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[xxxxxy] 31/5/2020 17:05

mrangryofpurley, purley, moments agoAll Brits should stop going to Spain for next 5 years. See how they cope with that.

[stonedyou] 31/5/2020 17:00

MAIL ON SUNDAY COMMENT:


A week of hypocrisy and spite in which the liberal elite proved they STILL won’t accept Brexit


Britain’s smooth and complacent Left-wing elite are so completely convinced of their goodness and rightness that they think they are licensed to behave like louts.

The behaviour of this group over the past few days has been a masterpiece of hypocrisy, spite and crudity.

Their quarry has been Dominic Cummings, the Prime Minister’s principal adviser. The Left loathe Mr Cummings for a simple, furious reason. He knows how to beat them.

It was Mr Cummings’s political genius that secured victory for Brexit, and again for Boris Johnson, in the December Election.


They simply cannot forgive him for this. They fear that Mr Cummings will beat them again if he stays in his position, and so they will do almost anything to secure his removal.


They are themselves highly skilled at the dark arts of politics. Some would say they are far more skilled than Mr Cummings, because they are prepared to break rules he would never breach.

Others might say this is not skill but old-fashioned Leninist ruthlessness, in which no holds are barred and the truth is unimportant.

The prominent role of Alastair Campbell among Mr Cummings’s attackers tells us much.

Mr Campbell was even more powerful in Tony Blair’s Downing Street than Mr Cummings is in Mr Johnson’s No 10.

[xxxxxy] 31/5/2020 16:54

Boris warns the EU that he is prepared to walk away with no-deal while Barnier calls for British concessions as final round UK-EU negotiations arrive with both sides entrenched. Meanwhile, China faces continued international outcry over Hong Kong power-grab and UK announces asylum options for BNOs.Week eleven of lockdown, the death toll has slowed, but is now over 38,000, No 10 advisor Dominic Cummings is still in post, and Parliament prepares to reopen next week with MPs to vote on new procedures on Tuesday. From tomorrow, changes to lockdown will allow groups of up to 6 people to meet in socially distanced groups in gardens, and children in YR, Y1 and Y6 begin to return to school. The focus this week will be on the final round of UK-EU talks on the future relationship, which begins on Tuesday, with a summit to be held at the end of June. Boris Johnson has warned the EU that they have until September to strike a Brexit deal or Britain will walk away without one. At the same time he has made it clear that there will be no extension to the transition period and that he will not move on issues like level playing fields and fishing rights. UK Ministers are keen to ensure that business has as much time as possible to prepare for whatever trading regime is in place when the current transition period ends on December 31, but fear that EU leaders think that if they run down the clock Britain will cave at the last eleventh hour. Any trade deal must be ready for presentation to the EU Parliament by November 26th, at the penultimate plenary session of 2020 in Strasburg, in order for it to be ratified by the end of the year.DUP Leader Arlene Foster appeared on the Marr show and reiterated her concern for NI citizens and the Belfast Agreement over the implications of the Northern Ireland Protocol, saying "The best way to protect the Belfast Agreement and the people of Northern Ireland is to make sure that there aren't unnecessary checks and that our economy suffers as a result of the NI protocol. We're continuing to work with the UK government on these issues." With Michael Gove confirming to the Lord's committee last week that he will 'Absolutely' hold the EU to its commitment to work on alternatives that supersede the Northern Ireland Protocol, this will be a key area to watch in this week's talks. Meanwhile, the Irish government is to step up their 'no-deal planning' in an indication that at least some EU27 Leaders have understood that the British PM is serious when he says no extension, and no caving over EU demands. EU chief negotiator, Michel Barnier has hit back at Boris Johnson, calling for 'more realism' in next week's talks, and accusing the British PM of breaking promises, saying "The UK has been taking a step back - two steps back, three steps back - from the original commitments. The UK negotiators need to be fully in line with what the prime minister signed up to with us. Because 27 heads of state and government and the European parliament do not have a short memory."We remember very clearly the text which we negotiated with Boris Johnson. And we just want to see that complied with. To the letter... And if that doesn't happen, there will be no agreement."However, the Political Declaration is not actually legally binding but is intended to set the direction of the future relationship negotiations.Barnier also tries to warn that the UK cannot deal with the fallout from Covid and a No Deal Brexit at the same time - an argument that may actually be more readily applied to the EU27.A British source close to the negotiations stated 'The EU needs to inject some political reality into its approach and appreciate that they cannot use their usual tactic of delay to drag the talks into autumn.' As China continues to undermine the principles of 'Two Countries, One System', many of Hong Kong's 350,000 British National Overseas (BNO) passport holders are thought to be considering requesting asylum in the face of increased Chinese repression.Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab stated on the Marr show "China's national security legislation very clearly violates not just the autonomy that is guaranteed under Chinese law, and that the Chinese agreed under the joint declaration as a matter of international law, it undermines the freedoms that were protected"Raab had indicated last Thursday that the UK government will make it easier for these BNO passport holders to become British citizens if they flee the region, increasing their ability to visit the UK visa-free from 6 months to 12 months and giving them the right to work in the UK and begin the process to acquire residency. US Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, has accused the Chinese Communist Party of "crushing what made Hong Kong different from the rest of China" while Trump has decided to revoke Hong Kong's special treatment as a separate trade and customs territory, threatening its position as a global financial centre.China shows no signs of stopping in its apparent attempt to stir up international outcry, with President Trump stepping in on Wednesday with an unsolicited offer to mediate "a raging border dispute" between China and India, which has seen increasing numbers of troops being sent to the Himalayan border in recent weeks. China has also taken over a small island in the Maldives earlier this month, with Indian military experts saying that China has brought in millions of tonnes of sand, potentially to expand the island for use as an airstrip or submarine base.For the latest news and developments throughout the week, please do follow @GlobalVision_UK on Twitter and via our daily briefing.

