Like you I don't watch much telly and the thought of sitting through twenty or so hour-long episodes of something puts me off.
Detectorists is short, fun, quirky, interesting and profound in an understated, life-affirming way. I really enjoyed it and I can't really describe why, which must be a good thing!
Does Beth think that any of her ramblings are in any way useful?
The lack of action based on the pandemic exercise are certainly worth examining.
Of course, but the time for reflection is several months away.
What's the point of distracting people who are trying their best to sort a crisis out now, with questions about historical actions of their predecessors?
I would be all in favour of a Royal Commission or Public Enquiry that discussed in detail preparations made and actions taken up to and during the crisis, as no doubt there will be plenty of useful recommendations for dealing with future crises.
There is going to be the mother of all Public Inquiries after all this is over.
After a once in a century pandemic, of course, and regardless of the government's handling of the issue.
Does Beth think that any of her ramblings are in any way useful?
Yes - in choosing to highlight Philip Lee she omits some interesting features of his backstory - the ex Tory MP who crossed the floor - humiliated in the GE, hates Boris....
The Tory party are much better off with folk like Lee. Not exactly a Dr you'd trust.
I presume you mean 'without'. Of course that is waht attracts him to a 'gotcha' hack like Rigby.
thats exactly what i mean! too much wine! yes i much prefer Sophie Ridge to Rigby.
I live in Almeria in south-east Spain. Found out today that all of the Mayors agreed not to release local statistics of Covid 19 cases because 'it is not needed'. WTF. The UK has lousy weather but is not the worst place when it comes to transparency of information.
As horse races go this one has indeed been pretty dull and of course the cancellation of the latter debates didn’t really help. RLB has been so poor that you honestly wonder whether she should even be in the shadow cabinet. And then there’s Jeremy. What on earth do you do with him?
Labour should get some sort of a bounce from the new leader but he has a tricky hand to play.
If I were Starmer I would be wanting the Corbyn left to be shouting from the rooftops about betrayal each and every day. It will be the quickest way to demsointrate that things are changing. It will also ensure that internally more and more members turn away from them.
"It will be the quickest way to demsointrate that things are changing."
Labour elect a posh white bloke who has been to Oxbridge and call it change.
I look forward to the self righteous lectures on "diversity"
I don't think Starmer went to Oxbridge, but that is by the by. Everything Starmer has achieved he has achieved through hard work and talent. He is basically a turbo-charged you.
He comes from the same clique that gave us Boris, Cameron and Blair.
It's not actually change, it's simply more establishment.
So you will be cheering from the rafters when Long Bailey gets the nod on Saturday? And not because she is not an election losing disaster, but because she is a genuinely working-class Manchester Solicitor.
Long-Bailey's background is no different to Starmer's. He got further because he is smarter.
Well he also had the opportunity to go to a grammar school, which RLB might not have, and the fortune for it to be turned into a private school while he was there.
Of course. But they both went to law school and they both qualified to practise law.
Sounds like she did it with less help
How do you figure that out?
Edit: must be v frustrating for your dad and the whole family.
Well I thought going to a grammar/private school would generally be considered more helpful than going to what I believe to be a non grammar/private school.
I’d like my kids to go to a grammar or private school rather than an academy or comp anyway
Yes that can be true. It appears that Starmer took the 11-plus and LB either didn't or took it and failed. Everything seemed to flow from that. She then went to a co-ed, and Manchester Metropolitan Uni, he to Leeds Uni. He studied law, she didn't but did a conversion. They both then became lawyers.
So where does that leave them?
Pre-11yrs old = exactly the same background. Then, he had the opportunity at 11, took it and passed it; she we don't know. Then they both ended up as lawyers. Of the two paths, I would say that RLB worked harder to get to that point. But is Keir smarter? Case not proven (we can ask @DougSeal for the actual answer).
I find it difficult to grade lawyers by intelligence. Sure, there are some brilliant barristers whose intelligence would knock anyone here out of the park, like Jonathan Sumption, who really does have a brain the size of a planet. Then there’s Fiona Shackleton, 3rd from Exeter, who is far more successful than I’ll ever be and clearly gets results. It’s a difference between barristers and solicitors. Your typical barrister is brilliant in court but couldn’t find a practical solution to a problem if you tattooed it on his hand. Smart solicitors are never as book smart but can resolve an issue in a practical way barristers wouldn’t think of. But barristers are considered the brainy end of the profession.
If pushed, I think RLB would have had to have worked harder to get where she is simply by doing a conversion course, going to a less well regarded Uni and, dare I say it, because she’s a woman and there remains an inherent sexism in the profession. Whether KS is more intelligent - I can’t say - even though I would support him politically if I were still on the Red team. Let’s say I would be happier having him defend me on a criminal charge than negotiating a commercial settlement.
Interesting. Thanks for your view.
Agree about the interesting. Also, I looked at the respective ages. SKS would have been 11 in 1973 when there was still a lot more 11+ about than there is now. RLP was 11 in 1990 when apart from a couple of areas, such as Kent, it had more or less disappeared. Or was, effectively, voluntary.
Premier League reportedly looking at ways of completing the season over the summer. Suggestions of a couple of stadia playing three games a day behind closed doors and in a quarantined zone.
Mr. Urquhart, the media will be unable to cope with either the lockdown continuing or the lockdown ending.
If it ends in 11 weeks it'll take them six minutes to go from relief to complaints. Be intriguing to see if any of the dingbats describe it as a u-turn.
I wondered once if a government should use a parody attack on the media.
Press conference - "We are here to announce the daily u-turn, based on scaremongering on twitter..... now for stupid questions..."
Or just listen to the question and say "Way too stupid. Next..."
As Trump would do.
Dont get me wrong its frustrating when they act like that, but it's something it's best they accept as part of the job than shut down, as in better times the temptation will be to do the same thing when they dont like the question.
Estimates of the real mortality rate of the virus range widely from ~0.1% (implied by the Chief Medical Officer for Scotland yesterday) to 5+% (from articles in The Lancet). Professor Neil Ferguson, an advisor to the government, has also said that up to 5-10% of London may become infected in the next few weeks, implying a lower mortality rate.
However, news on the economic front is also grim and getting worse. There is a risk that the government could leave it too late to restart the economy. I cannot visualise where the UK economy will be in a year or two, especially if no vaccine is found. Fortunately, there is a reasonable chance that a vaccine can be developed.
The situation in countries which are implementing a less effective lockdown than the UK will be very informative. I would include in these Sweden, Iran and India. Right now the government is gathering information. Then later, before the end of this year, the government will have to make some very difficult decisions.
Some key questions have not been answered. What is the mortality rate of the virus? What will be the effectiveness of a safe vaccine that can be developed? What is the lessor of two evils: a coronavirus epidemic and economic devastation caused by a lockdown?
The best (to date) controlled experiment - The Diamond Princess, with free association, then lockdown - gives the mortality rate at 0.5% which seems imo (what do I know) to be the most likely eventual outcome.
Wasn't a controlled experiment though. Just a mass observation.
