BREXIT - Vocal Brexiter Sir Jim Ratcliffe moves out of UK

Strange how those who were so vocal about how 'Great' Britain would be after Brexit are now moving their companies and themselves out of Great Britain ......
Makes you wonder how they made their money in the 1st place, doesn't it?
With Britain about to become so great once we've finally completed Brexit, only a fool would move their Company into Europe.
Idiots the lot of them probably had all their money handed to them on a plate.
"he said in September 2019. “The decision to build in the UK is a significant expression of confidence in British manufacturing,"
So I guess that confidence has somewhat waned then go on then Ratcliffe fcuk off to Monaco and don't come back you absolute lying twat.

 

Vocal Brexiter Sir Jim Ratcliffe vowed to make new Grenadier 4x4 in Bridgend but has now bought car plant at Hambach

Ratcliffe, a vocal Brexit supporter who recently left the UK for tax-free Monaco, said Hambach had presented the company with “a unique opportunity that we simply could not ignore”. 

Ratcliffe last year announced plans to build a factory in Bridgend and employ 500 British people building the new vehicle. “We have looked long and hard at possible manufacturing locations for Grenadier across the world with lots of good options to choose from,” he said in September 2019. “The decision to build in the UK is a significant expression of confidence in British manufacturing, which has always been at the heart of what Ineos stands for.”

 “We’d like to retain the Britishness and have a bit of passion about UK manufacturing,” he told Sun readers at the time. “We believe that Britain can produce something as reliable as Germany or Japan if we do it well.”

LINKS
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2020/sep/25/sir-jim-ratcliffe-uks-richest-person-moves-to-tax-free-monaco-brexit-ineos-domicile
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2020/dec/08/ineos-boss-opts-to-build-british-heir-to-land-rover-defender-in-france?
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2020/jul/07/jim-ratcliffe-ineos-land-rover-rival-france-wales

COVID ~ The Scotch Egg Saga

 So to Scotch eggs ....

Now myself I would have thought it obvious that a scotch egg isn't a substantial meal ...unless maybe you're a 4-year-old. It seemed pretty common sense to me, but not apparently to the Tories.

In another attempt to absolutely confuse, publicans, clubs who are all so desperately trying to survive,  what should have been so simply clear, it's now not clear. So is a scotch egg a substantial meal or not.

1st we had George Eustice, the environment, food and rural affairs secretary, say that the eggs “probably would count” as a meal if there was table service.

Then Gove told LBC two scotch eggs would be 'a starter', 24 hours after Environment Secretary George Eustice said one is a substantial meal.

Then Gove reiterated his stance on LBC in a second interview on Good Morning Britain - before backtracking and then telling ITV News: 'A scotch egg is a substantial meal.' 

So far nobody in government can point to anything in the Licensing Act or any other legislation, either during Covid or pre-pandemic, which defines what exactly is substantial or not.

So baring in mind publicans can be fined for not following the rules that are now totally vague, yet again, due to comments made by this stupid shower of twats. 

You had one job to guide the nation with 'Clarity' and right from the start you have failed on so many levels.

Yes the job was tough but you've made it 1,000 times harder with your lies, misinformation and vague misleading information. That side of it should have been easy but no not for this shower of absolute idiots. Everything done to make themselves look good and line the pockets of them and their friends.

Wankers

LINKS

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/dec/01/scotch-egg-is-definitely-a-substantial-meal-says-michael-gove

https://news.sky.com/story/covid-19-what-is-a-substantial-meal-minister-says-scotch-egg-counts-as-pubs-brace-for-tier-change-12143814

https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/lockdown-tiers-scotch-egg-substantial-meal-b1764495.html

https://www.politicshome.com/news/article/scotch-egg-what-is-a-substantial-meal

https://www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/scotch-egg-starter-substantial-meal-michael-gove-b126929.html

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/ministers-make-a-meal-out-of-scotch-egg-ruling-for-pubs-rtr0xhcbg

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9004591/Coronavirus-UK-tiers-Michael-Gove-wades-scotch-egg-substantial-meal-row.html

Memories

 

COVID ~ Facemasks

The latest Facemask data

I'm getting the theory behind this but the people putting the rules in place obviously do not have a Scooby about drinking in pubs.

Let's just focus on one thing and there are a load of issues with this ...but masks ...so now from Thursday you have to put on a mask to walk into a pub/club/restaurant once seated you can take it off. Get up to go outside for a fag, put it back on, take it off, fag, put it back on, return to seat, take it off again. Go to the toilet, put on mask, back to seat, take it back off again.

Now you stand anywhere, like outside a shop and watch how people deal with masks. Most are taking them off, holding the whole mask in their hand, stuffing them in their pocket. If you have CV it's now on your hands and most people aren't walking around with alcohol gel cleaners and using them every time they take a mask off, neither are they disposing of them correctly or rather they are not disposing them we are reusing them.
No real surprise to me that the infection rate is going up
Seems to me looking at the timeline of events related to a lot of things but
People going abroad (against gov advice)
Introduction of masks (not being used correctly)
And schools opening all coincide with the big spike upwards that is happening now.
This isn't going away
We have to learn to live with it
Don't expect a magic vaccine
Spanish flu had three waves over 2 years (and where was the 1st case of Spanish flu?)
A decent testing and track and trace would help massively.

Blojo has some cheek saying people need to use common sense when he's displayed absolutely none himself.

By the way, I have no problem with masks being used or using them myself, if used correctly but as they said at the start if used incorrectly they have the potential to be bigger spreaders than not wearing them.

As I said I have no problem with masks being used if used correctly but as they said at the start if used incorrectly they have the potential to be bigger spreaders than not wearing them and 99% of people are not using them correctly.

