love* in the time of plague (and by love* i mean brexit* and other dreary matters of uk politics)

Sunday Times

Paul Johnson.. I might be wrong

sorry.. Its the Graun I'm on the phone

It is the ST I think.

Cummings will get the blame (or as much blame as can’t be shifted onto the public) but Johnson is responsible.

Also being reported that they’ve only taken the half-baked lockdown measures they have because Macron and others threatened to close off EU borders if they did not.

this is the (free to read) article

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/coronavirus-ten-days-that-shook-britain-and-changed-the-nation-for-ever-spz6sc9vb

This is why it bugs me that anyone at all is going along with the narrative that the reversal of their strategy was due to “new data” - they could have “seen what was happening in Italy” before they came up with the strategy because it was already fucking happening in Italy at that point, and it didn’t take a bombshell study from imperial college to see that the same would happen here. Half the world and the WHO was screaming “what the hell are you doing you reckless idiots” at us, it didn’t only become a thing when some our own boffins said so

A lot of it is face-saving from journalists and commentators who swallowed and then took to social media to start mocking members of the public who expressed perfectly rational fears and doubts about the approach. This is different from the group who took the approach "I don't really know enough about but this but I'm relieved they're listening to the experts", who in general aren't parroting absurd lines about the science changing.

Johnson bears responsibility for elevating Cummings to a position of power unprecedented among recent aides (even Alistair Campbell didn't feel as dominant) and then not putting enough of a check on him, because all Johnson ever really wanted was the status of being PM with other people to do the difficult bits. But Cummings will get the blame, a lot of the media, virtually the entire civil service and probably a large chunk of Tory MPs are absolutely desperate to get rid of him.

Also in terms of the sheer number of enemies created in a short period of time Cummings is probably right up there.

I heard this consultant cardiologist on the radio yesterday who believed he had recently recovered from COVID 19 and he was absolutely scathing about Herd Immunity. He says the concept that you become immune is a "nice idea" but there was scientific basis for it. And he said when thousands of lives are at stake it isn't a time for road testing "wacky new ideas" you need to fall back on the tried and trusted methods that other countries have used to some levels of success. This should have been glaringly obvious at the time imo. Heads should roll over this.

no scientific basis I meant

All of which would cement his paranoid, confrontational worldview. Maybe once the death rate inevitable starts ramping up in a week or so there'll be a Rasputin(Rand-sputin?)-esque assassination attempt from the backbenches, wouldn't count on it though.

xpost

Also if the timeline in that report is correct then Cummings realised he'd fucked up within 24hrs of the herd immunity statement and then continued with the approach for days afterwards?

Right, woken up to this Cummings thing, all I'm going to say is don't focus on the oddball adviser. Focus on the elected people who are meant to be accountable to us, who hired the oddball. Don't be satisfied if they throw him under the bus when this is all done with.

— Sinan Kose (@TheSinanKose) March 22, 2020

I bet when it comes to self-preservation he's strictly locus communis*

*sorry for biting on yr style Pom!

probably got it wrong anyway but I meant received wisdom!

I bet Cummings would go down much easier than Ras.

When you work as a paramedic for the NHS and you get evicted over a text by your land lady. Because of this I now won't be able to work my 12hr night shift tomorrow, so that means one less paramedic on the road. At these unprecedented times we need our NHS demand more than ever. pic.twitter.com/gfxbIykElq

— Joseph Hoar (@joseph_hoar) March 21, 2020

what safety measures against landlords?

Surely that's illegal even under pre-crisis laws?

The "if pensioners have to die so be it" is being attributed to Cummings but it was absolutely the government strategy that was coming out of Johnson's mouth only days ago (and was called out for what it was on twitter). That piece is clearly setting up the fall guy for when the worst hits.

yes, cummings is toast and there will be lynch mobs after him. yeah I can see it now ..Johnson will be blameless.

Also the government announced a blanket ban on evictions days ago. The passive aggressive "I'm sure you'll understand" tone is peak landlord speak though.

From replies it appears unclear whether this person is a tenant or a lodger? I think the latter are getting fucked over

"Sorry I never normally do this" is that a Dr H Shipman quote?

yes, cummings is toast and there will be lynch mobs after him

Oh Domniepaws. The grudging admiration people had for this utter cunt because he sacked some old school Tories and rattled the Sir Humphreys in the Civil Service was always bullshit.

