If Salmond fails to win a seat so also disappears any pressure Sturgeon might feel to declare UDI if the SNP win a majority and hold a referendum and Boris as is likely ignores the result.
Out of interest, is there any credible outcome of the Holyrood elections that isn't a big win for the Conservatives/Union in your opinion?
If the Nationalists win a majority then Boris can continue to press home that failing to vote Tory at the 2024 UK general election means a minority Labour government with Starmer propped up by the SNP and a divisive indyref2 that Boris would keep refusing.
If Unionists win a majority then that of course removes the chance of Sturgeon even trying for an indyref2 anyway
Not propped up. Supported by.
Will be doing this correction until you drop it. Let's see who blinks first.
Neither is correct. 'Controlled by' is the term that would describe the reality of the situation. And just like in 2015, the voters will notice that reality too.
Always the partisan angle with you.
I can never utilize one of my favourite barbs - "the mask slips" - because you don't bother wearing one.
Fine. Get Boris Johnson to go back to the EU and ask for Theresa May's deal, UK-wide customs union etc to be re-instated. Why not? None of his current deal is working well.
So what's the story here - does Sputnik not work as well as claimed? Is this the vaccine Germany is procuring lots of?
Who knows? But if I had to guess, I'd say the likelihood is that the quality control and batch testing is the problem. It's not easy making these vaccines in large quantity, and I suspect that the Russian processes aren't as rigorous as they might be, especially given the pressure from Putin and his thugs to get them out of the door.
If Salmond fails to win a seat so also disappears any pressure Sturgeon might feel to declare UDI if the SNP win a majority and hold a referendum and Boris as is likely ignores the result.
Out of interest, is there any credible outcome of the Holyrood elections that isn't a big win for the Conservatives/Union in your opinion?
If the Nationalists win a majority then Boris can continue to press home that failing to vote Tory at the 2024 UK general election means a minority Labour government with Starmer propped up by the SNP and a divisive indyref2 that Boris would keep refusing.
If Unionists win a majority then that of course removes the chance of Sturgeon even trying for an indyref2 anyway
Not propped up. Supported by.
Will be doing this correction until you drop it. Let's see who blinks first.
Neither is correct. 'Controlled by' is the term that would describe the reality of the situation. And just like in 2015, the voters will notice that reality too.
Always the partisan angle with you.
I can never utilize one of my favourite barbs - "the mask slips" - because you don't bother wearing one.
I can only assume all violence in Northern Ireland prior to 2016 was a good reason to leave the EU. Of course that's nonsense much like what we saw last night has much to do with Brexit. Given it paled in comparison to the scenes in Bristol perhaps it's time we offered up Clifton and Fishponds to Von der Leyen in exchange for their Astra Zeneca supplies.
If the Holyrood election proves a total scrub for the dinosaurs (not impossible imo), perhaps a reality show can be made with them all living in a house; Salmond, Sheridan, Craig Murray, Sillars, Galloway et al, Rula Lenska coming in occasionally to feed them. George could give them tips on avoiding televised behaviour that may prevent anyone taking them seriously ever again.
Sure to be a massive bidding war between RT and GB News for the rights.
The shame is that Sputnik V is probably a good vaccine. It's the Russian system that's mucking it up. You need the reliable data and you need to authorise by the book.
There absolutely is legitimisation of violence in Northern Ireland. Both the main factions are at it constantly, with their constant petty squabbles and hyper sensitivity to 'outside' interference whilst also craving it. Their behaviour indicates that no matter their words.
I do not doubt that they don't want a full return to violence of the past. But I also have no doubt that the politicians there are very content for the potential of violence returning at any moment to continue forever.
The shame is that Sputnik V is probably a good vaccine. It's the Russian system that's mucking it up. You need the reliable data and you need to authorise by the book.
Sputnik V is now going through a proper testing process, and my guess is that it will turn out to be absolutely fine.
That being said, Russia does not have massive vaccine manufacturing capability, so the idea that they will flood the world with hundreds of millions - or even tens of millions - of doses is absurd.
There absolutely is legitimisation of violence in Northern Ireland. Both the main factions are at it constantly, with their constant petty squabbles and hyper sensitivity to 'outside' interference whilst also craving it. Their behaviour indicates that no matter their words.
I do not doubt that they don't want a full return to violence of the past. But I also have no doubt that the politicians there are very content for the potential of violence returning at any moment to continue forever.
They also want the right for 71 people to claim to have been in a 4 foot by 3 foot toilet, when a murder was happening in a bar. And to be believed, completely. And for their names not to be published. Anything else "Would threaten the peace process".
One thing I've never understood while encountering the Scott P style "Bozo is a loser, the UK is awful" parts of the internet is where this oft quoted "150,000 dead" figure comes from. Given our rather liberal reporting of covid deaths sits around the 126k mark are they privy to some statistics I'm not, are they predicting the future or do they just round up all numbers to the nearest 50,000?
Both figures are from the government stats.
The 128k figure is for deaths within 28 days of a positive test.
The 150k is deaths with Covid-19 listed as a cause on the death certificate.
Edit - IIRC it is top of the government's Covid-19 dashboard.
It seems that the 150k is very rarely used by any politicians, scientists or journalists across the globe. I haven't seen it used by the Beeb for example on the 10 o clock news.
So seems like just a case of 'I'll pick the higher number other people aren't using because the worst case scenario suits my argument".
Boris Johnson recently cited the higher figures in a press conference, as did the CMO, JVT in other press conferences.
Whitty, Vallance, and JVT have often used the higher figure to contextualise things.
One of the things that British officialdom can't reasonably be accused of, it would seem, is producing wildly inaccurate figures, whether by accident or design.
Compare, if you will, to Russia, where the official Covid death toll is about 100k but the excess death count for the pandemic period is closer to half-a-million (which, on a per capita basis, would be about twice as bad as the United States.)
It's why you've also heard more than once at the UK Government pressers that, in the long run, the best relative international measure of deaths in the pandemic is liable to come from the excess death statistics. They're the numbers least likely to be corrupted.
Spot on.
And you also need to look at excess deaths as % of regular deaths, rather than per million - otherwise you're just measuring how many old people there are in your country.
If Salmond fails to win a seat so also disappears any pressure Sturgeon might feel to declare UDI if the SNP win a majority and hold a referendum and Boris as is likely ignores the result.
Out of interest, is there any credible outcome of the Holyrood elections that isn't a big win for the Conservatives/Union in your opinion?
If the Nationalists win a majority then Boris can continue to press home that failing to vote Tory at the 2024 UK general election means a minority Labour government with Starmer propped up by the SNP and a divisive indyref2 that Boris would keep refusing.
If Unionists win a majority then that of course removes the chance of Sturgeon even trying for an indyref2 anyway
Not propped up. Supported by.
Will be doing this correction until you drop it. Let's see who blinks first.
Neither is correct. 'Controlled by' is the term that would describe the reality of the situation. And just like in 2015, the voters will notice that reality too.
Always the partisan angle with you.
I can never utilize one of my favourite barbs - "the mask slips" - because you don't bother wearing one.
"Always the partisan angle with you."
Pot, kettle, person of colour?
No, I must reject that. My rep on here is "objective to a fault" and it's surely merited.
The shame is that Sputnik V is probably a good vaccine. It's the Russian system that's mucking it up. You need the reliable data and you need to authorise by the book.
Sputnik V is now going through a proper testing process, and my guess is that it will turn out to be absolutely fine.
That being said, Russia does not have massive vaccine manufacturing capability, so the idea that they will flood the world with hundreds of millions - or even tens of millions - of doses is absurd.
What gives me some level of confidence in Sputnik V is that the Gamaleya Institute produced a well-regarded ebola vaccine, which has been the proving ground for several successful Covid vaccines.
One thing I've never understood while encountering the Scott P style "Bozo is a loser, the UK is awful" parts of the internet is where this oft quoted "150,000 dead" figure comes from. Given our rather liberal reporting of covid deaths sits around the 126k mark are they privy to some statistics I'm not, are they predicting the future or do they just round up all numbers to the nearest 50,000?
Both figures are from the government stats.
The 128k figure is for deaths within 28 days of a positive test.
The 150k is deaths with Covid-19 listed as a cause on the death certificate.
Edit - IIRC it is top of the government's Covid-19 dashboard.
It seems that the 150k is very rarely used by any politicians, scientists or journalists across the globe. I haven't seen it used by the Beeb for example on the 10 o clock news.
So seems like just a case of 'I'll pick the higher number other people aren't using because the worst case scenario suits my argument".
Boris Johnson recently cited the higher figures in a press conference, as did the CMO, JVT in other press conferences.
Whitty, Vallance, and JVT have often used the higher figure to contextualise things.
One of the things that British officialdom can't reasonably be accused of, it would seem, is producing wildly inaccurate figures, whether by accident or design.
Compare, if you will, to Russia, where the official Covid death toll is about 100k but the excess death count for the pandemic period is closer to half-a-million (which, on a per capita basis, would be about twice as bad as the United States.)
It's why you've also heard more than once at the UK Government pressers that, in the long run, the best relative international measure of deaths in the pandemic is liable to come from the excess death statistics. They're the numbers least likely to be corrupted.
Spot on.
And you also need to look at excess deaths as % of regular deaths, rather than per million - otherwise you're just measuring how many old people there are in your country.
Slight issue there is in the definition of "regular deaths". Comparing with the average of pre-pandemic deaths over the previous ten years would be better than just the year before, but then you bring in fluctuating population numbers the more years you include.
If Salmond fails to win a seat so also disappears any pressure Sturgeon might feel to declare UDI if the SNP win a majority and hold a referendum and Boris as is likely ignores the result.
Out of interest, is there any credible outcome of the Holyrood elections that isn't a big win for the Conservatives/Union in your opinion?
If the Nationalists win a majority then Boris can continue to press home that failing to vote Tory at the 2024 UK general election means a minority Labour government with Starmer propped up by the SNP and a divisive indyref2 that Boris would keep refusing.
If Unionists win a majority then that of course removes the chance of Sturgeon even trying for an indyref2 anyway
Not propped up. Supported by.
Will be doing this correction until you drop it. Let's see who blinks first.
Neither is correct. 'Controlled by' is the term that would describe the reality of the situation. And just like in 2015, the voters will notice that reality too.
Always the partisan angle with you.
I can never utilize one of my favourite barbs - "the mask slips" - because you don't bother wearing one.
