Westministenders: Brevid

[RedToothBrush]

The government have FINALLY started to treat no deal brexit and covid as one entity in terms of fucking the economy.

On the one hand you have one camp who think they can sneak No Deal through as a consequence of Covid. On the other you have people who realise that it might be quite a good idea not to doubly screw your entire economy and to continue to be able to import medical supplies freely.

We now no that No Deal Brexit will involve passports to get into Kent and 7 mile queues of trucks because this has passed the lips of Gove. Y'know one of those who has been denying this for the past 4 years and presenting it as 'scaremongering'.

We are now firmly into the end game where businesses have to make plans based on the government plans and technology. Y'know the ones that aren't complete yet despite it only being 2 months to go.

Johnson has today done an interview about covid restrictions in the NE in which he got all the detail wrong. Its almost as if he forgot the lines he was instructed to recite and have no fundamental understanding of what rules he's putting into place to control the lives of the population.

As we lurch into October, there is speculation of full local lockdowns being brought in to try and deal with the spiralling number of cases which have to be the result, in no small part, of a dire lack of local testing facilities in the North of England. Meanwhile we've got The App finally. The one that doesn't work and the police and many health care staff are being advised not to use cos its so bobbins and will lead to them constantly isolating needlessly. Thats just something the rest of us have to contend with.

The feeling is that Cummings is up for No Deal. Johnson has been brainwashed into it, which lets face it, isn't too hard given how hard of thinking he is. However there is a growing sense that Johnson may now bottle it and declare victory in the jaws of defeat. That might be a premature hope.

We await the answer and the all important question of whether Christmas is indeed cancelled - that is for everyone who hasn't already cancelled it due to financial hardship...

Their content is rubbish, but their front pages are often very clever:

2 GOP Senators too.
Darwin finally rolled out of bed ?

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/live/2020/oct/02/donald-trump-tests-positive-coronavirus-covid-mike-pence-joe-biden-us-politics-live-latest-news?page=with:block-5f77c7508f08abd321a6b5f6#block-5f77c7508f08abd321a6b5f6

Betsy Kleinn@betsy*_klein

At least six people who were in attendance at the Saturday Rose Garden event nominating Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court have tested positive:

POTUS, FLOTUS, Sen. Thom Tillis, Sen. Mike Lee,
Notre Dame president Rev. John Jenkins, and one of the members of the press corps.

@Clavinova, the gist of your recent C&Ps seems to be that the EU freely breaks international treaties, individual EU members of the EU break international treaties, and even within the EU, treaties and agreements are routinely flouted with no consequences.

Tell me again why the UK is so anxious to leave, and what's all the guff about intolerable regulations and red tape?

What is all this Farage blather about 'the agony of the last four years'? It seems to me that the EU is the sort of very loosely administered club the UK should feel very at home in, according to your articles.

Either the EU is a body capable of eroding to nothing the sovereignty of its constituent states or it isn't.

Also, @Clavinova, do you know much about the Irish Leaving Cert, how it is graded, how university applications and admissions are accomplished in Ireland, or the special arrangements that were offered this year due to the lockdown and its effect on schools?

You seem to be grasping at a straw that isn't very seaworthy in an effort to argue that the chaos in the UK wasn't that bad.

Had an early night, but luckily it didn't take long to scroll past the epic C&P-ing efforts! But in celebration of last night's hard work, I give you all my favourite fact that I've been saving up:

🐿 "In the time since humans split from our last common ancestor with the chimpanzees, we humans have lost the genes that made our penises spiky (penile spines are usually small barbs of keratin that line the outside of the organ); gives new meaning to 'ribbed for her pleasure' and maybe we ladies have missed out on a real treat Therefore, you are to conclude that chipping a toenail is exactly the same as chainsawing off a leg, and thusly that the UK is doing Great!" 🐿

Vastly admiring of BCF’s patience and forbearance in rebutting the C&P extravaganza of irrelevance.
So pleased humankind ditched the spiky penises, thanks for that, Elements.

Glad to see that Farage finally gets it:
"We can never have a clean break Brexit with an EU treaty. After 4 years of agony the time has come to just leave."

The purpose of Brexit was allegedly to allow us to make trade deals, he just doesn't want a deal with the EU, presumably in a couple of years time he'll be arguing for a japexit.

An interesting article about how elderly Americans think of Trump getting Covid. Note how the two Republican voters think he's still fine. Drinking the Kool Aid comes to mind.

(Not knowing what Kool Aid was, I never understood what that meant, but it refers to the Jonestown mass suicide, where they drank Kool Aid, laced with cyanide. Apparently though, it wasn't real Kool Aid, but a supermarket own brand. Another useless factoid, which may not be true to show how Brexit will be fiiine!)

Hasn't a poster here been banging on about autonomous cars - saying it'd likely start with taxis ?

www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/business-54379914

Driverless taxis are now available to the public in China’s biggest city. A company backed by the online tech and retail giant Alibaba has started offering a free taxi service – using a fleet of autonomous driving cars – in a small area of Shanghai. It’s one of numerous trials, of various vehicles, across the world. Robin Brant took a ride.

Not knowing what Kool Aid was, I never understood what that meant, but it refers to the Jonestown mass suicide, where they drank Kool Aid, laced with cyanide.

I think there was a docu on the BBC a while back, but most people seem to have forgotten . Incredible since a US senator was murdered when he went to investigate.

In a touch of black humour, I met a chap who worked for the chemical company that made the poison. He saw the news on TV and Telexed (!) his boss with a rather dark memo noting that their logo was prominent on the TV news and asking if they could leverage it in marketing. He got a reply noting it was an excellent idea but unlikely to win much repeat business.