[jl5006] 31/5/2020 16:53

BB
Please precis
What is your point?

[bargainbob] 31/5/2020 16:39

Wee dug


There are political scandals which are only of interest to a small number of politics geeks, and then there are political scandals which fundamentally damage the relationship between politicians and the public. Dominic Cummings and his trip to Durham and his excursions in eye exams are, despite the best efforts of the British Government, an example of the latter. Do you know anyone who has moved on from their anger and disgust? Do you know anyone who is happy to put this matter behind us and whose opinion of the British Government has been unchanged? No. Neither do I.

During a global emergency, the public will tolerate a lot. We've seen how people are prepared to forego what until just a few months ago were seen as fundamental liberties. People have been willing to give up on seeing their families. They've been prepared to weep as they lose family members whose bedsides they can't sit beside. They've been prepared to give up on hugs, kisses, and embraces from their loved one. They've been prepared to sacrifice their incomes and financial security for the greater good. But what they're not prepared to tolerate is being taken for a bunch of mugs. What they're not prepated to put up with is the smug smirking of a self-serving liar who takes us all for idiots.

It's one thing being taken for a fool by a competent, professional, and intelligent person, a person who comes across as being arrogant but who has much to be arrogant about. It's quite a different matter when you're taken for a fool by a fool, a man who considered different excuses to argue away his day trip to Castle Barnard with his wife and kid on her birthday and the best that he could come up with was an embarrassing parody of a SpecSavers advert. It's quite a different matter being taken for a fool by a fool who claims to be an expert in online manipulation who edited his blog to make it appear that he'd predicted the epidemic but forgot that the rest of us are bright enough to remember that older versions of the blog are archived.

Part time Prime Minister Johnson said last week that people will make up their own minds, as he defended his decision to back his auto-optician advisor, and that is indeed what people have done. They've made up their minds that Dominic Cummings is a lying liar who's being defended by lying liars. They've made up their minds that we have a government of hypocrites, shysters, charlatans, and careerists. And in Scotland they've made up their minds that the Scottish Government has been a model of competence, honesty, and professionalism by comparison.

All this comes precisely when the British Government is in greatest need of public trust and faith in its judgement. Coming out of lockdown is a time of great danger as there is a very real risk of a second wave of infections. Unfortunately the signs are that the British Government is coming out of lockdown in the exact same way that it entered it, mistimed and misconceived and driven primarily by considerations of its political priorities and the economy rather than public health. Now when Government ministers call on the public to do the right thing, the public will only wonder why that same call isn't also being heard by members of the British Government. British rule is do as I say, not do as I do. That's precisely how not to build public trust. It's how to destroy it.

The UK is coming out of lockdown while there are still approximately 8000 new cases of covid-19 daily and over 300 daily deaths. No other European state is considering a loosening of lockdown measures while the virus is still running so rampant. There are serious concerns that the track and trace system being introduced in England is unfit for purpose and scarcely in any state to begin operations. At the best of times it would be hard enough to prevent a second outbreak of the virus, the British Government appears to be creating the very worst of all possible conditions.

