|
Post by guylemot on Aug 13, 2022 20:46:21 GMT
|
|
oldnat
Member
Extremist - Undermining the UK state and its institutions
Posts: 6,082
|
Post by oldnat on Aug 13, 2022 21:45:06 GMT
For alec (doggy jokes are less depressing than polling on the Tories)
|
|
|
Post by isa on Aug 13, 2022 22:12:43 GMT
It's incredibly how much noise a dog licking his bollocks makes, and even more incredible how long he licks them for. Just as long as it's his that he's licking, otherwise I could understand why you couldn't get to sleep. :-) Reminds me of the old joke about two pals talking. One notices the other's dog engaged in this activity and ruefully opines "I wish I could do that". His pal helpfully responds "Well if you ask him, he'll let you".
|
|
|
Post by crossbat11 on Aug 13, 2022 22:15:02 GMT
I gather the Villa did OK today.
All is well in Aston for now.
The faithful ushered in yet another season. My 59th.
All's well in my world, wherever I may be when the Villa win.
|
|
|
Post by mercian on Aug 13, 2022 22:17:24 GMT
Just as long as it's his that he's licking, otherwise I could understand why you couldn't get to sleep. :-) Reminds me of the old joke about two pals talking. One notices the other's dog engaged in this activity and ruefully opines "I wish I could do that". His pal helpfully responds "Well if you ask him, he'll let you". I've heard another version: "Why do they do that?" "Well you would if you could!"
|
|
|
Post by bedknobsandboomstick on Aug 13, 2022 22:26:06 GMT
Just as long as it's his that he's licking, otherwise I could understand why you couldn't get to sleep. :-) Reminds me of the old joke about two pals talking. One notices the other's dog engaged in this activity and ruefully opines "I wish I could do that". His pal helpfully responds "Well if you ask him, he'll let you". There's three dogs and a parrot in the vet's waiting room. "What are you here for?" asks the parrot to the first dog. "I'm being put down" he replies. "The problem is I'm a chewer, I just love chewing things. The other day I got so carried away I completely distroyed my mistresses new handbag, and now I'm for the chop!" "Oh that's awful!" says the parrot. "And what about you?" he asks to the second dog. "Same thing for me I'm afraid. You see I'm a pisser, soon as I get excited, I piss all over the place. The other day I pissed all over my master's new loafers, and that's that for me!" "Oh dear!" says the parrot, "and how about you?" "Well", replies the third dog, "I'm a shagger, anything I can climb onto, I shag. The other day, when my mistress got out of the shower, she bent down to pick something up, and hey, you can image the rest." " Oh my goodness!", says the parrot, "you're definately getting the jab then!" " Oh no", says the dog "I'm here to get my nails clipped."
|
|
|
Post by isa on Aug 13, 2022 22:32:52 GMT
Reminds me of the old joke about two pals talking. One notices the other's dog engaged in this activity and ruefully opines "I wish I could do that". His pal helpfully responds "Well if you ask him, he'll let you". There's three dogs and a parrot in the vet's waiting room. "What are you here for?" asks the parrot to the first dog. "I'm being put down" he replies. "The problem is I'm a chewer, I just love chewing things. The other day I got so carried away I completely distroyed my mistresses new handbag, and now I'm for the chop!" "Oh that's awful!" says the parrot. "And what about you?" he asks to the second dog. "Same thing for me I'm afraid. You see I'm a pisser, soon as I get excited, I piss all over the place. The other day I pissed all over my master's new loafers, and that's that for me!" "Oh dear!" says the parrot, "and how about you?" "Well", replies the third dog, "I'm a shagger, anything I can climb onto, I shag. The other day, when my mistress got out of the shower, she bent down to pick something up, and hey, you can image the rest." " Oh my goodness!", says the parrot, "you're definately getting the jab then!" " Oh no", says the dog "I'm here to get my nails clipped." I think I see a pattern developing here. I blame alec.
