I feel compelled to side with ME in this matter. To quote a previous moderator, this is a website, not a democracy.

As Mr Plimsoll put so eloquently, other people are put off by the domination of threads by the same people. We've lost so many good posters over the years because of this. Moderators are volunteers, giving their time freely and I remember getting seriously pissed off when, after making a modding call, some people just would not let it drop. Arguing the toss is 1. futile and 2. annoying to other posters. To call this an attack on free speech is, as Willo would call it, completely risible.

I respect WE's and Mapletree's opinions as I respect Stirling's and Hrolf's (even on the frequent occasions I disagree). What I don't respect is the constant whining when the umpire makes a call. It's dull, it's boring and it keeps happening.

ME will know that he and I are more often on different pages than the same but I feel he deserves credit for the restraint he shows. Moderating a site with so many egos ain't easy and the offer remains - if you think you can set up a Palace website and forum, get on with it. Don't destroy the HOL with petty sh*t like this.

And yet you are one of the most antagonistic posters who also happens to contribute next to nothing in the way of debate.

I will say this.

I have never had a problem with Midland at all and I am totally in favour of moderators doing the difficult and voluntary job they do without being abused or nitpicked.
My only issue here is the arbitrary locking of threads because they have a subject that a particular mod has decided he doesn't like. That is not in the spirit of free debate.

As for Wisbech Eagle. He is entitled to his opinions but when one poster begins to dominate threads with incessant lengthy replies, refusing to be contradicted, then this becomes extremely tedious.
A bit more restraint from everyone would be helpful.

Back to the topic...

In terms of the 'was it designed in lab' idea I think it's far too early to say but there's nothing wrong with speculation.

I would side with it being natural but I also have little doubt that race specific viruses are being worked on..worked on for many decades.

I've heard it said that these virus are the result of the close proximity of humans and varied diseased animals from Chinese and Asian 'wet' markets. It's probably been the originator of many 'cross over' viruses.

I am amazed that China has appeared to have opened them again and perhaps this is the start of a new 'cold war' with the west....we were moving that way anyway.

Pathogens are inherent in nature and we live in a largely sanitized environment with injections and treatments for many of our natural attackers.

The natural life cycle of the human is probably somewhere between thirty and forty as the decaying process slowly starts around there.

So nature is always trying to kill us but then again we are also a part of nature and hence respond in that long standing fight for survival and reproduction.

Edited by Stirlingsays (02 Apr 2020 5.23pm)

I feel compelled to side with ME in this matter. To quote a previous moderator, this is a website, not a democracy.

As Mr Plimsoll put so eloquently, other people are put off by the domination of threads by the same people. We've lost so many good posters over the years because of this. Moderators are volunteers, giving their time freely and I remember getting seriously pissed off when, after making a modding call, some people just would not let it drop. Arguing the toss is 1. futile and 2. annoying to other posters. To call this an attack on free speech is, as Willo would call it, completely risible.

I respect WE's and Mapletree's opinions as I respect Stirling's and Hrolf's (even on the frequent occasions I disagree). What I don't respect is the constant whining when the umpire makes a call. It's dull, it's boring and it keeps happening.

ME will know that he and I are more often on different pages than the same but I feel he deserves credit for the restraint he shows. Moderating a site with so many egos ain't easy and the offer remains - if you think you can set up a Palace website and forum, get on with it. Don't destroy the HOL with petty sh*t like this.

I'm no Economics expert and learning fast as many of us are esp. regarding benefits etc. Given the situation though that both Employed and Self Employed currently face for staying at home (necessary) in these challenging times...and the likelihood of not receiving pledged subsidised payment from Treasury until earliest June....I question why it is not possible for Govt to keep vast majority, if not all, afloat with Universal Income for at least this next month given the means of identification of recipients via HMRC and National Insurance registration. Granted the figure per individual needs to be set at reasonable ceiling of approx. £2- £2.5k but it would also have benefit of supporting those troubled by immediate or impending poverty / hardship.

Your thoughts?

So I'm a through-crack-faller (less saucy than it sounds).

I was self-employed for several years, went back to an employed position (stupidly, in retrospect - I was being lazy - which I even knew at the time, if honest) for a couple of years (with a small - but understood - lowering of incoming). I faced up to my error and went back to doing my own thing in Dec.'18. Consequently, my 18/19 tax return shows negligible profit, given that I was resurrecting a dormant concern for some of that, plus Jan is always a quiet month in my industry.

So...

I stand to get next to nothing from the govenment provision and don't know that I'll get much of note from Universal Credit, if I even qualify. Fortunately, I've done okay since going my own way again and can hopefully tough things out if the whole thing doesn't go entirely to s*** for too long. But it's going to use up pretty much all of what I do have behind me.

Now I've taken the view that it's inevitable that any system will see some fall through the cracks and I'm just unlucky that I'm one of those. Plus my (extremely limited) understanding of UBI is that it's a socialist ideal (something that would typically instinctively appeal to me) but hasn't proved very successful in practise.

But, should I be more up-in-arms? I will be a bit shafted (possibly entirely), I've always paid my tax fairly (i think it's important) and it does seem that suddenly it's Socialism All The Way, or so it seems, therefore do we hang the economics and just look after EVERYONE?

So am I being unfairly forgotten? Or is it, as my instinct tells me, simply tough luck?