Government Abandons NHSX Contact-Tracing App
According to the Mail, the Telegraph, the Guardian, etc., Matt Hancock has finally given up trying to roll out the NHSX contact-tracing app. Instead, the Government will rely on the method that’s been developed by Apple and Google and is already in use in most major European countries. I asked our correspondent, who’s been following this slow-motion car crash since the beginning, to give us his take on this U-turn.
It was over six weeks ago that this site asked, “If the app is being developed by the NHS, will it actually work?” This week we got our told-you-so moment as the Minister for Innovation, Lord Bethell, told the Science and Technology Committee that he was unable to give a date for the launch, admitting: “I won’t hide from you that there are technical challenges with getting the app right.”
Once the mainstay of the Government’s response to COVID-19, with Matt Hancock announcing a June 1st launch in England, the NHSX contact-tracing app is now a festering embarrassment. Lord Bethell blamed the virus itself for not sticking around long enough for a Government-managed IT project to deliver. Apparently, the relatively low prevalence of the virus means “we’re not feeling under great time pressure”. He also blamed the public, which is supposed to be afraid of the virus not the app, saying the public were highly concerned about privacy issues and such-like and this was one reason an app had not been “rushed” out. (Lol.)
So well done to NHSX’s two lead managers, Matthew Gould and Geraint Lewis, who will now be “stepping back”. Job done!
To be fair to the UK Government, they are not the only ones making a mess of delivering a Covid-tracing app. Norway, which I pointed out on May 4th was already in difficulty with its app, has had to delete all the data it’s collected so far. The Norwegian Data Protection Authority ruled the Smittestopp app represented a disproportionate intrusion into users’ privacy. Like the UK Government, Norway shunned the Apple/Google privacy-respecting approach, but is now having second thoughts and could be joining Switzerland, Ireland, Germany, Italy, Latvia et al in using the decentralised approach. Further afield, a bug in the latest version of Australia’s app means many iPhones have failed to log matches.
If the software wasn’t enough of a problem, researchers from Trinity College Dublin have found that the physics isn’t even being cooperative. All the apps depend on Bluetooth Low Energy radio technology and the understanding that the further away you are from a radio transmitter, the weaker the received signal; inverse square law and all that. So measuring signal strength should be a way to determine proximity to another phone. Great in theory, but in practice the signal can be disrupted by the bag that it’s in, or the person holding the phone, or even where you happen to be. One test in a railway carriage found the signal strength increasing as the separation went beyond two meters because of the way the metallic body of the carriage funnels the signal. In a supermarket, the signal strength could not be used to distinguish between a separation of two metres or less.
Let’s hope they don’t waste any more money on it.
So a Government-managed IT project has failed to deliver and ministers have turned to the private sector for a solution? Who would have thunk it?
File this one under “dog bites man”.
Back in the USSR
There was a funny story in the MailOnline yesterday.
A mix-up on the Government’s new online quarantine form has given the option for travellers entering the UK to declare themselves as being from countries which no longer exist.
Those filling it out on the Home Office’s website were able to claim they were from places such as Czechoslovakia and the USSR – both of which have not existed for almost three decades.
Other options included on the drop-down list were the German Democratic Republic, known as East Germany, which was reunified with West Germany in 1990, Upper Volta, which is now the West African country of Burkina Faso and Southern Rhodesia, which is now part of Zimbabwe.
From Our Welsh Correspondent
Yesterday, I published an email from a reader about the absurdities of trying to view a house in Wales under the present restrictions. But his encounter with the English estate agent ended up being quite pleasant:
Turned out the estate agent who showed us around was a lockdown sceptic! He’s refused furlough, and been working through the lockdown selling houses. We were swapping anti-lockdown stats and facts. (He was impressed when I told him that people under the age of 19 are more likely to perish from trouser-related accidents than COVID-19). And we rounded off a pleasant encounter by bemoaning the fact that our British Bulldog spirit has been usurped by “bloody snowflakes”.
Also, he was chatting to us from about two feet away, and told us we could ignore the “glove-wearing rule”.
Oh, and the house was next to a golf course, open now at last, and about eight golfing old-timers were congregating at the picnic tables near the clubhouse, flouting every law in the Corona-rulebook, regardless of their “vulnerable” status.
At last, some sanity!
Round-Up
And on to the round-up of all the stories I’ve noticed, or which have been been brought to my attention, in the last 24 hours:
- ‘Have the protests proved that Covid-19 risks are being vastly exaggerated?’ – Good piece by Dr Chris von Csefalvay making the same point I did yesterday about the fact that the protests haven’t caused an uptick in infections
- ‘Google tries to censor content it disagrees with‘ – Tucker Carlson on Google’s power to shut down dissent
- ‘Facebook using “fact-checkers” to censor dissent on COVID-19‘ – Good piece in Off-Guardian about Facebook censorship
- ‘Peter Hitchens on the Today programme‘ – Go to the two hour 50 minute point to hear Peter Hitchens talk about how he came to be followed by a mob through the streets of Oxford on Tuesday
- ‘Researchers question policy of closing schools after finding under 20s have low susceptibility to virus‘ – Article in the BMJ about a paper in Nature Medicine that finds people under 20 are half as susceptible to COVID-19 and far less likely to experience clinical symptoms than older age groups: “The results suggest that interventions targeting children, such as school closures, are therefore likely to have limited impact in controlling spreads of COVID-19.”
- ‘Third of English hospital trusts report NO coronavirus patients in past week‘ – Story in the Mail about the disappearance of the virus
- ‘Britain’s “scientific” Covid response is locked in a dangerous lie‘ – Latest column from Sherelle Jacobs in the Telegraph
- ‘Inside Seattle’s Lawless, Self-Declared “Autonomous Zone”‘ – A journalist reports from inside CHAZ. I’m looking forward to the Hollywood comedy in which Sacha Baron-Cohen plays the rapper warlord. Except no Hollywood studio would dare criticise Woke-us Dei and Baron-Cohen is surely going to be cancelled any day now
- ‘After Aunt Jemima, people call to cancel Uncle Ben’s and Mrs. Butterworth’s‘ – First they came for the statues… and now they’re coming for… rice?
- ‘They can’t cancel all of us‘ – Wilfred Reilly in Spiked on how we can fight back against the purges
- ‘What Covid Models Get Wrong‘ – The Wall St Journal‘s editorial board with a reality check for the University of Washington’s Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation which has issued a new forecast predicting that COVID-19 fatalities will spike over the summer
- ‘Ditch the two-metre rule and reopen all schools in England before the summer holidays‘ – Robust editorial in the Telegraph
- ‘Prince Charles: “We must prevent this crisis from defining the prospects of a generation”‘ – And Prince Charles agrees with the Telegraph
Theme Tune Suggestions From Readers
Three suggestions for theme tunes for this site from readers today: “Patience” by Guns N’ Roses, “Isolation” by John Lennon and “Virtual Insanity” by Jamiroquai.
Small Businesses That Have Reopened
A few weeks ago, Lockdown Sceptics launched a searchable directory of open businesses across the UK. The idea is to celebrate those retail and hospitality businesses that have reopened, as well as help people find out what has opened in their area. But we need your help to build it, so we’ve created a form you can fill out to tell us about those businesses that have opened near you. Now that non-essential shops have reopened – or most of them, anyway – we’re now focusing on pubs, bars, clubs and restaurants, as well as other social venues. Please visit the page and let us know about those brave folk who are doing their bit to get our country back on its feet.
Shameless Begging Bit
Thanks as always to those of you who made a donation in the last 24 hours to pay for the upkeep of this site. Bit short today – busy, busy, busy – but it usually takes me several hours, which doesn’t leave much time for other work. If you feel like donating, however small the amount, please click here. Alternatively, you can donate to the Free Speech Union’s litigation fund by clicking here or join the Free Speech Union here. And if you want to flag up any stories or links I should include in future updates, email me here. (Note: please don’t email me at any other address.)
