Oh dear, I see Piers Moron, so popular with the twitterati over the past year, not so popular now. Now calling for his sacking, and an online petition of course.
It would be amusing if this issue brought him down. I'm unclear if there'll be much sympathy for him regardless of views on MM.
It won't bring him down. He'll be loving it. There are 4 little words that he values above all else. That he lives and breathes for. That keep his pecker pointing skywards and the moolah pouring into his groaning bank account.
"Piers Morgan is trending."
I've said before I have a weird respect for Piers Morgan. I've been aware of him as a person for nearly 20 years and in all that time it seems as though everyone hates him, yet he's managed to have what appears to be a successful and diverse career in that time.
And all his baggage, he somehow manages never to get cancelled for long, popping up again in another top quality position. Mirror, sacked, CNN sacked, oh look he is back again with GMB.
Am I the only one who watched Piers Morgan and Susannah Reid's interview of Thomas Markle on GMB this morning?
I would need to be shot , chopped up and put in a bag before I would watch those two complete arses.
Whitty and Vallance made a point of saying explicitly, at the briefing with the unlockdown plan, that they would expect an increase in cases when the schools go back and that alone would not cause a delay.
I love the marathon/sprint analogy, used to claim going faster is a bad thing essentially (until they have gone faster). People still run fast in a marathon, in fact they go as fast as they possibly can. If they could physically sprint a marathon they would.
Some of them do! Amazing to think that the top male marathon runners average a mile about every four and a half minutes. That's absolutely mind-blowing to me.
I'm a lockdown sceptic, and I didn't really find much to complain about in what Chris Whitty said. It was pretty factual - 'the modelling shows another surge' etc. Now we might disbelieve the modelling, but he wouldn't be doing his job if he didn't report what it was saying.
And I wouldn't expect deaths to go down to zero. The point is to see deaths in the right context.
Exactly. It joins the flu. There's a touch of paranoia around imo. Perhaps understandably given the strange experience we're living through. It's affecting us all in different ways. Certainly is me. I've forgotten many of the social niceties. Feeling a bit "wild".
This is lucky is it not........... Records of meetings between Nicola Sturgeon, permanent secretary Leslie Evans and the Scottish Government’s legal counsel about the investigation into Alex Salmond cannot be found, John Swinney has confirmed. https://bit.ly/2N6wz20
How is Evans still in a job?
One wonders , got a new contract and pay rise as well after it , does make you wonder. PS: Last week she said she always shreds her notebooks on a very regular basis as well.
Well, she would say that or it would stink even more. ( I keep notes on all meetings other than those ........ )
But someone who does not minute meetings that really need to be minuted should surely be for the bin?
Should have been long ago. Given they had to order a search of the civil service documents as they had not been handing over the evidence, she had to be recalled after forgetting meetings under oath , so she could admit she now remembered them and yet still could not recall the content etc.
I love the marathon/sprint analogy, used to claim going faster is a bad thing essentially (until they have gone faster). People still run fast in a marathon, in fact they go as fast as they possibly can. If they could physically sprint a marathon they would.
Some of them do! Amazing to think that the top male marathon runners average a mile about every four and a half minutes. That's absolutely mind-blowing to me.
Oh indeed. I was speaking equivalently - it's faster than many people sprint, but for them they could still, over short periods (like right at the end) go faster than through most of the race.
That people speed up at the end of a marathon/10000m whatever is pretty mindblowing. I know why 100m is more of a spectacle, but it doesn't wow like the long distance guys for me.
Mail headline: Palace 'fears Harry and Meghan will NAME Royal Checks story: 1,2,3,..... 15 photos of Prince Charles !
I presume it is totally coincidental that he basically doesn't talk to his dad at all now.
If it was him, it would be quite surprising it was said an intentionally racist way, unlike some Royals.
As Charles has always made a big thing of his much more modern outlook e.g. all the eco stuff, and then after that long running Guardian legal battle, we got what he privately writes to the government and it was all stuff like demanding answers over what they intend to do about to help protect the lesser spotted newt that plays an important role in some Amazonian tribe continued existence.
I think even the Guardian were embarrassed about how "right on" some of the stuff was.
Oh dear, I see Piers Moron, so popular with the twitterati over the past year, not so popular now. Now calling for his sacking, and an online petition of course.
It would be amusing if this issue brought him down. I'm unclear if there'll be much sympathy for him regardless of views on MM.
It won't bring him down. He'll be loving it. There are 4 little words that he values above all else. That he lives and breathes for. That keep his pecker pointing skywards and the moolah pouring into his groaning bank account.
"Piers Morgan is trending."
I've said before I have a weird respect for Piers Morgan. I've been aware of him as a person for nearly 20 years and in all that time it seems as though everyone hates him, yet he's managed to have what appears to be a successful and diverse career in that time.
But he's built a successful career precisely BECAUSE everyone (or a lot of people) hate him. A lot of people find being angered, and seeing others angered, as entertaining. So it's a career path, certainly. Not sure why anyone should respect it, though, weirdly or otherwise.
Because it's not enough to simply be hated. Lots of people are hated, but they cannot sustain a career in the mainstream from it, while he's worked in news and entertainment and managed to carve out that niche. Any number of far right or far left figures could be pointed to who are hated, but not mainstream successful.
His professional persona is that of an arsehole, and it's not unreasonable to assume it's because he is also an arsehole generally. But he obviously manages, professionally, to stay on the right side of the line to keep being employed whereas, say, someone like Laurence Fox seems like he wants to go down that route but is too much an arsehole.
Precisely. He's an arsehole without a clear ideology. Enabling him to bestride the gulf of professional arseholery like a Colossus. With both left and right able to point and shout "What a massive arsehole!" in unison. Whilst occasionally thinking sometimes he has a grain of a point. (Despite being an arsehole). Clever positioning.
Unfortunately for us, this pinnacle of proctanthropy always seems to be positioned directly overhead...
Oh dear, I see Piers Moron, so popular with the twitterati over the past year, not so popular now. Now calling for his sacking, and an online petition of course.
It would be amusing if this issue brought him down. I'm unclear if there'll be much sympathy for him regardless of views on MM.
It won't bring him down. He'll be loving it. There are 4 little words that he values above all else. That he lives and breathes for. That keep his pecker pointing skywards and the moolah pouring into his groaning bank account.
