Mr. Llama, 'tis not Lysandra (although she does have a similarly fairly large secondary role).
I am glad to see she makes a reappearance, and despite your Elfphobia, I am sure she will provide Sir Edric and your readers with much amusement (bet Sir E is properly leery of her though, now matter how much he wants to get in her knickers) .
Quite. I'm not totally convinced of the efficacy of air strikes, it seems like it would take a lot more to succeed even in Syria and even if it is possible for the world to do a lot mor ein theory, in political terms there does not appear to be the will or public support for the extremes necessary, but the 'this doesn't solve everything, so we might as well do nothing' type argument is an ancient political tactic. It's used sincerely, sometimes peopel feel, quite rightly, that no action is better than a bad action, but it's also used as an excuse to not try something which might be a good thing, even if it has some negative consequences.
Most often used with oppositions of all stripes - 'I've found an example of someone negatively affected by the government proposal, therefore it must be terrible and must not happen' regardless of any wider merits or necessitities behind the proposals.
Yes, true. I'd actually favour a coherent international effort to drive ISIS out in Syria, which now seems to be possibly on the cards - a Western-Russian alliance would be an interesting development and I don't think China (which has its own issues with Islamists) would veto it. But we shouldn't kid ourselves that it will solve the problem, merely help it.
But IMO we need to park the issue of what happens to Assad for discussion afterwards - a general statement about the need for free elections when circumstances allow would do while the immediate issue is addressed.
Fair enough. Why do you think Corbyn hasn't advocated that?
I don't know if anyone has noticed that Corbyn's satisfaction rating exceeds the Labour party share, headline or not.
This used to be the case with Cameron and the Tories in the last parliament.
Noticeably Grumpy is -12% though I thought he had a "good" post Paris. He did not say anything outlandish.
On the bombing: I am still not sure what purpose it will serve other than token "solidarity". So why doesn't every Nato country send a few planes ?
I am not sure what Cameron and others say privately in the cobra meetings. Does anyone say: "You know we have not been bombed" or is it too delicate to say even in private ?
Before the last election I speculated several times that the Labour vote might become less efficient and the Tory vote more efficient for a variety of reasons. I like to mention this from time to time because it is one of the few things I actually got right.
I am not sure that there is any reason to suppose that that process has stopped. I can certainly see Mr Corbyn doing relatively well in already very safe inner city seats, especially in London, and, to be kind, rather less well in Midland and eastern marginals.
One of the reasons so few foresaw a Tory majority was because they failed to appreciate that Cameron was winning votes where it mattered (having foreseen this I have even less excuse than most). Again, I can see that trend continuing unless Labour come to their senses. In short I suspect that the models in which universal swing is applied to these percentages will be as inaccurate as they were at the election and understate the Tory performance.
All of which is a typically longwinded way of suggesting that the idea that Labour might get 230 or so seats even on the current boundaries and with the current number of seats is really wildly optimistic.
I'm not at all sure that Corbyn will do as well as all that in innner London given that London is probably at high risk of Paris-style incidents. Liberal and metropolitan we may be but we value our lives and those of our children and we'd like the police to do whatever they have to should gun-wielding maniacs go apeshit on the Finchley Road.
See how quickly opinion changed after the 2011 riots, for instance.
I don't see where this "doctors are trained at vast public expense comes from". They pay their own tuition fees which are considerably higher than a normal university degree and then get paid a salary for doing a job of work. If you're saying that training is part of that payment then surely it means that they're being paid even less for doing their job.
I read various estimates of the cost to put a student through medical school, one of the lowest is £500,000. How much to medical students pay?
Oh, incidentally I don't think I used the word "vast" as in "vast public expense", that seem sto have been your own addition. Not really on to make up quotes, Old Chap, makes one look stupid.
I wasn't quoting you directly as would have been clear still if it enables you to be patronizing glad I've been of service...
I wouldn't take your figures from the Daily Mail if I were you either. The training costs for a foundation year 1 doctor were estimated in 2012 as £269,527.
I am not sure what Cameron and others say privately in the cobra meetings. Does anyone say: "You know we have not been bombed" or is it too delicate to say even in private ?
I'm sure it has been mentioned but a quarter of Tory voters being satisfied with Corbyn probably explains what is happening. Asking if he's doing a good job would probably be a better question.
I worry my daughters will be groomed by ISIS and lured to Syria, warns Labour's London Mayor candidate Sadiq Khan
More must be done to prevent children accessing extremist material online Admits he grew up with people who went on to 'act' on terrible views Warns British Muslims have a 'special role' to 'root out' extremists Distances himself from Corbyn's warning about police shooting terrorists Insists British Muslim women and girls should be free not to wear the veil
If he had not indoctrinated his children into Islam, they would not be at risk of joining the Islamist cause.
If there is one parental law this country needs, it is one to prevent the child abuse of parents indoctrinating their children into the belief in any sort of sky faeries.
I think quite a lot of those who are radicalised are not at all religious and, so, not understanding their faith properly are therefore more inclined to believe whatever poisonous rubbish is pumped out to them. I'm sure that somewhere I read that two of the most common places where people are radicalised are on the internet and in prison. These are not normally the places where people learn about religion (and, yes, I know that there are radical mosques).
Shame on our GPs for being unable to say "No" to antibiotic requests for the common cold.
There was a report on Radio 4 this morning which said that one of the problems was the routine use of antibiotics for animals, not to cure disease but to enhance growth. I don't know what the relative importance of that is by comparison with over-prescription by GPs.
It's utter, complete and total bollocks. Sorry to be so crude.
Put modestly, I'm one of the leading specialists in the veterinary medicine industry (from the financial services perspective) globally - if you ask your team they would acknowledge that.
Antibiotics are not used routinely in Europe - they are banned as growth promoters. And they are restricted in the US to therapeutic use under veterinary prescription only.
There is no solid evidence of cross-species resistance, in any event, and the strict enforcement of MRLs means there is little transfer into the human food chain.
It's garbage put out by people (yes Barbara Boxer, I mean you) with an agenda and oodles of funding from PETA
Thank you. I don't know whether the lady speaking this morning was this Boxer woman. I only caught the end of it. Anyway, thanks for putting me right.
It's nonetheless worrying if we're not developing new antibiotics. Why is that? (O Wise One)
Barbara Boxer is the gerrymandered Democratic Senator for SoCal, so I doubt it!
We're not developing new antibiotics because the last two really sexy antibiotic that was developed was immediately reserved by governments for salvage therapy (ie when nothing else works). So the pharma companies that spent hundreds of millions developing Ketek (Sanofi) and Tygacil (Wyeth) each got less than $100m of annual sales rather than the $1bn they were expecting. Sensible for public health - but killed investment into the antibiotic research.
@HurstLlama - I was in RoC yesterday discussing just this issue! Don't eat fish from China is my advice . But I doubt they have tried this really cool E.coli vaccine that has been developed in Montreal.
Yes, true. I'd actually favour a coherent international effort to drive ISIS out in Syria, which now seems to be possibly on the cards - a Western-Russian alliance would be an interesting development and I don't think China (which has its own issues with Islamists) would veto it. But we shouldn't kid ourselves that it will solve the problem, merely help it.
But IMO we need to park the issue of what happens to Assad for discussion afterwards - a general statement about the need for free elections when circumstances allow would do while the immediate issue is addressed.
Wishful thinking all round there, Dr. Palmer. ISIS needs to be destroyed not just driven out of Syria. Assad is doe not stand on his own, there are thousands, probably tens of thousands, maybe hundreds of thousands in his camp and who look to him for protection - those people will not be fobbed off (just look at what happened in Iraq).
Before free elections could take place in Syria there would have to be a rebuilding of civil society. That will take years and cost billions. Presumably our government, will be happy to divert the lion's share of the aid budget for a few years (HMG was after all in the forefront of formenting the unrest that led to the present disaster).
