That’s it! A Century up!! Incredible.
I was just watching Hancock’s Half-hour! It’s a hell of a joke. According to him, the government has a plan! Amazing. That’s good news! It’s not been apparent.
He’s talking about shielding and saving lives – what is it 43,000 deaths? Nobody knows what the real figure is. 66,000 excess deaths (according to the National Statistics Institution) might give us a clue.
Following Medical Advice and learning lessons seem to be two cliches trotted out regularly!
Well, the rates of death and new cases are going down (if you can believe it) so they’ve reduced the level for 4 to 3. I think it’s going to take a bit more for me to feel confident about going out to shop. We’ll see.
We are now being told to wear face masks (a while ago they were deemed useless) and we are being told that 1 metre is now safe, We’ll see.
Could be worse!! Brazil is melting down and the USA has Trump! He actually said at his rally that he had instructed the medical people to slow down with the testing programme because they are finding too many cases! Incredible! The Whitehouse tried to pass it off as a joke but there was only one joke at the rally!
So today we went to socially distance with friends following a two-hour walk. Back home I’ve been playing Kokomo Arnold and completed my first photo-book for the Amazon trip. Looking good!!
Well we no longer know what the hell we’re doing but Stay Alert!
Opher, two days ago I published a major essay about the virus stats:
https://wattsupwiththat.com/2020/06/20/covid-19-understanding-the-numbers-coronavirus/
And yes, “(if you can believe it)” is the big message. For you, for me, and for my commenters there. Oh yes, and I remember ‘ancock’s ‘alf ‘our. (Even if only in a 1962 reprise).
You’re right about face masks. There’s no evidence they do anything for those who wear them; only (perhaps) lessen the outgoing effect a bit. And you’re also right about the 1 metre “limit”. The “limit” was always arbitrary; 2 metres here, 1.5 metres in Holland, six feet in the USA. But worse, such a limit takes no account of how long individuals spend within that contact radius. Encouraging us to walk in the road – as many people did in the early stages – was as stupid a “law” as I’ve ever been subjected to. It’s a good thing there wasn’t much traffic for those first two weeks. And the two-metre distance lines they painted on the pavements on the Bank Holiday week-end are already mostly erased, even though only about 20% of the shops have re-opened so far.
You and I agree a lot on the diagnosis, Opher. But we’re still way apart on the cure.
That’s not so much an essay Neil – more like a book – some great work in there! A lot to talk about!
Thank you Opher, and thanks for your comment over there too. Yes, it was a lot of work – the equivalent of two and a half weeks of full time work. I learned a lot of new things about Excel (and found a few bugs in it) too!
I can see the amount of effort that went into it Neil. An amazing piece of work. It is also very revealing. I’m more than a little suspicious of the data. I think that the politicians are massaging and covering up. They don’t want their ineptitude and mistakes under scrutiny. That aside – it is interesting to see.
How do you think we’re going to get out of this mess? What’s the cure?
Well Opher, I published my outline of a solution in four essays last autumn. They would have been at WB, but it had folded by then. I think I already gave you those links, but here they are again.
http://www.honestcommonsense.co.uk/2019/09/on-convivial-governance.html
http://www.honestcommonsense.co.uk/2019/10/on-principles-of-convivial-governance.html
http://www.honestcommonsense.co.uk/2019/10/on-institutions-of-convivial-governance.html
http://www.honestcommonsense.co.uk/2019/10/on-how-to-pay-for-convivial-governance.html
Oh, and BTW the white goose is alive and well, and there are (apparently) two white goslings. One at least is as big as a full-grown duck already.
I’m glad the goslings are doing well. I don’t think we’ll ever agree about the government though. I believe that many things need to be carried out centrally – education, health, welfare, transport, defence, policing, law, youth services. It can be cheaper and much more efficient, better coordinated and higher standards. Leaving that to profiteers to make money out of on top of the costs of delivering just puts cash in the pockets of the rich and takes money out the pockets of the poor. The trick is to do it without excessive bureaucracy or waste.
You’re right, Opher. You and I won’t ever agree about how government should work. Because I’m an individualist, and you’re a collectivist. The nub of the problem is that I’m willing to let you live in your centralized kind of society if you want to, but you aren’t willing to let me live in my distributed network of societies. Now, which of our views is morally superior?
Mine obviously. The two are incompatible. I want a system that works for everybody, defeats elitism and poverty and respects nature. You want to live in a bubble and ignore the big picture. When it comes to morality you care about yourself and I care about everybody. No contest.
But Opher, your system doesn’t work for everybody! Because it puts power – and so, inevitably, money – into the hands of a centralized cadre. And such systems, by their nature, attract the worst scum to seek power and riches – which is why politicians are what they are. Worse, if the cadre doesn’t like you – for whatever reason, arbitrary or not – you’re in trouble.
My system, on the other hand, minimizes centralization of power, so giving everyone the maximum freedom to live their way, not someone else’s. As long as they respect others’ equal rights, of course.
BTW, I found what was going on with the Swedish virus cases data. The Swedes seem to be trying to report cases according to the day the test was done; the data set I was using (which, I believe, comes via the WHO) shows the case against the date the positive result was first reported.
You have identified the problem with the system Neil, but instead of looking for a solution you have rejected it wholesale without acknowledging the benefits. I think that problem is possible to solve.
The problem with your system is that it allows the scum – big business and the psychopathic politicians – complete freedom to do whatever they want with no controls. They would kill, pollute, destroy and plunder with nobody to stop them.
I want them controlled.