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George Osborne argues that the way Trump’s been constrained shows that democracy is working – politi

SystemSystem Posts: 11,002
edited January 2021 in General
imageGeorge Osborne argues that the way Trump’s been constrained shows that democracy is working – politicalbetting.com

The former Chancellor and now Editor of the London Evening Standard has an interesting piece in his paper tonight in which he gives his analysis of the dramatic events over the past week in Washington and argues that it shows that the democratic process is working. He notes:

Read the full story here

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Comments

  • squareroot2squareroot2 Posts: 6,287
    Premier
  • DavidLDavidL Posts: 50,770
    Good common sense from Osborne.
  • contrariancontrarian Posts: 5,818
    edited January 2021
    How can the man who rolled out the red carpet for China be lecturing the rest of us on democracy?
  • IshmaelZIshmaelZ Posts: 21,830
    DavidL said:

    Good common sense from Osborne.

    I'd give it another week before crowing, actually.

    Prediction: the inauguration itself will go off fine, but there's gonna be the odd nasty lethal incident at the odd state capital while it's happening.
  • I'm not totally sure what point Osborne is making.

    Is it true that the dam held and the coup failed? Yes. Does that mean American democracy is in rude health? No.
  • MexicanpeteMexicanpete Posts: 24,585
    DavidL said:

    Good common sense from Osborne.

    Great little dig at Starmer.
  • Bloody famous people queue jumping...

    Sir David Attenborough has become the latest well-known name to receive a Covid-19 vaccine, his representative has confirmed.

    Given his age and location, surprised it has taken this long for him to get a jab.
  • FrancisUrquhartFrancisUrquhart Posts: 76,274
    edited January 2021
    isam said:
    Per Hund...are we vaccinating dogs as well?
  • PulpstarPulpstar Posts: 75,842
    IshmaelZ said:

    DavidL said:

    Good common sense from Osborne.

    I'd give it another week before crowing, actually.

    Prediction: the inauguration itself will go off fine, but there's gonna be the odd nasty lethal incident at the odd state capital while it's happening.
    Yes there's going to be over 13,000 national guard present for the inauguration which will stop any nonsense at the capitol in the capital.
    Georgia, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin statehouses ? Not so much.
  • TimTTimT Posts: 6,328
    FPT re list of the damned.

    Seems that atheists get a pass. Thank God. ;)
  • BluestBlueBluestBlue Posts: 4,556
    edited January 2021
    isam said:
    That gave me a scare - for a moment I was afraid we were vaccinating the dogs by accident.

    EDIT - Francis got there first!
  • AnabobazinaAnabobazina Posts: 19,617

    isam said:
    Per Hund...are we vaccinating dogs as well?
    :D
  • contrariancontrarian Posts: 5,818
    isam said:
    The more the days go by, the more these vaccination numbers looks like East German tractor stats.
  • How can the man who rolled out the red carpet for China be lecturing the rest of us on democracy?

    Frankly ANYONE can lecture YOU on democracy.
    Not that you'll listen.
  • MaxPBMaxPB Posts: 37,603
    FPT:

    isam said:
    Indeed. Extraordinarily bad use of colour scale.
    Min/Max - Red/Green with the mid-point as white. It's not unfair, just shows how badly the continent other than Denmark and (IMO) Italy are doing.
  • isam said:
    Why has Israel been omitted? Or does the bizarre colour scale return to grey again for figures higher than the UK?
  • Luckyguy1983Luckyguy1983 Posts: 25,046

    isam said:
    That gave me a scare - for a moment I was afraid we were vaccinating the dogs by accident.

    EDIT - Francis got there first!
    I really don't see what that map means to say - it just looks like various shades of fuchsia? (I am red green colourblind, not sure if that's where the issue lies).
  • MaxPBMaxPB Posts: 37,603

    isam said:
    The more the days go by, the more these vaccination numbers looks like East German tractor stats.
    Idiot.
  • MalmesburyMalmesbury Posts: 43,620

    isam said:
    That gave me a scare - for a moment I was afraid we were vaccinating the dogs by accident.
    My journalist friend (the free lancer who did work at the BBC, now at a paper) - her editor is now getting people to sketch opinion articles on the vaccination.

    "UK queue jumping", "UK risks angering EU", "UK selfishly jumps ahead of poor countries"

    Apparently all the efforts so far have been poor......
  • noneoftheabovenoneoftheabove Posts: 20,454
    edited January 2021
    TimT said:

    FPT re list of the damned.

    Seems that atheists get a pass. Thank God. ;)

    Not so much luck for the racist, lesbian MMA fighter (hoping for a path to riches), training on her bike, who likes a party with a mix of rap, rock n roll, a few drinks and doesn't listen much to her Muslim warlock husband, who pretends to be a Christian to his mum, but lets his wife do what she wants whilst he plays games and masturbates.
  • AlistairAlistair Posts: 23,670

    isam said:
    The more the days go by, the more these vaccination numbers looks like East German tractor stats.
    You're a numpty. You're actually willing and hoping the vaccination scheme fails. Why?
    Because he doesn't believe Covid is real.
  • contrariancontrarian Posts: 5,818

    isam said:
    The more the days go by, the more these vaccination numbers looks like East German tractor stats.
    You're a numpty. You're actually willing and hoping the vaccination scheme fails. Why?
    Not at all. I'm just very skeptical the vaccination scheme is the end of this, as we are being told.

    If you look at interview with government ministers, you can see this too. Kit Malthouse very non-committal today.
  • MalmesburyMalmesbury Posts: 43,620

    TimT said:

    FPT re list of the damned.

    Seems that atheists get a pass. Thank God. ;)

    Not so much luck for the racist, lesbian MMA fighter (hoping for a path to riches), training on her bike, who likes a party with a mix of rap, rock n roll, a few drinks and doesn't listen much to her Muslim warlock husband, who pretends to be a Christian to his mum, but lets his wife do what she wants whilst he plays games and masturbates.
    You, sir, win An Internet. Bravo!
  • Alistair said:

    isam said:
    The more the days go by, the more these vaccination numbers looks like East German tractor stats.
    You're a numpty. You're actually willing and hoping the vaccination scheme fails. Why?
    Because he doesn't believe Covid is real.
    Doesn't make sense though. If Covid isn't real, we can roll out the vaccine, declare victory then move on. How will the vaccine fail?
  • Luckyguy1983Luckyguy1983 Posts: 25,046

    TimT said:

    FPT re list of the damned.