Nick is being silly.
Firstly, ISIS should not just be driven out of Syria. It needs driving out or Iraq, Yemen, and all the other places that sick people think that Al Qaeda are too moderate. We therefore need to fight the ideology as much as the army. That is, needless to say, massively difficult. But we need to work out how to start.
Secondly, there is very little chance that the state of Syria after the civil war is over will be the same as before. As an example, what do you think the Syrian Kurds will want from any peace deal?
Thirdly, the idea of 'free and fair' elections in Syria under Assad are, whatever LuckyGuy says, preposterous.
Assad has to go if there is to be true peace, sooner or later. That does not mean deBaathification. But the figurehead has to go.
Shame on our GPs for being unable to say "No" to antibiotic requests for the common cold.
There was a report on Radio 4 this morning which said that one of the problems was the routine use of antibiotics for animals, not to cure disease but to enhance growth. I don't know what the relative importance of that is by comparison with over-prescription by GPs.
It's utter, complete and total bollocks. Sorry to be so crude.
Put modestly, I'm one of the leading specialists in the veterinary medicine industry (from the financial services perspective) globally - if you ask your team they would acknowledge that.
Antibiotics are not used routinely in Europe - they are banned as growth promoters. And they are restricted in the US to therapeutic use under veterinary prescription only.
There is no solid evidence of cross-species resistance, in any event, and the strict enforcement of MRLs means there is little transfer into the human food chain.
It's garbage put out by people (yes Barbara Boxer, I mean you) with an agenda and oodles of funding from PETA
Thank you. I don't know whether the lady speaking this morning was this Boxer woman. I only caught the end of it. Anyway, thanks for putting me right.
It's nonetheless worrying if we're not developing new antibiotics. Why is that? (O Wise One)
Barbara Boxer is the gerrymandered Democratic Senator for SoCal, so I doubt it!
We're not developing new antibiotics because the last two really sexy antibiotic that was developed was immediately reserved by governments for salvage therapy (ie when nothing else works). So the pharma companies that spent hundreds of millions developing Ketek (Sanofi) and Tygacil (Wyeth) each got less than $100m of annual sales rather than the $1bn they were expecting. Sensible for public health - but killed investment into the antibiotic research.
@HurstLlama - I was in RoC yesterday discussing just this issue! Don't eat fish from China is my advice . But I doubt they have tried this really cool E.coli vaccine that has been developed in Montreal.
Mr. Charles, are you saying that we should not worry about that story in the Telegraph, that in fact the last walls of antibiotic protection have not been breached?
Yep - Nick voted for someone who hangs out with apologists for terrorism and calls them his friends, and that is exactly what Nick got. Nick is not interested in Labour ever being in power again. He is happy for the Tories to do the governing stuff. It's good for Nick he has got what he wants. But maybe less good for the people that Labour used to care about.
How do you explain him being the most popular leader despite constant sniping from MPs like Danczuk and former supporters like yourself.
Why are Lab polling more than at GE 2015 despite people like yourself and DH changing their horse?
I think anyone looking at opinion polls and not real polls is deluding him/herself after the polling fiasco in May. I knew they were wrong then. I know this one is wrong now.
You may be right, I may even agree.
I think the difference between us is I can no longer support a Tory Lite position on Austerity, benefits, public services from Labour.
You can't tolerate Corbyn.
Our Broad Church is well broken methinks.
As to which approach will be more popular IMO we have lost last 2 elections on Tory Lite ticket. So dont think there is muh to lose by trying to get the DNV their all the same types and the Old Labour left back.
We will have to disagree I am afraid.
Disagreements on austerity and economic policy are actually manageable. The real problem for people like me is that Corbyn is, to put it mildly, not remotely credible on national security issues, surrounds himself with others with the same viewpoint and calls apologists for terrorism and worse his friends. That is the starting point and precludes discussion of all else.
I don't think Corbyn will stop me voting Labour but I would prefer a more politically savvy leader. I have re-read Corbyn's statements. It's not what he says , it is how and when he says it. He also does not know when to keep his mouth shut.
For example, I am pro nuclear but against Trident renewal. The two are not the same unless someone has been brain-washed by the Military Industrial complex which includes some Unions and, of course, the local MPs.
I am not sure what Cameron and others say privately in the cobra meetings. Does anyone say: "You know we have not been bombed" or is it too delicate to say even in private ?
We should only take action if bombed?
Do you think that the Russian plane, Hezbollah part of Beirut, Paris were just coincidences ?
This sort of poll may not be very accurate to reality, who knows, but it's the sort of thing that had me overestimating Labour's chances massively in May (I predicted a Labour most seats win 10 minutes before the Exit poll i believe, and a Lab majority until February). Some evidence just seems to suggest the Tory ceiling is reached and the Labour floor is pretty high, enough people will go with them no matter what Corbyn or Ed M does (Edstone notwithstanding, i didn't think Ed was all that bad, which is a separate fault in my logic, clearly).
I am not sure what Cameron and others say privately in the cobra meetings. Does anyone say: "You know we have not been bombed" or is it too delicate to say even in private ?
We should only take action if bombed?
Do you think that the Russian plane, Hezbollah part of Beirut, Paris were just coincidences ?
Shame on our GPs for being unable to say "No" to antibiotic requests for the common cold.
There was a report on Radio 4 this morning which said that one of the problems was the routine use of antibiotics for animals, not to cure disease but to enhance growth. I don't know what the relative importance of that is by comparison with over-prescription by GPs.
It's utter, complete and total bollocks. Sorry to be so crude.
Put modestly, I'm one of the leading specialists in the veterinary medicine industry (from the financial services perspective) globally - if you ask your team they would acknowledge that.
Antibiotics are not used routinely in Europe - they are banned as growth promoters. And they are restricted in the US to therapeutic use under veterinary prescription only.
There is no solid evidence of cross-species resistance, in any event, and the strict enforcement of MRLs means there is little transfer into the human food chain.
It's garbage put out by people (yes Barbara Boxer, I mean you) with an agenda and oodles of funding from PETA
Thank you. I don't know whether the lady speaking this morning was this Boxer woman. I only caught the end of it. Anyway, thanks for putting me right.
It's nonetheless worrying if we're not developing new antibiotics. Why is that? (O Wise One)
Barbara Boxer is the gerrymandered Democratic Senator for SoCal, so I doubt it!
Senators are elected by and for each state as a whole, so she represents all of California, not just the southern part, and could only be considered to be the beneficiary of a "gerrymander" if you consider the state borders of California, which I don't believe have changed since the state was established in 1850, to be such.
I'm sure it has been mentioned but a quarter of Tory voters being satisfied with Corbyn probably explains what is happening.
Bingo! The only measure that makes any sense is those who are identifying as Labour voters. We knew Ed was a Dud when he was registering alarmingly low support from his own side. The Tories thought he was doing a cracking job - of keeping Labour out of power.
Shame on our GPs for being unable to say "No" to antibiotic requests for the common cold.
There was a report on Radio 4 this morning which said that one of the problems was the routine use of antibiotics for animals, not to cure disease but to enhance growth. I don't know what the relative importance of that is by comparison with over-prescription by GPs.
It's utter, complete and total bollocks. Sorry to be so crude.
Put modestly, I'm one of the leading specialists in the veterinary medicine industry (from the financial services perspective) globally - if you ask your team they would acknowledge that.
Antibiotics are not used routinely in Europe - they are banned as growth promoters. And they are restricted in the US to therapeutic use under veterinary prescription only.
There is no solid evidence of cross-species resistance, in any event, and the strict enforcement of MRLs means there is little transfer into the human food chain.
It's garbage put out by people (yes Barbara Boxer, I mean you) with an agenda and oodles of funding from PETA
Thank you. I don't know whether the lady speaking this morning was this Boxer woman. I only caught the end of it. Anyway, thanks for putting me right.