"Always the partisan angle with you."
Pot, kettle, person of colour?
No, I must reject that. My rep on here is "objective to a fault" and it's surely merited.
I suspect none of us are great at predicting what our own rep is...
One thing I've never understood while encountering the Scott P style "Bozo is a loser, the UK is awful" parts of the internet is where this oft quoted "150,000 dead" figure comes from. Given our rather liberal reporting of covid deaths sits around the 126k mark are they privy to some statistics I'm not, are they predicting the future or do they just round up all numbers to the nearest 50,000?
Both figures are from the government stats.
The 128k figure is for deaths within 28 days of a positive test.
The 150k is deaths with Covid-19 listed as a cause on the death certificate.
Edit - IIRC it is top of the government's Covid-19 dashboard.
It seems that the 150k is very rarely used by any politicians, scientists or journalists across the globe. I haven't seen it used by the Beeb for example on the 10 o clock news.
So seems like just a case of 'I'll pick the higher number other people aren't using because the worst case scenario suits my argument".
Boris Johnson recently cited the higher figures in a press conference, as did the CMO, JVT in other press conferences.
Whitty, Vallance, and JVT have often used the higher figure to contextualise things.
One of the things that British officialdom can't reasonably be accused of, it would seem, is producing wildly inaccurate figures, whether by accident or design.
Compare, if you will, to Russia, where the official Covid death toll is about 100k but the excess death count for the pandemic period is closer to half-a-million (which, on a per capita basis, would be about twice as bad as the United States.)
It's why you've also heard more than once at the UK Government pressers that, in the long run, the best relative international measure of deaths in the pandemic is liable to come from the excess death statistics. They're the numbers least likely to be corrupted.
Spot on.
And you also need to look at excess deaths as % of regular deaths, rather than per million - otherwise you're just measuring how many old people there are in your country.
Slight issue there is in the definition of "regular deaths". Comparing with the average of pre-pandemic deaths over the previous ten years would be better than just the year before, but then you bring in fluctuating population numbers the more years you include.
Compromise on the average of the last three years deaths.
Fine. Get Boris Johnson to go back to the EU and ask for Theresa May's deal, UK-wide customs union etc to be re-instated. Why not? None of his current deal is working well.
Actually not a bad idea. I suspect all those who foamed about Theresa's deal would quietly disappear if it had Boris's imprimatur.
Fine. Get Boris Johnson to go back to the EU and ask for Theresa May's deal, UK-wide customs union etc to be re-instated. Why not? None of his current deal is working well.
Actually not a bad idea. I suspect all those who foamed about Theresa's deal would quietly disappear if it had Boris's imprimatur.
Well not all - he voted for it in the end after all, and that didn't prevent the awkward squad, who actually believed what they were saying, from still saying no.
One thing I've never understood while encountering the Scott P style "Bozo is a loser, the UK is awful" parts of the internet is where this oft quoted "150,000 dead" figure comes from. Given our rather liberal reporting of covid deaths sits around the 126k mark are they privy to some statistics I'm not, are they predicting the future or do they just round up all numbers to the nearest 50,000?
Both figures are from the government stats.
The 128k figure is for deaths within 28 days of a positive test.
The 150k is deaths with Covid-19 listed as a cause on the death certificate.
Edit - IIRC it is top of the government's Covid-19 dashboard.
It seems that the 150k is very rarely used by any politicians, scientists or journalists across the globe. I haven't seen it used by the Beeb for example on the 10 o clock news.
So seems like just a case of 'I'll pick the higher number other people aren't using because the worst case scenario suits my argument".
Boris Johnson recently cited the higher figures in a press conference, as did the CMO, JVT in other press conferences.
Whitty, Vallance, and JVT have often used the higher figure to contextualise things.
One of the things that British officialdom can't reasonably be accused of, it would seem, is producing wildly inaccurate figures, whether by accident or design.
Compare, if you will, to Russia, where the official Covid death toll is about 100k but the excess death count for the pandemic period is closer to half-a-million (which, on a per capita basis, would be about twice as bad as the United States.)
It's why you've also heard more than once at the UK Government pressers that, in the long run, the best relative international measure of deaths in the pandemic is liable to come from the excess death statistics. They're the numbers least likely to be corrupted.
Spot on.
And you also need to look at excess deaths as % of regular deaths, rather than per million - otherwise you're just measuring how many old people there are in your country.
Slight issue there is in the definition of "regular deaths". Comparing with the average of pre-pandemic deaths over the previous ten years would be better than just the year before, but then you bring in fluctuating population numbers the more years you include.
Compromise on the average of the last three years deaths.
@rcs1000 if States gets Green Lit for international travel from 17 May and USA plays ball we may organise a last minute half term trip. Florida (Sarasota) and Arizona (Phoenix) are in the mix - which is best option given virus prevalence and vaccination uptake in those states would you say?
One thing I've never understood while encountering the Scott P style "Bozo is a loser, the UK is awful" parts of the internet is where this oft quoted "150,000 dead" figure comes from. Given our rather liberal reporting of covid deaths sits around the 126k mark are they privy to some statistics I'm not, are they predicting the future or do they just round up all numbers to the nearest 50,000?
Both figures are from the government stats.
The 128k figure is for deaths within 28 days of a positive test.
The 150k is deaths with Covid-19 listed as a cause on the death certificate.
Edit - IIRC it is top of the government's Covid-19 dashboard.
It seems that the 150k is very rarely used by any politicians, scientists or journalists across the globe. I haven't seen it used by the Beeb for example on the 10 o clock news.
So seems like just a case of 'I'll pick the higher number other people aren't using because the worst case scenario suits my argument".
Boris Johnson recently cited the higher figures in a press conference, as did the CMO, JVT in other press conferences.
Whitty, Vallance, and JVT have often used the higher figure to contextualise things.
One of the things that British officialdom can't reasonably be accused of, it would seem, is producing wildly inaccurate figures, whether by accident or design.
Compare, if you will, to Russia, where the official Covid death toll is about 100k but the excess death count for the pandemic period is closer to half-a-million (which, on a per capita basis, would be about twice as bad as the United States.)
It's why you've also heard more than once at the UK Government pressers that, in the long run, the best relative international measure of deaths in the pandemic is liable to come from the excess death statistics. They're the numbers least likely to be corrupted.
Spot on.
And you also need to look at excess deaths as % of regular deaths, rather than per million - otherwise you're just measuring how many old people there are in your country.
Slight issue there is in the definition of "regular deaths". Comparing with the average of pre-pandemic deaths over the previous ten years would be better than just the year before, but then you bring in fluctuating population numbers the more years you include.
Compromise on the average of the last three years deaths.
@rcs1000 if States gets Green Lit for international travel from 17 May and USA plays ball we may organise a last minute half term trip. Florida (Sarasota) and Arizona (Phoenix) are in the mix - which is best option given virus prevalence and vaccination uptake in those states would you say?
One thing I've never understood while encountering the Scott P style "Bozo is a loser, the UK is awful" parts of the internet is where this oft quoted "150,000 dead" figure comes from. Given our rather liberal reporting of covid deaths sits around the 126k mark are they privy to some statistics I'm not, are they predicting the future or do they just round up all numbers to the nearest 50,000?
Both figures are from the government stats.
The 128k figure is for deaths within 28 days of a positive test.
The 150k is deaths with Covid-19 listed as a cause on the death certificate.
Edit - IIRC it is top of the government's Covid-19 dashboard.
It seems that the 150k is very rarely used by any politicians, scientists or journalists across the globe. I haven't seen it used by the Beeb for example on the 10 o clock news.
So seems like just a case of 'I'll pick the higher number other people aren't using because the worst case scenario suits my argument".
Boris Johnson recently cited the higher figures in a press conference, as did the CMO, JVT in other press conferences.
Whitty, Vallance, and JVT have often used the higher figure to contextualise things.
One of the things that British officialdom can't reasonably be accused of, it would seem, is producing wildly inaccurate figures, whether by accident or design.
Compare, if you will, to Russia, where the official Covid death toll is about 100k but the excess death count for the pandemic period is closer to half-a-million (which, on a per capita basis, would be about twice as bad as the United States.)
It's why you've also heard more than once at the UK Government pressers that, in the long run, the best relative international measure of deaths in the pandemic is liable to come from the excess death statistics. They're the numbers least likely to be corrupted.
Spot on.
And you also need to look at excess deaths as % of regular deaths, rather than per million - otherwise you're just measuring how many old people there are in your country.
Slight issue there is in the definition of "regular deaths". Comparing with the average of pre-pandemic deaths over the previous ten years would be better than just the year before, but then you bring in fluctuating population numbers the more years you include.
Compromise on the average of the last three years deaths.
@rcs1000 if States gets Green Lit for international travel from 17 May and USA plays ball we may organise a last minute half term trip. Florida (Sarasota) and Arizona (Phoenix) are in the mix - which is best option given virus prevalence and vaccination uptake in those states would you say?
Do you like your heat dry or wet?
At this point I'm not fussy to be honest. I've been to both many times. Anna Maria Island near Sarasota is a favourite destination for us. I just can't wait to get off this island.
One thing I've never understood while encountering the Scott P style "Bozo is a loser, the UK is awful" parts of the internet is where this oft quoted "150,000 dead" figure comes from. Given our rather liberal reporting of covid deaths sits around the 126k mark are they privy to some statistics I'm not, are they predicting the future or do they just round up all numbers to the nearest 50,000?
Both figures are from the government stats.
The 128k figure is for deaths within 28 days of a positive test.
The 150k is deaths with Covid-19 listed as a cause on the death certificate.
Edit - IIRC it is top of the government's Covid-19 dashboard.
It seems that the 150k is very rarely used by any politicians, scientists or journalists across the globe. I haven't seen it used by the Beeb for example on the 10 o clock news.
So seems like just a case of 'I'll pick the higher number other people aren't using because the worst case scenario suits my argument".
Boris Johnson recently cited the higher figures in a press conference, as did the CMO, JVT in other press conferences.
Whitty, Vallance, and JVT have often used the higher figure to contextualise things.
One of the things that British officialdom can't reasonably be accused of, it would seem, is producing wildly inaccurate figures, whether by accident or design.
Compare, if you will, to Russia, where the official Covid death toll is about 100k but the excess death count for the pandemic period is closer to half-a-million (which, on a per capita basis, would be about twice as bad as the United States.)
