboard in the near future.
Indeed this is supported by some scientists (including Professor Francois Balloux) who argues that daily updates of positive tests achieve nothing much now and might be actively detrimental.
Not to mention the relentless daily body count. You'd think from the way some people keep screaming about Covid deaths that the disease was still scything its way through the population and inflicting terrible mass casualties, in the same fashion as in the disastrous waves at the start of the pandemic and again in early 2021. The fact is that yes, absolutely, if you're one of the poor blighters who gets zapped by it then it's no comfort to you that total mortality is currently below the pre-Covid five-year average - but nonetheless total mortality is indeed below average at the moment, and this is seldom highlighted in the media.
If we're to continue to be treated to daily death statistics then the Covid numbers could at least be subsumed within a well-publicised wider bulletin, in which all the other things that keep killing people are also carefully identified and tabulated, so that the current Covid threat is placed into its proper context and people aren't unduly frightened. Dementia charities, the British Heart Foundation, Weight Watchers and the entire gym industry would all be thrilled with the publicity.
Biden's response is looking weak, which is what matters most. He threatened to cut Russia out of the SWIFT network, and hasn't.
"Never issue a threat unless you're prepared to carry it out", as my father used to say.
Putin threatened to roll across Ukraine and hasn't.
Well, he's already rolled into eastern Ukraine, and the sanctions announced so far won't do anything to discourage him from continuing further.
I agree with you and said so recently. If Putin rolls into Kyiv, even cutting Russia out of Swift is going to look weak, and then Biden is two for two.
Couldn't stop the Taliban from taking Kabul. Couldn't stop Putin from taking Kyiv. Where next?
No way a US President wins re-election when being demonstrated to be so weak.
The thread header dispenses with the usual QTWAIN and instead has a STWAIN: Statement To Which the Answer Is NO!
"He’s got to hope this doesn’t lead to more cases" - No.
Cases don't matter anymore. When are people going to stop obsessing over cases?
Why do you think the polls are so negative about Freedom Day 2 though? PB last night was very much the other way, saying No, Mike, not a mistake.
1. There is a strong authoritarian streak in British society that approves of people being bossed about 2. Not entirely uncoincidentally, the population also contains a vast number of old people
Polling on COVID measures tends to be "more restrictions are always awesome".
This is not necessarily connected with whether the measures are a good idea or not.
Nor is connected to the long term polling effect, if the measures are eased and it is a success.
There’s a sizeable minority who would keep restrictions indefinitely.
They all seem to follow Cristina Pagel on Twitter. If you want to take the pulse of the Covid terrified, that’s the place to go.
I’ve blocked her and Gurdasani. Never interacted with them but they are the sort of people who seem to love being in the public eye and don’t seem to want this to end.
With all the Ukraine content filling the airwaves today it’s strange how old hat and irrelevant Covid Twitter seems. Like the wind has been taken permanently out of its sails.
Likewise, actually, partygate. Boris’s biggest problem now I think is his puny sanctions response.
That’s how the news agenda works I suppose. A story is either on-narrative or not. Next few months are going to be all about Russia, and the economy.
Biden's response is looking weak, which is what matters most. He threatened to cut Russia out of the SWIFT network, and hasn't.
"Never issue a threat unless you're prepared to carry it out", as my father used to say.
Not as weak as Johnson's. Targeting just 3 oligarchs who the US had already sanctioned 8 years earlier.
On the other hand.....
"Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer welcomed British sanctions, but said the UK "must be prepared to go further". He called for Russia to be excluded from the global SWIFT payment system, the banning of trading in Russian sovereign debt and action to prevent Russia "broadcasting its propaganda around the world", a reference to the RT news channel. Sir Keir said he understood the government wanted to delay introducing some sanctions as a tactic to deter a Russian invasion of the rest of Ukraine, but without a "full set of sanctions now" President Putin would conclude that "the benefits of aggression outweigh the costs."" BBC News
Biden's response is looking weak, which is what matters most. He threatened to cut Russia out of the SWIFT network, and hasn't.
"Never issue a threat unless you're prepared to carry it out", as my father used to say.
Putin threatened to roll across Ukraine and hasn't.
Well, he's already rolled into eastern Ukraine, and the sanctions announced so far won't do anything to discourage him from continuing further.
I agree with you and said so recently. If Putin rolls into Kyiv, even cutting Russia out of Swift is going to look weak, and then Biden is two for two.
Couldn't stop the Taliban from taking Kabul. Couldn't stop Putin from taking Kyiv. Where next?
No way a US President wins re-election when being demonstrated to be so weak.
It feels that way, but rolling into Kyiv is the beginning. Just like rolling into Baghdad was for Bush. The trouble for Putin starts then, and not from Western sanctions.
Biden's response is looking weak, which is what matters most. He threatened to cut Russia out of the SWIFT network, and hasn't.
"Never issue a threat unless you're prepared to carry it out", as my father used to say.
You are an intelligent chap from everything I can take from pb.
I therefore find it strange that you don’t get that Biden doesn’t have it within his gift to cut Russia out of SWIFT - it’s been trailed widely that there is big opposition to this, especially from Germany, because of the damage it will do to global banking and the fear that it will allow China to create its own alternative which China can insist that all receivers of its largesse must use.
On top of this do you always use the most heavy handed response to a bad action?
Using your father’s threat, if you punched a bottle of sherry from the drinks cabinet as a teenager did he throw you out of the house to live on the streets or did he introduce a sanction with the threat of an escalated sanction of you didn’t own up to the theft or repeat it or do something worse?
Once you have used all your threats and punishments, if the other side can keep going, then you have no leverage. If they worry about the potential sanctions still to come, don’t know what they are and don’t know who will suffer then it surely makes people a little more circumspect about the actions they are willing to take.
