Wednesday 14th October 2020

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refitman
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Wednesday 14th October 2020

Post by refitman »

Morning all.
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Willow904
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Re: Wednesday 14th October 2020

Post by Willow904 »

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/p ... 1602622755" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Dominic Cummings and family ‘avoid huge council tax bill on Durham properties’
Tiny bit of payback. If Cummings hadn't broken lockdown they'd still be getting away with it.
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gilsey
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Re: Wednesday 14th October 2020

Post by gilsey »

I wonder

1. How many members of the planning committee already knew about it, would be very surprised if the answer was 0, and

2. If the Valuation Office will explain why no backdating.


One law for them etc.
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gilsey
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Re: Wednesday 14th October 2020

Post by gilsey »

Not sure I buy the Band A and Band C either.
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AnatolyKasparov
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Re: Wednesday 14th October 2020

Post by AnatolyKasparov »

Anybody any clearer about anything on the government's virus response than they were yesterday?
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citizenJA
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Re: Wednesday 14th October 2020

Post by citizenJA »

gilsey wrote:Not sure I buy the Band A and Band C either.
?!
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citizenJA
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Re: Wednesday 14th October 2020

Post by citizenJA »

AnatolyKasparov wrote:Anybody any clearer about anything on the government's virus response than they were yesterday?
No.
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citizenJA
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Re: Wednesday 14th October 2020

Post by citizenJA »

Good afternoon, everyone.
AnatolyKasparov
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Re: Wednesday 14th October 2020

Post by AnatolyKasparov »

citizenJA wrote:
AnatolyKasparov wrote:Anybody any clearer about anything on the government's virus response than they were yesterday?
No.
Thought not, just checking ;)
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adam
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Re: Wednesday 14th October 2020

Post by adam »

AnatolyKasparov wrote:
citizenJA wrote:
AnatolyKasparov wrote:Anybody any clearer about anything on the government's virus response than they were yesterday?
No.
Thought not, just checking ;)
Less is better than more. Later is better than sooner. Nothing is better than something. It's all your fault.
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Re: Wednesday 14th October 2020

Post by gilsey »

citizenJA wrote:
gilsey wrote:Not sure I buy the Band A and Band C either.
?!
Band A's the cheapest, but this place is out in the sticks so pretty desirable, you'd think.

?! is about right.



There must be people who knew these places had been built without planning permission, usually if they find out they make you knock them down again. I know there's a time limit, 6 years maybe, but from the photos it's next to the road so not exactly hidden away.
Remember this?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_Harry_Collinson" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
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AnatolyKasparov
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Re: Wednesday 14th October 2020

Post by AnatolyKasparov »

Starmer on very good form last night, and again at PMQs today.
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Re: Wednesday 14th October 2020

Post by gilsey »

The replies are great, if you didn't laugh etc.

" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
lisa o'carroll
@lisaocarroll
NEW: Govt to install portaloos for drivers on Kent roads in case of Brexit congestion

Transport min Rachel MacLean: "we have detailed plans that we've worked up for provision of not only portaloos but other facilities for drivers"
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PorFavor
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Re: Wednesday 14th October 2020

Post by PorFavor »

What sort of "other facilities"? How much road space will be left?

I won't go into the health and hygiene risks that this (Serco?) portaloo thing poses, as I'm sure you've all already thought of them.
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Re: Wednesday 14th October 2020

Post by PorFavor »

Wales to put into law (by the end of this week) a ban on people from English Tier2 and Tier3 areas entering Wales (Sky TV news).
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Sky'sGoneOut
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Re: Wednesday 14th October 2020

Post by Sky'sGoneOut »

Interesting responses to the Mayor of Liverpool Joe Anderson's tweet about the scenes in his city last night.

https://twitter.com/mayor_anderson/stat ... 5641376768
These pictures Shame our City, attacking our brave Police Officers is unacceptable. Our Health Service is creaking, 300 in Hospital & 30 people dead in week Face screaming in fear ignoring these facts is why we are in Tier 3 measures.
Followed by multiple responses pointing out those in the pictures and videos are students and asking why they haven't been sent home.

https://twitter.com/kieranmolyneux/stat ... 3206609925
I walked home through town from the studio last night and the bars and restaurants were deserted apart from the student hotspots. Don’t start blaming this city, making out this is our fault when thousands of students have been enrolled here for university life when it’s not safe
Most of the responses aren't blaming the students but asking what the hell they're still doing there when they're a danger to themselves and everyone else in the city.