    Seems that atheists get a pass. Thank God. ;)

    Not so much luck for the racist, lesbian MMA fighter (hoping for a path to riches), training on her bike, who likes a party with a mix of rap, rock n roll, a few drinks and doesn't listen much to her Muslim warlock husband, who pretends to be a Christian to his mum, but lets his wife do what she wants whilst he plays games and masturbates.
    It would appear even Satan doesn't want to look at Richard Dawkins' wild-eyed mush every morning over breakfast - and frankly who could blame him.
  • Alistair said:

    isam said:
    The more the days go by, the more these vaccination numbers looks like East German tractor stats.
    You're a numpty. You're actually willing and hoping the vaccination scheme fails. Why?
    Because he doesn't believe Covid is real.
    Sadly the vaccines have driven some people mad.

    I mean we've seen on here the shock and conspiracy theories that an 80 year old and a chap in his 70s who had heart surgery were getting the vaccine.
  • CarnyxCarnyx Posts: 39,145
    MaxPB said:

    isam said:
    The more the days go by, the more these vaccination numbers looks like East German tractor stats.
    Idiot.
    I recently read that the Soviets made about 69,000 S-60 tractors in about 6 years in the 1930s. Some of that Stakhanovite thinking wouldn't come amiss in the vaccination programme, even before one starts thinking about their attitude to T-34 tank production from 1941.
  • PulpstarPulpstar Posts: 75,842
    Good on Arnie for calling out the cowardice of the GOP establishment in all this. I wouldn't be shocked if Pence's words were "Please, forgive me master for what I have done" when he allegedly met Trump again.
  • Alistair said:

    isam said:
    The more the days go by, the more these vaccination numbers looks like East German tractor stats.
    You're a numpty. You're actually willing and hoping the vaccination scheme fails. Why?
    Because he doesn't believe Covid is real.
    Sadly the vaccines have driven some people mad.

    I mean we've seen on here the shock and conspiracy theories that an 80 year old and a chap in his 70s who had heart surgery were getting the vaccine.
    Being driven mad by the vaccine...is that one of the side-effects?
  • MalmesburyMalmesbury Posts: 43,620

    isam said:
    That gave me a scare - for a moment I was afraid we were vaccinating the dogs by accident.

    EDIT - Francis got there first!
    I really don't see what that map means to say - it just looks like various shades of fuchsia? (I am red green colourblind, not sure if that's where the issue lies).
    If you look at full scale, the legend is supposed to say "per Hundred blah blah"

    it actually says "per Hund" - got cut off by the autosizing of the legend.
  • TimT said:

    FPT re list of the damned.

    Seems that atheists get a pass. Thank God. ;)

    Not so much luck for the racist, lesbian MMA fighter (hoping for a path to riches), training on her bike, who likes a party with a mix of rap, rock n roll, a few drinks and doesn't listen much to her Muslim warlock husband, who pretends to be a Christian to his mum, but lets his wife do what she wants whilst he plays games and masturbates.
    Give it a week, and they'll be posting here...
  • contrariancontrarian Posts: 5,818

    Alistair said:

    isam said:
    The more the days go by, the more these vaccination numbers looks like East German tractor stats.
    You're a numpty. You're actually willing and hoping the vaccination scheme fails. Why?
    Because he doesn't believe Covid is real.
    Doesn't make sense though. If Covid isn't real, we can roll out the vaccine, declare victory then move on. How will the vaccine fail?
    Why aren;t ministers committing to dates for roll backs of lockdown then? what's stopping them?
  • Pulpstar said:

    Good on Arnie for calling out the cowardice of the GOP establishment in all this. I wouldn't be shocked if Pence's words were "Please, forgive me master for what I have done" when he allegedly met Trump again.

    I think it more likely than not that as soon as Trump leaves office, Pence will launch a devastating attack on Trump.
  • MaxPBMaxPB Posts: 37,603

    Alistair said:

    isam said:
    The more the days go by, the more these vaccination numbers looks like East German tractor stats.
    You're a numpty. You're actually willing and hoping the vaccination scheme fails. Why?
    Because he doesn't believe Covid is real.
    Doesn't make sense though. If Covid isn't real, we can roll out the vaccine, declare victory then move on. How will the vaccine fail?
    Why aren;t ministers committing to dates for roll backs of lockdown then? what's stopping them?
    Supply is unpredictable.
  • Luckyguy1983Luckyguy1983 Posts: 25,046

    isam said:
    That gave me a scare - for a moment I was afraid we were vaccinating the dogs by accident.
    My journalist friend (the free lancer who did work at the BBC, now at a paper) - her editor is now getting people to sketch opinion articles on the vaccination.

    "UK queue jumping", "UK risks angering EU", "UK selfishly jumps ahead of poor countries"

    Apparently all the efforts so far have been poor......
    I am sure the authors of those pieces will be more than happy to wait until last to be vaccinated, as an example.
  • TimTTimT Posts: 6,328
    Pulpstar said:

    IshmaelZ said:

    DavidL said:

    Good common sense from Osborne.

    I'd give it another week before crowing, actually.

    Prediction: the inauguration itself will go off fine, but there's gonna be the odd nasty lethal incident at the odd state capital while it's happening.
    Yes there's going to be over 13,000 national guard present for the inauguration which will stop any nonsense at the capitol in the capital.
    Georgia, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin statehouses ? Not so much.
    The image that springs to mind of the idiot Trumpsters is of rednecks from the South or the Rust Belt. In fact, the most organized groups most likely to take real action to seek to overthrow US and State governments have strong presence in the West - Sovereigns, Three Percenters and Oathkeepers.
  • Alistair said:

    isam said:
    The more the days go by, the more these vaccination numbers looks like East German tractor stats.
    You're a numpty. You're actually willing and hoping the vaccination scheme fails. Why?
    Because he doesn't believe Covid is real.
    Doesn't make sense though. If Covid isn't real, we can roll out the vaccine, declare victory then move on. How will the vaccine fail?
    Why aren;t ministers committing to dates for roll backs of lockdown then? what's stopping them?
    Because the rollout hasn't happened yet. 🤦🏻‍♂️

