Oh,
German Police break into the home of Covid response critic Dr Andreas Noack, a nutritionist, during a livestream as he apparently falls foul of Germany’s new rona laws.
Not sure what he did wrong, but under a new law called Netzwerkdurchsetzungsgesetz social networks have to take down “blatantly illegal” hate speech within 24 hours.
That’ll learn him.
Just got this letter in through the door. A referral was first sent in 2011. It was then picked up by @tusla in 2015. A retrospective investigation began in 2018 & in 2020 they have concluded their investigation. Sitting here balling my fucking eyes out. I can’t believe it pic.twitter.com/mXTTIOsCy0
— Mick Finnegan (@Mick_Finnegan) November 19, 2020
This morning.
Nine years.
Meanwhile…
Mick Finnegan (37) from Crumlin, in south inner city Dublin, was 12 when he joined the voluntary paramedic organisation St John Ambulance in the 1990s. He was about 14 when he was abused by a senior figure in the ambulance service…
Finnegan grew up in Crumlin, an area he says was “destroyed with drugs” during the 1980s and 1990s. He was the eldest of four children and says his mother was delighted when he became involved with the organisation as he was steering clear of crime.
The grooming started shortly after he joined the Old Kilmainham division of St John Ambulance as a youth member or “cadet”. [More at link below]
St John Ambulance child sex abuse: ‘I remember not being believed’ (Irish Times, August 17)
We don’t always find, all of our sheep. #mustering Don’t ask me how? cos I don’t know. pic.twitter.com/pvmXuc1E06
— IrelandsFarmers (@IrelandsFarmers) November 19, 2020
‘sup?
The government told him to do it.
This morning.
The first swab at a drive-thru rona test centre opened earlier at Dubln Airport and operated by private healthcare company Rocdoc, which offers the service to people who have not been referred by a GP.
A walk-in test centre will open next week, and they will allow Dublin Airport to process up to 12,000 tests per day in the run up to Christmas.
You give them money.
They stick a thing up your nose.
Win/win.
All three teacher unions have expressed concern around the ability of schools to keep classrooms both well ventilated and warm over the coming months
This morning.
Representatives from four trade unions representing teachers and other school workers are due before the Joint Committee on Education to discuss the safe running of schools under rona restrictions…
Via RTÉ:
…the Teachers’ Union of Ireland will tell politicians that many second level school buildings are not fit for purpose. The union says air quality metres should be installed in every classroom, to ensure that students and teachers are not forced to teach and learn in freezing cold classrooms.
The Association of Secondary Teachers has echoed that call. It says its research shows that 84% of schools where it has members do not have a dedicated ventilation system.
Primary teachers’ union, the Irish National Teachers Organisation, has also expressed concern that a grant given to schools last week, to allow for minor works to be carried out, will not be sufficient to allow them to install air-monitoring systems.
The trade union representing Special Needs Assistants, Fórsa,will tell politicians it remains concerned at the lack of clarity regarding the provision of PPE to schools staff, and specifically to SNA’s and Bus Escorts who accompany children with disabilities on public transport.
Union concerns at ability to keep classrooms both ventilated and warm (RTÉ)
From top: The US Election as called by Associated Press and other news outlets; Deadlines for election counts in disputed states.
This morning.
A state by state guide and deadlines for the final counts in the US Presidential Election.
Via Reuters:
Arizona:
The case: The Arizona Republican Party is trying to block the certification of the election results in the state’s most populous county, Maricopa, until the court rules on the party’s lawsuit asking for a new hand count of a sampling of ballots. An audit already completed by the county found no discrepancies, officials said.
What happened: The judge has not issued a decision. A hearing in the case is scheduled for Wednesday.
Georgia:
The case: A high-profile conservative attorney, L. Lin Wood Jr., has sued in an attempt to block the certification of election results in Georgia. Wood alleges Georgia illegally changed the process for handling absentee ballots. Georgia’s deputy secretary of state has called Wood’s case a “silly, baseless claim.”
What happened: A judge has scheduled a hearing for Thursday to consider a request for a temporary restraining order to halt certification.
Michigan:
The case: Trump’s campaign is trying to block the certification of election results in the state, alleging that election officials “allowed fraud and incompetence to corrupt the conduct of the 2020 general election.” Trump’s legal team alleges that their observers were prevented from being able to properly watch the vote counting, that ineligible ballots were counted and that Republican challenges to ballots were ignored. Another lawsuit filed this week on behalf of two poll challengers asks a court to halt the certification of election results until an independent audit is completed to “ensure the accuracy and integrity of the election.”
What happened: There have been no decisions in either case. Judges have already swatted down several other Republican efforts to block certification in the Detroit area. Wayne County, which is home to Detroit, unanimously certified its election results on Tuesday, hours after Republicans first blocked formal approval of voters’ intentions – although they appear now to be rowing back on that.
Nevada:
The case: Trump’s campaign is asking a judge to nullify Nevada’s election results or set them aside and declare him the winner, arguing that illegal or improper votes were cast and the use of optical scanning to process signatures on mail-in ballots violated state law. The Trump lawsuit, filed Tuesday, rehashes arguments that judges in Nevada and elsewhere have already rejected. It claims that votes were cast on behalf of dead people, that election observers weren’t allowed to witness “key points” of processing and that people on American Indian territories were illegally given incentives to vote. In a separate court filing this week, a voting watchdog group led by a conservative former state lawmaker wants a judge to block statewide certification of the election.
What happened: There have been no rulings in either case.