It's nonetheless worrying if we're not developing new antibiotics. Why is that? (O Wise One)
Barbara Boxer is the gerrymandered Democratic Senator for SoCal, so I doubt it!
We're not developing new antibiotics because the last two really sexy antibiotic that was developed was immediately reserved by governments for salvage therapy (ie when nothing else works). So the pharma companies that spent hundreds of millions developing Ketek (Sanofi) and Tygacil (Wyeth) each got less than $100m of annual sales rather than the $1bn they were expecting. Sensible for public health - but killed investment into the antibiotic research.
@HurstLlama - I was in RoC yesterday discussing just this issue! Don't eat fish from China is my advice . But I doubt they have tried this really cool E.coli vaccine that has been developed in Montreal.
What are your thoughts on the view that we would have greater resistance to pathogenic bacteria if we developed our beneficial gut flora?
Go where though, Mr. Jessop, and, if the Ba'ath party is to be allowed to continue, why?
Assad may be a bad man, though surely nowhere near as bad as his Dad (who was a 22carat bastard). In fact I am sure I could tell a very plausible story of a fellow thrown in out of his depth trying to do the best for all his people but being subject to forces beyond his control by the senior "subordinate" Baathists.
Can I also suggest one other thing, probably heresy on here, but I think its a valid point. Living under a dictator like Assad is not, for the ordinary people, always a bad thing. Syria was a state where if you kept your nose out of politics you could earn a living and go about your life quite happily. The population and the tourists (tourism was of course something that the Assad's never really got hold of - they would have made a fortune if they had), were safe, probably safer than in London. Portugal under Salazar was the same, as was Spain under Franco and divers other places that I have lived (e.g. Oman and Hong Kong, even when it was a BCC).
HMG's treatment of Syria during the so called Arab Spring was naive, just like that twat Cameron and his at the time sidekick Hague. Now, after years of death and destruction and a massive refugee crisis, HMG is coming round to the opinion that the best government for Syria is the one led by Assad.
In no way different from the way all students are subsidised by taxpayers still.
True but no other student group is striking to screw more money out of the taxpayer.
Doctors are not striking to screw more money out of the taxpayer. They are striking about Jeremy Hunt imposing a pay cut for doctors working weekends, which is what Hunt wants more of, apparently.
I don't see where this "doctors are trained at vast public expense comes from". They pay their own tuition fees which are considerably higher than a normal university degree and then get paid a salary for doing a job of work. If you're saying that training is part of that payment then surely it means that they're being paid even less for doing their job.
I read various estimates of the cost to put a student through medical school, one of the lowest is £500,000. How much to medical students pay?
Oh, incidentally I don't think I used the word "vast" as in "vast public expense", that seem sto have been your own addition. Not really on to make up quotes, Old Chap, makes one look stupid.
I wasn't quoting you directly as would have been clear still if it enables you to be patronizing glad I've been of service...
I wouldn't take your figures from the Daily Mail if I were you either. The training costs for a foundation year 1 doctor were estimated in 2012 as £269,527.
Lets not forget that irrespective of cost that this threatened strike is irresponsible in the extreme. I have every reason to loathe Doctors after what they did to my late (GP ) wife and she was one of their own.
Frankly Doctors who strike are beneath contempt and the public should tell them so.
My late wife did one in two's.. the current mob have no idea what work really is. or that's is how they learn...
Shame on our GPs for being unable to say "No" to antibiotic requests for the common cold.
There was a report on Radio 4 this morning which said that one of the problems was the routine use of antibiotics for animals, not to cure disease but to enhance growth. I don't know what the relative importance of that is by comparison with over-prescription by GPs.
It's utter, complete and total bollocks. Sorry to be so crude.
Put modestly, I'm one of the leading specialists in the veterinary medicine industry (from the financial services perspective) globally - if you ask your team they would acknowledge that.
Antibiotics are not used routinely in Europe - they are banned as growth promoters. And they are restricted in the US to therapeutic use under veterinary prescription only.
There is no solid evidence of cross-species resistance, in any event, and the strict enforcement of MRLs means there is little transfer into the human food chain.
It's garbage put out by people (yes Barbara Boxer, I mean you) with an agenda and oodles of funding from PETA
Thank you. I don't know whether the lady speaking this morning was this Boxer woman. I only caught the end of it. Anyway, thanks for putting me right.
It's nonetheless worrying if we're not developing new antibiotics. Why is that? (O Wise One)
Barbara Boxer is the gerrymandered Democratic Senator for SoCal, so I doubt it!
We're not
@HurstLlama - I was in RoC yesterday discussing just this issue! Don't eat fish from China is my advice . But I doubt they have tried this really cool E.coli vaccine that has been developed in Montreal.
What are your thoughts on the view that we would have greater resistance to pathogenic bacteria if we developed our beneficial gut flora?
You may like a shit sandwich! But bizzarely faecal transplantation has some evidence for its use particulary in resistant C Diff.
It is worth noting that C Diff rates have dropped enormously over recent years, as have MRSA. At my Trust CDiff has gone down by nearly 99% over the last five years.
Yep - Nick voted for someone who hangs out with apologists for terrorism and calls them his friends, and that is exactly what Nick got. Nick is not interested in Labour ever being in power again. He is happy for the Tories to do the governing stuff. It's good for Nick he has got what he wants. But maybe less good for the people that Labour used to care about.
How do you explain him being the most popular leader despite constant sniping from MPs like Danczuk and former supporters like yourself.
Why are Lab polling more than at GE 2015 despite people like yourself and DH changing their horse?
I think anyone looking at opinion polls and not real polls is deluding him/herself after the polling fiasco in May. I knew they were wrong then. I know this one is wrong now.
You may be right, I may even agree.
I think the difference between us is I can no longer support a Tory Lite position on Austerity, benefits, public services from Labour.
You can't tolerate Corbyn.
Our Broad Church is well broken methinks.
As to which approach will be more popular IMO we have lost last 2 elections on Tory Lite ticket. So dont think there is muh to lose by trying to get the DNV their all the same types and the Old Labour left back.
We will have to disagree I am afraid.
Disagreements on austerity and economic policy are actually manageable. The real problem for people like me is that Corbyn is, to put it mildly, not remotely credible on national security issues, surrounds himself with others with the same viewpoint and calls apologists for terrorism and worse his friends. That is the starting point and precludes discussion of all else.
I don't think Corbyn will stop me voting Labour but I would prefer a more politically savvy leader. I have re-read Corbyn's statements. It's not what he says , it is how and when he says it. He also does not know when to keep his mouth shut.
For example, I am pro nuclear but against Trident renewal. The two are not the same unless someone has been brain-washed by the Military Industrial complex which includes some Unions and, of course, the local MPs.
I thought you voted LibDem because Labour barely exists in your stereotypically hard-working-good-citizen hood.
It is worth noting that C Diff rates have dropped enormously over recent years, as have MRSA. At my Trust CDiff has gone down by nearly 99% over the last five years.
I was not talking about putting someone else's poo up your bottom (Not knocking it). I'm talking about raw or cultured dairy, fermented foods like kimchi or sauerkraut, fermented drinks like kefir.
In line with my firm commitment to diversity, inclusion, and political correctness, a dominatrix has a substantial secondary role in Sir Edric's Kingdom. [For those wondering, Temple and Treasure are still on course for early 2016, huzzah!].
I see Sir Edric's kingdom has some lovely reviews on Amazon. Is it available on kindle?
Sir Edric sounds rather like Brigadier General Sir Harry Paget Flashman VC, KCB.
''They are striking about Jeremy Hunt imposing a pay cut for doctors working weekends, which is what Hunt wants more of, apparently.''