Which is an interesting anecdote when you consider modern meme and the like on the internet.

I have a soft spot for Telex - they were legal documents.

Ken Kerset also wrote a book en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Electric_Kool-Aid_Acid_Test

With the excuse it was over 30 years since I read it, the Kool Aid book is by Tom Wolfe and is about Ken Kesey and his group ... sort of Pop Eating Itself I guess.

I remember reading Tom Wolfe’s books in my teens - the Kandy-Kolored Tangerine-Flake Streamline Baby was another - and thinking myself very hip and sophisticated. Dummy.

Trump gets Covid
Rushed to hospital
Pumped full of uncompleted tested drug
Cured
Comes out ' America has the cure! Look I'm better! Let's open up USA Covid is beat!'
Job done another 4 years of the devil incarnate himself.

No need to face Biden again, no need for rallies cos it's all done and dusted!

Reading that BBC article about various American voters' reactions to the news that the Orange One has Covid and I was struck by this one from a Republican who will still be voting Trump.....

I think for sure they will play a game of "we told you so".^ We have to remember that we have the benefit of hindsight.^

Something actually happening that people had said would happen is not "hindsight" It is indeed "I told you so" - and those that ignored the plentiful information and warnings are the ignorant ones, deliberating choosing to stick their heads in the sand.

What's the betting that the negative consequences of Brexit will have the same reaction amongst Leavers

"No-one told us in advance. You're just saying that this has happened with the benefit of hindsight"

The BBC have come out in sympathy for Donald Trump.

BBC Trending
"Trump did not call Covid-19 a 'hoax' - and other false claims."
"Anti-disinformation unit."
BBC News 2 Oct -

www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-trending-54387438

mathanxiety
Clavinova, the gist of your recent C&Ps seems to be that the EU freely breaks international treaties, individual EU members of the EU break international treaties, and even within the EU, treaties and agreements are routinely flouted with no consequences.

That's a very good summary.

Japan whaling - they don't go out saying they are going to break it - they tell everyone they are doing research .... it's only if you can read Kanji or katakana at Tsukiji fish market , or at a restaurant (it's not even written in phonetically with English letters) where whale meat is on display.
Further hey buy off the poorer Pacific nations to make sure that the commission never has any teeth to take them on their claim of "research" ..... they don't legislate to break the law

🐿 "President Ronald Reagan’s first job was as a lifeguard for six years, and he saved 77 people from drowning. Therefore, have some random tangentially positive spin about Trump!" 🐿

I did vaguely know that Elements

Did he really save 77 people from drowning, or did he stand by while other lifeguards did?

People ate whale meat during the war. My DM said that it wasn't very nice. I don't know whether any of you have had reindeer meat - that's not very nice either, or charitably, it's an acquired taste. Therefore, because DM survived eating whalemeat and I have survived eating reindeer, then Brexit will be FINE.

So pleased humankind ditched the spiky penises, thanks for that, Elements.

I just love this thread in a very unmumsnetty way.

mathanxiety
Also, Clavinova, do you know much about the Irish Leaving Cert, how it is graded, how university applications and admissions are accomplished in Ireland, or the special arrangements that were offered this year due to the lockdown and its effect on schools?

I do know a little about the Irish Leaving Cert - I have several friends in Ireland with teenage/young adult dc - although none were due to sit their Leaving Cert this year - unlike my own ds1 who received his A- level results in August.

Irish school leavers generally sit exams in 7 subjects (their best 6 are counted - I think) - English, Maths and Irish are compulsory subjects although students can follow courses at a higher or lower level depending on their strengths and weaknesses. Universities release offers after results are out and the minimum number of points required for each course varies year to year depending on how well that year's cohort have done - and depending on how popular the course is/how prestigious the university is. My Irish friends talk about their dc scoring 500/600 points etc. Private tutoring is rife and many/most dc aiming for popular courses attend 'grinds' (private lessons) on Saturdays leading up to the exams.

Similar to the UK this year - teacher estimates + past performance + an algorithm.
"Over 60,000 Leaving Cert students register on calculated grades portal after exams are cancelled."
"Students have the option of Calculated Grades which they can use to progress to further or higher education or to work but will also be allowed to sit the exams at a later stage in the year if they choose."
"The department added that number of people who signed up to the port is over 98% of the total of 61,029 who had been expected to sit the Leaving Cert exams in 2020."
"Under the new system students set to receive calculated grades for the first time based on teachers' estimates."

You seem to be grasping at a straw that isn't very seaworthy in an effort to argue that the chaos in the UK wasn't that bad.

Nevertheless, some of the headlines in Ireland have been less than kind;
"They made a bigger mess of it than the UK' - students who missed out on college courses react to calculated grades errors."

More info about the coding error here;
"So what exactly went wrong?"

www.independent.ie/business/technology/explainer-why-has-one-line-of-computer-code-caused-such-disruption-to-the-leaving-cert-grades-39580586.html

TheElementsOfMedical
Therefore, have some random tangentially positive spin about Trump!

Tell that to BBC Trending!

People ate whale meat during the war. My DM said that it wasn't very nice. I don't know whether any of you have had reindeer meat - that's not very nice either, or charitably, it's an acquired taste. Therefore, because DM survived eating whalemeat and I have survived eating reindeer, then Brexit will be FINE.

Had Minke whale steak in Iceland. Not too bad. If horse (which I haven't knowingly had) is anything like zebra (which I have) you can keep it. Ostrich is quite nice.