    They've committed to a date for a review, when they expect the first stage of the vaccine rollout to be done. Prior to the rest of the rollout happening.
  • MaxPBMaxPB Posts: 37,603

    Alistair said:

    isam said:
    The more the days go by, the more these vaccination numbers looks like East German tractor stats.
    You're a numpty. You're actually willing and hoping the vaccination scheme fails. Why?
    Because he doesn't believe Covid is real.
    Doesn't make sense though. If Covid isn't real, we can roll out the vaccine, declare victory then move on. How will the vaccine fail?
    Why aren;t ministers committing to dates for roll backs of lockdown then? what's stopping them?
    Because the rollout hasn't happened yet. 🤦🏻‍♂️

    They've committed to a date for a review, when they expect the first stage of the vaccine rollout to be done. Prior to the rest of the rollout happening.
    And supply is unpredictable, hence a review rather than a commitment to ending the lockdown measures.
  • Sheldon Adelson has died, Trump's biggest donor.
  • The Prime Minister's spokesman has responded to these images of tiny food parcels sent out to families in place of free school meals:

    "We’re aware of those images circulating on social media and it's clear the contents of those food parcels are completely unacceptable."

    PM's spokesman says the Department for Education is looking into this urgently and the Minister for Children Vicky Ford is speaking to the company responsible.

    "They will be making it clear that boxes like this should not be given to families.”
  • LostPasswordLostPassword Posts: 14,772
    It's a very complacent analysis by Osbourne. There are multiple points where it could have gone the other way.

    If the US Constitution was working Trump would have long been removed from office - but partisanship kept him there, and he's still there even after attempting a coup.
  • MaxPB said:

    Alistair said:

    isam said:
    The more the days go by, the more these vaccination numbers looks like East German tractor stats.
    You're a numpty. You're actually willing and hoping the vaccination scheme fails. Why?
    Because he doesn't believe Covid is real.
    Doesn't make sense though. If Covid isn't real, we can roll out the vaccine, declare victory then move on. How will the vaccine fail?
    Why aren;t ministers committing to dates for roll backs of lockdown then? what's stopping them?
    Because the rollout hasn't happened yet. 🤦🏻‍♂️

    They've committed to a date for a review, when they expect the first stage of the vaccine rollout to be done. Prior to the rest of the rollout happening.
    And supply is unpredictable, hence a review rather than a commitment to ending the lockdown measures.
    Absolutely.

    Plus after phase 1 it wouldn't be surprising if deaths were coming down but hospitals were still stretched to breaking point.

    Had it not been for the new variant I was expecting a bit more normality from Valentines. The new variant has smashed that hope, but I still expect it by the Spring.
  • MalmesburyMalmesbury Posts: 43,620
    edited January 2021

    isam said:
    That gave me a scare - for a moment I was afraid we were vaccinating the dogs by accident.
    My journalist friend (the free lancer who did work at the BBC, now at a paper) - her editor is now getting people to sketch opinion articles on the vaccination.

    "UK queue jumping", "UK risks angering EU", "UK selfishly jumps ahead of poor countries"

    Apparently all the efforts so far have been poor......
    I am sure the authors of those pieces will be more than happy to wait until last to be vaccinated, as an example.
    Why? - this is what journalism has always been.

    If I was a zillionaire, I would fund an aggregation platform. Something like ArsTechnica, but broader range.

    The idea would be to create stories that are threads - ongoing explanations, updated frequently. Linked into other stories. Something of a message board, but with Authorial Fiat.

    Our world is continuous - so rather than the occasional gotcha, continuing, evolving stories, complete with a wiki of the information found so far.
  • Luckyguy1983Luckyguy1983 Posts: 25,046

    isam said:
    That gave me a scare - for a moment I was afraid we were vaccinating the dogs by accident.

    EDIT - Francis got there first!
    I really don't see what that map means to say - it just looks like various shades of fuchsia? (I am red green colourblind, not sure if that's where the issue lies).
    If you look at full scale, the legend is supposed to say "per Hundred blah blah"

    it actually says "per Hund" - got cut off by the autosizing of the legend.
    I see that now, but we appear to be the same shade as France? I thought that they had vaccinated far fewer people as a percentage. I am sure I'm being very stupid, but a map posted with a one word accompaniment, I would expect to be fairly self explanatory.
  • Alistair said:

    isam said:
    The more the days go by, the more these vaccination numbers looks like East German tractor stats.
    You're a numpty. You're actually willing and hoping the vaccination scheme fails. Why?
    Because he doesn't believe Covid is real.
    Doesn't make sense though. If Covid isn't real, we can roll out the vaccine, declare victory then move on. How will the vaccine fail?
    Why aren;t ministers committing to dates for roll backs of lockdown then? what's stopping them?
    Because the rollout hasn't happened yet. 🤦🏻‍♂️

    They've committed to a date for a review, when they expect the first stage of the vaccine rollout to be done. Prior to the rest of the rollout happening.
    Also, easing of lockdown will be dependent on the number of cases rather than the proportion of people vaccinated. Obviously we'd expect the former to fall as the latter increases, but I think the level of vaccination required to reduce cases to a particular level is hard to predict.
  • He's not even 50.
  • turbotubbsturbotubbs Posts: 14,878

    Alistair said:

    isam said:
    The more the days go by, the more these vaccination numbers looks like East German tractor stats.
    You're a numpty. You're actually willing and hoping the vaccination scheme fails. Why?
    Because he doesn't believe Covid is real.
    Doesn't make sense though. If Covid isn't real, we can roll out the vaccine, declare victory then move on. How will the vaccine fail?
    Why aren;t ministers committing to dates for roll backs of lockdown then? what's stopping them?
    Because we don't yet know how soon the effects will start to show on death and hospitalization. How anyone can look at the way we (England mainly) opened up last year as soon as possible can think they won't try the same this time is beyond me. Johnson does not enjoy locking down, he wanted to have a 5 day Christmas, but had to change tack.
    I know it's probably pointless engaging with you, as you have already decided the answers, but someone's got to try.
  • MaxPBMaxPB Posts: 37,603

    isam said:
    That gave me a scare - for a moment I was afraid we were vaccinating the dogs by accident.
    My journalist friend (the free lancer who did work at the BBC, now at a paper) - her editor is now getting people to sketch opinion articles on the vaccination.

