Total UK vaccinations heading for 10m – politicalbetting.com

another_richard said:

rcs1000 said:

Fysics_Teacher said:

rcs1000 said:

rottenborough said:

https://twitter.com/spignal/status/1356348818653118464

The initial comparison "not 4,650 per 100,000" is a specious. Because nowhere in the world is managing to vaccinate close to 5% of their population a day - not even Israel.

4,650 per million, on the other hand, is very doable.

Agreed - that should be the minimum that any first world country should be achieving.

So what's Trudeau's excuse ?

Well they had no vaccine deliveries at all this week.

RobD said:

kle4 said:

Apparently the last Tsar of Bulgaria, Simeon II, ousted as a child, was later elected Prime Minister.

Not all over for Charles if we go Republican after all perhaps.

Wasn't one of the Habsburgs elected as an MEP? Massive fall from grace for the Archduke of Austria, but I suppose you have to make do.

Not just any Habsburg - former Crown Prince Franz Joseph Otto Robert Maria Anton Karl Max Heinrich Sixtus Xavier Felix Renatus Ludwig Gaetan Pius Ignatius von Habsburg

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Otto_von_Habsburg

I feel like that name, in itself, is evidence the dynasty had been in place too long.

williamglenn said:

Serbia decided to get vaccine from China.

Would quite like to see a version of that with the USA and Israel on as well.

Fysics_Teacher said:

williamglenn said:

Serbia decided to get vaccine from China.

Would quite like to see a version of that with the USA and Israel on as well.

You can play around with it here:

https://ourworldindata.org/covid-vaccinations

https://twitter.com/AllieHBNews/status/1356377664475566081?s=20

RobD said:

another_richard said:

rcs1000 said:

Fysics_Teacher said:

rcs1000 said:

rottenborough said:

https://twitter.com/spignal/status/1356348818653118464

The initial comparison "not 4,650 per 100,000" is a specious. Because nowhere in the world is managing to vaccinate close to 5% of their population a day - not even Israel.

4,650 per million, on the other hand, is very doable.

Agreed - that should be the minimum that any first world country should be achieving.

So what's Trudeau's excuse ?

Well they had no vaccine deliveries at all this week.

Don't they get all their vaccines from the USA, which also operates an "America First" policy on exports?

Gardenwalker said:

Theuniondivvie said:

Gardenwalker said:

https://twitter.com/joannaccherry/status/1356322899364376576?s=21

The Sindy posters seem to have got into the habit of defending crap.

The SNP - and Nicola personally - are ballsing up the case for independence.

Reminds me of the Lib Dem posters desperately trying to make Swinson’s no second ref policy sound plausible.

It’s a competitive field but if you really believe you too can become a PB Scotch expert.

You make my point.

This use of “Scotch” is passive aggressive irony masking an essential realisation that the Nicola is fucking up.

The old ‘you using term x means I’m right’ one two, prime Scotch expert content!

Foxy said:

kle4 said:

Foxy said:

FrancisUrquhart said:

https://twitter.com/BNODesk/status/1356359293138776065?s=19

This is the impressive figure:

https://twitter.com/foxinsoxuk/status/1356299487015272448?s=19

First out the gate and with seriously impressive results to boot, Pfizer do appear to have knocked it out the park. Price and ease of use will presumably see others used a lot, but their product seems damn impressive.

It does indeed, and easy to adapt to new variants too.

Those 16 hospitalisations were from a population similar to the adult population of Leicestershire, so half a ward rather than our current 15 wards of Covid-19.

Slightly worrying though is that despite their vaccinations and a lockdown stricter than ours, their R number remains stubbornly close to 1. This is also from the Jerusalem Post:

"In recent days, we see that the [R] infection rate stands at more than 0.9 and even rose to 0.95 and 0.96,” he said. “There is a very moderate decrease in the number of serious patients. We are seeing a decrease in the number of new serious patients coming to the hospitals and a very moderate decrease in the total number of serious patients.”

Mrs Foxy reports that ICU is less stretched than last Monday night. She described last weeks nights as "Hellish".

