No, I was thinking of Tim Krul in the 2014 World Cup when I made that post: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/28180956
It can make tactical sense to bring on a specialist penalty-stopping keeper... the only downside I suppose is that normally there isn't much pressure on a keeper in a shootout, however if you've just been brought on in the last minute specifically to save penalties, that could affect you mentally. Having said that, it could also have a mental impact on the opposing side.

You're being disingenuous. 5,000 out of how many millions? What tiny fraction of a percent?

Certainly some small minority of people who have received the vaccine can transmit the virus. Obviously, most of which will be during the short window between receiving the vaccine and it taking full effect. And obviously, almost all amongst people who have had only one dose of a two dose programme. Because this is not a secret, it's known and publicised by governments and the vaccine companies.

And even then, with a full two doses and a window for them to take effect, vaccines are not 100% effective for everybody... but they are a hell of a lot closer to 100% than doing nothing, which is 0% protective.

... The last year has shown us just how quickly the virus spreads amongst people who haven't been vaccinated.

Yes, I wish they'd drop Monaco, and replace it with a different track if necessary.
If they really want to keep Monaco, then try doing something different with it... You get 25 points for taking pole at Monaco on Saturday, and then participating in a meaningless 2 hour procession on the Sunday. Why not just say you get 5 points for taking pole in qualifying, 4 for second, down to 1 point for fifth. Or have a variety of races, all as individual time trials... maybe everyone could do individual five lap timed runs, and get points depending on your placing there (obviously track conditions would vary by racer, but running order could be determined by the initial single lap qualifying run).
They just need to try something different there. I think individual time trials of however many laps would be an improvement on what we have now.

This is only true if vaccines are available instantly to everyone - which obviously they're not.
In practice, there are many people who want to receive a vaccine, but have not been offered one yet. These people are currently unprotected, and are at risk of contracting the virus from anti-vaxxers passing it on.
The purpose of vaccination is not solely to protect the individual. Personal choices have a wider impact.

I really wanted Villarreal to win, as they had never won a major trophy before, whereas Man U have more than enough.
I still can't believe Villareal have never even won La Liga, yet here they are picking up one of the big European trophies. It was a crazy way to finish, but I'm very happy for them



It was interesting that both teams brought on players who were good at taking penalties... but each player go bring on can only contribute to one penalty... whereas if you bring a specialist penalty-saving goalkeeper, he can contribute to every penalty. It seems to me that bringing on a specialist goalkeeper would be more beneficial than bringing on a specialist penalty taker... and after all, it has been done before to winning effect.

If it wasn't because of a recent cough, then perhaps they are simply easing restrictions somewhat by allowing one visitor per patient? In which case your mother is allowed as first visitor, your uncle isn't because they don't allow a second visitor.
But it's difficult to determine the reason without knowing the rules that that specific hospital has in place. The answer really is to phone the hospital and ask.



If popular culture has taught me anything, it's that it's more of a shuffle.

Except... we do know what happens if nobody does anything, because that is precisely what caused the pandemic to escalate beyond control. I've linked to the image below before, but it deserves another airing.

I don't know if it's because of the short election cycle, or 24 hour news coverage encouraging a pathological focus only on what is wrong right now, or simple bumbling incompetence... but governments are short-termist, and almost entirely reactive rather than proactive. It was obvious to anyone back in early 2020 what would happen if we did nothing - obvious, that is, to anyone with a basic grasp of a) how exponential progression works, and b) the fact that there is a delay between catching a virus and exhibiting symptoms... which should, you'd hope, include the people running the country.

In the UK, we watched the virus spread in China, then we watched it come across to Europe, and hit Spain and Italy hard... and yet the government didn't implement any border controls until later, once the virus had already arrived here and started spreading - and even then these controls were rudimentary and insufficient. This initial failure then triggered a series of strict lockdowns... which could have been avoided with simple proactive border controls and an acceptance of the comparatively minor economic hit.

