This is the government that is supposed to be guiding us safely through a global pandemic, nailing a superb Brexit trade deal with the EU and levelling up opportunity across the country. What are the chances?
Biden and some of the left want the 230 protection removed as well - they see it as protecting Twitter et al from the consequences of their publishing material.
The traditional media see removing the protection as levelling the playing field.
Ironically, because DT has trodden on the issue with his fat feet, everyone else has gone quiet on this.
Yes. It might be a good move but the fact that Trump is considering it purely because he himself is in a spat with Twitter rather undermines its appeal.
Well that's utterly stupid isn't it? If something is a positive development, who cares if it happens for negative reasons? It's probably the way things happen more often than not.
This is true as a general rule. But we're talking Trump here. If he is pro something that is in and of itself a strong piece of evidence in the debit column. Not to say it can't be outweighed by the credit side but it's off to a bad start and has some catching up to do.
I often hear this argument on PB. 'How can you be on the side of Farage/Orange marchers/people who put St George flags on their houses/people who put awful posters up about immigrants?'. When the issue in question is a binary choice, I am always puzzled by this. How can anyone be so morally unconvinced of a conclusion that they have come to that they would reverse this view because it picked up a fellow traveller who they found less than savoury?
I think it is because if those people also believe in one side of that binary choice then it is an indication for caution and question. Therefore when someone like Farage uses hate filled messages against immigrants to try to persuade people to vote Brexit, and the other advocates of Brexit do not clearly and unequivocally condemn it, it is an indicator that many people on that side secretly, if not overtly approve of the message. Therefore it is my opinion that most (tho not all) people who voted Brexit are racist to some degree or other. The real reason to vote for it is the dislike of most things foreign.
Spot on, it can be concealed or even dignified by terms like "Free trade" or "Sovereignty" but in reality you'd only vote for it if you dislike and disrespect foreigners and want to demonstrate that fact to them. I thought that was all implicit in the vote to be honest.
What I find very funny are posters like Philip Thompson who engage in the most incredible intellectual contortions about liberty and self-determination etc. but never stop to think what all the other members of the EU think, do Spaniards feel less Spanish as a result of EU membership? Do Poles worry about their personal liberty in the face of the EU (rather than their own government)?
Even those kind of thoroughly intelletual arguments - props to him for attempting to inject some reason into a debate that is basically about the view from the cave by the way - are still couched in an English exceptionalism frame of mind. As if only the British could be concerned about Sovereignty and Free Trade and all the other European countries are suffering a curious form of False Consciousness. Truly amazing.
A point well made. I have always thought, having spent quite a bit of time in France, that it would be amusing to see the reaction of a group of Frenchmen being told by a Brexit supporter that he was "not patriotic" because he is in favour of the EU!
No it isn't. It's the same patronising EU-twaddle dished out to the public for decades. 'Nothing to see here dear - you can still have your maypole dancing and warm beer and feel British dontcha know. Don't worry, we won't ban cups of tea!'.
There were profound constitutional and democratic issues with our membership of the EU. These were not imagined - they were written down in laws ffs. If other countries don't feel the same, that's fine, we're not responsible for those countries. As for 'English' exceptionalism, various other parts of Europe have been content to live under a wide variety of less than democratic systems within living memory - that isn't imagined either. So it hardly seems like a vicious calumny to suggest that 'sovereignty and free trade' do not rate quite as highly on the priority list of some citizens on the continent as they do here. God forbid we might actually have the right idea about something.
Exactly, anotherextory is essentially saying anyone who argues free trade, economic and policy flexibility, subsidiarity, or greater democratic connection is, in fact, simply hiding behind grand words to cover up their racism, and in fact that no-one could honestly have come to a pro-Brexit decision based solely on those legitimate considerations.
They are fantasy considerations.
It is your right to believe that is the case, and mine to believe otherwise. Is that the definition of a racist now - someone who believes something you don't?
It is arguably racist to hitch yourself to a movement which was avowedly anti-foreigner in a desire to see some fantasy benefits from leaving a club we decided to join and then decided to leave. This latter, of course, giving the obvious lie to any charge that we were not sovereign.
LOL. Ye stretch and twist so much as to render your words, and the term racist, meaningless. Just admit it, good people can disagree.
I will put you down as a high-falutin' Brexiter. One who bemoans daily that we couldn't lower VAT on home energy, and bewails the whole idea of Droite de Suite.
For many, many Brexiters, however, it was about foreigners. The main figurehead of your effort, Big Nige, illustrated this perfectly when he stood in front of his poster. All FAMs of dusky appearance. Not a Polish Plumber or Portugese nurse amongst them. That was racist.
Nigel was arguably the biggest influence of the whole leave campaign.
Absolutely true, not every Brexiter was a racist, but I would bet that every racist was a Brexiter.
Nige had nothing to do with any effort I supported. Nige is a racist bigot and I can't stand him.
Johnson was the main figurehead of Vote Leave and I like him.
The point surely is that it doesn't matter who the figurehead is? The figurehead for Brexit could have been a naked Alex Salmond; it still wouldn't have made me think twice about voting for something that I had decided was the right thing to do. You look at the facts, and you decide the best course of action. Everything else is just silly window-dressing.
It's an interesting view. Shall we go Godwin at this point?
It's not an interesting view, it's the only view. We don't need to imagine Hitler's side on the Brexit debate - he was after all actively attempting to unite Europe (and indeed Britain within it) for much of his career. However, since you ask, if someone as morally bankrupt as Hitler, for whatever motivations he had, supported Brexit, it wouldn't have made me vote to Remain. Any more than it would stop anyone (or many people) being vegetarian, buying a Mercedes, or having a side parting.
Remain in my sincerely held, long held, and extensively researched opinion, was the wrong choice. So it would be wrong to be bounced into that wrong choice by unsavoury people, for whatever reason, supporting the right choice. Or indeed by beautiful, wonderful, saintly, clever people supporting the wrong choice.
Well as you kindly went there...so nothing to question his moral, intellectual code then? An awful person who had a moment of clarity about something you happen to agree with. Isn't it much more likely that such a person would be just about wrong in anything they believe, especially something of import?
I mean he was a vegetarian, for god's sake.
Nobody could be wrong all the time. New information can shift my view (quite easily if the information is important). Someone siding with me or not siding with me, cannot.
