Coronavirus

[cloughie]

I think there was a reference earlier to "knuckle-dragging oxygen-stealers" - kdos...

Doesn’t explain what it means! Whatever happened to the Plain English Campaign?

[burning dog]

I thought it was a program to help people create South Korean pop on a pre-Windows computer

[Dave2002]

Doesn’t explain what it means! Whatever happened to the Plain English Campaign?

I can just about understand “oxygen stealers” - an opinion that some people are breathing who shouldn’t be allowed to - a severe variant of “waste of space”. But what “knuckle-dragging” is intended to signify I have very little idea. I feel that the terms are obscurely pejorative.

[oddoneout]

I can just about understand “oxygen stealers” - an opinion that some people are breathing who shouldn’t be allowed to - a severe variant of “waste of space”. But what “knuckle-dragging” is intended to signify I have very little idea. I feel that the terms are obscurely pejorative.

Not even obscurely. An individual behaved in a way that demonstrated complete disregard for not only the rules but any concept of concern for anyone other than the individual concerned, which aroused anger in the OP. I have seen the term knuckle dragger used in the comments BTL of my local paper so suspect it may be in wider circulation to indicate a want of intelligence.

[Frances_iom]

...seen the term knuckle dragger....

I think it come from a commonly used cartoon-like sequence of the development of hominids showing an ape like figure moving on legs and arms immediately before what I think is meant to be a Neanderthal who comes before modern man.

Some years ago when I used to look at the US nerd web sites 'mouth breather' was used as a term of abuse for the majority of the population who were not into computing etc - seeing photos of many of these nerds I could see why it was used - their overweight nature indicated a diet of pizzas and coke hence they definitely were not mouth breathers.

[cloughie]

I think it come from a commonly used cartoon-like sequence of the development of hominids showing an ape like figure moving on legs and arms immediately before what I think is meant to be a Neanderthal who comes before modern man.

Some years ago when I used to look at the US nerd web sites 'mouth breather' was used as a term of abuse for the majority of the population who were not into computing etc - seeing photos of many of these nerds I could see why it was used - their overweight nature indicated a diet of pizzas and coke hence they definitely were not mouth breathers.

So now they’ve added covid spreading to their repertoire!

[Cockney Sparrow]

In the Times yesterday two articles
“Foreign experts scoff at British response to mutant virus”
One aspect of the article was that they didn’t necessarily accept that the new strain was much more transmissible, nor that it was the cause of the surge in infection in Southern UK -that more evidence it was the cause was needed.

“A warning, a cabinet meeting and a descent into chaos: the inside story of how Johnson was forced into action”
A No 10 “inside source” (the Times seems to be privileged….) revealed that there had been a meeting of Nervtag on Friday morning where the projections for infection were very grim (“stark” “terrifying”). At 3.15pm same day Chris Whitty& Sir Patrick Vallance briefed no 10. Johnson convened a meeting - Gove, Hancock, Sunak. The situation was bleak - grim.

An early December review indicated likely 700,000 infections/week by mid February, 20,000 hospital admissions & 5,000 deaths. But Boris didn’t want to know despite being warned along these lines. But he had to act when (to use the term in the article) the outcome without more restrictions looked like “Armageddon”.

So, he was indeed warned on Friday, but surprise surprise, its not the full story.

This morning on “Today” R4 c07:22 they had Fauci counselling that we shouldn’t overreact - our Southern (And South Africa's) surge isn’t necessarily proved to be by the new variant and shouldn’t necessarily at this stage (in itself?) require draconian impositions. And then Professor Bell saying that the Oxford Vaccine data is likely getting better than hitherto, is being fed to MHRA and he has high hopes/confidence it will be authorised before 2021. That the efficacy of vaccine(s) can be tested in under two weeks with lab tests using stored antibodies and they are very likely to be effective with the variant still (the German co-creator of the Pfizor vaccine said as much on BBC1 news last night).

I don’t doubt that the tier 4 restrictions are needed. The thought I had, though is that the conflation of the new variant with the tier 4 introduction is that there may be a causation but more importantly for no 10 it covers – yet again (and again, and again) delay leading to a worst outcome.

