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Reply | No mention on here about "Outbreak" on tv last night
at 00:05 21 Jan 2021
Quite - not just the virus, but those poor animals - Jesus H -
Shouldn't be surprised of course, given China's track record on human rights - they're hardly going to pay the slightest bit of attention to animal welfare  |
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Reply | Biden coming over well.
at 18:35 20 Jan 2021
Indeed, I watched Obama's inauguration wall to wall for far longer - it was particularly historic of course & I found it very moving.
President Biden's (what a pleasure & a relief it is to be able to write those words!) speech was superb, from the heart & hitting the perfect notes.
The poem written & read by Poet Laureate Amanda Gorman was a tour de force, gave me absolute goosebumps. |
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Reply | No mention on here about "Outbreak" on tv last night
at 18:26 20 Jan 2021
I feel somewhat similar usually, but came across this by accident on +1 & although I hadn't intended to watch it, I actually found it too fascinating to switch off - contained some background info I'd not seen before, & it was v. useful to see a wrap-up in condensed form of the past year.
As well as general info re animals->human transmission, and how we will always be at risk of pandemics from other viruses due to humans messing up carnivorous food production & supplies, the prog highlighted to me the Chinese & our own Govt. as both criminally incompetent at various stages, along with Trump & the Brazilian president.
Oh, and btw, it was shown on ITV. [Post edited 20 Jan 18:27]
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Reply | “One Pfizer dose is not as effective as we hoped”
at 05:04 20 Jan 2021
IF the Pfizer vaccine is only 32% effective for the over 60s & even that degree of immunity such as it is lasts for only 21 days, and if no 2nd jab within Pfizer's recommended time frame of 3-4 weeks were available, then speaking as an over 70s with underlying health conditions that first jab would be completely pointless as far as I'm concerned - I'd never risk stopping shielding & going out for a couple of weeks if I was still 68% unprotected by a vaccine. |
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Reply | Raab - we may not be able to guarantee a 2nd dose in 12 weeks
at 23:51 17 Jan 2021
"Rapid hearbeat" - has your GP ever suggested you wear a heart monitor for 24 hrs to check for arrhythmia, Debsy? I did that about 15 months ago for an intermittent arrhythmia that grew increasingly worse over 25 years, to the extent that it caused such shortness of breath I couldn't even walk a few steps when it was happening.
SVT was found (similar to the one Tony Blair had, there are various types of it) as a result of which I had an ablation at the LGI in Dec '18 (only 24 hrs in hosp) - 90% successful which meant I've been able to return to near-normal (& it can be repeated if I want the other 10%).
Worth a shot? |
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Reply | Raab - we may not be able to guarantee a 2nd dose in 12 weeks
at 18:36 17 Jan 2021
Does this concern anyone else or is it just me ..?
https://bylinetimes.com/2021/01/04/vaccine-minister-nadhim-zahawi-family-set-up-
"The wife of Vaccine Deployment Minister Nadhim Zahawi is the owner and director of a newly-established medical company, Companies House records show.
Lana Saib is listed as the owner, with a 75%+ shareholding, of a firm called ‘Warren Medical Limited‘. The company was incorporated on 10 June 2020 under the name “Zahawi Warren Limited”, before being changed a day later to its current title.
On its Companies House page, Saib’s firm is listed as trading in real estate, yet its name clearly indicates a healthcare specialism. The company does not appear to have a website that could provide more information.
The two other directors of the company – Ahmad Shanshal and Jaafar Shanshal – are the sons of Zahawi and Saib. Indeed, in May 2019, Zahawi tweeted a picture of his son’s Princeton University thesis, which featured the name “Ahmad Shanshal”.
Saib and the Shanshal brothers are also directors of two other family-run firms: Zahawi and Zahawi Limited, and Zahawi Properties Limited. Nadhim Zahawi – Conservative MP for Stratford-on-Avon since May 2010 – was a founding director of Zahawi and Zahawi, a buy-to-let housing company, established in June that year.
The politician resigned his official role in the company in January 2018, after being appointed as an Education Minister, transferring his shares to Lana Saib. It is believed that Zahawi and Zahawi holds a property portfolio of at least £25 million.