And Finally…
A friend of mine – Aidan Hartley – is the Chairman of a new private testing company called Pyser Testing that’s set up shop in the Honourable Artillery Company in the City and I went and got tested on Tuesday. For £48, you can get a pretty reliable antibody test. The tests are administered by ex-Army medics and you get the results back in 10-15 minutes.
For testing experts, it’s a lateral flow rapid antibody test manufactured by CTK Biotech. It hasn’t been officially endorsed by Public Health England, which, to date, has only endorsed the Roche and Abbott antibody tests, but it has been licensed for sale in the UK by MHRA. The same test at a private clinic in Harley Street would cost upwards of £150 and it’s cheaper than the one that was on sale at Superdrug but which has now been withdrawn. You can also get an Abbott test – the gold standard, according to Aidan – but that costs £96 and you have to wait three or four days for the results. All fees are inclusive of VAT.
If you want to book a test, you can do so online here. The plan is to roll it out across the country in due course.
I’ve written about the experience in this week’s Spectator. The stakes were quite high for me, and not just because I wanted to know whether I really had COVID-19, as I think I did back in March. My column begins:
Back in April, the Spectator ran a feature in which the partners of regular contributors wrote about what it was like being stuck in quarantine with the likes of us. What Caroline had to say was not very flattering: “Toby spent the first week of lockdown in bed convinced he had coronavirus. He didn’t. He is a complete hypochondriac at the best of times and this pandemic has sent his anxiety levels through the roof. He was so worried about catching it that the stress led to a bout of shingles, which is what actually laid him up.” Ever since then I have been trying to prove to her that I really did have COVID-19, but without success.
But this is a tale that ends happily, at least for me.
On my way back to the Tube I called Caroline. “Looks like you’re going to be eating humble pie this evening,” I said. She couldn’t believe it. But, sure enough, I’d tested positive for immunoglobulin G. Turns out it wasn’t man flu after all.
“I’m a vegetarian,” she objected.
“Don’t worry,” I said. “There’s no meat in humble pie. It’s full of things that are really good for you.”
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Disinfection tunnel appeared at Putin’s residence
https://ria.ru/20200616/1573025088.html
For a moment I read “Disinformation” there, though I doubt he’d want to stop the flow of that (outward). Nowadays, of course, disinformation comes not only from the kremlin but from the WHO and most western media too.
I, for one, am particularly concerned by all the disinformation being spread about Sweden and how the human sheep all believe, in direct disagreements with statistics from all sources, that cases numbers are still rising there.
A lot of people just read/hear a headline and believe what they’re being told BUT, now that this ‘deadly virus’ ins’t as deadly as the constant fear mongering has been suggesting over the past few months, we’re beginning to hear a lot more about the catastrophic impact that this pantomime has had on the economy. They’re coming to get you Boris…….
I’m becoming increasingly concerned by two things:
1) the complete lack of a sense of proportion when it comes to death. My father was a prominent cancer specialist in his day – I grew up my whole life hearing about people who had died and people who were going to die. It was pretty standard conversation at Sunday lunch (my mother is also a doctor) and I’ve always found it strange that people around me don’t understand how death is part of life – and now it’s worse. A patient once asked him, having just been given a cancer diagnosis “tell me doctor, am I going to die?” My dad replied “yes. And so am I. We’re all going to die, but you’re not going to die yet.” This is a truth that everyone seems to have forgotten. 42,000 deaths sounds like a lot. It isn’t.
2) the apathy among well educated and politically astute friends, whose attitude is “what’s the point in getting cross?” This is our country, our future, our kids’ futures being destroyed for no justifiable reason. How can you _not_ be ‘cross’?
Yes. I’ve had a lot of “Well this is what’s happening. What can you do about it?” Makes me want to scream!
I notice that the poison media, finding the daily death counts disappointing, are now hammering on the idea that whatever the cumulative Covideaths figure is announced to be, in reality it’s much worse.
Considering that the official figure is a colossal exaggeration and barefaced lie, why is nobody out there suggesting that whatever the official figure may be, in reality it’s much lower?
Aw, don’t bother to answer. I know, I know…
Do you? I don’t. I mean, really, even the “we’re taking control” narrative doesn’t seem to hold water at the most casual glance anymore, let alone my “they stupidly dug themselves in too deep” theory. The whole thing is such a completely obvious pile of total toxic, shambolic crap that it’s almost impossible to explain.
Yes, I’m back in that place again. I should probably go to bed. And I should definitely not have another beer
Totally agree Matt!
Why doesn’t the ‘we’re taking control’ narrative seem not to hold water? You can humiliate people and get them to behave like obedient sheep in a ‘toxic and shambolic’ way. A coup, a power grab, that is masquerading as a protectorate doesn’t have to be super efficient, it just has to have people willingly give up their civil liberties forever. Which they have done. A year ago could you have imagined a world with no spectator sports, no public performances, no sexual coupling allowed beyond the domestic unit you live in, no education, queuing for food, no socialising, and no family visits? Could you imagine dental and doctors’ surgeries being effectively closed and no access to the NHS which you’ve paid for all your life unless you show symptoms of a virus that affects less than 1% of the population? Could you imagine not being allowed to swim in the sea, or walk in the park or travelling further than five miles from your home? Could you imagine people willingly donning symbols of oppression in the vain attempt to avoid catching a virus about as dangerous to most as the common cold or, at worst, the flu? AIDS was a… Read more »
Well, because – 1) if it is a coup, it’s very clever and I see not one iota of evidence in anything else that this government has done that they’re even remotely competent enough to pull it off; 2) if it is a coup, it’s a global coup, because many other countries have done very similar things – but from what I can see, the wheels are beginning to come off the government control over people’s behaviour in most of those countries as the restrictions have been lifted and people start forgetting that they should be behaving differently (masks aside, so far) and just go back to doing what they e always done; 3) speaking of the wheels coming off, that’s also beginning to happen here as more and more people are losing patience with the restrictions and more-or-less getting on with living their lives as best they can, regardless of what the law tells them they can and can’t do and regardless of what that prat Hancock tells them they can and can’t do. Not all people, maybe not most people, but more and more people; 4) if it’s a coup – and a global coup – someone forgot… Read more »
Either we’ve all simultaneously been conned by a well-choreographed takeover of our lives, frontmanned by genuine incompetents,
OR it’s been a very bad case of mass-hysteria and we’re now finding whose governments have realised that and are putting their people and their economies first, versus those who are busy covering their arses.
If it’s the former, the puppetmasters are too clever and too well hidden ever to reveal themselves.
No criticism taken Matt and I am very happy for you to express your counter opinion. What I like about this site is that most people are happy to debate without it being personal and resorting to name-calling (some rare exceptions). AND I would really, really like you to be right. But as far as my perspective is concerned, I have never suggested that members of a about 170 countries sat in a room together to plan something nefarious, but that the authoritarian tendencies (most governments) have seen the opportunity and grasped it with every greasy tentacle. That form of coup. If I were to use a military analogy, it’s when the armed forces switched sides in the middle of a skirmish and turned against their paymasters (the government being the former and us being the latter.) The so-called science has allowed them to put in place these draconian measures and they are scrutinising our reaction to see how far they can go. As Edward Snowden has warned, once they take away your civil liberties bit by bit you rarely get them back. There are too many agendas that want to take advantage of this – mandatory vaccines, increased surveillance,… Read more »
There are a lot of strands to this whole business, and many parts of society, business and government that are culpable, as well as the general public for being so apathetic. In the UK I would single out the government, who were in a strong position, for the most criticism, followed by the media who in part had an agenda and in part just wanted clicks from death porn. There are certainly forces operating who have seen this as an opportunity to advance their agenda, and must be resisted. I still tend to think as a matter ot tactics that it’s best to get people to focus on what seem to me the most obvious and immediate objections to the current approach – it hasn’t worked and is doing more harm than good – but equally there will be those who will respond to the kind of observations you are making and start to question things. I remain mildly optimistic that a combination of being much poorer, general fatigue and the human social instinct will get us out of this, though that’s by no means a given and I fear that whatever happens there won’t be… Read more »
I think a lot is now riding on Simon Dolan’s case – if he is not even allowed a judicial review then I think some kind of coup has definitely taken place..