This comes back to the 'because someone is vile, everything he/she does and thinks is vile, regardless, and all who side with them on any issue are, by definition, vile." So intellectually lazy.
Mussolini is vile. He wants to make the trains run on time. Making trains is now by definition vile. And so is everyone who wants trains to run on time.
Losing all nuance and thus rendering the argument null and void. The question is as follows -
If you discover that a political position you support is also supported by vast numbers of people whose views on most things you find abhorent, does this give you pause for thought and is it a matter of concern?
Saddening and a little surprising to hear that. Technical solutions are not that difficult. My sister (60) has been suffering from multiple sclerosis for more than 25 years, by now in the final stages, completely paralysed. She spent February in hospital. After the first Covid cases were identified in her old care home and the first death of a hospital transferal was registered, we found a new care home for her near Lüneburg in Lower Saxony.
That care home was completely quarantined for about six weeks. For more than a month now there has been a visitor scheme in place. You can enter through a side entrance and access two designated visitor rooms through a hallway, both rooms are divided within by a plexiglass screen (wall to wall, and floor to ceiling, sealed off airtight with silicon around the edges), microphones and loudspeakers installed to enable verbal communication. Visitors have zero contact with the staff. The rooms, the hallway and the entrance are desinfected after every set of visitors. You have to make an appointment a week ahead and the visiting time is restricted to 30 mins, once a week (they can only offer 8 spots before noon and 10 after noon), but it's better than nothing. They were relatively late, her former care home in Hamburg had that scheme running a couple of weeks earlier. The installation itself shouldn't take long, maybe a day or two. As far as I know this is now basically the standard in German care homes.
This is the government that is supposed to be guiding us safely through a global pandemic, nailing a superb Brexit trade deal with the EU and levelling up opportunity across the country. What are the chances?
Of everything going well or of all items being grade A clusterf**ks.
Americans might not like Trump, but they'll back the military and law enforcement to the hilt. Biden has to play this one carefully as it's the Democrats that will be far more split than the GOP on this.
I'm honestly not sure how America goes back to normal from here.
If there was someone other than president dickbag in charge there would be plenty of ways to get this settled but there just seems to be no way out other than letting the riots burn out over the next couple of weeks and hoping some other racist cop doesn't step up and gun down an innocent black person.
Can anyone imagine what America is going to look like after another 4 years of Trump?
This is the first time I think Trump is losing the election. Loads of moderate voters who don't agree with the riots do agree with the protests. They can see the murder of a tax payer by a racist copper is just wrong and by not recognising that the president is throwing their votes away.
He needs to find a way to address the protesters and their real issues. Engage with them and put forwards reforms and harsh sentencing for officers who kill unarmed suspects or who's actions result in the death of suspects who are already subdued. In this instance the officer just needed to cuff the suspect, book him and then he'd be out in a few hours. Ideally th police would have enough training not to even bother this person and there would be sanctions for police who do the above.
Sadly I believe it could still go either way. I am actually quite nervous about what Trump will actually do between now and November, particularly if he remains behind in the polls and has nothing to lose.
It’s perfectly possible Trump still wins.
How the Democrats campaign will be crucial to that, as he is a daemon created as a reaction to their own overreaction.
Nobody is to blame for Trump other Trump. If Americans are stupid enough to re-elect him they deserve everything that's coming to them.
I've been to New York loads on business in the last ten years and its just New York. I went twice a year under Obama, and then under Trump. Very little difference.
Maybe a bit busier, noisier and more affluent under Trump. But essentially the same.
People's hatred of Trump clouds their judgement I think. The constitution, the courts, the judiciary and Congress constrain the president. As they are meant to.
all this talk about dictatorship is the most outrageous rubbish going. It really is the stuff of thirteen year olds. Grow up.
Who was talking about dictatorship? I certainly wasn't.
My judgement of Trump is not clouded by hatred for him it is a perfectly clear judgement based on everything he has done and said over the last 4 years. He's a moron and he proves that point on an almost daily basis. Please, go ahead and support him by all means
I neither support nor hate Donald Trump, my point is simply that he's far more like every other president out there than most think.
He's methods are very unorthodox, true, but if you look in real terms at laws passed and decisions made, its pretty much par for the course.
I disagree, for three reasons.
Firstly, there is the erosion of the American political system and the extension of Presidential power. Presidents get to issue Executive Orders. But historically the limits of those orders have been pretty narrow: things over which the Executive has power, as bounded by the constitution and by the laws enacted by Congress.
President Trump, as in the case of the repeal of Section 230, has essentially rode roughshod over this. He is repealing part of an Act of Congress by Presidential decree. His lawyers will have told him this is unconstitutional, and will inevitably end up being overthrown by the Supreme Court.
But that's OK. Because until the case gets there in 2021 or 2020, he's effectively changed the law. This is incredibly pernicious. It makes the votes for Congressmen and Senators even more worthless than now.
Secondly, there is his disregard for truth. Many politicians disassemble and - from time-to-time - lie. There are exceptions, honourable people like Mrs Thatcher for example (or - for that matter - Jim Callaghan).
But by and large, Politicians will say whatever they think they can get away with without directly lying. Look at Clinton. He lied over Monica Lewinski. But he went to extraordinary lengths to avoid direct lying. Indeed, his "I did not have sexual relations with that women" line was after his lawyer sent a letter to the House Judiciary Committee outlining what sexual relations was and was not. Lying? Effectively, sure. But at the same time, he did not have complete disregard for the truth.
President Trump is not like that. From his ridiculous boasting about how doctors are amazed by how much he understands, to his birtherism, he cares not one jot for the truth. He says what will minimise the trouble he is in right now.
Thirdly, there is his behaviour. The President of the United States is President of the whole United States. He is not President of who voted for him.
And he needs to accept that with that comes scrutiny. And yes, a lot of that scrutiny will come from the Left wing press.
But Obama and his Press Secretary accepted questions from Fox News. They did not accuse Fox News of treason when Fox news ran commentators who spread the birther story.
In all these ways, President Trump has made the US, in little ways, a little worse.
Well said. Nodding all the way until the use of "little" right at the end there.
Oh girls, girls really.
I'm sorry but its almost like I'm in a political version of 'from Ladette to Lady' with Marjorie RCS in charge of the Acme school of Presidential etiquette.
all this stuff is worse than the Bay of Pigs? Worse than trying to overthrow the government of Cuba?
