Actually if a President said it then I don't think it would be racist.
Given the importance to chips to the modern economy, having a reliable domestic supply of chips really could be considered an issue of national security.
The amount that gets spent on nuclear weapons and defence etc - a supply of chips probably is worth more to security than a couple of nukes.
I was being fascious based on Jon Oliver ridiculous piece where he tried to tie Trump calling covid the China virus as racist hate speech which leads to incidents like the killing of workers at Asian Spas.
Nobody is up in arms about calling things like Brazil, South African or British variant / covid.
I think there's a big difference here. The Brazilian/SA/GB variants are described in such a way as a pure statement of fact/identification. It may be factually correct that Covid started in China, but there are clearly ulterior motives at play when the likes of Trump describes it as "China Flu". It is done deliberately to demonise and deflect criticism from himself. So no it is not unreasonable to potentially link it with anti-Asian violence/prejudice IMO. That doesn't mean it was the cause of what happened it Atlanta. But it is possible that there is a link.
Yep. The difference is clear. Well explained. It can be hard work but it's important work.
Once again, European politicians and media seem to be going out of their way to avoid talkikg about brexit Britain. It's the elephant in the room for all of them.
“UK vaccine roll out is driven by greed and capitalism.”
It’s refreshing to have an honest up front government, after all the years of spin and slight of hand under New Labour and Cameroonies, an honest government being square with us
NHS: National health service
To secure the vaccines by taking it away from both doomed EU plan and Ministry of the NHS, brave enough to go with first dose strategy, and the logistical triumph of the roll out, this is truly any UK governments finest hour.
They should be 20% ahead in the polls not two percent! There is an obvious question being thrown up by polling, in the face of their triumph why is this government not trusted and is so disliked?
“UK vaccine roll out is driven by greed and capitalism.”
It’s refreshing to have an honest up front government, after all the years of spin and slight of hand under New Labour and Cameroonies, an honest government being square with us
NHS: National health service
To secure the vaccines by taking it away from both doomed EU plan and Ministry of the NHS, brave enough to go with first dose strategy, and the logistical triumph of the roll out, this is truly any UK governments finest hour.
They should be 20% ahead in the polls not two percent! There is an obvious question being thrown up by polling, in the face of their triumph why is this government not trusted and is so disliked?
“UK vaccine roll out is driven by greed and capitalism.”
It’s refreshing to have an honest up front government, after all the years of spin and slight of hand under New Labour and Cameroonies, an honest government being square with us
NHS: National health service
To secure the vaccines by taking it away from both doomed EU plan and Ministry of the NHS, brave enough to go with first dose strategy, and the logistical triumph of the roll out, this is truly any UK governments finest hour.
They should be 20% ahead in the polls not two percent! There is an obvious question being thrown up by polling, in the face of their triumph why is this government not trusted and is so disliked?
To say the roll out is driven by capitalism is a lie.
The AZ vaccine was discovered in a public institution, funded by public research bodies, Its expedition and scale up was funded by the government. And the scale and selectivity of the national 'roll out' was possible only through a truly national health service.
Last point being key. Vaccines are in a vast number of arms because of NHS numbers.
Are others on here increasingly tired of the delay before we are legally allowed to do very basic, low risk activities like meeting a group of friends outdoors? Preferably with more than 6 people / 2 households, because that's how friendship groups work for young people in particular.
Weekly excess deaths now negative; 7 day average deaths within 28 days of a positive test now below 80 (and falling >30% a week); people in hospital with Covid below 5,000 with the latest England data; pretty much all over 50s and high risk groups vaccinated... yet we can't meet a group of friends for a picnic or walk outside, which is practically zero risk?
The timing of "indoors" parts of the plan are fine. But the limits on group sizes outside are no longer justified by the data.
Then you have older or vaccinated people discussing vaccine or testing requirements for pubs. No, just no. Everything that has been done in this pandemic has been for them, right down to the ordering of vaccinations. If you don't want to go to a pub that allows non-vaccinated people, you can wait at home until everyone has been offered one, which you'll be waiting a while for as children won't be until the autumn at the earliest.
I've got no problem with a cautious unlocking, but I'm with you all the way on pubs. No way should they only be open to vaccinated people. Shocking proposal.
“UK vaccine roll out is driven by greed and capitalism.”
It’s refreshing to have an honest up front government, after all the years of spin and slight of hand under New Labour and Cameroonies, an honest government being square with us
NHS: National health service
To secure the vaccines by taking it away from both doomed EU plan and Ministry of the NHS, brave enough to go with first dose strategy, and the logistical triumph of the roll out, this is truly any UK governments finest hour.
They should be 20% ahead in the polls not two percent! There is an obvious question being thrown up by polling, in the face of their triumph why is this government not trusted and is so disliked?
Trending on twitter this evening, StarmerOut. I believe lots of people very annoyed that he hasn't stopped the government taking control of Liverpool council affairs.
What makes you say that? Need for bogus debating points?
OR could it be, that you are really a bot yerself?
After all, you have TEN TIMES the number of comments on PB than yours truly. But methinks that as far as CONTENT is concerned, mine is about ten times more substantive.
In the interest of balance, I think the Chinese are victims of this too, in the same boat as we are regards fighting virus, I am open minded if it leaked from a lab or dripped from a bat, they didn’t want it to happen.
Yes, of course. It is quite possible to differentiate between the Chinese people and the vile Chinese Communist Party, in fact it is essential to differentiate
It was the CCP that lied, it was the CCP that let this bug infect the world, not the Chinese people, who got glued inside their homes and suffered horribly. It is the regime at fault, not any "race"
They are called Communist, do you think they are communist with the amount of millionaires and billionaires? Regardless what they would like to be called, to be honest to ourselves it’s more Nationalist isn’t it?
A key question would be how are they doing in their fight against poverty, not just creating super rich elite!
To be fair to the CCP (not easy) "they" have lifted a billion Chinese out of poverty in forty years. An incredible achievement.
But it isn't hard, if you just stand back and let capitalism do its work: this is what capitalism does. The CCP has simply creamed off the profits.
with executions, organ harvesting and mass re-education of a minority along the way.
And as well as gifting the world a pandemic they continue to push against most of their neighbours aggressively.
Oh and got a kid kicked out of a university in Australia because he said nasty things about the peoples party
Once again, European politicians and media seem to be going out of their way to avoid talkikg about brexit Britain. It's the elephant in the room for all of them.
How embarrassing it must be for them, to have been outclassed by the great buffoon in No 10.
“UK vaccine roll out is driven by greed and capitalism.”
It’s refreshing to have an honest up front government, after all the years of spin and slight of hand under New Labour and Cameroonies, an honest government being square with us
NHS: National health service
To secure the vaccines by taking it away from both doomed EU plan and Ministry of the NHS, brave enough to go with first dose strategy, and the logistical triumph of the roll out, this is truly any UK governments finest hour.
They should be 20% ahead in the polls not two percent! There is an obvious question being thrown up by polling, in the face of their triumph why is this government not trusted and is so disliked?
Trending on twitter this evening, StarmerOut. I believe lots of people very annoyed that he hasn't stopped the government taking control of Liverpool council affairs.
