News Round-Up
- “Once again, the prophets of Covid doom have overstated their case” – Scientists now think that the Indian variant may not be such a disaster after all, according to the Telegraph‘s Science Editor Sarah Knapton
- Priti Patel reveals plans for up to 10,000 quarantine checks every day to make sure returning Britons are self-isolating” – The Home Secretary has warned Brits heading for holidays overseas that they should expect a “knock at the door” when they get back, the Daily Mail reports
- “Inflation is the biggest threat to Boris” – “Rising prices have been destroying governments for a hundred years,” writes Mathew Lynn in the Spectator, following the news that inflation increased in April from 0.7% to 1.5%. “It would be complacent to imagine this one will be the exception”
- “Chris Whitty Finally takes a break! Chief medic is on first holiday in two years” – The Chief Medical Officer is on leave this week but unfortunately, says the MailOnline, he is in “daily contact” with the office
- “Elderly Wetherspoon customer, 79, who was ignored as he tried to order because he didn’t have the app” – A kind-hearted Weatherspoon’s customer stood a couple of pints for an “old fella” who was unable to order because he didn’t have the app, MailOnline reports
- “Fearful forties turn their backs on AstraZeneca vaccine” – According to the Times, up to half of people in their forties are failing to turn up for their vaccine appointments in some cities in Scotland amid concerns about the AstraZeneca jab
- “Beware the twin fanatics of Net Zero and Zero Covid” – The Telegraph‘s Madeline Grant points out the similarities between ‘Net Zero’ and ‘Zero Covid’ advocates. Both “impractical projects whose costs will fall disproportionately on the poorest”
- “Knee-jerk lockdowns are not the answer” – A leader in the Telegraph calling for an end to distancing measures and lockdowns as the default answer to any increase in infections
- “Jabs for the boys” – Molly Kingsley reminds readers of the Critic that “it has – or perhaps had – been a well established principle of bioethics and law that questions of child welfare should not be defined by reference to adult preferences, but instead require clear consideration of the benefits to and harms for the child”
- “The myth of vaccine hesitancy” – “The panic over vaccine hesitancy is just the latest expression of our establishment’s tendency towards authoritarianism,” according to Fraser Myers at Spiked
- “A death knell for degrees” – “A monochrome, twilight form of university life has dragged on for five terms and cannot be allowed to go on any longer,” writes Professor Robert Tombs in the Daily Mail, responding to the plans of some universities to keep online teaching for another year
- “Not worried about the jab? You should be” – “The problem with the COVID-19 vaccines is that we simply do not have enough information about their side-effects,” says Harry Dougherty for the Conservative Woman
- “Never have so many become so blinded to the truth” – “If you are observing the official narrative, you have seen the pattern,” writes Nicholas Orlando at the Conservative Woman. “You were well prepared for the approaching about-turn on restriction easing”
- “The wannabe fascist Press Gang and their silencing of opponents” – Niall McCrae tears into the vaccine lobby’s highly shrill and authoritarian press corps for the Unity News Network
- “What we know about the Indian Covid variant” – The latest data from Professor Tim Spector’s ZOE app
- “Asymptomatic Transmission: A dangerous idea” – Asymptomatic transmission has driven much of lockdown policy says the Rev Phill Sacre in his latest video, but it has “caused something far worse – a change in our mindset”
- “The EU is officially welcoming vaccinated travellers in summer 2021” – Euronews heralds the announcement of 27 EU member states that vaccinated travellers will be able to enter the bloc this summer
- “Police in Belgium seal off vast forest to hunt anti-lockdown sniper” – The Times reports that police in Belgium are looking for Corporal Jurgen Conings, a heavily armed soldier who has promised to fight to the death against coronavirus lockdowns and the state
- “Two German tower blocks in quarantine after Indian variant found” – Two tower blocks in Germany have been placed in quarantine after a resident was diagnosed with the Indian variant, Reuters reports
- “The international travel ban is cruel and unscientific” – “The policies on both sides of the Atlantic consist primarily of window dressing and virtue-signalling,” writes Diederik van Hoogstraten in Spectator USA
