phatbhoy
Postman
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Correct @andipandi followed a couple of weeks later by a second devastatingly debilitating stroke that has ruined his life completely
Germany to hold vote on mandatory Covid vaccinations
- Thread starter Mitz
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Okay, but only if @zouzounaki agrees to wear a jockstrap. Don't wanna see his jiggly bits flapping around under his kilt.Count me in @Mitz
SirLugg
Legend
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I would 100% be up for that. [emoji1783]
zouzounaki
Olympian
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For now! Don't make me stir the pot Zou! You're both in Scotland, I'll drive up and film it... just agree damnit! Or are you scared of a ginge?i think @phatbhoy and i agree on quite a few things to be fair.
**Wifey is half ginge so I have a ginge calling day pass.
zouzounaki
Olympian
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For now! Don't make me stir the pot Zou! You're both in Scotland, I'll drive up and film it... just agree damnit! Or are you scared of a ginge? View attachment 260813 *
*Wifey is half ginge so I have a ginge calling day pass.
no we definitely don’t agree on this thread, though. i think i have inactive ginge genes, by the way.
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Of course, you're a Scot, it's in there somewhere!
Edit: I think many do. My half Swedish/half Italian half brother had a daughter with hair as red as fire.
You Scots and us Scandis are practically related.
Last edited:
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Angela Merkel backs compulsory Covid jabs as Germany agrees de facto lockdown for unvaccinated
German chancellor calls new measures an 'act of national solidarity
Angela Merkel backed plans to make the coronavirus vaccination compulsory as an “act of national solidarity”.
In what may be her final act as German chancellor, she announced a national lockdown for those who refuse the jab, and backed plans by the incoming government to make vaccination mandatory.
“The fourth wave must be broken,” she said. “In view of this it is necessary to make vaccination compulsory. We all hope it would be better accepted on a voluntary basis.”
Mrs Merkel's comments were a U-turn from the summer, when she pledged to Germans: "There will be no compulsory vaccination".
"We do not want compulsory vaccination, we want to promote vaccination," she said in July.
Germany will impose a “Advent lockdown” on the unvaccinated until Christmas, barring them from restaurants, pubs, cinemas, gyms, theatres, events and non-essential shops, Mrs Merkel announced.
They will be subject to contact restrictions and allowed to meet a maximum of two people from outside their household. The limit will not apply to the vaccinated.
“We have campaigned on every level for that people to get vaccinated - and yet we still see a gap that means that the vaccinated face restrictions, and has brought the health system to the brink of overload,” Mrs Merkel said.
She was speaking hours before a torchlit military ceremony in her honour as she steps down after 16 years in power.
She will remain caretaker chancellor until Olaf Scholz is sworn in as her successor next week, but it is he who wields real power in Germany now.
It was Mr Scholz who set the country on a path to compulsory vaccination earlier this week when he pledged to put it to parliament and allow MPs a free vote.
Although her backing will strengthen support for the measure, Germany has already begun to move on from the Merkel era.
She may have announced the lockdown for the unvaccinated on Thursday, it is not her policy.
She wanted a two-week general lockdown for everyone in Germany, but Mr Scholz refused her when she summoned him to the chancellery to plead for one.
Instead she was reduced to the role of onlooker as Mr Scholz and regional leaders agreed the new restrictions on the unvaccinated at talks on Thursday.
The German infection rate has surged dramatically in recent weeks, and the country recorded 73,209 new cases on Thursday, compared to 48,374 in the UK.
Although the German vaccination rate is almost the same as the UK’s, with 68.7 per cent fully jabbed, it has been widely blamed for the rise in cases.
Public anger against those who refuse the jab has led to a remarkable surge in support for compulsory vaccination.
A recent opinion poll for Spiegel magazine found 72 per cent of Germans support making the jab mandatory, with just 20 per against and 8 per cent undecided.
Mr Scholz has pledged that it will not be made compulsory until everyone has been given a new chance to get the jab. He said that is not expected to be until February or March of next year.
Marco Buschmann, the incoming justice minister, has said people will not be physically forced to take the jab, and that those who refuse will face fines but not criminal prosecution.
Party sources say it will be impossible to achieve a 100 per cent vaccination rate, but the incoming government hopes to persuade waverers and the hesitant by making it hard to refuse the jab.
The new lockdown restrictions announced for the unvaccinated on Thursday are clearly designed with the same aim in mind.
Most of the restrictions were already in force in several regions, including Bavaria and Saxony, but they will now be imposed on a national bases.
Anyone wishing to enter a pub or restaurant, go to the gym or do non-essential shopping will have to produce proof of vaccination.
While the fully jabbed will remain largely free of restrictions, nightclubs and bars will be forced to close in the worst-hit towns.
