Dominic Cummings

[Boab]

2 minutes ago, The Mighty Thor said:

The evidence for the 40,000 deaths due to the dithering of the prime minister, who would not cancel Christmas at any cost, is the fact that 40,000 died from the Kent variant which was allowed to spread like wildfire while he wondered what 'cancelling' Christmas would do to his polling optics.

 

There's no pretence from me that there's a rump of selfish ****s out there who have done whatever they please during this whole thing. You just need to read the Coronavirus thread to see the type. 

We pin the deaths on the man that stood up at the dispatch box at Westminster this lunchtime and said he was responsible for all the decisions taken by his government. I agree with him and I hope that he's held to proper account for those decisions. Same goes for those at Holyrood.

No chance. 
Being accountable for that would mean jail time. The public enquiry will be a sham and go on for an appropriate amount of time to lessen anyone’s need for justice. 
It’s what they do ! 
The money’s already safely tucked away.

[ri Alban]

Scotland near wiped covid out by last August. Then the fecking Kent variant came to town. 

[Cruyff]

Didn't really shock anyone as everyone already knows that BJ and his party are a bunch of incompetent, corrupt chancers.

[Victorian]

Channel 4 News going for the throat.

 

[The Mighty Thor]

10 minutes ago, Boab said:

No chance. 
Being accountable for that would mean jail time. The public enquiry will be a sham and go on for an appropriate amount of time to lessen anyone’s need for justice. 
It’s what they do ! 
The money’s already safely tucked away.

Agreed. 

 

Not one of them will face any consequence for their incompetence. 

[Enzo Chiefo]

10 minutes ago, coconut doug said:

 

Great stuff Enzo.  https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/may/26/public-health-experts-warned-covid-disaster-dominic-cummings-herd-immunity-deaths  Devi thinks they could have learned from scotland too.

 

18 minutes ago, The Mighty Thor said:

The evidence for the 40,000 deaths due to the dithering of the prime minister, who would not cancel Christmas at any cost, is the fact that 40,000 died from the Kent variant which was allowed to spread like wildfire while he wondered what 'cancelling' Christmas would do to his polling optics.

 

There's no pretence from me that there's a rump of selfish ****s out there who have done whatever they please during this whole thing. You just need to read the Coronavirus thread to see the type. 

We pin the deaths on the man that stood up at the dispatch box at Westminster this lunchtime and said he was responsible for all the decisions taken by his government. I agree with him and I hope that he's held to proper account for those decisions. Same goes for those at Holyrood.

The Kent variant that was discovered in September?? Mmmm. That is NOT evidence.  If it "spreads like wildfire", that's down to people. The Govt didn't force people to mix at Christmas, in fact they bored us senseless for days warning about it. It would have spread anyway  regardless of rules around Christmas,  I'm afraid.

[maroonlegions]

5 minutes ago, Victorian said:

Channel 4 News going for the throat.

 

 

 

 

[I P Knightley]

1 hour ago, Gizmo said:

And, yeah, it's not naive to blame Boris for what happened in the UK - he's the ****ing PM mate, not just some local councillor. It's on him - that's part of the job (though I hear that pesky stuff like doing his job and attending Cobra meetings, for example, were beneath him during a crisis...). 

If I heard correctly, Cummings said that they actively kept Johnson away from COBRA because they knew he'd throw the meetings into turmoil.

[sadj]

22 minutes ago, Lord BJ said:

 

As there is everyday in the wacky world of JKB.

Well this is true lol

[coconut doug]

2 minutes ago, Enzo Chiefo said:

 

The Kent variant that was discovered in September?? Mmmm. That is NOT evidence.  If it "spreads like wildfire", that's down to people. The Govt didn't force people to mix at Christmas, in fact they bored us senseless for days warning about it. It would have spread anyway  regardless of rules around Christmas,  I'm afraid.

 

No point in attempting to do anything then. Open the pubs, take it on the chin, don't bother to flatten the curve and absolutely do not follow the science. Let the market dictate what happens. Never mind the NHS we're going to privaitise it anyway. 

