53 thoughts on “Sunday’s Papers

  1. AndyPandy

    I’d say Ryanair will quickly move to play down their letter given the new UK restrictions with tourists coming back from Spain. Such bully boys with their play-acting!

    1. Charger Salmons

      You’re out in Australia why not ask them – she’s their Queen too.
      Next time you’re allowed back in to your local Irish bar you might also ask why they still have the butcher’s apron on their flag as well.
      Fair dinkum Crocodile Navan.

      1. Formerly known as @ireland.com

        LOL – Aus doesn’t have a royal family, they use the German family that lives in England. I am shocked that you refer to your glorious flag as the butcher’s apron. A bit of slip for a loyal subject. You would know that the English House of Commons act of 1865 forced all colonies to use the apron as part of any flag they might come up with. Since then, the propoganda has been that it was the will of the people. PM Menzies changed the main flag from red to blue, so that it wouldn’t look like a communist flag.

      1. George

        Biggest myth ever. When the queen starts taking selfies with people I will believe those inflated figures trotted out by royalists.

      2. Ginger

        If the whole British isles did a New Zealand for a month we could wipe the virus out and maybe people within the British isles could holiday on the British isles

        Remember Ireland and the UK were rabies free when no animals were allowed in without quarantine from outside these isles

        It’s very worrisome as Europe cannot secure its borders and its looking like wave 2 has started

        Problem is the hatchet is far from buried over past history

  2. GiggidyGoo

    The eviction ban from 1st August will only be for tenants who self declare that they have lost their jobs due to Covid. The nationwide ban therefore will be dropped from August 1.
    Then back to normal from January.

  3. SOQ

    How much do face masks actually help? Carl Heneghan and Tom Jefferson

    The small number of trials and lateness in the pandemic cycle is unlikely to give us reasonably clear answers and guide decision-makers. This abandonment of the scientific modus operandi and lack of foresight has left the field wide open for the play of opinions, radical views and political influence.

    https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/how-much-do-face-masks-actually-help-

    Carl Heneghan is professor of evidence-based medicine at the University of Oxford and director of the Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine.

    The question that keeps popping up in my mind is- what does political interference or political lobbying actually mean? Who is doing it and why?

      1. SOQ

        And as before- they were also exposed to SARS-Cov-1- it has been suggested that this pattern is replicated across all such countries- research is ongoing but they are apparently very similar viruses, hence the names.

        They used masks in Wuhan right from the start of the outbreak of course.

    1. George

      We know that the virus is transmitted by droplets from people’s mouths and noses. We don’t have time to do a controlled clinical trial to prove exactly how much is caught by a mask.

      Honestly I doubt you’re that good looking just wear a mask.

      1. f_lawless

        George there already have been several randomised control trials carried out on the community-based use of face masks during an influenza pandemic. The WHO reviewed 10 of them in 2019.

        Quote:
        “OVERALL RESULT OF EVIDENCE ON FACE MASKS

        Ten RCTs were included in the meta-analysis, and there was no evidence that face masks are effective in reducing transmission of laboratory-confirmed influenza. “

        https://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/329438/9789241516839-eng.pdf?ua=1
        (page 26)

        Then, in light of the WHO’s policy turnabout, there’s this statement, July 12th, from BBC’s medical correspondent, Deborah Cohen :

        “We have been told by various sources that the WHO committee reviewing the evidence had not backed masks but recommended them due to political lobbying. This point was put to the WHO who did not deny”

        1. Formerly known as @ireland.com

          @f_lawless – thanks, I will keep your FLU reference in mind for the next FLU epidemic. This is a different virus with different characteristics. Please explain Taiwan having only 7 deaths if the masks do nothing.

          1. SOQ

            You are in Australia- apart from the fact that they have been exposed to a very similar virus, do you honestly want to follow Taiwan’s example? Since SARS-Cov-1, their attack on civil liberties has been absolutely horrendous.

            From below-https://architectsforsocialhousing.co.uk/2020/06/11/the-science-and-law-of-refusing-to-wear-masks-texts-and-arguments-in-support-of-civil-disobedience/

            “…to track and monitor their populations — which include the mass surveillance of mobile phone, rail, and flight data; deploying hundreds of thousands of neighbourhood monitors to log the movements and temperatures of individuals; integrating health and other databases so that hospitals, clinics, and pharmacies can access the travel information of their patients; tracking down individuals suspected of being infected by looking at credit card transactions and CCTV footage; enforcing self-quarantine through a location-tracking smartphone app; requiring government-issued identity cards in order to buy SIM cards or tickets on state-run rail companies and airlines; employing colour-coded smartphone apps that tag people as green, and therefore free to travel through city checkpoints, or as orange or red, and subject to restrictions on movement; and using facial recognition algorithms to identify commuters who aren’t wearing a mask or who aren’t wearing one properly.”

            Is that what you want???

  4. Charger Salmons

    Just 10 people in hospital throughout Ireland and only five ill enough to be in ICU and the virus virtually extinct in the country.
    All without compulsory mask-wearing until recently.
    None of the staff at any of my local supermarkets have worn a mask through the entire pandemic.
    But the most ludicrous sight of all is face nappy-wearing politicians taking them off when they make a speech telling everyone how important it is to wear them.
    Because according to their crazed logic speaking is more likely to spread C-19 than simply breathing.
    They’re matched only by an unquestioning media too afraid to challenge government decisions that are based on wholly questionable scientific data.

