A clip from the 2021 film God's Not Dead: We The People. Set in the US, but particularly relevant to the UK today in my opinion - every single Tory/Labour MP should be forced to watch this over and over until the message hits home...
Nice speech, and I get the "they work for us" bit. However, the reality is that this is a christian nationalist propaganda film, twisting the the truth to force "god" into the classroom - the science class, the sexual education class, the so-called morality - and to have the freedom to impose their version of christianity onto all of the children: you cannot have freedom of religion without freedom from religion. Home schooling and educational ignorance have helped get us into the mess we're in today. The First Amendment is specifically written to protect this ideal as an antithesis to the religious wars and persecution throughout the medieval times through to, well, it's still happening eh? Three words you will not find in the Constitution of the United States: God; Jesus; Bible. Explicitly and implicitly so. There must be a better example out there. Rant over - as you were!
Just web-surfing, I stumbled upon this: https://www.theguardian.com/fashion/2014/aug/30/what-see-mirror-michelle-mone No mention of ‘greedy, self-serving bitch’, which is a surprise perhaps.
Dearth of Excrement, Holmes. Nobody believes them anymore except for their rabid fanbase. I do wonder how a certain former someone here would react to this continual tory claptrap.
Interesting thread on why a switch to a private health care model won't work - even for the ultra-wealthy. I haven't a clue how accurate it is, but am prepared to believe it. https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1681326978622791680.html
Yes, that is bang on. Mrs Fez asked about going private when her cancer was diagnosed but it simply wasn't feasible: it was all the same staff at the same hospital. There would be no "queue jumping" either. As I've said on numerous occasions: my youngest sister is a GP and the middle of the three of us is a senior diagnostic nurse specialising in oncology. They'll tell you the same. Cologne will doubtless explain the situation in Germany at some stage. About time we shut down these tax loopholes, and get those at the top to pay a proper and fairer share. I'm all for folks making money and improving their lot but the system is clearly broken. Billionaires? Who needs them? Who needs a billion £s? Ridiculous sums of money and the money keeps going to money.... arrrrgggghhhh cheezuz kryste you got me going again!! Nurse, my pills!
Just a few thoughts about the French system. If you are very poor, basic UK pensions would put you in that category, you can apply for an insurance card that gives you a totally free service. If you are not that strapped, you can buy top up insurance, that covers any costs you might be liable for. Everyone though has a card that gives you a rebate, varies on the percentage depending on your treatment and medicines. Two examples: Mme has a selection of pills, that cost her €10 a month, and I had surgery to stitch together my Achilles, which cost €30 for my private room. We know the costs as we receive details of any surgery. Why a new hip can cost a third of the costs here compared to the UK does make you wonder. The system of paying a small amount, then getting a sum repaid into your bank, is cumbersome to say the least, but somehow seems to work. I did have some day surgery at a private clinic, and received a bill for the meal they gave me while I was waiting to be discharged. It was not that good, but as they only charged €3 I didn't complain. It was a possible cancer, not I am glad to say, and there was no charge for the surgery.
The final fee for Boris Johnson's legal costs during the privileges committee inquiry is £265,522. What did the taxpayer get for that money? A By-Election that will cost a few more millions.
The whole of Germany is laughing non stop over Berlin 300 police, hunters, zoologists and a helicopter out searching for a supposed lionness which turned out to be a wild boar (there are many of these on the borders to Berlin so they should be able to identify them). The two animals don't look anything like each other.
Possibly one reason for the payment cash back system is (if I am correct) ,that you pay whether you turn up or not , but only get the repayment if you turn up. It's an incentive to make sure you make it to appointments. Is that so ?
I don't think that comes into BB, though perhaps it should. It seems to be a system designed to provide employment for many, and is far from efficient. An example: Mme goes to the hospital for her check up after a year of her new hip. She has x-rays, then sees the consultant. A couple of weeks later she receives two bills detailing the full cost, but then the very small cost that she is asked to pay. She sends off one cheque to cover both bills, but a further two weeks later two receipts in separate envelopes arrive. A visit to the doctor can cost you as little as €1, but that is designed as a statement that everyone should contribute something. All in all it is a strange mix of systems, but seems to work. I did spot a news item last week talking about the large number of penalty notices sent out in England to people who had made false claims to be exempt from charges at the chemist. Here you would have to produce your card that entitles you medical treatment, and that goes into a card reader that gives you the rebated price on the spot.
