Hunt is On For the South African Variant
Yesterday brought yet another Downing Street press briefing, this time with the news that 105 cases of the South African variant have been identified, just 11 of them without any link to travel. New measures are therefore required, according to H.M. Government.
Our South African colleagues spotted a new variant through their high quality genomic sequencing and rightly notified the world, as we did with the variant that we discovered here in the UK.
We’ve now identified 105 cases of this variant here. Eleven of those cases don’t appear to have any links to international travel.
There’s currently no evidence to suggest this variant is any more severe, but we need to come down on it hard and we will. We’ve already made sure that all these cases are isolating and that we’ve done enhanced contact tracing of all of their close contacts.
We are surging extra testing into the areas where this variant has been found and sequencing every single positive case.
Working with local authorities, we are going door-to-door to test people in the local area.
If you live in one of these postcodes where we’re sending in enhanced testing, then it’s imperative that you stay at home. And that you get a test, even if you don’t have symptoms.
This is so important so that we can break the chains of transmission of this new variant. And we’ve got to bring this virus to heel.
So there’s lots of good news, but this is a stark reminder that the fight against this virus isn’t over yet.
Every day, we’re protecting more people and getting ourselves one step closer to normal life. But this is no time to let things slip. So let’s, all of us, do what we must to get this virus under control.
Sound familiar? The areas concerned include Surrey, London, Kent, Hertfordshire, Southport and Walsall. The MailOnline has some more details.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock said tonight people in those areas must take “extra special precautions” amid the threat of an outbreak of the new, highly-infectious variant. Speaking at tonight’s Downing Street press conference, he added: “The stay at home message is there for everyone but in particular in those areas it’s absolutely vital that people minimise all social contact and get a test when the opportunity arises.”
More than 80,000 over-16s will be targeted as part of the huge surveillance scheme and residents will be asked to take a test regardless of whether or not they have symptoms. Mr Hancock said it was “imperative” that people in these areas stay at home and get a test when it is offered to them.
As well as knocking on doors and asking residents to take tests there and then, extra mobile swabbing units will be deployed to all eight postcodes and home testing kits will be available to order online for residents to do themselves…
Mr Hancock said “enhanced contact tracing” had been carried out to isolate the 11 patients’ close contacts. There is currently no evidence that the variant causes more severe illness and early studies suggest the current crop of jabs are good enough to protect against it.
Experts fear there could be hundreds more cases already in the UK because PHE only analyses one in 10 random positive samples and the strain cannot be spotted in standard PCR tests. All of the swabs confirmed to have Covid will be sent to labs for further testing…
The PCR test – considered the gold standard method worldwide – looks for three genes present on the original virus that came out of China, the S gene, N gene and ORF1ab. Health officials are able to spot the Kent strain with regular PCR because that variant is missing the S gene.
But the South African version is much harder to track because it shares all three genes with the original strain so PCR results cannot differentiate between the two, meaning researchers need to manually sequence each sample in a laboratory.
Seek and you will find. The report also contains an interesting comments from an unnamed source in Public Health England:
PHE sources claimed today they were “not expecting a surge in cases” because the strain is no more transmissible than the dominant Kent one currently plaguing the country, so it has no “evolutionary edge” over it.
Worth reading in full.
Stop Press: As door-to-door testing gets going, the Telegraph reports that some elderly people are worried that it’ll mean answering the door to strangers.
A Postcard From Cape Town
We’re publishing a “Postcard From Cape Town” today by a Lockdown Sceptics reader. Sounds like the people down there have other things to think about than the new variant.
Rather than sitting out the lockdown and school closures in England we decided to spend our time in Cape Town. Currently, the only South African restrictions are a ban on the sale of alcohol (the illicit trade is very profitable for ANC cronies), closed beaches (the Government was told the virus comes in waves), closed state schools (the teachers’ union is the single most important voting bloc and like many in the UK, the SA teachers are partial to being paid for no work) and a 9pm curfew.
The great thing about Africa is everyone knows the Government is incompetent and corrupt. For this reason, together with the fact that hunger trumps corona fear, the South African lockdown quickly broke down and the first wave subsided regardless. Virus cycles run their course. The same thing is happening now. Despite a supposedly more infectious variant and no meaningful restrictions, South African cases are down from 321 per million on January 9th to 98. today The South African Government’s attempts to blame lockdown-related hardships on the virus ring hollow; people do not believe the statements of “the virus caused this”. They know it’s the Government preventing them from earning a living and feeding their children. Viruses don’t write laws.
The actions of politicians aim to increase and consolidate their power and in Africa the citizens know this. The usual tool is fear, delivered through the public broadcaster. I was surprised how the UK Government used public funds to constantly broadcast a message of fear. At least in Africa, the opposition parties say no and push back against power grabs. Amazingly in the UK, rather than push back, the opposition has egged the incumbent on.
Given South Africa’s limited social security net and inability to print money, the lockdown trade-offs become apparent very quickly. When faced with economic collapse, starvation and riots, the Government was forced to end the lockdown. Developed markets can hide the lockdown costs for longer, but that does not mean they don’t exist, obviously. Nations will be burdened with the fallout for decades.
Once governments have tasted absolute power and begun spending without limit, it is difficult to reverse course. In developing nations unfettered spending quickly becomes hyperinflation; it will be interesting to see how it ends in the UK.
What is the Economic Cost of School Closures? (£350 bn)
The Institute of Fiscal Studies published an report yesterday on the cost of lost learning brought about by school closures. It could, the author suggests, add up to hundreds of billions in the long run and the problem demands an imaginative response. The key points include:
- By February half-term, children across the UK will have lost at least half a year of normal, in person schooling. This would increase to two thirds of a year if schools weren’t to reopen as normal until Easter
- Early evidence already suggests this loss of schooling is contributing to lower educational progress and skills, particularly for disadvantaged pupils
- Existing evidence on returns to schooling would imply a long-run loss in earnings of £350 billion
- If by some miracle, the efforts by schools, teachers, children, parents and charities allowed us to mitigate 75% of this effect, the total loss would still be £90 billion
- A large amount of these negative effects are likely to be borne by children from lower-income families, resulting in a likely rise in inequality over the long-run
- A massive injection of resources is likely to be required to help pupils properly catch up
Luke Sibieta, the author of the report, said:
A loss of over half a year of normal schooling is likely to have far-reaching long-run consequences. We will all be less productive, poorer, have less money to spend on public services, more unequal and we may be less happy and healthy as a result. Standard evidence on the returns to schooling would imply a total loss of £350bn, or £90bn under incredibly optimistic assumptions. The inescapable conclusion is that lost learning represents a gigantic long-term risk for future prosperity, the public finances, the future path of inequality and well-being.
We therefore need a policy response that is appropriate to the scale of the problem. One useful benchmark is the £30bn it normally costs for half a year of schooling in the UK. That doesn’t mean we need to spend that much. But is does strongly suggest that the £1.5 billion allocated across the UK so far doesn’t even start to match the scale of the challenge. A much larger policy response would allow us to consider radical and properly resourced ways to help pupils catch-up.
In the report itself he makes a call for action
This could be extending the school year, lengthening the school day, mass repetition of whole school years or summer schools. And there is sound evidence that increasing instructional time can yield positive effects. Given we’re trying to compensate for half a year of lost normal schooling, such measures would likely be necessary for a few years. I am not in a position to advocate for any of these options. Indeed, schools and teachers will probably have a much better idea of what is possible with the right resources. But everything should be on the table and we should be engaged in a national debate about the merits and feasibility of all of them. There are already signs in Wales that such options are being considered.
Of course, none of these are straightforward and all would need to be properly resourced and staffed. Extending the school year or day could not be done by just asking frazzled teachers and staff to work a little bit more, which would risk a mass exodus of school staff. But if we can use Salisbury Cathedral to deliver vaccinations and 750,000 people are willing to volunteer to help the NHS, then we can use our ingenuity and imagination to find the space and people needed to help children catch-up on their education. A national plan with cross-party support and close partnership with teachers, schools and local government could achieve almost anything.
We’d be glad to hear the perspective of any teachers on how catch up can be achieved, and indeed any plans that are being made (email us here). One reader has suggested that schools should stay open throughout the summer.
UK primary school children could easily receive in excess of 60 hours catch up teaching this summer in a two hour, three-day-a-week, morning-only school…
Attendance would be on a voluntary basis only and focus on the core skills – the three rs.
We have five months to get our act together and with a final show of hands to gauge support by the summer half term, schools should easily be able to organise a skeleton staff to run it all.
We now at least talk openly about the loss of learning this year. This gap must be most pronounced amongst primary school children who will carry it with them for the rest of their lives and such a solution would suffice to bring all children much closer to the required levels in time for the September re-start.
I fear we may have to work on the basis that the teaching unions would be against this proposal from the off but, despite the professional bodies having largely covered themselves in shame in 2020, I do see care and love in the eyes of the teachers on my children’s zoom calls. I propose therefore that teachers would be asked to volunteer to work these classes and thus avoid any contractual issues.
I would even think that should the call go out, some retired staff might even return for a few days to help out. Even if some schools cannot muster the volunteers for a whole summer, asking teachers and some school staff to sacrifice a few mornings during the summer holiday feels rather reasonable. With more and more families unlikely to be able to take a holiday, the respite would be welcome and important for parents.
Many parents are struggling mentally under the yoke of home-schooling with no let up (grandparents, sleep-overs, parties, playing with friends), but they are afraid to admit it as the narrative is all about how hard it is for schools. ‘Thank yous’ issued to parents in weekly newsletters count for little when the teaching profession looks forward to long statutory holidays and working parents are already posting ungodly hours as they work late into the night to compensate for the home-schooling they have helped deliver during the day.
Stop Press: The Telegraph reports that, having been told that the peak has now passed, the Prime Minister is pushing to reopen schools.
Stop Press 2: A Lockdown Sceptics reader has drawn our attention to Uppingham School in Rutland, which, like many others, is doing its best to bring pupils back as quickly as possible. In an energetic address published on YouTube yesterday, Headmaster Dr Richard Malony (at 1m 41s in the video) said that, with the return to secondary school unlikely to happen March 8th, Uppingham will be ending the Spring Term early and bringing forward the start of the summer term. In the letter to parents, he writes:
The Prime Minister announced on Wednesday that the earliest schools in England would be allowed to open will be on March 8th (two weeks into the second half of term). We had hoped to be able to resume school in Uppingham immediately after the half-term holiday on February 22nd and are very disappointed to have been stymied once again.
If you read the Prime Minister’s words carefully, you will see that there is no explicit commitment to get all pupils back in schools on March 8th. Indeed, my sources tell me that it is likely that only primary schools will be permitted to resume on-site education on that date. Furthermore, secondary schools could well be ‘staggered’ in their return over the subsequent three weeks.