It seems to me that all hunt is trying to get the doctors to acknowledge is that saturday and sunday are just like any other day in health terms, and I don't see what is wrong with that.
In no way different from the way all students are subsidised by taxpayers still.
True but no other student group is striking to screw more money out of the taxpayer.
Doctors are not striking to screw more money out of the taxpayer. They are striking about Jeremy Hunt imposing a pay cut for doctors working weekends, which is what Hunt wants more of, apparently.
I know some on here find the concept difficult, but let us just put aside party politics for a moment.
The NHS management have, for what seems to be good reasons, decided that the junior hospital doctors terms and conditions of work need to be changed, to ameliorate this change they have offered a substantial rise in basic pay (11%). The junior doctors have rejected this and have voted to strike. Many other sets of workers in the public and, especially, the private sector have had much worse changes forced upon them in recent years.
Junior doctors going on strike will mean that patients suffer. Some will suffer inconvenience, many will suffer unnecessary pain and some will, no doubt, die.
Junior doctors are therefore putting their wallets ahead of patient care. Put bluntly their paycheck is more important to them than the lives or their patients.
Words cannot express the contempt I feel for people who will, in pursuit for a change in a couple of digits in their bank statement, allow people to suffer and die.
It is worth noting that C Diff rates have dropped enormously over recent years, as have MRSA. At my Trust CDiff has gone down by nearly 99% over the last five years.
I was not talking about putting someone else's poo up your bottom (Not knocking it). I'm talking about raw or cultured dairy, fermented foods like kimchi or sauerkraut, fermented drinks like kefir.
Has anyone worked out how much Cameron's vanity jet is going to actually cost?
The £10m figure is bollox, as the planes are currently leased on a PFI contract and the A330 MMT is a very new plane. The base model airliner is a quarter of a billion a pop and given that they were financed on PFI, these planes are not going to be very cheap.
Can't find out how much extra the MMT costs over the passenger airliner but wouldn't double the cost be reasonable for a military application? Then add in the costs of PFI and each plane must be close to £1bn.
Might have been a lot cheaper to just wait and buy Air Force One or Two when they are retired.
Thanks, Miss P, That made me laugh. Llamas are of course, six and a bit feet tall and weigh in at about 30 stone. To find a ninja llama who can creep up, unnoticed, on a man with a camera is just brilliant.
Has anyone worked out how much Cameron's vanity jet is going to actually cost?
The £10m figure is bollox, as the planes are currently leased on a PFI contract and the A330 MMT is a very new plane. The base model airliner is a quarter of a billion a pop and given that they were financed on PFI, these planes are not going to be very cheap.
Can't find out how much extra the MMT costs over the passenger airliner but wouldn't double the cost be reasonable for a military application? Then add in the costs of PFI and each plane must be close to £1bn.
Might have been a lot cheaper to just wait and buy Air Force One or Two when they are retired.
Apparently the UK is the only G20 nation which does not have a plane for its leader
Has anyone worked out how much Cameron's vanity jet is going to actually cost?
The £10m figure is bollox, as the planes are currently leased on a PFI contract and the A330 MMT is a very new plane. The base model airliner is a quarter of a billion a pop and given that they were financed on PFI, these planes are not going to be very cheap.
Can't find out how much extra the MMT costs over the passenger airliner but wouldn't double the cost be reasonable for a military application? Then add in the costs of PFI and each plane must be close to £1bn.
Might have been a lot cheaper to just wait and buy Air Force One or Two when they are retired.
Apparently the UK is the only G20 nation which does not have a plane for its leader
We could probably continue to do without if we have to date, but the cost doesn't seem enormous apparently, I cannot get too worked up.
Has anyone worked out how much Cameron's vanity jet is going to actually cost?
The £10m figure is bollox, as the planes are currently leased on a PFI contract and the A330 MMT is a very new plane. The base model airliner is a quarter of a billion a pop and given that they were financed on PFI, these planes are not going to be very cheap.
Can't find out how much extra the MMT costs over the passenger airliner but wouldn't double the cost be reasonable for a military application? Then add in the costs of PFI and each plane must be close to £1bn.
Might have been a lot cheaper to just wait and buy Air Force One or Two when they are retired.
The hideous Holyrood talking shop cost far more. Vanity thy name is the Scottish Parliament Carbuncle.
In no way different from the way all students are subsidised by taxpayers still.
True but no other student group is striking to screw more money out of the taxpayer.
Doctors are not striking to screw more money out of the taxpayer. They are striking about Jeremy Hunt imposing a pay cut for doctors working weekends, which is what Hunt wants more of, apparently.
I know some on here find the concept difficult, but let us just put aside party politics for a moment.
The NHS management have, for what seems to be good reasons, decided that the junior hospital doctors terms and conditions of work need to be changed, to ameliorate this change they have offered a substantial rise in basic pay (11%). The junior doctors have rejected this and have voted to strike. Many other sets of workers in the public and, especially, the private sector have had much worse changes forced upon them in recent years.
Junior doctors going on strike will mean that patients suffer. Some will suffer inconvenience, many will suffer unnecessary pain and some will, no doubt, die.
Junior doctors are therefore putting their wallets ahead of patient care. Put bluntly their paycheck is more important to them than the lives or their patients.
Words cannot express the contempt I feel for people who will, in pursuit for a change in a couple of digits in their bank statement, allow people to suffer and die.
The logical consequence is that strikes should be prohibited by law, yes?
Almost nobody gives all the spare cash or a couple of digits in their bank account to suffering people, and certainly tax cuts are very popular. So how are we all morally superior to junior doctors in this regard?
Flicking through the last thread is proof if proof were needed how out of kilter PB posters on are with normal people.
98% of the most trusted profession in the country have voted to strike yet the posters on here believe the public will support a particularly feeble looking member of the least trusted.
In no way different from the way all students are subsidised by taxpayers still.
True but no other student group is striking to screw more money out of the taxpayer.
Doctors are not striking to screw more money out of the taxpayer. They are striking about Jeremy Hunt imposing a pay cut for doctors working weekends, which is what Hunt wants more of, apparently.
I know some on here find the concept difficult, but let us just put aside party politics for a moment.
The NHS management have, for what seems to be good reasons, decided that the junior hospital doctors terms and conditions of work need to be changed, to ameliorate this change they have offered a substantial rise in basic pay (11%). The junior doctors have rejected this and have voted to strike. Many other sets of workers in the public and, especially, the private sector have had much worse changes forced upon them in recent years.
Junior doctors going on strike will mean that patients suffer. Some will suffer inconvenience, many will suffer unnecessary pain and some will, no doubt, die.
Junior doctors are therefore putting their wallets ahead of patient care. Put bluntly their paycheck is more important to them than the lives or their patients.
Words cannot express the contempt I feel for people who will, in pursuit for a change in a couple of digits in their bank statement, allow people to suffer and die.
I have to say that junior doctors may about to test the people's faith in the NHS, as a religion staffed by selfless angels whose only desire is to minister to the sick and dying rather than people in a job like any other to destruction.
It will only take the death of one photogenic child to screw them.
Has anyone worked out how much Cameron's vanity jet is going to actually cost?
The £10m figure is bollox, as the planes are currently leased on a PFI contract and the A330 MMT is a very new plane. The base model airliner is a quarter of a billion a pop and given that they were financed on PFI, these planes are not going to be very cheap.
Can't find out how much extra the MMT costs over the passenger airliner but wouldn't double the cost be reasonable for a military application? Then add in the costs of PFI and each plane must be close to £1bn.
Might have been a lot cheaper to just wait and buy Air Force One or Two when they are retired.
Apparently the UK is the only G20 nation which does not have a plane for its leader
We could probably continue to do without if we have to date, but the cost doesn't seem enormous apparently, I cannot get too worked up.
The cost is not £10m.