That is true but it was observation of a perfectly set up experiment.
I assume the 0.5% is controlled for the age distribution of the passengers? I expect it might skew quite old on a cruise ship.
Suggest we wait until cases do actually fall. I'm equally certain most people don't want to be gasping for breath with no ventilator or any effective medical care because the hospital system is overwhelmed. We're in lockdown to avoid grisly death. People will give this precisely one second's thought before deciding they will take lockdown.
That is your point of view. One thing that is very, very hard is to grasp the mindset of people who have opposing views to ones own. They value things differently....
There will be be some people howling "LET ME OUT", without thought to the consequences.
Some people have a very low tolerance for social isolation. Some people are cooped up with people they hate/fear - the point about abusive/dysfunctional families. Some people are living in accommodation that is tolerable on the go-home-sleep-shower-leave on a daily basis. etc.
Does Beth think that any of her ramblings are in any way useful?
Yes - in choosing to highlight Philip Lee she omits some interesting features of his backstory - the ex Tory MP who crossed the floor - humiliated in the GE, hates Boris....
Do either of you think that any of your ramblings are useful? Phillip Lee has made a series of detailed assertions. His backstory is irrelevant. Either they are true or they are untrue. This should be a matter of easy proof.
Since he was in a position of authority at the time and his assertions are detailed and credible, they should be given very serious consideration.
Put another way, if he is right, isn't it concerning?
Estimates of the real mortality rate of the virus range widely from ~0.1% (implied by the Chief Medical Officer for Scotland yesterday) to 5+% (from articles in The Lancet). Professor Neil Ferguson, an advisor to the government, has also said that up to 5-10% of London may become infected in the next few weeks, implying a lower mortality rate.
However, news on the economic front is also grim and getting worse. There is a risk that the government could leave it too late to restart the economy. I cannot visualise where the UK economy will be in a year or two, especially if no vaccine is found. Fortunately, there is a reasonable chance that a vaccine can be developed.
The situation in countries which are implementing a less effective lockdown than the UK will be very informative. I would include in these Sweden, Iran and India. Right now the government is gathering information. Then later, before the end of this year, the government will have to make some very difficult decisions.
Some key questions have not been answered. What is the mortality rate of the virus? What will be the effectiveness of a safe vaccine that can be developed? What is the lessor of two evils: a coronavirus epidemic and economic devastation caused by a lockdown?
The best (to date) controlled experiment - The Diamond Princess, with free association, then lockdown - gives the mortality rate at 0.5% which seems imo (what do I know) to be the most likely eventual outcome.
Wasn't a controlled experiment though. Just a mass observation.
That is true but it was observation of a perfectly set up experiment.
I assume the 0.5% is controlled for the age distribution of the passengers? I expect it might skew quite old on a cruise ship.
The crew will skew young, though.
Would be an interesting coincidence if that somehow matched the age distribution of a country like the UK, for example.
You mean as happened in 2001 with the Foot and Mouth crisis?
Yes, absolutely. Starmer should be allowed full access to the government's scientists and data, and should have a seat at the COBR meetings to bring his view to the table where the key decisions are made.
I wouldn't have said the same about Corbyn though.
I don't recall much of the Foot & Mouth crisis, I must confess. But why on earth would you not want Jeremy on board for the national effort on this one? Are you worried that he would leak confidential plans to the virus?
Because good old 'Two Es' has messed up everything he's ever touched in his life, and there's no reason to believe the coronavirus would be any different?
Mr. Urquhart, the media will be unable to cope with either the lockdown continuing or the lockdown ending.
If it ends in 11 weeks it'll take them six minutes to go from relief to complaints. Be intriguing to see if any of the dingbats describe it as a u-turn.
I wondered once if a government should use a parody attack on the media.
Press conference - "We are here to announce the daily u-turn, based on scaremongering on twitter..... now for stupid questions..."
Or just listen to the question and say "Way too stupid. Next..."
Chris Witty did actually do that during a briefing...something along the lines of that "that isn't a science question, next".
I just want to ask as I don't want to pay to penetrate the paywall. Is this an increase on top of the reduction due to pubs and restaurants being closed?
Also how long is the time span considered? If I order 3 crates of beer to be delivered on a Monday, that will last me more than a week. But what I would have spent on beer at the Pubquiz on that Monday night before Corona is just for the beer consumed that day! If there has been hoarding of toilet paper, I bet that there has also been a lot of hoarding beer and wine.
Suggest we wait until cases do actually fall. I'm equally certain most people don't want to be gasping for breath with no ventilator or any effective medical care because the hospital system is overwhelmed. We're in lockdown to avoid grisly death. People will give this precisely one second's thought before deciding they will take lockdown.
That is your point of view. One thing that is very, very hard is to grasp the mindset of people who have opposing views to ones own. They value things differently....
There will be be some people howling "LET ME OUT", without thought to the consequences.
Some people have a very low tolerance for social isolation. Some people are cooped up with people they hate/fear - the point about abusive/dysfunctional families. Some people are living in accommodation that is tolerable on the go-home-sleep-shower-leave on a daily basis. etc.
Yeah, some people will be fine with taking that risk, others less so.
Does Beth think that any of her ramblings are in any way useful?
The lack of action based on the pandemic exercise are certainly worth examining.
Of course, but the time for reflection is several months away.
What's the point of distracting people who are trying their best to sort a crisis out now, with questions about historical actions of their predecessors?
I would be all in favour of a Royal Commission or Public Enquiry that discussed in detail preparations made and actions taken up to and during the crisis, as no doubt there will be plenty of useful recommendations for dealing with future crises.
There is going to be the mother of all Public Inquiries after all this is over.
After a once in a century pandemic, of course, and regardless of the government's handling of the issue.
Yes, indeed. I didn't mean to imply that there was necessarily some failing that needs to be addressed.
Mr. Urquhart, the media will be unable to cope with either the lockdown continuing or the lockdown ending.
If it ends in 11 weeks it'll take them six minutes to go from relief to complaints. Be intriguing to see if any of the dingbats describe it as a u-turn.
I wondered once if a government should use a parody attack on the media.
Press conference - "We are here to announce the daily u-turn, based on scaremongering on twitter..... now for stupid questions..."
Or just listen to the question and say "Way too stupid. Next..."
Chris Witty did actually do that during a briefing...something along the lines of that "that isn't a science question, next".
I wonder if the journalist understood how savage that is, in an academic context.
Basically sticking a hat marked "Dunce" on their head and pointing to the naughty stool.
Our local fish and chip shop has closed until further notice.
Anyone else seeing their takeaways shut down shop?
I'm still amazed that restaurants have drivers running around doing deliveries of single meals (except to the vulnerable). They'd be much better employed with the supermarkets, delivering a week or two's worth of food in one go.
Does Beth think that any of her ramblings are in any way useful?
The lack of action based on the pandemic exercise are certainly worth examining.
Of course, but the time for reflection is several months away.
What's the point of distracting people who are trying their best to sort a crisis out now, with questions about historical actions of their predecessors?
