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

More worryingly, Yarls Wood have had their first case

Oh fuck.

Talked to a friend who'd been in detention and he said "Daniel, just imagine if I was still there, the place is gonna be total chaos".

horrified by the thought of what level of care the inept and abusive people running it will be providing

UK: NHS staff and Doctors buying makeshift PPE from B+Q
Taiwan: Govt had a count + ramped up PPE production weeks ago when they realised there would be shortages at a critical stage.

you could go on forever on the stark contrasts between the two responses. They've been paying people to lock-down for weeks in Taiwan, with the threat of heavy fines for disease spreading renegades.

All of which saves money in the long run!

Just come back from Hollies. Some people practising social distancing others not. It would really help if people walked single file on paths. Even if you’re not concerned think of others.

I did get a lovely stash of Wild Garlic though! pic.twitter.com/WNORrUhsBa

— ((( Alex Sobel MP ))) (@alexsobel) March 22, 2020

Alex otm, some people even when there is plenty of space for distance have to get right in yr face. And also starting to luv Alex dearly just for being so Alex!

was going through my stores earlier and thinking: how long till I'm driven to drink the cooking sake.

🐦[Just come back from Hollies. Some people practising social distancing others not. It would really help if people walked single file on paths. Even if you’re not concerned think of others.

I did get a lovely stash of Wild Garlic though! pic.twitter.com/WNORrUhsBa🕸
— ((( Alex Sobel MP ))) (@alexsobel) March 22, 2020🕸]🐦

Alex otm, some people even when there is plenty of space for distance have to get right in yr face. And also starting to luv Alex dearly just for being so Alex!

it's jumping out there. first blush of spring here, and after a very long winter people were out in droves. I think closing all the cafes etc has pushed people out to trails, walks, parks etc - cycled (solo!) over one of my usual routes and one of the backroads (with access to hikes etc) was like a motorway

It goes without saying that even if this country had strong leadership who were acting under sound advice and communicating everything properly, executing the radical plan needed to slow down the rapid transmission of disease. There would still be a load of selfish dickheads fucking the whole game up!

the canal is really the only place to take the dog for a walk around here, but you get joggers coming up right behind you and panting down your neck, no matter how wide the towpath is at the time

sounds fuckin hott

lol

I shake-a da hands to 'elp wit da' erd immunitio! pic.twitter.com/Hk3hCF5jbB

— RobertoPesto (@PestoRoberto) March 22, 2020

i'm probably too easily impressed but a parody Pesto account talking in a Gennaro Contaldo voice is funny to me!

I lolled

Isn’t this referencing the late Italian Elon Musk? Still funny though.

https://www.politico.eu/article/uk-foreign-secretary-appointed-designated-survivor-if-boris-johnson-catches-covid-19

Now we're really fucked.

how do infect a disease with a disease?

4. We urge the government to make immediate preparations for the next stage and learn lessons from other European nations. If voluntary social distancing measures are not adhered to, the government must bring forward their plans for stronger action.

— Jonathan Ashworth (@JonAshworth) March 22, 2020

This isn't good. The government are using people as scapegoats, just what does stronger action mean here?

Raab isn’t going to work, given how easily he sweats under pressure.

Believe me, I hate tbf to Boris, but his girlfriend is expecting his nth child, I expect he might be a little frazzled.

Pregnant women are a vulnerable group I believe?

he’s had more practice at dealing with impending fatherhood than most, so no sympathy from me on that front

Not in the middle of a pandemic though - I think? You never know with Boris.

Lotta people out there with a hard-on for martial law and dobbing in yer neighbours

Boris is unnecessarily risking several of my family members with the approach, so all I will say is I hope Carrie stays well. He doesn’t deserve extra, or any, sympathy from me.

I'm not really showing sympathy to the cunt, just setting things up for when he goes the down whole Eden/Suez doolally route.

I couldn't gaf about any of em' tbh .. I've got Turd Immunity!

Owen Jones at his best here. Workers are getting fucked left, right and centre.

Coronavirus is not just a public health crisis: it is a social crisis.

This thread will share the stories of workers who are being failed by government and business. Where appropriate, please use social media to pressure the businesses in question.

Keeping DMing me your stories

— Owen Jones🌹 (@OwenJones84) March 22, 2020

Good on OJ. Guessing none of the sneering cunts in his industry are doing this. Are they still making Richard Burgon jokes?

Lately, Richard Burgon seems a political giant compared to a lot of other Labour wasters. I don't feel bad about 2nd preffing him to Dawn Butler at all. Even though it an inevitably futile and symbolic vote.

I expected the Times story on the Cummings Cull to blow up but I don't see it gaining uch traction anywhere online other than the James O'Briensphere.

Youngest uk fatality so far (18) and a 36yo nhs worker in critical condition in intensive care, really want ppl to start fucking taking this seriously and trying to remind myself that by “ppl” I only really mean one person

My 70 odd year old mum thinks "this will all be over in a month" there is no getting through to some people what a scandal of 1000% negligent, incompetent govt has already unfolded here.

I wish Thatcher was still alive so she could die of coronavirus

Mark and Carol are both still with us, in body if not in the actual country

All jury trials are being put on hold indefinitely until safer arrangements can be made re: distancing issues etc

scientific advice from the government's experts still dictated that now was not the right time to implement a full-scale lockdown.

Is this advice still based on the idea of "behavioural fatigue"? What is the model that says letting it spread now is better than stronger measures to slow it immediately?

vital, unflinching journalism from the telegraph pic.twitter.com/Ot9QJeHqw4

— stupot (@sjooietwoey) March 23, 2020

Ugh, stupid fucking country.

Rail franchises basically temporarily nationalised - all revenue and cost risk now on Government, and franchises will run service, after passenger numbers fell 70% - significant action to keep the wheels turning on the system for at least six months. https://t.co/rEfVZxyKv6

— Faisal Islam (@faisalislam) March 23, 2020

sorry that question mark was an artefact of my poor cut and pasting but the question still stands: ?

meanwhile london hospitals are starting to hit capacity. this was the point where johnson's measures were going to keep patient numbers at that exact threshold iirc

Rail operators must be hemorrhaging money atm. 2.9m commuters getting 75% refunds on their season tickets / not using trains before the end of the year is going to set them back about £7bn, by my back-of-napkin calculations.

Obvs mustn't be allowed to socialise that risk and then go back to paying dividends to shareholders when things normalise, though.

This isn't good. The government are using people as scapegoats, just what does stronger action mean here?

It's telling that there was already preparations for giving cops the right to arrest ppl w/ the virus who won't self-isolate at a time when the official line was still "herd immunity, hope everyone gets it!".

i remembered i had a facemask, as handed to me by a nice #tweedefiance type at the traf sq anti-trump rally of 10398510928374 years i think 18 months ago:

https://i.imgur.com/d1cjf30.jpg

also good mourning lol

I wonder if the rail nationalisation isn't there to reverse the reduced service, which has meant that people commuting into London are on trains as packed as they always were.

Don't give them too much credit this is a hotel chain bail-out as much as a relief measure and looks extremely temporary. https://t.co/bSetO1uqT1

— RENT STRIKE NOW (@libcomorg) March 23, 2020

The discourse seems to be split between "The government communications on this have been terrible, why aren't there ads between every program on the BBC", and "People are largely dim cunts, bring in the army" - hard to argue against either.

Trying to make myself push back against the latter anyway just because it’s clearly being prepared as a counter to the former, which is way more to the point