Rog

Then you still have it wrong. There can be plagues of (for example) Jock-itch because of contaminated water supply, so if you did mean the Black death then you should have capitalised the "p" in plague this making it clear you were intending it to be a Proper Noun, but you did not. Don't sweat it, no doubt there's quite a lot of people with a level of education that falls into the category of being appropriate for the ESN who have never even heard of Proper Nouns much less how and where they should be used. How did you do at "Sums"?

THE Plague aka the Black Death was bacterial. On the other hand A plague can be the result of a virus or a bacteria or even insects and more. The Plage of Locusts etc. as inflicted on Egypt and recorded in Exodus being one example of the use of the word. Don't leave school just yet.

In view of the progress of the Chinese Plague appearing to have some 7 to10 days behind the UK would it not be advisable for anything such as easing of lockdown to also follow 7 to 10 days after what is being done in the UK?

Having bombed the sh*t out of them in a succession of war crimes such as the unforgivable Dresden Fire Storm which was a deliberate attack against civilians - and Dresden is just the best known example. Let's not kid ourselves, the principle reason for BAOR and American military presence was about keeping the Erics under the thumb and protecting mostly American investments.

ONE MORE TIME. My issue is with the so called religion (which is actually a mind destroying cult far worse than the Roman Catholic 'church' which is bad enough) and not with the majority of the poor sods trapped in it. The way that so many of them rather than skedaddle back home to relative safety have stayed to support our NHS can only be admired, I certainly do.

There are many forms of PFI. The PFI used so widely by Labour is the Dorset but other forms of PFI are a very different matter. The (mostly) NHS PFI in which the NHS rent hospitals that have been built by the private sector is commercially very attractive but an awful way to deliver a service BUT there are other ways that the private sector can provide the funding and deliver the services. As a sorta example consider places like Lakeside shopping centre Essex (why not!). No public Money involved but a pretty good shopping facility - with trimmings.

I did say a PFI of some sort. The way that mostly Labour used the PFI process over here could not have been more awful however there are other ways that the private sector can be involved such as a long lease with no ground rent and option to buy at market rate minus n% at the conclusion of the lease period in addition to a zero or very low council rate provided that the facilities required are delivered.

Admittedly non of my business but why not a PFI of some sort?

Quote "The world also faces a growing threat from various ideological morons also. The ultra-orthodox Haredim in Israel still turning up to synagogues, prayer-meetings and religious schools around the country, with Israeli security services having to disguise themselves as Haredim to gain entry to break them up and bust them. End Quote. That lot are something else. And not something good.

It's all because of 5g didntcha know. https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/news/coronavirus-5g-fire-phone-mast-radio-signal-conspiracy-theory-birmingham-a9446416.html Beyond belief were it not for the deliberate sabotaging of emergency service vehicles and supermarket delivery trucks taking place across the country. Arm the police time.

Two separate issues. As to taking BoJo seriously,that depends on what someone expects from a man. BoJo very obviously is a complex person that enjoys a bit of fun while never taking his eye off the ball. It's something that a lot of people don't see, they did use him as beings bufoon and don't see that he is actually highly focussed on the main chance and avoids micromanaging which in the case of what to do over the Chinese Plage where he allowed "experts" to determine the detailed actions on the basis of him not being an expert has proven to be a big mistake though I do believe that trying to minimise the damage that would result from lockdown was a brave but wrong move. Empathy? I have very little empathy at the best of times. That's something that I have no problem with. Empathy comes at a cost and must be limited when the overriding importance is is maintaining the health of the economy first and foremost. Only when that is secure should other aspects of everything else is secure before anything else be considered and even then only the bare minimum of what people need to survive should be the objective. As I've written before those who could work but don't work should not eat.

Still not what I asked. Since Mrs T I can't think of any PM should could have performed better than BoJo given all the facts he had presented to him at the time though I do agree that Mercer is obviously a prospect for the Star Chamber but the importance of getting BREXIT and the intense demand for independence by the majority of the British people and especially the English people meant that BoJo was the obvious guy to bring the trophy home.

That's not what I asked.

Droll

Then don't vote for the Conservative candidate come the next General Election. Thing is who could have done better as PM any time since Mrs Thatcher? I certainly can't think of anyone.

I sincerely hope that you're right.

There will have to an austerity program that will shock people to the core. Not just cut back in government spending but a much needed reassessment of the whole welfare state and what it provides. Some days ago I mentioned the social impact of the Black Death on the whole nature of British --- well everything and especially the collapse of feudalism. This Kung Flu plague will have the same devastating effect on the West and especially England. One thing is absolutely certain, our standard of living is going to fall for everybody and what support to the lower social orders is provided will reduce to essential needs only. As for what HMG has or has not done, that is immaterial, it was based on best scientific knowledge available and still is. No point dwelling on it, what matters now is what happens in the future and if, note IF a vaccine can be developed because that is far from certain. Look at the common cold for example, or common or garden 'flu. That requires a new vaccine each year or so as the beast mutates.

I wonder what different steps Blair or Brown would have taken under the circumstances? Neither of them knew Jack about virology or the spread of highly infectious and novel diseases. Having what we're supposed to be world leaders on hand advising on the best way to manage the situation and with no evidence that what other countries were doing made any real difference to what was taking place. Let's face it no matter what BoJo did was going to be used against him. If he had ignored government expert's advice and put the country under "lockdown" then those clowns who hate him as matter of faith would be whinging that he should have listened. If he did listen in the hope that his expert's were right, which is what he did, then he is seen by the same Boris haters as having done wrong. Underfunding of the NHS? Having to implement a get well austerity program after the profligacy of the Blair & Brown disaster trying to minimise the increase in National debt made all government expenditure more than problematic, not to mention the Blair open border policy and the huge draw on our taxes. As for the intensely judenhaas Corbyn cabal, the pride of Momentum-Labour lot --- thankfully the indigenous British saw through them so they were emasculated hopefully for decades to come. So before ranting on about someone described (wrongly) as a "totally amoral narcissistic serial philanderer and inveterate liar" it might be worth asking if, given the totality of this global plague, anyone could have done better especially considering the awful prime minister's we have had to endure from since Mrs Thatcher stood down having been stabbed in the front by that horrible little weasel Geoffrey Howe.

Coleman - notorious anti-vaccine proponent. Nuff sed.

You're in the UK so have you tried any places like Spa or other corner shops? Or farm shops?

Pasta? Lots available on-line especially from health food shops. What now is rapidly disappearing from shops over here is yeast.

Our government, especially the government ministers, have been putting themselves and their families at great risk in spite of knowing the probable consequences in order to govern our country and deliver the best advice to us based on the best advice being given to them. We really should admire them and abide by their instructions rather than try to make cheap and silly "jokes".

And the problem with that is? Both 100% factual.

The result of the Black Death had a huge impact on life in England that had the effect of destroying the tied labour system. Quite what effect this present plague will have on "normal" society is impossible to predict but the economic effects will be huge if for no other reason than because of the years of austerity that will have to follow requiring a substantial contraction of the Welfare State.

Look old son, you didn't understand what had been writ on the side of that infamous bus.