thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-09-11--These Photos Show How Raging Wildfires Destroyed US Towns

Across the US west coast, raging wildfires have destroyed small towns and forced tens of thousands of people to evacuate their homes in California, Washington and Oregon.
Oregon governor Kate Brown said on Thursday afternoon that wildfires were still burning more than 900,000 acres in the state and 80,000 people have had to evacuate their homes.
Advertisement
California breached a grim record on Thursday when the August Complex fire in Tehama County became the state’s largest-ever recorded wildfire, burning an estimated 471,185 acres north of Sacramento.
The extent of the destruction is not yet clear as firefighters continue to work on containing the blazes, but photos show entire neighbourhoods levelled and smouldering. As of Thursday night, there had been at least seven reported deaths.
Here are the towns that have been destroyed by the fires this week.
Berry Creek, California
Devastation from the Bear fire in Berry Creek, California, is shown on Wednesday. Fred Greaves / Reuters
At least three people were found dead after the North Complex fire, previously known as the Bear fire, moved quickly through Berry Creek, a small town in Northern California’s Butte County.
Advertisement
About 2,000 structures were also destroyed as the North Complex fire spread to more than 250,000 acres of the region, including in Plumas County, by Wednesday evening.
Videos filmed in Butte County show charred cars and gas stations, downed power lines and smouldering forests. Local filmmaker Nancy Hamilton recorded video of fires surrounding both sides of a road in Berry Creek as cars drove by.
At least 12 people have been reported missing in the areas affected by the North Complex fire, CBS San Francisco reported.
“Our situation over the last 36 hours has been dangerous, it’s been deadly, it’s been extremely destructive,” Cal Fire Chief John Messina told reporters on Wednesday.
On Tuesday night, fire crews had to rescue more than 100 people, fire officials told The Mercury News. About 20,000 people are under evacuation orders in Butte County.
Advertisement
Winds and hot temperatures have exacerbated the fires. Meanwhile, the August Complex fire burning in Tehama County, west of Plumas and Butte Counties, became California’s largest-ever wildfire, sprawling over 471,000 acres, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.
Malden, Washington
In downtown Malden, Washington, the former post office at lower left and another historic building at lower right still smolder Tuesday, a day after a fast-moving wildfire swept through the tiny town west of Rosalia. Jesse Tinsley/The Spokesman-Review via Associated Press
The Babbs Road fire consumed at least 80% of Malden, a small town in eastern Washington state. Governor Jay Inslee told reporters at a Tuesday news conference that the fire spread to more than 330,000 acres of the region within 24 hours.
“Everything around me is gone,” Larry Frick, a Malden resident, told NBC News on Wednesday. “All my neighbours, everything. There’s no standing structure.”
Frick was able to save his home with hoses and a sprinkler system. He was later joined by volunteer firefighters after his deck started to burn, NBC News reported.
Advertisement
Vehicles are destroyed by a wildfire that swiftly moved through Maldin, Washington, on Tuesday. ASSOCIATED PRESS
A service station is destroyed Tuesday after Malden, Washington, is overrun by wildfire. High winds kicked up flames across the Pacific Northwest on Monday and Tuesday, burning hundreds of thousands of acres. Jed Conklin/ASSOCIATED PRESS
While touring the town on Tuesday, KHQ News reporter Bradley Warren tweeted, “most everything is gone but their church is still standing.”The fire that tore through Malden, which has a population of 200, is just one of 58 fires that burned across the state, many of which were sparked on Labor Day, according to state Public Lands Commissioner Hilary Franz.
Inslee noted that officials believe the fires were caused by humans.
Several Towns In Oregon
The ruins of a shopping mall in Phoenix, Oregon, are seen Thursday after fire swept through the area Tuesday. Gillian Flaccus/Associated Press
Brown said that several towns in Oregon, including Phoenix, Talent, Detroit and Blue River, were “substantially destroyed” in wildfires across the state.
Advertisement
“This could be the greatest loss of human life and property due to wildfire in our state’s history,” the governor told reporters on Wednesday.
At least two people were found dead: a 12-year-old boy and his grandmother, near Lyons, Oregon, west of Detroit, the Salem Statesman Journal and KHQ reported.
On Tuesday, the Almeda fire spread across the towns of Phoenix and Talent in southern Oregon, where an estimated 11,000 people live, according to CNN.
Noelle Crombie, a reporter for The Oregonian, drove through the Barnum Road subdivision in Phoenix on Thursday and found blocks of homes that had burned to the ground with the skeletons of cars in driveways.
Barnum Road subdivision, once the site of about 200 homes. Nothing is left. pic.twitter.com/Ejpyhsc75M — Noelle Crombie (@noellecrombie) September 10, 2020
Advertisement
Talent city officials said in a news release that the fire caused “widespread property damage with loss of hundreds of structures.”
Early reports on the destruction estimate 600 residences were burned in the Almeda fire, which is under criminal investigation.
Police said they discovered a body near the origin of the fire, according to local station NewsWatch 12.
Detroit mayor Jim Trett told Oregon Public Broadcasting that residents of the lakeside resort town were forced to evacuate their residences late on Monday night and early on Tuesday morning.
This is video from the fire that ravaged Detroit, Oregon. He didn't want us to share his name, but you can hear the pain in his voice describing his family's loss. #OregonWildfire pic.twitter.com/gyfiBVNUQz — Dan Tilkin (@DanTilkinKOIN6) September 10, 2020
Advertisement
Trett described the evacuation as “frantic” and said he and other residents haven’t been allowed to visit the town, though video filmed in the area shows homes that have completely burned.
Trett told OPB that “pretty much all of our businesses,” except for one store, and “a majority of our homes” have been destroyed.
The Holiday Farm fire in western Oregon burned 145,000 acres and moved toward the towns of Blue River, which faced destruction, and Vida, which remains under evacuation orders.
Melanie Stanley, a Blue River resident who is known as the town’s “unofficial mayor,” told KTVZ that the town had completely burned down.
“The town of Blue River is 100% gone,” Stanley told the news station. “Our area was beautiful, and it’s nothing but burnt sticks right now.”
Advertisement
This photo taken by Talent, Oregon, resident Kevin Jantzer shows the destruction of his hometown Wednesday after wildfires ravaged the central Oregon area. Kevin Jantzer via Associated Press


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-09-11--Spitting Image Unveils Michael Gove And Dominic Raab Puppets Ahead Of New Series

HuffPost is part of Verizon Media .
We and our partners will store and/or access information on your device through @ @ @ @ @ similar technologies , to display personalised ads and content , for ad and content measurement @ @ @ @ @ development .
Your personal data that may be used • Information about your device and @ @ @ @ @ IP address • Browsing and search activity while using Verizon Media websites and apps Find @ @ @ @ @ use your information in our Privacy Policy and Cookie Policy .
To enable Verizon Media @ @ @ @ @ your personal data select ' I agree ' , or select 'Manage settings ' for @ @ @ @ @ your choices .
You can change your choices at any time by visiting Your Privacy @ @

LOADING ERROR LOADING
Tory MPs Michael Gove and Dominic Raab are the latest politicians to get the Spitting Image treatment, ahead of the new series of the classic satirical show.
It was recently announced that new episodes would debut on the streaming platform BritBox, with the return date now confirmed as 3 October.
Advertisement
The launch announcement came alongside photos of new puppets that will be featured in the series, including first secretary of state Dominic Raab and former education secretary Michael Gove.
Michael Gove will probably be less than thrilled with his Spitting Image puppet MARK HARRISON
Gove’s puppet, as you can see above, is pretty unmistakable, while Raab’s is identifiable because of his karate uniform, the government minister holding a black belt in the martial art.
Dominic Raab, as seen through the eyes of Spitting Image MARK HARRISON
Advertisement
Spitting Image has also unveiled their new puppets of Prince Charles – who was a staple of the show’s original run in the 1980s – and the Duchess Of Cornwall, Camilla Parker-Bowles.
It wouldn't be Spitting Image without a bit of royal fun, would it? MARK HARRISON
Spitting Image creator Roger Law said: “Everything the team have done on the new Spitting Image shows, the caricatures, puppets and satirical gags have all been done in the public interest, as Boris might say ‘Pro bono publico’. It’s time to come off furlough! The people have spoken and the puppets are oven ready.
“We’re going to take back control from the likes of Boris, Cummings, Trump, Kim Kardashian and Kanye West. There will be tongue-lashings from our weather girl; Greta Thunberg, you’ll be knocked out by Tyson Fury and dazzled and amazed by Beyoncé and Herr Jürgen Klopp.”
Advertisement
The first poster for Spitting Image, release in March BBC/ITV


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-09-11--Cyber Flashing And Abusive Messages Could Soon Become Criminal Offences

LOADING ERROR LOADING
Listen to our weekly podcast Am I Making You Uncomfortable? about women’s health, bodies and private lives. Available on Spotify, Apple, Audioboom and wherever you listen to your podcasts.
Abusive messages, cyber flashing, and “pile-on” harassment could soon become criminal offences, under new law reforms proposed to crack down on abusive behaviour online.
Advertisement
Cyber flashing, a problem HuffPost UK has highlighted since 2017, is when someone sends an unsolicited sexual image to another device nearby. It’s common for perpetrators to send images, such as “dick pics”, to women via Apple’s AirDrop function.
To date, there’s been no law that directly addresses this “digital flashing” in England and Wales, although it has been illegal in Scotland since 2009.
The proposed law reforms will also target abusive online messages, including “pile on” harassment. The latter is where online harassment is co-ordinated against an individual, via apps and across social media platforms.
Advertisement
The Law Commission said existing safeguards have failed to keep up with changes to how we communicate today, over-criminalising in some situations while under-criminalising in others.
Online abuse covered under current communications offences does not adequately address these types of incidents, the independent body said.
william87 via Getty Images
The commission proposes changes to the Malicious Communications Act 1988 and the Communications Act 2003 to criminalise behaviour where a communication would “likely cause harm”, which would cover electronic attacks such as an abusive email, a social media post, a WhatsApp message or content sent through Bluetooth.
Meanwhile, it’s recommended that cyber flashing be included as a sexual offence under Section 66 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003.
“As the internet and social media have become an everyday part of our lives, the amount of abuse has also risen,” said Criminal Law Commissioner Professor Penney Lewis.
Advertisement
“Unfortunately, the law has not kept up and isn’t giving victims the protection they need. Our proposals will tackle this harmful behaviour whilst also ensuring that we protect people’s freedom of speech.”
More than 70 women have shared their experience of being cyber flashed with HuffPost UK, labelling the incidents: “Disrespectful, ignorant and disgusting.”
“It made me feel really violated. I felt very exposed that I could be sent something in the middle of the day without warning,” said Jess Shepherd, 28, from Manchester, who was cyber flashed via AirDrop at a restaurant.
“I’ve heard of this happening to people but I never thought it would happen in a lecture hall,” added Isabella Smith, 20, from Birmingham, who was cyber flashed via AirDrop in a university lecture theatre.
“That is meant to be a safe place.”
Advertisement
The proposals suggest the introduction of proof of likely harm, as present laws do not need proof of likely harm, nor proof of actual harm.
Digital Secretary, Oliver Dowden, welcomed the consultation paper, saying: “Online communication has been a lifeline for many in recent months but it should not be a refuge for abusive, harmful or criminal behaviour.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-09-11--Trump Gets Stark History Lesson After Comparing Covid-19 Response To Churchill In WWII