    "UK queue jumping", "UK risks angering EU", "UK selfishly jumps ahead of poor countries"

    Apparently all the efforts so far have been poor......
    Lol, can't imagine there is much of an audience for that outside of Islington.
  • NigelbNigelb Posts: 61,574

    TimT said:

    FPT re list of the damned.

    Seems that atheists get a pass. Thank God. ;)

    Not so much luck for the racist, lesbian MMA fighter (hoping for a path to riches), training on her bike, who likes a party with a mix of rap, rock n roll, a few drinks and doesn't listen much to her Muslim warlock husband, who pretends to be a Christian to his mum, but lets his wife do what she wants whilst he plays games and masturbates.
    You, sir, win An Internet. Bravo!
    (FPT) What is a 'female enabler' ?
    And if one reads the gospels, might Jesus not fall into that category ?
  • GaussianGaussian Posts: 793

    Alistair said:

    isam said:
    The more the days go by, the more these vaccination numbers looks like East German tractor stats.
    You're a numpty. You're actually willing and hoping the vaccination scheme fails. Why?
    Because he doesn't believe Covid is real.
    Doesn't make sense though. If Covid isn't real, we can roll out the vaccine, declare victory then move on. How will the vaccine fail?
    Why aren;t ministers committing to dates for roll backs of lockdown then? what's stopping them?
    They do not know how much the vaccines reduce spread of the virus, and they also do not know what restriction compliance will be like. The sensible thing to do is to keep watching the case and hospitalization numbers, and gradually relax restrictions as there's room in the hospitals. The even more sensible thing to do would be to drive the virus near zero before relaxing, but obviously that's not going to happen.
  • eristdooferistdoof Posts: 4,861
    MaxPB said:

    FPT:

    isam said:
    Indeed. Extraordinarily bad use of colour scale.
    Min/Max - Red/Green with the mid-point as white. It's not unfair, just shows how badly the continent other than Denmark and (IMO) Italy are doing.
    Well it's not good that NA seems to be the same colour as the mid-point. It is also well know in data visualisation to avoid a red green colour scale as 5% of males are Red/Green colour blind.

    P.S Feel free to used Red/Green though if the graphics for your own use or you know your target audience is female only!
  • FrancisUrquhartFrancisUrquhart Posts: 76,274
    edited January 2021

    Sheldon Adelson has died, Trump's biggest donor.

    And biggest roadblock to widespread legal online gambling in the US. That man cost me a fortune.
  • MaxPB said:

    isam said:
    That gave me a scare - for a moment I was afraid we were vaccinating the dogs by accident.
    My journalist friend (the free lancer who did work at the BBC, now at a paper) - her editor is now getting people to sketch opinion articles on the vaccination.

    "UK queue jumping", "UK risks angering EU", "UK selfishly jumps ahead of poor countries"

    Apparently all the efforts so far have been poor......
    Lol, can't imagine there is much of an audience for that outside of Islington.
    There's a whole website dedicated to stories like that: https://www.theguardian.com/uk/commentisfree
  • LostPasswordLostPassword Posts: 14,772
    edited January 2021

    isam said:
    Why has Israel been omitted? Or does the bizarre colour scale return to grey again for figures higher than the UK?
    If Israel was included then the UK would be a shade of red like the rest of Europe.

    I prefer a single colour intensity scale for something like this. Though if you set your scale relative to an objective standard - say the vaccination rate required to vaccinate everyone by end of August - then you could have the midpoint be that rate, and you'd have a view of countries above/below that rate.

    Edit: Also it's not obvious from that chart that Denmark is the second-best after the UK (of countries where data shown), because the midpoint of the range is too similar to the missing data colour.
  • AnabobazinaAnabobazina Posts: 19,617
    Pulpstar said:

    Good on Arnie for calling out the cowardice of the GOP establishment in all this. I wouldn't be shocked if Pence's words were "Please, forgive me master for what I have done" when he allegedly met Trump again.

    I would like to see Arnie run for president – not least because he is an interesting and charismatic voice on the sane wing of the GOP – but it would require a change in the rules as he was born outside the United States.
  • MaxPBMaxPB Posts: 37,603

    Alistair said:

    isam said:
    The more the days go by, the more these vaccination numbers looks like East German tractor stats.
    You're a numpty. You're actually willing and hoping the vaccination scheme fails. Why?
    Because he doesn't believe Covid is real.
    Doesn't make sense though. If Covid isn't real, we can roll out the vaccine, declare victory then move on. How will the vaccine fail?
    Why aren;t ministers committing to dates for roll backs of lockdown then? what's stopping them?
    Because the rollout hasn't happened yet. 🤦🏻‍♂️

    They've committed to a date for a review, when they expect the first stage of the vaccine rollout to be done. Prior to the rest of the rollout happening.
    Also, easing of lockdown will be dependent on the number of cases rather than the proportion of people vaccinated. Obviously we'd expect the former to fall as the latter increases, but I think the level of vaccination required to reduce cases to a particular level is hard to predict.
    I'd actually say it's going to be related to hospitalisations. Doesn't really matter if people are testing positive but don't have any symptoms because they've been immunised. As it stands we're seeing 4,000 people per day being hospitalised, even 25% of that number isn't sustainable for anything more than a few weeks.
  • TimTTimT Posts: 6,328
    MaxPB said:

    Alistair said:

    isam said:
    The more the days go by, the more these vaccination numbers looks like East German tractor stats.
    You're a numpty. You're actually willing and hoping the vaccination scheme fails. Why?
    Because he doesn't believe Covid is real.
    Doesn't make sense though. If Covid isn't real, we can roll out the vaccine, declare victory then move on. How will the vaccine fail?
    Why aren;t ministers committing to dates for roll backs of lockdown then? what's stopping them?
    Because the rollout hasn't happened yet. 🤦🏻‍♂️

    They've committed to a date for a review, when they expect the first stage of the vaccine rollout to be done. Prior to the rest of the rollout happening.
    And supply is unpredictable, hence a review rather than a commitment to ending the lockdown measures.
    Rule 1 of adaptive risk management - keep planning horizons short, adapt to real data as it comes in, rather than create elaborate, inflexible, long-term plans based on expectations from your model.
  • PulpstarPulpstar Posts: 75,842
    edited January 2021
    "However, we do know that it is transmitted between people via direct and indirect contact with respiratory droplets, similarly to other respiratory viruses such as the four human coronaviruses that have circulated in the human population for decades. These coronaviruses, usually associated with mild cold symptoms, tend to spread alongside influenza during the winter in temperate regions."

