The Boris Johnson thread.

Started by vandermolen, June 15, 2019, 04:21:09 AM

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Irons

Quote from: vandermolen on May 02, 2020, 08:23:27 AM
Letter in The Guardian today:
• Congratulations are in order to the PM and his fiancee. I wonder what the child will be called. Perhaps they will follow the classical style favoured by Jacob Rees-Mogg and go for Sextus? Or perhaps Septimus? Octavian? Dodecadus? Only Boris knows.

Wilfred is his grandfather, Lawrie (peculiar spelling, can only think short for Lawrence with a w) the grandfather of his fiancee, and a nice touch, Nicholas as both doctors who attended to him during his illness were both Nick.
You must have a very good opinion of yourself to write a symphony - John Ireland.

I opened the door people rushed through and I was left holding the knob - Bo Diddley.

Pohjolas Daughter

Quote from: Irons on May 03, 2020, 05:12:06 AM
Wilfred is his grandfather, Lawrie (peculiar spelling, can only think short for Lawrence with a w) the grandfather of his fiancee, and a nice touch, Nicholas as both doctors who attended to him during his illness were both Nick.
Sweet!  :)
Pohjolas Daughter

Irons

The whole nation, well, at least my family, is waiting with baited breath for Johnson's speech televised live on Sunday on the proposed lifting of Covid-19 restrictions. I am getting mixed messages, the political pundit Ian Dale envisages same as we are as any relaxation will result in many more deaths - the UK has already the worst record in Europe. Some of today's press are predicting wholesale changes including opening up pubs!
You must have a very good opinion of yourself to write a symphony - John Ireland.

I opened the door people rushed through and I was left holding the knob - Bo Diddley.

Herman

#263
Quote from: Dowder on April 30, 2020, 06:47:01 AM
Lol, he's way more literary than Trump, whose only adjectives used are "great" or "terrible." I watched Boris' "Greece vs Rome" debate with Mary Beard and he seemed to have a genuine love and knowledge for the classics, which would make sense, I suppose, considering his elite upbringing.

Of course Johnson is much better educated and erudite than Trump, because Trump is at level zero, whose briefings have to have images rather than text because he's probably borderline analphabetic.

The Beard - Johnson youtube makes me rather sad. Here is a good undergraduate against an illustrious Classics professor (and one of the all-time great popularizers of classics) and he barely lets her get a word in. Somehow the presence of an audience and cameras makes him lose his sense of who he is vis a vis Mary Beard (a mere kid). As it happens I have been friends since my teens with people who were in the same European School in Brussels as Johnson, and so I know he's had every opportunity to get a great education.
As I said I like Johnson's enthusiasm for the classics, which I share, but I am getting the impression that he's kind of stuck in Pericles / Churchill Reenactment Syndrome. In other words, he's a parody. David Cameron was even worse, but not in that wannabe way. I won't even think of Jacob Reese-Mogg, another stultifying wannabe. These are all men one shouldn't even trust with one's car keys.
Of course there are many critics of the way Britain (and previously, the entire empire) has been ruled by a bunch of Oxbridge graduates who literally know nothing except how to compose Latin verse and read Sophocles the way Jebb read Sophocles at the end of the Victorian era, which brought the UK to its current predicament.

Mandryka

Wovon man nicht sprechen kann, darüber muss man schweigen

Pohjolas Daughter

Quote from: Irons on May 06, 2020, 11:47:52 PM
The whole nation, well, at least my family, is waiting with baited breath for Johnson's speech televised live on Sunday on the proposed lifting of Covid-19 restrictions. I am getting mixed messages, the political pundit Ian Dale envisages same as we are as any relaxation will result in many more deaths - the UK has already the worst record in Europe. Some of today's press are predicting wholesale changes including opening up pubs!
Irons,

I remember years ago in college where I was taking a class on English history and the professor brought up the fact that your country was as densely populated as the state of Connecticut per square mile (I think that I've got that right?), so I'm (sadly) not surprised that your rates are so high.
Pohjolas Daughter

Ratliff

Quote from: Irons on May 06, 2020, 11:47:52 PM
The whole nation, well, at least my family, is waiting with baited breath for Johnson's speech televised live on Sunday on the proposed lifting of Covid-19 restrictions. I am getting mixed messages, the political pundit Ian Dale envisages same as we are as any relaxation will result in many more deaths - the UK has already the worst record in Europe. Some of today's press are predicting wholesale changes including opening up pubs!