We also know exactly what would have happened if, as soon as it became a problem in China, all other countries had enforced strict two-week quarantining (not at home, but in dedicated facilities) and Covid testing for everyone entering the country. The outcome would have been: no lockdowns, no need for masks, etc... no virus entering the country.


https://xkcd.com/2278/

See also: https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/shut-close-the-stable-barn-door-after-the-horse-has-bolted

Firstly, thanks for posting a chart. Most of the times I disagree with someone on here, the other person just posts a link to someone on youtube ranting in his basement as "evidence". This makes a refreshing change!

Secondly, I'm not disputing that sanitation in particular is vital, of course it is, particularly with typhoid. In more deprived countries, better sanitation and access to clean water would lead to a profound reduction in many afflictions - such as schistosomiasis, which is a huge problem (affecting 240 million people globally, and causing an estimated 200,000 deaths a year... DONATE HERE).

But just because one thing is effective, it doesn't mean it's the reason for everything. Let's consider typhoid - and scarlet fever, which you also mention - antibiotics have been hugely important in reducing case numbers for both of these. It's not merely sanitation. Similarly, vaccines are a vitally important weapon in the medical arsenal. If Covid is transmitted primarily through inhalation of respiratory droplets, then everyone washing their hands isn't going to stop the pandemic... whereas vaccines, as the data show, are.

Not true. Show me the data.

Data indicate that the existing vaccines are highly effective against existing variants. I can share it all again if you wish.
I would imagine that the long-term strategy is for annual boosters to combat any new vaccine-resistant variants, should any arise - much as flu is treated currently. This is hardly unprecedented or controversial.

What?

Quite. Please stop posting alarmist new threads. If you must continue, then please at least drop the bold.

This is an absurd argument.

I can understand initial skepticism around the Covid vaccine... skepticism which should have fallen away over the course of this year as the effects of the vaccine became apparent from the increasing quantities of data.

However the position with polio and smallpox is perfectly clear. The data are utterly conclusive, and go back for many years... as per the charts and links to sources that I have presented many times. You are arguing without putting forward any evidence to support your claims (because there is none), and you are ignoring the vast quantities of evidence that you find inconvenient because it doesn't agree with your pre-established conclusion.

Incidentally, for a nice tie-in with BLM, when you are researching the development of the smallpox vaccine, you will note that an important initial step was the introduction of the procedure of variolation - knowledge brought over to the US by an African slave, who was key to saving lives during an outbreak in Boston.

The data are available here.
Instances of CVT from the Covid vaccines: 4 per million.
Instances of CVT from the AZ Covid vaccine: 5 per million.
Instances of CVT from contracting the Covid virus: 39 per million.

You are 8-10 times less likely to experience dangerous blood clotting from taking the vaccine than you are from contracting Covid.
So take the vaccine.



Quotes taken direct from your link:
If you take a sample of 273 million people (ignoring double doses), and don't give them anything, then a small proportion will die anyway. There is no causal link established with taking the vaccine, nor is any suspected or likely.



The standard three phase trials have been completed. Trials data have been published and are available to anyone. The vaccines are safe. Where does '4 years' come into it?



Covid 19 is not killing many young people, also it is not killing many healthy people.
But it is still killing some. Being young and healthy gives you an advantage, it gives you a greater chance of successfully beating the virus. But it doesn't make you safe. For that, you need the vaccine.



---

The explanation is that you're making wild inferences and forming erroneous conclusions because you're not properly considering the data. But your arguments are faith-based anyway, so I'm not sure why you're attempting to use data as justification.

Yes. I was trying to be diplomatic.

Yes, Max did everything he needed to do - except putting the car on pole, but Leclerc not starting was the only bit of luck he didn't earn himself.

Yes a bad weekend for Mercedes and Hamilton. All teams make mistakes sometimes, it's just that Monaco is the worst place for this to happen, but overtaking is almost impossible... and Mercedes made it even worse by messing up the pit stop timing, and so preventing Hamilton from maybe finishing fourth. Any other track, Hamilton would, you'd expect, quickly overtake the other challengers and get right up behind Max into second... but Monaco? No chance.