There was a definite twitch of panic in Downing Street in late December when it became obvious that it was going to be touch and go whether the NHS could hold on until the vaccine cavalry came over the hill. The relief that it did is palpable and I suspect the modelling indicated that it was by no means a done deal.

Cannot be unseen:

https://twitter.com/BBCNews/status/1356378516217081858?s=20

Foxy said:

RobD said:

another_richard said:

rcs1000 said:

Fysics_Teacher said:

rcs1000 said:

rottenborough said:

https://twitter.com/spignal/status/1356348818653118464

The initial comparison "not 4,650 per 100,000" is a specious. Because nowhere in the world is managing to vaccinate close to 5% of their population a day - not even Israel.

4,650 per million, on the other hand, is very doable.

Agreed - that should be the minimum that any first world country should be achieving.

So what's Trudeau's excuse ?

Well they had no vaccine deliveries at all this week.

Don't they get all their vaccines from the USA, which also operates an "America First" policy on exports?

They get Pfizer from Europe - and weren't on the EU export exemption list. Not sure about their Moderna doses.

MaxPB said:

Theuniondivvie said:

Gardenwalker said:

Theuniondivvie said:

Gardenwalker said:

https://twitter.com/joannaccherry/status/1356322899364376576?s=21

The Sindy posters seem to have got into the habit of defending crap.

The SNP - and Nicola personally - are ballsing up the case for independence.

Reminds me of the Lib Dem posters desperately trying to make Swinson’s no second ref policy sound plausible.

It’s a competitive field but if you really believe you too can become a PB Scotch expert.

You make my point.

This use of “Scotch” is passive aggressive irony masking an essential realisation that the Nicola is fucking up.

The old ‘you using term x means I’m right’ one two, prime Scotch expert content!

400k.

I guess when the Scottish death rate increases from being two thirds of England’s and the case rate one half we should really start to get worried.

Fysics_Teacher said:

williamglenn said:

Fysics_Teacher said:

williamglenn said:

Serbia decided to get vaccine from China.

Would quite like to see a version of that with the USA and Israel on as well.

You can play around with it here:

https://ourworldindata.org/covid-vaccinations

Thanks!

A fuller version then:

Theuniondivvie said:

MaxPB said:

Theuniondivvie said:

Gardenwalker said:

Theuniondivvie said:

Gardenwalker said:

https://twitter.com/joannaccherry/status/1356322899364376576?s=21

The Sindy posters seem to have got into the habit of defending crap.

The SNP - and Nicola personally - are ballsing up the case for independence.

Reminds me of the Lib Dem posters desperately trying to make Swinson’s no second ref policy sound plausible.

It’s a competitive field but if you really believe you too can become a PB Scotch expert.

You make my point.

This use of “Scotch” is passive aggressive irony masking an essential realisation that the Nicola is fucking up.

The old ‘you using term x means I’m right’ one two, prime Scotch expert content!

400k.

I guess when the Scottish death rate increases from being two thirds of England’s and the case rate one half we should really start to get worried.

400k.

Fysics_Teacher said:

Fysics_Teacher said:

williamglenn said:

Fysics_Teacher said:

williamglenn said:

Serbia decided to get vaccine from China.

Would quite like to see a version of that with the USA and Israel on as well.

You can play around with it here:

https://ourworldindata.org/covid-vaccinations

Thanks!

A fuller version then:

What are the Seychelles doing so right?

MaxPB said:

Theuniondivvie said:

MaxPB said:

Theuniondivvie said:

Gardenwalker said:

Theuniondivvie said:

Gardenwalker said:

https://twitter.com/joannaccherry/status/1356322899364376576?s=21

The Sindy posters seem to have got into the habit of defending crap.

The SNP - and Nicola personally - are ballsing up the case for independence.

Reminds me of the Lib Dem posters desperately trying to make Swinson’s no second ref policy sound plausible.

It’s a competitive field but if you really believe you too can become a PB Scotch expert.

You make my point.

This use of “Scotch” is passive aggressive irony masking an essential realisation that the Nicola is fucking up.