"Piers Morgan is trending."
I've said before I have a weird respect for Piers Morgan. I've been aware of him as a person for nearly 20 years and in all that time it seems as though everyone hates him, yet he's managed to have what appears to be a successful and diverse career in that time.
And all his baggage, he somehow manages never to get cancelled for long, popping up again in another top quality position. Mirror, sacked, CNN sacked, oh look he is back again with GMB.
Am I the only one who watched Piers Morgan and Susannah Reid's interview of Thomas Markle on GMB this morning?
I would need to be shot , chopped up and put in a bag before I would watch those two complete arses.
I'd happily be shot, chopped up, and put in a bag if you found me watching them.
Why is she blaming the government for this and not the school, given the DfE's line is that the PCR test trumps the LTF if its negative? 😕
Oh actually look who the Tweet comes from. Nevermind. 🙄
No. The policy for a PCR is only called for if the lateral test was done at home, not by the school.
"What happens if a test is positive?
If anyone’s test is positive, they should immediately start isolating in line with public health guidance. Members of their household should also start isolating.
Where a pupil’s test has been taken on site under supervision, the chance of it being incorrect is minimal so there is no need for a further test to confirm the result.
All pupils, staff, and their households who take their tests at home should report the results by calling 119 or through the online form."
If taken correctly, there is a very small chance of a home test being wrong but there is a slightly higher chance of it being administered incorrectly. As such, if a pupil, member of staff or a member of their household gets a positive result at home they should report the result and arrange to have a Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) test by following this link.
In the event that the PCR test is negative – that they do not have Covid 19 – this overrides the lateral flow test if it was taken at home and they should therefore return to school."
OK so what she's complaining about is only if the test is done at school - and the schools are doing the tests this week, then they go to home tests and the new rule applies?
Sounds irritating but still better to have most kids at school even if a few stay at home. Its progress.
I love the marathon/sprint analogy, used to claim going faster is a bad thing essentially (until they have gone faster). People still run fast in a marathon, in fact they go as fast as they possibly can. If they could physically sprint a marathon they would.
Some of them do! Amazing to think that the top male marathon runners average a mile about every four and a half minutes. That's absolutely mind-blowing to me.
Oh indeed. I was speaking equivalently - it's faster than many people sprint, but for them they could still, over short periods (like right at the end) go faster than through most of the race.
That people speed up at the end of a marathon/10000m whatever is pretty mindblowing. I know why 100m is more of a spectacle, but it doesn't wow like the long distance guys for me.
Europe aren't treating vaccination like a marathon, either. More like dressage.
Mail headline: Palace 'fears Harry and Meghan will NAME Royal Checks story: 1,2,3,..... 15 photos of Prince Charles !
I presume it is totally coincidental that he basically doesn't talk to his dad at all now.
If it was him, it would be quite surprising it was said an intentionally racist way, unlike some Royals.
As Charles has always made a big thing of his much more modern outlook e.g. all the eco stuff, and then after that long running Guardian legal battle, we got what he privately writes to the government and it was all stuff like demanding answers over what they intend to do about to help protect the lesser spotted newt that plays an important some Amazonian tribe continued existence.
Given the similarities between the poor way Meghan has been treated and the poor way Diana was, there would be a certain poetry if Charles were at fault for both.
And he's meant to be our future King "long to rule over us" 😕
Mail headline: Palace 'fears Harry and Meghan will NAME Royal Checks story: 1,2,3,..... 15 photos of Prince Charles !
The way the picture's are framed on the home page William and Kate are on the right and left hand sides with Charles and Camilla in the center and Camilla IN FRONT of Charles
I love the marathon/sprint analogy, used to claim going faster is a bad thing essentially (until they have gone faster). People still run fast in a marathon, in fact they go as fast as they possibly can. If they could physically sprint a marathon they would.
Some of them do! Amazing to think that the top male marathon runners average a mile about every four and a half minutes. That's absolutely mind-blowing to me.
Oh indeed. I was speaking equivalently - it's faster than many people sprint, but for them they could still, over short periods (like right at the end) go faster than through most of the race.
That people speed up at the end of a marathon/10000m whatever is pretty mindblowing. I know why 100m is more of a spectacle, but it doesn't wow like the long distance guys for me.
Europe aren't treating vaccination like a marathon, either. More like dressage.
LOL. A typical Grand Prix dressage test takes around 6 minutes to complete. It just seems like an eternity to anyone who does not ride dressage.
A lot of timid folk, such as myself, voted for the status quo in 2016. It stands to reason, therefore, that we would now tend to vote to stay out, rather than repeating the tortuous negotiations of the past 4 years. On the other hand, a few of those who voted Leave are lifelong radicals always on the lookout for something to change. It's hard to see how rejoining the EU would satisfy their craving.
Yes, and there were many like you. Leavers, really, but too wussy to vote for it. This is why 52/48 does not sum up the result. It wasn't, in truth, that close. The true mood of the nation was clear Leave. It was a mood landslide.
39% is actually an amazingly high number for re-join, considering we'd be re-joining on massively worse terms, from our standpoint, than those we had when we left. And never mind the years of grinding and divisive negotiation required. I'd like to see a poll on how many people would like to magically wish Brexit away - no regrets, no surrender, no blame, no guilt, no recriminations. It just never happened. I reckon it would be 80-20 in favour of Remain.
That is higher than I'd have guessed, yes. But I'm not sure about your 80/20 to do a Bobby and wake up in the shower. I'd put it at 40/60. That 40 being so close to 39 as to perhaps be the same people. People like you. People like me. Good people.
I'm a lockdown sceptic, and I didn't really find much to complain about in what Chris Whitty said. It was pretty factual - 'the modelling shows another surge' etc. Now we might disbelieve the modelling, but he wouldn't be doing his job if he didn't report what it was saying.
And I wouldn't expect deaths to go down to zero. The point is to see deaths in the right context.
Exactly. It joins the flu. There's a touch of paranoia around imo. Perhaps understandably given the strange experience we're living through. It's affecting us all in different ways. Certainly is me. I've forgotten many of the social niceties. Feeling a bit "wild".
I fully expect the timetable to be stuck to. My point earlier was that everyone has their red lines and one person's "Surely they will open up earlier given the stats" is another's "Best to wait a few more months to be sure". Both scenarios should be in anyone's analysis.