  People were not forced to mix but you kept telling us what an imposition restrictions were on our personal freedoms. You told us the mutations were becoming less virulent. You knew that because of common sense and because that's what always happens. You told us nearly all the cases were transmitted in Care homes and hospitals. You criticised the Fm when she suggested shorter contact time or no meetings at all at christmas.

  "It would have spread anyway" - another wonderfully erudite insight.

[Maroon Sailor]

1 hour ago, ri Alban said:

Scotland near wiped covid out by last August. Then the fecking Kent variant came to town. 

 

Nearly wiped it out again until the April 02 came to South Glasgow

[Weakened Offender]

2 hours ago, sadj said:

Man come on to **** Nucky , the defence of BJ is look at Scotland? 

 

Sad, isn't it. 

[Boab]

3 minutes ago, Maroon Sailor said:

 

Nearly wiped it out again until the April 02 came to South Glasgow

Or the April O2 4-0 Hibs as we call it !

 

Sorry, serious subject but couldn’t resist !

[Enzo Chiefo]

44 minutes ago, coconut doug said:

 

No point in attempting to do anything then. Open the pubs, take it on the chin, don't bother to flatten the curve and absolutely do not follow the science. Let the market dictate what happens. Never mind the NHS we're going to privaitise it anyway. 

  People were not forced to mix but you kept telling us what an imposition restrictions were on our personal freedoms. You told us the mutations were becoming less virulent. You knew that because of common sense and because that's what always happens. You told us nearly all the cases were transmitted in Care homes and hospitals. You criticised the Fm when she suggested shorter contact time or no meetings at all at christmas.

  "It would have spread anyway" - another wonderfully erudite insight.

I just listened to Vallance discussing his herd immunity strategy from back in March 2020. His advice to Johnson changed and we ended up with the damaging lockdown cycle. But, given your blinkered,  partial views, you won't be interested in that. 

 

You credit Vallance for the vaccine but blame Johnson for the deaths. You think Scotland did a great job of dealing with Covid, despite the catastrophic evidence to the contrary. 

You think the govt are responsible for holding everyone's hand during a pandemic even though individuals are also responsible for their own health and behaviour. 

Finally, you trot out the tired old line about the NHS being privatised.

No wonder I can't take you seriously. 

[Space Mackerel]

Riddy after riddy for 7 hours for Fat Doris and his gang of buffoons.

 

[pharmaceutical01]

1 hour ago, The Mighty Thor said:

The evidence for the 40,000 deaths due to the dithering of the prime minister, who would not cancel Christmas at any cost, is the fact that 40,000 died from the Kent variant which was allowed to spread like wildfire while he wondered what 'cancelling' Christmas would do to his polling optics.

 

There's no pretence from me that there's a rump of selfish ****s out there who have done whatever they please during this whole thing. You just need to read the Coronavirus thread to see the type. 

We pin the deaths on the man that stood up at the dispatch box at Westminster this lunchtime and said he was responsible for all the decisions taken by his government. I agree with him and I hope that he's held to proper account for those decisions. Same goes for those at Holyrood.

I agree with some of this, Thor but speaking as a non-conservative nor a Johnston supporter, Christmas lockdown would have been a nightmare for whoever was in government. You can only govern with consensus and I think there would have been massive disobedience with telling families not to gather at all at Christmas...

 

I would have had my daughters at home ....

[Don Dan]

Health Secretary Matt Hancock says he did not watch all of Dominic Cummings' testimony to MPs today because he was dealing with the vaccination rollout and "saving lives".
 

 

😂

[JudyJudyJudy]

2 hours ago, sadj said:

Awful lot of whataboutery here today

It’s like someone has printed off all the corona virus thread comments and put them in a top hat and picked loads out and re arranged them on this !! Bizarre really 

[sadj]

1 minute ago, JamesM48 said:

It’s like someone has printed off all the corona virus thread comments and put them in a top hat and picked loads out and re arranged them on this !! Bizarre really 

Hahaha brilliant , we will get them on the greens in government thread now too

[JudyJudyJudy]

Just now, sadj said:

Hahaha brilliant , we will get them on the greens in government thread now too

More than likely 😂 how u feeling after your jab ? 

[Boab]

47 minutes ago, Enzo Chiefo said:

I just listened to Vallance discussing his herd immunity strategy from back in March 2020. His advice to Johnson changed and we ended up with the damaging lockdown cycle. But, given your blinkered,  partial views, you won't be interested in that. 

