Be in no doubt: ‘Our MSM’ are hell-bent on using this pandemic to try and keep us In. Their critique of Boris Johnson ‘s measures demonstrates this nicely. Yesterday,  flanked by England’s Chief Medical Officer Chris Whitty and Chief Scientific Adviser Sir Patrick Vallance, Johnson held his coronavirus press conference on the government’s measures. It’s all over the MSM – but how the MSM reported it is revealing.

That lockdown for the old doesn’t look quite as harsh as the MSM reported beforehand: uninfected friends and family can visit  their old loved ones if they both are virus-free, and the fit elderly can walk their dogs. 

However, the MSM are not satisfied. There are gloating articles that Johnson ‘caved in’ and took these measures because of a report – a computer model – from a London university according to which the previous approach, to ‘flatten the curve’, would have cost 250,000 lives (link and paywalled link). Yay for the MSM experts who know better than the government experts! Frankly, I found the way Chris Whitty and Sir Patrick Vallance patiently answered the questions from the ‘pack’ was a revelation. But still this wasn’t enough for ‘Our MSM’.

Thus they made nothing about the repeated statement that the measures taken in regard to the elderly were taken ‘to protect the NHS’. That alone should have merited howls about ‘Toree Austeritee’ and all the usual wails. No, ‘Our MSM’ now have a new approach: comparing the measures taken by the PM to those taken in other countries.

It seems that ‘Our MSM’ are bent on having a race with other countries to see who can be harshest. I’m sure we’d all feel so much safer if only Johnson were like Macron who will close all borders to France from today and mobilise the French Army (link). 

You couldn’t wish for a more clear-cut demonstration of how we in the UK are different from the EU nations: just compare and contrast how across the Channel it’s all about forbidding and enforcing draconian government measures while here, Johnson was appealing to the common sense of us all. But that’s still not acceptable for RemainCentral:

“Britain’s measures are still considerably less draconian than those of many other countries. Most schools will continue to remain open, at least for now. Social distancing will remain voluntary, even for the over-70s. Mr Johnson is not proposing that the state acquire powers to force people to stay in their homes. People are being advised not to go to pubs and restaurants, but these venues are not being ordered to close. The prime minister’s hope is that such further measures will not be needed, though they cannot be ruled out. Britain’s approach differs from those of other countries in terms of its methodology for testing. Yesterday the World Health Organisation reiterated its plea that governments should step up testing programmes, warning that it was impossible to tackle the crisis with a blindfold. Yet the NHS will continue to test only those exhibiting severe symptoms.” (link, paywalled)

And what is bad about that? No, according to the MSM we must be ‘in lockstep’ with other countries, especially the EU ones, and must believe in the wisdom of that WHO chief! Never mind the stretched resources of the  NHS (see e.g. here) – we must test!

Meanwhile, the EU is closing its borders – don’t ask how they’re going to enforce that, and don’t quibble that they had criticised President Trump for doing this! And still, while the EU’s ‘principles’ crumble, Arch Remainers in Westminster Village are trying to use this pandemic to keep us In.

Predictably, there were leaks from civil serpents in the run-up to the second round of Trade Negotiations which were planned to start tomorrow. So far, there has been no announcement that this will go ahead via video conferencing. So ‘senior sources’ just had to drop their Remain concerns into keenly open ears:

“[…] it is understood that senior civil servants have suggested that this is extended. The Sunday Express has been told that their advice is that Britain and the EU do “not have the necessary bandwidth” to carry out trade negotiations on a tight timescale and deal with a major crisis in the coronavirus. A senior minister has also briefed that he believes the UK could be forced to delay.” (link)

The PM is having none of that, but our Remain MSM are coyly downplaying the situation inside the EU. Italy is not amused: ‘We won’t forget this’, wrote an Italian journalist about the way Italy was left twisting in the wind by the EU. Their President, Mr Conte, was a bit more conciliatory, but he correctly said that after this is over, nothing will be the same inside the EU:

“Giuseppe Conte said European leaders will have to come together after the crisis to “rewrite” the rules of the EU’s flagship policy. He accused Brussels bureaucrats of leaving businesses and households at risk from financial meltdown by not sanctioning sufficient rescue measures. […] “Damage will be serious and widespread. A true ‘reconstruction plan’ will be needed. After the coronavirus nothing will be as before, we will have to sit down and rewrite the rules of trade and the free market.” (link)