LOADING ERROR LOADING
Donald Trump earned himself an immediate fact-check on Twitter Thursday after likening his early public downplaying of the coronavirus — despite privately knowing its deadly nature — to the messaging of the late British Prime Minister Winston Churchill during World War II.
Trump in early February, in taped interviews for journalist Bob Woodward’s new book “Rage,” admitted he knew the dangers of Covid-19, even though he was dismissing them in public. This week Trump defended his comments, claiming he just didn’t want to scare Americans.
Advertisement
On Thursday, Trump doubled down on his defence at a rally in Michigan.
“As the British government advised the British people in the face of World War II, keep calm and carry on. That’s what I did,” said Trump, calling Woodward ― who he spoke to multiple times for the book ― a “whack job.”
“They wanted me to come out and scream, ‘People are dying,’ No. No. We did it just the right way. We have to be calm. We don’t want to be crazed lunatics. We have to lead,” claimed Trump, who has repeatedly incited panic throughout his time in office.
“When Hitler was bombing London, Churchill, great leader, would oftentimes go to a roof in London and speak,” Trump added. “And he always spoke with confidence. He said we have to show calmness. No, we did it the right way and we’ve done a job like nobody.”
Check out the clip here:
This is fucking absurd pic.twitter.com/VwyTaCZDtq — Acyn Torabi (@Acyn) September 11, 2020
Advertisement
Critics on Twitter, including CNN fact-checker Daniel Dale, pointed out that Churchill was actually “famously blunt” about the dire situation facing the United Kingdom during the war.
They also shared excerpts of the late leader’s addresses and compared them to Trump’s dismissal of the pandemic that’s now killed more than 190,000 people nationwide:
Oh man. Trump: "As the British government advised the British people in the face of World War II, keep calm and carry on. That's what I did."
Churchill was famously blunt with the British people about how bad things could get. — Daniel Dale (@ddale8) September 11, 2020
Quiz: which one is Churchill and which one is Trump? pic.twitter.com/AP80uIO8Kk — Daniel Dale (@ddale8) September 11, 2020
More from Winston Churchill, famous downplayer pic.twitter.com/c3WGehAEPZ — Daniel Dale (@ddale8) September 11, 2020
Advertisement
“The British people can face any misfortune w/ fortitude & buoyancy as long as they are convinced that those in charge of their affairs are not deceiving them, or are not dwelling in a fool’s paradise”—Winston Churchill https://t.co/L5jadWU6r7 — Jon Meacham (@jmeacham) September 11, 2020
Winston Churchill totally downplaying things: pic.twitter.com/WxcshwGXI8 — James Pethokoukis (@JimPethokoukis) September 11, 2020
What Churchill actually said: "We are in the preliminary stage of one of the greatest battles in history... I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat. We have before us an ordeal of the most grievous kind... many, many long months of struggle and of suffering." https://t.co/nR7xrDPu6X — (((Yair Rosenberg))) (@Yair_Rosenberg) September 11, 2020
Things Churchill didn't say:
- the Blitz is a hoax
- the Nazis will miraculously be gone by April
- going to a fallout shelter is voluntary; I don't think I'll be doing it
- I don't take responsibility at all https://t.co/aHX0P9bUVN — Tom Malinowski (@Malinowski) September 11, 2020
This would make sense of Churchill said that the Nazis would just go away. Like a miracle,... when the weather gets warm in April. https://t.co/9VjHy255qz — Roshan Rinaldi (@Roshan_Rinaldi) September 11, 2020
Advertisement


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-09-11--102-Year-Old Nurse To Complete 102nd Charity Walk On Her Birthday

LOADING ERROR LOADING
A 102-year-old retired nurse is to complete her 102nd charity walk on her birthday. During lockdown, Joan Rich set a goal to walk 102 laps of her local park before her 102nd birthday on September 11.
Following in Captain Sir Thomas Moore’s footsteps, the former auxiliary nurse and Second World War veteran aims to raise money for the NHS she worked in for much of her life.
Advertisement
Using her frame, or pushing her wheelchair, Joan walks a 560-metre path from her home in Felixstowe in Suffolk, around Allenby Park, and back. She has already completed 101 laps and raised more than £23,000 for NHS charities.
Joe Giddens - PA Images via Getty Images
Joan was one of the first people to visit the park on April 22 when it reopened after shutting due to the coronavirus pandemic. A local resident had mowed “NHS” into one of the lawns during lockdown and it inspired Joan to complete the challenge.
“I wanted to do my bit for them,” she said. “The only way I can help is by walking, like Sir Tom. I hope it makes a difference.”
Advertisement
PA
Her daughter Diane Rich, who accompanies Joan on the walks, set up a JustGiving page for the venture. With more than £23,000 given so far, they hope a final surge in donations will mark the last walk.
“She has walked over 35 miles,” Diane told the PA news agency. “She has been very humbled by the support she has had from neighbours, friends and strangers. She says no matter how big or small, all donations add up to help raise money for the NHS.”
JustGiving/Diane Rich
Joan, who was a nurse at Felixstowe General Hospital between 1964 and 1978, said she sometimes had to go to the park during shifts when patients who had absconded from the hospital had gone there. She also worked at Hillingdon Hospital in west London before moving to Felixstowe in 1964.
Advertisement
During the Second World War, she served with the Royal Military Police and was stationed in Jerusalem where she helped prisoners of war return to health before being sent home to their families in the UK – including a member of her local bicycle club in Ipswich who was captured at the start of the war.
Diane Rich/PA Diane Rich/PA
Joan, who was born in Meriden in the west Midlands during the Spanish flu pandemic in 1918, said the sense of community spirit during the coronavirus pandemic had reminded her of that during war time.
While stationed in Jerusalem, she lived close to another Allenby Park – spending more than half of her life visiting parks with the same name.
Local children have put images in their front windows encouraging Joan to achieve her goal.
To donate to Joan’s fundraising page, visit JustGiving.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-09-11--Will Smith And Janet Hubert Appear To End Fresh Prince Feud As He Shares First Look At Cast Reunion

LOADING ERROR LOADING
Will Smith has shared the first pictures from the upcoming Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air reunion special, which appeared to confirm the end of his feud with original cast member Janet Hubert.
Janet played aunt Viv in the first three seasons of the hit US sitcom, before Daphne Maxwell Reid took over as the character, amid reports of a fallout with Will.
Advertisement
However, he is seen sitting down with Janet to celebrate 30 years since the beloved comedy first aired in the US, as part of the new HBO Max special.
Will Smith and Janet Hubert filmed a reunion for the Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air 30th anniversary special HBO/Instagram
Will shared a picture of them enjoying a laugh together on Instagram, as he also posted his a snap of him on the set of the Banks’ family home with co-stars Tatyana Ali (Ashley), Karyn Parsons (Hilary), Joseph Marcell (Geoffrey), Daphne Maxwell Reid (Vivian), Alfonso Ribeiro (Carlton), and DJ Jazzy Jeff.
Advertisement
Will wrote: “Today is exactly 30 YEARS since The @FreshPrince of Bel-Air debuted! So we’re doin’ something for y’all… a for real Banks Family Reunion is comin’ soon to @HBOmax!
“RIP James,” he added in honour of the late James Avery, who played Will’s on-screen uncle Phil Banks and died in 2013.
Speaking in 2011, Janet ruled out a reunion with Will, telling TMZ: “He is still an egomaniac and has not grown up.
“This constant reunion thing will never ever happen in my lifetime unless there is an apology, which he doesn’t know the word.”
Janet played aunt Viv in the first three seasons of The Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air NBC
Advertisement
According to HBO, the pair had an “emotional reunion and a candid conversation” in scenes filmed for the special.
The special is due to arrive on the HBO Max streaming service in November, but there is no confirmation yet as to whether it will air in the UK.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-09-11--Tory MP Says He's 'Not Willing To Live' Under Government's Covid Restrictions

LOADING ERROR LOADING
Conservative MP Steve Baker has said he is “not willing to live” under new coronavirus measures announced by Boris Johnson on Wednesday, which include the introduction of ‘Covid-secure marshals’.
The former minister and ardent Brexiteer also suggested that Covid laws should be abandoned in favour of a “voluntary system”, with the current rules and proposals presenting an unfit “legal environment for the British people”.
Advertisement
The introduction of the marshals was announced alongside confirmation of the “rule of six”, which comes into force from Monday, September 14, and a radical new mass testing plan dubbed Operation Moonshot by the PM – for which even the technology does not yet exist.
Criticising the new restrictions – which could remain in force until at least the spring of 2021 – Baker told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “I think it is now time to say that this is not a fit legal environment for the British people.
“It’s time to move to a voluntary system – unless the government can demonstrate otherwise.
“And it is time for us to actually start living like a free people, not subjecting ourselves to constantly shifting legal requirements, which I think now no one can fully understand.”
Baker’s apparent advocacy of shifting away from the rule of law around Covid restrictions comes days after a cabinet minister admitted the government’s plans to change their own Brexit deal break the law in a “very specific and limited way”.
Advertisement
Baker added: “It seems to me the effect of having Covid marshals will be to turn every public space in Britain into the equivalent of going through airport security where we are badgered and directed… I’m not willing to live like this.”
It’s far from the first time Baker has spoken out against the government. He was among the group of Tory MPs who called for the resignation of Johnson’s top advisor Dominic Cummings after he travelled to Durham with his family during lockdown, and resigned from his role as Brexit minister in July 2018.
In October 2018 Baker submitted a letter of no confidence in Theresa May’s leadership amid arguments over her proposals for the Withdrawal Agreement.
He has previously spoken out about the “increasingly disproportionate” Covid regulations being introduced by government, describing the new restrictions as “authoritarian” in a tweet on Wednesday.
Measures signed into law by @MattHancock look increasingly disproportionate 👇
I'm finding usually sensible people are alarmed by the Government's authoritarian reaction to #COVID19 - and no wonder
Ministers must have regard to the rights of a free people, whatever the advice https://t.co/UU810g5ITq — Steve Baker MP (@SteveBakerHW) September 9, 2020


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-09-11--Trump Says He Lied About Covid-19 To Avoid ‘Panic.’ He Incites Panic All The Time.

