Why so few signatures on Pat’s Petition to “Stop and review the cuts to benefits and services which are falling disproportionately on disabled people, their carers and families” http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/20968 – a mere 56,301 at the time of writing, which is pretty damn pitiful.
I suspect that most families, either parents or children, grandparents, or somewhere among their in-laws, cousins, nephews, nieces, aunts and uncles, have at least Continue reading
Not for the first time, I find myself wondering exactly which planet Ed Miliband inhabits.
In his first major speech since the Labour Party conference he said that, just as Disraeli addressed the national challenge of sanitation in the 19th Century, and the foundation of the NHS followed in the 20th Century, the mental health challenge facing the UK must be addressed this century.
“One in four of us will have a mental illness at some point in our lifetime,” he also said.
He said, too, that, while Continue reading
Tory Defence Secretary Philip Hammond says of Trident “Our continuous submarine-based nuclear deterrent is the ultimate safeguard of our national security and the government is committed to maintaining it, both now and in the future.”
Which is the most egregious bullshit.
The Trident fleet is a cold-war relic, an echo of the days when nuclear war seemed only a wrong word away, and only Continue reading
There is, it seems, no escape from the beta-blocker Nebivolol.
For the last few days I’ve experienced – suffered from would be more apposite – tachycardia, with a heart rate between 114-125, with my heart misfiring like a mad bastard and nausea so shatteringly severe I just wanted to die, simply so it would stop. What brought all this on, I think I know but hope I’m wrong, and being admitted to Arrowe Park Hospital to find out for sure simply is not an option.
Eventually, I gave up and Continue reading
This morning I posted two comments in response to this article in the Huffington Post, this one, which took 20 minutes to appear (average time on this particular thread is 3 minutes – I checked).
1 hour ago (12:42)
Destructive benefits? More destructive than Continue reading
You could be forgiven, this morning, for thinking that Amazon are going to come for you in the night, strip your Kindle bare and terminate your account, with no redress, such is the high degree of panic-mongering going on in articles like this one.
The fact is that the foregoing has happened to one person, and no-one pontificating about it has the full facts of the matter.** Nor do I, but then, I’m not about to predict the end of the ebook world or brand Amazon as some sort of electronic stormtroopers. What I will say is this, a huge amount Continue reading
I’ve been saying for some considerable time that Cameron is not entirely sane, mainly on the subject of his hatred of chronically sick and disabled people, but this takes lunacy to an entirely new level:-
“Owners of private prisons who fail to stop prisoners re-offending will be fined, under new plans to be announced by David Cameron.” (Source: Telegraph.)
That’s on a par with the plans Continue reading
The Guardian, it seems, can’t be bothered to report on yesterday’s TUC march in London, in which an estimated 150,000 took part.
It can find the space, however, to launch one of its regular bullshit attacks on social networking, in “How social networks can destroy your social life”. Written by John Naughton,** an OU professor of “the public understanding of technology” who demonstrates that, while bitching about things he doesn’t like, he really understands little.
**Tried to discover if he has a Twitter account, but Continue reading
Today, at the TUC march in London, Ed Miliband said that, if elected in 2015 “on day one we end the privatisation experiment on the NHS”. Brave words? Or deeply cynical and a touch mendacious?
60 or 70 years ago, nationalisation without compensation was possible. The original owners would scream and shout, but eventually it would be a done deal. The world, however, has Continue reading
I’ve just discovered that something totally unsuspected has been screwing me up badly for over 18 months. The culprit? Furosemide (Lasix), my diuretic.
For the last couple of weeks it’s been largely forgotten, not entirely sure why, except possibly a subconscious aversion to the pain of having to walk six yards each way for a pee every half hour.
During that time my heart has been Continue reading
Ron's Rants... 