I'm a fan of whatever works and can be shown to be working.
But thinking about it your assumption isn't actually correct as improper handling of mask when taking off and putting on can increase the risk of spreading the virus to others from your hands.
My problem with it is, as they said right at the start and still say, once you are wearing the mask you shouldn't touch it. If you do then the chances of transferring the virus (if you have it) onto other surfaces raises exponentially.
People are already handling masks incorrectly and the new rules will increase this handling of used masks at least by 10x
Bearing in mind they still maintain there is only a small benefit from masks but every little help. The small benefit could easily be negated by incorrect handling and not disposing after every use, which nobody is.
We are about 2 weeks away from the daily infection levels of March so it will be interesting where it goes from here. So far if you look at the Graph masks have certainly not stopped the increase and one can only hypothesize what the infections would have been without masks.
One thing you can say for certain is from around May 10th to July the 8th (2 months) the daily infection rate was coming down and we were walking around shops without masks on.

The Government Guidelines on using face masks

When wearing a face covering you should:

1. Wash your hands thoroughly with soap and water for 20 seconds or use hand sanitiser before putting a face covering on.
2. Avoid wearing on your neck or forehead.
3. Avoid touching the part of the face-covering in contact with your mouth and nose, as it could be contaminated with the virus.
4. Change the face-covering if it becomes damp or if you’ve touched it.
5. Avoid taking it off and putting it back on a lot in quick succession (for example, when leaving and entering shops on a high street).

When removing a face-covering:

1. Wash your hands thoroughly with soap and water for 20 seconds or use hand sanitiser before removing.
2. Only handle the straps, ties or clips.
3. Do not give it to someone else to use.
4. If single-use, dispose of it carefully in a residual waste bin and do not recycle.
5. If reusable, wash it in line with the manufacturer’s instructions at the highest temperature appropriate for the fabric.
6. Wash your hands thoroughly with soap and water for 20 seconds or use hand sanitiser once removed.

Stand outside a supermarket and give £100 to anyone that follows all of the above rules.... I guarantee you'll still have £100 by the end of the day.

LINKS

https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/country/uk/

https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/news-perspective/2020/04/commentary-masks-all-covid-19-not-based-sound-data

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-020-02801-8

COVID-19 ~ Paul Weston - This One Covid Lie Will Bring Down The British Government

Paul Weston - This One Covid Lie Will Bring Down The British Government

I'm no great lover of the twats in this government but Mr Paul Weston ....

1st thing I discovered (because I don't just believe what someone on a uTube video is saying despite how emphatically he's trying to portray it.) is ...

Paul Martin Laurence Weston (born 1965) is a British far-right politician and was a member of the Pegida UK leadership team. An activist and blogger, Weston joined the UK Independence Party (UKIP) in 2010 and stood as a Parliamentary candidate for Cities of London and Westminster. In 2011, Weston left UKIP and joined the now-defunct British Freedom Party with members of the English Defence League (EDL) and former members of the British National Party (BNP). From 2013, he was the chairman of Liberty GB before the party was dissolved in December 2017, recommending its members to join For Britain. 

Also has to Tommy Robinson. enough said there.

On the basis of his associations alone, I wouldn't believe anything he says without checking it out thoroughly.
Also one of the best ways of forcing a message across is to try and make people feel stupid if they don't understand it. Whenever I come across this method of getting people to go OK click comply Ill take that on as fact ...I don't, I check it, then check it again and check all the links he's posted and the backgrounds of the people he's linking to.
Then check them again.
Very believable, but just from his associations this bloke is as much of a twat as BloJob and Cumstain.

Mr Weston posts these links

https://lockdownsceptics.org/lies-damned-lies-and-health-statistics-the-deadly-danger-of-false-positives/

So who is Dr Michael Yeadon?

https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/how-many-covid-diagnoses-are-false-positives  link goes to a page that needs a subscription

Who is Professor Carl Heneghan?

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/895843/S0519_Impact_of_false_positives_and_negatives.pdfWritten by Carl Mayers & Kate Baker, 3rd June 2020

Dr Carl Mayer and Dr Kate Baker, from the Government Office for Science.


Why Are Covid-19 Cases Soaring In New Zealand? PCR Test Update: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kcONxyAJ8S4

COVID – why terminology really, really matters (Dr Malcolm Kendrick): https://drmalcolmkendrick.org/2020/09/04/covid-why-terminology-really-matters/



Definitions: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sensitivity_and_specificity

LINKS

OperationxMoonxShot Andrew Kaufman false positive

BMJ~Operation Moonshot: What do the leaked documents say? 

BMJ~Covid-19: Do many people have pre-existing immunity?

https://lockdownsceptics.org/lies-damned-lies-and-health-statistics-the-deadly-danger-of-false-positives/

https://coronavirus.data.gov.uk/testing

BBC~Coronavirus: Tests 'could be picking up dead virus'
BBC~Coronavirus: England death count review reduces UK toll by 5,000

https://www.wired.co.uk/article/operation-moonshot-coronavirus-testing

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Weston_(politician)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Freedom_Party

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pegida_UK

UK government faces legal action over 'moonshot' Covid testing project

BREXIT - One of the easiest deals in human history

Coming to a free trade agreement with the EU should be "one of the easiest in human history" because our rules and laws are already the same, ~ Liam Fox international trade secretary.

