Thursday 21 January 2021

Rejoice!

What a Day. What a speech. What a relief. The world needed good news and yesterday we got it. I think I might start sleeping better, now safe in the knowledge that at least one horror is over. 

I've really enjoyed my deep dive into US politics as a diversion from domestic horrors and learnt an awful lot along the way. What's been my take from it all? Just imagine if Trump really had won. Authoritarian dictators have a habit of moulding history in furtherance of their political aims and Trump had only just started. 

I couldn't help but notice that amongst the slew of 17 Executive Orders Joe Biden signed within hours of taking office concerned 'termination of the 1776 Commission'. The what? This from Wikipedia:-  

1776 Commission

The 1776 Commission was an advisory committee established in September 2020 by then-U.S. President Donald Trump to support his view of "patriotic education." The commission, which included no professional specialists in United States history, released The 1776 Report on Martin Luther King Day, January 18, 2021, two days before the end of Trump's term. The report was strongly criticized by historians, who described the report as pseudohistory. The commission was terminated by President Joe Biden on January 20, 2021.

History

Trump first spoke of giving students a "patriotic education" on September 2, 2020. He reiterated his intention to establish the commission in a proclamation on October 6, 2020. The commission was conceived partly as a response to The New York Times' 1619 Project, which explores American history through an African-American framing. Various federal laws prohibit the federal government from regulating school curricula, which are determined by school districts under rules established by state governments. However, the federal government influences state and local decisions through funding.

Establishment

Trump announced the new commission in a speech on September 17, 2020, in which he contended that a "twisted web of lies" regarding systemic racism was currently being taught in U.S. schools, calling it "a form of child abuse." On November 2, the day before the 2020 elections, Trump officially established the commission by executive order. Trump appointed the commission's members on December 18, 2020. The commission held its first meeting on January 5, 2021.

Under the executive order, Trump established an 18-member group serving a two-year term appointed by the president, which is to write a report on “core principles of the American founding and how these principles may be understood to further enjoyment of ‘the blessings of liberty’.

Goals

According to the executive order establishing the commission, the commission's goal is to end what it calls the "radicalized view of American history" which has "vilified [the United States'] Founders and [its] founding". In response to the work of figures like Howard Zinn and groups like the 1619 Project, the 1776 Commission seeks to increase "patriotic education" via a centralized approach to nationalist curriculum. This effort is linked to Trump's wider attacks on critical race theory.

The commission also focuses on bringing these educational values to national parks, landmarks, and monuments among other federal properties; federal agencies are instructed to provide grants and initiatives in a way that prioritizes those supporting "the American Founding".

Content

The commission released the 41-page "The 1776 Report" on Martin Luther King Day, January 18, 2021, two days before the end of Trump's term and the inauguration of Joe Biden. Among other things, the document identifies "progressivism" and "racism and identity politics" as "challenges to American principles" and likens them to communism, slavery, and fascism. It refers to John C. Calhoun as "the leading forerunner of identity politics" and criticizes some aspects of the civil rights movement. The document also describes American universities as "hotbeds of anti-Americanism, libel, and censorship" and criticizes feminist movements. It concludes with recommendations to promote positive stories and images of the country's founders at home, in schools, and in the arts, among other things. The report does not include citations or footnotes, and does not identify its main authors.

Termination

On January 20, 2021, hours after he was inaugurated as Trump's successor, President Joe Biden issued an executive order dissolving the 1776 Commission. The move was explained as a fulfillment of Biden's agenda, which included "advancing racial justice and building back better for communities who have been underserved, including people of color and Americans with disabilities, LGBTQ+ Americans, religious minorities, and rural and urban communities facing persistent poverty." The order was part of Biden's stated intent to address racial inequality as part of his presidency, as was a separate order to revoke Trump's September 4, 2020 executive order purging the federal government of racial sensitivity training programs, which Trump had called "divisive, anti-American propaganda."

