Brexit, for once some facts.

[jonathan.agnew]

Asteroids can fall out of the sky and wipe out all humanity.

Theres a difference between staring at the sky and urinating on live terminals

 

[Danidl]

Theres a difference between staring at the sky and urinating on live terminals

... I wold not know, I rarely stare at the sky.

 

[RossG]

But that doesn't match the facts. I'll keep the emotive local case out of it and use another country as an example.

Italy as you will know was the first country in Europe to be very hard by it and were the first to have a national lockdown. The infection rate and deaths scared the Italians so much they were terrified into strict obedience to the lockdown rules, even going beyond what was necessary to comply and they've stayed that way.

Yet now they have been sliding very steeply into a new infection wave and the Italian government is stuck for what to do since their economy has been so terribly damaged it can't take any more, ruling out even harsher measures.

We've seen parallels here in Britain, areas who were praised for their response to the virus and its apparent success, now suffering infection rates hurtling skywards. The same has happened elsewhere in the world, those seemingly the most successful at first by obeying the rules suddenly suffering big setbacks with new infection waves.

Meanwhile, other areas like mine, justly criticised for not bothering with the rules and having very high rates early in the pandemic, are now often in the lowest infection positions despite still being as cavalier about the rules.

If you believe what officialdom and science are saying about Covid-19 these defy logic, but I don't believe them. What I do believe and have long been preaching is that this virulent disease is unavoidable since no precautions can cover all situations and short of an effective vaccine, we will all get it in the end.

What is happening so far and currently, backs that to the hilt. Those areas or individual communities who suffered a big hit early are benefitting now with lower rates, those who largely got away with it first time round are being hit hard now.

Although infection rates are often very high now, the death rate is very low in comparison so the choice that's always been open is still there. Take it on the chin and get it over with, or duck and dive with every avoidance possible until it finally catches up with you as it inevitably will if without a vaccine.

If you are in reasonably good health, take the first option for a more pleasant life, since you'll shrug it off. If in poor health and compromised, suffer the inconveniences of the second option and pray a vaccine will get to you before Covid-19 does.
.

There's a very obvious reason why some areas have low infection rates flecc, density of population and clusters of people. For example: Southampton covid infection rate - 72.9 per 100k. Isle of Wight infection rate - 24.7 per 100k. Check on a map how much larger the IOW is compared to S/Hampton now check their population figures plus like the City of Portsmouth a great many student faculties exist in Southampton with clusters of covid cases some running into hundreds. My own area covid cases = zero (I checked with my local council) none at all, there were two cases a few weeks back a couple of school kids who as it happened didn't even live in the area.

 

[Danidl]

That's BS. Biden is senile and he forgot who his opponent is. Trying to feed the public the sort of excuse you allude to above will ensure that Trump wins again. They just need to say, yes, he forgot, humans have momentary memory slips.

I think the woman sat next to him is trying to prompt him to say Trump when he says George. From her lips, it looks like she says, "Trump! Trump! You ******* stupid old ****!"

Here's the clip, what do you think?