|
|
|
Post by eor on Aug 13, 2022 22:47:23 GMT
graham “ Whilst Truss - ie Mrs O'Leary “ I think it’s her business how she prefers to be known professions - but it’s certainly not yours. We can make our own decisions on that. I am certainly not going to follow the example of the person who referred to her as 'Mark Field's Old Shag - Ready Rubbed.' Your fixation on her personal life is curious - in the 1990s we had a Tory Prime Minister, Labour Deputy PM and LibDem leader who were all at the time or subsequently revealed to be having extramarital affairs whilst in senior office. And the President of the US did a national address where he outright lied about his own infidelities** and it ultimately didn't matter at all. And 30 years later you seem to be evoking some kind of outrage that Truss has in the past slept with someone who was married to someone else (if I've understood you correctly). So two separate questions - why do you think this should matter, and why do you think it would have any political traction at all? (** I'm not trivialising what Clinton did, I think the Democrats are right to now regard it as more serious and an abuse of power. My reference to it was just about how it was seen at the time)
|
|
|
Post by eor on Aug 13, 2022 23:07:02 GMT
So heres the most recent cumulative deaths totals from the Ft website.
However forgetting that for a moment, Sweden has had only about 2/3 the deaths of England and also done better than the US or EU as a whole. As everywhere else, it is countries geographically placed closest to the origin point of covid which have had significantly fewest deaths. Funny how the one thing they have in common is proximity to the starting point. It really suggests they had pre exisitng immunity. On a regional level, the data supports that, yes. Countries in SE Asia generally fared much better than those in Western Europe or South America for example. But picking individual countries within regions whilst also relying on the generalised regional data is just being silly. As you never tire of avoiding - Sweden fared far worse than each of its immediate neighbours, which could just as validly be taken to show their approach was disastrous rather than successful. Also as the different waves have played out, many of the earlier suppositions about the demographic reasons for regional disparity have been shown to be untrue. Just to address the point you made now tho - Hong Kong is pretty darned close to the origin point, and yet has a death rate in between that of Denmark and the Netherlands, and about 50% higher than the global average. www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/I make no comment on your ideas of the virus or how it mutates or spreads or infects or or or... I don't know nearly enough about that. But likewise restating your chain of theories won't change the fact that you're making claims that the data you cite simply does not support.
|
|
|
Post by eor on Aug 13, 2022 23:19:33 GMT
Wasps probably think the ground if fine for playing rugby on. Indeed, they just played three days of Rugby Sevens on it for the Commonwealth Games 🤬🤬 www.wasps.co.uk/news/wasps-group-statement-regarding-arena-pitch-stephen-vaughan-group-chief-executive-officer/Just for a bit of balance. Essentially their position seems to be that the football club were told well in advance that this was a pre-existing commitment and they should probably make arrangements to play their early season games elsewhere, and yet did nothing. I have no idea who is closer to the truth here, tho having lived in Coventry for 25 years the suggestion of presumptuous and entitled indolence on the part of the football club feels dismally famil1ar...
|
|
|
Post by graham on Aug 13, 2022 23:38:39 GMT
We can make our own decisions on that. I am certainly not going to follow the example of the person who referred to her as 'Mark Field's Old Shag - Ready Rubbed.' Your fixation on her personal life is curious - in the 1990s we had a Tory Prime Minister, Labour Deputy PM and LibDem leader who were all at the time or subsequently revealed to be having extramarital affairs whilst in senior office. And the President of the US did a national address where he outright lied about his own infidelities** and it ultimately didn't matter at all. And 30 years later you seem to be evoking some kind of outrage that Truss has in the past slept with someone who was married to someone else (if I've understood you correctly). So two separate questions - why do you think this should matter, and why do you think it would have any political traction at all? (** I'm not trivialising what Clinton did, I think the Democrats are right to now regard it as more serious and an abuse of power. My reference to it was just about how it was seen at the time) Major's fling with Edwina was not public knowledge in 1990 when he ran for the leadership in succession to Thatcher. Had it been so, I doubt that he would have been elected . Similarly I find it difficult to imagine Thatcher being elected in 1975 - or Theresa May in 2016 - with such personal baggage. By her past behaviour as a married woman Truss has revealed herself to be 'quite a goer' - but is certainly not 'a lady'. I am afraid it rather conveys the sense of her being a rather 'loose woman.'
