Thought Id start this one going because its rather dead on this board at the moment and I suppose all my usual muckers are either at the Stella tennis event watching Dim Tim (lose again) or at Henly Regatta eating cucumber sandwiches (they wish,...NOT).

Anyway please feel free to just talk to yourself blast away and let it go on any company or subject you wish. Just wish Id thought of this one before.

cheers GF.

Cynic,

I think a NHS is a fundamental requirement of a "decent" society.

There are problems with the increasing sophistication of diagnosis and then treatment and also the increasing expectations of the public.

This in some ways means increasing overall costs of the NHS out of general expenditure and perhaps "hard decisions" about availability of certain treatments has to be considered against cost and the overall benefits, or detriments to society.

However, the pace of advancements in medicine over the last 20 years and
especially 5-10 years are astounding.

Guessing, I expect treatments based on greater understanding of the individual genome and titration of treatments accordingly may improve the efficiency and eventually reduce the costs of therapy and possibly reduce the amount and costs of "invasive", or surgical interventions.

The main problem seems to me is how to relate to an ever increasing and ageing population in "humanitarian manner".

Hence my remark early.
==========

My brother was a doctor and he had a private and NHS practice.

My parents paid for private medicine and surgery up until my father retired, but even then paid for his wife's care until she was terminally ill and was admitted to a NHS hospital.

Strangely enough, my brother who is long retired has alway used the NHS for treatment when it is beyond his own ken, and similarly for his family when necessary likewise.

I personally use the NHS, when it is necessary, but have no wish to ban private practice, as long as it is not subsidised by the state, which at the moment it is.

Again I won't go into the details.

Taxation.

Is a thorny subject.

Way down inside me, I have a "feeling" that measuring one's success by "possessions" is less satisfying than to have others sitting at one's table and enjoying one's hospitality.

I have sat at many tables of "poorer" friends and strangers and felt that "warmth".

I feel the same about taxation.

Those are personal feelings, and I am reasonably careful with my own money and don't believe in squandering or raising unnecessary taxation.

Nor do I believe in ducking and diving and hiding my income from the taxman, or planting it abroad.

What bugs me about the NHS. I pay for private health insurance, something I hope not to call upon. NHS patients in this area are being given the option to go into private hospitals (Rivers in Sawbridgeworth being such) and having their treatment carried out, for no premium or payment. On ringing my insurance company about this practice I was told it fills holes/spaces/ supposedly keeping my costs down.
Did not get an answer when I put it to the operator that I hope a beds free In the hospital of my choice if the need arises. Perhaps a lot of people have dropped out of private health care in these times.

Dear oh dear, cynic why oh why do you encourage him. Or at least say to him " Can I put you through to someone who gives a toss" pleeeeese!

Kate McCann in Portugal for libel case

Madeleine McCann's family suing Portuguese detective, claiming damage to themselves and the search for missing girl


Press Association

theguardian.com, Thursday 12 September 2013



Kate McCann, the mother of missing girl Madeleine, will attend a Portuguese court on Thursday for the start of the family's libel action against a former local police chief.

Kate McCann will be accompanied by her mother, Susan Healy, for the first hearing of the case against Goncalo Amaral who published a book making allegations about the three-year-old's disappearance.

The McCanns have strongly denied the accusations and say the former detective's claims have damaged the hunt for Madeleine and exacerbated the anguish suffered by her relatives.

Their lawyer Isabel Duarte is expected to set out the case – on behalf of Mrs McCann, husband Gerry and their twins Sean and Amelie, now eight – at Lisbon's civil court.

Mrs McCann, who is travelling to Portugal for the hearing, could have been called as a witness but is not expected to give evidence. Instead a number of relatives will appear in the witness box. They will give evidence relating to the "damage" caused by Amaral's book which, they claim, poisoned public opinion in Portugal against the family and deterred people from searching for Madeleine.

The family is seeking around £1m in damages.


more: http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2013/sep/12/kate-mccann-portugal-libel-case

cynic Send an email to cynic View cynic's profile - 12 Sep 2013 17:52 - 29343 of 29360

fred - do you think that throwing money at NHS (or schools for that matter) would actually go anywhere near solving their problems? .......





No because the office staff (people who supposed to be running the bloody thing) are a bunch of lazy useless tw*ts in the main who wouldn't last two minutes in the private sector and have probably got the job cos of who they know not what they know. Same applies to Council staff and lower echelons of the civil service.

