What Did You Expect?
What did you expect? The world's economy stopped for the best part of 2 years. Did you not think there would be consequences?
What did you expect? The world's economy stopped for the best part of 2 years. Did you not think there would be consequences?
It's been a while since I wrote anything. I have spent my time in the last few weeks rebuilding the home server. It has been an interesting project, and something of a diversion from the world beyond my front door.
We are in the midst of the third national lockdown. The new variant of the virus is sweeping across the country, hospitals are beyond full, and the death toll continues to rise. We are warned the peak may still be weeks away.
Meanwhile in the US, Trump faces impeachment, accused of inciting the riot that resulted in the storming of the Capitol Building. He continues to make inflammatory comments, and there is real concern there will be further violence at the inauguration of Biden. The leader of the free world is in danger of spiralling into civil war.
We rarely see news about what is happening in China or Russia. I imagine the virus is taking its toll in those countries too, but I also suspect the priority for Xi and Putin is not controlling the virus but how best they can exploit the turmoil in the States.
We are living through uncertain times, worrying times. The world will never be the same again.
13th January 2021
Boris Johnson announced yesterday that as of next Thursday England would be going into a second national lockdown. The experts are worried that a surge of cases over the next few weeks will overwhelm the hospitals, and the NHS will be unable to cope. We were told in the spring a lockdown was needed so that the NHS could prepare, so why the need for a lockdown now? What has been the point of the restrictions of the last 6 months? Surely the NHS should have been ready for what they knew would be a difficult winter?
What of the impact on people's livelihoods and businesses, of the effect on people's physical and mental health? As to when this lockdown will end, there is uncertainty. In yesterday's announcement we were told it would end on the 2nd December. Today, it emerges that a review will be carried out on that date, so the lockdown might end then, but it is possible it will continue.
The government is driving this country into utter penury, and all to control a disease that by and large severely affects only the elderly and those with underlying conditions. Complete madness.
1st November 2020
England has adopted a three tier lockdown system, the idea being that only those regions that are suffering the worst infection rates need to go into full lockdown. At the moment about half the population of England is living under these most stringent measures. At least it is better than Wales, where the devolved government has decided to enforce a total lockdown across the country, to last for 17 days, even in the most remote areas that have seen very few cases.
Lockdowns continue to be the principle means of virus control, this despite Dr David Nabarro of the World Health Organisation urging world leaders to stop using lockdowns as your primary control method of the global health crisis. He is reported to have said;
Lockdowns just have one consequence that you must never ever belittle, and that is making poor people an awful lot poorer.
Meanwhile in Scotland, Nicola Sturgeon has espoused the view that the Scots had all but eliminated the virus during the summer, and that it has only taken off again because of people travelling to Scotland from other parts of the UK. Even in the midst of a pandemic it seems there is time for a spot of blatant nationalism.
Former colleagues tell me they are at risk of losing their jobs because of a covid induced reduction in work. A woman in the local pub, who has been working there for 10 years fears losing her job if there is another lockdown. In her 50's, what hope does she have of finding alternative employment? There is a friend who cannot get his new business up and running because the bureaucrats who need to issue the requisite trading certificate before he can do so are, as a result of covid, working at reduced staffing levels.
Again we are left to wonder at the damage the being caused to people's livelihoods and wellbeing, and whether the government's strategy for controlling the virus will come at too high a price.
25th October 2020
I woke up angry this morning, not sure why, but I was in no mood for fools. It didn't help my state of mind when I read a tweet issued by Matt Hancock, the Secretary of State for Health & Social Care to give him his full title. He said;
Our strategy is to suppress coronavirus while protecting our economy & education until a vaccine arrives.
Until a vaccine arrives? We were told earlier this year that a vaccine could be available in the late summer, then they hoped it might be ready by the end of the year. The truth is they do not know when or even if a vaccine will ever be available. It could be months, it could be years, it could be never. We must learn to live alongside the virus, protect the vulnerable but otherwise try to get back to some semblance of normality. The alternative is the utter shattering of the economy, people losing their livelihoods and homes, and more people dying needlessly from illnesses other than the coronavirus.
The governments strategy is simply unsustainable, and at the very least Parliament needs to be allowed to debate it.
30th September 2020
Boris Johnson yesterday announced further restrictions, suggesting that they could go on for as long as another six months if the number of cases of covid-19 continued to rise. This followed the press conference on Monday when the government's chief medical advisors warned that case numbers were growing at an alarming rate and action was needed to slow the spread of the virus.
There are some scientists who take a different view, who dispute the figures cited on Monday and question the need for a further tightening of restrictions. They disagree that infections or deaths will be anything like as bad as the government scientists would have us believe.
I worry that the measures being taken go too far. If we consider that In August, the top 10 reasons for death did not include the coronavirus, while for men under 55 there is a greater risk of being killed in a motor accident than succumbing to covid-19. The ongoing restrictions will destroy the livelihoods of many people. With the furlough scheme set to end shortly, many are likely to be made redundant, and of those some are at risk of losing their homes.
I remain of the view that the devastation of the economy and the resultant detrimental effects on the health and wellbeing of us all will be so much worse than the effect of the coronavirus. The actions being taken to control the virus are draconian and out of proportion to the risk it poses. The data being used to justify the action is disputed and is being imposed on the nation without any scrutiny whatever by Parliament.
23rd September 2020
We are now officially into autumn. The days are shortening noticeably, but it has remained warm and pleasant. The summer madness that has afflicted society also continues unabated.
This week has seen a growing number of people testing positive for the coronavirus, the numbers increasing at a rate similar to that experienced in February. However, the numbers being admitted to hospital has not risen at the same alarming rate it did in the spring. The experts cannot explain why this might be.