A question many of us in similarly affected cities would like answered.
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Re: Wednesday 14th October 2020

Post by PorFavor »

Universities are now predominantly engines for making money rather than places of education (that now comes a poor second). That, I think, goes a long way to answering the question.
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citizenJA
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Re: Wednesday 14th October 2020

Post by citizenJA »

Sky'sGoneOut wrote:---
Most of the responses aren't blaming the students but asking what the hell they're still doing there when they're a danger to themselves and everyone else in the city.

A question many of us in similarly affected cities would like answered.
(cJA edit)
Good analysis of the situation
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citizenJA
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Re: Wednesday 14th October 2020

Post by citizenJA »

AnatolyKasparov wrote:Starmer on very good form last night, and again at PMQs today.
Yes, he's good.
I'm astonished by official Tory responses, it's totally inappropriate given current affairs.
I've sent out a message asking anyone with influence in government to listen to the advice they've been given by their own SAGE unit and enact safety precautions with haste making sure everyone has what they need to survive. That shouldn't be controversial.
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citizenJA
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Re: Wednesday 14th October 2020

Post by citizenJA »

PorFavor wrote:Universities are now predominantly engines for making money rather than places of education (that now comes a poor second). That, I think, goes a long way to answering the question.
I understand this better now.
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Sky'sGoneOut
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Re: Wednesday 14th October 2020

Post by Sky'sGoneOut »

We've got a new Coronavirus interactive map today from gov.uk.

https://coronavirus-staging.data.gov.uk ... active-map

And guess what? It's junk.

The colours representing infection rates are clearly wrong, for example 0-10 is supposed to be yellow and I can't see any yellow anywhere on the map. The 'Case rate compared to national average' indicator (blue good/red bad) has obviously been set to work the wrong way round. There are huge areas of missing data and on top of that it keeps crashing altogether.

I'm guessing one of Cummings mates produced it for about £10 million.
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citizenJA
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Re: Wednesday 14th October 2020

Post by citizenJA »

"...the dashboard says there have been at least 57,690 deaths where coronavirus was mentioned on the death certificate."
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/li ... c87240255a" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Deaths with COVID-19 on the death certificate
Weekly number of deaths where COVID-19 is mentioned as a cause on the death certificate, registered during the week ending Friday, 2 October 2020.
Weekly
343
Total
57,690
https://coronavirus.data.gov.uk/deaths" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
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citizenJA
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Re: Wednesday 14th October 2020

Post by citizenJA »

Sky'sGoneOut wrote:We've got a new Coronavirus interactive map today from gov.uk.

https://coronavirus-staging.data.gov.uk ... active-map

And guess what? It's junk.

The colours representing infection rates are clearly wrong, for example 0-10 is supposed to be yellow and I can't see any yellow anywhere on the map. The 'Case rate compared to national average' indicator (blue good/red bad) has obviously been set to work the wrong way round. There are huge areas of missing data and on top of that it keeps crashing altogether.

I'm guessing one of Cummings mates produced it for about £10 million.
I haven't been able to extract meaningful information out of that interactive map either.
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citizenJA
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Re: Wednesday 14th October 2020

Post by citizenJA »

Screenshot_2020-10-14 Coronavirus (COVID-19) in the UK Interactive Map.jpg
Screenshot_2020-10-14 Coronavirus (COVID-19) in the UK Interactive Map.jpg (74.05 KiB) Viewed 5984 times
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citizenJA
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Re: Wednesday 14th October 2020

Post by citizenJA »

have they called you yet, PorFavor? To fix it?
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Re: Wednesday 14th October 2020

Post by PorFavor »

Sky TV news is presently doing an an article on how much the Government is spending on Test and Trace private consultants. The daily rates for some of them are the (eyewatering, as the Sky correspondent describes them) equivalent to £1m per annum. Some of them have connections to Dido Harding. Apparently, the Government would prefer us not to know any of this.
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Sky'sGoneOut
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Re: Wednesday 14th October 2020

Post by Sky'sGoneOut »

PorFavor wrote:Universities are now predominantly engines for making money rather than places of education (that now comes a poor second). That, I think, goes a long way to answering the question.
Plus city councils and mayors have to think of all the businesses that rely on students for their income. I think Leeds has a student population of nearly 40,000, the city's 'night time economy' would collapse without them along with countless cafes, venues, shops, etc.

