Anyway, next year in March and April the government wants to send lots of strangers to peoples’ doors as part of the census. I know because a family member was asked if they would like to do this job.
Yes, really. In the middle of a pandemic, halfway through a vaccination programme (if all goes well) we are meant to open our doors to strangers and those working on this are supposed to put themselves at risk.
WTAF?!
They can knock on the door and then step back 8-10 feet before it is opened, if they need to do it in person as will be the case to a degree. Among other precautions I am sure they can take.
Censuses are important so the risk ratio must reflect that, and the difficulties not insurmountable. This is exactly the kind of unreasonable criticism that undermines the valid criticism elsewhere on procurement and so on. What criticism might afford to the idea is not in 'WTAF' territory.
Why not wait until after the vaccination programme? Rather than have people shouting at householders from 8 - 10 feet away.
Which got a bit of a WTAF reaction from me, though it did make me laugh too. So thank you.
Perhaps it can wait, but I think the key is it need not necessarily be particularly risky either.
Mr. Urquhart, I remember hearing about that being a way for bands to make some actual money. An avenue, alas, not really open to authors, who also have a saturated market and the perfect product for piracy.
As an aside, if anyone wants to buy any of my books...
Has the govt updated their view that there are only planning to vaccinate over 50s, medics and vulnerable?
Isnt that still the official JCVI policy, even if inevitably it will be offered to all at some point? How can be businesses consider making vaccines mandatory when the govt hasnt committed to offering it to all?
I think they've got a priority list for the vulnerable/over 50s - they just haven't got round to a priority list for those under 50 yet.
Why would they be ordering 100m+ doses if the plan wasn't for widespread vaccination?
LDs only double the Gammon? They don't deserve that.
It seems the Greens have now overtaken the LDs as the third party in London on a left of Starmer Labour platform and Farage's Party are on the verge of overtaking them in the rest of the country on an anti lockdown and anti tiers platform
Of course the Greens pipped the LDs to third last time too, but after 4 years to still not recover after having recovered a few parliamentary seats in the capital must be very disappointing indeed.
Inmy rural shire in 2017 the Greens quintupled their candidate numbers but still got nowhere, it being Con or LD as the real options in most places, but it'll be interesting if the Greens make a big effort.
You'd have thought if you're arguing to SCOTUS that you want to exclude any 'illegal' immigrants from the census they either i) Wouldn't be counted in the first place ii) Be identifiable
Almost unbelievably it seems they are both counted and won't be identifiable. Which rather raises the question of why the Trump admin is asking SCOTUS the question.
LDs only double the Gammon? They don't deserve that.
It seems the Greens have now overtaken the LDs as the third party in London on a left of Starmer Labour platform and Farage's Party are on the verge of overtaking them in the rest of the country on an anti lockdown and anti tiers platform
Of course the Greens pipped the LDs to third last time too, but after 4 years to still not recover after having recovered a few parliamentary seats in the capital must be very disappointing indeed.
Inmy rural shire in 2017 the Greens quintupled their candidate numbers but still got nowhere, it being Con or LD as the real options in most places, but it'll be interesting if the Greens make a big effort.
The Greens now have 3 councillors in Epping Forest, 2 in Buckhurst Hill and 1 in Waltham Abbey the same number of councillors as the LDs.
The interview with Moore the other day painted a picture of an institution where departure from a set of established opinions on a range of issues is verboten at the Guardian. She contrasted it with her time at the Mail on Sunday, where the vast majority of the staff disagreed with her, but management made it clear her views would be defended as strongly as anybody else's and in reality most of the other staff pretty much said I disagree with your on x, but that's your opinion and I have mine, which is life.
Bari Weiss made similar claims about the NYT, although I think she thought it was the younger staff over running the older management there, who weren't as onboard with some of the ideas.
You'd have thought if you're arguing to SCOTUS that you want to exclude any 'illegal' immigrants from the census they either i) Wouldn't be counted in the first place ii) Be identifiable
Almost unbelievably it seems they are both counted and won't be identifiable. Which rather raises the question of why the Trump admin is asking SCOTUS the question.
Are universal free school meals the best tool for tackling child poverty?
Could this money have been used more effectively to target child poverty? Probably. Would that be as much of a vote winner? Probably not......