|
|
|
Post by jen on Aug 13, 2022 23:58:07 GMT
We can make our own decisions on that. I am certainly not going to follow the example of the person who referred to her as 'Mark Field's Old Shag - Ready Rubbed.' Your fixation on her personal life is curious - in the 1990s we had a Tory Prime Minister, Labour Deputy PM and LibDem leader who were all at the time or subsequently revealed to be having extramarital affairs whilst in senior office. And the President of the US did a national address where he outright lied about his own infidelities** and it ultimately didn't matter at all. And 30 years later you seem to be evoking some kind of outrage that Truss has in the past slept with someone who was married to someone else (if I've understood you correctly). So two separate questions - why do you think this should matter, and why do you think it would have any political traction at all? (** I'm not trivialising what Clinton did, I think the Democrats are right to now regard it as more serious and an abuse of power. My reference to it was just about how it was seen at the time) Indeed, and yet conservatives (small "c") seem fixated on making moral judgements on others for non-vanilla behaviour (even when only involving consenting adults with no harm coming to anyone). Of course, it's excusable if it's one of their own, then it's just Boris being Adolf or something...
|
|
|
Post by eor on Aug 14, 2022 0:01:39 GMT
Your fixation on her personal life is curious - in the 1990s we had a Tory Prime Minister, Labour Deputy PM and LibDem leader who were all at the time or subsequently revealed to be having extramarital affairs whilst in senior office. And the President of the US did a national address where he outright lied about his own infidelities** and it ultimately didn't matter at all. And 30 years later you seem to be evoking some kind of outrage that Truss has in the past slept with someone who was married to someone else (if I've understood you correctly). So two separate questions - why do you think this should matter, and why do you think it would have any political traction at all? (** I'm not trivialising what Clinton did, I think the Democrats are right to now regard it as more serious and an abuse of power. My reference to it was just about how it was seen at the time) Major's fling with Edwina was not public knowledge in 1990 when he ran for the leadership in succession to Thatcher. Had it been so, I doubt that he would have been elected . Similarly I find it difficult to imagine Thatcher being elected in 1975 - or Theresa May in 2016 - with such personal baggage. By her past behaviour as a married woman Truss has revealed herself to be 'quite a goer' - but is certainly not 'a lady'. I am afraid it rather conveys the sense of her being a rather 'loose woman.' And "Loose Women" has been a popular and successful TV discussion programme for over 20 years. Time moves on. As for Truss... I've read several accounts from people who worked with/for her that suggest she might be a bit mad, or a liability, or an ideologue. All of those concern me to various degrees. Whether she thinks other people's personal vows are theirs to worry about, really quite likes sex, or just does whatever not being "a lady" involves in your mind, I couldn't care less about. I agree that had the Currie affair come out in 1990 then Major might not have become leader. But a decade later, post-Clinton, post "IT'S PADDY PANTSDOWN!", I doubt any similar revelation would have particularly affected say William Hague in 2001. It feels positively archaic that we're even talking about it a further 20 years on, and I do wonder if you'd express this degree of concern over a male politician with a similar past.
