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Cyclefree gives her Predictions for 2021 – politicalbetting.com
Cyclefree gives her Predictions for 2021 – politicalbetting.com
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Cyclefree gives her Predictions for 2021 – politicalbetting.com
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Oh - and first
Alea iacta erit.
I don't think I can say anything except .... oof.
Southend asking staff to give up on holiday and report for work - pictures shown of ambulances queuing outside to unload
Another from an ambulance driver in Chelmsford from 27th December - showing a line of ambulances awaiting to discharge
And still we have arseholes thinking their skiing holiday trumps all
I put up a warning on local social media not to throw New Year parties, given the 130% rise in cases and our Tier 4 status. Mostly supportive comments, though one says scornfully "How convenient that they're announcing higher figures just as they're planning more lockdowns" - a remarkable example of cart and horse swapping places.
No offence but I hope you're wrong.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9094341/Hopes-50s-vaccinated-spring-save-UK.html
Concerns about vaccine distribution are mostly bunkum. Sticking a needle in someone's arm is not rocket science. And while the Pfizer vaccine is very picky about its temperature for long term storage (which is still not that big a deal), that problem doesn't really exist for the other vaccines.
If we have them, and they work, they will be used. Availability - not distribution - is the issue.
The big issue is that right now, we maybe have 300,000 doses of Pfizer/BioNTech available per week. And its a 'dual shot' vaccine.
My understanding, and I could be wrong, is that there are 20 million doses of AZN/Oxford in the UK. If true, that will make a massive difference to getting normality back.
Oh, and so much for getting up early to watch the cricket... Ho hum.
And, no offence, Cyclefree but I skipped.
If so, we will not be waiting many months to be vaccinated, and 2021 will be a much better year irrespective of manifold government failings.
China will I think continue to keep COVID under control - it has a formula (mass testing and ruthless lockdowns) which works. Ruthless repression of press freedoms will also continue, of course.
"Everton Football Club regret the postponement of tonight’s match against Manchester City – not only for the 2,000 fans who would have been attending, but for supporters on Merseyside and across the world.
Our players were prepared for the game, as were both the team staff and everyone at Goodison. Matchday is the most important date in our calendar. And this was a big one.
Whilst Everton will always have public safety uppermost, we will be requesting full disclosure of all the information that Manchester City provided to the Premier League so the Club can be clear on why this decision was taken.”
They’re asking for clarification from the PL why this match shouldn’t be forfeited by City, given their players can’t behave themselves off the pitch and keep catching a nasty virus that’s going round.
This has bugger all to do with anything except Everton's lust to be top of the table alongside their arch rivals.
On Christmas Day, Manchester City forward Gabriel Jesus and defender Kyle Walker - along with two members of staff - were revealed to have tested positive for COVID-19 and entered self-isolation.
The club has now reported further coronavirus cases and, as well as the postponement of the Everton game, will close their first team training ground for an "indeterminate period".
A statement from Manchester City said: "After the latest round of COVID-19 testing, the club returned a number of positive cases, in addition to the four already reported on Christmas Day.
"With the security of the bubble compromised, there posed a risk that the virus could spread further amongst the squad, the staff and potentially beyond.
"Based on strong medical advice the Premier League, in consultation with both clubs, have decided to postpone the fixture."
The club said its playing squad and associated bubble would undergo further testing before any decision is taken on when to resume training."
p.s. I edited out your remark that this is because the Man City players can't be trusted to behave as there's no evidence that this is why they caught it.
I’m saying that, at the start of the season the PL said that matches should go ahead or be forfeited if a team can’t field 14 players, but now appear to be taking a different line on this when it happened to a big club.
In Everton’s view, MC should have either sent out the reserves last night, or Everton should be awarded the win in line with the PL statements at the start of the season.
Irrespective of how this virus arrived at MC, a sporting penalty might actually concentrate the minds of the chairmen, in how they are allowing clubs to control bubbles of players and coaches.
For some reason, sportsmen in general, and footballers in particular, seem incredibly susceptible to this virus. And not just because they’re regularly tested.
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2020/dec/28/starmer-high-profile-labour-rebellion-brexit-deal-vote
"Keir Starmer is facing a high-profile rebellion against Labour’s Brexit position on the eve of the vote in parliament, as prominent MPs including John McDonnell and Clive Lewis accused him of “falling into the trap of rallying around this rotten deal”.
Labour is likely to contain a major rebellion of frontbench MPs but an increasing number of prominent supporters are urging Starmer to change course. Backbenchers have also raised concerns on private WhatsApp groups that Labour’s endorsement for the deal has been given without the legislation being published.
Those who signed the Labour statement urging Starmer not to support the deal come from across the political spectrum, including the former shadow chancellor McDonnell and Ben Bradshaw, a former cabinet minister who is a staunch supporter of Starmer.
“This deal is a substantial downgrade of the UK’s relationship with the EU,” the statement warns, “and is designed to open the door to rampant economic deregulation – a loss of rights and protections for workers, the environment, food standards and many other areas of life.”
