Westminstenders: Political vacuums are very bad things

[RedToothBrush]

Johnson has been notible (once again) but his absence.

Whilst we appreciate he has been ill and has a new baby, we are in the midst of a national crisis and a sense of leadership and guidance from our prime minister has been lacking.

And its not gone unnoticed.

Not just by the press. And not just by opposition. Nor NHS and care managers. But on the ground where it matters.

The lack of the sense of seriousness has dissipated. The sense of duty to country to behave. The idea that it will some how be all over this week when it doesn't appear to be the government strategy. The total lack of policy for a week whilst it's become clear bit by bit that these things have been under discussion and decided upon prior to the supposed key meeting on Thursday from the announcements from the regional assemblies. All in favour of a TV stunt tomorrow night.

Let's see how that goes.

The grandstanding isn't a substitute for detail and substance in a crisis. And we still have the looming show down at the end of June over extension of transition. More optics. More lack of practicality at a time when things will really be on the brink.

The next month will be telling and we hit the wall of economic reality which will bring the whole world crashing in on the lives of so many people.

This is the calm before the storm. Enough the sunshine. Enjoy the time with families. Before this is over everything will have changed for so many.

This is just the start of things unravelling and it needs someone to take control and draw up solid blueprints for all our futures. Is a man who is so frequently awol from where he is supposed to be and doesn't take commitments and responsibilities seriously, really the man for that?

Churchill had a vision for the country that cited housing as our second social service, the NHS being our first.

Will Johnson manage to some how forge out so grand new venture which gives the resource and rewards it deserves to the NHS (beyond lipservice and empty platitudes and clapping, that recognises the importance of social care and can stop the almost inevitable coming wave of homelessness and unemployment

And can he do it without selling us off as a basement bargain to the us?

www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/2020/05/16/inside-story-cia-backed-palantir-embedded-nhs-socialite-running/

Doesn't really bother me, as I'd be gouging my eyes out with a rusty spoon before I installed any government "app", but just thought I'd add to the knowledge ...

I have hit a bit of a wall with corona, not complacency, more a sort of fear fatigue. Initially I was scared, especially as a big fat lass, now I have reached a point where I am less anxious at work than at home.

I have also given up trying to explain that the NHS isn't shut or shit, that all cancer treatment has not been cancelled , that palliative care is still being given in the community, that death certificates are not just filled in willy nilly by any old person in a HCP uniform !

And breathe. God I miss Brexit so much

If only Prettybird!

TESTING ~ or rather not
Yet again I drove past the testing centre on my way home from work today.
Yet again there was NOBODY there
They have dismantled all but one of the inflatable tunnels
but 6 staff hanging around all day achieving diddly squat.

They should be going to the big OAP complexes and testing EVERYBODY
They should be testing EVERYBODY in the Supermarket queue during OAP hour
They should be testing EVERYBODY in the staff canteens up at the hospital.

But instead they are standing around in a deserted car park achieving NOTHING.
Deloittes and the other consulting companies get paid for failure yet again

Meanwhile the local public health people who know how to do the tests properly and are local, are sitting around unused, because of the dogma that only large private sector firms can deliver. When they manifestly can't.

Peregrina
That with bells on.
The ONLY thing that will give School Governing bodies and company bosses the confidence to get the economy back on its feet is
Test ~ Trace ~ Isolate ~ Treat ~ retest

When the legacy of COVID comes out in the wash, the governments that failed to test will be the ones who are denounced

Lockdown was pointless without it
(and I say was because I saw a car on the motorway this morning heading west with bikes and topbox on the roof and 5 people inside ....)

I thought the point earlier about temperatures- and not going out if your temp is above 37...... on this thread people are extraordinarily well informed - and we all know that 37 is an important benchmark. But in the general media I hear people saying "if you have a temperature " which for most people I believe will mean 38 and above ...... whereas from what I am reading most people don't have a sustained fever of that high..... though, and this is the thing with corona, some do have very high sustained temp.

Yet another failure in clear communication.

We've all been in lockdown since the 3rd week in March, for those of us who were going to get Covid, it would have been weeks ago. Otherwise, after 8 weeks of quarantine / limited contact with others, the majority of those who had it, are over it.

Potential carriers will be among those who were / have been all along still in contact with others (key workers, factory workers, teachers in work, etc) and are the ones who still need to be tested. Of course, once lockdown is lifted, the testing and tracing needs to be ready to go for anyone... Not that it will be. Oh, and of course, those coming into the country.

I found myself idly wondering last night if we'll see employers trying to employ only people that have had Covid (and are assumed to be safe from reinfection) ?

Obviously not in the UK with it's mickey mouse approach, but proper countries ?

Go for a job with your passport and C-19 badge I guess ?

