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.

Don't know.

Ask an epidemiologist, but suppose it is due to "residual" morbidity following "deindustrialisation", population dispersal and investment.

But some of the care there is probably patchy as in England since tory governments post 2010 in the UK.

Some of the relative deterioration is due to managerial failure and investment policies.

Also, a lot of the problems are due the Maggie Thatcher of government turning doctors into little business men and change of various "contracts".

But explore it.

Patrick Hickey , Head of Irish Olympic committee arrested in Rio over illegal Olympic ticket sales . I must be wrong but I would have thought these people who are on these committees would have something above and beyond your usual human being , but obviously not . He tried to escape from capture .

Who is an extremist? UK faces legal challenge over strategy to stop radicals

Wed, 17th Aug 2016 11:13 - By Michael Holden

LONDON, Aug 17 (Reuters) - To his detractors, including the British government, Salman Butt is an extremist whose views on Islam fly in the face of Britain's values and help foster an atmosphere where young Muslims can be radicalised by militants.

Even though he is not accused of supporting militant groups or violence, the British authorities believe it is only by cracking down on activists like Butt and denying a forum for their ideas to be widely heard that the threat posed by jihadis and groups such as Islamic State can be countered.

But critics, ranging from civil rights groups to leading academics and lawmakers, say what the government is trying to do amounts to a curb on free speech which could drive a wedge between the authorities and Britain's 2.8 million Muslims

They argue if anything such plans will only make the problem worse and amount to an attack on the fundamental liberties the government wants to protect.

"Over the last few years the circle of who and what is considered extreme has been expanding slowly," said Butt, 30, who is taking the British government to court over its counter-extremism strategy.

"Before it was just somebody committing crimes or calling for violence and then they expanded more and more to everyday people who happen to maybe criticise certain aspects of the government policy or hold certain conservative Islamic views," he told Reuters.

The problem facing Britain and other Western governments is the same one with which they have wrestled since the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on the United States: how to stop their young citizens being radicalised without been seen to censor critics.

Thousands of Muslims, including more than 800 Britons, have left Europe for Iraq and Syria, many to join Islamic State (IS), while the recent deadly attacks seen in Paris, Brussels and Nice are a graphic illustration of the risk posed by some lured to a violent Islamist cause at home.

The revelation on Tuesday that Anjem Choudary, Britain's most high-profile Islamist preacher, has been convicted for inviting his followers to support Islamic State has again brought the issue to the fore.

Choudary was convicted last month although this could not be reported until Tuesday to avoid prejudicing the jury in a separate case. It ended a streak of many years during which he served as the leader of banned organisations but dodged prosecution by carefully managing his public remarks.

Critics questioned why it had taken so long to act against someone who had been a leading radical Islamist figure for two decades and whose followers had been involved in militant plots and acts of violence across the world.

"There should be zero tolerance towards any cleric - Muslim or otherwise - who advocates extremist views and rejects British values," Britain's top-selling Sun newspaper said. "Britain has been tolerant of men like Choudary for too long."

WHO IS AN EXTREMIST?

For those such as new British Prime Minister Theresa May, tackling extremism means no longer tolerating those who reject the country's values: democracy, free speech, equality and the rule of law.

"Where non-violent extremism goes unchallenged, the values that bind our society together fragment," May, who had been interior minister for six years before taking over the Downing Street reins, said in a speech in February.

"So while by no means all extremism leads to violence, it creates an environment in which those who seek to divide us can flourish."

May, in her former guise as interior minister, was responsible for drawing up a proposed Counter-Extremism bill with bans for individuals or groups deemed extremist and closures of places where radicals thrive, including mosques.

However, there is still no sign of the legislation, with the Home Office (interior ministry) saying it would come in "due course". One main obstacle is who decides who or what is extremist.

"Providing a clear definition of extremism is a difficult task and the government has yet to succeed in doing it," said senior opposition Labour lawmaker Harriet Harman, head of the UK parliament's Joint Committee on Human Rights which produced a critical report on the government plans in July.