I give extension as no more than a 15-1 shot and I'll have a fiver with you on it as you kindly offered.
I love the marathon/sprint analogy, used to claim going faster is a bad thing essentially (until they have gone faster). People still run fast in a marathon, in fact they go as fast as they possibly can. If they could physically sprint a marathon they would.
Some of them do! Amazing to think that the top male marathon runners average a mile about every four and a half minutes. That's absolutely mind-blowing to me.
Oh indeed. I was speaking equivalently - it's faster than many people sprint, but for them they could still, over short periods (like right at the end) go faster than through most of the race.
That people speed up at the end of a marathon/10000m whatever is pretty mindblowing. I know why 100m is more of a spectacle, but it doesn't wow like the long distance guys for me.
Europe aren't treating vaccination like a marathon, either. More like dressage.
LOL. A typical Grand Prix dressage test takes around 6 minutes to complete. It just seems like an eternity to anyone who does not ride dressage.
One year at Burghley a friend and I finally found somewhere nice and quiet to sit and chat and were happily doing so for some time before we noticed the looks of death from those around us. At which point we realised that we had inadvertently wandered into the dressage arena.
Oh dear, I see Piers Moron, so popular with the twitterati over the past year, not so popular now. Now calling for his sacking, and an online petition of course.
It would be amusing if this issue brought him down. I'm unclear if there'll be much sympathy for him regardless of views on MM.
It won't bring him down. He'll be loving it. There are 4 little words that he values above all else. That he lives and breathes for. That keep his pecker pointing skywards and the moolah pouring into his groaning bank account.
"Piers Morgan is trending."
I've said before I have a weird respect for Piers Morgan. I've been aware of him as a person for nearly 20 years and in all that time it seems as though everyone hates him, yet he's managed to have what appears to be a successful and diverse career in that time.
But he's built a successful career precisely BECAUSE everyone (or a lot of people) hate him. A lot of people find being angered, and seeing others angered, as entertaining. So it's a career path, certainly. Not sure why anyone should respect it, though, weirdly or otherwise.
Because it's not enough to simply be hated. Lots of people are hated, but they cannot sustain a career in the mainstream from it, while he's worked in news and entertainment and managed to carve out that niche. Any number of far right or far left figures could be pointed to who are hated, but not mainstream successful.
His professional persona is that of an arsehole, and it's not unreasonable to assume it's because he is also an arsehole generally. But he obviously manages, professionally, to stay on the right side of the line to keep being employed whereas, say, someone like Laurence Fox seems like he wants to go down that route but is too much an arsehole.
Precisely. He's an arsehole without a clear ideology. Enabling him to bestride the gulf of professional arseholery like a Colossus. With both left and right able to point and shout "What a massive arsehole!" in unison. Whilst occasionally thinking sometimes he has a grain of a point. (Despite being an arsehole). Clever positioning.
That's spot on. The notion of him running as a populist politician is not ludicrous.
A lot of timid folk, such as myself, voted for the status quo in 2016. It stands to reason, therefore, that we would now tend to vote to stay out, rather than repeating the tortuous negotiations of the past 4 years. On the other hand, a few of those who voted Leave are lifelong radicals always on the lookout for something to change. It's hard to see how rejoining the EU would satisfy their craving.
Yes, and there were many like you. Leavers, really, but too wussy to vote for it. This is why 52/48 does not sum up the result. It wasn't, in truth, that close. The true mood of the nation was clear Leave. It was a mood landslide.
I felt on balance that the benefits of international cooperation outweighed the loss of sovereignty and I was disappointed that a small majority felt differently. And I agree with the view that many of them were misled about the likely gains and will eventually come to realise this. But rejoining isn't the answer. The omelette has been cooked.
Mail headline: Palace 'fears Harry and Meghan will NAME Royal Checks story: 1,2,3,..... 15 photos of Prince Charles !
I presume it is totally coincidental that he basically doesn't talk to his dad at all now.
If it was him, it would be quite surprising it was said an intentionally racist way, unlike some Royals.
As Charles has always made a big thing of his much more modern outlook e.g. all the eco stuff, and then after that long running Guardian legal battle, we got what he privately writes to the government and it was all stuff like demanding answers over what they intend to do about to help protect the lesser spotted newt that plays an important some Amazonian tribe continued existence.
Given the similarities between the poor way Meghan has been treated and the poor way Diana was, there would be a certain poetry if Charles were at fault for both.
And he's meant to be our future King "long to rule over us" 😕
How about a hybrid monarchy? Only the top 10 in the line of succession and over 18 can stand, but beyond that is just directly elected.
To the uncharitable: "full extent" - "they didn't tell us" "recollections may vary" - "liars" "addressed by the family privately" - "we're not taking part in this circus"
Mail headline: Palace 'fears Harry and Meghan will NAME Royal Checks story: 1,2,3,..... 15 photos of Prince Charles !
I presume it is totally coincidental that he basically doesn't talk to his dad at all now.
If it was him, it would be quite surprising it was said an intentionally racist way, unlike some Royals.
As Charles has always made a big thing of his much more modern outlook e.g. all the eco stuff, and then after that long running Guardian legal battle, we got what he privately writes to the government and it was all stuff like demanding answers over what they intend to do about to help protect the lesser spotted newt that plays an important some Amazonian tribe continued existence.
Given the similarities between the poor way Meghan has been treated and the poor way Diana was, there would be a certain poetry if Charles were at fault for both.
And he's meant to be our future King "long to rule over us" 😕
How about a hybrid monarchy? Only the top 10 in the line of succession and over 18 can stand, but beyond that is just directly elected.
I see no flaws whatsover in a system which puts royals against each other over the succession, history has shown that works out fine.
I'd go the other route, Ottoman it and have all but the heir...taken care of, at their accession.
Oh dear, I see Piers Moron, so popular with the twitterati over the past year, not so popular now. Now calling for his sacking, and an online petition of course.
It would be amusing if this issue brought him down. I'm unclear if there'll be much sympathy for him regardless of views on MM.
It won't bring him down. He'll be loving it. There are 4 little words that he values above all else. That he lives and breathes for. That keep his pecker pointing skywards and the moolah pouring into his groaning bank account.
"Piers Morgan is trending."
I've said before I have a weird respect for Piers Morgan. I've been aware of him as a person for nearly 20 years and in all that time it seems as though everyone hates him, yet he's managed to have what appears to be a successful and diverse career in that time.