Schools in Northern Ireland to have one-metre social distancing rule
http://news.sky.com/story/coronavirus-schools-in-northern-ireland-to-have-one-metre-social-distancing-rule-12009820
Still a lot of silly hoops to be jumped through, including “protective bubbles” but it’s a start and hopefully will be a flag to our stupid lot.
Government told to extend furlough scheme into 2021 to prevent ‘tsunami of job losses’
https://uk.finance.yahoo.com/news/coronavirus-covid-19-job-retention-scheme-furlough-unite-union-usdaw-gmb-equity-prospect-125833876.html
No we can’t afford it
There’s going to be a tsunami of job losses. Whether this begins in October 2020 when the current furlough arrangements cease, or whether (at great cost) the ball is kicked down the road to 2021, there’s going to be a tsunami of job losses.
Welcome to reality people. You asked for it, here it comes.
Keep an eye on 24 June, the next Quarter Day when many commercial rents become due. The last was on 25 March, 2 days after the lockdown was imposed.
Given that SMEs provide the majority of jobs in the UK, and given also that very many of these businesses are in rented premises, what is going to happen to a company if it can’t pay the rent? So far the landlords have been pretty hard-nosed. If they evict their tenants, however, (thereby putting the workforce on the dole) they’ll be killing the golden goose. Interesting times ahead.
My daughters friend was furloughed but on Monday she received a call to say she had been made redundant.
Prolonging the inevitable will make the reaction much, much worse…
Well, that won’t do anything. It will make it WORSE.
There are millions of people like me who are working from home, but our companies aren’t making any MONEY.
Good grief! They only have to admit the “pandemic” is over and relax all the nonsensical rules. Something big and very sinister is clearly afoot, there is no other sane explanation.
Train Guard ; Excuse me, sir, do you have a medical condition that prevents you from wearing a mask?
Me: Yes.
Train Guardt: May I ask what that is?
Me: Sanity.
A suggestion, or an anecdote? (I approve, either way).
And if the latter, what happened next?
How about:
Train Guard: May I ask what that is?
Me: No, it’s private so f*ck off and mind your own business you fascist pr*ck.
Sorry Mark but I’m losing my patience with this whole charade and I’m beginning to get very angry…..
Train guard: Excuse me sir, you are aware you should be wearing that mask across your face?
Me: No, the rules just state I should be wearing a mask. (Gestures to mask hanging around neck) Here it is. I’m wearing one.
Like it Nick, I’m know imagining many ways in which to wear a mask…!
I prefer Peter Hitchens taking the mickey by wearing a full face gas mask
Crossed London on various forms of transport yesterday and a few people weren’t wearing masks on buses, the bus driver said nothing. London dead as a doornail, Trafalgar square empty. Clapham Junction has a ridiculous one way system so you can’t use certain flights of steps or the main tunnel to exit. There was more going on in outer zone shopping areas, no masks being worn. Madness.
Commuted to and from Victoria today (as I have done for the past 10 weeks with no mask), including the tube. Wore my mask around my neck the entire way, nobody said anything. About a fifth of people were mask-free, more slid theirs down their face whilst on the train. Found a handy screenshot from Southeastern Railway stating that the law only requires you to wear masks whilst actually on the train/bus/tube, not on the platform or TfL premises, so anyone telling you otherwise can jog on 🙂
Apparently you can remove your mask while eating and drinking so I guess you could sip a bottle of water the entire journey and nobody can say anything!!
How about:
Train Guard: May I ask what that is?
Me: No, it’s private so f*ck off and mind your own business you fascist pr*ck.
Sorry Peter but I’m losing my patience with this whole charade and I’m beginning to get very angry…..
Train guard: Excuse me sir, you are aware you should be wearing a mask across your face?
Me: Of course, but I am part of a BLM protest so that rule simply doesn’t apply to me.
Train Guard: Oh, sorry, sir, my apologies. Of course you’re quite right. That legal requirement doesn’t apply to you. Have a nice day.
it don’t matter if this app was programmed by Jesus and delivered to me between the legs of Amanda Holden, i won’t be downloading it.
Even if it came with a 6 pack and pack of 20 ciggies?
I don’t smoke Offlands, can I substitute a packet of ready salted crisps?
😂😂😂😂
UK government: Churches must shut
Jesus: but i will be out of work
UK government: learn to code
The churches should have stayed open anyway.
Makes a mockery of the label protestant.
Except most “coding” nowadays is done offshore, usually from India. A lesson those of us in IT learned a long time ago when the ability to work from home started to become possible. When it dawned on companies that they could just have people anywhere in the world and not on site, the bean counters were deliriously happy. Careful what you wish for folks…
Jesus has been working from home for about 2000 years, bet his dad is getting well fed up
Could you be a bit more careful, slow down and check what you are posting ? please
Hi, is it possible to get the anti-body test that Tom mentions by mail? I’m pretty sure I had Covid19 in December and I’d like to get a test to find out, or would it be too late?
No one knows what “too late” is with this virus. Immunity definitely lasts a few months, whether it lasts longer hasn’t been proprly tested yet. As far as I’m aware there’s been no study asking really early covid patients, of many severities of condition, to come back to a lab every few weeks and get repeat antibody tests to see how long immuity lasts. Could be months, could be years, could be forever.
Antibodies will last a few months but immunity usually a lot longer, often a lifetime. The cells that make the antibodies make memory copies of themselves. If you encounter the same virus again years later these are activated and they make a bunch more of the same antibodies.
The antibody test only tests for the actual antibodies and December is probably a bit too long ago.
OK, thanks.
CV maybe acts in a different way, but I went down with flu – the real deal btw, spare me any feminist BS please – in 1990. Never had it since and never have the vaccine.
My daughter had a home test kit at the end of March. She ordered it before the health board banned private companies using the home test, but still got her results. (She was negative, much to her disgust, as she had been really ill in Feb.) The company she used, vivoclinic, no longer does home kits, but does do more expensive tests where a veinous sample is taken. I suspect there is plenty of choice to get the test done if you live in London, less so if you live elsewhere.
You seem to have your comments prepped before Toby posts, and the above is really annoying.
I don’t think anyone has ever sued for catching regular old influenza somewhere, so this seems quite reasonable, except the fact the waivers are even needed to ban suing in these circumstances. Should be automatically banned from suing unless someone actively and deliberate infected you (got aggressive, coughed and spat in your face while they kenw they had it, which is disgusting and criminal anyway even in non-pandemic times). I’d be more than prepared to sign such waivers to get normality back in the UK.
I have been saying this for ages. I’ll happily sign up if they scrap all social distancing measures
Me too, every time, everywhere.Even uf the bug then killed me, I’d feel I was dying as a free human being. The alternative is worse than death, frankly.
In case you didn’t see my suggestion earlier – are you interested in seeing if we’re West Walian neighbours, Annie? You sound like a woman after my own heart!
Sorry, missed you. Tenby is me. Where is you?
In between Llandysul and Newcastle Emlyn. Glad to know there’s intelligent life in Tenby! If you want to get in touch you could email anmaidrinrua(at)gmail.com.
Not far from Llandysul myself near Brechfa, here. Just posted about my couple of days in the relative freedom of England on Wednesday and Thursday.
I have been travelling back and forth weekly to the English side of Hay-on-Wye along the A40. The person I visit sends me a fake email about my visit being for business purposes (it ain’t) and I carry a wee briefcase and smart jacket in the passenger seat. I get a sort of frisson from imagining I’m in a John Le Carre novel and expect to see guards on watchtowers with their rifles raised on Offa’s Dyke.
I have been travelling back and forth weekly to the English side of Hay-on-Wye along the A40. The person I visit sends me a fake email about my visit being for business purposes (it ain’t) and I carry a wee briefcase and smart jacket in the passenger seat. I get a sort of frisson from imagining I’m in a John Le Carre novel and expect to see guards on watchtowers with their rifles raised on Offa’s Dyke.
Wish I could escape from Gulag Wales and come to your caff. First place I’ll go to to drink to our freedom!