Good ole' Boris

Gary, We are now entering the final phase of our negotiations with the EU. The EU have been very clear about the timetable. I am too. There needs to be an agreement with our European friends by the time of the European Council on 15 October. If we can’t agree by then, then I do not see that there will be a free trade agreement between us, and we should both accept that and move on.   We’ll then have a trading arrangement with the EU like Australia’s. I want to be absolutely clear that, as we have said right from the start, that would be a good outcome for the UK.   As a Government we’re preparing, at our borders and at our ports, to be ready for it.   We will have full control over our laws, our rules, and our fishing waters. We will have the freedom to do trade deals with every country in the world. And we will prosper mightily as a result. We will of course always be ready to talk to our EU friends even in these circumstances.  Our door will never be closed and we will trade as friends and partners – but without a free trade agreement. There is still an agreement to be had and we will continue to work hard in September to achieve it.   It is one based on our reasonable proposal for a standard free trade agreement like the one the EU has agreed with Canada and so many others. Even at this late stage, if the EU are ready to rethink their current positions and agree this I will be delighted.   But we cannot and will not compromise on the fundamentals of what it means to be an independent country to get it. That Gary is the pledge I make to you. If you stand with me, I hope you’ll join our Party today, so we have the backing we need during this crucial phase of our negotiations >> Become a Member Yours sincerely, Boris Johnson Prime Minister

The picture that isn't Aracely Henriquez

More Bollox

Apparently this is Aracely Henriquez. Allegedly, according to this meme, kidnapped and beaten by George Floyd and five accomplices.  But its total rubbish.

It's actually a picture of  Andrea Sicignano an American student attacked and raped in Madrid 6th Dec 2018.

Don't share absolute bollox!

LINKS
American student attacked and raped in Madrid neighborhood of Aluche

https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/is-this-really-aracely-henriquez/?

Who is Aracely Henriquez? Did George Floyd's Criminal Past Include Assulting Her Before His Death?
https://www.snopes.com/news/2020/06/12/george-floyd-criminal-record/

George Floyd's death is abhorrent but at present protestors are twats

George Floyd's death whilst abhorrent in the extreme just highlights an issue that has been ongoing in the good ole US of A for more than a few decades.

Today I called protestors twats.... not because their cause isn't important or a noble one, or one that shouldn't continue to be protested for. But because it puts other people's lives at risk in the present climate of Coronavirus. It's unfortunate timing but just as we're getting Corronavirus under control in the UK this type of action with thousands in close proximity to each other could cause a 2nd wave,  months more of lockdown, and yes possibly thousands of more deaths.

Here's the thing, I call anyone who exhibits behavior that suggests a lack of common sense or respect for others, Twats.
Johnson was/is a twat for various comments and actions including the Handshake one.
Trump is a twat for so many comments I'm not going to try and list specific one.
Other people are Twats for littering beaches not respecting others and the world, etc.
Hell, I've done some twattish things in my life when younger.

No one knows the full impact that running the Cheltenham festival had on the spread of the virus. No one will know the impact that thousands of protestors in close proximity will have, but we will find out in a month's time. Let's hope that a 2nd wave isn't caused by these protests and that a few thousand more people don't die of coronavirus because of thousands of people protesting, however good their intentions are.

Black lives matter but more importantly all lives matter. 

Anyway, rant over back to the very important deep-rooted problem that exists in certain areas and people of this world.  There are some very graphic and horrific descriptions below. I've posted them so people can understand the depths that racial hatred goes to.  Let's hope that this particular incident can be the spark that fuels genuine change. However, something that is ingrained into society is not that easy to get rid of.

Derek Chauvin the cop that allegedly killed George Floyd

So is Derek Chauvin a racist or a cop that made a very bad mistake?  Certainly, it didn't look like a mistake but no doubt more on that will come to light, his wife has been quick to distance herself filing for divorce and a name change as well.

Just as recently as 22 years ago in the USA James Byrd Jr. was dragged behind a pickup truck to his death by white supremacists that obviously thought that lynching was a bit un PC. 

Lee knows exactly who Jesse Washington was. His parents told him the story as a child. Lee has told it to his four children, and shown them the frightful pictures. “Future generations need to know what happened,” Lee says.
In a nearby barbershop, the lynching is common knowledge. “Even today, you get caught up in the wrong place in Texas, you gone,” says Keith Pullens, 34, the shop owner. A conversation ensues about towns and counties to be avoided, lest a brother end up dying like James Byrd Jr., dragged behind a pickup truck by white supremacists in Jasper, 220 miles to the east, in 1998.

Thousands of blacks were lynched, tortured, burned alive with Jesse Washington being just one of the many who were charged with various misdemeanors, some found guilty on the basis of very flimsy evidence and murdered in horrible ways.  This would be a very, very long blog if I mentioned all of them in detail so I just picked three, two men one woman, they all died horrifically. Jesse was 17 and the date was May the 8th 1916 104 years ago.

The verdict and death sentence were barely spoken when the mob surged forward, carried Jesse out the back door of the courthouse and dragged him to the square outside City Hall. The chain around his neck was flung over a tree. He was dangled above a large dry goods box filled with wood, which had been prepared earlier that morning.
While Jesse was still alive, “Fingers, ears, pieces of clothing, toes and other parts of the negro’s body were cut off by members of the mob,” the Waco Times-Herald reported. Someone castrated Jesse, according to the NAACP investigation, and carried his penis around in a handkerchief, showing it off as a souvenir.
The killers yanked Jesse into the air, then lowered him into the woodpile and poured coal oil over him. About 10,000 people crowded the area, according to the Waco Times-Herald, hanging from nearby windows and perched atop buildings and trees. “As the negro’s body commenced to burn,” the paper reported, “shouts of delight went up from the thou¬sands of throats.”
Jesse burned for two hours, leaving just a skull, torso and limb stumps. A horseman lassoed the body and dragged it through town until the head popped off. Some boys extracted Jesse’s teeth and sold them for $5 each. The headless mess was dragged behind a car to Robinson and hung in a sack outside a blacksmith’s shop, until a constable took it away that evening. Jesse was buried in an unmarked grave. https://theundefeated.com/features/the-waco-horror 

Trump doesn't help with comments like the one below which if anyone else said it would be accused of inciting violence no doubt some good ole boy gun nut will take it as the OK to start a mini-war.