What with all the crowded beaches, the BBQs in back gardens, the protesters in Trafalgar Square, there could well be a serious spike in the number of new cases in a few weeks time. Who can blame people for thinking that if Dominic Cummings can do it, so can they - certainly the British Government has no moral authority to blame anyone. The fault for the deaths in the second round of infections will lie with Boris Johnson and his lackeys. Those deaths will be at his door, but he'll just step over them on his way to another shambling attempt to begin a sentence that tells us all how little he cares.

On top of everything else we're being led by a British Government which has lost the goodwill of the public in its desperation to protect its own members. The Prime Minister is more afraid of what nasty little secrets Dominic Cummings might spill if he's sacked than he is of the possibility of thousands of more dead. It's already no secret that Cummings has as much contempt for the Conservative cabinet as he does for everyone else. The issue for Johnosn is that given what's already in the public sphere about the massive shortcomings of professional narcissist Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson, the dirty secrets that Cummings knows can only be horrendously bad for the tattered rags of what's left of this British Government's reputation.

This is what we've been delivered after Better Together promised Scotland in 2014 that by remaining in the UK Scotland would have the best of both worlds and told us that we depended upon the safety and security that only the UK could offer. We have a Scottish Government which is constantly forced to firefight the disasters emanating from Westminster. We have a soaring death toll in Scotland because we're tied to the UK model and any divergence by the Scottish Government, no matter how small or how sensisble, is decried by British nationalists as a threat to the unity of the UK. They prize their so-called union more than they value our lives. That's a lesson we have noted, and will remember when there is, as there most assuredly will be, another independence referendum. A vote for independence will be a vote to value humanity.

[utrickytrees] 31/5/2020 16:36

Japan haven't been adversely affected by the virus have they? Their Debt to GDP might actually start looking slightly attractive in 12 months time could be worth looking at a few Jap funds?

Bobster Derby's got the only velodrome in the midlands were hosting the cycling events for the 22 commonwealth games. That's when all the thefts started. We have a much better standard of ned down here, they all fancy making the team.

[alphorn] 31/5/2020 16:35

x5 - do your stories come from talking to someone on a bus?

Enid Blyton makes more sense.

[xxxxxy] 31/5/2020 16:34

. PeterA , Sunday, May 31, 2020, 08:58:That 12% of UK GDP is indeed an interesting statistic as evidence that the UK can easily survive without a formal TA, but it doesn't fully answer the question which you put in Q2 " Who needs whom the most?"Another element in the answer to that question should be evident in examining EU exports to the UK.The EU had a merchandise surplus with the UK of Euro 95billion in 2019, with motor vehicles from Germany representing a substantial proportion. Logically, that should be a persuasive and motivating issue for EU exporters who would have to suffer UK tariffs under WTO RULES, and if that is the result at January 2021, then the UK will collect those Net tariffs for the UK Exchequer.

[xxxxxy] 31/5/2020 16:33

Sydney Ashurst , Sunday, May 31, 2020, 08:19:Daniel Hannan has put his long experience as an MEP into words many times, and again in the Telegraph today"We are stumbling and groping towards no deal. It's not that either side exactly wants the talks to fail: London and Brussels already have quite enough on their plates with post-Covid recessions. Rather, it's that the EU has locked itself into a position that was designed not to get the best result for its 27 members, but to stop Brexit. Although several of the 27 now see the need for flexibility, flexibility is not the EU's forte. Like a mastodon, ponderous and purblind, it pounds towards the precipice."

[xxxxxy] 31/5/2020 16:31

Mike StallardPosted May 31, 2020 at 8:00 am | PermalinkThere is a rumour going round that Dominic Cummings is set to replace a lot of high Civil Servants (mainly pro EU ones) and also that there is a plot to lock us quietly into the new EU 7 year plan.Nobody could doubt that this is a very good time to bury bad news!I wondered for some time why all the fuss was being made about Dominic Cummings over what, actually, seemed a very common sense thing to do at the time. Stephen Kinnoch, did exactly the same thing and nobody castigated him!This rumour does go a long way to answering that question. EU again interfering in British politics – if it is true!

[xxxxxy] 31/5/2020 16:29

dixiePosted May 31, 2020 at 9:26 am | PermalinkYou may wish our neighbours well but that is clearly not reciprocated by their governing classes and conglomerates. Our governing and financial sectors have all too readily given away our rights, sovereignty, resources and industries to continentals who smile as they accept the "gifts" while sneering and abusing us.Time to stop be "treasure island" and start trading for mutual benefit, the EU countries will not accept that so focus on trade with countries that will.And we should dial back our military cooperation, as it is the European countries need make good their share of the costs, they have many years to catch up on.