|
|
|
Post by crossbat11 on Aug 14, 2022 0:06:51 GMT
Indeed, they just played three days of Rugby Sevens on it for the Commonwealth Games 🤬🤬 www.wasps.co.uk/news/wasps-group-statement-regarding-arena-pitch-stephen-vaughan-group-chief-executive-officer/Just for a bit of balance. Essentially their position seems to be that the football club were told well in advance that this was a pre-existing commitment and they should probably make arrangements to play their early season games elsewhere, and yet did nothing. I have no idea who is closer to the truth here, tho having lived in Coventry for 25 years the suggestion of presumptuous and entitled indolence on the part of the football club feels dismally famil1ar... Spoken like a professed rugger bugger. London Wasps, a phoney franchise sporting enterprise plonked into a city with far more of a footballing culture than a rugby one, has colonised a stadium that was originally built to house the football club that bears the city's name. They have done this by exploiting the hopeless ownership of the football club. How on earth a phoney entity called London Wasps can hold sway over Coventry City FC is a disgraceful example of the triumph of commercial and middle class interest over working class culture. Playing Rugby Sevens at the Ricoh Stadium, and taking precedence over the interests of the city's football club, is par for the course. A franchise Premiership Rugby club with no roots in the city has once again made a sporting club much closer to the city's culture it's servant.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Aug 14, 2022 0:08:01 GMT
Major's fling with Edwina was not public knowledge in 1990 when he ran for the leadership in succession to Thatcher. Had it been so, I doubt that he would have been elected . Similarly I find it difficult to imagine Thatcher being elected in 1975 - or Theresa May in 2016 - with such personal baggage. By her past behaviour as a married woman Truss has revealed herself to be 'quite a goer' - but is certainly not 'a lady'. I am afraid it rather conveys the sense of her being a rather 'loose woman.' And "Loose Women" has been a popular and successful TV discussion programme for over 20 years. Time moves on. As for Truss... I've read several accounts from people who worked with/for her that suggest she might be a bit mad, or a liability, or an ideologue. All of those concern me to various degrees. Whether she thinks other people's personal vows are theirs to worry about, really quite likes sex, or just does whatever not being "a lady" involves in your mind, I couldn't care less about. I agree that had the Currie affair come out in 1990 then Major might not have become leader. But a decade later, post-Clinton, post "IT'S PADDY PANTSDOWN!", I doubt any similar revelation would have particularly affected say William Hague in 2001. It feels positively archaic that we're even talking about it a further 20 years on, and I do wonder if you'd express this degree of concern over a male politician with a similar past. I’m afraid that nothing you say has the remotest chance of puncturing this guy’s - literally - holier-than-thou, 19th century outlook on somebody else’s private behaviour.
|
|
|
Post by graham on Aug 14, 2022 0:10:56 GMT
Major's fling with Edwina was not public knowledge in 1990 when he ran for the leadership in succession to Thatcher. Had it been so, I doubt that he would have been elected . Similarly I find it difficult to imagine Thatcher being elected in 1975 - or Theresa May in 2016 - with such personal baggage. By her past behaviour as a married woman Truss has revealed herself to be 'quite a goer' - but is certainly not 'a lady'. I am afraid it rather conveys the sense of her being a rather 'loose woman.' And "Loose Women" has been a popular and successful TV discussion programme for over 20 years. Time moves on. As for Truss... I've read several accounts from people who worked with/for her that suggest she might be a bit mad, or a liability, or an ideologue. All of those concern me to various degrees. Whether she thinks other people's personal vows are theirs to worry about, really quite likes sex, or just does whatever not being "a lady" involves in your mind, I couldn't care less about. I agree that had the Currie affair come out in 1990 then Major might not have become leader. But a decade later, post-Clinton, post "IT'S PADDY PANTSDOWN!", I doubt any similar revelation would have particularly affected say William Hague in 2001. It feels positively archaic that we're even talking about it a further 20 years on, and I do wonder if you'd express this degree of concern over a male politician with a similar past. Personally I am appalled by politicians such as Johnson re- his philandering. I would never knowingly vote for an adulterer - nor indeed for a candidate who I knew to be cohabiting - or who had had kids out of wedlock.I have to seriously question whether Truss would not face very serious obstacles to becoming Tory leader were she to have Johnson's past - ie several kids out of wedlock with different partners plus rumoured abortions etc.
|
|
|
Post by eor on Aug 14, 2022 0:22:31 GMT
www.wasps.co.uk/news/wasps-group-statement-regarding-arena-pitch-stephen-vaughan-group-chief-executive-officer/Just for a bit of balance. Essentially their position seems to be that the football club were told well in advance that this was a pre-existing commitment and they should probably make arrangements to play their early season games elsewhere, and yet did nothing. I have no idea who is closer to the truth here, tho having lived in Coventry for 25 years the suggestion of presumptuous and entitled indolence on the part of the football club feels dismally famil1ar... Spoken like a professed rugger bugger. London Wasps, a phoney franchise sporting enterprise plonked into a city with far more of a footballing culture than a rugby one, has colonised a stadium that was originally built to house the football club that bears the city's name. Yes, the football club that sold their own ground for a fat profit to buy half of this new one, then sold their half of this one for cashflow. Perhaps you think "bearing the city's name" should mean the people who live here should have to bail them out indefinitely like some beleaguered flag-carrier airline?
