This is Mont Dol. I’ve taken a little detour to see it; apparently it’s very similar to Mont Saint Michel, other than being inland and not having a monastery
I could climb up, but I’m knackered and want to get to Dol (where I’ve booked a studio apartment for the night) so I can have a big early dinner, a bottle of wine, and get to bed. I want to set off at seven tomorrow
Keep ‘em coming. Also, more shots of wine
So you’re walking across Brittany? If so then mead and cider too? And moules!
Just had my government alarm on my phone. Really struggling to see the need for this.
I can see a point. How many idiots get stuck in the snow when they travel despite severe weather warnings? How about the 10% of homes that are liable to flooding? It’s within fairly recent times that we have seen epic floods in winter (sometimes, even, in places that the government/media care about, I.e. the South). And yes there are occasions when police operations might justify a stay indoors text to an area. What’s your beef with it?
Absolutely. People should just follow the government's instructions. You have nothing to fear unless you are doing something you Shouldn't Be.
Jeez, the alert is to help save lives, and people respond with snark.
Just had my government alarm on my phone. Really struggling to see the need for this.
I can see a point. How many idiots get stuck in the snow when they travel despite severe weather warnings? How about the 10% of homes that are liable to flooding? It’s within fairly recent times that we have seen epic floods in winter (sometimes, even, in places that the government/media care about, I.e. the South). And yes there are occasions when police operations might justify a stay indoors text to an area. What’s your beef with it?
Or a tsunami warning. Which let's face it isn't out of the question in the West Country and Wales.
The Met Office issues weather warnings, and the Environment Agency issues flood warnings. You can subscribe to them or watch various web sites. No doubt local media cover them too. But the point is that weather conditions can be forecast in advance. We do not have natural disasters, so no earthquake or volcano warnings, so what's left? Terrorist incidents? Probably too localised and in any case today's bombers don't give warnings like the old IRA did (sometimes). So what is the point?
It seems that the alert can go out via specific phone masts to those cells only, so could be local enough for terrorist incidents.
Just had my government alarm on my phone. Really struggling to see the need for this.
I can see a point. How many idiots get stuck in the snow when they travel despite severe weather warnings? How about the 10% of homes that are liable to flooding? It’s within fairly recent times that we have seen epic floods in winter (sometimes, even, in places that the government/media care about, I.e. the South). And yes there are occasions when police operations might justify a stay indoors text to an area. What’s your beef with it?
Or a tsunami warning. Which let's face it isn't out of the question in the West Country and Wales.
The Met Office issues weather warnings, and the Environment Agency issues flood warnings. You can subscribe to them or watch various web sites. No doubt local media cover them too. But the point is that weather conditions can be forecast in advance. We do not have natural disasters, so no earthquake or volcano warnings, so what's left? Terrorist incidents? Probably too localised and in any case today's bombers don't give warnings like the old IRA did (sometimes). So what is the point?
A tsunami is not a weather event, and although there is no evidence of one recently there is a fault in the Atlantic that could trigger one.
Just had my government alarm on my phone. Really struggling to see the need for this.
I can see a point. How many idiots get stuck in the snow when they travel despite severe weather warnings? How about the 10% of homes that are liable to flooding? It’s within fairly recent times that we have seen epic floods in winter (sometimes, even, in places that the government/media care about, I.e. the South). And yes there are occasions when police operations might justify a stay indoors text to an area. What’s your beef with it?
Or a tsunami warning. Which let's face it isn't out of the question in the West Country and Wales.
The Met Office issues weather warnings, and the Environment Agency issues flood warnings. You can subscribe to them or watch various web sites. No doubt local media cover them too. But the point is that weather conditions can be forecast in advance. We do not have natural disasters, so no earthquake or volcano warnings, so what's left? Terrorist incidents? Probably too localised and in any case today's bombers don't give warnings like the old IRA did (sometimes). So what is the point?
A tsunami is not a weather event, and although there is no evidence of one recently there is a fault in the Atlantic that could trigger one.
Just had my government alarm on my phone. Really struggling to see the need for this.
I can see a point. How many idiots get stuck in the snow when they travel despite severe weather warnings? How about the 10% of homes that are liable to flooding? It’s within fairly recent times that we have seen epic floods in winter (sometimes, even, in places that the government/media care about, I.e. the South). And yes there are occasions when police operations might justify a stay indoors text to an area. What’s your beef with it?
Or a tsunami warning. Which let's face it isn't out of the question in the West Country and Wales.
The Met Office issues weather warnings, and the Environment Agency issues flood warnings. You can subscribe to them or watch various web sites. No doubt local media cover them too. But the point is that weather conditions can be forecast in advance. We do not have natural disasters, so no earthquake or volcano warnings, so what's left? Terrorist incidents? Probably too localised and in any case today's bombers don't give warnings like the old IRA did (sometimes). So what is the point?
It seems that the alert can go out via specific phone masts to those cells only, so could be local enough for terrorist incidents.
Do you mean 'to alert people to a terrorist incident' or 'to cause a terrorist incident?'
Just had my government alarm on my phone. Really struggling to see the need for this.
I can see a point. How many idiots get stuck in the snow when they travel despite severe weather warnings? How about the 10% of homes that are liable to flooding? It’s within fairly recent times that we have seen epic floods in winter (sometimes, even, in places that the government/media care about, I.e. the South). And yes there are occasions when police operations might justify a stay indoors text to an area. What’s your beef with it?
Absolutely. People should just follow the government's instructions. You have nothing to fear unless you are doing something you Shouldn't Be.
Jeez, the alert is to help save lives, and people respond with snark.
I'd hope it is something to do with preparation for the next pandemic. But mission creep will very quickly set in.
Just had my government alarm on my phone. Really struggling to see the need for this.
I can see a point. How many idiots get stuck in the snow when they travel despite severe weather warnings? How about the 10% of homes that are liable to flooding? It’s within fairly recent times that we have seen epic floods in winter (sometimes, even, in places that the government/media care about, I.e. the South). And yes there are occasions when police operations might justify a stay indoors text to an area. What’s your beef with it?
Absolutely. People should just follow the government's instructions. You have nothing to fear unless you are doing something you Shouldn't Be.
Jeez, the alert is to help save lives, and people respond with snark.
I didn't receive it. Come the 'Day' I'll be in the dark and doomed.
Almost two years ago I reported that Boris Johnson had tried to meet the Queen when he had Covid symptoms. I was told by No10 it was “completely untrue”.
Yet @AnthonySeldon and @RaymondNewell confirm in their new book on the former PM that it had, in fact, happened.
Dianne Abbott is clearly very unwell, you can see the sad fall in her ability to speak clearly over the last few years.
The abuse and racism she has experienced, has contributed to that.
She should for own health and wellbeing, stand down as an MP.
Given Dianne Abbott is an avowed racist herself, I don't have too much sympathy.
I may be wrong, but the impression I get is that she has recieved far more abuse fir being a bloody idiot than for being black(or female). Because she is an idiot, she appears to think a lot of the abuse she recieves for the former reason is actually for the latter reason.
Just had my government alarm on my phone. Really struggling to see the need for this.
I can see a point. How many idiots get stuck in the snow when they travel despite severe weather warnings? How about the 10% of homes that are liable to flooding? It’s within fairly recent times that we have seen epic floods in winter (sometimes, even, in places that the government/media care about, I.e. the South). And yes there are occasions when police operations might justify a stay indoors text to an area. What’s your beef with it?
Or a tsunami warning. Which let's face it isn't out of the question in the West Country and Wales.
The Met Office issues weather warnings, and the Environment Agency issues flood warnings. You can subscribe to them or watch various web sites. No doubt local media cover them too. But the point is that weather conditions can be forecast in advance. We do not have natural disasters, so no earthquake or volcano warnings, so what's left? Terrorist incidents? Probably too localised and in any case today's bombers don't give warnings like the old IRA did (sometimes). So what is the point?