LOADING ERROR LOADING
For someone who claims to want to avoid panic, President Donald Trump sure has a deep record of drumming up fear to try to get his way.
Trump continues to defend comments he made to journalist Bob Woodward in March when he admitted to publicly downplaying the threat of the coronavirus because he didn’t “want to create a panic.”
Advertisement
“We had to show calm. The last thing we can show is panic or excitement or fear or anything else,” Trump told reporters at the White House on Wednesday. “I’m the leader of the country, I can’t be jumping up and down and scaring people,” he later said to Fox News’ Sean Hannity.
“Calm, no panic!” he tweeted on Thursday after being hit with a barrage of criticism over his admitted refusal to acknowledge the seriousness of the virus, which has killed more than 191,000 people in the US.
Though Trump claims as president he “can’t be jumping up and down and scaring people,” here’s a look back at his use of just such emotional tactics over the last several years.
President Donald Trump has insisted that he downplayed the seriousness of the Covid-19 pandemic earlier this year in order to avoid public panic. ASSOCIATED PRESS
Advertisement
“Very bad people” are threatening our borders.
Trump has a history of publicly villainising immigrants, particularly those crossing the US-Mexico border.
One of his perhaps most infamous quotes came in 2015 when he generally described Mexican immigrants as criminals, rapists and drug pushers as a warning against letting them enter the US.
“They’re sending people that have a lot of problems, and they’re bringing those problems with us. They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists,” said the then-presidential candidate.
In April 2018, he doubled down on his rape comments, claiming that women travelling to the US in a migrant caravan were being “raped at levels nobody has ever seen before.”
Six months later, he again warned on Twitter that “some very bad people” were heading to the US-Mexico border, declaring “this is an invasion of our Country.”
Advertisement
Many Gang Members and some very bad people are mixed into the Caravan heading to our Southern Border. Please go back, you will not be admitted into the United States unless you go through the legal process. This is an invasion of our Country and our Military is waiting for you! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 29, 2018
Vote red or be “overwhelmed with violence and crime.”
Trump has repeatedly said that if Americans don’t vote for him or his supporters, things could get violent.
“If I don’t win, America’s Suburbs will be OVERRUN with Low-Income Projects, Anarchists, Agitators, Looters and, of course, ‘Friendly Protesters,’” Trump ― who has called anti-racism and civil rights protesters “thugs” and “domestic terrorists” ― tweeted on Thursday.
The Democrats never even mentioned the words LAW & ORDER at their National Convention. That’s where they are coming from. If I don’t win, America’s Suburbs will be OVERRUN with Low Income Projects, Anarchists, Agitators, Looters and, of course, “Friendly Protesters”. — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 10, 2020
That comment came just two days after he said this about Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden to reporters: “If you elected this guy, the suburbs would be overwhelmed with violence and crime.” Trump has taken issue with Biden’s plan to expand a housing rental assistance program for low-income people, which the president said would destroy “the American dream.”
Advertisement
"If you elected this guy, the suburbs would be overwhelmed with violence and crime" -- Trump's campaign message has devolved into just straight-up trying to terrify people pic.twitter.com/nDTG6FKuBJ — Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) September 8, 2020
Trump made similar ominous claims in 2018 when he warned of “violence” if Republicans lost in the midterm elections. If Democrats win, they “will overturn everything that we’ve done and they’ll do it quickly and violently,” he told supporters at a White House dinner.
“I just hope there won’t be violence,” he told reporters when later asked to clarify his comments.
In an interview with Breitbart News back in March, Trump said that his supporters, “the tough people,” could make things “very bad” for his political opponents.
“I can tell you I have the support of the police, the support of the military, the support of the Bikers for Trump ― I have the tough people, but they don’t play it tough — until they go to a certain point, and then it would be very bad, very bad,” he said.
During his 2016 presidential campaign, Trump even seemed to suggest that some of his supporters might target one opponent in particular ― Hillary Clinton.
Advertisement
“If she gets to pick her judges, nothing you can do, folks,” he said at a rally before adding: “Although the Second Amendment people — maybe there is, I don’t know.”
Though he didn’t specify exactly what enthusiasts of the Second Amendment ― which protects the right to bear arms ― could do, his comment was seen as a veiled assassination threat against Clinton.
Mail-in voting is “a very dangerous thing.”
Trump has continually tried to foment public distrust in the nation’s electoral system, particularly turning his attack on mail-in voting, which he has claimed ― without any supporting evidence ― will lead to mass voter fraud and the destruction of American democracy.
“The only way they can take this election away from us ― if it is a rigged election,” he said last month.
Speaking with reporters in May, Trump called mail-in voting “a very dangerous thing.” In June, he tweeted that it would lead to “the Election disaster of our time,” “the scandal of our times” and “the most RIGGED Election in our nation’s history.”
Advertisement
Glad I was able to get the very dishonest LameStream Media to finally start talking about the RISKS to our Democracy from dangerous Universal Mail-In-Voting (not Absentee Voting, which I totally support!). — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 30, 2020
In addition to sowing doubts about election integrity, Trump threatened to punish states that expand mail-in voting by withholding federal funding. He has suggested delaying the November election (something that is constitutionally not possible without congressional authorization) and said he may not accept the election’s results, telling reporters “I have to see.”
Last month, he also baselessly suggested that ballot boxes are a Covid-19 risk.
The economy will crash “like you’ve never seen.”
Trump’s message when it comes to the stock market and the economy has been clear: Vote for me or suffer another Great Depression.
“You put the wrong person in office, you’ll see things that you would not have believed were possible,” Trump told voters during a White House event in July. “You’ll have a crash like you’ve never seen before.”
He warned on Twitter that 401(k) accounts and stock holdings could “disintegrate and disappear” if he is not reelected in November.
Advertisement
If you want your 401k’s and Stocks, which are getting close to an all time high (NASDAQ is already there), to disintegrate and disappear, vote for the Radical Left Do Nothing Democrats and Corrupt Joe Biden. Massive Tax Hikes - They will make you very poor, FAST! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 6, 2020
Trump made similar fearmongering comments in August of last year.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-09-11--Steps Reunite Again & Love Island USA | Good Vibes Only

Steps Reunite Again & Love Island USA | Good Vibes Only
This week in entertainment, Steps return with a new single and tour. We talk about the nostalgia pop sounds of Dua Lipa, Kylie Minogue, Beyoncé and Lady Gaga. We take a look at Love Island USA, Charlie Kaufman’s new Netflix film and of course, the nudists that appeared on This Morning.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-09-11--Trump Said He’d Give Himself An 'A' For His Handling Of Covid-19

LOADING ERROR LOADING
Donald Trump told journalist Bob Woodward in July that he deserved an A for his handling of the coronavirus pandemic that had already killed over 70,000 people by that time.
The Washington Post reporter interviewed Trump 18 times for roughly nine hours total for his new book, “Rage.” Continuing a discussion about his leadership, the president told Woodward in July how he thought he’d handled Covid-19.
Advertisement
Trump insisted that he’d begun “executing” his plans, saying “I will have immigration done. I will have health care done. I think we’re going to have vaccines soon. I think we already have them.”
“But they’re in tests,” he added. “And you’ll see them being announced over the next month. Now would you view that as a game-changer?”
Woodward responded by asking Trump what grade he would give himself for his handling of the pandemic.
“I give ourselves an A,” said Trump. “But the grade is incomplete, and I’ll tell you why. If we come up with the vaccines and therapeutics, then I give myself an A-plus.”
Advertisement
MANDEL NGAN via Getty Images
Taking it further, Woodward asked Trump what he’s “learned” about himself.
“I can handle more than other people can handle,” Trump replied. He added that “very strong people, people that are successful, even” had told him, “I swear to you, I don’t know how it’s possible for you to handle what you handle. How you’ve done this, with the kind of opposition, the kind of shenanigans, the kind of illegal witch hunts.”
The president later added that “the virus has nothing to do with me” and said, “It’s not my fault. It’s ― China let the damn virus out.”
Covid-19 has now claimed the lives of more than 190,000 Americans and more than 900,000 people worldwide.
In an earlier interview with Woodward, Trump admitted that he knowingly downplayed the severity of the disease.
Advertisement


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-09-11--Kate Winslet On Working With Woody Allen, Roman Polanski: 'What The F**k Was I Doing?'

LOADING ERROR LOADING
In a candid new interview with Vanity Fair about a turning point in her career, Kate Winslet is expressing regret over working with accused sexual abuser Woody Allen and admitted child rapist Roman Polanski.
The Oscar-winner once courted a fair bit of controversy for raving about the “extraordinary working experience” she had with both directors after starring in Allen’s 2017 film Wonder Wheel and Carnage, Polanski’s screen adaptation of the play God of Carnage in 2011.
Advertisement
Kate Winslet attends a screening of Woody Allen's "Wonder Wheel" in 2017. Evan Agostini/Invision/AP
“It’s like, what the fuck was I doing working with Woody Allen and Roman Polanski?” she told Vanity Fair in a piece published on Thursday.
“It’s unbelievable to me now how those men were held in such high regard, so widely in the film industry and for as long as they were,” she added.
“It’s fucking disgraceful. And I have to take responsibility for the fact that I worked with them both. I can’t turn back the clock. I’m grappling with those regrets but what do we have if we aren’t able to just be fucking truthful about all of it?”
Advertisement
Winslet was moved to speak out because, as she put it, “life is fucking short and I’d like to do my best when it comes to setting a decent example to younger women.”
“It’s unbelievable to me now how those men were held in such high regard, so widely in the film industry and for as long as they were,” said Winslet, center, with Allen, right. Todd Williamson via Getty Images
For decades, Allen’s daughter Dylan Farrow has accused her father of sexually abusing her when she was a child. Allen has repeatedly denied her allegations.
Polanski pleaded guilty to the statutory rape of a 13-year-old girl as part of a plea deal in 1977, then fled the country before he was sentenced. Other women have since accused him of raping them as children.
After repeatedly praising Allen in the press despite the increased scrutiny he received during the Me Too movement (“He understands the female characters he creates exceptionally well,” she once gushed), Winslet seemingly had a change of heart.
Advertisement
While on stage at the London Film Critics’ Circle Awards in 2018, a tearful Winslet acknowledged the “poor decisions” she’d made in working with certain individuals but didn’t mention any names.
Roman Polanski and Kate Winslet attend the premiere of Carnage at Cinema Gaumont Marignan on November 20, 2011 in Paris. Francois G. Durand via Getty Images
“There are directors, producers and men of power who have for decades been awarded and applauded for their highly regarded work by both this industry and moviegoers alike. Indeed, many actors have had flourishing careers due in part to roles played in their films,” Winslet said at the ceremony. “The message we received for years was that it was the highest compliment to be offered roles by these men.”
She added: “As women around the world and from all walks of life marched last weekend, once again joining together to speak out about harassment, exploitation and abuse, I realised that I wouldn’t be able to stand here this evening and keep to myself some bitter regrets that I have at poor decisions to work with individuals with whom I wish I had not.”
Winslet made the comments after Dylan Farrow directly called her out, along with other actors including Blake Lively and Greta Gerwig, for continuing to support the filmmaker.
Advertisement
Now, Winslet said, she’s thinking more critically about the roles she takes, her place in the entertainment industry and the legacy she’s leaving behind.
She told Vanity Fair: “We’re handing them a pretty fucked up world, so I’d like to do my bit in having some proper integrity.”