There are numerous local restrictions in place, and talk of another nationwide lockdown. An assortment of malcontents, opposed to lockdowns, face masks and vaccines, were out on the streets of London over the weekend to protest against the current measures and the consequent impingement on civil liberties. Some violence ensued as the police tried to control the demonstration.
The culture wars show no signs of ending. What I find odd is that we are told we live in a multi cultural society, that we should celebrate and embrace diversity, but it is only white/European culture that has to confront its history, that has to change. Say the same of any other culture, and you would be denounced as a racist.
Some footballers have taken the brave step of refusing to take the knee before every match, and of course they are vilified by some for doing so. Their refusal to kneel put me in mind of a paragraph written by Hannah Arendt in her book The Origins of Totalitarianism;
Men have been found to resist the most powerful monarchs and to refuse to bow down before them, but few indeed have been found to resist the crowd, to stand up alone before misguided masses, to face their implacable frenzy without weapons and with folded arms to dare a no when a yes is demanded.
The demands of BLM and their acolytes, expecting all to kneel before them, and dispensing swift and sometimes violent penalties against those who don't, is the very definition of totalitarianism. They have become the very thing they profess to oppose.
Amidst the mayhem and uncertainty, the government has proven to be next to useless. Their policies change from week to week, there is no consistency, no obvious route out of the current crisis. Boris Johnson is rarely seen and there is a complete lack of leadership. It feels as if the country is drifting. People are concerned, if not scared; the pandemic is out of control, we are worried about job security, and whether some will be able to keep a roof over their heads.
To continue drifting risks deepening the divisions within society. If Mr Johnson cannot provide the strong leadership this country needs he should step aside and let someone who has the capability take his place.
21st September 2020
I've walked into the city for the first time since lockdown began and it is so strange. It is a Friday morning but the streets are virtually empty. Some familiar shops have closed down since I was last here, whilst those that are open appear devoid of customers.
The usual throng of tourists is also missing. Pre-lockdown, large groups of Chinese or European visitors would follow their flag waving tour guides, taking in the sights of this beautiful city.
How can businesses survive in this climate? Our towns and cities need to be open, to be able to welcome shoppers and tourists. The on-going lockdown will cause untold damage to the economy, and for what purpose? Excess deaths are presently lower than they were this time last year. Studies have also established it is the elderly and those with underlying conditions who are at greatest risk from covid. We should protect those groups, but the rest of us should be allowed, indeed encouraged, to get back to work.
If we don't, the economy will continue to wither, tax revenues will shrink, and who then would pay for the NHS? In that scenario, how many more lives would be needlessly lost?
21st August 2020
In recent weeks the pubs and restaurants have been allowed to open. I have enjoyed visiting favourite watering holes, sitting around with friends and family talking and drinking real cask ales! It is though a little strange being served by staff wearing masks, but if that is the price we have to pay for a degree of normality, I can live with it.
As for the schools, can you believe that after being closed between March and July, they reopened for a couple of weeks, and then promptly closed again for the summer holidays. These are exceptional times, and I don't understand why the schools did not remain open during the summer and help the children catch up with their education. There is still concern about whether the schools should open in September. There is some speculation that pubs and restaurants may have to close again to offset the risk of schools opening. How one relates to the other, I do not understand, but the fear of a second wave has paralysed society. Are we now so risk averse then we cannot contemplate returning to work or allowing schools to open until such time as a vaccine is developed? Of course, a vaccine is not likely to be available for months, but already we are seeing daily reports of jobs being shed; the damage being wrought on peoples livelihoods and wellbeing will, if we are not careful, be so much worse than the effects of the pandemic.
Meanwhile, the virtuous left continue with their nonsense. White privilege, unconscious bias, decolonizing the curriculum, 2+2=5. I am tired of these charlatans trying to rip this country apart. How does it help society when one is castigated for being the “wrong” colour? How can the noxious bilge they spout break down racial division? Of course, it is obvious to anyone with a modicum of sense that all it does is stoke the flames, widen the divisions. The inflammatory rhetoric has consequences; over the weekend a black “militia” paraded through the streets of Brixton. I have no idea what point they were trying to make but some described the turn of events as sinister. I have to say they looked about as threatening as Dad's Army, but there may be some agitators out there who will want to respond in kind.
Social distancing rules are being ignored, parties and raves attended by hundreds routinely take place around the country, and if the police try and disperse the revellers, they get attacked. Respect for law and order is in places breaking down, and with another hot spell forecast for the next few days, I worry that we will see more disturbances if not riots. I suspect the lockdown madness will continue for some time yet.
5th August 2020
Yesterday tens of thousands of people descended on Bournemouth. The Government's guidance on social distancing was utterly ignored. Meanwhile in London, large parties have turned nasty, with groups of youths attacking the police when asked to disperse.
For most people the lockdown is over. Support for the Government's guidance was sorely tested following Dominic Cummings jaunt to Durham. There then followed 2 weekends of protests and rioting, when again social distancing was ignored, but which has not resulted in any discernible increase in the number of new cases of covid-19. We are left asking if the lockdown is now serving any useful purpose.
I worry that what we have seen is the beginning of a summer of discontent. There is no confidence in the Government. Many people are tired of the lockdown, of the infringement of basic liberties, and are taking matters into their own hands. The police have neither the resources or the willpower to prevent hordes of people heading for tourist hot spots. As for the inner cities, having 'taken the knee', the police have lost all credibility with the youth of those communities, and I fear we will see more incidents of police officers being attacked.
We are living through strange times. Whilst the threat posed by the virus seems to be receding, we now face the prospect of a summer of lockdown induced madness.
26th June 2020