Brew

As PhilMayfield has said he specifically stated go by car , walk or bike and if you can and avoid public transport. He is under the cosh really trying to balance public health and limit the degree to which the economy tanks but I admit there is confusion and obfuscation by our glorious leaders. Prof Ferguson (advisor) says we need to tighten the lockdown further, Europe is easing up more than the UK, Sturgeon says she's having none of it. Some university research has said let it spread but protect the vulnerable (the herd immunity theory again). With so many fingers i

I think we all recognise politics are deeply ingrained in all aspects of out lives though I don't subscribe to the melodramatic WW1 analogy . You are right about my use of the word 'socialist' when I need to express my distaste for those who put dogma in place of common sense and claim it's for the common good. I don't think I have ever inferred its illegal to be a socialist. and empathy is not the sole domain of the left, being a socialist does not automatically give them the moral high ground. There is a fine line between under-funding deliberately and 'prudently' balancing

Guilt by association? Some clown spoke out of turn is how I see it and the buck only stops if there are subsequent actions and reactions. In this case it was just a verbal gaffe, one among many I'm sure. The Govt are not pretending they are actually doing it, you just don't think (nor will you ever), they are doing a good job. I'm not overly impressed but I can't see how it could be better handled. Take away the hyperbole, the misinformation and general confusion and we are doing as well as any in my opinion

Not really fair Col. I know he probably couldn't find his backside with a map and GPS but he can hardly give details of mostly unknowns. He was at pains to stress IF and MAY because there can be no certainties. That's my only criticism so far of Starmer, demanding impossible details and trying gain ground when there are none. We have, at least I have, long chuntered about the 'nanny state' making decisions and trying to rule our lives in ever increasing detail. Now it seems you want them to do just that?

I didn't say they weren't factual, I said they can't be blamed for the spread and subsequent Covid deaths. The Govt would be remiss and rightly taken to task if they didn't follow expert advice. Not sure if it was Keeler or Rice-Davis who said that , anyway I said Boris didn't say it and dismissed it. It was, and I'm sure you know, the cretin Cummings who came up with it. It's not a new idea and like all decision making bodies many different scenarios are discussed before the final course of action is set down. He probably needs to emphasise it due to his

Sturgeon is an opportunist and a clever one at that - her ambition may yet come to pass. She has to tread very carefully though; a wrong decision and a worsening situation with Covid in Scotland would finish her. I may be being a little naive here but I think it might well be possible. Test everyone before they get on the plane!. Airports are big and a designated testing area is not unreasonable, just clear the expensive junk shops they all have. If army personnel can be trained to make the tests in such a short time it wouldn't be beyond the realms of possibili

Johnson message was as clear as it could be. IF you can, go to work. Starmer was quite reasonable but could not resist twisting the message somewhat. Johnson did not say you HAVE to go to work in the next 12 hours as Starmer claimed and I can't see millions suddenly clocking on at 8 tomorrow. At least he didn't get all bent out of shape and launch into a socialist diatribe. Johnson was wooly about travel arrangements that much is true but he has not banned people using public transport, rather he is treating workers like grown ups and letting them make their own decisions and

'Assault rifle' is a generic term and most will understand what it means. ALL weapons are by definition assault weapons. Ask the deer with a bullet in its brain from a rifle or the black guy on the wrong end of a shotgun and I'm fairly confident they will consider themselves well and truly assaulted.

Do you think the "very well argued points from a Sudanese journalist" earns your plaudits because it mirrors your philosophy and is the same message you preach? Big bad Tories, 10 yrs austerity etc etc. Had she praised the government I wonder if you would still say the same. It was though on the whole quite reasonable with almost no sign of BBC bias... Andrew Marr show was also worth a look if only for the oft misquoted statistician who clarified, for me at least, the way the stats are compiled. Oh and there was a vapid talking head from the government who spent some time saying b

The first 10 can hardly be blamed, even by the rabid socialist Thomas Scribbs who wrote the article, for causing Covid or people dying from the same' They may not, with hindsight, have been the best course of action but decisions were made under advisement. Johnson did NOT advocate the 'herd immunity' strategy and indeed was at pains to repudiate that it was ever government policy. It was one of many ideas mooted by various advisers, as such it was discussed, taken into consideration and ultimately rejected. The quote has been attributed to him by either ill informed or

It is difficult to maintain the discipline when ourselves, family and the grandchild in particular have been isolated for so long they can't possibly be infected. There was a VE party in the street, everyone chatting drinking singing etc (if I hear Vera Lynn one more time...) but I held fast and didn't go, it seemed silly to have followed the rules all this time only to fall at the last hurdle.

If the man with deep pockets 'aint moaning - why are you?

The link is little more than a bald tabulation and actually tells us very little. There are many more factors to consider, as OldPhil points out, different countries use different methodologies when collating the data. Italian authorities (the Civil Protection Agency) had said that the true death toll in the country may be 10 times higher due to the way the figures are codified. The Italians (CPA), reported region by region and did not necessarily use the same measures across the country - we do. The German system is different again so again I say simply comparing numbers serves lit

Oz the point of my post was mainly to demonstrate that making judgements of complex situations purely by numbers can lead, or mislead, to inaccurate conclusions. Not even our opposition parties are drawing parallels based solely on the addition of spurious numbers. The UK government (of both flavours), thought we were prepared for an eventuality such as Covid through a contingency plan (the 2006 influenza pandemic plan). We had the infrastructure and necessary supplies with a scheme formulated by the NHS - It didn't work. I don't blame Labour nor do I blame Tories for the f

Amusing Albert, not true but amusing...

I have words to describe the unholy, catastrophic incompetent and and cynical way in which our Govt have so far handled this disaster... but I don't want to use them in polite company.. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/may/06/the-uk-governments-changing-coronavirus-strategy Unholy, catastrophic, cynical and incompetent? And you offer a Guardian article as evidence Col? It seems to me there is nothing in it that deserves any of those epithets. Most are quotes from scientists (SAGE), non government sources, and Johnson and Hancock's quotes are entirely reasonable a

Catholics had to attend morning assembly but before the prayers and hymns had to leave the hall.

Using bare numbers is also too simplistic for accurate analysis of policy efficacy. "There is bugger all people or anything else in most of South Australia". This is true. In Australia distances are huge compared to the UK (and indeed most of Europe). Adelaide appears to be nowhere near any other large conurbation It seems reasonable therefore to assume isolation and containment was/is a lot easier to achieve. In the south of England alone almost 200 million people a year fly into and out of the UK, nearly 10 times the entire population of Australia so I

As with Churchill, only time will tell whether Johnson deserves our praise or your invective.

I did think of that after I wrote it...

Whilst I agree Icke is deluded and possibly has an agenda we don't know about I'm not entirely comfortable with seeing him banned from spouting his rubbish. I believe we are on a slippery slope when media start deciding what we can see, what we can read and what we should be thinking. Suggesting 5G is in some way responsible for Covid is not, to my mind, anywhere near as dangerous as the suggestion that "injecting or somehow getting cleaning/disinfecting products inside the body", is a good idea. One was on an obscure media channel, the other went viral around the globe

I'm not even going to ask what you are doing with handcuffs and a plastic truncheon.

Happy to... so long as dawn doesn't happen much before 11am

All good here Col, where did she get the turned in toes stance from? It will be hand on hip and crossed legs ala Beckham style next bless her.

Nope... Can amazon deliver it RR?