It’s like being disciplined at school - the fear of the unknown and the lead up to “sentencing” is bad. Once you’ve been sentenced you can prepare for it, mentally deal with it and then it loses its terror. And then once the punishment has been met out then it’s over.
Announce the end of free tests and everyone starts to stockpile.
Which chimes with the header that people think the government is moving too fast, despite what many on even as representative a platform as pb might tell you.
There are lots of immunocompromised and other vulnerable people out there, and all their families and friends will want to test before visiting.
No I think there are two separate issues here and people have different opinions on them.
Should the Government have lifted the last restrictions and started to treat this disease like any other? - yes I think now is the right time to do that (whatever the dodgy motives of Johnson that have driven it)
But entirely separately
Should the Government have ended free testing? No absolutely not.
The success of the first policy - of ending all restrictions and allowing people to make sensible decisions - has to be based upon those people being able to obtain the necessary information to allow them to make those decisions. Ending free testing removes that ability to a large extent. If, after April, I go down with symptoms which could be covid or which could just be a cold, am I going to spend money on a test kit? Probably not. I am more likely to either ignore it and get on with life - in which case I could be spreading it to others more at risk - or I am going to be cautious and self isolate of my own back for a week - in which case I am possibly unnecessarily removing myself from the workforce for that period.
Free tests allow exactly the sorts of informed decisions the Government is asking us to make. It allows us to take personal responsibility. Removing those free tests removes, for many people, the ability to make those informed decisions.
So @MoonRabbit the clock is ticking on your Johnson defenestration prediction. How do you think it’s going?😀
The night is young. 😘
I still think Johnson has already jumped off a high building and is falling past the 5th floor and people are saying If he can fall past the second floor he is safe, no credible challengers blah blah
So, at work it was trailed by the government they were going to target Kremlin allied Russians/Brits in the UK via the financial services system.
What was announced today is so minimal and ineffective the government may as well of not bothered.
For this is alone Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak need to quit or be removed.
Boris described this as a barrage. To keep the analogy going this looks more like a warning shot but a barrage gives him more options when (as it seems inevitable) the next escalation comes. Bit odd he seemed to think that Abramovitch was already sanctioned. Maybe 20 points deducted from Chelsea would do the trick?
The Nord 2 suspension is by far the most material sanction to date, for all our criticism of Germany's mealy mouth to date.
Yup, the Germans dropped an A bomb, we fired an empty water pistol.
Nord Stream 1 is still operational and Germany will continue to be the biggest purchaser of Russian gas.
If they turn that off as well then William, it hurts in UK as well doesn’t it?
It hurts the UK and Germany equally: because both of us would be bidding for spot LNG cargoes.
And to where in Germany, would these cargoes be delivered? They haven’t yet built the import facility.
Ah. That’s interesting.
Possibly Poland - Poland has LNG facilities and a natural gas pipeline network connecting to Germany.
IIRC they were offering to sell on gas from Norway (via a Baltic pipeline) if Nord Stream 2 didn't go ahead.
Biden's response is looking weak, which is what matters most. He threatened to cut Russia out of the SWIFT network, and hasn't.
"Never issue a threat unless you're prepared to carry it out", as my father used to say.
You are an intelligent chap from everything I can take from pb.
I therefore find it strange that you don’t get that Biden doesn’t have it within his gift to cut Russia out of SWIFT - it’s been trailed widely that there is big opposition to this, especially from Germany, because of the damage it will do to global banking and the fear that it will allow China to create its own alternative which China can insist that all receivers of its largesse must use.
On top of this do you always use the most heavy handed response to a bad action?
Using your father’s threat, if you punched a bottle of sherry from the drinks cabinet as a teenager did he throw you out of the house to live on the streets or did he introduce a sanction with the threat of an escalated sanction of you didn’t own up to the theft or repeat it or do something worse?
Once you have used all your threats and punishments, if the other side can keep going, then you have no leverage. If they worry about the potential sanctions still to come, don’t know what they are and don’t know who will suffer then it surely makes people a little more circumspect about the actions they are willing to take.
It’s like being disciplined at school - the fear of the unknown and the lead up to “sentencing” is bad. Once you’ve been sentenced you can prepare for it, mentally deal with it and then it loses its terror. And then once the punishment has been met out then it’s over.
If Biden couldn't (or wouldn't be willing) to carry out the threat, then he shouldn't have made it, it's as simple as that.
Announce the end of free tests and everyone starts to stockpile.
I don't want to start a panic at a time like this ... but Waitrose failed to deliver an order of bog roll yesterday.
I heard a rumour that Waitrose ran out of pre-flaked Parmesan. An Albanian Black Cab driver told me this, so it must be true.
My Waitrose had Pecorino Romano, Grana Padano and three sorts of Parmesan to choose from the other day. And that was just the prepacked stuff, in blocks. So no panic when it comes to seasoning a bolognese.
Note however Tories and Leavers support Boris' lifting of Covid restrictions. 56% of Conservative voters and 51% of Leave voters think the lifting of Covid restrictions is either about right or too late. So Boris knows what his core vote want.
67% of Labour voters think the lifting of restrictions is too soon but the vast majority of them would not vote for Boris anyway.
So @MoonRabbit the clock is ticking on your Johnson defenestration prediction. How do you think it’s going?😀
The night is young. 😘
I still think Johnson has already jumped off a high building and is falling past the 5th floor and people are saying If he can fall past the second floor he is safe, no credible challengers blah blah
A man fell from the 39th floor. For the first 38 floors he passed, people inside heard him saying 'so far, so good.'
Biden's response is looking weak, which is what matters most. He threatened to cut Russia out of the SWIFT network, and hasn't.
"Never issue a threat unless you're prepared to carry it out", as my father used to say.
