Clap for Boris?

[DrP]

My facebook feed had a lot of posts in it saying that although not perfect, Boris Johnson is doing the best he can and thank god Jeremy Corbyn isn't in charge. They suggest a clap for Boris as well as the NHS.   Here is a timeline of events including some of his actions.

Timeline:

December 31st China alerts WHO to new virus.

January 23rd Study reveals a third of China’s patients require intensive care.

January 24th Boris Johnson misses first Cobra meeting.

January 29th Boris Johnson misses second Cobra meeting.

January 31st The NHS declares first ever ‘Level 4 critical incident’ Meanwhile, the government declines to join European scheme to source PPE.

February 5th Boris Johnson misses third Cobra meeting.

February 12th Boris Johnson misses fourth Cobra meeting. Exeter University published study warning Coronavirus could infect 45 million people in the UK if left unchallenged.

February 13th Boris Johnson misses conference call with European leaders.

February 14th Boris Johnson goes away on holiday. Aides are told keeps Johnson’s briefing notes short or he will not read them.

February 18th Johnson misses fifth Cobra meeting.

February 26th Boris Johnson announces ‘Herd Immunity’ strategy, announcing some people will lose loved ones. Government document is leaked, predicting half a million Brits could die in ‘worst case scenario’.

February 29th Boris Johnson retreats to his country manor. NHS warns of ‘PPE shortage nightmare’. Stockpiles have dwindled or expired after years of austerity cuts.

March 2nd Boris Johnson attends his first Cobra meeting, declining another opportunity to join European PPE scheme. Government’s own scientists say over half a million Brits could die if virus left unrestrained. Johnson tells country: “We are very, very well prepared.”

March 3rd Scientists urge Government to advise public not to shake hands. Boris Johnson brags about shaking hands of several people in hospital with Coronavirus patients.

March 4th Government stops providing daily updates on virus following a 70% spike in UK cases. They will later U-turn on this amid accusations they are withholding vital information.

March 5th Boris Johnson tells public to ‘wash their hands and business as usual’.

March 7th Boris Johnson joins 82,000 people at Six Nations match.

March 9th After Ireland cancels St Patrick’s day parades, the government says there’s “No rationale” for cancelling sporting events.

March 10th - 13th Cheltenham takes place, more than a quarter of a million people attend.

March 11th 3,000 Atletico Madrid fans fly to Liverpool.

March 12th Boris Johnson states banning events such as Cheltenham will have little effect. The Imperial College study finds the government’s plan is projected to kill half a million people.

March 13th the FA suspends the Premier League, citing an absence of Government guidance. Britain is invited to join European scheme for joint purchase of ventilators, and refuses. Boris Johnson lifts restrictions of those arriving from Coronavirus hot spots.

March 14th Government is still allowing mass gatherings, as Stereophonics play to 5,000 people in Cardiff.

March 16th Boris Johnson asks Britons not to go to pubs, but allows them to stay open. During a conference call, Johnson jokes that push to build new ventilators should be called ‘Operation Last Gasp’.

March 19th Hospital patients with Coronavirus are returned to care homes in a bid to free up hospital space. What follows is a boom of virus cases in care homes.

March 20th The Government states that PPE shortage crisis is “Completely resolved”. Less than two weeks later, the British Medical Association will report an acute shortage in PPE.

March 23rd UK goes into lockdown.

March 26th Boris Johnson is accused of putting ‘Brexit over Breathing’ by not joining EU ventilator scheme. The government then state they had not joined the scheme because they had ‘missed the email’.

April 1st The Evening Standard publishes that just 0.17% of NHS staff have been tested for the virus.

April 3rd The UK death toll overtakes China.

April 5th 17.5 million antibody tests, ordered by the government and described by Boris Johnson as a ‘game changer’ are found to be a failure.

April 7th Boris Johnson is moved to intensive care with Coronavirus.

April 16th Flights bring 15,000 people a day into the UK - without virus testing.

April 17th Health Secretary Matt Hancock says “I would love to be able to wave a magic wand and have PPE fall from the sky.” The UK has now missed four opportunities to join the EU’s PPE scheme.

April 21st The Government fails to reach its target of face masks for the NHS, as it is revealed manufactures offers of help were met with silence. Instead millions of pieces of PPE are being shipped from the UK to Europe.

April 23rd - 24th Government announces testing kits for 10 million key workers. Orders run out within minutes as only 5,000 are made available.

April 25th UK death toll from Coronavirus overtakes that of The Blitz.

April 30th Boris Johnson announces the UK has succeeded in avoiding a tragedy that had engulfed other parts of the world. At this point the UK has the 3rd highest death toll in the world.

May 1st The Government announces it has reached its target of 100,000 tests - They haven’t conducted the tests, but posted the testing kits.

May 5th The UK death toll becomes the highest in Europe.

May 6th Boris Johnson announces the UK could start to lift lockdown restrictions by next week...