It's why you've also heard more than once at the UK Government pressers that, in the long run, the best relative international measure of deaths in the pandemic is liable to come from the excess death statistics. They're the numbers least likely to be corrupted.
Spot on.
And you also need to look at excess deaths as % of regular deaths, rather than per million - otherwise you're just measuring how many old people there are in your country.
Slight issue there is in the definition of "regular deaths". Comparing with the average of pre-pandemic deaths over the previous ten years would be better than just the year before, but then you bring in fluctuating population numbers the more years you include.
Compromise on the average of the last three years deaths.
@rcs1000 if States gets Green Lit for international travel from 17 May and USA plays ball we may organise a last minute half term trip. Florida (Sarasota) and Arizona (Phoenix) are in the mix - which is best option given virus prevalence and vaccination uptake in those states would you say?
Which suits the Conservatives down to the ground, bearing in mind the three possible outcomes of Indyref2:
(a) Yes wins, Boris Johnson then goes down in history as the Prime Minister who lost the Union and probably has to resign (b) No wins, Scotland's nationalist voters get even more pissed off and the SNP continues to win Scottish elections ad infinitum - in which case, what was the point? (b) No wins, the wind goes right out of the SNP's sails, and Scottish voters decide to vote for parties that might actually sit in a UK Government. Result: the bulk of them go back to Labour, and it becomes substantially easier for Labour to win a General Election
The incentive for the current Government to concede a referendum, regardless of how large a majority can be found for it at Holyrood, is therefore exactly nil.
In the short, and therefore to Johnson the only important, term, you are absolutely right. The SNP, and the people of Scotland generally, aren't going to say, "Aw shucks, I guess that's it, let's embrace everything Johnson stands for."
This is how Johnson delegitimises the United Kingdom. Nicola Sturgeon will, if she is as astute as I think she is, will create a consensus in Scotland around that illegitimacy.
France is going to be in lockdown for some time if they want to slow COVID down.
R=1.2 ish.
As long as the six months we will have been in by June?
Yes, since they entered their second national lockdown in October 2020 and haven't left it since. So they're already at six months and counting.
France lockdown =/= UK lockdown in terms of restrictions.
You wanted to count the UK lockdown until June, June is the lifting of restrictions on capacity in stadiums and reopening nightclubs etc
France's have had all restaurants closed by law since October 2020. That's being lifted in the UK in May. So if you're going until June there's no way not to count from October when restaurants were closed for France.
If Salmond fails to win a seat so also disappears any pressure Sturgeon might feel to declare UDI if the SNP win a majority and hold a referendum and Boris as is likely ignores the result.
Out of interest, is there any credible outcome of the Holyrood elections that isn't a big win for the Conservatives/Union in your opinion?
If the Nationalists win a majority then Boris can continue to press home that failing to vote Tory at the 2024 UK general election means a minority Labour government with Starmer propped up by the SNP and a divisive indyref2 that Boris would keep refusing.
If Unionists win a majority then that of course removes the chance of Sturgeon even trying for an indyref2 anyway
Not propped up. Supported by.
Will be doing this correction until you drop it. Let's see who blinks first.
Neither is correct. 'Controlled by' is the term that would describe the reality of the situation. And just like in 2015, the voters will notice that reality too.
Always the partisan angle with you.
I can never utilize one of my favourite barbs - "the mask slips" - because you don't bother wearing one.
"Always the partisan angle with you."
Pot, kettle, person of colour?
No, I must reject that. My rep on here is "objective to a fault" and it's surely merited.
I suspect none of us are great at predicting what our own rep is...
That's true. And even trying to is a sign of fragility. So I'm going to pretend I was kidding.
Remainers voted against a brexit where Britain is knee deep in apparently vital vaccines?
Yeah right.
We would have been even without Brexit. Our pharma sector is huge. Participation in the EU procurement program would almost certainly been dodged by a UK government. The only "victory for Brexit" is, like Brexit itself, a simplistic load of bollox
Remainers voted against a brexit where Britain is knee deep in apparently vital vaccines?
Yeah right.
We would have been even without Brexit. Our pharma sector is huge. Participation in the EU procurement program would almost certainly been dodged by a UK government. The only "victory for Brexit" is, like Brexit itself, a simplistic load of bollox
"Philip Roth was right about our online witch-hunts The American novelist foresaw the modern mania for denouncing anyone who doesn’t conform to the new puritanism David Aaronovitch"
A streaker ran through our local church on Sunday.
The police chased him around the pews a bit, before they caught him by the organ
Ouch.
Ah, I mentioned "1066 and All That" earlier where I think that joke may have originated: "Whereupon the Knights pursued Belloc and murdered him in the organ at Canterbury Cathedral. Belloc was therefore made a Saint and the Knights came to be called the Canterbury Pilgrims."
One thing I've never understood while encountering the Scott P style "Bozo is a loser, the UK is awful" parts of the internet is where this oft quoted "150,000 dead" figure comes from. Given our rather liberal reporting of covid deaths sits around the 126k mark are they privy to some statistics I'm not, are they predicting the future or do they just round up all numbers to the nearest 50,000?
Both figures are from the government stats.
The 128k figure is for deaths within 28 days of a positive test.
The 150k is deaths with Covid-19 listed as a cause on the death certificate.
Edit - IIRC it is top of the government's Covid-19 dashboard.
It seems that the 150k is very rarely used by any politicians, scientists or journalists across the globe. I haven't seen it used by the Beeb for example on the 10 o clock news.
So seems like just a case of 'I'll pick the higher number other people aren't using because the worst case scenario suits my argument".
Boris Johnson recently cited the higher figures in a press conference, as did the CMO, JVT in other press conferences.
Whitty, Vallance, and JVT have often used the higher figure to contextualise things.
One of the things that British officialdom can't reasonably be accused of, it would seem, is producing wildly inaccurate figures, whether by accident or design.
Compare, if you will, to Russia, where the official Covid death toll is about 100k but the excess death count for the pandemic period is closer to half-a-million (which, on a per capita basis, would be about twice as bad as the United States.)
It's why you've also heard more than once at the UK Government pressers that, in the long run, the best relative international measure of deaths in the pandemic is liable to come from the excess death statistics. They're the numbers least likely to be corrupted.
Spot on.
And you also need to look at excess deaths as % of regular deaths, rather than per million - otherwise you're just measuring how many old people there are in your country.
Slight issue there is in the definition of "regular deaths". Comparing with the average of pre-pandemic deaths over the previous ten years would be better than just the year before, but then you bring in fluctuating population numbers the more years you include.
Compromise on the average of the last three years deaths.
@rcs1000 if States gets Green Lit for international travel from 17 May and USA plays ball we may organise a last minute half term trip. Florida (Sarasota) and Arizona (Phoenix) are in the mix - which is best option given virus prevalence and vaccination uptake in those states would you say?
Do you like your heat dry or wet?
At this point I'm not fussy to be honest. I've been to both many times. Anna Maria Island near Sarasota is a favourite destination for us. I just can't wait to get off this island.
We were going to do the big US roadtrip about now but it's had to go on ice. Hope it still happens at some point. I particularly want to do the deep south. See what I make of it. See what they make of me.
I can only assume all violence in Northern Ireland prior to 2016 was a good reason to leave the EU. Of course that's nonsense much like what we saw last night has much to do with Brexit. Given it paled in comparison to the scenes in Bristol perhaps it's time we offered up Clifton and Fishponds to Von der Leyen in exchange for their Astra Zeneca supplies.
Dont tell Scott that, it has given him a reason for reposting tweets on here again.
If Salmond fails to win a seat so also disappears any pressure Sturgeon might feel to declare UDI if the SNP win a majority and hold a referendum and Boris as is likely ignores the result.
Out of interest, is there any credible outcome of the Holyrood elections that isn't a big win for the Conservatives/Union in your opinion?
If the Nationalists win a majority then Boris can continue to press home that failing to vote Tory at the 2024 UK general election means a minority Labour government with Starmer propped up by the SNP and a divisive indyref2 that Boris would keep refusing.
If Unionists win a majority then that of course removes the chance of Sturgeon even trying for an indyref2 anyway
Not propped up. Supported by.
Will be doing this correction until you drop it. Let's see who blinks first.
Neither is correct. 'Controlled by' is the term that would describe the reality of the situation. And just like in 2015, the voters will notice that reality too.
Always the partisan angle with you.
I can never utilize one of my favourite barbs - "the mask slips" - because you don't bother wearing one.
Saying whatever I like is simply a pleasure of mine; that it happens to make some of your favourite tactics less useful is just a side bonus.
Unless of course my frontless parrhesia is itself but a mimesis, a mask within a mask...
One thing I've never understood while encountering the Scott P style "Bozo is a loser, the UK is awful" parts of the internet is where this oft quoted "150,000 dead" figure comes from. Given our rather liberal reporting of covid deaths sits around the 126k mark are they privy to some statistics I'm not, are they predicting the future or do they just round up all numbers to the nearest 50,000?
Both figures are from the government stats.
The 128k figure is for deaths within 28 days of a positive test.
The 150k is deaths with Covid-19 listed as a cause on the death certificate.
Edit - IIRC it is top of the government's Covid-19 dashboard.
It seems that the 150k is very rarely used by any politicians, scientists or journalists across the globe. I haven't seen it used by the Beeb for example on the 10 o clock news.
So seems like just a case of 'I'll pick the higher number other people aren't using because the worst case scenario suits my argument".
Boris Johnson recently cited the higher figures in a press conference, as did the CMO, JVT in other press conferences.
Whitty, Vallance, and JVT have often used the higher figure to contextualise things.
One of the things that British officialdom can't reasonably be accused of, it would seem, is producing wildly inaccurate figures, whether by accident or design.
Compare, if you will, to Russia, where the official Covid death toll is about 100k but the excess death count for the pandemic period is closer to half-a-million (which, on a per capita basis, would be about twice as bad as the United States.)
It's why you've also heard more than once at the UK Government pressers that, in the long run, the best relative international measure of deaths in the pandemic is liable to come from the excess death statistics. They're the numbers least likely to be corrupted.
Spot on.
And you also need to look at excess deaths as % of regular deaths, rather than per million - otherwise you're just measuring how many old people there are in your country.
Slight issue there is in the definition of "regular deaths". Comparing with the average of pre-pandemic deaths over the previous ten years would be better than just the year before, but then you bring in fluctuating population numbers the more years you include.