A tsunami is not a weather event, and although there is no evidence of one recently there is a fault in the Atlantic that could trigger one.
I like the idea that PBers, on receipt of the alert, will immediately turn to PB to explain why the civil servant who composed it is technically wrong.
Extra points for: 1) Pedantry 2) Getting killed by the thing you were warned about.
Just had my government alarm on my phone. Really struggling to see the need for this.
I can see a point. How many idiots get stuck in the snow when they travel despite severe weather warnings? How about the 10% of homes that are liable to flooding? It’s within fairly recent times that we have seen epic floods in winter (sometimes, even, in places that the government/media care about, I.e. the South). And yes there are occasions when police operations might justify a stay indoors text to an area. What’s your beef with it?
Absolutely. People should just follow the government's instructions. You have nothing to fear unless you are doing something you Shouldn't Be.
Jeez, the alert is to help save lives, and people respond with snark.
Well four years ago I'd have agreed. But then, y'know. Lockdown. Operation scare-everybody-shitless. Operation what-questions-can-we-ask-so-that-the-answer-is-lockdown. Operation close-the-playgrounds.
Assuming state malignity is basically an instinct now. A pity, because trust is the single biggest factor in a society's success.
Just had my government alarm on my phone. Really struggling to see the need for this.
I can see a point. How many idiots get stuck in the snow when they travel despite severe weather warnings? How about the 10% of homes that are liable to flooding? It’s within fairly recent times that we have seen epic floods in winter (sometimes, even, in places that the government/media care about, I.e. the South). And yes there are occasions when police operations might justify a stay indoors text to an area. What’s your beef with it?
Absolutely. People should just follow the government's instructions. You have nothing to fear unless you are doing something you Shouldn't Be.
Jeez, the alert is to help save lives, and people respond with snark.
Well four years ago I'd have agreed. But then, y'know. Lockdown. Operation scare-everybody-shitless. Operation what-questions-can-we-ask-so-that-the-answer-is-lockdown. Operation close-the-playgrounds.
Assuming state malignity is basically an instinct now. A pity, because trust is the single biggest factor in a society's success.
You are in a small minority there. Most people know that, even with this shitty government, the UK state is not malign.
Quite funny. Out on the meadows, lots of people about, all suddenly and simultaneously open their phones. Like a choreographed event. I didn't have mine, but I knew it was 3pm and time to head home.
That is, going into settings and turning emergency and severe alerts off yesterday so I wasn't bothered by this.
Is there a way of uninstalling?
You can disable it via phone settings if you want to do so.
I've done that, but I'd like to be able to remove it completely. I want to minimise the amount of software I haven't installed I carry around - particularly if the government wrote it.
This is Mont Dol. I’ve taken a little detour to see it; apparently it’s very similar to Mont Saint Michel, other than being inland and not having a monastery
I could climb up, but I’m knackered and want to get to Dol (where I’ve booked a studio apartment for the night) so I can have a big early dinner, a bottle of wine, and get to bed. I want to set off at seven tomorrow
Keep ‘em coming. Also, more shots of wine
So you’re walking across Brittany? If so then mead and cider too? And moules!
I’m doing the Tro Breizh, an ancient pilgrimage visiting the seven founder Saints’ sites. I’ve just arrived at the the first
I didn’t plan this, I booked the apartment while drinking beer at the side of the road earlier. This is the view from my balcony (in badly done panoramic)
I've done that, but I'd like to be able to remove it completely. I want to minimise the amount of software I haven't installed I carry around - particularly if the government wrote it.
Happily for you the government didn't write any of this. The emergency alert stuff is all standardized and the phone-end support of it is part of the Android and iPhone base OS, written by the same programmers at Google and Apple who wrote all the rest of it.
This is Mont Dol. I’ve taken a little detour to see it; apparently it’s very similar to Mont Saint Michel, other than being inland and not having a monastery
I could climb up, but I’m knackered and want to get to Dol (where I’ve booked a studio apartment for the night) so I can have a big early dinner, a bottle of wine, and get to bed. I want to set off at seven tomorrow
Keep ‘em coming. Also, more shots of wine
So you’re walking across Brittany? If so then mead and cider too? And moules!
I’m doing the Tro Breizh, an ancient pilgrimage visiting the seven founder Saints’ sites. I’ve just arrived at the the first
I didn’t plan this, I booked the apartment while drinking beer at the side of the road earlier. This is the view from my balcony (in badly done panoramic)
Either that beer was VERY strong, or there's an earthquake in progress?
Just had my government alarm on my phone. Really struggling to see the need for this.
I can see a point. How many idiots get stuck in the snow when they travel despite severe weather warnings? How about the 10% of homes that are liable to flooding? It’s within fairly recent times that we have seen epic floods in winter (sometimes, even, in places that the government/media care about, I.e. the South). And yes there are occasions when police operations might justify a stay indoors text to an area. What’s your beef with it?
Absolutely. People should just follow the government's instructions. You have nothing to fear unless you are doing something you Shouldn't Be.
Jeez, the alert is to help save lives, and people respond with snark.
Well four years ago I'd have agreed. But then, y'know. Lockdown. Operation scare-everybody-shitless. Operation what-questions-can-we-ask-so-that-the-answer-is-lockdown. Operation close-the-playgrounds.
Assuming state malignity is basically an instinct now. A pity, because trust is the single biggest factor in a society's success.
You are in a small minority there. Most people know that, even with this shitty government, the UK state is not malign.
It's clearly less malign than most. This isn't Russia; this isn't even France. But it is malign nonetheless. Covid proved that. And it believes in the perfectability of humans, for a start, which is none of the state's business. And the fact that the statr is only a bit malign now is no reassurance againsta future government which is considerably more malign. I don't want to come across as angry rant man. Imagine a smile on my face as I say this. But I have less than no confidence that the state is on my side.
Just had my government alarm on my phone. Really struggling to see the need for this.
I can see a point. How many idiots get stuck in the snow when they travel despite severe weather warnings? How about the 10% of homes that are liable to flooding? It’s within fairly recent times that we have seen epic floods in winter (sometimes, even, in places that the government/media care about, I.e. the South). And yes there are occasions when police operations might justify a stay indoors text to an area. What’s your beef with it?
Absolutely. People should just follow the government's instructions. You have nothing to fear unless you are doing something you Shouldn't Be.
Jeez, the alert is to help save lives, and people respond with snark.
I would be pretty confident the money spent on the alert being diverted to the NHS would have saved more lives to be fair.
Just had my government alarm on my phone. Really struggling to see the need for this.
I can see a point. How many idiots get stuck in the snow when they travel despite severe weather warnings? How about the 10% of homes that are liable to flooding? It’s within fairly recent times that we have seen epic floods in winter (sometimes, even, in places that the government/media care about, I.e. the South). And yes there are occasions when police operations might justify a stay indoors text to an area. What’s your beef with it?
Absolutely. People should just follow the government's instructions. You have nothing to fear unless you are doing something you Shouldn't Be.
Jeez, the alert is to help save lives, and people respond with snark.
Well four years ago I'd have agreed. But then, y'know. Lockdown. Operation scare-everybody-shitless. Operation what-questions-can-we-ask-so-that-the-answer-is-lockdown. Operation close-the-playgrounds.
Assuming state malignity is basically an instinct now. A pity, because trust is the single biggest factor in a society's success.
You are in a small minority there. Most people know that, even with this shitty government, the UK state is not malign.
It's clearly less malign than most. This isn't Russia; this isn't even France. But it is malign nonetheless. Covid proved that. And it believes in the perfectability of humans, for a start, which is none of the state's business. And the fact that the statr is only a bit malign now is no reassurance againsta future government which is considerably more malign. I don't want to come across as angry rant man. Imagine a smile on my face as I say this. But I have less than no confidence that the state is on my side.
