The off topic thread 4.0

[WealstoneRaider]

Government would have been much better off saying that there were extenuating circumstances, but they have asked police to investigate and if appropriate issue a fine. Just paying a fine would at least send a message that it was the wrong thing to do (although from the sounds of it there is a reason for doing what he did that I would consider as a parent if I was in the same boat).

Stumbling around trying to justify how it didn't break the rules was probably the worst thing about this.

I do think the reaction is over the top, and I hate this mentality in Britain (maybe in Australia too nowadays?) that people have to pay for anything with their job. You want your best people working through this crisis. I know people will disagree that Cummings is one of them and I know next to nothing about him other than he is widely disliked. But do we really want key advisors sitting at home instead of doing their job. It was the same with that Scottish medical advisor, and the Fergusson scientist. It was stupid what they did but I though what a waste it was that they're not involved any more.

It's stoked by the press, and they will be happy to keep this dominating the news for as long as it takes when IMO there are much more important things to worry about.

For me, certain parts of the press are doing as much to confuse and undermine the government message as anyone, and it saddens me when I think of the role they could have played through this crisis if they weren't so s**t.

Well said

 

[moomba]

Depressing press conference from all sides now. A "he's done nothing wrong, lets move on" whitewash from Johnson. Couple of questions from the public on schools and shops re-opening, then the media questions are nothing but Cummings.

What a waste of time. They should all be ashamed of themselves.

 

[SM]

Jacinda Ardern Reacted Like A Champ To A 5.8 Magnitude Earthquake Interrupting A Live TV Spot

She had been speaking about her fiancé's sheds.

www.pedestrian.tv

******* lol.

 

[ADL9798]

Government would have been much better off saying that there were extenuating circumstances, but they have asked police to investigate and if appropriate issue a fine. Just paying a fine would at least send a message that it was the wrong thing to do (although from the sounds of it there is a reason for doing what he did that I would consider as a parent if I was in the same boat).

Stumbling around trying to justify how it didn't break the rules was probably the worst thing about this.

I do think the reaction is over the top, and I hate this mentality in Britain (maybe in Australia too nowadays?) that people have to pay for anything with their job. You want your best people working through this crisis. I know people will disagree that Cummings is one of them and I know next to nothing about him other than he is widely disliked. But do we really want key advisors sitting at home instead of doing their job. It was the same with that Scottish medical advisor, and the Fergusson scientist. It was stupid what they did but I though what a waste it was that they're not involved any more.

It's stoked by the press, and they will be happy to keep this dominating the news for as long as it takes when IMO there are much more important things to worry about.

For me, certain parts of the press are doing as much to confuse and undermine the government message as anyone, and it saddens me when I think of the role they could have played through this crisis if they weren't so s**t.

I agree that the clamour to sack people in high profile roles for any misstep is unhelpful at times and a lazy view of what it means to hold someone accountable for their actions. Having said that, I still view accountability as an important mechanism to preserve trust in the integrity of institutions like government as well as to ensure ongoing high performance, but there are other ways to achieve it.

Your suggestion that he should put his hand up and pay the fine like anyone else caught out in this scenario is sensible I think, an acknowledgement that this was a mistake from someone who knew better and a public apology would also be appropriate at a bare minimum, and would demonstrate to the public that the people who write the rules they are expected to follow do not view themselves as above them, and actually believe in their importance.

The risk the government have created in not responding in this way, is that (taking their cues from the top) members of the public may now view mandated isolation and quarantine as optional under some non-urgent circumstances, undermining these vital health protection regulations and making them difficult to enforce. It also reinforces perceptions of the political elite as entitled.

It seems Johnson & co have decided that this is a worthwhile price to pay to avoid any public critique of Cummings, which as a trade off is obviously up for debate. Interestingly, it suggests he is probably viewed as indispensable by Johnson and his cabinet, to the point that they are all willing to take a hit to their own credibility to protect him.

 

[WealstoneRaider]

I agree that the clamour to sack people in high profile roles for any misstep is unhelpful at times and a lazy view of what it means to hold someone accountable for their actions. Having said that, I still view accountability as an important mechanism to preserve trust in the integrity of institutions like government as well as to ensure ongoing high performance, but there are other ways to achieve it.