Compromise on the average of the last three years deaths.
@rcs1000 if States gets Green Lit for international travel from 17 May and USA plays ball we may organise a last minute half term trip. Florida (Sarasota) and Arizona (Phoenix) are in the mix - which is best option given virus prevalence and vaccination uptake in those states would you say?
Both too hot in May. Certainly Phoenix is. Go north of there, try the Shenandoah for example, or Colorado (where the elevation cools thing down, the mountains in springtime can be glorious).
Remainers voted against a brexit where Britain is knee deep in apparently vital vaccines?
Yeah right.
We would have been even without Brexit. Our pharma sector is huge. Participation in the EU procurement program would almost certainly been dodged by a UK government. The only "victory for Brexit" is, like Brexit itself, a simplistic load of bollox
genuinely funny
I would hazard a guess that my knowledge of the pharma industry gives me a reasonable perspective. You are not quite in the same ludicrous fantasy world of Philip Thompson, but I think based on your unintentionally funny pronouncement on most matters, this is not an area of expertise for you! Your nom de plume is a give away for your ludicrous and sad perspective on life. Keep taking the tablets.
One thing I've never understood while encountering the Scott P style "Bozo is a loser, the UK is awful" parts of the internet is where this oft quoted "150,000 dead" figure comes from. Given our rather liberal reporting of covid deaths sits around the 126k mark are they privy to some statistics I'm not, are they predicting the future or do they just round up all numbers to the nearest 50,000?
Both figures are from the government stats.
The 128k figure is for deaths within 28 days of a positive test.
The 150k is deaths with Covid-19 listed as a cause on the death certificate.
Edit - IIRC it is top of the government's Covid-19 dashboard.
It seems that the 150k is very rarely used by any politicians, scientists or journalists across the globe. I haven't seen it used by the Beeb for example on the 10 o clock news.
So seems like just a case of 'I'll pick the higher number other people aren't using because the worst case scenario suits my argument".
Boris Johnson recently cited the higher figures in a press conference, as did the CMO, JVT in other press conferences.
Whitty, Vallance, and JVT have often used the higher figure to contextualise things.
One of the things that British officialdom can't reasonably be accused of, it would seem, is producing wildly inaccurate figures, whether by accident or design.
Compare, if you will, to Russia, where the official Covid death toll is about 100k but the excess death count for the pandemic period is closer to half-a-million (which, on a per capita basis, would be about twice as bad as the United States.)
It's why you've also heard more than once at the UK Government pressers that, in the long run, the best relative international measure of deaths in the pandemic is liable to come from the excess death statistics. They're the numbers least likely to be corrupted.
Spot on.
And you also need to look at excess deaths as % of regular deaths, rather than per million - otherwise you're just measuring how many old people there are in your country.
Slight issue there is in the definition of "regular deaths". Comparing with the average of pre-pandemic deaths over the previous ten years would be better than just the year before, but then you bring in fluctuating population numbers the more years you include.
Compromise on the average of the last three years deaths.
@rcs1000 if States gets Green Lit for international travel from 17 May and USA plays ball we may organise a last minute half term trip. Florida (Sarasota) and Arizona (Phoenix) are in the mix - which is best option given virus prevalence and vaccination uptake in those states would you say?
Do you like your heat dry or wet?
At this point I'm not fussy to be honest. I've been to both many times. Anna Maria Island near Sarasota is a favourite destination for us. I just can't wait to get off this island.
We were going to do the big US roadtrip about now but it's had to go on ice. Hope it still happens at some point. I particularly want to do the deep south. See what I make of it. See what they make of me.
Just a brilliant country to drive around, as long as you avoid the summer outside the far north. In spring and autumn the climate in much of the States is lovely.
One thing I've never understood while encountering the Scott P style "Bozo is a loser, the UK is awful" parts of the internet is where this oft quoted "150,000 dead" figure comes from. Given our rather liberal reporting of covid deaths sits around the 126k mark are they privy to some statistics I'm not, are they predicting the future or do they just round up all numbers to the nearest 50,000?
Both figures are from the government stats.
The 128k figure is for deaths within 28 days of a positive test.
The 150k is deaths with Covid-19 listed as a cause on the death certificate.
Edit - IIRC it is top of the government's Covid-19 dashboard.
It seems that the 150k is very rarely used by any politicians, scientists or journalists across the globe. I haven't seen it used by the Beeb for example on the 10 o clock news.
So seems like just a case of 'I'll pick the higher number other people aren't using because the worst case scenario suits my argument".
Boris Johnson recently cited the higher figures in a press conference, as did the CMO, JVT in other press conferences.
Whitty, Vallance, and JVT have often used the higher figure to contextualise things.
One of the things that British officialdom can't reasonably be accused of, it would seem, is producing wildly inaccurate figures, whether by accident or design.
Compare, if you will, to Russia, where the official Covid death toll is about 100k but the excess death count for the pandemic period is closer to half-a-million (which, on a per capita basis, would be about twice as bad as the United States.)
It's why you've also heard more than once at the UK Government pressers that, in the long run, the best relative international measure of deaths in the pandemic is liable to come from the excess death statistics. They're the numbers least likely to be corrupted.
Spot on.
And you also need to look at excess deaths as % of regular deaths, rather than per million - otherwise you're just measuring how many old people there are in your country.
Slight issue there is in the definition of "regular deaths". Comparing with the average of pre-pandemic deaths over the previous ten years would be better than just the year before, but then you bring in fluctuating population numbers the more years you include.
Compromise on the average of the last three years deaths.
@rcs1000 if States gets Green Lit for international travel from 17 May and USA plays ball we may organise a last minute half term trip. Florida (Sarasota) and Arizona (Phoenix) are in the mix - which is best option given virus prevalence and vaccination uptake in those states would you say?
Do you like your heat dry or wet?
At this point I'm not fussy to be honest. I've been to both many times. Anna Maria Island near Sarasota is a favourite destination for us. I just can't wait to get off this island.
We were going to do the big US roadtrip about now but it's had to go on ice. Hope it still happens at some point. I particularly want to do the deep south. See what I make of it. See what they make of me.
Just a brilliant country to drive around, as long as you avoid the summer outside the far north. In spring and autumn the climate in much of the States is lovely.
A great place to drive around. Reveal a British accent and the hospitality usually improves dramatically.
If Salmond fails to win a seat so also disappears any pressure Sturgeon might feel to declare UDI if the SNP win a majority and hold a referendum and Boris as is likely ignores the result.
Out of interest, is there any credible outcome of the Holyrood elections that isn't a big win for the Conservatives/Union in your opinion?
If the Nationalists win a majority then Boris can continue to press home that failing to vote Tory at the 2024 UK general election means a minority Labour government with Starmer propped up by the SNP and a divisive indyref2 that Boris would keep refusing.
If Unionists win a majority then that of course removes the chance of Sturgeon even trying for an indyref2 anyway
Not propped up. Supported by.
Will be doing this correction until you drop it. Let's see who blinks first.
Neither is correct. 'Controlled by' is the term that would describe the reality of the situation. And just like in 2015, the voters will notice that reality too.
Always the partisan angle with you.
I can never utilize one of my favourite barbs - "the mask slips" - because you don't bother wearing one.
Saying whatever I like is simply a pleasure of mine; that it happens to make some of your favourite tactics less useful is just a side bonus.
Unless of course my frontless parrhesia is itself but a mimesis, a mask within a mask...
< Deep >
Scissors Stone Paper. That's what all this boils down to. And it is deep - in the right hands. ☺
Remainers voted against a brexit where Britain is knee deep in apparently vital vaccines?
Yeah right.
We would have been even without Brexit. Our pharma sector is huge. Participation in the EU procurement program would almost certainly been dodged by a UK government. The only "victory for Brexit" is, like Brexit itself, a simplistic load of bollox
genuinely funny
I would hazard a guess that my knowledge of the pharma industry gives me a reasonable perspective. You are not quite in the same ludicrous fantasy world of Philip Thompson, but I think based on your unintentionally funny pronouncement on most matters, this is not an area of expertise for you! Your nom de plume is a give away for your ludicrous and sad perspective on life. Keep taking the tablets.
Remainers voted against a brexit where Britain is knee deep in apparently vital vaccines?
Yeah right.
We would have been even without Brexit. Our pharma sector is huge. Participation in the EU procurement program would almost certainly been dodged by a UK government. The only "victory for Brexit" is, like Brexit itself, a simplistic load of bollox
Remainers voted against a brexit where Britain is knee deep in apparently vital vaccines?
Yeah right.
We would have been even without Brexit. Our pharma sector is huge. Participation in the EU procurement program would almost certainly been dodged by a UK government. The only "victory for Brexit" is, like Brexit itself, a simplistic load of bollox
genuinely funny
I would hazard a guess that my knowledge of the pharma industry gives me a reasonable perspective. You are not quite in the same ludicrous fantasy world of Philip Thompson, but I think based on your unintentionally funny pronouncement on most matters, this is not an area of expertise for you! Your nom de plume is a give away for your ludicrous and sad perspective on life. Keep taking the tablets.
Remainers voted against a brexit where Britain is knee deep in apparently vital vaccines?
Yeah right.
We would have been even without Brexit. Our pharma sector is huge. Participation in the EU procurement program would almost certainly been dodged by a UK government. The only "victory for Brexit" is, like Brexit itself, a simplistic load of bollox
Nope.
We would have eagerly participated in the EU Recovery Fund, as, due to our high death toll, we could have expected a hefty wodge of cash
After that, even if we had done our own vaccine thing, once it became obvious we had loads of jabs and the EU had about 3, they would have asked us to share them, and, morally, having just taken the EU's money we would have been obliged to yield to their request. Hence. no vaccine boost for non-Brexit Britain
Does anyone have any whisky recommendations? My taste being - favourite ever, a half glass that I had of the Black Bowmore, but also I really like a blended whisky called 'MacDonald's Glencoe' (no doubt for tourists, but I like it). I'm a great fan of Japanese whisky too.
I've generally stuck to the Bowmore distillery, their 'darkest' was good, but I've been underwhelmed by them recently.
One thing I've never understood while encountering the Scott P style "Bozo is a loser, the UK is awful" parts of the internet is where this oft quoted "150,000 dead" figure comes from. Given our rather liberal reporting of covid deaths sits around the 126k mark are they privy to some statistics I'm not, are they predicting the future or do they just round up all numbers to the nearest 50,000?