Donald J. Trump 29 May at 06:10
I can’t stand back and watch this happen to a great American City, Minneapolis. A total lack of leadership. Either the very weak Radical Left Mayor, Jacob Frey, get his act together and bring the City under control, or I will send in the National Guard & get the job done right. These THUGS are dishonoring the memory of George Floyd, and I won’t let that happen. Just spoke to Governor Tim Walz and told him that the Military is with him all the way. Any difficulty and we will assume control but, when the looting starts, the shooting starts. Thank you!

It's not a problem that is easily going to go away, especially when there are those that will fuel the fire to further an agenda. It basically relies on the really racist ones dying off over generations. A long process as children generally pick up on the parent's racialist ideals.

But whilst it still goes on the US is definitely a better place than it was 20, 50, 100 years ago let's hope it and other countries continue to progress and gradually eradicate the racialists.

There hasn't been a lynching of a black person since 1981 in the USA, 39 years if you can call that some sort of progress.  Michael Donald whose death and subsequent lawsuit led to the bankruptcy of the United Klans of America.

The men pursued Donald, attacked him and beat him with a tree limb. Hays wrapped a rope around Donald's neck and pulled on it to strangle him while Knowles continued to beat Donald with a tree branch. Once Donald had stopped moving, Hays slit his throat three times to make sure he was dead. The men left Donald's body hanging from a tree in a mixed-race neighborhood in Mobile. The tree was on Herndon Street, across from a house owned by Klan leader Bennie Jack Hays, the father of Henry Hays.

Not just men either, the last woman to be lynched in the US was probably Mary Turner

According to accounts on the lynching, when Mrs. Mary Turner was brought the news of her husband’s lynching by “persons unknown,” she was eight months pregnant. Even though she was close to giving birth to her first child, she openly expressed the innocence of her lynched husband, cursed the mob, and threatened to obtain warrants for their arrest. Consequently, almost 100 years ago to the date, on May 19, 1918, she and her unborn baby became additional victims of the lynch mob’s wrath. 

[The following contains graphic details of the lynching.]
Mrs. Mary Turner and her unborn baby experienced a horrific and unimaginable death. Mrs. Turner was bound and hanged from a tree, set on fire, and her body was riddled with bullets, her screams of terror and pain only to be heard by her perpetrators, and the torture and mutilation continued. The life of her unborn baby ended when the baby was crudely cut from her abdomen and one of lynchers crushed its head with the heel of his shoe. {link}  (Just to reiterate Mary Turners crime was she expressed the innocence of her lynched husband, cursed the mob, and threatened to obtain warrants for their arrest.)

Obviously, there are thousands of cases of racialism experienced in the US and other countries that are less extreme than lynchings and torture. I post the above though as they are not so long ago and to remind us of the depth of which some will go and there are thousands of similar cases.

Racialism doesn't go, it hides beneath the surface and festers.


LINKS
BBC - George Floyd death: Thousands join London protest
BBC-George Floyd: What happened in the final moments of his life
Fox9-911 transcript of call that brought police to George Floyd released
https://www.mprnews.org/story/2020/05/31/276-arrested-driver-who-rolled-into-protest-arrested
https://www.mercurynews.com/2020/05/31/ex-prosecutor-complaint-against-minnesota-cop-derek-chauvin-in-george-floyd-case-drops-important-clues/
https://www.facebook.com/DonaldTrump/posts/10164767134275725
NAACP-HISTORY OF LYNCHINGS
https://www.naacp.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/NAACP_anti_lynch.pdf
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lynching_in_the_United_States
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/apr/26/lynchings-memorial-us-south-montgomery-alabama
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/new-york-slave-revolt-1712-was-bloody-prelude-decades-hardship-180958665/
https://www.tulsahistory.org/exhibit/1921-tulsa-race-massacre
https://www.gettyimages.co.uk/photos/lynching?mediatype=photography&page=2&phrase=lynching&sort=best
https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/films/till/
https://www.washingtonpost.com/history/2019/10/22/more-than-people-have-been-lynched-us-trump-isnt-one-them/
https://calendar.eji.org/racial-injustice/jan/25
https://lynchinginamerica.eji.org/explore/texas/henry-smith
https://theundefeated.com/features/the-waco-horror
Lynchings: By Year and Race
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_James_Byrd_Jr.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lynching_of_Jesse_Washington
https://rediscovering-black-history.blogs.archives.gov/2018/05/16/lynching-of-women-in-united-states-blog-series-the-lynching-of-mrs-mary-turner-and-her-family/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/May_1918_lynchings
https://sites.google.com/view/wiregrassrdhp/mary-turner

COVID-19 ~ Do T-shirt masks work

I've put this together in response to a web page put up by the UK government.
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/how-to-wear-and-make-a-cloth-face-covering/how-to-wear-and-make-a-cloth-face-covering

I didn't go looking for it it was sent in a document by the Care Home company I work for. My issue with it is, neither the Government or the Care Home Company added any information as to the efficiency or not of masks made out of T-Shirts. Nor as to the density of the fabric that should be used. Will we see string vest type masks? I know that's going to the extreme but we've already had people wearing G-Stings as masks. This scant information does nothing to dissuade that.

My other point is, this information is now being disseminated within Care Homes. This could lead to workers believing that this type of basic mask is as efficient as a medical mask. You might think that's ridiculous but there is no information to say otherwise. And it's official, it's on the Government web site, people have a habit of believing such information without investigating much.

Personally, I think it's irresponsible to put up such information without at least a line saying something like "Health Care workers should always use the correct PPE and not homemade versions, unless as a last resort."

Research on T-Shirt masks is scant but I've pulled out some conclusions and comments from Scientific reports and articles below. Obviously read the full document to see the full reports.  Scientific reports at the top running down to media-based reports.