The old ‘you using term x means I’m right’ one two, prime Scotch expert content!

400k.

I guess when the Scottish death rate increases from being two thirds of England’s and the case rate one half we should really start to get worried.

400k.

At least you’ve moved on from the ‘you’ve got to put the numbers in context, apply certain criteria and close one eye, then you’ll get the true figures’ bleating.

Fysics_Teacher said:

Fysics_Teacher said:

Fysics_Teacher said:

williamglenn said:

Fysics_Teacher said:

williamglenn said:

Serbia decided to get vaccine from China.

Would quite like to see a version of that with the USA and Israel on as well.

You can play around with it here:

https://ourworldindata.org/covid-vaccinations

Thanks!

A fuller version then:

What are the Seychelles doing so right?

They want to have all the rich tourists when flights resume.

duplicate

noneoftheabove said:

TheScreamingEagles said:

turbotubbs said:

TheScreamingEagles said:

Theuniondivvie said:

Pulpstar said:

Now that every care home resident & staff has been offered a jab, I wonder what the overall take up has been. You can't force the needle into anyone's arm (Wellyou can but it'd be assault).
Residents/staff split ?

‘Offered a jab’ smells a bit whiffy in the context of a target of all care home residents to be vaccinated by the end of January. I believe the original target was the 24th but it turns out that was an ‘expectation’ not a target.

I think offered solely in the context in care homes is deliberate.

One thing you find is that plenty of care home residents have dementia and other memory problems, which makes them very resistant (and often violent) to those 'strangers' trying to inject them.

As Pulpstar says you cannot force an injection into someone resisting.

But according to my father's colleague, enough jabs have been made available to vaccinate every care home resident and staff.

No but there really should be a debate about whether it should be a requirement to work in healthcare, especially amongst the elderly and most frail.

I agree.

Doesnt the debate simply go something like this:

Managers - It would be great if everyone can be vaccinated, lets make it mandatory.
Care workers who dont believe in vaccination - In which case your minimum wage pay for a hugely stressful job is not worth it, you can add our resignations to the existing staff shortages
Managers - Govt please can we have more cash to attract and retain staff
Govt - No, but we will eventually do a review of care home funding, just as soon as we are no longer in charge
Managers - In which case staff can do whatever they please

Agency usage in the sector is at an all time low thanks to the collapse of retail

DavidL said:

Theuniondivvie said:

Luckyguy1983 said:

Gardenwalker said:

Theuniondivvie said:

Gardenwalker said:

https://twitter.com/joannaccherry/status/1356322899364376576?s=21

The Sindy posters seem to have got into the habit of defending crap.

The SNP - and Nicola personally - are ballsing up the case for independence.

Reminds me of the Lib Dem posters desperately trying to make Swinson’s no second ref policy sound plausible.

It’s a competitive field but if you really believe you too can become a PB Scotch expert.

You make my point.

This use of “Scotch” is passive aggressive irony masking an essential realisation that the Nicola is fucking up.

If TUD using the word 'Scotch' in a passive aggressive way is evidence of Nicola fucking up, she's clearly been fucking up a lot longer than any of us have realised.

See, the true Scotch expert would have realised that. Sorry Gardo, you’ve fallen at the first hurdle.

What, that she has been fucking up for longer than people realised? They would indeed.

At least Sturgeon didn’t fuck up by listening to the people moaning that she wasn’t letting Edinburgh’s bars and restaurants let rip for Christmas. What a corker of a fuck up that would have been...

TimT said:

MarqueeMark said:

Leon said:

Andy_JS said:

"Dante's descendant seeks to overturn poet's 1302 corruption conviction

Seven centuries after the poet was found guilty in Florence, Sperello di Serego Alighieri has begun a campaign to clear his ancestor’s name"

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2021/feb/01/dante-descendant-seeks-to-overturn-poets-1302-corruption-conviction

True story. On a trip to Florence a couple of years ago I had a coffee with a cafe owner and leather goods dealer whose family are mentioned in the Divine Comedy, as being leather goods dealers, in the exact same street - same shop - in Florence where they still sell leather goods today

In the walled city of Sana'a, Yemen, many of the ancient houses were said to have been in the same ownership fof over a thousand years.