I agree on point 11 happening. Not sure it'll be this year, but if I were Taiwan I'd be very nervous.
We will see and of course vaccinating is the key to unlock a better time
Poor Ms Cyclefree is not having a good time is she? Her family problems, especially, the lack of business in the hospitality sector, are clearly and understandably looming very, very, large in her mind.
As far as the vaccine and roll-out are concerned, I think (?hope) she's being too negative. There will be stutters and local problems (as we appear to have in N. Essex) but I think the NHS staff involved will move heaven and earth to get it done. The underfunding of community nursing services over the past few years is, though, coming home to roost.
As people are vaccinated, then slowly the sectors which have been worst it will recover. They might not be quite the same as they were, but the people who can adapt to the 'new normal' will find opportunities.
Where I do agree with her is about deteriorating standards in public life; I think we will see more, especially low-level, corruption. 'Who one knows' will become increasingly important, and, bit by bit the integrity of our processes will be damaged. This might provide opportunity for someone with 'clean hands', but not I think until 2022.
The complexity of travelling to (and from) and doing business with Europe will, slowly get worse. At some point Nortedrn Ireland will decide to join the Republic; maybe not in 2021, but at their next elections pro-reunion and pro EU parties will eclipse the DUP.
And like Mr Dancer I suspect that China will make life increasingly difficult for Taiwan. An influx of Hong Kong Chinese citizens will not be 'popular' with anti-immigrant voters here either.
Covid-19: Military to support mass testing of students in England
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-55471095
Let’s crunch some figures here.
First of all, let’s overlook the fact that every head has basically told the government to quit smoking pot and to fuck off, because their plans are undeliverable. Let’s assume, therefore, that this is a serious offer and not an attempt by a bunch of dangerous losers to pass the blame to somebody else.
There will be no ‘other staff or volunteers’ involved in this process, because there has been no time to recruit or train them (this was announced in the last week of term - it would have had to be announced at the start of November to be practicable for January). So the military will be doing the lot.
There are just under 4,000 secondary schools in England (again, let’s assume this isn’t happening in primary schools). So this would equate to four soldiers for every school. This equates well with the government’s firm belief that only three staff are needed to run this process.
However, the government has again taken no account of this funny thing called the size of schools. In a best case scenario where everything works, as of course it always does, to test all pupils in the time available would require approximately 1 tester to 90 children. So at the smallest state secondary school in the land (wild guess - Fairfield in Herefordshire, roll about 500) we are talking about 5/6 staff. At the largest secondary schools in the land (Nottingham Academy, just under 4,000) we’re talking more like 50.
(continued)
You will observe therefore that this offer of 1500 personnel is about as much use as a hole in the head, an affliction our brainless masters in Whitehall are presumably quite familiar with.
The tests themselves are only 50% effective if administered by untrained people (like, for example, self-administering schoolchildren) and unfortunately give false positives as well as false negatives, which will lead people with mild symptoms who should be isolating to stay in school and spread it.
And we have three days next week to square this circle and have everything ready before we are meant to reopen.
Isn’t it a good job that there isn’t a massive surge in cases spurred by a mutation that’s particularly infectious to children going on? Otherwise this strategy might have unfortunate consequences.
I am a mild, Christian gentleman. So when I say these people are vile, dishonest, stupid, lazy, ignorant c***s who should be in jail I really, REALLY mean it.
These announcements are not about keeping schools open. They’re about finding scapegoats when a disaster occurs, and people die because the government has, from the off, not been flexible or imaginative enough to take simple steps to reduce transmission (e.g. through a rota of online learning) that would allow us to keep most children in schools most of the time.
And the real culprits will therefore escape.
Those who call Williamson a disgraced national security risk are being far, far too generous.
*Obviously, I intend no offence to stuffed cabbages.
Covid: Sydney beach party sparks UK backpacker deportation threats
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-australia-55471235
At least with that level of IQ they have fine careers at the DfE or in Parliament ahead of them.
1) first swab both tonsils, then at least one nostril as posteriorly as possible. That is the uncomfortable bit, and easy to get an inadequate sample.
2) decant 6 drops of the solution from a eardrop style bottle into a plastic test tube.
3) press the swab tip into the liquid and against the wall to dislodge the antigen for at least 10 seconds.
4) cap the test tube
5) squeeze 2 drops of the liquid from the cap into the recess on the test plate. This then soaks the blotting paper in the test, from one end.
6) wait 20 min, and no longer than 30 min to read. There should be a dark positive control line. If there is a dark line before that the test is positive. If neither are dark then the test is void and needs to be repeated.
7) enter results to a slightly clunky web page.
For a scientifically trained person, not that much of a problem, taking maybe 5 minutes, apart from waiting time.
Facebook Spreads Conspiracy Theories
Your friend Karen who once lived next door to a nurse is not an Epidemiologist
https://twitter.com/BNODesk/status/1343796509784084480?s=19
It does seem as if Dublin is more positive about the lives there than London.
