{"id":208786,"date":"2020-06-14T08:38:10","date_gmt":"2020-06-14T08:38:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/?p=208786"},"modified":"2020-06-16T06:48:45","modified_gmt":"2020-06-16T06:48:45","slug":"8-simple-steps-to-end-the-lockdown-say-yes-not-no","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/?p=208786","title":{"rendered":"8 Simple Steps To End The Lockdown: Say Yes, Not No"},"content":{"rendered":"<h1 style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>Kevin Smith &amp; Lesley Buckley \u2013 Off-Guardian June 13, 2020<\/strong><\/h1>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-208788\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/Cold-Calls-768x480.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"540\" height=\"338\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/Cold-Calls-768x480.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/Cold-Calls-300x188.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/Cold-Calls.jpg 800w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 540px) 100vw, 540px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\">To those paying attention, the evidence about Covid-19 and the lockdown response is clear. We\u2019ve been sold a pup.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\">The UK Government itself has confirmed several times that the virus is <a style=\"color: #ccffff;\" href=\"https:\/\/off-guardian.org\/2020\/05\/15\/watch-uk-chief-medic-confirms-again-covid19-harmless-to-vast-majority\/\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong>not serious to the majority<\/strong><\/span><\/a> of people who catch it. The lockdown was a panic-driven overreaction.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\">The facts and figures of what is known about Covid-19 are not really much disputed. More, it\u2019s a question of how those facts translate into ways to deal with the threat. My contention is that anyone looking at the facts, figures, and basic science cannot possibly agree that the response to the crisis is appropriate to the risk and <a style=\"color: #ccffff;\" href=\"https:\/\/blog-iacl-aidc.org\/2020-posts\/2020\/4\/9\/the-british-lockdown-is-disproportionate\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong>proportionate in terms of wider implications<\/strong><\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\">For example, in the UK the infection rate has receded, there\u2019s been no evidence of a link between infection rates and social distancing, lockdown, and the wearing of masks It\u2019s all been<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong><a style=\"color: #ccffff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.telegraph.co.uk\/news\/2020\/05\/13\/revealed-educated-guesswork-uncertainty-lead-britain-lockdown\/\"> guesswork<\/a><\/strong><\/span>.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\">Yet the UK government has just declared it mandatory for the public to wear masks on public transport from 15 June 2020. That makes no sense whatsoever. Even the World Health Organisation (WHO),\u00ad from which the government cherry-pick their guidance to reinforce \u2018trust the experts\u2019 narratives, for months advised that it was not necessary to wear masks. The WHO curiously<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong><a style=\"color: #ccffff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.yahoo.com\/changes-covid-19-mask-guidance-183644786.html\"> U-turned on this<\/a> <\/strong><\/span>in recent days.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\">So far, most of the public aren\u2019t picking up on these anomalies, or at least when they do, it doesn\u2019t particularly register with them, perhaps because of the continued media avalanche of misinformation, distraction, and scaremongering.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\">If people are told by the media that social distancing works, they seem to accept it, even if a brief reflection would make them realise there\u2019s no evidence that lockdown translates into lower infection rates, particularly when there are so many other factors and unknowns in play.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\">So, it\u2019s not really about going over the facts and figures or science anymore. It\u2019s about merely getting the obvious conclusions, so far largely kept from the public, out there.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\">Therefore, how do we achieve this and get out of this lockdown mess to begin repairing the terrible damage caused to date?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\">Just the other day, Professor Ferguson, whose <a style=\"color: #ccffff;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dailymail.co.uk\/news\/article-8005931\/British-scientist-leading-coronavirus-fight-says-forecasts-400-000-UK-deaths.html\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong>forecasts<\/strong><\/span><\/a> were central to the lockdown decision, basically admitted that lockdown made no difference when it came to containing Covid-19.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\">Great, so we can go back to normal?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\">Unfortunately, <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong><a style=\"color: #ccffff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dailymail.co.uk\/news\/article-8379769\/Professor-Lockdown-Neil-Ferguson-admits-greatest-respect-Sweden.html\">this huge admission<\/a><\/strong><\/span> only made it to the middle pages of a few newspaper publications. The rest of the media missed the story and continued with their usual brain-dead output.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\">But, perhaps we can get the government to admit they acted upon wrong advice and the lockdown was a mistake?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\">Well, hold on there. No one likes to admit they\u2019re wrong, particularly when the errors are huge and so stupid beyond belief. That\u2019s never going to happen voluntarily, at least without some encouragement or a sweetener.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\">Perhaps, however, there\u2019s a chance. The proposal below is simple and quick. It gets us out of lockdown without too much recrimination. And the idea may have further appeal to the government because it will give them a sense of ultimate power (we know they love that). Hopefully it will mean that we can all move forward \u2013 back to the old normal.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center;\">SYNN (Say Yes, Not No)<\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\">First, for background, I used to work for a company which was customer-facing and focused on customer service with a unique passion and pragmatism. The motto was something like \u201cthe customer is right, even when they are wrong\u201d. As a complaints manager, there were sometimes difficult cases to resolve.