A lot of musicians are angry with Rishi Sunak for saying that some musicians will have to train in other professions. It will be a pity if they have to, but it's nothing new. The country is full of talented amateur musicians who can't make a living out of it, some of whom are a darn sight more talented than some who do. Unless you're at the very top life as a musician is precarious, and I know some who retrained years ago in order to guarantee an income for their families. One became an airline pilot, another a train driver and another became something in IT.
6% infected outdoors. In 2016 we had 28,000 flu deaths plus 10,000 excess deaths of people weakened by the initial infection. So 38,000 fatalities including my father, but I didn't wish for the country to close down....he was old, we die from flu when we're old. Those that want to hide forever, let them. but let the rest of us who are prepared to take the hit, have our freedom. I don't obey the rules because I want younger people to have a future, and for the ailing to get regular and / or life saving treatment. Covid will still be there when we come out of hiding, it is not migratory and it cannot morph. Next year it may present itself to me as a common cold, but it knows me already...kinda like mates rates. In addition, I don't think this is a second wave, more like involuntary herd immunity, a generous gift from all those that break the rules. Just because we can talk and are aware of our own mortality, doesn't mean we can screw with nature and then do a deal with it. Hurricanes, volcanos, earthquakes, tsunami's etc, we don't do too well controlling them. Just our luck that when we all get out of lockdown an asteroid hits us. When "I want" takes over from "I need" then we've outlived our usefulness and our purpose, and that one purpose is to try and love our fellow beings and look after the planet that supports us.
A BBC investigation has apparently uncovered widespread money laundering in Leicester by clothing manufacturers there... https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-54509461 No obvious link to Coronavirus you might think. But if there is a network of manufacturers (employing thousands of low paid workers between them) who have no qualms about criminal money laundering, the people running those companies are hardly likely to have the safety of their work force from COVID19 - or anything else - at the top of their priority list. Andrew Bridgen, Conservative MP for North West Leicestershire, said it was "absolutely endemic in huge swathes of the city". "There are gangs of factory owners going around in brand new four-wheel drives. And there are very, very poor exploited workers who are actually living in fear in the city, and you can feel it on the street," he said. This is England in 2020 for f*ck sake, not the Third World. These places should be investigated immediately and closed down if necessary. Their workers should be protected and have their wages paid by the Government while investigations are ongoing. If it is discovered that their working conditions are not COVID secure, or are in any other way unacceptable (sweat-shop) their employers should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. And that's on top of the money laundering. Assets should be seized and be put towards to Government support for workers' wages.
Another national lockdown - even a short one - is likely to lead to a depression, let alone a recession. I know of lots of businesses that are now running on fumes. Irresponsible social gatherers need to have an urgent look in the mirror. People not wearing face masks on public transport need to start spending a day in the cells. They are wilfully endangering people (if not exempt) by not wearing a mask.
Trouble is Lardi, you can bet your house that those exploited are here illegally, probably have no choice as they have no access to our benefits system.
The anti-muzzle brigade have a lot to answer for, people like Quentin Letts stirring it up, and certain MP's as well. They've made a stupid idea become respectable. ...and the fashion industry, which appears to have known about these sweatshops full of illegal immigrants for some time.
Any proof that lockdown works or has worked, is a long way away. In the meantime we just guess and pretend Sweden doesn't exist.
Italy (severe lockdowns) 1,500 critical. France (severe lockdowns) 1,500 critical Sweden (no lockdown) 25 critical. Herefordshire (totally rebellious and carrying on as if Covid doesn't exist) 0 critical. But don't take my word for it. 12/10/2020: NHS England has confirmed that no further COVID-19 related deaths have been recorded at hospitals in Herefordshire, meaning that the total number of COVID-19 related deaths recorded at hospitals in the county remains at 58 since the start of the outbreak. The 193,000 residents of Herefordshire are not super beings, neither are the Swedes. History tells us herd immunity works. The global lockdown of 1918 (50 million dead) tells us lockdown doesn't work. You can argue with my outlook, but fact is fact. We are living whilst those that hide are surviving, and surviving isn't living.
Something else to add to the tally of wrongdoing by these clothing companies. If their workers are illegal immigrants intimidated into keeping quiet about being exploited, they are only a tiny bit better off than slaves. Slavery was outlawed in the UK not far off 200 years ago. Child marriage was only outlawed 90 years ago in Britain, when it was common practice and not even universally frowned upon. But now in our modern UK culture it is regarded as a sick form of exploitation that is totally unacceptable and rightly consigned to history. Why do we still turn a blind eye to slavery - both abroad and here in the UK? Any illegal exploited workers in this case should be granted asylum and UK citizenship. That might encourage other exploited workers to escape intimidation and virtual slavery.
Slavery has many forms. Those that suffer domestic violence are slaves. There were times when I wasn't even allowed to go to the toilet, or come out of my room. It's all part of the concept of bullying, which I've recently been told is acceptable. It's inherent to enslave and bully those we deem to be without aggression.