From our point of view, this is not good news. However, rather than railing into the wind, we have chosen to do something positive to best benefit Uppinghamians.
Consequently, our decision is that we will end the Spring Term a week earlier than scheduled – on Saturday, March 20th (rather than the 27th) and begin the Summer Term a week early on Sunday, April 11th (rather than the 18th)
Clearly, if there is any chance to have year groups back in school before Easter they will be welcomed back to school with alacrity. We are desperate to have them back with us in Uppingham and, given any chance to have them here, we will seize that opportunity.
Here Come the Free Speech Champions
Inaya Folarin Iman, a Founding Director of the Free Speech Union, is launching a new venture today called the Free Speech Champions Project, along with a group of students and recent graduates. (The Mail on Sunday ran a story about it two days ago.) Below is an extract from the press release.
The Free Speech Champions Project is an exciting new initiative which aims to inspire the next generation about the importance of free speech. It has been set up by a socially and politically diverse group of university students and recent graduates to create a space for challenging thinking. It will do this by creating a network of young ‘free speech champions’ across the country who will host events on free speech, support and encourage the development of free speech societies, and develop the information, ideas and arguments about free speech needed to inspire the next generation. The Champions will collaborate with individuals, groups and organisations who share their commitment to free speech.
The Free Speech Champions Project is led by Inaya Folarin Iman, a 24-year-old graduate of the University of Leeds, and developed in collaboration with the Free Speech Union and the Battle of Ideas charity.
Inaya said: “Freedom of speech is essential for open enquiry to flourish. Social and human progress depends on courageous individuals who are prepared to think for themselves. Too often, the places where free speech should be valued most highly – universities and online spaces – are where it is in most jeopardy. We need to re-articulate why free speech matters, especially to young people.”
A 2020 survey carried out by ADF International revealed that 40% of students self-censor out of concern for their future careers.
Inaya said: “A lot of attention has been paid to the problem of explicit censorship on campus – no-platforming of speakers, the closing down of debates. It is a good sign that a lot of people instinctively feel that this is wrong. However, a more subtle pressure to self-censor has also become far too prevalent in places of education. This is not about being ‘polite’. Too many young people are holding themselves back from exploring ideas because they fear the potentially negative consequences of using the wrong words or of honestly sharing what is on their minds.”
The Free Speech Champions Project will go to where young people most need the space to think and speak freely – schools, universities and online communities – and inspire support for freedom of speech.
Toby Young, the General Secretary of the Free Speech Union, said: “The Free Speech Union is delighted to be supporting this project, along with the Battle of Ideas charity. If free speech is going to endure it’s essential that young people understand why it matters and needs to be defended.”
You can find out more about the Free Speech Champions Project by visiting its website. And if you’re a student or recent graduate who would like to get involved, please fill out the form on this page.
Stop Press: Watch Inaya talking to Mike Graham about the Free Speech Champions on talkRADIO.
Aussies Panic and Freak Out
If only we had done a proper lockdown, long and hard, and firmly closed our borders against all foreign visitors, then life here would be great right now, according to some. Well, Western Australia has been gleefully Covid free for 10 months, thanks to its border controls. But over the weekend, a single case of infection recorded in the city of Perth has prompted a snap five-day lockdown, and scenes of panic-buying chaos. The Telegraph has published a letter from Ronan O’Connell, who is currently living there.
Perth’s reign as arguably the safest city on the planet is over, after it recorded its first community-based COVID-19 infection in almost 300 days, with this single case triggering a severe and immediate lockdown.
While the rest of the world has been upended by COVID-19, here in Perth we have felt like we’ve existed outside of the pandemic, enjoying a carefree lifestyle due to the state of Western Australia going 10 months without an infection.
WA achieved this remarkable success by implementing, in March last year, some of the world’s strictest travel rules, which have remained largely in place ever since.
We’ve been banned from taking overseas holidays, haven’t been allowed to travel to other Australian states for much of that period, and have had to do a mandatory 14-day hotel quarantine if returning from living overseas.
Now one infection – a guard at one of these quarantine hotels – has triggered an immediate five-day lockdown across a large part of WA, which began on Sunday night.
During this lockdown, we are limited to our homes, except for essential activities; we must wear a mask whenever we leave our properties; and schools, many businesses and public facilities are closed.
So unaccustomed are West Australians to feeling the close presence of the coronavirus that panic buying hit Perth supermarkets just as the lockdown was announced. When I went to my local shop two hours after that announcement, it had been ransacked, while other Perth supermarkets were forced to limit customer entry, so large were the crowds.
Fortunately, no new COVID-19 cases were found in Western Australia on Monday. Despite that good news, and the short length of the lockdown, hysteria raged in Perth as people inundated pharmacies and shops in search of masks and hand sanitiser, or took to social media to slam others for panic buying.
Worth reading in full.
As the clamour mounts for Britain to close its borders, it may be worth considering the logistical difficulties as set out by Sarah Nickson at the Institute for Government.
Hotel quarantine is an enormous logistical undertaking
Establishing hotel quarantine is far more complex than mass booking hotel rooms. Hiring suitably qualified staff, training them in infection control procedures, sourcing hotels with adequate ventilation and facilities, and attending to the health and welfare of those in quarantine have all proved enormous challenges for Australian authorities. Cracks in the system have seen the virus seep out of hotels and into the community, sparking fresh lockdowns, including in Melbourne where a second lockdown lasted over 100 days. These failures have already sparked a major inquiry and ministerial and senior official resignations.
The UK would not find running hotel quarantine any easier. Testing and tracing operations here have shown the difficulty of setting up new systems from scratch. And the Government is reportedly considering using outsourced private security in the quarantine hotels, a move which was implicated in Melbourne’s failures. On the other hand, if the Government drew on its own workforce – military logistics officers, police and health care workers – this would divert resources from the vaccine roll out.
Human and Economic costs need to be considered
The UK will likely find that an effective hotel quarantine system will necessitate border closures. Logistical pressures limit the number of people who can realistically and safely be accommodated in hotels, so the Government will need to find a way to ration demand. This in turn imposes significant economic and human costs. Australia has set caps on the number of citizens and residents who can enter the country: for instance, Sydney is permitting only 1,505 arrivals per week. For other cities, the weekly cap is in the hundreds. This is nowhere near enough to meet demand, locking out tens of thousands, and has led to drastically inflated fares set by airlines seeking to maintain revenue from sparsely populated flights.
As a result, some Australians stranded abroad have been left jobless and with expired visas, while others have missed weddings, funerals and other milestones. Those who do make it back are forced to pay their own quarantine costs, on top of the airfare. And in order to relieve pressure on the quarantine system, the Government has barred Australians from leaving the country without a special exemption.
Hotel Quarantine might be harder for us than it is for Australia
There are factors particular to the UK that might make this exercise even more difficult and costly than it has been for Australia. The UK would need to – once again – consider how border arrangements would work for Northern Ireland, in conjunction with the Northern Ireland executive and the Irish government. And it would feel the effects of border closures even more acutely than Australia: in 2018-19, the UK received 145 million international passenger arrivals, compared to Australia’s 21 million.
Hotel quarantine is a huge logistical operation that would force the UK Government to make difficult decisions about who it lets in and out of the country. Consideration of hotel quarantine must be informed by sober appraisal of the full range of these costs.
Sceptics Under Fire
Two items to flag here today, first: Toby has fired back at Nick Cohen’s recent ‘blood-on-your-hands’ broadside against lockdown sceptics with a letter to the paper’s editor.
Lockdowns cost lives
I was disappointed to read Nick Cohen’s article, in which he blamed lockdown sceptics like me for the death of Mr Matthews. I have never denied that COVID-19 can be deadly, never suggested that “5G causes cancer” and never urged anyone not to get vaccinated. True, I have suggested that those varieties of the common cold caused by coronaviruses could provide people with some immunity to COVID-19, but that claim is based on reputable research.
I don’t think it’s fair to accuse sceptics of endangering lives. There have been at least 30 research papers, the most recent by a team led by Professor John Ioannidis at Stanford, showing that lockdowns imposed across the western world last March had little or no impact on reducing Covid mortality. However, there is an equally voluminous amount of research showing that the lockdowns have caused catastrophic damage, not just to economies, but to people’s mental and physical health. The number of deaths caused in the developing world by the economic recession triggered by the lockdowns will likely be far greater than the number of lives saved in the west. The UN predicts the coming recessions will plunge 420 million people into extreme poverty.
Based on these findings, it is those promoting lockdowns who are killing people, not those expressing reservations. But I would never accuse lockdown advocates of being murderers because such emotive hyperbole is not conducive to sensible debate.
Toby Young
London W3
Secondly, a reader has written in to point out Adam Boulton’s misstep in his recent interview with Sir Desmond Swayne
I shan’t accuse Sky News’s Adam Boulton of “lying”, a word which has become synonymous with “making a mistake” in the eyes of many. But he can fairly be described as inept on the evidence of his recent interview of Sir Desmond Swayne. With regard to Sir Desmond’s questioning of NHS and Government data, Boulton asked: “How is it wrong for us to be given these statistics… which reputable people like Ed Conway… have verified. What is wrong about the way it is being presented?” (from about the 3:19 in this video)
Embarrassingly, he only needs to watch Conway in this video – made about the same time as Swayne’s comments in the autumn – to see that his Sky News colleague was expressing the very same scepticism at some length!
In view of the fact that the Department of Health itself backed down after the Mail’s in-depth story, can the MP expect an apology from Boulton?
Free to Attend Covid Symposium in NZ
A reader in New Zealand has asked us to flag an international symposium that’s being organised by some sceptics over there, starting at 7.30pm GMT on February 12th. Freethinkers from around the world will gather (on Zoom) to hear, share and discuss the latest evidence-based critiques of the lockdown policy. Participants include Prof Sunetra Gupta, Prof Ramesh Thakur and Prof James Allan. Webinar tickets can be obtained free of charge here.
Round-up
- “England set to see Covid inpatients fall to pre-third wave level by March 8th” – The HSJ reports on the shrinking numbers of cases
- “Isle of Man ‘returns to normal’ as face masks and social distancing are ditched” – The Isle of Man has reach the end of a 25-day ‘circuit break’, reports the Telegraph. Life has returned to normal, but its borders remain closed
- “Lockdown: The cruelty is the point” – blistering piece from Laura Perrins in the Conservative Woman, taking aim at the immoral, unethical and disproportionate lockdowns, and the politicians and media which support them
- “COVID-19 rarely spreads through surfaces. So why are we still deep cleaning?” – The virus spreads predominantly through the air, not via surfaces, says Dyani Lewis in Nature. No need to disinfect your shopping
- “The Moral Case Against COVID-19 Lockdowns” – Julius Reuchel says that lockdown is sacrificing one group of people for another – and it’s immoral
- “Coronavirus: no going back to normal” – “Life after coronavirus will not feel like life before and it is best that governments acknowledge that,” says the Institute for Government
- “How many excess deaths were there in the UK last year?” – Noah Carl follows up his recent piece in the Critic with some further analysis. Hint: fewer than 100,000.
