People like that grind my gears! Just go full steam ahead locomotive style into them , they'll soon get the hint and stop
Well said HR. If my village is anything to go by, this crisis is an opportunity for people to reach out and help each other. As someone said at the druids ceremony at Stanton Drew this morning, we have to look after the wise old ones now.
This sort of post has it's place (politics thread) no doubt but at this moment in time it's not about him it's about what the government are doing to combat the effects of this virus. You come across as someone who's nose has been put out of joint because the measures have been well recieved.
That's really good . Was that your own idea no7? Happy birthday is redundant in this house. Edit Do you have to wash your hands everytime you watch this? I've viewed it about twenty times so far, my hands are red raw.
I agree. I am a lifelong socialist but there is no place for party politics at the moment, apart from constructive criticism. We really are all in this together.
I should just add to my post above that I still can't quite believe we have Boris as Prime Minister particularly in this time of emergency, but I'm prepared to give him the benefit of the doubt on what he and Sunak are doing. We have to anyway, we don't have any choice, predicting doom doesn't help anyone.
I do agree with all the sensible posters on here so thanks for what you have written. We have to pull together as people, country wide, and help those who can't help themselves. We can't blame the government for this, in many ways we have brought this upon ourselves and we have to change. All of us are sleepwalking into oblivion if we don't look on this as a time to reflect and to come out the other side with different values and a better perspective on working with nature, rather than constantly raping it. Some of the stories of people helping each other, doctors and nurses working until they drop, hospital support staff and cleaners working for all of us are truly amazing. People sharing food and other essential supplies with those who are struggling and now the governments are stepping in to support what is a very fragile society is a sign of hope. After all this is over, hopefully more of us might see things differently and behave with more dignity and compassion towards others. It is easy to feel disgusted by the stories of supermarkets being raided by idiots who leave nothing for others, but I have found myself concentrating on the positive, while keeping an eye on where we are really at on this planet. There are signs of hope all over, but there are also warnings that we need to heed. I saw this video a couple of days ago and although it is in Italian, it is subtitled in English and shows there is hope for us, but we must learn from this. Please do watch it .....
Just wow.....3 members of the same family died https://metro.co.uk/2020/03/19/coro...bers-hospitalizes-4-gathered-dinner-12426416/
I was thinking, this morning, would returning the retirement age to 65, be a good shout? It gives those who are in the age bracket judged to be more vulnerable, and who want to retire, the chance to stay at home and self isolate, whilst freeing up a chunk of jobs for those younger workers who might lose theirs. Even if it was only offered to those that would have retired this year, prior to the age change, as a one off experiment.
I am afraid that the current situation does have a political edge to it. The situation is being managed because austerity has meant that the hospitals have been significantly underfunded for years with the strong inclination that they should have to stand on their own two feet like so many other businesses in the private sector. Had the Government given priority to the NHS, it would have been able to cope so much better. It is noticeable that the likes of Nigel Farage have quickly disappeared. I would also point out that the fact that private companies shedding their workforce is also political as it is a consequence of everything being driven by the market. I totally appreciate Chilco's comment about not dragging politics in to the discussion but I think what we are experiencing is the consequence of poor political judgements in the past. Whilst I concur that the present government should be given the benefit of the doubt in managing this crisis, I hope that people will remember in the next general election that this current problem has been caused by austerity and is also a consequence of letting the market dictate matters which has it's origins in the era of Margaret Thatcher and not addressed when Gordon Brown was Chancellor. I do not think there is any coincidence that socialist counties like Cuba are managing the problem far better than the UK and that it is those countries dominated by the market system where the issue is, unfortunately, at it's most severe. It could be very telling in the near future where the absence of a state health service could result in the US being the country to suffer the most from this outbreak. With treatment only available to those who have the income, I think that this will prove to be a salutary lesson for the Americans and send a stark warning that letting the market dictate things can have catastrophic circumstances. Unfortunately, the current outbreak has exposed the soft underbelly of capitalism. As the recent protests in Brazil have shown, we are starting to witness a reaction against right wing politics. I would also have to add that the action of individuals in this country is making more of an impact than the government and many people had taken measures well in advance of the instruction to do so.
Wish the government would shut all non essential shops ........my wife’s shop/chain is to remain open indefinitely
Everything. Shut. Down. Everything. With the exception of essential services, nothing should be open. No one should be out in groups. The question is no longer whether hospitals will be overwhelmed -- they will -- it's how badly overwhelmed they will be, whether only some or nearly all will find themselves running out of supplies, and with patients piling up that they cannot meaningfully care for.