It is not a matter of more deaths, it is mostly a matter of deaths coming faster. The vaccine is probably years away, to first approximation everyone in the country is going to get it eventually, and between 0.5% and 1% will die. With lockdowns they die over the a long period of time, rather than all at onc.e The big unknown is whether "herd immunity" will happen, or whether people's immunity to the virus will decay in a year so people can get it again.

Well, maybe after everyone's had it the first time the 0.5% to 1% who would die of it are gone, and the next time around people get it, not many die. That's not herd immunity, that's culling the herd. 

MusicTurner

Quote from: Baron Scarpia on May 07, 2020, 10:12:57 AM
It is not a matter of more deaths, it is mostly a matter of deaths coming faster. The vaccine is probably years away, to first approximation everyone in the country is going to get it eventually, and between 0.5% and 1% will die. With lockdowns they die over the a long period of time, rather than all at onc.e The big unknown is whether "herd immunity" will happen, or whether people's immunity to the virus will decay in a year so people can get it again.

Well, maybe after everyone's had it the first time the 0.5% to 1% who would die of it are gone, and the next time around people get it, not many die. That's not herd immunity, that's culling the herd.

That's a very pessimistic outlook, as regards the vaccine obviously, but especially concerning the treatment options, where progress is being made, though general availability will take some time too.

Herman

Historically it's always taken years to find a vaccine. So thinking there will be a Covid Vaccine next January is very optimistic. Which doesn't mean it can't happen.

MusicTurner

#269
I'm not saying January, I don't know, but the efforts, financial support & accumulated vaccine knowledge have never been greater than in this case.

Ratliff

Quote from: MusicTurner on May 07, 2020, 10:19:32 AM
That's a very pessimistic outlook, as regards the vaccine obviously, but especially concerning the treatment options, where progress is being made, though general availability will take some time too.

A vaccine would be wonderful, but there are viruses for which a vaccine has never been found. And the faster turnaround for a vaccine so far has been four years. The novel coronavirus seems to have a relatively slow mutation rate, so that gives some cause for optimism.

If they claim they can test a vaccine in less than a one year clinical trial, that means they plan to deliberately infect people who have been given the experimental vaccine. That means they intend to kill people. It probably takes at least six months to demonstrate that the vaccine itself doesn't kill people.


Ratliff

Quote from: MusicTurner on May 07, 2020, 10:27:36 AM
I'm not saying January, I don't know, but the efforts, financial support & accumulated vaccine knowledge have never been greater that in this case.

My experienced is that science can't be rushed. With more resources they can test more vaccines in parallel, that helps, but doesn't eliminate the basic timeline for testing producing and testing a vaccine.

MusicTurner

#272
Quote from: Baron Scarpia on May 07, 2020, 10:28:00 AM
A vaccine would be wonderful, but there are viruses for which a vaccine has never been found. And the faster turnaround for a vaccine so far has been four years. The novel coronavirus seems to have a relatively slow mutation rate, so that gives some cause for optimism.

If they claim they can test a vaccine in less than a one year clinical trial, that means they plan to deliberately infect people who have been given the experimental vaccine. That means they intend to kill people. It probably takes at least six months to demonstrate that the vaccine itself doesn't kill people.


I doubt that, but they'll try calculating risks. Besides non-human testing, there are actually many reports about volunteers, and you have more resources, including AI, than ever before, etc. But testing and making the vaccine generally available is one of the big hurdles, I agree.

However you also have treatments on the way, Remdesivir being only the first, timid step, among many. Testing those products will be less of a problem, including ethically.

Mandryka

Wovon man nicht sprechen kann, darüber muss man schweigen

JBS

Quote from: Mandryka on May 07, 2020, 11:43:19 AM
'BoE warns UK set to enter worst recession for 300 years'

https://www.ft.com/content/734e604b-93d9-43a6-a6ec-19e8b22dad3c
....the South Sea Bubble was that bad?

My memory of British economic history is not that great. But weren't the 1820s/1830s rather grim?

Hollywood Beach Broadwalk

Mandryka

Wovon man nicht sprechen kann, darüber muss man schweigen

Mandryka

Wovon man nicht sprechen kann, darüber muss man schweigen

Iota

Quote from: Mandryka on May 08, 2020, 09:59:36 AM


Heh.

Concerning thread title, Boris Johnson really has turned out to be a one trick pony, jovial buffoon and that's it. Anything else he sounds out of his depth.

Mandryka

Wovon man nicht sprechen kann, darüber muss man schweigen

Mandryka

Boris's Brexit journey

https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?id=1360396784021463&story_fbid=3110799085647882


QuoteDecember 31st China alerts WHO to new virus.