Glad to see the app delayed, will be very glad to see it properly cancelled for good. I guess that will happen a little after autumn comes round and filthy air-con units come back on but no second spike appears, perhaps hidden by being announced the same day as some celebrity or royal family news.
I’m becoming more convinced they’ll fabricate a second spike.
WTAF?
Bloody ‘ell, I thought I’d wandered onto the wrong site for a moment:
Contact tracing from those well-known philanthropists, Google and Apple?
‘Reliable’ antibody testing?
Really? Not on your Nelly!!
Meanwhile, get ready kiddies, here comes the ‘2nd Front’ (Beijing, US, NZ etc.)
https://www.corbettreport.com/interview-1556-new-world-next-week-with-james-evan-pilato/ It’s got some good analyses of a few current issues as well as CV19.
Apparently if you are downloading the updates to your mobile’s software then you are already getting features in these updates that they have put in to make the tracing apps work better. Not updating my phone for now! Turn off automatic updates!
Thanks! UK Column warned about this a week or so ago. You have to turn off Google notifications and, as you say, don’t update.
Hmm. But where doesn the “new normal” fit into that. Does that count in his view as “lockdown”.
Not much sign of the pandemic “coming back” so far in Europe.
“Not much sign of the pandemic “coming back” so far in Europe”.
Sorry, did I miss something? Have we had a pandemic in Europe? The world, ANYWHERE?
No.
Have you thought about doing your own blog ?
Scotland starts ‘Phase 2’:
‘The government’s original route map had indicated that pubs and restaurants would be able to open outdoor spaces, such as beer gardens, in Phase 2.
However, Ms Sturgeon said she was unable to give a date for when this change would take effect and has asked for more scientific advice before making a decision.
“There is emerging evidence that places such as pubs, restaurants and gyms can be hotspots for transmission,” she said.
“It is important that we better understand this evidence, and what further mitigation might be necessary to protect people in such spaces, before we permit them to open.”
Thank goodness I’m going to be protected from sitting in the open air on a sunny evening with a beer for a while longer.
F***ing nonsense.
I hadn’t appreciated that childminders were given the go ahead to start operating again in Phase One. Apparently it’s been fine for them to manage 4 children (from different families) and their own for the last couple of weeks. Meanwhile, I’m supposedly only allowed to go 5 miles for a BBQ at a friend’s house and pee in a bush when I’m there.
I’m well over this.
Good news for you https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-53093007
“If you are meeting in someone’s garden, you will be able to use their toilet – although you should avoid touching surfaces and clean anything that you touch.”
Not sure how you clean the toilet roll but let’s not be mean about Wee Jimmy’s largesse .
Er … men may be a pble fo avoid touching the surface of the loo seat, but what about us poor females?
I presume the Sturgeon is transsexual in that department?
How do you put the seat and lid up and down?
These guideline-makers can’t possibly be human, surely?
MPs needed to be able to have their au pairs and nannies back – also their cleaners!!!
Nannies and cleaners. Essential services for Cabinet members.
““There is emerging evidence that places such as pubs, restaurants and gyms can be hotspots for transmission,” she said.”
What evidence?. What research? How can there be any when they are all closed and therefore they can’t be hotspots for anything.
More political gobbledegook as an excuse for not returning to normality.
I hope that the good people of Scotland don’t have short memories….
Strange then, Wee Krankie, should you be reading, that the BLM
riotsprotests have not caused an uptick of any sort down South (you know, in civilised regions).I bet the anti-lockdown protests have though…
Seems to be a few pubs round the capital that are selling, lots of green space to use as a beer garden.. Been fun at work watching the increase in people coming out.
Still raging though, more madness from the Scottish government today. I realised the train is stopping in my town again so thought I could stop using the car for my commute (bus service turned from reasonable to terrible overnight), however I refuse to use a mask so that idea is out. Might have to start doing the 30 mile cycle, will actually get fit again!
There is no ’emerging evidence’. How can there be if the places are closed? Every night up until lockdown I was in a busy pub. End of March/beginning of April was the peak of infections, not one person I know in those pubs got infected, so how’s that for emerging evidence? I had no opinion on Sturgeon before this, living in England as I do, but she is a real cow isn’t she? Wouldn’t want to eat her caviar.
My brother lives in Scotland and his wife thinks Mad Nic is doing a good job. This is a woman with two degrees and no brain whatsoever.
Well all those frail old folks do tend to congregate in pubs, gyms and restaurants, don’t they?
Just seen some very bad news, cases in Sweden have risen in the last week. Doesn’t look beleivable given that the graph was making a clear and slow decline since its peak months ago. Does anyone know whether there has been any kind of huge ramping up in testing which explains this rise?
Whatever you read about the deterioration of things in Sweden, just ignore.
They never give up (see my earlier post about the ‘2nd wave panic’).
Actually found the answer on wikipedia, increased testing in several swedish counties has produced a spike in case detections, but hospital admissions with it are still dropping as are deaths.
Bit of a spike going on in a remote mining town too, looks like the place is so isolated from the rest of Sweden in general that cases have only just begun there, so it might have a separate peak and decline while the rest of Sweden keeps declining slowly and surely.
This link is useful
https://experience.arcgis.com/experience/09f821667ce64bf7be6f9f87457ed9aa
Daily deaths and hospital admissions peaked ages ago
And there may have been some under-reporting of deaths, which they caught up with over the past couple of days. This happens here also.
A positive test is not a ‘case’ though they would like you to think so because it supports the second wave shit. As Alex Berenson said, a positive test is clinically meaningless unless medical intervention is required. If there are no symptoms it’s not an effing ‘case’. They (the bastards who cause this scare) are desperate for a second wave, ignore them.
Ironic if the testers took it there!
I asked this yesterday, they have significantly ramped up their testing apparently. I was suspicious anyway as a big jump like that is very unlikely to be a natural effect.
Considerably lower today ,judge everybody at the end of the year.
It’s a myth! I’m here in Sweden and the *only* reason for the increased number of cases is that they are doing more testing – Anders Tegnell said so yesterday. People who would not previously have been tested (due to only having mild symptoms) can now get a test. Numbers in intensive care have halved in the last 3 weeks and yesterday were down by 72 on the previous week. If it continues at this rate, in about 3 weeks there will barely be anyone in intensive care here at all! If things were getting worse, then they would not have given us the all clear from last weekend to travel freely around the country (prior to that we were advised – not ordered – to not visit other regions). And the Foreign office has now opened up for international travel to certain countries. This would NOT have happened if they really thought things were getting worse!
Carrie, you’ve got me curious enough to post a comment here for the first time. Were Swedes banned from leaving the country at all? Or was it just a ‘do not travel overseas at this time, but you actually can freely if you must, can find a way to get there and if they’ll let you in’ type deal?
Just when you thought it couldn’t get more insane, the magic money tree blossoms yet again:
RMT Press Office
Responding to an announcement that the Department for Transport has drawn advances from the Contingencies Fund totalling £7 Billion to enable expenditure on COVID-19 support packages for transport RMT General Secretary Mick Cash said;
“This should not just be a blank cheque for private transport operators but instead should be linked to taking transport services into public ownership to ensure every penny is spent on protecting safety and the economy alongside strict requirements to protect jobs across the transport sector, such as those threatened at P&O Ferries.
[blah, blah, bloody blah…] https://www.rmt.org.uk/news/rmt-on-7-billion-covid-19-support-for-transport-sector/
I have attached the RMT’s accompanying photo of a bus driver wearing a muzzle. They obviously really care about passenger safety (not)!
There’s no reason to suppose we can afford to spend any more, going forwards, on public transport than we could before this self-inflicted Great Leap Backwards, in fact the contrary is likely the case.
Since the sector will clearly be far less efficient under coronapanic measures, we should expect a substantial reduction in capacity and employment in the sector.
Yes major redunduncies on the way and it’s not very green to have a big bus with less than half capacity allowed you could not make it up.
The solution to the risk of infection for bus drivers here in Uppsala (Sweden) has been to cordon off the front row of seats with hazard tape and to have all boarding and disembarking via the rear (or rather side) doors of the buses. No masks!