Putin threatened to roll across Ukraine and hasn't.
Well, he's already rolled into eastern Ukraine, and the sanctions announced so far won't do anything to discourage him from continuing further.
I agree with you and said so recently. If Putin rolls into Kyiv, even cutting Russia out of Swift is going to look weak, and then Biden is two for two.
Couldn't stop the Taliban from taking Kabul. Couldn't stop Putin from taking Kyiv. Where next?
No way a US President wins re-election when being demonstrated to be so weak.
Yes he would be another Jimmy Carter by the middle of his term.
The Democrats would need to replace him with a younger, centrist fresh face like Buttigieg or risk Trump making a Reagan like comeback in 2024
Announce the end of free tests and everyone starts to stockpile.
I don't want to start a panic at a time like this ... but Waitrose failed to deliver an order of bog roll yesterday.
I heard a rumour that Waitrose ran out of pre-flaked Parmesan. An Albanian Black Cab driver told me this, so it must be true.
My Waitrose had Pecorino Romano, Grana Padano and three sorts of Parmesan to choose from the other day. And that was just the prepacked stuff, in blocks. So no panic when it comes to seasoning a bolognese.
I was trying to start a riotous panic, damn it!
Incidentally, producers, sellers and purchasers of pre-flaked Parmesan will go on The List, when I am unDictator.
The thread header dispenses with the usual QTWAIN and instead has a STWAIN: Statement To Which the Answer Is NO!
"He’s got to hope this doesn’t lead to more cases" - No.
Cases don't matter anymore. When are people going to stop obsessing over cases?
Why do you think the polls are so negative about Freedom Day 2 though? PB last night was very much the other way, saying No, Mike, not a mistake.
1. There is a strong authoritarian streak in British society that approves of people being bossed about 2. Not entirely uncoincidentally, the population also contains a vast number of old people
It needs to be paired with polling from the same sample, “what do you make of NHS backlogs killing people due to the costs maintaining covid measures”
Announce the end of free tests and everyone starts to stockpile.
Which chimes with the header that people think the government is moving too fast, despite what many on even as representative a platform as pb might tell you.
There are lots of immunocompromised and other vulnerable people out there, and all their families and friends will want to test before visiting.
Of course, this merely brings us back round the question of when said persons are going to feel comfortable about going about their business without constantly swabbing their noses - and, if the answer (as is quite possible) is "never," then is spending £2bn a month in perpetuity to keep them in free LFTs a wise use of finite public funds?
For context, £24bn represents the entire annual amount raised by the Exchequer in business rates according to the 2021 Budget, or slightly more either than the £21.5bn spent on policing, or the estimated revenue that would be raised by a 4p hike in the basic rate of income tax (£22bn.) It is not a trivial sum.
The Government is correct that full population mass testing for Covid has to go. An approach that targets testing at the most vulnerable (with the intention of hitting the virus with therapeutics as soon as possible after the onset of symptoms) seems sensible and proportionate to me.
It's time for some meaningful sanctions against Russia.
Time for Max Kilman to announce that, after consulting with his Ukrainian parents, he's not going to sign for Russian oligarch-owned Chelski whatever they might offer for him in the Summer.
A win for Wolves fans if not for our Chinese owners who might have wished to cash in.
So, at work it was trailed by the government they were going to target Kremlin allied Russians/Brits in the UK via the financial services system.
What was announced today is so minimal and ineffective the government may as well of not bothered.
For this is alone Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak need to quit or be removed.
Boris described this as a barrage. To keep the analogy going this looks more like a warning shot but a barrage gives him more options when (as it seems inevitable) the next escalation comes. Bit odd he seemed to think that Abramovitch was already sanctioned. Maybe 20 points deducted from Chelsea would do the trick?
The Nord 2 suspension is by far the most material sanction to date, for all our criticism of Germany's mealy mouth to date.
Yup, the Germans dropped an A bomb, we fired an empty water pistol.
Nord Stream 1 is still operational and Germany will continue to be the biggest purchaser of Russian gas.
If they turn that off as well then William, it hurts in UK as well doesn’t it?
It hurts the UK and Germany equally: because both of us would be bidding for spot LNG cargoes.
And to where in Germany, would these cargoes be delivered? They haven’t yet built the import facility.
Ah. That’s interesting.
Possibly Poland - Poland has LNG facilities and a natural gas pipeline network connecting to Germany.
IIRC they were offering to sell on gas from Norway (via a Baltic pipeline) if Nord Stream 2 didn't go ahead.
So, at work it was trailed by the government they were going to target Kremlin allied Russians/Brits in the UK via the financial services system.
What was announced today is so minimal and ineffective the government may as well have not bothered.
For this is alone Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak need to quit or be removed.
I couldn’t believe they are only getting around tk sanctioning Bank Rossiya now. It’s been known as the FSB Bank and Putin’s Piggybank for at least 15 years!
One wonders if the national security wing of the party will look today and finally think, yup this dude’s gotta go.
It's a funny old world when it looks as if the Labour Party would be tougher on Russia in respect of sanctions than the Tories.
But that's where we are: I reckon Starmer would have been tougher than Johnson, and would have handled the crisis better all round. Bad news for Tories, I think.
That’s because since Labour removed the Corbynites from influence, Labour are no longer seen as in the pocket of Russia. Whereas, thanks to dodgy donations, the Conservatives are seen as literally in Russia’s pocket. Another Johnson benefit.
Announce the end of free tests and everyone starts to stockpile.
Which chimes with the header that people think the government is moving too fast, despite what many on even as representative a platform as pb might tell you.
There are lots of immunocompromised and other vulnerable people out there, and all their families and friends will want to test before visiting.
No I think there are two separate issues here and people have different opinions on them.