This is my personal experience of dealing with these people at both a personal and professional level.

Ucking proper job would kill them.

Haystack Send an email to Haystack View Haystack's profile - 12 Sep 2013 17:54 - 29344 of 29361

Hopefully there will be an outright Conservative majority at the next election. Then we will see some sensible policies.





lol , yeah right then we can bomb the feck out of Syria costing us billions in the process while the rest of our western 'allies' apart from the US use those billions to help rebuild their economies.

Thank feck some Tories got some sense ... not you though Haystack !

Next :-)

Spot on Dil, haystack has a growing reputation as a retard. Poor lad.

By the way I have reported Haystack TO BULLSHARE(management) saying there is no RULES on this thread.

I can assure posters that there is. Nobody and I mean nobody is above the law. That includes everyone and should be respected.

Check out the terms and conditions at the bottom of the page.

While your at it why don't you report yourself and Fred for disrupting the thread by posting endless class war rubbish just to wind up other posters

p s Are you and Bullshare ex members of a working class Bulingdon club ? maybe his a fellow mason

There must be a space for a member of the BNP or UKIP in the nest

Mind the nest seems to be selling off its golden eggs, or are they being paid out in MP expenses of the "we are all in it together government". I suppose they are just trying to rebalance the books.

I wonder how their "trust funds" are getting on.

Would mansion tax apply to trust fund owned properties?


I'm thinking of big dave and co.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/david-cameron-benefits-on-welfare-at-labours-expense-8812897.html

David Cameron benefits on welfare at Labour’s expense

Ed Miliband is under pressure to take a tougher approach to welfare after a survey found that he is not trusted by voters to prevent benefits spending rising out of control.

A YouGov poll for the Labour Uncut blog found that many people blame the last Labour government for the £200bn-a-year bill for welfare and tax credits. Some 44 per cent of people (and 30 per cent of Labour supporters) believe welfare spending is too high, while only 18 per cent think it is too low and 17 per cent say it is about right.

When those who say the welfare bill is too high are asked who they believe is responsible for it, a majority (54 per cent) blame the last Labour government and only 5 per cent the Coalition. Some 31 per cent think the last and present governments are equally responsible and 8 per cent blame neither.

Asked who would do more to prevent welfare spending rising out of control, only 14 per cent of the public name Mr Miliband and 45 per cent opted for David Cameron, while 25 per cent reply “neither.” When asked who they trusted most to create jobs and reduce unemployment, the two leaders are neck and neck. Some 28 per cent trust Mr Miliband, 27 per cent Mr Cameron and 30 per cent neither.

http://blogs.spectator.co.uk/coffeehouse/2013/09/ed-miliband-weak-weird-and-out-of-his-depth/

The next election is going to be close. Very close, according to new polling from YouGov. When asked which government they would prefer after the next election, 41 per cent said a Conservative government led by David Cameron compared to 40 per cent for a Labour government led Ed Miliband.

This does not mean Miliband is gaining momentum. In July, Labour had a 13 point lead in YouGov polls. Today, it has more than halved to just six points.

LABOURS LEAD growing......WELL DONE ED..........

electionista‏@electionista12 Sep
UK - YouGov/Sun poll: CON 32%, LAB 39%, LDEM 10%, UKIP 12%


Now a 7% lead up from 3% last week during congress week.

Fact is with a 7% lead Labour would have an overall majority of 90 plus seats.

The Lib Dems are history.

Haystack is history.

goldfinger, wrong as usual

http://yougov.co.uk/news/2013/09/13/update-labour-lead-4/

Update: Labour lead at 4
by YouGov in Politics
Fri September 13, 6 a.m. BST

Latest YouGov / The Sun results 12th September - Con 34%, Lab 38%, LD 8%, UKIP 13%;

The dim/libs look like they are finished.

But what does 8% mean seat wise?

Difficult to say due to constituency boundaries. The Libs are pretty consistent with their seats. They usually bounce back in a real election and people revert to type. The same is probably true of UKIP. I guess they won't actually gain a single MP. The Libs support is concentrated in a small number of seats, so their percentage has more effect. UKIP's support is spread evenly across the country. That means their current percentage probably won't translate into any actual seats.