Worse than Iran Contra?
Worse than Watergate, bugging the headquarters of your main political opponents?
Worse than Vietnam, worse than Napalm and the deaths of countless civilians?
And what about the enormous lies the American people must have been told about all of these escapades, never mind Iraq.
Trump doesn't lie more than other presidents, its just he's rubbish at it. Why? he's not a politician. That's why he's there.
I have to say, contrarian, you live up to your name and bring great value to this site.
On some levels, I agree with you. Trump is where he is because he is willing to name problems that other politicians won't. He is crap at solutions, and it doesn't mean he names all problems (or even names all the ones he names correctly), and he only mode is partisan division, right/wrong, win/lose. Zero nuance.
Where I part company with you, and agree with Robert, is that quite apart from the unorthodox approaches he takes in presentational terms, he is steadily eroding the institutions, conventions, and checks and balances that make/made all those responsible for those grand political disasters you mention accountable. I have to wonder just how Barr would proceed if Watergate Trump version were to happen during this election season.
Thanks for giving me a fair hearing Mr Tim.
I suppose I would argue that some of those institutions had a hand in undermining themselves. But I guess, its a very complex story,that one.
They're certainly getting hoisted by their own petards, after chucking all the home testing kits out the door to make the 100k number at the end of April. Having said that, this makes very little difference to overall test numbers in the long run.
Testing numbers and capacity are basically solved problems - we're doing more than Germany and Italy put together, one of the highest per capita in the world. The issue now is using that facility more efficiently, and on that side we've got a lot to improve and learn from others.
Re header: Mike has the post as by "fishing" whereas it should read "Stocky".
Ah - well thank you for the piece. As per my question. What are the rules of leaving care homes? Is it impractical for your mother?
I presume that the resident can leave in theory, my sister and I have power of attorney (health). However, it is not possible due to my mother`s health. She is very infirm and prone to passing out - so is what they term as a "falls risk". List of medication as long as your arm as well.
It's worth remembering that some staff - and certainly Doctors - have wide latitude outside your Power of Attorney.
My mum had a DNR notice put on her without consultation, as a medical judgement. This was last autumn.
@Stocky - Commiserations, it's a very difficult situation with no easy answers. As was pointed out upthread, if a Care Home was to relax contact, then got a COVID epidemic (quite possibly through another route) then there would be hell to pay.
What I cannot understand is why the government have a strict ‘no visitors’ rule yet seem to be knowingly and deliberately releasing patients with CV19 back to care homes. I hate to think it but I wonder if they are afraid families might notice and kick up a huge fuss?
I'm honestly not sure how America goes back to normal from here.
If there was someone other than president dickbag in charge there would be plenty of ways to get this settled but there just seems to be no way out other than letting the riots burn out over the next couple of weeks and hoping some other racist cop doesn't step up and gun down an innocent black person.
Can anyone imagine what America is going to look like after another 4 years of Trump?
This is the first time I think Trump is losing the election. Loads of moderate voters who don't agree with the riots do agree with the protests. They can see the murder of a tax payer by a racist copper is just wrong and by not recognising that the president is throwing their votes away.
He needs to find a way to address the protesters and their real issues. Engage with them and put forwards reforms and harsh sentencing for officers who kill unarmed suspects or who's actions result in the death of suspects who are already subdued. In this instance the officer just needed to cuff the suspect, book him and then he'd be out in a few hours. Ideally th police would have enough training not to even bother this person and there would be sanctions for police who do the above.
Sadly I believe it could still go either way. I am actually quite nervous about what Trump will actually do between now and November, particularly if he remains behind in the polls and has nothing to lose.
It’s perfectly possible Trump still wins.
How the Democrats campaign will be crucial to that, as he is a daemon created as a reaction to their own overreaction.
Nobody is to blame for Trump other Trump. If Americans are stupid enough to re-elect him they deserve everything that's coming to them.
I've been to New York loads on business in the last ten years and its just New York. I went twice a year under Obama, and then under Trump. Very little difference.
Maybe a bit busier, noisier and more affluent under Trump. But essentially the same.
People's hatred of Trump clouds their judgement I think. The constitution, the courts, the judiciary and Congress constrain the president. As they are meant to.
all this talk about dictatorship is the most outrageous rubbish going. It really is the stuff of thirteen year olds. Grow up.
Who was talking about dictatorship? I certainly wasn't.
My judgement of Trump is not clouded by hatred for him it is a perfectly clear judgement based on everything he has done and said over the last 4 years. He's a moron and he proves that point on an almost daily basis. Please, go ahead and support him by all means
I neither support nor hate Donald Trump, my point is simply that he's far more like every other president out there than most think.
He's methods are very unorthodox, true, but if you look in real terms at laws passed and decisions made, its pretty much par for the course.
I disagree, for three reasons.
Firstly, there is the erosion of the American political system and the extension of Presidential power. Presidents get to issue Executive Orders. But historically the limits of those orders have been pretty narrow: things over which the Executive has power, as bounded by the constitution and by the laws enacted by Congress.
President Trump, as in the case of the repeal of Section 230, has essentially rode roughshod over this. He is repealing part of an Act of Congress by Presidential decree. His lawyers will have told him this is unconstitutional, and will inevitably end up being overthrown by the Supreme Court.
But that's OK. Because until the case gets there in 2021 or 2020, he's effectively changed the law. This is incredibly pernicious. It makes the votes for Congressmen and Senators even more worthless than now.
Secondly, there is his disregard for truth. Many politicians disassemble and - from time-to-time - lie. There are exceptions, honourable people like Mrs Thatcher for example (or - for that matter - Jim Callaghan).
But by and large, Politicians will say whatever they think they can get away with without directly lying. Look at Clinton. He lied over Monica Lewinski. But he went to extraordinary lengths to avoid direct lying. Indeed, his "I did not have sexual relations with that women" line was after his lawyer sent a letter to the House Judiciary Committee outlining what sexual relations was and was not. Lying? Effectively, sure. But at the same time, he did not have complete disregard for the truth.
President Trump is not like that. From his ridiculous boasting about how doctors are amazed by how much he understands, to his birtherism, he cares not one jot for the truth. He says what will minimise the trouble he is in right now.