    1. SOQ

      More to the point- why is your beloved Boris wearing a mask? He already had it so it is highly likely that he is immune.

      1. George

        He very likely has no immunity.

        “In the first longitudinal study of its kind, scientists analysed the immune response of more than 90 patients and healthcare workers at Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS foundation trust and found levels of antibodies that can destroy the virus peaked about three weeks after the onset of symptoms then swiftly declined.

        Blood tests revealed that while 60 per cent of people marshalled a ‘potent’ antibody response at the height of their battle with the virus, only 17 per cent retained the same potency three months later. Antibody levels fell as much as 23-fold over the period. In some cases, they became undetectable.”

        https://www.irishtimes.com/news/health/immunity-to-covid-19-could-be-lost-in-months-study-suggests-1.4303316

        1. SOQ

          My understanding is that long term immunity comes from T Cells not anti bodies. This is the reason why people are still immune to SARS-Cov-1 seventeen years later?

        2. f_lawless

          Very biased Irish times article. “T cells” only appears in two sentences of the whole article.

          Here’s an article published in the Financial Times (free to read) going into more in depth on the key role they play:

          https://www.ft.com/content/5cf2ee49-df7a-4990-b337-860cf7737b2f

          ” T-cells: the missing link in coronavirus immunity?

          Evidence emerges that hard-to-measure cells are as vital as antibodies for conquering Covid-19

          Scientists who have spent months focused on the role of antibodies in fighting Covid-19 are beginning to suspect that a lesser known part of the immune system is equally crucial: T-cells.

          1. SOQ

            If they can test for T Cells from SARS-Cov-1, surely it should only require a modification to test for SARS-Cov-2?

      1. Charger Salmons

        My local boozer isn’t closed though.
        But I care about the livelihoods of the many people and their families who rely on the hospitality and tourism sector and who are staring at a grim future.
        You will be squealing like a stuck pig on here when the true enormity of the damage to Ireland’s economy is revealed.

        1. Rosette of Sirius

          Grim? Alive. A country you’ve referenced – amongst others – as a beacon for COVID recovery is Austria. I have a place there just outside of Innsbruck. Not been there since February but friends there tell me things are staring to spiral out of control again. People travelling all over the continent on holidays, Bars and cafes closing early or not opening at all as as staff are falling ill. Continental Europe is ahead of us here in opening their economies and they will be ahead of us in the next wave that will hit them.

          It’s a Sophie’s choice.

          1. Lush

            I disagree.
            France has been open for many weeks now. The tourist trap where I live (over 1 million visitors/year) is heaving. Mostly with domestic tourists, but also from many EU countries. So far, the local hospital, which is a designated COVID centre, has had no admissions, and around 10 positives per week.
            We shall see.

          2. Charger Salmons

            Multiply that by tourist regions all over Europe and countries that have had bars and restaurants open for many weeks and you can see how little the virus has returned.
            And how expensively misguided the Irish approach has been.
            Ireland has long since passed the point where a minuscule number of deaths of very old people with existing medical conditions was worth the enormous economic,social and mental health damage currently being inflicted in this country.

    2. Formerly known as @ireland.com

      @Charage: “Just 10 people in hospital throughout Ireland and only five ill enough to be in ICU and the virus virtually extinct in the country. All without compulsory mask-wearing until recently.”

      There are over 1750 dead in Ireland,. That is not a success. Taiwan as 7 deaths, masks have been compulsory from the start. I will follow their lead, rather than a mostly harmless BS troll.

  5. Johnny Green

    plus ça change.

    oh…application signed by Mr Micheál MARTIN,Minister for Foreign Affairs, for state aid for Johnny Rohan.

    “State aid NN 30/2009 (ex N 660/2008)—Ireland
    Hotel Capital Allowances for the Ritz-Carlton Hotel, Powerscourt, Co. Wicklow”) By electronic notification registered on 19 December 2008 at the Commission (SANI1856), the Irish authorities notified the Commission of their intention to grant regional aid under the guidelines on national regional aid for 2007-2013 (‘RAG 2007-2013’)1 for an investment project for the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Powerscourt, Co. Wicklow.

    https://ec.europa.eu/competition/state_aid/cases/231362/231362_1209973_68_2.pdf

    This aid granted by the state as direct by Martin was so BIG-it required EU approval!

    1. GiggidyGoo

      96% (?) writedown on the original value, and a nice sop on top. Mr. Coved Joker is almost as lucky as Dinny

  6. Matt Pilates

    The Star on Sunday is really flagging for a decent headline. Disappointing stuff.

    1. bisted

      …the Covid crisis must be nearly over…herd immunity achieved…so back to islamophobia…except Rohinga or Uighers…wrong type of muslims…

      1. SOQ

        You have seen this before but feel to compelled to comment within ten minutes of my post why?

        1. SOQ

          I have a stalker- should I through out my address then play ‘chase me’?

          Love a good stalk myself.

          1. bisted

            …haven’t clicked on your links for a long time…funny enough…one of the last ones I clicked on turned out to be a porn site advertising a range of masks…not sure they would be approved off in Spar though…

          2. SOQ

            And there you are again, right on queue- nothing to contribute but still trying to get under people’s skins. Either you sit watching this site or you have a trigger setup within. Note i said within not on.

            Elia’s story is shocking- and should be shared. It is an indictment of how a society can be corrupted by good intentions. Let’s hope it never happens here.

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