That’s what they used to do here, can’t see why they didn’t carry on with that and not bothered with the mask.
That would make sense but our local buses only have 1 door, next to the driver. Half the seats are taped off. Screens were put in only in April but no local bus drivers as far as I know got CV19. The buses are now empty so I can only assume that we’re not alone in boycotting them until this idiocy passes – the virus has gone!
Next unions will be campaigning for conductors to be reintroduced, fully kitted out in bright yellow hazmat suits. Maybe a disinfectant shower at the terminus.
Madness.
We have no money.
Quite – as I noted yesterday, what if the oxygen uptake restriction causes the driver of a bus to pass out? This has actually happened to a car driver in the USA.
In that case TFL and bus companies should be prepared for lawsuits if that happens. Ditto if a passenger also passes out due to the mask or face covering s/he is wearing.
Let’s see what the unions have to say when 1,000s of their members lose their jobs due to this lunacy.
Looks like he can’t wait to rip it off!
And gloves FFS!
Unions need sorting out, as a member of a union, I feel they have played a big part in the continued fear of this cv19 situation. I think schools would be back if unions had not campaigned to keep them closed.
Union leaders will not be bothered until union membership plummets and employment rises, resulting in another round of unions combining together to survive.
Why do they not see the link between pushing the virus agenda and lots of people becoming unemployed. They should be fighting for their members to be back at work.
Frustrating.
Agreed. I’ve been in unions too all my adult life and their behaviour over CV19 is simply perverse. I’m retired now and in our local transport group so I get the RMT updates. I’ve written to them twice complaining about their stance and did get 1 acknowledgement so at least they’re being read, for what it’s worth.
The RMT’s latest bleat is about redundancies on the Heathrow Express (not front-line). This would doubtless have happened anyway but those unlucky workers have not been well-served by their union.
He is right in one respect, this virus will be with us forever. However, it will be like getting the flu for most people. Keep in mind that thousands die from flu each year including a lot of children.
How to protect ourselves? Optimise vitamin D levels, and no not the misery 25mcg recommended by the NHS but much more. Always take vitamin D supplementation with vitamin k2 and Magnesium.
As a male of a certain age, I have a very useful vitamin D generation zone across the top of my head. Combined with not generally bothering with suncream and spending quite a lot of time outdoors, this seems to do a fairly good job on maintaining levels through the summer for me.
Yep, my feelings exactly. It never should be a case of “why not”, always of seeking a very persuasive reason to take any kind of medication or supplement.
The maximum safe daily dose is generally said to be 4000 IU (100 mcg). It’s also good to take 1 gm (yes, a whole gram) of vitamin C daily, especially in winter. As far as minerals go, zinc and selenium are also recommended for staving off respiratory illness.
Check this out: she’s great.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=45rlZGRz6Qo
These all work well. If you start to feel poorly, you can in fact take more Vitamin C up to body tolerance – in other words when you start to get loose stools – and you will find that the tolerance is much higher if you are poorly than if you are healthy. Also keep an eye on iodine levels as this is something many of us are low on nowadays. This keeps many of your body parts working at optimum level!
I was a complementary health practitioner for 30 years – clinical herbalism and nutrition – and it amazes me that this basic knowledge just isn’t given by the NHS. In fact, usually quite the opposite. But I guess as they appear to be governed by the drug companies, it’s not such a surprise really.
Elderberry capsules are good to take at the first sign of infection too.
Been taking these for years – had only one (mild) cold in the last 11 years!!!
And don’t spend the rest of your life hiding under the bloody bed, where the sun don’t shine.
… note that NHS workers have apparently been taking these supplements from the start..
Absolutely Victoria. I was told 5 years ago that a complete knee replacement was only a matter of time due to osteoarthritis. Some days I could barely dress myself. Since changing my diet and supplementing with the vitamins you mentioned, I’ve been symptom, and medication, free and haven’t been back to the specialist.
“Critics argue that liability waivers open the door for corporations to skirt protocols like erecting Plexiglas barriers, providing face masks and other protective equipment, and keeping people the proper distance apart without suffering any repercussions.”
They write that like it’s a bad thing!
I’d go out of my way to support any business that doesn’t impose these ridiculous anti social restrictions. What really maddens me, apart from the restrictions themselves, is that most businesses actually seem proud of going along with this insanity.
Haven’t posted here for a number of weeks, dare I say I’ve been completely distracted from lockdown scepticism by the appalling BLM protests in London. It also feels that at this point, similar with Brexit, there really isn’t anymore arguments to make. We now know (with an enormous degree of confidence) that the government has perpetrated one of the most shocking, paralysing and unnecessary acts of self-harm our nation has ever seen. It just feels kind of moot trying to argue that this is true, given the sheer wealth of evidence on this site that Toby has done so marvellously well to accumulate. I can’t now help but feel utter contempt towards those still defending the lockdown, harping on about a “second wave” or barking “2 metres!!” at anybody who dares step within 10ft of them. It has the feeling of a cult in its death throes – only a few, hardcore disciples remaining, praying that their fealty to the cause will somehow bring the reward of life eternal. Maybe my fellow sceptics on these boards will agree with me – I’m just tired of the whole damn thing. The colossal ineptitude of our Government has ceased to become a… Read more »
agree wholeheartedly. Unfortunately no matter how overwhelming the evidence is that the virus isn’t as bad as people thought and lockdown was a disaster the government will always find some big pharma shill who claims to be an expert and says the end of the world will happen if we ever get back to normal
Or the crooked, mendacious MSM will give Neil “Top Sh@gger” Ferguson another opportunity to spout his apocalyptic nonsense.
Don’t give up mate, we’ve got to fight this nonsense. I know exactly how you feel though, I’m tired of it too, each morning I wake up hoping it has all gone away but no the dummies in government keep pushing the lies and people keep falling for them. It’s an outrage what they’ve done to this country, it really disgusts me.
Agreed. Every sceptic should try to spread the word. It’s our only hope of averting this monstrous putsch. That won’t be easy, given that we’re up against a brainwashed population sleepwalking into tyranny, but we must try.
Uncle Vernon puts it better:
https://youtu.be/P6n8IXoDj5g
It’s beyond farcical mate. U-turn after u-turn, claiming to be “following the science” when the science is increasingly saying that the virus is a spent force. And now all of these ridiculous measures, forced muzzle-wearing, crippling the high street with bizarre distancing laws – all to cover the government’s backside and to brainwash the gullible into thinking that we’ve just experienced the Black Death II.
Thank you Scotty, you’ve summed up my current view perfectly. I too haven’t posted for a few weeks. It’s like I’m living in a parallel universe to the majority of folk. To use your car crash analogy, its like being in a massive slow motion shunt on the motorway. We’re in the first or second car and can see the impact now, everyone else is some way back. Its not hit them yet, but it will … Will share two tales of madness and one of hope from the last week. Madness 1 One two separate occasions in the last week I’ve seen lone cyclists out on their own in the middle of nowhere wearing masks. Madness 2 My wife has returned to the office. One of her colleagues, who has medical qualification and a very difficult to get specialist legal qualification, was so nervous about returning to the office that he announced he was looking for ways of avoiding going to the toilet ALL day to avoid the risk of catching the black death. He’s in his 30s too! Hope I heard today that friends are going to a clandestine wedding celebration this weekend. A… Read more »
I think one of the most dispiriting observations of this awful chapter in our history is how our society has (largely) revealed itself to be a meek, pliable throng who will readily surrender its hard-won freedoms in the face of even the mildest of existential threats.
The Government, in lockstep with the MSM, played a blinder with its constant fear-mongering, and of course depicting the NHS as a damsel in distress, desperately in need of our conformity to the “stay home, save lives” message.
However, we’ve come a long way since those dark days in late March. We have brilliant resources such as this website to debunk the New Project Fear. Why are huge swathes of the public still married to the myth that this disease is a virulent killer of healthy, young people? Is it a lack of critical thinking, a surplus of anxious, easily-led individuals, or both?
I think it’s because we now have two, if not three, generations who have never experienced a serious threat to their lives, or even their comfort. And who have been reared to be entirely egotistical. No wonder they crumble at the slightest hint of a real danger to their precious selves.