Both figures are from the government stats.
The 128k figure is for deaths within 28 days of a positive test.
The 150k is deaths with Covid-19 listed as a cause on the death certificate.
Edit - IIRC it is top of the government's Covid-19 dashboard.
It seems that the 150k is very rarely used by any politicians, scientists or journalists across the globe. I haven't seen it used by the Beeb for example on the 10 o clock news.
So seems like just a case of 'I'll pick the higher number other people aren't using because the worst case scenario suits my argument".
Boris Johnson recently cited the higher figures in a press conference, as did the CMO, JVT in other press conferences.
Whitty, Vallance, and JVT have often used the higher figure to contextualise things.
One of the things that British officialdom can't reasonably be accused of, it would seem, is producing wildly inaccurate figures, whether by accident or design.
Compare, if you will, to Russia, where the official Covid death toll is about 100k but the excess death count for the pandemic period is closer to half-a-million (which, on a per capita basis, would be about twice as bad as the United States.)
It's why you've also heard more than once at the UK Government pressers that, in the long run, the best relative international measure of deaths in the pandemic is liable to come from the excess death statistics. They're the numbers least likely to be corrupted.
Spot on.
And you also need to look at excess deaths as % of regular deaths, rather than per million - otherwise you're just measuring how many old people there are in your country.
Slight issue there is in the definition of "regular deaths". Comparing with the average of pre-pandemic deaths over the previous ten years would be better than just the year before, but then you bring in fluctuating population numbers the more years you include.
Compromise on the average of the last three years deaths.
@rcs1000 if States gets Green Lit for international travel from 17 May and USA plays ball we may organise a last minute half term trip. Florida (Sarasota) and Arizona (Phoenix) are in the mix - which is best option given virus prevalence and vaccination uptake in those states would you say?
Do you like your heat dry or wet?
At this point I'm not fussy to be honest. I've been to both many times. Anna Maria Island near Sarasota is a favourite destination for us. I just can't wait to get off this island.
We were going to do the big US roadtrip about now but it's had to go on ice. Hope it still happens at some point. I particularly want to do the deep south. See what I make of it. See what they make of me.
Just a brilliant country to drive around, as long as you avoid the summer outside the far north. In spring and autumn the climate in much of the States is lovely.
Summer in the Deep Deep South is also best avoided. New Orleans in August? Eeek
Remainers voted against a brexit where Britain is knee deep in apparently vital vaccines?
Yeah right.
We would have been even without Brexit. Our pharma sector is huge. Participation in the EU procurement program would almost certainly been dodged by a UK government. The only "victory for Brexit" is, like Brexit itself, a simplistic load of bollox
genuinely funny
I would hazard a guess that my knowledge of the pharma industry gives me a reasonable perspective. You are not quite in the same ludicrous fantasy world of Philip Thompson, but I think based on your unintentionally funny pronouncement on most matters, this is not an area of expertise for you! Your nom de plume is a give away for your ludicrous and sad perspective on life. Keep taking the tablets.
Nobody does bile like Remainers. World class
Au contraire, I think most "Remainers" are quite polite and reserved. I choose not to fit into either category when calling out bollox by people that believe in the fairy tales that were spun by lying little toads like Boris Johnson.
There is a certain irony in you calling yourself a "contrarian" when you are clearly unable to see the ridiculousness of the Brexit cause, and find ways to argue against it. All your posts suggest you are a brainwashed Brexit conformist without the slightest ability to think for yourself.
Remainers voted against a brexit where Britain is knee deep in apparently vital vaccines?
Yeah right.
We would have been even without Brexit. Our pharma sector is huge. Participation in the EU procurement program would almost certainly been dodged by a UK government. The only "victory for Brexit" is, like Brexit itself, a simplistic load of bollox
Programme.
Thank you for the pedantry. Always enjoyable. Most appreciated.
Remainers voted against a brexit where Britain is knee deep in apparently vital vaccines?
Yeah right.
We would have been even without Brexit. Our pharma sector is huge. Participation in the EU procurement program would almost certainly been dodged by a UK government. The only "victory for Brexit" is, like Brexit itself, a simplistic load of bollox
Nope.
We would have eagerly participated in the EU Recovery Fund, as, due to our high death toll, we could have expected a hefty wodge of cash
After that, even if we had done our own vaccine thing, once it became obvious we had loads of jabs and the EU had about 3, they would have asked us to share them, and, morally, having just taken the EU's money we would have been obliged to yield to their request. Hence. no vaccine boost for non-Brexit Britain
Remainers voted against a brexit where Britain is knee deep in apparently vital vaccines?
Yeah right.
We would have been even without Brexit. Our pharma sector is huge. Participation in the EU procurement program would almost certainly been dodged by a UK government. The only "victory for Brexit" is, like Brexit itself, a simplistic load of bollox
Nope.
We would have eagerly participated in the EU Recovery Fund, as, due to our high death toll, we could have expected a hefty wodge of cash
After that, even if we had done our own vaccine thing, once it became obvious we had loads of jabs and the EU had about 3, they would have asked us to share them, and, morally, having just taken the EU's money we would have been obliged to yield to their request. Hence. no vaccine boost for non-Brexit Britain
I thought that the telling issue, had we still been in the EU, is that - even if we had not participated in the EU scheme - we would not have been allowed to do what we did in paying private companies to build production capacity because of State aid rules. Or have I got that wrong?
Remainers voted against a brexit where Britain is knee deep in apparently vital vaccines?
Yeah right.
We would have been even without Brexit. Our pharma sector is huge. Participation in the EU procurement program would almost certainly been dodged by a UK government. The only "victory for Brexit" is, like Brexit itself, a simplistic load of bollox
Nope.
We would have eagerly participated in the EU Recovery Fund, as, due to our high death toll, we could have expected a hefty wodge of cash
After that, even if we had done our own vaccine thing, once it became obvious we had loads of jabs and the EU had about 3, they would have asked us to share them, and, morally, having just taken the EU's money we would have been obliged to yield to their request. Hence. no vaccine boost for non-Brexit Britain
I thought that the telling issue, had we still been in the EU, is that - even if we had not participated in the EU scheme - we would not have been allowed to do what we did in paying private companies to build production capacity because of State aid rules. Or have I got that wrong?
Yes, you've got that wrong. We were bound by the EU rules until the end of 2020 (and still are bound by the rules in the trade agreement).
Does anyone have any whisky recommendations? My taste being - favourite ever, a half glass that I had of the Black Bowmore, but also I really like a blended whisky called 'MacDonald's Glencoe' (no doubt for tourists, but I like it). I'm a great fan of Japanese whisky too.
I've generally stuck to the Bowmore distillery, their 'darkest' was good, but I've been underwhelmed by them recently.
Anyway I'd be interested to hear any suggestions.
DOES ANYONE HAVE ANY WHISKY RECOMMENDATIONS?
This is PB.
Glengoyne for me. Fantastic. Especially neat overnight for a US boxing match in the telly.
One thing I've never understood while encountering the Scott P style "Bozo is a loser, the UK is awful" parts of the internet is where this oft quoted "150,000 dead" figure comes from. Given our rather liberal reporting of covid deaths sits around the 126k mark are they privy to some statistics I'm not, are they predicting the future or do they just round up all numbers to the nearest 50,000?
Both figures are from the government stats.
The 128k figure is for deaths within 28 days of a positive test.
The 150k is deaths with Covid-19 listed as a cause on the death certificate.
Edit - IIRC it is top of the government's Covid-19 dashboard.
It seems that the 150k is very rarely used by any politicians, scientists or journalists across the globe. I haven't seen it used by the Beeb for example on the 10 o clock news.
So seems like just a case of 'I'll pick the higher number other people aren't using because the worst case scenario suits my argument".
Boris Johnson recently cited the higher figures in a press conference, as did the CMO, JVT in other press conferences.
Whitty, Vallance, and JVT have often used the higher figure to contextualise things.
One of the things that British officialdom can't reasonably be accused of, it would seem, is producing wildly inaccurate figures, whether by accident or design.
Compare, if you will, to Russia, where the official Covid death toll is about 100k but the excess death count for the pandemic period is closer to half-a-million (which, on a per capita basis, would be about twice as bad as the United States.)
It's why you've also heard more than once at the UK Government pressers that, in the long run, the best relative international measure of deaths in the pandemic is liable to come from the excess death statistics. They're the numbers least likely to be corrupted.
Spot on.
And you also need to look at excess deaths as % of regular deaths, rather than per million - otherwise you're just measuring how many old people there are in your country.
Slight issue there is in the definition of "regular deaths". Comparing with the average of pre-pandemic deaths over the previous ten years would be better than just the year before, but then you bring in fluctuating population numbers the more years you include.
Compromise on the average of the last three years deaths.
@rcs1000 if States gets Green Lit for international travel from 17 May and USA plays ball we may organise a last minute half term trip. Florida (Sarasota) and Arizona (Phoenix) are in the mix - which is best option given virus prevalence and vaccination uptake in those states would you say?
Both too hot in May. Certainly Phoenix is. Go north of there, try the Shenandoah for example, or Colorado (where the elevation cools thing down, the mountains in springtime can be glorious).
Can't be too hot for us. I've been to Florida many times and May is best month to go IMO. Most snowbirds have departed and it's well before hurricane season. May is just day after day of blue skies (with the odd belter of a brief thunderstorm in-between which is fun too).
Does anyone have any whisky recommendations? My taste being - favourite ever, a half glass that I had of the Black Bowmore, but also I really like a blended whisky called 'MacDonald's Glencoe' (no doubt for tourists, but I like it). I'm a great fan of Japanese whisky too.
I've generally stuck to the Bowmore distillery, their 'darkest' was good, but I've been underwhelmed by them recently.
Anyway I'd be interested to hear any suggestions.
Have a look at Clynelish, Highland Park, Old Pulteney to see if they sound any good for your taste. The northern ones, off the beaten track perhaps.
One thing I've never understood while encountering the Scott P style "Bozo is a loser, the UK is awful" parts of the internet is where this oft quoted "150,000 dead" figure comes from. Given our rather liberal reporting of covid deaths sits around the 126k mark are they privy to some statistics I'm not, are they predicting the future or do they just round up all numbers to the nearest 50,000?
Both figures are from the government stats.
The 128k figure is for deaths within 28 days of a positive test.
The 150k is deaths with Covid-19 listed as a cause on the death certificate.