 

You credit Vallance for the vaccine but blame Johnson for the deaths. You think Scotland did a great job of dealing with Covid, despite the catastrophic evidence to the contrary. 

You think the govt are responsible for holding everyone's hand during a pandemic even though individuals are also responsible for their own health and behaviour. 

Finally, you trot out the tired old line about the NHS being privatised.

No wonder I can't take you seriously. 

Not holding everyone’s hand, Enzo, but having someone who could at least translate the message in a clear and concise way. The very first lockdown briefing from BJ was a bumbling, confusing mess. People were no clearer as to what was being asked at the end of it. 
It continued. A long list of vague messages and we wonder now why people were dismissive ? NS could, at least, explain the facts in a way that people could understand, and be more likely to follow. Hancock was even worse. Satire died when this turnip turned up !

As for the NHS being privatised... no need, after the staggering corruption in awarding contracts. 

[sadj]

Just now, JamesM48 said:

More than likely 😂 how u feeling after your jab ? 

I’m all good thank you , felt a bit dizzy when I was out with the dog otherwise not had any side effects so far. 

[JudyJudyJudy]

8 minutes ago, sadj said:

I’m all good thank you , felt a bit dizzy when I was out with the dog otherwise not had any side effects so far. 

This great ! 👍

[Boab]

48 minutes ago, Boy Daniel said:

Health Secretary Matt Hancock says he did not watch all of Dominic Cummings' testimony to MPs today because he was dealing with the vaccination rollout and "saving lives".
 

 

😂

Only two cue cards on a Wednesday.

👍

[The Mighty Thor]

2 hours ago, Enzo Chiefo said:

 

The Kent variant that was discovered in September?? Mmmm. That is NOT evidence.  If it "spreads like wildfire", that's down to people. The Govt didn't force people to mix at Christmas, in fact they bored us senseless for days warning about it. It would have spread anyway  regardless of rules around Christmas,  I'm afraid.

I think perhaps you need to go back and look at the chronology of what happened with the Kent variant and the scientific advice offered to Johnson.

Ultimately it is down to people but the dithering from government and the often confused messaging such as schools opening one day and closing the next allied with a lot of people who had 'had enough of lockdowns' led to a variant seeded in November breaking out in January and leading to over 40,000 deaths. 

Dress it up however you like but thems the facts. 

[Pasquale for King]

1 hour ago, weehammy said:

Ooooooogh! The giant intellect resorts to playground abuse.

 

Trying to come down to your level. 

[Pasquale for King]

Sums it up really. 

[Cade]

Dither, delay, base your decisions on political dogma, cherry pick science to support that political dogma, refuse to acknowledge basic facts, eventually order a lockdown only after it's far too late, do it half ersed, set an end date for it as if you can just wish it away, act surprised when a second wave hits, more dither, more delay, think that vaccinations are an instant win, refuse to acknowledge the threat of new strains, more dither........

 

152,068 dead.

 

 

 

[RobboM]

I'm sure there was a lot of truth in Cummings statement along with a fair sprinkling of revisionism. I was reading again what he said about his own trip to Barnard Castle and self isolation and it stinks.

He is now claiming that it was security concerns for his family that really motivated him. He claims his wife phoned to say a group of people were outside he house threatening to kill him. Thing is it was on 25 February. That's nearly a month before his Covid infected dash to the North. After a couple of weeks they headed straight back to that exact same security risk? WTF?
He also said "it had already been decided that I was going to move my family out of London regardless of Covid rules."

Remember too tht Laura Kuensberg tweeted

 

So is it the case that Kuenssberg's "source" is Dominic Cummings? And Dominic Cummings is giving himself the all clear? Surely a very big question to answer for Kuenssberg

[Boab]

21 minutes ago, RobboM said:

I'm sure there was a lot of truth in Cummings statement along with a fair sprinkling of revisionism. I was reading again what he said about his own trip to Barnard Castle and self isolation and it stinks.