Johnson is not brave enough to tell the millions of elderly or vulnerable to completely isolate themselves because they are going to let the virus rip amongst the younger and working population for whom beds will still be needed. But his delay is leading to the worst of both worlds.

Listening to the morning news, I tune out to the cabinet “nodding dog” sent forth to say nothing, say it long and repeat short mantras. Tony Blair was on Today (c07:52) this morning and advocated giving the first vaccine shot to the maximum possible and worrying about the second later - if at all - because it seems the second shot adds a marginal extra percentage of immunity. Once again (for all the anti-feeling, some justified) he (and Gordon Brown) still sounds head and shoulders above most active politicians to be heard on our airwaves currently. It was stated there is more from Blair here (which I haven’t read):
https://www.independent.co.uk/voices...-b1777845.html

[Frances_iom]

... Once again (for all the anti-feeling, some justified) he (and Gordon Brown) still sounds head and shoulders above most active politicians to be heard on our airwaves...

My brother suggested I might read "Shadow State" by Luke Harding dealing with Russian malign influence on many topics including especially Trump + Brexit. Interesting book and the latest news re Russian poisoning fits exactly into his tale but he has a final brief chapter on Johnson pointing out he held back a report on Kremlin influence probably because of the bad comments on Trump but also that Russian money probably funded Brexit parties - he also points out the dubious background of some of Johnson's backers.

[Bryn]

Re #4437, my immediate reaction to Blair's self-promotion on the Today programme was that only giving the one dose at this stage might well result in a further upswing of the virus due to those thus vaccinated gaining a false sense of security and getting careless while they turned out to be among the c. 50% not gaining immunity from that single inoculation. He's a war criminal who has thus far escaped justice, not a virologist or leading expert in vaccines.

[Anastasius]

I've just been looking at the figures for my neck of the woods reported by the local rag and rather wish I hadn't. Three districts(including the one I live in) which up to now have had low rates of infection have suddenly rocketed. Trouble is there's no meat on the reporting to suggest/explain why it might be happening - non-compliance, localised hotspots lumped in with general figures, greater rate of testing, inaccurate test results?

I suspect it's the usual suspects. Some miserable toerags aka K-Doze (my attempt to coin a new word into the English vernacular ) having a party or rave despite the restrictions. They are active now in Carlisle - another 40+ new cases yesterday. I despair. We've gone into total lockdown in our house.

[Joseph K]

Re #4437, my immediate reaction to Blair's self-promotion on the Today programme was that only giving the one dose at this stage might well result in a further upswing of the virus due to those thus vaccinated gaining a false sense of security and getting careless while they turned out to be among the c. 50% not gaining immunity from that single inoculation. He's a war criminal who has thus far escaped justice, not a virologist or leading expert in vaccines.

[oddoneout]

I suspect it's the usual suspects. Some miserable toerags aka K-Doze (my attempt to coin a new word into the English vernacular ) having a party or rave despite the restrictions. They are active now in Carlisle - another 40+ new cases yesterday. I despair. We've gone into total lockdown in our house.

Wouldn't account for all of the increases even if it is happening and doesn't fit the pattern of which areas have the fastest/greatest increase. All academic now since we are going into Tier 4 on Boxing Day I've just seen.

[jayne lee wilson]

"Sing if you're Glad to British!
Sing if you're happy that way!"

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/dec/22/worlds-media-ask-how-it-went-so-wrong-for-plague-island-britain-covid

(credits/apologies to Tom Robinson)

[french frank]

Hurrah, we've been moved down to Tier … oops, no, sorry, folks - that was last week - now we're back up to Tier 3 from Sat'day.

Interesting that my MSOA remains stubbornly among the highest within the city - I suspect that this is because we're bisected by a long main shopping high street and there's a lot of movement - people have been coming in and going out doing Christmas shopping.

[Petrushka]

Hmm just as Brexit is about to kick in, the majority of the country will be under virtual house arrest.

It's all very convenient isn't it?