Edit - IIRC it is top of the government's Covid-19 dashboard.
It seems that the 150k is very rarely used by any politicians, scientists or journalists across the globe. I haven't seen it used by the Beeb for example on the 10 o clock news.
So seems like just a case of 'I'll pick the higher number other people aren't using because the worst case scenario suits my argument".
Boris Johnson recently cited the higher figures in a press conference, as did the CMO, JVT in other press conferences.
Whitty, Vallance, and JVT have often used the higher figure to contextualise things.
One of the things that British officialdom can't reasonably be accused of, it would seem, is producing wildly inaccurate figures, whether by accident or design.
Compare, if you will, to Russia, where the official Covid death toll is about 100k but the excess death count for the pandemic period is closer to half-a-million (which, on a per capita basis, would be about twice as bad as the United States.)
It's why you've also heard more than once at the UK Government pressers that, in the long run, the best relative international measure of deaths in the pandemic is liable to come from the excess death statistics. They're the numbers least likely to be corrupted.
Spot on.
And you also need to look at excess deaths as % of regular deaths, rather than per million - otherwise you're just measuring how many old people there are in your country.
Slight issue there is in the definition of "regular deaths". Comparing with the average of pre-pandemic deaths over the previous ten years would be better than just the year before, but then you bring in fluctuating population numbers the more years you include.
Compromise on the average of the last three years deaths.
@rcs1000 if States gets Green Lit for international travel from 17 May and USA plays ball we may organise a last minute half term trip. Florida (Sarasota) and Arizona (Phoenix) are in the mix - which is best option given virus prevalence and vaccination uptake in those states would you say?
Do you like your heat dry or wet?
At this point I'm not fussy to be honest. I've been to both many times. Anna Maria Island near Sarasota is a favourite destination for us. I just can't wait to get off this island.
We were going to do the big US roadtrip about now but it's had to go on ice. Hope it still happens at some point. I particularly want to do the deep south. See what I make of it. See what they make of me.
Just a brilliant country to drive around, as long as you avoid the summer outside the far north. In spring and autumn the climate in much of the States is lovely.
Summer in the Deep Deep South is also best avoided. New Orleans in August? Eeek
I dunno. The French Quarter in a linen suit and a panama, dripping in sweat while eating a beignet in one hand and drinking a Hand Grenade in the other - what could be more evocative of a certain kind of decadence?
Remainers voted against a brexit where Britain is knee deep in apparently vital vaccines?
Yeah right.
We would have been even without Brexit. Our pharma sector is huge. Participation in the EU procurement program would almost certainly been dodged by a UK government. The only "victory for Brexit" is, like Brexit itself, a simplistic load of bollox
Nope.
We would have eagerly participated in the EU Recovery Fund, as, due to our high death toll, we could have expected a hefty wodge of cash
After that, even if we had done our own vaccine thing, once it became obvious we had loads of jabs and the EU had about 3, they would have asked us to share them, and, morally, having just taken the EU's money we would have been obliged to yield to their request. Hence. no vaccine boost for non-Brexit Britain
I thought that the telling issue, had we still been in the EU, is that - even if we had not participated in the EU scheme - we would not have been allowed to do what we did in paying private companies to build production capacity because of State aid rules. Or have I got that wrong?
In normal circumstances you're definitely right.
Due to the pandemic there's more leeway with State Aid rules, so its possible that it could have been allowed but not certain either way AFAIK.
Remainers voted against a brexit where Britain is knee deep in apparently vital vaccines?
Yeah right.
We would have been even without Brexit. Our pharma sector is huge. Participation in the EU procurement program would almost certainly been dodged by a UK government. The only "victory for Brexit" is, like Brexit itself, a simplistic load of bollox
genuinely funny
I would hazard a guess that my knowledge of the pharma industry gives me a reasonable perspective. You are not quite in the same ludicrous fantasy world of Philip Thompson, but I think based on your unintentionally funny pronouncement on most matters, this is not an area of expertise for you! Your nom de plume is a give away for your ludicrous and sad perspective on life. Keep taking the tablets.
Nobody does bile like Remainers. World class
Au contraire, I think most "Remainers" are quite polite and reserved. I choose not to fit into either category when calling out bollox by people that believe in the fairy tales that were spun by lying little toads like Boris Johnson.
There is a certain irony in you calling yourself a "contrarian" when you are clearly unable to see the ridiculousness of the Brexit cause, and find ways to argue against it. All your posts suggest you are a brainwashed Brexit conformist without the slightest ability to think for yourself.
But, you are also a boring, silly, pompous fucking prick, who makes scrotum-achingly unfunny jokes, so there's that, too?
One thing I've never understood while encountering the Scott P style "Bozo is a loser, the UK is awful" parts of the internet is where this oft quoted "150,000 dead" figure comes from. Given our rather liberal reporting of covid deaths sits around the 126k mark are they privy to some statistics I'm not, are they predicting the future or do they just round up all numbers to the nearest 50,000?
Both figures are from the government stats.
The 128k figure is for deaths within 28 days of a positive test.
The 150k is deaths with Covid-19 listed as a cause on the death certificate.
Edit - IIRC it is top of the government's Covid-19 dashboard.
It seems that the 150k is very rarely used by any politicians, scientists or journalists across the globe. I haven't seen it used by the Beeb for example on the 10 o clock news.
So seems like just a case of 'I'll pick the higher number other people aren't using because the worst case scenario suits my argument".
Boris Johnson recently cited the higher figures in a press conference, as did the CMO, JVT in other press conferences.
Whitty, Vallance, and JVT have often used the higher figure to contextualise things.
One of the things that British officialdom can't reasonably be accused of, it would seem, is producing wildly inaccurate figures, whether by accident or design.
Compare, if you will, to Russia, where the official Covid death toll is about 100k but the excess death count for the pandemic period is closer to half-a-million (which, on a per capita basis, would be about twice as bad as the United States.)
It's why you've also heard more than once at the UK Government pressers that, in the long run, the best relative international measure of deaths in the pandemic is liable to come from the excess death statistics. They're the numbers least likely to be corrupted.
Spot on.
And you also need to look at excess deaths as % of regular deaths, rather than per million - otherwise you're just measuring how many old people there are in your country.
Slight issue there is in the definition of "regular deaths". Comparing with the average of pre-pandemic deaths over the previous ten years would be better than just the year before, but then you bring in fluctuating population numbers the more years you include.
Compromise on the average of the last three years deaths.
@rcs1000 if States gets Green Lit for international travel from 17 May and USA plays ball we may organise a last minute half term trip. Florida (Sarasota) and Arizona (Phoenix) are in the mix - which is best option given virus prevalence and vaccination uptake in those states would you say?
Right now, unless you are a citizen, permanent resident of the US, or are married to a citizen, then you cannot enter the US from the UK.
I don't know when the Biden administration will relax those rules: hopefully soon, not least because I would like to see my family. But it might well not be until the Summer.
Does anyone have any whisky recommendations? My taste being - favourite ever, a half glass that I had of the Black Bowmore, but also I really like a blended whisky called 'MacDonald's Glencoe' (no doubt for tourists, but I like it). I'm a great fan of Japanese whisky too.
I've generally stuck to the Bowmore distillery, their 'darkest' was good, but I've been underwhelmed by them recently.
Anyway I'd be interested to hear any suggestions.
DOES ANYONE HAVE ANY WHISKY RECOMMENDATIONS?
This is PB.
Glengoyne for me. Fantastic. Especially neat overnight for a US boxing match in the telly.
Yes - that's also one of my historical favourites. I'll add that to my restocking list.
Does anyone have any whisky recommendations? My taste being - favourite ever, a half glass that I had of the Black Bowmore, but also I really like a blended whisky called 'MacDonald's Glencoe' (no doubt for tourists, but I like it). I'm a great fan of Japanese whisky too.
I've generally stuck to the Bowmore distillery, their 'darkest' was good, but I've been underwhelmed by them recently.
Anyway I'd be interested to hear any suggestions.
Bells?
I jest - I know nothing about whiskies but my neighbour fancies himself as a whiskey connoisseur so I wind him up by asking how he's enjoying his Bells. He splutters "I wouldn't use THAT to disinfect my loo"!
If Salmond fails to win a seat so also disappears any pressure Sturgeon might feel to declare UDI if the SNP win a majority and hold a referendum and Boris as is likely ignores the result.
Out of interest, is there any credible outcome of the Holyrood elections that isn't a big win for the Conservatives/Union in your opinion?
If the Nationalists win a majority then Boris can continue to press home that failing to vote Tory at the 2024 UK general election means a minority Labour government with Starmer propped up by the SNP and a divisive indyref2 that Boris would keep refusing.
If Unionists win a majority then that of course removes the chance of Sturgeon even trying for an indyref2 anyway
Not propped up. Supported by.
Will be doing this correction until you drop it. Let's see who blinks first.
Neither is correct. 'Controlled by' is the term that would describe the reality of the situation. And just like in 2015, the voters will notice that reality too.
Always the partisan angle with you.
I can never utilize one of my favourite barbs - "the mask slips" - because you don't bother wearing one.
Saying whatever I like is simply a pleasure of mine; that it happens to make some of your favourite tactics less useful is just a side bonus.
Unless of course my frontless parrhesia is itself but a mimesis, a mask within a mask...
Though Jim Sillars is the only prominent proponent I know of outside the EU/outside the UK, which IMO is the only intellectually coherent form of Sindy.
Having said that, it's common for the Unionist newspapers to get a quote from Mr Sillars on current Scottish affairs. Which is a bit like asking Mr Heseltine to opine on current Tory politics, and no one else (in the sense of being somewhat restrictive as to opinion).
Does anyone have any whisky recommendations? My taste being - favourite ever, a half glass that I had of the Black Bowmore, but also I really like a blended whisky called 'MacDonald's Glencoe' (no doubt for tourists, but I like it). I'm a great fan of Japanese whisky too.
I've generally stuck to the Bowmore distillery, their 'darkest' was good, but I've been underwhelmed by them recently.
Anyway I'd be interested to hear any suggestions.
DOES ANYONE HAVE ANY WHISKY RECOMMENDATIONS?
This is PB.
Glengoyne for me. Fantastic. Especially neat overnight for a US boxing match in the telly.
Does anyone have any whisky recommendations? My taste being - favourite ever, a half glass that I had of the Black Bowmore, but also I really like a blended whisky called 'MacDonald's Glencoe' (no doubt for tourists, but I like it). I'm a great fan of Japanese whisky too.