I would be all in favour of a Royal Commission or Public Enquiry that discussed in detail preparations made and actions taken up to and during the crisis, as no doubt there will be plenty of useful recommendations for dealing with future crises.
There is going to be the mother of all Public Inquiries after all this is over.
After a once in a century pandemic, of course, and regardless of the government's handling of the issue.
Yes, indeed. I didn't mean to imply that there was necessarily some failing that needs to be addressed.
I'm certain there will be lots of failings in many shapes and sizes that could have helped mitigate this. Initially believing the Chinese numbers, for a start!
I live in Almeria in south-east Spain. Found out today that all of the Mayors agreed not to release local statistics of Covid 19 cases because 'it is not needed'. WTF. The UK has lousy weather but is not the worst place when it comes to transparency of information.
Suggest we wait until cases do actually fall. I'm equally certain most people don't want to be gasping for breath with no ventilator or any effective medical care because the hospital system is overwhelmed. We're in lockdown to avoid grisly death. People will give this precisely one second's thought before deciding they will take lockdown.
From my vantage in Spain I'd suggest the chances of any major relaxation of the lockdown beofre May at best are very low. I think most people where I live no longer expect any summer tourists - the effects on the local economy will be devastating. I agree with your thinking but I'm not sure there will be no disquiet. None of our economies can easily sustain this sort of economic disruption for too long.
Suggest we wait until cases do actually fall. I'm equally certain most people don't want to be gasping for breath with no ventilator or any effective medical care because the hospital system is overwhelmed. We're in lockdown to avoid grisly death. People will give this precisely one second's thought before deciding they will take lockdown.
That is your point of view. One thing that is very, very hard is to grasp the mindset of people who have opposing views to ones own. They value things differently....
There will be be some people howling "LET ME OUT", without thought to the consequences.
Some people have a very low tolerance for social isolation. Some people are cooped up with people they hate/fear - the point about abusive/dysfunctional families. Some people are living in accommodation that is tolerable on the go-home-sleep-shower-leave on a daily basis. etc.
People will be screaming for the lockdown to end when it becomes clear that the three month "furlough" will not be anywhere near enough to stop the inevitable round of redundancies most companies are now considering.
Most people, even those on high incomes, tend to have little in the way of savings and plenty in terms of monthly outgoings - mortgages, car loans, etc. Few people I know believe the furlough will save their jobs or that we will simply pick up "as normal" in three months time.
Suggest we wait until cases do actually fall. I'm equally certain most people don't want to be gasping for breath with no ventilator or any effective medical care because the hospital system is overwhelmed. We're in lockdown to avoid grisly death. People will give this precisely one second's thought before deciding they will take lockdown.
From my vantage in Spain I'd suggest the chances of any major relaxation of the lockdown beofre May at best are very low. I think most people where I live no longer expect any summer tourists - the effects on the local economy will be devastating. I agree with your thinking but I'm not sure there will be no disquiet. None of our economies can easily sustain this sort of economic disruption for too long.
May will just be too close to the peak in many places for major relaxation I expect, politically as well as scientifically.
That’s just ridiculous, a prime example of manufacturing outrage from yoking together a couple of things that someone doesn’t like. For me, personally, I think the lockdown was a week too late and I’m prepared to carry on for much, much longer. As I had to self isolate before I’ve already coped with 19 days and I’ve only felt the need to step out of the house once. I appreciate that this sort of self sacrifice is anathema to many but, and it’s not a term that I would normally use, the snowflakes who can’t cope with this need to get a grip. Yes, there are a minority who do have a real issue with it but the vast majority of people moaning, are those who didn’t want to do it in the first place and are trying to claim that it won’t work now that it exists.
This idea that people can’t behave the way that is needed is missing one key thing, in times of crisis people behaviour need to change. Enough of the commentariat moaning about how terrible it is that they have had to change their behaviour.
The problem with your view is that the risk of complete economic collapse will grow very quickly and very fast. The government has neither unlimited reserves or credit to feed and care for the people indefinitely. I say this with no pleasure but there it is.
Suggest we wait until cases do actually fall. I'm equally certain most people don't want to be gasping for breath with no ventilator or any effective medical care because the hospital system is overwhelmed. We're in lockdown to avoid grisly death. People will give this precisely one second's thought before deciding they will take lockdown.
That is your point of view. One thing that is very, very hard is to grasp the mindset of people who have opposing views to ones own. They value things differently....
There will be be some people howling "LET ME OUT", without thought to the consequences.
Some people have a very low tolerance for social isolation. Some people are cooped up with people they hate/fear - the point about abusive/dysfunctional families. Some people are living in accommodation that is tolerable on the go-home-sleep-shower-leave on a daily basis. etc.
People will be screaming for the lockdown to end when it becomes clear that the three month "furlough" will not be anywhere near enough to stop the inevitable round of redundancies most companies are now considering.
Most people, even those on high incomes, tend to have little in the way of savings and plenty in terms of monthly outgoings - mortgages, car loans, etc. Few people I know believe the furlough will save their jobs or that we will simply pick up "as normal" in three months time.
That is true. Again - different valuation of the parameters, based on personal experience, needs and values.
Very easy to say "I am rational. He/She is not and therefore despicable". Always examine motivation before judgement.
Our local fish and chip shop has closed until further notice.
Anyone else seeing their takeaways shut down shop?
My local chinese is cash only, I want to support them but it's not recommended to pay in cash right now ><</p>
Our Chinese is closed UFN but the Indian is delivering. One pub was delivering, one is collection only, and one, the managed one, has shut down altogether. Another place tried collections but didn't really do enough.
Suggest we wait until cases do actually fall. I'm equally certain most people don't want to be gasping for breath with no ventilator or any effective medical care because the hospital system is overwhelmed. We're in lockdown to avoid grisly death. People will give this precisely one second's thought before deciding they will take lockdown.
That is your point of view. One thing that is very, very hard is to grasp the mindset of people who have opposing views to ones own. They value things differently....
There will be be some people howling "LET ME OUT", without thought to the consequences.
Some people have a very low tolerance for social isolation. Some people are cooped up with people they hate/fear - the point about abusive/dysfunctional families. Some people are living in accommodation that is tolerable on the go-home-sleep-shower-leave on a daily basis. etc.
People will be screaming for the lockdown to end when it becomes clear that the three month "furlough" will not be anywhere near enough to stop the inevitable round of redundancies most companies are now considering.
Most people, even those on high incomes, tend to have little in the way of savings and plenty in terms of monthly outgoings - mortgages, car loans, etc. Few people I know believe the furlough will save their jobs or that we will simply pick up "as normal" in three months time.
This is one area where Italy may well be better placed than Britain. It has historically had higher levels of private saving.
20% seems like a small increase. Anyway, it depends if they drink it over the same time period. A part of stockpiling is buying more so you have to go shopping less.
Everyone I know wants to do a shop for everything non-perishable for 3 months, if they have the space for it (or not!!!!)
I do not think that is particularly crazy...