Thirdly, there is his behaviour. The President of the United States is President of the whole United States. He is not President of who voted for him.
And he needs to accept that with that comes scrutiny. And yes, a lot of that scrutiny will come from the Left wing press.
But Obama and his Press Secretary accepted questions from Fox News. They did not accuse Fox News of treason when Fox news ran commentators who spread the birther story.
In all these ways, President Trump has made the US, in little ways, a little worse.
Well said. Nodding all the way until the use of "little" right at the end there.
Oh girls, girls really.
I'm sorry but its almost like I'm in a political version of 'from Ladette to Lady' with Marjorie RCS in charge of the Acme school of Presidential etiquette.
all this stuff is worse than the Bay of Pigs? Worse than trying to overthrow the government of Cuba?
Worse than Iran Contra?
Worse than Watergate, bugging the headquarters of your main political opponents?
Worse than Vietnam, worse than Napalm and the deaths of countless civilians?
And what about the enormous lies the American people must have been told about all of these escapades, never mind Iraq.
Trump doesn't lie more than other presidents, its just he's rubbish at it. Why? he's not a politician. That's why he's there.
You try so hard to sound like a seasoned "man of the world", don't you. It's quite sweet really.
Anyway, OK.
(i) Some bad things have happened in the last 60 years that he is not responsible for.
(ii) He is forever lying and getting caught.
I cannot disagree. But is this a solid platform for reelection?
@Stocky - Commiserations, it's a very difficult situation with no easy answers. As was pointed out upthread, if a Care Home was to relax contact, then got a COVID epidemic (quite possibly through another route) then there would be hell to pay.
Why has the people tested disappeared, I didn;t really care that it was often under 100,000 but the lack of any number there at all is a disturbing trend.
Yes, it's completely ridiculous that the government have stopped reporting people tested and have never reported in people recovered.
Perhaps because of the practical point of knowing when/wether recovered. The Scottish Gmt don't report people recovered either - though TRavelling Tabby makes an estimate from other figures. Tabby says
"The government isn’t currently telling us the number of active/recovered patients, probably because it would be a pain to bring everyone who has tested positive back in for a follow-up test. However, it is possible to make an estimate, as the majority of people will recover from the disease within 2 weeks.
I understand that this won’t be completely accurate, so please don’t quote the active / recovery numbers as fact, but they should still give us a good idea of where we currently stand!
To find the current number of active and recovered cases, I use the following methods:
Active cases = any new cases confirmed in the past 2 weeks – any new deaths in the past 2 weeks Recovered cases = total cases – active cases – total deaths"
After giving the header a good deal of thought, first up I'm glad I'm not in that position. I think Care Homes should be locked down far more (Including staff) than they are now though to prevent community -> Home or Home -> community transmission. I think though visitor restrictions must be maintained - certainly inside the care home no visitors should be allowed. Possibly in the garden at a 2 metre social distance ? Possibly. A difficult subject for everyone.
I'm honestly not sure how America goes back to normal from here.
If there was someone other than president dickbag in charge there would be plenty of ways to get this settled but there just seems to be no way out other than letting the riots burn out over the next couple of weeks and hoping some other racist cop doesn't step up and gun down an innocent black person.
Can anyone imagine what America is going to look like after another 4 years of Trump?
This is the first time I think Trump is losing the election. Loads of moderate voters who don't agree with the riots do agree with the protests. They can see the murder of a tax payer by a racist copper is just wrong and by not recognising that the president is throwing their votes away.
He needs to find a way to address the protesters and their real issues. Engage with them and put forwards reforms and harsh sentencing for officers who kill unarmed suspects or who's actions result in the death of suspects who are already subdued. In this instance the officer just needed to cuff the suspect, book him and then he'd be out in a few hours. Ideally th police would have enough training not to even bother this person and there would be sanctions for police who do the above.
Sadly I believe it could still go either way. I am actually quite nervous about what Trump will actually do between now and November, particularly if he remains behind in the polls and has nothing to lose.
It’s perfectly possible Trump still wins.
How the Democrats campaign will be crucial to that, as he is a daemon created as a reaction to their own overreaction.
Nobody is to blame for Trump other Trump. If Americans are stupid enough to re-elect him they deserve everything that's coming to them.
I've been to New York loads on business in the last ten years and its just New York. I went twice a year under Obama, and then under Trump. Very little difference.
Maybe a bit busier, noisier and more affluent under Trump. But essentially the same.
People's hatred of Trump clouds their judgement I think. The constitution, the courts, the judiciary and Congress constrain the president. As they are meant to.
all this talk about dictatorship is the most outrageous rubbish going. It really is the stuff of thirteen year olds. Grow up.
Who was talking about dictatorship? I certainly wasn't.
My judgement of Trump is not clouded by hatred for him it is a perfectly clear judgement based on everything he has done and said over the last 4 years. He's a moron and he proves that point on an almost daily basis. Please, go ahead and support him by all means
I neither support nor hate Donald Trump, my point is simply that he's far more like every other president out there than most think.
He's methods are very unorthodox, true, but if you look in real terms at laws passed and decisions made, its pretty much par for the course.
I disagree, for three reasons.
Firstly, there is the erosion of the American political system and the extension of Presidential power. Presidents get to issue Executive Orders. But historically the limits of those orders have been pretty narrow: things over which the Executive has power, as bounded by the constitution and by the laws enacted by Congress.
President Trump, as in the case of the repeal of Section 230, has essentially rode roughshod over this. He is repealing part of an Act of Congress by Presidential decree. His lawyers will have told him this is unconstitutional, and will inevitably end up being overthrown by the Supreme Court.
But that's OK. Because until the case gets there in 2021 or 2020, he's effectively changed the law. This is incredibly pernicious. It makes the votes for Congressmen and Senators even more worthless than now.
Secondly, there is his disregard for truth. Many politicians disassemble and - from time-to-time - lie. There are exceptions, honourable people like Mrs Thatcher for example (or - for that matter - Jim Callaghan).
But by and large, Politicians will say whatever they think they can get away with without directly lying. Look at Clinton. He lied over Monica Lewinski. But he went to extraordinary lengths to avoid direct lying. Indeed, his "I did not have sexual relations with that women" line was after his lawyer sent a letter to the House Judiciary Committee outlining what sexual relations was and was not. Lying? Effectively, sure. But at the same time, he did not have complete disregard for the truth.