Even Finance Minister Philip Hammond admitted in May the issue was "a minefield": "The line between acceptable and non-acceptable behaviour is fine and fraught with dangers," he said.

"HATE SPEAKER"

Last September, Butt, 30, who runs a discussion website Islam21c, was one of the first to fall foul of the moves to clampdown on non-violent extremists after being identified by a secretive cross-government Extremism Analysis Unit, established to pick out groups or individuals of concern.

The activist, who has a biochemistry doctorate, was named in a Downing Street press release on "hate speakers" as one of six figures who gave talks at university campuses and were "on record as expressing views contrary to British values".

A later explanation given by the government to parliament said he had appeared to compare homosexuality to paedophilia and had spoken alongside figures from CAGE, a campaign group that gained attention for contacts with Mohammed Emwazi, the now-dead British militant known as "Jihadi John" who appeared in Islamic State videos beheading foreign captives.

Butt said the accusations against him were "complete rubbish", and is now taking legal action to challenge the government's way of identifying extremists and its "Prevent" strategy, its much-criticised policy to stop radicalisation.

"What has happened over the last 10 years of counter-terrorism policy is it's completely going about it in a very destructive way," he said.

"The government need to do a job to keep people safe but the way it's being done, especially recently, not only are they looking in the wrong place ... but they are completely ignoring the negative effects it's having on community relations."

It is not just those like Butt who are targeted that are concerned. In January, Professor Louise Richardson, the Vice-Chancellor of Oxford University, said it was better to let extremists speak on campuses and challenge their views than to simply ban them.

David Anderson, Britain's terrorism law watchdog, has warned that plans to clamp down on individuals and organisations accused of extremism could backfire by playing into the hands of militant recruiters.

"FREE PASS"

But those who back the government's intent say allowing extremists free rein in public forums or at universities exposes vulnerable people to their messages. They point out that graduates or students at British universities have been involved in numerous militant plots including Emwazi and Nigerian "underwear bomber" Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab.

Rupert Sutton, director of Student Rights, an organisation that campaigns against extremism on university campuses, said people with controversial views were often given a platform where their opinions were not questioned.

"They're too often given a free pass," he told Reuters. "If you put it as a dichotomy between either freedom of expression or ban them from speaking that is too binary. What we need to think about is how we are going to make it so that when they do come to speak they face challenge rather than being banned."

He said the focus should be on using existing legislation to tackle people like Choudary, even if he had long proved adept at ensuring he did not break the law.

"When someone is as effective at it as Choudary is, you are going to get people saying: 'How is he allowed to go around on the street doing this?'"

From: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/wires/reuters/article-3744572/Turkey-dismisses-2-000-police-officers-coup-bid.html#ixzz4HbGPky3y

Turkey set to release 38,000 prisoners, makes space in jails after coup
By REUTERS
(Additional reporting by Ayla Jean Yackley; Editing by Patrick Markey and Anna Willard)
PUBLISHED: 12:43, 17 August 2016 | UPDATED: 12:43, 17 August 2016

