Brexit, for once some facts.

[oyster]

I expect the overall outcome will be for the better.
More people want to work from home, less long distance commuting, less crowding on trains, better air quality etc. I wouldn't mind too much that air travels continue to be restricted to essential trips only.
The area of concern is education.

All my life I have been amazed at the commuting that people take on. I've done enough myself - long distance and local. When I first started, it was about twenty minutes of train and thirty minutes walking. Unpleasant in bad weather, I have to say! But the walk was usually positive.

 

[flecc]

The impossibility of dealing with this situation is simply because of the sort of idiots that get voted into positions where they can prevent effective action

Sorry, no, we can't approach this with the ostrich attitude.

It is not possible to eliminate Covid worldwide for obvious reasons. So as I've said there is no elimination here when it will always return. The only answer is dealing with it by our individual decisons and actions, supplemented with the right advice from the various authorities. See Woosh's reply above to know what that means.

We have to live with Covid for the present and how bad or good that will be is up to us and our actions, as China has shown.
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[flecc]

China also unmasks:

Beijing says residents can go mask-free as China COVID cases hit new lows

Health authorities in China's capital Beijing have removed a requirement for people to wear masks outdoors, further relaxing rules aimed at preventing the spread the novel coronavirus after the city reported 13 consecutive days without new cases.

www.reuters.com

.

 

[oyster]

China also unmasks:

Beijing says residents can go mask-free as China COVID cases hit new lows

Health authorities in China's capital Beijing have removed a requirement for people to wear masks outdoors, further relaxing rules aimed at preventing the spread the novel coronavirus after the city reported 13 consecutive days without new cases.

www.reuters.com

.

I wouldn't mind imminent unmasking if we had a similar number of cases. Newcastle is now at highest rate since October.

 

[oldgroaner]

Sorry, no, we can't approach this with the ostrich attitude.

It is not possible to eliminate Covid worldwide for obvious reasons. So as I've said there is no elimination here when it will always return. The only answer is dealing with it by our individual decisons and actions, supplemented with the right advice from the various authorities. See Woosh's reply above to know what that means.

We have to live with Covid for the present and how bad or good that will be is up to us and our actions, as China has shown.
.

You have just argued against the point you made earlier!
Oh well, that's life
It's not an ostrich attitude, and eradication had been established with more than one killer disease.

 

[flecc]

It's not an ostrich attitude

It is when your blaming them indicates you think the UK politicians can eradicate Covid. They can't, they can try but ultimately it's everywhere else that dictates, which is why we must learn to live with it for a long time.

To repeat, China has proved that living with it needn't be too terrible.
.

 

[flecc]

I wouldn't mind imminent unmasking if we had a similar number of cases. Newcastle is now at highest rate since October.

Agreed, but our economic position means our living with it is at a different level from China, the cost of wrong earlier actions.
.

 

[oldgroaner]

The latest from Cummings

I find it one of life's great mysteries that this congenital idiot survived the process of selection from several billion other sperm that could have resulted in a normal rational human instead of a dangerous parasite

 

[oldgroaner]

In the Alternative news rag "The Daily Squat"

Eton to remain closed until September as study finds rich people are more averse to dying

 

[Woosh]

It is when your blaming them indicates you think the UK politicians can eradicate Covid.

everyone can blame politicians, those who have power.

 

[Danidl]

It is when your blaming them indicates you think the UK politicians can eradicate Covid. They can't, they can try but ultimately it's everywhere else that dictates, which is why we must learn to live with it for a long time.

To repeat, China has proved that living with it needn't be too terrible.
.

Flecc.. You have lost me on this one.. China's approach was elimination..

 

[jonathan.agnew]

China also unmasks:

Beijing says residents can go mask-free as China COVID cases hit new lows

Health authorities in China's capital Beijing have removed a requirement for people to wear masks outdoors, further relaxing rules aimed at preventing the spread the novel coronavirus after the city reported 13 consecutive days without new cases.

www.reuters.com

.

