Sephiroth

"he isn't ignoring it - he is saying it was never going to work, " I should have worded this differently - it was always going to present the problems that UK govt are now claiming to to be surprised by. It was never going to work the way the UK govt seems to want to think it would

The EU aren't complaining about it - they are complaining that the UK isn't fulfilling it's side of the agreement The EU is having to deal with a spoilt child - UK doesn't want to align or be part of SM/CU so there has to be a border on land or the Irish sea - so this is the outcome - the best possible one given UK red lines If UK has a better solution it should have presented that to the EU before signing any agreement

"What Bruton conveniently ignores is the Protocol isn?t working" he isn't ignoring it - he is saying it was never going to work, but it's the best of the 2 options given UK has decided on this form of Brexit. Uk knew this and agreed to it - it was always going to work in this way so they should never have signed it or lied to the voters about it being oven-ready UK still has to decide what it wants, given available options. The unicorn brexit doesn't exist - the one where UK gets everything it wants

don't forget the charlatans are elected Alan - so we need to look at who elects them and why

Ex Taoiseach John Bruton scathing here England is absolutely trashing its reputation for no good reason https://www.irishtimes.com/opinion/john-bruton-uk-ministers-need-to-read-the-ni-protocol-they-signed-1.4613290?mode=amp&__twitter_impression=true&s=09

As for Toby young and his ilk, or govt previous mistakes - I?m not saying anyone should listen to them. Quite the opposite. But people do- and This govt does seem attuned to That Type of Rhetoric. I think comparing last summer to this is more than fair

By ?no apparent benefit? I meant people weren?t able to go on holidays, go to concerts etc when they could see people in other countries doing that (despite being told the uk was ahead of the world) I didn?t mean to suggest vaccines weren?t having enormous actual benefits in terms of preventing deaths and illness.

Talking about death numbers is one thing - but we also have to account for numbers of people suffering from Long Covid, and what impact that will have on the economy If it was just a simple case of X vaccinated times Y cases = Z deaths then it would be relatively easy to come to some sort of date to open up But people are indeed stirring themselves into a right state - and given this govt handling of everything since March last year then the only answer is "fair enough" It's not just the reopening - it's the messaging, it's the way people are going to not behave responsibly (and they won't be the ones who suffer because of it) It's the lack of learning from this country's experience as well as other countries - eg why are Israel quickly reverting to masks despite their vaccination record? The problem is not getting to next year and living with x number of deaths a day - it's the % chance we will have to enter another shitty 4 month proper lockdown AGAIN, with massive increase in deaths to boot because we have created a lab for virus variants Because we could have carried on much as we have been for last couple of months for a few more months before making a decision like this As things are, this feels like last summer where we had govt telling us to get back to work, eat out, and snake oil men like Toby Young saying this was all over Yes vaccinations have gone well but to no apparent benefit - we are still on most countries shitlist and this is unlikely to help - but announcing Freedom Day gives a patina of "success" to the vaccination effort it doesn't (yet) merit

deeply dippy

in your day to day activities, how would you rate mask compliance at the moment on trains seem to be the worst - about 50/50 supermarkets are better at about 80% I would say

There are multiple sides - I feel for the guy himself (and that was before I found out he lost a parent to a terrorist attack) But it's the people attacking him, how numerous they are, how vocal they are not just online but in public - and not over some debatable nuanced discussion. But as someone fighting a global pandemic. It's just balls-out crazy

watching those thugs attacking Whitty yesterday - it's just nuts Scary and nuts

They're vaxxified And they're ancient

Easily findable then surely? I would still suggest it was a staged photo

Mellor was the story - but I don't think it was ever a real thing - an concoction by Max Clifford is my recollection

interesting how different this is from when one Matt Hancock was calling for Neil Fergusons resignation for exactly this just last year

Having lived in/near both Exeter and Reading for several years, I would take Exeter over Reading all day long I do think Exeter has become much more homogenised and dull over the last 10-15 years - but it will always be the place I saw Bill Hicks twice. And at that time there was much more of a buzz about the place. It's never going to be "a scene" but I like it and it's location

"But it's done, we have to live with it" But what does living with it mean? That's still the problem that no-one can coalesce around. And looking at various Govt ministers talk about the NI protocol and complete denial of any reality (Brexit means a border - you have to choose where and what it means) means that we can't "live with it" as long as we deny the problems Living it will mean some form of alignment with EU rules - but people are still in denial about this. The mandate from the referendum is discharged - we have left the EU. That is the only thing that is done - we are still led by people who don't know what to do, have no plan and are more than a bit dim. This means that the process (rather than the event) will be ongoing for years/decades. And it is important that people are clear about the problems and don't just acquiesce to any old shite

?A bit anti-masky? is doing Wooton a lot of favours there.

NB. That job is not to actually find any benefits ?working closely with eu counterparts? It?s to acknowledge we are no longer at the table where decisions are made, yet sell any downsides to the public as a benefit Yay

I agree with pretty much all of what you write rd But personally, I have to stop myself from reading too much into a single mid term by-election result. I want it to be the moment we can look back on as when the country started to come out of the trance. But I?ll need to see many more results like it

Like the Brexit that inspired it, we should give it 10 to 15 years to succeed Or more likely, watch it limp on, bleeding cash, until it collapses

@CAT Phew.... sorry if I misinterpreted then On the claim about the booers - I don't think blah has it wrong - if you are one of the people who don't think he was murdered (and there is an internet rabbit hole best avoided) then you are likely to boo. If you are Rid Liddle you are likely to boo etc etc - before you know it you have a large contingent of booers who fit blah's description

Jesus, cat What is it you think is controversial about blah?s statement? Your subsequent sentence seems to suggest you don?t think he was murdered? Is that right?

@cat I dunno I have no means of putting a number on what percentage of the country are racists. But that number you posted didn?t make me gasp and think ?not possible?