By Daren Butler
ISTANBUL, Aug 17 (Reuters) - Turkey will release 38,000 prisoners under a penal reform announced on Wednesday after the arrests of tens of thousands of people suspected of links to last month's attempted coup added to pressure on overstretched jails.
The reform was one of a series of measures outlined on Wednesday in two new decrees under a state of emergency declared after the July 15 failed putsch during which 240 people, mostly civilians, were killed. The government gave no reason for the reform.
Western allies worry President Tayyip Erdogan, accused by opponents of creeping authoritarianism, is using the crackdown to target dissent, testing relations with a key NATO partner in the war on Islamic State.
Angrily dismissing the West's concerns, Turkish officials say they are rooting out a serious internal threat from followers of a U.S.-based cleric Ankara blames for orchestrating a coup bid.
Wednesday's decrees, published in the Official Gazette, also ordered the dismissal of 2,360 more police officers, more than 100 military personnel and 196 staff at Turkey's information and communication technology authority, BTK.
Those dismissed were described as having links to cleric Fethullah Gulen, a former ally turned enemy whom Erdogan says is behind the attempt by rogue troops using tanks and jets to overthrow the government. Gulen denies involvement in the coup.
Under the penal reform, convicts with up to two years left in sentences are eligible for release on probation, extending the period from one year. The "supervised release" excludes those convicted of terrorism, murder, violent or sexual crimes.
To be eligible for the scheme, prisoners must have served half of their sentences. Previously they were required to have already served two thirds of their sentence.
"This measure is not an amnesty," Justice Minister Bekir Bozdag wrote on Twitter of the penal reform. "Around 38,000 people will be released from... jail in the first stage as a result of this measure."
He did not say why the reform was needed but Turkey's prison population has trebled over the last 15 years. There were 188,000 prisoners in Turkey as of March, some 8,000 more than the existing capacity.
Another measure gave the president more choice in appointing the head of the armed forces. He can now select any general as military chief, one decree said. Previously only the heads of the army, navy or air force could be promoted to the post.
A telecoms authority will also be closed under the moves.
Erdogan, already accused by critics of creeping authoritarianism before the coup bid, says Gulen and his followers infiltrated government institutions to create a 'parallel state' in an attempt to take over the country.
Alongside tens of thousands of civil servants suspended or dismissed, more than 35,000 people have been detained in the purge. Judges, journalists, police, and teachers are among those targeted for suspected links to Gulen's movement.
Turkish police on Tuesday searched the offices of a nationwide retail chain and a healthcare and technology company, detaining executives who authorities accuse of helping finance Gulen's network.
FIRST 'COUP' INDICTMENT
A prosecutor in the western province of Usak has submitted the first indictment formally accusing Gulen of masterminding the coup plot, the state-run Anadolu Agency said.
The 11-month investigation focused on alleged wrongdoing by the Gulen movement from 2013, but includes charges Gulen organised an armed "terrorist" group to topple the government, scrap the constitution and murder Erdogan on July 15.
The 2,257-page indictment seeks two life sentences and an additional 1,900 years in jail for Gulen, plus tens of millions of lira in fines, Anadolu said. It names a total 111 defendants, including 13 people who are already in custody.
U.S. officials have been cautious on the extradition of Gulen, saying they need clear evidence. He has lived in self-imposed exile in Pennsylvania since 1999, but it is not clear Ankara has yet made a formal request.
Western criticism of the purge and Ankara's demands U.S. officials send Gulen home have already frayed ties with Washington and the European Union, increasing tensions over an EU deal with Turkey to stem the flow of migrants.
In another tense exchange, Turkey lashed out at Germany on Wednesday, saying allegations in a media report that Turkey had become a hub for Islamist groups reflected a "twisted mentality" that tried to target Erdogan.
Incensed over a perceived lack of Western sympathy over the coup attempt, Erdogan has revived relations with Russia, a detente Western officials worry may be used by both leaders to pressure the European Union and NATO.
Measures in Wednesday's decrees will also enable former air force pilots to return to duty, making up for a deficit after the dismissal of military pilots in the purge.
Turkey declared a three-month state of emergency on July 21.
Under previous emergency rule decrees, Turkey had already dismissed thousands of security force members as well as ordering the closure of thousands of private schools, charities and other institutions suspected of links to Gulen.

A snippet from Capital & Conflict

Note it's pre-brexit

The number of Britons between the ages of 16 and 64 with a job reached its highest level ever since the Office for National Statistics (ONS) began tracking the number in 1971. It’s 74.5%. Fifty-two thousand jobs were added between April and June, according to the ONS. Average weekly earnings were up 2.4%.
2517

Is there a record of hours actually worked and the average rate of pay for those in "non-managerial" roles?

How many are in supposed self-employed?

=--=

It will be interesting to see GDP per capita.

You really need to get out more Freda. Must be a riot in your house every time you go out.