//Photo - 2020 SPOTLIGHT
The Great Procurement Scandal
Sam Bright//
Following a Government reshuffle in July 2019, Zahawi was appointed as Under-Secretary of State for Business and Industry – a role he still holds. Following the development of multiple vaccines to address the COVID-19 pandemic, Zahawi was also appointed as Under-Secretary of State for COVID-19 Vaccine Deployment in November 2020, working within the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC).
The Ministerial Code stipulates that ministers “must ensure that no conflict of interest arises, or could reasonably be perceived to arise, between their public duties and their private interests, financial or otherwise”. While little is known about the new medical company run by Zahawi’s family, it is reasonable to suggest that there may be a considerable risk of the project causing a perceived conflict of interest, at the very least.
MPs are also required to declare conflicts of interest, which are then publicly released. Zahawi’s register of interests, as of 7 December 2020, did not note his family’s role in Warren Medical Limited.
The experience of the Zahawi family in healthcare is also unclear. While Zahawi and Saib have engaged in various business projects – Zahawi has even gone into business with Lana Saib’s brother, Broosk – it doesn’t appear as though either have a background in medical trading.
While there is no suggestion of wrongdoing on the part of Zahawi’s family, it is unclear how this new business corresponds with his ministerial responsibilities.
A DHSC spokesperson said: “There is no conflict of interest. This company has never been active and has never made a financial transaction, and any suggestion of wrongdoing is misleading and categorically false.”
Byline Times has approached Nadhim Zahawi for comment.
A Family Affair
This is not the first time a Government minister has faced with scrutiny about their business links during the Coronavirus pandemic.
As revealed by Byline Times in December, a firm with links to the family of Health and Social Care Secretary Matt Hancock has been awarded a £5.5 million contract for the provision of mobile testing units. The chairman of EMS Healthcare, who has been a director of the company since 2013, is Iain Johnston – a former business partner of Shirley and Robert Carter, Hancock’s mother and stepfather.
This followed a story published by the Guardian just a few weeks earlier, exposing how the Government had awarded a multi-million-pound contract for the supply of test tubes to the ex-landlord of Hancock’s local pub.
Meanwhile, the business interests of Kate Bingham – outgoing chair of the UK’s vaccine task force – have been heavily scrutinised. In November, Bingham faced questions about whether she would personally benefit from a £49 million taxpayer-backed investment into a fund run by her private equity firm.
It is often been remarked that Parliament has among the greatest concentration of millionaires in the country. A large number of MPs have extensive business ties and this income is often required to fund their campaigns. However, the way this trend seems to have manifested during the pandemic is of an entirely different order of magnitude." [Post edited 17 Jan 18:39]
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Reply | Any recommendations for PAYG mobile providers (Simcard only)?
at 18:24 17 Jan 2021
iD use Three, which seems to have zero coverage here, whereas giff-gaff use 02 which says it's 'good' (on 2G anyway).
The vodaphone thing seems to be about it having decided it's not making enough money off us very low usage customers! Came in 6 days ago on 12th Jan.
"search for 'virtual uk mobile phone networks' and find a cheaper one who use Vodafone's network without the added costs?"
- good idea, cheers 👍 |
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Thread | Any recommendations for PAYG mobile providers (Simcard only)?
at 14:18 17 Jan 2021
Was going to change to 02 but have no been on hold 22 mins just waiting to speak to an adviser, looks like this potential new customer's business is not important at all!
Horrified to find yesterday that Vodaphone who I was with, will now be charging me £365 annually for just switching my phone on whilst out walking the mutt for an hour daily, even if I make 0 calls & send 0 texts!! (complaint in the offing to Ofgem). |
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Reply | TWTD grammar help needed
at 12:24 16 Jan 2021
You're all wrong.
The correct version is actually -
For f u c k' s sake - particularly when followed by the name Lambert during any first-team ITFC game.
Apologies to any parents reading, please rest assured that your 6-year old will already have heard it at least a hundred times before in the playground. |
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