Should the Government have lifted the last restrictions and started to treat this disease like any other? - yes I think now is the right time to do that (whatever the dodgy motives of Johnson that have driven it)
But entirely separately
Should the Government have ended free testing? No absolutely not.
The success of the first policy - of ending all restrictions and allowing people to make sensible decisions - has to be based upon those people being able to obtain the necessary information to allow them to make those decisions. Ending free testing removes that ability to a large extent. If, after April, I go down with symptoms which could be covid or which could just be a cold, am I going to spend money on a test kit? Probably not. I am more likely to either ignore it and get on with life - in which case I could be spreading it to others more at risk - or I am going to be cautious and self isolate of my own back for a week - in which case I am possibly unnecessarily removing myself from the workforce for that period.
Free tests allow exactly the sorts of informed decisions the Government is asking us to make. It allows us to take personal responsibility. Removing those free tests removes, for many people, the ability to make those informed decisions.
I’d only say this - the tests are not free. We are paying billions a month, and frankly some people have been abusing the system. It’s not uncommon to see people testing multiple times a day, for instance. I think a system where testing is available for genuine need is fine. But making vast numbers available to the worried well has to stop.
The thread header dispenses with the usual QTWAIN and instead has a STWAIN: Statement To Which the Answer Is NO!
"He’s got to hope this doesn’t lead to more cases" - No.
Cases don't matter anymore. When are people going to stop obsessing over cases?
Why do you think the polls are so negative about Freedom Day 2 though? PB last night was very much the other way, saying No, Mike, not a mistake.
1. There is a strong authoritarian streak in British society that approves of people being bossed about 2. Not entirely uncoincidentally, the population also contains a vast number of old people
It needs to be paired with polling from the same sample, “what do you make of NHS backlogs killing people due to the costs maintaining covid measures”
The reply to which is probably "the costs aren't my problem, just raise more tax from anybody who isn't me."
Announce the end of free tests and everyone starts to stockpile.
Which chimes with the header that people think the government is moving too fast, despite what many on even as representative a platform as pb might tell you.
There are lots of immunocompromised and other vulnerable people out there, and all their families and friends will want to test before visiting.
No I think there are two separate issues here and people have different opinions on them.
Should the Government have lifted the last restrictions and started to treat this disease like any other? - yes I think now is the right time to do that (whatever the dodgy motives of Johnson that have driven it)
But entirely separately
Should the Government have ended free testing? No absolutely not.
The success of the first policy - of ending all restrictions and allowing people to make sensible decisions - has to be based upon those people being able to obtain the necessary information to allow them to make those decisions. Ending free testing removes that ability to a large extent. If, after April, I go down with symptoms which could be covid or which could just be a cold, am I going to spend money on a test kit? Probably not. I am more likely to either ignore it and get on with life - in which case I could be spreading it to others more at risk - or I am going to be cautious and self isolate of my own back for a week - in which case I am possibly unnecessarily removing myself from the workforce for that period.
Free tests allow exactly the sorts of informed decisions the Government is asking us to make. It allows us to take personal responsibility. Removing those free tests removes, for many people, the ability to make those informed decisions.
I’d only say this - the tests are not free. We are paying billions a month, and frankly some people have been abusing the system. It’s not uncommon to see people testing multiple times a day, for instance. I think a system where testing is available for genuine need is fine. But making vast numbers available to the worried well has to stop.
I am sure that would have been fine. But that is not what they have done. Now there is simply no way for people to know whether they have covid or not. And more importantly no way for the Government to detect if there is a change in infection rates except from hospital admissions.
Announce the end of free tests and everyone starts to stockpile.
I don't want to start a panic at a time like this ... but Waitrose failed to deliver an order of bog roll yesterday.
I heard a rumour that Waitrose ran out of pre-flaked Parmesan. An Albanian Black Cab driver told me this, so it must be true.
My Waitrose had Pecorino Romano, Grana Padano and three sorts of Parmesan to choose from the other day. And that was just the prepacked stuff, in blocks. So no panic when it comes to seasoning a bolognese.
I was trying to start a riotous panic, damn it!
Incidentally, producers, sellers and purchasers of pre-flaked Parmesan will go on The List, when I am unDictator.
For me, it is people who put Marmite in the fridge.
Announce the end of free tests and everyone starts to stockpile.
Which chimes with the header that people think the government is moving too fast, despite what many on even as representative a platform as pb might tell you.
There are lots of immunocompromised and other vulnerable people out there, and all their families and friends will want to test before visiting.
No I think there are two separate issues here and people have different opinions on them.
Should the Government have lifted the last restrictions and started to treat this disease like any other? - yes I think now is the right time to do that (whatever the dodgy motives of Johnson that have driven it)
But entirely separately
Should the Government have ended free testing? No absolutely not.
The success of the first policy - of ending all restrictions and allowing people to make sensible decisions - has to be based upon those people being able to obtain the necessary information to allow them to make those decisions. Ending free testing removes that ability to a large extent. If, after April, I go down with symptoms which could be covid or which could just be a cold, am I going to spend money on a test kit? Probably not. I am more likely to either ignore it and get on with life - in which case I could be spreading it to others more at risk - or I am going to be cautious and self isolate of my own back for a week - in which case I am possibly unnecessarily removing myself from the workforce for that period.
Free tests allow exactly the sorts of informed decisions the Government is asking us to make. It allows us to take personal responsibility. Removing those free tests removes, for many people, the ability to make those informed decisions.
I’d only say this - the tests are not free. We are paying billions a month, and frankly some people have been abusing the system. It’s not uncommon to see people testing multiple times a day, for instance. I think a system where testing is available for genuine need is fine. But making vast numbers available to the worried well has to stop.