FROM THE WASHINGTON POST......
The video clip that Republican National Committee rapid response director Steve Guest tweeted late Sunday night seemed to be the stuff of opposition researcher’s dreams. Just 27 seconds long, it appeared to show Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden criticize former president George W. Bush as the person he is running against — not President Trump. The snippet from Biden’s Oct. 25 “I Will Vote” concert seemed to be evidence of a nasty theory the Trump campaign has been pushing for months: Joe Biden is senile.
Fox News, the “Today” show and the Daily Mail among others all picked up the story. Trump tweeted about the supposed debacle, saying: “Joe Biden called me George yesterday. Couldn’t remember my name. Got some help from the anchor to get him through the interview. The Fake News Cartel is working overtime to cover it up!” Guest’s tweet had more than a million views as of 2 p.m. Monday.
Still, most things that appear to be too good to be true are just that and, as our colleague David Weigel originally pointed out, this clip was no exception.
The Facts
The “I Will Vote” concert was hosted by comedian George Lopez and political commentator Ana Navarro. The segment begins with what looks like a fancy Zoom call. Navarro and Lopez are each in a separate frame, as are the Bidens and a sign language interpreter.
Lopez asks Biden why undecided Americans should vote and vote for him. As Biden begins his answer, the frames of Navarro and Lopez are dropped from the screen.
“First of all, the reason they should vote is there is a lot on, on the ballot this year. This is the most consequen — not because I’m running but because of who I am running against — this is the most consequential election in a long, long, long time and the character of the country, in my view, is literally on the ballot,” Biden responds. “What kind of country are we going to be?”
Then, he stutters, “Four more years of George, uh, George, uh, he, uh, are going to find ourselves in position where if uh Trump gets elected uh we are going to be uh, going to be in a different world.”
Or was it: “Four more years, uh, George, uh, George, uh, we, uh.” It’s hard to tell.
With his caption, Guest answers an unspoken question of just who is the “George,” suggesting that Biden confused President Trump with former president George W. Bush. His evidence is this exact clip with one important tweak. The clip Guest tweeted begins when Biden says, “This is the most,” but after Navarro and Lopez were dropped from the screen, making it appear as though Biden is simply addressing the audience.
By beginning the clip after the moderators were removed from the screen, viewers have no idea that Biden could have been referring to George Lopez, who had originally asked the question.
“He was addressing George Lopez, the interviewer, as is a common practice,” Biden spokesman Andrew Bates said. “That is, unless, like Donald Trump, you blow a gasket and storm out because you can’t stomach being fact-checked.”
Guest defended his clip job without apology. He sent The Fact Checker this statement:

“This isn’t a ‘fact check.’ It’s the Washington Post doing the Biden campaign’s bidding to cover up what Biden actually said. Biden was talking about ‘four more years’ of President Trump and said the name ‘George’ instead. His wife is mouthing ‘Trump’ next to him in an attempt to save him and remind him who is currently president. Which explanation makes more sense? That Biden was expressing concern for 4 years of George Lopez as President!? Or does it make more sense that the same Joe Biden who couldn’t remember Mitt Romney’s name or the office he is running for mistakenly referred to a past Republican administration instead of the current one? It’s obviously the latter.”

We will note that there is no evidence of Jill Biden mouthing anything while Biden is speaking, unless you have an overactive imagination. She is pursing her lips in the clip.
After we contacted “Today” about the issue, the show added an editor’s note to its report, acknowledging: “The fact that Biden was talking with George Lopez was relevant and helpful context that should have been included in the original report.”
The Pinocchio Test
As we have documented this campaign season, the Trump campaign and the RNC are eager purveyors of misleading and out-of-context clips. They earn lots of clicks, which is perhaps the point, but it’s pretty childish behavior. After all, Trump makes plenty of verbal slips, too. (Just ask his former national security adviser, “Michael Bolton.”)
Guest’s tweet is a classic example of the isolation, according to The Fact Checker’s Guide to Manipulated Video. Starting the clip when the moderators were no longer on the screen, he eliminated key context by removing the most obvious George that Biden could be referring to — George Lopez — and filled in the gap with an answer better suited to the Trump campaign’s unproven narrative of Biden’s faltering mental acuity.
Guest earns Four Pinocchios for his efforts.

 

[RossG]

My posts are going a bit crazy, try again. The National Debt explained.

Mythbuster: We have to repay the national debt

The myth We have to repay the national debt. Reply The reply - 1 We never have! It's been rising almost constantly since it began. Why should we start repaying it now? The reply - 2 You do know that the national debt includes all our notes and coins? Why do you want to get rid...

www.taxresearch.org.uk

 

[Barry Shittpeas]