    No reason to think this coronavirus isn't seasonal as well. Supression till April then following the path of the broad restrictions in place in last year's summer to the autumn whilst rolling out the vaccine should work.
  • AnabobazinaAnabobazina Posts: 19,617

    Pulpstar said:

    Good on Arnie for calling out the cowardice of the GOP establishment in all this. I wouldn't be shocked if Pence's words were "Please, forgive me master for what I have done" when he allegedly met Trump again.

    I think it more likely than not that as soon as Trump leaves office, Pence will launch a devastating attack on Trump.

    Agreed.
  • MalmesburyMalmesbury Posts: 43,620
    edited January 2021
    MaxPB said:

    isam said:
    That gave me a scare - for a moment I was afraid we were vaccinating the dogs by accident.
    My journalist friend (the free lancer who did work at the BBC, now at a paper) - her editor is now getting people to sketch opinion articles on the vaccination.

    "UK queue jumping", "UK risks angering EU", "UK selfishly jumps ahead of poor countries"

    Apparently all the efforts so far have been poor......
    Lol, can't imagine there is much of an audience for that outside of Islington.
    You don't read the Guardian? (no, that's not the paper in question)
  • Luckyguy1983Luckyguy1983 Posts: 25,046
    Regarding the food boxes, I think they are a very good idea. I think that the foodbox in the Tweet, if it's real, is *terrible*, not just because of the low monetary value of the items, but because it's not what a body needs - where is the allowance of healthy fats, protein etc.? It's a stupid person's idea of what *should* be healthy for a poor person - 'let them eat apples', as the person who devised it tucks into a fillet steak bathed in organic butter.

    That said, this is a benefit of social media. The issue has been brought to light, the Government can now take action, the company *should* be made to offer an explanation and if necessary some recompense to the taxpayer.
  • MaxPB said:

    FPT:

    isam said:
    Indeed. Extraordinarily bad use of colour scale.
    Min/Max - Red/Green with the mid-point as white. It's not unfair, just shows how badly the continent other than Denmark and (IMO) Italy are doing.
    Oh, come off it. I've see less deceptive Lib Dem bar charts. Using the same method of carefully choosing the scale and midpoint, one could equally produce a map of Covid deaths per capita in which the UK, Belgium and Italy are bright red islands in a sea of green.
  • isam said:
    That gave me a scare - for a moment I was afraid we were vaccinating the dogs by accident.

    EDIT - Francis got there first!
    I really don't see what that map means to say - it just looks like various shades of fuchsia? (I am red green colourblind, not sure if that's where the issue lies).
    If you look at full scale, the legend is supposed to say "per Hundred blah blah"

    it actually says "per Hund" - got cut off by the autosizing of the legend.
    I see that now, but we appear to be the same shade as France? I thought that they had vaccinated far fewer people as a percentage. I am sure I'm being very stupid, but a map posted with a one word accompaniment, I would expect to be fairly self explanatory.
    Probably is your colour blindness affecting how you see it, the UK is a lovely shade of verdant green while the rest of Europe, (Denmark aside) is various shades of red/pink.
  • NigelbNigelb Posts: 61,574
    Wasn't Manaus supposed to have reached herd immunity (along with a massive death rate) last year ?
    https://twitter.com/InfectiousDz/status/1348975416225247232
  • GaussianGaussian Posts: 793
    edited January 2021

    Alistair said:

    isam said:
    The more the days go by, the more these vaccination numbers looks like East German tractor stats.
    You're a numpty. You're actually willing and hoping the vaccination scheme fails. Why?
    Because he doesn't believe Covid is real.
    Doesn't make sense though. If Covid isn't real, we can roll out the vaccine, declare victory then move on. How will the vaccine fail?
    Why aren;t ministers committing to dates for roll backs of lockdown then? what's stopping them?
    Because the rollout hasn't happened yet. 🤦🏻‍♂️

    They've committed to a date for a review, when they expect the first stage of the vaccine rollout to be done. Prior to the rest of the rollout happening.
    Also, easing of lockdown will be dependent on the number of cases rather than the proportion of people vaccinated. Obviously we'd expect the former to fall as the latter increases, but I think the level of vaccination required to reduce cases to a particular level is hard to predict.
    Especially as the vaccines don't affect the case levels directly, but the spread of the virus, i.e. the R rate. And as lockdown sceptics are only too happy to point out when modellers attempt it, trying to accurately predict exponential spread is a mug's game.
  • In the 2020 election cycle, Adelson and his wife Miriam together donated some $430m (£315m) to Republican candidates around the country, according to Fox News.
  • Luckyguy1983Luckyguy1983 Posts: 25,046

    isam said:
    That gave me a scare - for a moment I was afraid we were vaccinating the dogs by accident.

    EDIT - Francis got there first!
    I really don't see what that map means to say - it just looks like various shades of fuchsia? (I am red green colourblind, not sure if that's where the issue lies).
    If you look at full scale, the legend is supposed to say "per Hundred blah blah"

    it actually says "per Hund" - got cut off by the autosizing of the legend.
    I see that now, but we appear to be the same shade as France? I thought that they had vaccinated far fewer people as a percentage. I am sure I'm being very stupid, but a map posted with a one word accompaniment, I would expect to be fairly self explanatory.
    Probably is your colour blindness affecting how you see it, the UK is a lovely shade of verdant green while the rest of Europe, (Denmark aside) is various shades of red/pink.
    Ahh - thanks, that's v helpful. I did wonder if that might be the case.
  • MaxPBMaxPB Posts: 37,603
    eristdoof said:

    MaxPB said:

    FPT:

    isam said:
    Indeed. Extraordinarily bad use of colour scale.
    Min/Max - Red/Green with the mid-point as white. It's not unfair, just shows how badly the continent other than Denmark and (IMO) Italy are doing.
    Well it's not good that NA seems to be the same colour as the mid-point. It is also well know in data visualisation to avoid a red green colour scale as 5% of males are Red/Green colour blind.

    P.S Feel free to used Red/Green though if the graphics for your own use or you know your target audience is female only!
    Yeah, it's not colours I'd use. Even the scale I'd probably set to percentages of population vaccinated with a different shade of a single colour rising in intensity until say 5% or above. Probably a some kind of blue.
  • eristdooferistdoof Posts: 4,861

    isam said:
    That gave me a scare - for a moment I was afraid we were vaccinating the dogs by accident.

