alanjjohnstone
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Sajid Javid, former health secretary, said “extending the contributory principle” and patients should be charged for GP appointments and A&E visits.
NHS should be replaced by means-tested fees, while “protecting those on low incomes”.
Ireland’s “nominal” €75 (£66) fee for attending an injury unit without a referral, and £20 fees charged for GP appointments in Norway and Sweden as possible models.
Labour should consider moving to the right on social issues to appeal to floating voters who have a left-leaning stance on economic matters but are more traditional on cultural policies, a study by the right-leaning Onward think tank claims.
Onward argued that to properly secure its advantage, Starmer’s party needed to appeal more to so-called left authoritarians – those who have leftwing views on economics but are more conservative on social issues.
https://www.theguardian.com/media/2023/jan/20/joe-biden-julian-assange-extradition-tribunal
Biden has been accused of hypocrisy for demanding the release of journalists detained around the world while seeking the extradition of Julian Assange from Britain to face American espionage charges.
The charges against Assange were an “ongoing attack on press freedom” because the WikiLeaks founder was not a spy but a journalist and publisher protected by free speech laws.
“This is an attack on press freedom globally – that’s because the United States is advancing what I think is really the extraordinary claim that it can impose its criminal secrecy laws on a foreign publisher who was publishing outside the United States”
“Every country has secrecy laws. Some countries have very draconian secrecy laws. If those countries tried to extradite New York Times reporters and publishers to those countries for publishing their secrets we would cry foul and rightly so. Does this administration want to be the first to establish the global precedent that countries can demand the extradition of foreign reporters and publishers for violating their own laws?”
We know about the term tipping point in relation to the climate crisis but it is also used to refer to solutions
These tipping points occur when a zero-carbon solution becomes more competitive than the existing high-carbon option. More sales lead to cheaper products, creating feedback loops that drive exponential growth and a rapid takeover, offering “plausible hope” that a rapid transition to a green economy can happen in time.
Policy interventions on electric cars, plant-based alternatives to meat and green fertilisers would lead to unstoppable growth in those sectors.
“We need to find and trigger positive socioeconomic tipping points if we are to limit the risk from damaging climate tipping points,” said Prof Tim Lenton at the University of Exeter.
TS likes to use the term Zionazis so is the description applicable to the Russian ambassador to Israel when he says “Israel remains, as before, an important partner for Russia in the Middle East…And the further strengthening of bilateral ties fully meets the interests of our countries and peoples…”
According to Viktorov, Moscow expects that the activities of the cabinet formed by Likud party leader Benjamin Netanyahu will benefit the Israeli people, promote traditional partnership relations with Russia and strengthen stability and security in the Middle East.
“For our part, as always, we are open to constructive interaction with the current government [of] Netanyahu to further strengthen, consolidate and expand multifaceted mutually beneficial Russian-Israeli cooperation and coordinate efforts to improve the situation in the Middle East region and the international arena as a whole…”
https://tass.com/politics/1564593
Such a cordial message to a ‘zionazi’ or merely diplomatic language to maintain Israel’s tacit neutrality towards Russia in the war
I thought the Paris Agreement goal was to limit global warming to *below* 2C, preferably to 1.5C
Carbon Dioxide Removal may indeed help achieve the target
Scientific American says “…it’s also impossible to meet the Paris goals without at least some CDR…The main takeaway is that today’s efforts aren’t enough.”
I still remain a pessimist.
Capitalism has always had the capability of addressing global warming but always lacked the sufficient political or economic will to do so.
Has that really changed? Has there really been a genuine Road to Damascus conversion by the corporations on climate?
After all the COPs the reluctance to take determined action remains the same and keeps kicking the can down the road.
TS -The Russian people overwhelmingly support the SMO.
Sadly this is true. As it is for almost every other population in wars.
It demonstrates the power of nationalism, not whether support is justified or not.
Nearly 12,000 men have been caught illegally crossing Ukraine’s western borders, according to figures from Ukrainian border forces.
15 Ukrainians have died trying to get out of the country, while two allegedly frozen to death on their way over the mountains to Romania.
The Paris recommendation is 1.5C
So it is now predicted to be double that by 2100 – 3.0C
Is that supposed to be a consolation?
If the extreme weather events and their impact we are seeing now are due to climate change, as many commentators believe, and it isn’t even reached 1.5C, disaster and catastrophes remain a very likely forecast of things to come.
I should never attempt subtle ironic humour, my remark was in response to ALB’s question what will Ukraine’s government response be.
However, this article on Russia’s demographics is interesting and impact on the existing and worrisome trend of male mortality rates.
https://www.counterpunch.org/2023/01/18/how-russia-destroys-its-male-population/
“…Today, with Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war on Ukraine failing dismally, the women of Russia are turning their backs on him and are calling for their male family members to be returned home from the front lines…While many supported Putin’s initial moves, today they realize they are losing their sons and brothers for no reason other than to fulfill Putin’s maniacal desire to conquer Ukraine. Putin and his henchmen will attempt to assuage the women – while working to silence them as soon as possible. Putin needs their men to fight his ego war – even if it means he must destroy Russia’s entire male population once and for all.”
Is this the future of the NHS?
Several thousand health workers returned to the streets of Spain’s capital Sunday to protest what they claim is the dismantling of Madrid’s public health care system by its conservative regional government.
“Stop Privatization,” the marchers clamored against staff shortages and criticized what they consider the favoritism shown by regional authorities toward private health care providers.
The event was the latest in a series of protest actions, including strikes, by Madrid’s public health workers against the capital region’s government. The unions said Madrid spends the least amount per capita on primary health care of any Spanish region even though it has the highest per capita income. They claim that for every 2 euros spent on health care in Madrid, one ends up in the private sector.
https://apnews.com/article/spain-government-madrid-public-health-7c461c056e6dc21f49405d44e692a98a
As if we didn’t know
Starmer, attending the World Economic Forum meeting in Davos, said Labour would push to “bring global investors back”.
Shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves, who is also attending the meeting said Labour would “work in partnership with business” to boost investment.
“With Labour in government, Britain will be open for business,” said Ms Reeves.I’m a techno-neanderthal who doesn’t even own a mobile phone so I am constantly amazed at the things they are capable of doing and being put to use right now. To think I used to think they were for just talking !!
Logistics and the determination of distribution supply chains is a whole science in itself these days.
I used to travel off the beaten track at one time, and I don’t think I ever came across a place that Coca-Cola had not got to first.
The global supply chain, sometimes called the field to the fork, that multinationals use to keep supermarket shelves stocked will remain and be applied for society’s benefit and not corporate advantage
The possibilities seem endless and only limited by our imagination.