- “In Asia, a COVID-19 resurgence leads to new restrictions” – Euronews reports that a number of countries in Asia are finding that “the virus remains resilient, despite strict mask mandates, case tracing, mass testing and wider deployment of the newest weapon against it – vaccinations”
- “Taiwan raises Covid alert level nationwide as infections increase” – Taiwan is moving to level three of its four-tier system in the face of increasing numbers of cases, according to the Guardian
- “The Moralisation of COVID-19” – The AIER’s Ethan Yang lauds the research undertaken by Dr. Maja Graso demonstrating that the COVID-19 response has been ‘moralised’, and is therefore uninfluenced by any cost-benefit analysis
- “Singapore says ‘no truth’ to Kejriwal’s new variant claims” – The BBC reports that Singapore’s authorities have rejected claims made in Delhi that a new “Singapore strain” that is “extremely dangerous for children” has been found in the city state
- “The Covid Stuff Is Finally Unravelling” – The Covid regime is “seriously wobbling”, says Tom in this edition of the Tom Woods Show
- “Thousands return to PNC Arena as Carolina Hurricanes clinch Game 1 with 5-2 victory over Predators” – Fans returned to the PNC Arena in North Carolina to watch a hockey game after North Carolina Governor Ron Cooper lifted Covid restrictions on crowd numbers, ABC reports. See a bit of footage here
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“EU welcoming vaccinated travelers”.
Is there any country that will have the courage to welcome unvaccinated, untested travelers?
Seriously, if this vaxport business gets any worse, we will urgently need to develop an alternative network of establishments that will not insist on vaccines or testing etc.. I for one will never frequent places that practice such forms of apartheid.
‘ Is there any country that will have the courage to welcome unvaccinated, untested travelers?’
Spain I believe, although only from places with case number below some arbitrary level. And you have to wear a mask everywhere when you get there.
They will be developed for us. Ghettos for the unclean. Remember all the dystopian SF visions of ‘outside the wall or zone’. Hopefully ADE will do its thing and we can all move into their lovely houses.
“Thousands return to Carolina hockey game”
Just to be clear, has any harm come from the 38,000 crowd at the baseball game in Texas (among other mass spectator events in the state)?
I reckon there will be many in the UK who will be afraid to return to the absurdly restricted sporting events we are currently seeing in the UK. (600 spectators for the Scottish football cup final?! I ask you!).
You’re right. But remember, that in terms of public information, we have a propaganda machine second only to North Korea.
He’s “far-right” according to the BBC though they don’t say why – unless it is because he threatened lockdown-zealot virologist Marc Van Ranst. I suspect Belgium’s lockdowns have done rather more harm than anything he might do.
“following the news that inflation increased in April from 0.7% to 1.5%. ”
Which is still 0.5% below target and miles below the 2% long run trend target curve since we have a lot of catching up to do.
The Inflationistas in the Telegraph sound like Indian Variant fanatics and are similarly overplaying their hand and overstating their case.
There was a time when a 0.8% change in prices would be considered a rounding error.
Agreed. My weekly spend at the supermarket is the same as it was 15 years ago.
“Singapore says ‘no truth’ to Kejriwal’s new variant claims” – The BBC reports that Singapore’s authorities have rejected claims made in Delhi that a new “Singapore strain” that is “extremely dangerous for children” has been found in the city state
every village has its idiot. we had that nurse ‘the ward are filling up with covid kids’ on the BBC. dropped on their heads as kids?
Source, report, or claim. They’ve all now become cover for writing any scary story that might get ratings up, or improve site traffic.
that’s excellent.
need a website to show how journalists contradict themselves. I do wonder whether Dan Hodges is paid to have a particular opinion or whether he passionately believes 1 thing 1 day and passionately believes the opposite the next
There are some interesting nuggets on the Government website detailing the “Covid Status Certificate” implementation here https://covid-status.service.nhsx.nhs.uk/help/privacy-notice/
Rather naively, I had supposed the NHS app was a medical thing, for the benefit of doctors and patients, and governed by medical and data privacy and the rest. Although not marked “X” as included in the CSC section of the NHS app, data such as vehicle registration and more worryingly, the stuff under “Special Category Data” have no place in a supposedly medical/NHS app.