He is now claiming that it was security concerns for his family that really motivated him. He claims his wife phoned to say a group of people were outside he house threatening to kill him. Thing is it was on 25 February. That's nearly a month before his Covid infected dash to the North. After a couple of weeks they headed straight back to that exact same security risk? WTF?
He also said "it had already been decided that I was going to move my family out of London regardless of Covid rules."

Remember too tht Laura Kuensberg tweeted

 

So is it the case that Kuenssberg's "source" is Dominic Cummings? And Dominic Cummings is giving himself the all clear? Surely a very big question to answer for Kuenssberg

In a panic room no doubt !

 

[Space Mackerel]

Oor Devi getting things telt.

 

[coconut doug]

2 hours ago, Enzo Chiefo said:

I just listened to Vallance discussing his herd immunity strategy from back in March 2020. His advice to Johnson changed and we ended up with the damaging lockdown cycle. But, given your blinkered,  partial views, you won't be interested in that. 

 

You credit Vallance for the vaccine but blame Johnson for the deaths. You think Scotland did a great job of dealing with Covid, despite the catastrophic evidence to the contrary. 

You think the govt are responsible for holding everyone's hand during a pandemic even though individuals are also responsible for their own health and behaviour. 

Finally, you trot out the tired old line about the NHS being privatised.

No wonder I can't take you seriously. 

 

 I don't think Scotland did a great job but they did have a strategy and they did learn from their mistakes. The death rate in England is more than 40% higher so by that comparison at least it was a great job.

 

Gov don't hold people's hand they provide a strategy, guidance and explain it the need for it to people. There is nothing wrong inmetaphorically hollding somebodies hand anyway.  We can't all just take it on the chin like you and Johnson.The problem as Cummings has now explained is that the PM didn't understand the issues and so he had the wrong priorities, much the same as you really.

 

The privatisation of the NHS is happening under our noses according to the BMA https://www.bma.org.uk/news-and-opinion/covid-19-conceals-deepening-privatisation-of-the-nhs but what would they know commenting on their area of expertise? Just like scientists and university research as far as you are concerned i.e. rubbish because it doesn't conform to your common sense view.

 

 You don't take the BMA seriously either, do you?

[Enzo Chiefo]

45 minutes ago, Space Mackerel said:

Oor Devi getting things telt.

 

Financial levers?😂😂

 It's not levers that paid for the furlough scheme, it's hard cash. We all know Devi is more political agenda than science but claiming that we were somehow restricted by lack of powers is, even by her standards,  arrant nonsense.  Failing to acknowledge the fact that, without the UK vaccine programme, the UK furlough scheme and the additional UK funding received, on top of Barnett, we would be languishing, discredits any other points she makes.

[sadj]

2 hours ago, JamesM48 said:

This great ! 👍

Cheers James , good nights sleep and hopefully wont miss a step 👍🏻 Thanks for asking , its appreciated

[Pasquale for King]

53 minutes ago, Enzo Chiefo said:

Financial levers?😂😂

 It's not levers that paid for the furlough scheme, it's hard cash. We all know Devi is more political agenda than science but claiming that we were somehow restricted by lack of powers is, even by her standards,  arrant nonsense.  Failing to acknowledge the fact that, without the UK vaccine programme, the UK furlough scheme and the additional UK funding received, on top of Barnett, we would be languishing, discredits any other points she makes.

Your failure to understand that the U.K. government borrowed that money and Scotland would’ve done the same is par for the course really.
As for the luck that AZ produced a vaccine quicker than anywhere else, and normal protocols were ignored, and the under funded NHS rolled it out is somehow down the BJ and his dodgy pals is laughable. 

[Pasquale for King]

Cummings was spot on today and admitted his own failings that might well see him up in court with his formal employers, we live in hope. 

[manaliveits105]

6 hours ago, Enzo Chiefo said:

Financial levers?😂😂

 It's not levers that paid for the furlough scheme, it's hard cash. We all know Devi is more political agenda than science but claiming that we were somehow restricted by lack of powers is, even by her standards,  arrant nonsense.  Failing to acknowledge the fact that, without the UK vaccine programme, the UK furlough scheme and the additional UK funding received, on top of Barnett, we would be languishing, discredits any other points she makes.