The city gates of Sana'a were closed at dusk and opened at dawn as late as the 1960's. Whilst Carnaby Street was swinging, the city was shut to all until the morning.

Now you're just making me nostalgic, MM. First overseas posting as a young Third Secretary. 1982-85.

While they were working on the Great Mosque, a ceiling collapsed and hundreds of fragments of old Koran's fell down, the oldest dating to the time of Muhammed. I was good friends with Ursula Dreibholz, the curator restoring the fragments.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sanaa_manuscript

I loved Sana'a itself - and some of the amazing places outside like the Rock Palace and further afield, al Hajjarah - a hilltop retreat. In the early 90's I could freely walk around the city and the souk, without feeling under any threat at all. Loved it because of all the cities I have ever visited, it was the most alien, the most overtly foreign. So few points of reference common with any other cities on the planet. An occassional car dealership for Mercedes or Toyota - but that was it.

I have some fabulous photos just of the doors in the old city - doors that were utterly ancient.

Just tragic what has befallen that country. And because it had the temerity to be a democracy on Saudi's borders....

Bournville said:

I appreciate that, my point is more whether she would actually need to respect the rules given how dominant she is in her party and how little this whole affair appears to be influencing voting intention. Maybe I'm just being cynical but if she's not going to be forced out by her party then I can't see why she would feel the need to resign, unless there is an absolutely seismic decline in support for the SNP.

If she refused to resign I think she'd still be gone in short order. The pro-Salmond wing would boot her out in a heartbeat and it wouldn't take too many of her own supporters to turn and it would be all over.

A few weeks of every press conference being journalists asking "First Minister, you lied to partliment in breach of the ministerial code. Why haven't you resigned?". Every SNP MP and MSP would barraged with the same question - do you support your lying leader?

I can't see even the SNP putting up with that for long.

My personal feeling is Sturgeon is already planing to go and recent moves like the sacking of Joanna Cherry are intended to ensure no plausible pro-Salmond candidate is left to contest the leadership once Sturgeon is gone.

TimT said:

MarqueeMark said:

Leon said:

Andy_JS said:

"Dante's descendant seeks to overturn poet's 1302 corruption conviction

Seven centuries after the poet was found guilty in Florence, Sperello di Serego Alighieri has begun a campaign to clear his ancestor’s name"

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2021/feb/01/dante-descendant-seeks-to-overturn-poets-1302-corruption-conviction

True story. On a trip to Florence a couple of years ago I had a coffee with a cafe owner and leather goods dealer whose family are mentioned in the Divine Comedy, as being leather goods dealers, in the exact same street - same shop - in Florence where they still sell leather goods today

In the walled city of Sana'a, Yemen, many of the ancient houses were said to have been in the same ownership fof over a thousand years.

The city gates of Sana'a were closed at dusk and opened at dawn as late as the 1960's. Whilst Carnaby Street was swinging, the city was shut to all until the morning.

Now you're just making me nostalgic, MM. First overseas posting as a young Third Secretary. 1982-85.

While they were working on the Great Mosque, a ceiling collapsed and hundreds of fragments of old Koran's fell down, the oldest dating to the time of Muhammed. I was good friends with Ursula Dreibholz, the curator restoring the fragments.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sanaa_manuscript

I've never been anywhere interesting but my mum visited Kabul in 1969 when female university students used to walk around the campus wearing western clothes.

https://twitter.com/BBCRosAtkins/status/1356354283202088960

MarqueeMark said:

Foxy said:

MarqueeMark said:

TimT said:

MarqueeMark said:

Leon said:

Andy_JS said:

"Dante's descendant seeks to overturn poet's 1302 corruption conviction

Seven centuries after the poet was found guilty in Florence, Sperello di Serego Alighieri has begun a campaign to clear his ancestor’s name"

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2021/feb/01/dante-descendant-seeks-to-overturn-poets-1302-corruption-conviction

True story. On a trip to Florence a couple of years ago I had a coffee with a cafe owner and leather goods dealer whose family are mentioned in the Divine Comedy, as being leather goods dealers, in the exact same street - same shop - in Florence where they still sell leather goods today

In the walled city of Sana'a, Yemen, many of the ancient houses were said to have been in the same ownership fof over a thousand years.

