General MK at home followed by Covid-19

[Manorlounger]

I bigly empathise with the rest of your post. But I can't help being convinced that if 'we' want to minimise deaths those are the actions are government needs to take.

I may be wrong :cough:

A conviction to beat this virus and avoid death is all that any of us can have, at the moment. "Our" government will take the actions they deem appropriate, only time will tell if they were the right.

 

[SteMerritt]

Those advising the government are, by intimation, the better at doing their job.

Why do you think that? I can't really argue with anything else in your post, but this statement stood out.

 

[Manorlounger]

Why do you think that? I can't really argue with anything else in your post, but this statement stood out.

Well, I suppose it is possible that they went out and selected the poorer candidates but, unlikely. I would expect that a degree of expertise had to be prevalent in them being selected?

 

[brassmonkey]

No it doesn't. It shows up how different "scientists" have different opinions. Those advising the government are, by intimation, the better at doing their job.
You and I, however, are not in a position to judge. This is all new, no government has enough information or experience to make 100% correct decisions.

Patrick Vallance & Boris or the WHO plus the rest of Europe plus 229 leading scientists in the UK. Head in the sand comes to mind.

 

[SteMerritt]

Well, I suppose it is possible that they went out and selected the poorer candidates but, unlikely. I would expect that a degree of expertise had to be prevalent in them being selected?

It's also possible that they selected people who were onboard with the message they wanted to say, or they selected people they knew from University. To suggest that people who are offering a differing view is because they are inferior is pretty blinkered, is it not? Perhaps you have information on the selection process the government uses to obtain scientific advisors?

 

[carefreeoufc]

I guess it would also be possible that there are scientists in the UK equally, perhaps even more qualified for the position, however, there could be differences in opinion or ideology on a range of subjects.

basically what I’m saying is are they better than other scientists in the UK and those appointed by almost every country in the world due to ability or because Boris and his Advisor selected them due the them filling their criteria for use.

The @Sarge in me suggests they’ve been selected as they tow the line.

 

[Paul Cannell]

A conviction to beat this virus and avoid death is all that any of us can have, at the moment.

A conviction won't help unless you think braying out "Jesus loves me" makes any difference.

And 'our' government has gone against the experience of countries with experience of surviving SARS and have reduced spread of the disease to avoid overwhelming their health services like Italy where chaos ensued.

 

[Paul Cannell]

suggests they’ve been selected as they tow the line.

Jesus I could die in a fartnight. toe.

 

[holdsteady]

Jesus I could die in a fartnight. toe.

The drunker you get, the more likely you are to survive. Or not.

 

[SteMerritt]

The drunker you get, the more likely you are to survive. Or not.

Well if alcohol-based hand gel helps, got to be some good in taking it in liquid form...

 

[Manorlounger]

It's also possible that they selected people who were onboard with the message they wanted to say, or they selected people they knew from University. To suggest that people who are offering a differing view is because they are inferior is pretty blinkered, is it not? Perhaps you have information on the selection process the government uses to obtain scientific advisors?

Of course that's possible, unlikely but, granted, possible. However, that would be a very unfair criticism of Chris Whitty. Can it really be said that leading scientists/doctors would jeopardise their professional reputations just to keep in with Boris Johnson? It is possible that people have different opinions and that they may even be right. Is it really a time for political point scoring?

 

[Marked Ox]

No it doesn't. It shows up how different "scientists" have different opinions. Those advising the government are, by intimation, the better at doing their job.
You and I, however, are not in a position to judge. This is all new, no government has enough information or experience to make 100% correct decisions.

Those advising the Govt are not, by intimation, the better at doing their job especially with Cummings wanting advisors who were "weirdos and misfits".

 

[m]

Thank f**k for that! Thrown in the back of a pick up truck to then disappear because one had a bit of a cough is extreme. They (the Chinese) are hardly renowned for their human rights, this will be a golden opportunity for several dissidents and victims of local politics to be carted off for ever.

The political bleating on here about our present government is pathetic. What do you want? Everything closed down? Everyone confined? It's now gone so far that people are panic buying anything and losing all humanity and the ability to care about anyone but themselves.
Bunch of f*****g idiots buying up toilet rolls, pasta, rice anything and everything. All this regardless of any assurance that the supply lines are ok. Everyday the supermarkets replenish and every day some moron walks into clear the shelves again. All the time this goes on the less able, the elderly and the infirm are pushed aside so that the strongest can hoard. "I'm alright, Jack"

It just shows how most of society is close to reverting to the stone age.

Agree entirely!

Especially the last line, people are always harking on about how things used to be better....

 

[Manorlounger]

Agree entirely!

Especially the last line, people are always harking on about how things used to be better....

Just finished reading "The second sleep" by Robert Harris, not back to the stone age but certainly in that direction. Quite startling how he portrays a world sent back in time by an apocalyptic type scenario. We are not at that point yet but still an interesting book.

 

[Paul Cannell]

Agree entirely!

Especially the last line, people are always harking on about how things used to be better....

Good point. I'm off to stone wrens and crucify voles to expiate we fools who didn't vote for a return to food rationing.

 

[SteMerritt]

Of course that's possible, unlikely but, granted, possible. However, that would be a very unfair criticism of Chris Whitty. Can it really be said that leading scientists/doctors would jeopardise their professional reputations just to keep in with Boris Johnson? It is possible that people have different opinions and that they may even be right. Is it really a time for political point scoring?

No criticism from me, I have no reason to doubt the credentials of anyone working with the government. I won't, however, subscribe to the opinion that whoever the government have selected are by definition the best in their field, which is what you suggested. In fact, I really hope we are doing this right and the government are on the best path.

 

[Scotchegg]

Just finished reading "The second sleep" by Robert Harris, not back to the stone age but certainly in that direction. Quite startling how he portrays a world sent back in time by an apocalyptic type scenario. We are not at that point yet but still an interesting book.

I look forward to the book coming out on slate in a couple of years!!!

 

[m]

I wonder if in six months we will look back on all this and see it was another bird flu / swine flu / SARS type false alarm, which for some reason they chose to completely freak out about when it wasn’t even as harmful as common influenza. And if so, I wonder what the reason for them doing so was. Why this time? Plenty of people are being confirmed as having it who are stunned as they either feel nothing at all or have symptoms that aren’t even as bad as a moderate winter cold. The government themselves reckon it’s incredibly likely that tens if not hundreds of thousands of people already have it, in which case its impact is minimal in the extreme.

I'd be very interested to hear of a common motivator for China, the States, Europe and the UK!

 

[werthersoriginal]

Jesus I could die in a fartnight. toe.

People have free reign to mangle language these days

 

[werthersoriginal]

Just finished reading "The second sleep" by Robert Harris, not back to the stone age but certainly in that direction. Quite startling how he portrays a world sent back in time by an apocalyptic type scenario. We are not at that point yet but still an interesting book.

Good tip, I like him and it sounds a good choice for now