Of course it's not on your side - it's on my side, as it should be. ;-)
This is Mont Dol. I’ve taken a little detour to see it; apparently it’s very similar to Mont Saint Michel, other than being inland and not having a monastery
I could climb up, but I’m knackered and want to get to Dol (where I’ve booked a studio apartment for the night) so I can have a big early dinner, a bottle of wine, and get to bed. I want to set off at seven tomorrow
Keep ‘em coming. Also, more shots of wine
So you’re walking across Brittany? If so then mead and cider too? And moules!
I’m doing the Tro Breizh, an ancient pilgrimage visiting the seven founder Saints’ sites. I’ve just arrived at the the first
I didn’t plan this, I booked the apartment while drinking beer at the side of the road earlier. This is the view from my balcony (in badly done panoramic)
A good recreation of how it must look after an excess of the local brew, there.
This is Mont Dol. I’ve taken a little detour to see it; apparently it’s very similar to Mont Saint Michel, other than being inland and not having a monastery
I could climb up, but I’m knackered and want to get to Dol (where I’ve booked a studio apartment for the night) so I can have a big early dinner, a bottle of wine, and get to bed. I want to set off at seven tomorrow
Keep ‘em coming. Also, more shots of wine
So you’re walking across Brittany? If so then mead and cider too? And moules!
I’m doing the Tro Breizh, an ancient pilgrimage visiting the seven founder Saints’ sites. I’ve just arrived at the the first
I didn’t plan this, I booked the apartment while drinking beer at the side of the road earlier. This is the view from my balcony (in badly done panoramic)
If I understand the map correctly, you are heading on to Rennes in due course. Nice town.
This is Mont Dol. I’ve taken a little detour to see it; apparently it’s very similar to Mont Saint Michel, other than being inland and not having a monastery
I could climb up, but I’m knackered and want to get to Dol (where I’ve booked a studio apartment for the night) so I can have a big early dinner, a bottle of wine, and get to bed. I want to set off at seven tomorrow
Keep ‘em coming. Also, more shots of wine
So you’re walking across Brittany? If so then mead and cider too? And moules!
I’m doing the Tro Breizh, an ancient pilgrimage visiting the seven founder Saints’ sites. I’ve just arrived at the the first
I didn’t plan this, I booked the apartment while drinking beer at the side of the road earlier. This is the view from my balcony (in badly done panoramic)
Either that beer was VERY strong, or there's an earthquake in progress?
You'd think there's be a national phone alert for that, eh?
This is Mont Dol. I’ve taken a little detour to see it; apparently it’s very similar to Mont Saint Michel, other than being inland and not having a monastery
I could climb up, but I’m knackered and want to get to Dol (where I’ve booked a studio apartment for the night) so I can have a big early dinner, a bottle of wine, and get to bed. I want to set off at seven tomorrow
Keep ‘em coming. Also, more shots of wine
So you’re walking across Brittany? If so then mead and cider too? And moules!
I’m doing the Tro Breizh, an ancient pilgrimage visiting the seven founder Saints’ sites. I’ve just arrived at the the first
I didn’t plan this, I booked the apartment while drinking beer at the side of the road earlier. This is the view from my balcony (in badly done panoramic)
A good recreation of how it must look after an excess of the local brew, there.
I've done that, but I'd like to be able to remove it completely. I want to minimise the amount of software I haven't installed I carry around - particularly if the government wrote it.
Happily for you the government didn't write any of this. The emergency alert stuff is all standardized and the phone-end support of it is part of the Android and iPhone base OS, written by the same programmers at Google and Apple who wrote all the rest of it.
Well I've even less confident that the programmers at Google and Apple are benign. Again, covid: remember Google's news management and what you could and could not search?
This is Mont Dol. I’ve taken a little detour to see it; apparently it’s very similar to Mont Saint Michel, other than being inland and not having a monastery
I could climb up, but I’m knackered and want to get to Dol (where I’ve booked a studio apartment for the night) so I can have a big early dinner, a bottle of wine, and get to bed. I want to set off at seven tomorrow
Keep ‘em coming. Also, more shots of wine
So you’re walking across Brittany? If so then mead and cider too? And moules!
I’m doing the Tro Breizh, an ancient pilgrimage visiting the seven founder Saints’ sites. I’ve just arrived at the the first
I didn’t plan this, I booked the apartment while drinking beer at the side of the road earlier. This is the view from my balcony (in badly done panoramic)
A good recreation of how it must look after an excess of the local brew, there.
I should be able to confirm that later on!
It’s a shame you’ve nothing to deliver as you walk about the place, really.
Just had my government alarm on my phone. Really struggling to see the need for this.
I can see a point. How many idiots get stuck in the snow when they travel despite severe weather warnings? How about the 10% of homes that are liable to flooding? It’s within fairly recent times that we have seen epic floods in winter (sometimes, even, in places that the government/media care about, I.e. the South). And yes there are occasions when police operations might justify a stay indoors text to an area. What’s your beef with it?
Absolutely. People should just follow the government's instructions. You have nothing to fear unless you are doing something you Shouldn't Be.
Jeez, the alert is to help save lives, and people respond with snark.
Well four years ago I'd have agreed. But then, y'know. Lockdown. Operation scare-everybody-shitless. Operation what-questions-can-we-ask-so-that-the-answer-is-lockdown. Operation close-the-playgrounds.
Assuming state malignity is basically an instinct now. A pity, because trust is the single biggest factor in a society's success.
You are in a small minority there. Most people know that, even with this shitty government, the UK state is not malign.
It's clearly less malign than most. This isn't Russia; this isn't even France. But it is malign nonetheless. Covid proved that. And it believes in the perfectability of humans, for a start, which is none of the state's business. And the fact that the statr is only a bit malign now is no reassurance againsta future government which is considerably more malign. I don't want to come across as angry rant man. Imagine a smile on my face as I say this. But I have less than no confidence that the state is on my side.
Of course it's not on your side - it's on my side, as it should be. ;-)
Well yes. But one day it might not be on your side either.
This is Mont Dol. I’ve taken a little detour to see it; apparently it’s very similar to Mont Saint Michel, other than being inland and not having a monastery
I could climb up, but I’m knackered and want to get to Dol (where I’ve booked a studio apartment for the night) so I can have a big early dinner, a bottle of wine, and get to bed. I want to set off at seven tomorrow
Keep ‘em coming. Also, more shots of wine
So you’re walking across Brittany? If so then mead and cider too? And moules!
I’m doing the Tro Breizh, an ancient pilgrimage visiting the seven founder Saints’ sites. I’ve just arrived at the the first
I didn’t plan this, I booked the apartment while drinking beer at the side of the road earlier. This is the view from my balcony (in badly done panoramic)
Just had my government alarm on my phone. Really struggling to see the need for this.
I can see a point. How many idiots get stuck in the snow when they travel despite severe weather warnings? How about the 10% of homes that are liable to flooding? It’s within fairly recent times that we have seen epic floods in winter (sometimes, even, in places that the government/media care about, I.e. the South). And yes there are occasions when police operations might justify a stay indoors text to an area. What’s your beef with it?
Absolutely. People should just follow the government's instructions. You have nothing to fear unless you are doing something you Shouldn't Be.
Jeez, the alert is to help save lives, and people respond with snark.
Well four years ago I'd have agreed. But then, y'know. Lockdown. Operation scare-everybody-shitless. Operation what-questions-can-we-ask-so-that-the-answer-is-lockdown. Operation close-the-playgrounds.
Assuming state malignity is basically an instinct now. A pity, because trust is the single biggest factor in a society's success.
You are in a small minority there. Most people know that, even with this shitty government, the UK state is not malign.
It's clearly less malign than most. This isn't Russia; this isn't even France. But it is malign nonetheless. Covid proved that. And it believes in the perfectability of humans, for a start, which is none of the state's business. And the fact that the statr is only a bit malign now is no reassurance againsta future government which is considerably more malign. I don't want to come across as angry rant man. Imagine a smile on my face as I say this. But I have less than no confidence that the state is on my side.
