Brexit
No change. The crunch date is still June - when France needs to have withdrawn her silly demands in return for more money from the other 26. The only issue is keeping both teams disease free. And M Barnier, at 69, is at the age at which he should be staying in more.
BBC
There are signs of softening on both sides. I reckon the TV tax will be decriminalised, in effect a £200m fine for past naked bias, but longer term funding will be thrown into the long grass. Many just want the BBC to be smaller, more efficient, cheaper and rid of its unacceptable bias. However, there are signs they still don't get it. Tony Hall is picking up on the 'diversity of thought' challenge, but the real challenge is that the BBC is a big, statist, centralist broadcaster that endogenously supports a big centralist State. Unless this changes, not much else will.
Whitehall
The Priti Patel row isn't about the Home Secretary at all. It's the attempted picking-off of a reformist big beast by the establishment that has captured the state. They will lose this battle, but the war is likely to be put on hold as the government will have genuine need of the command-and-control structures that Whitehall has in place permanently (instead of just temporarily for wars, plagues and pestilence). They're safe until Covid-19 reaches its conclusion.
Parliament
Frankly, the suggestion that Parliament should be suspended to preserve the lives of MPs and peers is ludicrous. Giving the government emergency powers that MPs return every 28 days to renew, dressed no doubt in full-body suits, masks and visors, is too risible to consider. If carrying on as usual with anticipated absence rates of 20%, as the population is expected to do, is good enough for health workers it's good enough for MPs. Sure, six or seven of them may die (and rather more peers, but they have the choice between their attendance allowance and a risk of infection) but MPs are expendable - they themselves are not valuable, just the party selection made by their constituents. They must face the same risks as the rest of us. So any closure will be an abject betrayal of the nation and should not be considered. The Commons sat through the Blitz - a bloody little Chinese bug is nothing.
| 05/03/20 | ||
| EU/EEA and the UK | Cases | Deaths |
| Italy | 3089 | 107 |
| France | 285 | 4 |
| Germany | 262 | 0 |
| Spain | 200 | 1 |
| United Kingdom | 85 | 0 |
| Norway | 56 | 0 |
| Netherlands | 38 | 0 |
| Sweden | 35 | 0 |
| Austria | 29 | 0 |
| Iceland | 26 | 0 |
| Belgium | 23 | 0 |
| Greece | 10 | 0 |
| Denmark | 10 | 0 |
| Croatia | 9 | 0 |
| Czech Republic | 8 | 0 |
| Finland | 7 | 0 |
| Ireland | 6 | 0 |
| Portugal | 5 | 0 |
| Romania | 4 | 0 |
| Hungary | 2 | 0 |
| Estonia | 2 | 0 |
| Lithuania | 1 | 0 |
| Slovenia | 1 | 0 |
| Liechtenstein | 1 | 0 |
| Luxembourg | 1 | 0 |
| Poland | 1 | 0 |
| Latvia | 1 | 0 |
| Total | 4197 | 112 |
25 comments:
The Priti-war is the Mandarin's response to losing their tame Remainer Chancellor, Javid. They want a scalp in return and are aiming at the most determined, high-profile Brexiteer in the Cabinet. Unlike Boris and Gove, she didn't cave in and vote for Treason May's appalling deal at the third time of asking.
I fully expect Boris to chicken out of dealing properly with the BBC. And reform of Parliament will be kicked into the long grass. So I'm really hoping that after this year's negotiations are concluded and Boris has delivered the genuine Brexit he promised, Nigel and the Awkward Squad start exerting pressure.
The idea of a Reform Party pledging to abolish the House of Frauds, downsize Westminster and create a more balanced devolution settlement with an English Parliament, has a great deal of appeal.
Radders.
Boris's name is not a plural and does not need to be apostrophe'd as if it were.
In general there is so much that needs reform after the appalling damage inflicted by imbeciles from Major downwards, it would be futile to expect too much.
Let's face it, our dismal political class, though probably less dismal than in most places, to give it (and us) its due, rarely lives up to the (low) expectations we have.
By the way, to those people who call for an abolished house of lords - just imagine what they will invent to put in its place, and if you think it would be any more democratic (whatever that means) or function any better, then I've got a bridge to sell you.
It needs to be reformed I'll grant you that, but mostly to undo Blair's efforts.
Incremental reform is the British way.