46 comments:

  1. In America, I always thought of the Ku Klux Klan as 'the leading forerunner of identity politics.

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  2. Time the UK got rid of its own revisionist idiots:

    https://www.theguardian.com/society/2021/jan/21/new-funding-to-tackle-drug-misuse-is-820m-less-than-ministers-were-advised
    ______________________

    And here are more 'no shit' moments from the ONS:

    "People with household incomes under £10,000 were 60% more likely to be furloughed than the rest of the population."

    "Wealthy people who have had to miss work during the pandemic - because they have been furloughed, or for other reasons - were more likely to keep getting paid in full than poorer people. More than half of people in this situation in the richest 20% by income still got paid in full, but in the poorest 20% it was only 28%."

    So, if you earn under £10,000 - and therefore highly likely to be struggling with finances - you are 60% more likely to be furloughed, and 70% of you will not receive a top-up to full pay.

    If - relatively speaking - you have no money worries, you get given everything.

    Levelling up, all in it together, blah, blah, blah, blah

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    1. Rejoice! Wonder if he, his children or his grandchildren get paid in full?

      "Made a life peer in 2000, Conservative party donor and former treasurer Lord Ashcroft was the subject of a political storm when he confirmed that he was still a “non-dom,” meaning his permanent home was not in the UK, so he did not pay UK tax on overseas earnings. He remained in the House of Lords until 2015, then resigned his seat, but kept his peerage.

      Lord Ashcroft is the non-executive chairman of the Impellam Group, which owns Medacs, and he personally owned more than half of Impellam’s shares until 2010 when he transferred a majority of shares from his personal ownership to Lombard Trust, which now owns 56%. Ashcroft’s children and grandchildren were named as the Lombard Trust beneficiaries.

      In its most recent annual report, for 2019, Impellam declared global revenues of £2.25bn, saying it was the largest provider of locum doctors to the NHS...

      Medacs has been awarded a contract worth £350m by the government for the provision of “laboratory worker personnel for the NHS test and trace programme”. It is stipulated to run for two years, with the maximum payable, depending on demand for Medacs’ staff, £350,402,831.

      A spokesman declined to answer any questions about Lombard Trust, or Ashcroft’s current residency arrangements"

      https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2021/jan/21/firm-linked-to-tory-donor-lord-ashcroft-wins-350m-covid-contract


      Nice work IF you can get it.

      Delete
  3. https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.ft.com/content/bbe08fac-50f6-4e22-a812-5de2d05bb38c

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    1. QAnon adherents called it “the storm”. At midday on Wednesday, there were supposed to be blackouts across the US, military tribunals led by Donald Trump and the mass execution of Democrats in the streets.

      It did not happen. Instead, Joe Biden was inaugurated as the 46th US president and the day of reckoning anticipated by the pro-Trump conspiracy cult failed to materialise, dismaying the faithful.

      “QAnon believers invested all their remaining hopes in false beliefs that Trump would take action validating their theories before or during inauguration,” said Jared Holt, a research fellow focused on extremism at the Atlantic Council’s Digital Forensic Research Lab. “For some followers, watching Biden and (Vice-president Kamala) Harris sworn into office was a breaking point in their beliefs.” 

      QAnon followers had been among the rioters who stormed the US Capitol on January 6 in the hopes of overturning the results of the November presidential election, which Mr Trump and many of his followers say was rigged.

      According to QAnon prophecies, Mr Trump would maintain power as electrical outages spread across the US on January 20. But when the lights stayed on in America, the mood in QAnon circles turned dark.

      Believers began proclaiming: “Nothing!!!!” on messaging apps, their verdict sometimes accompanied by angry face or broken heart emojis. 

      “We all got scammed, you caused us all to lose friends over this charade,” posted one member of a QAnon discussion group created a few days after the Capitol riot. “Now we all sit with egg on our face.”

      “Q”, the pseudonymous poster or posters behind the nearly 5,000 arcane messages that form the central scripture of the conspiracy theory, did not offer any explanation. 

      But Ron Watkins, whose father owns the imageboard where QAnon’s posts are hosted, said: “We gave it our all. Now we need to keep our chins up and go back to our lives as best we are able.”