I am sure that would have been fine. But that is not what they have done. Now there is simply no way for people to know whether they have covid or not. And more importantly no way for the Government to detect if there is a change in infection rates except from hospital admissions.
Question - will GPs have access to LFTs? PCR tests, I would presume.
Just imagine if Agent Cob was PM. He’d no doubt unleash laughable token sanctions after Russia invaded a European democracy and tell Parliament that Abramovich had been sanctioned when he hadn’t. And then tootle off to roger his cliched Russian violinist squeeze because well why not, the kompramat already exists, might as well get his end away on a Tuesday evening.
Announce the end of free tests and everyone starts to stockpile.
I don't want to start a panic at a time like this ... but Waitrose failed to deliver an order of bog roll yesterday.
I heard a rumour that Waitrose ran out of pre-flaked Parmesan. An Albanian Black Cab driver told me this, so it must be true.
My Waitrose had Pecorino Romano, Grana Padano and three sorts of Parmesan to choose from the other day. And that was just the prepacked stuff, in blocks. So no panic when it comes to seasoning a bolognese.
I was trying to start a riotous panic, damn it!
Incidentally, producers, sellers and purchasers of pre-flaked Parmesan will go on The List, when I am unDictator.
For me, it is people who put Marmite in the fridge.
Announce the end of free tests and everyone starts to stockpile.
Which chimes with the header that people think the government is moving too fast, despite what many on even as representative a platform as pb might tell you.
There are lots of immunocompromised and other vulnerable people out there, and all their families and friends will want to test before visiting.
No I think there are two separate issues here and people have different opinions on them.
Should the Government have lifted the last restrictions and started to treat this disease like any other? - yes I think now is the right time to do that (whatever the dodgy motives of Johnson that have driven it)
But entirely separately
Should the Government have ended free testing? No absolutely not.
The success of the first policy - of ending all restrictions and allowing people to make sensible decisions - has to be based upon those people being able to obtain the necessary information to allow them to make those decisions. Ending free testing removes that ability to a large extent. If, after April, I go down with symptoms which could be covid or which could just be a cold, am I going to spend money on a test kit? Probably not. I am more likely to either ignore it and get on with life - in which case I could be spreading it to others more at risk - or I am going to be cautious and self isolate of my own back for a week - in which case I am possibly unnecessarily removing myself from the workforce for that period.
Free tests allow exactly the sorts of informed decisions the Government is asking us to make. It allows us to take personal responsibility. Removing those free tests removes, for many people, the ability to make those informed decisions.
I’d only say this - the tests are not free. We are paying billions a month, and frankly some people have been abusing the system. It’s not uncommon to see people testing multiple times a day, for instance. I think a system where testing is available for genuine need is fine. But making vast numbers available to the worried well has to stop.
Perhaps such people could be discouraged by a few well-placed articles about a mysterious syndrome affecting people who have been scraping their nostrils too often. Symptoms include brain fog, irrational thinking, and depression.
Announce the end of free tests and everyone starts to stockpile.
I don't want to start a panic at a time like this ... but Waitrose failed to deliver an order of bog roll yesterday.
I heard a rumour that Waitrose ran out of pre-flaked Parmesan. An Albanian Black Cab driver told me this, so it must be true.
My Waitrose had Pecorino Romano, Grana Padano and three sorts of Parmesan to choose from the other day. And that was just the prepacked stuff, in blocks. So no panic when it comes to seasoning a bolognese.
I was trying to start a riotous panic, damn it!
Incidentally, producers, sellers and purchasers of pre-flaked Parmesan will go on The List, when I am unDictator.
For me, it is people who put Marmite in the fridge.
Announce the end of free tests and everyone starts to stockpile.
Which chimes with the header that people think the government is moving too fast, despite what many on even as representative a platform as pb might tell you.
There are lots of immunocompromised and other vulnerable people out there, and all their families and friends will want to test before visiting.
No I think there are two separate issues here and people have different opinions on them.
Should the Government have lifted the last restrictions and started to treat this disease like any other? - yes I think now is the right time to do that (whatever the dodgy motives of Johnson that have driven it)
But entirely separately
Should the Government have ended free testing? No absolutely not.
The success of the first policy - of ending all restrictions and allowing people to make sensible decisions - has to be based upon those people being able to obtain the necessary information to allow them to make those decisions. Ending free testing removes that ability to a large extent. If, after April, I go down with symptoms which could be covid or which could just be a cold, am I going to spend money on a test kit? Probably not. I am more likely to either ignore it and get on with life - in which case I could be spreading it to others more at risk - or I am going to be cautious and self isolate of my own back for a week - in which case I am possibly unnecessarily removing myself from the workforce for that period.
Free tests allow exactly the sorts of informed decisions the Government is asking us to make. It allows us to take personal responsibility. Removing those free tests removes, for many people, the ability to make those informed decisions.
I’d only say this - the tests are not free. We are paying billions a month, and frankly some people have been abusing the system. It’s not uncommon to see people testing multiple times a day, for instance. I think a system where testing is available for genuine need is fine. But making vast numbers available to the worried well has to stop.
I am sure that would have been fine. But that is not what they have done. Now there is simply no way for people to know whether they have covid or not. And more importantly no way for the Government to detect if there is a change in infection rates except from hospital admissions.
Question - will GPs have access to LFTs? PCR tests, I would presume.
What difference will that make? No one is suggesting people should go to their GP if they have a head cold. Indeed it would be completely unworkable. So the GPs will also have no way of gauging how many people have covid and whether things are getting worse again.
Announce the end of free tests and everyone starts to stockpile.
Which chimes with the header that people think the government is moving too fast, despite what many on even as representative a platform as pb might tell you.
There are lots of immunocompromised and other vulnerable people out there, and all their families and friends will want to test before visiting.
No I think there are two separate issues here and people have different opinions on them.