Coro is a load of cockrot. A try-out for tyranny. And--given the ocean of debt that the world's socialistic scum govts have run up--the coro caper flirts with bringing the economic house of cards down.
Johnson is still just a BluLabour fuckwit.
The BBC will end up smaller but convert to State support by general (not direct) taxation. It is, after all, a necessary 'arm' of State propaganda so will never disappear entirely.
Parliament should keep meeting and, if the public had any sense of justice, infected people would flock to the viewing galleries and hope to pollute the air therein.
The idea that politicians should have any greater protection than the public is abhorrent. "Well, so is 'deliberate' infection" you'd say. But .gov has done far more to us than we've done to them so a bit of blowback wouldn't go amiss.
Mr Ecks might have something to discuss - over the decades I've seen and read a lot of stuff that brings far too many older conspiracy theories to the fore (with some 'irrefutable' evidence in support) and in decades to come we might be finding out the truth about Covid too.
Dee Dee, Farage could exert pressure perhaps, if a) the country's mind were not on other, more pressing matters, and b) he were allowed the exposure that the BBC etc. showered on him pre-referendum. He won't be. His job is done. The country has a Tory government.
God is in his heaven and all is well with the world.
Interesting to see Professor Chris Whitty yesterday saying that he expects 80% of the country to eventually become infected "because the virus runs out of people to infect" which is true, the other 20% might be quite isolated. But he then says that after infection people have immunity, like they do with a cold or the 'flu. So cannot be infected further.
But that's a false assumption, the latest facts are that there is no natural immunity to COVID-19. So it's safe to say it will infect as many as it can initially (which may be close to 80%) but will also continue to re-infect people unless everyone is isolated. Basically everyone isolates until everyone is at a stage they stop shedding the virus.
Otherwise, as I've predicted the virus will continue to re-infect and chip away at the population a bit at a time as people die off.
The saving grace is that at some point the population dies off until they are spread so thinly they can't infect each other and some form of equilibrium occurs.
Whether civilisation as we know it has enough people to continue after that, it's hard to predict.
Why not just unreform the House of Lords? Go back to the hereditaries and a two or three hundred life peers; it worked perfectly well before Blair buggered it up. Just think of the hereditaries as a form of random selection.
Mark the Sailor--sorry mate but that is absolute shite. Immunity is individual not collective and this bug--if it exists at all--is a flu/pnuemo strain--not from Mars.
Don't listen to Govt turds.
Clearly our innate immunity generally recognises and deals with this virus.
If it did not then the mortality would be one hundred percent, like for rabies.
Why some are more resilient than others - discounting for obvious differences such as other conditions - no doubt is being researched as we write.
It might come down to genetics, even to racial factors. It's interesting that in some countries, despite hundreds of cases there have been no fatalities as yet.
Spring is coming and that 3 month vacation I've been promising myself in the Lofoten Islands could be happening this year..
Steve
I could have sworn that our government is in fact just another variation of socialism... Cheesy.
There is very little that is "conservative" about today's CONservative party.
All the while that they insist on issuing all of their fucking edicts, particularly in the fields of race relations and the environment, they are being the opposite of conservative. The point being that conservatism is all about getting stuff right, a process of fettle and adjust. The grand gesture, particularly one based on lefty fantasy, should not even appear as a dot on their horizon
I am still of the view that there will be some reason to either not actually leave the EU concept behind, or rekindle the globalist nightmare... It is the difference between rhetoric and action, and I reckon that when it comes down to business, the government of this country will take the risk averse position of doing nothing, which following recent events will mean business as usual, with the government spending inordinate amounts of our money working out how to get the rest of it.
The Leave vote failed in its prime objective. That was, to destroy the European Union.
Farage was quite open about this. He thought that it would cause a domino effect, and was prepared for any amount of damage to the UK in service of that end, because like the other agents he is, I think, first and foremost a US supremacist, and in no way a British patriot.
You now have the problem of dealing with that massive miscalculation, with that failure.
JPM. The EU is on a slow path to destruction on it's own. Thankfully we are not shackled to it anymore. The leaders are completely in denial and have their unelected heads in the sand about this.
Jaded
Slow path?
The leaders are the twenty-seven including Mrs. Merkel, Emmanuel Macron and the rest.
What is "unelected" about them?
Now, Johnson and May were first placed as PMs by a little clique within the Tory Party on the other hand, as was Brown by Labour for that matter.