I've generally stuck to the Bowmore distillery, their 'darkest' was good, but I've been underwhelmed by them recently.
Anyway I'd be interested to hear any suggestions.
I was drinking Talisker the other day but I don't have any idea whether it's regarded as a good whisky or not. I hope it is. Just happened to be the first one I saw in the shop.
One thing I've never understood while encountering the Scott P style "Bozo is a loser, the UK is awful" parts of the internet is where this oft quoted "150,000 dead" figure comes from. Given our rather liberal reporting of covid deaths sits around the 126k mark are they privy to some statistics I'm not, are they predicting the future or do they just round up all numbers to the nearest 50,000?
Both figures are from the government stats.
The 128k figure is for deaths within 28 days of a positive test.
The 150k is deaths with Covid-19 listed as a cause on the death certificate.
Edit - IIRC it is top of the government's Covid-19 dashboard.
It seems that the 150k is very rarely used by any politicians, scientists or journalists across the globe. I haven't seen it used by the Beeb for example on the 10 o clock news.
So seems like just a case of 'I'll pick the higher number other people aren't using because the worst case scenario suits my argument".
Boris Johnson recently cited the higher figures in a press conference, as did the CMO, JVT in other press conferences.
Whitty, Vallance, and JVT have often used the higher figure to contextualise things.
One of the things that British officialdom can't reasonably be accused of, it would seem, is producing wildly inaccurate figures, whether by accident or design.
Compare, if you will, to Russia, where the official Covid death toll is about 100k but the excess death count for the pandemic period is closer to half-a-million (which, on a per capita basis, would be about twice as bad as the United States.)
It's why you've also heard more than once at the UK Government pressers that, in the long run, the best relative international measure of deaths in the pandemic is liable to come from the excess death statistics. They're the numbers least likely to be corrupted.
Spot on.
And you also need to look at excess deaths as % of regular deaths, rather than per million - otherwise you're just measuring how many old people there are in your country.
Slight issue there is in the definition of "regular deaths". Comparing with the average of pre-pandemic deaths over the previous ten years would be better than just the year before, but then you bring in fluctuating population numbers the more years you include.
Compromise on the average of the last three years deaths.
@rcs1000 if States gets Green Lit for international travel from 17 May and USA plays ball we may organise a last minute half term trip. Florida (Sarasota) and Arizona (Phoenix) are in the mix - which is best option given virus prevalence and vaccination uptake in those states would you say?
Right now, unless you are a citizen, permanent resident of the US, or are married to a citizen, then you cannot enter the US from the UK.
I don't know when the Biden administration will relax those rules: hopefully soon, not least because I would like to see my family. But it might well not be until the Summer.
Yes, that's what worries me. The States could get green lit this end but Biden may still bar us despite our stats. Caribbean then!
One thing I've never understood while encountering the Scott P style "Bozo is a loser, the UK is awful" parts of the internet is where this oft quoted "150,000 dead" figure comes from. Given our rather liberal reporting of covid deaths sits around the 126k mark are they privy to some statistics I'm not, are they predicting the future or do they just round up all numbers to the nearest 50,000?
Both figures are from the government stats.
The 128k figure is for deaths within 28 days of a positive test.
The 150k is deaths with Covid-19 listed as a cause on the death certificate.
Edit - IIRC it is top of the government's Covid-19 dashboard.
It seems that the 150k is very rarely used by any politicians, scientists or journalists across the globe. I haven't seen it used by the Beeb for example on the 10 o clock news.
So seems like just a case of 'I'll pick the higher number other people aren't using because the worst case scenario suits my argument".
Boris Johnson recently cited the higher figures in a press conference, as did the CMO, JVT in other press conferences.
Whitty, Vallance, and JVT have often used the higher figure to contextualise things.
One of the things that British officialdom can't reasonably be accused of, it would seem, is producing wildly inaccurate figures, whether by accident or design.
Compare, if you will, to Russia, where the official Covid death toll is about 100k but the excess death count for the pandemic period is closer to half-a-million (which, on a per capita basis, would be about twice as bad as the United States.)
It's why you've also heard more than once at the UK Government pressers that, in the long run, the best relative international measure of deaths in the pandemic is liable to come from the excess death statistics. They're the numbers least likely to be corrupted.
Spot on.
And you also need to look at excess deaths as % of regular deaths, rather than per million - otherwise you're just measuring how many old people there are in your country.
Slight issue there is in the definition of "regular deaths". Comparing with the average of pre-pandemic deaths over the previous ten years would be better than just the year before, but then you bring in fluctuating population numbers the more years you include.
Compromise on the average of the last three years deaths.
@rcs1000 if States gets Green Lit for international travel from 17 May and USA plays ball we may organise a last minute half term trip. Florida (Sarasota) and Arizona (Phoenix) are in the mix - which is best option given virus prevalence and vaccination uptake in those states would you say?
Both too hot in May. Certainly Phoenix is. Go north of there, try the Shenandoah for example, or Colorado (where the elevation cools thing down, the mountains in springtime can be glorious).
Phoenix - while a great place for work - is not that exciting a place to hang out from a vacation PoV.
One thing I've never understood while encountering the Scott P style "Bozo is a loser, the UK is awful" parts of the internet is where this oft quoted "150,000 dead" figure comes from. Given our rather liberal reporting of covid deaths sits around the 126k mark are they privy to some statistics I'm not, are they predicting the future or do they just round up all numbers to the nearest 50,000?
Both figures are from the government stats.
The 128k figure is for deaths within 28 days of a positive test.
The 150k is deaths with Covid-19 listed as a cause on the death certificate.
Edit - IIRC it is top of the government's Covid-19 dashboard.
It seems that the 150k is very rarely used by any politicians, scientists or journalists across the globe. I haven't seen it used by the Beeb for example on the 10 o clock news.
So seems like just a case of 'I'll pick the higher number other people aren't using because the worst case scenario suits my argument".
Boris Johnson recently cited the higher figures in a press conference, as did the CMO, JVT in other press conferences.
Whitty, Vallance, and JVT have often used the higher figure to contextualise things.
One of the things that British officialdom can't reasonably be accused of, it would seem, is producing wildly inaccurate figures, whether by accident or design.
Compare, if you will, to Russia, where the official Covid death toll is about 100k but the excess death count for the pandemic period is closer to half-a-million (which, on a per capita basis, would be about twice as bad as the United States.)
It's why you've also heard more than once at the UK Government pressers that, in the long run, the best relative international measure of deaths in the pandemic is liable to come from the excess death statistics. They're the numbers least likely to be corrupted.
Spot on.
And you also need to look at excess deaths as % of regular deaths, rather than per million - otherwise you're just measuring how many old people there are in your country.
Slight issue there is in the definition of "regular deaths". Comparing with the average of pre-pandemic deaths over the previous ten years would be better than just the year before, but then you bring in fluctuating population numbers the more years you include.
Compromise on the average of the last three years deaths.
@rcs1000 if States gets Green Lit for international travel from 17 May and USA plays ball we may organise a last minute half term trip. Florida (Sarasota) and Arizona (Phoenix) are in the mix - which is best option given virus prevalence and vaccination uptake in those states would you say?
Right now, unless you are a citizen, permanent resident of the US, or are married to a citizen, then you cannot enter the US from the UK.
I don't know when the Biden administration will relax those rules: hopefully soon, not least because I would like to see my family. But it might well not be until the Summer.
Remainers voted against a brexit where Britain is knee deep in apparently vital vaccines?
Yeah right.
We would have been even without Brexit. Our pharma sector is huge. Participation in the EU procurement program would almost certainly been dodged by a UK government. The only "victory for Brexit" is, like Brexit itself, a simplistic load of bollox
genuinely funny
I would hazard a guess that my knowledge of the pharma industry gives me a reasonable perspective. You are not quite in the same ludicrous fantasy world of Philip Thompson, but I think based on your unintentionally funny pronouncement on most matters, this is not an area of expertise for you! Your nom de plume is a give away for your ludicrous and sad perspective on life. Keep taking the tablets.
Nobody does bile like Remainers. World class
Au contraire, I think most "Remainers" are quite polite and reserved. I choose not to fit into either category when calling out bollox by people that believe in the fairy tales that were spun by lying little toads like Boris Johnson.
There is a certain irony in you calling yourself a "contrarian" when you are clearly unable to see the ridiculousness of the Brexit cause, and find ways to argue against it. All your posts suggest you are a brainwashed Brexit conformist without the slightest ability to think for yourself.
I'm not sure Johnson much believes in Brexit that much. I'm not sure he believes in anything much apart from his own advancement.
Brexit, libertarianism, conservatism, just flags of convenience.
The fact is, remainers had a stack of chances to convince the public of their cause. They funked every single one and had their backsides handed to them every single time.
One of the chief reasons remain lost was the utterly toxic and dismissive attitude of persons such as yourself. You have clearly learned nothing and consequently will be spending the foreseeable where you are now. In the political wilderness.
One thing I've never understood while encountering the Scott P style "Bozo is a loser, the UK is awful" parts of the internet is where this oft quoted "150,000 dead" figure comes from. Given our rather liberal reporting of covid deaths sits around the 126k mark are they privy to some statistics I'm not, are they predicting the future or do they just round up all numbers to the nearest 50,000?
Both figures are from the government stats.
The 128k figure is for deaths within 28 days of a positive test.
The 150k is deaths with Covid-19 listed as a cause on the death certificate.
Edit - IIRC it is top of the government's Covid-19 dashboard.
It seems that the 150k is very rarely used by any politicians, scientists or journalists across the globe. I haven't seen it used by the Beeb for example on the 10 o clock news.
So seems like just a case of 'I'll pick the higher number other people aren't using because the worst case scenario suits my argument".
Boris Johnson recently cited the higher figures in a press conference, as did the CMO, JVT in other press conferences.
Whitty, Vallance, and JVT have often used the higher figure to contextualise things.
One of the things that British officialdom can't reasonably be accused of, it would seem, is producing wildly inaccurate figures, whether by accident or design.
Compare, if you will, to Russia, where the official Covid death toll is about 100k but the excess death count for the pandemic period is closer to half-a-million (which, on a per capita basis, would be about twice as bad as the United States.)