- “Unreported by the MSM: Lockdown sceptics win Cambridge Union debate” – The Conservative Woman‘s Kathy Gyngell fills the gap left by the MSM and reports on Team Sceptics’ victory in last week’s Cambridge Union debate
- “My Response to Guardian smears” – Maajid Nawaz responds to a nasty piece in the Observer on his Facebook page
- “Why vaccine nationalism won’t end in 2021” – It’ll be with us for quite a while says Joanna Rossiter in the Spectator
- “Establishment ‘journalists’ versus free speech – the digital lynching of lockdown sceptics” – Sceptics in the media have been pilloried by their peers, whose pro-establishment activity would be better suited to Pravda, says Dr Niall McCrae in the Unity News Network
- “Thoughts on home, family and how our outlook has changed” – In episode 11 of the CoronaStories podcast, Christine talks to a woman in an all-too-familiar situation: She is working from home full time while trying to home-educate her three children
- “The power of digital: GameStop, schools and pubs – The Week in Review” – The latest episode of the Bournebrook podcast discusses the reopening of schools and pubs and how lockdowns have changed the latter for good
- “Italy ‘bucks trend’ in easing virus restrictions” – RTE reports that Italy is easing its restrictions, despite warnings from public health experts
- “Sweden’s figures do show that lockdowns are a crime” – Hector Drummond analyses Swedish death data and concludes that April 2020, supposedly the worst month for the world in a hundred years outside wartime, in fact had lower deaths than about 20 other months in Sweden in the last thirty years.
- “America’s murder rate increase in 2020 has ‘no modern precedent’, crime group analyst finds” – There were more than 1,200 additional killings year on year in a sample of 34 American cities, Fox News reports
- This is an excellent video summing up the case against lockdowns
Theme Tunes Suggested by Readers
Two today: “Drinking Alone” by Carrie Underwood and “Make the World Go Away” by Eddy Arnold.
Love in the Time of Covid
We have created some Lockdown Sceptics Forums, including a dating forum called “Love in a Covid Climate” that has attracted a bit of attention. We have a team of moderators in place to remove spam and deal with the trolls, but sometimes it takes a little while so please bear with us. You have to register to use the Forums as well as post comments below the line, but that should just be a one-time thing. Any problems, email Lockdown Sceptics here.
Sharing Stories
Some of you have asked how to link to particular stories on Lockdown Sceptics so you can share it. To do that, click on the headline of a particular story and a link symbol will appear on the right-hand side of the headline. Click on the link and the URL of your page will switch to the URL of that particular story. You can then copy that URL and either email it to your friends or post it on social media. Please do share the stories.
Social Media Accounts
You can follow Lockdown Sceptics on our social media accounts which are updated throughout the day. To follow us on Facebook, click here; to follow us on Twitter, click here; to follow us on Instagram, click here; to follow us on Parler, click here; and to follow us on MeWe, click here.
Woke Gobbledegook
We’ve decided to create a permanent slot down here for woke gobbledegook. Today, from NBC Bay Area, we bring you further detail on the decision by the San Francisco Board of Education to rename 44 of its public schools. We featured the full list last week but the wokeness is quite far reaching:
The names of Abraham Lincoln, George Washington and other prominent figures including U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein of California will be removed from 44 San Francisco public schools, a move that stirred debate Wednesday on whether the famously liberal city has taken the national reckoning on America’s racist past too far.
After months of controversy, the decision made by the San Francisco Board of Education in a 6-1 vote Tuesday night will strip the names of one-third of the city’s schools. The Board approved a resolution to change school names that honoured historical figures with direct or broad ties to slavery, oppression, racism or the “subjugation” of human beings.
In addition to Washington and Thomas Jefferson – former presidents with connections to slavery or oppression – the list includes naturalist John Muir, Spanish priest Junipero Serra, American revolution patriot Paul Revere and Francis Scott Key, composer of the “Star Spangled Banner”.
Changing the name of Dianne Feinstein Elementary school, named for the Democratic Senator and former Mayor of San Francisco, has raised eyebrows. The trailblazing 87 year-old’s star has dimmed in recent years with dismayed liberals joining calls for her retirement after she embraced Republican Senator Lindsey Graham at the heated confirmation hearings on U.S. Supreme Court Judge Amy Coney Barrett.
Feinstein’s spokesman Tom Mentzer said the senator had no comment.
The committee that selected the names included Feinstein because in 1984, while Mayor, she replaced a vandalised Confederate flag that was part of a long-standing flag display in front of City Hall. When the flag was pulled down a second time, she did not replace it.
“I want to assure people this in no way cancels or erases history,” San Francisco Board of Education President Gabriela Lopez said, commenting specifically about Feinstein and the wider group as well. “But it does shift from upholding them and honouring them, and these opportunities are a great way to have that conversation about our past and have an opportunity to uplift new voices.”
Lopez said the decision is timely and important and sends a strong message that goes beyond racism tied to slavery and condemns wider “racist symbols and white supremacy culture we see in our country”.
For some San Francisco parents, the brush stroke was too broad.
“This is a bit of a joke. It’s almost like a parody of leftist activism,” said Gerald Kanapathy, a father of two young children, including a kindergartener at a San Francisco school not on the list.
“I don’t particularly mind the notion that some of the schools need to be renamed. There are a lot of questionable choices out there,” he said. “But they sort of decided on this and pushed it through without much community input.”
A group called Families for San Francisco opposed the vote for similar reasons, calling it a “top-down process” in which a small group of people made the decision without consulting experts and the wider school community.
Worth reading in full.
Stop Press: Spectator’s Steerpike reports that another Covid ad is to be discontinued:
The advert, which showed women cleaning and caring for children while a man lounged on a sofa, sparked accusations of sexism.
“It has been withdrawn and removed from the campaign. I will make clear that it does not reflect the Government’s view on women which is why we have withdrawn it,” Boris Johnson’s official spokesperson said today.
Oh dear
“Mask Exempt” Lanyards
We’ve created a one-stop shop down here for people who want to obtain a “Mask Exempt” lanyard/card – because wearing a mask causes them “severe distress”, for instance. You can print out and laminate a fairly standard one for free here and the Government has instructions on how to download an official “Mask Exempt” notice to put on your phone here. And if you feel obliged to wear a mask but want to signal your disapproval of having to do so, you can get a “sexy world” mask with the Swedish flag on it here.
A reader has started a website that contains some useful guidance about how you can claim legal exemption. Another reader has created an Android app which displays “I am exempt from wearing a face mask” on your phone. Only 99p.
If you’re a shop owner and you want to let your customers know you will not be insisting on face masks or asking them what their reasons for exemption are, you can download a friendly sign to stick in your window here.
And here’s an excellent piece about the ineffectiveness of masks by a Roger W. Koops, who has a doctorate in organic chemistry. See also the Swiss Doctor’s thorough review of the scientific evidence here and Prof Carl Heneghan and Dr Tom Jefferson’s Spectator article about the Danish mask study here.
Stop Press: There is a new petition on the Parliament website that readers may want to sign.
Make it illegal for businesses to challenge those not wearing face coverings.
The Government should support those exempt from wearing face masks by making it illegal for businesses to challenge those not wearing a face mask. Many supermarkets/shops and tourist attractions are still requiring medical proof or exempt cards and won’t allow you to enter without proof.
To support the disabled community and ensure we have a voice. At the moment we are challenged everyday at supermarkets, public transport and even tourist attractions. The Government must legislate to protect those exempt and ensure we aren’t challenged or made to feel embarrassed when trying to go about our day. We shouldn’t need to produce our badge multiple times whilst going shopping or be stopped at every shop.
Sign it here.
Stop Press 2: Check out this masker doing a live exercise class for her Instagram followers while the coup in Myanmar unfolds in the background. Doesn’t this just sum up the current state of the world? Narcissists talk to each other on social media, oblivious to the destruction of democratic institutions that’s happening all around them.
The Great Barrington Declaration
The Great Barrington Declaration, a petition started by Professor Martin Kulldorff, Professor Sunetra Gupta and Professor Jay Bhattacharya calling for a strategy of “Focused Protection” (protect the elderly and the vulnerable and let everyone else get on with life), was launched in October and the lockdown zealots have been doing their best to discredit it ever since. If you googled it a week after launch, the top hits were three smear pieces from the Guardian, including: “Herd immunity letter signed by fake experts including ‘Dr Johnny Bananas’.” (Freddie Sayers at UnHerd warned us about this the day before it appeared.) On the bright side, Google UK has stopped shadow banning it, so the actual Declaration now tops the search results – and Toby’s Spectator piece about the attempt to suppress it is among the top hits – although discussion of it has been censored by Reddit. The reason the zealots hate it, of course, is that it gives the lie to their claim that “the science” only supports their strategy. These three scientists are every bit as eminent – more eminent – than the pro-lockdown fanatics so expect no let up in the attacks. (Wikipedia has also done a smear job.)
You can find it here. Please sign it. Now over three quarters of a million signatures.
Update: The authors of the GBD have expanded the FAQs to deal with some of the arguments and smears that have been made against their proposal. Worth reading in full.
Update 2: Many of the signatories of the Great Barrington Declaration are involved with new UK anti-lockdown campaign Recovery. Find out more and join here.
Update 3: You can watch Sunetra Gupta set out the case for “Focused Protection” here and Jay Bhattacharya make it here.
Update 4: The three GBD authors plus Prof Carl Heneghan of CEBM have launched a new website collateralglobal.org, “a global repository for research into the collateral effects of the COVID-19 lockdown measures”. Follow Collateral Global on Twitter here. Sign up to the newsletter here.
Judicial Reviews Against the Government
There are now so many legal cases being brought against the Government and its ministers we thought we’d include them all in one place down here.
The Simon Dolan case has now reached the end of the road. The current lead case is the Robin Tilbrook case which challenges whether the Lockdown Regulations are constitutional. You can read about that and contribute here.
Then there’s John’s Campaign which is focused specifically on care homes. Find out more about that here.
There’s the GoodLawProject and Runnymede Trust’s Judicial Review of the Government’s award of lucrative PPE contracts to various private companies. You can find out more about that here and contribute to the crowdfunder here.