Of course there are exceptions, like our Poppy, and I hope many more. But I suspect that scepticism may be more prevalent among the seniors. (Shoot me down in flames for that if you like!)
I would agree with this, Annie. Social media has morphed huge chunks of the millennial generation and younger into preening narcissists, as well as providing a fertile ground for misinformation or “fake news” to spread and fester. They are largely an amalgam of cowardly conformists.
And to think that 80 years ago, young boys lied about their age in order to die for this country. How times have changed…
that was more to do with patriotism.. something that has been outlawed for many years now
Those young boys were brainwashed by the media and pressurised by their peers. Same thing really and equally sad.
The volunteers were predominantly middle class white collar workers who thought they were going on a jolly romp.
The working classes, who knew better, had to be called up, ie press-ganged.
I was born in 1982, and I completely agree with you. I have always eschewed comfort and ego and felt chronologically displaced. To be honest, I’m pretty tired of feeling like the only adult in the room when I’m usually the youngest person by a few decades.
Cyclists wearing masks. Absolute ballbags! How many of these idiots will end up having accidents.
Takes the idiots out of the gene pool?
The government is still hoping something will come along to dig them out of the hole they’ve filled in behind them. Wait until the public enquiry/Royal Commission!
Frankly, I’m slavering at the prospect of the Coronaberg Trials.
Don’t worry too much about the zombies, revolting as they are. During WW2, in the occupied countries, there were few heroes ( no matter what these countries tell you now) and many, many cowards and collaborators. Come the end of the War, hey presto, everybody had been a hero of the Resistance.
The Coviwar is now. We are the Resistance. The zombies will crawl in later.
Annie, it won’t last until ‘the trials’,they’re coming for Boris now. Channel 4 ‘News’ which for weeks has been screeching on at the ‘catastrophic’ pandemic was earlier taking about the ‘catastrophic’ impact this spamdemic has had on the economy. What a fickle bunch of bast*rds….
And now I’m thinking of the medieval mystery plays in which all the baddies get dragged off to hell, which is portrayed as a gigantic evil head with chomping jaws. Very satisfying mental picture.
They’re welcome to him.
It’s about time!
The 3-month bung the media received to promote Corona-Fear may be about to run out (or have already done). I hope you’re right, anyway!
Slavering? Me too Annie, me too :o))
Absolutely agree, I think abject disappointment sums up how I feel exactly.
Indeed. I’m around. I read the daily update. But I’m detaching mentally – or trying to. All engaging (with zealots) is doing is making me angry and frustrated. The policy from now on is dissent (in thought and action), don’t engage.
Also if you get on a bus without a muzzle (as I did today) just stick your headphones back in sharpish, and don’t engage if the driver argues. To be fair mine breathed in as if he was going to say something, saw the evidently wild look in my eye, and thought better of it. Many things have been achieved merely with that defiant look in one’s eyes.
I find it somewhat incomprehensible that people are still believing the 2m nonsense – do they never consider the fact that other European countries are managing perfectly well with a 1m distance, and no masks, and there have not been mass deaths since other lockdowns lifted? And *surely* the penny must be dropping, that there has not been a new wave of infections since the BLM protests? In spite of BAME people supposedly being *more* likely to become seriously ill from the virus…
Their minds don’t work logically. (Stop that sentence after ‘work’ if you like.) Take Stalin Drakeford in Wales. He must know that travel has been fairly free in England for weeks without affecting the Covi figures, yet we are still shackled to our immediate vicinity.
remember when loony left councils like Lambeth would declare themselves a nuclear free zone. on the basis that if a nuclear bomb went off over London they would somehow be spared (i think it was something magical in the street signs that would make the radiation stop, think and then turn around)
Well said Scotty!!! I’m fed up as well and the last few meetings I’ve attended at work has made this all dispiriting and hopeless.
Don’t give up!
Last week, I wrote to my local councillor complaining that, after 12 weeks of lockdown, the loos in the local park had remained open but now were suddenly closed.
I received what I took to be a rather dismissive response, to which I robustly responded.
Here’s the reply I got last night:
I do apologise if you thought I was being patronising, this was not my intention, I was genuinely trying to reassure. …..
I suspect I am more cautious than you as I am deeply concerned that measures are being relaxed too soon, but I hope I am wrong.
Well, I sent a response assuring her that there was nothing to fear but the lockdown measures trashing the economy because the virus has run its course.
I sent her a link to graphs on Hector Drummond’s site:
https://hectordrummond.com/2020/06/15/week-22-graphs-from-christopher-bowyer/
Hopefully she’ll become enlightened and inform some of the other quivering councillors.
regarding the picture of sand in an road to Dubai, please see this:
https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/sandy-highway-to-dubai-covid/
Had a call from my dentists today, cancelling my checkup next month, but saying they are open if I need any emergency treatment. I asked if there was any rubbish in place like sanitizer, face masks, temperature checks etc. She said no absolutely not. She was definitely a lockdown sceptic, as we then had a quick chat about how ridiculous and unnecessary this all is. She said she just wanted everything to go back to normal ASAP. Join the club
My missus works in a hospital. They are all sick of the new facemask guidelines (incorporated into trust policy therefore gospel). Last week it was one mask per session ie unlimited. This went down to four per day on Monday, now down to three a day maximum. They are literally making it up as they go along dependant on supplies
It’s an absolute load of bollocks isn’t it. I feel sorry for anybody in any job who’s being forced into wearing a mask. There must be some human rights law it’s contravening.
It makes me so angry seeing all this unfold.
I’d love to see hospitals rebelling and saying no we aren’t doing this. We’ll wear masks when they are needed and not just for show.
Walking around the corridors yesterday, I’d say just over half were adhering to the policy, approx 40% NHS staff with no masks on. Promising start for sceptics I’d say
Yes, surely the right to breathe is officially encoded in some law or other. Unless oxygen is now considered a non-essential item…?
You’d think the medics would be speaking up about how useless they are. I know they’ve been muzzled against speaking out but there’s safety in numbers.
That’s encouraging. Long may she live to drill teeth.
It would be nice if we could have some sort of list of rational businesses so we could find them. Sadly it would likley be risky for the businesses to be on that register.
There’s Tony’s small business list right here.
Yes its a list of small businesses that have opened but does not give any indication of if they are operating in a normal way or the ‘new normal’ way.
And yet my dentist still collected regular Denplan subs despite not being open for the duration. Wish my clients would do the same for me!
Well that’s encouraging although my dentist, also terribly apologetic and distressed at having to put safety measures in place,said they can’t operate unless they comply – and that includes all the precautions you have mentioned above and more.
Lucky you! I can’t believe the bollox I’m supposed to go through to see my dentist. He’s quite an anarchist, so I know the rules have been imposed from above.
Well that’s what happens when you have such a severe lockdown that nobody has built up any immunity. Every single solo case of the virus then becomes a major panic. Professor Giesecke did warn them.
I notice that these unfortunates ‘tested positive’. No indication that they were actually ill.
Toby,
Come on! “I’d tested positive for immunoglobulin G“.
From Wikipedia “Immunoglobulin G (IgG) is a type of antibody, representing approximately 75% of serum antibodies in humans, IgG is the most common type of antibody found in blood circulation. IgG molecules are created and released byplasma B cells. Each IgG has two antigen binding sites.”
IgG is produced by the body against different infections, it’s NOT produced ONLY in the case of SARS-Cov-2 Covid-19. Unless I’m missing something, and if I am please tell me, you could have had another infection entirely, like a cold or flu.
DavidC
Yep. The same private sector that is ruthlessly being punished with IR35, forcing contractors to pay the same taxes as employees but have none of the rights. The Government shooting itself in the foot at every turn. You’d think they’d run out of feet by now.
https://static.crowdjustice.com/group_claim_document/20200612_-_Acknowledgment_of_Service_-_SoS_Health__SoS_Education_minus_form.PDF
Government defence to Simon Dolan (pdf)
Skimmed it and while I am no legal expert it looks like the government have covered all the bases.