To be fair he endorsed it in the HOC today
That is what has caused twitter to get very angry.
“UK vaccine roll out is driven by greed and capitalism.”
It’s refreshing to have an honest up front government, after all the years of spin and slight of hand under New Labour and Cameroonies, an honest government being square with us
NHS: National health service
To secure the vaccines by taking it away from both doomed EU plan and Ministry of the NHS, brave enough to go with first dose strategy, and the logistical triumph of the roll out, this is truly any UK governments finest hour.
They should be 20% ahead in the polls not two percent! There is an obvious question being thrown up by polling, in the face of their triumph why is this government not trusted and is so disliked?
Trending on twitter this evening, StarmerOut. I believe lots of people very annoyed that he hasn't stopped the government taking control of Liverpool council affairs.
To be fair he endorsed it in the HOC today
That is what has caused twitter to get very angry.
“UK vaccine roll out is driven by greed and capitalism.”
It’s refreshing to have an honest up front government, after all the years of spin and slight of hand under New Labour and Cameroonies, an honest government being square with us
NHS: National health service
To secure the vaccines by taking it away from both doomed EU plan and Ministry of the NHS, brave enough to go with first dose strategy, and the logistical triumph of the roll out, this is truly any UK governments finest hour.
They should be 20% ahead in the polls not two percent! There is an obvious question being thrown up by polling, in the face of their triumph why is this government not trusted and is so disliked?
Trending on twitter this evening, StarmerOut. I believe lots of people very annoyed that he hasn't stopped the government taking control of Liverpool council affairs.
To be fair he endorsed it in the HOC today
Would these "lots of people" be the same ones (or their political heirs) who were critical of Neil Kinnock for lowering the boom on the Liverpudlian looney left back in the day?
If so, then surely a political plus for Keir Starmer?
“UK vaccine roll out is driven by greed and capitalism.”
It’s refreshing to have an honest up front government, after all the years of spin and slight of hand under New Labour and Cameroonies, an honest government being square with us
NHS: National health service
To secure the vaccines by taking it away from both doomed EU plan and Ministry of the NHS, brave enough to go with first dose strategy, and the logistical triumph of the roll out, this is truly any UK governments finest hour.
They should be 20% ahead in the polls not two percent! There is an obvious question being thrown up by polling, in the face of their triumph why is this government not trusted and is so disliked?
Trending on twitter this evening, StarmerOut. I believe lots of people very annoyed that he hasn't stopped the government taking control of Liverpool council affairs.
To be fair he endorsed it in the HOC today
That is what has caused twitter to get very angry.
Corbynites get StarmerOut trending about twice a week though don’t they? No biggie really, except it probably means a lot of people who voted Jezza won’t vote Sir Keir. Green I’d say, and he will get back some, probably as many from the centre right who wouldn’t go full Corbyn
In the interest of balance, I think the Chinese are victims of this too, in the same boat as we are regards fighting virus, I am open minded if it leaked from a lab or dripped from a bat, they didn’t want it to happen.
Yes, of course. It is quite possible to differentiate between the Chinese people and the vile Chinese Communist Party, in fact it is essential to differentiate
It was the CCP that lied, it was the CCP that let this bug infect the world, not the Chinese people, who got glued inside their homes and suffered horribly. It is the regime at fault, not any "race"
They are called Communist, do you think they are communist with the amount of millionaires and billionaires? Regardless what they would like to be called, to be honest to ourselves it’s more Nationalist isn’t it?
A key question would be how are they doing in their fight against poverty, not just creating super rich elite!
To be fair to the CCP (not easy) "they" have lifted a billion Chinese out of poverty in forty years. An incredible achievement.
But it isn't hard, if you just stand back and let capitalism do its work: this is what capitalism does. The CCP has simply creamed off the profits.
with executions, organ harvesting and mass re-education of a minority along the way.
And as well as gifting the world a pandemic they continue to push against most of their neighbours aggressively.
Oh and got a kid kicked out of a university in Australia because he said nasty things about the peoples party
And yet. All this was true during the first decade of Tory rule. When the slavering to profit from China was strong. What has changed?
What makes you say that? Need for bogus debating points?
OR could it be, that you are really a bot yerself?
After all, you have TEN TIMES the number of comments on PB than yours truly. But methinks that as far as CONTENT is concerned, mine is about ten times more substantive.
Though you ARE mildly amusing from time to time.
I rescind the 2nd from last sentence! After all, Sunil IS one of our more eminent (if that's the word) PBers.
In the interest of balance, I think the Chinese are victims of this too, in the same boat as we are regards fighting virus, I am open minded if it leaked from a lab or dripped from a bat, they didn’t want it to happen.
Yes, of course. It is quite possible to differentiate between the Chinese people and the vile Chinese Communist Party, in fact it is essential to differentiate
It was the CCP that lied, it was the CCP that let this bug infect the world, not the Chinese people, who got glued inside their homes and suffered horribly. It is the regime at fault, not any "race"
They are called Communist, do you think they are communist with the amount of millionaires and billionaires? Regardless what they would like to be called, to be honest to ourselves it’s more Nationalist isn’t it?
A key question would be how are they doing in their fight against poverty, not just creating super rich elite!
To be fair to the CCP (not easy) "they" have lifted a billion Chinese out of poverty in forty years. An incredible achievement.
But it isn't hard, if you just stand back and let capitalism do its work: this is what capitalism does. The CCP has simply creamed off the profits.
with executions, organ harvesting and mass re-education of a minority along the way.
And as well as gifting the world a pandemic they continue to push against most of their neighbours aggressively.
Oh and got a kid kicked out of a university in Australia because he said nasty things about the peoples party
And yet. All this was true during the first decade of Tory rule. When the slavering to profit from China was strong. What has changed?
For me, nothing - apart from they are more blatant and more aggressive in recent years.
Not sure what point you were trying to make to be honest
France has published a case figure of 65,737 but apparently it contains multiple days. Their data is very unreliable.
Yes, the last two days have come in lower than expected so this makes some amount of sense. It brings the daily average up to 30k which is about what we should have expected.
Grim Seven in 10 patients hospitalised with Covid-19 have still not fully recovered after five months, and they appear to cluster into four distinct categories based on their symptoms, research suggests.
In the interest of balance, I think the Chinese are victims of this too, in the same boat as we are regards fighting virus, I am open minded if it leaked from a lab or dripped from a bat, they didn’t want it to happen.
Yes, of course. It is quite possible to differentiate between the Chinese people and the vile Chinese Communist Party, in fact it is essential to differentiate
It was the CCP that lied, it was the CCP that let this bug infect the world, not the Chinese people, who got glued inside their homes and suffered horribly. It is the regime at fault, not any "race"
They are called Communist, do you think they are communist with the amount of millionaires and billionaires? Regardless what they would like to be called, to be honest to ourselves it’s more Nationalist isn’t it?
A key question would be how are they doing in their fight against poverty, not just creating super rich elite!
Communism has ALWAYS created its own special class of the super-privileged.
Big difference with the Chinese Commies, was when them cottoned on to the fact, that their "privileges" under old-school communism were crap, certainly compared with the richer members of Western capitalist societies, or even the more affluent of the middle classes.