That's "unelected".
Whatever, we'll see about your predictions, won't we?
On topic, the gov will be able to bury whatever they like for the next few months. They probably will too.
I am just trying to remember where my friend Nigel said or wrote about dominoes?
It is certainly true that he is on record saying that he hoped the whole thing would collapse after we leave.
And of course.... time has yet to yell its tale.
My centre gives way, my flanks are turned - j'attack!
Over a thousand cases of CV in Germany and Switzerland together, and not a single fatality so far between them.
What does this mean?
Agree Boris is not a Conservative. Agree Farage expressed an opinion not what he thought would happen...and not so rapidly. JPM is pathetic.
Also "What does this mean?"
I think it means If you are right about the numbers) over a thousand cases of CV in Germany and Switzerland together, and not a single fatality so far between them...no? And surely where you found those numbers it also has the probable reason? Mild cases? Not critical? Not severe? Severe but in healthy young? Caught early and isolated and given treatment.
More importantly, what do YOU think we should think it means? Your question is for a reason so just write it.
Quote by JPM - Johnson and May were first placed as PMs by a little clique within the Tory Party on the other hand, as was Brown by Labour for that matter.
That's "unelected".
No different whatsoever to the 'cliques' that put Merkel and (particularly) Macron into office but in no way as bad as the EU IMPOSING their own 'leader' on the Italians. THAT'S why the EU is considered to be corrupt.
Brexit was never intended to bring down the EU (all 'we' wanted was to be no part of it) but it was always a possible consequence though. Now, Brexit is immaterial. Covid will bring the EU down as it will also bring down other major economies with 'delicate' financial structures supporting them.
Yes, even the UK. But the EU first followed by (probably) the USA.
Latest reports from China are of NO new cases in Hubei province outside of Wuhan, and new cases there expected to fall to zero within a month. WHO rightly says that their heroic response is to be fully commended, and that it sets the example for the rest of the world. Their resolve and determination is humbling, compared with the fatalism of the UK and US. Where there is a will there is a way. Where is that will here?
The European Union is working on a coherent, agreed, and effective approach, and judging by latest actions in Italy is following the Chinese model.
There's nothing of which to speak being done here.
Oh, sorry, the what-passes-for-government are preparing for the disposal of several hundred thousand cadavers.
Can you please keep your sad little masturbatory fantasies to yourself.
Span, I'm genuinely curious as to what the - apparently - low mortality in Germany, Switzerland, Belgium and the Netherlands etc. means.
I've pondered the reasons that you mention plus others.
It's of note that the WHO considers, that along with that from the Third World, the data from the US is not reliable enough to publish, however.
Not a lot. The EU and UK had a head start and those who care for the most vulnerable are likely to take advice very seriously.
UK first was a seriously ill female aged 70 and was expected. A lot of the medication they take does knacker the immune system.
Our Achilles heel are people who are out of the system. Illegals, street people and isolated old. That's certainly been the case in China where folk from the countryside are effectively non persons.
Also it's known to be worst in cramped conditions, so refugee hostels, though it probably won't be noticed in young, fit people - just a bout of flu.
So why Italy? Seems the fashion industry there employs a lot of people from China and the far east to do the seamstress stuff and they work in sweat shops. That's the web speculation.
I have a vested interest in Milan because I'm booked to see a relative there in July. Quite happy to forego the cost of flight if there's the slightest risk of being quarantined for 14 days.
There is a downside to quarantining large areas; those on the financial margins, living hand to mouth have died of starvation.
Yes I posted videos at Frank's place of body bags in the streets in China awaiting collection, another of body bags in a mortuary in Iran. Disposal is a problem and it seems - given the circumstances - that mass cremation pits are China's choice, leading me to suspect they're dealing with many non people from the countryside.
I don't think ethnicity is an issue; just people heeding sensible advice. Read today in the Tehran Times (boring morning) that water consumption is up by 40% because people there are taking things very seriously. They also pointed out that panic buying of face masks and surgical gloves will pose an environmental issue in due course; the gloves have a shelf life of two to five years and take ages to break down in landfill.
Myself, well I too wash handies after touching money, handrails, ATM keyboards, door handles and such. I don't carry hand gel, so make sure I don't touch nose, mouth or eyes until I get to a sink with soap. No hassle really, it's second nature when cold and flu are around - so a continuation of what I've been doing since October last.
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