Child poverty is a systemic and deep routed issue that has been prevalent in our society for too long. However, universal free school meals all year round are unlikely to be the most effective way of tackling this issue. A more thorough and evidence-based system of deciding how best to spend money, which we are regularly told by Scottish Ministers is in such short supply, to help those who need it most cannot be sacrificed in order for eye-catching policies at Conference however well-meaning they are
I said I would report back when I had the cause of death for my Uncle from the death certificate. Surprisingly it has been given as Covid 19 but with 4 contributing factors.
It does seem odd and has perplexed my Aunt (sister not wife) as he went into hospital very seriously ill and without Covid.
It is not quite as odd as someone being positive and then being hit by a bus and if Covid wasn't on the death certificate I would have been surprised, but prime cause of death?
My wife wasn't much help in explaining as she hasn't filled in a death certificate for decades and as she said she wasn't there.
Sorry for your loss.
I wonder how this is dealt with in normal circumstances? If someone in normal circumstances goes seriously ill into hospital, acquires MRSA while hospitalised and dies with it, I wonder if the death certificate would name MRSA or the reason they were hospitalised in the first place?
The immediate cause of death would be recorded first, so perhaps "MRSA* Septicaemia" with the cause of admission as an underlying factor.
So if hospital acquired Covid-19 was the immediate cause of death, then it should be recorded first. I think the ONS stats include both those where it is recorded first or as an underlying cause. For example could record as immediate cause of death as Acute Renal Failure, with Covid-19 as the underlying cause.
*incidentally MRSA sepsis is very rare nowadays. I think my Trust had only a half dozen last year, compared to thousands a decade or so ago.
Thanks Foxy.
Interesting to hear that MRSA sepsis is so rare now. I know someone who had it a couple of years ago, only 'middle aged' and in fit condition and he was lucky to survive. Horrible disease. Good thing that it is so much rarer now, that is a good achievement.
Why do you think that is? It is because of cleaner hospitals now? People laughed at Howard's "cleaner hospitals" pledge in 2005 I recall.
Anyway, next year in March and April the government wants to send lots of strangers to peoples’ doors as part of the census. I know because a family member was asked if they would like to do this job.
Yes, really. In the middle of a pandemic, halfway through a vaccination programme (if all goes well) we are meant to open our doors to strangers and those working on this are supposed to put themselves at risk.
WTAF?!
They can knock on the door and then step back 8-10 feet before it is opened, if they need to do it in person as will be the case to a degree. Among other precautions I am sure they can take.
Censuses are important so the risk ratio must reflect that, and the difficulties not insurmountable. This is exactly the kind of unreasonable criticism that undermines the valid criticism elsewhere on procurement and so on. What criticism might afford to the idea is not in 'WTAF' territory.
Why not wait until after the vaccination programme? Rather than have people shouting at householders from 8 - 10 feet away.
Which got a bit of a WTAF reaction from me, though it did make me laugh too. So thank you.
Perhaps it can wait, but I think the key is it need not necessarily be particularly risky either.
Well, as someone who is at risk and who has been shielding since February I wouldn’t open my door to a total stranger to answer some impertinent questions about my sexuality or whatever it is they want to know these days.
If she thinks that I don't see why people in the UK cannot think the same thing. I don't agree with them, and yes the impacts on the two sides will be different, but if in principle no deal can be better than a deal then it hardly seems fair to regard anyone saying it as putting forth an insane proposition. Those advocating no deal above even a good deal would be something else.
- night clubs (will probably be 100% closed for a year) - pubs - high street retail
are different?
I mean this is the sense of exploring why we have different views of the value of each.
Down to their lobbying power I guess. Plus an attempt to save the high street (misguided in my view). And so much of our economy is based around buying tat at Xmas.
Plus everyone shops whereas not everyone goes to pubs or nightclubs.
And compensating retail would cost v much more.
The fact that retail can be done online whereas the others cannot does not appear to have entered Ministers’ heads.
I also suspect that there is some Puritanism about the demon drink plus the community / social aspects of pub life - especially in rural communities like mine - is simply not known about or valued. It’s not all drunken students falling out of pubs in cities. This John Harris article - https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/nov/29/britain-pubs-value - is very good on this.
The Harris piece is superb. I actually got a bit emotional. As he notes, maybe it's his/my generation and younger readers wont get the spiritual attachment to a community boozer.