    EDIT - Francis got there first!
    I really don't see what that map means to say - it just looks like various shades of fuchsia? (I am red green colourblind, not sure if that's where the issue lies).
    If you look at full scale, the legend is supposed to say "per Hundred blah blah"

    it actually says "per Hund" - got cut off by the autosizing of the legend.
    I see that now, but we appear to be the same shade as France? I thought that they had vaccinated far fewer people as a percentage. I am sure I'm being very stupid, but a map posted with a one word accompaniment, I would expect to be fairly self explanatory.
    Probably is your colour blindness affecting how you see it, the UK is a lovely shade of verdant green while the rest of Europe, (Denmark aside) is various shades of red/pink.
    You missed out Switzerland and Belaurus and Ukraine and Morocco and Algieria and ...
  • The UK has outlined measures to prevent the import of goods suspected of using forced labour in China’s Xinjiang province.
  • MaxPBMaxPB Posts: 37,603

    MaxPB said:

    FPT:

    isam said:
    Indeed. Extraordinarily bad use of colour scale.
    Min/Max - Red/Green with the mid-point as white. It's not unfair, just shows how badly the continent other than Denmark and (IMO) Italy are doing.
    Oh, come off it. I've see less deceptive Lib Dem bar charts. Using the same method of carefully choosing the scale and midpoint, one could equally produce a map of Covid deaths per capita in which the UK, Belgium and Italy are bright red islands in a sea of green.
    You could, and they'd tell a different but also true story. Just because the viz is telling a story you don't like, doesn't make it not true.
  • MaxPB said:

    FPT:

    isam said:
    Indeed. Extraordinarily bad use of colour scale.
    Min/Max - Red/Green with the mid-point as white. It's not unfair, just shows how badly the continent other than Denmark and (IMO) Italy are doing.
    Oh, come off it. I've see less deceptive Lib Dem bar charts. Using the same method of carefully choosing the scale and midpoint, one could equally produce a map of Covid deaths per capita in which the UK, Belgium and Italy are bright red islands in a sea of green.
    Not if you went for a min/max scale like that.

    Belgium would be red at the max. I'm not sure which would be the min, if we went with Germany then the UK would be a very pale shade of pink.
  • MaxPB said:

    eristdoof said:

    MaxPB said:

    FPT:

    isam said:
    Indeed. Extraordinarily bad use of colour scale.
    Min/Max - Red/Green with the mid-point as white. It's not unfair, just shows how badly the continent other than Denmark and (IMO) Italy are doing.
    Well it's not good that NA seems to be the same colour as the mid-point. It is also well know in data visualisation to avoid a red green colour scale as 5% of males are Red/Green colour blind.

    P.S Feel free to used Red/Green though if the graphics for your own use or you know your target audience is female only!
    Yeah, it's not colours I'd use. Even the scale I'd probably set to percentages of population vaccinated with a different shade of a single colour rising in intensity until say 5% or above. Probably a some kind of blue.
    blue is bad on maps because people expect water bodies to be blue.
  • NigelbNigelb Posts: 61,574
    Cross party comity does not seem to be a strong attribute of the current Congress.

    https://twitter.com/RepJayapal/status/1348871117407203328
  • MalmesburyMalmesbury Posts: 43,620
    edited January 2021

    isam said:
    That gave me a scare - for a moment I was afraid we were vaccinating the dogs by accident.

    EDIT - Francis got there first!
    I really don't see what that map means to say - it just looks like various shades of fuchsia? (I am red green colourblind, not sure if that's where the issue lies).
    If you look at full scale, the legend is supposed to say "per Hundred blah blah"

    it actually says "per Hund" - got cut off by the autosizing of the legend.
    I see that now, but we appear to be the same shade as France? I thought that they had vaccinated far fewer people as a percentage. I am sure I'm being very stupid, but a map posted with a one word accompaniment, I would expect to be fairly self explanatory.
    My apologies - the chart shows the UK to have a massively greater vaccination rate per head of population than all of the countries in Europe and nearby.

    Which is literally true. according to https://ourworldindata.org/covid-vaccinations we have the 4th highest rate per head on Earth - behind Israel, UAE and Bahrain

    This is very upsetting to some people.

    I suggest you read George Orwell's essay on nationalism - look for "negative nationalist"
  • DavidLDavidL Posts: 50,770
    IshmaelZ said:

    DavidL said:

    Good common sense from Osborne.

    I'd give it another week before crowing, actually.

    Prediction: the inauguration itself will go off fine, but there's gonna be the odd nasty lethal incident at the odd state capital while it's happening.
    The risk of some nutter doing something nutty can never be ruled out but there is no question that Trump's last days in office have been neutered, mainly by his own stupidity and delusions. That wasn't always a given but as Arnie pointed out democracies like swords should get stronger when they are tempered. The strength of the system has been demonstrated by those who have done their jobs, whether Republican or Democrat, in counting the votes, certifying the results and resisting dishonest attempts to have them set aside.

    What the Americans need to make clear now is that there is a heavy price to be paid by those who inflicted that tempering, whether that is by the impeachment of Trump, the exclusion of elected officials who incited lawbreaking and the disbarment of lawyers who lied to the courts along with a sufficient number of muppets from last Wednesday to make it clear that this should never happen again.
  • eristdooferistdoof Posts: 4,861
    TimT said:

    MaxPB said:

    Alistair said:

    isam said:
    The more the days go by, the more these vaccination numbers looks like East German tractor stats.
    You're a numpty. You're actually willing and hoping the vaccination scheme fails. Why?
    Because he doesn't believe Covid is real.
    Doesn't make sense though. If Covid isn't real, we can roll out the vaccine, declare victory then move on. How will the vaccine fail?
    Why aren;t ministers committing to dates for roll backs of lockdown then? what's stopping them?
    Because the rollout hasn't happened yet. 🤦🏻‍♂️

    They've committed to a date for a review, when they expect the first stage of the vaccine rollout to be done. Prior to the rest of the rollout happening.
    And supply is unpredictable, hence a review rather than a commitment to ending the lockdown measures.
    Rule 1 of adaptive risk management - keep planning horizons short, adapt to real data as it comes in, rather than create elaborate, inflexible, long-term plans based on expectations from your model.
    That first rule of adaptive risk management, is not as snappy as the first rule of Fight Club.
  • kinabalukinabalu Posts: 38,851

    isam said:
    The more the days go by, the more these vaccination numbers looks like East German tractor stats.
    You're a numpty. You're actually willing and hoping the vaccination scheme fails. Why?
    Not at all. I'm just very skeptical the vaccination scheme is the end of this, as we are being told.