|
|
steve
Member
Posts: 12,253
Member is Online
|
Post by steve on Aug 14, 2022 5:15:09 GMT
graham Given that more than half the children born in the UK now have parents who are unmarried( at least to each other) this would seem a somewhat unnecessary restriction on choice. Regarding serial adulterer Spaffer, it's not the act itself that I find most objectionable just that it reinforced the truth that in no circumstances could the man be trusted to keep his word.
|
|
steve
Member
Posts: 12,253
Member is Online
|
Post by steve on Aug 14, 2022 6:50:15 GMT
|
|
|
Post by hireton on Aug 14, 2022 6:51:11 GMT
grahamDid you make the point that Johnson's well-known extra marital affairs made him unsuitable to be PM? Or is your moral outrage reserved only for women who have affairs?
|
|
steve
Member
Posts: 12,253
Member is Online
|
Post by steve on Aug 14, 2022 7:15:58 GMT
Businesses faced with 1000%+ increase in energy bills, scary stuff, thank goodness we have the f business party at the helm. youtu.be/67TgwcLQ2gI
|
|
steve
Member
Posts: 12,253
Member is Online
|
Post by steve on Aug 14, 2022 7:49:45 GMT
Precautionary tale for the day.
|
|
|
Post by laszlo4new on Aug 14, 2022 8:42:20 GMT
As climate change and heatwave and drought was quite extensively and interestingly discussed here. There is something not really mentioned in this context: the working day. Since mid-June about 12,000 people died of high heat in Europe (not EU). With Germany: 8,000, Spain 2,700, Portugal 1,000. Not much has been done yet, but some initial things have. In Madrid, due some death (e.g. elpais.com/espana/madrid/2022-07-18/el-barrendero-fallecido-por-un-golpe-de-calor-en-madrid-tenia-un-contrato-de-un-mes-y-le-habia-cambiado-el-turno-a-un-companero.html ), it is illegal now to work in open space in higher than 39 degrees and the afternoon shift starts at 5 pm instead of 2:30 pm. (In Spain movements on both the Right and the Left have campaigned for abolishing the long lunch break because workers spend more than 10 hours in work, because some want to coordinate with the rest of the EU, and the Catalan separatists attribute the siesta a Franco-legacy). In Germany the construction worker trade union demands longer lunch breaks and in the Netherlands some farms introduced the siesta ( www.nu.nl/economie/6212453/werken-in-de-warmte-we-gaan-een-soort-siesta-houden.html ). The ETUC (European trade union) is now campaigning for a unified maximum temperature for work outside (it is unclear, but looks like 24 degrees). There are such rules in Montenegro (36 degrees), Slovenia (28 degrees), Belgium (18 degrees). In Hungary the legislation (from 2002) is very extensive but gives a lot of free room for employers. The ETUC considers the long lunchbreak an appropriate solution. So does the IG BAU (the German trade union mentioned earlier), and also wants to include the temperature of the materials in the legislation (apparently roof tiles can reach 80 degrees in temperature). A research project by the University of Copenhagen shows that after introducing siesta, not only health improved, but productivity increased. However, the research also shows that starting the working day 2-3 hours earlier has an even bigger positive effect. The Leftish Spanish campaigners agree, but they also highlight the need of change of opening of shops, schools, and payment (compensation) for the lost lunch break time if the working day started earlier.
|
|
Danny
Member
Posts: 9,791
|
Post by Danny on Aug 14, 2022 8:42:55 GMT
My heating bills will be OK this year, my electricity costs will rise, but are a small proportion of my energy spend. Why should I get a tax cut, or receive a subsidy to help with my heating, when my heating costs are just on the top side of normal? The way to tackle this is to craft a specific package focused mainly in gas, with some assistance for electricity as well, particularly for those households on electric heating. All very doable for a government that functions, which is really where the problem lies. Hmm. My energy bills are higher for electricity than gas, which is with gas heating and hot water (combi on demand) but not cooking. My current gas consumption is very low and probably the bill is mostly standing charge. This is based upon my customary pattern of not heating all the time, only when i feel like it. I do have some figures for constant 24hr heating but even those only pushed my gas cost to just over double the electricity costs in winter, and obviously they still fall to very small in summer. Over a year I guess gas would then be greater, but not hugely.
