Covid - Plan B & Omicron

[Chippy_Tea]

I've heard Chippy is about to apologise on the Tories behalf.

It was nice to see the Starmer getting stuck into Boris in PMQ's today he had him on the ropes by the end

 

[Rodcx500z]

Nothing has changed since i was allowed to vote in 1971 and nothing will until we the people wake up and smell the coffee, there are 3 people in my lifetime i hate no1 Ted Heath he took us to the bowels of hell, no2 Maggie Thatcher she rode rough shod over the working classes, no3 Tony Blair i will never call anyone sir who is responsible for countless deaths, right rant over time for a beer

 

[Hanglow]

Hey @Rodcx500z how many people has Boris killed unnecessarily?

 

[Rodcx500z]

Hey @Rodcx500z how many people has Boris killed unnecessarily?

Hi hanglow , i have no idea i am am not privilege to the data so i can't speculate and i don't use social media were most of the bs comes from, but i am open to any official data

 

[Northern_Brewer]

i will never call anyone sir who is responsible for countless deaths

So not a fan of Sir Lancelot, Sir Gawain, or indeed most of the Round Table? Knights are all about killing people.

And you're equally not a fan of Sir Winston Churchill, Field Marshall Sir Bernard Montgomery, Sir Arthur "Bomber" Harris and many more?

Whereas do you not count on the other side of the ledger, Blair's role in saving many lives through the Northern Ireland peace process?

Personally I think the whole Blair knighthood thing is a wonderful distraction, but if you seriously think that kind of bauble is in the top 10 most important things to worry about right now, your head needs a good wobble.

And do you think Johnson will wait a decade to accept a knighthood, or will he take a peerage the moment he leaves Downing St?

Anyway, getting back on topic - it seems hospitalisations are starting to level out, London may have peaked but still growing in the north where they're already at ~2/3 of the total-crisis-and-breaking-down levels of a year ago.But eg in Manchester 1 in 7 staff are off sick and they've called in the Army, which is the classic admission of defeat :

Greater Manchester calls in military with hospitals yet to hit peak

Senior doctors say the system is just about holding together following the wide-scale pausing of non-urgent surgery. But with pressures still rising and one in seven staff off work, the army is now set to step in

www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk

Also worth noting that the laxer approach in England seems to be leading to more cases since Christmas, not surprisingly, and so more pressure on hospitals :

 

[Rodcx500z]

Wow my head needs a good wobble how very sporting of you, but Blair is in the same camp as Johnson deceitful and a liar, sometimes i wonder why i reply to some of these posts but you have a right to reply and i will defend that right to my dying day, two of the others you mention Monty and Whinny i would gladly call them sir if i could saved me from having to sing that uber elles thingy, having a one sided view is very dangerous, right i will go and wobble my head have a nice day sir

 

[Shirley Bassett]

Hey @Rodcx500z how many people has Boris killed unnecessarily?

All of them.

 

[Shirley Bassett]

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1481400600470429697

I never knew that Angela Rayner had such a deep voice.

 

[Chippy_Tea]

I never knew that Angela Rayner had such a deep voice.

 

[Shirley Bassett]

 

[Chippy_Tea]

 

[Covrich]

After not seeing kids who were + since Sunday. I have WFH all week apart from early morning runs when I see nobody as its a bit rural here.. this morning I have a + test.

Feel fine though.. So scary how it can take 5 days to show and you still feel normal.

 

[Leon103]

After not seeing kids who were + since Sunday. I have WFH all week apart from early morning runs when I see nobody as its a bit rural here.. this morning I have a + test.

Feel fine though.. So scary how it can take 5 days to show and you still feel normal.

Positive lft? They do say they take up to 6 days to display positive.

 

[Flat Foot]

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1337770194182295552

A tweet on December 12 2020 by the person who was then Director General of the Covid Taskforce within the Cabinet Office.