But ultimately we get the government we deserve.
There are Conservative MPs who installed Johnson knowing how malign he was, but still believing it was in their interests. Yes, Sunak Minimus, I am looking at you.
There are voters who voted for Johnson in 2019 knowing how malign he was. Some because they judged him to be the lesser evil (fair enough), but others to Stick It To The Man.
You can say similar things about politicians in other parties as well, of course.
We want better people in politics? We have to reward politicians for being better people. And (harder, this) we have to not leave politics to the politicians.
Dianne Abbott is clearly very unwell, you can see the sad fall in her ability to speak clearly over the last few years.
The abuse and racism she has experienced, has contributed to that.
She should for own health and wellbeing, stand down as an MP.
Given Dianne Abbott is an avowed racist herself, I don't have too much sympathy.
I may be wrong, but the impression I get is that she has recieved far more abuse fir being a bloody idiot than for being black(or female). Because she is an idiot, she appears to think a lot of the abuse she recieves for the former reason is actually for the latter reason.
You are wrong. The abuse that minority politicians get, including vicious racist stuff up to the level of death threats etc, is off the scale.
Almost two years ago I reported that Boris Johnson had tried to meet the Queen when he had Covid symptoms. I was told by No10 it was “completely untrue”.
Yet @AnthonySeldon and @RaymondNewell confirm in their new book on the former PM that it had, in fact, happened.
Just had my government alarm on my phone. Really struggling to see the need for this.
I can see a point. How many idiots get stuck in the snow when they travel despite severe weather warnings? How about the 10% of homes that are liable to flooding? It’s within fairly recent times that we have seen epic floods in winter (sometimes, even, in places that the government/media care about, I.e. the South). And yes there are occasions when police operations might justify a stay indoors text to an area. What’s your beef with it?
Absolutely. People should just follow the government's instructions. You have nothing to fear unless you are doing something you Shouldn't Be.
Jeez, the alert is to help save lives, and people respond with snark.
Well four years ago I'd have agreed. But then, y'know. Lockdown. Operation scare-everybody-shitless. Operation what-questions-can-we-ask-so-that-the-answer-is-lockdown. Operation close-the-playgrounds.
Assuming state malignity is basically an instinct now. A pity, because trust is the single biggest factor in a society's success.
You are in a small minority there. Most people know that, even with this shitty government, the UK state is not malign.
It's clearly less malign than most. This isn't Russia; this isn't even France. But it is malign nonetheless. Covid proved that. And it believes in the perfectability of humans, for a start, which is none of the state's business. And the fact that the statr is only a bit malign now is no reassurance againsta future government which is considerably more malign. I don't want to come across as angry rant man. Imagine a smile on my face as I say this. But I have less than no confidence that the state is on my side.
"But it is malign nonetheless. Covid proved that."
I utterly disagree with this. The stark facts about Covid back in March, April and May 2020 was that we didn't know enough about it; and the projections varied from bad, through terrible, to hideous (I'd argue we ended up with 'terrible'). We did not know if it mainly spread through air, through contact, or much else.
The government *could* have reacted much more strongly; see China as an example. In fact, it got criticised for not acting strongly enough. It was not 'malign'; it was trying to do the right thing with very little data.
You could argue they were inept, and I would have some sympathy with that view in some aspects of the response. But malign? No.
The malign people are those who wanted to go ahead with their lives as normal, not caring who they might give the virus to. The sort of people who agree with Stalin: "The death of one man is a tragedy. The death of a million is a statistic" - where the 'one man' they care about is themselves.
Just had my government alarm on my phone. Really struggling to see the need for this.
I can see a point. How many idiots get stuck in the snow when they travel despite severe weather warnings? How about the 10% of homes that are liable to flooding? It’s within fairly recent times that we have seen epic floods in winter (sometimes, even, in places that the government/media care about, I.e. the South). And yes there are occasions when police operations might justify a stay indoors text to an area. What’s your beef with it?
Or a tsunami warning. Which let's face it isn't out of the question in the West Country and Wales.
The Met Office issues weather warnings, and the Environment Agency issues flood warnings. You can subscribe to them or watch various web sites. No doubt local media cover them too. But the point is that weather conditions can be forecast in advance. We do not have natural disasters, so no earthquake or volcano warnings, so what's left? Terrorist incidents? Probably too localised and in any case today's bombers don't give warnings like the old IRA did (sometimes). So what is the point?
A tsunami is not a weather event, and although there is no evidence of one recently there is a fault in the Atlantic that could trigger one.
IIRC there’s strong evidence of a (small) tsunami hitting the Bristol channel in medieval times & within the last few millenia there have been larger tsunamis on the Scottish east coast.
They do happen. Whether the UK government could get itself organised to get a warning out even if they detected the initial event is another question however.
This is Mont Dol. I’ve taken a little detour to see it; apparently it’s very similar to Mont Saint Michel, other than being inland and not having a monastery
I could climb up, but I’m knackered and want to get to Dol (where I’ve booked a studio apartment for the night) so I can have a big early dinner, a bottle of wine, and get to bed. I want to set off at seven tomorrow
Keep ‘em coming. Also, more shots of wine
So you’re walking across Brittany? If so then mead and cider too? And moules!
I’m doing the Tro Breizh, an ancient pilgrimage visiting the seven founder Saints’ sites. I’ve just arrived at the the first
I didn’t plan this, I booked the apartment while drinking beer at the side of the road earlier. This is the view from my balcony (in badly done panoramic)
You can see why they need all that scaffold.
I’d heard something about Brittany Spires being a bit unstable these days so sad to see photographic evidence.
Just had my government alarm on my phone. Really struggling to see the need for this.
I can see a point. How many idiots get stuck in the snow when they travel despite severe weather warnings? How about the 10% of homes that are liable to flooding? It’s within fairly recent times that we have seen epic floods in winter (sometimes, even, in places that the government/media care about, I.e. the South). And yes there are occasions when police operations might justify a stay indoors text to an area. What’s your beef with it?
Or a tsunami warning. Which let's face it isn't out of the question in the West Country and Wales.
The Met Office issues weather warnings, and the Environment Agency issues flood warnings. You can subscribe to them or watch various web sites. No doubt local media cover them too. But the point is that weather conditions can be forecast in advance. We do not have natural disasters, so no earthquake or volcano warnings, so what's left? Terrorist incidents? Probably too localised and in any case today's bombers don't give warnings like the old IRA did (sometimes). So what is the point?
A tsunami is not a weather event, and although there is no evidence of one recently there is a fault in the Atlantic that could trigger one.
IIRC there’s strong evidence of a (small) tsunami hitting the Bristol channel in medieval times & within the last few millenia there have been larger tsunamis on the Scottish east coast.
They do happen.
There was one in 1997 and a lot of people are praying for another…
Just had my government alarm on my phone. Really struggling to see the need for this.
I can see a point. How many idiots get stuck in the snow when they travel despite severe weather warnings? How about the 10% of homes that are liable to flooding? It’s within fairly recent times that we have seen epic floods in winter (sometimes, even, in places that the government/media care about, I.e. the South). And yes there are occasions when police operations might justify a stay indoors text to an area. What’s your beef with it?
Absolutely. People should just follow the government's instructions. You have nothing to fear unless you are doing something you Shouldn't Be.
Jeez, the alert is to help save lives, and people respond with snark.
Well four years ago I'd have agreed. But then, y'know. Lockdown. Operation scare-everybody-shitless. Operation what-questions-can-we-ask-so-that-the-answer-is-lockdown. Operation close-the-playgrounds.
Assuming state malignity is basically an instinct now. A pity, because trust is the single biggest factor in a society's success.
You are in a small minority there. Most people know that, even with this shitty government, the UK state is not malign.
