Is that it? How disappointing …

 

Let’s begin with the ’news’ the Westminster MSM want us to be upset about today: the headlines on this morning’s front pages, lovingly compiled by ‘staff’’: “Newspaper headlines: ‘Deadly bug on barge’ and students’ bunk bed ‘battle’.” (link). 

I’d have liked to go into details on the Chinese and Russian ‘hacks’ at the FO, exclusively reported by iNews, screaming headline included – but alas! As so many papers and publications nowadays, they are ‘subscriber only’, and thus inaccessible. This is becoming more and more of a problem. 

Next, I’m doing what everybody does on their smartphones: look at the headlines only which are ‘free’ to read. So ‘they detected’ a deadly bug on yon ‘refugee prison ship’, therefore evacuating all who’d already become inmates.

Why the fluffing fluff did they detect this only now? Were checks not made earlier? Did they not have a ‘duty of care’ for the staff running this thing? Or is it just another ‘precaution’ by our precautionary civil serpents who’d rather look nice and accommodating to our ‘new guests’ than look after us who pay their salaries?

Next: I love the Express’ front page, that the doctors are striking to bring down the Tory government. How idiotic is that! Do they really think that the current lot in No 10 would go now when the next GE is only a year away? And these are the intellectual giants who ‘decide’ over our life and death when we’re in their hands? Strewth.

Staying with doctors and the NHS: The Times has a lovely article about a NHS GP who treats patients by WFH, the home being in Greece. Well, why not: there’s a ‘group’ which runs several GP surgeries in London and which is dead keen on setting up digital medical hubs, paid by the NHS with which all GPs have a contract (my emphases):

“The arrival of digital nomad doctors shows the power of technology to transform healthcare. The Hurley Group now has clinicians living in Canada, Italy, Greece, France, the Netherlands, New Zealand and Dubai while treating patients in the UK. One GP works as a yoga instructor in Goa in the morning and for the NHS in the afternoon. There are also doctors from Yorkshire, Pembrokeshire and Birmingham who are working for the partnership’s London clinics. Other large practices are also experimenting with remote GPs.” (link, paywalled).

Is this ‘new e-medicine’ the reason why there are fewer and fewer GPs available in our surgeries? Moreover, why should we trust them but not go to “Dr Google”? Furthermore – why should we trust ‘e-medicine’ when we don’t know if there’s a proper GP on the other end? It could be an AI bot, right? And who pays? Are they not demanding extra fees for ‘private e-consultations’? Where is Labour demanding an end to this ‘NHS privatisation’?

Staying with fees and subscriptions, keeping in mind that striking doctors want to bring down the Tories: according to a report in the DT the Tories are going to do that on their own: 

Senior Conservatives are braced for as many as 30,000 party members to leave when membership fees rise by 56 per cent, amid signs of wider Tory grassroots discontent. […] As the party has around 180,000 members – the exact number is not publicly available – that means membership could fall by close to 30,000 if the worst fears are realised.” (paywalled link)

Oh my! Apparently, the rise is from £25 to £39pa. Well, given the ‘cost of living’ crisis, even posh Tories won’t be able to pay this! Amazing, isn’t it, that the Tory High Command is coming out with this as the GE looms ever closer: yet another sign of Tory ineptitude. 

And so to my financial moan: subscriptions everywhere, blocking access to information and to essays which ought to fill our formerly ‘quality’ papers for all to read after having paid a small price, emphasis on ‘small’.

I’m now paying more for access to material and essays than I used to in the days before ‘e-papers’ when I was able to buy – and read! – three daily papers, excellent essays and opinion pieces included. Now I have to go and subscribe to single authors on ‘Substack’. Where I am not paying the subscription fee I can only read the first few paragraphs, comments being disabled. 

Some authors are well worth it, especially when they give reduced rates. One author who should be ‘worth it’ is Dominic Cummings – but he demands a full £100pa to access his stuff. Can’t afford to do it. Mr DC.
However, he does publish the odd piece or two for us non-paying peasants. One came out yesterday:

“#4 The Startup Party: Time to Build from September and replace the Tories? – Assumptions? The market opportunity? Principles for a new Party? How to grow? Stand in seats in GE24?” (link)

As non-payer, I cannot even read the comments, never mind writing one. One would have thought that Cummings were interested in opinions from people not in his bubble of subscribers … I believe you should be able to read this as well. It’s an ‘original Cummings’, vitriolic and thought-provoking. If you cannot, let me know and I’ll try to copy as much as I can without breaking copyright law.

That’s all I have for today. Don’t become ill – your nearest GP may ‘WFH’ in some nice places like Greece or Goa, places you and I can’t afford to visit any longer. Have a good weekend.