Priorities
All political parties in the UK are committed to keeping the National Health Service as a state-run provider of health care that's free at the point of use. Nevertheless, commercial companies are slowly but surely taking it over. Agency nurses and doctors are being used to fill the manpower shortages caused by generations of reliance on imported labour. It was cheaper to import medical staff from abroad rather than training them in this country. Medical professionals wanted to come to the UK because we have excellent training hospitals, so there was no problem recruiting them. But recent changes in our immigration laws have restricted the free movement of labour on which we depended.
In addition to the use of agency doctors and nurses the NHS is subcontracting medical proceedures to private hospitals, and many services, such as; ambulances, blood testing, surgical after care, research and development, pathology, cleaning, laundry, property maintainance, and security are being done by outside companies.
The NHS is the victim of its own success. The more medical advancements they make the more expensive it becomes. Modern hospitals are full of high-tech equipment that has to be maintained by qualified engineers and used by trained technicians. The days of nurses being bedmakers and cleaners are long gone. Today's nurses are degree graduates who should be properly paid.
At present we are in the grip of an economic crisis, but one day the pandemic will be over, the war in Ukraine will be ended, energy prices will stabilise, and we will reach a proper trade agreement with the EU. Then we can decide the best way to fund our public services; the NHS, the police, the fire service, the prison service, education, social services, and the armed forces. The right-wing Tory philosophy of 'small government' can't work in a civilized country. It belongs to the days when only the rich could afford medical treatment and good housing while the poor lived in hovels and died like flies. Today, we expect the state to look after us and we are prepared to pay for it.
It's all a question of priorities. We are wasting billions of pounds on vanity projects such as the Trident missile system and our two giant aircraft carriers. And we are wasting the taxpayers' money by giving arms and money to Ukraine to fight America's proxy war with Russia. We should mind our own business and tailor our armed forces for the defence of our islands. We are never going to use Trident missiles that are under NATO control, and aircraft carriers are not much good for stopping inflatables in the English Channel.
Five Questions Answered # 18 Nick Maybury
The Five Questions are; Who are you? What do you believe in? If you could change government policy what would you do? What are you proud of and what do you regret? How would you like to be remembered?
The following have replied; John Bean, Robert Edwards, Bill Baillie, Michael Woodbridge, Eddy Morrison, Robert Best, Arlette Baldacchino, Alexander Morana, Rufus, Pete Williamson, Claire Khaw, Jane Edwards, Vic Sarson, Jez Turner, Michael Walsh, Seth Tryssen, Ahmed.
Who are you?
What do you believe in?
Christianity and Apollonian Philosophy. Apollonian philosophy is the embodiment of order, moderation, reason, culture, harmony, restraint, practicality, honour, truth and light and a belief in reincarnation. I also believe in uniting the world in Jesus Christ and the final destruction of Evil at his second coming.
If you could change government policy, what would you do?
Tear it all up and start again with the aim of getting at the truth and the best solutions. Some examples would include making property cheaper by doing away with private landlords so only those living in a property can own it. The only exceptions being government and council owned housing.
Another major change would be a low level of taxation at 20% to encourage enterprise. Limits would be put on the number of employees or outlets certain businesses would be allowed, in order to prevent predatory business practice. Large chains will be broken up and sold to staff.
Banks would be nationalised but kept separate and independent. Some things can be done more efficiently by a monopoly. Gas, electricity, water, trains and the Royal Mail would all be nationalised and run for the benefit of the people. The amount the public would pay for these services would be enough to cover costs including infrastructure investments.
We would have a silver backed currency. One Pound would be worth one pound weight of 925 Sterling Silver. To keep things simple one Pound will consist of one hundred Schillings and each Schilling one hundred Pence.
What are you proud of and what do you regret?
I'm proud of my websites and regret that they haven't always been as good as I should have liked.
How would you like to be remembered?
As someone who tried to make a difference.
