Threat to supporters in stadia.

[Piracy]

18 minutes ago, Keyser Soze said:

I’ve never voted SNP and at this moment I can’t envisage a situation where I would but Nicola Sturgeon is clearly miles and miles ahead of the daft Tory Buffon who is essentially running the show as we speak. 

He's running some of the show. The daft c*nt isn't 100% for what happens this side of the Dyke though. That's a pertinent point from a Scottish nations point of view. Should always strive to do better 👍

[Keyser Soze]

6 minutes ago, Piracy said:

He's running some of the show. The daft c*nt isn't 100% for what happens this side of the Dyke though. That's a pertinent point from a Scottish nations point of view. Should always strive to do better 👍

Absolutely. And we can and should do better. The least worst option should never be what we strive for though. That said, I’d vote for a dead donkey over a Tory. 

[Keyser Soze]

Also, the reason this variant is less deadly is because we have a population who are by and large vaccinated or have natural immunity through infection. The virus itself isn’t weaker, scientists have worked like **** unlike our politicians. 

[Rengade Master]

Private healthcare is no longer the epitomy of wealth and is a much used inclusion on many employment contracts especially in the financial sector, in fact anyone and their families who work at SKY in the toon get the benefits once only afforded to the rich and privileged as do most of the Scottish civil servants. 

Once again the benefits of these of these programs are greatly overlooked, relieving pressures on the NHS, paying huge taxes on the services, buildings they use and the tax on the benefit in kind.

These are also much more prevalent in the large cities in England as health benefits are a big part of staff recruitment and the families entitled to use them do so.

However when governments UK and Scottish use these self same private hospitals to relieve waiting lists at additional taxpayers expense it begins to get murky.

Why is healthcare any more immoral than using private companies for other aspects of government that benefits or helps the population?

Private healthcare will not diminish the NHS but actually relieve the burden and help going forward as the private investment opens up greater diagnostics.

If you are not on a plan and you could afford it why wouldn't you pay for a hip operation next week rather than wait 3 years for an NHS operation? Those who are against private healthcare are the ones with a problem not the system.

As for private companies getting involved with the NHS, this can only be a good thing if a business brain is brought in to overlook the gross waste of money at the management level to release much needed funds to the patient staffing levels and this applies to the civil service in general!

 

[Keyser Soze]

5 minutes ago, Rengade Master said:

Private healthcare will not diminish the NHS but actually relieve the burden and help going forward as the private investment opens up greater diagnostics.

If

 

Sigh. Except that’s not what will happen in the long term.  Once the door is open it’s game over. 

[Piracy]

6 minutes ago, Keyser Soze said:

Sigh. Except that’s not what will happen in the long term.  Once the door is open it’s game over. 

This. 

Step by step obidience or maybe acceptance of sutble series of changes over a period of years. Before you know it you're being butt f*cked over a Goverment owned barrel and you're accepting the situation. 

Where are the men like John MzcLean now? 

Keir Hardie, Jimmy Ried etc... Heroes 

[Keyser Soze]

3 minutes ago, Piracy said:

This. 

Step by step obidience or maybe acceptance of sutble series of changes over a period of years. Before you know it you're being butt f*cked over a Goverment owned barrel and you're accepting the situation. 

Where are the men like John MzcLean now? 

Keir Hardie, Jimmy Ried etc... Heroes 

It’s a meal ticket now. I can think of one MP who genuinely  doesn’t treat it as such. 

[Digs]

1 hour ago, Rengade Master said:

Private healthcare is no longer the epitomy of wealth and is a much used inclusion on many employment contracts especially in the financial sector, in fact anyone and their families who work at SKY in the toon get the benefits once only afforded to the rich and privileged as do most of the Scottish civil servants. 

Once again the benefits of these of these programs are greatly overlooked, relieving pressures on the NHS, paying huge taxes on the services, buildings they use and the tax on the benefit in kind.

These are also much more prevalent in the large cities in England as health benefits are a big part of staff recruitment and the families entitled to use them do so.

However when governments UK and Scottish use these self same private hospitals to relieve waiting lists at additional taxpayers expense it begins to get murky.

Why is healthcare any more immoral than using private companies for other aspects of government that benefits or helps the population?

Private healthcare will not diminish the NHS but actually relieve the burden and help going forward as the private investment opens up greater diagnostics.

If you are not on a plan and you could afford it why wouldn't you pay for a hip operation next week rather than wait 3 years for an NHS operation? Those who are against private healthcare are the ones with a problem not the system.

As for private companies getting involved with the NHS, this can only be a good thing if a business brain is brought in to overlook the gross waste of money at the management level to release much needed funds to the patient staffing levels and this applies to the civil service in general!

 

Nope, that’s not how it works. Yes, people who work at Sky are offered the benefit but only for them. If they want their family members included they’ve got to pay for it, like the majority of companies who offer this. Mine for example would cost me £100 a month to have my entire family on it. 

Im not against it, it paid for my sons knee surgery two years ago and also my own 15 years ago. It has its place but let’s not kid on that it will benefit everyone. If you’re lucky enough to have it, absolutely use it, but it’s still a minority of people who do and forcing everyone to pay by stealth is not a good thing.

To be clear, I can afford it, and will use it both for my own benefit when required and my family but it doesn’t necessarily alleviate all the burden in the NHS as most of the consultants are also NHS consultants as well. Forcing the NHS down the private route does not benefit the majority and should be fought against all the way. 

Does that make me a hypocrite? Maybe it does, but I’ll happily pay extra to use it if it means I’m not clogging up an appointment system. 

[Keyser Soze]

The NHS is literally the greatest thing about this country. Any talk of tearing it apart is despicable. 