1. There is someone called "Rita Ora". 2. She is a dickhead.
You need to get out more.
My daughters like Rita Ora.
My knowledge stops there.
I don't have daughters. That explains my ignorance in such matters.
I never think parading ones lack of knowledge as if it's a good thing is a good thing. Especially on a politics forum where an understanding of other peoples' hopes, fears, desires, music tastes, etc can aid analysis.
Starmer said he still had concerns about whether the tiered system would work any better than the one in place before the national lockdown, and whether there was enough support in place for areas under tougher rules.
Rolls eyes, good job we didn't go with his plan....
Been trying to remember who Starmer's voice reminds me of. Might be the guy from the Brittas Empire? If not him, some other pompous twat from not-very-good light comedy.
- night clubs (will probably be 100% closed for a year) - pubs - high street retail
are different?
I mean this is the sense of exploring why we have different views of the value of each.
Down to their lobbying power I guess. Plus an attempt to save the high street (misguided in my view). And so much of our economy is based around buying tat at Xmas.
Plus everyone shops whereas not everyone goes to pubs or nightclubs.
And compensating retail would cost v much more.
The fact that retail can be done online whereas the others cannot does not appear to have entered Ministers’ heads.
I also suspect that there is some Puritanism about the demon drink plus the community / social aspects of pub life - especially in rural communities like mine - is simply not known about or valued. It’s not all drunken students falling out of pubs in cities. This John Harris article - https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/nov/29/britain-pubs-value - is very good on this.
There is basically no effort being put into saving big retail at the moment - it is being allowed to collapse down to whatever floor will be found for the number of customers who want to physically shop.
Pubs are being supported - there, at least is some political interest in doing something.
Nightclubs - haven't heard anything for a while, apart from the odd please from an owner/promoted.
Ooh controversial.
Retail is being allowed to operate normally.
Pubs aren’t and such grants as there are go nowhere near covering fixed costs plus their staff are expected to live on 80% of their previous income.
The nearest wet led pub to where I live - an award-winning one - now has turnover of 8% of normal. Takeaway sales - 8%. It will close until restrictions are lifted. That’s the brutal reality.
The point I was making was that Big Retail and Nightclubs are heading for the chop (different reasons, maybe, but still). Without much of a political ripple.....
No MPs campaigning on save Arcadia. Or "Stickies" (for those of a certain age and knowing Abingdon)....
MPs may not be campaigning to save the Arcadian Group but protests for saving the Arcadian was a key plotline for How I Met Your Mother.
Anyway, next year in March and April the government wants to send lots of strangers to peoples’ doors as part of the census. I know because a family member was asked if they would like to do this job.
Yes, really. In the middle of a pandemic, halfway through a vaccination programme (if all goes well) we are meant to open our doors to strangers and those working on this are supposed to put themselves at risk.
WTAF?!
They can knock on the door and then step back 8-10 feet before it is opened, if they need to do it in person as will be the case to a degree. Among other precautions I am sure they can take.
Censuses are important so the risk ratio must reflect that, and the difficulties not insurmountable. This is exactly the kind of unreasonable criticism that undermines the valid criticism elsewhere on procurement and so on. What criticism might afford to the idea is not in 'WTAF' territory.
Why not wait until after the vaccination programme? Rather than have people shouting at householders from 8 - 10 feet away.
Which got a bit of a WTAF reaction from me, though it did make me laugh too. So thank you.
Perhaps it can wait, but I think the key is it need not necessarily be particularly risky either.
Well, as someone who is at risk and who has been shielding since February I wouldn’t open my door to a total stranger to answer some impertinent questions about my sexuality or whatever it is they want to know these days.
I don't ever recall interacting with a person when completing the UK census in previous years. We got and returned our forms by mail. The warm bodies are hired to follow up those who don't respond. Here in the US and A, we completed our census return online last year.
You'd have thought if you're arguing to SCOTUS that you want to exclude any 'illegal' immigrants from the census they either i) Wouldn't be counted in the first place ii) Be identifiable
Almost unbelievably it seems they are both counted and won't be identifiable. Which rather raises the question of why the Trump admin is asking SCOTUS the question.
1. There is someone called "Rita Ora". 2. She is a dickhead.
You need to get out more.
My daughters like Rita Ora.
My knowledge stops there.
I don't have daughters. That explains my ignorance in such matters.