In summary, the answer to the question "Do T-shirt masks work" seems to be

• It's better than nothing.
• Doesn't protect the wearer. 
• May have some benefit in protecting others if in confined spaces. (Like the tube)
• May have some benefit in protection others if you are coughing or sneezing. (In which case you shouldn't be leaving your house)
• Need to be put on and taken off correctly.
• Need to be washed after each use at temp over 60 degrees. But general detergent will kill the virus.
• Store used face coverings in a sealed plastic bag until they can be washed.
• There are a lot of maybe's and possibles.

The Government webpage says 

You should wash a face covering regularly. It can go in with other laundry, using your normal detergent.

Every other piece of information I've read says you should only use a face-covering once before washing it.

Another thing that irritates the hell out of me is conflicting information from Government sources, but hey ho, on we go.


https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24229526

CONCLUSION:
Our findings suggest that a homemade mask should only be considered as a last resort to prevent droplet transmission from infected individuals, but it would be better than no protection.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7108646/

Conclusion
A protective mask may reduce the likelihood of infection, but it will not eliminate the risk, particularly when a disease has more than 1 route of transmission. Thus any mask, no matter how efficient at filtration or how good the seal, will have minimal effect if it is not used in conjunction with other preventative measures, such as isolation of infected cases, immunization, good respiratory etiquette, and regular hand hygiene. An improvised face mask should be viewed as the last possible alternative if a supply of commercial face masks is not available, irrespective of the disease against which it may be required for protection. Improvised homemade face masks may be used to help protect those who could potentially, for example, be at occupational risk from close or frequent contact with symptomatic patients. However, these masks would provide the wearers little protection from microorganisms from others persons who are infected with respiratory diseases. As a result, we would not recommend the use of homemade face masks as a method of reducing transmission of infection from aerosols.

https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/5/4/e006577

Conclusions This study is the first RCT of cloth masks, and the results caution against the use of cloth masks. This is an important finding to inform occupational health and safety. Moisture retention, reuse of cloth masks and poor filtration may result in increased risk of infection. Further research is needed to inform the widespread use of cloth masks globally. However, as a precautionary measure, cloth masks should not be recommended for HCWs, particularly in high-risk situations, and guidelines need to be updated.

https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/5/4/e006577.responses?

Critical shortages of personal protective equipment (PPE) have resulted in the US Centers for Disease Control downgrading their recommendations for health workers treating COVID-19 patients from respirators to surgical masks and finally to home-made cloth masks. The study found that cloth mask wearers had higher rates of infection than even the standard practice control group of health workers, and the filtration provided by cloth masks was poor compared to surgical masks. At the time of the study, there had been very little work done in this space, and so little thought into how to improve the protective value of the cloth masks. Until now, most guidelines on PPE did not even mention cloth masks, despite many health workers in Asia using them.
Health workers are asking us if they should wear no mask at all if cloth masks are the only option. Our research does not condone health workers working unprotected. We recommend that health workers should not work during the COVID-19 pandemic without respiratory protection as a matter of work health and safety

It is important to note that some subjects in the control arm wore surgical masks, which could explain why cloth masks performed poorly compared to the control group. We also did an analysis of all mask wearers, and the higher infection rate in cloth mask group persisted.

Finally for COVID-19, wearing a mask is not enough to protect healthcare workers – use of gloves and goggles are also required as a minimum, as SARS-CoV-2 may infect not only through the respiratory route, but also through contact with contaminated surfaces and self-contamination.
Governments and hospitals should plan and stockpile proper disposable products such as respirators and surgical masks to ensure the occupational health and safety of health workers. This appears to have been a failure in many countries, including high income countries.

https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/disaster-medicine-and-public-health-preparedness/article/testing-the-efficacy-of-homemade-masks-would-they-protect-in-an-influenza-pandemic/0921A05A69A9419C862FA2F35F819D55/core-reader

An improvised face mask should be viewed as the last possible alternative if a supply of commercial face masks is not available, irrespective of the disease against which it may be required for protection. Improvised homemade face masks may be used to help protect those who could potentially, for example, be at occupational risk from close or frequent contact with symptomatic patients. However, these masks would provide the wearers little protection from microorganisms from others persons who are infected with respiratory diseases. As a result, we would not recommend the use of homemade face masks as a method of reducing transmission of infection from aerosols.

https://www.nap.edu/read/25776/chapter/1#5

The evidence from these laboratory filtration studies suggest that such fabric masks may reduce the transmission of larger respiraory droplets. There is little evidence regarding transmission of small aerosolized particulates of the size potentially exhaled by asymtomatic or presymtomatic indivuidulas with COVID-19.

https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/coronavirus/in-depth/coronavirus-mask/art-20485449

Can face masks help prevent the spread of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)?
Yes, face masks combined with other preventive measures, such as frequent hand-washing and social distancing, help slow the spread of the disease.
So why weren't face masks recommended at the start of the pandemic? At that time, experts didn't yet know the extent to which people with COVID-19 could spread the virus before symptoms appeared. Nor was it known that some people have COVID-19 but don't have any symptoms. Both groups can unknowingly spread the virus to others.

https://www.sciencenews.org/article/covid-19-can-fabric-cloth-masks-stem-coronavirus-spread

In one study, a mask that used 16 layers of handkerchief fabric was able to filter out 63 percent of 300-nanometer-sized particles. (The coronavirus is between 50 to 200 nanometers in diameter.) But that mask was harder to breathe with compared with thick, tight-fitting N95 respirators, often used in hospitals, that can block minuscule particles. Wearing a cloth mask with that many layers would be uncomfortable and may “cause some to pass out,” the researchers wrote in the letter. 

 https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20200504-coronavirus-what-is-the-best-kind-of-face-mask

A cotton bandana was the least effective, followed by a woolen scarf, but a 600-thread-count pillowcase folded four times could filter out around 60% of the particles.