Scottish Church leaders from a range of Christian denominations have launched legal action, supported by the Christian Legal Centre against the Scottish Government’s attempt to close churches in Scotland for the first time since the the Stuart kings in the 17th century. The church leaders emphasised it is a disproportionate step, and one which has serious implications for freedom of religion.” Further information available here.
There’s the class action lawsuit being brought by Dr Reiner Fuellmich and his team in various countries against “the manufacturers and sellers of the defective product, PCR tests”. Dr Fuellmich explains the lawsuit in this video. Dr Fuellmich has also served cease and desist papers on Professor Christian Drosten, co-author of the Corman-Drosten paper which underpins the SARS-CoV-2 PCR test protocol. That paper, which was pivotal to the roll out of mass PCR testing, was submitted to the journal Eurosurveillance on January 21st and accepted following peer review on January 22nd. The paper has been critically reviewed here by Pieter Borger and colleagues, who have also submitted a retraction request.
And last but not least there was the Free Speech Union‘s challenge to Ofcom over its ‘coronavirus guidance’. A High Court judge refused permission for the FSU’s judicial review on December 9th and the FSU has decided not to appeal the decision because Ofcom has conceded most of the points it was making. Check here for details.
Samaritans
If you are struggling to cope, please call Samaritans for free on 116 123 (UK and ROI), email jo@samaritans.org or visit the Samaritans website to find details of your nearest branch. Samaritans is available round the clock, every single day of the year, providing a safe place for anyone struggling to cope, whoever they are, however they feel, whatever life has done to them.
Shameless Begging Bit
Thanks as always to those of you who made a donation in the past 24 hours to pay for the upkeep of this site. Doing these daily updates is hard work (although we have help from lots of people, mainly in the form of readers sending us stories and links). If you feel like donating, please click here. And if you want to flag up any stories or links we should include in future updates, email us here. (Don’t assume we’ll pick them up in the comments.)
And Finally…
Listen to the latest episode of London Calling, Toby and James Delingpole’s podcast, here. This week they discuss the Great Reopening (which was a damp squib in James’s part of the world), mutant variants, summer holidays, the Mauritanian and the Team Sceptics’ victory in the virtual debate at the Cambridge Union.
To join in with the discussion please make a donation to The Daily Sceptic.
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European Emergency: Chaotic Wind & Solar Collapses Threaten Entire Europe-Wide Blackout
https://stopthesethings.com/2021/02/02/european-emergency-chaotic-wind-solar-collapses-threaten-entire-europe-wide-blackout/
Oh yes – saw this in the plan.. a fictitious event which will bring about power cuts causing panic and .. whatever – I’m so done with this ‘let’s scare the masses’ shit – can someone just draw back the curtain to reveal ‘the Wizard’ for the pathetic wimp it/he/they is/are.. 🙏
I got a candle i’m not scared.
Only one way forward to cover future energy needs, nuclear.
You exempt yourself from masks, restrictions etc as you are entitled to do under the 1998 Human Rights Act.This supersedes this recent mickey mouse legislation and acts like a written constitution for us.
Yes it does. In fact for those who may question this, can go the LaworFiction website https://www.laworfiction.com which is an excellent resource on what our actual rights are under this “Coronavirus Act.” As for power cuts, have a few contingency plans for what MAY happen
Here’s something useful:
“In line with government guidance our teams will not be asking for proof of exemption for face coverings and customers who state they are exempt will be allowed into our stores.”
Shop At Lidl
!
The systematic misuse of language around the coronavirus response reveals the dishonesty. None of the key terms are used to mean what they denote. Covid 19 deaths are not people who are known to have died of the disease. One could commit suicide and be counted as a Covid 19 statistic. Cases are not individuals who have symptoms, have been diagnosed and are in receipt of medical treatment; they are merely positive test results from a test that isn’t fit for purpose. Data are not facts, things that have demonstrably happened, but are the outcomes of computer models that are mathematically inevitable results of the starting assumptions. Covid 19 hospital admissions are not people who are suffering from Covid 19 so severely that they have had to be admitted to hospital, but are people in hospital who have at some point tested positive and everyone admitted to hospital is tested and tested. Vaccines are not vaccines. A vaccine confers immunity to the disease, but these products do not. Indeed, the developers merely claim that they can reduce the severity of the symptoms. Honest people do not resort to systematic equivocation.
‘Pandemic’ isn’t what it used to be either.
Or the immune system.
That one was redefined by the WHO to allow them to declare pandemics to include any type of disease not simply killer ones. From mission creep, certainly, from deeper motives waits to be determined.
Depopulation by vaccine is the motive.
I’m still waiting to see when it arrives. Outside seems pretty normal despite what the big box tells me.
Or herd immunity.
The WHO definition of ‘herd immunity’ was changed to assert that it was a state brought about by vaccination rather than natural infection.
Excellent synopsis of the misinformation we get day by day.
Have you sent to your MP and the press?
Excellent summary of this whole shit show. Have copied and saved it, that is, if you don’t mind.
If you are interested there is much more of this on my blog. Here’s an example: https://viewsandstories.blogspot.com/2020/11/coronavirus-responses-examination-of.html
Thanks for this, Steve. I have bookmarked it.
Yes, terminology matters and I’ve been alarmed from the beginning about the abuse of language by so many in the media, government, and international organisations. It is confusing at best and Orwellian at worst.
Definitely deliberate. If they can play fast and loose with the meaning of words, obscuring facts is easy.
On the cause of death point, the ONS has a weekly ‘contributory vs cause of death’ graph for Covid, on the one hand, and flu on the other. It will come as no surprise that the flu is seen as contributory while the Covid deaths are, of course, all caused by it.
5pm today, FB
Unlocked is interviewing Dr Clare Craig, consultant pathologist about the disappearance of flu
People who were never ill are designated as ‘recovered’ when they no longer ‘test positive’.
https://youtu.be/xKPWngYf2Wk
“We have made the assessment that Covid19 CAN be CHARACTERIZED as a pandemic.”
Notice he doesn’t say “is a pandemic”?
Language has been abused from the very beginning!
The language has consistently been in line with the whole of this being a simulation as suggested in two WHO documents- check them out:
https://apps.who.int/gpmb/assets/annual_report/GPMB_annualreport_2019.pdf
https://www.who.int/publications-detail-redirect/9789241580496
Most member countries agreed to participate in a ‘system-wide’ simulation before September 2020.. hard to believe? So is most of this, so WHO knows?!
And the fact it’s not even mentioned in passing, as well the government own HCID status since 19th March. Makes me think the whole damned lot abl are nothing but gatekeepers!
And it would explain the smirking at the briefings and the total overreaction to the slightest variant- they’re keeping in mind the idea of what this might be, as you would in a simulation of a deadly biohazard, and not what it actually is (seasonal flu)
The whole thing is a scam (simulation) on behalf of certain globalists, but with the very serious aim of bringing about a massive population reduction. This to be brought about by the means of lethal injection masquerading as vaccination.
And of course you are right, Covid-19 is nothing more than extensively and expensively repackaged seasonal flu. That being said, they have the capacity and the will to introduce something much more deadly, should it suit their purposes.
although they would need to solve the problem of how to protect themselves and their loved ones from that -bit risky. we are dealing with selfish cowards, don’t forget
Cor, sounds like we will get some great novels out of all this!
I reckon we could eventually have a whole genre of filums, maybe 2 or 3?
Wow! I’ve never ever seen 100 upticks before! Congrats. 👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏
Who are these honest people, apart from ourselves?
Great Post. I would only add “science” is not a single point of view. It is a consensus bought about by rigorous debate and by testing. No theory should be bought to the public without it standing up to scrutiny and experiment. If it does not stand up to these tests or insist on no debate or experiment its not science its just someone’s opinion.
The responses to the coronavirus are not scientific; they are pseudoscience. https://viewsandstories.blogspot.com/2020/10/coronavirus-pseudoscience.html
Scrutiny is now illegal.
In some ways, committing suicide should be considered a Covid19 case, as well as depression, child abuse, domestic violence, incarceration and other adverse reactions to this clown show.
The Institute for Statecraft and The Integrity Iniative, among other groups, were instrumental in subverting Jeremy Corbyn’s bid to become Prime Minister of Britain.
Sound familiar?
Decidedly unfunny clown show.
They’re mockdown cases.
It’s a form of newspeak.
Expect more news on this later…
Report out last night suggesting that the aspect of the South African variant that is causing concern has also been found to have occurred spontaneously several times in this country.
Not clear what implications that has at this stage.
Funny,the good old Kent strain just doesn’t cut the mustard anymore and as for the Brazilian it’s like a fading pop star.
All deflection tactics as they are busy killing elderly people with the new potions.
I suppose they’ll manage to make sure Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II doesn’t die from the vaccine? (Though what odds it would come out if she did?)
Surely the same variant can’t occur spontaneously in different places?
Annie – The same specific adaptation can occur. I did not post the link in my post as it not that easy to understand. Here it is
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/957504/Variant_of_Concern_VOC_202012_01_Technical_Briefing_5_England.pdf
Detection of E484K mutation in B.1.1.7 VOC 202012/01
The COG-UK dataset (total sequences 214,159) was analysed on 26/01/2021. The spike protein mutation E484K (found in VOC 202012/02 B1.351 and VOC 202101/02 P1) has been detected in 11 B1.1.7 sequences. Preliminary information suggests more than one acquisition event.
Heck, I’m glad somebody understands this! Sounds like winning the lottery to me. Perhaps I should buy a ticket!
What exactly is causing concern in a variant that not shown to be more infectious or more virulent?
RNA viruses replicate badly and create multiple variations very rapidly. Why have we picked on Kent, Brazilian and SA as causes for concern?
The thought of operatives turning up on the doorstep with test kits is sinister to say the least.
I know many of us here think the present Secretary of State is just chasing positive numbers at all costs and who can blame us for thinking that in the circumstance?
Kent was supposedly an issue because apparently it spread faster/easier somehow.
Is SA supposedly an issue because it won’t work with the vaccines? I lose track…
As my partner summed it up this morning “it’s like they’re chasing shadows”.
They are chasing shadows
‘RNA viruses replicate badly and create multiple variations very rapidly. Why have we picked on Kent, Brazilian and SA as causes for concern?’.
Yes indeed. I think this shows how desperate the propagandists are getting. Trouble is coming over the horizon for them in the shape of vaccine deaths.
not exactly ‘trouble’ as it’s their goal; a ”challenge’ perhaps yes, but I’m sure they can pull it off
anything to do with Astrazeneca trialling their vaccine in these 3 locations?
Was think really the verb you were looking for in that last sentence?
With my flu vaccine-hating tin foil hat on, (which I have recently added the covid vaccine and the Pfizer dna thingy to), I’d say that it’s going to have something to do with either the flu vaccine or the new AZ (actual proper, if completely untested and known to be fatal), vaccine.