It's why you've also heard more than once at the UK Government pressers that, in the long run, the best relative international measure of deaths in the pandemic is liable to come from the excess death statistics. They're the numbers least likely to be corrupted.
Spot on.
And you also need to look at excess deaths as % of regular deaths, rather than per million - otherwise you're just measuring how many old people there are in your country.
Slight issue there is in the definition of "regular deaths". Comparing with the average of pre-pandemic deaths over the previous ten years would be better than just the year before, but then you bring in fluctuating population numbers the more years you include.
Compromise on the average of the last three years deaths.
@rcs1000 if States gets Green Lit for international travel from 17 May and USA plays ball we may organise a last minute half term trip. Florida (Sarasota) and Arizona (Phoenix) are in the mix - which is best option given virus prevalence and vaccination uptake in those states would you say?
Both too hot in May. Certainly Phoenix is. Go north of there, try the Shenandoah for example, or Colorado (where the elevation cools thing down, the mountains in springtime can be glorious).
Phoenix - while a great place for work - is not that exciting a place to hang out from a vacation PoV.
It is if you are a golfer. And I like Scottsdale's vibe.
Does anyone have any whisky recommendations? My taste being - favourite ever, a half glass that I had of the Black Bowmore, but also I really like a blended whisky called 'MacDonald's Glencoe' (no doubt for tourists, but I like it). I'm a great fan of Japanese whisky too.
I've generally stuck to the Bowmore distillery, their 'darkest' was good, but I've been underwhelmed by them recently.
Anyway I'd be interested to hear any suggestions.
I've been unexpectedly enjoying a Welsh Whisky (Penderyn) recently after being given it as a Christmas present.
One thing I've never understood while encountering the Scott P style "Bozo is a loser, the UK is awful" parts of the internet is where this oft quoted "150,000 dead" figure comes from. Given our rather liberal reporting of covid deaths sits around the 126k mark are they privy to some statistics I'm not, are they predicting the future or do they just round up all numbers to the nearest 50,000?
Both figures are from the government stats.
The 128k figure is for deaths within 28 days of a positive test.
The 150k is deaths with Covid-19 listed as a cause on the death certificate.
Edit - IIRC it is top of the government's Covid-19 dashboard.
It seems that the 150k is very rarely used by any politicians, scientists or journalists across the globe. I haven't seen it used by the Beeb for example on the 10 o clock news.
So seems like just a case of 'I'll pick the higher number other people aren't using because the worst case scenario suits my argument".
Boris Johnson recently cited the higher figures in a press conference, as did the CMO, JVT in other press conferences.
Whitty, Vallance, and JVT have often used the higher figure to contextualise things.
One of the things that British officialdom can't reasonably be accused of, it would seem, is producing wildly inaccurate figures, whether by accident or design.
Compare, if you will, to Russia, where the official Covid death toll is about 100k but the excess death count for the pandemic period is closer to half-a-million (which, on a per capita basis, would be about twice as bad as the United States.)
It's why you've also heard more than once at the UK Government pressers that, in the long run, the best relative international measure of deaths in the pandemic is liable to come from the excess death statistics. They're the numbers least likely to be corrupted.
Spot on.
And you also need to look at excess deaths as % of regular deaths, rather than per million - otherwise you're just measuring how many old people there are in your country.
Slight issue there is in the definition of "regular deaths". Comparing with the average of pre-pandemic deaths over the previous ten years would be better than just the year before, but then you bring in fluctuating population numbers the more years you include.
Compromise on the average of the last three years deaths.
@rcs1000 if States gets Green Lit for international travel from 17 May and USA plays ball we may organise a last minute half term trip. Florida (Sarasota) and Arizona (Phoenix) are in the mix - which is best option given virus prevalence and vaccination uptake in those states would you say?
Right now, unless you are a citizen, permanent resident of the US, or are married to a citizen, then you cannot enter the US from the UK.
I don't know when the Biden administration will relax those rules: hopefully soon, not least because I would like to see my family. But it might well not be until the Summer.
Yes, that's what worries me. The States could get green lit this end but Biden may still bar us despite our stats. Caribbean then!
If you go to the Caribbean, make sure you don't bring home African Swine Fever with you. The next great pandemic the US is worried about (although it is our access to pork products, not human health, that is the worry here).
If Salmond fails to win a seat so also disappears any pressure Sturgeon might feel to declare UDI if the SNP win a majority and hold a referendum and Boris as is likely ignores the result.
Out of interest, is there any credible outcome of the Holyrood elections that isn't a big win for the Conservatives/Union in your opinion?
If the Nationalists win a majority then Boris can continue to press home that failing to vote Tory at the 2024 UK general election means a minority Labour government with Starmer propped up by the SNP and a divisive indyref2 that Boris would keep refusing.
If Unionists win a majority then that of course removes the chance of Sturgeon even trying for an indyref2 anyway
Not propped up. Supported by.
Will be doing this correction until you drop it. Let's see who blinks first.
Neither is correct. 'Controlled by' is the term that would describe the reality of the situation. And just like in 2015, the voters will notice that reality too.
Always the partisan angle with you.
I can never utilize one of my favourite barbs - "the mask slips" - because you don't bother wearing one.
Saying whatever I like is simply a pleasure of mine; that it happens to make some of your favourite tactics less useful is just a side bonus.
Unless of course my frontless parrhesia is itself but a mimesis, a mask within a mask...
Does anyone have any whisky recommendations? My taste being - favourite ever, a half glass that I had of the Black Bowmore, but also I really like a blended whisky called 'MacDonald's Glencoe' (no doubt for tourists, but I like it). I'm a great fan of Japanese whisky too.
I've generally stuck to the Bowmore distillery, their 'darkest' was good, but I've been underwhelmed by them recently.
Anyway I'd be interested to hear any suggestions.
I've been unexpectedly enjoying a Welsh Whisky (Penderyn) recently after being given it as a Christmas present.
Only weirdos end a text message with a sign off and their own name.
Best, Gallowgate
Oh dear, I'm that weirdo. I get worried that I might send a message and the recipient doesn't have clue who is texting.
No, I do it too, like you, if I am texting someone I barely know or I have never texted before. I do it the first few times until it is obvious it is me (in their mind)
Which tells me Sunak does not know D Cameron at all well
Comments
But with the process better and now with supply, Germany at least should do fine from this point on.
I can never utilize one of my favourite barbs - "the mask slips" - because you don't bother wearing one.
Pot, kettle, person of colour?
I do not doubt that they don't want a full return to violence of the past. But I also have no doubt that the politicians there are very content for the potential of violence returning at any moment to continue forever.
That being said, Russia does not have massive vaccine manufacturing capability, so the idea that they will flood the world with hundreds of millions - or even tens of millions - of doses is absurd.
And you also need to look at excess deaths as % of regular deaths, rather than per million - otherwise you're just measuring how many old people there are in your country.
I had my AZ jab today and am pleased to report there was no vaccine hesitancy in my part of Berkshire. Had to queue for 20 minutes.
This is how Johnson delegitimises the United Kingdom. Nicola Sturgeon will, if she is as astute as I think she is, will create a consensus in Scotland around that illegitimacy.
France's have had all restaurants closed by law since October 2020. That's being lifted in the UK in May. So if you're going until June there's no way not to count from October when restaurants were closed for France.
The police chased him around the pews a bit, before they caught him by the organ
It couldn't happen to a more deserving guy.
The American novelist foresaw the modern mania for denouncing anyone who doesn’t conform to the new puritanism
David Aaronovitch"
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/philip-roth-was-right-about-our-online-witch-hunts-mlm85zj3d
I need to get my mind out of the gutter.
Unless of course my frontless parrhesia is itself but a mimesis, a mask within a mask...
< Deep >
SDP, Loony, NE Party, Women's Equality Party, Green,
Ind: [Adam Gaines], LD, Freedom Alliance, No Description: [Chris Killick], Ind: [Sam Lee],
Heritage Party, Con, Reform UK, Ind: [Thelma Walker], Ind: [Ralph Ward-Jackson], Lab
https://www.hartlepool.gov.uk/news/article/2191/hartlepool_parliamentary_by-election_-_statement_of_persons_nominated
We would have eagerly participated in the EU Recovery Fund, as, due to our high death toll, we could have expected a hefty wodge of cash
After that, even if we had done our own vaccine thing, once it became obvious we had loads of jabs and the EU had about 3, they would have asked us to share them, and, morally, having just taken the EU's money we would have been obliged to yield to their request. Hence. no vaccine boost for non-Brexit Britain
I've generally stuck to the Bowmore distillery, their 'darkest' was good, but I've been underwhelmed by them recently.
Anyway I'd be interested to hear any suggestions.
There is a certain irony in you calling yourself a "contrarian" when you are clearly unable to see the ridiculousness of the Brexit cause, and find ways to argue against it. All your posts suggest you are a brainwashed Brexit conformist without the slightest ability to think for yourself.
He is made for life anyway, why play this game?
The EU can do no wrong.
This is PB.
Glengoyne for me. Fantastic. Especially neat overnight for a US boxing match in the telly.
Due to the pandemic there's more leeway with State Aid rules, so its possible that it could have been allowed but not certain either way AFAIK.
Best, Gallowgate
I don't know when the Biden administration will relax those rules: hopefully soon, not least because I would like to see my family. But it might well not be until the Summer.
For years he signed off lots of his texts with LOL with him thinking it meant Lots Of Love.
'Sorry to hear your granddad is in hospital.
LOL.
Dave'
I jest - I know nothing about whiskies but my neighbour fancies himself as a whiskey connoisseur so I wind him up by asking how he's enjoying his Bells. He splutters "I wouldn't use THAT to disinfect my loo"!
Brexit, libertarianism, conservatism, just flags of convenience.
The fact is, remainers had a stack of chances to convince the public of their cause. They funked every single one and had their backsides handed to them every single time.
One of the chief reasons remain lost was the utterly toxic and dismissive attitude of persons such as yourself. You have clearly learned nothing and consequently will be spending the foreseeable where you are now. In the political wilderness.
There must be 20 or 30 gags/scenes that have endured over FIVE decades
Half of them would probably get you cancelled now
Joey, do you like movies about gladiators?
https://twitter.com/BritainElects/status/1380209941588418564
The NIP appear to be Corbynite trolls intent on causing some damage to Starmer and The Labour Party.
Which tells me Sunak does not know D Cameron at all well
But the recipients appreciated the effort behind them.
I believe that Sam Cam has banned him from using emoticons.