Should the Government have lifted the last restrictions and started to treat this disease like any other? - yes I think now is the right time to do that (whatever the dodgy motives of Johnson that have driven it)
But entirely separately
Should the Government have ended free testing? No absolutely not.
The success of the first policy - of ending all restrictions and allowing people to make sensible decisions - has to be based upon those people being able to obtain the necessary information to allow them to make those decisions. Ending free testing removes that ability to a large extent. If, after April, I go down with symptoms which could be covid or which could just be a cold, am I going to spend money on a test kit? Probably not. I am more likely to either ignore it and get on with life - in which case I could be spreading it to others more at risk - or I am going to be cautious and self isolate of my own back for a week - in which case I am possibly unnecessarily removing myself from the workforce for that period.
Free tests allow exactly the sorts of informed decisions the Government is asking us to make. It allows us to take personal responsibility. Removing those free tests removes, for many people, the ability to make those informed decisions.
I’d only say this - the tests are not free. We are paying billions a month, and frankly some people have been abusing the system. It’s not uncommon to see people testing multiple times a day, for instance. I think a system where testing is available for genuine need is fine. But making vast numbers available to the worried well has to stop.
I am sure that would have been fine. But that is not what they have done. Now there is simply no way for people to know whether they have covid or not. And more importantly no way for the Government to detect if there is a change in infection rates except from hospital admissions.
I thought the ons was continuing? Tbh monitoring admissions will work anyway. I simply don’t think there is a possibility of a bad Covid surge now. We have huge coverage with antibodies. Two thirds of the U.K. population is estimated to have had Covid. For them, added to vaccinations, the protection will be very, very good.
So, at work it was trailed by the government they were going to target Kremlin allied Russians/Brits in the UK via the financial services system.
What was announced today is so minimal and ineffective the government may as well have not bothered.
For this is alone Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak need to quit or be removed.
I couldn’t believe they are only getting around tk sanctioning Bank Rossiya now. It’s been known as the FSB Bank and Putin’s Piggybank for at least 15 years!
One wonders if the national security wing of the party will look today and finally think, yup this dude’s gotta go.
It's a funny old world when it looks as if the Labour Party would be tougher on Russia in respect of sanctions than the Tories.
But that's where we are: I reckon Starmer would have been tougher than Johnson, and would have handled the crisis better all round. Bad news for Tories, I think.
That’s because since Labour removed the Corbynites from influence, Labour are no longer seen as in the pocket of Russia. Whereas, thanks to dodgy donations, the Conservatives are seen as literally in Russia’s pocket. Another Johnson benefit.
Quite a turnaround when right wingers like me can look at Labour and think they’re the party of national security now.
Announce the end of free tests and everyone starts to stockpile.
Which chimes with the header that people think the government is moving too fast, despite what many on even as representative a platform as pb might tell you.
There are lots of immunocompromised and other vulnerable people out there, and all their families and friends will want to test before visiting.
No I think there are two separate issues here and people have different opinions on them.
Should the Government have lifted the last restrictions and started to treat this disease like any other? - yes I think now is the right time to do that (whatever the dodgy motives of Johnson that have driven it)
But entirely separately
Should the Government have ended free testing? No absolutely not.
The success of the first policy - of ending all restrictions and allowing people to make sensible decisions - has to be based upon those people being able to obtain the necessary information to allow them to make those decisions. Ending free testing removes that ability to a large extent. If, after April, I go down with symptoms which could be covid or which could just be a cold, am I going to spend money on a test kit? Probably not. I am more likely to either ignore it and get on with life - in which case I could be spreading it to others more at risk - or I am going to be cautious and self isolate of my own back for a week - in which case I am possibly unnecessarily removing myself from the workforce for that period.
Free tests allow exactly the sorts of informed decisions the Government is asking us to make. It allows us to take personal responsibility. Removing those free tests removes, for many people, the ability to make those informed decisions.
I’d only say this - the tests are not free. We are paying billions a month, and frankly some people have been abusing the system. It’s not uncommon to see people testing multiple times a day, for instance. I think a system where testing is available for genuine need is fine. But making vast numbers available to the worried well has to stop.
Perhaps such people could be discouraged by a few well-placed articles about a mysterious syndrome affecting people who have been scraping their nostrils too often. Symptoms include brain fog, irrational thinking, and depression.
There is a rumour going round that the testing fluid is a carcinogen.
Whether it's true or not I don't know, and frankly it shouldn't matter as it shouldn't be getting on your skin. But that might take off at some point.
Announce the end of free tests and everyone starts to stockpile.
I don't want to start a panic at a time like this ... but Waitrose failed to deliver an order of bog roll yesterday.
I heard a rumour that Waitrose ran out of pre-flaked Parmesan. An Albanian Black Cab driver told me this, so it must be true.
My Waitrose had Pecorino Romano, Grana Padano and three sorts of Parmesan to choose from the other day. And that was just the prepacked stuff, in blocks. So no panic when it comes to seasoning a bolognese.
I was trying to start a riotous panic, damn it!
Incidentally, producers, sellers and purchasers of pre-flaked Parmesan will go on The List, when I am unDictator.
For me, it is people who put Marmite in the fridge.
Announce the end of free tests and everyone starts to stockpile.
I don't want to start a panic at a time like this ... but Waitrose failed to deliver an order of bog roll yesterday.
I heard a rumour that Waitrose ran out of pre-flaked Parmesan. An Albanian Black Cab driver told me this, so it must be true.
My Waitrose had Pecorino Romano, Grana Padano and three sorts of Parmesan to choose from the other day. And that was just the prepacked stuff, in blocks. So no panic when it comes to seasoning a bolognese.
I was trying to start a riotous panic, damn it!