I assume it`s not her real name? I`d like to think that she derived it from an anagram of arotria (a genus of moths).
Nope - totally is her real name. From Kosovo originally. I'd assumed not too...
Well she was actually born Rita Sahatçiu and her parents added Ora when they moved to the UK as Sahatçiu was deemed too hard to pronounce. Ora means "time" in Albanian.
1. There is someone called "Rita Ora". 2. She is a dickhead.
You need to get out more.
My daughters like Rita Ora.
My knowledge stops there.
I don't have daughters. That explains my ignorance in such matters.
I assume it`s not her real name? I`d like to think that she derived it from an anagram of arotria (a genus of moths).
It is her real name, she's from Kosovo.
Saw her live a few years ago at the Etihad Stadium, she was a warm up act for Coldplay and she was very good actually.
For the benefit of TSE it was also the only time I have ever seen the Etihad sold out.
No it isn't....
Well she was actually born Rita Sahatçiu and her parents added Ora when they moved to the UK as Sahatçiu was deemed too hard to pronounce. Ora means "time" in Albanian.
I said I would report back when I had the cause of death for my Uncle from the death certificate. Surprisingly it has been given as Covid 19 but with 4 contributing factors.
It does seem odd and has perplexed my Aunt (sister not wife) as he went into hospital very seriously ill and without Covid.
It is not quite as odd as someone being positive and then being hit by a bus and if Covid wasn't on the death certificate I would have been surprised, but prime cause of death?
My wife wasn't much help in explaining as she hasn't filled in a death certificate for decades and as she said she wasn't there.
Sorry for your loss.
I wonder how this is dealt with in normal circumstances? If someone in normal circumstances goes seriously ill into hospital, acquires MRSA while hospitalised and dies with it, I wonder if the death certificate would name MRSA or the reason they were hospitalised in the first place?
The immediate cause of death would be recorded first, so perhaps "MRSA* Septicaemia" with the cause of admission as an underlying factor.
So if hospital acquired Covid-19 was the immediate cause of death, then it should be recorded first. I think the ONS stats include both those where it is recorded first or as an underlying cause. For example could record as immediate cause of death as Acute Renal Failure, with Covid-19 as the underlying cause.
*incidentally MRSA sepsis is very rare nowadays. I think my Trust had only a half dozen last year, compared to thousands a decade or so ago.
What made the difference ? Was it simply better sterile protocols ?
1. There is someone called "Rita Ora". 2. She is a dickhead.
You need to get out more.
My daughters like Rita Ora.
My knowledge stops there.
I don't have daughters. That explains my ignorance in such matters.
I assume it`s not her real name? I`d like to think that she derived it from an anagram of arotria (a genus of moths).
It is her real name, she's from Kosovo.
Saw her live a few years ago at the Etihad Stadium, she was a warm up act for Coldplay and she was very good actually.
For the benefit of TSE it was also the only time I have ever seen the Etihad sold out.
No it isn't....
Well she was actually born Rita Sahatçiu and her parents added Ora when they moved to the UK as Sahatçiu was deemed too hard to pronounce. Ora means "time" in Albanian.
1. There is someone called "Rita Ora". 2. She is a dickhead.
You need to get out more.
My daughters like Rita Ora.
My knowledge stops there.
I don't have daughters. That explains my ignorance in such matters.
I assume it`s not her real name? I`d like to think that she derived it from an anagram of arotria (a genus of moths).
It is her real name, she's from Kosovo.
Saw her live a few years ago at the Etihad Stadium, she was a warm up act for Coldplay and she was very good actually.
For the benefit of TSE it was also the only time I have ever seen the Etihad sold out.
No it isn't....
Well she was actually born Rita Sahatçiu and her parents added Ora when they moved to the UK as Sahatçiu was deemed too hard to pronounce. Ora means "time" in Albanian.
Its still her real name, just because she wasn't born with it its still her real name. Her parents gave it to her and made it a part of her real name, it is not a stage name.
I think you'll find she's far from the only woman in the country whose full real name isn't their name they were given at birth. For one thing a significantly high proportion of married women have different names to their maiden name.
12155 new cases....Scotland only report 369. I presume their Excel spreadsheet has crashed?
Yep, "technical issue". The number for Wales seems on the low side as well, at 802 vs 892 last Monday, and substantial week-to-week rises in the last few days.