It all looks ideal for a Social Credit System, a la CCP. Perhaps Hodges needs to wake up, smell the coffee and revert to a much stronger anti-passport stance, as this stuff goes far beyond mere “passports”.
I shall write to my MP for clarification on the purposes of including these social data fields in the app. If I receive a reply, it will doubtless be unhelpful, if not downright impertinent. One can but hope.
I don’t “do” Twitter or other social media, but perhaps, if anyone around here does, he or she might care to send Hodges the link I have posted above, and enquire whether he thinks that data is also wonderful and desirable. It sure as hell is “amazing”.
‘I do wonder whether Dan Hodges is paid to have a particular opinion’
Check out the three brackets around his name. He’s literally shilling in plain sight.
its not really excellent at all – hodges is eulogising covid passports
“Indian variant may not be such a disaster after all” Sarah Knapton, Daily Telegraph
Are we surprised?
“Pritti Patel announces plans for 10,000 quarantine checks . . . ”
I wonder if those checks will be any more fit for purpose than Track’n’Trace last year when some random people were allowed to go abroad during lockdown lite.
I spoke privately with three of their minimum wage operatives (2 zealots, 1 sceptic). One told me ‘when they get back from holiday we telephone them to make sure they are staying at home like they should’.
Naturally I asked ‘what if they are lying?’.
” it’s pretty obvious if you can hear traffic noise in the background or if they are in a supermarket but its mostly their tone of voice which gives them away if they are lying. We can put that in our report . . .”
No wonder the CPS has thrown out every single prosecution under Covid regulations that have come their way.
So minimum wage oiks are now behavioral psychologists who can tell someone is lying over the phone! There’s a reality ‘they’re faking it’ show for you!
Watch out CPS.
It’s perfectly designed to get those babies vaccinated asap
I’d like to think that’s satire, but sadly I know it’s not.
“Sure, it’s a cage, but look how shiny and gilded it is!”
More anti-‘spoons propaganda in Mail. At the Leading Light attentive staff take your order if that’s what you want. They’ve even produced laminated A5 cards to display at your table now if you want to order ‘old-school’. Congratulations to the old boy for cadging a couple of pints though. The app is excellent, highly recommended.
the ‘spoons app works great. I sit down – order and its arrived quicker than it ever did before. I’m generally not even hungry – just want to show my support!
worth saying the latest spoons magazine has excellent sceptic articles at the front. genuinely worth a read – a great piece by Lord Sumption too. well worth a coffee and chilli nachos!
Prof Andrew Hayward, an infectious disease expert at University College London who advises the government, tells BBC Breakfast he is “very concerned” about the spread of the B1.617.2 variant first identified in India and “more generalised” measures may be needed.
Asked if the UK is at the start of a third wave of infections, he says: “I think so.”
You can tell he’s an expert because he uses expert scientific terms like ” very concerned” and “more generalised” and “may be needed” and “I think so”
We’re in good hands
I’d fly in an aeroplane built by this man
he probably means third wave in the way that everyone was reporting on the third wave in europe that never existed. ie it may happen but only in his head
https://euromomo.eu/graphs-and-maps/
I think he means “look at me! I’m important!”
Are you thinking ejector seat?
🙂
So should children also be vaccinated against Covid to reduce transmission?
Prof Adam Finn, a paediatrician from the University of Bristol who sits on the UK’s vaccine advisory body, says the UK is “undecided” although the step has not been ruled out.
“If we can control this virus without immunising children, we shouldn’t immunise children,” he says.
I wonder if he can also check his recently inflated bank account? Because somebody is paying him to spout that obvious stilted drivel.