[sikhthetech] 31/5/2020 16:25

Pierre,
"Lockdown in my view, should have taken the form of 'if you are old or if you have underlying medical conditions, then isolate yourselves for several weeks because if you cath it, you are likely to die. Otherwise, carry on as normal, with some obvious hygiene improvements to help stop modrate the spread. If you get symptoms, isolate yourself for 3 weeks."


That's what has happened, isn't it? vunerable people were shielded for 12 weeks, the rest started with 1 day of exercise, food/meds allowed, work from home then gradually more easing..


The virus doesn't discriminate... the point is if you have it then you can pass it onto others...

How many drs or nurses fighting Covid19 who would agree with you that the lockdown was wrong?

[pierre oreilly] 31/5/2020 16:10

With no lockdown, the deaths today would be so low that it would basically be over and done with - admittedly with loads more covid deaths than we've had. But now, we'll get a long drawn out affair with deaths gradualy dropping - it's not even clear whether overall deaths are higher or lower with lockdown in the long term. One things for sure, cancer deaths and all other deaths will be higher due to no treatemnt for 3 or 4 months, suicides will be higher (where's the stats on those?) and generally the feeling of hopelessness in tens of millions who have either lost their job or are about to means a more miserable existence for much of the population. Povrrty is linked to death, as poverty increases so do deaths. Overall, i think it's clear that deaths with lockdown are far higher than overall deaths (covid plus resultant) without lockdown, althout the rate of deaths (the only measure the gov were concerned with) are a lot less on days during the first 3/4/5 weeks.

And we have a knackered economy our kids will pay for for decades.

The way i decipher all the decent information is that basically, with a broad brush, kids aren;t affected, the under fifties are mildly affected if at all, and those older and those with existing conditions (at any age) are in danger of death. Obviously, those on deaths door are in danger of deaths from any additional ailment, including covid. (Sad but a fact - a fact which most think is heartless to state for some reason). Are people really surprised that there's a high proportion of deaths in care homes? Haven't those people ever been in a care home?).

(que - the beeb showed a 16 yo die with no underlying conditions, so that destroys pos views)..

Lockdown in my view, should have taken the form of 'if you are old or if you have underlying medical conditions, then isolate yourselves for several weeks because if you cath it, you are likely to die. Otherwise, carry on as normal, with some obvious hygiene improvements to help stop modrate the spread. If you get symptoms, isolate yourself for 3 weeks.

[sikhthetech] 31/5/2020 16:06

JL,

"what if we are wrong!!!"


Did Sars or Mers effect US???

Trump initially said it won't effect US... he then said it will all be gone by Easter...

They now have 102,000 deaths and over 1m infectons..


Brazil don't seem to be doing much....

UK have eased locked down and thousands heading for seaside and parks...

300 ppl a day dying is equivalent to a plane crash every day!!!

Was it right to ground 737Max planes when hundreds of others have been flying without incident???

Prevention..

[jl5006] 31/5/2020 15:59

sikht

There are facts and suppositions.
just a guess - more or less similar - we managed SARS and MERS - without destroying the economy - but the experts - unprepared for any repetition - though they were in charge of emergency planning - convinced BJ - tho DC/BJ were not in favour - to fxxk the UK even though they did at no time sensibly question - what if we are wrong!!!

[bargainbob] 31/5/2020 15:58

jl5006 Nicola Sturgeon saying England figures are not reliable and understated ,the truth will come out either way.

[sikhthetech] 31/5/2020 15:51

Max
" and Greece 10 mill."


Totals for:
Japanese population 126m... twice UK's population.. few infections against 700 at it's height.

South Korea 52m, similar to UK's.. 11.5k infections, 270 deaths..


UK around 300 deaths and 2,000 new infections EVERY day...

[sikhthetech] 31/5/2020 15:49

JL

"mortality rate like seasonal flu."

Covid19 with a Lockdown, seasonal flu without a lockdown... so you can't compare the two...


What would the Covid19 death rate be if there was no lockdown?

[jl5006] 31/5/2020 15:44

Max - and similarly so here.

[maxidi] 31/5/2020 15:40

90% of Italian deaths were people who were very ill from other complications.

[maxidi] 31/5/2020 15:38

Oh! and Greece 10 mill.