Grim Seven in 10 patients hospitalised with Covid-19 have still not fully recovered after five months, and they appear to cluster into four distinct categories based on their symptoms, research suggests.
I can't remember, what was the stat about re-admissions as well, its really high.
The problem is that, although we are a law-abiding and fairly docile people, this is the case only as long as we believe that the powers-that-be are making decisions and doing things in accordance with the rules and established practice.
The present gang of liars, cheats and scallywags could not care less about following the rule-book and established practice. It follows that nobody should pay any heed at all to what they decree - nor to any of the established intruments for imposing the decisions of the state. The law, the police, all authority figures have been corrupted by Johnson and his unprincipled gang.
For my part, I do what I think is correct on the basis of ethics - something that was derided considerably by our own TSE recently, when one of his courses told him that lawyers ought to pay attention to ethical principles. The fact that the Conservatives have an 80 seat majority in the House of Commons - won by non-transparent means - is not sufficient to boss me around.
I didn't deride ethics, I just said there are often much better reasons to do the right thing.
I mean any scandal involving me would kill my mother, it would be a career ender for me and I like spending earning money, and I would not do well in prison, lockdown confirms the latter.
I had to give a crash course in ethics to a bunch of bankers and traders, and from previous experience I knew talking about ethics really wasn't for them.
So I began my talk and presentation with 'Over 100,000 inmates are raped and sexually assaulted annually in American prisons, this is important for you to know, because of our one side extradition treaty with America an American prison is where you are likely to end up in if you break the law and there's even a tenuous link to the States, for example see the Natwest three.'
To say I had their attention from the start of that presentation was an understatement.
In the interest of balance, I think the Chinese are victims of this too, in the same boat as we are regards fighting virus, I am open minded if it leaked from a lab or dripped from a bat, they didn’t want it to happen.
Yes, of course. It is quite possible to differentiate between the Chinese people and the vile Chinese Communist Party, in fact it is essential to differentiate
It was the CCP that lied, it was the CCP that let this bug infect the world, not the Chinese people, who got glued inside their homes and suffered horribly. It is the regime at fault, not any "race"
They are called Communist, do you think they are communist with the amount of millionaires and billionaires? Regardless what they would like to be called, to be honest to ourselves it’s more Nationalist isn’t it?
A key question would be how are they doing in their fight against poverty, not just creating super rich elite!
To be fair to the CCP (not easy) "they" have lifted a billion Chinese out of poverty in forty years. An incredible achievement.
But it isn't hard, if you just stand back and let capitalism do its work: this is what capitalism does. The CCP has simply creamed off the profits.
with executions, organ harvesting and mass re-education of a minority along the way.
And as well as gifting the world a pandemic they continue to push against most of their neighbours aggressively.
Oh and got a kid kicked out of a university in Australia because he said nasty things about the peoples party
And yet. All this was true during the first decade of Tory rule. When the slavering to profit from China was strong. What has changed?
For me, nothing - apart from they are more blatant and more aggressive in recent years.
Not sure what point you were trying to make to be honest
That they haven't particularly become more blatant and aggressive. A lot of folk have simply started looking at their human rights record when they decided they were an economic threat rather than an opportunity.
Perfect for the government, really. Like all the other culture war bobbins, the important thing is that the war continues- that's even more useful to the government than winning the war.
In the interest of balance, I think the Chinese are victims of this too, in the same boat as we are regards fighting virus, I am open minded if it leaked from a lab or dripped from a bat, they didn’t want it to happen.
Yes, of course. It is quite possible to differentiate between the Chinese people and the vile Chinese Communist Party, in fact it is essential to differentiate
It was the CCP that lied, it was the CCP that let this bug infect the world, not the Chinese people, who got glued inside their homes and suffered horribly. It is the regime at fault, not any "race"
They are called Communist, do you think they are communist with the amount of millionaires and billionaires? Regardless what they would like to be called, to be honest to ourselves it’s more Nationalist isn’t it?
A key question would be how are they doing in their fight against poverty, not just creating super rich elite!
To be fair to the CCP (not easy) "they" have lifted a billion Chinese out of poverty in forty years. An incredible achievement.
But it isn't hard, if you just stand back and let capitalism do its work: this is what capitalism does. The CCP has simply creamed off the profits.
with executions, organ harvesting and mass re-education of a minority along the way.
And as well as gifting the world a pandemic they continue to push against most of their neighbours aggressively.
Oh and got a kid kicked out of a university in Australia because he said nasty things about the peoples party
And yet. All this was true during the first decade of Tory rule. When the slavering to profit from China was strong. What has changed?
For me, nothing - apart from they are more blatant and more aggressive in recent years.
Not sure what point you were trying to make to be honest
That they haven't particularly become more blatant and aggressive. A lot of folk have simply started looking at their human rights record when they decided they were an economic threat rather than an opportunity.
The problem is that, although we are a law-abiding and fairly docile people, this is the case only as long as we believe that the powers-that-be are making decisions and doing things in accordance with the rules and established practice.
The present gang of liars, cheats and scallywags could not care less about following the rule-book and established practice. It follows that nobody should pay any heed at all to what they decree - nor to any of the established intruments for imposing the decisions of the state. The law, the police, all authority figures have been corrupted by Johnson and his unprincipled gang.
For my part, I do what I think is correct on the basis of ethics - something that was derided considerably by our own TSE recently, when one of his courses told him that lawyers ought to pay attention to ethical principles. The fact that the Conservatives have an 80 seat majority in the House of Commons - won by non-transparent means - is not sufficient to boss me around.
I didn't deride ethics, I just said there are often much better reasons to do the right thing.
I mean any scandal involving me would kill my mother, it would be a career ender for me and I like spending earning money, and I would not do well in prison, lockdown confirms the latter.
I had to give a crash course in ethics to a bunch of bankers and traders, and from previous experience I knew talking about ethics really wasn't for them.
So I began my talk and presentation with 'Over 100,000 inmates are raped and sexually assaulted annually in American prisons, this is important for you to know, because of our one side extradition treaty with America an American prison is where you are likely to end up in if you break the law and there's even a tenuous link to the States, for example see the Natwest three.'
To say I had their attention from the start of that presentation was an understatement.
I am still waiting for my invitation ....... ☺️
I guess he’ll blame spellcheck for his misspelling of ‘anally’ in the fourth paragraph
Brazil just went over 300,000 deaths - officially. The real toll is presumably much higher
Grisly. And no signs of stopping
At least until Boxing Day when the figures stop on the Economist website Brazil's death toll was pretty accurate, much more accurate than most countries.
In the interest of balance, I think the Chinese are victims of this too, in the same boat as we are regards fighting virus, I am open minded if it leaked from a lab or dripped from a bat, they didn’t want it to happen.
Yes, of course. It is quite possible to differentiate between the Chinese people and the vile Chinese Communist Party, in fact it is essential to differentiate
It was the CCP that lied, it was the CCP that let this bug infect the world, not the Chinese people, who got glued inside their homes and suffered horribly. It is the regime at fault, not any "race"
They are called Communist, do you think they are communist with the amount of millionaires and billionaires? Regardless what they would like to be called, to be honest to ourselves it’s more Nationalist isn’t it?