No-one principled, rational and objective can do such an about face on a subject like that.
Great Scott, Jeremy Corbyn won the last general election: who knew that? Yep, the rail system is to be re-nationalised; British Rail re-born in great new socialist experiment. Of course it was disastrous last time, but now it aims to improve the whole thing – so what could go wrong?
More axe grinding for the dim.
the whole thing is designed to be predicated on smart phone use – it is conditioning – get them so that they HAVE to use it for the trains and then we just get them to carry it everywhere and add a vaxx passport onto it
Many countries have suddenly taken a giant U-turn on restrictions. Has something happened I wonder? In-fighting amongst the parasites? Melinda Gates PR machine making threats? Or are they preparing us for another blow in the near future?
“Scientists now think that the Indian variant may not be such a disaster after all”
Well – f. me. Who’d have thought? We’ve never seen anything like this before! 🙂
Highly relevant comment on vaccines from Conservative Woman :
“… if our ‘brilliant’ scientists knew nothing about the blood clots when the vaccine was first administered to citizens in December, what else don’t they know about?”
Goes right to the heart of the matter.
“vaccine hesitancy” ? No – just simple intelligence.
… and I love this quotation from another article :
“Before the Iraq war, I was shouted down for questioning an agenda where so many things did not add up. The dodgy dossier latterly proved doubters like me to be correct. The same people are shouting at me again. Many supposedly astute individuals seem to want to lend good faith to another state operation being supported by Tony Blair.”
… Although I think there was more critical thinking 20 years ago. The blank wall of incomprehension is much more solid now.
Progress? I think not.
I went to a Flyers game in Philadelphia once. It was fantastic, and at ‘third’ times, the wives of the hockey players (all hotties, of course) came onto the ice to do a line dance.
Fuck them I am booking a holiday for next month, this weather here is too bad. How is Croatia regarding this CCP Virus madness.
I’m not so sure that they will be ‘dead’, although your basic diagnosis is right – which is why I get sick of some dim axe-grinders here who can’t get their heads around the fact that old terminology is useless in this shit-show. In terms of consolidation of the narrative : The Labour Party has always been an often uncomfortable political coalition with many strands – but it has now been taken over by the establishment interest in the form of Starmer. The warning signs were there a while back. You didn’t have to agree with or like Corbyn in order to see that there was something deceitful and sinister in the campaign against a genuinely non-captured figure (if you know your media onions). Thus we now have the one-party state reaching its apotheosis. The same process has been seen with the Guardian which, after the Snowden affair, became a shill for the establishment, with key news strands following the establishment (the Cabinet Office as the visible nexus) line, and funding being pumped in by establishment interests. Simple analysis shows how this was an important area of independent information to capture, serving a particular public. We now have no major… Read more »
The worst invective was by Sean O’Grady in the Independent. ‘This is what we do about anti-vaxxers: no job, no entry, no NHS access’, O’Grady opined. With faulty comparisons to drink-driving and smoking indoors, O’Grady claimed that ‘everyone who refuses a vaccine could be a killer on the loose, and should be judged accordingly’.
Are we in ‘hate crime’ territory yet? I feel threatened by this comment.
I’ve been wondering if this type of invective falls under the heading of hate crime. But doubt if it would be investigated though if you said something similar about an ethnic minority group, it certainly would be.
From the website of the Ministry of Truth. Usual thing. Headline is ‘with Covid’, then this.
A total of 941 deaths were due to coronavirus in April, the equivalent of 2.4% of all deaths registered in England, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
Telegraph “lowest deaths in April since records began in 2001” & Whitty “smoking likely killed more people than covid”.
Criminals.
Are you getting the vaccine?
https://brandnewtube.com/watch/share-with-loved-ones-if-they-get-jabbed-after-watching-this-they-are-beyond-saving_vQi5JUAmJlbeFSp.html
Did Mass Vaccination Cause Second Mutant COVID-19 Wave In India?
https://greatgameindia.com/vaccination-second-covid-19-wave-india/