FlyTheNest

Posted: **Wed 06 May, 2020 7:01 am**

Morning all.

Posted: **Wed 06 May, 2020 10:21 am**

There's a lot going on in this article but the lack of consultation with and use of local government expertise jumps out. Instead of utilising the extensive local government volunteer networks, for instance, central government set about setting up a new national volunteer network from scratch. It's as though central government has no understanding of local government and zero ability to utilise a whole strata of governance, trying, and failing, to organise everything from the centre.

https://www.reuters.com/investigates/sp ... n-elderly/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

In shielding its hospitals from COVID-19, Britain left many of the weakest exposed

Posted: **Wed 06 May, 2020 10:44 am**

Morning all.

Interesting...

Dave Hill
‏@DaveHill
Following Following @DaveHill
More
NEWS just in: #RoryStewart has decided "with sadness" to withdraw from the postponed election for London Mayor. #LondonMayor.

Does that look a "Well, I'm not going to win" to anyone?

Posted: **Wed 06 May, 2020 11:26 am**

Willow904 wrote:There's a lot going on in this article but the lack of consultation with and use of local government expertise jumps out. Instead of utilising the extensive local government volunteer networks, for instance, central government set about setting up a new national volunteer network from scratch. It's as though central government has no understanding of local government and zero ability to utilise a whole strata of governance, trying, and failing, to organise everything from the centre.

https://www.reuters.com/investigates/sp ... n-elderly/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
In shielding its hospitals from COVID-19, Britain left many of the weakest exposed

Mr gilsey is getting fed up with me ranting about this, re track and trace.
Like they don't know there are environmental health officers in LAs who do this sort of thing for a living. Albeit not so many of them now.

It could have something to do with being able to put out a contract to their mates instead of employing public servants, do you think?

Ideology trumps public wellbeing.

Posted: **Wed 06 May, 2020 12:04 pm**

I have been coming to the conclusion for some time that the European country the UK most resembles is not France or Germany, but Italy, so in a way it's not surprising our coronavirus experience has been most similar to theirs in terms of how badly prepared we were, in high mortality rates and high numbers of deaths of healthcare workers. And the thing that connects us to Italy is deep-seated and pervasive political corruption.

Posted: **Wed 06 May, 2020 12:30 pm**

RogerOThornhill wrote:Morning all.

Interesting...

Dave Hill
‏@DaveHill
Following Following @DaveHill
More
NEWS just in: #RoryStewart has decided "with sadness" to withdraw from the postponed election for London Mayor. #LondonMayor.
Does that look a "Well, I'm not going to win" to anyone?

So another Great Centrist Hope is no more.

Posted: **Wed 06 May, 2020 12:52 pm**

PA Media
Good morfternoon.

✔
@PA

#Breaking Scotland Yard has said Professor Neil Ferguson’s behaviour is “plainly disappointing” but officers “do not intend to take any further action” after accepting his error
20
12:28 PM - May 6, 2020

Earlier this morning, the health secretary Matt Hancock said the scientist’s breach of the rules had left him “speechless”. He said it was right that Ferguson had resigned and that he would back the police in any action they decided to take. (Politics Live, Guardian)

Oh, bad luck Matt Hancock.

Posted: **Wed 06 May, 2020 12:56 pm**

It appears that Johnson's return to PMQs did not go terribly well.

Posted: **Wed 06 May, 2020 12:59 pm**

AnatolyKasparov wrote:It appears that Johnson's return to PMQs did not go terribly well.

Well, he's certainly not at home on territory that doesn't exclusively include backing his, um, backers, and attacking the disadvantaged.

Posted: **Wed 06 May, 2020 1:59 pm**

No backbenchers to cheer him on or barrack Starmer. Oh dear what a pity.

Posted: **Wed 06 May, 2020 2:32 pm**

Well indeed, amazing what a difference that makes. Or perhaps not.

Posted: **Wed 06 May, 2020 3:08 pm**

Good.

Court upholds ban on anti-abortion poster targeting Stella Creasy

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/ ... lla-creasy" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

An anti-abortion campaigner who is banned from displaying a poster featuring an image of a dead foetus alongside a picture of the Labour MP Stella Creasy has failed to overturn a council order against him.