Other researchers have found that while pulling a t-shirt up over your nose and mouth will block less than half of the aerosols coming towards it, doubling and even tripling the layers of a cotton t-shirt fabric can dramatically improve things in an emergency. Other fabrics such as silk and polyester were also found to be surprisingly effective. Cotton flannel, felted wool and quilting cotton have been found to be particularly good at blocking ultrafine particles, and one study suggested that a single sock, when flat and pressed tightly against the nose and mouth, could also serve as a good emergency mask substitute.
Much like the disposable N95 and surgical masks, homemade varieties like these are really only good for one use before they need to be disinfected if you want to maximise their potential. The US CDC recommends routinely washing homemade masks. Hot water alone may not be enough – one recent study found the Sars-CoV-2 virus can survive temperatures of at least 60C. Fortunately, the oily envelope that encases coronaviruses can be pulled part by soap and household detergent.
But Mueller warns that all these alternatives cannot be seen as replacements for an N95 mask. “There is a very important question – for health officials to interpret from the data that we are collecting – about what level of particle filtration is 'safe enough'? It is unfortunate but true that in some cases people may be choosing between multiple imperfect options.”

https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2020/04/03/826996154/coronavirus-faqs-is-a-homemade-mask-effective-and-whats-the-best-way-to-wear-one

What about homemade masks?
As NPR has previously reported, some research has shown that cotton T-shirt material and tea towels might help block respiratory droplets emitting from sick people — though it's not clear how much protection they provide.
Another study, of health care workers in Vietnam, found that use of cloth masks resulted in greater infection than either those wearing surgical masks or a control group, some of whom also wore surgical masks.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-51205344

The World Health Organization (WHO) currently says only two groups of people should wear protective masks, those who are:

Sick and showing symptoms.
Caring for people suspected to have coronavirus.
It says medical masks should be reserved for healthcare workers.
Masks are not generally recommended for the public because:
they can be contaminated by other people's coughs and sneezes, or when putting them on or removing them.
Frequent hand-washing and social distancing are more effective.
They might offer a false sense of security
But that doesn't mean they have no benefit at all for the general public - it's just that the scientific evidence is weak.
Homemade cloth face-coverings can help reduce the risk of transmission in some circumstances - they might help stop the spread of coronavirus by people who are contagious but have no symptoms (known as asymptomatic transmission).

The most protective mask is an FFP3 or, alternatively, an N95 or an FFP2.  NHS staff in lower-risk situations can wear a surgical mask. This includes healthcare workers within one metre of a patient with possible or confirmed Covid-19.  These staff may be in hospitals, primary care, ambulance trusts, community care settings and care homes.

OTHER LINKS

https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/advice-for-public/when-and-how-to-use-masks

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/prevent-getting-sick/diy-cloth-face-coverings.html

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2020/apr/21/scientists-join-calls-for-uk-public-to-wear-homemade-face-masks-outdoors

https://familydoctor.org/covid-19-face-masks/

https://www.mcgill.ca/oss/article/covid-19-health/cloth-masks-given-ok-do-they-work

https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2020/01/coronavirus-surgical-masks-china.html

COVID-19 ~ 2nd Place for Deaths 3rd Highest Spike in New Cases

On the 5th May 2020, the UK took on the sad crown of 2nd highest deaths from coronavirus in the world.  6th of May we have the 3rd highest spike of new cases in the UK since this started.

Is it strange that the two leaders of the countries with the highest deaths or is it a sad indictment of their complacency and failure to act? With literally more data to hand than most other countries? The evidence was there, all the had to do was prepare for it. Did they? Sadly no not quickly enough, they were severely lacking in their response and even in their belief that COVID-19 was a threat. Comments like "its a hoax" and "I shake hands with everyone" are the evidence of their belief in the threat.

Now some will say, and even Johnson said it today you cant compare countries, well yes I'm going to agree with that. The UK has a population density far higher than most other comparable countries.  Which is the reason we needed to move sooner.

I covered population density here Has Sweden Found The Right Route in a blog about Sweden and its herd immunity route

UK population density per Mi2             = 710
Germany population density per Mi2    = 603
Italy population density per Mi2            = 518
China population density per Mi2         = 377
France population density per Mi2        = 319
Spain population density per Mi2          = 241
USA  population density per Mi2          = 87
Brazil population density per Mi2         = 64
Sweden population density per Mi2      = 60

Knowing that we had a much higher population density, there is no question that the Government should have implemented the stay at home policy earlier than others and not waited.  Had they done that 2 weeks earlier, we might even be coming out the other side of it now.  I guess in their defence people wanted coffins to be convinced but Johnson didn't help that with conflicting information.

I'm still shaking my head at the governments herd immunity path they initially followed and don't forget they had all the figures to hand.  Yet they were still going for that scenario, unbelievable.

Herd immunity in Sweden is a possibility and seems to be working but it's understandable with a population density of just 60 per Mi2 and they have got it wrong with many care home deaths. Herd immunity in the UK was never going to be a possibility with a population density of 710 per Mi2.  Nearly 12 times that of Sweden.

It seems now that having been late to initiate stay at home, Johnson is now making noises about relaxing measures. In my opinion, this is far too early we've just become 2nd place in the world for deaths.

As if to serve as a warning we've had the 3rd highest spike (6,111) in new cases today the 6th May 2020, since this started.  2nd highest was 6,201 on 1st May 2020 and the biggest spike was 8,681 back on 10 April 2020.

Johnson has proved to be a likeable, bumbling, schoolboy character and people have voted for him.

Unfortunately, that don't cut it, it doesn't cover the incompetence, the incongruent comments in briefings to the country. The lies, the misinformation this government has made and continues to make.