They’re lying through their teeth, on steroids ?
Every time I hear any govt pronouncement about CV all I get is an image of Canute.
They must need to increase positive numbers for some reason, if you’re healthy and get tested you have blood on your hands.
Do you mean Cnut?
No I mean the tale we were told in school in the 70’s. Cnut, I believe, was a real person.
Boris is a complete cnut
Canute/Cnut are the same name, aren’t they ?
YES.
Yeah, but get one letter wrong and you can get ‘Cutn’, Can’tue?
Why only healthy? If you have symptoms of covid, cold, flu etc just stay out of everyone’s way. There is no need to get tested.
According to Wikipedia:
‘In the story, Canute demonstrates to his flattering courtiers that he has no control over the elements (the incoming tide), explaining that secular power is vain compared to the supreme power of God. The episode is frequently alluded to in contexts where the futility of “trying to stop the tide” of an inexorable event is pointed out, but usually misrepresenting Canute as believing he had supernatural powers, when Huntingdon’s story in fact relates the opposite.’
Boris is just trying to demonstrate his impotence and humility?
For Anglicans particularly, but also for Christians and people of good will everywhere, the Irreverend Jamie speaks about the churches’ new cult of Living Death:
https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/irreverend-faith-and-current-affairs/id1528967755#episodeGuid=Buzzsprout-7607383
https://off-guardian.org/2021/02/01/locusts/
Catte Black’s allegory is so simple perhaps even Valance and Whitty, Hancock and Gove, Piers Morgan and all the rest will be able to understand it. But I am not going to hold my breath.
The Priests are not for turning. Why would they?
Clever, but needs to be much shorter to be effective….
Run as many hares as you can
Morning Children. Today we will be looking through the square window
Who is through the window children?
Why it’s smiling Ted Bundey the serial killer
Ted loves telling fairy stories
Today the fairy story is about a South African Monster that will kill you all
Ted you look a little sad today. What’s that? You think you may stand trial for genocide and crimes against humanity. Oh dear not to worry, we can get someone to replace you
Its worth remembering that Ferguson’s own model predicts lockdowns increase the total number of covid deaths
https://www.ed.ac.uk/news/2020/shutting-schools-increases-covid-19-deaths-study-f
“General social distancing is predicted to reduce the number of cases, but increase the total number of deaths when compared with social distancing being practiced by the over 70’s only. “
I’m 72 and I don’t social distance, I leave that to the sheep and collaborators.
You are killing granny and grandad..oh wait..Sorry, carry on
I am a granddad (2 teenage granddaughters who haven’t killed me or Mrs F P yet).
“In the short term, closing schools contributed to reducing the severity of the first wave, to the extent that Nightingale hospitals were not needed, but the decision has left us more vulnerable to subsequent waves of infection.
“Mitigating a Covid-19 epidemic requires very different strategies for different age groups and a different strategy from an influenza epidemic, with more focus on shielding elderly and vulnerable people.”
Seems to me that this strongly supports the GBD strategy.
and its good that respected academics are saying it. just a shame it hasn’t filtered through to the decision makers yet
the lockdown approach is only of value in stopping the overwhelming of the NHS. When that has been achieved, continuing it increases the number of deaths.
we should never have locked down anyway and certainly not when the NHS is ‘out of danger’
it is imperative we now open up as quickly as possible to save lives
Imagine what the NHS could be like if the amount of money spent on the lockdowns and furlough had been spent on the NHS and people to run it properly and the country had just carried on.
It is up to us to end lockdown. The ‘government’ will continue indefinitely to find reasons for Lockdowns and more humiliation. We need 20 or 30% of the population to ignore the rules asap.
The link:
https://viewsandstories.blogspot.com/2020/11/coronavirus-responses-examination-of.html
referred in a post above might be helpful in identifying options and understanding legal ramifications.
They deliberately chose a policy of keeping ICU admissions as low as possible. They were never too concerned about the number of deaths.
Back in spring 2020, lockdown sceptics argued that lockdown measures were disproportionate. There is now a growing body of evidence, as cited here, that lockdowns are far worse than this: they achieve no benefit whatsoever and lead directly to many untimely deaths, not to mention all the harm done to personal freedom and economic well-being. However much they deny it, the proponents of lockdowns have blood on their hands; trying to make the same accusation against lockdown skeptics does nothing to change that. Ratherm the attempts to discredit and silence the skeptics merely adds to their guilt by showing that they are acting dishonestly.
True.
They will be brought to judgment.
Their guilt is colossal, apocalyptic, undeniable.
There will be a reckoning.
Blood has its price.
“They will be brought to judgment….”
Absolutely. The psychopathic parasites are over-reaching. Those behind this most audacious jwo control / cull attempt will be hanged from bridges. Good people are extremely angry. The cycle is reversing.
Not they won’t, you’re dreaming or deluded if you think that. They’ll be in the house of lords living it up all their fucking days for the good job they did
Yes, this! I have been saying this since June
I’ve been saying this since Tony Blair
Agreed. It would be nice to think there will be a reckoning but I doubt it.
When there is eventually an inquiry there might be some fun to be had watching the politicians and their ‘scientific’ advisers throwing each other under the bus, but what I think will happen when/if the madness ends, is that knighthoods and gongs will be handed out to those deemed to have ‘saved’ us all.
Not if they are stupid enough to take the “vaccines” they are pushing.
Sadly, I suspect you’re right. I’m painfully aware of the Hillsborough tragedy, 30 year wait for a slap on the wrist for one or two people, the toll it took onits victims, the suspicions of masonic police protecting their own.
I suspect the people responsible for this shambles are quite good at protecting themselves.
Turn the facts against the covidians, 100,000 died (so they say) clearly lockdown hasn’t worked.
That is a dangerous strategy as they will always answer ‘100,00 more would have died without it!’ and you have had to accept their absurd claim that testing positive on a PCR test means you are ill.
Argue back that the excess deaths have been caused by the lockdowns and other restrictions. There is much mileage there.
Just divide uk population size by the annual deaths and you will realise the rate is normal. This is mass brainwashing.
What also concerns me is that any supposed benefit lockdowns have lasts only as long as the lockdown goes on (we know they don’t have a benefit, but we are told they do).
But the negative effects of lockdown continue – the NHS cannot catch up, businesses cannot recoup lost revenue, closed businesses cannot just reopen. These negative effects will continue long after the lockdown has ended. The long term harm is far greater than any benefit we are being told lockdowns have.
I was opposed to lockdown from the start, but after the first three weeks it should never have been repeated – it was a mistake then, but surely it’s deliberate now.
Yes it is deliberate. The lockdowns and other senseless restrictions are part of the preparatory ground work for the WEF’s Great Reset and UN Agenda 30, both of which require the elimination of small businesses as well as most of the global population.
The population at large are being gaslighted for being scientific illiterates.
“….mutation is a humdrum aspect of life for an RNA virus. Because these viruses employ an intrinsically error-prone RNA polymerase for replication, their genomes will accumulate mutations during every copying cycle. Moreover, these cycles can occur on the order of hours, ensuring that a diverse virus population will be generated within a single infected host.”
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41564-020-0690-4
The same virus can mutate into many different forms in one person.
The South African variant is total bollocks!!
Do you like vegetables?
And unto Wuhan/Hu-1/2019 was born Wuhan/WIV04/2019: and Wuhan/WIV04/2019 begat Thailand/NIH-59/2020: and Thailand/NIH-59/2020 begat Vietnam/19-02S/2020: and Vietnam/19-02S/2020 begat Japan/OS-20-07-1/2020 and… (ed. OK, OK that’s enough now)
South Korea: Population 52m PCR Test Cycle threshold 35: Covid 19 cases 78000
Deaths 1425
Taiwan Population 24m PCR Test Cycle threshold 35: Covid 19 cases 911
Deaths 8
Britain Population 65m PCR Cycle Test threshold 40 Covid 19 cases 3.8m
Deaths 106,000
Because:
‘This implies that for every one-unit increase in Ct, the odds of a positive culture decreased by 36%’
https://www.cebm.net/study/predicting-infectious-sars-cov-2-from-diagnostic-samples/
So the massive number of UK covid 19 mortalities is largely, if not entirely, explained by unhelpful government interventions. particularly high PCR test cycle rates, hopelessly inaccurate death registration processes and hospital clearances/lockdowns.
This debacle, probably the largest international medical scandal ever witnessed, will become obvious once a further review (in the light of detailed criticisms) of the ‘PCR Test’ paper written by Drosten et al published in ‘Eurosurveillance’ Jan 2020, at the heart of the PCR test lunacy, has been published.
That was promised by end January 2021……two days ago…..and counting………
I think for many, probably including most in Government, we have not been used to looking at data on deaths and mortality and so we do not have a reference point from which to view what is currently happening. Death is, of course, an emotive issue and many, again appallingly many in Government, have failed to look beyond the emotive. I was interested in this chart put up on twitter, I have no idea of the source but it looks generally OK, showing that if you rank recent years for deaths, 2020 is the 35th least worst year. https://twitter.com/js100js100/status/1356281451180924929 I think what Covid did manage to do was have a good PR agent and managed to cause a few high profile unexpected deaths that played right into the hands of all those who only view deaths from an emotive view-point. The core fault in all this lies, in my view, entirely with Government who completely failed to do what people at the top level should do and step back and take an overall balanced realistic strategic view of what is happening and develop policies accordingly. They have tackled a major matter of Government with the micro-management style applicable to running… Read more »
How I wish the government of this country could be run as well as a Marks and Spencer’s sock counter.
The great thing about an M&S sock counter is that it is unmanned. As Belgium discovered 2010/11, unmanned government offices often perform a great deal better.
They followed the playbook for the agenda.
I would have thought, after the UKColumn release yesterday, suggesting that the increase in deaths amoungst over 80’s immediately after receiving their experinental gene therapy treatment (I refuse to call it a vaccine), was due to immune system suppression for about 7 days after, questions would at least have been asked about it ATL.
Or is the subject so contravertial that asking such a question places the entire site’s existence at risk, which us why tte media in general aren’t asking questions about a quadrupaling of deaths in care homes sinde December.
https://www.ukcolumn.org/ukcolumn-news/uk-column-news-1st-february-2021 for those that missed it.
Richy, I made a comment about this earlier, but for some reason that seems to have disappeared. Is the LS site now being targetted for censorship?
Anyway my point was that this news presents us sceptics with an ideal opportunity to redirect the narrative. Assuming this is all true and that the government are actively denying it, then we need to get this story out there. To everyone we know. This is not a covid-denier or anti-lockdown story. This is just a plain old lying government story, trying to cover up awkward news. If people start to see that then its not much a leap for them to start questioning everything else they believe the government are saying. And a bad news story about vaccines is good news.