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-09-11--Big Bang Theory Star Kaley Cuoco Reveals Little Known Fact About Her Past With Jennifer Aniston

LOADING ERROR LOADING
Cuoco revealed on Instagram what she called a “little known fact” — that one of her first parts ever was in Aniston’s 1997 movie Picture Perfect.
Advertisement
Kaley Cuoco Mario Anzuoni / reuters
At that point, Aniston was already a household name on TV and Cuoco was a budding actor who’d only had a few acting gigs. Cuoco said she appeared last in the credits as “Little Girl,” and she’s still listed as such on IMDB.
Alas, Cuoco’s one line ultimately got cut from the scene, but that’s far from her most prominent memory.
Advertisement
“All I remember is spending the entire day convincing myself to tell Jen how much I loved her. (Friends was my life at that point),” she wrote alongside a photo of her standing next to a “Picture Perfect” poster. “She was a gem to me then and a gem to me now (and to everyone she knows).”
Cuoco said she came upon the poster outside her dressing room, jogging her memory. The ad features Aniston’s character, an advertising executive, holding an umbrella.
Jennifer Aniston Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-09-11--Exclusive: Muslim Medics Taunted About Bacon And Alcohol – By Their Own NHS Colleagues

Muslim NHS workers have told HuffPost UK how Islamophobia is rife in the organisation, with their own colleagues making disgraceful comments and denying them opportunities to progress or even socialise.
We teamed up with the British Islamic Medical Association (BIMA) for a flagship, in-depth survey of more than 100 Muslim health workers – one of the most significant of its kind.
Advertisement
A shocking 81% revealed they had experienced Islamophobia or racism within the NHS, 69% felt it had got worse during their time at the organisation and more than half – 57% – felt Islamophobia had held them back in their career progression within the NHS.
Many Muslims voiced a culture of “swallow it up” in the NHS, leaving people fearful of reporting Islamophobia in case of repercussions for their job or career progression.
One Muslim female consultant said she felt that “you may as well flush your medical degree down the toilet” rather than reporting Islamophobia from a colleague or manager. She described the NHS as a “family which will close ranks to protect their own against those perceived as outsiders”.
Being “visibly Muslim”, such as wearing a hijab or having a long beard, made it more likely for Muslim NHS workers to face Islamophobia. One woman said she stopped wearing the hijab as it was “like wearing a sign saying ‘kick me’.”
Advertisement
Meanwhile, alcohol – forbidden in Islam – has been described as a “social glue” in the NHS, with many Muslims believing they have missed out on career and bonding opportunities because socialising outside work revolves around drink.
And while there are many incidents of outright bullying and harassment, it is the subtle, more difficult to prove Islamophobia within the NHS that is the “most dangerous discrimination”, say Muslim healthcare workers.
A staggering 43% admitted they had considered leaving the NHS because of Islamophobia.
Our survey conducted in conjunction with BIMA had 133 respondents from all over the country working in various NHS roles including consultants, surgeons, GPs, pharmacists and medical students.
One Muslim NHS worker said: “I think Islamophobia has increased in society at large and this is reflected in the NHS.”
Salman Waqar, general secretary at BIMA, who is also a doctor, told HuffPost UK: “It reflects a wider societal unease about religion and the way spirituality and belief is seen as a problem.
Advertisement
“Some Muslims will not make a fuss because of fear of retribution. But making small compromises causes turbulence and unease internally.
“This creates a sense of not belonging for Muslims in the NHS and biological weathering. They feel they have to put on their uniform, turn up for work and justify their existence to colleagues.”
Hina J Shahid, chair of the Muslim Doctors Association, who is also a GP, said: “We see people celebrating diversity in all its forms in the NHS – but people generally don’t want to talk about religion. It is like a taboo subject.
“Belonging to a religious group is almost seen as going against the scientific nature of being a doctor.”
Hijabs
Kiran Rahim, paediatric registrar who wears a hijab in the NHS Kiran Rahim
Advertisement
“In the NHS, you realise there’s something about the hijab that really riles people,” says Kiran Rahim, a paediatric registrar in London. “People make assumptions about you. When people first see me, they presume I don’t speak English, or I have an accent.”
She says judgements are made about women in hijabs and she is asked questions by colleagues like: “Does your husband make you wear that?” and “Do you wear your hijab when you shower?”
“I would expect people I work with to be more clued up. I am as British as they come, but my religion is part of my identity.”
Muslim women told HuffPost UK they were often perceived to be less educated due to wearing headscarves, and received backhanded compliments such as surprise at how well they spoke English – even when they were born and raised in the UK.
Zineb Mehbali, 32, a registrar in obstetrics and gynaecology, believes a culture exists within the NHS where people are discriminated against for being different.
Advertisement
She wears a hijab and experienced overt Islamophobia at one hospital when her locker was vandalised and had the word “hijab” scrawled across it.
“I’m quite resilient, but there have been situations where I’ve cried at work,” she said. “When my locker was vandalised for being Muslim, it made me feel vulnerable but also very hurt as I knew a colleague had done that.”
Zineb Mehbali, 32, a registrar in obstetrics and gynaecology Zineb Mehbali
Many Muslim women told HuffPost Islamophobic attitudes to the hijab are hidden behind infection control. Even when they’ve been given permission to wear hijabs in theatre and wash them at the same temperatures as theatre caps, they are persistently challenged.
Mehbali was once shouted at by a member of operating staff who described her as “a hazard to patient safety”. “She was really aggressive and intimidating and made me feel incredibly humiliated.”
Advertisement
On another occasion, Mehbali was working on a labour ward wearing a clean hijab and scrubs when it emerged a CQC inspection was going to take place. A boss told her they would have to hide her away. “It made me feel like a blot on the landscape and was completely unacceptable.”
Zineb admits her job in the NHS would be a lot easier if she didn’t wear a headscarf. “I feel I’ve had to work a lot harder, especially as I’ve moved up the ranks.
“When you become a registrar or consultant, I feel it’s harder if you wear a headscarf. People have to take notice of you as their colleague.”
Ramsha Hanif, 27, a pharmacist in Derbyshire, doesn’t ordinarily wear a headscarf but was shaken by a former manager’s reaction when he saw a photo of her wearing one.
“He really stared at my driving licence photo then told me I looked scary,” Hanif said.
“I thought he meant I had a stern expression. But after a while, he said: ‘It’s that thing,’ and told me the headscarf made me look scary.
Advertisement
“I was shocked as no one had ever said anything like that before.”
The manager then questioned Hanif about the application she was filling in, asking: “It’s not to join ISIS is it?”
Ramsha Hanif's driving licence photograph
Ramsha reported the issue. The manager began calling in sick, then officially retired, so no action was taken.
Ramsha said: “What hurt most was his whole opinion of me changed from seeing one picture of me wearing a headscarf.”
A female A&E doctor told HuffPost UK she wore a hijab for many years. She said that, while non-practising Muslims who went out drinking were seen as “one of the gang”, those considered “too orthodox or religious” were viewed as a problem.
Advertisement
At one hospital, a Hindu colleague warned her consultants and registrars were saying Islamophobic things behind her back. But he was unwilling to go on record for fear of repercussions. “It was not about being brown – it was Islamophobic,” she said.
“I’ve gone as far as saying I’m agnostic and am from the Indian subcontinent. If I reveal my identity as Muslim or Pakistani, I know I’ll be treated differently.”
The A&E doctor revealed she has become less open about her faith throughout her career and no longer wears a hijab or tells people she is Muslim. “I’ve gone as far as saying I’m agnostic and am from the Indian subcontinent,” she admitted. “If I reveal my identity as Muslim or Pakistani, I know I’ll be treated differently.
“There are Islamophobes within the NHS who are intelligent enough to hide their hatred of Muslims under other guises such as picking on a doctor’s professionalism.
“As a Muslim, you have to work twice as hard and never make any mistakes as you know they’ll be magnified.”
Advertisement
People now openly make Islamophobic remarks in front of her, not realising she is a Muslim. “It’s really opened my eyes to the horrifying Islamophobia that exists in the NHS,” she said.
But she added: “Wearing a hijab in the NHS was like wearing a sign saying ‘kick me’. I just don’t have room in my life for that kind of stress.”
Sabeeta Farooqi, 36, a trainee GP in Leeds
Sabeeta Farooqi, 36, a trainee GP in Leeds, who is from Pakistan, recalls a sign on a board while she was taking a medical exam allowing her to practice in this country that read: “If you wear a face covering, it’s very unlikely any NHS employer will give you a job.”
Khadija, 21, a medical student in Bristol, was told by her mentor, a Muslim GP, that if she wanted to get far in medicine, she really needed to remove her hijab.
Advertisement
“I was shocked,” said Khadija. “She was trying to warn me of the difficulties that lay ahead. But I didn’t want to feel forced to choose between my religious and cultural identity and my career aspirations.
“I’m not going to stop wearing the hijab because other people have a problem with it. That’s their issue, not mine.”
Even at this early stage of her medical career, Khadija has witnessed the impact Islamophobia has. “Unfortunately, I know a couple of medical students who have been badly affected by Islamophobia,” she said. “One has left the course and completely foregone a career in medicine. The other has removed the hijab, stopped practising her religion and lost contact with her family.”
“I’m not going to stop wearing the hijab because other people have a problem with it. That’s their issue, not mine.” - Khadija, a medical student in Bristol
