Topic: Local News

[6pairsofshoes]

That does sound like a nightmare.  Hopefully the bikers will just move onto other safer streets.

Our town has instituted a series of 'Slow Streets' allowing mostly pedestrian and bike traffic, with only local traffic allowed (like cars cutting through from one street to another when there is no other connecting street), no driving down the street, in other words.  It makes for some creative re-routing when driving, but it's nice to see families and kids strolling down the streets.

[smokester]

I know a lot of places have been criticising certain people's attitude to the lockdown and comparing one with another. Leicester, as we know, has been put back into lockdown due to their percentage of people testing positive accounting for 10% of the nation's count overall. I have heard it blamed on people their not distancing themselves from others and failures to follow the guidelines. Frankly, I think its just bad luck as here is a shot of a couple of pubs here in Battersea 2 weeks before their reopening exploiting the "take-away" rule.



You can see up the road that not only have the people failed to understand the distancing thing, but also the meaning of the term "take-away".

[6pairsofshoes]

This might seem strange to say, but I guess we should be grateful that there is not an even more serious disease with a higher fatality rate on the loose.  This is a prediction of how people behave even when death can result from irresponsible behavior.

Can you imagine how bad it would be if the pathogen was as fatal as something like Ebola?

Americans are hopeless.  Even though stores around here won't let you in without a mask, people wander the aisles with their masks pulled down below their noses, or worse.  I go as little as necessary.  The length of time this has gone on is sort of sad and frustrating, and I don't see an end in sight soon.  Now the big issue is whether to send children back to school in the Fall.  Of course the President, in his all knowing all seeing wisdom, is totally behind any activity that helps with his numbers since he seems preoccupied with getting re-elected.  I'm sure parents are at their wits' end trying to educate children at home, but I guess teachers' lives are expendable as are the school bus drivers, cafeteria workers and every other person whose occupation would be essential to this plan.

[smokester]

We might have the new G4 swine flu to deal with soon and lord knows how fatal that might turn out to be. That is unless China made the story up to demonstrate how overt and forthcoming they are when discovering new viruses.

[8ullfrog]

I sort of hate the way in this discussion, education is being treated as daycare, instead of, you know, the installation of knowledge into growing minds.

[6pairsofshoes]

I sort of hate the way in this discussion, education is being treated as daycare, instead of, you know, the installation of knowledge into growing minds.

Ha.  Most people treat educators like glorified babysitters.  They get paid poo wages and few benefits.  It's one of the most exploitative fields going.  Of course, parents assume that it's somebody else's responsibility to take their kids off their hands at the government's expense.  I expect most people want their children's minds to grow and be enriched by the experience, but they don't want to pay for it, because how hard could it be to be trained as an educator?  And, of course, Trump expects children to go to school even if we end up killing off about 14k in the process (estimated fatalities from COVID exposure is .02%).  If we won't pass common sense gun legislation to safeguard children in school, why should we give a flying you know what about their potential exposure to a deadly disease?  This country is screwed up in so many ways, I hardly know what to say.  But it's telling that nobody wants to spend the time or money to insure quality and safe education under the current situation.  They probably think moving a few desks or something should do the trick.

Needless to say, teachers are pretty unhappy with this.  https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/11/us/virus-teachers-classrooms.html?smtyp=cur&smid=fb-nytimes&fbclid=IwAR2wujipkST4fZpkMblL3ka08mxmAJG8dJIUN4Osmm-spaPKSzaV6U8u7KY

[smokester]

These days I watch more CNN news and the Euronews channel as, frankly, they are more interesting. I am left wondering where the CNN news stands with americans? I mean, here, the BBC news is considered the most reliable and impartial (the latter not an opinion everyone shares). This is then followed by Channel 4's news and then ITV's, Channel 5's and Sky news are all sort of tabloid versions that you have to take with a pinch of salt.

[6pairsofshoes]

We don't have cable so don't watch CNN except for the occasional clip posted to FB.
My general take is that they tend to sensationalize things and feel a need to fill up airtime because of their 24 hour news cycle.  We were in a hotel once and they were giving 5 minute updates a couple times each hour about a missing boy scout in Texas (who had wandered off on a camping trip and was eventually found).  Venezuela might have been melting down, but we got updates on a boy scout.  They also have foaming at the mouth op-ed programs  on current issues--mostly politics-- that are not particularly measured but good at stirring up passions.

Despite that, they don't really offer as reliable coverage as BBC World, Deutsche Welle, RT (Russia Today) or NHK World-Japan.  All of these are available via free over the air broadcasts in our market.  The US equivalent of BBC, PBS (Public Broadcasting Service), has The News Hour, a nightly hour long program that offers more in depth coverage than the major networks:   ABC, CBS, NBC.  Fox is generally understood as a partisan mouthpiece that is unreliable as a news source.  The regular network news is ok as far as it goes but often repeats information available online or via text sources earlier in the day.  Local and breaking news are often best sourced via television.  That's about it.

For newspapers, I rely on the NY Times and the Washington Post for national and international news.  That's probably more than you wanted to know.

[6pairsofshoes]

To leap in with an over-generalisation:

The issue, in these days of social media bully-boy gangs and "relative truth" is that "Americans" don't watch CNN: Republicans watch FOX, Democrats watch CNN. Democrats are appalled by the events shown on CNN, but Republicans aren't because they don't watch it (as they are convinced that they wouldn't believe it). Similarly for Fox (but the other way round, obvs.)

The BBC - along with al modern news media - suffers from the ailment that it thinks (because of the mostly unwarranted criticism of "bias") to be "impartial" it has to present both sides of an argument - even when one side is patently ridiculous. This leads to over-representation of minority and wacky positions.