Christian Hacking challenged the imposition of a community protection notice (CPN) after he put up the image of what he said was a “24-week-old aborted baby girl” in Creasy’s constituency in Walthamstow, north-east London.

Creasy, 43, was pregnant at the time. She has been a vocal supporter of women’s right to choose and led a successful campaign last year to extend abortion to Northern Ireland.

When I first read it I thought that Christian Hacking was the name of the organisation...

Posted: **Wed 06 May, 2020 5:06 pm**

gilsey wrote:No backbenchers to cheer him on or barrack Starmer. Oh dear what a pity.

It was more Crown Court than PMQs. I know some aren't impressed with Starmer's understated style but judging by Johnson's floundering, unable to use his usual jokes and bluster in the face of such a serious subject, he's not a fan either and for good reason.

What we learned is the government stopped testing in March due to lack of capacity, not because of "the science" as asserted, and they didn't know what they were doing at the beginning but do now, honest guv. Not to mention when asked what was the purpose of meeting a 100,000 testing target for just one special day, Johnson's response was to set a further target of 200,000 a day, almost oblivious to the fact that Starmer had just torpedoed such arbitrary targets, in the absence of a track and trace strategy, as the meaningless propaganda they are.

There's an emptiness at the heart of Johnson's bombast that was exposed a little today. Hence his preference for making rambling speeches to the nation, dictator style, rather than answer questions in the Commons. As such I wonder if we'll see him in parliament on Monday to explain his easing of lockdown decisions:

Starmer asks if the PM will come to the Commons on Monday to present his plan.

Johnson says there will be a statement to the Commons on Monday.

(He does not say he will give it.)

Posted: **Wed 06 May, 2020 5:19 pm**

I see that Michael Barrymore is trending, apparently because he was on This Morning today.

(it does not appear that the family of Stuart Lubbock were asked to comment on this beforehand)

Posted: **Wed 06 May, 2020 6:38 pm**

After the initial "Well, we'll add these in to make it look good" the testing numbers look more reasonable as a trend. But under 70k yesterday.

" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Posted: **Wed 06 May, 2020 6:45 pm**

David Spiegelhalter @d_spiegel

Polite request to PM and others: please stop using my Guardian article to claim we cannot make any international comparisons yet. I refer only to detailed league tables-of course we should now use other countries to try and learn why our numbers are high https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfr ... -countries" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; … (Politics Live, Guardian)

Posted: **Wed 06 May, 2020 7:17 pm**

RIP Florian Schneider.

Posted: **Wed 06 May, 2020 8:43 pm**

No citizenJA today. I hope she's ok.

Posted: **Wed 06 May, 2020 9:20 pm**

AnatolyKasparov wrote:RIP Florian Schneider.

Indeed, I much preferred the earlier Ralf und Florian stuff to Kraftwerk but The Model is one cracking tune.

[youtube]GEnx9xS79Lc[/youtube]

Posted: **Wed 06 May, 2020 9:25 pm**

Apparently Facebook have hired Alan Rusbridger as one of their oversight panel.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/ ... an-editor/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

However, there are fears the group will be heavily influenced by Left-wing figures such as Mr Rusbridger, whose time in charge of the Guardian was characterised by its relentlessly anti-conservative views....

Aw diddums...

If I was FB I'd tell those MPs whoever they are to mind their own bloody business. And weirdly they don't appear to have noticed that the Board also has the VP of the Cato Institute!

https://www.oversightboard.com/meet-the-board/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Posted: **Wed 06 May, 2020 10:05 pm**

So are any of us going to be downloading the government coronavirus app?

UK finds itself almost alone with centralized virus contact-tracing app that probably won't work well, asks for your location, may be illegal

https://www.theregister.co.uk/2020/05/0 ... virus_app/

That's going nowhere near my phone.

Posted: **Wed 06 May, 2020 10:06 pm**

Sky'sGoneOut wrote:
AnatolyKasparov wrote:RIP Florian Schneider.
Indeed, I much preferred the earlier Ralf und Florian stuff to Kraftwerk but The Model is one cracking tune.