President Trump is not like that. From his ridiculous boasting about how doctors are amazed by how much he understands, to his birtherism, he cares not one jot for the truth. He says what will minimise the trouble he is in right now.
Thirdly, there is his behaviour. The President of the United States is President of the whole United States. He is not President of who voted for him.
And he needs to accept that with that comes scrutiny. And yes, a lot of that scrutiny will come from the Left wing press.
But Obama and his Press Secretary accepted questions from Fox News. They did not accuse Fox News of treason when Fox news ran commentators who spread the birther story.
In all these ways, President Trump has made the US, in little ways, a little worse.
Well said. Nodding all the way until the use of "little" right at the end there.
Oh girls, girls really.
I'm sorry but its almost like I'm in a political version of 'from Ladette to Lady' with Marjorie RCS in charge of the Acme school of Presidential etiquette.
all this stuff is worse than the Bay of Pigs? Worse than trying to overthrow the government of Cuba?
Worse than Iran Contra?
Worse than Watergate, bugging the headquarters of your main political opponents?
Worse than Vietnam, worse than Napalm and the deaths of countless civilians?
And what about the enormous lies the American people must have been told about all of these escapades, never mind Iraq.
Trump doesn't lie more than other presidents, its just he's rubbish at it. Why? he's not a politician. That's why he's there.
You try so hard to sound like a seasoned "man of the world", don't you. It's quite sweet really.
Anyway, OK.
(i) Some bad things have happened in the last 60 years that he is not responsible for.
(ii) He is forever lying and getting caught.
I cannot disagree. But is this a solid platform for reelection?
Unfortunately, it is still within the realms of possibility.
You'd think that the government's never-ending quest to find new and interesting ways to humiliate the UK might have reached its pinnacle today with that utterly riciculous, anti-democratic vote in Pariament. But it will no doubt find new opportunities to make us look ridiculous. What an absolute shower they are.
This government comprises the cream of the Tory Brexiteers, the brightest and the best as it were. What were you expecting?
@Stocky - Commiserations, it's a very difficult situation with no easy answers. As was pointed out upthread, if a Care Home was to relax contact, then got a COVID epidemic (quite possibly through another route) then there would be hell to pay.
What I cannot understand is why the government have a strict ‘no visitors’ rule yet seem to be knowingly and deliberately releasing patients with CV19 back to care homes. I hate to think it but I wonder if they are afraid families might notice and kick up a huge fuss?
Do you know whether the prohibition is a matter of Law (ie Regulations) or Guidelines (ie Advice) ?
Thank-you for the piece.
That`s what I `m trying to find out. The care home manager says they are simply complying woth government rules. But is this true? Are they rules or guidelines? What law enforces this - trumping human rights legislation as pointed out by NigelB earlier?
Does that hold as true with the Tories new "red wall" and north Wales seats I wonder?
If there are 8 Welsh seats lost it looks likely 3 will be in North Wales and 2 in Central and West. They are the smaller ones in general. Remaining 3 in Glamorgan and Gwent. So less bad for Labour than on first viewing.
30k antibody tests today, plus near 6k for the ONS and other surveillance programs.
At this rate, maybe suggests they're planning antibody tests for the entire NHS before opening it up - anyone know?
I believe that the plan its to test all NHS frontline staff in the first cohort. I'm not sure if other essential careers - such as care home staff - are in that first cohort, or come next.
I didn't realise previously ministers had power to amend the final recommendations, but no longer.
Interestingly, the Commission will be allowed to take account of 'prospetive' local government boundaries and not just those in effect on the review date to give more flexibility to coincide them (I know of at least one unitary seat at present split between three parliamentary constituencies)
Does that hold as true with the Tories new "red wall" and north Wales seats I wonder?
If there are 8 Welsh seats lost it looks likely 3 will be in North Wales and 2 in Central and West. They are the smaller ones in general. Remaining 3 in Glamorgan and Gwent. So less bad for Labour than on first viewing.
That’s interesting, because on the original proposals to cut Wales to 28 it was the valleys - and therefore Labour - that took a pounding.
On the return to in person voting for the House of Commons: my assumption is that JRM does not want a situation to develop where electronic voting is seen as normal, and it becomes even harder to go back. I’m not saying this is a good reason (though, to play devil’s advocate, it would be much easier to hack electronic voting, and probably easier to vote the wrong way by mistake), but I think it may a plausible one for JRM to have in mind.
But the request (2) is allowed under 7(1)(a). Clearly however it is not allowed by the guidance (of which there now seems to be mountains).
I think it is inevitable that the people running the homes are going to be governed by the precautionary principle.
Well, we now know, thanks to the attorney general and Dominic Cummings between them, that the guidelines can simply be ignored. Just say ‘my elderly relative needs an eye test.’
However, whether insurers see it quite the same way is another matter.
But the request (2) is allowed under 7(1)(a). Clearly however it is not allowed by the guidance (of which there now seems to be mountains).
I think it is inevitable that the people running the homes are going to be governed by the precautionary principle.
No - that`s not good enough. They are a private company stopping family from seeing each other.
Yeah, because if people get sick and die in the care home (particularly ones who didn't choose to see their relatives), then the care home will get sued by the family of the bereaved and will go out of business.
30k antibody tests today, plus near 6k for the ONS and other surveillance programs.
At this rate, maybe suggests they're planning antibody tests for the entire NHS before opening it up - anyone know?
I found myself in hospital yesterday and most of the staff I talked to seemed to have had an antibody test. I’m not suggesting most staff have had it yet as it would make sense to test the patient facing staff first.
A question for a friend. Does anyone have a working email address for Liz Truss? Her parliament.mp one doesn't appear to be working.
Try eatdomesticcheeseyoudisgraces@hottymail.com
Fwiw she will have separate addresses for her MP work and for her SoS work. [fx google] And (from her website) her Minister for Women role. Addresses and phone numbers are listed on: https://www.elizabethtruss.com/contact
Other than that, is she active on any of the social media platforms (as opposed to having a furloughed intern updating her twitter account once a week with whatever CCHQ sends round)?
This actually looks pretty reasonable to me. The East will undoubtedly be good for the Tories. I am less certain that the same will apply to the SE and SW. Wales might be interesting.
Does that hold as true with the Tories new "red wall" and north Wales seats I wonder?