So, how do we spread this story far and wide??
But the trouble is , its a case of ‘they are old’ and are at risk of dying anyway. Just as was said on UK Column yesterday, well you dont say that when they die of Covid – ‘oh they were old and were probably going to die anyway’ – no its ‘oh my God, we must close down the country to save the older generation’. Its all rather odd.
……unless you accept that our government is trying to kill us. then you will find that it all falls into place and is completely coherent
I find it increasingly hard to reject the conspiracy theory that this ‘mishandling’ of the pandemic is convenient, since it is mainly killing off the aged. The outcome really is a ‘win-win’ for all governments, but particularly ours considering the always increasing cost of the NHS.
Ever improved treatments (many involving great cost) are increasing our physical longevity, whilst advances in mental care and treatment are lagging, leading to higher levels of dementia. So, the NHS has a widening ‘product range’ of costly treatments and social care has to expand to cope with increasing levels of dementia. Added to this, the increased longevity is bankrupting the National Insurance scheme with pensions paid out for longer periods. Our welfare state is fast becoming unaffordable.
This might also explain why well-understood prophylactic strategies (dietary supplements vitamins C & D and Zinc) and early treatments (Ivermectin) have been eschewed, since they are being shown to significantly improve outcomes at all age levels. Makes you think ….
The old and the obese. Given that obesity correlates closely with poverty, it’s the economic drains that are being targeted. One might think that the virus had been designed that way.
One of my earlier January posts disappeared. Think it was the mention of the Israeli – Pfizer contract that allows participants data to be shared. The citizens are not being informed that this is an experimental treatment. Over 12,000 at the time has been tested positive.
I don’t believe this experimental vaccine is anything of the sort. I have been anguishing over it’s true purpose but as yet not come to any real conclusions. One thing it isn’t and that’s to save you from this fake virus.
I still believe the greatest human cull is underway and that this poison could be used to lower your immune system.
Once you agree to have it, it’s every year from then on. What will next year’s update jab have in it, and the year after that? Agree to this and it’s your life in their hands indefinitely. Which is why I will refuse it now.
The Pandemic Podcast with Dan Gregory has also picked up and is investigating the spike in ‘all cause mortality’ of the over 80’s in January. The correlation to the roll out of the vaccine is extremely worrying.
But how to get this story maintstream? There must be at least one opposition MP looking to make his/her name in embarrassing the government for covering up this story. This is a simple flame ready to be fanned into a much bigger fire.
If the trend continues into the 50 to 79 age group, then it almost certainly will gain traction and be impossible to ignore.
Its quite likely its already there. Plenty of anecdotal tales already of scary reactions to the pfizer one.
just you watch how they will spin it, ‘the deadly new timbuctoo strain which is targeting younger people’ – and the morons will just lap it up, rolling up their sleeves all the more eagerly
20% of care workers have refused it. We won’t be told how many others are refusing it, obviously, but not everyone is just rolling over.
The MHRA has dismissed claims that excess deaths were caused by the vaccine saying their ‘…. surveillance does not suggest that the Covid-19 vaccines have contributed to any deaths.’ But it is difficult to see how these claims can be dismissed without autopsies etc, which I suspect have not been performed. Is there mileage in a FoI request asking MHRA for documents relating to their ‘surveillance’?
The Romsey Advertiser article relating to deaths in a care home is here:
https://www.romseyadvertiser.co.uk/news/basingstoke/19045127.pemberley-house-care-home-deaths-not-related-vaccine/
A very good contribution by a highly qualified doctor Schmidt-Krueger from Germany, Coronaausschuss recently, suggests that an autopsy would not be able to identify the vaccine as a cause of death.
The vaccine can cause a sudden severe drop of the body to make use of oxygen. This cannot be proven in an autopsy.
Yes, but there is surely still something to be investigated?
Dolores Cahill suggests that it depends upon which organs of the body are attacked.
MRHA is a big pharma organisation isn’t it?
As has Joel Smalley in his recent review of the all cause death stats, although he is careful not to draw conclusion he does state vaccine roll out as being notable at the same time as deaths started to spike.
You should be jailed for making such ludicrous statements like that. The vaccine is totally safe and will help save humanity from the cold
Do we have any idea if this is an effect of all the vaccines or is it just some specific ones that seem to be implicated?
Indeed when you go for a vaccination do you have any option as to which vaccine you have? and indeed once vaccinated are you told which one was used?
I believe it’s the Pfizer one
You get whatever they have in stock but yes, they do tell you which one .
shut up and make a fist, you impudent man, do we tell the cattle which vaccine they’re having? do we give them a choice?
you are seeing the roll-out of the genocide. in around 1 year it will be complete: https://www.bitchute.com/video/XKkLs0IYlGWf/
In Saudi women are masked, in China, all people. In Yorkshire, some of us say ‘Foxtrot Romeo Oscar’.
The chinese are only masked because they have been told to, just like all rest. I was looking af photos I took back in 2017 in Shanghai and Hong Kong and playing spot the face mask was like playing Where’s Waldo. Except there wasn’t a Waldo in my pictures.
Pre-Covid Asians only wore masks when actually sick, not all the time!
True however in Japan there has been a growing trend even before Covid of young people wearing masks when they “feel ugly” or “don’t feel good” which many mental health experts are sounding the alarm over the rise of a generation of socially maladjusted people.
I take your point, but looking at videos of Japanese city life pre-covid you still see hardly any masks.
I think there has been a propaganda drive in the West to use alleged Asian mask-wearing to try and normalize it here.
I have been to China in January – presumably flu season – and saw hardly anyone in a mask. The use of masks in Chinese cities, when they were worn at all hitherto, was for reasons of air pollution – not health.
Agree. When I went to Japan back in 2017 there was hardly anyone wearing masks and those young people I mentioned above are in a minority and I suspect have mental health issues.
I used to work in HK and Shanghai..People only wore masks during the hay fever season and in Shanghai sometimes because it was to polluted to even breath safely.On a normal day you could count mask wearers on one hand on a crowded public transport.
More depressing stuff in the ATL today, the attempts to make lockdown etc permanent is non stop despite plummeting figures. Thinking about my church where I am one of the stewards on the property committee. In the early days we assumed all would be sorted by August time and folks were happy to continue their regular payments on that premise. But since last March we have had just three, poorly attended, services in the building. Everything else has been Zoom which some seem to accept as the ‘new normal’. But churches like ours, with buildings which have running costs and maintenance, don’t grow on trees. Sooner or later they have to accept the inevitable and close for good. Members will cancel their direct debits, especially those not equipped for Zoom. Ours seems to be managing at the moment with a good balance but it can’t go on for ever. Other churches may already have closed. Why don’t people get in their heads that this nonsense simply cannot go on for ever, virus or not?
Lyrics for today.
I never knew so many bad times
Could follow me so mercilessly
It’s almost surreal
All the pain that I feel
The future ain’t what it used to be
It doesn’t matter what they’re thinking
It doesn’t matter what they’re thinking of me
It’s always so cold
I’m to young to be old
The future ain’t what it used to be
(The Future Ain’t what it used to be. – Jim Steinman, Pandora’s Box.)
Although from the bbc website, this is of great concern but not unexpected. 10 year olds self harming https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-55864573
Who is it that has blood on their hands?
Stating the obvious as though they had just discovered the phenomenon as yesterday when R2 revealed that elderly residents of nursing homes in isolation for months on end are likely to have compromised immune systems and that family visits should be resumed to combat this.
Note the phrase in the child mental health report children are perplexingly immune from Covid themselves.
Nothing perplexing about it at all.
The actress Ruthie Hensall posted a very sad photo of her mother on Twitter pointing out that she barely interacted with her throughout the video call and looked like a former shell of herself.
It’s criminal what they’re doing to our people and those who still think we should lockdown and accuse us of being selfish for “not following da roolz” needs to go away and examine themselves in the mirror.
And, right on cue, the BBC reports this shocking and deeply disturbing development is because of ‘muh pAnDeMiC’, rather than the response to it.
How did we get to this level of cowardice & feebleness! On both sides there seems to be incredible levels of fragility & exaggeration. How have Homo sapiens managed to survive thus far? Little more than 100 years ago we still relied on whale oil for lighting, steam engines for long distance travel, Horses were our main method of transport, there was no genome surveillance, smart phones or airliners, no weekend breaks to southern Europe. We had to wade through a daily sludge of pathogens & bacteria making our immune systems stronger with every exposure. Children played outdoors in the mud & were happy playing with a few tree nuts & exploring the world. Many children never went to school, a fair number of people had no place called home & lived day to day with no fridges full of convenience food, there weren’t numerous fast food outlets to turn our caffeine dosed bodies into human lard. Come 21st century a health & safety culture has taken over our lives, we’ve stopped living, afraid of nature, we have people literally afraid to breath fresh air & consider every other human an infection risk and homicidal maniac. Others go into mental… Read more »
‘on both sides’? stop trying to be even-handed. The OTHER side are nazis, fascists, scum, collaborators, satanists…. stop talking like they deserve a fair hearing or something. the only thing they deserve is outright condemnation and censure.
Not sure that level of emotion will help in the future, you wouldn’t treat the mentally ill, disabled or infants that way. The covidians are just infantilized socialists, they’ve been trained, conditioned into not thinking or relying for/on themselves.
Find some charity, because if/when this group lunacy ends grudges wont make life any easier & there are hard times coming appreciate what you have now.
I agree – it’s Good vs Evil.
Why?
Because one side is trying to create conditions which make a fulfilled human life impossible, whereas the other is trying to stop them.
Sometimes ironic that we call it “progress”!
The BBC website informs us that dear old Captain Tom is currently in Bedford Hospital with Covid (discovered after being admitted with pneumonia) and that his family are with him at this time.
Hold on ! Alex Belfied asks what’s so exceptional about Captain Tom that he can have family visits when some people can’t even go to their loved ones funeral?
So normal pneumonia is now Covid? Is air now carbon?
Environmentalists would agree with that statement. They fail to notice that the 2 zeros and the decimal point in the atmospheric percentage of co2 come before the figure 4 instead of after it.
I’m not sure what the policy actually is on visiting at the moment. My wife’s grandfather passed away in hospital about 2 weeks ago, and she and some other relatives were able to visit him without any problems at all (on the COVID ward no less!). On the other hand, I hear plenty of stories about people finding it really difficult to be able to see sick relatives.
Is it a case of individual staff members/hospitals setting their own rules again, like we sometimes see in the supermarkets with masks?