An oddity of tesco online orders - you can buy a maximum of three of anything (ok, I get that, although slightly bizarre that I can buy three six-packs of beans but not four individual tins) but also an 80 item limit overall. The latter seems daft - there must be lots of items not in short supply. I get that it saves a bit of space in the van and a bit of time for each delivery, but it will mean that families that might have ordered one delivery in two weeks will instead need to order a delivery every week. Given a lot of the time in delivering is driving between premises - I don't know how much, but, rough guess, 50%+? - limiting overall shop seems to be a very bad way to maximise efficiency.
Given many of us are at home all the time, you'd also think it would make sense to offer delivery slots on a massive window - e.g. this day, even this week rather than a one or four hour window. It would then be fairly trivial to optimise the hell out of the delivery routes to get a lot more product to a lot more people per unit time.
That was Johnson's srgument for not starting too early. He may have been right.
We have had a week and the media already crying its too hard....we won't be able to cope with this for months.
To be exact - this was the argument that social scientists made to the scientific advisory committee. At which point a number of people decided that social psychology din't work/exist.
This line of argument smacks of strawmanning.
Those who argued for an earlier lockdown did so because they thought earlier action would be more effective in halting the spread, not because they wanted it to last longer. Though given our current inability to ramp up testing, it's probably true that moving back to an effective track and trace system would have been quite difficult. So it is quite possibly that consideration which determined government policy.
That’s just ridiculous, a prime example of manufacturing outrage from yoking together a couple of things that someone doesn’t like. For me, personally, I think the lockdown was a week too late and I’m prepared to carry on for much, much longer. As I had to self isolate before I’ve already coped with 19 days and I’ve only felt the need to step out of the house once. I appreciate that this sort of self sacrifice is anathema to many but, and it’s not a term that I would normally use, the snowflakes who can’t cope with this need to get a grip. Yes, there are a minority who do have a real issue with it but the vast majority of people moaning, are those who didn’t want to do it in the first place and are trying to claim that it won’t work now that it exists.
This idea that people can’t behave the way that is needed is missing one key thing, in times of crisis people behaviour need to change. Enough of the commentariat moaning about how terrible it is that they have had to change their behaviour.
Agree. Usually when someone says "The very same people who said A when Y are now saying 'not A' when Y", it is nothing like the "very same people" and just indicates poor journalism.
Interesting tidbit - aircraft passenger numbers took 2.5-3 years to recover after 9/11
Wow, and that was due to a tiny increase in actual risk. The risk increase whilst there is no COVID vaccine and you haven't already had it or haven't had a vaccine is very very real right now. I'm not sure it'll ever recover, not for the next 20 years.
Massive popping of the tech bubble also happened at the same time.
Suggest we wait until cases do actually fall. I'm equally certain most people don't want to be gasping for breath with no ventilator or any effective medical care because the hospital system is overwhelmed. We're in lockdown to avoid grisly death. People will give this precisely one second's thought before deciding they will take lockdown.
That is your point of view. One thing that is very, very hard is to grasp the mindset of people who have opposing views to ones own. They value things differently....
There will be be some people howling "LET ME OUT", without thought to the consequences.
Some people have a very low tolerance for social isolation. Some people are cooped up with people they hate/fear - the point about abusive/dysfunctional families. Some people are living in accommodation that is tolerable on the go-home-sleep-shower-leave on a daily basis. etc.
People will be screaming for the lockdown to end when it becomes clear that the three month "furlough" will not be anywhere near enough to stop the inevitable round of redundancies most companies are now considering.
Most people, even those on high incomes, tend to have little in the way of savings and plenty in terms of monthly outgoings - mortgages, car loans, etc. Few people I know believe the furlough will save their jobs or that we will simply pick up "as normal" in three months time.
My parents generation seems quite far away - having a years post tax income saved as a buffer in case of hard times was the ideal. That was apart from savings, proper.
That’s just ridiculous, a prime example of manufacturing outrage from yoking together a couple of things that someone doesn’t like. For me, personally, I think the lockdown was a week too late and I’m prepared to carry on for much, much longer. As I had to self isolate before I’ve already coped with 19 days and I’ve only felt the need to step out of the house once. I appreciate that this sort of self sacrifice is anathema to many but, and it’s not a term that I would normally use, the snowflakes who can’t cope with this need to get a grip. Yes, there are a minority who do have a real issue with it but the vast majority of people moaning, are those who didn’t want to do it in the first place and are trying to claim that it won’t work now that it exists.
This idea that people can’t behave the way that is needed is missing one key thing, in times of crisis people behaviour need to change. Enough of the commentariat moaning about how terrible it is that they have had to change their behaviour.
Agree. Usually when someone says "The very same people who said A when Y are now saying 'not A' when Y", it is nothing like the "very same people" and just indicates poor journalism.
I have encountered people who have gone from "lock down no" to "let us out" in 2 tweets without breaking step.
A ventilator manufacturer is making its designs available to any company in a position to build the machines in an 'unprecedented' move to boost supply and address a global shortage.
Medtronic said the designs for its PB 560 artificial respirator - already sold in 35 countries around the world - will now be 'open source' so any firm can access them.
Suggest we wait until cases do actually fall. I'm equally certain most people don't want to be gasping for breath with no ventilator or any effective medical care because the hospital system is overwhelmed. We're in lockdown to avoid grisly death. People will give this precisely one second's thought before deciding they will take lockdown.
That is your point of view. One thing that is very, very hard is to grasp the mindset of people who have opposing views to ones own. They value things differently....
There will be be some people howling "LET ME OUT", without thought to the consequences.
Some people have a very low tolerance for social isolation. Some people are cooped up with people they hate/fear - the point about abusive/dysfunctional families. Some people are living in accommodation that is tolerable on the go-home-sleep-shower-leave on a daily basis. etc.
People will be screaming for the lockdown to end when it becomes clear that the three month "furlough" will not be anywhere near enough to stop the inevitable round of redundancies most companies are now considering.
Most people, even those on high incomes, tend to have little in the way of savings and plenty in terms of monthly outgoings - mortgages, car loans, etc. Few people I know believe the furlough will save their jobs or that we will simply pick up "as normal" in three months time.
My parents generation seems quite far away - having a years post tax income saved as a buffer in case of hard times was the ideal. That was apart from savings, proper.
Blimey. I've got a years post tax income in the bank and thought that was prudent without it being that plus savings proper.
Does Beth think that any of her ramblings are in any way useful?
Yes - in choosing to highlight Philip Lee she omits some interesting features of his backstory - the ex Tory MP who crossed the floor - humiliated in the GE, hates Boris....
The media's bias is so blatant as to be truly laughable...
That’s just ridiculous, a prime example of manufacturing outrage from yoking together a couple of things that someone doesn’t like. For me, personally, I think the lockdown was a week too late and I’m prepared to carry on for much, much longer. As I had to self isolate before I’ve already coped with 19 days and I’ve only felt the need to step out of the house once. I appreciate that this sort of self sacrifice is anathema to many but, and it’s not a term that I would normally use, the snowflakes who can’t cope with this need to get a grip. Yes, there are a minority who do have a real issue with it but the vast majority of people moaning, are those who didn’t want to do it in the first place and are trying to claim that it won’t work now that it exists.