But Israel reinstituted mask wearing after discovering delta plus reduce vaccine efficiency (which was 88%, 60% for delta with Pfizer, az)

 

[jonathan.agnew]

The latest from Cummings

I find it one of life's great mysteries that this congenital idiot survived the process of selection from several billion other sperm that could have resulted in a normal rational human instead of a dangerous parasite

Well, if nothing else, covid mutation is a wonderful allegory for the purpose of evolution, life not being intelligence or transcendence

 

[flecc]

Flecc.. You have lost me on this one.. China's approach was elimination..

Which they haven't entirely succeeded in doing, though their advantages of authoritarianism and an obedient population have brought them a high degree of national success.

With far less advantages our politicians have been and are even less likely to eradicate Covid.

I'm baffled by the opposition here on this. Surely it is obvious that no one country in a globalised world can eradicate Covid in a pandemic, not even China. And a high proportion of the world's countries will have no hope of achieving that in their own countries for very many years.
.

 

[flecc]

everyone can blame politicians, those who have power.

But our UK politicians do not have the power to eradicate Covid, since their power doesn't extend worldwide, it barely extends nationally.
.

 

[Danidl]

Which they haven't entirely succeeded in doing, though their advantages of authoritarianism and an obedient population have brought them a high degree of national success.

With far less advantages our politicians have been and are even less likely to eradicate Covid.

I'm baffled by the opposition here on this. Surely it is obvious that no one country in a globalised world can eradicate Covid in a pandemic, not even China. And a high proportion of the world's countries will have no hope of achieving that in their own countries for very many years.
.

Unfortunately I have to concur.. We could have eliminated it globally by About June 2020 , but the insane policies by Western Countries, who should have known better are responsible. And in this group I would single out the UK and the USA as worst of class. We in Ireland were trapped by the open border with NI. Make no mistake it is we who are responsible for the development of the various variants. By failing to quarantine effectively and then by repeating the mantra of the economy matters, we have ripped apart the economy.

 

[jonathan.agnew]

Which they haven't entirely succeeded in doing, though their advantages of authoritarianism and an obedient population have brought them a high degree of national success.

With far less advantages our politicians have been and are even less likely to eradicate Covid.

I'm baffled by the opposition here on this. Surely it is obvious that no one country in a globalised world can eradicate Covid in a pandemic, not even China. And a high proportion of the world's countries will have no hope of achieving that in their own countries for very many years.
.

I'm baffled by the sudden across the board narrative of lifting all restrictions. More so as none of it came from the scientific community. First I thought it was the javid colossus trying to make its mark, setting out on a journey towards party leadership. But it seems more ominous than that (or brushing aside care home deaths), someone somewhere decided the money taps has to get turned on regardless of consequences.

 

[flecc]

I'm baffled by the sudden across the board narrative of lifting all restrictions. More so as none of it came from the scientific community. First I thought it was the javid colossus trying to make its mark, setting out on a journey towards party leadership. But it seems more ominous than that (or brushing aside care home deaths), someone somewhere decided the money taps has to get turned on regardless of consequences.

I don't find it baffling, it's inevitable as i posted a few days ago. We cannot afford to carry on paying people not to work, paying businesses to stay closed and denying full education to the young, all to achieve such poor results.

So now we are belatedly changing to Sweden's more successful original approach, something which I advocated over a year ago. Of course thats silly now, since it just adds any ill effects of that to the disastrous effects we've suffered from our mistaken approach.

I've advocated all along, whatever approach one originally had should be stuck to if possible, not changed every month or two as we've done throughout the pandemic. But sadly the wanton expenditure approach Rishi Sunak adopted has now become impossible to maintain, so we are forced into an unwise change of course at a very unsuitable time which will cost us.
.

 

[flecc]

But Israel reinstituted mask wearing after discovering delta plus reduce vaccine efficiency (which was 88%, 60% for delta with Pfizer, az)

I think China is relying on the inherent self discipline of their people and that they've always worn masks for minor infections, so will adjust to conditions.

I'm sure we'll see some mask wearing continue here as well while the infection rate continues to rise, particularly when shopping.
.

 

[Nev]

flecc, someone on the link below bought a Nissan Leaf and has done some costings when compared against a Ford Focus take a look and let me know what you think.
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