Westministenders: Don't forget to stockpile. Again.

[RedToothBrush]

The government is telling pharmacists and drug manufactures to stockpile drugs ahead of the end of transition on 31st December.

In the middle of a pandemic.

What could go wrong?

LQ I have seen names (one in particular) suggested too. Interesting list of Tory Whips over the last 10 years that are implicated by stories of a cover up - including Gove and Williamson.

Sabrina
Oh yes. Its going to be a stinker when it blows because the comments on the very first reports were that it was one of the known offenders

Is it a coincidence that the MP being strongly hinted at, whose name has been all over some SM sites, is the one who recently shot his mouth off regarding Dominic Cummings?

I have no doubt that the young woman is telling the truth. I do feel that the way those allegations are being handled is questionable. There must be a lot of MPs right now who are doing exactly as they're told lest they find themselves in a similar position.

It suits the Whips to keep everyone guessing and that's why they won't release the name.

It suits the Whips to keep everyone guessing and that's why they won't release the name.

All the serious reporting I've read about it has stated that they can't do anything which might identify the victim. I am pretty certain there are 26 people who would love to be able to stand up and say "By the way, it's not me", but they can't as that would allow the victim to be identified.

That said, I can easily imagine an attempt to whip up speculation on less restrained sites that eventually does break the dam, and any subsequent prosecution being abandoned. And I for one am not going to do their dirty work for them.

Just in case anyone needs motivation to stay away from the fridge/biscuit cupboard etc :

This is what a flying 🤡 looks like!

It’s a shame that BJ was brought up with English as his first language odd, I always though he spoke pure bollocks

www.theneweuropean.co.uk/top-stories/miriam-margolyes-on-dominic-cummings-donald-trump-and-boris-johnson-1-6780243

some interesting thoughts from Miriam Margolyes...

If you want to learn a language for the sake of it I’d try Dutch, Nederland, if it’s a matter of building confidence. It’s very similar to English with just a few of the grammar rules. Latin is good for structured grammar whose concepts you can then transfer, German gives you access to various others. French is indeed very very flowery - “I beg leave to please request that you might possibly consider giving.” Dutch is out on the other side of that continuum from English - “Give”. Gotta love ‘em.

Oh what a shame, I always thought French would be the language of rational discourse par excellence as they say...

www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2020/08/coronavirus-will-never-go-away/614860

The coronavirus that causes COVID-19 has sickened more than 16.5 million people across six continents. It is raging in countries that never contained the virus. It is resurging in many of the ones that did. If there was ever a time when this coronavirus could be contained, it has probably passed. One outcome is now looking almost certain: This virus is never going away.

The coronavirus is simply too widespread and too transmissible. The most likely scenario, experts say, is that the pandemic ends at some point—because enough people have been either infected or vaccinated—but the virus continues to circulate in lower levels around the globe. Cases will wax and wane over time. Outbreaks will pop up here and there. Even when a much-anticipated vaccine arrives, it is likely to only suppress but never completely eradicate the virus. (For context, consider that vaccines exist for more than a dozen human viruses but only one, smallpox, has ever been eradicated from the planet, and that took 15 years of immense global coordination.) We will probably be living with this virus for the rest of our lives.

I always thought French would be the language of rational discourse par excellence as they say... You want German for that. Schopenhauer, Kant, etc.

@borntobequiet

Oh what a shame, I always thought French would be the language of rational discourse par excellence as they say...

That's what the French tell you. Aeroglisser, le weekend and all that

Probably worth remembering in that connection, and in light of previous discussions around cultures, that identities crystallise next to the other. Always have, and often the only way of doing it.

@Pepperwort

I always thought French would be the language of rational discourse par excellence as they say... You want German for that. Schopenhauer, Kant, etc.

I thought German was one of the worst languages for that ?