Glad you put the "weird" in there. It makes all the difference. The post would not work without it. As it is, weirdly, it does.
Mail headline: Palace 'fears Harry and Meghan will NAME Royal Checks story: 1,2,3,..... 15 photos of Prince Charles !
I presume it is totally coincidental that he basically doesn't talk to his dad at all now.
If it was him, it would be quite surprising it was said an intentionally racist way, unlike some Royals.
As Charles has always made a big thing of his much more modern outlook e.g. all the eco stuff, and then after that long running Guardian legal battle, we got what he privately writes to the government and it was all stuff like demanding answers over what they intend to do about to help protect the lesser spotted newt that plays an important some Amazonian tribe continued existence.
Given the similarities between the poor way Meghan has been treated and the poor way Diana was, there would be a certain poetry if Charles were at fault for both.
And he's meant to be our future King "long to rule over us" 😕
How about a hybrid monarchy? Only the top 10 in the line of succession and over 18 can stand, but beyond that is just directly elected.
I commend the ancient rules for the succession of Welsh princes. No namby pamby primogeniture. Distant cousins slug it out and the cruellest bastard wins, thereby producing a leader that everyone can look up to (or else).
Quite. It definitely has a lawyer vibe to it (not that that is a surprise) - keep it short and say no more than necessary (remember Trump's belated 'call' condemnation of the coup rioters?)
'Saddened to learn' - We dispute that you raised this 'Recollections vary' - We don't accept the allegations 'Will be addressed' - but it's serious enough we have to say we are doing something
Back covering, sure, but it is actually correct that this be dealt with privately - this is a family dispute, ultimately, albeit a very high profile family. A resolution of any kind is not likely, but isn't helped by further escalation in public.
To the uncharitable: "full extent" - "they didn't tell us" "recollections may vary" - "liars" "addressed by the family privately" - "we're not taking part in this circus"
I was thinking, "full extent" could be said to be, "we ignored it at the time".
I love the marathon/sprint analogy, used to claim going faster is a bad thing essentially (until they have gone faster). People still run fast in a marathon, in fact they go as fast as they possibly can. If they could physically sprint a marathon they would.
Some of them do! Amazing to think that the top male marathon runners average a mile about every four and a half minutes. That's absolutely mind-blowing to me.
Oh indeed. I was speaking equivalently - it's faster than many people sprint, but for them they could still, over short periods (like right at the end) go faster than through most of the race.
That people speed up at the end of a marathon/10000m whatever is pretty mindblowing. I know why 100m is more of a spectacle, but it doesn't wow like the long distance guys for me.
Europe aren't treating vaccination like a marathon, either. More like dressage.
LOL. A typical Grand Prix dressage test takes around 6 minutes to complete. It just seems like an eternity to anyone who does not ride dressage.
One year at Burghley a friend and I finally found somewhere nice and quiet to sit and chat and were happily doing so for some time before we noticed the looks of death from those around us. At which point we realised that we had inadvertently wandered into the dressage arena.
My daughter rides both Eventing (3 Star) and Dressage (Grand Prix), so I am not allowed to make dressage jokes at home.
Mail headline: Palace 'fears Harry and Meghan will NAME Royal Checks story: 1,2,3,..... 15 photos of Prince Charles !
I presume it is totally coincidental that he basically doesn't talk to his dad at all now.
If it was him, it would be quite surprising it was said an intentionally racist way, unlike some Royals.
As Charles has always made a big thing of his much more modern outlook e.g. all the eco stuff, and then after that long running Guardian legal battle, we got what he privately writes to the government and it was all stuff like demanding answers over what they intend to do about to help protect the lesser spotted newt that plays an important some Amazonian tribe continued existence.
Given the similarities between the poor way Meghan has been treated and the poor way Diana was, there would be a certain poetry if Charles were at fault for both.
And he's meant to be our future King "long to rule over us" 😕
How about a hybrid monarchy? Only the top 10 in the line of succession and over 18 can stand, but beyond that is just directly elected.
I commend the ancient rules for the succession of Welsh princes. No namby pamby primogeniture. Distant cousins slug it out and the cruellest bastard wins, thereby producing a leader that everyone can look up to (or else).
As a compromise, I am totally up for the restoration of the Witenagemot, and with it an elective monarchy.
The Queen has been on the throne for ages. She must have accumulated enough Prestige* to do this by now.
*I may or may not have spent more time than is healthy playing Crusader Kings recently.
Johnson’s decision [not to lock down] flew in the face of all the advice over the summer from the World Bank, the cross-party group of politicians and leading international public health experts. Some of his advisers were incandescent. “I don’t have sympathy for the government making the same mistake twice,” said a senior source on the Sage committee. “We told them quite clearly what they need to do for it to work. They don’t do that . . . It’s been wishful thinking all the way through. I think that probably characterises Boris Johnson, frankly.” "
...
"Vallance gave an example of what might happen if the current levels of infections were allowed to carry on doubling every week — as they appeared to be doing. This, he said, would lead to around 200-plus deaths per day by the middle of November. It was a shocking prediction that drew scathing criticism — one newspaper quoted an unnamed Tory MP describing them as Messrs “Witless and Unbalanced” for exaggerating the figures. In fact, Vallance had hugely downplayed the predicted November death figures, which would be nearer the 500 daily fatalities upper estimate he had given Johnson a few days earlier. "
...
"On October 30, the operation committee met again in Downing Street. Johnson, Sunak, Gove and Hancock were all present to listen to a presentation from Sir Simon Stevens, head of the NHS, who delivered an unequivocal message: hospitals would be overrun in every part of England within weeks if nothing was done.
The prime minister had no choice. He had to finally give in — despite everything he and his chancellor had said about their determination to avoid locking down. A decision was taken to announce a lockdown after the weekend. But fearing that Johnson might wobble again, someone in the prime minister’s close circle leaked the news to the The Times. The prime minister was forced to call a press conference the next day."
------------
Jesus. The thing is, we all saw this coming at the time. (The other two academics at that meeting other than Tegnell were Gupta and Heneghan. Such a surprise.)
It's only looking back that we can recall just how forecasts of 200 deaths a day were so thoroughly mocked by the lockdown sceptics. We went above that on the 21st of October and we are JUST about to drop below a 200-a-day seven day average now for the first time since then. We were past 350 a day on the 1st of November and past 400 a day by the end of the first week in November.