A key question would be how are they doing in their fight against poverty, not just creating super rich elite!
To be fair to the CCP (not easy) "they" have lifted a billion Chinese out of poverty in forty years. An incredible achievement.
But it isn't hard, if you just stand back and let capitalism do its work: this is what capitalism does. The CCP has simply creamed off the profits.
with executions, organ harvesting and mass re-education of a minority along the way.
And as well as gifting the world a pandemic they continue to push against most of their neighbours aggressively.
Oh and got a kid kicked out of a university in Australia because he said nasty things about the peoples party
And yet. All this was true during the first decade of Tory rule. When the slavering to profit from China was strong. What has changed?
For me, nothing - apart from they are more blatant and more aggressive in recent years.
Not sure what point you were trying to make to be honest
That they haven't particularly become more blatant and aggressive. A lot of folk have simply started looking at their human rights record when they decided they were an economic threat rather than an opportunity.
China, as it grows in confidence and power, has definitely become more blatant and aggressive.
Look at Hong Kong. They wouldn't have dared do that 10 or 15 years ago. Now they can crush the city completely, and no one does anything more than bleat.
Former health secretary Jeremy Hunt branded the proposed export ban 'idiotic' and warned it could wreck the EU's relations with Britain for years. 'Step by step the EU is destroying the possibility of a long-term partnership and friendship with its closest neighbour,' he said.
JOHN HUMPHRYS: This has destroyed the faith of an old Remainer like me
BBC news presenters like to pretend that they are impartial – except when it comes to distinguishing between good and evil. They have no choice. That's the test that the great Lord Reith set a century ago and, by and large, it applies today. But it's not easy.
I failed in the eyes of many listeners when I was presenting the Today programme in the long run-up to the EU referendum in 2016. They accused me of being so biased in favour of Brexit that I never gave the Remainers a fair chance to state their case. They were right about me being biased – but wrong about where my bias lay.
I was so determined not to show my true colours that I might just possibly have given Remainers a slightly rougher ride than they deserved when I interviewed them. In the highly charged atmosphere of the most bitterly fought referendum in this nation's history, that was more than enough to condemn me in the eyes of Remainers.
The fact is, I was one of them: A Remainer through and through.
But this week it's hard for an old Remainer like me, waiting to have his second jab, not to muse on his referendum vote back in 2016 and wonder whether he might have voted differently if he'd known then what he knows now.
Once again, European politicians and media seem to be going out of their way to avoid talkikg about brexit Britain. It's the elephant in the room for all of them.
How embarrassing it must be for them, to have been outclassed by the great buffoon in No 10.
'Outclassed' is an odd choice of word. I doubt they'll see it that way.
In the interest of balance, I think the Chinese are victims of this too, in the same boat as we are regards fighting virus, I am open minded if it leaked from a lab or dripped from a bat, they didn’t want it to happen.
Yes, of course. It is quite possible to differentiate between the Chinese people and the vile Chinese Communist Party, in fact it is essential to differentiate
It was the CCP that lied, it was the CCP that let this bug infect the world, not the Chinese people, who got glued inside their homes and suffered horribly. It is the regime at fault, not any "race"
They are called Communist, do you think they are communist with the amount of millionaires and billionaires? Regardless what they would like to be called, to be honest to ourselves it’s more Nationalist isn’t it?
A key question would be how are they doing in their fight against poverty, not just creating super rich elite!
To be fair to the CCP (not easy) "they" have lifted a billion Chinese out of poverty in forty years. An incredible achievement.
But it isn't hard, if you just stand back and let capitalism do its work: this is what capitalism does. The CCP has simply creamed off the profits.
with executions, organ harvesting and mass re-education of a minority along the way.
And as well as gifting the world a pandemic they continue to push against most of their neighbours aggressively.
Oh and got a kid kicked out of a university in Australia because he said nasty things about the peoples party
And yet. All this was true during the first decade of Tory rule. When the slavering to profit from China was strong. What has changed?
For me, nothing - apart from they are more blatant and more aggressive in recent years.
Not sure what point you were trying to make to be honest
That they haven't particularly become more blatant and aggressive. A lot of folk have simply started looking at their human rights record when they decided they were an economic threat rather than an opportunity.
Not me - others will have to speak for themselves
Fair enough then. It is somewhat galling for me to listen to certain groups who have been touting trade, investment and military co-operation for years suddenly discover the Uyghurs and organ harvesting as if on the Road to Damascus.
Actually if a President said it then I don't think it would be racist.
Given the importance to chips to the modern economy, having a reliable domestic supply of chips really could be considered an issue of national security.
The amount that gets spent on nuclear weapons and defence etc - a supply of chips probably is worth more to security than a couple of nukes.
I was being fascious based on Jon Oliver ridiculous piece where he tried to tie Trump calling covid the China virus as racist hate speech which leads to incidents like the killing of workers at Asian Spas.
Ah, I get it.
I think Trump was being racist, trying to shift the blame on to Chy-na.
We talk about the South Africa variant, the Brazil variant and the rest of the world talks about the British variant but that's because there's so many not suddenly that it enables people to keep track of what's being talked about.
That wasn't the case when Trump was saying Chy-na, Chy-na, Chy-na for everything.
China is absolutely to blame for this. They lied and covered up the severity of this for months.
And yet, if you say "the Chinese virus" you are a racist, but it is perfectly acceptable to say "the British variant" or "the Brazilian variant"
Again, it is clear: China and Russia have weaponised our ludicrous obsession with race, and turned it against us, so we beat ourselves up and they are exonerated. It is painful to watch
Bollocks.
China/Brazil/South Africa is the identifying name people have. The only other name is codes like B117 that people don't understand or use.
"Coronavirus" or "Covid" or "Covid19" is what this was called before Trump started renaming it China virus.
You seem to believe the weak, powerless, well-meaning Chinese Community Party was largely unaware of the Wuhan virus until about, what, August last year?
No, it was revealed to the world in December 2019, just as the UK revealed the Kent variant to the world in December 2020.
When do you think the Chinese became aware of and fully understood the virus? How many months before Dec 2019?
AIUI there was a full report with input from 17 US intelligence agencies on Trump’s desk pre-Christmas.
That takes weeks to prepare - probably needed to start in October. So the Chinese were probably aware in Sept 19.
Grim Seven in 10 patients hospitalised with Covid-19 have still not fully recovered after five months, and they appear to cluster into four distinct categories based on their symptoms, research suggests.
That's the reason not to be too relaxed about "younger people don't die from it".
Once again, European politicians and media seem to be going out of their way to avoid talkikg about brexit Britain. It's the elephant in the room for all of them.
How embarrassing it must be for them, to have been outclassed by the great buffoon in No 10.
'Outclassed' is an odd choice of word. I doubt they'll see it that way.
In terms of vaccine procurement and roll-out, they have been. Well and truly.
CNN: The UK's relative success has been embarrassing for the EU. Any complaints that the UK is not playing fairly or suggestions of retroactive measures are easy to frame as petulance from Brussels, an attempt to blame others for its own failures.
