So, welcome back on what is the International Transgender Day of Visibility. By the way, if somebody wants to write about it, and its significance, for us, that would be very gratefully received.
2 big stories
Has the Government been less than wholly accurate in its explanations over why the United Kingdom didn’t take in EU projects to bulk-buy medical kit? The Guardian has seen EU minutes which record the involvement of British officials in four meetings dating back as far as 31 January. Missing e-mails, communication confusion, or simply buck passing by HM Government? A public inquiry might not be a cheering prospect for the likes of Michael Gove and Dominic Cummings…
The Hungarian Parliament has effectively voted to abolish itself for an indefinite period, awarding sweeping powers to Prime Minister Viktor Orban including the right to rule by decree for a period without apparent limit, abolishing elections until such time as he sees fit. Can the European Union really tolerate this, and if not, what might it do to defend the rule of law? Katalin Cseh, a Hungarian liberal MEP from the Momentum Movement, said on Twitter;
Sadly, I am sure that the @EPP and @EPPGroup will find an awkward explanation why this cannot qualify as "crossing the red line". Yes, #COVID19 is a huge problem, but authoritarian measures won't scare the pandemic off. https://t.co/zmw1Q7I6mn
— Katalin Cseh (@katka_cseh) March 30, 2020
2 blog posts
I haven’t always agreed with Nick Tyrone in the past, and sometimes I’ve made that public. But he remains thought-provoking, and here he talks about putting the extremists back in their box.
I’m not talking about censorship – I was amongst those who felt that putting (Nick) Griffin on QT was a good idea in 2009 as it would expose his stupidity – I’m just saying we need to all come to our senses a little bit and stop indulging racists and tankies as if they had important things of note to say. We need to stop chasing balance in the name of common sense.
Richard Kemp thoroughly approves of something. I accept that this might be a slightly unexpected statement, but there you go. Mind you, could we disagree with these words?
We need to learn the lessons of past bail outs where the Government stood the losses and the private sector moved on to enhanced profits.
Bonus anniversary
Twenty years ago today, the London Gazette announced that “The Queen has been graciously pleased to signify her intention of conferring Peerages of the United Kingdom for Life upon the undermentioned”.
And so, happy anniversary to Tony Greaves, Lindsay Northover, Rupert Redesdale, Ros Scott, David Shutt and Joan Walmsley, at least one of whom was told, “don’t worry, you probably won’t be there long – Tony Blair’s serious about Lords Reform…”. Lest we forget, there were three other Liberal Democrat peerages announced that day – James Erskine, the Earl of Mar and Kellie, has since retired, John Roper sadly passed away in 2016, and Matthew Oakeshott had artistic differences with Nick Clegg.
So, until tomorrow morning, do enjoy, and if you see something written by a liberal that you think fellow readers might enjoy, drop me a line via our usual e-mail address.
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5 Comments
……………………………….Has the Government been less than wholly accurate in its explanations over why the United Kingdom didn’t take in EU projects to bulk-buy medical kit?……………………..
There is a fine line between making political points and holding those, in government, who make misleading statements to cover their actions, responsible…
e.g.That the government sought to mislead the public about the failure of the UK to join the EU drive to obtain ICU/PPE is now clear…The UK was represented at the procurement meetings…So much for the ‘lost e-mail’ story…It should be admitted who made the decision, and why. That same reasoning could affect future decisions and, if based on ideological rather than medical reasons, could well cost lives……
I hope I haven’t crossed that ‘fine line’?
Yesterday evening my wife developed a hacking cough, a headache and felt extremely tired…She has been in bed since 8pm and, apart from a cup of tea a few minutes ago has no interest in eating drinking..It could be nothing BUT????
Strangely she has had no close interraction with anyone but me for over two weeks..I have shopped alone twice in that period (last sunday and the sunday before) but I show no symptoms at all.
@ expats Just to say every good wish to you and your wife, expats. Best, David….
@ expats,
Likewise, best wishes to you and Mrs Expats, in the hopes that her ill health will pass quickly.
@expats
Hope your wife is feeling better soon.
Not to be an alarmist, but I guess this is advice for everyone.
What we are doing here, whenever shopping comes into the house, Everything in packaging is washed down with a bleach solution and put to the back of the cupboard (stock rotation if you like) to try and ensure that it is not used for 3 days (apparently that is how long the virus can last on hard surfaces)
All salad and veg are washed in soapy water and rinsed and dried. I know that does not sound appealing but I would rather be cautious.
I am sure most people do it anyway, but whenever we go to the wheelie bin, we make sure we sanitize hands and after the bin has been collected we make sure that the lid is bleached. Imagine how many bins the bin men are emptying and touching in a day and could be transferring the potential virus.
We do the same with Mail each day.
I know it may sound like being over-paranoid but I would rather be over cautious during this time i would hate to be cooped up all these weeks only to catch it indoors from something coming into the house
David, Mark, Matt…Thank you for your concern and best wishes…May I extend those thanks to others on here who will feel the same..Obviously, with post restrictions, I won’t be able to thank you all individually but ‘take it as read’..
A few days ago my wife was talking, by phone, to her sister and mentioned that my shopping expedition was done wearing disposable gloves (a remnant from my renovation of our French mill),,Her sister’s response that I was taking things ‘to the extreme’ made me realise that there are still those who do not understand the nature and spread of the virus..
Again thanks to all..