Covid-19 pandemic

[Gangster Octopus]

Well that's alright then...

[Nocturnal Submission]

Well that's alright then...

Yeh, that was exactly my point.

[Gangster Octopus]

Er, I wasn't arguing with you.

[Nocturnal Submission]

Well, it certainly read as though you thought my comment was some sort of mitigation, rather than an explanation.

[Jimski]

Uh-oh...

https://twitter.com/BNODesk/status/1363107230619467778

[Gangster Octopus]

Well, it certainly read as though you thought my comment was some sort of mitigation, rather than an explanation.

Soz. I'm often get things wrong.

[Janik]

Yes, that BBC "route out of lockdown in Wales" graphic could win a booby prize at an exhibition of bad graphics. Does absolutlely nothing to improve the communication of the info (in terms of clarity, ease of overview etc.), indeed the very opposite. Absoulutely fundamental failure in what surely ought to be main objective of an information graphic.

Erm, isn't that a double negative? A booby prize at an exhibition of bad graphics implies it's trying to be bad graphics but failing to manage so. So is accidentally good graphics! [which it isn't - it would win a first prize with an additional special commendation at a such an exhibition]

[Nocturnal Submission]

Soz. I'm often get things wrong.

No worries, mate.

[Balderdasha]

Russia has reported the first cases of H5N8 bird flu in humans:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-56140270

No evidence of human to human transmission yet. I really hope this is an isolated instance and not the start of another pandemic. I don't think I can handle another one.

[The Awesome Berbaslug!!!]

Eamonn Ryan says that Ireland's hotel quarantine will be ready " in a week or two ". No hotels have been booked yet, because " we need to have legislation in place ". Something that New Zealand arranged a fucking year ago. The sooner Curly, Larry and Moe just fuck off the better.

We've got to stop comparing ourselves to New Zealand. Yes we're an island, but New Zealand is about as far from Australia as Dublin is from Minsk, and Australia is doing more or less the same thing as New Zealand. We're sharing an island with the fucking UK, which is lead by a bin bag filled with 300 lbs of rotting cottage cheese, brought to life by the seven deadly sins, a failed Darwin award winner who boasted of going around covid wards shaking hands, until he nearly fucking died. When we tried to restrict flights from England before Christmas, Thousands of people said "No government is going to stop me from hugging my Granny, and meeting up with the lads for Christmas." and flew to belfast. The only reason we can start considering this now, is because the UK is doing much the same thing, kind of.

Irish twitter is increasingly split into two angry groups of largely young people. One group are angrily demanding that lockdowns be lifted so they can go back to doing what they want, (Which sometimes is a true reflection of people wanting to go back to work, but is often a manifestation of one personality disorder, or another) and then people who have decided to demand Zero Covid, which is a strong policy, and is bold, and appeals to authoritarian utopians, and a particular kind of attention hungry narcissist, which singularly and utterly fails to take into account that we share an island with Northern Ireland, where the DUP seem to have spent much of the last year treating Covid as an opportunity to express just how close Northern Ireland is to Britain, and how different it is to the republic.

There are some things to get angry with the govt about, and there are things that are outside their control. We're not good at telling the difference. There is a strong tendency in our public discourse to respond to whether the outcome is good for us, or bad for us, rather than whether or not the govt is actually doing well. Our clientelist system in this country has given us an essentially childish set of expectations towards the govt. All we want from them is for them to cut our taxes, increase spending on us, do magic with houses and make sure nothing bad ever happens, and if our expectations aren't met, we tend to blame the people in charge, and change them for people who we expect to do the same thing. Everyone everywhere is a bit like this. We're really into it. It's good in some ways, it's bad in others. It's ill suited to dealing with events like this, which is odd, because something really truly disastrous happens every fifteen years or so.

[elguapo4]

I'm talking about one specific part of dealing with this crisis, and the border and New Zealand's distance from anywhere has nothing to do with it. We've has this pandemic for a year, the first positive results about a future vaccine were in September, and we're still talking about " a couple of weeks time " .The troika are in power at the moment, that is what they wanted, so they're the ones who have to take the flak.

