Saturday, May 30, 2020

Propaganda machine......

BBC GETS 40,000 COMPLAINTS IN JUST TWO DAYS AFTER EMILY MAITLIS BROKE IMPARTIALITY RULE BY TEARING INTO DOMINIC CUMMINGS
THE BBC has been bombarded with more than 40,000 complaints in just two days after Emily Maitlis broke the impartiality rule with a rant about Dominic Cummings. 
The Newsnight presenter was swiftly reprimanded by the BBC who admitted she had crossed the line when reporting on the PM’s chief advisor “breaking lockdown rules”.
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The number of people writing to the BBC to lodge their anger at Ms Maitlis’ monologue about Mr Cummings’ trip to Durham doubled from 18,000 in 24 hours.
The BBC put out an apology the day after the controversial introduction to the program on May 26.
A statement the broadcaster put out on twitter said: “The BBC must uphold the highest standards of due impartiality in its news output.
“We’ve reviewed the entirety of last night’s Newsnight, including the opening section, and while we believe the programme contained fair, reasonable and rigorous journalism.
“We feel that we should have done more to make clear the introduction was a summary of the questions we would examine, with all the accompanying evidence, in the rest of the programme.
“As it was, we believe the introduction we broadcast did not meet our standards of due impartiality.
“Our staff have been reminded of the guidelines.”
According to the MailOnline, just over 20,000 people who complained thought Ms Maitlis had not been impartial, and just under 20,000 were angry at the BBC’s statement.
Some complaints have not been categorised yet.
Media watchdog Ofcom said it had received 366 complaints over the broadcast.
Despite the stampede of complaints, Ms Maitlis said she had been “overwhelmed” by kind messages from fans.
She wrote on twitter: “Been overwhelmed by all the kindness, messages – and support on here – and I’ve probably missed much of it”
Rumours swirled earlier this week that Ms Maitlis had been kicked off the air, and a colleague asked to step in for the following nights program.
But Ms Maitlis insisted she had asked her colleauge Katie Razzall to fill the spot for her.
Ms Razzall took to twitter to clarify the reason for filling in: “Just for the record, Emily @maitlis has not been asked by the BBC to take tonight off – and if I thought she had been, I certainly wouldn’t have agreed to present the show.”
She did not address Ms Maitlis’ absence as she opened the programme yesterday evening.
And later Ms Maitlis herself tweeted: “So grateful to my friend and excellent colleague @katierazz for stepping in this evening.
“She did so because I asked for the night off -knowing tonight’s prog would be in the most excellent hands 🖐 #newsnight.”
Another BBC presenter, Andrew Marr, has also been the subject of more than 1,000 messages to the broadcaster from viewers after he grilled Transport Secretary Grant Shapps over the Dominic Cummings row.
BIAS ROW
The Newsnight presenter’s position on the row sparked fury from MPs.
Tory grandee Iain Duncan Smith slammed Ms Maitlis’ comments, and warned it was not the job of presenters to offer a personal opinion.
He told The Sun: “It’s quite wrong of an interviewer to express their own views using a platform they have been fortunate to get.
“The charter is very clear that the BBC is not to express its own personal opinions.”
Tory MP Michael Fabricant said: “The BBC is supposed to present news in an unbiased way without a personal commentary.
“Newsnight is meant to do just that: present news and interviews. Not the personal views of its presenters.
“The BBC seems to be losing all its values as a national public broadcaster.”
Former Labour MP and Brexiteer Kate Hoey added: “Understand that the BBC is being inundated with complaints about Emily Maitlis and Newsnight from last night.
“I have also put in a complaint and am sure many many more will #bbcbias”.
The comments also prompted a backlash from the public on social media.
One wrote: “What a totally disgraceful speech from Emily Maitlis and the BBC Newsnight editorial team.
“Ofcom need to step in because the BBC are clearly breaking their own charter. This in nasty and not at all unbiased or impartial.”
Another said: “This is a presenter’s opinion and using her position to give her viewpoint. We deserve as taxpayers to have impartial broadcasters.”
Boris Johnson has far refused to sack Mr Cummings despite a Tory civil war breaking out.