However, Johnson's greed comments could prove useful for a Commission trying to unite member states and paint the UK as the bad guy.
Which raises the key question: Why did Johnson say this?
Those present at the meeting have offered up theories that the Prime Minister was "clearly joking" to a room of friends, as he'd spent the whole meeting "praising AstraZeneca for not seeking profit," to suggestions he was "speaking in a typical Boris rambly way" and stumbled into discussing how the left-wing opposition Labour party opposes any private investment in the National Health Service.
"He was talking off the cuff, I think, then suddenly remembered he was Prime Minister," one lawmaker present at the meeting told CNN.
There is no denying, though, that the timing of his remarks is poor.
The vaccine rollout has been a rare success in Johnson's response to the pandemic. The UK still has the highest death toll from coronavirus in Europe. Anything that dents the vaccination program and delays his plans to take Britons out of lockdown could severely damage the Prime Minister and his government at a time they can ill afford a serious knock -- least of all one delivered by the European Union.
Once again, European politicians and media seem to be going out of their way to avoid talkikg about brexit Britain. It's the elephant in the room for all of them.
How embarrassing it must be for them, to have been outclassed by the great buffoon in No 10.
'Outclassed' is an odd choice of word. I doubt they'll see it that way.
In the interest of balance, I think the Chinese are victims of this too, in the same boat as we are regards fighting virus, I am open minded if it leaked from a lab or dripped from a bat, they didn’t want it to happen.
Yes, of course. It is quite possible to differentiate between the Chinese people and the vile Chinese Communist Party, in fact it is essential to differentiate
It was the CCP that lied, it was the CCP that let this bug infect the world, not the Chinese people, who got glued inside their homes and suffered horribly. It is the regime at fault, not any "race"
They are called Communist, do you think they are communist with the amount of millionaires and billionaires? Regardless what they would like to be called, to be honest to ourselves it’s more Nationalist isn’t it?
A key question would be how are they doing in their fight against poverty, not just creating super rich elite!
To be fair to the CCP (not easy) "they" have lifted a billion Chinese out of poverty in forty years. An incredible achievement.
But it isn't hard, if you just stand back and let capitalism do its work: this is what capitalism does. The CCP has simply creamed off the profits.
with executions, organ harvesting and mass re-education of a minority along the way.
And as well as gifting the world a pandemic they continue to push against most of their neighbours aggressively.
Oh and got a kid kicked out of a university in Australia because he said nasty things about the peoples party
And yet. All this was true during the first decade of Tory rule. When the slavering to profit from China was strong. What has changed?
For me, nothing - apart from they are more blatant and more aggressive in recent years.
Not sure what point you were trying to make to be honest
That they haven't particularly become more blatant and aggressive. A lot of folk have simply started looking at their human rights record when they decided they were an economic threat rather than an opportunity.
One of the more ironic things about Chinese govt's response to the West, was the case of Gary Locke, former WA State Governor and US ambassador to Beijing (also former US Secretary of Commerce).
When Gary was first elected Governor, it was a HUGE media sensation in China, esp. in southern China where he has his family roots. This was aided by fact that Locke was VERY big on boosting trade between WA and China. NOT for ethnic reasons, but rather for economic - a HUGE deal for the state's economy.
This mutual admiration continued throughout his two terms as Gov. UNTIL he was appointed Ambassador by President Obama.
Then two things happened, that soured the Chinese government on the first Chinese American ambassador to the Middle Kingdom:
> Minor difficulty was when he arrived in China to take up his duties, Gary Locke was photographed CARRYING HIS OWN BAG though the airport. Apparently this is something that no self-respecting Chinese commie functionary would EVER consider doing. The apparatchiks quickly came to the conclusion, that Gary was trying to make them look bad!
> Major problem was the fact that, surprise, surprise, it turns out that Gary Locke is an AMERICAN first, and Chinese American second. In fact, he's Jack Armstrong the All American Boy - son of US Army vet (Paton's cook!), an Eagle Scout who grew up in the projects and graduated on scholarship from Princeton U. Apparently Chinese expected him to put (Commie) China first, last, always.
SO they demonized Locke in the media, and made it clear that he was NOT going to make ANY headway diplomatically, as far as Beijing was concerned.
Actually if a President said it then I don't think it would be racist.
Given the importance to chips to the modern economy, having a reliable domestic supply of chips really could be considered an issue of national security.
The amount that gets spent on nuclear weapons and defence etc - a supply of chips probably is worth more to security than a couple of nukes.
I was being fascious based on Jon Oliver ridiculous piece where he tried to tie Trump calling covid the China virus as racist hate speech which leads to incidents like the killing of workers at Asian Spas.
Ah, I get it.
I think Trump was being racist, trying to shift the blame on to Chy-na.
We talk about the South Africa variant, the Brazil variant and the rest of the world talks about the British variant but that's because there's so many not suddenly that it enables people to keep track of what's being talked about.
That wasn't the case when Trump was saying Chy-na, Chy-na, Chy-na for everything.
China is absolutely to blame for this. They lied and covered up the severity of this for months.
And yet, if you say "the Chinese virus" you are a racist, but it is perfectly acceptable to say "the British variant" or "the Brazilian variant"
Again, it is clear: China and Russia have weaponised our ludicrous obsession with race, and turned it against us, so we beat ourselves up and they are exonerated. It is painful to watch
Bollocks.
China/Brazil/South Africa is the identifying name people have. The only other name is codes like B117 that people don't understand or use.
"Coronavirus" or "Covid" or "Covid19" is what this was called before Trump started renaming it China virus.
You seem to believe the weak, powerless, well-meaning Chinese Community Party was largely unaware of the Wuhan virus until about, what, August last year?
No, it was revealed to the world in December 2019, just as the UK revealed the Kent variant to the world in December 2020.
When do you think the Chinese became aware of and fully understood the virus? How many months before Dec 2019?
AIUI there was a full report with input from 17 US intelligence agencies on Trump’s desk pre-Christmas.
That takes weeks to prepare - probably needed to start in October. So the Chinese were probably aware in Sept 19.
If that's true its news to me but makes it all the more shocking that Trump was by March still dismissing this as nothing to be concerned about and would all be over by Easter and would go away "all by itself like magic".
So you're saying he not just knew what we'd learnt January-March by then, but what the intelligence agencies knew too?
Actually if a President said it then I don't think it would be racist.
Given the importance to chips to the modern economy, having a reliable domestic supply of chips really could be considered an issue of national security.
The amount that gets spent on nuclear weapons and defence etc - a supply of chips probably is worth more to security than a couple of nukes.
I was being fascious based on Jon Oliver ridiculous piece where he tried to tie Trump calling covid the China virus as racist hate speech which leads to incidents like the killing of workers at Asian Spas.
Ah, I get it.
I think Trump was being racist, trying to shift the blame on to Chy-na.
We talk about the South Africa variant, the Brazil variant and the rest of the world talks about the British variant but that's because there's so many not suddenly that it enables people to keep track of what's being talked about.
That wasn't the case when Trump was saying Chy-na, Chy-na, Chy-na for everything.
China is absolutely to blame for this. They lied and covered up the severity of this for months.