[Balderdasha]

More than 215 million doses administered worldwide.

[Seven Saxon Kings]

It really feels, anecdotally, like there's been a step change in people's mental health the last week or so. I know I'm fortunate compared to many, can work at home etc, but it's really difficult to have nothing whatsoever to look forward to. Had a Zoom poker night with six mates last night and the energy felt incredibly low. No one had anything to look forward to, anything really to say, if we weren't playing a game we'd have had nothing to talk about. Family feel the same. I don't know how much longer we can go on like this.

I'm also really not looking forward to the two tier system coming up where, whether within the rules or not, the vaccinated will start enjoying themselves again and plastering all that enjoyment over social media, whereas people like me (30s) still have months to wait. Up to this point I've known that everyone else is in the same boat of having nothing to do but it's going to be much harder to stay at home while watching others enjoying their freedom.

[Moonlight Shadow]

It really feels, anecdotally, like there's been a step change in people's mental health the last week or so. I know I'm fortunate compared to many, can work at home etc, but it's really difficult to have nothing whatsoever to look forward to. Had a Zoom poker night with six mates last night and the energy felt incredibly low. No one had anything to look forward to, anything really to say, if we weren't playing a game we'd have had nothing to talk about. Family feel the same. I don't know how much longer we can go on like this.

I'm also really not looking forward to the two tier system coming up where, whether within the rules or not, the vaccinated will start enjoying themselves again and plastering all that enjoyment over social media, whereas people like me (30s) still have months to wait. Up to this point I've known that everyone else is in the same boat of having nothing to do but it's going to be much harder to stay at home while watching others enjoying their freedom.

I hear you...Some people are thriving in this mind, those people who never did anything in the first place can now do so without any mocking comments from other people and it's a grand time for lazy slobs whose idea of the perfect day is being at home doing nothing. I have a pretty good example of that to observe at the moment, they look so happy! I find this existence a drain on my soul, not sure how much i have left in the tank..

[Paul S]

I hear you...Some people are thriving in this mind, those people who never did anything in the first place can now do so without any mocking comments from other people and it's a grand time for lazy slobs whose idea of the perfect day is being at home doing nothing. I have a pretty good example of that to observe at the moment, they look so happy! I find this existence a drain on my soul, not sure how much i have left in the tank..

I often wonder how prisoners on long sentences cope. There was a chap sentenced last week for murder and he received a 27 year sentence. I mean, how the hell do you cope with that? But then in prison that are a lot of people like you who have been through it and are going through it so you can sit down and talk about it. No such chance at the moment with isolation as it is. I'm bored of drinking cans of beer at home on my own!

[Fussbudget]

I hear you...Some people are thriving in this mind, those people who never did anything in the first place can now do so without any mocking comments from other people and it's a grand time for lazy slobs whose idea of the perfect day is being at home doing nothing. I have a pretty good example of that to observe at the moment, they look so happy! I find this existence a drain on my soul, not sure how much i have left in the tank..

Blimey. I appreciate that it's a struggle at the moment but maybe save the vitriol for more deserving targets, like the chancers whose decisions have brought us to this point? Also worth bearing in mind that people who look happy on the surface might be anything but.

[Nocturnal Submission]

It really feels, anecdotally, like there's been a step change in people's mental health the last week or so. I know I'm fortunate compared to many, can work at home etc, but it's really difficult to have nothing whatsoever to look forward to. Had a Zoom poker night with six mates last night and the energy felt incredibly low. No one had anything to look forward to, anything really to say, if we weren't playing a game we'd have had nothing to talk about. Family feel the same. I don't know how much longer we can go on like this.

I'm also really not looking forward to the two tier system coming up where, whether within the rules or not, the vaccinated will start enjoying themselves again and plastering all that enjoyment over social media, whereas people like me (30s) still have months to wait. Up to this point I've known that everyone else is in the same boat of having nothing to do but it's going to be much harder to stay at home while watching others enjoying their freedom.

