Coronavirus (COVID-19)

[The DA]

54 minutes ago, greendot said:

 

The government, funded by the tax payer, so any response they give will be off the tax payer's funded mechanism.  So unfortunately i think it's you that's thick as pig shit I'm afraid........

By responding via the non-political NHS site, Cummings is trying to manipulate us into thinking its an NHS issue rather than an issue caused by Boris's government.

[bennett]

8 minutes ago, madwullie said:

That absolute fanny piers Morgan posted this earlier

 

I appreciate this is a bit looks a bit muslimy 

Have families been asked for permission for this?

Morgan really is milking this for all he can get.

 

[Savage Henry]

.gov.uk is not a platform for the government of the day to be political on. It is set up to provide information to UK citizens, nit defend or attack any particular political party that happens to be in charge at that time. 
It is a serious misuse of that domain. 

Would you say the same about the Yes manifesto being published on the Scottish government website?

[ArabianKnight]

Just had a meeting with work. Our industry body has told us to expect smaller retail opening after the current period of lockdown finishes. 

Our retail director is of course over the moon. 

Fair fucks to the company I work for, after acting like total shitecunts at the start they are going to be implementing a lot of measures to keep us and the public safe 

[Herman Hessian]

...and just when you thought Greta Thunberg was off the front pages for a while, The Guardian gives here a gilt-edged invitation to be back on her soapbox again:

Air pollution may be ‘key contributor’ to Covid-19 deaths – study

Quote

High levels of air pollution may be “one of the most important contributors” to deaths from Covid-19, according to research.

The analysis shows that of the coronavirus deaths across 66 administrative regions in Italy, Spain, France and Germany, 78% of them occurred in just five regions, and these were the most polluted.

The research examined levels of nitrogen dioxide, a pollutant produced mostly by diesel vehicles, and weather conditions that can prevent dirty air from dispersing away from a city. Many studies have linked NO2 exposure to health damage, and particularly lung disease, which could make people more likely to die if they contract Covid-19.

“The results indicate that long-term exposure to this pollutant may be one of the most important contributors to fatality caused by the Covid-19 virus in these regions and maybe across the whole world,” said Yaron Ogen, at Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg in Germany, who conducted the research. “Poisoning our environment means poisoning our own body, and when it experiences chronic respiratory stress its ability to defend itself from infections is limited.”

The analysis is only able to show a strong correlation, not a causal link. “It is now necessary to examine whether the presence of an initial inflammatory condition is related to the response of the immune system to the coronavirus,” Ogen said.

A separate study published on 7 April looked at fine particle pollution in the US and found that even small increases in levels in the years before the pandemic were associated with far higher Covid-19 death rates. Another recent paper noted that the high death rates seen in the north of Italy correlated with the highest levels of air pollution.

The new research, published in the journal Science of the Total Environment, compared NO2 levels in January and February in 66 administrative regions with Covid-19 deaths recorded up to 19 March. Ogen also assessed the atmospheric conditions to see where pollution was being trapped over the regions.

and  more....

 

[madwullie]

12 minutes ago, MixuFixit said:

*spits coffee*

 

Note the bandana round her neck she's really only wearing as a very cool cravat

[madwullie]

9 minutes ago, Savage Henry said:

 

Would you say the same about the Yes manifesto being published on the Scottish government website?

 

Good question. Not sure. But a response to an article in the press (which incident reads like a drunk text to your ex refuting all the points she made in her break up letter) certainly shouldn't be posted on a civil service platform. 

Edited April 20, 2020 by madwullie

[Detournement]

9 minutes ago, yoda said:

 

The "hyperinflation" argument, when applied to a modern advanced economy doesn't really hold. The context in which Weimar Germany and Mugabe's Zimbabwe operated is totally different to the current environment the UK operates in. It's a red herring and should be ignored. 

 

Exactly. 

 

A good post.

 

A spike in the national debt is largely irrelevant for us normal people. Japan hasn't turned into a failed state despite having a debt ratio of more than 230%. It can still borrow and it still has a functioning economy (albeit one which operates in a slow growth, low inflation, zero-percent interest rates environment). Don't believe the politically motivated "the government runs like your household!" slogans, which are backed by pretty flimsy supporting evidence. The best way to "reduce" the debt is by running a surplus with a thriving economy, rather than hacking away at essential public services and reducing growth (not that the Cameron government succeeded in that objective...)