[Costanza]

7 hours ago, Enzo Chiefo said:

Financial levers?😂😂

 It's not levers that paid for the furlough scheme, it's hard cash. We all know Devi is more political agenda than science but claiming that we were somehow restricted by lack of powers is, even by her standards,  arrant nonsense.  Failing to acknowledge the fact that, without the UK vaccine programme, the UK furlough scheme and the additional UK funding received, on top of Barnett, we would be languishing, discredits any other points she makes.

I didn't realise border control and macro economic policy were fully reserved to Scotland. Anyway,  if we'd followed Devi's advice from last year, we'd have been in a much better position health wise and economically. You just need to look at the evidence from other countries.

Unlike yourself, I don't do the UK down and think we were more than capable of following the elimination strategy of other countries.

[Enzo Chiefo]

6 hours ago, Pasquale for King said:

Your failure to understand that the U.K. government borrowed that money and Scotland would’ve done the same is par for the course really.
As for the luck that AZ produced a vaccine quicker than anywhere else, and normal protocols were ignored, and the under funded NHS rolled it out is somehow down the BJ and his dodgy pals is laughable. 

Scotland would not have had access to such large amounts of borrowed money. No credit history nor central bank, any money borrowed would be at a far higher interest rate too.

 

Boris appointed Kate Bingham to head up the vaccine procurement programme and was immediately accused of "cronyism". Both are due an apology,  however, that aside, she backed the right horses and the Govt supplied the financial backing and the rest is history. A real national success story and the bitter, twisted, Nationalist ministers who described our decision not to join the EU scheme as "madness" and "lunacy " - Sturgeon,  Mike Russell et al, should be down on their knees thanking the UK govt for going it alone. 

The vaccine procurement and roll out, all completed with the normal safety checks and processes, within a short space of time, has been world-leading and has shown up the EU for what it is.

[Jambo in Japan]

Just to confirm some of the wonderings about the situation in Japan, and so a fair comparison can be drawn, 

 

In the simplest of terms, by splitting handling of the pandemic into initial response/preventative measures for one and vaccines for the other, I'd say Japan has been excellent for the former and dreadful for the latter, whereas the UK has been the other way round.

 

Where Japan got things right was its knee-jerk reaction back in February 2020 to close borders, close schools and then other businesses soon followed. That said, there was never a full scale UK style lockdown as the government and local authorities don't legally hold the power to order people to stay inside their homes. I remember round about this time a spokesperson from the WHO stressing that the key to responding to a pandemic situation such as the one that was unfolding was speed. Japan recognised that. The UK did not. This is of course on record being said at the time, and with the benefit of hindsight, it's easy for Cummings to stick the knife into the government and say they refused to act in such a knee jerk manner when the advice was to do so, but he's also providing no evidence of any of these discussions. I'd definitely take what he says with a huge pinch of salt given his reputation...

 

Yes, we are experiencing a third wave of infections, the highest since the pandemic began, and most of the population are under state of emergency restrictions. However, the number of covid deaths here is still only about 12,000 here which is a remarkable comparison given the population density and the fact the pop. is about double that of the UK. Japan was one of the few places in the world where excess death turned negative in 2020, it's also worth noting. The advice from the start was to sanitise hands, avoid unecessary and wear a mask. Round about the same time the UK government advice was saying masks aren't very effective and telling us to sing happy birthday while washing hands ffs. Meanwhile, state broadcasting here showed graphics of how the virus is airborne and can be spread in a classroom full of however many people when ventilated/unventilated, and the effect of wearing a mask in such an environment. Cummings admits to not being a scientist but still firmly belongs to the incompetent group of morons who thought the British public deserved Johnson's cringeworthy US press room style press conferences with giant flags hanging in the background and leaks though Laura K as means of communication through a crisis.

 

There definitely are cultural factors that played a part, I feel. Take masks for example. Masks were already normalised here due to the Asian flu pandemic of the 1960s. Japan had already experienced this kind of health crisis and people didn't need convincing of masks' benefit. It's also the sort of place where, if you really feel that masks have no benefit but you are -clearly- in the minority, it's obviously going to cause no harm for you to wear one. So, for the benefit of those around you, you just do it. In the UK, and the west generally, there are too many individual minds more concerned about how it's "a breach of their freedoms and personal rights" or whatever, and will always put themselves ahead of their community. The UK government can't be blamed for that, but the lack of scientific information being broadcast is entirely their doing.