1. There is someone called "Rita Ora". 2. She is a dickhead.
You need to get out more.
My daughters like Rita Ora.
My knowledge stops there.
I don't have daughters. That explains my ignorance in such matters.
I assume it`s not her real name? I`d like to think that she derived it from an anagram of arotria (a genus of moths).
It's not her birth name, but Ora was also given to her by her parents. So not a 'stage name' either (I know, I know, your post was in humour)
On which topic what is the best real life rock star name? Jimi Hendrix? Suzi Quattro? Both sound made up but aren't. Then there is Steve Harley. Whose real name was Steve Nice. Which would have been super perfect had he been a punk.
1. There is someone called "Rita Ora". 2. She is a dickhead.
You need to get out more.
My daughters like Rita Ora.
My knowledge stops there.
I don't have daughters. That explains my ignorance in such matters.
I assume it`s not her real name? I`d like to think that she derived it from an anagram of arotria (a genus of moths).
It is her real name, she's from Kosovo.
Saw her live a few years ago at the Etihad Stadium, she was a warm up act for Coldplay and she was very good actually.
For the benefit of TSE it was also the only time I have ever seen the Etihad sold out.
No it isn't....
Well she was actually born Rita Sahatçiu and her parents added Ora when they moved to the UK as Sahatçiu was deemed too hard to pronounce. Ora means "time" in Albanian.
Its still her real name, just because she wasn't born with it its still her real name. Her parents gave it to her and made it a part of her real name, it is not a stage name.
I think you'll find she's far from the only woman in the country whose full real name isn't their name they were given at birth. For one thing a significantly high proportion of married women have different names to their maiden name.
Yes fair enough. I think my point was it isn't her birth name or one derived from marriage, it is one her parents made up because it sounds good in English (and has a meaning in their native language), so it shouldn't really be a shock that it sounds cool.
Mr. Urquhart, money made be selling music and merchandise?
Edited extra bit: by*.
Yes to merch, back in the day they used to hope to flog CDs or that it would encourage people to buy their album, but now with streaming, I think all it does it get people to stream 2-3 songs they like and because of the way most deals are organized via record company to the likes of Spotify, a small band gets square root of f##k all for 100,000 plays.
You only make money by having the tour or being such a massive artist that you can strong arm your record company into paying you a larger % of the streaming revenue.
I presumed (wrongly) at the very least they were getting a small percentage of the ticket price to perform as a support act on a tour, but apparently quite normal for that to not be the case.
It's almost like most professional musicians / actors / sportspeople are actually not very well paid at all.
1. There is someone called "Rita Ora". 2. She is a dickhead.
You need to get out more.
My daughters like Rita Ora.
My knowledge stops there.
I don't have daughters. That explains my ignorance in such matters.
I never think parading ones lack of knowledge as if it's a good thing is a good thing. Especially on a politics forum where an understanding of other peoples' hopes, fears, desires, music tastes, etc can aid analysis.
1. There is someone called "Rita Ora". 2. She is a dickhead.
You need to get out more.
My daughters like Rita Ora.
My knowledge stops there.
I don't have daughters. That explains my ignorance in such matters.
I assume it`s not her real name? I`d like to think that she derived it from an anagram of arotria (a genus of moths).
It's not her birth name, but Ora was also given to her by her parents. So not a 'stage name' either (I know, I know, your post was in humour)
On which topic what is the best real life rock star name? Jimi Hendrix? Suzi Quattro? Both sound made up but aren't. Then there is Steve Harley. Whose real name was Steve Nice. Which would have been super perfect had he been a punk.
Madonna probably. And that is Madonna's Christian name afaik.
Mr. Urquhart, money made be selling music and merchandise?
Edited extra bit: by*.
Yes to merch, back in the day they used to hope to flog CDs or that it would encourage people to buy their album, but now with streaming, I think all it does it get people to stream 2-3 songs they like and because of the way most deals are organized via record company to the likes of Spotify, a small band gets square root of f##k all for 100,000 plays.
You only make money by having the tour or being such a massive artist that you can strong arm your record company into paying you a larger % of the streaming revenue.
I presumed (wrongly) at the very least they were getting a small percentage of the ticket price to perform as a support act on a tour, but apparently quite normal for that to not be the case.
It's almost like most professional musicians / actors / sportspeople are actually not very well paid at all.