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    2. The setback was only the latest in a series of reversals for the QAnon movement, whose ranks grew dramatically in 2020 during coronavirus pandemic-related lockdowns.

      Facebook said on Tuesday that it had removed more than 40,000 QAnon Facebook and Instagram pages and accounts since August as part of a clampdown on extremists. Accounts belonging to QAnon influencers were removed by Twitter earlier this month, shortly before the website permanently suspended Mr Trump.

      QAnon supporters were also affected by the closure of Parler, the “free speech” social network popular with conservatives, after Amazon suspended web hosting services to the platform earlier this month.

      Nevertheless, some QAnon believers attempted to find ways to explain the situation, or fell back on the cryptic messages that characterised many of QAnon’s posts. “Trust the plan,” wrote one. 

      Experts warned that individual conspiracies within the wider ideology — such as anti-5G and anti-vaccine narratives — would likely live on, possibly morphing into something more menacing. 

      “For many people, there won’t be an easy step back. The engagement cycle has been too addicting and empowering,” said Molly McKew, chief executive of consultancy Fianna Strategies and an information warfare expert. “And what if they decide to latch on to a new, less lazy and incompetent leader than Trump? The power in this belief system hasn’t dispersed yet.” 

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    3. There's something seriously bizarre about large groups of heavily armed combat wearing people getting whipped into a frenzy by watching Donald Trump daddy dancing to the village peoples YMCA.

      'Getafix

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    4. Back in the day it was luncheon vouchers, Cynthia Payne, Christine Keeler and a spanking in the dungeon. How the internet has changed us...!

      Delete
    5. New York Times:-

      After the presidential election last year, the Proud Boys, a far-right group, declared its undying loyalty to President Trump.

      In a Nov. 8 post in a private channel of the messaging app Telegram, the group urged its followers to attend protests against an election that it said had been fraudulently stolen from Mr Trump. “Hail Emperor Trump,” the Proud Boys wrote.

      But by this week, the group’s attitude toward Mr. Trump had changed. “Trump will go down as a total failure,” the Proud Boys said in the same Telegram channel on Monday.

      As Mr Trump departed the White House on Wednesday, the Proud Boys, once among his staunchest supporters, have also started leaving his side. In dozens of conversations on social media sites like Gab and Telegram, members of the group have begun calling Mr Trump a “shill” and “extraordinarily weak,” according to messages reviewed by The New York Times. They have also urged supporters to stop attending rallies and protests held for Mr. Trump or the Republican Party.

      The comments are a startling turn for the Proud Boys, which for years had backed Mr Trump and promoted political violence. Led by Enrique Tarrio, many of its thousands of members were such die-hard fans of Mr Trump that they offered to serve as his private militia and celebrated after he told them in a presidential debate last year to “stand back and stand by.” On Jan. 6, some Proud Boys members stormed the U.S. Capitol.

      But since then, discontent with Mr Trump, who later condemned the violence, has boiled over. On social media, Proud Boys participants have complained about his willingness to leave office and said his disavowal of the Capitol rampage was an act of betrayal.

      And Mr Trump, cut off on Facebook and Twitter, has been unable to talk directly to them to soothe their concerns or issue new rallying cries.

      The Proud Boys’ anger toward Mr Trump has heightened after he did nothing to help those in the group who face legal action for the Capitol violence. On Wednesday, a Proud Boy leader, Joseph Biggs, 37, was arrested in Florida and charged with unlawful entry and corruptly obstructing an official proceeding in the riot. At least four other members of the group also face charges stemming from the attack.

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    6. Maybe it will be Proud Boys & not state prosecutors knocking on the door at mar-a-lago?

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    7. Who cares he is yesterdays man ! Memo for oooopp north or more for those voting for Brexit and the Tories well done on the result, but look on would you not rather of had a government set to building you some flood drains defences instead of a new unnecessary HS2 train set for fat boy Johnson's cronies. There wont be any money for the levelling up of t'north territory nor, it seem to me northerners dont seem to work out that it rains every year and every year you get floods why cant you ensure you get water flood systems for next year than let us watch you lot in floods and raw sewage year on bloody year. Do you like swimming in faeces raw sewage after xmas oooopp there laddy ?

