Posted in Misc on Feb 4th, 2008
For decades British politicians have genuflected at the altar of the holy cow known as the National Health Service, each party promising before every election that it would spend more and keep it safe. The aspiration — of a minimum standard of care for all, regardless of ability to pay — has been noble. It’s [...]
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Posted in Misc on Jan 31st, 2008
Recently British newspapers have lamented the passing of Jeremy Beadle. Jeremy who? I had no idea. It seems he was a practical joker in the Candid Camera school. The Times has an article today on his Top 10 Wind-ups with links to YouTube videos. The white van stunt was the best, but on the whole [...]
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Posted in Misc on Nov 28th, 2007
Gordon Brown is in a hell of a mess says the Torygraph. They would say that wouldn’t they, but it turns out the rest of press thinks so too. Unsurprisingly, The Guardian and The Times and The Independent all have stories about the “donationsgate” scandal that will, it seems, soon be a criminal matter. Talk [...]
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Posted in Misc on Nov 22nd, 2007
Steve Bell’s cartoon in The Guardian is the best thing I’ve seen yet about the lost discs fiasco, dubbed the Winter of Disc Content by BBC Radio 4’s Today program this morning, namely the government’s losing data about half the adult population and a large number of dependents.
More discs have gone missing. All this comes [...]
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Posted in Misc on Oct 27th, 2007
In the last week there has been a bit of a stink in the British media for and against killing badgers. That’s right, badgers. Not foxes.
Foxhunting, the unspeakable in pursuit of the inedible, as Oscar Wilde called it, is still controversial and highly circumscribed. Badgers, however, are completely protected by law.
The nearest I’ve been to [...]
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