@lardiman I think the issue is not as simple as you see it. The problem is not one of local bad guys getting hold of illegal immigrants and putting them to work. These illegal immigrants are controlled by gangs from the moment they set foot outside their homes on their journeys to the West. Families borrow money from gangs to get one or more family members to the West so that they can earn money which will be remitted and hopefully improve their lives after they have paid what they owe on the loans they took out. This is an international network. The sweatshop owners here are linked to the gangs in the countries of origin. The workers here submit to whatever indignities they are forced to suffer. The penalty for rebellion is reprisals on their families in their homelands. Slavery may well be abolished here but it is still a way of life in South Asia and Arabia. Maids from Indonesia and Philippines are routinely underpaid and maltreated in Gulf states and in South Asia the peasants from remote locations work in slavery to the richer classes. Occasionally in somewhere like Hong Kong or Singapore such a slavery case will be exposed and make headlines but below the surface it is common. Even in Hong Kong maids employed to work for one family are often forced to work for several without extra pay. My good friend there was a lawyer (now retired) who turned over half his practice to pro bono cases seeking justice for maids and he was a busy man. I could say quite a lot more about what I know and have seen. If the local representatives of the gangs running the slave factories here were to be identified and punished it would be a sticking plaster but not a cure - they would simply be replaced. Many of these gang members have the right to land or reside in UK so loss of one operating locally is not a major problem. Equally giving amnesty and citizenship to the workers here illegally would not solve the problem, they would simply be replaced. There is an inexhaustible supply of such people. It might sound callous but the only way to deal with it is to be harsh and send a clear signal. Return all those workers here illegally without penalty (maybe with a payment to cover the loans their families owe so that there is no consequential suffering), prosecute and imprison any involved in the organisation of this sweatshop labour, and deport any gang members who are here with refugee or other aided status. The coastal South Asian countries are rich (some far richer than the UK), let them sort out their own social issues. One thing I have learned is that one can assist with individual cases but cannot overturn a way of life that exists in another culture.
GReat post, TPL. When you hear about Slavery, 99% of the time it refers to slavery in America, but we turn a deaf ear to slavery in Britain today. Occasionally a case gets reported but the scale of it is beyond the resources of the police to tackle on a meaningful scale. We live in a consumer society, where cheapest is best, so a T-shirt for £2 is always going to sell, to take one example.
Back on topic. I was told today that I couldn't enter a shop without a mask. I argued that there were three children (maybe 9 or ten years) in the shop without masks. The shop assistant said they were exempt. I got home and looked for the exemption rule...there isn't one, only for toddlers. I've also read that children carry more virus than hospitalized Covid patients. Good for you Nick to be so public spirited, but yours and others good intentions have been hijacked by the experts missing the obvious...again!
I'm a Government adviser. I do it for free, as I don't want to be restricted by the OSA. The powers to be like my ideas when it suits them, but when it get's a bit brutal they run and hide. Here is my latest communication. I'll post Mr Wiggins reply when I get it, then you will know exactly how lost our Government really are. Dear Mr Wiggins, I was denied access to a shop today because I didn't have a mask. I pointed out that there were three ten or eleven year olds without masks in the shop. The shop assistant told me under elevens were exempt. When I got home I checked for clarity. There is no exemption for under elevens, only for toddlers. I further discovered that children can carry more virus than a hospitalized Covid patient, which beggars the question: Why are we bothering wearing masks in shops. Point 2: Shopping in Leominster and Hereford I've witnessed total indiscipline regarding mask wearing and social distancing, so it seems strange that the county is nearing herd immunity...193,000 residents, 58 deaths is better than normal winter flu. Point 3: I live in a village where the average age is 70, yet not one of us want to be protected. We'd like to spend what time we have left seeing our children, grandchildren and friends, plus we'd like all the aforementioned to have a future. The sentimental rhetoric of saying you're protecting the elderly is just what you are saying, and not representative of the elderly's wishes. Point 3: Covid is pure logic, it cannot morph, it is not migratory...these are facts, you've seen all my research on this. If we hide away it will still be there when we come out to play. Point 4: I know as a back bencher you do not hold much sway, but you are my only representative, and as such my only hope for carrying any common sense information to those who think they know best. Just because we have language and an awareness of our own mortality, doesn't mean we are exempt from natures rules. Saying you can control Covid is as insane as saying you can stop Earthquakes or Hurricanes. You applaud my science when it suits and then deny it when it stamps on sentiment. Someone has to grow a pair. I hope for the best, Kind regards, Gelan Swift
Why do people bother to read the posts from @Sandman Usual nonsensical drivel. How about posting about the Football. On a Charlton football forum.
That's a rather silly post in response to a reasonable question. There are many silly posts on this forum that could keep you busy on your moral crusade, or is it just mine that you will comment on? Honest I don't mind, I love a bit of forum banter.