You caught me out with your opening comment, SSK.

I thought that you were going to say that you'd seen a lift in people's mood, with a touch of Spring-like weather, in our area at least, the vaccination programme moving on apace and the infection and mortality rates moving in the right direction, though still horrendously high, of course.

I'm certainly feeling more encouraged and that's the feeling I'm getting from others too.

I really don't think that the next few months are going to play out in the way you suggest. Those who have had the jab will, in the most part, remain cautious, those who haven't won't be any less incautious and the plans to slowly lift restrictions will affect everyone equally, I'd have thought. And with the adult vaccination schedule bumped up a couple of months, there's cause for substantial optimism that society will be a lot more recognisable by the end of the Summer.

[Seven Saxon Kings]

Those who have had the jab will, in the most part, remain cautious

I think your post is, objectively, mostly right although it isn't really reflected in the mood of anyone I know. But this is the part I'm afraid I really don't agree with. Maybe most will remain cautious but a very significant and vocal minority won't. Those who don't want to wear masks to begin with, follow certain right wing commentators, etc, are not going to be cautious once they have the jab. And I'm going to have a really difficult time watching them have their fun while not being able to have any of my own.

[DCI Harry Batt]

I hear you...Some people are thriving in this mind, those people who never did anything in the first place can now do so without any mocking comments from other people and it's a grand time for lazy slobs whose idea of the perfect day is being at home doing nothing. I have a pretty good example of that to observe at the moment, they look so happy! I find this existence a drain on my soul, not sure how much i have left in the tank..

Have you got cameras in my flat?

[Nocturnal Submission]

I think your post is, objectively, mostly right although it isn't really reflected in the mood of anyone I know. But this is the part I'm afraid I really don't agree with. Maybe most will remain cautious but a very significant and vocal minority won't. Those who don't want to wear masks to begin with, follow certain right wing commentators, etc, are not going to be cautious once they have the jab. And I'm going to have a really difficult time watching them have their fun while not being able to have any of my own.

Yeh, but their idea of fun is organising poorly attended marches or filming empty hospital corridors. You'll be eating and drinking in a pub's beer garden or getting some live football. You'll be grand.

[Nocturnal Submission]

Have you got cameras in my flat?

I certainly squirmed guiltily when I read his comments.

[Seven Saxon Kings]

Yeh, but their idea of fun is organising poorly attended marches or filming empty hospital corridors. You'll be eating and drinking in a pub's beer garden or getting some live football. You'll be grand.

The hospital filming is just a few extremists but I more mean the much larger group with a generally casual attitude who'll be going to pubs in groups. I might occasionally get to a pub or restaurant with my wife but I won't be seeing any friends until I (and they) am vaxed, which is a long way off.

As for football the non league season is about to be called off so that's done until August anyway. Although that's probably for the best given how unsafe it was in September and October.

[Moonlight Shadow]

Jesus guys, can I not vent a bit without you lot guilt tripping me....? I was talking about people I really don't like for good reasons, not any of you lovely people...

[Nocturnal Submission]

The hospital filming is just a few extremists but I more mean the much larger group with a generally casual attitude who'll be going to pubs in groups. I might occasionally get to a pub or restaurant with my wife but I won't be seeing any friends until I (and they) am vaxed, which is a long way off.

As for football the non league season is about to be called off so that's done until August anyway. Although that's probably for the best given how unsafe it was in September and October.

If it was allowed, wouldn't you meet up with friends for a socially-distanced meal or drink before you were vaccinated? I'm pretty cautious, especially as my wife is shielding, but I did allow myself the odd get-together last Summer.

I'm moderately hopefully that some football games will have limited crowds in before the end of the season, but obviously that's far from certain.

[Nefertiti2]

Leaking to favoured racist paper behind a paywall

https://twitter.com/sacha_lord/status/1363558015568347137?s=21