Why intriguing? Because five days later she held a leaving party

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1482010169693413383

What is the Covid Taskforce? Well, anyone involved should have a pretty rock solid understanding of the legislation and guidance relating to Covid-19:

"The COVID-19 Task Force is responsible for coordinating the Government’s response to the pandemic. It provides support and advice to the Prime Minister including data and analysis, and co-ordinates the Government’s collective response. We work with departments across Government to perform this role including: supporting decision-making through Cabinet committees; developing overarching strategy; and providing data and analysis. Accountability for individual COVID-19 related programmes rests with Senior Responsible Owners of those programmes within Government departments"

(See https://committees.parliament.uk/publications/4530/documents/45785/default/)

On the same day of her leaving party the then Health Secretary Matt Hancock supplied this update on the local tiering restrictions, with London firmly in tier 3 (very high risk)

Review of local restriction tiers: 17 December 2020

A written statement from the Health and Social Care Secretary to the House of Commons giving an update on local restriction tiers in England.

www.gov.uk

"Since the end of national restrictions, the situation in London has deteriorated. Case rates in all ages are greater than 200 per 100,000 in 18 of the 33 local authorities. Case rates in all ages are also continuing to increase across 32 of the 33 London local authorities; the case rate is increasing by 30% or more over the last 7 days in 24 London boroughs. Case rates in those aged 60 and over are above 100 per 100,000 in 27 of the 33 local authorities and are increasing in the majority of boroughs. Positivity has increased across the majority of boroughs. The epidemiological picture continues to deteriorate especially in the most recent incomplete data (that is subject to upwards revision). The overall case rate is increasing exponentially in London.

The rate of increase of the epidemiology indicators is concerning and under emergency measures taken this week warranted immediate allocation to Tier 3 of the 32 London Boroughs and the City of London. The epidemiological indicators in London continue to deteriorate and the whole of London should remain at Tier 3.

The number of daily COVID hospital admissions continues to rise in London."

What has struck me these last few days is how entrenched this behaviour seems to be within the departments, we're almost not surprised any more that "there was another party". Number 10 is coming across as one of those funky startups who claim to constantly be holding events for their staff

"to celebrate our new release we're holding a cheese and wine event in the garden"
"to celebrate our latest sale we have a DJ performing in the basement tonight"

 

[Chippy_Tea]

Anti-vax protests: ‘Sovereign citizens’ fight UK Covid vaccine rollout

Opposition to Covid vaccinations has come in many forms, but none stranger than the "sovereign citizen" defence.
It uses defunct ancient English law to try to challenge regulations.
Some anti-vaccination protesters outside schools and hospitals have used this to hand out fake legal documents to teachers, parents and health workers.
Others have sought to remove Covid patients from intensive care wards, citing non-existent "common law" empowering them to do so.
They also accuse the government of "vaccine genocide" in videos shared on social media.
Some groups have even held training camps for their members. Images have emerged of black-clad men being coached in "direct action" techniques.

No basis in law
Followers of "sovereign citizen" and "freeman on the land" conspiracy theories wrongly believe they possess the legal power to bring leading politicians, civil servants and scientists before so-called "common law courts".
They allege "crimes" over Covid restrictions and vaccinations, even though such claims have no basis in law.
But that has not deterred a newly-formed group calling itself Alpha Men Assemble, which combines anti-vaccine and sovereign citizen beliefs.
It has been holding training sessions in several UK locations where volunteers prepare for "direct action", such as breaking through police lines, marching formations and sparring.

Launched on the Telegram chat app in mid-December, the group has amassed 8,000 members, and posts footage of training sessions online.
According to the Daily Mail, at a recent training session in Staffordshire activists were urged to "hit vaccine centres, schools, head teachers, colleges, councillors and directors of public health in every area".
The group has described itself as "free thinking men and women living as sovereign beings under common law". They say that they reject violence and are in favour of "body autonomy".
Its training events, it says, are "non-combative and are in no way to be linked to any militia or extremism".
We asked the Alpha Men Assemble group for comment, but have not yet received a response.


Full article - Anti-vax protests: ‘Sovereign citizens’ fight UK Covid vaccine rollout

 

[MalcB]

Oh dear.
Glad I'm not afraid of needles.

 

[DavidDetroit]

Implementing rugby techniques in the photo?
That article is why I know no country has any upper-leg when it comes to sanity. Pick a country and you'll see something similar to the above.
The "free thinking" claim is an eye-roller--the unbalanced don't have a good grip on reality vs fiction vs misinformation.

 

[MalcB]

I think it's a typo, should be "free from thinking"
But I think that scrum is wonderful, it just needs one of them to have Delta. Please.

 

[Covrich]

Poor scrummaging techniques. Body positions far too high. Although I think camo legs popper up first penalty against him

 

[DavidDetroit]

free from thinking"
But I think that scrum is wonderful, it just needs one of them to have Delta. Please.

That was funny.
Kidding aside, I truly want people (speaking only of the US since it's what I'm familiar with) to get it, understand it, for real. It's a big hurdle though. A lot of our media is shamefully manipulating innocent and basically decent folks.