I covered the Incompetent brothers Johnson and Trump here

The 100,000 test is a good point in question, why lie? Why not say we set an ambitious target and we missed it but we are carrying on improving until we hit it.  Why send out thousands of test kits to random people that never asked for them and include them in the 100,000 figure.  THEY WERN'T TESTED.

Some will say this is not the time to be holding the Government to account. I say its more imperative that we hold the government to account now because if we let them carry on making the mistakes they are it could have fatal ramifications for some of us and no one knows who.

But it could be you.

Would you really let a driver of a bus, drive over a cliff edge without doing something to stop him?



#nomorelies
#nomoremisinformation

BREXIT - 5 billionaires own 80% of the UK media

5 billionaires own 80% of the UK media. They and their companies are registered abroad and pay no UK tax.

The five are:

Richard Desmond.
Jonathon Harmsworth.
David Barclay.
Fred Barclay.
Rupert Murdoch.

Owning 80% of the UK media means they have a huge influence on elections, etc. they and their companies are registered abroad, they pay no UK tax. And that is how they want it to stay. Which is why they ALL back the CONservatives.

This wasn't a blog about Brexit it was my little investigation into the Pro Tory media however as I looked I found that all the big 5 are pro-Brexit. make of that what you will. Any links re Brexit are purely ones I found while looking at Pro Tory-supporting billionaires and their Tax evasion/avoidance.

Richard Desmond.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Desmond

https://www.forbes.com/profile/richard-desmond/#cf996f034ed4

https://www.insider.com/london-billionaires-row-dane-court-richard-desmond-porn-fortune-2019-11

https://www.theguardian.com/media/2000/dec/24/pressandpublishing.dailyexpress

Jonathon Harmsworth.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jonathan_Harmsworth,_4th_Viscount_Rothermere

https://www.forbes.com/lists/2006/10/TYUE.html

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-24396430

https://thebrexitsyndicate.com/2018/07/04/daily-mail/

https://www.pressgazette.co.uk/hitler-the-daily-mail-and-how-lord-rothermere-showed-he-has-learned-the-lessons-of-history/

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/media/viscount-rothermere-the-lord-of-middle-england-547800.html

David Barclay.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_and_Frederick_Barclay

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-20761560/barclay-twins-ritz-hotel-pays-no-corporation-tax

https://www.theguardian.com/media/2019/jul/03/david-barclay-loses-libel-case-against-obscure-french-playwright

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7622121/Barclay-brothers-85-forced-bail-ailing-business-empire.html

https://members.tortoisemedia.com/2020/03/02/barclays-1-end-of-empire/content.html

https://www.theneweuropean.co.uk/top-stories/mandrake-barclays-are-bothered-by-brexit-1-5644716

Fred Barclay.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_and_Frederick_Barclay

Rupert Murdoch.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rupert_Murdoch

https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/rupert-murdoch-corporate-tax-panama-trade-deal_n_1018600?ri18n=true

LINKS

https://www.viewsbank.com/poll/5-billionaires-own-80-uk-media-they-and-their-companies-are-registered-abroad-and-pay-no-uk-tax

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_newspapers_in_the_United_Kingdom

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rupert_Murdoch

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Desmond

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jonathan_Harmsworth,_4th_Viscount_Rothermere

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_and_Frederick_Barclay

https://www.forbes.com/profile/richard-desmond/#cf996f034ed4

https://www.ukclimbing.com/forums/off_belay/brexit_backing_right_wing_media's_tax_haven_roots-665448

https://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/latestnews/2012/panorama-truth-about-tax.html

https://infacts.org/super-rich-bought-brexit-victory/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tax_evasion

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tax_avoidance

COVID-19 ~ Johnson and Trump The Incompetent Brothers

Prime Minister's Speech Greenwich, London 3rd February 2020

In case anyone was in any doubt of good old Boris Johnsons thinking prior to coronavirus hitting the UK. I suggest you take a look at the start of this speech made on the 3rd of February 2020.

“And when there is a risk that new diseases such as coronavirus will trigger a panic and a desire for market segregation that go beyond what is medically rational, to the point of doing real and unnecessary economic damage. Then at that moment humanity needs some government somewhere that is willing at least to make the case powerfully for freedom of exchange” - Boris Johnson

Johnson then goes on to tell us, or those that are concerned about what sort of trade deal the UK might end up with the USA, that they should grow up.

Well, it turned out that he was the one who needed to grow up, particularly after his "I shook hands with everyone" speech at a briefing a month later to the day.

"I was at a hospital the other night, where I think there was a few coronavirus patients and I shook hands with everybody! you'll be pleased to know and I continue to shake hands" ~ Boris Johnson 3rd March 2020

Inspirational and outstanding leadership in getting the message across....NOT.  This isn't leadership this is pure childish incompetence.

Yet people still say he's doing a good job, it beggars belief and is the same blind faith exhibited by those followers of Trump. A world leader that lurches from one idiotic statement to another and then claims he's misquoted or his other favourite "its fake news".

Strange that the two leaders who were prepared to sacrifice unknown numbers of the population are now facing seeing the biggest death totals.  The UK is not there yet, but slowly, day by day the UK is overtaking other countries in that area. Will we make number two?  Highly probable in the next few days but certainly in the next few weeks.

But the sheer incompetence of both Johnson and Trump does not remain to be seen it's on plain view.

It's not like coronavirus stealthily crept up on us, we had the warnings, it was plain to see. There was no surprise, it was obvious what was coming to all those with a mediocre of common sense.

Unfortunately, common sense seems to be low in both Johnson and Trump and it nearly cost Johnson his life, if we can believe that part of the saga.

The UK is currently 3rd in the dubious rankings of coronavirus deaths. We should have been lower, we were warned, we knew it was coming. Only the governments slow reaction has put us in what will be 2nd place in the next few days.