    If you look at interview with government ministers, you can see this too. Kit Malthouse very non-committal today.
    Although lexicologically nothing is ever a silver bullet, a mass rollout of the vaccine looks like a silver bullet. By which I mean it should - and imo will - allow life in the UK to get back to near normal. That's where the smart money is, but of course it's not certain. There could still be unforeseen developments of a malign nature. Warily bullish is my feeling tone when I cast my mind forward to the summer.
  • Wulfrun_PhilWulfrun_Phil Posts: 4,572
    An extraordinarily complacent piece from a smug Osborne. Yes Mike, we got lucky, not just last Wednesday but also over the previous two months, such that looking back it's hard to believe that one way or another Trump did not manage to steal the election. The US was saved mainly by the unexpected fact that Trump's judicial appointments had retained enough residual morals at all levels to do their proper job, when nearly all of the craven political establishment in the Republican Party felt it necessary to go along with him for the sake of their careers. Most are still by and large doing so even now.

    The implicit dig at Starmer is utter partisan b******s from a failed politician. Starmer chose to play the long game to reclaim the Labour Party by staying inside the tent for as long as was necessary. Had Starmer instead played his hand too early, Corbyn's annointed successor would in all likelihood be carrying on his destructive work now, and we'd be well on the road to a permanent one party state in the absence of a functioning opposition party.
  • MattWMattW Posts: 18,086
    edited January 2021

    MaxPB said:

    FPT:

    isam said:
    Indeed. Extraordinarily bad use of colour scale.
    Min/Max - Red/Green with the mid-point as white. It's not unfair, just shows how badly the continent other than Denmark and (IMO) Italy are doing.
    Oh, come off it. I've see less deceptive Lib Dem bar charts. Using the same method of carefully choosing the scale and midpoint, one could equally produce a map of Covid deaths per capita in which the UK, Belgium and Italy are bright red islands in a sea of green.
    Absolutely, and it would be highlighting a different point.

    I think the LibDems are different as they often deceive people about the actual numbers.

    A Lib Dem chart would have France in a shade of green here.

    Fairly amateurish chart, though. No provision for the most common colour-blindness. As has been noted.
  • NigelbNigelb Posts: 61,574
    Back with masks, the most comprehensive review yet just published.

    https://twitter.com/jeremyphoward/status/1348771993949151232
  • MaxPBMaxPB Posts: 37,603

    MaxPB said:

    isam said:
    That gave me a scare - for a moment I was afraid we were vaccinating the dogs by accident.
    My journalist friend (the free lancer who did work at the BBC, now at a paper) - her editor is now getting people to sketch opinion articles on the vaccination.

    "UK queue jumping", "UK risks angering EU", "UK selfishly jumps ahead of poor countries"

    Apparently all the efforts so far have been poor......
    Lol, can't imagine there is much of an audience for that outside of Islington.
    You don't read the Guardian? (no, that's not the paper in question)
    Politico or Huffpost would be my bet. Don't think the Guardian would stoop that low and I think even their readers would find it offensive.
  • FeersumEnjineeyaFeersumEnjineeya Posts: 3,867
    edited January 2021
    MaxPB said:

    MaxPB said:

    FPT:

    isam said:
    Indeed. Extraordinarily bad use of colour scale.
    Min/Max - Red/Green with the mid-point as white. It's not unfair, just shows how badly the continent other than Denmark and (IMO) Italy are doing.
    Oh, come off it. I've see less deceptive Lib Dem bar charts. Using the same method of carefully choosing the scale and midpoint, one could equally produce a map of Covid deaths per capita in which the UK, Belgium and Italy are bright red islands in a sea of green.
    You could, and they'd tell a different but also true story. Just because the viz is telling a story you don't like, doesn't make it not true.
    Well, no. The point is that such a graph would be equally deceptive. The colour scale has been specifically chosen to make the UK stand out rather than according to any objective criterion. And it only works if Israel is omitted. If Israel were included, the UK would be just as red as the rest, as LostPassword has mentioned.
  • FrancisUrquhartFrancisUrquhart Posts: 76,274
    edited January 2021
    MaxPB said:

    MaxPB said:

    isam said:
    That gave me a scare - for a moment I was afraid we were vaccinating the dogs by accident.
    My journalist friend (the free lancer who did work at the BBC, now at a paper) - her editor is now getting people to sketch opinion articles on the vaccination.

    "UK queue jumping", "UK risks angering EU", "UK selfishly jumps ahead of poor countries"

    Apparently all the efforts so far have been poor......
    Lol, can't imagine there is much of an audience for that outside of Islington.
    You don't read the Guardian? (no, that's not the paper in question)
    Politico or Huffpost would be my bet. Don't think the Guardian would stoop that low and I think even their readers would find it offensive.
    Buzzfeed....they love that sort of story. Gets the clicks.
  • GaussianGaussian Posts: 793
    MaxPB said:

    Alistair said:

    isam said:
    The more the days go by, the more these vaccination numbers looks like East German tractor stats.
    You're a numpty. You're actually willing and hoping the vaccination scheme fails. Why?
    Because he doesn't believe Covid is real.
    Doesn't make sense though. If Covid isn't real, we can roll out the vaccine, declare victory then move on. How will the vaccine fail?
    Why aren;t ministers committing to dates for roll backs of lockdown then? what's stopping them?
    Because the rollout hasn't happened yet. 🤦🏻‍♂️

    They've committed to a date for a review, when they expect the first stage of the vaccine rollout to be done. Prior to the rest of the rollout happening.
    Also, easing of lockdown will be dependent on the number of cases rather than the proportion of people vaccinated. Obviously we'd expect the former to fall as the latter increases, but I think the level of vaccination required to reduce cases to a particular level is hard to predict.
    I'd actually say it's going to be related to hospitalisations. Doesn't really matter if people are testing positive but don't have any symptoms because they've been immunised. As it stands we're seeing 4,000 people per day being hospitalised, even 25% of that number isn't sustainable for anything more than a few weeks.
    True ultimately it is about staying within hospital capacity. However case data is more up-to-date, and we should have a decent handle on expected hospitalizations-per-case based on previous hospitalization data and vaccination levels in each cohort.
  • MaxPBMaxPB Posts: 37,603

    MaxPB said:

    eristdoof said:

    MaxPB said:

    FPT:

    isam said:
    Indeed. Extraordinarily bad use of colour scale.
    Min/Max - Red/Green with the mid-point as white. It's not unfair, just shows how badly the continent other than Denmark and (IMO) Italy are doing.
    Well it's not good that NA seems to be the same colour as the mid-point. It is also well know in data visualisation to avoid a red green colour scale as 5% of males are Red/Green colour blind.