Thanks a bunch, Heneghan, Tegnell, Gupta, Sunak, and the Lockdown Sceptics. And by paying the price of those thousands upon thousands of bereaved families... they ended up fucking up the economy with an even longer and deeper lockdown, anyway. Thanks to the moronic denialists. [2/2]
Sorry if I missed it in your posts, but on what date were HMG still giving Tegnell, Gupta and Heneghan a hearing?
Mid-September. It was thanks to them that the "circuit breaker" lockdown for early October got canned. Leading to the full-on second wave, letting it get out of control, and needing drastic measures to bring it back under control.
They and the Lockdown Sceptics pressure (via the Covid Recovery Group of Tory MPs) against any restrictions (so it always got worse and needed more and more restrictions) are why we've had such a hell of a winter, and why we've been in lockdown so long.
In an alternate timeline, where they weren't listened to, we locked down in October, saw off the rise, went with tougher Tiers, and kept it all under control without kids missing one day of school or the need for any full-on lockdown.
This is the Sunak/Gupta/Heneghan lockdown - needed thanks to their idiocy.
Except circuit breakers don't work.
Wales tried the circuit break, it was a miserable failure.
Other nations around the globe have tried circuit breaks. Not one of them has succeeded.
So other than that, good point, well done.
They do work. It's coming out of them that doesn't work as well. The four week circuit break in November brought it down. The nine weeks since early January has worked as well.
Call it what you like; we're talking about applying lockdown rules for a given period to bring down infection rates. And every time we've done this, infection rates have dropped.
Lockdowns work, circuit breaks don't. That's the point.
The second you lift the "circuit break" cases instantly start rising again. And if its only 2 weeks that achieves squat since people party "last night of freedom" before the 2 weeks, then party "wahay free again" afterwards counteracting the whole point of just 2 weeks which isn't long enough to do much.
So you can't point to today's lockdown and act as if it would have all been avoidable had we just wished it away with a 2 week circuit break. 2 weeks doesn't work.
If you want a lockdown, fair enough, but then don't complain about having a lockdown. The idea a lockdown could be avoided if we'd just done one for 2 weeks then got back to normal is farcical wishful thinking.
If the 4 weeks in November worked then you can't blame today's lockdown on not having a 2 week one in October.
A circuit breaker is slang for a short lockdown. Can a lockdown be so short as to not work because the "last night party" effect outweighs the gains? Yes. But can a lockdown be long enough to work but still short enough to be called a circuit breaker? Also yes.
Ergo "lockdowns work, circuit breaks don't" = tilt.
How short is short enough to still be called a circuit breaker? Especially when the circuit breaker has been defined as 2 weeks.
If you say that a circuit break works, so long as you don't come out of it, then that is a lockdown not a circuit break. A circuit break only works if you can come out of it in the time stated.
Can you name any country, anywhere, which has had significant case numbers and rising cases which has seen a 2 week circuit break work?
I'm wasn't aware we had an accepted definition of it as being of duration 2 weeks.
Link?
The talk at the time was specifically of a "two week circuit breaker".
See:
www.bmj.com/content/371/bmj.m4038
Thanks. Yes, I remember that. But it kind of supports my point. That was one specific instance. If a circuit breaker was defined as being 2 weeks you'd only need to refer to it as a circuit breaker. The "two week" bit would be gratuitous.
If the discussion was about that specific instance rather than in general, ok, fair enough, but I saw the statement "lockdowns work, circuit breakers don't" and it sounded like a proposed iron law.
It's amazing how many people still don't get this.
If only someone had recognised this early...
That doesn't specifically help Europe though as the US will likely prefer to use its spare capacity to counter Chinese vaccine diplomacy in APAC and over here our spare capacity has basically already been pledged to developing nations eligible for foreign aid.
The issue Europe has is that it underinvested from April 2020 until January 2021 and now they have got 9 months of catching up to do relative to the UK or US who both invested very heavily in domestic production and domestic supply chains to support independent manufacturing.
I don't see either the US or UK using bought spare capacity to bail out the EU, which leaves them playing catch up with their own domestic manufacturing. Something they may struggle to attract private investment for now that their export bans have been realised so it's all going to have to come from the public purse.
@rcs1000 I remember you were asking about when Novavax will gain approval in the UK, I saw some research today that said the rolling review process is scheduled to update in the final week of March and deliveries of the vaccine will commence in the second week of April.
41,000 complaints to Ofcom re Piers Morgan comments today
I wonder whether Piers Morgan is about to go out in a "blaze of glory" moment on GMB and then join GB News?
Maybe. But ITV is still a serious soap box in a way GB News just isn't going to be. That's why he gets 41k complaints, whereas he wouldn't get a fraction of that on, say, Al Jazeera or even Sky, let alone GB News.
There's a big calculation for those leaving the BBC or ITV. You might get a five year contract with a very nice number at the bottom of it. But where do you go from there? You spend that period very well remunerated but drifting into irrelevance. These places are first jobs for emerging talents, but graveyards for old hands. Maybe he doesn't care - he'd be 60 in five years and might be eyeing the size of the final pay cheque - but I suspect otherwise.
Johnson’s decision [not to lock down] flew in the face of all the advice over the summer from the World Bank, the cross-party group of politicians and leading international public health experts. Some of his advisers were incandescent. “I don’t have sympathy for the government making the same mistake twice,” said a senior source on the Sage committee. “We told them quite clearly what they need to do for it to work. They don’t do that . . . It’s been wishful thinking all the way through. I think that probably characterises Boris Johnson, frankly.” "
...
"Vallance gave an example of what might happen if the current levels of infections were allowed to carry on doubling every week — as they appeared to be doing. This, he said, would lead to around 200-plus deaths per day by the middle of November. It was a shocking prediction that drew scathing criticism — one newspaper quoted an unnamed Tory MP describing them as Messrs “Witless and Unbalanced” for exaggerating the figures. In fact, Vallance had hugely downplayed the predicted November death figures, which would be nearer the 500 daily fatalities upper estimate he had given Johnson a few days earlier. "
...