The government also failed to plan correctly and put in place stocks of non-perishables, like masks and gowns after the pandemic exercise in 2016, Exercise Cygnus.  The report has never been released, I wonder why?

Covid-19 strategies: Britain planned for herd immunity while Asia intended to contain virus
Britain had prepared for a herd immunity strategy to contain Covid-19, while other countries focused on enhanced testing capacity

Who got it right?

Well it's plain to see from the numbers that certainly the UK and the USA didn't, especially with the advanced warning both countries had. Asian countries have got off lightly with regard to deaths so it was possible.

There is one caveat to this.  Were the deaths enough to get near to herd immunity? Because for every death there are x number of people that have had it and had mild or no symptoms.

Have the deaths been enough to get near the 60-80% needed for herd immunity to work?  As we have no reliable test, or any reliable evidence, as yet, that if you've had it you get immunity. That remains to be seen when the 2nd wave comes. The 2nd wave in the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic killed far more than the 1st wave.

So hold onto your hats, we could be in for a bumpy ride and with the likes of Johnson and Trump in charge what could possibly go wrong.....

LOTS!

UPDATE 06 May 2020

6 days after I posted this blog we surpassed Italy in deaths and the UK took on the sad crown of the country with the 2nd highest deaths in the world.

LINKS

https://www.visualcapitalist.com/infection-trajectory-flattening-the-covid19-curve/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exercise_Cygnus

https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/#countries
Johnson said COVID-19 would cause “real and unnecessary economic damage” beyond “what is medically rational”.

COVID-19 ~ Trumps ludicrous disinfectant suggestion and the fallout from it.

I know there will be lots of blind followers of Trump that will think that he's brilliant and follow him regardless of what lies and misinformation he spews out. In general, there is so much of it it's just not worth commenting on, you would spend a lifetime checking through it all. He is another pathological liar which is why he constantly comes out with so much rubbish, he actually believes what he's saying, which is all the more dangerous. In fact he a Narcissistic pathological liar.

The President of the United States declared at a briefing yesterday: 

‘and then I see the disinfectant, where it knocks out in a minute, one minute, and is there a way we can do something like that?’ - ‘By injection inside, or almost a cleaning. ‘Cos you see, it gets in the lungs, and it does a tremendous number on the lungs. So it would be interesting to check that.’ - 'So that your going to have to use medical Doctors with' - 'but it sounds interesting to me'

So there is one thing on this disinfectant comment in the briefing. Regardless of what he said, whether he said it, whether he meant what everyone heard or interpreted it in the right way. (Then again things shouldn't be open to interpretation).  One thing that cuts through all that crap.

1. Trump should not be using a briefing that goes out to the whole world to try and make himself look intelligent or knowledgable about a subject he clearly knows absolutely nothing about and has no qualifications for, as he himself said 'Im not a Doctor'.  The place to brainstorm even stupid ideas,  is in meetings with those who have the scientific knowledge to either expand on them or explain why its an idea that's going nowhere. It's as simple as that, he shouldn't have said what he said in a briefing, he was just trying to pretend he's a clever ideas person and he's not.  END OF.  There is no excuse for those type of comments in a press briefing.

Now we've got that one point over we can have a look at what was said and what wasn't.  In these videos, you can see exactly what was said. Also the myriad of graphic images of which there are too many to produce them all here.

SOAPBOX OPINION...
Basically, if you wanted to go all out and make yourself look like an absolute idiot to the rest of the world you would struggle to beat this one.

Dr. Birx's reaction to Trump's disinfectant suggestion

Trump then claimed he was being sarcastic

He clearly wasn't being sarcastic, he was clearly trying to be the look at me I'm clever with another of his numerous I have a good brain quotes.

Trump Knows More Than Anybody, And Nobody Knows More

Trump's Way Of Speaking Is 'Oddly Adolescent'

Trump vs Trump on Coronavirus: the US President's changing tone in just a few weeks

Any questions Trump doesn't like is put down by belittling and bullying comments and the comment your just fake news, when in fact most fake news or misinformation is spewed by trump.

Trump's musings spurred a media, manufacturer,  frenzy around the world with Doctors and Scientists apparently, all taking Trump's comments the wrong way. Maybe Trump needs to work on communication skills.

Various images

As an update, this YouTube video came to my attention and shows the cutting involved particularly by the BBC. Not that I saw any BBC clips but here it is anyway.  {Updated 27/04/20)

BBC lies & fakery: editing and manipulating Trump “sunlight and bleach” press briefing

My comment would be
Doesn't really get away from the fact that Trump shouldn't be pontificating in a press conference about ideas such as that and why are they are telling everyone that bleach kills the virus? I thought that was common knowledge, so makes no sense. They were saying it as if it was some great revelation, very strange.  He did also say "I then asked the question ....." seemingly making it look like he was the perpetrator of these questions but maybe that can be attributed to the cutting. He's always trying to make himself look like the one with all the knowledge the superior intellect and regularly says so ...he probably should have kept his mouth shut and let the scientists deal with the science, then there would be no ammunition. Nothing is as it seems.



Updated 27/04/20

Seems only correct to post the full briefing, certainly doesn't change my opinion. 

Various LINKS

Coronavirus: Disinfectant firm warns after Trump comments

Coronavirus: Trump’s disinfectant and sunlight claims fact-checked

Piers Morgan leads celeb outrage to Donald Trump’s ‘insane’ disinfectant comments Read more: https://metro.co.uk/2020/04/24/piers-morgan-outrage-donald-trump-disinfectant-12603387/?

https://metro.co.uk/2020/04/25/donald-trump-unfollows-piers-morgan-getting-called-senseless-stupid-theories-12608347

‘It bothers me that this is still in the news cycle,’ Birx says of Trump’s disinfectant and light comments