[Tubby Isaacs]

Benn used to prefer commercial television to the BBC. Thought it was more objective because it relied on advertising, and he wanted the BBC to take adverts too.

Germany seems to have put a lot of diplomatic work in getting Croatia recognized. But the chronology hardly suggests the others were at all opposed.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internati ... Chronology

The entire EEC recognized it on the same day.

[Catkins]

In this thread in June I said that Claudia Webbe could start a fight in an empty room!

[Tubby Isaacs]

Hard to see how this case, if it happens, is going to do much for her reputation.

[Tubby Isaacs]

Webbe now calling for national lockdown.

I mean there are lockdowns and lockdowns- we've got one in Neath Port Talbot because we're surrounded by areas with high rates- and we do pretty much what we did before, except stay in the borough. But why would you go back to doing it all at national level, at this stage? The Welsh Government would be daft to lockdown Monmouthshire and Powys as well.

I dunno. I was a bit scornful of Rory Stewart saying this stuff and he was right. Maybe she'll be proven right.

[bluebellnutter]

If she means full national lockdown as March to May 2020 lockdown then you can wave goodbye to whatever's left of the economy and a whole load of shit for people with mental health issues

[Tubby Isaacs]

Yeah but wealth tax.

[mattomac]

Certain areas and things could be tightened but a full national lockdown would be a disaster.

[Kreuzberger]

Until there is a vaccine, she is right. Anything is just delaying the inevitable. It is a horrifying thought but any open transmission routes, whatsoever, will guarantee deaths on similarly industrial scale.

I am no epidemiologist, but it must be obvious to everyone that only a month of absolute isolation and then hermetically sealed borders will eradicate the virus from entire communities which can then rebuild. A stark choice between a UBI and food riots awaits whoever needs to make that call.

[Tubby Isaacs]

Lots of places have very little Covid and I can't see it makes much sense to lock them down. I think the way to do it is stronger lockdowns in places where there is more of it. But I haven't really got much sense of localized systems of support.

[Kreuzberger]

That's the thing. "Localised Outbreaks" is a media-driven nonsense which leads to horseshit like whack-a-mole strategies which are more akin to Tetris. You always lose. Australia is the tragic proof of this and just leads to more deaths.

Now, the pragmatist in me accepts that this might happen but I don't want to be in charge of The Selection.

[Tubby Isaacs]

Leicester's lockdown seemed to help get infections down. I know that the local authorities weren't happy with what they got from central government, just as Burnham and co aren't now. But I don't think any of them have said the problem was that the lockdown needed to be wider, did they?

[bluebellnutter]

Much of the problem was they were only told about it hours (at most) before it happened, so they had no time to prepare. Ever since the Government got burned by all the whinging from people "trapped" in Spain or wherever it was when they announced quarantine with short notice everything has been either too far in advance (e.g. "quarantine from next Monday" announced on Thursday meaning a rush as people came back) or too quickly.

[crabcakes_windermere]

I wonder if the last minute nature of the announcements is deliberate. I'm sure general dithering and ineptitude play a part as well, but who do we know who would be *delighted* at having local authorities and councils waiting on instructions on how high they are allowed to jump at all hours of the day and night, knowing if they mess up the implementation they can then be blamed for it too?

[Timbo]

...knowing if they mess up the implementation they can then be blamed for it too?

Which would, of course, be the result of them having spent too much money on Lesbian Moon Dance Coordinators. Profligacy!

[youngian]

having spent too much money on Lesbian Moon Dance Coordinators.

I’ll do it on a voluntary basis