And yet, if you say "the Chinese virus" you are a racist, but it is perfectly acceptable to say "the British variant" or "the Brazilian variant"
Again, it is clear: China and Russia have weaponised our ludicrous obsession with race, and turned it against us, so we beat ourselves up and they are exonerated. It is painful to watch
Bollocks.
China/Brazil/South Africa is the identifying name people have. The only other name is codes like B117 that people don't understand or use.
"Coronavirus" or "Covid" or "Covid19" is what this was called before Trump started renaming it China virus.
You seem to believe the weak, powerless, well-meaning Chinese Community Party was largely unaware of the Wuhan virus until about, what, August last year?
No, it was revealed to the world in December 2019, just as the UK revealed the Kent variant to the world in December 2020.
When do you think the Chinese became aware of and fully understood the virus? How many months before Dec 2019?
AIUI there was a full report with input from 17 US intelligence agencies on Trump’s desk pre-Christmas.
That takes weeks to prepare - probably needed to start in October. So the Chinese were probably aware in Sept 19.
AND fact that Trumpsky knew about it in December, speaks volumes for his "leadership" in this crisis.
What makes you say that? Need for bogus debating points?
OR could it be, that you are really a bot yerself?
After all, you have TEN TIMES the number of comments on PB than yours truly. But methinks that as far as CONTENT is concerned, mine is about ten times more substantive.
Though you ARE mildly amusing from time to time.
I rescind the 2nd from last sentence! After all, Sunil IS one of our more eminent (if that's the word) PBers.
I am NOT, repeat NOT, a Chinese Bot! I merely post from my dacha over looking a huge Troll-Farm near the spa-town of NovoSunilsk!
“UK vaccine roll out is driven by greed and capitalism.”
It’s refreshing to have an honest up front government, after all the years of spin and slight of hand under New Labour and Cameroonies, an honest government being square with us
NHS: National health service
To secure the vaccines by taking it away from both doomed EU plan and Ministry of the NHS, brave enough to go with first dose strategy, and the logistical triumph of the roll out, this is truly any UK governments finest hour.
They should be 20% ahead in the polls not two percent! There is an obvious question being thrown up by polling, in the face of their triumph why is this government not trusted and is so disliked?
CNN: The UK's relative success has been embarrassing for the EU. Any complaints that the UK is not playing fairly or suggestions of retroactive measures are easy to frame as petulance from Brussels, an attempt to blame others for its own failures.
However, Johnson's greed comments could prove useful for a Commission trying to unite member states and paint the UK as the bad guy.
Which raises the key question: Why did Johnson say this?
Those present at the meeting have offered up theories that the Prime Minister was "clearly joking" to a room of friends, as he'd spent the whole meeting "praising AstraZeneca for not seeking profit," to suggestions he was "speaking in a typical Boris rambly way" and stumbled into discussing how the left-wing opposition Labour party opposes any private investment in the National Health Service.
"He was talking off the cuff, I think, then suddenly remembered he was Prime Minister," one lawmaker present at the meeting told CNN.
There is no denying, though, that the timing of his remarks is poor.
The vaccine rollout has been a rare success in Johnson's response to the pandemic. The UK still has the highest death toll from coronavirus in Europe. Anything that dents the vaccination program and delays his plans to take Britons out of lockdown could severely damage the Prime Minister and his government at a time they can ill afford a serious knock -- least of all one delivered by the European Union.
Corriere Della Sera: And now the ineffable Boris announces that the success of the vaccination campaign in Britain "is due to capitalism, it is due to greed, my friends".
Open heaven: these are words that come like fuel to the fire of the brawl with the European Union over the export of vaccines. And in fact Boris himself, who was speaking last night during a confidential meeting with the Conservative deputies, realized he had shot it big: "I'm sorry I said it," he added immediately afterwards, asking the bystanders to "delete from memory" those words.
But now the damage was done: even if the witnesses make it clear that Johnson was not referring to the dispute with Europe, but to the fact that the effort of the pharmaceutical giants, which led to the creation of the vaccines, was motivated by the pursuit of profit to shareholders. Once again, however, Boris was unable to hold back his arrogance.
And to think that this morning the English newspapers praise the austere, measured and contrite style with which yesterday afternoon he conducted the press conference that marked a year since the first lockdown began: Boris admitted the many mistakes made and confessed that this experience will accompany you throughout your life.
But then in the evening his hand slipped away, as it is in his traditional style.
Corriere Della Sera: And now the ineffable Boris announces that the success of the vaccination campaign in Britain "is due to capitalism, it is due to greed, my friends".
Open heaven: these are words that come like fuel to the fire of the brawl with the European Union over the export of vaccines. And in fact Boris himself, who was speaking last night during a confidential meeting with the Conservative deputies, realized he had shot it big: "I'm sorry I said it," he added immediately afterwards, asking the bystanders to "delete from memory" those words.
But now the damage was done: even if the witnesses make it clear that Johnson was not referring to the dispute with Europe, but to the fact that the effort of the pharmaceutical giants, which led to the creation of the vaccines, was motivated by the pursuit of profit to shareholders. Once again, however, Boris was unable to hold back his arrogance.
And to think that this morning the English newspapers praise the austere, measured and contrite style with which yesterday afternoon he conducted the press conference that marked a year since the first lockdown began: Boris admitted the many mistakes made and confessed that this experience will accompany you throughout your life.
But then in the evening his hand slipped away, as it is in his traditional style.
Do you really think anyone cares about CNN's cancerous bullshit?
In the interest of balance, I think the Chinese are victims of this too, in the same boat as we are regards fighting virus, I am open minded if it leaked from a lab or dripped from a bat, they didn’t want it to happen.
Yes, of course. It is quite possible to differentiate between the Chinese people and the vile Chinese Communist Party, in fact it is essential to differentiate
It was the CCP that lied, it was the CCP that let this bug infect the world, not the Chinese people, who got glued inside their homes and suffered horribly. It is the regime at fault, not any "race"
They are called Communist, do you think they are communist with the amount of millionaires and billionaires? Regardless what they would like to be called, to be honest to ourselves it’s more Nationalist isn’t it?
A key question would be how are they doing in their fight against poverty, not just creating super rich elite!
To be fair to the CCP (not easy) "they" have lifted a billion Chinese out of poverty in forty years. An incredible achievement.
But it isn't hard, if you just stand back and let capitalism do its work: this is what capitalism does. The CCP has simply creamed off the profits.
with executions, organ harvesting and mass re-education of a minority along the way.
And as well as gifting the world a pandemic they continue to push against most of their neighbours aggressively.
Oh and got a kid kicked out of a university in Australia because he said nasty things about the peoples party
And yet. All this was true during the first decade of Tory rule. When the slavering to profit from China was strong. What has changed?
For me, nothing - apart from they are more blatant and more aggressive in recent years.
Not sure what point you were trying to make to be honest
That they haven't particularly become more blatant and aggressive. A lot of folk have simply started looking at their human rights record when they decided they were an economic threat rather than an opportunity.
China, as it grows in confidence and power, has definitely become more blatant and aggressive.
Look at Hong Kong. They wouldn't have dared do that 10 or 15 years ago. Now they can crush the city completely, and no one does anything more than bleat.