My nephew is due to start at west point in September (don't, I know) - anyway an arse about face way that you would only see in the states - if you have had Covid19- you are automatically discharged/disqualified

MrsL
Ah the joys of West Point - my granny accidentally drove into a secure area - machine guns everywhere !!

Re Temperatures - most people have no idea how to take their own temperature
AND do not understand that body temperature fluctuates over the 24 hours and between people
so its a rubbish way to test

and as for Covid antibodies
squid pointed out the huge error margin on the "have it" tests even when done in hospital
and the "had it" test is only as good as immunity lasts for - which nobody knows

My nephew is due to start at west point in September (don't, I know) - anyway an arse about face way that you would only see in the states - if you have had Covid19- you are automatically discharged/disqualified

Actually I can see the point. We have no idea what the long term effects of C-19 may or may not be. Meanwhile, an army officer - who expected to lead men - has to be as risk-free as possible. So disbarring people who have had C-19 from the officer path might seem harsh, but makes sense militarily (if indeed that isn't an oxymoron).

A good friend from schooldays had his heart set on being an officer in the Paras. He put everything he could into studying training, and got as far as the final selection where he failed on one tiny thing. A fracture in his foot that hadn't been spotted previously (he thought he'd overdone running for a few weeks). That was that. As the instructor said ... "We can't have you jumping out of a plane in charged of 50 men, only to go "Ow, I can't walk" when you hit the ground ...".

gutted wasn't the word. Although he eventually joined the Fire Service, and (in my opinion) has done a lot more good there. Fucking hero every day.

Re Temperatures - most people have no idea how to take their own temperature AND do not understand that body temperature fluctuates over the 24 hours and between people so its a rubbish way to test

Plus reactions to drugs, alcohol, tobacco, menstrual cycles ...

My temperature is persistently below whatever the current figure is. Always has been.

Shouty poster from elsewhere ...

DGR one of my DDs runs hot. After several weeks of homeschooling during SARS I was on the phone begging the school to take her as it was always over 37. I wasn’t by the way claiming that temperature taking was perfect, but it is better than nothing. In fact their school was extraordinarily healthy in the months after SARS. They had next to no chance of having it but nobody was bringing any bugs into school so nothing took hold and absence went right down.

I do get that point DG - but given it is likely to be endemic in the population.... well they could be loosing recruits hand over fist (esp with POTUS's approach to the pandemic).
My thoughts were lung function etc can be tested at point if entry with a further physical.... it has been an incredibly hard and complicated road.... what's one more test💁‍♀️

My whole family - well me and my kids are low . If they are 37.5 - they are very definitely sick..... though most doctors will say "that's normal "....

I do get that point DG - but given it is likely to be endemic in the population.... well they could be loosing recruits hand over fist (esp with POTUS's approach to the pandemic).

Is that such a bad thing ? I lost my fetish for the military and guns when I got to about 8 years old. Now any interest is from a historical perspective. Call me a Christian if you like . Not that I believe in sky fairies and their associated claptrap, but here's Isaiah 2:3-4:

Many peoples shall come and say, “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; that he may teach us his ways and that we may walk in his paths.” For out of Zion shall go forth instruction, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. He shall judge between the nations, and shall arbitrate for many peoples; they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.

Or Eisenhowers more secular view:

Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired signifies, in the final sense, a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed.

I run at 35.8 consistently.

If my temp is 37.5 I'm ILL

Well I am sure there are some wealthy/connected families that will use influence and money to bypass that rule.....
Believe me - I wish Dnephew had followed a different path, I don't understand it at all (why could he join the NZ military who tried to persuade him) and be a peacekeeper- which is basically all that they do......having said that I do admire the focus and tenacity that has got him to this point. He has followed his dream.

The divine Maddy Prior and Steeleye Span

Some odd arguments coming from the new shadow home secretary about the post-Brexit immigration bill.

It seems that a skilled job is one with social utility and value. 'Don't tell the supermarket shelf-stackers in my consituency they are not skilled...'

Alright, I won't. But by that measure, who is unskilled?

Another one here, as is DD, who's temperature is usually the low end of normal. Over 37.5 and we're really ill. DS runs higher about quite often is fine at 38+. DS often gets told he's clearly ill and happily running about when DD and I are normal and apparently nothing wrong. We've both had to wait for infection markers in our blood to prove we are actually ill. DH had sepsis and only went above 'normal' range once (though he was high end of it all the way through).

"Skilled" is a dumb criterion to run immigration policy, IMO. There are things which are "unskilled" which we are all (hopefully) seeing are pretty damn necessary. There are "skills" which are difficult to evidence and document. And there are ways to evidence and document "skills" or "qualifications" which aren't worth a hill of beans in terms of necessity or any practical usefulness whatsoever.

"Skilled" is a dumb criterion to run immigration policy, IMO.

Well considering there are zero academic requirements to (say) be an MP, then politician of any stripe is obviously unskilled.

Can we deport them all ?