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  4. https://thumbs.gfycat.com/BlondBlondDugong-size_restricted.gif?fbclid=IwAR0ZfksJxq3guNYom_iIUssPC-rIdTlqYNeCzjwy4H62Uh2tJKpwQs0OpuY

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  5. That so sums it up Mushroom, so funny

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  6. Rejoice! Brexit means Brexit

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-55734277

    Under the new rules, anyone in the UK receiving a gift from the EU worth more than £39 may now face a bill for import VAT - with many items charged at 20%.

    For goods costing more than £135, customs duties may also apply, which can range from 0% to 25% of the product you're buying if they have not been paid by the sender already.

    The extra charges are usually collected by the courier on behalf of the government, with customers asked to pay before they can pick up their package.

    Royal Mail, for example, is charging an £8 fee it says "reflects the cost of clearing items through customs and presenting them to Border Force".

    Meanwhile, delivery firm DHL says it is charging UK customers 2.5% of the amount paid to clear customs, with a minimum charge of £11.

    Huzzah!!!

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  7. You could have read it on this blog months ago

    https://www.theguardian.com/business/2021/jan/21/wealthy-uk-flyers-opt-for-private-jets-to-evade-covid-and-lockdowns

    A short-haul charter flight can cost several times the monthly income of the average UK household. One broker, EvoJets, based in the US, gives an estimated starting price of $6,400 (about £4,700) for a one-way flight from London to Nice. Many operators offer heavily discounted “empty legs” on planes that need to be moved between airports and that would otherwise carry no passengers.

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  8. https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/dark-money-investigations/revealed-tory-donor-lord-ashcrofts-outsourcing-firm-given-350m-vaccination-contract/

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  9. Its only ten months & 100,000 deaths too late...

    "Ministers are considering paying £500 to everyone in England who tests positive for Covid-19, in a dramatic overhaul of the self-isolation support scheme, the Guardian can reveal.

    The proposed change is thought necessary because government polling found only 17% of people with symptoms are coming forward to get a test, owing to fears that a positive result could stop people from working."

    https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jan/21/ministers-ponder-paying-500-to-all-with-covid-in-england

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    1. You're not seriously in support of this?A staggeringly shit idea. Thought Iannucci had written it...

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    2. Why not the Tory regime is constructed on money rich billionaires . They know without the plebs working for them they risk being overturned by a new revolution. Starmer may be on Boris side but that's not the same as party change I mean a people change. The mas working plebs are dying 4 5 79 2 1 on the rich list so why not restructure or at least take the money it will all be paid back by us soon enough.

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    3. If they don't do this, who will nanny their children, clean their houses, empty their bins?

      Delete
  10. https://www.gov.uk/government/news/managing-the-pandemic-in-prisons

    The quick and decisive action taken since the beginning of the pandemic has helped to limit the spread of the virus in prisons.

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    1. Has it fcuk . Thanks to Boris the national lampooned idiot we had 2 super spreader events no lockdown cos the royals had to have the gee gees . No sign of letting up until well past Easter now. Not because the Tories know what their doing but because the power rich have tried to make business profit . They have killed too many and will continue to mess it up as long as the virus has another free run . Go on Boris get to 200k you'll still get elected in the UK.

      Delete
  11. Might Trump have to depend on legal aid for his impeachment?
    Looking like he needs to find a few bob very quickly, and then find where he can spend it. He's losing more passangers overboard then the Titanic.

    https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-tax-lawyers-crime-investigation-b1790725.html%3famp

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    1. He'll blag anything he can. Its believed he's already helped himself to about $200m of donations raised in anticipation of a further election campaign. Conviction of impeachment will be painful for him as it is likely to strip him of the financial gratuities which form part of the very generous ex-president's allowances and pension. But if the Proud Boys or Qanon get to him first, it'll be academic...