The cost is £10m plus a £1bn military asset (being paid for by PFI).
Has anyone worked out how much Cameron's vanity jet is going to actually cost?
The £10m figure is bollox, as the planes are currently leased on a PFI contract and the A330 MMT is a very new plane. The base model airliner is a quarter of a billion a pop and given that they were financed on PFI, these planes are not going to be very cheap.
Can't find out how much extra the MMT costs over the passenger airliner but wouldn't double the cost be reasonable for a military application? Then add in the costs of PFI and each plane must be close to £1bn.
Might have been a lot cheaper to just wait and buy Air Force One or Two when they are retired.
The hideous Holyrood talking shop cost far more. Vanity thy name is the Scottish Parliament Carbuncle.
Indeed, SLAB have a hell of a lot to answer for.
Its part of the explanation for their current predicament.
Flicking through the last thread is proof if proof were needed how out of kilter PB posters on are with normal people.
98% of the most trusted profession in the country have voted to strike yet the posters on here believe the public will support a particularly feeble looking member of the least trusted.
Good luck!
.
As noted on a previous thread
Leader approval ratings were apparently the real deal in 2015 polling
But apparently a +82 approval rating will lose to a -57 approval rating if PB posters believe hard enough
In no way different from the way all students are subsidised by taxpayers still.
True but no other student group is striking to screw more money out of the taxpayer.
Doctors are not striking to screw more money out of the taxpayer. They are striking about Jeremy Hunt imposing a pay cut for doctors working weekends, which is what Hunt wants more of, apparently.
I know some on here find the concept difficult, but let us just put aside party politics for a moment.
The NHS management have, for what seems to be good reasons, decided that the junior hospital doctors terms and conditions of work need to be changed, to ameliorate this change they have offered a substantial rise in basic pay (11%). The junior doctors have rejected this and have voted to strike. Many other sets of workers in the public and, especially, the private sector have had much worse changes forced upon them in recent years.
Junior doctors going on strike will mean that patients suffer. Some will suffer inconvenience, many will suffer unnecessary pain and some will, no doubt, die.
Junior doctors are therefore putting their wallets ahead of patient care. Put bluntly their paycheck is more important to them than the lives or their patients.
Words cannot express the contempt I feel for people who will, in pursuit for a change in a couple of digits in their bank statement, allow people to suffer and die.
Yes you're quite right patients will die during the strike, just as they die every day of the week. Their death will have nothing to do with the strike. What you're saying is that the NHS will be more unsafe with the most senior doctors looking after you? What complete nonsense.
This change is not about money and even the DoH admits that the change is cost neutral. Junior doctors and consultants already do work weekends. If you want to make a difference the money needs to go into other staff who do X-rays, scans, lab tests, wheel patients around, administer drugs etc. As Lansley and Hunt have completely pissed them off to then Hunt will have similar success in getting them to accept worse terms and conditions as well.
In no way different from the way all students are subsidised by taxpayers still.
True but no other student group is striking to screw more money out of the taxpayer.
Doctors are not striking to screw more money out of the taxpayer. They are striking about Jeremy Hunt imposing a pay cut for doctors working weekends, which is what Hunt wants more of, apparently.
I know some on here find the concept difficult, but let us just put aside party politics for a moment.
The NHS management have, for what seems to be good reasons, decided that the junior hospital doctors terms and conditions of work need to be changed, to ameliorate this change they have offered a substantial rise in basic pay (11%). The junior doctors have rejected this and have voted to strike. Many other sets of workers in the public and, especially, the private sector have had much worse changes forced upon them in recent years.
Junior doctors going on strike will mean that patients suffer. Some will suffer inconvenience, many will suffer unnecessary pain and some will, no doubt, die.
Junior doctors are therefore putting their wallets ahead of patient care. Put bluntly their paycheck is more important to them than the lives or their patients.
Words cannot express the contempt I feel for people who will, in pursuit for a change in a couple of digits in their bank statement, allow people to suffer and die.
I have to say that junior doctors may about to test the people's faith in the NHS, as a religion staffed by selfless angels whose only desire is to minister to the sick and dying rather than people in a job like any other to destruction.
It will only take the death of one photogenic child to screw them.
Or a cute, dear old Gran.... If there is even the most tangential connection to the junior doctors strike having hastened her end by minutes - then, yep - screwed.
Go where though, Mr. Jessop, and, if the Ba'ath party is to be allowed to continue, why?
Assad may be a bad man, though surely nowhere near as bad as his Dad (who was a 22carat bastard). In fact I am sure I could tell a very plausible story of a fellow thrown in out of his depth trying to do the best for all his people but being subject to forces beyond his control by the senior "subordinate" Baathists.
Can I also suggest one other thing, probably heresy on here, but I think its a valid point. Living under a dictator like Assad is not, for the ordinary people, always a bad thing. Syria was a state where if you kept your nose out of politics you could earn a living and go about your life quite happily. The population and the tourists (tourism was of course something that the Assad's never really got hold of - they would have made a fortune if they had), were safe, probably safer than in London. Portugal under Salazar was the same, as was Spain under Franco and divers other places that I have lived (e.g. Oman and Hong Kong, even when it was a BCC).
HMG's treatment of Syria during the so called Arab Spring was naive, just like that twat Cameron and his at the time sidekick Hague. Now, after years of death and destruction and a massive refugee crisis, HMG is coming round to the opinion that the best government for Syria is the one led by Assad.
I like the way that at the same time as defending Assad, you are attacking Cameron. That's really poor, and you are struggling to put the blame where it lies: the regime.
As for why keep the regime: because deBaathification (sp) in Iraq went really well, didn't it? Removing the leader is something that can be done. As I've said many times, that regime will probably only rule part of pre-conflict Syria. Assad can p*ss off to Russia, who would probably be glad to have him.
If you try to make a 'plausible' story that Assad is an innocent in this, then you might want to try to sell a bridge or two. He's in charge of the regime, and if he's that out of control he's either so incompetent that he should be left nowhere near power, or should step down as he's utterly lost control. *If* (and it is a big conditional) your story is right, the least he should do is hand over to those "subordinate" Baathists, and squeal to the UN who did what.
But he won't as your scenario is self-serving nonsense.
Your defence of murderous tyrants does you no credit.
Has anyone worked out how much Cameron's vanity jet is going to actually cost?
The £10m figure is bollox, as the planes are currently leased on a PFI contract and the A330 MMT is a very new plane. The base model airliner is a quarter of a billion a pop and given that they were financed on PFI, these planes are not going to be very cheap.
Can't find out how much extra the MMT costs over the passenger airliner but wouldn't double the cost be reasonable for a military application? Then add in the costs of PFI and each plane must be close to £1bn.
Might have been a lot cheaper to just wait and buy Air Force One or Two when they are retired.
The hideous Holyrood talking shop cost far more. Vanity thy name is the Scottish Parliament Carbuncle.
Indeed, SLAB have a hell of a lot to answer for.
Its part of the explanation for their current predicament.
It's distressing to see such a fine town defaced and vandalized by politicians.
In no way different from the way all students are subsidised by taxpayers still.
True but no other student group is striking to screw more money out of the taxpayer.
Doctors are not striking to screw more money out of the taxpayer. They are striking about Jeremy Hunt imposing a pay cut for doctors working weekends, which is what Hunt wants more of, apparently.
I know some on here find the concept difficult, but let us just put aside party politics for a moment.
The NHS management have, for what seems to be good reasons, decided that the junior hospital doctors terms and conditions of work need to be changed, to ameliorate this change they have offered a substantial rise in basic pay (11%). The junior doctors have rejected this and have voted to strike. Many other sets of workers in the public and, especially, the private sector have had much worse changes forced upon them in recent years.
Junior doctors going on strike will mean that patients suffer. Some will suffer inconvenience, many will suffer unnecessary pain and some will, no doubt, die.