"On October 30, the operation committee met again in Downing Street. Johnson, Sunak, Gove and Hancock were all present to listen to a presentation from Sir Simon Stevens, head of the NHS, who delivered an unequivocal message: hospitals would be overrun in every part of England within weeks if nothing was done.
The prime minister had no choice. He had to finally give in — despite everything he and his chancellor had said about their determination to avoid locking down. A decision was taken to announce a lockdown after the weekend. But fearing that Johnson might wobble again, someone in the prime minister’s close circle leaked the news to the The Times. The prime minister was forced to call a press conference the next day."
------------
Jesus. The thing is, we all saw this coming at the time. (The other two academics at that meeting other than Tegnell were Gupta and Heneghan. Such a surprise.)
It's only looking back that we can recall just how forecasts of 200 deaths a day were so thoroughly mocked by the lockdown sceptics. We went above that on the 21st of October and we are JUST about to drop below a 200-a-day seven day average now for the first time since then. We were past 350 a day on the 1st of November and past 400 a day by the end of the first week in November.
Thanks a bunch, Heneghan, Tegnell, Gupta, Sunak, and the Lockdown Sceptics. And by paying the price of those thousands upon thousands of bereaved families... they ended up fucking up the economy with an even longer and deeper lockdown, anyway. Thanks to the moronic denialists. [2/2]
Sorry if I missed it in your posts, but on what date were HMG still giving Tegnell, Gupta and Heneghan a hearing?
Mid-September. It was thanks to them that the "circuit breaker" lockdown for early October got canned. Leading to the full-on second wave, letting it get out of control, and needing drastic measures to bring it back under control.
They and the Lockdown Sceptics pressure (via the Covid Recovery Group of Tory MPs) against any restrictions (so it always got worse and needed more and more restrictions) are why we've had such a hell of a winter, and why we've been in lockdown so long.
In an alternate timeline, where they weren't listened to, we locked down in October, saw off the rise, went with tougher Tiers, and kept it all under control without kids missing one day of school or the need for any full-on lockdown.
This is the Sunak/Gupta/Heneghan lockdown - needed thanks to their idiocy.
Except circuit breakers don't work.
Wales tried the circuit break, it was a miserable failure.
Other nations around the globe have tried circuit breaks. Not one of them has succeeded.
So other than that, good point, well done.
They do work. It's coming out of them that doesn't work as well. The four week circuit break in November brought it down. The nine weeks since early January has worked as well.
Call it what you like; we're talking about applying lockdown rules for a given period to bring down infection rates. And every time we've done this, infection rates have dropped.
Lockdowns work, circuit breaks don't. That's the point.
The second you lift the "circuit break" cases instantly start rising again. And if its only 2 weeks that achieves squat since people party "last night of freedom" before the 2 weeks, then party "wahay free again" afterwards counteracting the whole point of just 2 weeks which isn't long enough to do much.
So you can't point to today's lockdown and act as if it would have all been avoidable had we just wished it away with a 2 week circuit break. 2 weeks doesn't work.
If you want a lockdown, fair enough, but then don't complain about having a lockdown. The idea a lockdown could be avoided if we'd just done one for 2 weeks then got back to normal is farcical wishful thinking.
If the 4 weeks in November worked then you can't blame today's lockdown on not having a 2 week one in October.
A circuit breaker is slang for a short lockdown. Can a lockdown be so short as to not work because the "last night party" effect outweighs the gains? Yes. But can a lockdown be long enough to work but still short enough to be called a circuit breaker? Also yes.
Ergo "lockdowns work, circuit breaks don't" = tilt.
How short is short enough to still be called a circuit breaker? Especially when the circuit breaker has been defined as 2 weeks.
If you say that a circuit break works, so long as you don't come out of it, then that is a lockdown not a circuit break. A circuit break only works if you can come out of it in the time stated.
Can you name any country, anywhere, which has had significant case numbers and rising cases which has seen a 2 week circuit break work?
I'm wasn't aware we had an accepted definition of it as being of duration 2 weeks.
Link?
The famous Drakeford one was 2 weeks, iirc.
Yes, that one was. But is that the only circuit breaker executed by anybody during the pandemic? Quite a claim to fame for Mark Drakeford if that's the case. Future pub quiz question.
"The figures offer yet more proof that Covid is much deadlier than flu, which kills around 0.1 per cent of everyone infected. Not everyone in England has even had coronavirus, meaning the true infection fatality rate (IFR) of the illness will be much higher. No10's top scientists believe the overall IFR is around 0.5 per cent but the disease is a lot deadlier to the elderly."
It's amazing how many people still don't get this.
If only someone had recognised this early...
That doesn't specifically help Europe though as the US will likely prefer to use its spare capacity to counter Chinese vaccine diplomacy in APAC and over here our spare capacity has basically already been pledged to developing nations eligible for foreign aid.
The issue Europe has is that it underinvested from April 2020 until January 2021 and now they have got 9 months of catching up to do relative to the UK or US who both invested very heavily in domestic production and domestic supply chains to support independent manufacturing.
I don't see either the US or UK using bought spare capacity to bail out the EU, which leaves them playing catch up with their own domestic manufacturing. Something they may struggle to attract private investment for now that their export bans have been realised so it's all going to have to come from the public purse.
With all due respect, I think you're still missing the scale of the increase in vaccine production, and that fact that the producers of vaccines are private companies.
Don't forget Novavax is manufacturing with an Indian partner, Moderna with a Swiss one, and J&J is also announcing non-US manufacturing partners in the coming weeks. CureVac has signed up Bayer and Novartis to manufacture for it. Plus there's the billion doses each from Pfizer and AZ this year.
Let's put this in context for a second, the Lonza plant in Switzerland alone will be producing close to a million doses a day from the end of April.
You are also seeing European countries go beyond the EU now. Denmark and Austria have struck deals with Israel to pick up their excess doses, to example.
The EU will be functionally done by the end of summer, because the doses exist, and these are rich countries that can afford to write checks.
One year at Burghley a friend and I finally found somewhere nice and quiet to sit and chat and were happily doing so for some time before we noticed the looks of death from those around us. At which point we realised that we had inadvertently wandered into the dressage arena.
Dressage richly deserves its reputation as the most tedious spectacle known to mankind. It's also quite baffling: the contestants enter the arena and do their stuff, and then the judges put up scores presumably based on some criteria, but what these criteria might be is completely unfathomable. I did once attend a rodeo in Texas, which works on the same principle and is equally baffling, but it was much more entertaining, seeing as the exercises involve things like the rider leaping off the horse at high speed on to a steer, rather than having the horse lift its left foot six inches.