      A similar generous scheme operates in the Uk for ex-PMs, as well as a £30K one-off payment for ex-MPs "to cover the costs of winding up their parliamentary affairs"

      Delete
  12. In more 'no shit' news:

    "Low-paid workers in UK more than twice as likely to lose job in pandemic - Job opportunities increasing for higher-paid staff in sign of growing inequality"

    https://www.theguardian.com/business/2021/jan/22/low-paid-workers-in-uk-more-than-twice-as-likely-to-lose-job-in-pandemic

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    1. Lengthy read but gives a fascinating insight.

      https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.ft.com/content/cc6b0d9a-d8cc-4ddb-8c57-726df018c10e

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  13. I imagine Frank will be pleased to read this. Apart from the fact that his/her predictions about the trajectory of the pandemic were pretty accurate even some time back, I recall he/she was regularly arguing that the govt figures were inaccurate & misleading:

    "The UK government death toll is missing coronavirus fatalities and it always has, Guardian analysis has shown.

    According to the paper by the University of Leicester 30% of Covid-19 patients discharged from English hospitals were readmitted within five months and almost one in eight of them die, raising further concerns over the accuracy of the widely quoted official figure."

    https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jan/22/uk-official-covid-death-toll-undercounted-fatalities

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    1. Yet another confused, confusing & contradictory set of messages from the sybaritic scumbag Johnson.

      But at least Prof Pinky & Sir Perky seem slightly more emboldened these days, less cowed by Johnson's bullshit & more honest about what they do & don't know.

      Maybe the fresh candour of Fauci in the US in the last few days has given them some backbone?

      But Johnson has to get a grip of himself, kick the whining backbenchers into touch & make some strong decisions about a protracted lockdown, supporting businesses & encouraging self-isolation.

      In the meantime he seems to be in denial about the level of activity on public transport, in the streets, at workplaces, etc. Our roads are almost as busy as any pre-covid say with the morning & afternoon rush-hour just as obvious as ever.

      Delete
    2. some headlines to accompany today's uk briefing:

      "Hotel quarantine for UK arrivals to be discussed" - so its not even happening yet!!

      "Covid-19: Nurses call for better masks to protect all staff" - and they are supposed to be a high priority!

      "Coronavirus: UK variant 'may be more deadly'"

      "Israeli Covid chief's claim single vaccine dose less effective 'inaccurate'" - he's now changed his mind!

      "Coronavirus: Just one-third of UK workers received financial support after self-isolating" - so many are not isolating for whatever reason, but mostly because they can't sfford to lose pay.


      We aint going to be free of the lockdown hokey-cokey for much of this year at this rate. Plus there's the joy of fuckwittery:

      * Covid-19: Two £10,000 fines for '150-person' funeral - A funeral director has been fined £10,000 after police were called to a funeral with close to 150 people in attendance.

      * Police broke up a wedding party in north London, where they now say about 150 people had gathered. Guests fled when the police arrived. The organisers face a £10,000 fine for breaking lockdown rules.

      * Covid-19: Man fined for 64-mile fish and chip shop trip across East Anglia

      * Covid-19: Horsey seal sightseeing couple fined for 130-mile trip

      * Covid: Learner driver fined over 130-mile lockdown trip to Watford


      And unsurprisingly Reuters reports between 150 and 200 national guard deployed to Washington DC to provide security for president Joe Biden’s inauguration have tested positive for the coronavirus.

      Delete
    3. "Guests fled when the police arrived"

      Why? Were they mebbe doing something wrong?!?!?

      Delete
    4. And now Bozo's eagerness to sound knowledgeable is being unravelled yet again - the man knows fuck all & is dangerous:

      "Boris Johnson has said there is "some evidence" the variant may be associated with "a higher degree of mortality".

      But the co-author of the study the PM was referring to said the variant's deadliness remained an "open question".

      Another adviser said he was surprised Mr Johnson had shared the findings when the data was "not particularly strong".