Shahid has been researching the effects of Islamophobia on Muslim doctors and says women are at greater risk of discrimination.
Advertisement
“If Muslim women wear a headscarf, they stand out as being different and are more likely to feel discriminated,” she said.
“Many have reported feeling stressed, anxious and depressed. This affects their future choices. If they have a negative experience in a hospital setting, they’re more likely to choose a non-hospital setting or even leave the NHS.”
‘Just banter’ – terrorists, bombs and bacon
Sometimes Islamophobia in the NHS is subtle and discreet and hidden under the guise of “banter”, many Muslims told HuffPost UK.
When Mahdiyah Bandali, now a graduate paramedic in Birmingham, first began working for the ambulance service, she noticed the lack of diversity and realised she was the only hijab-wearing woman. “The first time I walked into an ambulance station, there was an attitude of: ‘What are you doing here?’ – I stuck out like a sore thumb.”
Mahdiyah Bandali, 21, a graduate paramedic based in Birmingham HuffPost UK
Advertisement
Colleagues would ask: “Why do you wear that?”, “Do men control your life?” or even: “Will you get married off after you graduate and not work?”
During Ramadan at one ambulance placement, Mahdiyah recalls colleagues eating bacon sandwiches in front of her while taunting her: “Are we breaking your fast?” or urging: “Go on, eat a piece of bacon.”
Madiyah would be greeted jokingly when entering an ambulance station with: “Here she comes! What kind of bomb have you got for us today?”
She said: “While I laugh it off, I can see how other people might find it offensive or how it could lead to them leaving the NHS. At the end of the day, it’s a type of bullying.”
One hospital doctor told how he was carrying a lot of bleepers when a colleague said: “You look like a suicide bomber.”
Advertisement
Many Muslims say a lot of Islamophobia goes under the radar. “It wouldn’t be admissible in a tribunal as it’s subtle undermining which happens on a daily basis,” said one doctor.
“There is plenty of racism affecting people from all BAME backgrounds, but there is a specific anti-Muslim agenda among some NHS colleagues.”
“One hospital doctor told how he was carrying a lot of bleepers when a colleague said: “You look like a suicide bomber.””
Many Muslims in the NHS keep quiet when it comes to reporting Islamophobia, for fear of repercussions or impacting career progression. Paediatric registrar Kiran Rahim said: “Medicine is very hierarchical and the people you complain to may also be the ones responsible for your progress. So, many Muslims keep the peace and don’t feel empowered to pursue discrimination further.”
One worker said in the survey: “The NHS pays lip service to diversity and racism but in reality has no interest in addressing these problems genuinely and just wants to appear to be doing the right thing.”
Advertisement
Prayers
Image Source via Getty Images
“Praying for a practising Muslim is like food and water,” says Emma Wiley, a microbiology consultant in London. “It is a necessity, something they need to do.”
But many Muslims face barriers to praying at work in the NHS. Emma, 38, was told she couldn’t pray in an empty office and had to use the main prayer room.
“When you’re a busy medic, time is very poor. Walking to another place takes time,” she said. “Not allowing me to use this empty room for five minutes to pray seemed unnecessarily obstructive.”
Emma Wiley, a microbiology consultant, has faced obstacles to praying within the NHS Emma Wiley
Advertisement
On another occasion, Emma was praying in a cloakroom when a laboratory scientist “with his face full of rage” told her to find an alternative place to pray.
One Muslim NHS worker revealed he wasn’t allowed to go to the prayer room at his hospital as it would “take too much time to walk there”. He also wasn’t allowed time off during Ramadan or allowed to operate while fasting.
Another doctor described how he was constantly bleeped during prayer time and asked: “Doesn’t your God know you have jobs to do?”
Usman, 25, a medical student in Glasgow
Medical student Usman, 25, who lives in Scotland, told HuffPost UK he was given permission to be regularly late to class to attend Friday prayers – yet would be hauled up and asked why he was late almost every week.
Advertisement
“I feel a lot of it stems from a lack of understanding,” he said. “Many people in the NHS – particularly consultants who supervise students – believe medicine comes first and everything else second.
“They cannot understand why anyone would put their religion before their medical classes.”
Alcohol and career progression
Taiyou Nomachi via Getty Images
Climbing the ladder in the NHS often occurs through social cohesion, which involves drinking in pubs, several respondents said. One explained: “Alcohol is a social lubricant and many Muslims are left out of career progression as we avoid places associated with the sale and consumption of alcohol.”
A female Muslim doctor said she was bullied mercilessly by two other doctors after she declined to sit at a table where alcohol was served. “They began picking on me. Their biggest issue was the fact I didn’t drink.
“It was horrendous. They refused to teach me, and spread rumours about me. One told me I wasn’t cut out to be a doctor and to give up.
Advertisement
“They were very devious and made me feel it was all in my head. It was like gaslighting.”
A Muslim doctor in emergency medicine heard a fellow trainee frequently bragging about opportunities he’d gained while drinking in the pub with a consultant.
Waqar from BIMA said: “Alcohol is a huge part of British culture, but for the majority of Muslims it’s not permissible. When it comes to career progression, that can be difficult.
“A lot of career progression and mentoring in the NHS takes place outside the work environment. Awards events often happen in places where alcohol is served.
“If you’re a person who feels uncomfortable being at a table with alcohol, you’ll feel conflicted. Some might not go, so miss out.”
It’s not just alcohol that leads to Muslims in the NHS missing out on progression. Mehbali says, when she was training, she wasn’t given the same opportunities as white colleagues.
Advertisement
“There were times at training opportunities when white people more junior than me were allowed to operate and I wasn’t.
“Even though I was competent and knew how to do the procedure, I wasn’t allowed to do the things my peers were doing.
“I spent eight months with a particular consultant before I was allowed to operate, while others were allowed to straight away. I feel it was because I am visibly Muslim with a hijab.
“It’s very disheartening to feel sidelined. When you’re learning practical skills, you need training opportunities or you’ll fall behind.”
One male Muslim doctor said: “The career progression of Muslims in the NHS is far more stunted than their white counterparts. The hurdles are more difficult and challenging.”
Advertisement
Why is there Islamophobia in the NHS?
The stark lack of Muslims in leadership roles within the NHS has been cited as one of the reasons behind Islamophobia affecting the organisation.
“Even if you get some who are Muslim or BAME, they’ve often had to neglect the cultural and religious aspects of their identity to get to their position,” says medical student Khadija, who also believes negative portrayals of Muslims in society and media exacerbate Islamophobia.
“Until the management within the NHS is reflective of its workforces, it’s going to be incredibly difficult to root out and address Islamophobia,” said one Muslim hospital registrar.
“I would argue the reason there’s so much Islamophobia in the NHS is because Muslims are repressed from leadership roles and find it more difficult to climb the ladder.
“So it becomes a vicious circle – they can’t support juniors facing the same issues.”
But he added: “There are some very supportive and open minded line managers. It’s not a problem with everyone.”
Advertisement
YingFei Heliot, a lecturer in organisational behaviour at Surrey Business School, published a report on religious identity and working in the NHS. She found Muslims faced the worst discrimination of any group.
YingFei Heliot, a lecturer in organisational behaviour at Surrey Business Schoo
“Everyone recognises Islamophobia exists, but they don’t want to talk about it because it’s so sensitive,” she said.
Tarek Younis, researcher and psychologist at Middlesex University, researches Islamophobia. His latest publication is on the issue within the NHS.
“When people think about Islamophobia, they focus on hate crimes,” he said. “But by doing this, they miss the wood for the trees.
Advertisement
“We neglect how certain policies and political rhetoric formulates the bedrock of how racial discrimination takes place.”
Tarek Younis, researcher and psychologist at Middlesex University, who researches Islamophobia Tarek Younis
He says it’s important to realise NHS professionals are just people – and as such can hold prejudices. “The Brexit campaign succeeded on a lot of radicalised logic. A lot of middle-class and healthcare workers voted for it.
“We know the healthcare setting is not a place where people just drop all their prejudices when they enter, be that patients or healthcare staff.
“What is important is to recognise what’s not being done about it.”
“We know the healthcare setting is not a place where people just drop all their prejudices when they enter, be that patients or healthcare staff.” - Tarek Younis, researcher and psychologist at Middlesex University
Advertisement
More crucial, says Waqar, is ensuring the board understands the importance of an organisation where people can “bring their whole selves to work”.
“This is a systemic issue and there’s no simple fix.” he said. “The solution isn’t just putting staff members on a course. It will take years to see a cultural shift.
“Sometimes, Islamophobia stems from ignorance and doesn’t come from a bad place. But there are more serious incidents which come from a pernicious place as people within the NHS are believing the anti-Muslim narrative.”
Habib Naqvi, interim director for the NHS Workforce Race Equality Standard at NHS England, said: “While this survey represents only a snapshot of the 40,000 Muslim colleagues who work in the NHS, it is unacceptable for anyone to be unsafe or to be treated unfairly, either because of their religious belief or any other protected characteristic.
“The NHS belongs to us all, and as part of the NHS People Plan, NHS employers are committed to increasing Black, Asian and minority ethnic representation across their leadership teams.”


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-09-11--What's The Best Way To Store Face Masks During The Pandemic?