It's clearly less malign than most. This isn't Russia; this isn't even France. But it is malign nonetheless. Covid proved that. And it believes in the perfectability of humans, for a start, which is none of the state's business. And the fact that the statr is only a bit malign now is no reassurance againsta future government which is considerably more malign. I don't want to come across as angry rant man. Imagine a smile on my face as I say this. But I have less than no confidence that the state is on my side.
But ultimately we get the government we deserve.
There are Conservative MPs who installed Johnson knowing how malign he was, but still believing it was in their interests. Yes, Sunak Minimus, I am looking at you.
There are voters who voted for Johnson in 2019 knowing how malign he was. Some because they judged him to be the lesser evil (fair enough), but others to Stick It To The Man.
You can say similar things about politicians in other parties as well, of course.
We want better people in politics? We have to reward politicians for being better people. And (harder, this) we have to not leave politics to the politicians.
He was the lesser evil in 2019, certainly. Imagine a world where Jeremy Corbyn was able to send email alerts to your phone.
Someone has come to Diane’s defence. And in a moment which might constitute Peak Twitter of April 2023, that person is…
Jolyon Maugham!
“I will always want to hear what Diane Abbott - the country's first Black woman MP and someone who has experienced so much of it - has to say about anti-Black racism. Her ill-worded (draft) letter does not change that.”
Just had my government alarm on my phone. Really struggling to see the need for this.
I can see a point. How many idiots get stuck in the snow when they travel despite severe weather warnings? How about the 10% of homes that are liable to flooding? It’s within fairly recent times that we have seen epic floods in winter (sometimes, even, in places that the government/media care about, I.e. the South). And yes there are occasions when police operations might justify a stay indoors text to an area. What’s your beef with it?
Or a tsunami warning. Which let's face it isn't out of the question in the West Country and Wales.
The Met Office issues weather warnings, and the Environment Agency issues flood warnings. You can subscribe to them or watch various web sites. No doubt local media cover them too. But the point is that weather conditions can be forecast in advance. We do not have natural disasters, so no earthquake or volcano warnings, so what's left? Terrorist incidents? Probably too localised and in any case today's bombers don't give warnings like the old IRA did (sometimes). So what is the point?
A tsunami is not a weather event, and although there is no evidence of one recently there is a fault in the Atlantic that could trigger one.
IIRC there’s strong evidence of a (small) tsunami hitting the Bristol channel in medieval times & within the last few millenia there have been larger tsunamis on the Scottish east coast.
They do happen. Whether the UK government could get itself organised to get a warning out even if they detected the initial event is another question however.
Just had my government alarm on my phone. Really struggling to see the need for this.
I can see a point. How many idiots get stuck in the snow when they travel despite severe weather warnings? How about the 10% of homes that are liable to flooding? It’s within fairly recent times that we have seen epic floods in winter (sometimes, even, in places that the government/media care about, I.e. the South). And yes there are occasions when police operations might justify a stay indoors text to an area. What’s your beef with it?
Absolutely. People should just follow the government's instructions. You have nothing to fear unless you are doing something you Shouldn't Be.
Jeez, the alert is to help save lives, and people respond with snark.
Well four years ago I'd have agreed. But then, y'know. Lockdown. Operation scare-everybody-shitless. Operation what-questions-can-we-ask-so-that-the-answer-is-lockdown. Operation close-the-playgrounds.
Assuming state malignity is basically an instinct now. A pity, because trust is the single biggest factor in a society's success.
You are in a small minority there. Most people know that, even with this shitty government, the UK state is not malign.
It's clearly less malign than most. This isn't Russia; this isn't even France. But it is malign nonetheless. Covid proved that. And it believes in the perfectability of humans, for a start, which is none of the state's business. And the fact that the statr is only a bit malign now is no reassurance againsta future government which is considerably more malign. I don't want to come across as angry rant man. Imagine a smile on my face as I say this. But I have less than no confidence that the state is on my side.
A 2nd PB anarchist to keep DA company - Hats off!
But more seriously (with a frown of well intentioned concentration on my face) ... "Covid proved the state is malign" ... a thought experiment to test this.
Imagine the pandemic hit as it did and there was no government, no state. Play through the likely upshot and compare to what actually took place.
Which is worse? The With State outcome or the No State outcome?
Just had my government alarm on my phone. Really struggling to see the need for this.
I can see a point. How many idiots get stuck in the snow when they travel despite severe weather warnings? How about the 10% of homes that are liable to flooding? It’s within fairly recent times that we have seen epic floods in winter (sometimes, even, in places that the government/media care about, I.e. the South). And yes there are occasions when police operations might justify a stay indoors text to an area. What’s your beef with it?
Absolutely. People should just follow the government's instructions. You have nothing to fear unless you are doing something you Shouldn't Be.
Jeez, the alert is to help save lives, and people respond with snark.
Well four years ago I'd have agreed. But then, y'know. Lockdown. Operation scare-everybody-shitless. Operation what-questions-can-we-ask-so-that-the-answer-is-lockdown. Operation close-the-playgrounds.
Assuming state malignity is basically an instinct now. A pity, because trust is the single biggest factor in a society's success.
You are in a small minority there. Most people know that, even with this shitty government, the UK state is not malign.
It's clearly less malign than most. This isn't Russia; this isn't even France. But it is malign nonetheless. Covid proved that. And it believes in the perfectability of humans, for a start, which is none of the state's business. And the fact that the statr is only a bit malign now is no reassurance againsta future government which is considerably more malign. I don't want to come across as angry rant man. Imagine a smile on my face as I say this. But I have less than no confidence that the state is on my side.
Of course it's not on your side - it's on my side, as it should be. ;-)
Well yes. But one day it might not be on your side either.
I get that. But let's be honest, if there's some kind of right or left-wing coup that takes over the government of the UK in the future, whether or not the 2023 government sent out test emergency alerts is not going to figure high on the list of enablers.
Nor would such a future government be dissuaded or persuaded in implementing totalitarian measures based on the actions of the current government.
This is Mont Dol. I’ve taken a little detour to see it; apparently it’s very similar to Mont Saint Michel, other than being inland and not having a monastery
I could climb up, but I’m knackered and want to get to Dol (where I’ve booked a studio apartment for the night) so I can have a big early dinner, a bottle of wine, and get to bed. I want to set off at seven tomorrow
Keep ‘em coming. Also, more shots of wine
So you’re walking across Brittany? If so then mead and cider too? And moules!
I’m doing the Tro Breizh, an ancient pilgrimage visiting the seven founder Saints’ sites. I’ve just arrived at the the first
I didn’t plan this, I booked the apartment while drinking beer at the side of the road earlier. This is the view from my balcony (in badly done panoramic)
If I understand the map correctly, you are heading on to Rennes in due course. Nice town.
I’d like to see Rennes, but it’s a bit out of the way. My next pilgrimage stop is Vannes, so I need to head south west
I haven’t worked out where I’m going to stay tomorrow yet
This is Mont Dol. I’ve taken a little detour to see it; apparently it’s very similar to Mont Saint Michel, other than being inland and not having a monastery
I could climb up, but I’m knackered and want to get to Dol (where I’ve booked a studio apartment for the night) so I can have a big early dinner, a bottle of wine, and get to bed. I want to set off at seven tomorrow
Keep ‘em coming. Also, more shots of wine
So you’re walking across Brittany? If so then mead and cider too? And moules!
I’m doing the Tro Breizh, an ancient pilgrimage visiting the seven founder Saints’ sites. I’ve just arrived at the the first
I didn’t plan this, I booked the apartment while drinking beer at the side of the road earlier. This is the view from my balcony (in badly done panoramic)
Fantastic
Brittany and Normandy are the two bits of France I don’t really know that well - probably because they are so close I tend to overlook them as being just like southern England/Cornwall etc. I am thinking of amending that this summer…
I have been to Carnac, which was oddly disappointing despite the scale
Just had my government alarm on my phone. Really struggling to see the need for this.