(I'll get my coat)

I have a degree in French (joint with Economics), did two years of Russian at Uni (accepted into Honours but decided I didn't want to do it so repeated a year in order to do Economics), have a Scottish Higher in Latin (an A ) and am currently trying to learn Greek via Duolingo (starting doing Scottish Gaelic but decided I was more likely to make use of the Greek although heaven knows when we'll get to go back )

Unfortunately, my French is no longer as fluent as it used to be as I don't get much chance to use it (it's 4 years since we last went skiing and even then, as we go to the Trois Vallées, I almost have to force people to speak French back to me )

But even though I consider myself to be rusty, I'm still much more of a polyglot than the vast majority of the UK population

Can any of you recommend a good language course?
I'd like to learn French (I'm afraid the 3 years of French I did from 11-14 was pretty basic)

Interestingly, it seems that MPs voted to keep their dirty little secrets away from the public in 2016:

www.thelondoneconomic.com/politics/parliament-voted-to-keep-mps-arrests-secret-in-2016/03/08/

There is no law that states that the accused in sexual abuse cases has a right to anonymity. But, in 2016, parliament voted to keep MPs’ arrests secret from the public – in legislation pushed through by Chris Grayling, who was then a Tory minister.

The rule – which was debated for less than an hour – stripped the public of any right to know if their MP is arrested. Just one MP from any party voted against it.

Grayling, who was Leader of the House at the time, argued that naming MPs under arrest breached their “right to privacy” under the Human Rights Act – which Grayling had sought to scrap when he was Justice Secretary.

John Mann – who has since quit the Labour Party and become the government’s Antisemitism Tsar – was the lone MP to oppose the change, telling the Daily Mirror at the time that it provided an “unwarranted” level of protection to MPs.

Interestingly, it seems that MPs voted to keep their dirty little secrets away from the public in 2016

I think that actually only applies to naming them in the House. Which is a special case that only MPs could find themselves in. Meaning they had less protection than an ordinary Joe who found themselves arrested. My understanding (in as far as it can go, not being a lawyer) is that it's more nuanced than the headline. Reading the debate at the time can sometimes throw more light on the matter ? Although saying that, I really don't have much motivation to invest time in being fair to MPs. Cry me a fucking river.

Pepperwort as a Dutch person I wouldn't say Dutch is quite as blunt as all that. You really shouldn't go up to someone in a shop and say 'Geef me een [whatever it is you want]' - there are some minor courtesies to be observed.

That said the Dutch do have a deserved reputation for being direct.

All the serious reporting I've read about it has stated that they can't do anything which might identify the victim.

That didn't stop them suspending Charlie Elphicke. It's one of those "serious" sources that mentioned the year allegations are said to have started against this MP, giving further means to identify him.

I am pretty certain there are 26 people who would love to be able to stand up and say "By the way, it's not me", but they can't as that would allow the victim to be identified.

I wonder if one of those 26 is the man most named on SM?

That said, I can easily imagine an attempt to whip up speculation on less restrained sites that eventually does break the dam, and any subsequent prosecution being abandoned. And I for one am not going to do their dirty work for them.

That didn't happen with Charlie Elphicke or Eric Joyce, so why should it happen this time?

@DGRossetti

Friends and I have chatted about the fact that Covid will probably become endemic and something like flu, which people get a yearly vaccination for.

Although I wonder how countries like New Zealand will cope. As they can't remain closed off forever.

I suppose it is still fairly early days.

Although I wonder how countries like New Zealand will cope. As they can't remain closed off forever.

Why not ?

Where has this recent obsession that nothing ever changes and that nothing can ever change suddenly emerged from ? Or is it just me ?

It's depressing and worrying. Because if you go around saying "that can't happen" you are 99% of the way towards being the reason it never happens. And as someone who believes in the equality of all humans across whatever dimensions you care to measure them, it starts straying into becoming an excuse for racism, sexism and hatred.

I can easily imagine a world where New Zealand is isolated. And if you can't just think of it as Chernobyl-on-sea and come back to me.

DGR the amendment was to prevent MP's arrests being made public (announced in the House) at the point of arrest (which was the old system) to being at the point of charge, unless the MP consents.

Given Clavs absence, I thought I'd cut and paste from the Express.

www.express.co.uk/news/uk/1318560/brexit-news-eu-us-trade-deal-donald-trump-joe-biden-us-election-spt

Brexit on brink: Joe Biden to 'favour US-EU deal' in major UK blow

JOE BIDEN could scupper a US-UK trade deal in favour of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) with the EU if he becomes US President, a scholar has claimed.

And yes, Elphicke was suspended by the Tories on the basis of the allegations made to the police in Nov 2017, although he wasn't charged until July 2019.