Lots of respect and credit due to Dolan for doing this, and anything that makes the government’s life difficult is fine by me, but I think it’s ultimately a political rather than a legal issue.
Having a judge say it was illegal would help, but we need the majority of the public to realise it was a huge mistake.
That’s what’s happening, which is why it’s a judicial review. Dolan put his case forward, the government has responded to it.Now the judge decides. It’s a win-win situation as far as I’m concerned. Because either the government acted illegally, which means we’ll never suffer this again, OR the government acted legally, in which case our rights and civil liberties aren’t worth wiping your arse on, so we have to fight for them all over again. But at least we know we’re just oppressed slaves in our own country if that is how the judge finds.
The problem is most seem more then happy to be oppressed slaves and many are keen to join in with the oppression of other slaves.
I’m still not sure how they get round saying schools were only ‘advised’ to close – Boris is on video saying categorically that ‘schools will close until further notice’..nothing about it being optional..
I think that means the government publicly misrepresented the truth, which isn’t illegal, just (hopefully) politically unwise (if you get caught, which they have been, although this has not been reported by the BBC – but then the case hasn’t been mentioned by the BBC, that I have seen, ever, as it clearly isn’t newsworthy – nothing to see here, move on. They can’t say they didn’t know because I wrote to them about it, ages ago!).
I haven’t looked at it in detail, but I imagine the wording used in official communications to schools and/or local authorities was done very carefully so as to avoid the need to establish a legal basis for closing schools.
Would ift be a terrible imposition if I suggested changing ‘huge mistake’ to ‘huge con trick’?
I err on the side of generosity and think it was a mistake to start with, caused by lack of courage, leadership skills, intellectual curiousity, competence, and possibly a political desire to be seen to protecting the NHS, as any sign that the Tories are undermining the NHS risks losing the voters gained from Labour last time.
Since the point where they realised it was a mistake, which much have been some time ago, it has indeed been a huge, unforgivable, con trick. In general, using legal means to punish politicians for bad policy decisions is not in my view a good approach, the damage done by this one is so monumental it seems wrong for them to get away with it.
My 1st read through it gives me the impression that their defence is “we done it because we could so there, yah boo sucks to you”.
Yes, but if it turns out that they could, the case is lost. They’re saying they took scientific advice from experts, and that they have an obligation to save lives. I’ve got mixed feelings about the case. I hope it succeeds because I want to see these stupid laws overturned and for there to be a public reckoning. On the other hand, I do think this is really political rather than legal. It’s up to our elected representatives to decide whether an “emergency” constitutes a grave enough threat to warrant this kind of reaction. In this case they took what I think is the wrong approach, but sadly most people agreed with them because we’re apathetic. I still now know lots of people of great intelligence and education who have not spent any time whatsoever checking for themselves what the risks are and what the actual impact of the virus has been, from the perspective of normal annual mortality. It beggars belief that after months, when your personal life, possibly your professional life, and your country is being obviously wrecked, and you’ve had time on your hands as there’s not much else to do, that you… Read more »
I know what you mean about people not even checking or researching anything, too apathetic and just swallowed the official line hook, line an drinker as it was the easiest route to follow. Been driving me nuts and when they answer “so we’re being lied to?” all surprised like I want to smack them upside the head. From the utter contempt the MPs have shown towards their constituents I don’t hold out much hope that they will do anything until it all reaches tipping point and they will all jump on the bandwagon shouting out they were against it all from the beginning. In the answer to Simon Dolan’s action they haven’t even tried to give justifications, quote experts or such like that I can see, will have a thorough read of it later. When you consider how many people die in the UK each year on average and during bad flu seasons the 40000 is only a small blip on the statistics – yes, each one an individual tragedy for someone but justified destroying the economy of the country, millions of livelihoods, many more collateral deaths and collapse of society? I should get back next… Read more »
I can understand a certain amount of apathy about “business as usual” politics and government, but if half the world is shut down and normal life altered for you and your family beyond recognition, with no end in sight, you’d think it would get people’s attention. “In the answer to Simon Dolan’s action they haven’t even tried to give justifications, quote experts or such like that I can see” I think the justification is that the government took appropriate expert advice so it was within their power to do what they did. I think the lawyers and the government will want to shy away from any argument about who was right or which experts called it most accurately, and will stick to claiming that the proper process was followed. One angle that I don’t know was exploited or not was whether there was any serious attempt at doing an assessment of the cost side of the equation in terms of damage to health, the economy and to human freedom and happiness. I doubt there was. If ONE person was in danger from a new virus, you wouldn’t shut the country down indefinitely, would you? Once you’ve accepted… Read more »
I’m sure there was an interview a few days ago with one of the SAGE Committee members and he said something along the lines of “the economic and personal cost was not thought about or taken into consideration”.
I’m only paraphrasing as I just caught the summary while skipping through the internet one evening and didn’t read the whole thing.
Now you’ve jogged my memory I may try and find it.
Unfortunately they think they do have a clue because they swallow all the “facts” pumped out by the beeb and the msm.
The problem seems to be that Boris, or any other PM for that matter, only listens to a very small number of advisers who basically filter all the news so he only hears what they want him to hear and the mainstream media. All PMs seem to believe what the MSM say and have the mistaken belief that it represents what the people in the country are thinking. I find it incredible, though, that as Prime Minister you wouldn’t research the important topics yourself. Of course, a lot of info is being banned on Google and youtube that differs from the official narrative but still, if everyone on this site can find the truth, why can’t he? Until this form of governance is stopped we will always be in this situation. We cannot change what the advisers tell him so is there any way to influence the press to start telling the truth? I know this is difficult, particularly as the editors all probably have shares in big pharma for a start, but there must be something we could do. I guarantee that if all the newspapers started printing stories that the lockdown was a disaster and social… Read more »
Johnson is too lazy to do his own research. He’s never been a details man. That’s why he relies on these advisors so much, hence why he probably didn’t sack Cummings during the whole Durham debacle.
Waiting for the vaccine to be available.
They will be doing so before long.
Prior to 1997, MPs used to go to their constituencies at the weekend, meet constituents and feed back to the government/opposition leaders depending on party. After 1997, under that nice Mr Blair with his Cheshire cat smile and crooked teeth (the first hint all was not well), we started to have a more “presidential” form of government, when MPs were sent to their constituencies with “the message” to pass on to the plebs.
It’s been that way ever since, whoever is in power.
Have just thought how to end this debacle. Obvioulsy the government are holding out for a vaccine courtesy of Mr Gates. Well, all we have to do is get Black Lives Matter on board. After all, Bill Gates has been accused of killing and maiming children in Africa and India with his experimental vaccines so I’m sure BLM would be only to happy to start protesting about the dangers of a very rich white man using his privilege to hurt African and Indian children with his vaccines
TeeHee: that really would be platinumy (several grades up on irony)!
Just my thought: let’s get the Wokes on board! The moment anything related to the (incompetence which led to the) lock-down becomes part of Woke orthodoxy this will be over in no time. My reasoning went along the line of “Is our (Western) corona response institutionally racist?” (See https://dailysceptic.org/2020/06/15/latest-news-56/#comment-29305) The short version: it is mainly black people in the Third World who are going to die because of the socio-economic fallout of the lock-downs in the West, while the ones which were supposedly protected by those lock-downs were (mostly) white elderly Europeans/Americans. So white lives are worth more than black lives apparently. And talking about vaccines: currently corona vaccine testing is already being done in (I think) Brazil. We can therefore add to all this that it is black people who are being subjected to medical testing so white people can live. Sounds like Mengele to me! So why are the Woke types not yet shouting that the lock-downs are racist? Because although I don’t like it when people throw terms such as racism around all day long, oddly enough that’s what those lock-downs actually are: racist. Now how can we get this in the… Read more »
We should have got the Wokes on board at the outset. They’d spent the last 4 years trying to keep open borders and free movement across Europe. Then the virus came along and governments reacted by closing the borders and stopping free movement any further than the nearest grocery store. Why are they not shouting that lockdowns are extreme Brexit?
They don’t understand logic.