Your suggestion that he should put his hand up and pay the fine like anyone else caught out in this scenario is sensible I think, an acknowledgement that this was a mistake from someone who knew better and a public apology would also be appropriate at a bare minimum, and would demonstrate to the public that the people who write the rules they are expected to follow do not view themselves as above them, and actually believe in their importance.

The risk the government have created in not responding in this way, is that (taking their cues from the top) members of the public may now view mandated isolation and quarantine as optional under some non-urgent circumstances, undermining these vital health protection regulations and making them difficult to enforce. It also reinforces perceptions of the political elite as entitled.

It seems Johnson & co have decided that this is a worthwhile price to pay to avoid any public critique of Cummings, which as a trade off is obviously up for debate. Interestingly, it suggests he is probably viewed as indispensable by Johnson and his cabinet, to the point that they are all willing to take a hit to their own credibility to protect him.

Subsequent post is a bit of an upgrade on “s**t weasel”

 

[ADL9798]

Subsequent post is a bit of an upgrade on “s**t weasel”

*Entitled sociopathic weasel

 

[moomba]

Harsh but fair Elmer_Judd

 

[Bojan KantKick]

 

[Zidane98]

Boris announces all non essential retail to reopen on Jun 15, encourages citizens to spemd money to revive the economy.

 

[Latro]

 

[Bojan KantKick]

Next stage of lockdown begins on Monday. 6 people in a garden 2 metres apart from one another.

 

[Zidane98]

Just a slight error. Bloody hell.

 

[WealstoneRaider]

I wonder if the riots in Minnesota are going to start spreading like they did in London in 2011

 

[Loonerty]

I wonder if the riots in Minnesota are going to start spreading like they did in London in 2011

I hope it causes something to change but I doubt it.

 

[SM]

 

[Bojan KantKick]

 

[WealstoneRaider]

I hope it causes something to change but I doubt it.

Do you advocate burning down your own neighbourhood to achieve it though? Like the London riots, the overwhelming majority don’t get involved for political reasons but do so to act out wanton violence and damage. It’s all a big laugh to them. Oh and a free TV

 

[Loonerty]

Do you advocate burning down your own neighbourhood to achieve it though? Like the London riots, the overwhelming majority don’t get involved for political reasons but do so to act out wanton violence and damage. It’s all a big laugh to them. Oh and a free TV

I'm not in a position to judge the motvations of those involved necessarily and I'd rather violence always be avoided but it's just a pressure cooker situation and I don't necessarily blame them for their reaction.

 

[WealstoneRaider]

I'm not in a position to judge the motvations of those involved necessarily and I'd rather violence always be avoided but it's just a pressure cooker situation and I don't necessarily blame them for their reaction.

“I’m not in a position to judge” is classic virtue signalling right there. Of course you can judge. If you have a mind of your own that is

 

[SM]

Do you advocate burning down your own neighbourhood to achieve it though? Like the London riots, the overwhelming majority don’t get involved for political reasons but do so to act out wanton violence and damage. It’s all a big laugh to them. Oh and a free TV

 

[Loonerty]

“I’m not in a position to judge” is classic virtue signalling right there. Of course you can judge. If you have a mind of your own that is

It's not right for me to assume that 90% of the people there are rioting because they just want to have a laugh.

 

[WealstoneRaider]

It's not right for me to assume that 90% of the people there are rioting because they just want to have a laugh.

Initially I suspect most are there under the BLM banner, but if it spreads you get people jumping on the bandwagon who just want to act out random acts of violence. I’m just stating what occurred in the U.K. riots which started off as a demonstration against the shooting of a black man. The fact that the guy was armed and a drug dealer was probably lost on most

 

[SM]

Initially I suspect most are there under the BLM banner, but if it spreads you get people jumping on the bandwagon who just want to act out random acts of violence. I’m just stating what occurred in the U.K. riots which started off as a demonstration against the shooting of a black man. The fact that the guy was armed and a drug dealer was probably lost on most

The guy killed in the US did nothing illegal but that fact seems lost too.

 

[WealstoneRaider]

The guy killed in the US did nothing illegal but that fact seems lost too.

I don’t think it’s known what he was arrested for yet Was he armed, resisting arrest, its not come out yet.

 

[SM]

I don’t think it’s known what he was arrested for yet Was he armed, resisting arrest, its not come out yet.

He was reported because he paid for something with a cheque that the shopowner believed to be dodgy.