I can see a point. How many idiots get stuck in the snow when they travel despite severe weather warnings? How about the 10% of homes that are liable to flooding? It’s within fairly recent times that we have seen epic floods in winter (sometimes, even, in places that the government/media care about, I.e. the South). And yes there are occasions when police operations might justify a stay indoors text to an area. What’s your beef with it?
Or a tsunami warning. Which let's face it isn't out of the question in the West Country and Wales.
The Met Office issues weather warnings, and the Environment Agency issues flood warnings. You can subscribe to them or watch various web sites. No doubt local media cover them too. But the point is that weather conditions can be forecast in advance. We do not have natural disasters, so no earthquake or volcano warnings, so what's left? Terrorist incidents? Probably too localised and in any case today's bombers don't give warnings like the old IRA did (sometimes). So what is the point?
A tsunami is not a weather event, and although there is no evidence of one recently there is a fault in the Atlantic that could trigger one.
IIRC there’s strong evidence of a (small) tsunami hitting the Bristol channel in medieval times & within the last few millenia there have been larger tsunamis on the Scottish east coast.
They do happen. Whether the UK government could get itself organised to get a warning out even if they detected the initial event is another question however.
ISTR that if you live in Cardiff (which, due to the shape of the Bristol Channel is the location in the UK most at risk), you are more likely to die ina tsunami than, ooh, something quite commonplace happening. In an average year in Cardiff, about 8 people will die by tsunami. Of course, there hasn't been a tsunami in Cardiff since time immemorial. Tsunamis in Cardiff are once-in-a-milennium occureneces. But when it comes, it will kill thousands.
This is Mont Dol. I’ve taken a little detour to see it; apparently it’s very similar to Mont Saint Michel, other than being inland and not having a monastery
I could climb up, but I’m knackered and want to get to Dol (where I’ve booked a studio apartment for the night) so I can have a big early dinner, a bottle of wine, and get to bed. I want to set off at seven tomorrow
Keep ‘em coming. Also, more shots of wine
So you’re walking across Brittany? If so then mead and cider too? And moules!
I’m doing the Tro Breizh, an ancient pilgrimage visiting the seven founder Saints’ sites. I’ve just arrived at the the first
I didn’t plan this, I booked the apartment while drinking beer at the side of the road earlier. This is the view from my balcony (in badly done panoramic)
Fantastic
Brittany and Normandy are the two bits of France I don’t really know that well - probably because they are so close I tend to overlook them as being just like southern England/Cornwall etc. I am thinking of amending that this summer…
I have been to Carnac, which was oddly disappointing despite the scale
I’m in Normandy this summer so you can piss right off.
Mind you, it’s surprisingly large. Twice the size of Yorkshire. Probably room for both of us.
Someone has come to Diane’s defence. And in a moment which might constitute Peak Twitter of April 2023, that person is…
Jolyon Maugham!
“I will always want to hear what Diane Abbott - the country's first Black woman MP and someone who has experienced so much of it - has to say about anti-Black racism. Her ill-worded (draft) letter does not change that.”
For a top barrister he's not very good at deploying logic. Her being the country's first black woman MP and someone who has experienced so much racism also does not change her 'ill-worded (draft) letter'.
Any news on the final draft, and how it could have made the point she wanted to make without being super racist?
Like Peston this is more counter signalling. "I'm one of the good ones, I'm standing up to the bullies".
Just had my government alarm on my phone. Really struggling to see the need for this.
I can see a point. How many idiots get stuck in the snow when they travel despite severe weather warnings? How about the 10% of homes that are liable to flooding? It’s within fairly recent times that we have seen epic floods in winter (sometimes, even, in places that the government/media care about, I.e. the South). And yes there are occasions when police operations might justify a stay indoors text to an area. What’s your beef with it?
Absolutely. People should just follow the government's instructions. You have nothing to fear unless you are doing something you Shouldn't Be.
Jeez, the alert is to help save lives, and people respond with snark.
Well four years ago I'd have agreed. But then, y'know. Lockdown. Operation scare-everybody-shitless. Operation what-questions-can-we-ask-so-that-the-answer-is-lockdown. Operation close-the-playgrounds.
Assuming state malignity is basically an instinct now. A pity, because trust is the single biggest factor in a society's success.
You are in a small minority there. Most people know that, even with this shitty government, the UK state is not malign.
It's clearly less malign than most. This isn't Russia; this isn't even France. But it is malign nonetheless. Covid proved that. And it believes in the perfectability of humans, for a start, which is none of the state's business. And the fact that the statr is only a bit malign now is no reassurance againsta future government which is considerably more malign. I don't want to come across as angry rant man. Imagine a smile on my face as I say this. But I have less than no confidence that the state is on my side.
But ultimately we get the government we deserve.
There are Conservative MPs who installed Johnson knowing how malign he was, but still believing it was in their interests. Yes, Sunak Minimus, I am looking at you.
There are voters who voted for Johnson in 2019 knowing how malign he was. Some because they judged him to be the lesser evil (fair enough), but others to Stick It To The Man.
You can say similar things about politicians in other parties as well, of course.
We want better people in politics? We have to reward politicians for being better people. And (harder, this) we have to not leave politics to the politicians.
He was the lesser evil in 2019, certainly. Imagine a world where Jeremy Corbyn was able to send email alerts to your phone.
"Parish Council meeting in your area - consider the motions on improved recycling, fair wages, and opposing Israel".
Why is no-one talking about the decline of Mikhail Saakashvili in a Georgian prison?
I posted an article about him a few days ago. He's effectively being slowly murdered.
On St George’s Day too.
Nigel Farage has posted a tweet saying that St George stood against authoritarian government and presumably would have abhorred the Alert.
Apparently St George is also the patron saint of Ethiopia, while George is also revered in several Afro-Brazilian religions, such as Umbanda, where it is syncretized in the form of Ogum.
Just had my government alarm on my phone. Really struggling to see the need for this.
I can see a point. How many idiots get stuck in the snow when they travel despite severe weather warnings? How about the 10% of homes that are liable to flooding? It’s within fairly recent times that we have seen epic floods in winter (sometimes, even, in places that the government/media care about, I.e. the South). And yes there are occasions when police operations might justify a stay indoors text to an area. What’s your beef with it?
Absolutely. People should just follow the government's instructions. You have nothing to fear unless you are doing something you Shouldn't Be.
Jeez, the alert is to help save lives, and people respond with snark.
Well four years ago I'd have agreed. But then, y'know. Lockdown. Operation scare-everybody-shitless. Operation what-questions-can-we-ask-so-that-the-answer-is-lockdown. Operation close-the-playgrounds.
Assuming state malignity is basically an instinct now. A pity, because trust is the single biggest factor in a society's success.
You are in a small minority there. Most people know that, even with this shitty government, the UK state is not malign.
It's clearly less malign than most. This isn't Russia; this isn't even France. But it is malign nonetheless. Covid proved that. And it believes in the perfectability of humans, for a start, which is none of the state's business. And the fact that the statr is only a bit malign now is no reassurance againsta future government which is considerably more malign. I don't want to come across as angry rant man. Imagine a smile on my face as I say this. But I have less than no confidence that the state is on my side.
"But it is malign nonetheless. Covid proved that."
I utterly disagree with this. The stark facts about Covid back in March, April and May 2020 was that we didn't know enough about it; and the projections varied from bad, through terrible, to hideous (I'd argue we ended up with 'terrible'). We did not know if it mainly spread through air, through contact, or much else.
The government *could* have reacted much more strongly; see China as an example. In fact, it got criticised for not acting strongly enough. It was not 'malign'; it was trying to do the right thing with very little data.
You could argue they were inept, and I would have some sympathy with that view in some aspects of the response. But malign? No.
The malign people are those who wanted to go ahead with their lives as normal, not caring who they might give the virus to. The sort of people who agree with Stalin: "The death of one man is a tragedy. The death of a million is a statistic" - where the 'one man' they care about is themselves.