So either the students are sent home and those businesses are compensated (because they're perfectly viable under normal circumstances) or the current situation is allowed to drag on until hospitals are full and we end up inevitably having another national lockdown which would cost even more.

It's false economy on a grand scale.
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citizenJA
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Re: Wednesday 14th October 2020

Post by citizenJA »

England, Wales and Scotland among worst countries for excess deaths during pandemic, report says

An international study led by academics from Imperial College London has concluded that, out of 21 industrialised countries, England, Wales and Scotland had among the highest rates of excess deaths between February and May, during the first wave of the pandemic.
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/li ... 22e43fad4e" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
https://www.imperial.ac.uk/news/206573/ ... ions-with/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Johnson and his party don't care.
I take no pleasure knowing that's true.
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citizenJA
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Re: Wednesday 14th October 2020

Post by citizenJA »

I've re-read Ethan Frome. I should've taken up adam's book club suggestion and read the more cheerful Heart of Darkness instead.
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Re: Wednesday 14th October 2020

Post by PorFavor »

citizenJA wrote:have they called you yet, PorFavor? To fix it?
Yes. "GIGO," I said.
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Re: Wednesday 14th October 2020

Post by PorFavor »

citizenJA wrote:I've re-read Ethan Frome. I should've taken up adam's book club suggestion and read the more cheerful Heart of Darkness instead.
Indeed. Many's the time I've had a good chortle over Heart of Darkness!
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Re: Wednesday 14th October 2020

Post by PorFavor »

PorFavor wrote:
citizenJA wrote:have they called you yet, PorFavor? To fix it?
Yes. "GIGO," I said.
(Last I heard, they were trying to fix it by inserting a leg of lamb.)
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citizenJA
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Re: Wednesday 14th October 2020

Post by citizenJA »

Edith Wharton's tragic yarns
her ghost stories are good too
Find a copy of her short story, "All Souls'", before the end of October
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Sky'sGoneOut
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Re: Wednesday 14th October 2020

Post by Sky'sGoneOut »

PorFavor wrote:Some of them have connections to Dido Harding.
I know she brought in her mate Alex Birtles from TalkTalk as an advisor.

This she -

https://twitter.com/alexbirtles?lang=en

Seems harmless but she was head of the PR operation that smeared those with security concerns (including ex-staff who'd resigned in protest) before trying to cover up then downplay the massive data leak.
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citizenJA
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Re: Wednesday 14th October 2020

Post by citizenJA »

PorFavor wrote:
citizenJA wrote:I've re-read Ethan Frome. I should've taken up adam's book club suggestion and read the more cheerful Heart of Darkness instead.
Indeed. Many's the time I've had a good chortle over Heart of Darkness!
compared to Starkfield, Massachusetts (where all the Frome's are buried), Heart of Darkness is a frolic
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citizenJA
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Re: Wednesday 14th October 2020

Post by citizenJA »

PorFavor wrote:
PorFavor wrote:
citizenJA wrote:have they called you yet, PorFavor? To fix it?
Yes. "GIGO," I said.
(Last I heard, they were trying to fix it by inserting a leg of lamb.)
they'll try doing it cheap and neglect the mint sauce
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citizenJA
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Re: Wednesday 14th October 2020

Post by citizenJA »

The UK has recorded 19,724 new coronavirus cases - a new daily record and an increase of almost 2,500 (or 14%) on the figure for yesterday.
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/li ... 6165ffc2b1" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
People, we're in trouble.
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citizenJA
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Re: Wednesday 14th October 2020

Post by citizenJA »

Starmer reminds me of Al Gore a little bit.
Solid, boring, competent, trustworthy, rather wooden, probably Superman beneath their suits
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Re: Wednesday 14th October 2020

Post by citizenJA »

Magnitude, demographics and dynamics of the effect of the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic on all-cause mortality in 21 industrialized countries

From mid-February through May 2020, 206,000 (95% credible interval, 178,100–231,000) more people died in these countries than would have had the pandemic not occurred. The number of excess deaths, excess deaths per 100,000 people and relative increase in deaths were similar between men and women in most countries.

England and Wales and Spain experienced the largest effect: ~100 excess deaths per 100,000 people, equivalent to a 37% (30–44%) relative increase in England and Wales and 38% (31–45%) in Spain.