Mail headline: Palace 'fears Harry and Meghan will NAME Royal Checks story: 1,2,3,..... 15 photos of Prince Charles !
I presume it is totally coincidental that he basically doesn't talk to his dad at all now.
If it was him, it would be quite surprising it was said an intentionally racist way, unlike some Royals.
As Charles has always made a big thing of his much more modern outlook e.g. all the eco stuff, and then after that long running Guardian legal battle, we got what he privately writes to the government and it was all stuff like demanding answers over what they intend to do about to help protect the lesser spotted newt that plays an important some Amazonian tribe continued existence.
Given the similarities between the poor way Meghan has been treated and the poor way Diana was, there would be a certain poetry if Charles were at fault for both.
And he's meant to be our future King "long to rule over us" 😕
Johnson’s decision [not to lock down] flew in the face of all the advice over the summer from the World Bank, the cross-party group of politicians and leading international public health experts. Some of his advisers were incandescent. “I don’t have sympathy for the government making the same mistake twice,” said a senior source on the Sage committee. “We told them quite clearly what they need to do for it to work. They don’t do that . . . It’s been wishful thinking all the way through. I think that probably characterises Boris Johnson, frankly.” "
...
"Vallance gave an example of what might happen if the current levels of infections were allowed to carry on doubling every week — as they appeared to be doing. This, he said, would lead to around 200-plus deaths per day by the middle of November. It was a shocking prediction that drew scathing criticism — one newspaper quoted an unnamed Tory MP describing them as Messrs “Witless and Unbalanced” for exaggerating the figures. In fact, Vallance had hugely downplayed the predicted November death figures, which would be nearer the 500 daily fatalities upper estimate he had given Johnson a few days earlier. "
...
"On October 30, the operation committee met again in Downing Street. Johnson, Sunak, Gove and Hancock were all present to listen to a presentation from Sir Simon Stevens, head of the NHS, who delivered an unequivocal message: hospitals would be overrun in every part of England within weeks if nothing was done.
The prime minister had no choice. He had to finally give in — despite everything he and his chancellor had said about their determination to avoid locking down. A decision was taken to announce a lockdown after the weekend. But fearing that Johnson might wobble again, someone in the prime minister’s close circle leaked the news to the The Times. The prime minister was forced to call a press conference the next day."
------------
Jesus. The thing is, we all saw this coming at the time. (The other two academics at that meeting other than Tegnell were Gupta and Heneghan. Such a surprise.)
It's only looking back that we can recall just how forecasts of 200 deaths a day were so thoroughly mocked by the lockdown sceptics. We went above that on the 21st of October and we are JUST about to drop below a 200-a-day seven day average now for the first time since then. We were past 350 a day on the 1st of November and past 400 a day by the end of the first week in November.
Thanks a bunch, Heneghan, Tegnell, Gupta, Sunak, and the Lockdown Sceptics. And by paying the price of those thousands upon thousands of bereaved families... they ended up fucking up the economy with an even longer and deeper lockdown, anyway. Thanks to the moronic denialists. [2/2]
Sorry if I missed it in your posts, but on what date were HMG still giving Tegnell, Gupta and Heneghan a hearing?
Mid-September. It was thanks to them that the "circuit breaker" lockdown for early October got canned. Leading to the full-on second wave, letting it get out of control, and needing drastic measures to bring it back under control.
They and the Lockdown Sceptics pressure (via the Covid Recovery Group of Tory MPs) against any restrictions (so it always got worse and needed more and more restrictions) are why we've had such a hell of a winter, and why we've been in lockdown so long.
In an alternate timeline, where they weren't listened to, we locked down in October, saw off the rise, went with tougher Tiers, and kept it all under control without kids missing one day of school or the need for any full-on lockdown.
This is the Sunak/Gupta/Heneghan lockdown - needed thanks to their idiocy.
Except circuit breakers don't work.
Wales tried the circuit break, it was a miserable failure.
Other nations around the globe have tried circuit breaks. Not one of them has succeeded.
So other than that, good point, well done.
They do work. It's coming out of them that doesn't work as well. The four week circuit break in November brought it down. The nine weeks since early January has worked as well.
Call it what you like; we're talking about applying lockdown rules for a given period to bring down infection rates. And every time we've done this, infection rates have dropped.
Lockdowns work, circuit breaks don't. That's the point.
The second you lift the "circuit break" cases instantly start rising again. And if its only 2 weeks that achieves squat since people party "last night of freedom" before the 2 weeks, then party "wahay free again" afterwards counteracting the whole point of just 2 weeks which isn't long enough to do much.
So you can't point to today's lockdown and act as if it would have all been avoidable had we just wished it away with a 2 week circuit break. 2 weeks doesn't work.
If you want a lockdown, fair enough, but then don't complain about having a lockdown. The idea a lockdown could be avoided if we'd just done one for 2 weeks then got back to normal is farcical wishful thinking.
If the 4 weeks in November worked then you can't blame today's lockdown on not having a 2 week one in October.
A circuit breaker is slang for a short lockdown. Can a lockdown be so short as to not work because the "last night party" effect outweighs the gains? Yes. But can a lockdown be long enough to work but still short enough to be called a circuit breaker? Also yes.
Ergo "lockdowns work, circuit breaks don't" = tilt.
How short is short enough to still be called a circuit breaker? Especially when the circuit breaker has been defined as 2 weeks.
If you say that a circuit break works, so long as you don't come out of it, then that is a lockdown not a circuit break. A circuit break only works if you can come out of it in the time stated.
Can you name any country, anywhere, which has had significant case numbers and rising cases which has seen a 2 week circuit break work?
I'm wasn't aware we had an accepted definition of it as being of duration 2 weeks.
Link?
The proposed SAGE circuit break was explicitly for 2 weeks. As Wales tried and it didn't work.
See the Times article Andy linked to that started this discussion.
Yes, I get it now. I was fooled by the way you put it - Lockdowns Work. Circuit breakers Don't.
Like that was a law of science or something. But it was just you being you. It's fine.
It's amazing how many people still don't get this.
If only someone had recognised this early...
