‘Every indicator suggests that much of the damage that Covid-19 does will be indirect: the economic slump, the priorities it has displaced, the behaviours it changes. New data published by the Social Progress Imperative, a non-profit organisation, shows that the pandemic could set back progress towards the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (which include the eradication of poverty, improving access to education, and action on climate change) by a full decade.’
September 29, 2020
June 15, 2020
johnson: World Beating
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/jun/15/the-guardian-view-of-boris-johnsons-crisis-blunder-after-blunder
“The prime minister is right in a sense that he presides over a “world-beating” performance: with 64,000 excess deaths, that is one excess death for every 1,000 people, the UK has recorded the largest global spike in deaths compared with the average yearly death toll; and the country will suffer the deepest depression of any developed economy.”
Guardian Editorial
May 25, 2020
The Buck Stops Here
It’s Johnson who should go.
Johnson appointed Cummings and Priti Patel and tries to defend both.
The problem is Johnson; the buck stops with him
Read the long article from the Times (A Murdoch Paper)
ttps://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/three-weeks-of-dither-and-delay-on-coronavirus-that-cost-thousands-of-british-lives-05sjvwv7g.
UK the worst coronavirus managed country in the World barring the US
May 4, 2020
Boris Johnson or is it Henry VIII
Henry VIII with Cardinal Wolsey or is it Thomas Moore, or even Thomas Cromwell; their time will come.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/may/02/the-british-charlatan-style-has-been-sent-packing-by-too-much-reality?CMP=share_btn_fb&fbclid=IwAR2OKqoV9jeIzx8ZZbGqaau1-ZdNrIHv5DlUQ4FTVHI3wvfmI7qQoPIxp3Y
April 1, 2020
SURE – from the EU
Ursula von der Leyen addressing the EU Community
Because of the coronavirus, “our daily life has changed radically. Millions of people can’t go to work, but they still have to buy groceries and pay their bills. Companies pay salaries to their employees, even if, right now, they don’t earn. Europe is now coming to their support, with a new initiative, called SURE, sure – points out the President of the EU Commission von der Leyen – the regions around Milan or Madrid are part of the backbone of the European economy. Thousands of strong and healthy companies are struggling because of the current crisis. They need our support to overcome the crisis.
This is why we have developed a concept of short-lived work. It aims to help Italy, Spain and all the other countries that have been hard hit. And it will do so thanks to the solidarity of the other Member States.’ “How does Sure work? We have learned the lessons from the 2008 financial crisis. The Member States that had this tool helped millions of people stay in their jobs and companies to overcome the financial crisis with their employees. SURE means short-term work supported by the state.’ In the past, it has mitigated the effects of the recession, kept people at work and allowed companies to return to the markets with renewed vigour.
The idea is simple, she explains: if there are no orders, companies should not lay off their workers. In their free time, workers will be able to be taught, for example, new skills that will also benefit both the company. So people can keep paying rents and buying what they need. This also has a positive impact on the economy. They will be able to return to work as soon as the blockade is finished, when demand resumes and so orders It is essential to quickly restart the European economic engine.”
I hope SURE works even though we are not part of the EU anymore,
March 29, 2020
Johnson misses opportuity to order Ventilators
Johnson has given orders to trash all emails from the EU as they may be infested by a virus
March 26, 2020
How deadly is the coronavirus?
How deadly is the coronavirus? It’s still far from clear
Dr John Lee: 26 March 2020 Spectator
‘Clearly, the various lockdowns will slow the spread of Covid-19 so there will be fewer cases. When we relax the measures, there will be more cases again. But this need not be a reason to keep the lockdown: the spread of cases is only something to fear if we are dealing with an unusually lethal virus. That’s why the way we record data will be hugely important. Unless we tighten criteria for recording death due only to the virus (as opposed to it being present in those who died from other conditions), the official figures may show a lot more deaths apparently caused by the virus than is actually the case. What then? How do we measure the health consequences of taking people’s lives, jobs, leisure and purpose away from them to protect them from an anticipated threat? Which causes least harm?
The moral debate is not lives vs money. It is lives vs lives. It will take months, perhaps years, if ever, before we can assess the wider implications of what we are doing. The damage to children’s education, the excess suicides, the increase in mental health problems, the taking away of resources from other health problems that we were dealing with effectively. Those who need medical help now but won’t seek it, or might not be offered it. And what about the effects on food production and global commerce, that will have unquantifiable consequences for people of all ages, perhaps especially in developing economies?’
Full Article at:
Mike Vickers' Blog 