Incidentally, producers, sellers and purchasers of pre-flaked Parmesan will go on The List, when I am unDictator.
For me, it is people who put Marmite in the fridge.
Announce the end of free tests and everyone starts to stockpile.
Which chimes with the header that people think the government is moving too fast, despite what many on even as representative a platform as pb might tell you.
There are lots of immunocompromised and other vulnerable people out there, and all their families and friends will want to test before visiting.
No I think there are two separate issues here and people have different opinions on them.
Should the Government have lifted the last restrictions and started to treat this disease like any other? - yes I think now is the right time to do that (whatever the dodgy motives of Johnson that have driven it)
But entirely separately
Should the Government have ended free testing? No absolutely not.
The success of the first policy - of ending all restrictions and allowing people to make sensible decisions - has to be based upon those people being able to obtain the necessary information to allow them to make those decisions. Ending free testing removes that ability to a large extent. If, after April, I go down with symptoms which could be covid or which could just be a cold, am I going to spend money on a test kit? Probably not. I am more likely to either ignore it and get on with life - in which case I could be spreading it to others more at risk - or I am going to be cautious and self isolate of my own back for a week - in which case I am possibly unnecessarily removing myself from the workforce for that period.
Free tests allow exactly the sorts of informed decisions the Government is asking us to make. It allows us to take personal responsibility. Removing those free tests removes, for many people, the ability to make those informed decisions.
I’d only say this - the tests are not free. We are paying billions a month, and frankly some people have been abusing the system. It’s not uncommon to see people testing multiple times a day, for instance. I think a system where testing is available for genuine need is fine. But making vast numbers available to the worried well has to stop.
I am sure that would have been fine. But that is not what they have done. Now there is simply no way for people to know whether they have covid or not. And more importantly no way for the Government to detect if there is a change in infection rates except from hospital admissions.
I thought the ons was continuing? Tbh monitoring admissions will work anyway. I simply don’t think there is a possibility of a bad Covid surge now. We have huge coverage with antibodies. Two thirds of the U.K. population is estimated to have had Covid. For them, added to vaccinations, the protection will be very, very good.
An antibody survey a testing survey (ONS Style) and genomic sampling are in the plan, going forward.
The thread header dispenses with the usual QTWAIN and instead has a STWAIN: Statement To Which the Answer Is NO!
"He’s got to hope this doesn’t lead to more cases" - No.
Cases don't matter anymore. When are people going to stop obsessing over cases?
Why do you think the polls are so negative about Freedom Day 2 though? PB last night was very much the other way, saying No, Mike, not a mistake.
1. There is a strong authoritarian streak in British society that approves of people being bossed about 2. Not entirely uncoincidentally, the population also contains a vast number of old people
Polling on COVID measures tends to be "more restrictions are always awesome".
This is not necessarily connected with whether the measures are a good idea or not.
Nor is connected to the long term polling effect, if the measures are eased and it is a success.
There’s a sizeable minority who would keep restrictions indefinitely.
They all seem to follow Cristina Pagel on Twitter. If you want to take the pulse of the Covid terrified, that’s the place to go.
It’s such a dark place, I often wonder if some/most of her followers are spoofs. I encountered a guy the other day who claimed not to have left his own house in 600-odd days.
The thread header dispenses with the usual QTWAIN and instead has a STWAIN: Statement To Which the Answer Is NO!
"He’s got to hope this doesn’t lead to more cases" - No.
Cases don't matter anymore. When are people going to stop obsessing over cases?
Why do you think the polls are so negative about Freedom Day 2 though? PB last night was very much the other way, saying No, Mike, not a mistake.
1. There is a strong authoritarian streak in British society that approves of people being bossed about 2. Not entirely uncoincidentally, the population also contains a vast number of old people
Polling on COVID measures tends to be "more restrictions are always awesome".
This is not necessarily connected with whether the measures are a good idea or not.
Nor is connected to the long term polling effect, if the measures are eased and it is a success.
There’s a sizeable minority who would keep restrictions indefinitely.
They all seem to follow Cristina Pagel on Twitter. If you want to take the pulse of the Covid terrified, that’s the place to go.
It’s such a dark place, I often wonder if some/most of her followers are spoofs. I encountered a guy the other day who claimed not to have left his own house in 600-odd days.
I know someone who hasn't, it's sad case. One hopes it is not even rare, but vanishingly rare.
Comments
IIRC they were offering to sell on gas from Norway (via a Baltic pipeline) if Nord Stream 2 didn't go ahead.
I remember at a Labour conference taking a IPSOS-MORI poll during a break. It went on and on. and just as he got to "Do you think Ed Miliband is doing well or badly?" I was passed by...Ed Miliband. "Ed Miliband is doing REALLY WELL", I boomed. We slippery-poll climbers stop at nothing.
They start with Boris=Bad, and work backwards from there.
In fact, to be honest I would be more shocked to find he voted leave.
"Never issue a threat unless you're prepared to carry it out", as my father used to say.
Loads of people who have never tested, never isolated and done exactly as they like for two years will give ultra cautious answers about what other people should do. Ignore it all.
Boris is gambling on getting it about right really, and for myself I think he is right in his decision here. Not that he deserves to survive but that's for other reasons.
Now there's somebody who *really* couldn't find a good word to say about her subject.
I'm with the people. This is way too soon. It's bloody stupid.
I wonder if one issue is that once the world LNG export trade gets back to where it was pre-COVID, prices will crash. At the moment Russia has enough money to fund the adventure... Pre COVID process were very low compared to their production costs.
Once the American stuff is back in full swing, Putin can look forward to prices hammering into the ground again.
@MedvedevRussiaE
Russia government official
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has issued an order to halt the process of certifying the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline. Well. Welcome to the brave new world where Europeans are very soon going to pay €2.000 for 1.000 cubic meters of natural gas!