FROM THE WASHINGTON POST......
The video clip that Republican National Committee rapid response director Steve Guest tweeted late Sunday night seemed to be the stuff of opposition researcher’s dreams. Just 27 seconds long, it appeared to show Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden criticize former president George W. Bush as the person he is running against — not President Trump. The snippet from Biden’s Oct. 25 “I Will Vote” concert seemed to be evidence of a nasty theory the Trump campaign has been pushing for months: Joe Biden is senile.
Fox News, the “Today” show and the Daily Mail among others all picked up the story. Trump tweeted about the supposed debacle, saying: “Joe Biden called me George yesterday. Couldn’t remember my name. Got some help from the anchor to get him through the interview. The Fake News Cartel is working overtime to cover it up!” Guest’s tweet had more than a million views as of 2 p.m. Monday.
Still, most things that appear to be too good to be true are just that and, as our colleague David Weigel originally pointed out, this clip was no exception.
The Facts
The “I Will Vote” concert was hosted by comedian George Lopez and political commentator Ana Navarro. The segment begins with what looks like a fancy Zoom call. Navarro and Lopez are each in a separate frame, as are the Bidens and a sign language interpreter.
Lopez asks Biden why undecided Americans should vote and vote for him. As Biden begins his answer, the frames of Navarro and Lopez are dropped from the screen.
“First of all, the reason they should vote is there is a lot on, on the ballot this year. This is the most consequen — not because I’m running but because of who I am running against — this is the most consequential election in a long, long, long time and the character of the country, in my view, is literally on the ballot,” Biden responds. “What kind of country are we going to be?”
Then, he stutters, “Four more years of George, uh, George, uh, he, uh, are going to find ourselves in position where if uh Trump gets elected uh we are going to be uh, going to be in a different world.”
Or was it: “Four more years, uh, George, uh, George, uh, we, uh.” It’s hard to tell.
With his caption, Guest answers an unspoken question of just who is the “George,” suggesting that Biden confused President Trump with former president George W. Bush. His evidence is this exact clip with one important tweak. The clip Guest tweeted begins when Biden says, “This is the most,” but after Navarro and Lopez were dropped from the screen, making it appear as though Biden is simply addressing the audience.
By beginning the clip after the moderators were removed from the screen, viewers have no idea that Biden could have been referring to George Lopez, who had originally asked the question.
“He was addressing George Lopez, the interviewer, as is a common practice,” Biden spokesman Andrew Bates said. “That is, unless, like Donald Trump, you blow a gasket and storm out because you can’t stomach being fact-checked.”
Guest defended his clip job without apology. He sent The Fact Checker this statement:

We will note that there is no evidence of Jill Biden mouthing anything while Biden is speaking, unless you have an overactive imagination. She is pursing her lips in the clip.
After we contacted “Today” about the issue, the show added an editor’s note to its report, acknowledging: “The fact that Biden was talking with George Lopez was relevant and helpful context that should have been included in the original report.”
The Pinocchio Test
As we have documented this campaign season, the Trump campaign and the RNC are eager purveyors of misleading and out-of-context clips. They earn lots of clicks, which is perhaps the point, but it’s pretty childish behavior. After all, Trump makes plenty of verbal slips, too. (Just ask his former national security adviser, “Michael Bolton.”)
Guest’s tweet is a classic example of the isolation, according to The Fact Checker’s Guide to Manipulated Video. Starting the clip when the moderators were no longer on the screen, he eliminated key context by removing the most obvious George that Biden could be referring to — George Lopez — and filled in the gap with an answer better suited to the Trump campaign’s unproven narrative of Biden’s faltering mental acuity.
Guest earns Four Pinocchios for his efforts.

I’ve seen the video. You appear to no longer believe the evidence of your own eyes and ears. It’s a lost cause when someone gets to that stage.

 

[vfr400]

Can somebody make a rational explanation of this for me please.

I've just seen a clip of Biden's latest rally in Warm Springs, where there were about 30 people in the audience and hardly a sound as Biden walks on the stage. Every single Trump rally is packed beyond capacity with cheering crowds. Thinking that Biden's clip was unrepresentative, I searched through all his recent rallies to see if I could find a crowd, but the cameras are always very careful to only show the stage, but you can tell that there's no cheering when he arrives and no cheering through his speech. It sounds like he's speaking to very few people.