As you say, it really sets the championship on edge again. I do think this was simply a bad weekend for Mercedes at the worst time, and their car does in general seem to be improving. We will find out at the next race!

Not sure about exited - I don't even think we entered it.

There has been a huge price surge since the end of last year. I think that the price drops over the last week or so are simply the inevitable correction. Sentiment overall is not bearish, it's just that the higher the prices go, the more people start to get a bit twitchy, and eager to sell at the first sign of trouble... which of course has a snowball effect.

But look at the charts over a long time frame, switch to log scale to get more perspective... and it doesn't look bearish at all.

No, we don't. Do you have the data to support this claim? All of the data I've seen, and which I've presented and linked to numerous times, indicates that vaccinated people are less infectious, and less sick.


They can do what they like, so long as it's legal... but I doubt their decision is backed by data. They may be dangerously uninformed, or conspiracy nuts, or just a bit simple.

It was that unexpected 3-2 win against Inter that was crucial in the end.


It's absurd. I can't understand why those last few teams still haven't withdrawn, when just about everyone else has. Are they really planning on having a breakaway league with just three teams in it? And it's unlikely they'll get anyone new wanting to join, given the uproar last time.

So Leclerc's car was damaged, which meant he couldn't start, which meant Max started from pole.

What has happened in the race so far?
Bottas had problems with his pit stop and had to retire. And that is it.

Nothing

else

has

happened.


... but we have a few laps left... maybe the excitement will all happen at the end?

Where?

Obvious from what? Data?

This is because naturally-occurring polio has been almost entirely eradicated... due to vaccination.
cVDPV is extremely rare, and occurs mainly because of... low immunisation in the affected community:
https://polioeradication.org/polio-today/polio-prevention/the-virus/vaccine-derived-polio-viruses/

Yes, it definitely looked like an accident. If he was going to crash the car deliberately, then he'd have made it so there was just a bit of superficial damage, easy to repair but enough to stop qualifying... which other drivers have done before. But this one, no, it looked genuine.


Yes. It sometimes gets interesting if there's some rain, but really the only chance of overtaking is the pit stops. You would imagine Mercedes will go long with Hamilton today, so that he can get into some clean air when the others stop, and Mercedes can go for the overcut. But of course he has no real chance of winning, it's just damage limitation.

I agree that much of the tension in modern society is due to governments and other powerful interests fostering division as a tactic of distraction to leave those in charge free to continue their behaviour of exploitation and dominance.
As per the meme (which has various mutations) where a banker, a worker and an immigrant are sitting at a table with 10 cookies. The banker takes 9, and then tells the worker 'watch out, that immigrant is trying to steal your cookie.'


Yes. And from the point above, we can agree, surely, that the powerful, the establishment, work hard to exploit everyone else in order to maintain and increase their own wealth and power. They make the 'normal' people fight amongst themselves.


This point doesn't fit with the preceding two points. Surely it is more likely that people who are systematically oppressed and demonised might rise up against their oppressors? For example, if the powerful are so brazen, so open in their contempt, that they will happily sit on someone's neck for nine minutes to murder them, believing that the system allows them to perpetrate such acts.
Those in power seek to remain in power, and to consolidate and strengthen their position. Modern western society is set up very nicely for them. The rich don't even pay taxes. Normal people are to a large extent constrained and controlled already, wage slaves with 'freedoms' that are largely illusory. I may prefer Biden to Trump, but I'm well aware it's a 'choice' between Establishment Millionaire A and Establishment Millionaire B (or billionaire). Contemporary politics is largely a quibbling over minor distinctions. There is consensus on almost everything; Democrat representatives and Republican representatives are often not representative of anything other than the political class.
The rich are already in control; they have no incentive to destabilise the status quo by initiating protest movements, by encouraging the thing they fear most... unpredictability.
BLM is not welcomed by those in power. You can see that by the ridiculously excessive evidence that was required to finally obtain a conviction in the George Floyd case. This is just how much it takes to force the establishment to concede even a little ground.