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\">The company, however, began a new initiative. It was called SYNN (Say Yes, Not No), where we were encouraged to be even more flexible to resolve difficulties and complaints.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\">The complaint managers were issued with SYNN cards to carry around to remind them. These cards gave us the authority and final say to resolve any difficulty or complaint in the way that we decided. Not even the managing director could overrule us (unless we were offering his chauffeur-driven car as compensation to a customer).<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\">Before this initiative, I felt we were generally good at resolving complaints, but these cards were great because there often was an issue that we knew would take time to resolve. So, if we couldn\u2019t initially resolve the matter, we could say, what the hell, and give the customer what they wanted.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\">I thought this was a great initiative even if it meant in some cases that we were encouraging the wrong behaviour or sometimes went against a principle.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\">SYNN was our licence to be powerful and pragmatic, and it was great for avoiding drawn-out confrontations and moving on quickly.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center;\">The Proposal<\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\">The idea is to arrange for members of the UK government to be issued smart-looking SYNN cards.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\">Then Boris Johnson and government ministers armed with these cards should do a live TV press conference where the following questions would be put to them:<\/span><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\">Were the initial projections of infection and mortality for Covid-19 hopelessly wrong?<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\">Therefore, was the blanket lockdown unnecessary given any limited adverse impact the virus would have had without it?<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\">Do you agree that the policy of <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong><a style=\"color: #ccffff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.telegraph.co.uk\/news\/2020\/04\/24\/care-homes-ordered-take-patients-suspected-coronavirus-nhs-hospitals\/\">moving the sick, elderly, and vulnerable to care homes<\/a><\/strong><\/span>, while locking up low risk groups and the healthy, was wrong?<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\">Is it true that the \u201ctrust the science\u201d narrative throughout was not based on science but on faulty models and guesswork?<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\">Do you agree that rather than act on fear and panic, it would have been wise to implement specific but limited measures, based broadly on the Sweden model?<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\">Do you agree, as some scientists have said (and quite frankly is common sense), that any such measures should have been directed towards \u201cclose and prolonged contact\u201d and \u201cat risk groups\u201d rather than for shoppers, walking in parks, and blanket social distancing \u2014 and this was an assessment which should have been carried out at the outset?<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\">Do you agree that the whole thing has been a complete fiasco from start to finish and you and the media have instilled unnecessary fear and panic to the public and utterly dumbed down any sensible discussion \u2014 and have not focused on the real question \u2013 i.e is lockdown necessary and proportionate?<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\">Finally, can we now lift lockdown, as well as apply and keep under review some limited and targeted precautions (vulnerable groups, close contact risks) in agreement with a panel of real experts?<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\">Yes?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\">Well, that\u2019s sorted then. The government can pretend that it was just a small mistake like <a style=\"color: #ccffff;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dailymail.co.uk\/news\/article-8294439\/ROSS-CLARK-Neil-Fergusons-lockdown-predictions-dodgy.html\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong>Swine Flu, BSE (Mad Cow Disease), Bird Flu<\/strong><\/span><\/a>, Iraq, and Libya.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\">The British people are awfully decent and understanding and will just be grateful to move on with their lives.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\">Everyone a happy bunny.<\/span><\/p>\n<h6><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\">Originally published by One World Press<\/span><\/h6>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: center;\">Can you spare $1.00 a month to support independent media<\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\">Unlike the Guardian we are NOT funded by Bill &amp; Melinda Gates, or any other NGO or government. So a few coins in our jar to help us keep going are always appreciated.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\"><a style=\"color: #ccffff;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.paypal.com\/donate\/?token=mchvnk5JHTcXPJptk5pI7l_UcTcriX9oRCqEiUyE3wtDIS0x8CfCvnjka1qAHIMF-tF6xW&amp;country.x=GB&amp;locale.x=GB\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong>Paypal<\/strong> <\/span><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"text-decoration: underline; color: #ccffff;\"><strong><a style=\"color: #ccffff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patreon.com\/offguardian\">Patreon<\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/off-guardian.org\/2020\/06\/13\/8-simple-steps-to-end-the-lockdown-say-yes-not-no\/\">Source<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Professor Ferguson, whose forecasts were central to the lockdown decision, has admitted that the lockdown actually made no difference to containing Covid-19<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":39262,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[105],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-208786","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-coronavirus"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/208786","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/39262"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=208786"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/208786\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":208790,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/208786\/revisions\/208790"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=208786"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=208786"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=208786"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}