This is where it gets weird. I typed into Google "Biden rally", then selected last month and photos. It gave a few pictures of Biden standing on a stage with no crowd and loads of pictures of Trump in front of masses of waving people. I then changed it to "Biden rally crowd" and it gave even more pictures of Trump and his crowds, and perhaps two photos of Biden by himself on a stage.

How can Biden be ahead in the polls? Where are his supporters?

 

[SirNigel]

FROM THE WASHINGTON POST......
The video clip that Republican National Committee rapid response director Steve Guest tweeted late Sunday night seemed to be the stuff of opposition researcher’s dreams. Just 27 seconds long, it appeared to show Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden criticize former president George W. Bush as the person he is running against — not President Trump. The snippet from Biden’s Oct. 25 “I Will Vote” concert seemed to be evidence of a nasty theory the Trump campaign has been pushing for months: Joe Biden is senile.
Fox News, the “Today” show and the Daily Mail among others all picked up the story. Trump tweeted about the supposed debacle, saying: “Joe Biden called me George yesterday. Couldn’t remember my name. Got some help from the anchor to get him through the interview. The Fake News Cartel is working overtime to cover it up!” Guest’s tweet had more than a million views as of 2 p.m. Monday.
Still, most things that appear to be too good to be true are just that and, as our colleague David Weigel originally pointed out, this clip was no exception.
The Facts
The “I Will Vote” concert was hosted by comedian George Lopez and political commentator Ana Navarro. The segment begins with what looks like a fancy Zoom call. Navarro and Lopez are each in a separate frame, as are the Bidens and a sign language interpreter.
Lopez asks Biden why undecided Americans should vote and vote for him. As Biden begins his answer, the frames of Navarro and Lopez are dropped from the screen.
“First of all, the reason they should vote is there is a lot on, on the ballot this year. This is the most consequen — not because I’m running but because of who I am running against — this is the most consequential election in a long, long, long time and the character of the country, in my view, is literally on the ballot,” Biden responds. “What kind of country are we going to be?”
Then, he stutters, “Four more years of George, uh, George, uh, he, uh, are going to find ourselves in position where if uh Trump gets elected uh we are going to be uh, going to be in a different world.”
Or was it: “Four more years, uh, George, uh, George, uh, we, uh.” It’s hard to tell.
With his caption, Guest answers an unspoken question of just who is the “George,” suggesting that Biden confused President Trump with former president George W. Bush. His evidence is this exact clip with one important tweak. The clip Guest tweeted begins when Biden says, “This is the most,” but after Navarro and Lopez were dropped from the screen, making it appear as though Biden is simply addressing the audience.
By beginning the clip after the moderators were removed from the screen, viewers have no idea that Biden could have been referring to George Lopez, who had originally asked the question.
“He was addressing George Lopez, the interviewer, as is a common practice,” Biden spokesman Andrew Bates said. “That is, unless, like Donald Trump, you blow a gasket and storm out because you can’t stomach being fact-checked.”
Guest defended his clip job without apology. He sent The Fact Checker this statement:

We will note that there is no evidence of Jill Biden mouthing anything while Biden is speaking, unless you have an overactive imagination. She is pursing her lips in the clip.
After we contacted “Today” about the issue, the show added an editor’s note to its report, acknowledging: “The fact that Biden was talking with George Lopez was relevant and helpful context that should have been included in the original report.”
The Pinocchio Test
As we have documented this campaign season, the Trump campaign and the RNC are eager purveyors of misleading and out-of-context clips. They earn lots of clicks, which is perhaps the point, but it’s pretty childish behavior. After all, Trump makes plenty of verbal slips, too. (Just ask his former national security adviser, “Michael Bolton.”)
Guest’s tweet is a classic example of the isolation, according to The Fact Checker’s Guide to Manipulated Video. Starting the clip when the moderators were no longer on the screen, he eliminated key context by removing the most obvious George that Biden could be referring to — George Lopez — and filled in the gap with an answer better suited to the Trump campaign’s unproven narrative of Biden’s faltering mental acuity.
Guest earns Four Pinocchios for his efforts.