 

In sum, Japan's relatively faceless government put science and fact at the fore whereas Britain's piss poor reality tv show government full of jackass personalities put their image above everything else. They were clueless. As much as Cummings' deposition is  just validating what's on all our minds, he's no saint for saying any of this. He's as guilty as the rest of them and I hope his chickens come home to roost for throwing his colleagues under the bus, as they all should have been investigated before he Cummings decided to even open his mouth. As others have stated.. they're all guilty but totally unaccountable. Calamitous state of affairs, the UK. 

[Ray Gin]

7 hours ago, Pasquale for King said:

Your failure to understand that the U.K. government borrowed that money and Scotland would’ve done the same is par for the course really.
As for the luck that AZ produced a vaccine quicker than anywhere else, and normal protocols were ignored, and the under funded NHS rolled it out is somehow down the BJ and his dodgy pals is laughable. 

 

[JudyJudyJudy]

8 hours ago, sadj said:

Cheers James , good nights sleep and hopefully wont miss a step 👍🏻 Thanks for asking , its appreciated

👍

[JudyJudyJudy]

8 hours ago, Enzo Chiefo said:

Financial levers?😂😂

 It's not levers that paid for the furlough scheme, it's hard cash. We all know Devi is more political agenda than science but claiming that we were somehow restricted by lack of powers is, even by her standards,  arrant nonsense.  Failing to acknowledge the fact that, without the UK vaccine programme, the UK furlough scheme and the additional UK funding received, on top of Barnett, we would be languishing, discredits any other points she makes.

This is a good article about her and her “ predictions “ and flip https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/scottish-covid-advisor-s-vaccine-u-turn?fbclid=IwAR1iFQiU80JY96Y5UWM_152lFOmBzPJ9bhTG-MN6lM-suX8jZazYNAKkObM

[Taffin]

It's still far too soon to say who's done best and worst in their response to the virus. One year from now and death figures, economic impact etc will all look very different.

 

Yes, we started badly but there's not many countries I'd swap places with right now. We're nearing the end thanks to the vaccine procurement and roll out. Many are still just keeping things at bay and may have many, many months ahead before they've got to where we are.

[Bindy Badgy]

2 minutes ago, Taffin said:

Yes, we started badly but there's not many countries I'd swap places with right now. We're nearing the end thanks to the vaccine procurement and roll out. Many are still just keeping things at bay and may have many, many months ahead before they've got to where we are.

 

I moved abroad for work a few weeks ago. It's been brutal looking at Facebook and so on. Loads of friends are now fully vaccinated and going out and having fun whereas I'm still stuck under house arrest. If I was back home I would have had at least one dose by now and would be looking forward to going out. I'm happy my friends are able to start living their lives again but, there is some serious envy at my end.

[Costanza]

6 minutes ago, Taffin said:

It's still far too soon to say who's done best and worst in their response to the virus. One year from now and death figures, economic impact etc will all look very different.

 

Yes, we started badly but there's not many countries I'd swap places with right now. We're nearing the end thanks to the vaccine procurement and roll out. Many are still just keeping things at bay and may have many, many months ahead before they've got to where we are.

I'd swap with New Zealand. If we'd been like them we'd have been able to go and watch Hearts games in person months ago.

Actually, now I think about it, maybe I wouldn't swap.

[Taffin]

2 minutes ago, Bindy Badgy said:

 

I moved abroad for work a few weeks ago. It's been brutal looking at Facebook and so on. Loads of friends are now fully vaccinated and going out and having fun whereas I'm still stuck under house arrest. If I was back home I would have had at least one dose by now and would be looking forward to going out. I'm happy my friends are able to start living their lives again but, there is some serious envy at my end.

 

It'll pass mate, you moved for a reason I'm sure, and those reasons are still true. Tough few months maybe but you'll be enjoying it in no time. We may have a vaccine but all the other pitfalls of the UK still exist!

 

1 minute ago, Costanza said:

I'd swap with New Zealand. If we'd been like them we'd have been able to go and watch Hearts games in person months ago.