1:19 PM · Feb 22, 2022"
https://twitter.com/MedvedevRussiaE/status/1496112456858574849
Announce the end of free tests and everyone starts to stockpile.
I’ve blocked her and Gurdasani. Never interacted with them but they are the sort of people who seem to love being in the public eye and don’t seem to want this to end.
He's much younger than Putin so presumably didn't come up with him like some of the other inner circle, I wonder how he became so trusted.
I have an uncle in a care home who I'd hoped to visit recently, but the home has been closed for all visitors for 2 weeks because of a single case. I've no doubt that he's extremely vulnerable and support the policy.
There are lots of immunocompromised and other vulnerable people out there, and all their families and friends will want to test before visiting.
But I concede that the average PBer last had sex during the Miner’s Strike, so the mileage may vary.
(F = Falklands)
If we're to continue to be treated to daily death statistics then the Covid numbers could at least be subsumed within a well-publicised wider bulletin, in which all the other things that keep killing people are also carefully identified and tabulated, so that the current Covid threat is placed into its proper context and people aren't unduly frightened. Dementia charities, the British Heart Foundation, Weight Watchers and the entire gym industry would all be thrilled with the publicity.
Couldn't stop the Taliban from taking Kabul. Couldn't stop Putin from taking Kyiv. Where next?
No way a US President wins re-election when being demonstrated to be so weak.
I’ll stop now before some of the more frail PB Tories suffer an aneurysm.
Likewise, actually, partygate. Boris’s biggest problem now I think is his puny sanctions response.
That’s how the news agenda works I suppose. A story is either on-narrative or not. Next few months are going to be all about Russia, and the economy.
On the other hand.....
"Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer welcomed British sanctions, but said the UK "must be prepared to go further".
He called for Russia to be excluded from the global SWIFT payment system, the banning of trading in Russian sovereign debt and action to prevent Russia "broadcasting its propaganda around the world", a reference to the RT news channel. Sir Keir said he understood the government wanted to delay introducing some sanctions as a tactic to deter a Russian invasion of the rest of Ukraine, but without a "full set of sanctions now" President Putin would conclude that "the benefits of aggression outweigh the costs."" BBC News
I therefore find it strange that you don’t get that Biden doesn’t have it within his gift to cut Russia out of SWIFT - it’s been trailed widely that there is big opposition to this, especially from Germany, because of the damage it will do to global banking and the fear that it will allow China to create its own alternative which China can insist that all receivers of its largesse must use.
On top of this do you always use the most heavy handed response to a bad action?
Using your father’s threat, if you punched a bottle of sherry from the drinks cabinet as a teenager did he throw you out of the house to live on the streets or did he introduce a sanction with the threat of an escalated sanction of you didn’t own up to the theft or repeat it or do something worse?
Once you have used all your threats and punishments, if the other side can keep going, then you have no leverage. If they worry about the potential sanctions still to come, don’t know what they are and don’t know who will suffer then it surely makes people a little more circumspect about the actions they are willing to take.
It’s like being disciplined at school - the fear of the unknown and the lead up to “sentencing” is bad. Once you’ve been sentenced you can prepare for it, mentally deal with it and then it loses its terror. And then once the punishment has been met out then it’s over.
Should the Government have lifted the last restrictions and started to treat this disease like any other? - yes I think now is the right time to do that (whatever the dodgy motives of Johnson that have driven it)
But entirely separately
Should the Government have ended free testing? No absolutely not.
The success of the first policy - of ending all restrictions and allowing people to make sensible decisions - has to be based upon those people being able to obtain the necessary information to allow them to make those decisions. Ending free testing removes that ability to a large extent. If, after April, I go down with symptoms which could be covid or which could just be a cold, am I going to spend money on a test kit? Probably not. I am more likely to either ignore it and get on with life - in which case I could be spreading it to others more at risk - or I am going to be cautious and self isolate of my own back for a week - in which case I am possibly unnecessarily removing myself from the workforce for that period.
Free tests allow exactly the sorts of informed decisions the Government is asking us to make. It allows us to take personal responsibility. Removing those free tests removes, for many people, the ability to make those informed decisions.
67% of Labour voters think the lifting of restrictions is too soon but the vast majority of them would not vote for Boris anyway.
https://yougov.co.uk/topics/health/survey-results/daily/2022/02/22/db206/2
Note too Sturgeon has said today all Scottish restrictions will be lifted from March 21st
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-60482303
The Democrats would need to replace him with a younger, centrist fresh face like Buttigieg or risk Trump making a Reagan like comeback in 2024
Incidentally, producers, sellers and purchasers of pre-flaked Parmesan will go on The List, when I am unDictator.
For context, £24bn represents the entire annual amount raised by the Exchequer in business rates according to the 2021 Budget, or slightly more either than the £21.5bn spent on policing, or the estimated revenue that would be raised by a 4p hike in the basic rate of income tax (£22bn.) It is not a trivial sum.
The Government is correct that full population mass testing for Covid has to go. An approach that targets testing at the most vulnerable (with the intention of hitting the virus with therapeutics as soon as possible after the onset of symptoms) seems sensible and proportionate to me.
Time for Max Kilman to announce that, after consulting with his Ukrainian parents, he's not going to sign for Russian oligarch-owned Chelski whatever they might offer for him in the Summer.
A win for Wolves fans if not for our Chinese owners who might have wished to cash in.
Looks like the Baltic Pipe referred to is running a bit late - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baltic_Pipe
I think a system where testing is available for genuine need is fine. But making vast numbers available to the worried well has to stop.
Sorry, being married to me will not save you.
Oh.
Whether it's true or not I don't know, and frankly it shouldn't matter as it shouldn't be getting on your skin. But that might take off at some point.