The city gates of Sana'a were closed at dusk and opened at dawn as late as the 1960's. Whilst Carnaby Street was swinging, the city was shut to all until the morning.

Now you're just making me nostalgic, MM. First overseas posting as a young Third Secretary. 1982-85.

While they were working on the Great Mosque, a ceiling collapsed and hundreds of fragments of old Koran's fell down, the oldest dating to the time of Muhammed. I was good friends with Ursula Dreibholz, the curator restoring the fragments.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sanaa_manuscript

I loved Sana'a itself - and some of the amazing places outside like the Rock Palace and further afield, al Hajjarah - a hilltop retreat. In the early 90's I could freely walk around the city and the souk, without feeling under any threat at all. Loved it because of all the cities I have ever visited, it was the most alien, the most overtly foreign. So few points of reference common with any other cities on the planet. An occassional car dealership for Mercedes or Toyota - but that was it.

I have some fabulous photos just of the doors in the old city - doors that were utterly ancient.

Just tragic what has befallen that country. And because it had the temerity to be a democracy on Saudi's borders....

And we decided to help and arm the Saudis...

Yemen's great misfortune is to be the Belgium of the Middle East - the neutral ground for a fixture between Iran and the Saudis.

The value of Saudi arms deals has been too tempting to parties of all flavours.

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/court-condemns-blair-for-halting-saudi-arms-inquiry-807793.html

Surely its great misfortune is a lack of oil?

MarqueeMark said:

TimT said:

MarqueeMark said:

Leon said:

Andy_JS said:

"Dante's descendant seeks to overturn poet's 1302 corruption conviction

Seven centuries after the poet was found guilty in Florence, Sperello di Serego Alighieri has begun a campaign to clear his ancestor’s name"

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2021/feb/01/dante-descendant-seeks-to-overturn-poets-1302-corruption-conviction

True story. On a trip to Florence a couple of years ago I had a coffee with a cafe owner and leather goods dealer whose family are mentioned in the Divine Comedy, as being leather goods dealers, in the exact same street - same shop - in Florence where they still sell leather goods today

In the walled city of Sana'a, Yemen, many of the ancient houses were said to have been in the same ownership fof over a thousand years.

The city gates of Sana'a were closed at dusk and opened at dawn as late as the 1960's. Whilst Carnaby Street was swinging, the city was shut to all until the morning.

Now you're just making me nostalgic, MM. First overseas posting as a young Third Secretary. 1982-85.

While they were working on the Great Mosque, a ceiling collapsed and hundreds of fragments of old Koran's fell down, the oldest dating to the time of Muhammed. I was good friends with Ursula Dreibholz, the curator restoring the fragments.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sanaa_manuscript

I loved Sana'a itself - and some of the amazing places outside like the Rock Palace and further afield, al Hajjarah - a hilltop retreat. In the early 90's I could freely walk around the city and the souk, without feeling under any threat at all. Loved it because of all the cities I have ever visited, it was the most alien, the most overtly foreign. So few points of reference common with any other cities on the planet. An occassional car dealership for Mercedes or Toyota - but that was it.

I have some fabulous photos just of the doors in the old city - doors that were utterly ancient.

Just tragic what has befallen that country. And because it had the temerity to be a democracy on Saudi's borders....

If you thought Sana'a was alien, it is a shame you did not get to Wadi Jawf (the ancient ruins of the walled city of Baraqish surrounded by a desert plane of tamarind trees fed by an underground river) and the mountain range north of that, Jabal Barat. Now that is a landscape out of Tolkien, with a bizarre architecture to go with it.

