Off Topic News & Current affairs

I don't think it is very fair to charge different rates for electricity based on the time of day that it is used.
That would penalise working people who cannot work from home, and have very little choice but to use electricity at peak times.

So much for making work pay.

 

The Daily Mail loves a bit of "Fury" on the front page. Today it's Fury over the government's feeble response to China. Anyone furious over this?

 

Not I , keep calm and drink

 

Let's face it, politically we're pretty feeble compared to China.

 

This is an absolute scandal

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-68662384

Member of Parliament and Afghan Veterans' Minister Johnny Mercer faces an unlimited fine or imprisonment if he does not reveal the names of whistle-blowers to an independent inquiry.
Johnny Mercer served in the SBS in Afghanistan between 2008 and 2009.
The chair of the inquiry, Sir Charles Haddon-Cave, previously told the minister: "You need to decide which side you are really on, Mr Mercer."

Which side he is really on?
I wonder whether Sir Charles Haddon-Cave ever served his Country in Afghanistan.

 

I'm no fan of Sadiq Khan, but some Conservatives harbour a pathological hatred for the man
Showing a stampede on the New York metro...
Conservative Campaign HQ has gone into melt-down.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cpw05l5p6d7o

In the original black-and-white video, the scenes of a stampede
at New York's Penn Station in 2017 were overlaid with a US-accented narrator saying:
"A 54% increase in knife crime since the Labour mayor seized power has the metropolis teetering on the brink of chaos."

Seized power?
Oh come on.
Khan was elected, freely and fairly by the People of Greater London.
I can respect that even if I disagree with his politics.
Enough already of this Trumpian lunacy that attacks democracy rather than admit fair defeat.

Next thing you know a senior Tory will be telling us Sadiq Khan is controlled by Islamists...

 

There used to be truths and untruths. Not now.

 

Satisfaction with the NHS has dropped to 24% among the general public.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-68669866

In 2010 when the Coalition Government took over from Labour, public satisfaction was 70%.
I believe the Chancellor's long term aim of abolishing National Insurance is code for another policy; Privatising the NHS.
The state things are in now, going private is the only way people can get treatment.
A colleague of mine at work has had to buy private medical treatment. She is not wealthy, and she has paid her taxes and NI all her working life.
The situation is a disgusting scandal.

 

Private health care is just as ****e , all you do is jump the NHS queue, see the same doctors/ consultants and then very little after care unless you show the funds are in place !

 

A common tale. Even getting a GP appointment is increasingly difficult. I tried this week first time for 3 years and have been referred to the physio (see how that goes), my wife got referred to the pharmacist, and the nurses do the prescription reviews now. Apparently the country is skint, at the same time as we're the world's 6th largest economy. So where is all the money going? There doesn't seem to be enough to fund any public services properly. Rishi and Jeremy tell us that this is the year the economy turns the corner. In other words Jam Tomorrow.

 

Must say I was very impressed with the physio. Couldn't have gone better, her medical knowledge was as good as any doctor's.
Other reasons for the dire state of the NHS are
Austerity, when Cameron/Osborne cut the level of funding from what successive governments had kept it at.
PFI Contracts, beloved by Gordon Brown, which plunged many NHS Trusts into debt.
As a nation we have a very unhealthy lifestyle, largely due to our appalling diet of ultra-processed food, which has been proved to be highly addictive. The food industry knows this, but it's the most profitable section of the food industry, so they won't stop pushing it any time soon unless they're forced to. They may need to stop giving large donations to the Tory Party and switch to Labour to get away with it.

 

Yeah I’m not knocking the NHS just highlighting that the private healthcare is very mercenary, my daughter is suffering at their hands at the moment, totally pissed off with it - almost furious

 

"Fill their mouths with gold" is what Nye Bevan said about attracting doctors to the NHS. You won't do that by cutting NI contributions, as in the last budget. It should be possible to take the NHS out of party politics. I don't remember it being a party issue until recently, it was well funded by the Thatcher and Major governments at a similar level to Labour and New Labour governments.

 

Hang on, so you saw the physio within 3 hours of your first post. That must be some sort of record surely ?

 

Revised figures show the UK economy was in recession for the whole second half of last year.
It shrank 0.1% from July to September
and then 0.3% from October to December.
Previous figures had shown the economy stagnant or growing slightly during those periods.

Recent unrevised figures have shown the UK is still in recession (a "technical" recession whatever that is, according to the PM).
What will those figures show once they are revised?

We've been sliding backwards for the last 9 months.
So much for the Economy turning a corner. More happy pills please for Mr Sunak.

 

Not only that, she made out a blood test form. I went home, was booking a test in Beckenham in April, when suddenly a cancellation came up for 9.10 this morning at the local hospital. Better to be lucky than good, eh?

 

It's silly season down at Scotland Yard;

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-68677343

Angela might have given some false information
Tory Donor might have broken the law with his rude comments about Diane Abbott
Cabinet minister might be jailed for not naming whistle blowers

It's a good thing the Rozzers haven't got any real crimes to investigate

 

In Lardy we trust.

 

I agree

 

Not onlythat, the results arethrough doc appointment for next week to discuss results, which probably means gout. @Smudger knows all about that?