The Washington Post in panic mode!

Have they covered this latest Biden car crash yet?

Biden calls Kamala's husband, Doug Emhoff, 'Kamala's wife' during interview

JOE Biden mistakenly called Kamala Harris’ husband Doug Emhoff, “Kamala’s wife” during an interview. It is yet another blunder the Democrat has made this week just days afte…

www.the-sun.com

 

[Nev]

How can Biden be ahead in the polls? Where are his supporters?

I don't think the polls are fake, the Republicans will be carrying out private polls and if they were not showing similar results to what the public are seeing then Trump would be all over it long before now.

I think Trump supporters are more enthusiastic than Bidens, and are more likely to turn out to watch him. I am sure that Trump will be a more entertaining show than a Biden rally, but being President of the USA is not about being entertaining although it worked for Trump the first time. I think a lot of US voters are just fed up of Trump and they just want someone steady and boring in charge for a change that will enable the country to heal itself.

 

[jonathan.agnew]

I’ve seen the video. You appear to no longer believe the evidence of your own eyes and ears. It’s a lost cause when someone gets to that stage.

So, judging candidates on the basis of one dodgy video clip? black lives matter sausages come to mind. Does "selective attention" ring a bell? Do you ever look at the bigger picture?

 

[Woosh]

This is where it gets weird. I typed into Google "Biden rally", then selected last month and photos. It gave a few pictures of Biden standing on a stage with no crowd and loads of pictures of Trump in front of masses of waving people. I then changed it to "Biden rally crowd" and it gave even more pictures of Trump and his crowds, and perhaps two photos of Biden by himself on a stage.

this is about 'Anyone, not Trump' .
Biden does not have to fight Trump very hard, just enough to get into Trump's head.
I wouldn't be surprised that Trump has already run out of fund to pay for TV ads.
Jon Sopel has a lot of US election statistics - he is on BBC News now,
Take Texas:
82% of the number of voters in 2016 have already voted early this time. It is assumed that Trump's supporters tend to vote on the day, their number seems to have vanished somewhat this time.

 

[vfr400]

So, judging candidates on the basis of one dodgy video clip? black lives matter sausages come to mind. Does "selective attention" ring a bell? Do you ever look at the bigger picture?

Excuse him, he's forgotten to takes his pills again. Maybe he's going deaf and can't hear the reminder alarm. Poor guy! Jonathan, they're next to the kettle in the kitchen in the little pot marked "8pm".

 

[flecc]

There's a very obvious reason why some areas have low infection rates flecc, density of population and clusters of people. For example: Southampton covid infection rate - 72.9 per 100k. Isle of Wight infection rate - 24.7 per 100k. Check on a map how much larger the IOW is compared to S/Hampton now check their population figures plus like the City of Portsmouth a great many student faculties exist in Southampton with clusters of covid cases some running into hundreds. My own area covid cases = zero (I checked with my local council) none at all, there were two cases a few weeks back a couple of school kids who as it happened didn't even live in the area.

I'm very fully aware of all that but you seem to have completely got hold of the wrong end of the stick. My post was not in any way about the differences between two areas. It was about the difference in any one area I mentioned at two different points in time and the reason for the change in that area.
.

 

[RossG]

Can somebody make a rational explanation of this for me please.

I've just seen a clip of Biden's latest rally in Warm Springs, where there were about 30 people in the audience and hardly a sound as Biden walks on the stage. Every single Trump rally is packed beyond capacity with cheering crowds. Thinking that Biden's clip was unrepresentative, I searched through all his recent rallies to see if I could find a crowd, but the cameras are always very careful to only show the stage, but you can tell that there's no cheering when he arrives and no cheering through his speech. It sounds like he's speaking to very few people.