And did you get to any of the Ithna'shar villages built on top of the mountain peaks to defend against persecution. Al Hutaib is a great example.

https://in.pinterest.com/pin/504895808219366289/

“Why the European Commission failed the vaccine challenge
Brussels bureaucrats lacked the necessary expertise in health and procurement
GIDEON RACHMAN“

https://www.ft.com/content/6bd192b4-6f7a-4df1-a484-1853bb054ba5

TimT said:

MarqueeMark said:

TimT said:

MarqueeMark said:

Leon said:

Andy_JS said:

"Dante's descendant seeks to overturn poet's 1302 corruption conviction

Seven centuries after the poet was found guilty in Florence, Sperello di Serego Alighieri has begun a campaign to clear his ancestor’s name"

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2021/feb/01/dante-descendant-seeks-to-overturn-poets-1302-corruption-conviction

True story. On a trip to Florence a couple of years ago I had a coffee with a cafe owner and leather goods dealer whose family are mentioned in the Divine Comedy, as being leather goods dealers, in the exact same street - same shop - in Florence where they still sell leather goods today

In the walled city of Sana'a, Yemen, many of the ancient houses were said to have been in the same ownership fof over a thousand years.

The city gates of Sana'a were closed at dusk and opened at dawn as late as the 1960's. Whilst Carnaby Street was swinging, the city was shut to all until the morning.

Now you're just making me nostalgic, MM. First overseas posting as a young Third Secretary. 1982-85.

While they were working on the Great Mosque, a ceiling collapsed and hundreds of fragments of old Koran's fell down, the oldest dating to the time of Muhammed. I was good friends with Ursula Dreibholz, the curator restoring the fragments.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sanaa_manuscript

I loved Sana'a itself - and some of the amazing places outside like the Rock Palace and further afield, al Hajjarah - a hilltop retreat. In the early 90's I could freely walk around the city and the souk, without feeling under any threat at all. Loved it because of all the cities I have ever visited, it was the most alien, the most overtly foreign. So few points of reference common with any other cities on the planet. An occassional car dealership for Mercedes or Toyota - but that was it.

I have some fabulous photos just of the doors in the old city - doors that were utterly ancient.

Just tragic what has befallen that country. And because it had the temerity to be a democracy on Saudi's borders....

If you thought Sana'a was alien, it is a shame you did not get to Wadi Jawf (the ancient ruins of the walled city of Baraqish surrounded by a desert plane of tamarind trees fed by an underground river) and the mountain range north of that, Jabal Barat. Now that is a landscape out of Tolkien, with a bizarre architecture to go with it.

And did you get to any of the Ithna'shar villages built on top of the mountain peaks to defend against persecution. Al Hutaib is a great example.

https://in.pinterest.com/pin/504895808219366289/

I flew over the mud skyscrapers of Shibam in a Cessna - that was special!

I was in Sana'a negotiating a contract that ran up to Christmas. They knew we wanted to leave, but we played it cool. "Hey, if we have to stay, we have to stay..." In the end we did the deal , had a signing in front of the TV cameras with the President - and then had to go back to the Ministry to finish the documents - the President had signed a front sheet and a signature page with about 150 sheets of blank A4 between! So we knew we kinda had them.

We were booked on the last plane out before Christmas. Lufthansa - 2.00 am. One of our guys left his passport in a jacket, so we had to go back. Roadblocks, all that nonsense. Anyway, we get to the Lufthansa desk, hand over our tickets. The German looks at our tickets and says. "Ze flight closed at 1.00 am. It is now " - looking at his watch in exaggerated fashion "1.01." And pushed our tickets back.

Our agent, a tiny guy called Abdullah, was literally standing on the check-in desk pointing down at this German, screaming at him. But he was having none of it. "Ze gate is closed. And get off my desk!"

So, as Abdullah disappeared, we look at each other and think "Shit. We have to tell our wives and partners we are spending Christmas here..." The German is looking oh so smug. About 1.30, Abdullah returns. With him is an equally tiny guy. But he has medal ribbons down to his knees. He looks at the German and simply says "These people. On this flight. Or it does not leave...." Somehow, at dead of night, Abdullah had found his fellow tribesman, the head of the AIr Force. Of course, what we then knew was the German had to back down - or spend Christmas in Sana'a with us....