Well actually probably most aren't - on average though.
I said I would report back when I had the cause of death for my Uncle from the death certificate. Surprisingly it has been given as Covid 19 but with 4 contributing factors.
It does seem odd and has perplexed my Aunt (sister not wife) as he went into hospital very seriously ill and without Covid.
It is not quite as odd as someone being positive and then being hit by a bus and if Covid wasn't on the death certificate I would have been surprised, but prime cause of death?
My wife wasn't much help in explaining as she hasn't filled in a death certificate for decades and as she said she wasn't there.
Sorry for your loss.
I wonder how this is dealt with in normal circumstances? If someone in normal circumstances goes seriously ill into hospital, acquires MRSA while hospitalised and dies with it, I wonder if the death certificate would name MRSA or the reason they were hospitalised in the first place?
The immediate cause of death would be recorded first, so perhaps "MRSA* Septicaemia" with the cause of admission as an underlying factor.
So if hospital acquired Covid-19 was the immediate cause of death, then it should be recorded first. I think the ONS stats include both those where it is recorded first or as an underlying cause. For example could record as immediate cause of death as Acute Renal Failure, with Covid-19 as the underlying cause.
*incidentally MRSA sepsis is very rare nowadays. I think my Trust had only a half dozen last year, compared to thousands a decade or so ago.
What made the difference ? Was it simply better sterile protocols ?
Foxy, I'd also be interested in your take on what moved the needle. Pakistan (more accurately, Karachi) had a bad run of it a year or two ago.
Mr. Urquhart, money made be selling music and merchandise?
Edited extra bit: by*.
Yes to merch, back in the day they used to hope to flog CDs or that it would encourage people to buy their album, but now with streaming, I think all it does it get people to stream 2-3 songs they like and because of the way most deals are organized via record company to the likes of Spotify, a small band gets square root of f##k all for 100,000 plays.
You only make money by having the tour or being such a massive artist that you can strong arm your record company into paying you a larger % of the streaming revenue.
I presumed (wrongly) at the very least they were getting a small percentage of the ticket price to perform as a support act on a tour, but apparently quite normal for that to not be the case.
It's almost like most professional musicians / actors / sportspeople are actually not very well paid at all.
Well actually probably most aren't - on average though.
Definitely depends upon whether you use mean, median or mode average!
1. There is someone called "Rita Ora". 2. She is a dickhead.
You need to get out more.
My daughters like Rita Ora.
My knowledge stops there.
I don't have daughters. That explains my ignorance in such matters.
I never think parading ones lack of knowledge as if it's a good thing is a good thing. Especially on a politics forum where an understanding of other peoples' hopes, fears, desires, music tastes, etc can aid analysis.
Je suis Sandy! I had never heard of her either (though "Anywhere" sounds distinctly familiar).
1. There is someone called "Rita Ora". 2. She is a dickhead.
You need to get out more.
My daughters like Rita Ora.
My knowledge stops there.
I don't have daughters. That explains my ignorance in such matters.
I assume it`s not her real name? I`d like to think that she derived it from an anagram of arotria (a genus of moths).
It's not her birth name, but Ora was also given to her by her parents. So not a 'stage name' either (I know, I know, your post was in humour)
On which topic what is the best real life rock star name? Jimi Hendrix? Suzi Quattro? Both sound made up but aren't. Then there is Steve Harley. Whose real name was Steve Nice. Which would have been super perfect had he been a punk.
Madonna probably. And that is Madonna's Christian name afaik.
Yep. That's a good one. Suzanne Vega is perfect too for her slightly intellectual, post-hippy cosmic neo folk sound.
Mr. Urquhart, money made be selling music and merchandise?
Edited extra bit: by*.
Yes to merch, back in the day they used to hope to flog CDs or that it would encourage people to buy their album, but now with streaming, I think all it does it get people to stream 2-3 songs they like and because of the way most deals are organized via record company to the likes of Spotify, a small band gets square root of f##k all for 100,000 plays.
You only make money by having the tour or being such a massive artist that you can strong arm your record company into paying you a larger % of the streaming revenue.
I presumed (wrongly) at the very least they were getting a small percentage of the ticket price to perform as a support act on a tour, but apparently quite normal for that to not be the case.
It's almost like most professional musicians / actors / sportspeople are actually not very well paid at all.
Well actually probably most aren't - on average though.