Actually, now I think about it, maybe I wouldn't swap.

 

Yeh, it's maybe the one country I'd swap with...though you'd have to live in New Zealand 😱😱

 

Much is made of Australia too...Melbourne back into a local lockdown now though I believe.

[The Real Maroonblood]

1 hour ago, Jambo in Japan said:

Just to confirm some of the wonderings about the situation in Japan, and so a fair comparison can be drawn, 

 

In the simplest of terms, by splitting handling of the pandemic into initial response/preventative measures for one and vaccines for the other, I'd say Japan has been excellent for the former and dreadful for the latter, whereas the UK has been the other way round.

 

Where Japan got things right was its knee-jerk reaction back in February 2020 to close borders, close schools and then other businesses soon followed. That said, there was never a full scale UK style lockdown as the government and local authorities don't legally hold the power to order people to stay inside their homes. I remember round about this time a spokesperson from the WHO stressing that the key to responding to a pandemic situation such as the one that was unfolding was speed. Japan recognised that. The UK did not. This is of course on record being said at the time, and with the benefit of hindsight, it's easy for Cummings to stick the knife into the government and say they refused to act in such a knee jerk manner when the advice was to do so, but he's also providing no evidence of any of these discussions. I'd definitely take what he says with a huge pinch of salt given his reputation...

 

Yes, we are experiencing a third wave of infections, the highest since the pandemic began, and most of the population are under state of emergency restrictions. However, the number of covid deaths here is still only about 12,000 here which is a remarkable comparison given the population density and the fact the pop. is about double that of the UK. Japan was one of the few places in the world where excess death turned negative in 2020, it's also worth noting. The advice from the start was to sanitise hands, avoid unecessary and wear a mask. Round about the same time the UK government advice was saying masks aren't very effective and telling us to sing happy birthday while washing hands ffs. Meanwhile, state broadcasting here showed graphics of how the virus is airborne and can be spread in a classroom full of however many people when ventilated/unventilated, and the effect of wearing a mask in such an environment. Cummings admits to not being a scientist but still firmly belongs to the incompetent group of morons who thought the British public deserved Johnson's cringeworthy US press room style press conferences with giant flags hanging in the background and leaks though Laura K as means of communication through a crisis.

 

There definitely are cultural factors that played a part, I feel. Take masks for example. Masks were already normalised here due to the Asian flu pandemic of the 1960s. Japan had already experienced this kind of health crisis and people didn't need convincing of masks' benefit. It's also the sort of place where, if you really feel that masks have no benefit but you are -clearly- in the minority, it's obviously going to cause no harm for you to wear one. So, for the benefit of those around you, you just do it. In the UK, and the west generally, there are too many individual minds more concerned about how it's "a breach of their freedoms and personal rights" or whatever, and will always put themselves ahead of their community. The UK government can't be blamed for that, but the lack of scientific information being broadcast is entirely their doing.

 

In sum, Japan's relatively faceless government put science and fact at the fore whereas Britain's piss poor reality tv show government full of jackass personalities put their image above everything else. They were clueless. As much as Cummings' deposition is  just validating what's on all our minds, he's no saint for saying any of this. He's as guilty as the rest of them and I hope his chickens come home to roost for throwing his colleagues under the bus, as they all should have been investigated before he Cummings decided to even open his mouth. As others have stated.. they're all guilty but totally unaccountable. Calamitous state of affairs, the UK. 

An interesting read.

👍

[leginten]

21 hours ago, The Mighty Thor said:

Firstly he's a shifty untrustworthy shitehawk.

 

That said he's dropping the truth bombs all over the shop and he's got the proof too. 

 

Not that anyone cares as there's aresholes aplenty that vote for the likes of Johnson, but Cumming's has exposed just how much of a conniving moron Johnson is and those he's surrounded himself are no better.

We’re so far down the rabbit hole with this that everyone’s hanging on the testimony of an inveterate liar, who was one of the mainstays of the whole rotten apparatus, about a whole bunch of incompetent, self-enriching, inveterate liars.

 

I’m trying to think of a time when there were ever so many completely corrupt, dishonest and dangerous people in government, and I can’t.

[Weakened Offender]

Gonzo getting utterly ragdolled on this thread. 😁