Well, Johnson hasn't had to take any really dramatic decisions yet.
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Well, Johnson hasn't had to take any really dramatic decisions yet.
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/ESlhQinW...png&name=small
*outrageous, exaggerated french accent*
NON, la cocaine ne protege pas contre le COVID-19
So you'd think, but then he's had to make the decisions that President Trump has categorically failed to make.Quote:
Originally Posted by Steely Glint
I know in politics we tend to knock seven bells out of each other and our partisan opponents especially, but sometimes a crisis like this really highlights who is able to knuckle down for the best for their country regardless of party (eg Johnson, Sturgeon and Labour's Andy Burnham have impressed) and who is deep down just an opportunistic partisan little shit (eg McDonnell, Farage, Rory Stewart and Donald Trump).
Stewart's comments are reasonable, and the measures he's called for—either decisive moves to minimize community transmission, or a clear articulation of what would have to change to trigger such moves—are reasonable ones that are being seriously considered or recommended by both politicians and medical scientists/professionals elsewhere; your characterization of him as a partisan little shit is only a testament to your demented extremism whereby you reflexively try to punish anyone who questions the competence of Dear Leader—which is why you're heaping praise over those who've fallen in line. Classic authoritarianism.
Your reflexive delusions from reality when it comes to anything British lately are showing again.
Cross party cooperation and seeking scientific and medical expertise is about as far from authoritarianism as it gets. People like Nicola Sturgeon, Andy Burnham and Labour's Sadiq Khan etc following scientific advice haven't simply "fallen in line" with Johnson they're following the scientific advice. The Chief Science Officer and Chief Medical Officer explained in great detail why they believe that closing schools would be counterproductive at this time though they are monitoring the situation and may change that advice in the future led by science, perfectly reasonable. Having an unscientific grasping politician then try and make political credit by going against the scientific advice with a 'vote for me' electioneering slogan attached to his message is pathetic. His statement would be less obnoxious if he'd dropped the electioneering "Rory for London" electioneering stamp on it. His vote for me electioneering stamp is in larger font than his actual statement!
The PM's statements, Sturgeon's statements etc aren't stamped as being Tory or SNP etc, he has no reason to be electioneering on this and so is as I said a petty partisan shit.
Twitter Link
Tell you what, you give me links to sources that give a complete account of exactly what Whitty and Vallance have personally said - and when - and I'll help you understand why your extremist response to Stewart's statement - and your claim that he's going against the science - is misguided. I did not say that the other leaders were being authoritarian - I said that your response to Stewart's statement was authoritarian. That some social media manager put his message on a branded image is a silly but entirely trivial detail. The reality is that the UK has (several days ago) shifted into the phase where the top priority has to be to delay the spread of infection rather than to try and simply contain it - contrary to the govt's statement, which was a direct contradiction of a statement made by Whitty several days ago - and that means taking drastic measures to minimize people attending large gatherings.
Stewart's position is not in opposition to anything said in that video. More importantly, that briefing was held seven days ago, and, just two days later, this is what Whitty said before the Commons health committee:Quote:
Originally Posted by RandBlade
Twitter Link
The measures Stewart calls for will be essential to this stage - as Whitty and others have already suggested - and a responsible and responsive govt. would start preparing the public now rather than later.Quote:
We have moved from a situation where we are mainly in contain, with some delay built in, to we are now mainly delay.
OK now its getting serious. :mad:
Spoiler:
And in lighter news.
Spoiler:
Aimless that video is from 8 March it is this week's video not last week's video. The government is preparing the public and saying these measures will come when the scientists judge it prudent and appropriate, that's fine and reasonable. My objection is to Stewart saying "the scientists are wrong vote Rory for London".
Are we listening to the experts now? I can't keep up.
RB, did you object when Gove said "the experts are wrong, vote for Brexit?"
Your sports are nothing compared to the fact that E3 is going to be cancelled in a few hours :(Quote:
Originally Posted by RandBlade
Yes we are listening to experts now.Quote:
Originally Posted by gogobongopop
I would object to that made up quote of yours if Gove had said it, he didn't its a myth.