If there are 8 Welsh seats lost it looks likely 3 will be in North Wales and 2 in Central and West. They are the smaller ones in general. Remaining 3 in Glamorgan and Gwent. So less bad for Labour than on first viewing.
That’s interesting, because on the original proposals to cut Wales to 28 it was the valleys - and therefore Labour - that took a pounding.
Just a quick and rough adding up of the 2019 electorates and dividing them. I may have got it wrong, but that's the obvious division as I see it.
I'm honestly not sure how America goes back to normal from here.
If there was someone other than president dickbag in charge there would be plenty of ways to get this settled but there just seems to be no way out other than letting the riots burn out over the next couple of weeks and hoping some other racist cop doesn't step up and gun down an innocent black person.
Can anyone imagine what America is going to look like after another 4 years of Trump?
This is the first time I think Trump is losing the election. Loads of moderate voters who don't agree with the riots do agree with the protests. They can see the murder of a tax payer by a racist copper is just wrong and by not recognising that the president is throwing their votes away.
He needs to find a way to address the protesters and their real issues. Engage with them and put forwards reforms and harsh sentencing for officers who kill unarmed suspects or who's actions result in the death of suspects who are already subdued. In this instance the officer just needed to cuff the suspect, book him and then he'd be out in a few hours. Ideally th police would have enough training not to even bother this person and there would be sanctions for police who do the above.
Sadly I believe it could still go either way. I am actually quite nervous about what Trump will actually do between now and November, particularly if he remains behind in the polls and has nothing to lose.
It’s perfectly possible Trump still wins.
How the Democrats campaign will be crucial to that, as he is a daemon created as a reaction to their own overreaction.
Nobody is to blame for Trump other Trump. If Americans are stupid enough to re-elect him they deserve everything that's coming to them.
I've been to New York loads on business in the last ten years and its just New York. I went twice a year under Obama, and then under Trump. Very little difference.
Maybe a bit busier, noisier and more affluent under Trump. But essentially the same.
People's hatred of Trump clouds their judgement I think. The constitution, the courts, the judiciary and Congress constrain the president. As they are meant to.
all this talk about dictatorship is the most outrageous rubbish going. It really is the stuff of thirteen year olds. Grow up.
Who was talking about dictatorship? I certainly wasn't.
My judgement of Trump is not clouded by hatred for him it is a perfectly clear judgement based on everything he has done and said over the last 4 years. He's a moron and he proves that point on an almost daily basis. Please, go ahead and support him by all means
I neither support nor hate Donald Trump, my point is simply that he's far more like every other president out there than most think.
He's methods are very unorthodox, true, but if you look in real terms at laws passed and decisions made, its pretty much par for the course.
I disagree, for three reasons.
Firstly, there is the erosion of the American political system and the extension of Presidential power. Presidents get to issue Executive Orders. But historically the limits of those orders have been pretty narrow: things over which the Executive has power, as bounded by the constitution and by the laws enacted by Congress.
President Trump, as in the case of the repeal of Section 230, has essentially rode roughshod over this. He is repealing part of an Act of Congress by Presidential decree. His lawyers will have told him this is unconstitutional, and will inevitably end up being overthrown by the Supreme Court.
But that's OK. Because until the case gets there in 2021 or 2020, he's effectively changed the law. This is incredibly pernicious. It makes the votes for Congressmen and Senators even more worthless than now.
Secondly, there is his disregard for truth. Many politicians disassemble and - from time-to-time - lie. There are exceptions, honourable people like Mrs Thatcher for example (or - for that matter - Jim Callaghan).
But by and large, Politicians will say whatever they think they can get away with without directly lying. Look at Clinton. He lied over Monica Lewinski. But he went to extraordinary lengths to avoid direct lying. Indeed, his "I did not have sexual relations with that women" line was after his lawyer sent a letter to the House Judiciary Committee outlining what sexual relations was and was not. Lying? Effectively, sure. But at the same time, he did not have complete disregard for the truth.
President Trump is not like that. From his ridiculous boasting about how doctors are amazed by how much he understands, to his birtherism, he cares not one jot for the truth. He says what will minimise the trouble he is in right now.
Thirdly, there is his behaviour. The President of the United States is President of the whole United States. He is not President of who voted for him.
And he needs to accept that with that comes scrutiny. And yes, a lot of that scrutiny will come from the Left wing press.
But Obama and his Press Secretary accepted questions from Fox News. They did not accuse Fox News of treason when Fox news ran commentators who spread the birther story.
In all these ways, President Trump has made the US, in little ways, a little worse.
Well said. Nodding all the way until the use of "little" right at the end there.
Oh girls, girls really.
I'm sorry but its almost like I'm in a political version of 'from Ladette to Lady' with Marjorie RCS in charge of the Acme school of Presidential etiquette.
all this stuff is worse than the Bay of Pigs? Worse than trying to overthrow the government of Cuba?
Worse than Iran Contra?
Worse than Watergate, bugging the headquarters of your main political opponents?
Worse than Vietnam, worse than Napalm and the deaths of countless civilians?
And what about the enormous lies the American people must have been told about all of these escapades, never mind Iraq.
Trump doesn't lie more than other presidents, its just he's rubbish at it. Why? he's not a politician. That's why he's there.
You try so hard to sound like a seasoned "man of the world", don't you. It's quite sweet really.
Anyway, OK.
(i) Some bad things have happened in the last 60 years that he is not responsible for.
(ii) He is forever lying and getting caught.
I cannot disagree. But is this a solid platform for reelection?
Unfortunately, it is still within the realms of possibility.
Yes I grant you that. It is possible.
But laying him at current prices is imo spectacular value.
This actually looks pretty reasonable to me. The East will undoubtedly be good for the Tories. I am less certain that the same will apply to the SE and SW. Wales might be interesting.
When I looked at the previous boundary proposals, I calculated it would have fallen thus at the last election:
Labour 14 (-8) Tory 12 (-2) Plaid 2 (-2)
But the probability brackets were roughly Labour 11-15, Tory 10-14, Plaid 2-4.
One thing to remember as well is that even if this review doesn’t hammer them quite as badly as the previous one, is that the Valleys are less solidly Labour than they were. Newport is a place where the Tories have been making quiet progress for a long time.