[youtube]GEnx9xS79Lc[/youtube]

Their first self-titled album (the red traffic cone cover) is absolutely immense IMO. Never understood why they were so sniffy about their pre-Autobahn stuff.

Posted: **Wed 06 May, 2020 10:34 pm**

Willow904 wrote:What we learned is the government stopped testing in March due to lack of capacity, not because of "the science" as asserted

It was actually both but the science was bad, as the model they were using was fatally flawed.

https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lang ... 9/fulltext

They gave up testing because the flawed model assumed that at best there was a 3.83 day delay between symptoms (or test) and isolation, but there were several tests at the time that could easily have been done in a day, some as quickly as 4 hours. And once that is factored in 'the model predicts the probability of controlling the epidemic within 12 weeks to be more than 80%'.

So because their flawed model made it appear what they were doing was hopeless they gave up and this has caused thousands of unnecessary deaths.

In response those responsible haven't denied any of this but have instead said the criticism is moot as the capacity to test wasn't high enough to have made a difference.

https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lang ... 5/fulltext

I know I'm repeating myself here from the other night but this really is incredible stuff.

Our first, best chance to stop Coronavirus in it's tracks was horribly bungled by the scientists and politicians alike.

Posted: **Wed 06 May, 2020 10:51 pm**

AnatolyKasparov wrote:Their first self-titled album (the red traffic cone cover) is absolutely immense IMO. Never understood why they were so sniffy about their pre-Autobahn stuff.

I guess because they completely reinvented themselves with Autobahn and the first three spaced out hippie albums didn't quite fit anymore, which is a shame because that first one as you say is genius, how could it not be? It's Kraftwerk and Neu! combined, a veritable Krautrock supergroup before either group existed.

Posted: **Wed 06 May, 2020 11:10 pm**

PorFavor wrote:No citizenJA today. I hope she's ok.

Here

Posted: **Wed 06 May, 2020 11:13 pm**

Sky'sGoneOut wrote:So are any of us going to be downloading the government coronavirus app?

UK finds itself almost alone with centralized virus contact-tracing app that probably won't work well, asks for your location, may be illegal

https://www.theregister.co.uk/2020/05/0 ... virus_app/

That's going nowhere near my phone.

the last time I had a mobile phone was in 2008

Posted: **Wed 06 May, 2020 11:15 pm**

I hope I'm okay too.

Posted: **Wed 06 May, 2020 11:28 pm**

citizenJA wrote:
That's going nowhere near my phone.

the last time I had a mobile phone was in 2008[/quote]

I don't have one.

There's only been a couple of occasions when it would have been useful to have it but apart from that I manage without it.

Posted: **Wed 06 May, 2020 11:29 pm**

citizenJA wrote:I hope I'm okay too.

I'm not ill and neither is Mr citizen.

Posted: **Wed 06 May, 2020 11:29 pm**

Goodnight, everyone.
love,
cJA

Posted: **Wed 06 May, 2020 11:38 pm**

citizenJA wrote:I hope I'm okay too.

What's this hope thing? Of course you're okay. Fly the flag, sing the national anthem, take it on the chin, we don't want doomsters and gloomsters around here. Shake as many hands as you can, look that virus in its chemical receptors and dare it to infect you. And then even if it does as long as you have spunk and a bit of pluck you'll be fine. It only kills unpatriotic weaklings after all. And you are a patriot aren't you CJA?

Posted: **Wed 06 May, 2020 11:41 pm**

@citizenJA

Night night.

Posted: **Wed 06 May, 2020 11:53 pm**

RogerOThornhill wrote:There's only been a couple of occasions when it would have been useful to have it but apart from that I manage without it.

I held out for a long time but if you enjoy walking on hills and moors and the like having a talking map in your pocket is, I eventually had to concede, better than a paper map and a compass. Especially if it sounds like a sexy lady robot.

Posted: **Thu 07 May, 2020 2:22 am**

[youtube]tWKfo3LDI1Q[/youtube]

Posted: **Thu 07 May, 2020 2:33 am**

[youtube]EAXYMOgHQI4[/youtube]

Posted: **Thu 07 May, 2020 2:42 am**

[youtube]kv8_EZrNhpY[/youtube]

FlyTheNest

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