Coronavirus

[MrGongGong]

....Oh can you imagine if this was happening in 1978 Magazine and Cabaret Voltaire, Devo Dead Kennedys would be having a whale/wail of a time (socially Isolated of course)....and there might be a track called Borishand.....

....now all we get is tepid derivitive slightly funny memes....

Or the real Boris ?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t_GgowniQWk&frags=pl%2Cwn

[eighthobstruction]

Or the real Boris ?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t_Gg...&frags=pl%2Cwn

I hit the show less/show more button and it said : Music......love it....

[Andrew]

He is PERSONALLY responsible for the imprisonment of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe.

Yes, I've often wondered about this. I'm only guessing, but wasn't Mrs. Zaghari-Ratcliffe born in Iran? If she were, I'd like to know if she used a British or an Iranian passport in order to travel to Iran before she was arrested. Not that it alters her guilt or innocence, but it might affect how the Iranians perceive her.

[johnb]

Yes, I've often wondered about this. I'm only guessing, but wasn't Mrs. Zaghari-Ratcliffe born in Iran? If she were, I'd like to know if she used a British or an Iranian passport in order to travel to Iran before she was arrested. Not that it alters her guilt or innocence, but it might affect how the Iranians perceive her.

I don't know the answer to your question but my understanding is that she has dual nationality (Iranian and British) but the Iranian government does not recognise the concept of dual nationality.

[LMcD]

Zoe Williams writing in the Guardian on the PM's message to Britain came up with this which I thought a rather neat image.

I can't help feeling that, collectively and without realizing it, we must have done something REALLY wicked to end up with such a mediocre shower.

[Anastasius]

I don't disagree with much of what you have written, but given that people may take notice of what he says (sometimes one wonders why they bother ... well actually, most of the time ...) he has said pretty much the right kind of thing this time. At least he hasn't come up with crackpot suggestions, even in jest (possibly), which have led to completely pointless injuries and deaths elsewhere - for that we should be thankful.

He basically has said very little, hasn't really "offered hope", but made it look as though he might have. I expect there'll be a bouncing around of different phrases over the coming months - even years - so that nobody will be accused of actually saying or doing anything totally outrageous. So we might see "glimmer of light", "end of tunnel", "not out of the woods", "we must stay firm", and any number of phrases which will be used (hopefully?) to stop people going completely bonkers while there's any chance that the virus could build up a second wave.

The notion that the virus is like a mugger - has a persona - is of course mad. It is just a thing which has no plans, no particular intent - it just does. It's not plotting a comeback - it just will if people don't reduce the spread as suggested. Maybe some people like to anthropomorphise these things, but it doesn't really help in terms of practical action, but it may make some people feel better.

Read his words from the perspective of someone with low IQ. Of which there are a lot. Then his words make sense. He's talking to them as he needs them to continue to socially-distance. Not us lot on here.

[oddoneout]

I can't help feeling that, collectively and without realizing it, we must have done something REALLY wicked to end up with such a mediocre shower.

'You voted for them' is the standard response to that sentiment, conveniently overlooking that the majority of us most definitely did not - and are furious at having to put up with what FPTP delivered us.

[Dave2002]

Read his words from the perspective of someone with low IQ. Of which there are a lot. Then his words make sense. He's talking to them as he needs them to continue to socially-distance. Not us lot on here.

Well spotted - though one might wonder if BJ had thought about this explicitly. Whether he did or not, he's done better than one former game show host. Using the wrong words, even in jest, can have really serious consequences if the recipient audiences don't understand and there's a possibility that some may actually act on "stupid" advice.

The views of the Swedish expert - Prof Giesecke - re the spread of coronavirus are interesting - though I'm not sure that he's got it all right. His view that in the long term the virus will simply kill off older and sick people who would probably have died anyway fairly soon, so that the eventual total of deaths may be similar in many countries seems a bit heartless - though objectively he may have a point. On the other hand, even if some people are going to die this year, surely many of them might like to have even a few months extra. Not only that, though, there do seem to be many deaths of people who were not obviously infirm, and some of those were quite young, which does seem to counter his statements.

He also claims that in countries like the UK very many people have already had CV-19, and are effectively asymptomatic. However, this does not at present seem to be born out by the evidence. The idea that half of the UK population have already experienced this illness in a very mild form does not seem to me to match the data, even though that is sparse. It would require more than that to build up herd immunity and a shielding effect I think.