      A third top medic said it was "too early" to be "absolutely clear"."

      https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-55779171

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    5. Hey, Boris, how about injecting some bleach or bright light? Or swinging around in the air waving flags? Or holding your breath for ten minutes? Or better still, just going away & letting someone who knows what they're doing have the job.

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    6. He is vacuous and seeks headlines to look informed and boss like . We all know he is a puppet and the Tories will purge him when he is so clearly up for sacking at the next election from the millions affected by their outrageous policies that have shafted everyone.

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  14. Amanda Gorman, wow. I have just listened to some of her earlier poems, she is a gift. She lifted me in these troubled times and I feit proud, I am not black, young or female but I share the commonality that I am a person that cares, she is my sister-truly. We could all learn from Amanda

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    1. Anon 19:12 Yes it was inspiring and a contribution that hit exactly the right note on a very important day in US and world politics. Even the weather played its part and the full version of the video the three former Presidents decided to make at Arlington National Cemetery will all help to draw a line under the obscenity that was Trump.

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    2. Trump was awful but he had almost half the vote . That is what biden needs toa manage long term. The wild popularist extreme trump ha hurt America's standing but they won't see it. Biden needs more than lady gaga and some poetry to get traction. That said it takes all sorts to move the USA back into the right direction let's all hope he has plenty more in his toolkit than inaugural stunts by the media and PR team. we need the usa to reset a world collectivism on fighting the pandemic. It is incredible the 1914 flu ran 3 years and no vaccine. We have the same and possible extended periods with all the science yet can't work globally. Trump is socially irresponsible world criminal.

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  15. Wonder if the political focus today will turn from Washington to Moscow?
    There seems to be tensions growing amongst the wide scale protests today with an estimated 500 protesters already having been arrested.

    'Getafix

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    1. Gtx cmon you know the answers so does Putin. 1 word begins with g ends with g 6 letters . Answers below please.

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  16. The CRCs are “protecting” us by making it mandatory to wear the blue face masks provided. Where’s the NPS London Director to tell us the “science” is that they do not protect us at all, or the NPS Birmingham Bronze Commander to tell us everything’s going to be all right?

    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-55766409

    “At present, most nurses working outside of intensive care wear standard surgical masks.
    But the RCN says they may not protect them against the new variant of the virus, and very small airborne viral particles spread in hospitals.”

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    1. Seeing as London's probation chiefs believe covid-19 means 'business as usual', then maybe this Kensington party involved one or more of the 'excellent leaders'?

      "Two officers were injured as they broke up an "incredibly selfish" party, involving about 200 people, in one of London's most expensive neighbourhoods.

      Officers investigated an address on Beauchamp Place, Kensington, at about 03.30 GMT on 17 January, following reports of a mass gathering.

      Attendees became hostile and pushed through to avoid being fined, injuring two officers, police said.

      No arrests were made."

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    2. Course not. On the CRcs they are not being conscientious but realise their insurance claims may come from negligence.

      Delete
    3. NPS, take note:

      "Minister faces fury over mass Covid outbreak at top government agency

      Grant Shapps under fire for ‘shameful’ virus spread as staff told to work on with more than 500 cases at DVLA in Swansea"

      https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jan/23/minister-faces-fury-over-mass-covid-outbreak-at-top-government-agency

      Delete
  17. Oh dear, what with border closures & travel restrictions, all those essential business journeys must be so tiresome:

    "Big crowds at Heathrow airport 'incredibly worrying', says Labour - Shadow home secretary voices Covid concerns as travellers again complain of long queues at passport control"

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  18. Brexit means Brexit, the easiest deal in history, etc:

    "Brexit nightmare: British businesses at breaking point

    Move to EU to avoid Brexit costs, firms told; Exporters advised by Department for International Trade officials to form EU-based companies to circumvent border issues"

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    1. https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/jan/24/bill-for-boris-johnson-brexit-is-coming-punishingly-steep

      Delete
  19. https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/supporters-words-may-haunt-trump-at-impeachment-trial-senate-trump-president-time-charges-b1791681.html%3famp

    ReplyDelete