That doesn't specifically help Europe though as the US will likely prefer to use its spare capacity to counter Chinese vaccine diplomacy in APAC and over here our spare capacity has basically already been pledged to developing nations eligible for foreign aid.
The issue Europe has is that it underinvested from April 2020 until January 2021 and now they have got 9 months of catching up to do relative to the UK or US who both invested very heavily in domestic production and domestic supply chains to support independent manufacturing.
I don't see either the US or UK using bought spare capacity to bail out the EU, which leaves them playing catch up with their own domestic manufacturing. Something they may struggle to attract private investment for now that their export bans have been realised so it's all going to have to come from the public purse.
I imagine it will depend upon how big of a cheque the EU are prepared to write?
I love the marathon/sprint analogy, used to claim going faster is a bad thing essentially (until they have gone faster). People still run fast in a marathon, in fact they go as fast as they possibly can. If they could physically sprint a marathon they would.
Some of them do! Amazing to think that the top male marathon runners average a mile about every four and a half minutes. That's absolutely mind-blowing to me.
Oh indeed. I was speaking equivalently - it's faster than many people sprint, but for them they could still, over short periods (like right at the end) go faster than through most of the race.
That people speed up at the end of a marathon/10000m whatever is pretty mindblowing. I know why 100m is more of a spectacle, but it doesn't wow like the long distance guys for me.
"The figures offer yet more proof that Covid is much deadlier than flu, which kills around 0.1 per cent of everyone infected. Not everyone in England has even had coronavirus, meaning the true infection fatality rate (IFR) of the illness will be much higher. No10's top scientists believe the overall IFR is around 0.5 per cent but the disease is a lot deadlier to the elderly."
It will be interesting to see how the Sussexes reply.....last time they had to have a bit of snark......
They have had their five minutes and this statement was well crafted enough to be seen to be taking the allegations seriously without admitting guilt they cannot really say much in response
Comments
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/health/2021/03/09/covid-19-vaccine-us-surplus-april-coronavirus/4595458001/
https://twitter.com/UKCovid19Stats/status/1369334678574993409
87 positives out of nowhere on the Isle of Man.
That people speed up at the end of a marathon/10000m whatever is pretty mindblowing. I know why 100m is more of a spectacle, but it doesn't wow like the long distance guys for me.
If it was him, it would be quite surprising it was said an intentionally racist way, unlike some Royals.
As Charles has always made a big thing of his much more modern outlook e.g. all the eco stuff, and then after that long running Guardian legal battle, we got what he privately writes to the government and it was all stuff like demanding answers over what they intend to do about to help protect the lesser spotted newt that plays an important role in some Amazonian tribe continued existence.
I think even the Guardian were embarrassed about how "right on" some of the stuff was.
https://twitter.com/jonjonbaldwin/status/1369335237411540992?s=20
And he's meant to be our future King "long to rule over us" 😕
It can be true, many people act very stupidly, but you don't admit to being really bad at your jobs like that if you have any other defence available.
from case data
from hospital admissions data
41,000 complaints to Ofcom re Piers Morgan comments today
I give extension as no more than a 15-1 shot and I'll have a fiver with you on it as you kindly offered.
Buckingham Palace saddened to learn the full extent of how challenging the last few years have been for Harry and Megan
The issues are concerning and will be addressed privately
To the uncharitable:
"full extent" - "they didn't tell us"
"recollections may vary" - "liars"
"addressed by the family privately" - "we're not taking part in this circus"
I'd go the other route, Ottoman it and have all but the heir...taken care of, at their accession.
At this point I'd say whoever made the comment about Archie's skin colour needs to admit it and get their version of events out there.
It's going to come out in the end anyway. These things always do...
https://twitter.com/MBallantyneMSP/status/1369317468125151233?s=20
If only someone had recognised this early...
'Saddened to learn' - We dispute that you raised this
'Recollections vary' - We don't accept the allegations
'Will be addressed' - but it's serious enough we have to say we are doing something
Back covering, sure, but it is actually correct that this be dealt with privately - this is a family dispute, ultimately, albeit a very high profile family. A resolution of any kind is not likely, but isn't helped by further escalation in public.
The All Party Parliamentary Maritime and Ports Group said that Robert Courts MP made the announcement in a meeting on Monday.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-56336787
The Queen has been on the throne for ages. She must have accumulated enough Prestige* to do this by now.
*I may or may not have spent more time than is healthy playing Crusader Kings recently.
If the discussion was about that specific instance rather than in general, ok, fair enough, but I saw the statement "lockdowns work, circuit breakers don't" and it sounded like a proposed iron law.
But anyway. I sense a torrid no-score draw.
The issue Europe has is that it underinvested from April 2020 until January 2021 and now they have got 9 months of catching up to do relative to the UK or US who both invested very heavily in domestic production and domestic supply chains to support independent manufacturing.
I don't see either the US or UK using bought spare capacity to bail out the EU, which leaves them playing catch up with their own domestic manufacturing. Something they may struggle to attract private investment for now that their export bans have been realised so it's all going to have to come from the public purse.
There's a big calculation for those leaving the BBC or ITV. You might get a five year contract with a very nice number at the bottom of it. But where do you go from there? You spend that period very well remunerated but drifting into irrelevance. These places are first jobs for emerging talents, but graveyards for old hands. Maybe he doesn't care - he'd be 60 in five years and might be eyeing the size of the final pay cheque - but I suspect otherwise.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9326909/Nearly-0-4-people-living-two-Essex-boroughs-died-Covid-pandemic-began.html
Don't forget Novavax is manufacturing with an Indian partner, Moderna with a Swiss one, and J&J is also announcing non-US manufacturing partners in the coming weeks. CureVac has signed up Bayer and Novartis to manufacture for it. Plus there's the billion doses each from Pfizer and AZ this year.
Let's put this in context for a second, the Lonza plant in Switzerland alone will be producing close to a million doses a day from the end of April.
You are also seeing European countries go beyond the EU now. Denmark and Austria have struck deals with Israel to pick up their excess doses, to example.
The EU will be functionally done by the end of summer, because the doses exist, and these are rich countries that can afford to write checks.
Like that was a law of science or something. But it was just you being you. It's fine.
This ‘explanatory’ paragraph makes me wonder whether it’s the reader, or the writer, that needs a course in basic statistics.
Honestly it's not a particularly classy statement, it's careful.