This idea that people can’t behave the way that is needed is missing one key thing, in times of crisis people behaviour need to change. Enough of the commentariat moaning about how terrible it is that they have had to change their behaviour.
The problem with your view is that the risk of complete economic collapse will grow very quickly and very fast. The government has neither unlimited reserves or credit to feed and care for the people indefinitely. I say this with no pleasure but there it is.
We’ve been told three to six months as a plausible length of time. That the government have announced plans for both the employed and self employed, suggests that they have the figures that show they can cope with that sort of outlay (you could call it investment, given that the aim is to protect businesses). These promises are being looked on enviously in other countries and it is, to me, the real strength of the government’s current approach, suggesting, ‘look, we’ve got your back’.
Our local fish and chip shop has closed until further notice.
Anyone else seeing their takeaways shut down shop?
Yes, a lot closing in my part of Lancashire - more than 50% easily. Those left open will probably do well. The others have decided its easier and more lucrative to take the 80% for furlough.
Spain : Cases up aroung 6500 today from yesterday. Deaths a record 849. ICU 5600.
Still very difficult. I think the growth in new cases may be levelling off.
These are really quite different figures from the Worldometer which has 473 deaths. Maybe they are not complete yet. It can be a bit misleading when they post partial results.
I think what happens is that Spain posts updated numbers twice a day, with the changes compared to one day ago, rather than since the last update.
Worldometer resets its change values at midnight (not certain in which timezone), so the Spanish figures are always confusing after their morning update.
Germany also posts partial results during the day - I don't know whether these are results from the different regions, or national updates several times a day.
Petrol at my local filling station has just dropped below a £1 per litre
99.7p
Wow - when were the fuel price protests? 1998? The complaint at that time was that price had risen to over £1. Shows how cheap petrol prices are now all these years later.
I had to go to our surgery this morning and everywhere is quieter than I have ever seen it.
Driving along the promenades a few cyclists wobbled as they tried to keep their distance from each other, and a smallish number of people were exercising their dogs on the beaches.
It is a beautiful day and the few cars and people gives the impression of a ghost town
The various road works are suspended with the traffic lights changing as soon as you approach
Because the belief - which I share - is that as an individual he would be unable to resist making mischief over this. Releasing data or playing politics. Something that Sturgeon and the other leaders have worked very hard not to do. Something I believe Starmer would resist as well. I just don't trust Corbyn, not as a Labour Leader but as an individual.
Edit: I should add that he is the only Labour leader in my lifetime that I would say this about. All of the rest I would trust implicitly to do the right thing rather than play politics.
And what if Johnson was the Opposition Leader to a Labour government under these circumstances? Same reservations?
Does Beth think that any of her ramblings are in any way useful?
Yes - in choosing to highlight Philip Lee she omits some interesting features of his backstory - the ex Tory MP who crossed the floor - humiliated in the GE, hates Boris....
The media's bias is so blatant as to be truly laughable...
What evidence do you have that Phillip Lee is lying? Because if you have none, I suggest you acknowledge the fact that you are letting your own bias scream rather than listen to what on the face of it is important.
Suggest we wait until cases do actually fall. I'm equally certain most people don't want to be gasping for breath with no ventilator or any effective medical care because the hospital system is overwhelmed. We're in lockdown to avoid grisly death. People will give this precisely one second's thought before deciding they will take lockdown.
That is your point of view. One thing that is very, very hard is to grasp the mindset of people who have opposing views to ones own. They value things differently....
There will be be some people howling "LET ME OUT", without thought to the consequences.
Some people have a very low tolerance for social isolation. Some people are cooped up with people they hate/fear - the point about abusive/dysfunctional families. Some people are living in accommodation that is tolerable on the go-home-sleep-shower-leave on a daily basis. etc.
People will be screaming for the lockdown to end when it becomes clear that the three month "furlough" will not be anywhere near enough to stop the inevitable round of redundancies most companies are now considering.
Most people, even those on high incomes, tend to have little in the way of savings and plenty in terms of monthly outgoings - mortgages, car loans, etc. Few people I know believe the furlough will save their jobs or that we will simply pick up "as normal" in three months time.
My parents generation seems quite far away - having a years post tax income saved as a buffer in case of hard times was the ideal. That was apart from savings, proper.
Blimey. I've got a years post tax income in the bank and thought that was prudent without it being that plus savings proper.
Remember it was an aspiration. People who got middle class jobs, putting a third into savings....
Memories of the Rent Man knocking on the door from childhood will do that to you.
Home ownership was part of it - "Pay rent for 20 years. At the end, you own the house outright. Or not. Do you want the Rent Man?"
I live in Almeria in south-east Spain. Found out today that all of the Mayors agreed not to release local statistics of Covid 19 cases because 'it is not needed'. WTF. The UK has lousy weather but is not the worst place when it comes to transparency of information.
There is one thing to say about those trying to massage statistics...
Covid-19 really doesn't not care whether you release them or not. It's going to kill as many people as it can, with or without your 'help'.
When it is found out (and it will be found out) that more people died because of some beureocrat just 'doing his job', things will not be pretty for them.
A ventilator manufacturer is making its designs available to any company in a position to build the machines in an 'unprecedented' move to boost supply and address a global shortage.
Medtronic said the designs for its PB 560 artificial respirator - already sold in 35 countries around the world - will now be 'open source' so any firm can access them.
That’s just ridiculous, a prime example of manufacturing outrage from yoking together a couple of things that someone doesn’t like. For me, personally, I think the lockdown was a week too late and I’m prepared to carry on for much, much longer. As I had to self isolate before I’ve already coped with 19 days and I’ve only felt the need to step out of the house once. I appreciate that this sort of self sacrifice is anathema to many but, and it’s not a term that I would normally use, the snowflakes who can’t cope with this need to get a grip. Yes, there are a minority who do have a real issue with it but the vast majority of people moaning, are those who didn’t want to do it in the first place and are trying to claim that it won’t work now that it exists.
This idea that people can’t behave the way that is needed is missing one key thing, in times of crisis people behaviour need to change. Enough of the commentariat moaning about how terrible it is that they have had to change their behaviour.
The problem with your view is that the risk of complete economic collapse will grow very quickly and very fast. The government has neither unlimited reserves or credit to feed and care for the people indefinitely. I say this with no pleasure but there it is.
We’ve been told three to six months as a plausible length of time. That the government have announced plans for both the employed and self employed, suggests that they have the figures that show they can cope with that sort of outlay (you could call it investment, given that the aim is to protect businesses). These promises are being looked on enviously in other countries and it is, to me, the real strength of the government’s current approach, suggesting, ‘look, we’ve got your back’.
Goodness - if they can do that I am seriously impressed. Not sure Spain could do it - the only good news I can see hear is that we're a bit nearer the peak. However, for those with businesses here I think the summer is probably gone.
Our local fish and chip shop has closed until further notice.
Anyone else seeing their takeaways shut down shop?