This is where it gets weird. I typed into Google "Biden rally", then selected last month and photos. It gave a few pictures of Biden standing on a stage with no crowd and loads of pictures of Trump in front of masses of waving people. I then changed it to "Biden rally crowd" and it gave even more pictures of Trump and his crowds, and perhaps two photos of Biden by himself on a stage.

How can Biden be ahead in the polls? Where are his supporters?

Ah...you're not seeing the whole picture though vfr. Trump's whole purpose of packing people in to his rallies is to infect as many as he can with covid by way of punishment for not putting him miles ahead in the polls, he's been let down badly poor sod, they did the same with Hitler he was let down and had to shoot himself. Biden OTOH doesn't want people coughing & spluttering around him or each other he's said as much. I've seen news reports of his supporters queuing for hours & camping out all night for a glimpse of the next new President, try watching that other ever-so-biased news channel CNN and make your mind up.
Do you think Trump is going to shoot himself if he looses out to Biden I hope not, loosing Tony Hancock was bad enough and he was only a blood donor, Trump's the worlds only surviving brain donor.

 

[oyster]

Trump's the worlds only surviving brain donor

Receiving his brain would surely count as cruel and unusual punishment.

 

[RossG]

Receiving his brain would surely count as cruel and unusual punishment.

They should put it in a spacecraft and launch it out there, when the aliens get hold of it they'll realise it's a waste of time coming here and go looking for intelligent life elsewhere.

 

[Barry Shittpeas]

So, judging candidates on the basis of one dodgy video clip? black lives matter sausages come to mind. Does "selective attention" ring a bell? Do you ever look at the bigger picture?

Just leave the Black Lives Matter sausages out of this. Ok? This isn’t the place or the time.

 

[RossG]

I'm very fully aware of all that but you seem to have completely got hold of the wrong end of the stick. My post was not in any way about the differences between two areas. It was about the difference in any one area I mentioned at two different points in time and the reason for the change in that area.
.

We are both talking about the same thing but applying a different logic and therefore a different understanding as to cause & effect. Here's an example of what I'm on about, I've mention Portsmouth many times as it's the nearest big city to me and I have many friends and relatives living there as I myself did at one time.
During the first covid wave that city got off very lightly, a population of almost 250,000 but I believe something like 36 lives lost. That's not good news but in comparison to other areas not bad going, the Council leader was praised for the way he handled the situation receiving congratulations from around the country, I know the guy so I know that's true. Now let's look at that City today in it's second wave of covid, infection rates are many times higher....why? what's changed same town, same people what the heck's going on.

I'll tell you what's happened, Portsmouth is a University City last count it had more than 16,000 in accommodation there. They live in tiny cramped rooms on top of each other smaller than my bathroom, some halls of residence are temporarily home to hundreds of young people at a time it's almost unbelievable hence covid infection rates are astronomical. That's no exaggeration I'm talking hundreds of individuals and the same thing is happening in the many homes that have been converted to student accommodation, in some cases whole streets have infections in every home. As I know the area well and have many contacts there I can map out clusters and see hot spots, and it's very clear that sections of the City inhabited by students have very much higher numbers of infection than that of the surrounding areas. Now flecc you are talking of Italy & Germany and how it's now different for them, well maybe they have clusters of young people all living it up now the school bell's called them in. Low infection rate in your area? good same here, if you had a student hall of residence opposite your gaff with 300 young people squeezed inside it your area would be a very different place to live in as mine would, we are both very fortunate that's not the case for many though.
We had covid,we locked down infection dropped. We opened up, back where we started again. There's only one answer... time to turn the key again, I'm ready with 6 months supply of everything bring it on.

 

[Nev]

I was under the impression the crew only found out there were stowaways on board the oil tanker when they entered UK waters. This apparently was not the case, both France and Spain had already denied the ship entry to their ports because there were stowaways on board.

Oil tanker stormed by SBS was denied port access by France and Spain

Nave Andromeda was refused permission to berth and disembark seven stowaways

www.theguardian.com

 

[oyster]

6 months supply of everything

Please don't invite me round for a salad.