Oh, the joy of watching him hand us our boarding passes.....

dixiedean said:

MarqueeMark said:

Foxy said:

MarqueeMark said:

TimT said:

MarqueeMark said:

Leon said:

Andy_JS said:

"Dante's descendant seeks to overturn poet's 1302 corruption conviction

Seven centuries after the poet was found guilty in Florence, Sperello di Serego Alighieri has begun a campaign to clear his ancestor’s name"

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2021/feb/01/dante-descendant-seeks-to-overturn-poets-1302-corruption-conviction

True story. On a trip to Florence a couple of years ago I had a coffee with a cafe owner and leather goods dealer whose family are mentioned in the Divine Comedy, as being leather goods dealers, in the exact same street - same shop - in Florence where they still sell leather goods today

In the walled city of Sana'a, Yemen, many of the ancient houses were said to have been in the same ownership fof over a thousand years.

The city gates of Sana'a were closed at dusk and opened at dawn as late as the 1960's. Whilst Carnaby Street was swinging, the city was shut to all until the morning.

Now you're just making me nostalgic, MM. First overseas posting as a young Third Secretary. 1982-85.

While they were working on the Great Mosque, a ceiling collapsed and hundreds of fragments of old Koran's fell down, the oldest dating to the time of Muhammed. I was good friends with Ursula Dreibholz, the curator restoring the fragments.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sanaa_manuscript

I loved Sana'a itself - and some of the amazing places outside like the Rock Palace and further afield, al Hajjarah - a hilltop retreat. In the early 90's I could freely walk around the city and the souk, without feeling under any threat at all. Loved it because of all the cities I have ever visited, it was the most alien, the most overtly foreign. So few points of reference common with any other cities on the planet. An occassional car dealership for Mercedes or Toyota - but that was it.

I have some fabulous photos just of the doors in the old city - doors that were utterly ancient.

Just tragic what has befallen that country. And because it had the temerity to be a democracy on Saudi's borders....

And we decided to help and arm the Saudis...

Yemen's great misfortune is to be the Belgium of the Middle East - the neutral ground for a fixture between Iran and the Saudis.

The value of Saudi arms deals has been too tempting to parties of all flavours.

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/court-condemns-blair-for-halting-saudi-arms-inquiry-807793.html

Surely its great misfortune is a lack of oil?

The Saudis has been messing with the Yemen economy since it unified. They'd send guys in to buy all the goats and compeltely mess up the prices, so Yemenis couldn't afford them. Things like that.

And then the Yemenis had a huge problem come 9/11. Many supported al-Qaeda. So vast numbers of Yemeni migrant workers, who remitted most of their earnings home to their families, got expelled from Saudi. The economy tanked - and their problems really started.

Yemen is a case study of how a reunified country can go horribly wrong.

Andy_JS said:

I'd guess that less than 20,000 British people under 50 have visited Sana'a.

If that.

MarqueeMark said:

FrancisUrquhart said:

Andy_JS said:

“Why the European Commission failed the vaccine challenge
Brussels bureaucrats lacked the necessary expertise in health and procurement
GIDEON RACHMAN“

https://www.ft.com/content/6bd192b4-6f7a-4df1-a484-1853bb054ba5

The various links from FT and BBC still don't tell the full story...they didn't invest anywhere near enough, they often only guaranteed loans, they wouldn't pay upfront and they weren't willing to cut the drug companies any slack when it came to legal redress if anything went wrong.

All while expecting them to develop and manufacture a novel vaccine at warp speed, never seen before in the history of the world.

Its like only being prepared to pay Ryanair prices for a flight and being pissed off that you get a crap seat by some screaming kid while the 20st bloke in front reclines his all the way and you find that when you get there your airport is the one that requires a 2hr bus journey to get to the city centre.

As Concorde glides past, flying those Union Jack colours, and with a pointed nose that looks it could administer the vaccine.....

What happened to the French one?