Global Capitalism - John Bean - 'Beanstalk' April 2001
We of the radical right are supporters of the small businessman and free enterprise. Nevertheless, we can have sympathy, if not empathy, with certain aspects of the militant campaign against global capitalism, even if we draw the line at attempts to do a "twin-towers" job on the Stock Exchange building and other City of London finance houses. Finance should serve the business of the country; not control it.
In this 21st century finance has set its horizons far beyond the nation state: it is now controlling the global market, and the interests of individual nations, whether it is Britain or Brazil, count for nothing. As one British manufacturing base after another has been closed down and manufacturing transported eastwards to "take advantage of cheaper labour costs", New Labour - with support from other PODs (Parties of Decay) has told us in Britain that the jobs are being replaced by jobs in the service industry. Mark you, there is not much room here for ex-miners, shipbuilders and steelworkers, as most of the new jobs are for women. Perhaps the largest growth sector in the service industry is the call centre. Until recently we were told that it would soon be employing one in five in the UK.
Perhaps the pundits would like to revise that figure with the recent news that Prudential is to close its call centre at Reading and reopen it in Bombay! Those of us who have been to India know that there are countless Indians who have a good command of English. But what an accent! It takes a fortnight to crack the code.
Let us hope that the Prudential get everything that is coming to them and, more important, that the bovine Brits wake up to how they are once again being conned. This time by the menace of global capitalism.
The latest sell-out of British jobs comes with the announcement that the manufacturers of the famous Dr Marten's boots, RG Griggs, is closing production in the UK, mainly Northampton, with the loss of 1,000 jobs. Production is being switched to China, Vietnam and Thailand. Surprise Surprise! This follows the earlier announcement on 3rd October that US owned company Black & Decker is to close its Spennymoor, Co Durham factory with the loss of 1,000 jobs. In this case manufacuring will be switched to the Czech Republic.
Wishful Thinking
Adolf Hitler seldom listened to advice because he considered himself to be a master of politics, economics and military strategy. A view that he clung to as the Red Army stormed Berlin and he blew his brains out.
But government policies are usually based on information. In the UK the Bank of England guides economic policy, the Department for International Trade deals with trade agreements, and the Intelligence Services advise the government on military matters. The trouble is that all of these departments are manned by human beings with their own opinions and prejudices.
They also tell governments what they want to hear. And there is the ever present danger of wishful thinking. Tony Blair's 'Dodgy Dosier' was compiled by advisors who chose to ignore the overwhelming evidence that Iraq had no weapons of mass destruction; which was exactly what Blair wanted to hear.
When prime minister Anthony Eden launched his ill-fated invasion of Egypt in 1956 the Ministry of Defence distributed leaflets to the armed forces warning them that their progress would be impeded by jubilant crowds of Egyptians thanking them for their liberation. No such crowds appeared; instead the civilian population took potshots at our invading troops. Either our intelligence was faulty or Eden believed his own propaganda.
Another military disaster happened in 1961 when the Americans organised the Bay of Pigs invasion. CIA Director Allen Dulles convinced Jack Kennedy that Castro was deeply unpopular and that an invasion would trigger a popular uprising. The result was that 118 brave Cuban volunteers were killed, 360 wounded, and 1,202 captured. The failed invasion consolidated Fidel Castro's authority and drove him into the arms of the Soviet Union.
But it's not just the West that makes mistakes. Vladimir Putin thought that the Ukrainians would welcome his troops as liberators. Some of them did but the majority rallied to the Zelensky regime. Did the Russian intelligence agencies tell Putin what he wanted to hear or had he already made up his mind? Either way, what he thought would be a walkover turned into a protracted conflict.
Moon of Alabama
For objective reporting on the Ukraine war go to -https://www.moonofalabama.org/
European Outlook
Our sister blog European Outlook is posted - https://europeanoutlook.blogspot.com
Nation Revisited
All articles are by Bill Baillie unless otherwise stated. The opinions of guest writers are entirely their own. We seek reform by legal means according to the UN Declaration of Human Rights, Article 19:
"We all have the right to make up our own minds, to think what we like, to say what we think, and to share our ideas with other people."