Obviously the price increases for gas and electricity might not be proportionate. We might hope so since a growing proportion of Uk electricity is from cheap wind and some from cheap nuclear (at least, the cost was paid 50 years ago in construction).
Octopus have a budgeting tool which claims the forthcoming price rises will cost me an additional £1000 over the year to next july. This is supposed to be based on my past usage. Doesnt separate gas and electricity.
If you did want to only subsidise heating, I'd think you would need to inspect an awful lot of homes to identify exactly how they used energy and compile a register. But in the end would it really make much difference? if you didnt subsidise electricity but only gas, wouldnt you give twice as much subsidy on gas - and then transfer that same amount to subsidising electricity if someone registerd as electric heating? I dont think anyone believes government will pay the true cost of these increases so its going to be a lump sum token contribution for everyone.
|
|
|
Post by Mark on Aug 14, 2022 9:35:34 GMT
By her past behaviour as a married woman Truss has revealed herself to be 'quite a goer' - but is certainly not 'a lady'. I am afraid it rather conveys the sense of her being a rather 'loose woman.' *** ADMIN *** The subject of past sexual liasons is a legitimate one - as being a site that discusses polling, it will be one that will influence some votes - and much has been made of those of Johnson. Discussion of how or whether such things will affect polling is absolutely fine. Discussion of issues around this, for example, whether such things would affect a female candidate more than a male one, is also absolutely fine. I will, however, ask that such discussions do not resort to misogyny/sexism. What I have highlighted above is tame compared to one or two other things I have read on this thread and will remind members that - as stated in the board rules - sexism is not aceptable here.
|
|
Danny
Member
Posts: 9,791
|
Post by Danny on Aug 14, 2022 9:51:45 GMT
So heres the most recent cumulative deaths totals from the Ft website. However forgetting that for a moment, Sweden has had only about 2/3 the deaths of England and also done better than the US or EU as a whole. As everywhere else, it is countries geographically placed closest to the origin point of covid which have had significantly fewest deaths. Funny how the one thing they have in common is proximity to the starting point. It really suggests they had pre exisitng immunity. On a regional level, the data supports that, yes. Countries in SE Asia generally fared much better than those in Western Europe or South America for example. But picking individual countries within regions whilst also relying on the generalised regional data is just being silly. The FT website only allows you to compare 6 countries at once. I'd have been happy adding more. I do not avoid this and have answered in the past at length. I get the feeling though people dont want me to cover every point every time I post? Its obviously true that if you succeed in keeping out covid completely, then no one dies at all. See NZ on the graph as an example of a steady rate of deaths since they started relaxing restrictions this year but not before. If you extrapolate their current trend, then in a couple of years they could catch up with the total death rate in the UK. So what point their isolation? If there is an effect that pre existing immunity prevented early deaths, it helped in isolating a country at the start, then by now there is a very real chance that immunity present in 2019, even if it is still at that level, wont work against new strains of covid. Thats exactly what has been seen in the UK. Not just that Hastings became imune to the first wave because it was infected winter 2019/20 so could not then have covid April 2020, but in hastings and everywhere else the nation caught covid again when the next kent strain arrived. Similarly, if China or Japan or anywhere in that region was somewhat immune to the first wave, its likely that locking down for a couple of years simply prevents updating of that immunity, so eventually a new strain arrives which is sufficiently altered to go through that population as well as the original strain did here. Their risk is that despite being largely immune to the first wave, after it spread around the world and changed, it could return to China, etc, and cause a serious outbreak. I also suggest you look at the UK deaths rate since Aug 2021. The effect of vaccination and relaxation of restrictions has been an almost linear death rate since then. Instead of the surges and plateaus of deaths seen before while restrictions were in force, there is a steady constant rate. But if you extrapolate back the rate for the last 9 months to the origin time of covid, you end up with pretty much the same number dead. The death rate now is unchanged from what it was during the first 18 months or so. Some will no doubt say lockdown reduced deaths which would have been much higher, before vaccination was possible. But others must recognise the facts available that wherever interventions didnt take place, the outcome was no worse than where they did. All countries must have examples of this because timing of interventions was never precise to the exact evolution of the disease in a particular place. So in some places it came and went without intervention. And where it did, it was no worse. All you have to do is look in detail to find these examples. There were more when we reopened schools, when we tried having local restrictions (found not to work...well they wouldnt if national restrictions dont either), when kent arrived. Beautiful example that South Africa never even vaccinated 2/3 of its population but fared no worse than the UK (in fact, much the same outcome as Sweden). Hong Kong had negligible deaths until the omicron wave arrived (see plot below). This fits perfectly with them having immunity to the original strain originating from China, but not to the mutated strains which had been round the world facing strong developed immunity to that strain and then returned to at least Hong Kong even if main China is still trying to keep it out. It perhaps illustrates HK still has bigger trade links with the rest of the world and is still an isolated enclave from China.