RobD said:

MarqueeMark said:

FrancisUrquhart said:

Andy_JS said:

“Why the European Commission failed the vaccine challenge
Brussels bureaucrats lacked the necessary expertise in health and procurement
GIDEON RACHMAN“

https://www.ft.com/content/6bd192b4-6f7a-4df1-a484-1853bb054ba5

The various links from FT and BBC still don't tell the full story...they didn't invest anywhere near enough, they often only guaranteed loans, they wouldn't pay upfront and they weren't willing to cut the drug companies any slack when it came to legal redress if anything went wrong.

All while expecting them to develop and manufacture a novel vaccine at warp speed, never seen before in the history of the world.

Its like only being prepared to pay Ryanair prices for a flight and being pissed off that you get a crap seat by some screaming kid while the 20st bloke in front reclines his all the way and you find that when you get there your airport is the one that requires a 2hr bus journey to get to the city centre.

As Concorde glides past, flying those Union Jack colours, and with a pointed nose that looks it could administer the vaccine.....

What happened to the French one?

Classy.

MarqueeMark said:

dixiedean said:

MarqueeMark said:

Foxy said:

MarqueeMark said:

TimT said:

MarqueeMark said:

Leon said:

Andy_JS said:

"Dante's descendant seeks to overturn poet's 1302 corruption conviction

Seven centuries after the poet was found guilty in Florence, Sperello di Serego Alighieri has begun a campaign to clear his ancestor’s name"

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2021/feb/01/dante-descendant-seeks-to-overturn-poets-1302-corruption-conviction

True story. On a trip to Florence a couple of years ago I had a coffee with a cafe owner and leather goods dealer whose family are mentioned in the Divine Comedy, as being leather goods dealers, in the exact same street - same shop - in Florence where they still sell leather goods today

In the walled city of Sana'a, Yemen, many of the ancient houses were said to have been in the same ownership fof over a thousand years.

The city gates of Sana'a were closed at dusk and opened at dawn as late as the 1960's. Whilst Carnaby Street was swinging, the city was shut to all until the morning.

Now you're just making me nostalgic, MM. First overseas posting as a young Third Secretary. 1982-85.

While they were working on the Great Mosque, a ceiling collapsed and hundreds of fragments of old Koran's fell down, the oldest dating to the time of Muhammed. I was good friends with Ursula Dreibholz, the curator restoring the fragments.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sanaa_manuscript

I loved Sana'a itself - and some of the amazing places outside like the Rock Palace and further afield, al Hajjarah - a hilltop retreat. In the early 90's I could freely walk around the city and the souk, without feeling under any threat at all. Loved it because of all the cities I have ever visited, it was the most alien, the most overtly foreign. So few points of reference common with any other cities on the planet. An occassional car dealership for Mercedes or Toyota - but that was it.

I have some fabulous photos just of the doors in the old city - doors that were utterly ancient.

Just tragic what has befallen that country. And because it had the temerity to be a democracy on Saudi's borders....

And we decided to help and arm the Saudis...

Yemen's great misfortune is to be the Belgium of the Middle East - the neutral ground for a fixture between Iran and the Saudis.

The value of Saudi arms deals has been too tempting to parties of all flavours.

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/court-condemns-blair-for-halting-saudi-arms-inquiry-807793.html

Surely its great misfortune is a lack of oil?

The Saudis has been messing with the Yemen economy since it unified. They'd send guys in to buy all the goats and compeltely mess up the prices, so Yemenis couldn't afford them. Things like that.

And then the Yemenis had a huge problem come 9/11. Many supported al-Qaeda. So vast numbers of Yemeni migrant workers, who remitted most of their earnings home to their families, got expelled from Saudi. The economy tanked - and their problems really started.

Yemen is a case study of how a reunified country can go horribly wrong.

If it was ever a functioning country/state (or two) to even start with........

Floater said:

MarqueeMark said:

Fantastic news. That I'm first.

Sorry - we gave your first to someone in the EU - it was the fair thing to do

I havent been round these parts for some time.
Any updates on the strawberry numbers??