Bulgaria, New Zealand, Slovakia, Australia, Czechia, Hungary, Poland, Norway, Denmark and Finland experienced mortality changes that ranged from possible small declines to increases of 5% or less in either sex.
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41591-020-1112-0" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
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Re: Wednesday 14th October 2020

Post by AnatolyKasparov »

citizenJA wrote:Starmer reminds me of Al Gore a little bit.
Solid, boring, competent, trustworthy, rather wooden, probably Superman beneath their suits
Of course, Gore has become a bit more "interesting" since his agonisingly close 2000 failure.
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Re: Wednesday 14th October 2020

Post by citizenJA »

Coronavirus live news: France declares public health state of emergency as president addresses the nation
How come France gets a competent leader capable of decisive word and action?
Why can't we have one?
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citizenJA
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Re: Wednesday 14th October 2020

Post by citizenJA »

AnatolyKasparov wrote:
citizenJA wrote:Starmer reminds me of Al Gore a little bit.
Solid, boring, competent, trustworthy, rather wooden, probably Superman beneath their suits
Of course, Gore has become a bit more "interesting" since his agonisingly close 2000 failure.
oops. I neglected to look at more current events before posting reminisces of another political era
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Re: Wednesday 14th October 2020

Post by PorFavor »

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Re: Wednesday 14th October 2020

Post by Sky'sGoneOut »

I hope you don't mind me having another go at your link PF.

https://twitter.com/EdConwaySky/status/ ... 0704594952
UK govt is paying management consultants the equivalent of million and a half pound salaries to work on Test & Trace.
I’ve seen documents showing senior staff from Boston Consulting Group are being paid day rates of around £7k, equivalent to £1.5m on an annual basis.
The docs show some BCG consultants charging day rates of £7,360. They’ve given govt a “COVID discount” of 10-15%. That works out at £6.6k a day - equivalent to £1.5m a year. In a single week govt is paying these senior consultants more than they pay an experienced nurse in a year
And here's the story on Sky.

Coronavirus: Test and Trace consultants paid equivalent of £1.5m salary

https://news.sky.com/story/coronavirus- ... y-12104028
Labour MP Toby Perkins raised the matter during a House of Commons debate on contact-tracing on Wednesday afternoon.

Referring to his previous career in the sales industry, Mr Perkins also told MPs: "I never came across a customer nearly as naive as what we have with the government."

"I just wish that at some point in my life I could have come across a customer with as much money as the government has, as willing to be so easily impressed as this government is, and as willing to give it to people and then defend the people who let them down as a supplier," he added.
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Re: Wednesday 14th October 2020

Post by PorFavor »

@Sky'sGoneOut

That's a great improvement. All help gratefully received. Thank you.
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Re: Wednesday 14th October 2020

Post by Sky'sGoneOut »

Yay Scotland won and England lost so at least I've got something to smile about :D .
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Re: Wednesday 14th October 2020

Post by Sky'sGoneOut »

I wish someone would pay me 7 grand a day to have a marginal impact.

That's more in a day than my ESA pays for a whole year.

And for what?

What tangible results have we seen for this money? Because I've noticed when trying to defend the test and trace system these days even Hancock barely tries to make out that it's any good, he just blathers on about how quickly it was set up and how big it is.

So what? Give us £12 billion and I'm pretty confident that as a group we could quickly produce a bloated system that didn't work while skimming off millions of quid for ourselves and giving jobs to our mates.
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citizenJA
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Re: Wednesday 14th October 2020

Post by citizenJA »

Sky'sGoneOut wrote:I wish someone would pay me 7 grand a day to have a marginal impact.

That's more in a day than my ESA pays for a whole year.

And for what?

What tangible results have we seen for this money? Because I've noticed when trying to defend the test and trace system these days even Hancock barely tries to make out that it's any good, he just blathers on about how quickly it was set up and how big it is.

So what? Give us £12 billion and I'm pretty confident that as a group we could quickly produce a bloated system that didn't work while skimming off millions of quid for ourselves and giving jobs to our mates.
'And for what?'
Same echoing in my head
All that remuneration and they not even good at it
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citizenJA
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Re: Wednesday 14th October 2020

Post by citizenJA »

I love you, everyone.
I'll be back tomorrow.
Goodnight.
cJA
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Re: Wednesday 14th October 2020

Post by PorFavor »

@citizenJA

Night night.
Locked