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I'll bet you actual money that what we'll see instead is capitalisation on this disaster to replace the NHS with a private model by hook or by crook.

QFT (in advance)

Just in case anyone was uncertain what actual honest-to-God evil looks like, here's a snippet from today's Sunday Times by Tim Shipman, their political editor:

The final paragraph implies worse.

Vital Facts About Covid-19.

The daily look of 'this wasn't supposed to happen on my watch' terror on Boris's face tells me the consequences of COVID-19 are not hype.

The scientific advice here seems to be let everyone that is young and fit get the virus, spread out the infection rate over the next couple of months, and protect the elderly and sick from infection in the mean time. Protecting everyone isn't going to solve the problem. It seems to be an odd virus - most people barely notice they are ill, whilst the very old are very vulnerable, but seasonal flu is a bit like that as well...

There is no scientific advice that says that. 'Herd Immunity' has not been proven with COVID-19 because it hasn't been around long enough and even if it does develop it might not stick. Herd Immunity is usually developed in tandem with a vaccine, which we don't have.

Stories leaking out on Facebook / Whatsapp that a Department For Communities Office in Belfast has been shut down, with staff not allowed to leave building, an entire floor shut off whilst they await the arrival of higher management to make an announcement.

Bizarrely, the fella who made the post on a Facebook group, has now taken the post down. I used to work with him, and am finding this all rather bizarre, frightening and wondering when some proper leadership and assurances will be provided by my management, my elected representatives and actual people who know what they are talking about!

The whole island needs a cross-border disease policy. There was a reason Foot and Mouth never took hold in Ireland but catastrophic in Britain.

[2:58:40]

Hey everyone here's an update.......but er.....still not happening.....


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Do3D-LlIWug


I think it's fair to say it's dead in the water.

I'm not sure what people expected to happen when it was announced this was being developed, many seem to have assumed that meant they'd have a Dredd series on their telly a year later. That's not how these things work. As someone who works on entertainment media which takes years and years and years to develop before there's anything to tell or show the public, I really don't expect you'll hear anything else until it's much, much further along. Everything in the meantime is just speculation for clickbait.

The Mr. H video smells of horsemanure. As ever with making big-budget films and TV shows the unfortunate truth is it comes down to being about money (the lack of) and trying to get a buyer/investor.

2:58:40 in this video link:

http://lecturecapture.brookes.ac.uk/Mediasite/Play/6c4ccf77104642d68ec998b760375d271d?autostart=true&player=50a54cab1d3541bc913f556ea1b6df590a&playfrom=0

When the Shinners grab the reins of power we'll have murals on every gable end.

What, buying a hundred million pound complex to convert into a film studio isn't a sign?

Exciting isnt it!!! I think when this was announced a lot of people (myself included) assumed Rebellion had pitched this to a service and it was just going to get made and funded by Netflix or whoever very soon. Turns out they're doing it absolutely all themselves down to owning the very studio it is filmed in, so it may take a while yet! It should be incredibly faithful to the comics as a result. I wonder if it was pitched first, and then the feedback about what would need changing was what spurred them on to go full DIY.

As far as we know from announcements and interviews the plan was always to make the series themselves locally, but like most big-budget productions they needed a Bags O'Money investor like Netflix or Amazon to fund/distribute it for them, and still do.

The studio was an adjunct to that idea: there's a shortage of available studio space with large studios and streaming services block-booking all major facilities, and that owning such a facility meant it could be rented-out to other productions while trying to develop in-house productions. If investment for a JD TV series is ever found they'd then have somewhere local to shoot it.

Moviedrome - The People Under The Stairs (Alex Cox)

Honestly, I'd love to see something similar here in the UK, but it's quite clearly never going to happen. The Tories are wedded to FPTP, and Labour are as well, under the delusion that sooner or later they'll win.

Why would an incumbent government ever allow a change to the system that got them elected?

Couldn't agree more.  However, the Shinners aren't doing themselves too many favours on that score either, with a TD unapologetically shouting 'Up the Ra' to celebrate his election, and supporters shouting similar boneheaded slogans on hearing news of the landslide.

I blame the BBC for making Republican songs cool and funny.

If the ancien régime continue to marginalise Sinn Féin they're more likely to retreat back to a more entrenched position and grow stronger in opposition; and the public aren't buying into the old 'but you're IRA' rhetoric they continue to throw at them. Sinn Féin aren't going anywhere so the only way to handle it is to engage them so their politics can be further normalised (which seems to be an imposssibility in the North) – isn't that how a progressive democracy is supposed to work?


Good to see the Greens reach double figures.

The fact that we need to vote green is nonsensical. They should be a permanent government department, not a party. People only need to look at this morning's weather to get a hint of the future.

What's interesting this time out is that it's clear SF and the Greens could have caused serious upset to the udual suspects if they'd run more candidates.

I think less candidates worked in their favour: they became more attractive because voting for them was less of a risk.

The show is over-written to bejaysus. I know Picard is old but the scenes feel like they were written as if he's never turned on a computer; and it doesn't help the audience much, which I assume, it's trying to do in a very artificial way.