LOADING ERROR LOADING
Face masks have become a normal part of our daily lives as we navigate the Covid-19 pandemic. Just as you wouldn’t leave the house without your keys, phone and wallet, these days you wouldn’t walk out the door without a face covering in tow, too.
By now, we know which materials work well for face masks, and how to properly wear them and wash them. But what should you do with your face coverings when you’re not wearing them?
Advertisement
We asked infectious disease experts to share advice on how to safely store your cloth masks at home.
Designate a clean, dry place to keep your masks.
It could be in a separate drawer, breathable container or bag. Keep them away from other objects you touch frequently, potentially with unwashed hands, Peter Chin-Hong, an infectious diseases doctor and professor of medicine at the University of California, San Francisco, told HuffPost.
“For example, I won’t keep them in my underwear drawer or area where you handle kitchen towels,” he said. “Don’t go nuts about ensuring absolute sterility like if you are in a biosafety laboratory. The most important thing is to keep the clean cloth masks in an area that does not normally see a lot of hand traffic.”
If you have trouble remembering to bring a mask when you leave the house, you may want to keep clean ones near the front door, said Amanda Castel, professor of epidemiology at the George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health. Hang them on hooks by their ear straps so you can just grab one and go.
Advertisement
Matthew Williams-Ellis via Getty Images Hanging clean masks by the front door on a hook or coat rack may help you remember to grab it when you leave the house.
However you choose to store them, be sure not to mix your clean masks with the dirty ones. Designate another bag or bin for the used ones, perhaps labelling it to avoid confusion. Or you can toss them in the hamper with other dirty laundry.
Consider keeping clean masks separated by person, if possible.
“We focus on Covid, but there are 300 other viruses that cause the common cold,” Chin-Hong said. “It is just good infection control practice. If each member in the household handles their own clean stash, it reduces the risk of fomite transmission on potentially unclean hands that can transmit other common respiratory viruses as well.” (Fomite transmission is where you can get infected from a contaminated surface or object.)
Basically, if one of your kids rifles through the communal mask bag with unwashed hands, you don’t want him contaminating all of the other masks, too. But if keeping facial coverings for your family together in one bin is more manageable for you, that works, too.
“Alternatively, you can keep them in one place but have one household member in charge of distribution using good hand-washing practices prior to handling the masks,” Chin-Hong said.
Advertisement
Castel agreed that storing all of the clean masks together is fine. However, she does not recommend sharing masks with other members of your household.
Carry your mask in a paper bag when you’re on the go.
Don’t just throw it directly into your purse, pocket or backpack where it could get damp, rip or come in contact with contaminated items. Instead, with clean hands, place the mask in a clean paper lunch bag first. (You can also use a plastic Ziploc baggie as a backup.) Then you can toss it into your bag if you’d like.
“Consider carrying it in a small bag that can be closed so it stays clean, dry and does not get damaged,” Castel said. (Though, she said she typically just puts hers on before walking out the door.)
Westend61 via Getty Images Make sure you have clean hands when handling your mask. Take it on and off using the ear loops or ties so that you don't risk contamination.
When you pull the mask out to put it on, always handle it by the ear loops or ties (and with clean hands, of course). Avoid touching the inside part of the mask that touches your face, what Chin-Hong refers to as the “inner sanctum.”
Advertisement
If you need to take the mask off temporarily while you’re out — perhaps at a restaurant or between stops while running errands — fold the mask in half and place it in the clean baggie for the time being. Some experts recommend folding it so that the inside part that touches your nose and mouth is facing inwards, while others recommend folding it the opposite way with the outside edges in towards each other.
“Wearing a mask is primarily meant to prevent you from infecting someone else, so if you assume [you’re] infectious, then the inside of the mask would be most contaminated. Therefore, it would make sense to fold it so that the inside is touching,” Castel said. “That said, there is also a chance that the outside of the mask has been contaminated by someone else’s droplets who was infectious, in which case you still want to be careful handling the outside of the mask. Regardless, try to keep the mask clean and wash your hands before and after handling it to reduce the risk of transmission.”
Don’t forget to wash your masks frequently.
Some experts say you can re-wear the same cloth mask multiple times in one day, as long as it’s not wet, soiled or torn. Others say you should play it safe and throw a used one in the laundry after each wear and grab a new one if you go out again.
“Simply putting it in the washing machine with the rest of the laundry and washing it in warm water is perfectly fine,” Chin-Hong said. “Dry in direct sunlight or on high heat. If you are washing the mask by hand, make sure you soak the cloth mask in bleach solution for five minutes, then rinse with water.”
You can make the solution with four teaspoons of bleach (use one that contains 5.25% – 8.25% sodium hypochlorite) per quart of room temperature water or one-third of a cup of bleach per gallon of room temperature water, according to the CDC.
Advertisement
the_burtons via Getty Images Make sure you dry your masks completely in the dryer or direct sunlight.
Disposable face coverings, like surgical masks, should not be washed and reworn. Discard them after each use.
And remember that wearing a face covering should always be done in conjunction with other preventative measures.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-09-11--Yes, We've Been On Holiday In The Pandemic – Don't Shame Us

LOADING ERROR LOADING
Travel shaming is on the rise because of the obvious: if you travel, you run the risk of spreading coronavirus. Some consider it selfish to go on a trip right now, while those who are jet-setting believe a well-rested break is needed.
Admit it, we’ve all been there and done it – or at least thought about it. Tapping away on Instagram Stories, replying with the heart eye emoji to a friend who’s lapping up the sun in southern Italy with an Aperol spritz in hand. Part happy for them, part jealous, and part thinking, “why on earth would you travel abroad right now when there’s so much uncertainty?”.
Advertisement
We’re judgmental human beings – something that became even more obvious during lockdown. Some snitched on people for flouting the rules, others judged those not wearing a face mask – and now, people are shaming others’ holidays.
why the fuck are people going on holiday in the middle of a pandemic? my instagram is full of it and it pisses me off so much — Burn Down M&M World (@LiamCFallon) September 9, 2020
But why are we guilt-tripping those who are able to jet off? After all, they’re allowed to – even though we might choose not to. We spoke to three people who’ve recently come back from their holidays to tell us their experiences.
Advertisement
‘It was a now or never moment!’
Monisha Gohil Monisha Gohil (left), 23, Digital PR at Datadial, from Hammersmith, West London, travelling with friends in Italy
Advertisement
Monisha Gohil, 23, digital PR at Datadial, from Hammersmith, west London, originally planned a trip to Italy in March with her housemate, to see their mutual best friend who was near the end of her Erasmus programme.
Luckily, though, she didn’t book anything as she wasn’t able to go due to the lockdown. Instead, they went from August 25 until September 2. “It was a now or never moment,” she says. “I wanted to find out about a chapter in my friend’s life that meant so much to her and that meant travelling there to experience it.”
Gohil went to Padova, a small town in northern Italy, and said they’d kept an eye on the Covid-19 cases there and in London for a while. “Cases didn’t seem to be rising so we just went for it in the safest way possible!”
Not everyone in Gohil’s circle of friends was comfortable with her holiday. She had a discussion with a close friend who said he didn’t understand why people were travelling at the moment. “He knew I had been abroad and said, ‘your trip was fine as it was once in a lifetime and to visit your best friend, but those travelling just to tan on a beach – I don’t understand’,” she says.
“It feels a bit surreal. I feel very lucky I was one of the few people to go abroad this year. I still stick by my decision to have gone. I got to see my best friend after a year, learn about her life abroad, and explore a unique city in Italy.”
Advertisement
‘If you do everything by the book, then go for it’
Nic Crilly-Hargrave Nic Crilly-Hargrave, 30, Photographer, from London in Lisbon
Nic Crilly-Hargrave, 30, a photographer from London, went away to Porto and Lisbon in Portugal with his wife last month, as they decided to make the most of the high season without the tourist masses.
“As we’re both freelance, we were happy to do the quarantine on return as its basically what we would’ve been doing anyway,” he tells HuffPost UK. “I don’t think it’s selfish to travel now. If you do everything by the book, stay safe and you’re fine with doing travel now, then go for it.”
Crilly-Hargrave was really pleased he managed to get away. “We enjoyed it so much that we booked another trip a few weeks later,” he says.
“The only concern we had was not a single person was being tested at our airport on arrival or even checking if their online forms were filled out – let alone if they were actually checking if people were quarantining after their return.”
Advertisement
‘We shouldn’t be made to feel guilty’
Jennifer Hodgson Jennifer Hodgson
Jennifer Hodgson, 31, director of Moda PR from Chester, took advantage of the August bank holiday to get away to Malia in Greece with her partner, dad, brother, and sister-in-law to celebrate her brother’s birthday.
“I didn’t face any backlash when I went away, but I do know others who have, which I think is unfair,” she says. “I think it’s selfish if you’re told to self-isolate and you don’t – that’s an issue.”
Hodgson felt grateful to be able to have a break while she could, after having two holidays cancelled this year. “For me, I work from home at the moment so quarantining wouldn’t have been an issue. I think most people would agree – if the government has allowed it we shouldn’t be made to feel guilty afterwards,” Hodgson tells HuffPost UK.
“Now I’m home, I’m relieved we got back before another lockdown came into place. I don’t think it would stop me from booking another trip in the future.”


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-09-11--These Ridiculously Cute Cards Are Made With Washed-Up Beach Plastic

LOADING ERROR LOADING
Flora Blathwayt has spent her time on furlough this year making greetings cards – but not just any cards. They’re made using washed up plastic from beaches.
The 33-year-old from Peckham, London, worked for a sustainable condiments company in London called Rubies in the Rubble, but was furloughed when the pandemic hit. And she used the time wisely.
Advertisement
She’d been to a River Thames beach cleaning event a year previously. “I was expecting to find loads of things like plastic bottles and crisp packets, but I was amazed at the amount of microplastics [plastic less than 5mm in length] we picked up,” she says. “Some were super colourful and almost jewel like so I randomly stashed a few pieces in my pockets.”
HuffPost UK McGivern Photography
HuffPost UK McGivern Photography
A week after the beach clean, her sister – who, for a long time, has been living plastic free – was getting married. Blathwayt decided to make her a homemade card using a few of the bits of plastic she’d collected. She had such fun making it, she decided to do more – and the response was really positive.
Advertisement
It wasn’t until lockdown started that she had the time on her hands to turn it into a proper venture. “I found myself beach cleaning more often and collecting more plastic with which to make cards,” she says. “At this point I decided to start making more cards and selling them on Etsy.”
HuffPost UK McGivern Photography
Starting a business has been energising, and also boosted her mentally. “Like a lot of people, I found lockdown quite tough at times, but the beach cleaning really helped me and it felt great doing something positive for the environment (however small). Being outside on the blustery Thames, really helps blow the cobwebs away. I also found making the cards very relaxing and therapeutic.”
So how does it all work? Blathwayt heads down to the beach with some gloves and a few bin bags to see what she can find. She collects the big stuff, which she recycles, but also picks up the tiny microplastics.
Every piece prompts its own design, which she hand-draws on recycled card. “Each one is totally unique and inspired by the plastic I find beach cleaning. I love figuring out how to incorporate the bits of plastic on to the designs.”
Advertisement
HuffPost UK Supplied
“Since lockdown has eased, I’ve started doing beach cleans further afield In places like Whitstable, Porlock and my new favourite place In the world – Hoddevik in Norway,” she says.
Blathwayt wraps the cards in upcycled packaging, instead of a plastic protective sleeve. “My favourite packaging I use at the moment is the jazzy wrapping paper that comes with the ethical loo roll I buy from Who Gives A Crap! The other thing I really love is the brilliant but awful (let’s be honest!) puns I use on the cards.”
HuffPost UK Supplied
Blathwayt acknowledges her cards aren’t going to dent the million tonnes of plastic entering our rivers and oceans every year, but if it helps spread a little love and “get a few people to be a bit more conscious about their plastic consumption” then it’s making progress, she says.
Advertisement
On September 26, she’s even organising her first ever official Washed Up cards beach clean in London for World Rivers Day. Find out more on Instagram.
HuffPost UK Supplied
HuffPost UK Supplied