Crowd numbers will be strictly limited at football matches and other events. Bundesliga stadiums will be limited to half capacity and a maximum of 15,000 spectators.
The Bavarian regional government announced it would go further and force matches to played in front of empty stadiums.
Fireworks are to be banned at New Year celebrations for the second year running, but a traditional torchlit military tattoo went ahead in honour of Mrs Merkel last night.
There was a telling moment at Thursday's talks when Mr Scholz said: “Perhaps we should cancel the tattoo?”
It was a joke, but the message behind it was clear. The Merkel era is over, and it is Mr Scholz who is calling the shots now.
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-n...nated/?li_source=LI&li_medium=liftigniter-rhr
German chancellor calls new measures an 'act of national solidarity
Angela Merkel backed plans to make the coronavirus vaccination compulsory as an “act of national solidarity”.
In what may be her final act as German chancellor, she announced a national lockdown for those who refuse the jab, and backed plans by the incoming government to make vaccination mandatory.
“The fourth wave must be broken,” she said. “In view of this it is necessary to make vaccination compulsory. We all hope it would be better accepted on a voluntary basis.”
Mrs Merkel's comments were a U-turn from the summer, when she pledged to Germans: "There will be no compulsory vaccination".
"We do not want compulsory vaccination, we want to promote vaccination," she said in July.
Germany will impose a “Advent lockdown” on the unvaccinated until Christmas, barring them from restaurants, pubs, cinemas, gyms, theatres, events and non-essential shops, Mrs Merkel announced.
They will be subject to contact restrictions and allowed to meet a maximum of two people from outside their household. The limit will not apply to the vaccinated.
“We have campaigned on every level for that people to get vaccinated - and yet we still see a gap that means that the vaccinated face restrictions, and has brought the health system to the brink of overload,” Mrs Merkel said.
She was speaking hours before a torchlit military ceremony in her honour as she steps down after 16 years in power.
She will remain caretaker chancellor until Olaf Scholz is sworn in as her successor next week, but it is he who wields real power in Germany now.
It was Mr Scholz who set the country on a path to compulsory vaccination earlier this week when he pledged to put it to parliament and allow MPs a free vote.
Although her backing will strengthen support for the measure, Germany has already begun to move on from the Merkel era.
She may have announced the lockdown for the unvaccinated on Thursday, it is not her policy.
She wanted a two-week general lockdown for everyone in Germany, but Mr Scholz refused her when she summoned him to the chancellery to plead for one.
Instead she was reduced to the role of onlooker as Mr Scholz and regional leaders agreed the new restrictions on the unvaccinated at talks on Thursday.
The German infection rate has surged dramatically in recent weeks, and the country recorded 73,209 new cases on Thursday, compared to 48,374 in the UK.
Although the German vaccination rate is almost the same as the UK’s, with 68.7 per cent fully jabbed, it has been widely blamed for the rise in cases.
Public anger against those who refuse the jab has led to a remarkable surge in support for compulsory vaccination.
A recent opinion poll for Spiegel magazine found 72 per cent of Germans support making the jab mandatory, with just 20 per against and 8 per cent undecided.
Mr Scholz has pledged that it will not be made compulsory until everyone has been given a new chance to get the jab. He said that is not expected to be until February or March of next year.
Marco Buschmann, the incoming justice minister, has said people will not be physically forced to take the jab, and that those who refuse will face fines but not criminal prosecution.
Party sources say it will be impossible to achieve a 100 per cent vaccination rate, but the incoming government hopes to persuade waverers and the hesitant by making it hard to refuse the jab.
The new lockdown restrictions announced for the unvaccinated on Thursday are clearly designed with the same aim in mind.
Most of the restrictions were already in force in several regions, including Bavaria and Saxony, but they will now be imposed on a national bases.
Anyone wishing to enter a pub or restaurant, go to the gym or do non-essential shopping will have to produce proof of vaccination.
While the fully jabbed will remain largely free of restrictions, nightclubs and bars will be forced to close in the worst-hit towns.
Crowd numbers will be strictly limited at football matches and other events. Bundesliga stadiums will be limited to half capacity and a maximum of 15,000 spectators.
The Bavarian regional government announced it would go further and force matches to played in front of empty stadiums.
Fireworks are to be banned at New Year celebrations for the second year running, but a traditional torchlit military tattoo went ahead in honour of Mrs Merkel last night.
There was a telling moment at Thursday's talks when Mr Scholz said: “Perhaps we should cancel the tattoo?”
It was a joke, but the message behind it was clear. The Merkel era is over, and it is Mr Scholz who is calling the shots now.
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-n...nated/?li_source=LI&li_medium=liftigniter-rhr
- Joined
- Jun 24, 2017
- Messages
- 16,304
Sounds like a challenge to me @Chris K
If we wait till after Xmas we can bill it as "The battle of the beards!".
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