January 23rd Study reveals a third of China's patients require intensive care.

January 24th Boris Johnson misses first Cobra meeting.

January 29th Boris Johnson misses second Cobra meeting.

January 31st The NHS declares first-ever 'Level 4 critical incident' Meanwhile, the government declines to join European scheme to source PPE.

February 5th Boris Johnson misses third Cobra meeting.

February 12th Boris Johnson misses fourth Cobra meeting. Exeter University published a study warning Coronavirus could infect 45 million people in the UK if left unchallenged.

February 13th Boris Johnson misses conference call with European leaders.

February 14th Boris Johnson goes away on holiday. Aides are told keeps Johnson's briefing notes short or he will not read them.

February 18th Johnson misses fifth cobra meeting.

February 26th Boris Johnson announces 'Herd Immunity' strategy, announcing some people will lose loved ones. A government document is leaked, predicting half a million Brits could die in 'worse case scenario.'

February 29th Boris Johnson retreats to his country manor. NHS warns of 'PPE shortage nightmare' Stockpiles have dwindled or expired after years of austerity cuts.

March 2nd Boris Johnson attends his first Cobra meeting, declining another opportunity to join the European PPE scheme. Government's own scientists say over half a million Brit's could die if virus left unrestrained. Johnson tells country "We are very, very well prepared."

March 3rd Scientists urge Government to advise the public not to shake hands. Boris Johnson brags about shaking hands of Coronavirus patients.

March 4th Government stops providing daily updates on virus following a 70% spike in UK cases. They will later U-turn on this amid accusations they are withholding vital information.

March 5th Boris Johnson tells public to 'wash their hands and business as usual'

March 7th Boris Johnson joins 82,000 people at Six Nations match.

March 9th After Ireland cancels St Patrick's day parades, the government says there's "No Rationale" for cancelling sporting events.

March 10th - 13th Cheltenham takes place, more than a quarter of a million people attend.

March 11th 3,000 Atletico Madrid fans fly to Liverpool.

March 12th Boris Johnson states banning events such as Cheltenham will have little effect. The Imperial College study finds the government's plan is projected to kill half a million people.

March 13th The FA suspends the Premier League, citing an absence of Government guidance. Britain is invited to join a European scheme for joint purchase of ventilators and refuses. Boris Johnson lifts restrictions of those arriving from Coronavirus hot spots.

March 14th Government is still allowing mass gatherings, as Stereophonics play to 5,000 people in Cardiff.

March 16th Boris Johnson asks Britons not to go to pubs but allows them to stay open. During a conference call, Johnson jokes that push to build new ventilators should be called 'Operation Last Gasp'

March 19th Hospital patients with Coronavirus are returned to care homes in a bid to free up hospital space. What follows is a boom of virus cases in care homes.

March 20th The Government states that the PPE shortage crisis is "Completely resolved" Less than two weeks later, the British Medical Association reports an acute shortage in PPE.

March 23rd UK goes into lockdown.

March 26th Boris Johnson is accused of putting 'Brexit over Breathing' by not joining EU ventilator scheme. The government then state they had not joined the scheme because they had 'missed the email'

April 1st The Evening Standard publishes that just 0.17% of NHS staff have been tested for the virus.

April 3rd The UK death toll overtakes China.

April 5th 17.5 million Antibody tests, ordered by the government and described by Boris Johnson as a 'game-changer' are found to be a failure.

April 7th Boris Johnson is moved to intensive care with Coronavirus.

April 16th Flights bring 15,000 people a day into the UK - without virus testing.

April 17th Health Secretary Matt Hancock says "I would love to be able to wave a magic wand and have PPE fall from the sky." The UK has now missed four opportunities to join the EU's PPE scheme.

April 21st The Government fails to reach its target of face masks for the NHS, as it is revealed manufacturers offers of help were met with silence. Instead millions of pieces of PPE are being shipped from the UK to Europe.

April 23rd - 24th Government announces testing kits for 10 million key workers. Orders run out within minutes as only 5,000 are made available.

April 25th UK death toll from Coronavirus overtakes that of The Blitz.

April 30th Boris Johnson announces the UK has succeeded in avoiding a tragedy that had engulfed other parts of the world - At this point, The UK has the 3rd highest death toll in the world.

May 1st The Government announces it has reached its target of 100,000 tests - They haven't conducted the tests, but posted the testing kits.

May 5th The UK death toll becomes the highest in Europe.

May 6th Boris Johnson announces the UK could start to lift lockdown restrictions by next week.
Wovon man nicht sprechen kann, darüber muss man schweigen