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-09-11--10 Quirky Airbnb Stays To Give Your UK Staycation An Upgrade

HuffPost UK Airbnb
Brits are getting adventurous with accommodation for their staycation holidays, with more people looking for unique boltholes and beds for the night.
According to Air BnB, cabins, treehouses and farm stays have been the most searched-for unique homes on the platform. But people are also searching for boats, yurts and even private islands. They know how to holiday.
Advertisement
If you’re keen to give your staycation a little upgrade, have a look at the top 10 quirky Airbnb stays for your future trip.
The Rowan Yurt, Holmfirth, Yorkshire
HuffPost UK Airbnb
It’s like camping, with a bit of pizazz. This glamping yurt is set in a woodland on the edge of farmland in the Yorkshire Pennine hills. You’ll get your own stove, private kitchen and bathroom – and a hot tub. We’re sold.
Treehouse Retreat, Elham, East Kent
HuffPost UK Airbnb
Advertisement
You can sleep up to two guests in this actual treehouse – a childhood dream. The space is nested up in between three sturdy oak trees and the house itself is made from recycled timbers. You’ll get lush views of the north downs from your windows. There’s a heater and double glazing so you won’t get too cold, plus a space to cook, a Nespresso machine (yay) and a music system.
Lighthouse Keeper’s Cottage, Tobermory, Scotland
HuffPost UK Airbnb
You don’t get to stay in the actual lighthouse, but you’ll be very nearby. The former Lighthouse Keeper’s Cottage is in a really remote location on the Isle of Mull – if you’re looking for some peace and quiet. It can take up to six guests, and you access it by foot via a coastal footpath walk from Tobermory. You couldn’t get much more secluded if you tried.
Wooden Cabin On Secluded Island, Badachro, Scotland
HuffPost UK AirBnB
There are a few things you need to know about this cottage, according to the owners: there’s a difficult climb down to the island; it has a detached toilet and shower; and there’s limited heating in the winter months. Still keen? You’ll be holidaying in complete privacy in a gorgeous, green wooden cabin cottage for you and one other. Oh, and torches are provided free of charge.
Advertisement
Bubble Den, Portglenone, Northern Ireland
HuffPost UK Airbnb
This is as cool as it looks. It sleeps two people and you can literally sleep under the stars as the outer layer of the den is transparent – yep, people will be able to see you too, but it’s pretty remote so that shouldn’t be a problem. One reviewer even called the stay “flawless”, so we’d say it’s up there as one of the best.
Riverside Cabin, Constantine, Cornwall
HuffPost UK Airbnb
This hand-built home sleeps up to four guests and is surrounded by woodland (like many of these unique retreats).You will wake up to the sound of the wind in the leaves, and tinkling water and the crackling fire to relax you. It has a fire pit for outdoor cooking and a stream to paddle in.
Secluded Airship, Drimnin, Scotland
HuffPost UK Airbnb
Advertisement
Yes, you really can stay in an airship. It’s an “iconic, insulated aluminium pod designed by Roderick James with views of the Sound of Mull from dragonfly windows”, according to the owners. Gaze at the stars and enjoy some breathtaking views.
Castle, Portpatrick, Scotland
HuffPost UK Airbnb
You might have noticed the slight pattern here... that a lot of the quirky UK Airbnbs are in Scotland. So maybe it’s time to take a trip? This is a private and self-contained apartment inside an Edwardian historic castle. There are four bedrooms, three bathrooms, and it sleeps eight people comfortably.
Luxury Cabin, Herefordshire
HuffPost UK Airbnb
This modern cabin is on the corner of an organic farm – you get your own veranda and a private hot tub (which is always a selling point, let’s be honest). It’s a five minute walk to the market town of Kington, with eight pubs to choose from. What more could you want?
Advertisement
Geodesic Dome, Northumberland
HuffPost UK Airbnb


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-09-11--I Look White To Many. I’m Black. This Is What White People Say To Me

Courtesy of Cheryl Green Rosario The author is a fair-skinned Black woman who has been a fly on the wall when white people don't know anyone of color is looking or listening.
I am a Black woman who for most of my life has often been mistaken for white. And I’m here to tell you that for four decades white people have openly, even sometimes proudly, expressed their racism to me, usually with a wink and a smile, all while thinking I’m white too.
The incidents pile up, year after year — at a friend’s wedding, when I met a new roommate, at the grocery store, while riding in a taxi, and during innumerable other events from daily life.
Advertisement
As the nation begins, finally, to focus on the social injustice that takes place across this country — from the South where I grew up to the North where I’ve lived for the past 22 years ― I feel the collective pain. Even as a very fair-skinned Black woman with green eyes and light brown hair, I, too, have experienced racism. But I’ve also been a fly on the wall when white people didn’t know anyone of colour was looking or listening.
Imagine taking a car service to Newark airport for a business trip, and the driver, a retired white police officer, tells you and your white boss that were he still a cop, he would pull over the Black driver stopped next to us, just because he is Black. Or the white taxi driver who, during a business trip in the South, freely shares broad generalisations about groups of people, looking to either find a kindred soul or spark a debate with a Northerner — one who he thought was white.
Put yourself in my shoes when you move to Reston, Virginia, temporarily while you wait for your apartment to become available in Alexandria, and your new roommate, a young, white male, one who you thought was kind and warm, warns you to be careful of venturing into Washington, D.C., because every time he goes there he gets “robbed by Black people.”
“Really, every time?” I questioned.
Think how upsetting it would be to join your boyfriend at the time (who also looks all white but is biracial) at his friend’s wedding and one of the guests states he doesn’t want his daughter going to a particular concert because there will “be way too many Black people.”
Advertisement
How do you respond to something like this? How do you respond while at a social gathering where etiquette suggests politely smiling, or at least pretending not to have heard?
There’s the executive who asks, “Is this the ethnic Cheryl?” when I wear my hair curly rather than straight. What about the random stranger in the grocery store who can’t understand the texture of my son’s hair and repeatedly asks questions about my background while putting her hands all over my son’s head.
Imagine the district retail manager who balks at hiring a Black model for a fashion show I’m in charge of planning, despite the store having a diverse customer base. “She is just not right for this crowd, if you know what I mean.” I knew. But she didn’t know — that maybe I’m not right for her crowd, either.
Then there are the many women who, once they realise I’m Black, want me to help them “understand Black people” because they really haven’t had any exposure; as if we are some type of rare species and I’m their spokesmodel.
Some instances I hope are not coming from a place of hate, but rather incorrect assumptions based on too little information and a too-fast glimpse at my face. The medical records that say white instead of Black. The doctor who doesn’t understand why I’m asking questions related to genetic conditions that are more common to particular ethnic groups. The employee file that doesn’t count me as one of their diverse hires. The committee that doesn’t realise they have a person of colour represented. The performer who asks why don’t we have any Black people in the audience tonight — while looking directly at me, seated right in front.
Advertisement
And yet, it still hurts.
Whether in my personal or professional life — rather ironic, since I work in the field of philanthropy, diversity, equity and inclusion — this is the type of fear, ignorance and lack of self-awareness that I have witnessed and experienced for over 40 years. I’m 51, and I’m exhausted.
I’m tired of weighing, each time, whether I am going to say something in response to these hateful statements—because I must continue to advocate for what is right — or if I am going to walk away because I’m just too damn tired. Or stay silent, while gaining more insight into what really is on the minds of some when they don’t think a Black person is listening?
But do I really need any more insight? Any more proof of what some will say or do if they think no one’s watching? Does it really matter if I’m living in the South or now in the North? In a city or suburbs? At work or running errands around town? At a social event or on public transportation? When it’s clear from my own experiences and the indifferent attitude toward the suffering of others —spotlighted these last months, but enacted for years, decades, centuries before — that some of those same people don’t even care when the eyes of the world are on them.
Yes, I’m exhausted. But I must act.
When I hear racist comments clearly meant for white ears only, I have to stay, I have to stand, I have to speak up, challenge, identify myself, educate. I must walk with my fair-minded brothers and sisters of every color to call out racism whenever I see it and do my part to make this a more just world.
And I must say, “I’m Black, too.”
Cheryl Green Rosario is working on a memoir about her experiences as a light-skinned Black woman often mistaken for white. This article first appeared on HuffPost Personal.
Advertisement


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-09-11--Boris Johnson Tells Rebel Tories He Won't Back Down On Law-Breaking Brexit Plans

LOADING ERROR LOADING
Boris Johnson has told Tory MPs he will not compromise on his plan to break international law over Brexit despite signs of a significant backbench rebellion, sources told HuffPost UK.
The prime minister defended his controversial plans to take powers to renege on key sections of his own Brexit withdrawal agreement (WA) as talks on a trade deal with the EU enter a critical phase.
Advertisement
Johnson also pleaded with MPs not to foster a return to the febrile atmosphere that engulfed parliament last year in the run-up to the December election and the UK’s subsequent exit from the EU in January.
It comes as dozens of rebel Tory MPs line up to support veteran Bob Neill’s amendment to the Internal Market Bill next week, which is designed to introduce a parliamentary veto over Johnson’s controversial plans to go back on the WA.
“We must not go back to the miserable, squabbling days of last autumn,” the PM told MPs in a Zoom conference call on Friday.
“He must be feeling a bit like Julian Assange in the embassy”
Advertisement
He also hinted that the plans were part of a negotiating strategy to get a Canada-style trade deal with the EU in time for the end of the transition period on December 31
“We must support our negotiating position in Brussels,” he said.
MPs were split on Johnson’s performance, with one saying he did “very well” and remained “full square” behind the Bill.
Others however noted the PM did not take questions and appeared to be reading from a script. Some MPs were locked out of the well-attended meeting due to restrictions on numbers.
At one point, Johnson dropped out of the call due to a bad connection, which prompted arch Brexiteer Steve Baker to ask: “Shall I take over?”
Theresa May, who was described as cracking jokes throughout the meeting, raised laughs when she replied: “No.”
Advertisement
Flamboyant backbencher Michael Fabricant then helped fill the gap, which lasted a few minutes, by singing a verse of Rule Britannia. He had the words printed out on his desk, which he then showed to MPs.
One MP quipped that Johnson was like a “prisoner of No.10 without decent wifi”, an apparent reference to chief aide Dominic Cummings’ influence in Downing Street.
“He must be feeling a bit like Julian Assange in the embassy,” they added.
Another said Johnson’s stance was “pure politics” and “part of the negotiation”.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-09-11--Can Boris Johnson Stop The ‘Summer Recovery’ From Turning Into A Stormy Autumn?

Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak arrive to attend a cabinet meeting of senior government ministers at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. ASSOCIATED PRESS
You’re reading The Waugh Zone, our daily politics briefing. Sign up now to get it by email in the evening.
Appy days are here again?
Boris Johnson is having to firefight on several fronts at the moment. Some of his own MPs are in revolt about his ‘Rule of Six’. Some are furious about his ‘last resort’ plans to break international law. Others are demanding rapid improvement in test-and-trace, a priority starkly underlined today when the UK’s crucial Covid ‘R number’ rose above 1.
Advertisement
But as a man who prefers to see the glass half full rather than half empty, there were three welcome developments for the prime minister in just a few hours: the signing of a new UK-Japan trade deal, GDP figures showing the economy bouncing back and - most timely of all - an actual launch date for the long-awaited contact-tracing app.
With an alarming rise in the R number showing virus cases doubling every eight days across the country, the app could not come soon enough. In what feels like a smart move (not least to increase its take-up by the public), the app will allow pubs, restaurants, hairdressers, cinemas to log the details of all customers who scan a simple QR code on entry.
Given that contact tracing rates in the community are much lower than those for hospitals and care homes, let’s hope the new app (launched on September 24) will have an impact. The testing bottlenecks are still a here-and-now problem that Matt Hancock and Dido Harding have to sort out, but an app brings an extra weapon to the knife fight against corona.
The Japan deal has great symbolism because it is the first the UK has signed one as an “independent” nation (copyright Liz Truss) and will help car manufacturers and others. It could prove a stepping stone to the much bigger prize of joining the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) with lots of Asian nations.
Advertisement
A dose of realism came when it emerged that the deal was worth a tiny amount to overall GDP (0.07%) and what really continues to worry the stock market is the rumbling thunder of a no-trade-deal outcome with the EU. Adam Marshall, of the British Chambers of Commerce, said that while the Japan deal was welcome, “securing a Free Trade Agreement with the EU remains critical to the future of businesses in the UK”.
As for GDP, the 6.6% month-on-month growth posted today gave the first hint of a V-shaped recovery that’s even better than the OBR forecast. Of course, the “V” is much deeper than even during the 2008 financial crisis, so there’s a longer way back up. Monthly GDP is still also a massive 11.7% down on pre-pandemic levels.
The ‘Eat Out To Help Out’ scheme wasn’t captured by the July figures and it should fuel more bounceback. But to get a clue to the fragmented nature of the recovery, this Resolution Foundation chart says it all. Financial services are basically fine, but hospitality and entertainment were flat on their back and construction and manufacturing around 10% down. With few sectors likely to repeat July’s growth, we could see a wonky ‘L-shaped’ recovery instead.
It’s no wonder there are growing calls on Rishi Sunak to extend the furlough jobs scheme in some way. With 2.3 million workers still on furlough, the Treasury select committee added their voice to the chorus today. The Joseph Rowntree Foundation have called for sectors hit hardest by Covid (hospitality, retail and beauty) to get special help, with new research showing the job losses will hit young people, women and Asian communities hardest (the latter already at higher health risk than other groups).
It’s possible that new “targeted help” will be designed by Sunak, though he’s adamant that furlough has to end in its current form. The Treasury was delighted when the Bank of England Governor supported ending furlough. Bank chief economist Andy Haldane told CityAM this week said the UK bounceback was “quite remarkable” and not given enough credit.
Advertisement
But Haldane also said something for which a minister would be crucified. He talked of job losses as “the necessary process of adjustment” (a bit like Norman Lamont’s “a price worth paying”) and said “keeping all those jobs on life support is in some ways prolonging the inevitable”. “The most painless thing that can be done is to recognise that,” he added.
When we discussed Haldane’s remarks with Warrington South’s new Tory MP Andy Carter on our Commons People podcast this week he admitted “a politician could never utter those words”. But Carter did say that with town centres losing retail jobs, alternatives were needed. “I do think we’re going to see a structural shift in the economy that is going to be very painful for a period of time.”
The problem with the Treasury’s own hard-headed support for “readjustment” is that it jars with the PM’s constant messaging that the public should go back to the office. Haldane said more home working was likely to prove “enduring”.
One senior government scientist privately confessed this week that remote working was “the right thing to do” for many firms, especially with the rise in virus cases. There’s even a case for saying that in many small (Blue Wall) towns that are usually dormitories for big cities, home working could revive their local centres.
Recent research by pollster Deborah Mattinson shows that the public in Blue Wall seats still hope Johnson does well, and don’t like unfair “carping”. But they also want to see “bold Boris”.
Advertisement
As the PM’s own unlockdown document stated earlier this year “hope is not a plan”. He now needs a realistic plan to balance new Covid controls with their impact on a wobbly recovery. Being truly bold could mean targeting fresh job support for those whose sectors look like being effectively shut down for winter by the government itself.
Quote Of The Day
“It’s time to move to a voluntary system... and for us to actually start living like a free people.”
Tory MP Steve Baker on the ‘rule of six’.
Friday Cheat Sheet
The UK recorded 3,539 new cases of coronavirus in the last 24 hours, a scale last seen at the end of May.
The reproduction number, or R-value, of coronavirus transmission across the UK has risen above 1 and cases are doubling every eight days. Research commissioned by the government from Imperial College London found the R was in fact likely to be at 1.7.
Boris Johnson held a Zoom call with disgruntled Tory MPs to calm fears about his Covid crackdown and about the Internal Market Bill.
Households in Birmingham, Sandwell and Solihull will be banned from mixing from Tuesday after the region showed the second highest covid case rates in England, West Midlands mayor Andy Street announced.
Advertisement
Liverpool was put on a watchlist for new restrictions after it too showed a rapid rise in cases. Councils in the north east cancelled non-essential visits to care homes.
The Covid-19 app will be launched across England and Wales on 24 September, Matt Hancock announced.
Scottish Labour leader Richard Leonard is to face a vote of no confidence at a meeting of the party’s governing body on Saturday.
What I’m Reading
Unqualified Investor Cummings Plays Monopoly With Your Money - Adam Boulton
Got A Tip?
Send tips, stories, quotes, pics, plugs or gossip to waugh.zone@huffpost.com.
Subscribe To Commons People


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-09-11--UK Daily Coronavirus Cases Exceed 3,500 For First Time Since May

LOADING ERROR LOADING
The daily increase in Covid-19 cases has surpassed 3,000 in the UK for the first time since May.
On Friday, 3,539 new coronavirus infections were reported by the government amid a surge in cases.
It is the first time in almost four months the figure has crept above 3,500, with 3,562 new infections reported on May 17. It is also the first time since May 22 that more than 3,000 cases were recorded.
Despite the spike in cases, deaths from coronavirus remain relatively low. Six more people who had tested positive for Covid-19 within the last 28 days of their lives have died.
Advertisement
Number of coronavirus cases reported in the UK September 11 – 3,539 September 10 – 2,919 September 9 – 2,659 September 8 – 2,460 September 7 – 2,948 September 6 – 2,988
The rise brings the total number of people in the UK infected with Covid-19 during the pandemic to 361,677.
The news came on the same day it was revealed that the reproduction rate – or R rate – of the virus could be as high 1.7 in parts of the UK.
The government has made new attempts to crack down on the spread of the virus, including a law making gatherings of more than six people in England illegal from Monday.
Advertisement
Meanwhile, a complete ban on people mixing with other households was announced for Birmingham, Solihull and Sandwell – where infections have increased dramatically – on Friday.


thehuffingtonpostuk--2020-09-11--Dozens Of Schools Forced To Send Home Pupils Amid Covid Cases

LOADING ERROR LOADING
More than 140 schools across England have been forced to send pupils home due to positive cases of Covid-19, HuffPost UK has found.
Despite most schools only just coming to an end of their second week of classes, a review of some of the UK’s leading local and regional newspapers found that that dozens of schools had sent “bubbles” of children home following a positive test result from a pupil.
Advertisement
One of the main provisions in the government’s school reopening guidance is that pupils must be organised into “bubbles”, which avoid overcrowding and help staff maintain social distancing throughout the day.
They are also designed to manage outbreaks, with the entire bubble self-isolating if a pupil tests positive. While bubbles were encouraged in the guidance, no rules were set out by government on how they should be formed – which means the groupings range from the size of just one class to hundreds of pupils across an entire year group.
It means that while dozens of positive tests have been reported among school pupils and staff members, the number of children forced to stay at home and self-isolate is now hundreds of times that figure.
According to the Manchester Evening News, thousands of children across the city alone have already been sent home to self-isolate, with 55 schools confirming positive cases of the virus as of Thursday evening.
Advertisement
Meanwhile, an interactive map updated by Birmingham Live shows 29 schools which have reported positive cases of Covid-19, with groups of pupils from each school also sent home to self-isolate as per the government’s advice.
Leeds Live reported on Tuesday that 10 schools had reported positive cases, among both staff and pupils, meaning “bubbles” of pupils across different year groups also had to be sent home.
Thousands of pupils across the country have already been forced to self-isolate after positive cases of Covid-19 were identified amongst their peers or teachers. Hollie Adams via Getty Images
According to the Nottingham Post, eight schools had sent home students across the county as of Friday morning, while in Bristol four schools have reported positive test results, Bristol Live said.
Twenty-two schools across the North East – encompassing County Durham, Tyne and Wear and Teesside – have reported positive cases, the Northern Echo reported.
Advertisement
Meanwhile in the capital, MyLondon reported that six schools had been forced to partially close after positive cases were reported within the school community.
HuffPost UK reported on Monday that thousands of pupils across the country had been sent home just days after their school terms restarted.
They included an entire year group at a primary school in Sittingbourne, Kent, and 160 pupils at St Augustine’s Catholic College in Trowbridge, Wiltshire.
At least five other English schools – in Suffolk, Staffordshire, Norfolk, Wolverhampton and Leicestershire – were also closed.
Dr Patrick Roach, NASUWT general secretary, said: “Teachers and other staff who are working hard to provide a safe learning environment for pupils will understandably be concerned about the confirmed cases of Covid-19 in schools that we are seeing.
Advertisement
“It is essential that everything that needs to be done is done to ensure the safety of staff and pupils and to protect the health of the local community.
“It is important that decisions on whether to close or restrict access to schools are guided first and foremost by appropriate public health advice.