The PM again stood by his chief aide who is accused of twice breaking lockdown rules to travel with his family.
More than 40 backbench Tory MPs have also publicly called for the Vote Leave guru to step down.
Some have been spooked by polls showing the PM’s approval rating has plummeted by 20 per cent and that more than half of the public think Mr Cummings should quit.
A Savanta ComRes poll from earlier this week shows Mr Johnson’s rating has dropped to minus one.
The Government’s approval is down by 16 per cent.
And a YouGov poll shows 71 per cent of Brits say Mr Cummings did break lockdown and 59 per cent think he should resign.
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Monday, May 11, 2020

The phased escape from lockdown.....

Politics 11/05/2020 02:00pm BST
Here Is What The Government's 51-Page Official Lockdown Document Says You Can And Cannot Do
The guidance and rules for England include the return of paid childcare, the possible creation of two-household "bubbles" from June and the potential reopening of pubs in July.
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Confusion has reigned since Boris Johnson announced a three-stage plan to begin lifting the coronavirus lockdown on Sunday night.
But the government has now published its 51-page “plan to rebuild” that many are hoping will provide more clarity.
In the foreword, the prime minister makes clear it is “not a quick return to ‘normality’” but that it should give people “hope that we can rebuild; hope that we can save lives; hope that we can safeguard livelihoods”.
Johnson however warned that a vaccine or treatment may be more than a year away, or may not be produced at all, and so a plan must be put in place for “the long haul”.
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“I know the current arrangements do not provide an enduring solution – the price is too heavy, to our national way of life, to our society, to our economy, indeed to our long-term public health,” he said.
“So this plan seeks to return life to as close to normal as possible, for as many people as possible, as fast and fairly as possible.”
The backdrop to the plan is that there are now no regions where the epidemic is increasing, but an estimated 136,000 people in England are infected with Covid-19.
Among the headline measures are the return of childcare, the ability to meet up with people from outside of your household on a very limited basis, and an encouragement for broad sections of workers to return to work.
Here is what the document says about the new relaxing and tightening of restrictions: 
Step one from Wednesday May 13 
Work: Workers who can should continue to work from home. But all those who cannot work from home should travel to work, including those in food production, construction, manufacturing, logistics, distribution and scientific research in laboratories. 
“The only exceptions to this are those workplaces such as hospitality and non-essential retail which during this first step the government is requiring to remain closed,” the paper states.
Workplaces should follow new “Covid-19 secure” guidelines which will be published this week.
Anyone with coronavirus symptoms must still self-isolate.
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School: Councils and schools should encourage more vulnerable children and children of key workers to attend school, as only 2% of children are now doing so.
Paid childcare, including nannies and childminders, can now take place as long as it can meet the public health principles set out in the document “because these are roles where working from home is not possible. 
“This should enable more working parents to return to work,” it says.
Travel: Everyone, including critical workers, should continue to avoid public transport where possible, instead choosing to cycle, walk or drive. 
The government will boost funding and provide new guidance to encourage councils to widen pavements, create pop-up cycle lanes and close some roads in cities to traffic, apart from buses.
Social distancing on public transport “must be followed rigorously”.
All international arrivals will be asked to self-isolate for 14 days, supply their contact and accommodation information, and strongly advised to download the NHS contact tracing app.
If they cannot demonstrate where they will self isolate they will be placed into government quarantine accommodation.  
Face coverings: People should aim to wear face coverings where social distancing is not always possible, for example on public transport and in some shops.
Home-made cloth coverings are fine. They do not protect the wearer, but prevent the wearer passing on the virus if they are asymptomatic.
People are urged not to use surgical face masks or respirators as they must be reserved for health and other workers who need personal protective equipment (PPE).
Children under two should not use face coverings or those who may find it difficult to manage them such as unassisted primary school children or those with respiratory conditions.
People must wash their hands before putting or taking off their face covering.
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Public space/meeting others: People can meet up with one person from outside their own household outdoors, and it must be at a distance of two metres.
People can exercise outdoors as many times a day as they want. This will include sport where social distancing is possible, such as golf, angling, tennis and basketball. 
But team sports, playgrounds, outdoor gyms or ticketed outdoor leisure venues are still prohibited.