Nah. They waited till they had set up Shanghai as their financial hub. And Shenzhen as a special economic zone. And until the West had enough tied up there that they had more to lose than gain. They used Hong Kong. Now they have no need for it. The special status existed for exactly as long as it was convenient.
Should be mandatory as a condition for reopening. If it's optional then competition will make pubs reluctant to do it. What's the problem? Most adutls will have had vaccinations shortly, so excluding those who haven't will merely affect the recalcitrant types who refuse (fine, I'm not in favour of it being mandatory, but then don't claim the right to mingle and infect others)
Absolutely not.
Daughter utterly opposed to this. Neither her nor any of her employees will be vaccinated by then. If you don't need a vaccination to work in a pub you don't need one to drink in it.
Lift the restrictions and allow publicans to run their businesses as they see fit. This endless micro-managing by people who have no understanding of this - or any other - business has got to stop.
In the interest of balance, I think the Chinese are victims of this too, in the same boat as we are regards fighting virus, I am open minded if it leaked from a lab or dripped from a bat, they didn’t want it to happen.
Yes, of course. It is quite possible to differentiate between the Chinese people and the vile Chinese Communist Party, in fact it is essential to differentiate
It was the CCP that lied, it was the CCP that let this bug infect the world, not the Chinese people, who got glued inside their homes and suffered horribly. It is the regime at fault, not any "race"
They are called Communist, do you think they are communist with the amount of millionaires and billionaires? Regardless what they would like to be called, to be honest to ourselves it’s more Nationalist isn’t it?
A key question would be how are they doing in their fight against poverty, not just creating super rich elite!
To be fair to the CCP (not easy) "they" have lifted a billion Chinese out of poverty in forty years. An incredible achievement.
But it isn't hard, if you just stand back and let capitalism do its work: this is what capitalism does. The CCP has simply creamed off the profits.
with executions, organ harvesting and mass re-education of a minority along the way.
And as well as gifting the world a pandemic they continue to push against most of their neighbours aggressively.
Oh and got a kid kicked out of a university in Australia because he said nasty things about the peoples party
And yet. All this was true during the first decade of Tory rule. When the slavering to profit from China was strong. What has changed?
For me, nothing - apart from they are more blatant and more aggressive in recent years.
Not sure what point you were trying to make to be honest
That they haven't particularly become more blatant and aggressive. A lot of folk have simply started looking at their human rights record when they decided they were an economic threat rather than an opportunity.
One of the more ironic things about Chinese govt's response to the West, was the case of Gary Locke, former WA State Governor and US ambassador to Beijing (also former US Secretary of Commerce).
When Gary was first elected Governor, it was a HUGE media sensation in China, esp. in southern China where he has his family roots. This was aided by fact that Locke was VERY big on boosting trade between WA and China. NOT for ethnic reasons, but rather for economic - a HUGE deal for the state's economy.
This mutual admiration continued throughout his two terms as Gov. UNTIL he was appointed Ambassador by President Obama.
Then two things happened, that soured the Chinese government on the first Chinese American ambassador to the Middle Kingdom:
> Minor difficulty was when he arrived in China to take up his duties, Gary Locke was photographed CARRYING HIS OWN BAG though the airport. Apparently this is something that no self-respecting Chinese commie functionary would EVER consider doing. The apparatchiks quickly came to the conclusion, that Gary was trying to make them look bad!
> Major problem was the fact that, surprise, surprise, it turns out that Gary Locke is an AMERICAN first, and Chinese American second. In fact, he's Jack Armstrong the All American Boy - son of US Army vet (Paton's cook!), an Eagle Scout who grew up in the projects and graduated on scholarship from Princeton U. Apparently Chinese expected him to put (Commie) China first, last, always.
SO they demonized Locke in the media, and made it clear that he was NOT going to make ANY headway diplomatically, as far as Beijing was concerned.
Yes. The assumption anyone ethnically Chinese is automatically loyal to the PRC is ubiquitous.
Corriere Della Sera: And now the ineffable Boris announces that the success of the vaccination campaign in Britain "is due to capitalism, it is due to greed, my friends".
Open heaven: these are words that come like fuel to the fire of the brawl with the European Union over the export of vaccines. And in fact Boris himself, who was speaking last night during a confidential meeting with the Conservative deputies, realized he had shot it big: "I'm sorry I said it," he added immediately afterwards, asking the bystanders to "delete from memory" those words.
But now the damage was done: even if the witnesses make it clear that Johnson was not referring to the dispute with Europe, but to the fact that the effort of the pharmaceutical giants, which led to the creation of the vaccines, was motivated by the pursuit of profit to shareholders. Once again, however, Boris was unable to hold back his arrogance.
And to think that this morning the English newspapers praise the austere, measured and contrite style with which yesterday afternoon he conducted the press conference that marked a year since the first lockdown began: Boris admitted the many mistakes made and confessed that this experience will accompany you throughout your life.
But then in the evening his hand slipped away, as it is in his traditional style.
I thought the line was that they aren't interested in thsi windy little Island anymore
VP of the Euro Parliament on Newsnight repeating all sorts of garbage.
- We don't know. Vaccines found in Italy were destined for UK. This was debunked at 10:30am this AM an EC have confirmed it. LIAR. - Targeting AZ as the only supplier not who does meet aspirations plans. Bitter criticism of Pf previously. Current criticism of J&J. LIAR. - EU put in money for research into AZ vaccine. No - they only paid the upfront payment for doses. This is like the "but Oxford previous funding on other projects".
Emily Maitlis not well enough briefed to be able to skewer the VP, unfortunately.
As we know it is walk quietly and carry a big stick. They are talking because their perhaps have noticed that their threats will have no impact.
It is well known that Lab could torch every hospital and the Cons could reduce the army to a single mini metro-mounted .22 rifle and each would be known as the parties of the NHS and the armed forces respectively.
At least the Metro has Hydragas suspension like a Challenger 2.
Comments
If THAT makes me a bot, then I'm a better bot than some on here.
Goodnight, and don't over do the firewater.
https://twitter.com/Mikepeeljourno/status/1374842935288680454?s=20
Vaccines are in a vast number of arms because of NHS numbers.
OR could it be, that you are really a bot yerself?
After all, you have TEN TIMES the number of comments on PB than yours truly. But methinks that as far as CONTENT is concerned, mine is about ten times more substantive.
Though you ARE mildly amusing from time to time.
And as well as gifting the world a pandemic they continue to push against most of their neighbours aggressively.
Oh and got a kid kicked out of a university in Australia because he said nasty things about the peoples party
Yeh. Right.
https://twitter.com/pierce/status/1374685505330221058?s=20
https://twitter.com/hendopolis/status/1374842412158349312?s=20
If so, then surely a political plus for Keir Starmer?
With a Greek royal lineage (in a carpetbaggy sort of way) you’d think he might be ambivalent on the issue.
All this was true during the first decade of Tory rule. When the slavering to profit from China was strong.
What has changed?
Also relayed by very senior EU journalists as a basic fact. "These doses were heading for the UK".
Not retracted. The lie is out there, and festering
Not sure what point you were trying to make to be honest
It's what they would want after all.