But that’s the whole point: they don’t have logic, just “feelings”. Now if we can put the idea that lock-downs are racist (or something like that) into their “feelings” things would become a lot easier.
No can do. Heads impenetrable.
Are there any good people at the Guardian?
Are there any people – as we know them?
Wokeness has nothing to do with actually caring about people, its about being manipulated into serving certain purposes.
I know several Brazilians and all of them are white caucasian.
And other Brazilians aren’t. But that’s not really the point, we are not talking about logic or facts, we are talking about Woke feelings. As long as it can be framed as “racist” we should be fine. And since you can frame anything…
Not just killing – his vaccines were given only to women, because they contained a sterilising agent so the women could no longer bear children..
Indeed the vaccine has been Hancock’s main objective since the start. No wonder we are still in lockdown hell and children not in school.
Hancock was already threatening mandatory vaccinations before Christmas.
You make the mistake of assuming they actually care about people in Africa, India or anywhere else. Their purpose is not to improve peoples life. They are a creation of and further the interests of those who are really behind our lockdown.
Contact tracing app, NHSX failure.
Geraint Lewis – trained in medicine and employed in medical roles ever since.
Matthew Gould – professional civil servant, Foreign Office and Cabinet Office, Ambassador to Israel..
(according to Wikipedia)
Neither seem to have any experience of developing IT systems, or indeed any IT experience at all.
Clearly the obvious choice to run a major IT system development.
How strange it might have failed.
Add NHSsceptic to Lockdownsceptic
Didn’t the person who got the app-developing gig have some close tie to Dominic Cummings? Has he still been paid?
Wasn’t Hancock’s brother involved too? Can’t be entirely sure, but seem to remember reading something early on in this fiasco…
It’s certainly all very incestuous.
HMG aren’t very good at delivering on many major IT projects….
I think every word after “delivering” is not really needed in that sentence :o))
Yes, remember i.d. cards only too well. That cost them (well us) billions.
My local NHS trust can’t even communicate between its own departments.
World-beating T&T system? Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahah……..
just tuned into BBC to listen to Today programme from this morning to listen to interview with Peter Hitchens (as mentioned in Toby’s Round up)
However caught the end of the previous item which was talking to A level students about going to university
Interviewer – “what would make you feel safe about going to university…”
Becky the snowflake “i’d only feel safe if there was a working vaccine”
ffs!! i cant think of anything to say!
Jesus wept. I feel ashamed to be part of this generation. What’s the matter with young people? Why aren’t they absolutely galvanised with the anger that their future is being totally trashed for absolutely no reason?
My experience of your generation Poppy (you being an honourable exception) having taught at Universities over quite a few years is that (ironic given that it’s a university) most students are not interested in acquiring knowledge, are not naturally inquisitive and would rather someone else did the work. They don’t question what they’re told and are the most compliant generation of the lot. I’m old enough to remember 1968 and the student revolution then but even in 1985, in the middle of the gruelling, bitter miners’ strike, I was teaching at a university in the north of England where communities were being devastated by pit closures (and bear in mind context here, whatever LS members’ views are of the strike and the political situation at the time) and asked one pretty bright student why they, as a student body, weren’t challenging the university’s orthodoxy on matters that directly affected their welfare. I’ll never forget his reply: ‘I’d rather keep my head down and get my 2:1.’ That was as shocking then as the docility of students today as quoted above.
Caveat about the ‘heart condition’. Didn’t see that. but my point about the general demeanour of students today remains. It’s not their fault, it’s the secondary education that was inflicted upon them, courtesy of government.
I went to uni in the early 70s and we had sit-ins, demos, all manner of stuff that the young and idealistic are supposed to do.
Went back to uni in the early 90s. Weren’t even allowed to ban Nestle products from the student union shop.
That was a direct result of Thatcherism. It can only have got much worse since.
Especially as the whole draconian nonsense is supposed to be about protecting their grandparents!
The MSM have a lot to answer for and had better start the undoing operation pronto and in earnest.
I did the same thing – followed link from Hitchens’ blog and caught that rather boggling assertion from the student. I went back to check the background and I think she was the one with a heart condition that supposedly makes her vulnerable to severe consequences if she were to get the disease.
Makes it more understandable, though I like to think if it were me I wouldn’t let it stop me going to uni, though it might affect my behaviour in specific contexts (eg staying further away fro someone sneezing and coughing). Who knows what medical advice she’s had, though.
didnt listen to all of it so missed the heart condition bit, and if that is the case then understandable. However given the profile of the covid sufferers isnt she safer surrounded by other 19 year olds rather than being at home .
Well in reality I think if she avoids crowded socialising and snogging she’s probably pretty safe anyway. Then again, that probably would rather detract from the attraction of going to university for a young’un, I suspect…
certainly buggers up freshers week!!
In parts of Manchester, a lot of new students get buggered up in freshers week…..
Well she’ll have to either grab life and squeeze all the juice out of it while she can, or live her life wrapped in cotton wool. How will she cope if she ever has kids – how will they cope because they’ll probably be locked in the bubble with her?
We had glandular fever when I was at Univesrity in the 1980s.
Everyone who is vulnerable to severe consequences of this virus has been was vulnerable before this virus came along to other viruses. Their vulnerability is not new. That being said I do have more sympathy for people in such a situation considering the way they will have been terrorised.
Indeed. Leaving aside the extent to which the young lady in question needs to worry, how representative is she of the overall student body, health-wise? A favourite pastime of the BBC, finding victims and unfortunate people.
Life is generally organised to suit the majority. It always has been. As we have become more civilised (though I am beginning to wonder…) and more prosperous, we have wanted to and been able to pay more attention to minorities in any given area – for example, by providing wheelchair access to buildings. This is right and proper, but clearly has limits, and there are tradeoffs.
It is this ability to balance the needs of the many with the needs of the few that has been lacking in this crisis, made even sadder by the fact that the “few” don’t seem to be been helped much, if at all. If Universities keep their campuses largely closed, how is it helping the young lady in question anyway?
The main point is though, that unless she was balanced by a few healthy people, it was all out of proportion – Beeb-style?
That broke my heart too, Where were her critical reasoning skills?
i bet she ‘knows’ from St. Greta that icebergs are melting so fast that polar bears can’t catch enough penguins anymore
and those they do catch, they cant get the wrappers off
But they can eat Tim Tams when we have a trade deal with Australia.
Penguins? Do they still make them? I thought they were “extinct”?
So do you think polar bears are to be found in the Antarctic, or penguins in the Arctic? I’m pretty sure polar bear never meets penguin, except perhaps in a zoo.
clearly PD’s sarcasm has gone completely over your head. It is based on the old joke “why don’t polar bears eat penguins?” “because they can’t get the wrappers off” acknowledging that the expected and logical answer to the question is that they live on opposite sides of the world (except the Galapagos penguins that live north of the equator) but replacing it with the response that polar bears eat chocolate bars. a variation on the joke giving a a conflicting meaning via a logical incompatibility which obviously subverts zoological facts which PD will aware of
Well that killed that joke dead flat!
Good one. Hahaha!
I bet she was the typical would-be student now, weighing in at 15 stone and 5 foot tall: if so I guess Covid really might be a risk to her. Otherwise mugging (or worse) would be orders of magnitude more likely!
You must live in a strange place if that’s what young women look like where you are Ian!
Just those interviewed by the BBC!
Well, that little twerp should self-isolate until WE say he/she has grown up enough to be let out into the grown ups world….
indoctrinated. There are many of them. They would rather get injected with an unproven substance, many long term side effects unknown than building and trusting their own immune systems.
If you have children guide them to look at all information, question and then make an informed decision.
I have three kids, all sceptics. Took a while and plenty of reading but they all want to leave the U.K. now.
We are planning on a buying a hotel in Costa Rica and you are all invited to the opening party.
I’ve been there. A warm, beautiful, friendly country, with volcanoes to drop zombies into. Please reserve my place.
They have no lockdown there then?
I have found a great vaccine for people too scared of covid to get on with their lives. It’s been around for ages, like hydroxchloroquine or that other one boris likes. It’s called cyanide. I think you can buy it from Boots.