Obviously the government funding wages and businesses - essentially being consumer and employer of last resort - is not a sustainable policy option in the long-term. But we're not talking long-term.

The Bank of England have nodded towards direct Central Bank funding of government and the Financial Times have softly came out in favour of it. I think it has to happen as the public finances will never recover from £3 trillion plus public debt if they stick with taxation and bond markets to fund public services through the next 12 months or so. 

This is the biggest domestic issue we face and sadly the majority of the population and the media are clueless about it. I don't expect any leadership from Starmer either.

[Jacksgranda]

16 minutes ago, madwullie said:

That absolute fanny piers Morgan posted this earlier

 

I appreciate this is a bit looks a bit muslimy 

That's fair enough, certainly 50% + black/asian deaths there. But can you extrapolate that over the other 16000 deaths?

And what's the bolded bit supposed to mean?

[NotThePars]

3 minutes ago, Herman Hessian said:

...and just when you thought Greta Thunberg was off the front pages for a while, The Guardian gives here a gilt-edged invitation to be back on her soapbox again:

Air pollution may be ‘key contributor’ to Covid-19 deaths – study

 

Weird if that was your takeaway from that article.

[Guest]

27 minutes ago, MixuFixit said:

 

That's the way it should be.

[Detournement]

I'd be interested to know if the figures for BAME deaths are consistent between those born in the UK and outside the UK. 

[Cornishman]

Interesting. Particularly, the interview halfway through.

 

https://21stcenturywire.com/2020/04/15/herd-immunity-expert-explains-why-covid-19-lockdown-social-distancing-doesnt-actually-work/

[Herman Hessian]

1 minute ago, NotThePars said:

Weird if that was your takeaway from that article.

only that she's the self-appointed voice of the wider "green" movement - i'd expect her to make a big thing of these findings, and quite rightly so - just my usual flippant way of characterising things; on the wider subject, the ongoing developments with regard to uncovering the pathogenesis, potential vaccinations or treatments, environmental influences, transmission mechanism etc etc - such as this hypothesis -  really are quite fascinating - proper science in action and a refreshing way to get a handle on what's going on away from the tabloid sensationalism of neighbourly disputes over social distancing non-observance, empty shelves and the rest...

 

[Melanius Mullarkey]

27 minutes ago, MixuFixit said:

*spits coffee*

 

Somebody? Anybody? Nobody?

[Theroadlesstravelled]

27 minutes ago, MixuFixit said:

*spits coffee*

 

Would happily get the clap from her.

[Theroadlesstravelled]

[Guest]

3 hours ago, DA Baracus said:

 

Hopefully people are much more hygienic after all of this. So many folk are disgusting minks who don't wash their hands after using the toilet and who are in general clatty scumbags.

This applies to places like pubs and restaurants as well. Hopefully they're a lot cleaner and better provisioned when it comes to things like hand wash in the toilets. In fact add in football grounds. There are some grounds where I take a small bottle of hand gel with me because I know that their toilets don't have any hand wash, or indeed warm water. Yes Somerset, I'm looking at you, but some of the more modern grounds can be just as guilty (hello Tannadice).

The Home end is actually ok, but from what I'm led to believe the away end is basically a wall, so Yes, improvements are definitely required !!

#REALfootball 

[beefybake]

20 minutes ago, Cornishman said:

Interesting. Particularly, the interview halfway through.

 

https://21stcenturywire.com/2020/04/15/herd-immunity-expert-explains-why-covid-19-lockdown-social-distancing-doesnt-actually-work/

Must admit, I got about a third of the way in, to the point where's he saying it's just another flu..., then got tired reading. 

IIRC from previous stuff, a major difference between Covid-19 and flu is that Covid-19 is far more infectious.

Also, he appears basically to say that the reports of PPE shortages are essentially mainstream media scaremongering.

As I say, though, I got yawned out of it a third of the way in.

Edited April 20, 2020 by beefybake

[DiegoDiego]

Something that hasn't been mentioned yet in the media is the effect that the lockdown has had on the Charity Shops around the country.
With all shops shut there will be no donations of items, so very little income.

At my old job we were allowed to exchange a day of regular work for a day of volunteering (I was paid as normal). I ended up in British Heart Foundation and in the training .pdf they said that only about 10% of their income came from the shops.