Omfg no ffs that video was published on the 8th but the footage itself is from the 3rd as you can see from the video's description and as you can confirm by googling quotes. Two days later, he confirmed in the Commons that he believed you'd already transitioned to a phase where the priority should be on delaying measures. Stewart has not said "the scientists are wrong". If you must attack people like an angry authoritarian, at least try to get your facts straight first.Quote:
Originally Posted by RandBlade
Correct quote is "People in this country have had enough of experts,” not that anyone here would expect you to agree that the meaning is the same seeing how you have previously defended the false red bus slogan.Quote:
Originally Posted by RandBlade
https://theweek.com/speedreads/90140...ral-regulators
A Seattle lab uncovered Washington's coronavirus outbreak only after defying federal regulators
A lack of test kits for the new COVID-19 coronavirus is still obscuring the extent of the outbreak in the U.S., but for a critical period in February, there were no functional federal tests and "local officials across the country were left to work blindly as the crisis grew undetected and exponentially," The New York Times reports. The coronavirus has now infected more than 1,000 people in 36 states and Washington, D.C., according to Johns Hopkins University's count.
The first U.S. outbreak was in Washington state, where authorities confirmed the first patient — suffering from respiratory problems after visiting Wuhan, China — only after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention made an exception to strict testing criteria. In Seattle, Dr. Helen Chu, an infectious disease expert who was part of an ongoing flu-monitoring effort, the Seattle Flu Study, asked permission to test their trove of collected flu swabs for coronavirus.
State health officials joined Chu in asking the CDC and Food and Drug Administration to waive privacy rules and allow clinical tests in a research lab, citing the threat of significant loss of life. The CDC and FDA said no. "We felt like we were sitting, waiting for the pandemic to emerge," Chu told the Times. "We could help. We couldn't do anything."
They held off for a couple of weeks, but on Feb. 25, Chu and her colleagues "began performing coronavirus tests, without government approval," the Times reports. They found a positive case pretty quickly, and after discussing the ethics, they told state health officials, who confirmed the next day that a teenager who hadn't traveled abroad had COVID-19 — and the virus had likely been spreading undetected throughout the Seattle area for weeks. Later that day, the CDC and FDA told Chu and her colleagues to stop testing, then partially relented, and the lab found several more cases. On Monday night, they were ordered to stop testing again.
"In the days since the teenager's test, the Seattle region has spun into crisis, with dozens of people testing positive and at least 22 dying," the Times notes. "The scientists said they believe that they will find evidence that the virus was infecting people even earlier, and that they could have alerted authorities sooner if they had been allowed to test.
This is fucking criminal
Someone already linked to that in the thread, too, I thought. Though from a a different website.
If they did I didn't see it, especially didn't see anything about people having to break the law to figure out how bad its gotten. The article this one references was only written yesterday (same for the claim of the US now having 1000 cases).
:bulb:Quote:
Originally Posted by Ominous Gamer
Insane
Why would you just admit something like that?
No its not, that's an out of context part of the quote. Quote the full uninterrupted quote, the full sentence. Cherrypicking a fraction of a sentence to twist its meaning is intellectually very dishonest.Quote:
Originally Posted by Ominous Gamer
Rumours at work today that the local council is this far *holds up thumb and finger close together* from closing all schools for 8 weeks, so that should be a laugh.
Italy is in a complete lock down.
There's now a ban in my region on gatherings of more than 250 people. This virus is going to be a great opportunity for any country that wants to quietly switch into being a police state like China.
Speaking of intellectual dishonestyQuote:
Originally Posted by RandBlade
Trump bans all flights between the US and the EU.
Lucky EU.
We have our first school closing of the area. Disney groups are losing their god damn minds over the travel ban and directive to self quarantine when returning from over seas trips; trying to predict when the parks will close. All these people bragging about snagging cheap flights for minivacations seem to be the new anti-vaxxers. And to top it off the GOP blocked a bill that would provide for sick leave because that's how fucked up our workers rights are.
Trump’s Speech Shows He Has No Idea What to Do About the Coronavirus
The lies and anti-intellectualism in the rest of the sentence dont change anything.Quote:
Originally Posted by RandBlade
Please quote the full, uninterrupted sentence and tell me where the "lies" or "anti-intellectualism" is.
Shit has officially hit the fan, Cracker Barrel has removed all checker and peg games from their restaurants. :mad:
Government has temporarily extended sick pay rights (normally only get sick pay from 4th day of illness, changed to first day onwards) and said that the Government will refund all SSP paid by small businesses (<250 employees) to employees for 14 days per employee. Very good move IMO.
If we're asking people to self-isolate for 14 days then it makes sense to pay them - and it makes sense for the government to shoulder that cost from businesses.