Current Affairs Coronavirus Thread - Serious stuff !!!

[peteblue]

Not comparing like with like. Sweden has a small and well dispersed population. UK has a large population of high density.
Also there are reports of unease among the older generation people there.

I understand all that, I just find it fascinating that for weeks now their daily Death numbers have continued to follow at 10% of U.K., I’m not drawing any conclusions, just find it interesting.....

 

[davek]

Be tucked away somewhere, where the more casual viewer will miss, however, they will justify this as balance... You won't get a robust critique of Government from the BBC on their headline shows at times like this. John Humphreys is on record last weekend stating BBC presenters have been ordered to go easy on Government Ministers...

I just watched the BBC 1 o'clock news and the politics editor - a Jonathan Blake - tacked in a brief mention of Johnson's missing 5 Cobra meetings, but quickly quashed any notion it was wrong by saying this wasn't unusual and that HanCOCK was there anyway.

That's what we're up against with the BBC. It's why it should be burnt to the ground. Protecting a Prime Minister who's overseen a catastrophe.

 

[Neiler]

I just watched the BBC 1 o'clock news and the politics editor - a Jonathan Blake - tacked in a brief mention of Johnson's missing 5 Cobra meetings, but quickly quashed any notion it was wrong by saying this wasn't unusual and that HanCOCK was there anyway.

That's what we're up against with the BBC. It's why it should be burnt to the ground. Protecting a Prime Minister who's overseen a catastrophe.

Whats the groundswell going to be like in the UK toward the Boris regime here mate?

Knives are out for Boris in the media this morning.

What can be done he was just voted in with a huge majority? Would the Tories turn on him if he gets to toxic.

Some of the things coming out are beggars belief.

In the Caribbean for Feb, exactly when Italy went into lock down.

This really explains the early, shaking hands and natural herd immunity approach, he must have got starlight of the plane and into a news conference.

Will the UK political system and public just accept what they have seen? Will they accept the current handling of this? Do they have confidence in this regime to see them through the winter to next Spring and all that needs to be done?

Less we forget we are heading into worldwide recession with trade deals and Brexit to be sorted before Jan. Imagine negotiating a trade deals when you need a decent back scratch around PPE, international borrowing etc

 

[Blues Harp]

No wonder newspapers are falling on their arse (The Independent).

Ahhh Rentoul....always has been a Blair apologist, what an appropriate name he has.

 

[NilSatisOptimum]

Knives are out for Boris in the media this morning.

Be interesting now how they p!ay Johnson, normally it's the bunker when things are negative and wait for the positive to reservice. However, in a unfolding dynamic crisis, the rules and expectations are very different.

 

[ramacca]

I just watched the BBC 1 o'clock news and the politics editor - a Jonathan Blake - tacked in a brief mention of Johnson's missing 5 Cobra meetings, but quickly quashed any notion it was wrong by saying this wasn't unusual and that HanCOCK was there anyway.

That's what we're up against with the BBC. It's why it should be burnt to the ground. Protecting a Prime Minister who's overseen a catastrophe.

The BBC will always protect the state. Take the mad cow/CJD disaster they didn't even attempt to hold the Thatcher and John Major governments to account and ask questions of those experts responsible for agriculture and public health. The BSE scandal should be a warning to what will attempt to take place when an inquiry is forced on the government. The BBC will 'play its part' in ensuring the government is protected as much as possible.

Focus: The BSE scandal | UK news | The Guardian
www.theguardian.com › oct › bse.focus1


"The civil service had fallen into what is known along the corridors of Whitehall as 'shaded-opinion'. When officials feel they know the mind of the minister, all options are couched in terms that the minister is likely to agree to. MAFF officials didn't tell Acheson of their own feelings on the issue of compensation because they thought MacGregor's mind was made up. It wasn't.

