brexit

COVID-19: what health experts could and could not predict | Nature Medicine
Devi Sridhar in Nature: “Nearly a year after the first cases of COVID-19 were reported, it is time to look back and assess what could have been predicted by health experts.”
(tags: science covid19 pandemic medicine)
I thrived on the tension and drama of British politics. Then I had a heart attack | Health & wellbeing | The Guardian
“I lived for the nerve-shredding rollercoaster of Westminster. But the stress got under my skin, and into my blood”
(tags: twitter Politics brexit journalism health)
I’d love to ignore ‘Covid sceptics’ and their tall tales. But they make a splash and have no shame | Media | The Guardian
Neil O’Brien on the fantasies of those in the media, and beyond, who oppose lockdown. There have been a few articles like this recently, hopefully it marks a tide rising against the loonies.
(tags: covid19 science lockdown pandemic)
Rise of the Coronavirus Cranks – Quillette
Another demolition of the smiley face crew.
(tags: twitter pandemic covid19 science)

My Brexit hell | Robert Hutton | The Critic Magazine
“What was Brexit like? America’s declaration of independence? A man leaving a golf club but demanding to still be allowed into the bar? Over the years, I went through a few analogies, but the one that persisted was of a married man who has for years enjoyed casually flirting with a work colleague. One evening he makes his traditional half-hearted pass, and instead of rolling her eyes, she replies: “Go on, then”. A month later, he’s living out of his car and negotiating through lawyers to see his children one weekend a month, and he can’t really tell you how it happened.”
(tags: brexit Politics funny)
Dr Andi Fugard on Twitter: “One benefit of Brexit – new jokes can be created by mildly editing old Soviet jokes. For example: A man walks into a shop. He asks the clerk, “You don’t have any meat?” The clerk says, “No, here we don’t have any fish
A Twitter thread of Soviet jokes adapted for Brexit: “One benefit of Brexit – new jokes can be created by mildly editing old Soviet jokes. For example:

A man walks into a shop. He asks the clerk, “You don’t have any meat?” The clerk says, “No, here we don’t have any fish. The shop that doesn’t have any meat is across the street.””
(tags: brexit funny doom politics)

radicle
Distributed GitHub, bit like that Gittorrent thing but seems to be actively maintained.
(tags: git collaboration p2p)

No, 90% Of Coronavirus Tests Are Not ‘False Positives’ And This Is Why | HuffPost UK
Bayes for the win.
(tags: mathematics covid19 bayes-theorem)
The UK Government’s Vaccine Taskforce: strategy for protecting the UK and the world – The Lancet

(tags: vaccination covid19 medicine)

Covid-19: Do many people have pre-existing immunity? | The BMJ
Non-bonkers article on pre-existing immunity.
(tags: covid19 coronavirus immunity)
The importance of Nigel Farage and other political hobgoblins – The Law and Policy Blog
“Farage is a political hobgoblin.

He appears where there are cracks between the government and the governed, as a purveyor of easy answers.”
(tags: ukip brexit nigel-farage covid19)

The BMJ interview: Chris Whitty, England’s chief medical officer, on covid-19 | The BMJ

(tags: covid19 medicine)

Boris Johnson: The gambler, by Tom Bower book review
“Boris Johnson: an amoral figure for a bleak, coarse culture
By Rory Stewart” Oof!
(tags: boris-johnson politics)

Boris Johnson cannot win the battle for the union | The New European
“A once great power carving itself up into smaller and smaller units, for no discernible purpose. That is what English nationalism has created. A man alone in a raft, lost at sea, insisting he is a navy.”
(tags: scotland england boris brexit Politics)
The Scourge of Hygiene Theater – The Atlantic
Deep cleans don’t help when most transmission is airbourne.
(tags: covid19 epidemic hygiene)
Why the Pandemic Is So Bad in America – The Atlantic
Not just Trump, but a lot of Trump.
(tags: usa covid19 politics epidemic)

Brexit is a necessary crisis – it reveals Britain’s true place in the world | David Edgerton | Opinion | The Guardian
Makes the point that the Tories are no longer the party of business. As a result “The state can no longer undertake the radical planning and intervention that might make Brexit work. That would require not only an expert state, but one closely aligned with business. The preparations would by now be very visible at both technical and political levels. But we have none of that.”
(tags: capitalism business conservatives brexit)