Junior doctors are therefore putting their wallets ahead of patient care. Put bluntly their paycheck is more important to them than the lives or their patients.
Words cannot express the contempt I feel for people who will, in pursuit for a change in a couple of digits in their bank statement, allow people to suffer and die.
I have had too much experience of the NHS in the last 2 years, and my experience has been excellent. My Father in Law died last night, and the Nurses and staff were excellent, I cannot imagine doing the job these young men and women do, in looking after elderly patients, they know it is managing end of life, and it must be a horrible job. Yes it is very rewarding nursing people back to health, but managing end of life is truly horrible. I hope the Doctors re-consider, I have total respect at the moment, but it will turn very nasty with the first death.
Has anyone worked out how much Cameron's vanity jet is going to actually cost?
The £10m figure is bollox, as the planes are currently leased on a PFI contract and the A330 MMT is a very new plane. The base model airliner is a quarter of a billion a pop and given that they were financed on PFI, these planes are not going to be very cheap.
Can't find out how much extra the MMT costs over the passenger airliner but wouldn't double the cost be reasonable for a military application? Then add in the costs of PFI and each plane must be close to £1bn.
Might have been a lot cheaper to just wait and buy Air Force One or Two when they are retired.
The hideous Holyrood talking shop cost far more. Vanity thy name is the Scottish Parliament Carbuncle.
Indeed, SLAB have a hell of a lot to answer for.
Its part of the explanation for their current predicament.
It's distressing to such a fine Georgian town defaced and vandalized.
Indeed and Labour will not be forgiven for the eyesore, or their ridiculous overspending.
Shame on our GPs for being unable to say "No" to antibiotic requests for the common cold.
There was a report on Radio 4 this morning which said that one of the problems was the routine use of antibiotics for animals, not to cure disease but to enhance growth. I don't know what the relative importance of that is by comparison with over-prescription by GPs.
It's utter, complete and total bollocks. Sorry to be so crude.
Put modestly, I'm one of the leading specialists in the veterinary medicine industry (from the financial services perspective) globally - if you ask your team they would acknowledge that.
Antibiotics are not used routinely in Europe - they are banned as growth promoters. And they are restricted in the US to therapeutic use under veterinary prescription only.
There is no solid evidence of cross-species resistance, in any event, and the strict enforcement of MRLs means there is little transfer into the human food chain.
It's garbage put out by people (yes Barbara Boxer, I mean you) with an agenda and oodles of funding from PETA
Thank you. I don't know whether the lady speaking this morning was this Boxer woman. I only caught the end of it. Anyway, thanks for putting me right.
It's nonetheless worrying if we're not developing new antibiotics. Why is that? (O Wise One)
Barbara Boxer is the gerrymandered Democratic Senator for SoCal, so I doubt it!
We're not developing new antibiotics because the last two really sexy antibiotic that was developed was immediately reserved by governments for salvage therapy (ie when nothing else works). So the pharma companies that spent hundreds of millions developing Ketek (Sanofi) and Tygacil (Wyeth) each got less than $100m of annual sales rather than the $1bn they were expecting. Sensible for public health - but killed investment into the antibiotic research.
@HurstLlama - I was in RoC yesterday discussing just this issue! Don't eat fish from China is my advice . But I doubt they have tried this really cool E.coli vaccine that has been developed in Montreal.
Mr. Charles, are you saying that we should not worry about that story in the Telegraph, that in fact the last walls of antibiotic protection have not been breached?
I have faith in human ingenuity (and there are some interesting smaller biotechs in the field)
Yes, this might be very murky indeed. Political parties have a moral duty to as much as possible protect volunteers, members and the public from harassment, bullying and abuse of all forms.
The Lib Dems failed with Rennard. Labour failed at Falkirk and elsewhere (and indeed, just this week with Ken's comments). It looks as though the Conservatives may have failed here.
The problem is that you cannot vet everyone, and abuse of various sorts will happen in any large organisation, whether it is a political party, a church, or a hospital.
What you can do is keep a weather eye out for it, and act fast yet proportionately when abuse does happen and is reported. The Lib Dems failed to act in the Rennard case; it looks as though the Conservatives may have failed here, possibly with tragic consequences.
No-one should be too big or too important to 'get away' with abuse of any sort.
Flicking through the last thread is proof if proof were needed how out of kilter PB posters on are with normal people.
98% of the most trusted profession in the country have voted to strike yet the posters on here believe the public will support a particularly feeble looking member of the least trusted.
Good luck!
.
As noted on a previous thread
Leader approval ratings were apparently the real deal in 2015 polling
But apparently a +82 approval rating will lose to a -57 approval rating if PB posters believe hard enough
What are your thoughts on the view that we would have greater resistance to pathogenic bacteria if we developed our beneficial gut flora?
I don't know about the science to be definitive, but I find it a very plausible theory. There is some very clever work going on at U. Gothenberg on the topic.
I have been friends with Ben for several years even though we disagree on a lot of things. I think it is safe to say he is not going to back down on this.
Completely OT. It's well known among advertisers that a soft Edinburgh accent is considered one of the most trustworthy. What I heard today on radio 4 was that the British accent Americans find most attractive is Glaswegian!
In no way different from the way all students are subsidised by taxpayers still.
True but no other student group is striking to screw more money out of the taxpayer.
Doctors are not striking to screw more money out of the taxpayer. They are striking about Jeremy Hunt imposing a pay cut for doctors working weekends, which is what Hunt wants more of, apparently.
I know some on here find the concept difficult, but let us just put aside party politics for a moment.
The NHS management have, for what seems to be good reasons, decided that the junior hospital doctors terms and conditions of work need to be changed, to ameliorate this change they have offered a substantial rise in basic pay (11%). The junior doctors have rejected this and have voted to strike. Many other sets of workers in the public and, especially, the private sector have had much worse changes forced upon them in recent years.
Junior doctors going on strike will mean that patients suffer. Some will suffer inconvenience, many will suffer unnecessary pain and some will, no doubt, die.
Junior doctors are therefore putting their wallets ahead of patient care. Put bluntly their paycheck is more important to them than the lives or their patients.
Words cannot express the contempt I feel for people who will, in pursuit for a change in a couple of digits in their bank statement, allow people to suffer and die.
I have had too much experience of the NHS in the last 2 years, and my experience has been excellent. My Father in Law died last night, and the Nurses and staff were excellent, I cannot imagine doing the job these young men and women do, in looking after elderly patients, they know it is managing end of life, and it must be a horrible job. Yes it is very rewarding nursing people back to health, but managing end of life is truly horrible. I hope the Doctors re-consider, I have total respect at the moment, but it will turn very nasty with the first death.
Sorry to hear about your loss.
The NHS's biggest problem IMO is that the quality varies massively. You can get brilliant care in one hospital, and terrible in one in the next town. One GP surgery can be terrible in all regards, yet one one down the road is superb.
And care quality can even vary within a practice or hospital. My local GP practice is generally awful, with a catalogue of failures for me and my friends. Yet when I suffered from chest pains last week (*), they had me into the practice and connected up to an ECG within half an hour.
(*) Fortunately everything was fine because, as a PB Tory, I have no heart.
In no way different from the way all students are subsidised by taxpayers still.
True but no other student group is striking to screw more money out of the taxpayer.
Doctors are not striking to screw more money out of the taxpayer. They are striking about Jeremy Hunt imposing a pay cut for doctors working weekends, which is what Hunt wants more of, apparently.
I know some on here find the concept difficult, but let us just put aside party politics for a moment.
The NHS management have, for what seems to be good reasons, decided that the junior hospital doctors terms and conditions of work need to be changed, to ameliorate this change they have offered a substantial rise in basic pay (11%). The junior doctors have rejected this and have voted to strike. Many other sets of workers in the public and, especially, the private sector have had much worse changes forced upon them in recent years.