I’ve read of visits being facilitated at the very end. The overhead of getting everybody safely PPE’d is considerable (the discussion about whether he has pneumonia with a false positives Covid test is another matter).
I have mixed feelings; if it is near the end for Sir Tom, then that is very sad but not unexpected in a 100 year old.
Some friends of ours have been prevented from visiting their daughter in a HOSPICE without getting a lateral flow test. That they have to source themselves. What lunacy that they think that the terminally ill would rather live a few more days/weeks than spend precious time with their family.
Name of the hospice, SBC ?
I shall try to find out discretely…it’s in Warwickshire so there’s not too many.
I noticed this too.
The plebs have to stay locked in their homes for the foreseeable, but Captain Tom is allowed to go to Barbados for a holiday.
The plebs have to die alone in hospital, while Captain Tom is allowed his family around him.
Of course, as an anti-lockdowner, I very much support Captain Tom going on holiday and having his family in hospital, but it’s the hypocrisy that gets me. If he gets to enjoy these privileges, then so should we. Enough of this special treatment for celebrities.
The hypocrisy is everywhere. A few days ago on Classic FM there was an advert for fast food delivery which announced a discount , with a double discount for NHS workers bcause of the” way they suport the community “. What’s wrong with that you ask? Well surely the people wjho need any discount going are the people who have lost jobs and businesses by supporting (albeit involuntarily) the community by closing their shops and workshops or accepting without rioting the permanent loss of their jobs Meanwhile NHS workers continue to be paid regardless of the pressure on them (which from anecdotes here is far less than the BBC et al claim).
And to add to that Poppy, how much do you want to bet that even though he has ‘tested positive for COVID’ (we all know he’s in there for pneumonia), there is no way in a billion years they’d have put him in a COVID ward. Nope, bet ya he’s in a nice cosy private room…..and I do think he’s a great guy but the hypocrisy gets me too!
It’s another example of one rule for them another one for us.
Don’t get me wrong, I don’t begrudge Captain Tom for his time in the sun and having his family around but is this because he’s a national treasure, WW2 vet & knight of the realm? Other people aren’t as lucky as he is, witness Ruthie Hensall’s mother and Ruthie’s inability to visit her.
Sad to say that this is like the Soviet Union all over again. We’ve seen this back as far as April last year when the freebies, gifts, discounts and priority shopping hours for the NHS staff started. Captain Tom is simply the apotheosis of this new nomenklatura.
Please don’t mention this person again until he dies, then i’ll
celebratecommiserate.I understand that family visitors are allowed if the patient is near death.
Poor Tom, fought for freedom and ended up being used by fascists to destroy the very freedom he fought for.
He was a willing tool.
You are allowed visitors at ‘end of life’.
Captain Tom has just sadlidied…
How lockdown mimic the actions of occupation by a hostile foreign power. · The use of collective punishments. Occupiers often used collective punishments against entire groups eg burning down towns and villages in retaliation for actions by resistance groups. · The entire UK population are being punished for being infectious disease spreaders and lockdown laws apply to the whole population. The entire UK population has been subject to collective punishment. · Using tactics to undermine resistance. Occupying powers would use brutal tactics against resistance movements eg jailing, killing and torture. The British government has banned protests of more than two people. Every effort is to made to prevent interaction between people. People are not allowed to have visitors in their homes or are limited who they can have in their homes. Places where people meet and socialise such as theatres, nightclubs, churches, pubs, festivals and restaurants are closed. Furlough is used a financial incentive to prevent people getting angry over loosing livelihoods · Travel bans are imposed. When Europe was occupied by the Nazis, travel restrictions were placed on citizens. In Britain people can’t travel abroad. We are encouraged to travel only a short distance from our homes. In Wales there is a ban on non essential travel from outside Wales. · Using divide and rule… Read more »
“In Britain people can’t travel abroad. We are encouraged to travel only a short distance from our homes. In Wales there is a ban on non essential travel from outside Wales.”
Not if you play footie the short wearing egos can fly, drive across borders, play with no diapers or distancing on the fields. Go where they like across borders. Is this Soviet Russia? One rule for the elite and the Bread N Circuses circuit. Another for us the peasantry. You can fly into the UK from Wuhan and do what you want (does anyone believe that hotel quarantines are enforced? how?). But if you drive from Gloucestershire to Wales and back…ho ho ho…murderer, spreader, fascist.
“ Currently, the only South African restrictions are a ban on the sale of alcohol… closed beaches, … closed state schools… and a 9pm curfew. “
The ONLY restrictions?? Not to mention compulsory masking outdoors as I understand it.
Well it is bad but I think that the writer was demonstrating that the Gov are implementing contradictory restrictions based on the things within their control and that life otherwise continues as normal as a matter of survival/privilege.
And why close the beaches? Don’t see the point of that unless you’re doing an extreme lockdown of the Wuhan or Melbourne variety…
Because they CAN. that’s the point of the article. They can’t stop economic activity because they don’t have the sort of currency whereby the Chancellor can just print billions, and without that ridiculous Magic Money Tree people will simply starve. Hunger is more powerful than any social distancing regulations. They can close the beaches because it mainly stops fun and gives an illusion of control still.
In a post under yesterday’s top comment, I described LS as “just a news aggregator for the most sceptical mainstream media pieces,” and made a (poor) joke about the site eventually changing its name to reflect a more balanced view on lockdowns. The post was admittedly tongue in cheek, but I’d like to expand on it a little if I may. Firstly, I owe Toby Young an enormous amount of gratitude. I stumbled upon this site around May last year whilst seeking answers to many things concerning the “pandemic” that weren’t making sense to me. Lo and behold, I had discovered a treasure trove of sceptical content – I began to voraciously digest every inch of the daily updates, researching the science and meaning behind the terms that have now become firmly embedded into our vocabularies – “asymptomatic,” “false positives,” “T-cell immunity.” I felt alive, brimming with purpose as one of the few who had peeked behind the curtain and realised the magnitude of the scam that was unfolding across the globe. It was just Toby doing the updates back then – an effort which must have taken many hours out of his day. He could have sat on his… Read more »
As I said about Drumpf – you can’t appease fascists. You won’t mollify fake news. You will not become friends with those who hate you. You simply need to destroy them. LD fascists are indeed little totalitarian arselings who need to meet the business edge of a sword.
Well said. I have been feeling the same lately and have only been visiting the site out of habit. I’ve said it before but it is really the comments I come to the site for now, the updates have become to generic since the vaccine roll out and don’t seem to question the narrative to any great degree.
I scroll through the newsletter too but am mostly drawn to great references to journals like John Ioannidis’ new article in BMJ which Toby put up yesterday. In it the world’s most renowned epidemiologist argues for shielding or focussed protection – surely Sage members cannot get away with calling him ‘an outlier’?
Thank you for taking the time to compose a post that mirrors my thoughts (and hopefully thousands of others) exactly. It is so infuriating to witness the vast majority taken in by this rubbish- an issue that has been discussed in articles on here and BLT especially, on many occasions. I can only see two ways out of this. First, is if a sizeable number of people (say, at least 40%) quietly and even discretely began to disregard the “rules”. It can even be a token gesture, but if enough people were to collectively indicate they have had enough, the PTB would soon get the message. You can forget any sort of organised mass uprising or spontaneous wake up call. The will of the British people is a shadow of what it once was. Second, is to merely allow this political kamikaze mission to continue to fruition i.e. the complete destruction of the economy and the very way of life we all accepted as normal only a year ago. Only then would there be a glimmer of light that would allow the people (a.k.a. the plebs, proletariats or better still, slaves) to somehow remove and replace a system we all… Read more »
Some good points here – I’ve been a regular reader since day one but haven’t posted before. Toby’s efforts have been outstanding and we should be a little wary of condemning this site (above the line) for not always being sufficiently hard-line – personally I think the site strengthens the lockdown case by giving the opposing point of view a fair hearing, which is more than the zealots ever do. London Calling listeners know full well that Toby is wary of going too far “down the rabbit hole” – this may make him overly cautious in his editorial line but I understand his reticence and I do think there is a risk in undermining the anti-lockdown case by being too open to some of the more far out claims and theories (but then again… we live in such bizarre times that I’m increasingly willing to countenance perspectives that I might have quickly dismissed in the past; when everyday life feels like a Philip K Dick novel the “conspiracy theories” start to make more sense than the official, mainstream narrative). Even if the site just blandly summarized the latest developments, with a mildly sceptical flavour, I would still find it worthwhile,… Read more »
I meant to say “strengthens the anti-lockdown case by giving the opposing point of view a fair hearing…”
I would challenge you to rethink this line of reasoning. I get where you come from and there was a time I agreed with this (I even deleted comments in a moderator capacity) but I saw the effects of this too. You’re simply giving an inch and they take a foot. I am now convinced that we shouldn’t be busy undermining or overmining our case. We should all speak our minds as we see things, without holding back. Some will go as far as Toby, some will go much farther, to each its own. Everyone should be allowed to say what they think, regardless of how the stupefied, brainwashed, easily offended masses will take it. I don’t think our salvation will come from their conversion anyway. Our salvation will come from enough of us, plus those on the sidelines. We shouldn’t aim to make converts of the zealots, we should aim to give voice to as many of us, or of the undecided, as possible.
Not too many zealots on here, but there the usual forays by the paid government trolls, such as the braindead 77th Brigade.
I really appreciate your comment. I’ve read here from the beginning and I’ve been seeing the tone shift in the updates as this became larger. I can’t say I didn’t see it coming; I expected it would happen, although I missed Toby’s humor and acerbic way of putting things. It was also nice to feel like we knew this bloke who put this together. Now it’s more impersonal. But all of this is understandable and I’m too jaded to be upset about it. HOWEVER, I am talking only above the line. The main attraction of this site is the comment forum and by goodness, I hope the forum doesn’t similarly crack. I’ll be heartbroken if it will. I know how that tends to go. Suddenly there is a focus on “balance” and “respectability” and on “being palatable to newcomers” and on not being offensive and on being rational or avoiding some sort of cancelling. Whatever the line, it’s all bullshit. Bullshit meant to make us police each other while the other camp gets to go full crazy on their positions. It’s funny that the sane people are always forced to temper their passion and convictions while the unhinged… Read more »
Excellent post.
The NZ symposium is not free, it’s $NZ15, which I’d happily pay. However I won’t be able to watch that day.
There is a free version but I will be paying for my ticket or making a donation to Plan B. I wish that Jonathan had put that. Plan B are a small, hardworking bunch and we should support them.
https://www.covidplanb.co.nz/symposium2021/ The free one is from 2020, which was great. If you follow the link it says $15 https://www.eventbrite.co.nz/e/covid-19-symposium-2021-zoom-livestream-webinar-tickets-135599713393
Because I have supported covidplanB, I was offered a ticket before the general public and it was for $15.