Pennysylvania:
The case: A Trump campaign case aims to stop the state from certifying the election, alleging Philadelphia and six counties wrongly allowed voters to correct problems with mail-in ballots that were otherwise going to be disqualified for a technicality, like lacking a secrecy envelope or a signature. The total number of affected ballots was not expected to come anywhere close to Biden’s margin of more than 80,000 votes.
What happened: Trump’s personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, signed onto the case this week after others abruptly withdrew, and the former New York City mayor argued in court on Tuesday for the first time since the 1990s. Giuliani made wild, unsupported allegations of a nationwide conspiracy by Democrats to steal the election. The judge did not immediately issue a ruling and canceled a hearing that was set for Thursday but set out a schedule for both sides to make new filings this week.
Wisconsin:
The case: Trump’s campaign on Wednesday filed for a recount in the counties that cover Milwaukee and Madison, both Democratic strongholds. It alleged — again without evidence — that absentee ballots were illegally altered or issued and that government officials violated state law.
What happened: Biden leads Trump by 20,000 votes statewide. The recount requested by Trump will begin Friday and has to be complete by 1 December, the deadline for the vote to be certified at the state level. State and local elections officials reiterated that there was no evidence to back up the claims Trump was making.
Trump rails against election defeat as US Covid deaths top 250,000 – live updates (The Guardian)
Meanwhile…
Oh.
FIGHT!
“Drop and Roll” — How The 2020 Election Was Stolen From President Donald Trump (Gateway Pundit)
Bringing #Ireland‘s History to Life. 🇮🇪🌼
My colourised 1890s Robert French photo featuring Prince Albert’s statue by John Henry Foley together with its companion sculptures representing Art, Science, Industry and Agriculture on Leinster Lawn in #Dublin.#IrishHistory #History pic.twitter.com/cbstlUn5js— Rob Cross (@RobCross247) November 18, 2020
He’s still in the hood.
Last night.
Grafton Street, Dublin 2.
From top: Tereza Mytakou (left) from Greece and Merve Ataman from Turkey, both Phd students in TCD; health care workers Sinead Lynch (left) and Caoimhe Clark; Alison Smithers (left) with Ella, Peaches and Michelle Flaherty; Zdenek Raiser and Martina Melikova and their daughter Anna.
The new normal.
Yesterday: No Quarter Given
This morning/afternoon.
A report by the Health Information and Quality Authority (Hiqa) – based on ‘international evidence gathered by researchers’ – shows that while the rona spreads easiest indoors, schools are not a ‘major source’ of infection as they are ‘supervised’ settings.
Via Irish Examiner:
The report singled out drinking and dining indoors, shouting or singing, and prolonged face-face conversation in crowded poorly ventilated settings as factors increasing the spread of coronavirus.
“Consistent evidence” that the virus does not spread as easily outdoors was cited in the report however clusters from outdoor settings were noted.
The report also emphasised the distinction between controlled and uncontrolled environments when communicating Covid-19 risk to the public.
It said a house party was “unsupervised” while schools were “supervised“. The report said this environment impacts a person’s awareness of public health measures.
Schools in Ireland according to the data gathered in the report have not been a major source of Covid-19 infections….
Anyone?
Covid-19 spreads easiest indoors but schools not major source, says Hiqa (Irish Examiner)
Meanwhile…
This illustrates the difference from a controlled vand uncontrolled environment mentioned in the article. pic.twitter.com/VrXHDlBtco
— melissa ocallaghan (@melissaocallag1) November 18, 2020
The paediatric outpatient and urgent care centre at Tallaght University Hospital is contractually scheduled to be completed in February 2021
This morning/afternoon.
Members of National Paediatric Hospital Development Board (NPHDB) appeared before the joint Oireachtas Health Committee….
In an opening statement David Gunning, chief officer of board, says since the project started the contractors, BAM, have made “hundreds of millions of euros” in extra claims.
This is consuming a significant amount of executive and project-team time
Mr Gunning states: “In December 2018, the Government approved an investment decision of €1.433bn for the project.
He said there are “a number of exceptions” that have always been outside of this investment, and for which there cannot be price certainty at this point, or for the duration of the project.
“These include, for example, national construction inflation in excess of 4pc, any changes in scope resulting from healthcare policy change, statutory changes and the Employment Order.
“The last time the NPHDB was before the Oireachtas Committee on Health, in November 2019, we advised the committee that the main contractor was behind schedule on the construction works.
“At that time, the delay was four months, and it was our view that the main contractor could have made up the time. However, by the time the main contractor closed the site in March as a result of the Covd-19 restrictions, the delay had increased to six months….”
National Children’s hospital delayed again as August 2022 deadline will not be met (Independent.ie)
Meanwhile…
Róisín Shortall TD, co-leader of the Social Democrats, said:
“It was disappointing to hear in the board’s opening statement that there have been hundreds of claims for hundreds of millions of euro in relation to this development.
What was particularly frustrating, however, was the inability of NHPDB to give us a working assumption of both the estimated completion date and estimated total cost of the hospital project.
“Given the evidence we have heard here today, it is not credible for the board to talk about working towards the original completion date. More than nine months of progress has been lost this year alone and who knows what else is going to hold this project up.
“It is concerning that NHPDB cannot provide details of expected cost overruns or a breakdown of the legal fees contained in the €1.433 billion estimate for the project.
Ms Shortall added:
“The board said today it will not be in a position to provide an update on the costs and timeline of the National Children’s Hospital project until the first quarter of 2021. We need to bring NHPDB before the Health Committee again in January to answer pre-set questions that the public and taxpayer are entitled to.
“It is highly unsatisfactory that that board was not able to answer our questions today and it is not an acceptable way for a public body to operate.”