Junior doctors going on strike will mean that patients suffer. Some will suffer inconvenience, many will suffer unnecessary pain and some will, no doubt, die.
Junior doctors are therefore putting their wallets ahead of patient care. Put bluntly their paycheck is more important to them than the lives or their patients.
Words cannot express the contempt I feel for people who will, in pursuit for a change in a couple of digits in their bank statement, allow people to suffer and die.
The logical consequence is that strikes should be prohibited by law, yes?
Almost nobody gives all the spare cash or a couple of digits in their bank account to suffering people, and certainly tax cuts are very popular. So how are we all morally superior to junior doctors in this regard?
The logical thing is for the taxpayer to expect a health service to be provided as they are paying for it.
If the existing (NHS) provider(s) can't/won't provide it, the government is pretty much duty bound to look around for alternative provision.
'It will only take the death of one photogenic child to screw them."
It's unlikely to be a death just inconvenience for patients so it'll look like the service has become shabby for which the Minister will be held responsible. After Lansley Tory health ministers are not held in high regard
Has anyone worked out how much Cameron's vanity jet is going to actually cost?
The £10m figure is bollox, as the planes are currently leased on a PFI contract and the A330 MMT is a very new plane. The base model airliner is a quarter of a billion a pop and given that they were financed on PFI, these planes are not going to be very cheap.
Can't find out how much extra the MMT costs over the passenger airliner but wouldn't double the cost be reasonable for a military application? Then add in the costs of PFI and each plane must be close to £1bn.
Might have been a lot cheaper to just wait and buy Air Force One or Two when they are retired.
The hideous Holyrood talking shop cost far more. Vanity thy name is the Scottish Parliament Carbuncle.
The aircraft will be nicknamed the Flying Pig with the Dick inside
@Roger Agreed. I find it odd, tbh. No party, especially in an age where politicians are distrusted and disliked more than ever - is going to eclipse the NHS. Politicians, come and go; political parties fall in and out of favour. But as far as most members of the public are concerned, the NHS is always there to care for their loved ones. Being in power doesn't mean the public always believe what your party says, or will always take your side on every issue.
@Roger Agreed. I find it odd, tbh. No party, especially in an age where politicians are distrusted and disliked more than ever - is going to eclipse the NHS. Politicians, come and go; political parties fall in and out of favour. But as far as most members of the public are concerned, the NHS is always there to care for their loved ones. Being in power doesn't mean the public always believe what your party says, or will always take your side on every issue.
It seems to me that we are stuck until the possibility of thinking rationally about healthcare and the NHS is accepted. The current pattern might as well have the NHS logo change to be a Golden Calf.
I have no idea how to change the culture in this respect.
What are your thoughts on the view that we would have greater resistance to pathogenic bacteria if we developed our beneficial gut flora?
I don't know about the science to be definitive, but I find it a very plausible theory. There is some very clever work going on at U. Gothenberg on the topic.
I'm glad - it's what I do. I'm trying to follow a Weston A. Price diet - vaguely. I make my own yoghurt, sauerkraut, and kefir.
'It will only take the death of one photogenic child to screw them."
It's unlikely to be a death just inconvenience for patients so it'll look like the service has become shabby for which the Minister will be held responsible. After Lansley Tory health ministers are not held in high regard
No. Sadly it will be a death, photos spread across the Press, whilst posho doctors high five each other on Twitter, and upload grinning picket line selfies onto Facebook, the 'Me,Me,Me's laughing as they get one over on Hunt.
Can I also suggest one other thing, probably heresy on here, but I think its a valid point. Living under a dictator like Assad is not, for the ordinary people, always a bad thing. Syria was a state where if you kept your nose out of politics you could earn a living and go about your life quite happily. The population and the tourists (tourism was of course something that the Assad's never really got hold of - they would have made a fortune if they had), were safe, probably safer than in London. Portugal under Salazar was the same, as was Spain under Franco and divers other places that I have lived (e.g. Oman and Hong Kong, even when it was a BCC).
HMG's treatment of Syria during the so called Arab Spring was naive, just like that twat Cameron and his at the time sidekick Hague. Now, after years of death and destruction and a massive refugee crisis, HMG is coming round to the opinion that the best government for Syria is the one led by Assad.
I like the way that at the same time as defending Assad, you are attacking Cameron. That's really poor, and you are struggling to put the blame where it lies: the regime.
As for why keep the regime: because deBaathification (sp) in Iraq went really well, didn't it? Removing the leader is something that can be done. As I've said many times, that regime will probably only rule part of pre-conflict Syria. Assad can p*ss off to Russia, who would probably be glad to have him.
If you try to make a 'plausible' story that Assad is an innocent in this, then you might want to try to sell a bridge or two. He's in charge of the regime, and if he's that out of control he's either so incompetent that he should be left nowhere near power, or should step down as he's utterly lost control. *If* (and it is a big conditional) your story is right, the least he should do is hand over to those "subordinate" Baathists, and squeal to the UN who did what.
But he won't as your scenario is self-serving nonsense.
Your defence of murderous tyrants does you no credit.
As far as I am aware in terms of "Syrian Civilians killed" Assad is winning that hideous leaderboard by a country mile.
Comments
On the poll, it's mostly likely an outlier. Nonetheless, it's still worth it just to see the reactions on PB.
This used to be the case with Cameron and the Tories in the last parliament.
Noticeably Grumpy is -12% though I thought he had a "good" post Paris. He did not say anything outlandish.
On the bombing: I am still not sure what purpose it will serve other than token "solidarity". So why doesn't every Nato country send a few planes ?
I am not sure what Cameron and others say privately in the cobra meetings. Does anyone say:
"You know we have not been bombed" or is it too delicate to say even in private ?
See how quickly opinion changed after the 2011 riots, for instance.
I wouldn't take your figures from the Daily Mail if I were you either. The training costs for a foundation year 1 doctor were estimated in 2012 as £269,527.
Strike me down. I actually agree with Mrs Free.
We're not developing new antibiotics because the last two really sexy antibiotic that was developed was immediately reserved by governments for salvage therapy (ie when nothing else works). So the pharma companies that spent hundreds of millions developing Ketek (Sanofi) and Tygacil (Wyeth) each got less than $100m of annual sales rather than the $1bn they were expecting. Sensible for public health - but killed investment into the antibiotic research.
@HurstLlama - I was in RoC yesterday discussing just this issue! Don't eat fish from China is my advice
Firstly, ISIS should not just be driven out of Syria. It needs driving out or Iraq, Yemen, and all the other places that sick people think that Al Qaeda are too moderate. We therefore need to fight the ideology as much as the army. That is, needless to say, massively difficult. But we need to work out how to start.
Secondly, there is very little chance that the state of Syria after the civil war is over will be the same as before. As an example, what do you think the Syrian Kurds will want from any peace deal?
Thirdly, the idea of 'free and fair' elections in Syria under Assad are, whatever LuckyGuy says, preposterous.
Assad has to go if there is to be true peace, sooner or later. That does not mean deBaathification. But the figurehead has to go.
For example, I am pro nuclear but against Trident renewal. The two are not the same unless someone has been brain-washed by the Military Industrial complex which includes some Unions and, of course, the local MPs.
Go where though, Mr. Jessop, and, if the Ba'ath party is to be allowed to continue, why?
Assad may be a bad man, though surely nowhere near as bad as his Dad (who was a 22carat bastard). In fact I am sure I could tell a very plausible story of a fellow thrown in out of his depth trying to do the best for all his people but being subject to forces beyond his control by the senior "subordinate" Baathists.