But the request (2) is allowed under 7(1)(a). Clearly however it is not allowed by the guidance (of which there now seems to be mountains).
I think it is inevitable that the people running the homes are going to be governed by the precautionary principle.
No - that`s not good enough. They are a private company stopping family from seeing each other.
Yeah, because if people get sick and die in the care home (particularly ones who didn't choose to see their relatives), then the care home will get sued by the family of the bereaved and will go out of business.
They will undoubtedly fear consequences like that.
BTW 'stopping family from seeing each other' is a very good description of much of the law (Regulations) and guidance. One of the many reasons that the absence of parliamentary scrutiny is becoming a scandal.
What I cannot understand is why the government have a strict ‘no visitors’ rule yet seem to be knowingly and deliberately releasing patients with CV19 back to care homes. I hate to think it but I wonder if they are afraid families might notice and kick up a huge fuss?
They're not knowingly and deliberately doing that.
Some NHS Trusts were doing that until early April when it was banned but it was never policy to do that and has been totally banned for nearly two months already.
Does that hold as true with the Tories new "red wall" and north Wales seats I wonder?
Most of the red wall seats have undersized electorates AFAIK. Burnley, Blyth Valley, Sedgefield, Darlington for example all have well under 70,000 voters atm.
Three times now, senator Tom Cotton has publicly called for Trump to do something specific and envelope-moving and Trump has then done it: pull out of Iran agreement, blame China for Covid, threaten to quell riots in US cities using the federal army. That's enough for me to have placed a wager on Cotton winning the 2020 election (at decimal odds 1000) in five months' time. Five months!
Sorry I don't get it. Even if Trump is listening to this bloke and not anyone else saying the same things, how do you get from there to Cotton winning the election? As an aside, and maybe relevant to 2024, Wikipedia has a list of Trump administration jobs that Cotton has been passed over for.
Should something happen to Trump, Cotton would be a strong possible for the top Trumpism Forever candidate, and in scenarios where Trump was still alive and kicking and anybody cared what he said I could imagine him backing Cotton rather than Haley, Ryan, or Cruz. Cotton has been very visible too. That's all really. Even if his price should be 200, there's value in him at 1000.
There's got to be at least one black swan in the next five months, although for all anybody knows it might hand Trump a landslide, stop the election, or hand the presidency to someone who runs third party, rather than usher a new Republican candidate into the White House. I'm not in the "foregone conclusion it will be either Trump or Biden" camp.
But the request (2) is allowed under 7(1)(a). Clearly however it is not allowed by the guidance (of which there now seems to be mountains).
I think it is inevitable that the people running the homes are going to be governed by the precautionary principle.
No - that`s not good enough. They are a private company stopping family from seeing each other.
Yeah, because if people get sick and die in the care home (particularly ones who didn't choose to see their relatives), then the care home will get sued by the family of the bereaved and will go out of business.
Yes, I see that risk, but a private company`s concerns should not get anywhere near being able to trump basic civil liberties. There must surely be legislation that trumps all else and that is what I`m trying to establish.
I`m waiting for Helen Whately`s reply to my letter. I don`t have high hopes.
There's got to be at least one black swan in the next five months
What more black swans could there be on top of the impeachment of the President, a worldwide pandemic, an economic collapse, the implosion of China’s international position, the murder of a detainee sparking riots in US cities, and some of the hottest, driest weather ever recorded?
I think we’ve already had ample black swans for the entire decade. If that hasn’t dethroned Trump, nothing short an assassin’s bullet will.
Do you know whether the prohibition is a matter of Law (ie Regulations) or Guidelines (ie Advice) ?
Thank-you for the piece.
That`s what I `m trying to find out. The care home manager says they are simply complying woth government rules. But is this true? Are they rules or guidelines? What law enforces this - trumping human rights legislation as pointed out by NigelB earlier?
Does that hold as true with the Tories new "red wall" and north Wales seats I wonder?
If there are 8 Welsh seats lost it looks likely 3 will be in North Wales and 2 in Central and West. They are the smaller ones in general. Remaining 3 in Glamorgan and Gwent. So less bad for Labour than on first viewing.
That’s interesting, because on the original proposals to cut Wales to 28 it was the valleys - and therefore Labour - that took a pounding.
Just a quick and rough adding up of the 2019 electorates and dividing them. I may have got it wrong, but that's the obvious division as I see it.
When these proposals were first mooted, Wales was all red (as was Scotland) so the details did not matter very much from CCHQ's point of view. Now that the Conservatives have shown they can win seats in Wales, Scotland and the north, it is no longer that any change at all is a slam dunk for the blue team.
There's got to be at least one black swan in the next five months
What more black swans could there be on top of the impeachment of the President, a worldwide pandemic, an economic collapse, the implosion of China’s international position, the murder of a detainee sparking riots in US cities, and some of the hottest, driest weather ever recorded?
I think we’ve already had ample black swans for the entire decade. If that hasn’t dethroned Trump, nothing short an assassin’s bullet will.
It is in the nature of black swans that they cannot be conceived of in sharp resolution beforehand. (See Nassim Taleb.) But to answer your question there could be a far worse economic collapse, war with China (or Iran or Russia), one or more assassinations as you say, Trump could get Covid-19 (his inhalation during his address yesterday didn't seem tiptop), there could be terrorist attacks either with a high casualty figure or of especial gruesomeness, or upheaval following a US withdrawal from other international organisations than the WHO.
Comments
How on earth has it come to this
https://www.itv.com/news/granada/2020-06-02/hundreds-of-drivers-queue-as-mcdonalds-branches-reopen/
Just like we did.
If you discover that a political position you support is also supported by vast numbers of people whose views on most things you find abhorent, does this give you pause for thought and is it a matter of concern?
The answer (imo) is yes.
Saddening and a little surprising to hear that. Technical solutions are not that difficult.
My sister (60) has been suffering from multiple sclerosis for more than 25 years, by now in the final stages, completely paralysed. She spent February in hospital. After the first Covid cases were identified in her old care home and the first death of a hospital transferal was registered, we found a new care home for her near Lüneburg in Lower Saxony.
That care home was completely quarantined for about six weeks. For more than a month now there has been a visitor scheme in place. You can enter through a side entrance and access two designated visitor rooms through a hallway, both rooms are divided within by a plexiglass screen (wall to wall, and floor to ceiling, sealed off airtight with silicon around the edges), microphones and loudspeakers installed to enable verbal communication.