Most of ours managed the Tuesday (the day after lockdown) but were closed by Wednesday. Haven't seen anything open since.
My wife isn't happy. She always liked takeout at least once a week (usually twice if she could) and her coffee fix is badly diminished (she insists only coffee shop coffee can do it for her).
Herd immunity is a thing that happens, not a discredited idea which needs putting in quotes. That article says virtually nothing.
Herd immunity - to a virus, I mean, not to something like truth - is an unadulterated good thing, as far as I can see. There is nothing bad to be said about it.
Does Beth think that any of her ramblings are in any way useful?
Yes - in choosing to highlight Philip Lee she omits some interesting features of his backstory - the ex Tory MP who crossed the floor - humiliated in the GE, hates Boris....
The media's bias is so blatant as to be truly laughable...
The Telegraph had the story a couple of days ago. Not much comment on pb (and I think we drifted off into the second world war) but one for the enquiry and PMQs. Boris might even welcome it since his hands are clean and Hunt's aren't.
Suggest we wait until cases do actually fall. I'm equally certain most people don't want to be gasping for breath with no ventilator or any effective medical care because the hospital system is overwhelmed. We're in lockdown to avoid grisly death. People will give this precisely one second's thought before deciding they will take lockdown.
That is your point of view. One thing that is very, very hard is to grasp the mindset of people who have opposing views to ones own. They value things differently....
There will be be some people howling "LET ME OUT", without thought to the consequences.
Some people have a very low tolerance for social isolation. Some people are cooped up with people they hate/fear - the point about abusive/dysfunctional families. Some people are living in accommodation that is tolerable on the go-home-sleep-shower-leave on a daily basis. etc.
People will be screaming for the lockdown to end when it becomes clear that the three month "furlough" will not be anywhere near enough to stop the inevitable round of redundancies most companies are now considering.
Most people, even those on high incomes, tend to have little in the way of savings and plenty in terms of monthly outgoings - mortgages, car loans, etc. Few people I know believe the furlough will save their jobs or that we will simply pick up "as normal" in three months time.
S/E people will be in a fix. Sunak`s package is based on net profit rather than turnover.
Record number of COVID19 deaths in a day in Spain. Given the length of shutdown there it would be useful to know how many deaths resulted from infections within household groups. If the answer is very few, then this looks ominous.
After the person dressed up as a brush yesterday...
A mysterious figure known only as the Stockport Spiderman has been cheering up isolated children in the Greater Manchester borough. Spiderman goes out for an hour each day — even superheroes need to take their government-sanctioned exercise — and visits a different neighbourhood to bring joy to children.
A ventilator manufacturer is making its designs available to any company in a position to build the machines in an 'unprecedented' move to boost supply and address a global shortage.
Medtronic said the designs for its PB 560 artificial respirator - already sold in 35 countries around the world - will now be 'open source' so any firm can access them.
Does Beth think that any of her ramblings are in any way useful?
Yes - in choosing to highlight Philip Lee she omits some interesting features of his backstory - the ex Tory MP who crossed the floor - humiliated in the GE, hates Boris....
The media's bias is so blatant as to be truly laughable...
Not just bias, but inability to understand the complexities and think a 'gotcha' moment passes for serious journalism
The ones who are damaging their reputations in this crisis are many high profile political journalists
I want HMG held to account with forensic and knowledgeable questioning not the banal actions of the press just now
Though didn't "The Rise of the Meritocracy" consider it to be a bad thing? Particularly by lacking care and attention on society's more vulnerable?
I'm not enamoured either by the idea of a meritocracy. Just the fact that it finishes with "ocracy" is a giveaway.
You seemed OK with an ochlocratic kakistocracy just a few months ago...
Knew ochlocratic but had to look up kakistocracy. Should have figured it out really
Listing all the technical names for the various types of government seems like it would be a fun PB activity. I'm sure we'd ferret out a few fans of pantisocracy
A ventilator manufacturer is making its designs available to any company in a position to build the machines in an 'unprecedented' move to boost supply and address a global shortage.
Medtronic said the designs for its PB 560 artificial respirator - already sold in 35 countries around the world - will now be 'open source' so any firm can access them.
Though didn't "The Rise of the Meritocracy" consider it to be a bad thing? Particularly by lacking care and attention on society's more vulnerable?
I'm not enamoured either by the idea of a meritocracy. Just the fact that it finishes with "ocracy" is a giveaway.
You seemed OK with an ochlocratic kakistocracy just a few months ago...
Knew ochlocratic but had to look up kakistocracy. Should have figured it out really
Listing all the technical names for the various types of government seems like it would be a fun PB activity. I'm sure we'd ferret out a few fans of pantisocracy
Does Beth think that any of her ramblings are in any way useful?
Yes - in choosing to highlight Philip Lee she omits some interesting features of his backstory - the ex Tory MP who crossed the floor - humiliated in the GE, hates Boris....
The media's bias is so blatant as to be truly laughable...
Not just bias, but inability to understand the complexities and think a 'gotcha' moment passes for serious journalism
The ones who are damaging their reputations in this crisis are many high profile political journalists
I want HMG held to account with forensic and knowledgeable questioning not the banal actions of the press just now
So you should welcome the detailed and forensic points that Phillip Lee made.
Heaven forfend, BigG, that anyone might accuse you of being slavishly loyal, even when it appears that government inaction has made the current crisis worse.
Does Beth think that any of her ramblings are in any way useful?
Yes - in choosing to highlight Philip Lee she omits some interesting features of his backstory - the ex Tory MP who crossed the floor - humiliated in the GE, hates Boris....
The media's bias is so blatant as to be truly laughable...
Not just bias, but inability to understand the complexities and think a 'gotcha' moment passes for serious journalism
The ones who are damaging their reputations in this crisis are many high profile political journalists
I want HMG held to account with forensic and knowledgeable questioning not the banal actions of the press just now
It is also the lack of credit they give. The 80% wage scheme, the expanding of healthcare capacity, getting the AI / tech companies to build a load management system, the ventilator challenge idea, the food boxes, the volunteer scheme. As soon as they are announced, the response well that isn't enough or generally poo-poo'ing it and fault finding.
Yes that requires more than just the government, but the government deserves credit for all those things.
It reminds me of rescuing all the ex-pats from Libya. 2 weeks of wall to wall criticism, no credit when it was discovered Hague and the SAS did an amazing job.
The most sensible thing he can do is offer to assist and support the government in any way he can through the crisis (and the government would be silly to resist, should invite him to the key COBR meetings etc.), which buys him a few months to sort out as best he can the internal party problems caused by the Corbynites.
People seem very keen that during this crisis the LABOUR opposition ceases to oppose the TORY government.
I wonder if this sentiment would apply to the same extent if the parties were reversed?
Yes. Oppositions dont automatically oppose anything that comes from government, it picks and chooses what to oppose, when and how eg labour did not oppose Cameron on gay marriage. By and large I think the opposition has been reasonable right now, since scrutiny should not cease. I'd also say if Corbyn showed symptoms then he should get priority for a test like the PM.