They only let him out with a carer and big bag of medication

Such a happy chappie isn't he. His poor Missus is always complaining he never takes her anywhere. Last Saturday morning he gave her a shake at 6.30 "You coming to the Strike meeting or what?" Sad chap (deliberately watching my language, but you get the drift.).

You've never had it so good...


http://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2016/08/17/britons-better-off-than-ever-as-disposable-incomes-jump-to-recor/

MaxK your making Freda's job on here redundant , but I'm sure he'll be in with his tuppence worth soon , unless the nurse gets there first .

Don't be like that V, I'm just trying to spread the joy around.

Vicky.

To hang on your wall.

Edit.

Put your own caption on it!

Is that a repeat prescription Freda .

You must be a local hero Freda , sticking up for the downtrodden in life . All this time you give to aid them is quite phenomenal have you ever received any public reward or recognition for your unfailing loyalty or do you just sit on your arse day in day out on ere and complain ad nauseam .

There is a difference on complaining and commenting.

Perhaps, you have them mixed up!

Perhaps you are a bit obsessed eh maybe , just maybe .

About time

Britain launches soft drinks sugar tax to fight obesity

LONDON, Aug 18 (Reuters) - Britain on Thursday said it would tax companies which sell sugary soft drinks and invest that money in health programmes for school children, part of a long-awaited strategy to curb childhood obesity that critics say is too weak.

Drinks companies were also angered by the plan which urges industry to cut sugar in products aimed at children, saying nearly a third of those aged 2 to 15 are already overweight or obese.

In a statement announcing details of the strategy, which has been in the works for several years, junior finance minister Jane Ellison said obesity was costing Britain's National Health Service (NHS) billions of pounds every year.

Campaigners and health experts, however, said the plan was weak.

Graham MacGregor, a professor of cardiovascular medicine and chairman of the Action on Sugar campaign group, said it was "an insulting response" to Britain's obesity and diabetes crisis which "will bankrupt the NHS unless something radical is done".

In opting for a sugar tax, Britain joins Belgium, France, Hungary and Mexico, all of which have imposed some form of tax on drinks with added sugar. Scandinavian countries have levied similar taxes for many years.

Britain's plans will see a levy applied to drinks with a total sugar content above 5 grams per 100 ml, with a higher band for even more sugary drinks.

The government's health department says sugary drinks are the single biggest source of sugar for children, and a child can have more than their recommended daily intake just by drinking a can of cola which contains nine teaspoons of sugar.

It wants the industry to work towards a 20 percent cut in products popular with children, with 5 percent in the first year. Progress would be reviewed every six months by the government's health agency, Public Health England.

But Gavin Partington, Director General of the British Soft Drinks Association, said the levy was a "punitive tax" that would "cause thousands of job losses and yet fail to have a meaningful impact on levels of obesity".

Sara Petersson, a nutrition analyst at Euromonitor International, said the focus on sugar may detract from other crucial factors in obesity.

"It is becoming abundantly clear that replacing a critical ingredient of a product, or single nutrient in a diet, is neither an easy process for food companies nor a successful obesity strategy," she said.

The programme the government intends to launch with funds raised from the sugar levy will focus on promoting healthy diets and physical activity in schoolchildren, Public Health Minister Nicola Blackwood said.

She said primary schools would be asked to help pupils get at least 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous exercise every day. At least 30 minutes of this should be during school time, she said.

Standard coke does contain a lot of sugar.

Diet coke (1cal) has no sugar, but it does contain Aspartame and Acesulfame k.

Nasty shit by anyones reckoning


btw, aspartame is mixed up with phenylalanine (neurotoxin)


Acesulfame K contains the carcinogen methylene chloride. Long-term exposure to methylene chloride can cause headaches, depression, nausea, mental confusion, liver effects, kidney effects, visual disturbances, and cancer in humans.


http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/nutrition-and-healthy-eating/expert-answers/phenylalanine/faq-20058361