People can drive to outdoor open spaces at any distance away as long as they observe social distancing guidance. They cannot travel from England to Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland if it is inconsistent with the guidance in those nations.
The plan states: “These measures may come with some risk; it is important that everyone continues to act responsibly, as the large majority have done to date. The infection rate will increase if people begin to break these rules and, for example, mix in groups in parks, which will trigger the need for further restrictions.”
Johnson’s official spokesperson explained: “You could go to the park with a whole household for leisure, not just exercise, for a picnic, sunbathing.
“Alternatively if just you went out (on your own) you could meet one other person not from your household in the park provided they sit two metres away from you. 
“What you can’t do is combine those two things.”
People will be permitted to play sport with people from outside their household, such as tennis or golf, as long as they observe the social distancing rules.
“People will have to apply common sense to this,” the spokesperson said. 
Vulnerable groups: Those aged over 70 and with specific chronic conditions and pregnant women should continue to minimise contact with others “but do not need to be shielded”.
But those in the extremely vulnerable group are “strongly advised to stay at home at all times and avoid any face-to-face contact”, in a continuation of shielding.
The document suggests that in the future others may be released from lockdown while the most vulnerable are still asked to shield, “deepening” the challenge facing them.
Enforcement: The government will impose higher fines on those breaching the rules and is considering other more stringent measures.
Parliament: The government wants parliament to set a “national example” of the new normal and move towards more physical proceedings in the Commons.
Summing up phase one, chief medical officer Chris Whitty said: “We are confident that these quite small changes on their own will not have a material effect, provided the social distancing and the rules are there, on increasing R (the rate of spread of the virus.”
Step two from June 1 at the earliest
Providing the five tests for lifting the lockdown justify more easing of restrictions, there will be:
A phased return for early years education and schools: Early years, reception, year 1 and year 6 children will be back in school in smaller classes from this point.
Secondary schools and colleges should also prepare for face-to-face contact with year 10 and 12 pupils who have GCSE and A-Level exams next year.
The government aims to return all primary school children to school for a month before summer but this will be kept under review.
It is understood that ministers expect class sizes will be cut in half in this period, by using spare capacity freed up by only allowing half the school year groups to return. 
Asked if parents will be forced to send their children back to school, the PM’s official spokesman said: “While we will not penalise parents for keeping children at home, once children are eligible for return to school we will strongly encourage them to do so.”
It will be up to individual school heads to arrange their working, once fuller guidance has been issued by the Department of Education.
Asked about the prospect that some teachers may refuse to work, chief medical officer Whitty said his “medical answer” would be that teachers with ‘shielded’ illnesses should stay at home, while those in ‘vulnerable’ groups like pregnant women, could do some “non-pupil facing roles” like lesson planning at home.
But those exceptions did not extend “to people who actually don’t have those vulnerabilities” he added.
Opening non-essential retail: This will happen in phases from June 1. Hospitality and personal care like hairdressers nail salons will not be able to open at this point.
Behind closed doors sport and culture: Premier League football could be back on TV screens from June. 
Re-opening more local public transport: Subject to strict measures to limit the spread of the virus.
Potentially more contact with others: Scientists on the government’s Sage committee have been asked to look at whether, when and how the rules can be changed to allow one household to expand its social group to include one other household exclusively in a “bubble”.
The government is also examining how to enable people to gather in slightly larger groups to better facilitate small weddings. 
The government’s chief scientific adviser Sir Patrick Vallance said: “We will look at the question about households linking, which is a complicated question, and has the theoretical risk of reconnecting households with quite long connection chains and so that needs to be looked at extremely carefully. We will look at it, it’s not straightforward at all.”
Step three from July 4 at the earliest 
The government hopes to:
Open some businesses and spaces that are still locked down: This could include pubs, restaurants, hotels, hairdressers, beauty salons, cinemas and places of worship.
Venues which are crowded by design and where it is difficult to operate social distancing may still not be able to safely reopen, or may only be able to partially reopen.
“Nevertheless the government will wish to open as many businesses and public places as the data and information at the time allows,” the document states.
There will also be pilots of higher-risk businesses and public spaces to test their ability to adopt Covid-19 secure guidelines.
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