 

 

Now, whatever you think of J. Corbyn, he is a socialist, a diplomat and a firm believer in democracy... my own speculation is that he'd have attended those early meetings, listened to his advisors and locked down sooner (the UK is an Island and was one of the last countries to get the infection... see the figures for similar island countries like New Zealand and Japan).  He is a diplomat, so would have worked with and negotiated with the EU to be apart of the PPE and ventilator purchase scheme that we were invited to join. As a massive socialist... I also believe he'd put the safety of the people before the economy and would not be rushing to get people back to work already even though we are only just past peak daily death on our curve. 

Thoughts?

Edited May 20, 2020 by DrP

[MigL]

Boris Johnson has the 'clap' ?
Clap is slang Canadian terminology for STDs ( syphilis and gonorrhea ).

Seems a common fault of failing national leaders.
They don't seem to be able to work with others.
Must have something to do with their behavior in the sandbox, as children.

Edited May 20, 2020 by MigL

[dimreepr]

4 hours ago, DrP said:

Thoughts?

 

[Strange]

5 hours ago, DrP said:

My facebook feed had a lot of posts in it saying that although not perfect, Boris Johnson is doing the best he can and thank god Jeremy Corbyn isn't in charge. They suggest a clap for Boris as well as the NHS. 

While some of those may be from real people reposting things they like, the original campaign was probably started by the government possibly using fake accounts.

I find it hard to believe I am writing this about a British government, but after they were found to have created hundreds of fake Twitter accounts pretending to be NHS staff in order to post pro-government propaganda, set up a fake Labour Party website and a fake fact-checking service during the election ...

[DrP]

6 hours ago, Strange said:

hundreds of fake Twitter accounts pretending to be NHS staff in order to post pro-government propaganda, set up a fake Labour Party website and a fake fact-checking service during the election ...

Yep. Totally disgraceful displays of multiple and continued lying.

A lot of what they claimed was just project fear before the last election is showing to be true too.. (lowering of food standards in trade deals, selling off chunks of nhs, inserting borders in NI etc...). pretty shameless, at least they are doing their best to cover it all up with distractions and lies though. 😕

 

[Strange]

2 minutes ago, DrP said:

Yep. Totally disgraceful displays of multiple and continued lying.

A lot of what they claimed was just project fear before the last election is showing to be true too.. (lowering of food standards in trade deals, selling off chunks of nhs, inserting borders in NI etc...). pretty shameless, at least they are doing their best to cover it all up with distractions and lies though. 😕

 

The UK government is now so untrustworthy that if someone suggested that they had released the Corona virus in Wuhan, I wouldn't be too sceptical 😱

[DrP]

7 minutes ago, Strange said:

The UK government is now so untrustworthy that if someone suggested that they had released the Corona virus in Wuhan, I wouldn't be too sceptical 😱

I probably wouldn't go that far lol. 😄

Although between them and the US Pres ...  I'm tempted to think that a war has possibly been in construction for a few years... I guess they'd need some excuse. I hope I'm wrong.

[dimreepr]

10 minutes ago, DrP said:

I probably wouldn't go that far lol. 😄

Although between them and the US Pres ...  I'm tempted to think that a war has possibly been in construction for a few years... I guess they'd need some excuse. I hope I'm wrong. 

In a way, I hope he's right... If balance is the goal and this is the extreme, the pendulem is so much closer...

[Sensei]

Long story, short version: politicians/religious leaders/business managers etc. are incompetent and choose similar to them incompetent advisors ("asslickers", sharing the same view as they), later lying and saying demagogic alternative stories to diminish their responsibility caused by their incompetence in the face of their voters or citizens..

Edited May 20, 2020 by Sensei

[dimreepr]

6 minutes ago, Sensei said:

Long story, short version: politicians/religious leaders/business managers etc. are incompetent and choose similar to them incompetent advisors ("asslickers", sharing the same view as they), later lying and saying demagiogic alternative stories to diminish their responsibility caused by their incompetence in the face of their voters or citizens..

I'm not sure you get, why it's important... 😉

[Phi for All]

4 hours ago, DrP said:

A lot of what they claimed was just project fear before the last election is showing to be true too.. (lowering of food standards in trade deals, selling off chunks of nhs, inserting borders in NI etc...). pretty shameless, at least they are doing their best to cover it all up with distractions and lies though. 😕

It's an attack on publicly-funded programs by extreme capitalists. Reduce regulations, make the public options look skimpy or draconian, and offer private solutions for EVERYTHING, even when it doesn't make sense. At least you had a much better public health system to start with. It's far worse in the US, and it's 3x the cost.

Do your media have a legal obligation to inform the public truthfully? Ours haven't since 1996, and the entertainment format (along with the fact that broadcasters can also own the companies they advertise for) adds to the problems. I think this is partly why we have these controversial, toxic personalities like Boris and Donald.

[MigL]

Although it is a welcome change to see other world leaders getting pilloried.
There is plenty of blame to go around.
( and I don't wanna hear about, or from, D Trump until his concession speech in November )