Visitors have zero contact with the staff. The rooms, the hallway and the entrance are desinfected after every set of visitors. You have to make an appointment a week ahead and the visiting time is restricted to 30 mins, once a week (they can only offer 8 spots before noon and 10 after noon), but it's better than nothing. They were relatively late, her former care home in Hamburg had that scheme running a couple of weeks earlier. The installation itself shouldn't take long, maybe a day or two. As far as I know this is now basically the standard in German care homes.
https://twitter.com/UKStatsAuth/status/1267743490932387841
My money is on the latter
https://twitter.com/YouGov/status/1267843460566003712?s=20
https://twitter.com/Politics_Polls/status/1267827279398268934?s=20
Biden has to play this one carefully as it's the Democrats that will be far more split than the GOP on this.
I suppose I would argue that some of those institutions had a hand in undermining themselves. But I guess, its a very complex story,that one.
>@contararian
>Who was talking about dictatorship? I certainly wasn't.
Well, the Guardian for one. This afternoon. And 'fascism'.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/jun/02/donald-trump-george-floyd-protests-military-threat
"Words of a dictator': Trump's threat to deploy military raises spectre of fascism"
One would hope it was one of their opinionators, but no - it's the Washington Bureau Chief. Quoting Kamala Harris and himself.
Review will be based on 2020 electorates (not yet known) but using 2019 as an estimate, main changes in seats are:
South East +7
East +4
South West +3
North East -3
Scotland -3
Wales -8
Looks as if bound to be good for Con.
https://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/CBP-8921/CBP-8921.pdf
Testing numbers and capacity are basically solved problems - we're doing more than Germany and Italy put together, one of the highest per capita in the world. The issue now is using that facility more efficiently, and on that side we've got a lot to improve and learn from others.
What about a 45-year old male?
My mum had a DNR notice put on her without consultation, as a medical judgement. This was last autumn.
I hope they listen.
What I cannot understand is why the government have a strict ‘no visitors’ rule yet seem to be knowingly and deliberately releasing patients with CV19 back to care homes. I hate to think it but I wonder if they are afraid families might notice and kick up a huge fuss?
Anyway, OK.
(i) Some bad things have happened in the last 60 years that he is not responsible for.
(ii) He is forever lying and getting caught.
I cannot disagree. But is this a solid platform for reelection?
*I like JRM, but I am not sure what he is driving at by this. To be fair I haven't seen his explanation.
"The government isn’t currently telling us the number of active/recovered patients, probably because it would be a pain to bring everyone who has tested positive back in for a follow-up test. However, it is possible to make an estimate, as the majority of people will recover from the disease within 2 weeks.
I understand that this won’t be completely accurate, so please don’t quote the active / recovery numbers as fact, but they should still give us a good idea of where we currently stand!
To find the current number of active and recovered cases, I use the following methods:
Active cases = any new cases confirmed in the past 2 weeks – any new deaths in the past 2 weeks
Recovered cases = total cases – active cases – total deaths"
https://www.travellingtabby.com/scotland-coronavirus-tracker
"China’s growing belligerence is only hurting itself
The Hong Kong security law speaks of a power whose main problem is loneliness.
By Jeremy Cliffe"
https://www.newstatesman.com/world/asia/2020/05/china-s-growing-belligerence-only-hurting-itself
Possibly in the garden at a 2 metre social distance ? Possibly. A difficult subject for everyone.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8379675/McDonalds-reopens-168-drive-thrus-TODAY-22-restaurants-starting-deliveries.html
But Scotland has 59 seats, not 57.
Do you know whether the prohibition is a matter of Law (ie Regulations) or Guidelines (ie Advice) ?
Thank-you for the piece.
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2020/jun/02/chris-whitty-vetoed-lowering-of-coronavirus-alert-level
https://twitter.com/yougov/status/1267843460566003712?s=21
One newspaper quoted 11m?? best of luck unwinding that puppy, Rishi.
Remaining 3 in Glamorgan and Gwent.
So less bad for Labour than on first viewing.
Interestingly, the Commission will be allowed to take account of 'prospetive' local government boundaries and not just those in effect on the review date to give more flexibility to coincide them (I know of at least one unitary seat at present split between three parliamentary constituencies)
http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2020/350/regulation/7
But the request (2) is allowed under 7(1)(a). Clearly however it is not allowed by the guidance (of which there now seems to be mountains).
I think it is inevitable that the people running the homes are going to be governed by the precautionary principle.
I’m not saying this is a good reason (though, to play devil’s advocate, it would be much easier to hack electronic voting, and probably easier to vote the wrong way by mistake), but I think it may a plausible one for JRM to have in mind.
However, whether insurers see it quite the same way is another matter.
I’m not suggesting most staff have had it yet as it would make sense to test the patient facing staff first.
https://www.elizabethtruss.com/contact
Other than that, is she active on any of the social media platforms (as opposed to having a furloughed intern updating her twitter account once a week with whatever CCHQ sends round)?
What they’ve found is similar to what the ONS reports every Tuesday.
But laying him at current prices is imo spectacular value.
Labour 14 (-8)
Tory 12 (-2)
Plaid 2 (-2)
But the probability brackets were roughly Labour 11-15, Tory 10-14, Plaid 2-4.
One thing to remember as well is that even if this review doesn’t hammer them quite as badly as the previous one, is that the Valleys are less solidly Labour than they were. Newport is a place where the Tories have been making quiet progress for a long time.
BTW 'stopping family from seeing each other' is a very good description of much of the law (Regulations) and guidance. One of the many reasons that the absence of parliamentary scrutiny is becoming a scandal.
Some NHS Trusts were doing that until early April when it was banned but it was never policy to do that and has been totally banned for nearly two months already.
There's got to be at least one black swan in the next five months, although for all anybody knows it might hand Trump a landslide, stop the election, or hand the presidency to someone who runs third party, rather than usher a new Republican candidate into the White House. I'm not in the "foregone conclusion it will be either Trump or Biden" camp.
I`m waiting for Helen Whately`s reply to my letter. I don`t have high hopes.
Are you still doing the Buddhism?
I think we’ve already had ample black swans for the entire decade. If that hasn’t dethroned Trump, nothing short an assassin’s bullet will.