Definitely depends upon whether you use mean, median or mode average!
Indeed. I'd suggest (well insist) that unless otherwise specified average tends to refer to the mean. (Arithmetic mean)
1. There is someone called "Rita Ora". 2. She is a dickhead.
You need to get out more.
My daughters like Rita Ora.
My knowledge stops there.
I don't have daughters. That explains my ignorance in such matters.
I never think parading ones lack of knowledge as if it's a good thing is a good thing. Especially on a politics forum where an understanding of other peoples' hopes, fears, desires, music tastes, etc can aid analysis.
Je suis Sandy! I had never heard of her either (though "Anywhere" sounds distinctly familiar).
Go on admit it - you are a popular culture vulture...
1. There is someone called "Rita Ora". 2. She is a dickhead.
You need to get out more.
My daughters like Rita Ora.
My knowledge stops there.
I don't have daughters. That explains my ignorance in such matters.
I assume it`s not her real name? I`d like to think that she derived it from an anagram of arotria (a genus of moths).
It's not her birth name, but Ora was also given to her by her parents. So not a 'stage name' either (I know, I know, your post was in humour)
On which topic what is the best real life rock star name? Jimi Hendrix? Suzi Quattro? Both sound made up but aren't. Then there is Steve Harley. Whose real name was Steve Nice. Which would have been super perfect had he been a punk.
Madonna probably. And that is Madonna's Christian name afaik.
Tbf there aren't many more Christian names than Madonna.
Most people in Britain were brought up in a country that offered the faint hope of justice. The police would investigate corruption, if only occasionally. Politicians would dodge and weave but avoid flat-out lies. Political parties had moral standards, however flexible, and if a minister disgraced himself or herself they could resign. Opposition politicians, journalists, satirists, charities and alliances of concerned citizens worked on the assumption that if they exposed wrongdoing there was a chance it would stop.
I don’t wish to romanticise the past. My small point is that we have not always been as shamefully governed as we are governed today. Countries change and not always for the better. Corruptions of public life in Britain that were once challenged now pass unpunished. The old codes that restrained the powerful have proved useless against politicians who say: “We can break them and no one can stop us.” Boris Johnson’s administration now lies as a matter of policy and a matter of course.
Boris is Trump. Both leaders have shown that what we thought were checks and balances, were not; that our constitutional and democratic conventions were just that, conventions. The only mitigating factor is neither Boris nor Trump is consistent or dogmatic, let alone evil, but this cannot be guaranteed of their successors.
“Rulers’ self-restraint is one of the most important – if less formal – ways by which governments control themselves. The belief that there are some limits, generally understood and shared despite political differences, beyond which you do not go because it is not the “done thing”, not the British way, not least because when you are out of power you don’t want to be on the receiving end. It is the “good chaps” theory of government. Coupled with that is a belief that even a democratic system requires checks and balances, that the system of government has a value which should be preserved and endure beyond the needs or desires of those in power at any one time.”
“The British conventions governing democracy and the consensus around them endure for as long as they are understood, believed and accepted. They become vulnerable, their weaknesses exposed when the reasons for them are forgotten or not valued or not understood. What if it is not “good chaps” who are elected? What if they are seen as stultifying by those impatient to effect change and willing to get rid of anything in their way? Or if checks and balances are simply described as obstruction and not seen as having any inherent value? Some do think that a government with a Parliamentary majority should be free to do whatever it wants and can get through Parliament: electoral might is right.”
Everything Cohen describes follows from the fact that we have people in power who think nothing should stand in their way, that, for instance, corruption is fine if done by an elected government or because it is an emergency or a necessity.
And of course the definition of “emergency” or “necessity” becomes ever wider until it becomes the norm and no-one even bothers to call it for what it is.
So if it becomes necessary to pay “middlemen” or “intermediaries” who happen to be the Minister’s neighbour or best friend or golf partner or whatever humongous sums of money to fly in Covid vaccines because the ports are blocked etc no- one will bat an eye lid and many will applaud. We have seen some of that on here already.
But in the real world the "middlemen" tasked with flying in the vaccines isn't "best friends" it is the military.
While for PPE 99.5% of PPE purchased has been consumable and there was a global shortage of availability. Those businesses that stepped into the gap and provided millions of items of PPE should be thanked not condemned.