Ditto all the other facetious dimbos on here.
Night. Catch you bright and early tomorrow.
☺
Seven in 10 patients hospitalised with Covid-19 have still not fully recovered after five months, and they appear to cluster into four distinct categories based on their symptoms, research suggests.
Big difference with the Chinese Commies, was when them cottoned on to the fact, that their "privileges" under old-school communism were crap, certainly compared with the richer members of Western capitalist societies, or even the more affluent of the middle classes.
What a crock.
Sorry for my language.
Grisly. And no signs of stopping
A lot of folk have simply started looking at their human rights record when they decided they were an economic threat rather than an opportunity.
Note that Greek independence would NOT have been possible, without British support. Remember Lord Byron?
Where is the Pyrrhic phalanx gone?
Of two such lessons, why forget
The nobler and the manlier one?
Look at Hong Kong. They wouldn't have dared do that 10 or 15 years ago. Now they can crush the city completely, and no one does anything more than bleat.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9399515/Brussels-dramatic-climbdown-officials-offer-work-UK-win-win.html
JOHN HUMPHRYS: This has destroyed the faith of an old Remainer like me
BBC news presenters like to pretend that they are impartial – except when it comes to distinguishing between good and evil. They have no choice. That's the test that the great Lord Reith set a century ago and, by and large, it applies today. But it's not easy.
I failed in the eyes of many listeners when I was presenting the Today programme in the long run-up to the EU referendum in 2016. They accused me of being so biased in favour of Brexit that I never gave the Remainers a fair chance to state their case. They were right about me being biased – but wrong about where my bias lay.
I was so determined not to show my true colours that I might just possibly have given Remainers a slightly rougher ride than they deserved when I interviewed them. In the highly charged atmosphere of the most bitterly fought referendum in this nation's history, that was more than enough to condemn me in the eyes of Remainers.
The fact is, I was one of them: A Remainer through and through.
But this week it's hard for an old Remainer like me, waiting to have his second jab, not to muse on his referendum vote back in 2016 and wonder whether he might have voted differently if he'd known then what he knows now.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9399515/Brussels-dramatic-climbdown-officials-offer-work-UK-win-win.html
does sound like a line from a kids' song-in-the-round at a Steiner school
The law says I need it because I watch Sky Sports, but I'm reaching the point where I feel stuff that. Its beyond a joke now.
Via @DeItaone
Blimey. Did we ever hit that daily toll?
Macron has been utterly shocking.
It is somewhat galling for me to listen to certain groups who have been touting trade, investment and military co-operation for years suddenly discover the Uyghurs and organ harvesting as if on the Road to Damascus.
That takes weeks to prepare - probably needed to start in October. So the Chinese were probably aware in Sept 19.
However, Johnson's greed comments could prove useful for a Commission trying to unite member states and paint the UK as the bad guy.
Which raises the key question: Why did Johnson say this?
Those present at the meeting have offered up theories that the Prime Minister was "clearly joking" to a room of friends, as he'd spent the whole meeting "praising AstraZeneca for not seeking profit," to suggestions he was "speaking in a typical Boris rambly way" and stumbled into discussing how the left-wing opposition Labour party opposes any private investment in the National Health Service.
"He was talking off the cuff, I think, then suddenly remembered he was Prime Minister," one lawmaker present at the meeting told CNN.
There is no denying, though, that the timing of his remarks is poor.
The vaccine rollout has been a rare success in Johnson's response to the pandemic. The UK still has the highest death toll from coronavirus in Europe.
Anything that dents the vaccination program and delays his plans to take Britons out of lockdown could severely damage the Prime Minister and his government at a time they can ill afford a serious knock -- least of all one delivered by the European Union.
United Kingdom, led by Boris Johnson: 45.21
France, led by Emmanuel Macron: 12.96
When Gary was first elected Governor, it was a HUGE media sensation in China, esp. in southern China where he has his family roots. This was aided by fact that Locke was VERY big on boosting trade between WA and China. NOT for ethnic reasons, but rather for economic - a HUGE deal for the state's economy.
This mutual admiration continued throughout his two terms as Gov. UNTIL he was appointed Ambassador by President Obama.
Then two things happened, that soured the Chinese government on the first Chinese American ambassador to the Middle Kingdom:
> Minor difficulty was when he arrived in China to take up his duties, Gary Locke was photographed CARRYING HIS OWN BAG though the airport. Apparently this is something that no self-respecting Chinese commie functionary would EVER consider doing. The apparatchiks quickly came to the conclusion, that Gary was trying to make them look bad!
> Major problem was the fact that, surprise, surprise, it turns out that Gary Locke is an AMERICAN first, and Chinese American second. In fact, he's Jack Armstrong the All American Boy - son of US Army vet (Paton's cook!), an Eagle Scout who grew up in the projects and graduated on scholarship from Princeton U. Apparently Chinese expected him to put (Commie) China first, last, always.
SO they demonized Locke in the media, and made it clear that he was NOT going to make ANY headway diplomatically, as far as Beijing was concerned.
So you're saying he not just knew what we'd learnt January-March by then, but what the intelligence agencies knew too?
https://twitter.com/skynews/status/1374675577886674944?s=21
Open heaven: these are words that come like fuel to the fire of the brawl with the European Union over the export of vaccines. And in fact Boris himself, who was speaking last night during a confidential meeting with the Conservative deputies, realized he had shot it big: "I'm sorry I said it," he added immediately afterwards, asking the bystanders to "delete from memory" those words.
But now the damage was done: even if the witnesses make it clear that Johnson was not referring to the dispute with Europe, but to the fact that the effort of the pharmaceutical giants, which led to the creation of the vaccines, was motivated by the pursuit of profit to shareholders. Once again, however, Boris was unable to hold back his arrogance.
And to think that this morning the English newspapers praise the austere, measured and contrite style with which yesterday afternoon he conducted the press conference that marked a year since the first lockdown began: Boris admitted the many mistakes made and confessed that this experience will accompany you throughout your life.
But then in the evening his hand slipped away, as it is in his traditional style.
They waited till they had set up Shanghai as their financial hub. And Shenzhen as a special economic zone. And until the West had enough tied up there that they had more to lose than gain. They used Hong Kong. Now they have no need for it.
The special status existed for exactly as long as it was convenient.
Daughter utterly opposed to this. Neither her nor any of her employees will be vaccinated by then. If you don't need a vaccination to work in a pub you don't need one to drink in it.
Lift the restrictions and allow publicans to run their businesses as they see fit. This endless micro-managing by people who have no understanding of this - or any other - business has got to stop.
- We don't know. Vaccines found in Italy were destined for UK. This was debunked at 10:30am this AM an EC have confirmed it. LIAR.
- Targeting AZ as the only supplier not who does meet aspirations plans. Bitter criticism of Pf previously. Current criticism of J&J. LIAR.
- EU put in money for research into AZ vaccine. No - they only paid the upfront payment for doses. This is like the "but Oxford previous funding on other projects".
Emily Maitlis not well enough briefed to be able to skewer the VP, unfortunately.
As we know it is walk quietly and carry a big stick. They are talking because their perhaps have noticed that their threats will have no impact.