'I am a little surprised to find significance attached to things which were an aide-mémoire to me,' MacGregor said later of his notes scribbled in the margins. On such misunderstandings are problems built. It was another five months of delay and circulating memos before the slaughter scheme was finally agreed. In that time hundreds of infected carcasses had entered the food chain.

With Acheson and Pickles' opinions clear, Bradley knew pressure was growing on MAFF to give information more widely to the medical profession. In September 1987 he dropped a note to Watson suggesting publishing an article about BSE in the medical journal the Lancet. 'There are of course pros and cons,' Bradley said. 'What do you think?'

Watson replied. 'Not at present. It would over-emphasise the possible link to human spongiform encephalopathies.' So the public remained ignorant.

MAFF were determined to hold the line that beef was perfectly safe to eat. A week after Bradley's Lancet request, Rees knew that '[the DoH] are aware of the problem and have informally expressed some concern about any possible human health risks,' he wrote in a progress report to MacGregor. But less than a month later, Suich circulated this memo to press officers in case they had to answer questions on BSE.

'Q: Can it be transmitted to humans?'

'A: There is no evidence that it is transmissable to humans.'

There was no evidence, but there were concerns. It was MAFF's policy not to reveal them.

 

[Barnfred 55]

Just cut my own hair, easy and I look amazing

Ha

You need to see the back Neil

 

[Barnfred 55]

That's strange, I cut my hair and I now look like Pob.

I'd probably like that post if I knew what a Pob was

 

[DanEFC92]

 

[peteblue]

So are you saying that if we have an inquiry, and it highlights mistakes made by the government, then that only proves the ineffectiveness of the opposition?

Congratulations, you have a perfectly insular argument which fails to hold the accountable, accountable.

But that is the job of the opposition.....

 

[Barnfred 55]

Going into this there wasn’t an exit strategy as it’s an unprecedented situation. Policy makers are looking at how to get the economy moving again but I think the main thrust of the plan is to closely observe other countries who have lifted restrictions closely and see if they are successful in avoiding another wave.

The only exit strategy I'd employ at the moment is to wait and see what happens elsewhere and learn from it

 

[davek]

Whats the groundswell going to be like in the UK toward the Boris regime here mate?

Knives are out for Boris in the media this morning.

What can be done he was just voted in with a huge majority? Would the Tories turn on him if he gets to toxic.

Some of the things coming out are beggars belief.

In the Caribbean for Feb, exactly when Italy went into lock down.

This really explains the early, shaking hands and natural herd immunity approach, he must have got starlight of the plane and into a news conference.

Will the UK political system and public just accept what they have seen? Will they accept the current handling of this? Do they have confidence in this regime to see them through the winter to next Spring and all that needs to be done?

Less we forget we are heading into worldwide recession with trade deals and Brexit to be sorted before Jan. Imagine negotiating a trade deals when you need a decent back scratch around PPE, international borrowing etc

I just dont know. We have a passive political culture in this country. Just look at the behaviour of the LP.

But if there's much more of these stories about protective equipment running out (or not materialising, as today), testing targets nowhere near reached and the death rate surging then I think all bets are off about how far the political class can manage this situation.

Their best defence so far has been the inability of the public to voice protests because they're fearful of gathering on the streets. But look at the upsurge abroad with people on the streets in the US and Brazil. If people here aren't seeing dramatic improvement in leadership and a plan set before them then it'll blow. Utterly blow.

 

[NilSatisOptimum]

Gove was questioned about the PPE situation with China by Marr, this morning.

A chance to question him on his not very good self isolating after his daughter was deemed to have COVID symptoms. Hopefully all our front line daughters will get tested as quickly as his, one day maybe!

 

[peteblue]

The only exit strategy I'd employ at the moment is to wait and see what happens elsewhere and learn from it

This really. We are behind other countries anyway, so might as well use it to our benefit......we know what the ‘plans’ are likely to be, we just don’t know the dates or some of the finer detail.....

 

[The binman chronicles]

I'd probably like that post if I knew what a Pob was

Check @neil999 profile pic.