Can I also suggest one other thing, probably heresy on here, but I think its a valid point. Living under a dictator like Assad is not, for the ordinary people, always a bad thing. Syria was a state where if you kept your nose out of politics you could earn a living and go about your life quite happily. The population and the tourists (tourism was of course something that the Assad's never really got hold of - they would have made a fortune if they had), were safe, probably safer than in London. Portugal under Salazar was the same, as was Spain under Franco and divers other places that I have lived (e.g. Oman and Hong Kong, even when it was a BCC).
HMG's treatment of Syria during the so called Arab Spring was naive, just like that twat Cameron and his at the time sidekick Hague. Now, after years of death and destruction and a massive refugee crisis, HMG is coming round to the opinion that the best government for Syria is the one led by Assad.
and she was one of their own.
Frankly Doctors who strike are beneath contempt and the public should tell them so.
My late wife did one in two's.. the current mob have no idea what work really is. or that's is how they learn...
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-27503660
It is worth noting that C Diff rates have dropped enormously over recent years, as have MRSA. At my Trust CDiff has gone down by nearly 99% over the last five years.
Sir Edric sounds rather like Brigadier General Sir Harry Paget Flashman VC, KCB.
It seems to me that all hunt is trying to get the doctors to acknowledge is that saturday and sunday are just like any other day in health terms, and I don't see what is wrong with that.
The NHS management have, for what seems to be good reasons, decided that the junior hospital doctors terms and conditions of work need to be changed, to ameliorate this change they have offered a substantial rise in basic pay (11%). The junior doctors have rejected this and have voted to strike. Many other sets of workers in the public and, especially, the private sector have had much worse changes forced upon them in recent years.
Junior doctors going on strike will mean that patients suffer. Some will suffer inconvenience, many will suffer unnecessary pain and some will, no doubt, die.
Junior doctors are therefore putting their wallets ahead of patient care. Put bluntly their paycheck is more important to them than the lives or their patients.
Words cannot express the contempt I feel for people who will, in pursuit for a change in a couple of digits in their bank statement, allow people to suffer and die.
fun poll
we sample 4 people who won't PM at the next GE, 1 retiree and 3 no hopers.
On this day in 1942:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Uranus
The £10m figure is bollox, as the planes are currently leased on a PFI contract and the A330 MMT is a very new plane. The base model airliner is a quarter of a billion a pop and given that they were financed on PFI, these planes are not going to be very cheap.
Can't find out how much extra the MMT costs over the passenger airliner but wouldn't double the cost be reasonable for a military application? Then add in the costs of PFI and each plane must be close to £1bn.
Might have been a lot cheaper to just wait and buy Air Force One or Two when they are retired.
@theobertram: John McDonnell on free votes. 18 March 2003. https://t.co/S8hpfvYoq8
Thanks, Miss P, That made me laugh. Llamas are of course, six and a bit feet tall and weigh in at about 30 stone. To find a ninja llama who can creep up, unnoticed, on a man with a camera is just brilliant.
Not as good as Cats versus Cucumbers.....
Next.
Almost nobody gives all the spare cash or a couple of digits in their bank account to suffering people, and certainly tax cuts are very popular. So how are we all morally superior to junior doctors in this regard?
98% of the most trusted profession in the country have voted to strike yet the posters on here believe the public will support a particularly feeble looking member of the least trusted.
Good luck!
.
It will only take the death of one photogenic child to screw them.
The cost is £10m plus a £1bn military asset (being paid for by PFI).
Its part of the explanation for their current predicament.
Leader approval ratings were apparently the real deal in 2015 polling
But apparently a +82 approval rating will lose to a -57 approval rating if PB posters believe hard enough
This change is not about money and even the DoH admits that the change is cost neutral. Junior doctors and consultants already do work weekends. If you want to make a difference the money needs to go into other staff who do X-rays, scans, lab tests, wheel patients around, administer drugs etc. As Lansley and Hunt have completely pissed them off to then Hunt will have similar success in getting them to accept worse terms and conditions as well.
Bloomberg:
http://www.scribd.com/doc/290373723/Bloomberg-Politics-National-Poll-GOP-Nov-19-2015
Trump 24 (+3)
Carson 20 (+4)
Rubio 12 (+4)
Cruz 9 (+4)
Bush 6 (-7)
Christie 4 (0)
Fiorina 3 (-8)
PPP:
http://www.publicpolicypolling.com/pdf/2015/PPP_Release_National_111915.pdf
Trump 26 (-1)
Carson 19 (+2)
Cruz 14 (+7)
Rubio 13 (0)
Bush 5 (-5)
Fiorina 4 (-2)
Huckabee 4 (0)
A very different picture from yesterdays state polls, here Carson goes up not down.
Plus a poll for Wisconsin:
https://law.marquette.edu/poll/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/MLSP31ToplinesFinal.pdf
Carson 22 (+6)
Trump 19 (-1)
Rubio 19 (+5)
Cruz 9 (+4)
Bush 6 (-1)
Fiorina 5 (-6)
Christie 4 (+1)
Hopefully some of the witnesses have kept any emails they sent to CCHQ.
http://order-order.com/2015/11/19/tories-dump-on-shapps/
As for why keep the regime: because deBaathification (sp) in Iraq went really well, didn't it? Removing the leader is something that can be done. As I've said many times, that regime will probably only rule part of pre-conflict Syria. Assad can p*ss off to Russia, who would probably be glad to have him.
And I'm not sure Assad Jr is 'better' than Assad Sr. Two points: Syria was forced to dismantle chemical weapons, some of which it used against its own populations. Then there is this:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2014_Syrian_detainee_report
http://www.newsweek.com/photos-syria-allegedly-show-torture-systematic-killing-278894
If you try to make a 'plausible' story that Assad is an innocent in this, then you might want to try to sell a bridge or two. He's in charge of the regime, and if he's that out of control he's either so incompetent that he should be left nowhere near power, or should step down as he's utterly lost control. *If* (and it is a big conditional) your story is right, the least he should do is hand over to those "subordinate" Baathists, and squeal to the UN who did what.
But he won't as your scenario is self-serving nonsense.
Your defence of murderous tyrants does you no credit.
My Father in Law died last night, and the Nurses and staff were excellent, I cannot imagine doing the job these young men and women do, in looking after elderly patients, they know it is managing end of life, and it must be a horrible job.
Yes it is very rewarding nursing people back to health, but managing end of life is truly horrible.
I hope the Doctors re-consider, I have total respect at the moment, but it will turn very nasty with the first death.
The Lib Dems failed with Rennard. Labour failed at Falkirk and elsewhere (and indeed, just this week with Ken's comments). It looks as though the Conservatives may have failed here.
The problem is that you cannot vet everyone, and abuse of various sorts will happen in any large organisation, whether it is a political party, a church, or a hospital.
What you can do is keep a weather eye out for it, and act fast yet proportionately when abuse does happen and is reported. The Lib Dems failed to act in the Rennard case; it looks as though the Conservatives may have failed here, possibly with tragic consequences.
No-one should be too big or too important to 'get away' with abuse of any sort.
The NHS's biggest problem IMO is that the quality varies massively. You can get brilliant care in one hospital, and terrible in one in the next town. One GP surgery can be terrible in all regards, yet one one down the road is superb.
And care quality can even vary within a practice or hospital. My local GP practice is generally awful, with a catalogue of failures for me and my friends. Yet when I suffered from chest pains last week (*), they had me into the practice and connected up to an ECG within half an hour.
(*) Fortunately everything was fine because, as a PB Tory, I have no heart.
If the existing (NHS) provider(s) can't/won't provide it, the government is pretty much duty bound to look around for alternative provision.
'It will only take the death of one photogenic child to screw them."
It's unlikely to be a death just inconvenience for patients so it'll look like the service has become shabby for which the Minister will be held responsible. After Lansley Tory health ministers are not held in high regard
https://twitter.com/timbotim62/status/667429824563122176
I have no idea how to change the culture in this respect.