Even the Arch Remainer and Globalist William Hague noticed this:

“The initial absence of practical support for Italy from her partners last week, including the apparent lack of concern from the European Central Bank, will have further undermined the faith of Italians in continental solidarity.” (paywalled link)

Not just the faith of Italians in the EU has been undermined, Mr Hague! Faintly praising the strategy Johnson has taken, Hague sees only one solution:

“So this is not a problem that can be solved if each country acts in isolation from others. It is the greatest public health crisis of the post-war world and potentially the most serious economic and social crisis too. By their nature, solutions to it can only work with global co-operation and a high degree of co-ordination.” (paywalled link)

Yeah right – just as the solution for any problem in the EU was ‘more EU’, Hague apparently believes ‘more UN’ is the way to go. Similarly, RemainCentral, damning Johnson’s approach with faint praise, thinks that ‘more EU’ by staying in the EU, is the solution:

“The latest round of EU talks that were scheduled to take place in London this week have been cancelled as governments struggle to cope with the crisis. Yet still Mr Johnson is insisting that the transition period must end on December 31. When much of the EU is in lockdown, airlines are grounding their planes, and the British people have been told to avoid pubs, clubs and theatres, it is ridiculous — in fact reckless — to suggest that Brexit is the only thing that will not be affected by coronavirus.” (link, paywalled)

Why that is reckless, they don’t say. Nor do they say why we can only fight the pandemic by staying in the EU. So, predictably, an extension is the ‘logical’ way:

“The peak of the disease in Britain is expected in late spring, just as the June deadline for requesting a delay approaches, so it will be impossible for either side to make a rational decision about how the trade talks are going. The logical thing would be to announce an extension to the transition period, but on Europe the prime minister is driven by ideology and acts irrationally.” (link, paywalled)

Note the choice of words: only Remainers and thus, by definition not Johnson, can act ‘rationally’ because ‘Remain’ is of course not ‘an ideology’. Note that only Remain experts are proper experts. And note also that, just as with the whole coronavirus pandemic, only the experts quoted in the MSM are proper experts. What do Mr Chris Whitty and Sir Patrick Vallance know about such things …! Therefore, expect more and contradictory ‘advice’ about how to ‘treat’ the virus to appear in the MSM, for example:

“Experts have questioned official government advice that people with mild symptoms of coronavirus should take ibuprofen over fears that it can make symptoms worse. The concerns grew after the French health minister, Olivier Veran, a neurologist, tweeted that taking anti-inflammatory drugs such as ibuprofen “could be a factor in aggravating the infection. In cases of fever, take paracetamol. If you are already taking anti-inflammatory drugs ask your doctor’s advice.” (paywalled link)

He’s a French Minister and so must be right: our lot must scramble to follow it, the NHS must urgently change the info on their website, preferably immediately after that Frenchman tweeted, because some non-government expert also said so:

“However, some UK experts have backed Dr Veran and say that people with mild symptoms should take paracetamol only and avoid anti-inflammatories. Ian Jones, professor of virology at the University of Reading, said that as an anti-inflammatory ibuprofen could dampen the immune system, slowing recovery, as well as aggravating pneumonia symptoms.” (paywalled link)

‘My expert’, not being a government expert, is better than yours, and the French are even better. This is how the MSM create doubts and inflaming panic buying – I bet there won’t be any paracetamol to be had in pharmacies and stores by now! Never fear though, supermarkets are already planning to implement a gentle rationing system – ‘care packs for the elderly’ – (link, paywalled) so that everybody can have a pack of paper hankies (they’re now unobtainable) and one roll of loo paper as well as some paracetamol!

So be afraid, be very afraid – but don’t dare to panic! Above all – trust ‘Our MSM’ and their ‘experts’. Being a contrarian, at the moment I’d rather trust the advice coming from Mr Chris Whitty and Sir Patrick Vallance. 

As always though, rely on your own common sense, keep vigilant, keep well, and

KBO!

Photo by UK Prime Minister