We debated here before whether population density is similar in Norway and sweden but different in Sweden and england. These comparisons didnt get very far because the size of a country or its total population dont help you much. If the entire population lives dispersed 500m from any other human then the chances of any of them catching anything are very small. If a vast country has a tiny population, but they all live in just one dense city, then their chances of all catching covid from each other are comparable to living in london or New York. The conclusion seems to be that in Sweden most people live in cities just as anywhere else. And so differences in the disease to neighbouring Norway were likely because Norway managed to keep it out. Sure, if you can stop spread then you stop deaths, but the Uk could not do this for all its efforts, and Sweden hardly tried. Yet Sweden did better hardly trying than the UK did trying a lot. That trying made no difference, indeed on the figures seems to have made the final death toll worse. Maybe Sweden could have done better overall had it kept covid out better like Norway. That isnt the important lesson for us. The lesson for us was that once it arrived, doing little was just as good as trying very hard with intensive interventions. One point about hastings is that covid got here before anyone even knew it existed, let alone had entered the country and become established. But the later strains also had no difficulty entering the UK despite travel restrictions then in force. The Uk unlike NZ cannot suspend trade because we would simply die quite quickly from starvation, power shortages, and even short of that there would have been national revolt against lockdown had general standards of living not been maintained. We import massively. We never stood any chance of keeping covid out but could only manage it in whatever way was best. We did the wrong thing, because fast spread amongst the young who keep it circulating would have maximised isolation of the old and vulnerable by getting it over faster.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Aug 14, 2022 9:51:47 GMT
Thankyou so much for that @mark - and very well summed up for everybody’s benefit.
Paul
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Aug 14, 2022 10:03:18 GMT
That seemed very low laszlo4newI think their laws are a bit more complex than that :- "in Belgium, people with a light physical workload can work in a maximum heat of 29 °C, a moderately heavy workload at 26 °C, 22 °C for heavy physical workloads and at 18 °C for a very heavy physical workload." Brussel Times Good topic though. Surprised that the major economies in Europe -incl. UK-don't legislate for this. But I guess thats just one example of the many which will emerge , of the adaptations which will be forced on us as our temperature rises.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Aug 14, 2022 10:03:41 GMT
Interested to see that Starmer is going to align with Davey on energy costs-freezing the cap as is . No indication of how the funding would work.
Sunday Times reports that Scottish Power and Eon proposed this to Johnson & Zahawi-government guaranteed loans to producers to freeze prices for two years-The loans would be repaid over 10 to 15 years, either by suppliers adding a small surcharge to customers’ bills, or through adding the cost to general taxation. Two years to be spent " rethinking the wholesale energy market, including measures such as unlinking electricity prices from gas prices."
It is also reported this was pitched to Sunak as CoE but he preferred state support for increasing bills.
ST reports on the eye watering cost :- "If the fund were to cover all 22 million households on default tariffs, it would need about £50 billion from banks. If it were to cover only the most vulnerable, it would still require more than £20 billion."
IMF called for governments to expose customers to to market prices as a nudge to reduce energy consumption . In a sense that is the Green/Environmental approach. But state help with bills will be a must. At least for a while.
Which begs the Big Question-how long will these price levels last ?
Over to Vlad for that one.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Aug 14, 2022 10:10:24 GMT
|
|