Johnson was already the least popular incoming PM in modern times. I know he has most of the media on his side but expecting him to evade blame when people's parents and grandparents start dying in their thousands is massively overestimating the credulity of the electorate.

AF going full xyzzzzz is it? We do love to see it.

I was, a while ago, considering posting "scientists now speculate that we may be entering what they call the 'xyzzzz_ timeline', where a natural disaster forces the adoption of widespread socialism" - and then Italy did some of that and he posted a tweet about it, so the moment passed.

I think of exhortations to violence against politicians as being more calzino and NV's department, to be honest?

me = regretfully, calz = gleefully

History has shown asking corrupt pols who are invested in the status quo and its policies of violence don't respond to being asked nicely, but I wouldn't really kill anybody. But I will predict wishing death on pols will be the height of fashion in April.

That eviction tweet - there is a hypothetical but not unlikely scenario where health workers are lodging with vulnerable, at risk people who are now being told to isolate themselves and for very good reason. Who knows if that applies in this case though?

Still shitty obv

Johnson issuing what I assume to be a strongly worded plea for people to not visit their parents today, from behind the Telegraph paywall.

The Sunday Times paywall, in fact.

Got to look after Times readers.

"Don't kill my voters" -- Boris Johnson

"and then Italy did some of that and he posted a tweet about it, so the moment passed."

Spain nationalising hospitals and California using empty hotels to house the homeless too. Quietly observing like I normally do..

For all the hardman bullshit politicians spout about preparedness for war, the importance of having a nuclear deterrent and the psychotic button-pushing macho posturing, we seemingly have no plan in place for actually protecting ourselves against a biological attack, which is essentially what this is, albeit one without an adversary

the fucking state of the UK govt. Taiwan's vice president has previous experience as an epidemiologist and they have experience with SARS, hmm how come they never tried Herd Immunity?

*sorry for biting on yr style Pom!

Be my guest!

Superbrain Dom knows better than any epidemologist.

much too late now for me to outpace NV or calz i guess but:

i am face-to-face kind but also i have lulled myself to sleep by thinking of guillotines and tumbrils and calamitous sinkholes under the mighty for several years now

― mark s, Friday, 20 March 2020 10:16 (two days ago) bookmarkflaglink

i talked abt this recently with my sister (also face-to-face kind). we discussed how routinely we now both call on images of heads on spikes and piles of skulls these days. i'm glad for many reasons that my mum and dad aren't around for all this but honestly this is one of them

get one sense of perspective you bootlicking fuck

"You led the party to the worst defeat in 85 years..." - @SophyRidgeSky.

Labour leader @jeremycorbyn says they had "unprecedented attacks made against" them in the 2019 election.

Follow #Ridge live: https://t.co/aIQJkNaOWE pic.twitter.com/D57rL84BN6

— Sophy Ridge on Sunday (@RidgeOnSunday) March 22, 2020

Because its sunny there is bumper turnout at the local graveyard this aft, nice mix of elderly and children in there as well. Social distancing? Nope it was like a fricking Stanley Spencer painting.

There’ll be bumper turnout at a lot of local graveyards soon enough iykwim

Tbf at least there won't be any tiresome funerals to avoid when they start an industrial corpse incineration program!

Gonna need extra big coffins to space the bearers properly

lol i've seen this a lot. i'm surprised that markets are still on. went for a bike ride yesterday, and while the centre of London was dead, Brixton was heaving, bougie farm food 'market' Barley and Sage in Battersea was rammed inside and out with people with their kids chatting and having coffees. Market at Oval was v busy. Some cafes still open. High streets in Chiswick and Ealing v busy, likewise market in Shepherd's Bush.

And today the market in Herne Hill is quite busy, though a lot of traders have stayed away thank god - I can understand if it were fresh produce, but these one day markets are often processed food and knick-knacks and just draw lots of people to them in one go (rather than the fixed shops).

that was an xpost to calz.

herne hill market is so fn grim

went for a walk in the city today to look at st mary woolnoth and the plaques around smithfield and to enjoy the eeriness of the quiet. my dog took a shit in paternoster square.

Yes, probably both a good and bad time for the sun to come out. I certainly enjoyed my long walk today but I’m sure too many people are planning bbq parties