[MrGongGong]

Well spotted - .

The assumption that people of "low IQ" (whatever that means given that the whole idea of "IQ" is unreliable in the first place) aren't "us lot" ?

[LMcD]

The assumption that people of "low IQ" (whatever that means given that the whole idea of "IQ" is unreliable in the first place) aren't "us lot" ?

I always try to remember that, to others, I am one of 'all them others'.

[Dave2002]

The assumption that people of "low IQ" (whatever that means given that the whole idea of "IQ" is unreliable in the first place) aren't "us lot" ?

Whether or not people round here are of "low IQ" or otherwise, or whether the notion of "IQ" is not terribly helpful, still doesn't alter the fact that many people do act "stupidly" if someone they're crazy enough to believe in "tells" or "advises" or "suggests" something that they might try, with dire consequences - often for them, but sometimes also for other people.

[Bryn]

Whether or not people round here are of "low IQ" or otherwise, or whether the notion of "IQ" is not terribly helpful, still doesn't alter the fact that many people do act "stupidly" if someone they're crazy enough to believe in "tells" or "advises" or "suggests" something that they might try, with dire consequences - often for them, but sometimes also for other people.

Hmm, like their country's appointed leader making light of his continuing to shake hands, you mean? Or those over The Pond dying as a result of following a suggestion of their country's 'leader' that ingesting antiseptics might be a good idea. The former having been bright enough to gain a King's Scholarship to Eton College, the latter, admitedly, of questionable intellect.

[Dave2002]

Hmm, like their country's appointed leader making light of his continuing to shake hands, you mean? Or those over The Pond dying as a result of following a suggestion of their country's 'leader' that ingesting antiseptics might be a good idea. The former having been bright enough to gain a King's Scholarship to Eton College, the latter, admitedly, of questionable intellect.

Exactly. People who set themselves up as "leaders" are not doing their followers favours by such behaviour, though perhaps one could argue it's all part of a Darwinian survival exercise - which to some extent is what Prof Giesecke from Sweden is suggesting as an approach to CV-19. From a mass population point of view Giesecke is possibly right, but, from an individual's point of view he's probably very wrong.

[Cockney Sparrow]

This stuck in my mind since my teen years. (I'm happy to edit in ** if any of the terms aren't PC nowadays).

"Behold the happy moron, he doesn't give a damn. I'm glad I'm not a moron....... By gad, perhaps I am!!!"

I've done the best I can, and its often pointed out to me that super IQ doesn't necessarily equip a person to succeed in life - other qualities are needed.

However, there are a lot of people who need a simple message. And for this lockdown to work, it needs very high participation/adherence rates. Surveys show that a high proportion of the population here in the UK (over 20% - was it 30% or slightly more?) get their news information from social media / "word of mouth" (Wats App, texts etc).

As an example - last night Radio 4 - 9pm "The NHS Front Line: Bradford Royal Infirmary". It tells that amongst the local ethnic minority (minority in the UK sense) its being suggested that they should not send any of their relatives to the hospital because they will not receive treatment, or proper treatment, and will not come out alive.

Personal anecdote: - in a local car park yesterday (don't worry, essential trip) I heard someone asking if the parking charge had been suspended. I put the window down and shouted there was a sign on the machine - charges suspended. Said chap walked straight up to my car - about a metre away, not more, and said he was now looking for the Open Reach technician because of the "mobile waves killing peoples' children isn't it?" Under other circumstances, or if it was clear the distance would be 2 metres I might have had a conversation about it - but I just said it was "untrue - check your facts!" and drove off.

[Old Grumpy]

Personal anecdote: - in a local car park yesterday (don't worry, essential trip) I heard someone asking if the parking charge had been suspended. I put the window down and shouted there was a sign on the machine - charges suspended. Said chap walked straight up to my car - about a metre away, not more, and said he was now looking for the Open Reach technician because of the "mobile waves killing people's children isn't it?" Under other circumstances, or if it was clear the distance would be 2 metres I might have had a conversation about it - but I just said it was "untrue - check your facts!" and drove off.

Sounds like the word moron would be entirely justified in that situation, CS!