Florentine_Pogen

Trump says he will pump $850 billion into US economy to provide stimulus. Anthony Scaramucci (I know......) reckons it should be $2.5 trillion. How many bags of Jellytots are the Tories providing for UK ?

People need to urgently change their behaviour in order to limit how coronavirus is transmitted, according to academics whose research in the UK suggests that workplaces were ‘hotspots’ for transmission by younger people. But for the over-65s, it’s shops and restaurants. That comes from a piece in the Guardian by Petra Klepac, assistant professor of infectious disease modelling at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. What we have found in this data is that adults aged 20-50 make most of their contacts in workplaces. If those of us who can work remotely start doing so now, it will contribute to lowering overall transmission in the population. Another important finding is that people over 65 – who are particularly at risk from severe Covid-19 illness – make over half of their contacts in other settings (not home, school or work), such as shops, restaurants and leisure centres. By avoiding these interactions, people who are most at risk from the new coronavirus could halve their risk of infection. By changing our behaviour now, and sustaining these changes throughout the outbreak, we can significantly reduce our own risk of infection, and the risk to others, and by doing so help protect those most vulnerable.

Raab claims he is confident Brexit trade talks with EU can still be concluded in 2020 Back in the Commons Labour’s Stephen Kinnock also asked Dominic Raab, the foreign secretary, if the government would extend the Brexit transition in the light of the coronavirus crisis. In response, Raab went further than he did when Ben Bradshaw asked this. (See 1.19pm.) He replied: As far as I’m aware the negotiations can still proceed, given all of the logistical arrangements we’ve put in place. We are confident we can get this done. And, actually, I don’t think delaying Brexit negotiations will give anyone the certainty on either side of the channel that they need. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- So, they're going to 'get Brexit done' by working from home ?

FTFY.

Vaccine guinea-pig.

Absolutely. Mrs. P. is American. Two reasons we didn't go to live there ? Guns and healthcare. Trump will undoubtedly throw a ton of money at this to help his re-election hopes. Sounds as if Bezos / Amazon are getting involved in the US virus crisis. They have apparently said they are going to hire 100,000 new staff. If this comes to pass, it'll be the death knell for thousands of small independent retailers.

Andrew Cuomo giving presser right now. He's basically said that money shouldn't come in to it, hospitals should be taking care of everyone. Hmmmmm..........I suspect we'll see a bit of 'no insurance, no money......no care' at some point.

When this pandemic finally blows over, it will be interesting to see how the US for-profit healthcare system has performed versus Euro socialised care.

Alex Jones posts on P&b ??

I would expect some of the train operating companies to try and wriggle out of their contracts over this......................the Caledonian Sleeper won't survive this, surely.....

Michael Bloomberg, what a guy................Praise the Lord for billionaires....... -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Bloomberg Philanthropies, the multibillionaire Michael Bloomberg’s charitable foundation, has announced it is to fund a $40m global initiative to fight the spread of coronavirus in low- and middle-income countries. Announcing the plan, Bloomberg, who recently spent about 26 times that amount in an abortive bid for the Democrat presidential nomination, said: Millions of lives depend on getting the coronavirus response right – and so does the economic and social health of communities around the world. We need to slow transmission of the virus and minimize the impact of the outbreak in all countries. As we launch the Coronavirus Local Response Initiative this week here in the U.S., we also are creating a new effort to prevent its spread globally, particularly in Africa. I know from my experience as mayor of New York City that giving public health professionals the tools to protect the public is vital to saving lives – and to help mitigate the kind of economic and social damage that could make this crisis even more debilitating for families and communities. It comes after Bloomberg spent about $558m in three months in his punt to run for the US presidency.

....well, spill the beanz.....it's not as if we're going anywhere............

That's the EURO 2020 down the swanee.......................

AFAIK, he's a plumber's mate with an interest in aerial gunnery and playing mah jong. Not into essential oils at all.........................

Just had this e-mailed from a friend. Might be of interest to non-clatty types.......... ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ As sanitiser is not an option right now because of bulk-buying, I thought I'd share a recipe for home-made sanitiser. This assumes access to surgical spirits, but hopefully those are easier to get than basic sanitiser. Edit: HANDWASHING IS STILL PRIORITY #1 70% surgical spirit 30% aloe vera gel 20/30 drops of essential oils to take away from the surgical spirit smell eg lavender/ tea tree oil for the hand sanitiser to work it must be at least 60% surgical spirit. Once made this solution needs to be shaken regularly as the surgical spirit and aloe vera separate.

Stanley Johnson, father of the UK prime minister, has indicated he would ignore official advice to tackle the spread of coronavirus and still go to the pub. His comments came a day after Boris Johnson urged everyone to “avoid pubs, clubs, theatres and other such social venues”. The Prime Minister said the advice was particularly important for people over 70. But Stanley Johnson, 79, said: “Of course I’ll go to a pub if I need to go to a pub.” Speaking on ITV’s This Morning, he said landlords “don’t want people to be not in the pub at all”. His comments come as the industry voices concern that the measures could result in mass job losses and permanent pub closures. He suggested his son’s Government would produce a major financial package to support businesses. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Aye, the apple never falls far from the f*cking tree.....................

Barsteward.....beat me to it.

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/mar/17/we-are-at-war-coronavirus-pandemic "Referring to the UK – although it’s as relevant to other places as well – she adds: People whose jobs have vanished from beneath their feet need money to live on but soon they’ll also need a purpose, something to do for months on end. We will have a vast reservoir of bored, frustrated, depressed citizens whose jobs weren’t essential to survival on one hand, and on the other, a shortage of people to do essential work from social care to food production as others go down sick. Ministers should be thinking now about how to match them up, in ways that don’t spread infection – if those who have had it do turn out to be immune, should they be trained or organised to fill the sinkholes that will open up in society?"

The Bairnardo's are going to be 'otherwise engaged' for at least one night.......not sure if they're worth robbing though....... Wonder what his wine cellar is like ?..............

In Scotland, no new jury trials will begin util further notice as a result of the coronavirus outbreak. The Scottish courts and tribunals announced today that no new criminal jury trials will be commenced or new juries empanelled until further notice. The measure follows yesterday’s extraordinary advice that the general public stay at home as much as possible and avoid unnecessary social contact. In a statement, the Scottish authorities said jury trials that have already commenced will run to conclusion of the trial, if practical to do so. “It is likely that further measures will be announced in the coming days,” the statement notes. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Posted to assist the criminal element of P&B - HTH

Oh....so you're still with us then.............

Damien Gayle In the UK, the network coverage website Down Detector is showing a surge in reports of issues with most of the country’s major mobile networks. It comes as many Britons are working from home and, presumably, much more reliant on their mobile devices to make work calls, emails and other communications. From the graphs shown on the Down Detector home page, reports of problems began to accelerate from around 9am this morning, before peaking just after 11am. The rate of reports now appears to be slowing.