[GG Riva]

What an interesting thread this is. So many well constructed responses. I've been a bit busy recently, but I've also been lying low after chucking in a controversial Neil Oliver clip, in a bid to stir up a bit of controversy - a serious misjudgement on my part and now one I genuinely regret.

With regard to the immediate future of football in this country, it's hard to escape the conclusion that many games will be postponed and attendances will be restricted or for games which do go ahead, or even played behind closed doors. Why do I think that? Well, we'll probably exceed the psychological ceiling of 100,000 new daily cases over this weekend and it will induce enough panic among our political leaders to make them want to be seen to be doing something about it. Bolting horses and stable doors spring to mind....

Ironically, if the Omicron variant turns out to be as mild as some reports coming out of S. Africa are suggesting, it may actually help us all in the longer term. With a bit of good fortune, it may build up immunity in those who catch it, especially those who have declined to be vaccinated. The "herd immunity" which the Tory Government was pinning its hopes on in the early days of the pandemic, may actually come to pass and no doubt they'll try and claim the credit for it.....

[1950Par]

1 hour ago, GG Riva said:

What an interesting thread this is. So many well constructed responses. I've been a bit busy recently, but I've also been lying low after chucking in a controversial Neil Oliver clip, in a bid to stir up a bit of controversy - a serious misjudgement on my part and now one I genuinely regret.

With regard to the immediate future of football in this country, it's hard to escape the conclusion that many games will be postponed and attendances will be restricted or for games which do go ahead, or even played behind closed doors. Why do I think that? Well, we'll probably exceed the psychological ceiling of 100,000 new daily cases over this weekend and it will induce enough panic among our political leaders to make them want to be seen to be doing something about it. Bolting horses and stable doors spring to mind....

Ironically, if the Omicron variant turns out to be as mild as some reports coming out of S. Africa are suggesting, it may actually help us all in the longer term. With a bit of good fortune, it may build up immunity in those who catch it, especially those who have declined to be vaccinated. The "herd immunity" which the Tory Government was pinning its hopes on in the early days of the pandemic, may actually come to pass and no doubt they'll try and claim the credit for it.....

That was my thinking as well G.G. that if we get the omicron we might be able to build our own resistance. However the FT Weekend front page is saying that this new variant is NO less severe and no evidence that the symptoms are milder,  we will just have to wait and see

[GG Riva]

1 hour ago, 1950Par said:

That was my thinking as well G.G. that if we get the omicron we might be able to build our own resistance. However the FT Weekend front page is saying that this new variant is NO less severe and no evidence that the symptoms are milder,  we will just have to wait and see

I'm no expert, but this doctor is not a fan of our ineffable PM:-

https://news.sky.com/story/covid-19-boris-johnson-over-reacting-to-omicron-and-creating-hysteria-south-african-doctor-dr-angelique-coetzee-says-12495876

[1950Par]

Interesting read that G.G. Lets hope she is correct. Below is the FT article 

https://www.ft.com/content/020534b3-5a54-4517-9fd1-167a5db50786

Edited December 18, 2021 by 1950Par
to add a file

[1950Par]

Back to the old fashioned way 

Covid-19 cases in the UK soared past 93,000 to reach a record high for the third consecutive day on Friday, as researchers warned there was “no evidence” that Omicron was milder than the Delta variant. The Imperial College London research, which analysed UK infection data, casts doubt on the hopes of some experts, based on reports from medics in South Africa, that a change in the virulence of the new variant would limit pressure on health systems. An emergency meeting of ministers will be held on Saturday to examine the latest Omicron data, which one government insider described as “pretty bleak”. Another described the threat of the variant as “potentially pretty terrifying”. Coronavirus booster shots could provide about 85 per cent protection against severe illness from Omicron, and more than 90 per cent protection against death, 60 days after being administered, the study also found. But Prof Azra Ghani, an epidemiologist at Imperial and one of the study’s authors, said the record-breaking infection levels from Omicron could still lead to “a large number of people requiring hospitalisation”. Another senior government official said there was growing concern over hospital pressures in London, the epicentre of Omicron in the UK. “It’s been another record day of cases . . . and we’re monitoring London hospitalisation data closely,” the person said. In a worst-case scenario, daily deaths from the Omicron wave could number in the thousands, exceeding last winter’s peak, the study said. But Ghani emphasised the figures were “an illustration of the need to act rather than a prediction”.

[Rengade Master]

Reading the latest symptoms both the Mrs and I have had it over the last 2 weeks. Although lateral flow tests said I was negative 2 close contacts tested positive via PCR at the same time.

I was actually unable to leave the house to get a PCR test. It was all very similar to the full blown covid I had at the start but was only about 50/60% as bad and only buckled me for 4 days rather than a 14 days.

If this the likely outcome on most it will feel like the worst cold you have had as lots of people have also experienced over the last few weeks. After all Coronavirus is part of the common cold virus. It's been in Africa now for many months and maybe the cold weather of the UK has been the reason for its major transmissibility but who knows.

As for herd immunity yes it's work the same as a vaccine where a small dose of the key parts of the virus are given to teach your own immune system how to respond, giving it a head start in fighting it if you have future exposure.

The experts always said that with each mutation it would spread quicker but the severity would weaken, and i think that is exactly what is transpiring along with vaccines and herd immunity.

I for one are certainly in the lets get on with it camp, we have pressures every winter with flu and pneumonia etc this will be another to add.

Spend the money on bolstering the health system not paying furlough and and grants etc.

If that means commissioning the private hospitals and there 8000 beds and ICU units and putting back the private elective surgeries for a couple of months why not?