Restrictions on liberty were warranted in the circumstances. Arguments can be made that it went on too long or reintroduced too soon, or even that it was made too casually, but the gamble taken at the start had very high risks.
I've done that, but I'd like to be able to remove it completely. I want to minimise the amount of software I haven't installed I carry around - particularly if the government wrote it.
Happily for you the government didn't write any of this. The emergency alert stuff is all standardized and the phone-end support of it is part of the Android and iPhone base OS, written by the same programmers at Google and Apple who wrote all the rest of it.
Well I've even less confident that the programmers at Google and Apple are benign. Again, covid: remember Google's news management and what you could and could not search?
If you do not trust the programmers at Google and Apple not to be malicious then your course of action is simple -- do not own or use a smartphone at all. These companies control *everything* about what happens on the device, including whether it bothers to pay attention to anything you set in the config settings, whether it might choose to silently re-download something you manually uninstalled, whether it upholds the rules about keeping apps from doing bad stuff, whether it records the microphone to upload a 24/7 audio log to the mothership, and so on.
(Personally I don't trust Google &co in the full "have my best interests at heart" sense, but I do trust them within certain boundaries, i.e. that they'll act like a profit-seeking but largely non-malicious corporation which is restrained somewhat by public opinion, and "won't misuse an emergency alert system" is well within those limits.)
Just had my government alarm on my phone. Really struggling to see the need for this.
I can see a point. How many idiots get stuck in the snow when they travel despite severe weather warnings? How about the 10% of homes that are liable to flooding? It’s within fairly recent times that we have seen epic floods in winter (sometimes, even, in places that the government/media care about, I.e. the South). And yes there are occasions when police operations might justify a stay indoors text to an area. What’s your beef with it?
Absolutely. People should just follow the government's instructions. You have nothing to fear unless you are doing something you Shouldn't Be.
Jeez, the alert is to help save lives, and people respond with snark.
Well four years ago I'd have agreed. But then, y'know. Lockdown. Operation scare-everybody-shitless. Operation what-questions-can-we-ask-so-that-the-answer-is-lockdown. Operation close-the-playgrounds.
Assuming state malignity is basically an instinct now. A pity, because trust is the single biggest factor in a society's success.
You are in a small minority there. Most people know that, even with this shitty government, the UK state is not malign.
It's clearly less malign than most. This isn't Russia; this isn't even France. But it is malign nonetheless. Covid proved that. And it believes in the perfectability of humans, for a start, which is none of the state's business. And the fact that the statr is only a bit malign now is no reassurance againsta future government which is considerably more malign. I don't want to come across as angry rant man. Imagine a smile on my face as I say this. But I have less than no confidence that the state is on my side.
A 2nd PB anarchist to keep DA company - Hats off!
But more seriously (with a frown of well intentioned concentration on my face) ... "Covid proved the state is malign" ... a thought experiment to test this.
Imagine the pandemic hit as it did and there was no government, no state. Play through the likely upshot and compare to what actually took place.
Which is worse? The With State outcome or the No State outcome?
Well realistically I'm not trying to absolutely abolish the state. But the statr has crept a long long long long long way beyond its remit, as operation scare-everyone-shitless exemplified. To what extent is this down to this particular government, and to what extent the machinery if the state which sits behind it? Difficult to unpick. But to answer your question? My view is that with state was worse, because the effects of lockdown will be with us for years. The state did good, but also a truckload of harm. I'm going to have to reappoint my Ron Swanson avatar if thus conversation goes on much longer.
Just had my government alarm on my phone. Really struggling to see the need for this.
I can see a point. How many idiots get stuck in the snow when they travel despite severe weather warnings? How about the 10% of homes that are liable to flooding? It’s within fairly recent times that we have seen epic floods in winter (sometimes, even, in places that the government/media care about, I.e. the South). And yes there are occasions when police operations might justify a stay indoors text to an area. What’s your beef with it?
Or a tsunami warning. Which let's face it isn't out of the question in the West Country and Wales.
The Met Office issues weather warnings, and the Environment Agency issues flood warnings. You can subscribe to them or watch various web sites. No doubt local media cover them too. But the point is that weather conditions can be forecast in advance. We do not have natural disasters, so no earthquake or volcano warnings, so what's left? Terrorist incidents? Probably too localised and in any case today's bombers don't give warnings like the old IRA did (sometimes). So what is the point?
A tsunami is not a weather event, and although there is no evidence of one recently there is a fault in the Atlantic that could trigger one.
IIRC there’s strong evidence of a (small) tsunami hitting the Bristol channel in medieval times & within the last few millenia there have been larger tsunamis on the Scottish east coast.
They do happen. Whether the UK government could get itself organised to get a warning out even if they detected the initial event is another question however.
If one threatens to get over the Pennines, I don't think a phone alert's going to help me. Or any of us.
Just had my government alarm on my phone. Really struggling to see the need for this.
I can see a point. How many idiots get stuck in the snow when they travel despite severe weather warnings? How about the 10% of homes that are liable to flooding? It’s within fairly recent times that we have seen epic floods in winter (sometimes, even, in places that the government/media care about, I.e. the South). And yes there are occasions when police operations might justify a stay indoors text to an area. What’s your beef with it?
Absolutely. People should just follow the government's instructions. You have nothing to fear unless you are doing something you Shouldn't Be.
Jeez, the alert is to help save lives, and people respond with snark.
Well four years ago I'd have agreed. But then, y'know. Lockdown. Operation scare-everybody-shitless. Operation what-questions-can-we-ask-so-that-the-answer-is-lockdown. Operation close-the-playgrounds.
Assuming state malignity is basically an instinct now. A pity, because trust is the single biggest factor in a society's success.
You are in a small minority there. Most people know that, even with this shitty government, the UK state is not malign.
It's clearly less malign than most. This isn't Russia; this isn't even France. But it is malign nonetheless. Covid proved that. And it believes in the perfectability of humans, for a start, which is none of the state's business. And the fact that the statr is only a bit malign now is no reassurance againsta future government which is considerably more malign. I don't want to come across as angry rant man. Imagine a smile on my face as I say this. But I have less than no confidence that the state is on my side.
Of course it's not on your side - it's on my side, as it should be. ;-)
Well yes. But one day it might not be on your side either.
I get that. But let's be honest, if there's some kind of right or left-wing coup that takes over the government of the UK in the future, whether or not the 2023 government sent out test emergency alerts is not going to figure high on the list of enablers.
Nor would such a future government be dissuaded or persuaded in implementing totalitarian measures based on the actions of the current government.
Well that's a fair point Ben. And with your welcome dose of perspective, I ought to clarify that my reaction to the 3 o'clock alert was 'tut' rather than 'RAAAAAAAAARGHARAARAGHAGHHH!' But still. I'd rather not have the state on my phone.
Britain is a very nannyish state, because it’s essentially one big suburb of net-curtain twitching Daily Mail readers.
Why is this? I'd argue it's a function of the industrial revolution. Nowhere else on earth (apart from, arguably, Belgium) did the industrial revolution so transform the country; nowhere else did we end up to such an extent living on top of each other, in each other's pockets, so impacted by the actions of thise around us. Our curtain-twitching tendency is, perhaps, a result of that?
Why is no-one talking about the decline of Mikhail Saakashvili in a Georgian prison?
I posted an article about him a few days ago. He's effectively being slowly murdered.
On St George’s Day too.
Nigel Farage has posted a tweet saying that St George stood against authoritarian government and presumably would have abhorred the Alert.
Apparently St George is also the patron saint of Ethiopia, while George is also revered in several Afro-Brazilian religions, such as Umbanda, where it is syncretized in the form of Ogum.
I think St. George's reaction would have been more along the lines of 'what the hell is this thing in my pocket?'
St. George is also, of course, the patron saint of Georgia.