    P.S Feel free to used Red/Green though if the graphics for your own use or you know your target audience is female only!
    Yeah, it's not colours I'd use. Even the scale I'd probably set to percentages of population vaccinated with a different shade of a single colour rising in intensity until say 5% or above. Probably a some kind of blue.
    blue is bad on maps because people expect water bodies to be blue.
    I mean, how stupid do you have to be to think that Germany or the UK has suddenly turned into water because a viz has them shaded in as some type of blue?
  • PulpstarPulpstar Posts: 75,842
    When do the case and deaths numbers come out again ?

    Tuesday numbers so always look dire even if the true picture is improving.
  • MaxPB said:

    FPT:

    isam said:
    Indeed. Extraordinarily bad use of colour scale.
    Min/Max - Red/Green with the mid-point as white. It's not unfair, just shows how badly the continent other than Denmark and (IMO) Italy are doing.
    Oh, come off it. I've see less deceptive Lib Dem bar charts. Using the same method of carefully choosing the scale and midpoint, one could equally produce a map of Covid deaths per capita in which the UK, Belgium and Italy are bright red islands in a sea of green.
    Still, helpful to see that Hunt has joined the ranks of the Covid nationalists despite his efforts to portray himself as a sensible alternative to the cocktail of incompetence, venality, and ideology that is the Tory party nowadays.
  • DavidL said:

    IshmaelZ said:

    DavidL said:

    Good common sense from Osborne.

    I'd give it another week before crowing, actually.

    Prediction: the inauguration itself will go off fine, but there's gonna be the odd nasty lethal incident at the odd state capital while it's happening.
    The risk of some nutter doing something nutty can never be ruled out but there is no question that Trump's last days in office have been neutered, mainly by his own stupidity and delusions. That wasn't always a given but as Arnie pointed out democracies like swords should get stronger when they are tempered. The strength of the system has been demonstrated by those who have done their jobs, whether Republican or Democrat, in counting the votes, certifying the results and resisting dishonest attempts to have them set aside.

    What the Americans need to make clear now is that there is a heavy price to be paid by those who inflicted that tempering, whether that is by the impeachment of Trump, the exclusion of elected officials who incited lawbreaking and the disbarment of lawyers who lied to the courts along with a sufficient number of muppets from last Wednesday to make it clear that this should never happen again.
    This what happened when Biden won by a typical winning margin if not above average winning margin. Who do you think would be the upcoming President if Biden had won by a single state and 5000 votes?
  • Pulpstar said:

    When do the case and deaths numbers come out again ?

    Tuesday numbers so always look dire even if the true picture is improving.

    4pm
  • kjhkjh Posts: 10,458

    isam said:
    The more the days go by, the more these vaccination numbers looks like East German tractor stats.
    Why? Do you have evidence we are fiddling the figures? Even though I am very pro European and anti nationalism the obvious question is not why are our figures so good (unless there is evidence to the contrary) but what the hell are the Europeans doing? Why aren't they getting it out? Is there a good reason, if so what?

    I have seen nothing so far to suggest we are making numbers up. On the contrary there has (as would be expected) comments asking why isn't it faster?
  • eristdooferistdoof Posts: 4,861

    MaxPB said:

    eristdoof said:

    MaxPB said:

    FPT:

    isam said:
    Indeed. Extraordinarily bad use of colour scale.
    Min/Max - Red/Green with the mid-point as white. It's not unfair, just shows how badly the continent other than Denmark and (IMO) Italy are doing.
    Well it's not good that NA seems to be the same colour as the mid-point. It is also well know in data visualisation to avoid a red green colour scale as 5% of males are Red/Green colour blind.

    P.S Feel free to used Red/Green though if the graphics for your own use or you know your target audience is female only!
    Yeah, it's not colours I'd use. Even the scale I'd probably set to percentages of population vaccinated with a different shade of a single colour rising in intensity until say 5% or above. Probably a some kind of blue.
    blue is bad on maps because people expect water bodies to be blue.
    There are easy to find off-the-shelf colour blind friendly colour pallates. I'm not colourblind, but some of my Students are, so I use them.
  • kle4kle4 Posts: 91,392
    I think if a system holds up under pressure it is working, but that it came under such pressure may be a sign it is unhealthy, and might have revealed cracks where next time the pressure will cause a break unless fixed.
  • DavidLDavidL Posts: 50,770

    DavidL said:

    Good common sense from Osborne.

    Great little dig at Starmer.
    I miss Osborne being in front line politics. He was fun.
  • MaxPB said:

    MaxPB said:

    eristdoof said:

    MaxPB said:

    FPT:

    isam said:
    Indeed. Extraordinarily bad use of colour scale.
    Min/Max - Red/Green with the mid-point as white. It's not unfair, just shows how badly the continent other than Denmark and (IMO) Italy are doing.
    Well it's not good that NA seems to be the same colour as the mid-point. It is also well know in data visualisation to avoid a red green colour scale as 5% of males are Red/Green colour blind.

    P.S Feel free to used Red/Green though if the graphics for your own use or you know your target audience is female only!
    Yeah, it's not colours I'd use. Even the scale I'd probably set to percentages of population vaccinated with a different shade of a single colour rising in intensity until say 5% or above. Probably a some kind of blue.
    blue is bad on maps because people expect water bodies to be blue.
    I mean, how stupid do you have to be to think that Germany or the UK has suddenly turned into water because a viz has them shaded in as some type of blue?
    President of the USA? Education Secretary in the UK? Are we talking that level of stupid?
This discussion has been closed.