London - Undemocratic, this is the right word describing the British electoral system which excludes its citizens living abroad and EU citizens in UK from general elections. Look at the electoral register and see people from Antigua, Bahamas, Botswana, Zimbabwe and all the Commonwealth countries can have their say on who rule the UK.
The ‘post-imperial’ electoral system gives ex colonies citizens the right to vote in the country which once exploited their own, and this is absolutely right and fair. But it is utterly unjust citizens from the neighbouring countries living in the UK and the British abroad (who lose the right to vote after a number of years) are excluded from the democratic process by the law since 1969. Why? Is it just for chance or this is the result of the British crossparty establishment's 'domestic defence policy'?
The answer is complex and touches the very founding process of democracy. Every political establishment, in every country, defends itself from whom considers, and wrongly classifies, as defector. This means those who flee their countries of origin are perceived as potential political defectors able to detect the structural, systemic failures of political systems in the countries they left: people emigrate when understand there is no hope for change. But why then Indian or Pakistani, for instance, living in the UK take part to national elections and have MPs representing their communities in the House of Commons while European origin and British expats don't?
Firstly because they are from former colonies and Commonwealth citizens, secondly because nearly all Commonwealth countries (except for Australia, Canada, New Zealand and perhaps few others), are not democracies comparable to the EU ones (exceptions here as well starting from Hungary) therefore people from Nigeria or Malawi have de facto a different political awareness and might not be able to promote changes in the structural system of an advanced democracy such as Britain.
Today the campaign to give British citizens living abroad and EU citizens in UK full political rights launched by Another Europe is Possible, The 3 Million and British in Europe marks a radical change in support of democracy in Great Britain, and goes far and beyond Brexit. The fight is for a fair and just society representing all and for a political system no longer allowed to hide and perpetrate exclusion in the name of a dead ‘post-imperialist’ establishment.
Let Us Vote: campaign and petition launched by Another Europe is Possible, British in Europe and The3Million
African unsustainable development between EU grants and China loans
.png)
COVID-19 has up to 14 days incubation period
This means you might look and feel healthy and still have it and spread it.
More information is needed from governments and media
London, 23 March 2020 - As we have seen over this weekend, many British people gathered in parks and holiday spots then gaining the tag of ‘selfish’. But they all not just put at risk others lives, but their own, so ‘irresponsible’ and 'not informed' are more appropriate adjectives.
​
Evidently many are unaware of what the words ‘incubation period’ mean. And the fault for this ignorance is not totally attributable to them, but principally to institutions and mainstream media.
​
Too few information in fact has been delivered on coronavirus incubation period: the time frame of latency starting from when we catch the virus until we feel and show symptoms. This period lasts from 1 to 14 days; on the average it can last 5 days.
​
COVID-19 symptoms, like persistent cough, high fever, respiratory illness (and other symptoms, like diarrhea, shown in a smaller percentage of cases) can take up to two weeks to show.
Bloomberg today (23 March 2020) reported that Iceland found half of those who tested (a meaningful percentage of its population) resulted positive with no symptoms.
These people are silently, and unintentionally, spreading the virus. It’s also reported that classified data from China say that a third of those who tested positive to Covid-19 had delayed symptoms or none at all.
That means even if you catch coronavirus, over two weeks you might still look and feel healthy, without being aware of having the disease and feeling like going to the seaside or walking your dog in the nearest park (if this is allowed).
But while walking past somebody you could infect this person (or more than one) with your droplets which are not visible or controllable either, and this person could contract COVID-19 and later even die.
Those who go out during this pandemic probably did not understand what incubation period means and haven’t been reached by WHO information and guidance online or through media.
​
If you search for ‘coronavirus incubation period’ and clear explained guidance on this vital information, too a few links pop out. On social media nearly nothing.
​
For sure WHO pops out. But you have to search for this. It is not anything that reaches those who aren’t looking for information or want to know in particular how long incubation lasts or who are aware of what it's about.
​
It’s not enough saying people ‘look, incubation lasts up to two weeks’, because many can’t understand what that does mean and what implies for them and others.
​
Urgent and more simple and complete, also visual, information should target all slices of the society (in all countries) to explain what coronavirus incubation means, they feel healthy and merry go round. They see apparent healthy people around and they do not understand that others might have COVID-19 and being on incubation period.
​
Bloomberg today (23 March 2020) reported that Iceland found half of those who tested (a meaningful percentage of its population) resulted positive with no symptoms. These people are silently, and unintentionally, spreading the virus. It’s also reported that classified data from China say that a third of those who tested positive to Covid-19 had delayed symptoms or none at all.
​
It’s too simplistic, then, saying to people ‘you are a covidiot, blaming them on social media, because media and governments, in the first place are responsible for this. Such a high number of people wouldn’t have gone out and about risking to catch the deadly coronavirus if they were well informed on incubation and absence of symptoms.
​
No leaflets, no offline information, no videos, nearly nothing on media explaining the virus can be asymptomatic and still be deadly and even more deadly right for this reason.
​
We need urgently official information and videos clearly reaching all citizenship, all slices of our multilevel society: there isn’t any right now.
​
As it’s impossible to test the entire population the urgent solution, and message, is ‘stay home’. But if we do not explain why we risk our own life and that of others if we go out, people will never follow the rules.