Britain is a very nannyish state, because it’s essentially one big suburb of net-curtain twitching Daily Mail readers.
Why is this? I'd argue it's a function of the industrial revolution. Nowhere else on earth (apart from, arguably, Belgium) did the industrial revolution so transform the country; nowhere else did we end up to such an extent living on top of each other, in each other's pockets, so impacted by the actions of thise around us. Our curtain-twitching tendency is, perhaps, a result of that?
For sure. And yes, Belgium is probably the same. With added paedophiliac tendencies.
Just had my government alarm on my phone. Really struggling to see the need for this.
I can see a point. How many idiots get stuck in the snow when they travel despite severe weather warnings? How about the 10% of homes that are liable to flooding? It’s within fairly recent times that we have seen epic floods in winter (sometimes, even, in places that the government/media care about, I.e. the South). And yes there are occasions when police operations might justify a stay indoors text to an area. What’s your beef with it?
Absolutely. People should just follow the government's instructions. You have nothing to fear unless you are doing something you Shouldn't Be.
Jeez, the alert is to help save lives, and people respond with snark.
Well four years ago I'd have agreed. But then, y'know. Lockdown. Operation scare-everybody-shitless. Operation what-questions-can-we-ask-so-that-the-answer-is-lockdown. Operation close-the-playgrounds.
Assuming state malignity is basically an instinct now. A pity, because trust is the single biggest factor in a society's success.
You are in a small minority there. Most people know that, even with this shitty government, the UK state is not malign.
It's clearly less malign than most. This isn't Russia; this isn't even France. But it is malign nonetheless. Covid proved that. And it believes in the perfectability of humans, for a start, which is none of the state's business. And the fact that the statr is only a bit malign now is no reassurance againsta future government which is considerably more malign. I don't want to come across as angry rant man. Imagine a smile on my face as I say this. But I have less than no confidence that the state is on my side.
A 2nd PB anarchist to keep DA company - Hats off!
But more seriously (with a frown of well intentioned concentration on my face) ... "Covid proved the state is malign" ... a thought experiment to test this.
Imagine the pandemic hit as it did and there was no government, no state. Play through the likely upshot and compare to what actually took place.
Which is worse? The With State outcome or the No State outcome?
Well realistically I'm not trying to absolutely abolish the state. But the statr has crept a long long long long long way beyond its remit, as operation scare-everyone-shitless exemplified. To what extent is this down to this particular government, and to what extent the machinery if the state which sits behind it? Difficult to unpick. But to answer your question? My view is that with state was worse, because the effects of lockdown will be with us for years. The state did good, but also a truckload of harm. I'm going to have to reappoint my Ron Swanson avatar if thus conversation goes on much longer.
Yes, please bring it back. Been there so long that as far as I'm concerned that geezer IS you.
Comments
So you’re walking across Brittany? If so then mead and cider too? And moules!
You get them here occasionally for blizzard warnings.
Yet @AnthonySeldon and @RaymondNewell confirm in their new book on the former PM that it had, in fact, happened.
https://twitter.com/PippaCrerar/status/1650126645209059329?s=20
Extra points for:
1) Pedantry
2) Getting killed by the thing you were warned about.
Assuming state malignity is basically an instinct now.
A pity, because trust is the single biggest factor in a society's success.
I didn’t plan this, I booked the apartment while drinking beer at the side of the road earlier. This is the view from my balcony (in badly done panoramic)
But it is malign nonetheless. Covid proved that. And it believes in the perfectability of humans, for a start, which is none of the state's business.
And the fact that the statr is only a bit malign now is no reassurance againsta future government which is considerably more malign.
I don't want to come across as angry rant man. Imagine a smile on my face as I say this. But I have less than no confidence that the state is on my side.
But one day it might not be on your side either.
There are Conservative MPs who installed Johnson knowing how malign he was, but still believing it was in their interests. Yes, Sunak Minimus, I am looking at you.
There are voters who voted for Johnson in 2019 knowing how malign he was. Some because they judged him to be the lesser evil (fair enough), but others to Stick It To The Man.
You can say similar things about politicians in other parties as well, of course.
We want better people in politics? We have to reward politicians for being better people. And (harder, this) we have to not leave politics to the politicians.
I utterly disagree with this. The stark facts about Covid back in March, April and May 2020 was that we didn't know enough about it; and the projections varied from bad, through terrible, to hideous (I'd argue we ended up with 'terrible'). We did not know if it mainly spread through air, through contact, or much else.
The government *could* have reacted much more strongly; see China as an example. In fact, it got criticised for not acting strongly enough. It was not 'malign'; it was trying to do the right thing with very little data.
You could argue they were inept, and I would have some sympathy with that view in some aspects of the response. But malign? No.
The malign people are those who wanted to go ahead with their lives as normal, not caring who they might give the virus to. The sort of people who agree with Stalin: "The death of one man is a tragedy. The death of a million is a statistic" - where the 'one man' they care about is themselves.
They do happen. Whether the UK government could get itself organised to get a warning out even if they detected the initial event is another question however.
Jolyon Maugham!
“I will always want to hear what Diane Abbott - the country's first Black woman MP and someone who has experienced so much of it - has to say about anti-Black racism. Her ill-worded (draft) letter does not change that.”
https://twitter.com/jolyonmaugham/status/1650109694961152000?s=61&t=GGp3Vs1t1kTWDiyA-odnZg
But more seriously (with a frown of well intentioned concentration on my face) ... "Covid proved the state is malign" ... a thought experiment to test this.
Imagine the pandemic hit as it did and there was no government, no state. Play through the likely upshot and compare to what actually took place.
Which is worse? The With State outcome or the No State outcome?
Nor would such a future government be dissuaded or persuaded in implementing totalitarian measures based on the actions of the current government.
I haven’t worked out where I’m going to stay tomorrow yet
Brittany and Normandy are the two bits of France I don’t really know that well - probably because they are so close I tend to overlook them as being just like southern England/Cornwall etc. I am thinking of amending that this summer…
I have been to Carnac, which was oddly disappointing despite the scale
Not much overlap, I'd guess.
Of course, there hasn't been a tsunami in Cardiff since time immemorial. Tsunamis in Cardiff are once-in-a-milennium occureneces. But when it comes, it will kill thousands.
Mind you, it’s surprisingly large. Twice the size of Yorkshire. Probably room for both of us.
Any news on the final draft, and how it could have made the point she wanted to make without being super racist?
Like Peston this is more counter signalling. "I'm one of the good ones, I'm standing up to the bullies".
He's effectively being slowly murdered.
Nigel Farage has posted a tweet saying that St George stood against authoritarian government and presumably would have abhorred the Alert.
Apparently St George is also the patron saint of Ethiopia, while George is also revered in several Afro-Brazilian religions, such as Umbanda, where it is syncretized in the form of Ogum.
(Personally I don't trust Google &co in the full "have my best interests at heart" sense, but I do trust them within certain boundaries, i.e. that they'll act like a profit-seeking but largely non-malicious corporation which is restrained somewhat by public opinion, and "won't misuse an emergency alert system" is well within those limits.)
But to answer your question? My view is that with state was worse, because the effects of lockdown will be with us for years. The state did good, but also a truckload of harm.
I'm going to have to reappoint my Ron Swanson avatar if thus conversation goes on much longer.
Or any of us.
And with your welcome dose of perspective, I ought to clarify that my reaction to the 3 o'clock alert was 'tut' rather than 'RAAAAAAAAARGHARAARAGHAGHHH!'
But still. I'd rather not have the state on my phone.
This thread has suffered a 6-1 defeat...
New Hampshire governor Chris Sununu says ‘we need a candidate that can win’ even as Trump dominates national primary polls
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/apr/23/trump-chris-sununu-republican-primary-2024
St. George is also, of course, the patron saint of Georgia.
And yes, Belgium is probably the same.
With added paedophiliac tendencies.