The livestream will be free but the webinar won’t be. The 2020 one was great, I emailed LS to include it and they posted Dr Sunetra Gupta’s part.
What’s the difference between the livestream and the webinar?
‘Participating in the webinar means you can engage with other freethinkers from around the world, including big names in addition to the presenters. You can ask questions of presenters, participate in our surveys, and share what you know’.
It would be a closed group like a Zoom conference where you can type questions. It says that the livestream will be ‘non-participation’.
Thank you. I’ll take part in one of these ways. It’s the closest thing us Aussies have to a local skeptical voice.
I think we should focus on arguments and proofs to uncover the current hoax, the responsibility of individuals in government and SAGE, to make them pay for their stupidity and the damage inflicted on people and economy. Numbers of deaths, vaccinations, tests, and so on are just a side show.
Tyburn Tree is lonely.
Somewhere in England.
https://twitter.com/ZNeveri/status/1356320463593594880?s=09
The absurdity of “Act like you’ve got it”. Made me laugh.
NHS website;
Munchausen’s syndrome is a psychological disorder where someone pretends to be ill or deliberately produces symptoms of illness in themselves.
Their main intention is to assume the “sick role” so that people care for them and they are the centre of attention.
It’s also when a mother pretends her child is sick and puts them through tests, treatments and operations they don’t need. You can apply this to kids in masks
I think that’s Munchausen’s By Proxy.
They don’t have two brain cells to rub together (and that’s between them)
Above line. Based on these findings, it is those promoting lockdowns who are killing people, not those expressing reservations. But I would never accuse lockdown advocates of being murderers because such emotive hyperbole is not conducive to sensible debate.
Toby Young
Wrong. LDs have murdered 45.000 people. They will murder another 50 K. They have wiped out normal society, education, interactions and humanity.
LD fascists are just that – fascists. Made up data, fake science, intolerant totalitarians. Now they want triple diapers, ass swabs to humiliate you, mandatory tests and vaxx’s – and lots of both.
Tell these fascists to f**k off.
The British LD alone will have killed 4 Million people in the 3rd world when this is over, the German one 5 Million.
Me thinks one MUST talk about this.
Julius Ruechel’s article nails this.
Interesting poll on YouTube from TalkRadio
https://www.youtube.com/post/UgwKD8KXbmSeg2oGhCt4AaABCQ
With the fast vaccine roll out, should the UK end all Covid restrictions in March?
69% say yes after 26k votes
TalkRadio generally seems to attract more sceptics than not
YT have taken the page down
It’s loading for me right now, just voted
Just worked for me.
Same here
Three cheers for Uppingham School. My sons attended and it has given them an excellent start. Am in touch with their former housemaster and before Christmas they had no pupils with the virus and did not have to close down year groups for quarantine. All power to their elbow. If they can do it why can’t other schools?
Because they charge £8k per term? £13k if boarding. And if parents aren’t getting their money’s worth then presumably they’ll withdraw little Hugo/Octavia and it’d collapse like many other businesses. They’re somewhat protected by the phone charity status but they can still go broke.
Other schools can and will, including within the state sector. As with so much else, a great deal depends on the leadership at the top.
https://twitter.com/Miss_Snuffy/status/1356267390737248259
I fail to see a reason that we can’t just allow everything to open up on the basis of choice 🤷🏻♀️ like schools – send your kids if you want to, home school if you don’t. Teachers etc – go to work and teach (and get paid) if you want to, stay at home on benefits if you don’t. Simple. All shops/businesses/leisure/hospitality etc – can’t they just be open if they want to, for people who want to go? I fail to see the risk to the shielders if they are actually shielding? It’s just pure selfish spite that they want everyone to hide at home getting fat and bored because they’re too scared to live anymore. Obviously a two tier society like that is not desirable but I don’t see any other way forward? No one was forcing me to do anything that I deemed too dangerous for me pre 2020 like basejumping, body modification or dogging. So I have no interest in forcing others to do things they deem too risky now – drinking past 10pm, trying clothes on in a shop, swimming …like, just don’t do it? No skin off my nose, so why does it bother… Read more »
A spacious van reduces the risk significantly. You may want to reconsider.
A heads up though, if someone mentions an ATM they’re not talking about drawing out cash – politely decline.
Because they are educating the next generation of Chosen Ones.
Re-Cape Town.. hospitals in the Western Cape are experiencing a bacterial outbreak which is resistant to any known antibiotics and people are dying not from Covid but this bacteria. This is not reported in any of the mainstream media and is confirmed by South African relatives one of whom is a doctor.
The ANC government has it in for White Farmers with the concomitant result that poverty is exploding. Please read this article and if you can make a donation which is much needed. It’s the ANC that is killing and not the virus.
http://www.the-buyer.net/opinion/bruce-jack-covid-19-devastating-impact-on-south-africa/
Great article – copied from your link: Piecemeal workers, like those sub-contracted by the construction sector, are usually paid on a weekly basis. Within a few weeks of the lockdown many had run out of cash. When municipalities were approached to help arrange food relief, the vast majority claimed it was not their responsibility. And in poor, rural farming areas like ours it was the farmers, churches, mosques, charity and civil organisations (like Rotary, Gift-of-the Givers and Red Cross) who responded to the unfolding humanitarian disaster...Something breaks inside you when the eyes of a barefoot child in a food queue are full of fear. Where there should be carefree joy, hunger has displaced with confusion and panic. It’s not right.In the middle of our wettest winter in 20 years those food queues were often in the rain; apparently because our local government could not avail themselves to make municipal halls available...One day in a food queue I recognised an artisan who had built a wall for me on the farm. He is a hard-working, good-natured, honest guy. He was looking away, maybe hoping I wouldn’t recognise him. You know in your heart he doesn’t want to be there. It is… Read more »
Desperately, desperately sad.
Lockdowns are a rich country option only.
Did anyone else watch this video?
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Ri_yU_gHLcA&feature=youtu.be
Reporting from Sweden.
It is such a powerful piece in terms of Sweden’s approach to this virus.
That alone should be sufficient ammunition against the lockdown policies of the government.
Why is this not being used more?
“Why is this not being used more?” Simply because there’s no well-funded professionally run campaign that is pushing the anti lockdown case by buying advertising space and running campaigns on social media
Such a campaign could well be brutally suppressed or fail because people who sell access to the public would simply refuse to take part, but it would be nice to see it tried
You are probably right.
I feel we are sometimes too much in the details of all the silly rules rather than focussing on the fact that lockdowns are not the way to deal with this respiratory virus.
Even if lockdowns did no harm whatsoever, which they do in a massive way, there is still no case for lockdowns.
So the current PM is “pushing for schools to open”. Strange definition of pushing when he has said 8th March at the earliest and not if this or that happens in the meantime. JHB said on her twitter feed yesterday that he is PM, he shouldn’t need to push but just decide. It’s blatantly obvious that he is scared of his own shadow and lets SAGE decide everything. Schools can’t open when project fear is all around. Every week a new variant. Every presser (I am told because I cannot watch) has more emotive language about cases still be very high and we can’t “take our foot off the throat of the beast”. If he wants schools to open, which he surely should, then he needs to take charge of the rhetoric, get it dialled down and start given the good news about how the peak has passed. He also need to reiterate what we have known all along which is that youngsters are not vulnerable to this disease. Backtracking on the asymptotic transmission nonsense should also happen. There is no evidence for it and people are terrified of every other human being just in case. They’ve created one hell… Read more »
Indeed, it is rather pathetic. He is the Prime Minister. It is his job to make decisions and lead the country. He has no leadership qualities whatsoever.
There are still those, even among sceptics, who admire him and think he is doing his best in the face of an impossible situation
Bizarre
I wonder just what it is these ‘sceptics’ are sceptical of if they think BJ is doing anything other than being a craven bag of camel shit.
There are those who admire Dungford, and many who admire Mammy Turdgeon, or so I’n told. They are far gone, far gone.
I’m also that Mongols are still nostalgic for the happy days of Genghis Khan.
the ‘peak’ has passed
every day he doesn’t open schools he is killing people
https://www.ed.ac.uk/news/2020/shutting-schools-increases-covid-19-deaths-study-f
There was a programme on TV yesterday about Woodrow Wilson the USA president who had a stroke but was kept in office for quite a while by his wife virtually taking on the presidency on his behalf.
Johnson was quite ill less than a year ago, who is calling the shots, Johnson or Princess nut nuts?
Johnson and Hancock are completely out of their depths, a pair of sock counter managers trying to run the country.
I’d be interested to know who is pulling Biden’s strings in America too. We all know/I think They are even admitting he has dementia – and so just who exactly is President of America currently? Serious question…
He definitely has some form of dementia and Harris his president. Quelle Surprise.
https://youtu.be/KY6Sca16tko
Begins with ‘O’.
I doubt the severity of hispast illness, he left hospital 5 days after claims he nearly died. A rather fast recovery from your death bed and an event that was milked to death for weeks afterwards. I do however feel nut nuts has an extraordinary influence over him.
Good theatre!
Would you buy a pair of socks from em?
Absolutely not. He couldn’t sell me an umbrella on a rainy day.
Definitely princess nut nut. Ironic that we now have a theatre studies graduate running the country. Boris was far more sensible when he was married to Marina – she’s an intelligent person.
Marina kept him on the straight and narrow. I think ditching her was a massive mistake on his part.
Wasn’t there a moment around late summer time ish when BoZo proclaimed that they hadn’t ACTUALLY TOLD schools that they HAD to close? Basically making it v clear that it was purely advice not legislation, and that he knows it’s up to all of us whether we choose to follow it or not.
They’re defo covering their tracks so that when there’s an inquiry into all this ghastly collateral damage they can just hold their hands up and say it wasn’t compulsory and we chose to do it.
Hancock told us to pretend we had the deadly virus
I’ll happily pretend that I’ve got it again! This time last year…my friends and family felt sorry for me, Doc wasn’t bothered in the slightest and said they’d seen loads of it and my employer made me feel really bad about needing time off work.
Ahhh the good old days 😊
The government’s claim that it had not closed the schools was made by the government’s lawyer in the Dolan case. The government made the claim as a defence against the claim that it had violated children’s right to education.
Ah yes I remember it now. A particularly slippery snake would make that claim. I’m sure they’ve got all these legal loopholes ready for when the guillotine comes.
Oh yes. Mask exemptions – therefore not a mandatory medical procedure – therefore no Nuremberg violation.
Totally correct, the 1997 Harassment Act and 1998 Human Rights Act override most government nonsense. All you have to do is say you have a reason for travel, exemption etc and the police can do nothing. Well, they can,but not legally.