It (with everyone else) also suffers from the cult of celebrity, where the "reporters" see themselves as the stars, and their interviewees as the supporting cast. They tend to the lazy point of view that the best way to the "heart of the issue" is provocative criticism: they seem to be relatively even-handed in their criticism, but that means that all parties are equally convinced that the criticism of their pet topics represents bias.

The BBC have resisted the glossy lipstick/ bouffant hair "celebrity presenter" approach to news rather better than the others (but not completely), and so are closer to "news" than the others.

In my opinion.

I'd add that, yes, Democrats tend to watch CNN.  My sister in law gets it and she has it on non-stop.  So I get treated to it there.  And find it sort of annoying, mostly because of the sensationalized aspect.  I think it was one of those Ted Turner inventions, along with TNT (Turner Network Television).  I don't think it did much to advance the cause of quality journalism in the U.S.

I also like that NHK Japan World gives the weather globally, which is pretty interesting.  It's nice to know how hot it is in Zimbabwe once in a while.  Tends to yank one out of the "where I live is the center of the universe" thinking habit.

[goldshirt*9]

I know a lot of places have been criticising certain people's attitude to the lockdown and comparing one with another. Leicester, as we know, has been put back into lockdown due to their percentage of people testing positive accounting for 10% of the nation's count overall. I have heard it blamed on people their not distancing themselves from others and failures to follow the guidelines.

The lockdown was approx 2 weeks too late, hospitals were full of "Minority" people 2 weeks after EID, first covid testing stations were put in Spinny Hill park which the local Asian community protested, Whilst videos of them playing cricket games and then the news of Sweatshops and refusal of closing them came into the national news.
Leicester city Mayor complained about this with a stating thr % of infected was wrong and they only closed Leicester due to being a Labour strong hold.The same mayor who was caught out breaking the original lockdown visiting his #friend " to do some DIY.
The present lockdown has only closed shops / pubs as people are still not social distancing, with the same communities not adhering to the rules even flaunting it, According to Mayor Soulsbry, Evington one of the most deprived areas in Leicester and has no cases.If that area is deprived I wonder what well off is as some Houses are on par with the South Coast.
Anyone and it has been published knows where the problems are but nothing will be done about it for fear of being branded a certain name.
We may be the firts to "wack a moled" but doubt the last.

[smokester]

To leap in with an over-generalisation:

The issue, in these days of social media bully-boy gangs and "relative truth" is that "Americans" don't watch CNN: Republicans watch FOX, Democrats watch CNN. Democrats are appalled by the events shown on CNN, but Republicans aren't because they don't watch it (as they are convinced that they wouldn't believe it). Similarly for Fox (but the other way round, obvs.)

The BBC - along with al modern news media - suffers from the ailment that it thinks (because of the mostly unwarranted criticism of "bias") to be "impartial" it has to present both sides of an argument - even when one side is patently ridiculous. This leads to over-representation of minority and wacky positions.

It (with everyone else) also suffers from the cult of celebrity, where the "reporters" see themselves as the stars, and their interviewees as the supporting cast. They tend to the lazy point of view that the best way to the "heart of the issue" is provocative criticism: they seem to be relatively even-handed in their criticism, but that means that all parties are equally convinced that the criticism of their pet topics represents bias.

The BBC have resisted the glossy lipstick/ bouffant hair "celebrity presenter" approach to news rather better than the others (but not completely), and so are closer to "news" than the others.

In my opinion.

This makes sense as I really asked as CNN does nothing but Trump bash. Ok, it also has a few short reports on african entrepreneurism, but mainly Trump bashing.

I got the feeling that I was not watching TV news like I might had I been in the States.

Either way, I quite enjoy the Trump bashing.

[8ullfrog]

Governor re-closed a ton of poo, and made another tone-deaf reference.

He said this isn't an on-off lightswitch, it's like a dimmer switch.

No poo Newsom. The problem is keeping the idiots hands off the bless'ed switch.

[goldshirt*9]

Our dog is poorly, Wife got him when her mother died 11 years ago and out of no where he has kidney
failure. I'm gutted, but the wife is devastated.
For the short time we are privileged to be allowed to have them it has been fun.

[6pairsofshoes]

I'm sorry for your dog's decline.  I'm sure there is an aspect of having him there that enables your mother in law to live on a bit, so if he passes away, it's another sort of finality.

My bird is recovering but still unwell.  I'm not sure if he will ever really get better.  I still haven't gotten lab results and it's been over a week.  I'm spending as much time with him as I can and giving him treats.  The fact that he has an appetite is encouraging.  He wants to play, but he's pretty weak compared to how he used to be, so that's pretty sad.

[8ullfrog]

in my locale everything is being shut again.

I made the (in my mind) humorous suggestion that if a church has a faith healer capable of curing Covid, The governor would likely issue a waiver on restrictions for said church.

On the Fox5 news facebook.

It is now reliably stated that I am Retar      D!




Everyone dancing on trump is being dumb and stunting on nothing. He's gotten away with EVERYTHING so far, there is no smoking gun.

Go back the other guy, stop trying to score dunks on ORANGE MAN.

I saw a state paid for ad where they show someone in a bed on a ventilator. AND THEN THE AD SAYS IT'S YOUR MOM.

I was about ready to go out and claim some Natzi Scalps.


I've read that Orange County (Somewhat adjacent to LA)

and Carlsbad (Somewhat adjacent to San Diego) have particularly high numbers. When asked why, a sad person said "They're prideful. They think they can't be infected, and they won't wear masks."

The virus, is apparently, something for poor people.