I think in fairness that Labour pushed hard on the gig worker/low paid issues and that they were right to do so. I remember Matt Hancock acknowledging in the Commons that something he was doing was an idea from Jon Ashworth for which he was grateful.
I think that indicates the job of the opposition. To be independent thinkers, to look for consequences that the government might not have thought of, to make sure that the most vulnerable are not being overlooked. An example yesterday was Emily Thornberry pressing the case of Brits stuck overseas and being ripped off by airlines taking ridiculous amounts of money for flights then cancelling them and issuing vouchers. She was right to do so (even if some of those so stuck really should never have left in the first place).
Whinging on and on about the level of testing, not so much. Its clear that if the government had the capacity to do more testing they would be doing it.
If they haven't got the capacity they should have rectified that quickly weeks ago.
Are the WHO whinging on and on for the sake of it or is it as they say the single most important action.
How do you magic up PCR machines?
Did Johnson realise he didnt have a magic PCR tree when he promised to ramp up to 25k?
Germany managed it S Korea managed it why cant we?
They had a lot more PCR machines to start with.
Also, I don't know, but I presume PCR machines are like ventilators, only a few companies in the world make them. Are we going to be shocked if we find Germany is a massive producer of them, given high tech manufacturing is a core part of their economy.
Germany testing is exceptionally high compared to rest of Europe. If this was easy, every European country would be running 100,000s of tests a day. They aren't, which suggests, shortage of crucial parts in the supply chain.
Also, the UK have been very wary of getting caught out like Spain, with dodgy tests. Hence, why these anti-body tests are taking so long to validate.
Should the UK be doing better, absolutely. I believe one thing they have been slow to do is demand that universities process these, which would add capacity. But it is clear, that because the whole world is fighting over the machinery and base chemicals, like they are ventilators, it isn't trivial to ramp up anti-gen tests.
Also Germany has around 13 nurses per 1000; we have around 8, I think.
Qiagen, one of the leading companies in the space, is German (although recently bought by Thermo)
On topic, I went over the top ages ago suggesting the Labour Party would rig the leadership election so its too late for me to change my mind. I hope to be made a fool of by the sweeping Starmer victory. However, all the signs are there that something is afoot, and the situation we find ourselves in provides them with the perfect cover to pull a coup off.
Despite the polls I remain convinced that a significant percentage of the membership remain wedded to Corbyn and Corbynism. Not the membership who turn out to meetings (eg the 26 out of 700 in Stockton South who went to their selection meeting), its the "silent majority" I refer to. For some of these not to vote RLB is like asking Nazi Party members in June 1945 to suddenly support the communists.
And why would anyone be surprised at a "shock" RLB victory. After all Jeremy won, Jeremy won. They've nationalised the railways and private hospitals. They're paying people's salaries. There is a wave of public revulsion towards evil capitalists like Ashley and Branson and Martin. People are helping each other. And you suggest Labour members will throw all this away and vote for a man who is basically a Tory himself? No! They will follow True Socialism and vote for RLB. A narrow win, but a win. So they will say.
Deputy? Would be genuinely hilarious if it was ding-dong Burgon, but that would be so outlandish as to highlight the theft of the leadership position. Better to install a pliable half on board traitor like Rayner.
“I’m planning on being there this Tuesday March 10, and hoping many of you will be, too,” he wrote.
Sixty singers showed up. A greeter offered hand sanitizer at the door, and members refrained from the usual hugs and handshakes.
“It seemed like a normal rehearsal, except that choirs are huggy places,” Burdick recalled. “We were making music and trying to keep a certain distance between each other.”
After 2½ hours, the singers parted ways at 9 p.m.
Nearly three weeks later, 45 have been diagnosed with COVID-19 or ill with the symptoms, at least three have been hospitalized, and two are dead.
The outbreak has stunned county health officials, who have concluded that the virus was almost certainly transmitted through the air from one or more people without symptoms.
“That’s all we can think of right now,” said Polly Dubbel, a county communicable disease and environmental health manager.
In interviews with the Los Angeles Times, eight people who were at the rehearsal said that nobody there was coughing or sneezing or appeared ill...
Lots of people in a confined space, opening their mouths much of the time, seems a perfect way of spreading this. Maybe we should be looking at the nature of activities as well, in deciding what is safer. Quiet activities with no physical contact will surely be safer than people yabbering away and being more physical.
Coordinated singing and/or cheering happens at football matches and race meetings. Is there evidence of mass infection following Premier League games or the Cheltenham Festival? If not, is it an indoor/outdoor thing?
ETA: and what of the Houses of Parliament?
Wasn’t the Atalanta/Valencia match seen as a factor in spreading the virus in those countries? As for parliament, all that hot air and glad-handing must make it relatively dangerous.
The football caused an early hotspot with at least 11 cases identified quite early including the match commentator I believe. I would think the plane and pre match bars were more responsible than the game itself given fan segregation.
Still wondering if there was a post-Cheltenham spike in numbers.
How would you tell given they came from all over? The evolution in Liverpool is interesting with cases doubling in three days. Still below 200
At Cheltenham maybe a third of the crowd was from Ireland so we'd expect to see simultaneous spikes on either side of the Irish Sea.
Re Parliament, have we seen a spike there like the cluster in Downing Street?
"I find the power politics of Hungary's Prime Minister Orbàn unbearable. But those who constantly pretend that one can just sanction Hungary in this way are wrong: not legally simple on the basis of the EU treaties. In France, for example, emergency laws have also been in force since Terror 2015"
Perhaps a German speaker could spruce this up for me, but the thrust seems clear enough.
Individual groups of clinicians provided accurate data from studies within their hospitals describing the symptoms, CFR, the hospitalisations %, the severe-mild mix, etc. This data was published in the Lancet, NEJM and JAMA early doors and I read it contemporaneously. The results have been borne out by what we have seen in Western Europe and the US. So the evidence provided by individual groups of Chinese on the relative impact was true.
What was undoubtedly not true, in my view, was the scale of the problem in China. The 3000 deaths is nonsensical.
So it's a bit like completing a picture in great detail in one corner (the hospital publications) whilst leaving the rest of the picture blank (the macro statistics managed by the Chinese state). I imagine that was a calculated decision the Chinese took to release information which was easily verifiable, whilst not telling the truth on a macro scale on information which is much harder to verify, without being there.
Also, it enables them to say they warned the world of this.
The problem is that it is clear that basically every Western government and their advisers looked at the absolute scale and said 90,000 infected and 3,000 dead after 3 months unrestricted spread we can cope with something on that scale if we dampen this down a bit (and probably a load of western "exceptionalism" i.e. better healthcare, less pollution, lower smoking rates).
As we see more and more trends in the infection and death rates from lots of other countries it is going to become obvious that the Chinese have been lying and stringing the WHO along from start to finish.
They caused this with their vile live animal markets and have made matters worse by hiding the facts that might have helped other nations deal with the virus. The 3000 dead figure is an absolute joke.
