The Jam Jam

Schools have more children attending than in the first lockdown. I have total sympathy for working parents who want their children educated properly. But at the same time it defeats the purpose of the lock down and shutting schools if they have a large attendance.

There is also the pressure on teachers expected to teach and set and mark online work. And the children who have no access to broadband or a laptop. Cluelesss Williamson apparently turned down free broadband for these children last week – what a horrible specimen he is; both useless and vindictive. What planning was put in place over the last 6 months before this predictable second wave occurred (and it was predicted – it might be worse than predicted, but all people with functioning brains knew it was coming.

Will there need to be a distinction between essential workers and critical workers? Certainly if the infection rate does not start to fall imminently I suspect this distinction will have to be made, at least for the 3 weeks to see if the infection rate -r- can fall below 1. in Essex it must have been much higher. Thought, how is the r number affected by the speed of transition, I know it should not really matter but…?

Britain will soon have 2 new “news channels’ from the likes of Fox News. Those who criticise the BBC should be careful what they wish for. At least with the BBC any perceived bias from left or right is fiercely debated. This will not happen with news channels promoted by the like of Murdoch and Discovery. These channels will have no duty to the public, they will be free to peddle the false news of the kind that propelled Trump to his Presidency. The British public have shown themselves equally mall-able to false news, so could we be seeing the development of yet more media promoting populism.

Populism – what an oxymoronic word? Let us all vote for less tax – until we need the NHS, or other services. More tax would be sensible at the moment – especially the rich who have made billions due to share rises in lock down. Unfortunately the centre left and right is too liberal to demand constraints on this pernicious influence on our democracy.

I guess I need to say something! The guy is an idiot! But worse he is now causing deaths due to his irrational rants. Twitter has taken his feed down – probably to ensure they are not prosecuted for encouraging insurrection. Could it happen here?

I know its only 4 days since last statistical post, but the figures are horrendous, and its 13 days since idiot Johnson let people meet for Xmas! Although the figures are 6 days behind.

Against my basic instinct of the freedom of the individual I think there is a duty for all citizens to do so. I have discussed this with a friend but my view has modified. We all have a duty to keep each other safe. I am concerned at the governments lazier fair attitude, mixing the 2 injections surely cannot be sensible, given that certain tests have still not been completed.

And why is the government not preparing to administer the vaccine much faster? I know the supplies are not there yet, but pharmacists have said they could inoculate 1.3 million per week. And I am aware of shortages of glass vials and needles – but fail to believe these cannot be solved in weeks.

And the government says it will encourage more fines for non-compliance with laws – will they empower more people to administer fines. Locally there are still people not wearing a mask in the shop – I do not expect the police to be outside all the time, but an intelligent timing of an infrequent visit would probably have the desired effect of ensuring compliance.

EDUCATION

Winnie the Pooh would have more idea of what to do than the DofE! My view. There are certain standards needed by employers regarding Maths and English. Therefore a basic levels certificate needs to be available. Whether this is by a shortish test in the summer, or by teacher assessment (I prefer the former), could be decided. A Levels could be reduced to one exam per subject. As numbers are lower an exam could still take place. Surely a skills based exam could be devised that identified ability rather than memory or coaching!

But why has there not been a plan B being developed for months? Is Williamson actually a dormouse?

Makes me think of the government as animals. Williamson a dormouse, Gove a short-eared owl (looks more intelligent than he is), Johnson a cuckoo (leaves others to do the real work whilst sounding good!), doormat Hancock is like a sad looking dog who gets blamed for everything maybe Eeyore? Priti Patel a hyena living on the bones of the less fortunate – spiteful. Other suggestions welcome.