We paid £12 billion for PPE worth £2 billion the year before. Clearly some people made massively inflated profits by this racketeering. An investigation of who, how authorised and how connected is perfectly fitting. While we are at it, looking at how depleted our pandemic stocks were prior to the outbreak could be usefully incorporated.
That's not profiteering, nor racketeering, that is supply and demand Foxy. Demand went up by over 5000%. When demand skyrockets prices go up that is basic economics.
Plus previously 99% of PPE we bought was imported. In case you haven't noticed sweatshops in China can produce a bit cheaper than domestic businesses can.
Companies in the UK that were never previously producing PPE suddenly needed to in order to supply you with the goods that you needed - and you are objecting over a change in price? Do you think that British businesses producing PPE during a pandemic should only be paid the same price as Chinese factories were paid?
Should the British employees working in those factories be paid Chinese sweatshop wages?
And companies in the UK that were previously producing PPE appear to have been ignored.
That only makes sense if its government ministers personally placing all the PPE orders rather than a multitude of purchasing and H&S managers at hospitals, schools, councils and quangos throughout the country.
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As an aside, if anyone wants to buy any of my books...
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Thaddeus-White/e/B008C6RU98
https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/Thaddeus6th
"A risk-benefit assessment would likely be undertaken in advising on vaccination in group 11."
Inmy rural shire in 2017 the Greens quintupled their candidate numbers but still got nowhere, it being Con or LD as the real options in most places, but it'll be interesting if the Greens make a big effort.
i) Wouldn't be counted in the first place
ii) Be identifiable
Almost unbelievably it seems they are both counted and won't be identifiable. Which rather raises the question of why the Trump admin is asking SCOTUS the question.
https://twitter.com/srl/status/1333431131853647872
Lewis Hamilton to guest edit BBC Radio 4's Today programme
https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-55128005
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/comment/the-woke-are-gaslighting-us-into-surrender-7sfszgrr9
Bari Weiss made similar claims about the NYT, although I think she thought it was the younger staff over running the older management there, who weren't as onboard with some of the ideas.
more.Could this money have been used more effectively to target child poverty? Probably. Would that be as much of a vote winner? Probably not......
Child poverty is a systemic and deep routed issue that has been prevalent in our society for too long. However, universal free school meals all year round are unlikely to be the most effective way of tackling this issue. A more thorough and evidence-based system of deciding how best to spend money, which we are regularly told by Scottish Ministers is in such short supply, to help those who need it most cannot be sacrificed in order for eye-catching policies at Conference however well-meaning they are
https://fraserofallander.org/scottish-economy/poverty/free-school-meals-and-child-poverty/
Interesting to hear that MRSA sepsis is so rare now. I know someone who had it a couple of years ago, only 'middle aged' and in fit condition and he was lucky to survive. Horrible disease. Good thing that it is so much rarer now, that is a good achievement.
Why do you think that is? It is because of cleaner hospitals now? People laughed at Howard's "cleaner hospitals" pledge in 2005 I recall.
My knowledge stops there.
This really ought to be uncontroversial.
At 600 pages the previous drafts have been the same length as many commercial agreements or, in my field of practice, agreements for lease.
"Prime Minister. the German car manufacturers..."
Saw her live a few years ago at the Etihad Stadium, she was a warm up act for Coldplay and she was very good actually.
For the benefit of TSE it was also the only time I have ever seen the Etihad sold out.
https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2020/11/trump-v-new-york-supreme-court-census-case-test.html
https://www.mirror.co.uk/3am/celebrity-news/rita-oras-rags-riches-story-4958184
Well she was actually born Rita Sahatçiu and her parents added Ora when they moved to the UK as Sahatçiu was deemed too hard to pronounce. Ora means "time" in Albanian.
https://www.mirror.co.uk/3am/celebrity-news/rita-oras-rags-riches-story-4958184
Well I guess it depends what you count as real name. If you mean not a stage name then yes it is her name. But it was made up for other reasons.
Was it simply better sterile protocols ?
I think you'll find she's far from the only woman in the country whose full real name isn't their name they were given at birth. For one thing a significantly high proportion of married women have different names to their maiden name.
Then there is Steve Harley. Whose real name was Steve Nice. Which would have been super perfect had he been a punk.
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Suzanne Vega is perfect too for her slightly intellectual, post-hippy cosmic neo folk sound.