Comments
Like you I don't watch much telly and the thought of sitting through twenty or so hour-long episodes of something puts me off.
Detectorists is short, fun, quirky, interesting and profound in an understated, life-affirming way. I really enjoyed it and I can't really describe why, which must be a good thing!
RLP was 11 in 1990 when apart from a couple of areas, such as Kent, it had more or less disappeared. Or was, effectively, voluntary.
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2020/03/30/sean-dyche-finishing-premier-league-season-behind-closed-doors/
Anyone else seeing their takeaways shut down shop?
Dont get me wrong its frustrating when they act like that, but it's something it's best they accept as part of the job than shut down, as in better times the temptation will be to do the same thing when they dont like the question.
https://twitter.com/PolhomeEditor/status/1244900749651345408
There will be be some people howling "LET ME OUT", without thought to the consequences.
Some people have a very low tolerance for social isolation. Some people are cooped up with people they hate/fear - the point about abusive/dysfunctional families. Some people are living in accommodation that is tolerable on the go-home-sleep-shower-leave on a daily basis. etc.
Since he was in a position of authority at the time and his assertions are detailed and credible, they should be given very serious consideration.
Put another way, if he is right, isn't it concerning?
Also how long is the time span considered? If I order 3 crates of beer to be delivered on a Monday, that will last me more than a week. But what I would have spent on beer at the Pubquiz on that Monday night before Corona is just for the beer consumed that day! If there has been hoarding of toilet paper, I bet that there has also been a lot of hoarding beer and wine.
Basically sticking a hat marked "Dunce" on their head and pointing to the naughty stool.
https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/
Most people, even those on high incomes, tend to have little in the way of savings and plenty in terms of monthly outgoings - mortgages, car loans, etc. Few people I know believe the furlough will save their jobs or that we will simply pick up "as normal" in three months time.
Imagine entering the Morrisons car park like that. What a thrilling way to top up on loo rolls.
Very easy to say "I am rational. He/She is not and therefore despicable". Always examine motivation before judgement.
Just had my first win on live sport for a while Bank of Taiwan.
Winnings gone on a lay of Taiwan Beer
e.g. https://nypost.com/2020/03/30/14-year-old-portuguese-boy-becomes-europes-youngest-coronavirus-victim/
Its 7,443 cases, 140 deaths according to this,
https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/country/portugal/
Given many of us are at home all the time, you'd also think it would make sense to offer delivery slots on a massive window - e.g. this day, even this week rather than a one or four hour window. It would then be fairly trivial to optimise the hell out of the delivery routes to get a lot more product to a lot more people per unit time.
99.7p
Those who argued for an earlier lockdown did so because they thought earlier action would be more effective in halting the spread, not because they wanted it to last longer.
Though given our current inability to ramp up testing, it's probably true that moving back to an effective track and trace system would have been quite difficult. So it is quite possibly that consideration which determined government policy.
(Although the brewery is now most likely to be a hand sanitiser factory).
https://twitter.com/WhitneyCummings/status/1242126400301088768
Medtronic said the designs for its PB 560 artificial respirator - already sold in 35 countries around the world - will now be 'open source' so any firm can access them.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8171377/Major-ventilator-manufacturer-Medtronic-makes-designs-available-company.html
Worldometer resets its change values at midnight (not certain in which timezone), so the Spanish figures are always confusing after their morning update.
Germany also posts partial results during the day - I don't know whether these are results from the different regions, or national updates several times a day.
Driving along the promenades a few cyclists wobbled as they tried to keep their distance from each other, and a smallish number of people were exercising their dogs on the beaches.
It is a beautiful day and the few cars and people gives the impression of a ghost town
The various road works are suspended with the traffic lights changing as soon as you approach
It is all very surreal but good to see
Memories of the Rent Man knocking on the door from childhood will do that to you.
Home ownership was part of it - "Pay rent for 20 years. At the end, you own the house outright. Or not. Do you want the Rent Man?"
Covid-19 really doesn't not care whether you release them or not. It's going to kill as many people as it can, with or without your 'help'.
When it is found out (and it will be found out) that more people died because of some beureocrat just 'doing his job', things will not be pretty for them.
Hopefully one or two of the many projects from the hi-tech engineering partnerships and F1 teams can pick this up.
My wife isn't happy. She always liked takeout at least once a week (usually twice if she could) and her coffee fix is badly diminished (she insists only coffee shop coffee can do it for her).
Record number of COVID19 deaths in a day in Spain. Given the length of shutdown there it would be useful to know how many deaths resulted from infections within household groups. If the answer is very few, then this looks ominous.
A mysterious figure known only as the Stockport Spiderman has been cheering up isolated children in the Greater Manchester borough. Spiderman goes out for an hour each day — even superheroes need to take their government-sanctioned exercise — and visits a different neighbourhood to bring joy to children.
The ones who are damaging their reputations in this crisis are many high profile political journalists
I want HMG held to account with forensic and knowledgeable questioning not the banal actions of the press just now
Heaven forfend, BigG, that anyone might accuse you of being slavishly loyal, even when it appears that government inaction has made the current crisis worse.
Yes that requires more than just the government, but the government deserves credit for all those things.
It reminds me of rescuing all the ex-pats from Libya. 2 weeks of wall to wall criticism, no credit when it was discovered Hague and the SAS did an amazing job.
Despite the polls I remain convinced that a significant percentage of the membership remain wedded to Corbyn and Corbynism. Not the membership who turn out to meetings (eg the 26 out of 700 in Stockton South who went to their selection meeting), its the "silent majority" I refer to. For some of these not to vote RLB is like asking Nazi Party members in June 1945 to suddenly support the communists.
And why would anyone be surprised at a "shock" RLB victory. After all Jeremy won, Jeremy won. They've nationalised the railways and private hospitals. They're paying people's salaries. There is a wave of public revulsion towards evil capitalists like Ashley and Branson and Martin. People are helping each other. And you suggest Labour members will throw all this away and vote for a man who is basically a Tory himself? No! They will follow True Socialism and vote for RLB. A narrow win, but a win. So they will say.
Deputy? Would be genuinely hilarious if it was ding-dong Burgon, but that would be so outlandish as to highlight the theft of the leadership position. Better to install a pliable half on board traitor like Rayner.
Re Parliament, have we seen a spike there like the cluster in Downing Street?
https://aviationweek.com/defense-space/aircraft-propulsion/usaf-announces-new-major-deficiency-kc-46?elq2=9a2d7c75b47c4357b24731dcfc6ca92f
https://twitter.com/TomMayerEuropa/status/1244947307801518080?s=20
Google Translate renders this:
"I find the power politics of Hungary's Prime Minister Orbàn unbearable. But those who constantly pretend that one can just sanction Hungary in this way are wrong: not legally simple on the basis of the EU treaties. In France, for example, emergency laws have also been in force since Terror 2015"
Perhaps a German speaker could spruce this up for me, but the thrust seems clear enough.
They caused this with their vile live animal markets and have made matters worse by hiding the facts that might have helped other nations deal with the virus. The 3000 dead figure is an absolute joke.