With the prosperity south of the border, and decline in religious sectarianism on both sides (though obviously some way to go still!) reunification is a matter of time, just awaiting a plebiscite. I think that the six counties would then become a devolved community of RoI rather than a devolved community of UK.
She rightly flags some of the pressure that will arise midway through the vaccination programme, which so far haven’t had much airtime amid the good news of its launch. Will the oldies, who have been protected by the changes everyone else has made, behave responsibly when they have immunity while the rest of the population is still waiting, or will we see crowds of unmasked silvers surfing the high streets and out at bingo until the small hours?
It is fairly obvious that footballers should be more susceptible, their job means they are practising only limited social distancing and doing lots of travel. Since March I have met about an average of three or four people a week, mostly outdoors, and not travelled more than about 40 miles. A typical footballer is meeting 30 teammates and coaches, 30 opponents, half a dozen officials, doctors, physios and travelling a few hundred miles most weeks. Of course they will catch it more often, regardless of their social lives.
It actually doesn't need to be brilliant to be good enough- if it reduces the chance of needing a hospital visit to at worst a day or two in bed with reduced transmission it's more than good enough
If you haven't gagged or your eye watered for the nostrils, you probably aren't doing it right.
And Labour rebels propose to upgrade that downgrade - how, exactly?
A bit more of sharing the bills to the Exchequer would be even better.
This seems an ok start but I suspect the Republic is paying a tiny fraction of what the UK is paying.
Paying for the "nice" trivialities while not paying for the bread and butter main bills is a fake kind of generosity. It reminds me of this Friends scene from the 3:30 mark where Rachel's dad pays for a full meal but leaves a small tip and then Ross pays for just the tip. Her dad is not a sympathetic character but his reaction is fair enough.
https://youtu.be/zmfdfiOWWts
PS: there maybe some obscure island somewhere that is new. I have asked before if anyone could laud us with all teh new benefits of these deals but got total silence and lack of replies.
But even if we could/did do that, wouldn’t it rather defeat the object of having them in schools so they can study if we have to take them out of lessons to do tests?
https://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2020/dec/28/the-kieran-trippier-case-and-why-some-betting-markets-should-not-be-allowed
It will not be hard for Cf to convince herself that someone in labour regrets voting for the Brexit deal.
1. The Pox is stronger than ever yet too many people seem utterly bored of even trying to keep themselves safe
2 - 4. Of course. This government has repeatedly proven its ability to do the basics whilst endlessly ramping what a brilliant job it is doing.
5. This government is corrupt. This government gets away with open corruption and thinks it is clever / we are stupid so absolutely will keep pushing the envelope to see just how outrageous they can be
6. The NHS sounds like its in the midst of a catastrophic combination of a mass surge in cases, indifference through government policy and exhausted staff. Number 10 will undoubtedly start briefing against the doctors again. Slackers.
7. Retail and hospitality are fucked. It won't completely collapse but it it going to continue to be pretty savagely pared back. Entertainment is the sector that has been completely ignored by government and looking at the Brexit deal continues to be. Watch venues shut and the skilled jobs in the sector lost - and more twatty adverts imploring creative arts dossers to retrain as customs officials.
8. Sunak can't win. He couldn't find enough money to keep everyone happy if he wanted to, and will end up pleasing very few as this stretches on into year 2.
9. The Brexit deal will continue to reveal more practicalities as it gets implemented and expect more outrage from more of the groups who had been sold it as salvation. And more patronising sneer from the Tories.
10. I can't predict America. They're mad
11. China? Or Russia...?
I don't think it will be quite that bad, though there will be societal stresses as some are vaccinated while others are not. Being vaccinated isn't a get out of jail free card. Not least is the problem of new mutations.
It seems as if there is a @HYUFD like love of calling out the troops to distribute vaccines and swab everyone that slightly neglects the depleted nature of our forces and their day jobs.
Vaccination will roll out, but at 2 doses each, it is the call and recall system that needs the organising more than driving a lorry from point A to point B. It is a marathon task, and the vaccination staff skilled, but also fatigued. They have been working hard on other duties all year too.
I expect there will be admissions delays and diverted ambulances. That is normal in a British winter, due to our lower bed base than comparable countries. They won't be refused though elective surgery will cease, as wards and staff are redeployed again, and again.
As Sunak sees the bills come in, he is on the horns of a dilemma. Should he break the government finances? Or should he break a lot of small and large businesses?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ctZPNppUt4
Their manufacturing must be under enormous pressure - there may also be shortages of needed ingredients.
We should view govt plans as best case, everything goes well, scenario.
I heard an interesting take from a US colleague yesterday. His daughter is a paramedic, and they are on standby at vaccination sites because the nurses giving the injections are not qualified to intervene if there is any adverse reactions.
https://www.dw.com/en/coronavirus-german-care-home-workers-accidentally-given-vaccine-overdose/a-56077717
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KHOqgtCyws8